by Damon Novak
I looked at the boat. Chunks of blown-up gator meat and blood covered the seven propane tanks and every other surface, including me and Lilly. It smelled so rancid, it didn’t make any sense. It was like that gator was rotten before it leapt out of the water and hurdled the boat.
I ignored the burnin’ question in my head and scrambled back to grab each tank and swing them up onto the dock. I heard clompin’ in the distance and looked up to see Sonya and Georgie runnin’ over to help. When they got there, they both stared at us for a second, wide-eyed and mouths open, both clearly choosin’ not to say anything.
It didn’t last. Georgie yelled, “Look!” She pointed out at the dark water, and I spun around to see the water breakin’ in a V pattern in forty or fifty different places.
A congregation of crazed alligators, all headin’ right for our dock.
“Grab a tank and run!” I shouted, and they did, Sonya and Georgie each grabbin’ one. Lilly snatched two tanks from the dock, and I did the same, runnin’ after the women toward the sanctuary of the shop.
Only one five-pounder was left on the dock, but I just wanted to get the hell inside. None of it would do us any good if we were dead.
Before I rounded the corner, I saw the first gator leap out of the water, slammin’ down on our dock. It was built strong, though, and didn’t splinter or break away. He was a monster, probably over 500 pounds, and just before I lost sight of him, I saw its eyes in the moonlight.
Clouded. No eyeshine from the moonlight.
Were they … like the people?
In my heart I knew the answer.
Ω
“What were you doing on the way here?” asked Sonya, her eyes wide, her dark hair tangled. “Chumming?”
I shook my head, my heart still poundin’ and my breath comin’ hard. “They came from everywhere. It was like the second they heard the motor they were on us. We’re lucky we made it.”
I told ‘em about the gators that attacked us.
“You smell rancid,” said Georgina. “Like rotten meat.”
“That was the gator Lilly shot when it jumped out in front of us.”
Lilly leaned forward, her eyes on the floor, chin in her open palm. She swiped a hand over her blonde hair and said, “It was like when I fired, it opened up a hole and its insides just came pouring out. Like it was in a bucket, not a body.”
“It makes no sense,” said Georgina. “Healthy tissue would take the bullet, but hold together. It wouldn’t just drain out of the animal.”
“Then it’s not healthy tissue,” concluded Sonya. Her eyes met all of ours. “Are they … dead? Like the people?”
Sonya had just voiced my earlier thought. I knew we were both right, and that scared the shit outta me.
“I’ve already gone there in my head,” I said. “They’re not actin’ normal. Neither are the people. We shoot one and it smells rotten. The people are rottin’, too. Guys, we can’t stay here. Even without a lot of folks around, those gators make up for it a hundredfold.”
“CB’s right,” said Lilly. “The only reason we came here is because we thought we’d be isolated. If the gators are like those people, we’re way outnumbered.”
“Did you find Denny?” asked Sonya.
I’d forgotten all about him. I looked at Lilly and nodded. She told them the story.
Sonya sat, her eyes intent on Lilly. Nokosi lay beside her, eyes sharp, even as her tongue lolled out of her mouth.
After Lilly was done, Georgina stared toward the closed door, lost in thought. Then, as though speakin’ to herself, she said, “The dogs are dying, except for Nokosi, here. Reptiles – alligators at least – are changing into something similar to the infected people. For some reason, we’re not, well ... . ” She didn’t finish her sentence.
Though she didn’t seem to be speakin’ to any of us, we all stared at her and said, “What?” simultaneously. I’m actually surprised neither lady took her by the shoulders and shook her.
She turned to look at us. “We may all be infected.”
“Clearly, we’re not,” said Sonya. “Have any one of us tried to eat you?”
Georgina shook her head. I liked how calm she stayed when people were fuckin’ with her, which is what I felt like Sonya was doin’ with that smart-ass comment.
“No, Sonya. But consider Magic Johnson and others who contracted the HIV virus. Everyone knows it’s deadly, but it can remain in a dormant state indefinitely. Without treatment, it will almost always become full blown AIDS at some point.”
