A flurry of curses carries across the water. The two men haul ass back toward the Fairhaven on their paddleboard, arguing the whole way.
“I told you the owners were coming back,” Ben says.
“How was I supposed to know they’d come by water?” Caleb snaps.
“Shut up and paddle!”
Fear and irritation pound in my temples. I can’t listen to them anymore.
“How long before those boats reach us?” I ask Susan.
Her lips press into a thin line. “Three minutes, tops. Leo, I need your help.” Susan passes him a funnel. “I need you to start pouring the gas in as soon as Caleb and Ben get here. I’m going to fire up the Fairhaven.”
Leo positions the funnel in the gas opening just as the paddleboard bumps up against the side of the boat. Caleb lobs the first gas canister over the side. Reed passes it to Leo, who immediately begins pouring it into the funnel.
“There’s a bunker on shore,” Caleb says in a rush as he clambers on board. “Enough stuff to stock Creekside for a month. We think those guys are the owners.” He jerks a thumb at the oncoming boats.
“And dipshit here set off their tripwire.” Ben jumps onto the deck, face flushed with fury. He marches over to the weapons pack, pulling out ammo clips and his rifle. It’s a really bad time to notice how good he looks mostly naked, or that fact that he found a new pair of underwear.
“Hope you’re ready to shoot that thing.” Ben hands me an extra clip of ammo. His face is set, eyes focused. “Get ready to defend the Fairhaven.”
The boats are no longer dots on the horizon. They’re close enough for me to see that they’re two speedboats. A look through the binoculars shows me three men on each boat, all of them armed. They’re closing in on us.
“We have to go,” I shout. “Leo, close the fuel tank. Susan, fire up the Fairhaven. We’re out of time.”
The Fairhaven sputters to life, the charter boat coughing as fuel races back through its engine. Susan leans into the accelerator.
“Come on, girl,” she murmurs. “Get us the hell out of here.”
“We can’t outrun those boats.” Ben raises his rifle, sighting down the scope. His lean muscles are taut, the tattoos tense along both arms as he takes aim.
Before he can fire, gunshots crack from our pursuers. Bullets pierce the water on either side of us. One bullet hits the back of the Fairhaven.
“Motherfuckers,” Susan screams.
Ben fires. A spray of glass goes up from the closest of the speedboats.
Almost as soon as Ben starts shooting, the speedboats fall back. They slow enough to stay out of range, but close enough to tail us.
“Fuckers,” Ben growls, lowering his gun.
The Fairhaven gains speed as Susan aims the boat in a southward direction. Directly in front of us looms Indian Island, a small chunk of land that sits in the middle of Humboldt Bay. Susan aims her boat toward a narrow channel on the east side of the island. The speedboats continue to follow us.
“What do you think they want?” I ask.
“That bunker is where they store their supplies,” Ben says. “Most likely they want to protect it.”
“But we’ve left. We didn’t steal anything besides gas from sunk boats.”
“They don’t know that.”
“You think they want to risk a shootout over some stuff even after we’ve left?”
He shakes his head. “I don’t know what they want. But they’re following us, which isn’t a good sign.” He stalks away and grabs his fatigues, climbing back into them.
“Leo,” I say, “any idea who these guys are? Did you have any run-ins with them when you lived in Eureka?”
“No,” Leo replies. “We occasionally spotted other groups when we were out scavenging, but mostly we avoided one another.”
The speedboats maintain a safe distance behind us, but always stay within eyesight. I edge over to Ben, who is once again fully clothed.
“Do you think they’re herding us into an ambush?”
“The thought did cross my mind.” His gaze flicks to the speedboats and back to me. “We need people on the bow and stern.”
I nod. “Eric, Caleb, Reed, come with me,” I call. “We’re keeping watch on the bow. Ben, Ash, and Leo, you guys patrol the stern.”
As I lead my team onto the bow, the Fairhaven leaves Indian Island behind. We return to the wider part of the bay. To our right is a narrow peninsula dotted with homes and rolling sand dunes. On our left is the city of Eureka.
