Blood on the Sand (Z Plan)

by Lerma, Mikhail

  He could wait for night fall and sneak in. That had almost worked before. If it weren’t for him firing his weapon they’d have followed his scent till they lost it.

  “In and out,” he said.

  He shut off the engine and lowered the anchor once more, just outside the mouth of the marina. He hadn’t gone far north, and he could still see the beach. If he ran he could easily fetch the bags and be back within ten minutes. For now, Cale went to check on Adam. He found the two boys sitting in the room. They were speaking their first language, Hebrew, which Cale didn’t understand.

  “How are you doing?” Cale asked.

  “It hurts to breath,” he said in his little voice.

  Cale hoped he hadn’t broken anything when he delivered compressions.

  “He will be fine,” Matthew started, “thanks to you.”

  He almost sounded reluctant to say the last part. Cale dismissed it. He probably wouldn’t trust a man he’d just met either. Matthew was only being cautious and protective; something Cale too was guilty of when it came to his own brothers.

  “Why don’t you two get some rest? I’m going to figure out how I’m going to get our bags.”

  “You’re going back out there?” Matthew said, sounding concerned.

  “You guys will need your clothes and I had gathered some good supplies.”

  Adam looked scared again.

  “I’ll go by myself. You can stay here on the boat.”

  “What if you don’t come back?” Matthew questioned.

  “I’ll be back,” he answered confidently.

  Cale spent the rest of the day looking at the map. If he got off at the marina he could easily run down the street and out to the beach. They’d have to moor the boat to one of the docks and barricade the path to it. Matthew would have to keep watch, but it was doable.

  Cale packed up the map and moved out to look at the city. Adam was up and exploring the boat.

  “What ya doing?” Cale said sounding friendly.

  He had startled him, but then Adam laughed.

  “Looking around,” he said cutely.

  “Where is your brother?”

  “He is still sleeping.”

  “You hungry?” Cale asked.

  “YEAH!” Adam shouted.

  Cale led him into the galley and placed some MREs on the table.

  “Your choice, do you want veggie omelet or beef ravioli?”

  “Beef ravioli,” he said excitedly.

  Adam seemed to trust him, but he’d have to work to win Matthew over. Cale warmed up the meal while Adam waited patiently. It wasn’t gourmet, but to a kid who had only had one meal in the last two days it didn’t matter. Cale watched Adam eat. He looked weak and starving. Cale thought about what those kids had endured, and then thought about where they’d be if he hadn’t found them. It was a miracle.

  Matthew, still groggy, entered the room. He sat down next to his brother.

  “I told you to wake me up when you got up,” he said angrily.

  “I forgot,” Adam said innocently.

  Matthew rolled his eyes and grabbed the other MRE. He opened the brown plastic bag and began sorting through it.

  “You can warm up your food with---” Cale started.

  “I don’t need it,” Matthew said shortly.

  “Oh, okay,” Cale said.

  Matthew was still hostile toward, him and he didn’t want to pressure him anymore, so he ignored the boy’s tone. They sat in silence till their meal was over.

  “I’m bored,” Adam said.

  Cale laughed. How he wished he could be plagued by simple childhood problems.

  “I don’t think there are any games on board.”

  “Aww.”

  “Can we go up top and look around?”

  “Sure. You coming?” he asked Matthew.

  “Yes,” he hissed.

  Matthew grabbed his brother’s hand and they all went up top. The sun was setting and the power to the city was back on. The three of them gazed at the dead city as day turned to night. The power went out once more, revealing the stars above. It was almost peaceful. All the stars were twinkling in a moonless sky. Cale looked over at the boys. Matthew had his arm around a sleeping Adam. It was cute to see. Cale, using only hand motions, told Matthew he was going to lay Adam in bed. Matthew nodded that he understood.

  Quietly he lifted Adam and took him inside, and Matthew followed. Cale gently placed him into bed and Matthew tucked his little brother in. The two of them returned topside. For a while the two stood not talking. Cale broke the silence.

