by L. T. Ryan
“I am.”
She stepped up so they were side by side. “Right into it?”
“Full speed ahead.” He looked back, stopping to look into her eyes for a moment. “Chances are those guys can match pace with us. Will they want to if we’re heading into a thunderstorm?”
She lifted an eyebrow. “Only one way to find out.”
“All right.” Turk faced the wheel again and barked out a few orders. “Jerry, round up every life vest you can find on this ship. Alec, I want you and Rhea to ready all the rifles. I want everything fully loaded with a spare magazine. There’s a few .22 pistols down there. Get the girls together and go over how to use them.”
“The girls?” Alec said. “You sure about that?”
“I don’t know how many people there are on that boat behind us. But I do know, if they manage to get past us, it won’t be but one or two making it below deck. Let’s give them a fighting chance, okay?”
Alec nodded and grabbed Rhea by the elbow and the two of them headed out of sight.
Jerry filled the void next to Turk. “My boys, they’re ready to pitch in, too.”
“They can shoot?”
“What do you think?”
“I’m gonna say you were one hell of a Marine.”
“Still am, squid.”
Turk chuckled at the guy, then said, “They’re your boys. Putting you in charge of them. You feel good with a rifle in their hands, then I do too.”
“All right, man.”
“But first get those life jackets ready.” He looked out at the thickening clouds to the south. “We might be heading into a monster.”
Jerry opened up the storage holds on the deck and retrieved two armfuls of life vests. He dropped them by the stairs and went back. He knelt down again and this time pulled out six snorkels and full-face masks. He stopped by Turk on his way down to show off the find.
“Good deal,” Turk said. “I’m sure those’ll come in handy. Now tell everyone down there to get ready. I’m opening this bitch up.”
Jerry walked off, shoulders back, proud of his work. That was all anyone could ask for these days. Lord knows, sitting around and sulking would only send you down the path of the afflicted.
Turk waited two minutes for everyone to prepare, and then he went full throttle. The engine roared and the bow lifted in response as the boat cut through the rolling waves on a course that headed straight into the storm. Shortly after, he grabbed the binoculars and looked back at the other ship. It was giving chase. The men up front had disappeared, but their intentions were clearer than ever.
Seven
“We know you assholes are in there.”
The man sung the words and knocked rhythmically on the door at the same time.
Sean sat with his back to the door, facing Leo and Beth. The woman pulled the blanket up and wrapped both arms around her baby. Leo sat up. Vapor trails dissipated in the air with every breath he took. The two of them stared wide-eyed at Sean. If they were quiet enough, would the men go away? Another series of knocks, rapid and loud, answered that question.
“How long were you guys here?” Sean asked in a whisper.
“A week,” Leo answered. “Never had anyone come up to the door in that time.”
The man outside shouted, “If you don’t open up this door, then we’re gonna have to break it down, and that won’t be a good thing.”
A few laughs followed the comment.
Passersby? Sean wondered. A couple of guys hellbent on screwing with someone? In the middle of a storm, though? Didn’t make much sense. But what did these days?
He glanced around the room. There wasn’t much in the place he felt he needed to hide. Only Marley’s leash. He rarely had it on the dog but leaving it out would alert the men to the dog’s presence. Sean grabbed it and stuffed it underneath the sink. He used the opportunity to peek through the window. The fog on it made it impossible to see outside.
They banged on the door again.
“This is your last opportunity. If you don’t open up, we’re gonna assume you’re one of them, and you know what will happen after that.”
The distinctive chunk-chunk of a pump shotgun echoed through the small room.
“Let them in,” Leo said.
Sean reached for his pistol as he approached the door.
“No,” Leo said, placing his hand over the baby’s head. “That’s only gonna lead to a fight. It’s probably just some backwoods guys, tracked us here, wanna see if they can shake us down. We don’t have anything they want. They’ll leave, Sean. I know it.”
“I can hear you.” The guy was back to singing. “Are you gonna make me count to three?”
Sean let go of his security, let go of the pistol, and reached for the door knob.
“One.”
He unlocked it and turned the handle and pulled the door open. Cold air knifed through, working its way through every opening in his clothing. It chilled him to the core. The door swung hard at him as one of the men drove his shoulder into it from the outside. Sean stumbled back and almost toppled over when he had to balance on his makeshift prosthetic.
A short squatty guy with a deep receding hairline and bushy eyebrows stepped in first. He had on a red-and-black-checkered flannel and jeans and a pair of black boots. He took in the scene, first eyeing Sean. He chuckled a little when he saw the hunk of wood poking out from beneath Sean’s pants. Then the guy looked at the trio on the floor.
“How sweet,” he muttered, then he looked over his shoulder. “It’s clear, boss.”
The next man to enter was the opposite of the first. He was tall, lean, had a full head of hair that stood three inches high and had begun to grow out in the back. It was light brown, as was his beard. He had on black cargo pants and a black ski jacket to match. The silver barrel of a revolver poked out from his right sleeve.
The door slammed shut. The third man remained outside.
