"I hope your friends are better at this than you."
"I told you not to mess with her, Eric" said one of the women.
"Idiot," the girl standing next to him murmured.
The boy she disarmed raised his hands. "I surrender?"
"Shut up, put your weapons away, and get the hell out of there," Ally said.
In the dingy light of the early evening sky, blood stains stood out in stark contrast to the light clothing they wore. None of them were familiar to Ally.
"Please don't hurt us. We were trying to get out of here and then those things came in. We didn't know what to do…your truck was there and the back was open," Eric said.
Ally eyed the older man. "There any reason no one else is talking?" She walked up to the man and stared him in the eye. "You, for example. You're the eldest. So why the hell are you letting a boy negotiate your safety?"
She expected a sneer, a fist, maybe some spit, but not an open mouth with a small nub of cauterized meat where his tongue used to be. He raised an eyebrow at her in challenge.
"Okay, so you want to be free…you're free, get out of here. Good luck with the whole survival thing."
Sean ran up behind her and peered around her waist. "Ally, who are they? Are they staying with us?"
"They're like us, looking for freedom. I have no idea if they are staying."
The man who'd shown her his ruined mouth nudged Eric and made a few gestures with his hands.
"He wants to know if Jerry is dead," Eric said.
Ally shrugged. "No idea. We were busy escaping that hellhole. What is his name?" Ally asked, pointing to the man.
Eric stepped aside and pointed. "This is Glen, Mary, Lucy, and Amy."
They all nodded at one another but nobody offered to shake hands. Ally sensed the fear in them and wondered if taking them on was a good idea. Glen must have been one of the people who spoke against Jerry and became an example. More people to protect. More people she'd feel responsible for. More people to lie to and say everything would be okay. Wasn't she empty enough as is? She didn't have anything left to give to strangers.
"Are any of you reliable in a fight or are you going to run for cover?" Daniel said.
Glen puffed out his chest and motioned to the younger members of the group.
"He made us hide, he's the one who took out the soldiers in the motor pool to distract the zombies," Eric said.
Ally stepped toward them, Glen assumed a defensive stance. "I'm going to look in the back of our truck for my stuff, got it?"
He eased up, but Ally kept him neutral on her friend or foe list. She hopped up and found her bag under the bench. She hefted it over her shoulder and eyed the remains of their supplies.
"Daniel, about half the weapons and ammunition are still here. We're not in bad shape."
"That's good to know, but I still have no idea what your plan is."
Ally eyed the stowaways and debated how much to share. Hopefully, they wouldn't tag along. If Jerry was still alive he'd come after them, or at least he would try. She grabbed Sean and stood next to Kevin, wanting to be close to them.
"You can't see much from here, but two miles out is an entire city. The only way to get there is by boat. The last time I was there it was abandoned, except for a few of the more daring criminals who'd decided to call it home."
All eyes went to scan the horizon, but she knew they only saw a few dark blobs. She also knew it was their best bet. The chances of any bastards being there were close to zero, and they could deal with a few of the slower, gooier variety.
Daniel raised an eyebrow. "So you want us to... what? Live there? Did you forget the bacteria that started this whole zombie thing came from the goddamned ocean? You want us to fish for food? That's a solid plan, since the only things left down there are so mutated from radiation we'd die as soon as it crossed our lips."
Kevin spoke up. "And what would you have us do? Trek to the frigid north in the hopes we find your secret base that may or may not be there? At least Ally is trying to get us away from danger."
She felt Kevin's arm tighten around her waist and felt a bit of the burden on her shoulders shift.
"Are you insane? She's getting us away from the zombies and taking us to a fairy-tale. Those floating cities were built three hundred years ago, when people actually wanted to move here but didn't want to deal with a visa. What about power? Hostile inhabitants? The fact those places are ready to sink because of the toxic rain and salt in the air. What–"
"Enough, Daniel. I didn't say you had to come. This is my plan. It is what I am doing. You can take your damn truck and ride cross-country looking for that one safe place that doesn't exist anywhere. I'm taking my chances with a few drugged-out criminals to get where I want."
