Derek shook his head. “And by the way, I’m not a civilian in the true sense of the word. I’m ex Army and a combat veteran.”
“Really?”
“Yeah…really.”
“Ok. So...”
Derek frowned. “Considering the fact that there is a dead demon at your feet and another one pounding the hatch over your head. I think we need to move on.”
“Why do you keep saying that?”
“Saying what?”
“Demon...”
“I’ll explain later. Right now I need to get back to my friends.”
“Where are they?”
Derek turned and headed back in the direction he had come. “This way,” he said. “They’re one deck down.”
“Wait a minute,” she said, “I have the gun. Better let me go first.”
“Maybe you should give me the gun,” Derek said. “I’ve been fighting these things for a while now.”
“No… I don’t think I’ll be giving up this gun any time soon,” she said.
“Can you get me one?”
“I’ll see what I can do.”
Shanna took the lead as they headed out again.
“An M-4 and a M9…with a holster please.”
“I told you I would see what I can do,” she said.
Derek followed her. They passed many empty rooms before coming to a locked compartment near a ladder which dropped down to the deck below. Petty Officer Johnston took the large collection of keys from her pocket and opened the door.
“I’m Derek by the way.”
“Petty Officer Johnston,” she replied.
“I’m a civilian… as you like to point out. So I need a first name.”
She looked at him and frowned. “Shanna.”
“Ok Shanna. Nice to meet you,” Derek said. “Now that we have that out of the way can you hook me up with some artillery?”
Shana rolled her eyes.
They entered the room and walked over to a closed cabinet on the far wall. Derek could smell the unmistakable odor of Break Free gun oil. Shanna inserted the key, turned the lock and opened the cabinet door revealing a cache of small arms and ammo.
“Can your friends handle weapons?” she asked.
“Oh yeah. John is ex Navy and Amy can hold her own. Jimmy is only ten years old but he can handle a pistol.”
Great,” she said grabbing an M-4 from the cabinet and slinging it over her shoulder. “What’s your poison?”
“M-4, give me three. One for each of us. We will all need a M9.”
She pulled four M9 pistols from the cabinet and set them on a table nearby.
“And last but not least. I’ll take the shot gun too.”
They loaded the pistols and ammo in a canvas bag. After Derek checked his M-4 and inserted a clip he slung the shotgun over his shoulder and they set out again.
They dropped down a nearby ladder and dogged the hatch. Shanna stopped and stared up at the hatch nervously. The lights flickered out plunging them into total darkness. After a few seconds they came back on. Shanna gasped.
“What is it?” Derek asked.
“Going down makes me nervous,” Shanna said. “Eventually we’ll have to go back up.”
“I know what you mean,” Derek said taking the lead.
“I knew you were going to do that,” Shanna commented.
“Well, nothing personal but I’m a lot bigger than you. Just makes sense.”
“So you think you should be in the lead just because you’re a man?”
“What?” Derek said. “Are you serious?”
“If you want to be the first one bitten, go ahead there Mr. army man,” Shanna said with a smirk.
Derek frowned.
Shanna followed him down the passageway. They came to an intersection where two passageways met. They went left and walked to the third compartment on the right. Derek tapped on the door of the compartment and opened it. It was obvious the room was unoccupied.
“Empty,” he said. “I don’t get it. They’re not here”.
“Are you sure you came this way?” Shanna asked. “This was the chief’s berthing. With only about fifteen percent of the ships normal compliment on board, this area has been pretty much empty since we left Norfolk.”
“I thought I came this way but I guess not.”
“So obviously you didn’t learn navigation in the Army,” Shanna said.
She turned to head back in the direction they had come. They were ten feet from the intersection when she stopped abruptly. Derek bumped into her.
“What’s the hold up?” he said.
“Shush…” she said. “You hear that?”
Derek listened closely. Footsteps could be heard approaching. They looked at each other nervously.
A walking corpse turned the corner and came into view. He was average height and dressed in Navy work pants and a white t-shirt. His face was bloody and bruised. His feet bare.
Shanna pulled the pistol from its holster and raised it toward the zombie. Ready to shoot.
“Wait.” Derek said stepping in front of her.
“What do you mean wait. It’s a stiff for God’s sake. It could be one of those demon things. And do not step in front of me when I raise this weapon. That’s a good way to get shot. Now get out of the way.”
“It’s not a demon,” Derek said. “And it’s not a regular zombie. It’s a gomer. It won’t hurt you.”
“Gomer… Are you kidding me? What in the hell is a gomer?”
“They think they’re still alive. And, they won’t hurt you. I actually bought some fishing bait from one back in Charleston.”
“You said that with a straight face…”
“Because I’m not kidding. It even gave me change.” Derek said smiling.
Shanna lowered her weapon. “Well, I’m keeping this thing pointed at the deck but one false move and your gomer’s dead. Again...”
The gomer grunted. Derek and Shanna looked at each other as the gomer shrugged and headed off down the passageway. He high stepped several steps, stopped, and looked back at them.