“What do we have here?” the tall guy said as he glanced around the room after walking to the other corner. His gaze settled on the baby’s head, poking out from underneath the blanket. He wagged a finger between Sean and Leo. “Let me guess: you’re not sure who the father is? Am I right?” He grinned, wide and toothy. “I’m right. You know I am. Just admit it.”
The guy’s smile didn’t fade, but the short squatty guy wasn’t having any of it. He eyed Sean with a meanness Sean hadn’t seen in some time.
“I came across them out there. They were being attacked. Her husband—”
The tall guy held up his free hand to silence Sean. “I really don’t give a shit about what happened out there.”
Sean found himself nodding while he assessed the situation here. The guy walked in like he owned the place. Stood there with far too much confidence considering he was in the presence of three strangers. Had these men been watching them the entire time? Christ, had they led Marley away? Was that the disturbance?
“My concern,” the tall guy said, “is what the hell you people are doing in one of our houses when you haven’t paid a dime of rent?”
“We didn’t know,” Leo said.
The tall guy squinted at Sean as his smile faded. He shifted his gaze over to Leo. “Are you the one I should be talking to here? ‘Cause, frankly, you look like a little bitch on the floor there, and I don’t want to deal with you.”
“You can talk to me,” Sean said.
The smile returned as the guy shifted his focus to Sean. “I can talk to you.”
“That’s right.” Sean paused a beat. “She went into labor. We just needed a safe place to deliver the baby.”
“Oh shit,” the guy said. “You mean you got all that placenta and vaginal juices and shit all over my floor?” He glided across the room and squatted down in front of Beth. “No, it’s worse than that. You actually soiled my damn cushions? Jesus, you people are monsters. Complete and total monsters.” The smile on his face spread as he rose and turned back toward Sean.
“We had no choice.
Would’ve been suicide to remain out there.”
The guy hummed a tune Sean recognized as the theme song to M*A*S*H. He wasn’t sure what to make of the man and his high level of confidence. Anyone who made it this far into the ordeal with the afflicted had to have some sense about them. Why was this guy sure he was so superior over the small group?
A stifled cry from the baby broke the silence. The tall guy glanced around as though he were about to address a crowd of hundreds.
“Oh wow, that is gonna be a problem,” he said. “The hell were you thinking getting knocked up during this shitstorm against humanity?”
Beth tightened her grip on the infant and said nothing.
The tall guy crossed the room toward her. When Sean shuffled forward, the guy stopped and held out his hand without ever looking in his direction. The man’s smile returned, though, as he continued toward Beth and Leo. He stopped a few feet short.
“Come on, lemme see the little guy, or gal, whatever the case may be.”
Tears spilled past Beth’s eyelids and snaked down dried tracks on her cheeks. She pulled the blanket over the child’s head.
The tall guy ran his hand through his hair and muttered to himself, “The hell is wrong with these people.” His voice rose. “Do they not know who I am?” Then he shouted. “Do you not know who I am?”
Beth looked up at the guy, who now wore a snarl in place of that shit-eating grin. “Wh-what do you want?”
“What I want is for you good folks to recognize the man in front of you.”
“Get to the goddamn point,” Sean said. “Quit it with the show you’re putting on.”
The guy turned toward Sean. The antagonized look faded, giving way to that smile once again. He took a few steps forward but stopped well out of Sean’s reach.
“You’re, like, the leader here, right?”
Sean hung his head and shook it. “I’m no leader.”
“Well, you’re probably right about that. But every group has to have someone in charge, and I’m betting you’re that guy.”
“I only met them today. They needed help. I offered it.”
“He’s right,” Beth said. “My dead husband and brother-in-law here, they were trying to get me to a camp where I could have the baby. This man, he helped us. Delivered my baby.”
“Camp?” The guy turned so he could see everyone. “We’ve come from a camp. Were you coming to see us?”
“I doubt that,” Leo said.
“Why’s that?”
“The people we were going to see wouldn’t treat a lady who just birthed a child like this.”
The guy put his hands on his knees and leaned forward. “Well, how would they treat an asshole?”
Leo’s face tightened, lips bunched, nostrils flared.
The guy straightened up again, put his hands on his hips, and twisted in each direction. “Maybe like this?” He drove his boot into Leo’s side. Leo had no chance to deflect the blow. It caught him under the ribs and bowled him over.
Sean started to move. The short squatty guy who’d remained silent the entire time pushed off the wall and intercepted him.
“Get your hands off me,” Sean said.
The guy didn’t budge. He pushed Sean backward.
“I said get your hands off me.”
“Percy,” the tall guy said. “Ease off him.” He came back into view as Percy stepped to the side. His eyes were wide with wonder and seemed to dance as they flicked side to side while staring at Sean. “Who exactly are you, friend?”
“Ain’t your friend,” Sean said.
“Yeah,” the tall guy said. “You’re not. We don’t even know each other’s names.”
Sean stood tall, said nothing.
“Ok, I guess I’ll go first. Medrick’s the name, and you can call me Medrick.”
Sean still said nothing.
Medrick narrowed his eyes as he studied Sean. “Are you saying we can’t be friends, friend?”
Percy, who’d been kneeling next to Leo, rose and tugged on Medrick’s sleeve. “You might want to check this out, boss.”
