“As far as I know I’m the commander now. I’m not going to order a bunch of men to kill themselves trying to rescue me. We need to come up with a workable plan. A way to sneak past them would be great. If we were closer to a ladder, we might be able to pull it off. They’re still sending SAR teams down everywhere they can to rescue people that are trapped. I‘ve ordered them to rescue as many people as they can with minimal risk. We just happen to be in a place that is maximum risk.” Jeff looked like he’d written them all off already.
“What about sneaking past the infected to the ladders going up on deck?” Drew said. He honestly had no idea where he was going with that. He was hoping it’d get the creative juices flowing and they’d figure out a way not to die. The way everyone was staring at him made him wonder if maybe he shouldn’t have said anything. He gamely kept his mouth shut hoping someone might come up with something other than telling him he was an idiot.
“We could get above the drop ceiling and crawl through there maybe.” One of the Marines said tentatively.
“If the infected hear us in the ceiling they’ll be on us in a second. Plus, we couldn’t get past the firewalls up in the ceiling. We’d have to drop down. We’ve got too many people in here for it to work. It‘d have to be like just one or two of us. Also, we’d have to be ninjas or Bruce Willis to pull it off.” Jeff responded. He said it quickly enough that it was obvious he’d already thought through that scenario.
“The ship being open. We’re considering that a disadvantage because it means the infected can get anywhere pretty quick. What if we made a bunch of noise in a far corner and everyone on this side made a run for it. Then vice versa?” Drew said. He was thinking back to all the other diversionary tactics they’d pulled off since this started. The infected may have the reflexes and strength of superheroes but no one was worried about them outscoring everyone else on the SAT. The crawlerz wouldn’t think twice about hauling ass across the ship to get to the source of something that sounded like the human prey they were constantly hunting.
Silence around the small room. Drew looked around waiting for someone to beat down his idea. Jeff and the two Marines were all experienced out in the field. They’d all been there and done that since the crawlerz crossed the border. Drew watched as glances were passed around the room.
“That might work.” Jeff said.
“Really only one way to find out.” The older Marine said with a lop-sided grin.
“Aright. Well. If it’s an experiment, then we’ll be the Guinea pigs. If we make it then we can probably use the same idea for everyone else. It’s not like the crawlerz are going to figure out what we’re doing.” Jeff said. He seemed to have regained some of his confidence. He leaned forward and immediately picked up the phone to set the plan in motion. There were speakers setup in zones all over the ship. He’d just have them page an area on the other side of the ship and yell a lot. If it worked well enough, they may even be able to seal off the bulk of the infected in one area of the ship.
“Make sure you tell them to contact anybody in that area and let them know not to leave whatever hiding space they’ve found once the screaming starts.” Drew reminded Jeff. Jeff nodded and repeated that advice to the Marine officer on the other end of the line. When he was done, he hung up the line.
“When do we go sir?” The older Marine asked.
“We roll out at the top of the hour. They’ll start the screaming five minutes prior. We’ll verify on the cameras that the coast is clear. As long as it looks good then we’ll roll out. Go grab everybody and tell them it’s about time. I’ll give the final order once I verify the coast looks clear. I know we’re looking to arm everybody, but we want to make sure no one gets a gun who’s going to shoot it unless absolutely necessary. Understood?” Jeff stared at the three of them. They all got it. If someone pulled the trigger prematurely, then the infected may choose to ignore the screams spewing from the overhead and rush back towards them.
“Aye sir.” The Marines sounded off and disappeared to get everything in order.
“You good Drew?” Jeff asked.
“Absolutely. Let’s get this done.” Drew answered and walked out to help the Marines get everything ready.
Like most of the decisions he’d made recently it wasn’t like he really had a choice. Survival was the true north he oriented his decision making on. Right now, the next step in survival looked like getting up onto the flight deck. If he could get up there with Yue, he’d consider that a huge win. If not, then he’d at least die trying. Either way he wasn’t the type to be content to just sit there until they resorted to cannibalism themselves to stay alive. Wouldn’t that be ironic?
Chapter 21: Rolling the Dice
“Alright. Coast is clear. Let’s do this.” Jeff announced getting out of the chair in the small office. He walked into the main area of the lab and made sure everybody was ready to roll out. A few of the scientists including the one who’d given Jeff a hard time didn’t make eye contact. They might not be thrilled with the idea, but they were all lined up to follow the Marines and Drew out into the passageway. Jeff walked to the front of the line and took his place to lead them all out the hatch.
“You sure you shouldn’t be in the middle of the group?” Drew asked. He didn’t want the new leader of the free world who also happened to be his sister’s boyfriend to get killed on his watch. He also wasn’t sure how proficient Jeff was with the M-16 he was carrying. Whoever was in the lead needed to be good or they’d just get in everyone else’s way. Based on how comfortable he looked carrying it he might be ok with it.
“No worries. I’ll bravely lead us out into the hallway I just verified is completely empty. As long as I don’t trip and shoot myself, we should be good.” Jeff said sarcastically.
