Apocalyptic Organ Grinder, A Hydra Dystopian Novella by William Todd Rose

This is a disturbing novella.  It's set in the future, a virus has killed much of the population, and people are now in two camps:  the untouched and the spewers.  There is no cure for anyone touched by the virus...

Hydra of the Random House Publishing Group and Net Galley let me download an ebook of this story for review (thank you).  It was published in June, so you can get a copy of it now.

Those not harmed by the virus live in settlements and use "sweepers" to keep the area around it free from the spewers.  What I found saddest was that the spewers have been denied aid since the beginning.  Fear kept the others hidden and when supplies grew thin, the spewers were cut off.  They escaped their "jail" and went into the wilds.  They have learned to survive there and have developed their own culture.  But sweepers still kill them when they find them and the tide is about to change.

You can only beat a dog so long until it turns and bites you.  That's what happens in this situation.  One death turns into too much.

There is a very ironic ending to this story and while I understood the sweeper's purpose and his desire to protect his daughter, I also understood the spewer's point of view.

There's no happy ending here, but it is fitting and the story held my interest until the end.

Happy reading.