Carry On My Wayward Son

Jayr POV - Earth, Georgia, King County - 2010

I'm calmly walking while gently carrying the corpse of Morgan's wife in my arms after I made sure to destroy the brain and only the brain by using a very precise and controlled blow to the head that delivered all the force within the body destroying the inside without actually damaging the outside. 

I even made sure that the force within the blow would only damage the brain enough to cease all functions without actually totally destroying it and damaging other nearby organs, all this to make sure that the body of Morgan's late wife would be in the best condition possible for a proper send off.

As soon as I arrive in front of the house, the doors open and I see Morgan waiting there with a somber look on his face, but soon after, a teary-eyed Duane rushes out but soon stops as his gaze falls on his mother's corpse in my arms before falls on his knees before he starts crying loudly.

Seeing that, Morgan quickly moves toward his son, hugs him, and with tears in his eyes he starts to comfort him, "It's fine, Duane... It's fine. I'm here with you. Cry as much as you want."

I briefly stop beside them and say to Morgan who is now looking at me with his face marred by tears while still hugging his distressed son, "I'm going to prepare and clean her up a bit so that you guys can give her a proper goodbye. I already took care of all the walkers in the area... so it should be safe to stay here for the moment, but it is still better to be cautious so when Duane calms a little head back inside."

In response to my words, Morgan silently nods before he focuses back on his son, and seeing that, I continue to calmly walk into the house, once inside, I walk up the stairs and head into the room where we took care of Rick yesterday and gently lay the corpse of Morgan's late wife on the bed.

Shortly after that, I grab a couple of clean towels, some cloths, fragrant soap, and a basin full of clean water before I focus back on making the corpse of Morgan's wife more presentable.

The first thing I do is gently close the eyes using the soft pad of my fingertips and hold them closed for a few minutes hoping that they may stay closed on their own, but when I lift my fingers from them, they immediately snap open.

Seeing that, I sigh as I expected something like this to happen, then I gently close her eyes again and place a soft smooth cloth over them and then place a small soft weight to keep the eyes in position. 

The weight in question is a pair of small plastic bags filled with dry uncooked rice whose weight is enough to keep the eyes closed long enough to stay in that position as the rigor mortis does its job.

After doing that, I start to gently wash and clean her face using the wet towel while being as careful, respectful, and gentle as possible.

While I'm doing that, I hear Morgan walk into the room and softly ask, "Doc... what are you doing?"

I turn my head and look at the man whose teary gaze is fixed on the body of the woman he loved and answer, "I'm cleaning and preparing her body so that you and Duane can properly send her off. Looking like the woman and mother you guys loved so much instead of the thing she became."

After saying that, I ask, "By the way, where is Duane?" making the grieving husband dryly reply, "He cried himself to sleep... He is now sleeping on the bed."

Hearing that, I nod and then gently ask, "Do you want to help me? I'll guide you on what to do."

In response, Morgan stares at his wife's body for a few seconds before he looks at me, silently nods, and slowly walks beside me as I finish washing her face. 

After I have washed her face, I close the mouth before the body starts to stiffen and since the mouth, like the eyes, didn't stay shut, I place a rolled-up towel under the chin. 

But since this does not provide enough support to keep the mouth closed, I also use a lightweight, smooth fabric scarf. 

Place the middle of the scarf at the top of the head, wrapping each end around the side of the face, under the chin, and up to the top of the head where it can be gently tied while explaining to Morgan what and why I am doing this and that these supports will become unnecessary in a few hours and can be removed.

After that, I carefully and gently wash the hair that has become quite dry and dirty while Morgan cleans the teeth and mouth luckily there is no blood on them which indicates that when it was a walker it wasn't able to successfully attack anyone. 

Done with that, we move on to the part that could have been the most uncomfortable for me if Morgan hadn't decided to help me, cleaning the body, after all, some may be uncomfortable with the thought of someone else seeing their loved one's body naked even if the person in question is a doctor you trust. 

At this point, to respect their privacy and modesty, I close my eyes and simply start instructing Morgan on what to do, "First, you have to undress her. Then you have to wash her body using a facecloth with water and a small amount of soap. Begin with the arms and legs and then move to the front and back of the trunk. If you need my help to roll the person to each side to wash the back you just have to tell me. If you wish, you can add those fragrant oil or flower petals I put over there to your rinse water. Also, remember to dry the part of the body you are working on before moving to another. One last thing, if you want I can also close up the wounds, but that should be done after you have cleaned and dressed her."