The other survivors watched Ally argue with Daniel like a tennis match. Glen nodded when both of them made valid points.
"What do you mean, get where you want?" Daniel stared at her, his eyes slits in his bruised and swollen face.
"Midway Island. It was set up for the military, abandoned, set up again, abandoned, and now is a combination of things. Storage, refueling station, boat maintenance and repair. The core population was never higher than thirty because the Firms controlled everything. We'll find supplies and a place to settle down. We can stop running and scraping by. We can stop being afraid."
The stowaways moved toward Ally's side, showing support for her plan. Daniel turned and walked toward the water. Ally didn't mention the last time she'd visited Midway was over a year before, and she'd overheard a few people complaining about the new plans to move Firm security there.
Daniel came back, shoulders slumped. "So, how do we accomplish the first part? And let me be clear, I am not swimming in that cesspool."
Ally walked to the end of the pavement right up until her hips came into contact with the edge of the railing. The water pushed against the support beams, a dark brown sludge. Seaweed, salt, and a hint of death filled her nostrils. The others around her pinched their noses and tried to hide a few gags. It wasn't pleasant, but to her it was home. She searched the area and sorted through the bits of plastic and rubber stuck in place until she found what she was looking for.
"Ally, not to stress you out or anything like that, but did you notice those cars down the way?" Kevin asked as he handed her a pair of glasses.
She slid them on and adjusted the zoom. About half a mile away, there was a pier with several slips and a launch area. Too many cars to count. Her heart sank. She cursed herself for not planning better. She should have known she wouldn't be the only person with this idea. Hell, anyone within a few hundred miles of the coast probably made for the floating cities when everything went to hell.
The glasses closed in on something else: bodies on the ground. "Everyone in the truck, close up the back."
Behind the wheel, she drove to the area. Body parts littered the boardwalk as they neared the pier. Windshields were splintered, single holes in them right around head-height. On the ground, the dead all bore the same gunshot wounds.
"I don't get it, why would someone kill them?" Daniel said, his voice low as if showing respect for the slain.
Ally slowed down and scanned the area. The shots had came from several angles, most originating from the water. "People will do whatever it takes to protect themselves. These folks were seen as a threat and taken care of." She parked the truck about a hundred feet away from the massacre and turned the engine off. "We'll camp out here tonight. In the morning we'll do a thorough search of the area, see what we can find."
Ally zoomed in on everything within range. No plumes of smoke, but she didn't rule out the possibility of survivors. Kevin's handed her a pouch and she accepted it with a smile.
"Mind if I sit up here for a bit? Daniel snores like a…whatever is loud and obnoxious."
"Come on up, the company would be nice."
"Want to fog up the windows?" Kevin slipped into the middle seat and wiggled his eyebrows.
"Uh huh, won't work when one of them is shattered, but nice try. I only need to keep watch and make sure we don't die horrible deaths."
"I guess I'm okay with that. Mind if I help? I have no idea what to look for or what to do if I see anything, but I do want to make your life easier."
Ally tapped the frame of the glasses and the night turned as bright as day. "Tell me about your life before all…this happened."
Kevin inched closer to her and placed his hand over hers. "Well, I was terribly handsome, wealthy, women falling at my feet, and then…this happened. The end."
Ally gave him a sideways glance. "Wow, that's edge-of-your-seat stuff."
He stared out the other side of the truck, his eyes far away, and she guessed his thoughts were somewhere else, too.
"What about you? I've heard rumors, but seeing you in action, I wonder how much is fact and how much is fiction."
She pulled her hand away but he grabbed it again. With her other hand she enlarged a section of the pier blocked by parked trucks. A good place to set up an ambush or a trap; they'd have to be careful tomorrow.