I haven’t seen Eureka since I first journeyed to Arcata to find Carter. At that time, I’d been able to navigate the city and avoid zombies by being quiet.
That wouldn’t be possible now. The waterfront streets I once moved through on foot are now packed with zombies. They turn in our direction as we approach, many of them walking right into the water as they attempt to follow our sound.
“Oh, my God,” Reed says. “It’s a Costco! Anyone want to try and load up on samples before we go to Fort Ross?” He points to the giant wholesale store that backs up to the bay.
“Pay attention,” Ben snaps at him.
Costco. It’s surrounded by the undead. I can’t help but wonder what might be inside. Maybe when Johnny and Gary learn more of the alpha language, we’ll be able to drive the zombies back and get inside the store. But these are thoughts for another day.
I turn my attention back to the water. It’s a clear path between here and Hookton Channel, the waterway that leads from Humboldt Bay to the open waters of the Pacific Ocean.
The speedboats are still tailing us. My unease ratchets up several notches. Everything is looking too easy.
I edge around the boat in Susan’s direction. She’s the only one of us that’s seen this waterway semi-recently. “Do you recall anything about this area those guys might use against us?”
Susan’s expression is tight. “That’s the town of Samos.” She points to a tiny town on the peninsula to our right. It’s little more than a scattering of homes and rolling sand dunes. “That’s where Gary was attacked by the great white. There’s a lot of zoms in the water. This area is dangerous. If those pricks on the speedboats make a move, it’s going to be in here.”
“Kate, there’s something in the water,” Eric calls from the bow. “Grab the binoculars.”
I hurry back to the bow, binos in hand. I study the area of water indicated by Eric. The water is dotted with pale white objects.
“Are those ... ?” I frown, leaning closer for a better look. What I see chills me to my core. “Holy fuck. We’re in trouble.”
All across the bay are zombies. Hundreds and hundreds of zombies, all of them thrashing around in the water. There’s no clear path through them.
“What is it?” Ben hustles over to us. His nostrils flare when he sees the zombies. “Motherfuckers. It’s a trap.”
“What’s happening?” Susan demands.
There’s no time to sugarcoat our situation. “The bay is clogged with zombies.”
“How? They should be sinking?” Susan’s voice is pitched with panic. “They always sink unless they’re really dead.”
All I can do is stare at the hundreds of undead in the water. As we get closer, I see ropes around the zombie necks, holding them in place. Someone captured all these zombies and strung them across this section of the bay.
“We are so fucked if any of those body parts get stuck in the propeller,” Susan cries. “We have to do something!”
“Those assholes drove us right into their dragnet,” Ben growls. “Fucking pirates.”
A look over my shoulder confirms Ben’s suspicion. The two speedboats are edging closer to us. If we accelerate to get away, we risk our boat getting tangled in the zombies.
“God damn assholes,” Ben snarls. “If those fuckers want an old-fashioned shoot-out, I’ll give them one.”
48
Dead Waters
BEN
His attention narrows on the two speedboats. Ben can
practically feel the smug bastards gloating. No way are these fuckers getting the best of them.
“Eric, Ash, Caleb,” he barks. “Rifles up! We’re going to take out those bastards. The goal is to kill them before they get close enough to kill us.”
“I’m a good shot.” Leo shoulders up with his rifle. “I’ve been hunting since I was a kid.”
Ben nods. “Line up, soldier.” He, Caleb, Ash, Eric, and Leo spread out in a line along the stern.
“I need everyone else up here,” Kate calls. “We’re going to shoot through the ropes. The zoms will sink if the rope isn’t holding them up. Susan, keep the boat moving. We’ll clear the way for you.”
Kate wastes no time getting to work. The sound of gunfire is the best music Ben has heard since they started this insane mission. He can’t help feel a burst of pride as he watches Kate take aim from the bow.
He turns his attention back to the assholes in the speedboat. Ben raises his rifle and sights down the scope, looking for the first bastard who’s going to die.