“You see the way he walks?” Derek said. “That’s one way to tell them apart. They lift their feet high and kind of slap them down. Like someone walking in swim fins.”
“Too weird,” Shanna replied.
The gomer moved away. This time watching them over his shoulder. He walked a few steps and stopped again. After waiting a couple of seconds he grunted.
“I think he wants us to follow him,” Derek said.
“Yeah… right into a trap.”
“No I don’t think so,” Derek said walking slowly toward the gomer. “Come on.”
“I’m right behind you army but I’m not putting my gun away. If he tries anything you better hit the deck. Don’t make me shoot through you to hit him.”
“Don’t worry. He won’t try anything.”
They followed the dead sailor’s zombie to the next passageway It turned and looked at them to make sure they were still following and went left.
The gomer he had stopped in front of a compartment door and stood staring at it. His shoulders drooped and his head lowered, blood ran from the corner of his mouth. Derek and Shanna approached him and stopped a few feet away.
“We’re here,” Derek whispered. “He led us to them.”
“That’s amazing…” Shanna said staring wide eyed at the zombie.
The gomer turned to look at them one more time and turned back to the door. He lifted a bloody knuckle and tapped. He looked directly into Shanna’s eyes at which time she realized she knew the man. This was one of the ship’s Hospital Corpsman.
“I know him,” she whispered to Derek as the gomer turned and headed off in the opposite direction. “I knew him…” she said again, a look of disbelief on her face.
“Who is it?” came a voice from behind the door.
“It’s Derek.”
The door opened. Amy stepped out into the passageway. “Thank God you’re back,” she
said.
Derek pointed to the gomer who had stopped and was staring at them with droopy un-dead eyes.
“Oh my God,” she said. “That’s one of the guys that showed us to our room.”
“Yeah he was a Corpsman,” Shanna said. “I knew him but not very well.” She stuck her hand out to Amy. “I’m Shanna Johnston.”
“Petty Officer Johnston…” Derek corrected.
Amy took her hand and shook it.
“I’m Amy. Nice to meet you. And this,” Amy said putting her hand on Jimmy’s shoulder and pulling him to her side. “is Jimmy”
“Hi Jimmy,” Shanna said.
“Hi,” he said looking at his feet.
John stepped out from behind Amy. “I’m John. Look I hate to break up the niceties but do you know what happened?”
“Yeah,” Amy said. “How did zombies get on the ship?”
“I don’t know,” she answered. “One second I was heading to my watch station and the next I was running for my life.”
The gomer grunted and sat down on the deck where it had been standing. Everyone glanced over.
“That thing makes me nervous,” Shanna said.
“It’s ok, we’ll keep an eye on it. As far as we can tell most of them are harmless,” John said.
“Most of them?” Shanna asked.
“Unless you run into one that happens to be a serial killer…” Derek added.
Shanna looked at him with a puzzled look and glanced at Amy.
“It’s a long story,” Derek said. “One of the demons introduced itself to Shanna.”
“Charming creatures,” Amy said. “At least you lived to tell about it.”
“Would someone please explain to me why you keep calling these things demons?” Shanna said.
“We believe this type of zombie may actually be possessed by a demon. Far fetched I know but we have our reasons,” Amy answered.
Shanna laughed. “And those reasons would be?”
“Are you sure you want to go into this right now,?” John said looking at Amy.
“I’m all ears,” Shanna said.
“OK,” John said.
They went into the compartment and closed and latched the door.
“You know there is no such thing as demons right?” Shanna said.
“I’ll start at the beginning,” John said.
“The short version,” Amy said. “You can fill in the details later.”
“Right,” John Said glancing at Amy with an annoyed look on his face. “Demons like the one you ran into are one of three types of zombies. The regular zombies are just reanimated corpses. Dumb, uncurious, slow and not very bright. They’re not smart enough to solve problems.”
“But still deadly if they get a hold of you,” Derek said. “And they run in packs which makes them even more dangerous.”
“Right,” John said. “Then there are the gomers.
“Why gomers?” Shanna asked. “Who came up with that name?”
“He did,” Amy said pointing at John and frowning.
John continued. “Anyway the gomers seem to be somehow connected to the real world. How we don’t know.”
“One theory,” Amy said, “is that the person the gomer once was may still be in there.”
“That’s crazy,” Shanna said. “They’re dead.”
“Yeah but…we don’t think they know they’re dead,” John said. “Some seem to just be going through the motions of doing the things they did when they were alive and some seem to be, well… conscious. Like the guy who led you here.”
“Yeah he’s obviously a stiff but he knew where you were,” Shanna said.
“Right,” John said.
“So there could actually be more than three types,” Shanna said.
“I’ve never thought of it that way, but you could be right,” John said.
“No no no,” Amy said excitedly, “let’s think about this for a minute.”
“Ok miss short story,” John said.
“Seriously John,” Amy shot back. “Not more than three types but maybe there are…” she paused raising her eyebrows. “Maybe there are different levels of consciousness with gomers.”
“You mean like the difference between insects, rodents, pigs and so on?” Derek said.
“Yes!” Amy said excitedly punching Derek on the arm. “Exactly!”