“How does this help us?” asked Lilly.
Georgina shrugged. “I’m speculating, that’s all. I’m analyzing it from various sides. Just because we feel fine, and we think we dodged a bullet, there’s the odd chance that any one of us could turn at any time.”
“Well, fuck it in a bucket,” I said, standin’ up and walkin’ to the fridge under the reception counter. I opened it up and pulled out a beer. Turnin’ back to the women, I said, “There goes any chance I had of sleepin’. Maybe we oughta get our asses to the jail and each sleep in our own cell.”
“It’s no better there,” said Sonya, turning to Georgina. “I hope like hell you’re wrong.”
“Me, too,” she said.
Ω
That night, I cooked up some of the gator meat we’d meant to trade to Denny for the fuel. Considerin’ what we now suspected about the gators, it was an odd, but typical choice for the protein we all needed to keep strong.
I set the grill up with the back facin’ the water so as I cooked, I could keep an eye out. It was good I was watchin’, because they were watchin’ me, too.
The most disturbin’ thing about it was their lack of eyeshine. I’d been fascinated with it since I was a boy. Oh, yeah, I’d come up with wild stories in my head that they were demons from hell – anything with shiny eyes, not just gators – but gators, with the red reflection, looked the most evil to my 10-year-old self.
The fact that their eyeshine was gone now told a worse story.
“What do you keep staring at?” asked Georgina, who’d taken a chair against the building. She carried her 9mm in her hand, and occasionally popped the magazine out, checked it, and put it back in.
“Well, first off, those bullets ain’t goin’ nowhere unless you put ‘em there. Second, I’m missin’ the eyeshine.”
“Of the alligators?”
“Well, not you,” I said. Now I was the smartass.
She laughed. “I don’t think I was aware reptiles had tapetum lucidums behind their eyes.”
“Tippytappy whatdums?” I asked.
I thought Georgina was gonna laugh so hard she’d pee. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw several dark shapes begin to move toward us.
“I’d better keep it down,” she said. “Sorry. Tapetum lucidum is what’s behind the eyes of cats and other mammals that cause their eyes to shine under dim light at night. Reptiles have it too, apparently.”
“I’ve always known about the eyeshine,” I said. “Since I was a little kid. Never looked up why, but it’s how we spot ‘em at night, ‘specially durin’ a full moon.”
“It won’t help us now,” she almost whispered. “Look at them all.”
I looked up from the grill at the dozens of darker shapes layin’ still in the water. I could’ve sworn they all inched closer whenever we looked away, like nature’s twisted version of Red Light, Green Light.
Georgina fell silent for a long time, watchin’ the water. I had the feelin’ she was lost in thought, and I knew what had to be on her mind.
“Thinkin’ about your daughter, aren’t you?” I asked.
She nodded. “Worried sick. We’re out here, away from most people, but the danger’s no less. I just hope to God Terry doesn’t convince her to do anything stupid. He’s a smart kid, but I have no idea what common sense he has.”
“Terry?”
“She’s with a classmate. She said he’s the only one that didn’t … change. God I hope they stayed i
nside like I said.”
In my head, I thought about the other possibilities, none of ‘em good. She could’ve turned by now, been bitten by one of the crazies, or been attacked and killed. If she got separated from her friend Terry, and ended up with strangers, there was a chance she was sufferin’ horrors of a more human nature.
I’d seen Roxanne’s picture at the house; she was a pretty girl like her mama, and while I’d never mention my darkest thoughts, I solidified my decision to help her find her kid, one way or another.
I didn’t fancy headin’ to Key West in September under the best circumstances; doin’ it with zombies out there thrilled me even less.
“We should go in,” she said. “They’re moving closer.”
As if triggered by her very words, a monster just five feet off the dock raised its head and opened its mouth, letting out a deep croak-hiss unlike anything I’d ever heard.
Georgina stood and inched sideways, stayin’ as close to the buildin’ as possible.
“I’m convinced,” I said, as the door opened. It was Lilly.
“What the hell was that?” she asked, starin’ at the water.
