Amy looked at Shanna in disbelief. John turned to see what happened. Shanna shrugged and sat back down.
Amy pulled the door closed and leaned down by Shanna.
“If you ever do anything like that again...” she said angrily. “I’ll take that gun and shove it up your ass.”
Shanna scowled at her.
“He was already dead. Get over it.”
“You didn’t give him time to come to terms with it. He deserved that,” Amy said tearing up. “He should have been given the option to end it himself. We owed him that much for helping us get off the ship.”
Shanna turned and sat back down. She leaned back, closed her eyes and didn’t look at Amy again.
Amy put on a headset and tapped Derek on the shoulder.
“What the hell was that?” he asked.
“Glenn’s gone,” Amy said.
“What you mean gone?” John asked turning in his seat to look at her.
“He had been bitten,” Amy said. “Shanna shot him. Without warning me or Glenn. I was standing right beside him when she did it.”
“Bitten?” Derek said. “He told me he cut himself on the ladder.”
“Why didn’t you say something?” John said.
“I didn’t know,” Derek said. “I asked him if he was OK and he said yes.”
John turned to look back into the cabin. Jimmy was sitting comfortably with Suzie. Shanna was leaning back in her seat with her eyes closed.
“She’s a loose cannon,” John said. “I don’t trust her?”
“I don’t either,” Amy said.
“When we got to the helicopter, we took out six of the dead following us, then, another figure came out and ran toward us. Shanna fired before making sure it was a zombie,” Derek said. “And it wasn’t. Just a scared kid running for his life.”
“We should have waited,” Amy said.
“We can’t worry about that,” Derek said. “If there were more survivors I don’t think we would have been the only ones on the flight deck. I think that guy was probably alone or more would have ran out with him.”
“And besides,” John said. “They were coming out too fast. We couldn’t have fought them off much longer.”
“You’re right” Amy said.
She went to Jimmy’s side and sat down. Jimmy looked up at her.
“Are we safe now?” he asked.
“Yes,” she said. “We’re safe now.”
Amy stared at Shanna. She was still upset.
Shanna opened her eyes and looked at Amy. “It had to be done,” she said. “You know that.”
“Yes, but you went about it the wrong way.”
“Well... Shanna said. “Like I said. Get over it.”
Amy didn’t want to argue with her and decided to let it go for now. She glanced down at Jimmy. He had already fallen asleep. Suzie was looking at Amy with her big brown eyes, her head down in Jimmy’s lap. The helicopter flew on. The sun now fully above the horizon and reflecting off the waves below.
The whine of the engines and the mild vibration of the aircraft were comforting to Amy. Even though they were flying into the unknown, she felt safe again.
Glancing at john and Derek in the cockpit, she knew she was in good hands. She thought back to the day John Saved her from being raped and beaten. She shuddered at the thought of what would have become of her had he not come along. Her eyes misted over. A lump formed in her throat. She swallowed hard and wanted to cry openly but held back.
The past week came rushing back. The sight of her dead grandmother lying in the road, pops, tuck and Walt. They were all gone now. She thought back to the little gomer girl in the schoolyard. Cold, dead and alone. She thought about Susan and the unborn child that never had a chance.
She felt guilty about her feelings for John considering the fact that his wife had been dead for less than two weeks. But, she knew under the circumstances the normal rules didn’t apply. Her mind was racing. Just a few hours ago she felt safe and content in John’s arms. And now this.
After all they had been through rescue had finally come. It came in the form of the USS Harry S. Truman. She thought they were safe. She thought it was over. She was wrong...
She felt like she was going to throw up. It was devastating to know that they were basically back where they started. Flying into the unknown. Homeless and alone.
She leaned back in her seat and closed her eyes. John set a course for the coast as the sun continued to rise.
“Were going back to Charleston,” John told Derek. “I think were better off in an area we know. At least for now. We’ll regroup and figure out a more permanent location later. Maybe leave the Charleston area altogether.”
“I agree,” Derek said. “So where are we landing?”
“We’ll figure that out when we get there.” John said.
“Maybe we trade one Aircraft Carrier for another.” Derek said. “We can always land on the Yorktown. It would be a good place to stay for a few days.”
“Right,” John said. “We’ll see. When we get there we’ll check the city out first.”
“How long can we fly?” Derek asked.
“Our range is about three hundred miles generally. With this head wind, maybe a little less.” John said. “We’re about one twenty from Charleston. So we’re good. We’ll have about an hour of fuel once we get over the city.”
“Cool,” Derek said. “Plenty of time to find a place to park this thing.”
“Right,” John said.
John glanced at his watch. It was 07:30 AM. They would be over the city in an hour. He looked back into the cabin. Jimmy and Suzie were asleep. Amy and Shanna were resting with eyes closed. John could see the stress on their faces.
John though felt amazingly calm. Maybe it was the feeling of the Seahawk under his control or just the relief of being off the ship. They had come through some rough spots before.
Actually we’re not in bad shape, he thought. Could be a lot worse.