That shut Drew and the others up. They moved quickly to get the hatch opened and get on the other side of it. Drew letting one of his dad’s favorite phrases guide him as he went. Slow is smooth and smooth is fast. He’d never really understood that until he’d wound up in situations like this. Now he was way too familiar with the meaning and intent behind it. He kept moving with the repetitive sound of screaming coming from deeper in the ship grinding on his nerves.
Jeff led them down the passageway making plenty of room for everyone to leave the lab behind. Once everyone was out Jeff motioned for the last man in the line to close the hatch. The last man being one of the few white coats in the crowd they’d decided they could trust with a weapon. Jeff began moving forward again once the hatch was shut.
Their luck held until they were close enough to see the ladder leading to the flight deck. As they moved forward there was a sudden flash of movement from the side. A crawler who’d lost the use of both legs lunged at Jeff. It was using its arms to propel itself forward. It’s legs dangling behind it uselessly on the deck. Jeff turned but before he could get his rifle aimed Drew and one of the Marines had already riddled the crawler with multiple shots. Behind them a few of the scientists yelled out in surprise. Suddenly there was a mass movement forward as all the men they were escorting ran for the ladder leading outside.
From down the passageway hatred filled screeches came echoing back. The distraction of the screaming voices ripped off from a random horror flick playing over the speakers on the other side of the ship weren’t enough to keep the surgers enthralled. Not when they heard the sound of weapons being fired. The sound becoming even more of a crawler magnet by the added shouts of fear from the scientists. Their fear was palpable enough for the crawlerz to pick up on it.
“Everybody back in line.” Jeff ordered before giving up and walking quickly towards the ladder up ahead.
The first victim screamed behind them as a crawler slammed into the back of the group and pulled one of the scientists down to the ground. The technician with the rifle in the back of the group took a couple of shots before another crawler pulled him down. That was just the beginning of the onslaught. A steady stream of crawlerz crashed into the scientists. Al
l of whom were now screaming and running for the ladder. The ladder leading up to a still secured hatch.
“This way!” Jeff shouted and ran around the men banging futilely on the bottom of the hatch. A big group of the scientists were shoving one another around trying to get on the ladder. The crawlerz were coming from everywhere now ripping into them. Drew and the Marines along with a handful of the more astute men in white coats followed along in Jeff’s wake.
They shot as they ran putting crawlerz down on the deck. Deafening screams from behind them as the men on the stairs were pulled down and devoured. The demons normally getting in a few good bites before the shift happened. If a single crawler got more than a few victims in a row, then it passed less of the infection per bite. That meant that the third or fourth victim typically didn’t survive. The crawler would keep gnawing at them if it never sensed the change that came when the infection was transmitted.
The small group around Jeff started moving forward slower as the number of crawlerz coming at them increased. The two Marines who’d taken up the rear guard were firing constantly to hold off the crawlerz and surgers moving in their direction. Massive booms ripped the corridor apart. Fire and shrapnel tearing through the spaces ripping flesh from bone. Drew was blown off his feet by the shock waves from the explosions. He felt himself picked up and pushed backwards towards the ladder.
Coughing and sneezing big bloody gobs of snot Drew collapsed in the cool night air on the flight deck. He rolled over on his side gasping for breath watching as a couple more men emerged from the hatch before it was closed and dogged back down. All around him the men who’d been rescued were laid out on the ground. Watchful Marines stood close by ready to shoot them immediately at the first sign of infection. One of them handed an extremely grateful Drew a bottled water which he downed in one long swallow.
Sitting up Indian style he watched as Jeff walked away with a few of the senior Marines. It was well into the evening, but they still had the bright lights turned on topside. They didn’t want any crawlerz to sneak up on them if they managed to escape. Drew rubbed at his eyes. The team that’d rescued them had dropped in tear gas and smoke to help with fighting through the infected and rescuing them. Drew was just happy he’d figured out what was going on before trying to shoot at their rescuers. That probably wouldn’t have ended well for him.
“Thanks for rescuing my man.” Yue said sitting down next to him. She completely ignored the Marine guards who’d formed a perimeter around them in case any of them suddenly went into surger mode.
“No problem. It’s not like I had other plans or anything.” Drew replied. Yue already had her arm around him. Her eyes welling up with tears of relief.
“I’m tired Drew. I’m so tired. I thought this place was safe. I want LeBron safe.” Yue dissolved into sobs against Drew’s shoulder. He awkwardly patted her on the back. He was wondering when he’d started looking like the kind of guy people should confide in. He felt completely inadequate. He had no idea what to say to Yue to make her feel better. He was pretty damned tired himself.
“We’ll get back to LeBron.” He said for lack of anything else to say.
“Even if we do then what? This crap isn’t stopping. I think this pretty much proves that no where’s safe.” Yue was saying the exact same things that Drew was thinking. He wished she’d stop saying the things that were in his head and then waiting for him to make her feel better about them.