After Morgan dutifully cleaned his late wife, he started to dress her, opting to use one of hers more plain nightgowns. 

Once she is fully dressed, I open my eyes and move over to take care of the wounds on her body, which are mainly some scratches on the feet and legs, and the bite mark on her chest close to the neck.

First I focus on making the smaller wounds as presentable as possible by suturing the cuts with a very thin, almost invisible thread, of course, to do that, I use the materials in a medical kit that I pulled out from my Soulbound Territory, one of the many things I prepared for this Random Battle.

Then, I focus on the more difficult bite mark because I'm neither an embalmer nor a plastic surgeon, because of that, I never had to focus on doing something like this, but with a bit of improvisation, I'm able to dress the bite mark in such a way that it is barely noticable.

After doing that we position the arms alongside her body and make sure that the legs are straight.

Looking at the result of our work, tears once again start to fall from Morgan's eyes as he mutters, "This isn't the thing that took her place when she died... This my Jenny and she is as beautiful as I remember..."

At this point, I stand beside Morgan and ask, "Morgan... how do you want to deal with her body? Do you want to bury her somewhere? Or do you want to cremate her body and bring her ashes with you and Duane?"

Hearing my question, Morgan clears away his tears and replies, "I'd like to cremate her body but... but it is impossible to do now. Using a regular pyre to incinerate the body isn't going to work as the smoke produced by the fire may attract unwanted attention. This means that our only solution is to find and use a crematorium, however, now that the electricity is cut off there is no way to make it work..."

I quickly interrupt him and say, "Wait. If you really want to cremate her we can do it even without electricity. We can still make use of a crematorium's cremation chamber to burn the body, the only thing we have to use some common fuels that burn hot like propane, natural gas, charcoal, and hardwoods like oak or hickory to start the fire, and then wait for the heat to build up enough to work and turn the body into ashes. I can take care of that while you and Duane wait outside."

At the same time, I make sure to maintain eye contact with him to show that I'm fully convinced of what I'm saying while thinking, 'Like I'll do something so troublesome... I'll simply light up a random fire in the cremation chamber and burn a casket filled with decaying fruits just to create enough smoke and smell to give the impression that I'm actually doing that. But, in fact, I'll simply ask Babamon and Jijimon to do that in my Soulbound Territory. Babamon will make sure to purify the body from the virus. While Jijimon will use his magic to create a fire strong enough to turn the body into ashes and voilà, in a few moments the body of Morgan's wife is turned into ashes and ready to be preserved in whatever container we can find.'

While I'm thinking that, Morgan looks at me in silence for a few moments before he nods and agrees.

After that, I leave him alone with the body of his wife and get out of the house to give him and Duane some time to grive.

Once outside the house, I focus on the many bodies on the ground, and letting out a sigh, I mutter, "Haa... I can't in good conscience leave them like this... I have to at the very least bury them somewhere. Maybe the park where I arrived is a good choice. That way the bodies will then turn into nutrients for the soil."

Coming to that decision, I didn't waste any time and quickly started to run around to search for a vehicle big enough to carry all the bodies in a single run. 

Unfortunately, I found none in the neighborhood and had to reach the Harrison Memorial Hospital, the hospital where Rick woke up, to find a functioning military long Cargo Truck with the keys still in the ignition. 

Of course, before "borrowing" the truck, I also make sure to "borrow" all the gasoline avaiable in the surrouding, both the one the military has left behind and the one in the other vehicles' tanks, resulting in more than two dozen jerrycan full of gasoline all of which contain 20 liters of gasoline more than enough for the immediate future.

After that, I drive the cargo truck back to Morgan's house and once I arrive, I quickly load it with all the bodies in the area before I drive the Cargo Truck to King County Park.

Once there, I quickly use a shovel I "borrowed" from a nearby shop and start to dig enough holes to bury the bodies on the cargo truck luckily with my physical power this is something quite easy, I just have to be careful not to strain the shovel too much but even with that, in less than an hour, I have dug up all the holes needed.

Then I gently lay the bodies in the holes and quickly bury them one after the other, in fact, I also bury a few more I encoutered on the way among which there is the mangled body of that walker woman that Rick shot a few hours ago, and once I have taken care of every single one of them, I simply jump into the cargo truck and drive back to Morgan's house.