He looked over at Derek who seemed to be calm, cool and collected as usual. He knew from everything they had been through together this was one guy he was glad to have on his side.
“How you feeling dude?” John said to Derek. “You alright?”
“I’m good,” Derek said. “Same old shit, different day.”
John laughed. “Right..., just another day at the apocalypse.”
They sat in silence for a few minutes.
“Derek...” John said. “Do you think we should have waited?”
“No. There’s nothing we could have done except get ourselves killed. I hate it, we all do, but we had to leave. We didn’t have much of a choice.”
“Right...” John said.
4
The Return
-------------------------------------------悪魔死--------------------------After flying for another forty-five minutes John pointed the aircraft toward the coast. The Isle of palms soon came into view. They flew over the car carrying ship grounded on the beach and banked left.
“Feet dry,” John said smiling.
“Roger that,” Derek answered.
John slowed the helicopter as the Sullivan’s Island lighthouse came into view.
“Never thought we would see that again,” Amy said.
Derek turned to see Amy standing behind them.
“Me either,” he said.
Amy reached for Shanna and tugged on her sleeve. She motioned for her to stand up. Amy handed her a headset.
She put it on as the lighthouse appeared in front of them.
“That’s where we spent the last few days before leaving for the Truman,” Amy said.
As they approached John eased into a hover fifty yards away.
The lighthouse had served them well. Providing shelter, safe haven for a few days and a place to keep an eye on the city. They had to leave it before they were ready. Demon zombie activity had forced them out in a hurry.
Derek looked down. The two by four they used for target pra
ctice was still sticking out of the sand on the beach. The demon Jimmy shot lying face down in the sand nearby. More bodies were on top of the dunes. He could remember vividly taking them down in their fight to escape the lighthouse grounds.
They were bodies in the street. Still where they had fallen after John plowed them over with the truck on the way back to the boat.
John moved the helicopter closer to the lighthouse and circled the structure. The evidence of their battle with the demons evident on the ground below.
Off to one side behind some brush they could see the mound of sand where they had dragged and covered up the bodies of five demons they had killed the first morning there. And on top of that six more bodies the demons had stacked in front of the lighthouse door the last morning. John looked at Derek and pointed down.
“Yep,” Derek said nodding.
The bodies of many demons were scattered around the lighthouse where they had fallen in their attempted attack on the last day. Three demon’s were on the ground in front of the door. Blackened and bloated.
As they flew around to the front side they saw a lone figure standing in the open window.
“Son of a bitch!” Derek said. “Ya’ll see that?”
“I see it,” John said.
Staring back at them with red rage filled eyes was one of the demon dead. Bloody drool dripped from its mouth as it screamed at them.
“Take that bastard out,” John said as he pushed on the pedals to present Derek’s side of the helicopter to the lighthouse.
“My pleasure,” Derek said as he pushed the door open, raised the rifle and steadied himself.
He wasted no time sighting in and squeezing the trigger five times. The demon’s head exploded. It was thrown back and fell to the floor where it stayed.
“Good job,” John said.
Amy and Shanna watched and listened in silence. Amy turned to check on Jimmy and Suzie. They were both sound asleep.
After circling the tower a few more times John tilted the nose down and headed off toward the marina a short distance away.
They were soon over “The Demon”. The Bertram boat they had lived on for a while. It sat right where they left it. Bobbing in the water.
John laughed. “Hey Derek look,” he said. “There’s your buddy the bait salesman.”
At the end of the dock, sitting on a bucket, was a gomer who in life had sold bait. A cooler sat beside him. The gomer looked up at them. John waved. The gomer waved back.
Derek grinned. “Gomers,” he said shaking his head. “You gotta love ‘em.”
“How much fuel did we have left when we ditched the boat?” John asked.
“Plenty,” Derek said. “It was full when we took it and we only used a quarter tank. Why?”
“Good to know just in case we need it again,” John said.
“Are you suggesting we take the boat again?” Derek asked.
“I don’t know,” John said. “Maybe.”
John hovered for a few more minutes and headed for the Yorktown. The world war two aircraft carrier sat a mile away sticking out of the harbor mud. John slowed and circled the ship. Shanna and Amy sat back down.
“Wow,” Derek said. “I used to think that was a big ship. But it’s nothing compared to the Truman.”
“Right,” John said. “The Truman dwarfs the Yorktown.”
John circled the ship a couple more times. They saw no signs of life, or the dead, on the flight deck. There were however two groups of zombies milling about near the museum gift shop.
“What do you think?” John said.
“I don’t know,” Derek said. “We thought the lighthouse was safe. Didn’t turn out that way did it?”
“Well...,” John said. “Let’s check out the city. Then we’ll come back. I don’t think we’ll have much trouble picking off the dead guys from the flight deck.”
“How difficult will it be to secure the ship?” Derek asked.
“Shouldn’t be a problem,” John said. “We can put up a barrier on the walking bridge. That’s the only way to get to the ship. If we do it right we’ll be pretty safe.”