Medrick wagged his finger at Sean as his smile returned. He held his gaze for a few moments, then turned to his subordinate. “What is it this time?”
“Our guy here, looks like he’s been bit by one o’ them.”
The playfulness was erased from Medrick’s face, and this time it was not replaced with a look of anger, but rather concern. Any society present these days did not want to bring an afflicted in. He pulled back his sleeve, exposing the revolver completely.
“What happened here?” he asked.
“It’s not from one of the dead,” Leo said.
“You sure about that?”
“Yes, dammit, I was fighting them off. Got caught on a broken branch or something.”
Medrick flinched. “Or something? That’s how you’re gonna sell this to me?” He pulled back the hammer and extended the pistol toward Leo’s head.
“It’s not a bite,” Sean said. “I’ve checked it out. It’s a gash.”
Medrick lowered the pistol and looked over at Sean. “First, how are you qualified to tell? And B, who says one of them didn’t gouge him with their decrepit but unnaturally long cocaine-testing fingernails?”
“Just look at it,” Sean said. “You’ll see what I mean.”
Medrick glanced over at the wound, then at Percy. He muttered, “What do you think?”
Percy shrugged as he yanked at the sleeve surrounding the wound. The fabric tore almost the entirety of Leo’s arm. He leaned in and looked at the gash. “Don’t look like a bite, but, what if the damned thing was chewing on him?”
“Yeah, friend,” Medrick said, turning back to Sean. “What if the damned thing was chewing on him?”
“Kill me if you have to,” Leo said, drawing all attention toward himself. “But at least let me see that my sister-in-law and nephew reach a safe place.”
Percy rose and stepped in close to Medrick, who looked as bemused over the situation as ever. Sean thought the guy didn’t care whether Leo lived and travelled or died right there on that floor.
Sean leaned forward and angled his head to hear Percy’s words.
“That baby’s gonna give us away out there. We can’t have that.”
“Don’t you dare,” Sean said.
“Dare what?” Medrick said, playing coy. But Percy had already moved, stripping back the sheets and trying to rip the infant away from its mother.
The scream that came from Beth’s mouth could have risen the dead twice. She held on to the baby with one arm and flailed her other, catching Percy square on the nose. As he stumbled backward, she began kicking. Several of the blows landed in his gut and crotch. He fell back against the wall, clutching both areas.
Leo was on his feet, about to take on the man.
Medrick had backed up to the wall where he yelled something out. He aimed the pistol at Leo.
The door crashed open, and the third man entered. He was a medium build Hispanic guy with short dark hair littered with specks of silver. He swung the pump shotgun around the room while joining in with the shouting.
Finally, thunder erupted when Medrick fired his pistol.
Eight
Addison scrambled through the thick underbrush toward the place where she’d last seen Emma standing. The girl called out for help, her voice sounding tiny and pained. As Addy ascended the small hill Emma had been traversing, it became apparent what had happened. The girl had fallen into a hole that someone had covered.
“Addy!” Emma yelled.
The faster Addison moved, the more the terrain tried to restrain her. She had to stop and free herself from vines that snaked across the landscape, hidden by a thick layer of dead and decomposing foliage.
“Please, come quick,” Emma called out, her voice floating out of the four-foot-wide hole.
“Quiet,” Addy said as loudly as she dared. She dropped to her knees as the trap drew near. There could be others dug out nearby, or
the ground next to it could be weak and ready to collapse. They’d be good as dead if both of them ended up in there. She worked her fingertips into the soil beneath the leaves and vines and pulled herself forward foot by foot. When she was near the edge, she planted her knees in the ground and stretched forward as though she were performing an awkward yoga pose with her head and neck craned as far as they’d go.
“Help.” Emma looked up at her, tears in her eyes. The girl was sitting with her right leg drawn up to her stomach, hands wrapped around her ankle.
“You okay?”
Emma shook her head. “Foot hurts.”
“Can you stand?”
Emma scratched at the wall of packed dirt and grabbed hold of the uneven surface and pulled herself to her feet. “Think so.”
Addison dropped to her stomach and reached her hand down. But it was no use. At least three feet of air stood between their outstretched digits. She pulled away from the opening.
“Where are you going?” Emma’s voice was a few decibels too loud.
Addy turned back, looked down at the girl, and placed her finger over her lips to tell Emma to be quiet. Then she moved away again. She sat there for a few moments, taking in their surroundings. Was anyone out there? Watching and waiting for the right moment to move in? What about the afflicted? Had they heard the commotion?
As she rose, Addy made the pistol a little more accessible and retrieved her knife. It wasn’t solely for protection, though. She had an idea. Throughout their travels they’d come across these thick wild grape vines. Some were four inches or so in diameter. If she could find one and cut a chunk off, she could pull Emma out of the hole with it.
She walked to the edge of the pit, a little less concerned about it caving in. “I’m going to find something to get you out of there.”
Emma nodded and said nothing.
“You got that little Glock on you?”
Emma’s eyes widened as she seemed to recall the pistol at that moment. She reached behind her back.
“Don’t take it out now,” Addison said. “Just be ready if you hear some commotion out here. Okay? Don’t be stupid about it.”