Shanna looked confused. She wasn’t buying any of this. “You guys have lost your minds.” she said.
“Maybe,” Derek said, “but we’ve been trying to figure this out for days. We’re ripe with theories. Like most survivors I guess we’re just desperate to understand what’s going on”
“Obviously,” Shanna said. “It is fascinating but these things aren’t real demons for God’s sake. We have stiffs or regular zombies, gomers and demons. I’ll play along. Which leads me back to my original question. What exactly are demons and how did you come to that conclusion?”
John stepped forward again. “I first encountered them on the first day all this started. I knew they were different but I couldn’t quite put my finger on why.”
“Different how?” Shanna asked.
“Different as in faster, more agile and more deliberate in the way they acted,” John said. “I actually saw one throw a brick through a large window to give the regular zombies a way to get in my hotel.”
“So why call them demons?”
“At first it was just because they were more vicious and evil than the others. Over time we noticed other things.” John said.
“We think they are regular zombies that have been basically possessed by demons,” Derek added.
“Possessed? By actual demons?” Shanna said wide eyed. “That’s just bat shit crazy. You guys have watched too many horror movies. I don’t believe in God or all that paranormal bullshit.”
“Did you believe in zombies?” Jimmy asked stepping out from behind Amy. “Did you?”
“Point taken,” Shanna said. “But still... there’s another explanation.”
“We’ve seen them jump from one zombie to another,” Derek said.
“What do you mean jump from one to another?” Shanna asked.
“When you kill one we’ve seen another one nearby suddenly turn into a demon zombie and charge,” John said. “Like it jumped out of one and into another.
“You know that sounds crazy right?” Shanna said. “Like I said... there has to be another explanation.”
“The first time it happened was at the aquarium in Charleston, then in the alley behind the church,” Amy said.
“How many demons have you seen?” Shanna asked.
“A lot,” Derek said. “At the hotel where I worked, Fort Sumter, the bridge, the lighthouse and at the TV station.”
“Come to think of it we’ve seen them at every stop since all this started,” John said.
“So in other words they’re pretty much everywhere,” Shanna said.
“Pretty much,” Derek said.
“Well at least they can be killed just like the others,” Shanna said. “Still don’t buy the whole demon thing though. Different kinds of zombies maybe but...”
“Well, you may think differently if you had seen the things we’ve seen,” Amy said, “and yes you can kill them but you may have to deal with it again later if they take over another zombie.”
“The good thing is it’s not hard to pick them out of a crowd once you’ve seen them,” Derek added.
“Right,” John said.
Just as Derek was about to speak again there was a tap at the door. Everyone froze.
A gunshot rang out. The echo reverberated through the compartment and in the passageway outside the door. Derek raise his M-4 and pushed everyone back.
There was another knock. More forceful this time.
“I’m Petty Officer Glenn Grayson,” came a voice from the other side of the door. “If you’re in there open up please.”
“Have you been bitten,” Derek said.
“No,” he said. “H
ave you?”
“No,” Derek answered.
Derek stepped back away from the door and gestured for John to step up and open it.
“Stand back,” John yelled. “I’m opening the door.”
He unlatched the door and slowly pulled it open. Standing there grasping his navy issued M9 service weapon was a Petty Officer Third Class Master at Arms. The MA rating was the Navy’s security force aboard ship and on land. The sailor’s short red hair was unkempt. His uniform splattered with blood. He looked very young to John. He was part of the security detail that met them when they landed. Shanna knew him but not very well.
He stuck his hand out to John. “I’m Petty Officer Grayson,” he said. “You can call me Glenn. Hi Petty Officer Johnston. Good to see you. I was afraid I may be the only one left alive.”
“What were you shooting at?” Amy asked.
“There was a stiff right there in the passageway.”
“Oh no,” Amy said
“What do you mean oh no?” Glenn said.
“It was a gomer,” Amy said. “I know you don’t know what that is but it wouldn’t have hurt you.”
Glenn glanced at Shanna. “Is she serious?” he asked.
“Yes she is,” Shanna said. “It led us here actually. We weren’t sure where they were and he brought us right to the door.”
“There’s more than one kind of zombie,” Amy said. “That kind wouldn’t have hurt you.”
“More than one kind? I could have told you that,” Glenn said. “But I’ve only seen two kinds and they both wanted to kill me.”
“Two?” Amy said.
“He’s seen a demon,” Derek said.
“I don’t know anything about a demon but I’ve seen the regular stiffs and then there were two that chased me off the bridge,” Glenn said. “They were fast. And… well, smart. Or at least more so than the others.”
“Yep,” Derek said. “That’s a demon.”
“Do you know what happened?” John asked.
“I’m not sure,” Glenn said. “The only difference from before and after was you guys showing up.”
John, Amy and Derek looked at each other.
“Do you think we brought them here?” Amy asked.
“You said it not me,” Glenn answered.
A sound like thunder traveled through the ship. The deck plates shook under their feet. A metallic groan emanated through the ship.
The Demon Dead (Book 2): Troubled Waters Page 2