  “How are you doing?”

  “What?”

  “It’s not every day a plague turns people into cannibals and you’re removed from your home by a strange man. So, how are you doing?”

  Matthew wasn’t sure how to answer. Cale was right though. And he definitely was a strange man. Matthew thought about the stab wounds he’d seen in the heads of his father and brother. If they were sick maybe there had been some sort of treatment. Not that it mattered now, they were both dead, executed by the soldier that stood before him. He still wasn’t sure if he should trust Cale.

  “I don’t know.”

  “You sure? We’re in this together now.”

  In this together now. The words repeated in Matthew’s head. He didn’t want to be here. He wished things were back to normal. And that he’d never met Cale.

  “I’m fine,” he finally answered, sounding annoyed.

  Cale and Matthew stood in silence once more looking out over the city.

  “I need your help,” Cale said.

  “My help?”

  “Yeah. See that marina? We’ll dock there and I’ll run back and get our bags.”

  “What about those things?” Matthew couldn’t believe he was going to go back considering they’d barely made it out the first time.

  “We’ll block the dock with something. They aren’t smart enough to climb or move anything so you’ll be okay.” Cale explained.

  Matthew felt Cale was being foolish, but maybe this would give him the opportunity he was waiting for. Once Cale was ashore he could leave him. He and Adam could find another way to survive. There was already enough food for them to survive for a few weeks. He’d also already gathered plenty of fuel. And he was positive he’d seen a radio in the drive cabin. They could radio for help if they needed to.

  “Okay. I’ll help,” Matthew said.

  Cale drew anchor and started the engine, moving the boat back toward the marina. The power to the city came back on, revealing a deserted set of docks. Not an infected in sight.

  “Good,” he said to himself.

  It wasn’t long until he and Matthew lowered the plank that served as a bridge to the dock. Cale fastened the ship to a post. At the end of the dock were some crates labeled in Arabic. He moved down the dock, unarmed, and cautiously scanning the area. He gave the stack of crates a little push and they didn’t budge. This was good if they were going to serve as a barricade. The walkway was just narrow enough to be blocked. Cale mustered what strength he had and pushed the stack of boxes over. They crashed onto the wooden dock with a loud thud. He looked around. Nothing stirred.

  Quickly Cale reinforced the barrier. He moved back to the vessel and the deck creaked under each step. Once on board he gathered his weapons.

  “Just stay right here and watch the dock,” Cale instructed.

  “Right,” Matthew answered.

  Cale moved onto the dock. Once he was over the barricade and out of sight, Matthew entered the drive cabin and started the Freedom Runner.

  A Near Miss

  Cale quickly made his way out to the street. The power was still on but for how long he didn’t know. Newspapers littered the illuminated street, and there were still no infected in sight. This was good. As he moved about the seaside corridor he saw a fallen street sign. He couldn’t make out what it said and continued toward the beach. Once there he could see that some of the infected were still moping abou
t. The raft had been deflated and was now a pile of yellow rubber. A small group stood about ten yards from their bags. The bags hadn’t been disturbed since he’d last seen them. The power went out once more and Cale utilized the opportunity to stealthily retrieve their packs. This was going off without a hitch.

  Back on the Freedom Runner Matthew withdrew the plank connecting them to the dock, and unfastened the rope that held them in place. The low roar of the engine woke Adam, who was sleeping below. His yell for his brother went unanswered. Adam exited the bedroom and proceeded to the drive cabin. There he saw his brother attempting to move the ship.

  “Where is Cale? What are you doing?” he asked sleepily.

  “He isn’t here,” Matthew said coldly.

  “Where did he go?”

  “He went to go get the bags.”

  “What are you doing?” He asked again.

  “I’m getting us out of here and as far from that man as I can.”

  “Why? He’s helping us!”

  “I don’t like him. He can’t be trusted.”