He exhales and taps the trigger. His shot goes wide, splitting the windshield. Fuck. He’s a decent shot, but hitting a moving target at two hundred yards while standing on the back of a charter boat is a tall order.
The rifles crack on either side of him as his companions open fire. One man on a speedboat goes down.
“Hell, yeah,” Eric mutters. “Take that, asshole.”
As Ben sights through the scope again, he sees his next target raise his own rifle. Fuck. These guys really need to die.
Bullets pierce the water all around them, a few even hitting the Fairhaven. The rest of his companions crouch low for cover, but Ben maintains an upright position. He shoots three more times, finally dropping his target. He edges the rifle to the right, sighting on the next target.
Kate’s voice carries to him. “We’re through! The zoms are sinking. Gun it, Susan!”
Ben shifts his weight, anticipating the momentum of increased speed. The slight movement saves his life. A bullet whizzes just past his ear and hits the driver’s console.
“Shit!” Susan cries. “Will someone please get rid of those fuckers before they kill me?”
The charter boat picks up speed. They’re fully in the zombie dragnet now, the tethered dead thrashing as their bodies are dragged down by their own weight.
Ben once again takes aim, this time focusing his crosshairs on the driver of the closest boat. The man is hunched over the wheel while his companions fire on the Fairhaven. All Ben can see are his eyes and the top of his head.
It will have to be enough. He squeezes the trigger three times in rapid succession. The top of the driver’s head explodes in a shower of blood and windshield glass.
Then he hears the hollow thunk-thunk-thunk of bullets hitting flesh. He turns in time to see Leo. The man had propped himself up on one knee to fire at their pursuers. Red blooms across the front of his shirt. The rifle falls from his hands.
“Dammit!” Ben catches Leo as he falls. “Man down! Susan, get us the fuck out of here.”
The Fairhaven rumbles forward through the churning waters. Zombie hands scratch at the side of the boat. Susan ducks down, steering as best she can while gunshots ring behind us. Ash, Caleb, and Eric remain crouched down behind the stern and continue to fire.
“Leo!” Kate skitters across the desk, hunched over to avoid the bullets. “Ash, I need you over here!”
Even before Kate reaches Leo, Ben knows the other man is dead. He’s seen enough men die to know all the signs. The slack muscles. The unhinged jaw. The blank, staring eyes. And the blood. Too much fucking blood.
“Leo.” Kate presses her hands over the open wounds as blood fountains up between her fingers. “Ash!” she yells again.
Ash drops to all fours and crawls over to them.
“Leo!” Kate is near hysteria.
“He’s gone.” Ash, face crumpled with grief, presses her fingers against the side of Leo’s neck. “He’s gone, Kate.”
“No,” Kate snaps. “There must be something you can do.”
Ash stares, eyes moving between Kate and Leo. “I’m sorry, Kate.”
“No, no, no!” Kate pounds her fists on the deck. “Not another one!” Tears of anger and frustration pour from her eyes.
Ben watches the grief take her again. The guilt. It would be easier to have someone peel the skin from his body.
“We’re past the dragnet,” Susan calls. “I’m taking us into the ocean.” The hum of the Fairhaven’s engine increases as the boat picks up speed in the open water.
“They’re not following,” Caleb calls. “They’re slowing down!”
Probably because they don’t want to waste the gas it would require to pursue them out into open water, Ben thinks grimly. The fuckers put their zombie dragnet here for a reason.
Ben shifts, wanting to comfort Kate, but Reed and Eric beat him to it. They kneel on either side, each putting their arms around her. He watches her draw comfort from them. The tension inside him eases, even though the desire to go to her doesn’t subside.
He always thinks of Reed, Eric, Carter, Jenna, Johnny, and Lila as the “original” Creekside members. Even though the core group has opened their arms to new members—himself included—there’s a closeness between them that doesn’t include anyone else. Ben has never been much of a joiner, but there are times when he’s envious of them. Times like now.
“What the hell just happened?” Kate demands of no one in particular. She wipes at her eyes as Ash drapes a tarp over Leo’s body.