"Don't believe everything you hear, Kevin. I'm no superwoman. A regular person like you, with girl parts."
Kevin huffed. "I take offense to that. How do you know I don't have girl parts?"
Ally laughed. "Well, if you do, that makes things a whole lot more interesting."
He leaned his head back and sighed. "I like it when you laugh. I can see who you were before the world went to hell."
"Sorry to disappoint, but I've been like this a lot longer than that. Scowls with a side of irritation and ease of annoyance are my more pleasant character traits."
"I worked at a news station. Nothing exciting, fact-checking stories and spreading disinformation. When the attacks started, we were the first to run stories saying everything was going to be fine, because those were the facts they gave me." He chuckled, but it was full of self-derision. "We told people to stay in their homes and wait for help, that everything would be okay."
Ally changed position so she could look into his eyes and offer some sort of support.
"Every night when I go to bed, I wonder how many people died because of me. Died because I wasn't brave enough to disobey my boss. Died because I was a coward."
Ally squeezed his hand. "You can't do that to yourself. You did your job, and if you didn't they would have arrested and then publically executed you as a traitor."
He held her hand in an iron grip. "You don't get it. Millions of people died because of me. I can never undo that. You saved people. You got the message out. You stopped a nuclear catastrophe. If I'm going to make up for what I did, it will be by protecting you and keeping you safe."
She noticed the lines around his eyes and how thin he'd gotten over the last few days. Guilt settled in like an old friend. She'd been too busy with everything else to take a few minutes to see how he was doing. Kevin, who helped her tend to the more severe gashes and cuts when everyone headed to the back of the truck. Kevin who always made sure Sean was okay. Kevin who shared real coffee with her.
"If that's the way you think, then I'm responsible for the death of my friends and fiancé and who knows how many others. I had information–"
Kevin shook his head. "Ally, you were on a sabotaged submarine with those things. I know you, and I know you did everything you could to save them. As for the information, it wouldn't have made a difference. By the time you surfaced, it was too late."
Ally gave a sad smile. "Kevin, that's the thing, it was always too late. This thing, zombie apocalypse, end times, whatever you want to call it, has been in the works for a long time. The only people truly responsible are the researchers and the Firm members who thought it was time to cull the herd. None of this was your fault."
"I'm so tired." Kevin laid his head in her lap. She brushed the hair out of his eyes and kept watch while he slept.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Daniel tapped her on the shoulder an hour later and quirked a grin at Kevin sprawled across the row of seats, drool hanging out of his mouth.
"Get in the back and rest. We got a big day ahead of us."
Ally passed him the glasses and waited for a groggy Kevin to stumble to the back. When he was gone, she leaned in close to Daniel. "There's a section over there that would be a good spot for an ambush. We'll need to check it out on our own tomorrow."
"Got it, now get some sleep. You look like hell."
Ally stumbled over something and landed on top of Kevin. His eyes popped open and a smile spread across his face.
"Hi."
"Go back to sleep, this is a dream. This is not real," Ally said in her best robot impression.
"Damn, this is the best dream I've had in a long time. Feels real, too." He wrapped his arms around her and sighed.
She slid off and fell into a comfortable position next to him, then raised her head. Sean slept curled up at the other end. Relaxing once again, she thought of the challenges ahead of them. None of them were familiar with life on the water, or under it, except her. If they ran into people on the floating cities, they were likely to be former salvagers like her, or mercenaries who tended to have a very possessive attitude. Add drug addicts and criminals into the mix, and maybe she was leading them somewhere more dangerous.
Images of blood dripping from the mouths of the undead and the remembered sound of flesh tearing pumped a bit of confidence in her plan. If she was going to go down, better it be by the hands of a person and not the jaws of a zombie. The last thing she wanted was for Sean to see her as a ghoul.