In the end, to find the cargo truck, search and gather the gasoline in the jerrycans, drive the cargo truck to Morgan's house, load the Cargo Truck with the bodies of the walkers, drive the cargo truck to King County Park, dig the holes and bury the bodies all it took was one hour and a half.

The only reason that it took so little time is thanks to my overpowered physique, after all, when you can run faster than any vehicle on the planet and have the power to easily lift more than a ton with your little finger, some things become quite easy to do. 

After driving on the empty road for 15 or so minutes, I arrive at my destination and randomly park the cargo truck in front of Morgan's house, before getting out and calmly walking into the house.

Once inside, I immediately walk up the stairs to reach the upper floor and more precisely, the room where the body of Morgan's wife is lying and notice the figures of Morgan and Duane sitting in front of the bed.

As I walk inside the room, Morgan notices my presence and greets me, "Doc... you are back. We are ready. We... We said our goodyes to Jenny." 

At the same time, Duane also turns his head in my direction and I notice that his face is still marred by tears as he is still grieving for the loss of his mother but I also notice some form of acceptance on his face about what happened.

After that, Morgan and I gently envelope Jenny's body in a white clean blanket and carry her body downstairs and out of the house before we gently load it on the cargo truck with Duane following after us.

Then I follow Morgan's direction as I drive toward a crematorioun that can be found just outside the city.

Once we arrive at our destination, I tell Morgan and Duane to remain on the truck as I grab my Bo Staff and quickly run into the crematorium to scout it and make sure that there are no walkers hidden inside, luckily with my enhanced senses they can't hide from me, and I easily find and take care of them.

After cleaning up the crematorium, I help Morgan carry his wife's body into the cremation chamber before I tell him to wait with Duane in the small chapel that can be found within the structure.

Once I'm alone with Jenny's body, I don't waste any time and quickly send Jenny's body into my Soulbound Territory, of course, since I don't want the virus to spread I make sure to send it into my desolate training area, at the same time, I send a set of precise instructions to Babamon and Jijimon.

The reason why I'm sending the corpse into my Soulbound Territory instead of summoning Babamon and Jijimon here is that just like me, they won't be able to use their power in this universe, but they won't have such a problem in my Soulbound Territory and since those two are Ultimate Level Digimon, I can trust the fact that they can easily handle such request.

After doing that, I pull out some random wood and more than a kilo of rotten durian fruit and start to burn them to create enough smoke and bad smell to make it look like I'm actually turning a corpse into ashes.

Once I took care of that since I have to wait at the very least the minimum 70 minutes needed to fully turn a corpse into ashes when one uses the cremation room, I started to look around to search for a container for Jenny's ashes, and it seems that I'm lucky as I find dozen of empty urns in one of the storage rooms which makes me realizes, 'It seems that this place also sells urns among the other services...'

Without any hesitation, I quickly dismiss all the biodegradable urns that are made of biodegradable material, such as paper, clay, plant material, bark, wood, sand, bamboo, wicker, and other substances that will naturally decompose over time as they aren't the most reliable to carry around in a dangerous setting like this universe.

For the same reason, I also dismiss glass urns, stone or marble urns, ceramic urns, and wood urns they too are all too fragile for my liking.

This leaves out only the metal urns that are made of many materials such as aluminum, brass, bronze, copper, steel, and metal alloy and in the end, I opt for an urn made of stainless steel as it is the most reliable among all the materials present.

After chosing the right urn, I don't hesitate to send it to my Soulbound Territory and wait for Jijimon and Babamon to do their job and so, I sit on a random chair in front of the cremation room and calmly wait while reading the manga that Hajime sent me, Mobile Suit Gundam 00F. 

While reading that manga, I can't help but have the urge to explore that legendary multiverse while thinking, 'It's incredible that I still haven't visited any Gundam Universe... Since I reincarnated I always wanted to visit the Gundam Multiverse. In fact, it was the first universe that came to my mind that I wanted to visit I even fully planned all my moves and a way to explore the whole Gundam Multiverse even without the use of my Cosmo, but then I realized that learning magic and breaking through the limits of my former human body was more urgent and chose the Arifureta Universe instead. After that, I wanted to improve on the technology side and once again, my first instinct was to choose the Gundam Multiverse hell, I was almost sure of that choice until at the last moment I remembered that the time for the first Random Battle was close and with Saori and Tio pregnant, I had to ensure that I was strong enough to win. Because of that, I recklessly chose the Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann Universe and luckily everything worked fine in the end... but the wish to explore the Gundam Multiverse is still very much present. Maybe after this Random Battle, I'll be able to do it, after all, thanks to my Digimon Incarnation, I don't have to worry about being away a long time from my family.' 