  “What are you saying? We can’t leave him. You saw those people. They’ll kill him!” Adam started to cry now.

  “Not our problem.”

  “He could have left us but he didn’t. You can’t do this.”

  Matthew was trying to figure out the controls. Adam stood next to him and placed his little hand on his. He looked at his little brother, tears rolling down his face and sniffling.

  “Don’t. Please. You can’t leave him.”

  Adam sobbed uncontrollably. Matthew stopped what he was doing hand hugged his brother. Adam buried his little face into his brother’s chest.

  “I have to keep you safe. I don’t know if I can.”

  Adam continued to cry quietly. Matthew wasn’t sure what to do now. He reached over and turned the boat engine off. The lights to the city went out again. Matthew held his brother for a bit longer then led him onto the deck. He refastened the rope to the dock, and the two of them waited for Cale to return.

  “I miss Papa,” Adam said.

  “Me too.”

  “Do you think he and Gidon are out there right now?” Adam asked looking towards the dark city.

  Matthew knew where their father and brother were. Their lifeless bodies lay on their bedroom floor, right where Cale had left them.

  “No. I don’t think so,” He said to his little brother.

  “Oh, okay. That’s good.”

  They sat in the dark and listened to the water. Adam was feeling sleepy again and rubbed his eyes. Matthew rubbed his shoulder. It was chilly out.

  “Look, when Cale comes back, let’s not tell him about what just happened. Okay?” Matthew said.

  “Okay,” Adam answered as he yawned.

  At the end of the dock he could see someone climbing over the barrier. It was Cale and he had their packs. He didn’t look like he was in a hurry so it must have gone well. Matthew watched to see if anyone followed him and was glad to see no one did. Matthew placed the plank down and Cale crossed it. Once on board the bridge was withdrawn.

  “Yay,” Adam said as he grabbed his bag from Cale.

  “Thanks,” Matthew said, sounding sincere.

  Cale noticed, and thought maybe he’d finally won him over. He was unaware of how close he’d come to being left behind.

  “Okay. We’re going to stay here for the night and tomorrow we’ll get on our way,” Cale said.

  “Here?” Adam asked.

  “Its fine, they can’t get in. I’ll stay up here and make sure.”

  Adam accepted this answer and followed his brother back into the bedroom. The two of them took turns showering and getting changed into pajamas. Matthew had just grabbed two of everything. Adam searched through his bag frantically.

  “Where is it?”

  “What are you looking for?” Matthew asked.

  “The picture we had on the dresser. You know I can’t sleep without it.”

  “I didn’t bring it.”

  “Why not?”

  “I didn’t think of it.”

  “We need that picture. I’ll forget what Mommy, Papa, and Gidon look like,” Adam was whining again.

  “Don’t be a baby,” Matthew said without emotion.

  Adam couldn’t believe what his brother was saying. He too would kiss that picture goodnight and say,

  “I love you Mama.”

  “We have to go back!” Adam said angrily.

  “No,” Matthew put his foot down. “We’re not wasting the time to go back.”

  Adam started to cry and Matthew ignored him. Truth was he wanted to cry too. But he wanted to be strong for his brother. It’s what Gidon would have done. In this world neither of them could afford to be childish anymore. Adam needed to grow up. He shut off the light and crawled up next to his brother but Adam pushed him away.

  “Fine,” he said, “I’ll sleep on the floor then.”

  Matthew grabbed a pillow and the top sheet from the bed and lay on the floor. He stared at the ceiling, listening to Adam’s quiet whimpers. Adam would see he was right in the morning. They didn’t need stuff like that anymore. Eventually Adam stopped crying and started snoring. Matthew couldn’t get to sleep. Where was Cale really going to take them? Could he be trusted? Matthew still didn’t like him, but then again Cale could have shot them both when he found them. His thoughts turned to his brother and father, and their mangled remains left on the floor of his bedroom. Then he thought of happier times. Going to the beach. Watching television. He wasn’t sure when it happened, but Matthew finally fell asleep.

