Mega 6: No Man’s Island

by Jake Bible

  “Shoot now!” Moshi yelled.

  Carlos fired the plasma cannon again and again, sending four brilliant bolts tearing through the water and straight at the passing mega shark. The beast was so huge that even if it tried to swerve, there was no way to avoid the plasma.

  Yet, it did avoid three of the bolts. The fourth ripped into its side, tearing a four-foot diameter gouge all the way up its body. The shark reacted violently and Moshi didn’t have time to avoid what was coming at them.

  “Tail!” she yelled as the screen in front of her was filled with nothing but the grey/blue of shark skin.

  The Toyshop rocked then began tumbling end over end through the water. Klaxons blared and Carlos crawled from his seat hand over hand to a different console.

  “We have a hull breach!” he shouted. “We have a damn hull breach, Moshi! We should not have a hull breach!”

  “Big damn shark,” Moshi said. “It breach what it want to breach.”

  “Are you kidding me?” Carlos cried. “Listen, I thought maybe we’d have a chance. I wasn’t exactly agreeing to sacrifice myself for everyone.”

  “Then why come back?” Moshi asked.

  “What? Well… Because that was the right thing to do.” It sounded like it pained Carlos to admit that.

  “Same with sacrifice,” Moshi said. “We won’t make it, Carlos. Get used to idea.”

  Moshi regained control of the Toyshop and sent it racing after the shark.

  “Sit down and fire,” Moshi said. “We can do this.”

  Carlos hesitated then flicked a switch and the emergency klaxons stopped blaring. He took his seat at the weapons console.

  “Fire when ready,” Moshi said.

  Carlos took aim and fired four more plasma bolts at the shark’s aft end. Three connected that time and the shark rolled in the water then dove, a massive cloud of blood trailing behind it.

  Moshi dove as well.

  ***

  The harbor was possibly the most welcome sight Lake had ever seen. Except for the fact that the dock was quickly filling up with people.

  “Darren…” Lake muttered.

  “I see them,” Darren said and activated his com. “Reynolds? You two see what we’re seeing?”

  “Oh, we fucking see them,” Max replied over the com.

  “We can drop fifty right now, but that won’t touch the numbers,” Shane added. “What it will do is leave a lot of dead weight on that dock. Docks don’t like dead weight, no matter how well built they are.”

  “Where do you want me to park this piece of shit?” Lake asked Darren. He cut the engines to half as he navigated them through the harbor and towards the dock. “Darren?”

  “How many people can this ship take on?” Darren asked.

  “What? We aren’t picking up more people,” Lake said.

  “Yeah, we are,” Darren said. The outside hatch opened and Kinsey rushed inside. “Hey, ‘Sey.”

  “‘Ren,” Kinsey said. She hesitated then hurried over and hugged Darren. Hard. Then she pulled back and looked at Lake. “How many people can this ship hold?”

  “I was asking the same thing,” Darren said.

  “You two are insane,” Lake said and did some quick calculations. He stared out at the horde of dead sentries that not only was filling the dock, but had filled the entire shoreline of the harbor and back into the woods. “It’ll hold half of those. Probably more. Shit, if we don’t care whether or not this ship sinks, we can take them all on.”

  Kinsey looked at Darren. He nodded and stood up.

  “Do that,” Darren ordered. “Park us at the dock. We’ll get everyone ready then drop the gangplank and let our new passengers aboard.”

  “And we’ll go?” Lake asked.

  “Over the side,” Darren said.

  “Some are wounded and can’t climb down,” Kinsey said. “All of us are exhausted. This won’t be easy, ‘Ren.”

  “Never is, ‘Sey,” Darren replied.

  “Will you two makeup and get back together already,” Lake snapped. “I am so sick of this soap opera bullshit.”

  “Fuck off,” Darren and Kinsey said at the same time.