“It was that big boy right there,” I said. “And before you say it, yeah, I know that’s not a sound I’ve ever heard from ‘em before.”
“Well, don’t provoke him,” said Lilly. “Get back inside.”
I used my BBQ fork to put the slabs of cooked gator meat on the beat-up aluminum platter. “He’s probably pissed ‘cause we’re cookin’ his friends.”
We all went inside, closin’ and lockin’ the door behind us. Everyone seemed to eat gingerly, as though the meat I’d just cooked was tainted somehow, but we knew we’d need the energy it provided, so when we were done, all plates were clean.
“I’m gonna start packin’ some duffels,” I said, standin’. “I don’t think we’re ever comin’ back here.”
“Is Red Rover up to it?” asked Lilly. “Key West, then all the way to Kansas?”
“I carry spare parts in back,” I said. “Radiator hoses, fan belts, spare tire. Best thing is I can fix it if it breaks down. Those new cars are damned computers.”
Lilly nodded, sayin’ nothin’. She stood and went behind the counter.
I went in back to start packin’. Before I entered the hall, I saw my sister start collectin’ the necessary supplies from the office. Sonya helped her without bein’ asked, and the police dog sat and watched her intently.
Georgina followed me down the hall, into the back room.
Ω
“I’ll take first shift tonight, if that’s alright with you,” said Georgina, who was sortin’ through the Baxter’s Airboat Tours & Gator Farm tee shirts we sold to the tourists. “Sonya said I can keep Nokosi out front, if she’ll cooperate.”
“Whatever floats your boat,” I said. “I know we’re all goddamned exhausted with all the crap goin’ on.”
“God yes,” she sighed, flipping through the stack. The shirts she was sortin’ through were all different colors, and the picture was done in the old 70’s style of cartoon vehicles, showin’ a souped-up airboat with flamin’ side pipes, flyin’ over the swamp with a Baxter’s sign in the distance and a dozen gators lookin’ on, mouths open.
She unfolded one blue shirt, shook it out, and held it up. “Cute,” she said.
“I take it that’s not your usual style.”
“Oh, you’d be surprised,” she said smilin’. “I’d have brought more of my stuff, but I was more worried about guns than clothes at my place. Guess I never considered I might not go back there.”
I liked her smile. It made me feel like maybe things could be okay again someday. The problem was, every time I saw it, I hoped like hell she’d hang onto it, no matter what we found in Key West.
There was a good chance we’d never find Roxanne Lake. I hoped Georgie realized it, but I’d never say it out loud. I wouldn’t be the one to douse her flames of hope with a bucketful of negative swamp water.
“You’ll look great in the dark green one, too,” I said. “Or the red one, or yellow. Can’t see you’d have a bad color.”
She laughed. “You don’t need to butter me up. If you get hurt, I’ll try to treat you.”
“A little insurance can’t hurt,” I said. “Hey, start puttin’ some of those long guns in the corner in that khaki duffel there.” I pointed to the folded bag at the foot of the bed. “Careful. They’re all loaded.”
She started stockin’ the guns in the bag. After a few minutes, she said, “Okay, this one’s heavy enough, I think. That’s almost all of them.” She zipped it closed, inspecting the items remaining on the rollaway twin bed. “We’re not near done, though. That’s a lot of bullets.”
“What you had, plus what we had. That adds up to a boatload.” I turned around and grabbed the handles, hoistin’ the bag up and stackin’ it in the hallway just outside the door. “Yep. We’ll put ammo in separate dry boxes. That all goes in the back seat for easy access.”
“I really appreciate you helping me and Roxy when we finally get to her,” she said. “I can’t even say.”
“It’s not a big deal, Georgie. I’m glad for your company, and for your help. You’re the one that’s gotta deal with a couple of hicks. Well, not so much Lil … she’s book smart. I’m just a high school grad.”
She stared at me for a couple of seconds, and I couldn’t read her face. When she spoke, she did it with a smile on her face. “I’ve known lots of very educated men, Cole. The majority of them were utter assholes, and cared more about their BMWs or their Range Rovers than anything else. They were shallow. You’re not. You really care, and it’s not something that takes very long to find out.”