“Trap,” Ben says. “We triggered their alert back in Manila when we stumbled into their stockpile. They drove us neatly into a trap they set up to catch other boats.” At least his team had taken out a few of the assholes.
He doesn’t even want to think about how they’re going to get back to Arcata when the time comes. This area of the bay has definitely been taken over by a hostile group. It will be a problem they’ll have to deal with at some point.
No one speaks. They stand in a lopsided circle around Leo’s shrouded body. Poor bastard. Blood seeps out from under the tarp. The whine of the speedboats is gone, their pursuers no longer behind them
“Put Leo’s body over the side,” Kate says, voice hollow.
49
Open Water
KATE
I look at my watch. Six hours and twenty-three minutes. That’s how much time has passed since I last spoke to Alvarez.
We sail through Hookton’s Channel and enter the wide waters of the Pacific Ocean. The sea is frothy with slate-gray waves.
I sit apart from the others, turning out to face the ocean.
A man died because of me today. A good man. And it’s all my fault.
The ocean spray hits me in the face. I close my eyes, trying to soak in the serenity of the open waves.
It doesn’t work.
For some reason, I don’t see Leo’s face behind my closed lids. I see his chest where the bullets struck him. I see red that blooms like a Rorschach test before my eyes.
The land blurs by on my left, the pale dun-colored beach and the taller dark brown rock cliffs. To my right, the ocean is unending miles of slate blue.
Time fades into the background. I can’t escape the Rorschach blotch. I see it in the variegated patterns of the ocean cliffs. I see it in the ebbing shadows of the ocean. I see it behind my eyelids when the sun hits them.
I don’t turn when I feel a weight on the seat next to me. I don’t want to talk to anyone.
“I volunteered to try and convince you to eat dinner.” Ben’s gruff voice washes over me. “But I know you don’t want to eat.”
“You’re right. I don’t.” I keep my eyes closed, not ready to face a living human right now.
“You’re blaming yourself for Leo’s death. I get that.”
Relief washes over me. I’m glad he doesn’t try to tell me it’s not my fault. “The worst part is that I broke up a family. Todd doesn’t have anyone now. Leo wa
s his uncle, his flesh and blood. Real biological families are a rarity these days.”
“Todd has us. Families in this new world are made from the scraps of the old. You know that better than anyone.”
I finally turn toward him. “When the hell did you become a poet?”
He grimaces. “Every once in a while, my brain decides it’s okay to connect with my mouth. It’s not going to be an everyday thing so don’t get too excited.”
Our eyes lock. I study his gray irises. I see more in his eyes than I want to.
I let my gaze wander, taking in the handsome seams around his eyes, the ones that carry the sorrow he wears on his arms. The white shadow of stubble across his jaw accentuates the strong angle of his face.
If he’d remained silent, what would things have been like the night we kissed?
“I’d be in trouble if you were like this all the time,” I murmur.
“No chance of that happening.” His breath whooshes out of his lungs. “Not that I need to tell you that. I’m not a nice guy.”
“That’s not true. You’re one of the most selfless people I know. You just chose to let the asshole take the lead most days.”
Another long look passes between us. The yearning I feel in my chest threatens to crack me open. I’m the first to look away.
“Nothing will bring Leo back,” I say.
“No. Nothing.” Ben sighs. It’s a heavy, weighted sound. “If I bring you some food, will you eat? It will put everyone else on the boat at ease. It won’t fix things for you, I get that. But is it so bad to fix things for the ones you love?” He gestures with his chin to the far side of the boat.
Eric and Reed sit side by side, each of them eating out of a can of chili. They stare at me, concern plain on their faces.
My heart swells at the sight of them. Ben is right. I do love them. They’re as much mine as Carter and Jenna.
“You’d do anything else for them,” Ben says. “What’s a little food in comparison to running through Arcata with alpha zoms after us?”
Reed lifts the can in my direction, head cocked in question. “Food, Mama?” he calls.
Undead Ultra Box Set | Books 1-4 Page 84