  ***

  The Humvee caravan made it to within sight of the harbor. They were still about half a mile away, though, the road blocked by dead sentries. The rear rows turned to regard the vehicles. Some hissed then returned to their migration to the harbor while others decided it was time to kill what they could.

  “Everyone out!” Sterling ordered. “Set lines and take them down! We’ve trained for this, people!”

  “You knew this could happen?” Darby asked then waved off any reply from Sterling. “Wire. Yeah. You knew this could happen.”

  The Humvees emptied of men and women and lines were quickly set up at the front of the caravan.

  “I want .50 cals to target the fence lines!” Sterling shouted as he got out of the Humvee. He pointed where the fences used to be. They were long-since collapsed and trampled upon. “You see sentries coming and you rip them apart! We cannot afford a side attack! Understood?”

  There were shouts of understanding and the racking of weapons.

  Darby opened her door and got out, careful not to put too much weight on her leg. She limped to the front of the Humvee and studied the harbor.

  “They’re here already,” Darby said. “The shark didn’t get them.”

  “Yeah, well, good for them,” Sterling said. “But they aren’t getting off that ship anytime soon. Which means if that shark shows up, and those mines go off, that ship is going down.”

  Darby started to reply then closed her mouth. She held out a hand. No one responded.

  “Hey!” she snapped at a guard standing close by. “Give me your binoculars!”

  The guard looked to Sterling who nodded. The guard handed Darby his binoculars.

  She put them to her eyes and gasped.

  “What the fuck are they doing?” Darby snarled.

  “What?” Sterling asked.

  She handed him the binoculars as she activated the com. “Ballantine? Patch me through to the ship.”

  “A little busy right now, Darby,” Ballantine replied over the com.

  “They have lowered the gangplank and are letting the sentries come aboard,” Darby stated.

  “Well, that certainly warrants a conversation,” Ballantine said. “Give me a second.”

  “I think I know what they are up to,” Sterling said. “Take a look over there.”

  He handed her the binoculars back.

  Darby checked where he was pointing, which was farther out in the harbor. Rafts and lifeboats began to appear, floating away from the ship and towards the shoreline. Right at the dead sentries that were lined up in the hundreds.

  “We have to clear that for them,” Darby said. “Now.”

  Sterling hesitated then nodded.

  “New plan, people!” he shouted and pointed at the darkness of the woods next to them. “We’re going in and securing that shoreline! Mount back up!”

  Those guards already lined up opened fire, shredding the rows and rows of dead sentries coming at them, giving the caravan some space to move. Then everyone mounted up and the Humvees began turning and heading straight into the woods, their tires crunching over the fallen fences.

  ***

  The last few people were pulled into the final lifeboat and Kinsey shoved away from the ship’s hull. Once out in the harbor far enough that her view wasn’t blocked, she surveyed the shoreline.

  “Shit,” she said.

  “We’ve got our shooters up in the front rafts,” Gunnar said. “They’ll thin the numbers.”

  “I should be up there helping,” Kinsey snapped.

  “You think you can really aim straight?” Gunnar asked. “Just be happy you aren’t being chased by a giant shark right now.”

  “We are being chased by a giant shark, Gun,” Kinsey said. “The son of a bitch is headed right for this harbor.”

  “Oh, yeah, rig
ht,” Gunnar said. “Sorry. I’m having a hard time keeping our mortal threats straight. Maybe I should close my eyes and get some sleep. You can wake me if we live.”

  “Shut up, asshole,” Kinsey said, kicking him in the shin.

  “Ow,” Gunnar replied. Then they both shut up as gunfire erupted from the front rafts.

  ***

  “Bam diggity!” Max yelled as he squeezed the trigger of his rifle over and over from his position in the lead raft. “I count ten down!”

  “I’ve already got fifteen,” Shane replied over the com.

  “I dropped twenty-five,” Lucy said over the com.

  “Twenty-five?” Max scoffed. “You’d have to reload.”

  “I did,” Lucy said. “Slackers.”

  “Shit, bro, are we losing our touch?” Max asked.