While I'm thinking that, I continue to calmly read the manga until the 70 minutes pass, and then I put the manga back into my Soulbound territory, get up from the chair, make sure to fully put out the fire in the creamtion room, and quickly pull out the stainless steel urn now full with the ashes of Jenny Jones, Morgan's wife, and Duane's mother. 

I also read the message that Jijimon and Babamon left on the urn telling me that no problem occurred and that everything is fine. 

After that, I do not waste any more time and qucikly walk toward the chapel with the urn in my hands where Morgan and Duane are waiting for me.

Once there, I give Morgan the urn and reassure him that the process went on perfectly.

Morgan holds the urn for a few moments before he gives it to his son Duane who holds it tightly close to his body and then we walk out of the chapel and walk back to the cargo truck.

Once inside the cargo truck, I calmly drive back to Morgan's house and while we are on the way back, Morgan tries to distract his son from thinking about his mother too much by saying, "Son, I promised that I'd teach you how to shoot and since doc secured the area around the house we can practice in the garden without worrying about attracting more of those things. Do you still want to learn?" which makes Duane reply in a sad tone, "Sure..."

Watching his son, Morgan can't help himself from letting out a sigh before the two falls into an awkard silence that gets broken a few moments later by Duane's voice as he asks, "Why did you kill her?"

Hearing that, Morgan quickly tries to correct his son, "Wait, Duane-." but I interrupt him and calmly answer, "I did not kill your mother... nor any other walker. They were all already dead way before I stopped their bodies. The only thing I did was put her and everyone's body to rest to not only end your and your father's suffering but also to stop the thing that was controlling her body to harm the ones she loved the most and so make her even more sad."

In response to my words, an intrigued Duane asks, "What do you mean?" I also notice that Morgan is also listening carefully, before I continue, "Let's hypothesize a different but similar scenario from what truly happened. In this scenario, you are the one that was bitten by the walker and died, but while your soul went to heaven, your dead body fell under the control of the thing that is behind all this and started to move much to the horror of your mother and father."

I turn my head and see that both Duane and Morgan's eyes open wide as they listen to the description of that scenario, but I quickly focus back on the road and continue, "Now for semplicity sake let's just say that everything proceeds in the exact same way as you know it, with the only difference is that it is your mother that is standing with your father and your dead body is roaming the streets, do you follow me?"

Hearing Duane mutter a weak, "Yes..." I nod and continue, "Now, think about this. Your soul in heaven is able to see everything that is happening, you are watching over them and seeing how they try to survive and move on, but you also see how much suffering your dead body is causing them, how every time your mother catches a glimpse of your body she starts to cry in despair, how your father tries to be strong for her but when he is alone he too breaks down at the thought of having lost you even more so when he remember all the happy times you have spent together... how would that make you feel?"

In response to my question, Duane stands in silence for a few minutes with glistening eyes before he replies, "Sad... seeing them so sad would also make me feel very sad..."

I nod then I add, "Then this hypotetical scenario continues and come the day your father and mother met and save Rick, but this time, I didn't come and continued on my journey toward Atlanta's C.D.C.. Everything more or less is the same, your mother and father being the good people they are still help Rick and explain to him what is going on, then the next day they go to the police station and do the same thing we did today your mother even ask your father to teach her how to use a gun so that she can defend herself, everything is the same until they separate. Rick goes his way to search for his wife and son while your father and mother return back to their home."

At this point, I once again look at Duane and Morgan and see that both are focusing on me and this hypothetical scenario before I focus back on the road and say, "Now things are a little bit different. Armed with the new rifle, your father decides that it is time to end both your mother and his suffering by putting down the thing that remembers them so much about what they have lost and heads upstair. He shoots a couple of walkers to attract your dead body and once it arrives, he aims at it, but in the end, he isn't able to pull the trigger and let your dead body go. Then after some time, everything seems fine, until one day your mother, who has learned how to shoot, decides to do the same thing your father did some time ago and goes out to search for your dead body."

Suddenly, I hear someone loudly gulp, but I ignore it and focus on the story, "She finds it and confronts it with her gun, but just like your father, she starts to hesitate and isn't able to shoot. Because of that, you dead body takes advantage of that opportunity and bites your mother basically killing her leaving your father alone. Now you are seeing all this from heaven... what would you feel watching your body killing the person you love most?"