“The stairs can be rolled away from the entrance,” Derek said. “We can make a rope ladder to go up and down to the ship.”
“Sounds good,” John said. “Maybe we should stop now and get set up. We can check out the city later.”
“No,” Amy said. “I think we should go ahead and check it out now while we’re still in the air.”
“OK,” John said.
“It’s up to you.” Derek said. “You’re the pilot.”
“Roger that,” John said.
John circled the ship one more time and headed for the city. He skimmed the water as the helicopter headed straight for the aquarium. He slowed as they passed it.
“Still there,” Derek said pointing to the zombies they had taken out earlier in the week. “That was scary as hell.”
“Yep,” John said.
John pointed the aircraft toward St. Philip’s Episcopal. The steeple tower rose high above the city. Easily distinguishable. He was anxious to see what had happened to the church and to Rector Finney.
“Do you think the Rector is still alive?” Derek said.
“I hope so,” John answered, “but, I seriously doubt it.”
They had watched from the Sullivan’s Island lighthouse just three nights before as the church burned. John wished now he had been more forceful with his attempts to get the rector to leave with them.
They were at the church quickly. John eased the helicopter into a hover two hundred feet over the cemetery.
The church sat in ruins. The fire had destroyed it leaving the skeletal walls and the tower jutting out of the charred remains like a massive grave marker.
“Where are the zombies?” John said. “The cemetery was full of them. Locked in by the rector.”
“Either they broke out or someone let them out,” Derek said.
A loud bang shook the aircraft. The helicopter shuddered. The engines screamed in protest as the Seahawk shook violently.
“Shit!” John said, “we’re losing power.”
“What happened?” Derek said.
“I don’t know...” John said shaking his head with frustration.
There was no time for conversation. John fought the controls as the helicopter spun out of control.
“Hold on.” John screamed.
Derek glanced in the back. Everyone was pulling their belts tighter. Terrified looks on their faces.
“Hold on!” Derek screamed again.
Amy was sure they were all about to die. She closed her eyes and prayed.
The helicopter lost altitude quickly and continued to shake violently. As it spun, the force tore Suzie from Jimmy’s arms and slung her across the cabin. Jimmy screamed. The helicopter struck the top of the trees. The screeching of ripping metal could be heard over the helicopters engines. John aimed for the clearing at the center of the graveyard. The tail rotor flew apart as it smashed into a tree.
The helicopter landed hard. The side cabin door flew off and the undercarriage ripped away as the aircraft spun on its belly and turned on its side. The rotors dug into the soft earth. Pieces of the rotor blades flew in all directions. The aircraft spun around several times and came to rest on its side. The cabin door was against the ground.
The engines hissed in protest. The smell of jet fuel met their nostrils. Wisps of smoke entered the cabin.
John was stunned. Hanging sideways in his seat he looked at Derek whose side of the aircraft was against the ground. Blood ran down John’s face from a cut on his scalp. Derek wiped blood from his nose.
Managing to release himself from the belts Derek stood up. He put most of John’s weight on his shoulder and helped him unbuckle his belts.
“We need to get out of here,” John said.
They turned their attention to the others. Jimmy and Amy were still strapped in their seats. Shanna was already unbelted and trying to free them. Derek he
ld Amy while Shanna disconnected the belt. Once Jimmy was free from his belt he went to Suzie’s side and began to cry.
“She’s not breathing!” he said. “Help her.”
Amy knelt down beside them and checked Suzie. “I’m sorry Jimmy. She’s dead.”
Jimmy buried his face in Amy’s shoulder and sobbed.
“We’ll have to knock out the front window to get everyone out,” John said
Derek reached for the M4, checked it to make sure a round was in the chamber, and went back to the cockpit. He kicked out the front window nearest the ground and removed all the shards from the frame. He retrieved a fire blanket and laid it across the frame for extra protection from broken glass.
John who had been looking outside the aircraft for any signs of danger gave him a thumbs-up. Derek crawled out and circled the mangled helicopter. He came back to the front and reported to john.
“All clear,” he said.
John turned to the others. “Let’s go,” he said.
Amy led Jimmy to the window where John helped him through. Derek sat him down on the ground nearby. He sobbed uncontrollably.
“Stay put,” Derek said.
“We have to bury her,” Jimmy said still crying.
Amy crawled through next, then Shanna. John grabbed a rifle and handed it to them.
“Derek, set up security while I grab some things,” John said.
Derek handed Shanna the rifle and positioned her at the rear of the helicopter. He took up position at the front of the aircraft. He was facing the cemetery gate which was directly across the street from the church. He noticed the gate was open.
“John the gate’s open,” Derek said. “Wait here I’ll go close it.”
Derek rushed for the gate. He was there quickly. He closed it, wrapped the chain around it as best he could to secure it, and went back to the helicopter to rejoin the others.
Jimmy pulled on John’s sleeve. “We have to bury Suzie, please...” he said.
“We don’t have time,” John said. “We’ll have to come back and do it later.”
The Demon Dead: Troubled Waters Page 4