  “Our touch is gentle and always hits the mark,” Shane said.

  “I don’t know what that means,” Max replied.

  “I don’t either,” Shane said. “It’s what popped into my head.”

  “I’m going to pop a round into both your heads if you don’t shut up,” Thorne snarled over the com. “Keep firing!”

  “We are, Uncle Vinny,” Max replied.

  He was right. None of the shooters had stopped firing while they bantered. The only pause in their firing was to eject their spent magazines and slap home fresh ones.

  “Thirty-eight,” Lucy announced.

  “Dammit!” Shane said.

  “I’m calling bullshit,” Max said. “I demand a recount!”

  “Yeah, you hop your ass up on shore and do that,” Lucy laughed. “How’s that going to work out for you?”

  The shooters did what they did best and kept on shooting.

  ***

  “Hello?” Moshi called into the com.

  “You’re a go,” Darren replied. “How you holding up, Moshi?”

  “We’re fine,” Moshi said. “But shark is almost to harbor. You off ship?”

  “We’re off ship, but not out of the water,” Darren said. “We had to abandon ship due to some issues we’re having with the locals.”

  “Oh, yes, right,” Moshi said. “The zombies.”

  “Zombies?” Carlos exclaimed. “That’s real?”

  Moshi ignored him.

  “I may help,” Moshi said. “We can slow shark and maybe slow some of the zombies.”

  “Yeah, we’re calling them sentries,” Darren said. “Saying zombies is sort of weird.”

  “Yeah, it is,” Carlos muttered.

  “Launching mini-EMPS,” Moshi said as she looked over at Carlos.

  “What?” he asked.

  “Launch the mini-EMPs,” Moshi said.

  “That’ll knock out the coms,” Carlos said.

  “I heard that,” Darren said. “Do what you have to do. We’ll talk on the other side of this. Thanks, guys.”

  “You are welcome,” Moshi said.

  “EMPs launched,” Carlos announced.

  The Toyshop lurched then Carlos and Moshi were pressed back in their seats.

  “Moshi! What are you doing?” Carlos said.

  Moshi giggled. “Ramming speed.”

  “Did you say ramming speed?” Darren asked.

  “Yeah! She said ramming speed!” Carlos cried. “Dammit, Moshi!”

  ***

  “What are those?” Lake asked, seated next to Darren in one of the lifeboats in the middle of the pack. “What did they fire?”

  “You’re about to see,” Darren said as he craned his neck to get a view of the dock.

  Small missiles rocketed through the air from way out in the ocean. They raced into the harbor, aimed directly over the dock and all the dead sentries that filled it. The gangplank on the ship had become choked and there was no more forward progress. Many of the dead sentries were beginning to turn and push back against the horde, aimed back at something they must have detected.

  Darren followed their line of sight and thought he saw headlights. But then the missiles exploded and every single dead sentry on the dock stiffened, shook violently, then dropped. Darren waited for them to get up, but they didn’t.

  Three more small rockets shot directly overhead towards the lifeboats and rafts and exploded above the dead sentries on the shoreline. A good third of those dropped as well, but there were still a few hundred pressing towards the water.

  The com in Darren’s ear crackled then went completely silent.

  “Can we get to the dock now?” someone asked.

  “No way,” Darren said. “When the mines go up, that ship is going up too. If we’re anywhere near that dock, we’ll be torn to shreds.”

  “Looks like we’re going to be torn to shreds if we land there,” Lake said, indicating the shoreline.

  “We do what we have to do,” Darren said.

  ***

  The Toyshop nailed the shark directly in its tail. Then Moshi dove down and came up at its belly while Carlos fired everything.

  “Dead,” Carlos said with a whine. “Plasma cannons are burnt out.”

  “We hurt it bad,” Moshi said as she steered the Toyshop away from the shark and began to turn around for another run. “It give everyone time.”