“Beats me. You’re the oldest. I think you’re the one who’s supposed to figure it all out.” Drew said smiling. Obviously, they’d figure it out together like they always did. They were still alive because they were an exceptional team. They’d evolved into a place where they relied on each other’s strengths to get by. Being separated like this felt unnatural. It was like they were each missing a chunk of their own body.
“We need him here for this.” Yue said. She was done sobbing. She sat up watching as the group of men including her new man disappeared into the superstructure. She reflected it hadn’t been that long ago that her and Jeff had come out of that superstructure with nothing more on their minds than setting up a steel beach picnic on the flight deck. That seemed like a million years ago.
Drew was silent. He totally agreed with Yue that LeBron would be a major asset to them with all the weirdness going on. There were so many moving parts to this cluster that he wondered how Jeff would even know where to start. They were on a gigantic floating nuclear power plant that was filled to the brim with the infected. Popping any of these hatches risked the flight deck being flooded with the killers. Once the infection started spreading up here it was all over. The biggest thing they had going for them was the fact that there was a few hundred heavily armed Marines wandering around on the flight deck with them.
When you were in it deep it was always nice to have a few hundred men behind you who were well armed and could shoot straight. Drew hoped the saying about every Marine being a rifleman was true.
“I don’t see many sailors. Just Marines everywhere.” Drew said to Yue. He’d realized something was off as he was looking around.
“Maybe because the sailors are up in the bridge driving the ship.” Yue said dismissively. Drew waited a second watching Yue’s face. He could tell when the issue he’d brought up percolated to the top of her thoughts. Both her eyes opened comically wide and she let out a little gasp.
“You think we should pay a visit to Jeffie Poo?” Drew asked. Yue nodded and got to her feet. She pushed past the guard trying to keep them both in the perimeter and waved impatiently for Drew to follow her. Drew walked past the guard ignoring the hard stare and the weapon pointed at him. The Marine let them go but Drew thought the hole at the end of the rifle barrel was going to make a cameo in his nightmares. He’d been less scared of some of the infected who’d come at him than he had at the cold, dispassionate sight of the dark round hole at the end of that gun barrel.
With Yue in the lead they set off in a beeline for the door they’d watched Jeff disappear through earlier. Yue was walking just a little too fast which must’ve caught the attention of the guard standing at the door. Not quite aiming his weapon at them he ordered them to halt. Once they’d stopped, he asked them their business.
“We’re here to see Jeff.” Yue said not thinking. The Marine stared back at her.
“The tall guy in the khakis. Supreme commander of the Department of Continuity or something. Anyway, we need to see him. Yue here is his significant other. I’m her brother.” Drew wondered why his mouth just kept going like that. From the looks he was getting both Yue and the guard were also wondering what his problem was.
The Marine told them to stand still and stepped backwards to take the phone out of the hardened wall mount it was in by the door. He sat his rifle down making a big deal of showing how easily he could still get to it. He put the handset up to his ear and dialed a number. Picking up his rifle he aimed it a little more directly at the two of them. Drew wondered exactly what the guy thought they were going to try. The guard sat there waiting for a couple of minutes then lowered the rifle barrel. He hung up the handset and opened the door for the two of them to go inside.
Yue gave Drew a hard look which he interpreted as she wanted him to let her do all the talking. Given his recent bouts of verbal diarrhea he had no problem with that. He followed her into a room that had a couple of men in it. A young man in full battle rattle came over and offered to escort them up to the bridge. The way he said it was polite, but it was obvious the offer was really more of an order.
Up on the bridge they finally found Jeff. He was deep in conversation with a few officers. All of whom were Marines. The bridge was covered in blood. There’d been a fierce fire fight in the space based on all of the bullet holes. Jeff saw Yue and excused himself to hurry over to her and Drew.
“It’s so good to see you made it out.” Jeff said to Yue pulling her in for a quick hug.
“I bet. There’s only like seven women on this ship and you managed
to snag one for yourself. It’d suck to lose her now.” Drew said. He meant it as a joke, but it came out a little off sounding. He backed quickly away so that Yue wouldn’t be able to hit him. He reminded himself to focus on using his mouth as nothing more than a hole in his head for breathing.
“I bet the other six would be super excited if I hadn’t made it out though.” Yue said. Drew puked a little in his mouth.
“What’d you have to tell me? The message I got was you had something you thought I should hear right away?” Jeff asked in a worried voice. He obviously didn’t want any more surprises today. Drew had a sudden wild compulsion to blurt out that she was pregnant. He wondered if it was all the recent near-death experiences that were making him act like an idiot. He managed to keep his mouth shut this time and let Yue respond.
“We were sitting out on the flight deck and Drew mentioned how many Marines there were.” Yue started to explain.
“Right.” Jeff said not seeing where she was going with this.
“It dawned on me what he was getting at was he didn’t see any sailors anywhere. I said that was because they were up here driving the ship.” Yue said then looked around the bridge. Jeff sighed as he saw what she was doing.
Crawlerz | Book 2 | Batten Down The Hatches Page 19