I stared at her. “I drive a Land Rover. What does that make me?”
To my surprise, ol’ Georgie Lake bent over and laughed harder than I’d seen anyone laugh in a while. When she stood up, she said, “Oh, Cole. Your Land Rover is a different animal altogether. Sorry for laughing, but I was trying to picture any one of those jerks even riding in that thing.”
I looked at her and put my hands on my hips. “Dr. Lake, I do believe you denigrated – and that’s a word I don’t dig outta my bag of tricks often – my trusted old friend, Red Rover. I’m not sure whether I’m supposed to be insulted or not.”
She shook her head, her smile still wide. “Cole,” she said, “You don’t know how much I’d give to be a fly on the wall if you had to have a five-minute conversation with one of the men I’m talking about. I’d want a portrait painted of every one of your facial expressions.”
“That assholey, eh?”
“Oh, yes.”
I looked at my watch. To my surprise, it was past 10:00. Looking at the packed stuff in the hall, I said, “That’s enough for tonight. You sure you want first shift?”
“I’m going to send a few more texts to Rox. See if she answers.”
“Her battery is probably long dead, so don’t get your hopes up,” I said. “As bad as it is, at least we’ve got gen power. The worst part is, it makes us forget that not everyone’s got it so good. Even with the zombigators.”
Georgie visibly shuddered. “Glad I don’t smoke,” she said. “I don’t even want to look out the window for fear of what I’ll see. The next time I walk on the dock over that water is my last time, I hope. As long as those monsters are out there in any case.”
“There was a time I’d roll my eyes and laugh at ya,” I said. “But believe it or not, I’m as freaked out by ‘em as you are. We need to hit Denny’s up again for some gasoline, but we’ll do that via the highway tomorrow, before we head out.”
“Okay. Night, Cole. You on second shift?”
“Yep. I’ll see you at around one o’clock. Have a cup of coffee. I made it strong, and I’m sure it’s only gotten worse since then.”
“Want me to cut the generator?” she asked.
I looked at the small fan on the table, oscillatin’ back and forth. “No,” I said. “You turn on a fan out t
here. We can run the gen out of propane tonight. We’re gone tomorrow, so we might as well be as comfortable as possible.”
“Good point,” she said. Georgie smiled and left, closing the door behind her. I’m pretty sure I missed her the second she was gone.
Ω
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
I laid awake a lot of the time I was supposed to be sleepin’. When I finally did get up at about a quarter to one and walked down the hall, I heard Sonya softly snorin’ in her little room, which was more of a cubby.
When I got out front, I saw Lilly curled up on one of the couches she’d moved behind the reception counter, sleepin’ soundly. I smiled and looked over at the other couch.
Georgina was out cold on the sofa, Nokosi on the floor beside her. She wasn’t asleep. That dog slept less than any dog I’d ever seen, but I was more used to hounds, and they do love their sleep.
I gave Nokosi a rub on the head while she stared at me cautiously. “I’m not here for you,” I whispered.
Then, to Georgie, I said, “Don’t wake up.” Bendin’ over, I scooped her into my arms. After two steps, she started to struggle for a second, but when she realized I was carryin’ her down the hall, she let me do it my way.
I rested her on the bed and she immediately rolled onto her side, pullin’ the blanket up, despite the heat. The old habits of livin’ with A/C die hard.
I stared at her for a few moments, wonderin’ what the future held for all of us. I’d seen Georgina over the past days, pullin’ out her phone and swipin’ it to look at incoming texts. She hadn’t gotten anything since Roxy had texted the address where she was holin’ up, but the woman never gave up.
The street names still stuck in my head. Maybe because I needed a destination to stay focused, kinda like Georgie needed a purpose; somethin’ to focus on and give her hope.
Passover and Windsor Streets. That’s where her daughter was at last notice.
Georgie’d punch in long texts every once in a while, then put the phone away again, filled with hope, I knew. I sure wanted her faith to be rewarded, but my own was shaken, and I had more doubts than confidence. Didn’t matter.