  Picture Perfect and the Return of Dillip

  Cale stood on the deck of the Freedom Runner and watched the docks. A couple of the infected passed by but ultimately didn’t react. They couldn’t see or smell them at about fifty yards away. That was a plus. Once they journeyed back into the city and out of sight Cale went below and grabbed a pillow and blanket. The chilly wind was bringing in some storm clouds. He wrapped himself up and stood guard for a while longer before deciding to try and relax. As he lay there, looking up at the stars through the thin clouds, he thought he could hear banging on the bottom of the boat. After a long moment of silence he’d concluded that it was his imagination. He still couldn’t help but feel paranoid, knowing that the undead were probably looking up at his boat from the sea floor. The thought gave Cale a chill. Slowly he let the waves lapping against the side of the vessel put him to sleep.

  It was that dream again. He and his wife lay in the sun on the yacht as their daughter slept down below. Her white string bikini, almost see through. He smiled and sat up, his reflection in her aviator sunglasses peering back at him. She smiled. Just then Cale could see something in the reflection. An infected was climbing onto the boat! Cale quickly jumped up, only to be faced with an undead Zach, staring hungrily at him. His eyes were vicious and black goo leaked from his mouth. Pus seeped from the bite in his arm.

  Pieces of his skull showed through his torn flesh, and his dog tags clanged together against his open chest. Cale pushed Zach back overboard; the sky had instantly changed to a deep red and clouds rolled in. A storm formed out of nowhere. He looked down to see Zach sink to the bottom, but instead of water, his boat sat upon millions upon millions of undead. He was in the middle of an infected ocean. Lauren began yelling his name,

  “CALE! CALE WAKE UP!!” he knew this was a dream.

  All he had to do was wake up.

  “CALE WAKE UP PLEASE!!” she pleaded.

  Her voice began to change; he then recognized the voice as Matthew’s.

  “CALE WAKE UP, MY BROTHER IS GONE!!”

  Cale woke up to see Matthew’s terrified face staring into his.

  “What’s going on?” Cale asked.

  “Adam and I got into a fight earlier. It was about a picture I had left behind. We went to sleep but when I woke up---I can’t find him anywhere.”

  “Where did he go?” Cale asked, dreading to think he ventured into the infec
ted zone alone.

  “He went back to our home.”

  Cale was wide awake now.

  “I’ll go get him,” Cale said as he checked to make sure he had his firearms and knife.

  “Let me go with you.”

  “No. I’ll be quicker on my own.”

  “But---” Matthew said, starting to show attitude.

  “Do as I say,” Cale commanded.

  Matthew was taken back. For a moment he was scared of Cale. Cale didn’t have time to debate with him. Adam was out there alone, and he was only a little boy. An unarmed little boy in a city of undead cannibals. Hurriedly, Cale pushed Matthew aside and moved onto the dock.

  “Stay here, and if any of them come this way leave the marina. “

  “What if---?”

  “Just do it.” Cale hissed.

  Matthew fell silent and watched Cale run down the dock and then climb over the barricade. He stood on the boat as the lights came back on. The power was starting to flicker again. Soon the grid would go down and the city would truly be dead.

  Cale ran down the dark streets. His knife was ready. He listened for Adam yelling, but heard nothing but the moans of the undead. That was enough to scare the courage out of anyone. Cale ran past the broken windows of the store fronts, and as he did so he could hear the infected in the stores knocking things over to pursue him.

  “Shit. This again,” he said to himself.

  Cale was tempting fate as he did this dance day after day, night after night. He ran down the streets with flickering lights yet again, amazed at the ambiance it gave. Down a few blocks he could see corpses walking in and out of the light. He stopped for a moment to catch his breath. The wind rustled papers about the street. The smell of the undead was heavy in the air. Cale followed the route they’d used earlier that day. The infected seemed riled up. Adam must have drawn their attention. Without stopping to dispatch any of them he kept running.