CHAPTER FOUR: THE GULF OF MINOS
1158 Words
---
The sky over Oppey Gulf darkened with thick, ash-colored clouds as Ron led the way through the rocky terrain. His boots crunched over the dry gravel, and behind him, his mother Mami and younger brother Jerry followed closely, casting wary glances at the jagged cliffs that loomed on either side. Wind howled from the ocean below, carrying with it a stench both ancient and unnatural—something like decayed moss mixed with burnt flesh.
“Are you sure about this, Ron?” Mami asked, pulling her shawl tighter around her shoulders. Her voice trembled, not from the cold but from fear. “This place... it doesn’t feel right.”
Ron didn’t answer immediately. His gaze was fixed forward, eyes narrowed. “It’s the only way. If we’re going to survive, we need Minos.”
Jerry, barely twelve, clutched a wooden staff tightly in his small hands. “But isn’t Minos one of them?” he asked. “A zombie?”
Ron stopped and turned to face his family. “Not just any zombie,” he said. “He’s a half-cast. Not completely dead, not completely human. He still remembers.”
“Remembers what?” Mami asked.
“What it means to love.”
A long silence fell over them. The sound of crashing waves echoed up from the depths of the gulf, the water below hidden in mist. After a moment, Ron turned again and resumed walking.
Oppey Gulf was not a place people visited willingly. Long ago, it had been a sacred shrine to the spirits of the sea, but when the outbreak started—when the dead began to walk—something twisted had taken root there. Locals whispered of a guardian, a creature neither alive nor truly dead, who kept watch over the cliffs. That was Minos.
Ron had first encountered Minos by accident a year ago, while scavenging alone. He had expected death, but instead, he found something different—a creature torn between two worlds, speaking in broken words but capable of deep empathy. Ron had visited him secretly since then, learning, watching, and eventually forming a fragile bond. But he never thought he’d have to return with his family.
As they neared the edge of the cliff, a sudden, low growl vibrated through the air.
Mami froze. Jerry dropped his staff.
From the shadows beneath an overhanging rock, a hunched figure began to rise. Pale gray skin, mottled with patches of moss and dried blood. Its face was torn, but one eye glowed faintly blue—the last hint of human memory within. Minos stepped forward slowly, the ground trembling with each heavy movement.
Then, with a deafening roar, Minos lunged.
“No!” Ron shouted, throwing himself in front of Mami and Jerry just as the creature’s claws extended.
Minos halted mid-air, muscles tensed. His open mouth hung inches from Ron’s throat. Saliva dripped, sizzling where it touched the stone. For a second, time froze.
“They’re my family,” Ron said quickly, voice steady despite the fear clawing at his chest. “They mean no harm.”
Minos blinked once, then sniffed the air. His posture changed. From a predator to something... more curious. He lowered his massive arms and shuffled back a step, snout twitching as he inspected Mami and Jerry.
Mami was paralyzed, gripping Jerry close. The boy stared at Minos with wide, fearful eyes.
“She bore me,” Ron continued, his voice quieter now. “And that’s my brother. They’re all I have left.”
Minos tilted his head. “Mmm… flesh… family…”
“Yes,” Ron said. “Like your sister. You told me once—about when you were human. You protected her.”
Minos gave a guttural sound, halfway between a moan and a sigh. “Sister… yes. Taken. Burned. Long ago.”
Ron stepped aside slowly and gestured toward his family. “They’re not like the others. They didn’t come to hurt you. They just need help.”
Minos’s blue eye flickered. He looked at Mami. “She… carries sorrow.”
Mami swallowed. “We lost everything,” she whispered. “Ron saved us.”
Minos turned to Jerry. “This one… smells of courage. And fear.”
“I—I’m not afraid!” Jerry blurted. “Okay maybe a little—but I’d fight you if I had to!”
The creature’s lips twisted upward, not quite a smile, but close. “Fire in the child. Good.”
Ron exhaled, relief flooding him. The most dangerous part was over.
“I told them you could help us,” he said. “There’s a caravan of raiders coming. We don’t have weapons, not enough food. We can’t defend our village. But you… you can.”
Minos turned toward the mist-covered edge of the gulf and sat heavily on a stone, bones creaking. “Minos… tired. Fought too many battles. No place in human wars.”
“But this isn’t just a war,” Ron said. “It’s survival. The raiders are like the infected—they take, they destroy. If they get through, they won’t stop until the whole coast is burning.”
Minos said nothing. The wind howled louder.
Mami approached slowly, cautiously. “Please,” she said. “I don’t know what you are. But I can see you still feel. Help us.”
Minos looked at her long and hard. “The living… fear me. Hate me.”
“I did too,” Mami admitted. “But not anymore.”
There was a long pause. Then, with a low grunt, Minos rose. “Then Minos will stand. One last time.”
Jerry clapped quietly. Ron smiled, a real smile this time.
“Thank you,” he said.
Minos growled softly. “Not for you. For the child… and the sorrow bearer.”
Ron didn’t argue. He knew that was the only way Minos could accept it—on his own terms.
As they turned to leave the cliff, the fog began to shift and part, revealing the dark sea below. And far beyond, just on the edge of the horizon, were the silhouettes of distant boats.
“They’re coming,” Ron said grimly.
Minos nodded. “Then let them come. Oppey Gulf remembers how to bite.”
---
That night, back at their village nestled among overgrown ruins, preparations began. People stared when Ron returned with Minos, gasping in fear. But when they saw the creature walk behind Ron without attacking, something shifted. Whispers turned into awe. Old stories came back to life.
Minos stood guard on the outer cliffs, eyes scanning the sea. As the moon rose, he roared once—long, low, and echoing.
And somewhere far away, the raiders heard it and hesitated.
Ron stood with his mother and brother beside a campfire, watching the horizon. Whatever came next, they would face it together. With their hearts, their courage—
And their guardian.
- Writer