  The controls began to shake her hands then there was a loud bang and everything froze. Moshi started pressing buttons and tried to get the Toyshop operational, but she gave up after a few seconds.

  “Dead too,” she said and relaxed into her seat. She placed her hands behind her head and started humming.

  “Are you kidding?” Carlos snapped. “There has to be a way out of this!”

  “There is,” Moshi replied. “We die and go to heaven. No sharks in heaven.”

  “Arrrgh!” Carlos yelled.

  ***

  The Humvees emptied once more of guards. Darby grunted as she got out and joined Sterling while he barked orders. Line after line of guards set up where the trees ended and the shoreline began.

  “Coms are sketchy,” Sterling said. “Those missiles must have only been EMPs, because they sure as shit didn’t blow up the sentries.”

  Darby nodded and tried to get her com on. “Ballantine? Can you read me?”

  There was a lot of static and only the faintest hint of Ballantine’s voice.

  “We’re in the dark,” Sterling said. “We focus on clearing the sentries then we worry about whether Ballantine gets the self-destruct turned off.”

  Darby nodded and limped with Sterling to one of the lines. They each took a position and raised their weapons.

  “Fire at will!” Sterling bellowed.

  The lines opened fire and began ripping the dead sentries apart.

  ***

  “Looks like we’re getting an assist!” Max shouted. There was no response in the com and he sighed.

  ***

  “Aim for there!” Thorne ordered the deckhand that was steering the raft he was in. “See that open space? We put in there!”

  The people on the raft started to argue. None of them wanted to get anywhere near the horde of waiting dead sentries.

  “Shut the fuck up!” Thorne roared. “We put in there and we end this shit once and for all!”

  ***

  “I should have gone with ‘Ren,” Kinsey said. “I should be with him at the end.”

  “But you’re with me,” Gunnar said. “Close second?”

  Kinsey grinned at Gunnar. “Never a second, Gun. You’re your own first.”

  “I understand the sentiment, so I’ll let the bullshit go,” Gunnar said.

  Kinsey focused back on the shoreline and saw, then heard, the gunfire coming from the trees. Then the dead sentry numbers began to thin. She watched one of the rafts head for an opening.

  “Go there!” she ordered.

  The lifeboat’s direction adjusted and headed straight for the same opening.

  ***

  Thorne’s raft hit the short beach hard and he basically flew out and onto the thin strip of sand, rolling with the momentum and coming up shootin
g into the dead sentries. He barely heard the shouts from those still in the raft. He did hear the approaching motors and then the accompanying gunfire as Shane, Max, then Lucy joined him.

  As one, they stood and walked into the horde, dropping everything in front of them.

  Then the distinctive sound of .50 caliber machine guns got their attention.

  “DOWN!” Thorne yelled.

  The four of them dropped to the ground and covered their heads as the dead sentries all around them were shredded. The gunfire seemed to go on forever. When it finally stopped, the silence was deafening.

  “You gonna lie there all night, Commander?” a familiar voice asked.

  Thorne uncovered his head and looked up at the smiling face of Darby.

  “My Darby!” Max yelled as he got to his feet and lifted Darby into the air in a massive bear hug.

  “OW!” Darby snarled and head-butted Max.

  He let go and stumbled back.

  “What the fuck, Darbs?” he cried.

  “Fractured leg, dipshit,” Darby said.

  “Oh, shit, sorry,” Max said. “Can I pick you up if I’m careful?”

  “Yeah,” Darby said then looked back at Thorne. “Get up. We need to move into the trees before the harbor becomes nothing but fire.”

  Thorne nodded, got to his feet, and turned to address those that were on shore and those still unloading as the last of the rafts and the lifeboats jammed up at the water line. People were scrambling over from one watercraft to the next to get onto land.

  “Into the trees!” Thorne shouted. “Now!”

  No one had to be told twice.

  ***

  The shark entered the harbor at full speed. It crashed through the first set of mines, collided with the second set, and was almost to third when the first set detonated.