Morning came too early. Ally's body still ached in several places and her bruised ribs made breathing agony. She stripped off her coat and top when she had some privacy and rewrapped the bandage after applying some more balm. Dressed and ready to go, she took one pain tablet, only enough to take the edge off.
Daniel waited with the others, each one eating out of a dark green pouch. She caught hers easily when it was thrown to her and finished the contents in a few bites. Sean was talking to one of the younger girls. Ally thought her name was Amy. They were a few years apart, but it didn't matter; kids grew up fast these days.
"Ready to go? I told them to stay here. Glen and Kevin are going to watch out for them," Daniel said.
"Let's get this done." Ally looked one last time at Kevin, happy to see his eyes were a bit brighter.
They walked to the area Ally had identified the night before and stopped twenty feet short. Both of them began the tedious search for triggering mechanisms, hidden wires, or signs of recent activity. Ally counted twenty-seven dead. Daniel handed her the glasses. She put them on and, as expected, did not see anything to indicate what had happened. All she could do was make assumptions. The dead people were civilians and survivalists. Some had families. If they'd had weapons, there was no sign of them now. The backs of all the cars and trucks were emptied out, which meant someone had needed the supplies.
"This isn't looking good, Ally."
"I know, but these bodies are months old. Look at the insect activity." She kicked at one, and the stomach popped open, a cascade of maggots and six-legged creatures erupting out.
Daniel turned green at the smell and jumped back when the head turned toward him.
"There's no trail to follow. Whoever did this might have been in a truck and took them out for the goods, or they came in from the ocean and left the same way."
Daniel glared at her. "Great, that'd great. You still think your plan is solid?"
She ignored him and walked over to the launch. A single boat remained, one with enough room for twelve people. The rope was tied off in a neat knot, no water had collected in the bottom, no dirt or grime covered the seats, and the faintest hint of a boot print could be seen in the sludge. She slipped on the glasses and put them in tracking mode after zooming in on the possible print.
A series of them glowed brightly. She followed them a hundred feet inland to an empty parking spot. Waving to Daniel she ran back t
o the others.
"Grab your gear. We're out of here in three minutes."
"What the hell?" Daniel asked.
When the others were out of earshot she told him what she saw. "They sent a crew here within the last day or so to get supplies. That boat is their way back. It's our one chance, unless you'd like to swim."
"Ah, Hell. I'll get my stuff, but I still don't like this plan."
"I still don't care," she said.
Ally grabbed her bag and slung it over her shoulder. With the help of Glen, Daniel, and Kevin, they moved the boxes to the boat. She moved the truck to the leeward side of a storage shed. The shattered driver's side window wasn't something they could fix, so she hoped they had no reason to come back for it.
Back at the boat, she herded the people aboard. "Okay, Sean and Amy you sit in the middle." She grabbed an oar and waited as Kevin, Glen, and Daniel did the same.
The two-mile trip took over an hour and a half. The thick layer of sludge on top of two centuries' worth of trash made navigation difficult. Five times, they had to change course to avoid a hazard or bypass hunks of debris.
When they were within a half mile, Ally put the glasses on and checked for any signs of life. The zoom function allowed her to see over a dozen of the floating cities, each one five hundred feet long by three hundred feet deep. Tall towers dominated the landscape, old rusted-out bits of reflected metal dotted the tops of everything. Solar panels for a time when there was a sun.
Ally knew the numbers varied for each place, but on average there were two hundred apartments and three shopping areas for essential needs. A small docking station was on the right side of each one. The ferries used to transport people to and from the mainland were gone from some, floating rogue by others.
They decided not to go to the closest one, directing the boat to the rear of the crumbling aquapolis. The true condition became clearer. Beams bent at odd angles, shattered windows, and cracking walls. A few towers for satellite communications hung at ninety degree angles, some seemed ready to tip over with the slightest wind. Railings were missing along the lower walkways and Ally noticed damage to the underside of the one they were securing themselves to. She wondered what could make such a dent, then looked down into the inky abyss and shivered.
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