by Mark Clodi
“'Shit', what?” Tom asked.
“Well ah coulda fired the rifle, maybe drew a few of them off of them.”
“Oh, me too.”
“Naw, not with a bean bag in the barrel and with a regular shell the spread might have hit one of them. But I could done something.”
“We didn't think. You could still kill a few of them, the slow ones.” Tom said, pointing to the deck where a dozen or more zombies were straggling after the humans below.
“Yeah, I reckon I could.” Lance braced the gun on the railing and aimed carefully. He didn't fire.
“What?”
“I was thinking. What if there is a cure? What if this passes?”
Shrugging his shoulders Tom said, “Then we've already killed a bunch of sick people.”
“Yeah, but it is different than when they are right there, trying to kill you. This,” Lance waved his off hand to point towards the zombies, “is like shooting fish in a barrel. They are not attacking me. So...”
“It's more like murder?”
Nodding Lance said, “No justifying it in a court of law.”
“I'll do it.”
“Naw, how would that look? I wouldn't want you to do anything I wouldn't do myself, I mean what is the difference, if I don't stop you then I am just as guilty.”
“Shut up and shoot Lance.”
Sighting down the barrel once again, Lance sighed, then gently pulled the trigger back. The loud retort made Tom jump and of the zombies on the Lido level, three looked up to see where the shot had come from.
“Better get those ones.” Tom said, “The baldy, in the orange shirt. He looked up here. Then get the one over there in the blue swim trunks and that chick in the tube top without any pants on.”
“Why them?”
“They noticed us, looked up here when the gun went off.”
“Good enough for me. Keep feeding me targets.”
The two of them continued talk with Tom pointing out who to shoot next based on his assessment on which zombies were smartest.
“How come some are smarter than others, do you suppose?” asked Lance.
“How would I know?”
“You couldn't, but guess.”
“The ones who came back soonest? Or maybe just some people are better zombies than others?”
“Nah, I don't think that is it.” Lance said. He ejected the magazine from the gun and looked it over, there were no more zombies down below.
“Really? How come?”
“Well, look at the first three you had me shoot, Baldy, Blue trunks and Tube Top. What do you see?”
“I see dead people.”
Lance laughed, “I get it. No, but really look. Tell me what they have in common.”
Tom looked at the people on the deck and shook his head, “They all died of head wounds?”
Snorting Lance said, “You're a fucking comedian Tom, better than that hypnotist I saw once.” his voice turned serious and he gazed intently at Tom, “Really what do you see?”
Tom felt like he was being tested, so he looked at the bodies again, at first he saw nothing similar, then he noticed it, all three were stained with dried blood. The woman even had dried blood running down her thighs to her bare feet. “They all ate someone, they've all got blood from someone else on them!”
“Good man!” Lance said, beaming, “My theory is they eat someone they get a little smarter, just like when you get tired a little food can keep you going longer.”
“So, how does that help us?”
“Well, we kill the ones with bloody mouths first.” Lance said.
“Did they seem a little faster than the other ones too?”
“Yeah.”
“What happens....I mean, how fast do you think they could get?”
“I dunno, you're above my pay grade there Tom.”
Both men were silent for a few minutes as Lance finished cleaning the rifle, then he looked up, caught Tom's eye and flashed him a grin, “Let's move up front, then you stand on the port side and I will look over the starboard side, in case our friend makes it up higher. Next time I won't be so slow on the draw.”
It didn't take long for them to get into position and soon after that they spotted a flare fired from a couple decks below them out into the ocean. Paul's voice soon followed, called out, “Hey, you guys still up there?”
“Yes sir!” bellowed Lance.
“Well there are a shit load of zombies around the daycare area, we can't get up the stairs or make it to the elevator.”
“So what can we do to help?”
“You have a real gun, not some flare shooter, I saw some of the work you did on the zombies by the pools. Can you shoot your way out to us?”
Tom and Lance looked at each other and shook their heads. Tom whispered, “I don't want to go back out there. Not while we are all set up here.”
“I agree, let's see if he still has that rope.” Lance turned back to the front of the ship and yelled, “Do you still have that rope?”
“Yeah. But I can't see you, how could I toss it up when I can't see you?”
“Where are you?”
“On the sunbathing deck in front of the exercise room.”
“Lean all the way out and wave your hand.”
Neither man saw anything. Then they heard Paul's voice all out, “Can you see my hand?”
“No.” Lance said, he handed the rifle to Tom then climbed over the railing and leaned backwards over it before saying, “Try again!”
Tom waited a moment, nervously clutching the rifle.
“Okay! Yeah I can see your hand. Can you try and throw the rope up that way, you got to go up about forty feet.”
“Forty feet!”
“Maybe thirty.”
“Geezus! Okay here it comes.”
The rope made it about ten feet before it tangled and slid back down the superstructure of the ship.
“Try again, a little more to the port side.”
“Okay, here it comes.”
Once again the rope arced up and hit the side of the ship, this time making perhaps a third of the distance required.
“Not good enough. Do you have anything to tie to the end of the rope so you could throw it higher?”
“Give us a minute.”
Lance climbed back over the railing and waited, a few minutes later they heard Paul call up again. “You ready?”
“Sure.” Lance said, not bothering to climb over the railing. This time even Tom saw the rope, they had attached a small purple dumbbell to the end of the rope. It soared up higher than the railing, but was too far to the port side and swung back down and around.
“The height is right, more starboard!” Lance yelled.
The next attempt landed the dumbbell right between Tom and Lance.
“We got it! Give me a minute to tie it off!”
“Take all the time you need, I don't want it coming undone when I am halfway up.”
“Don't worry I was in scouts and can tie a good knot and we have plenty of things to tie it to. Do we have a lot of extra rope to work with?”
“Yeah, I still must have half as much down here as we have played out between us. Take what you need, if I start running short I will tell you.”
“Okay, sounds good.” then Lance spoke more quietly to Tom, “I am going to secure it up top, so when they get to this level they can pull themselves over the edge easier.”
Tom watched as Lance climbed the ladder to the area on top of the bridge, after taking a moment to tie the rope he called down, “Tell them they can climb up now.”
“Paul? You can climb up now.”
“Okay, we're coming up one at a time. I am sending Mary Beth up first.”
“Okay.”
Climbing up the outside surface of the ship was not extraordinarily difficult, it was not a sheer drop, it was a slope of about sixty degrees. Tom thought if worst came to worst he might be able to climb down it without a rope. He saw Mary Beth a few minutes after the
rope was pulled taunt. It was the woman who had been thrown into the hot tub. She had acquired a pair of gray sweat pants that were too big for her. 'Better than running around with your business hanging out.'
The woman moved slowly, as if she were in some pain, she had a small gym bag slung over her back and was making the climb bare foot.
“Hi, Mary Beth!” Tom said, “You're almost there. My name is Tom.”
“Hi, Tom. I don't know if I am going to make it, my legs are all shaky.”
“You're doing fine, just keep putting one foot in front of the other and you'll be here in a minute.”
The woman started to cry, from the look of her eyes it wasn't the first time today either. She missed her next step and fell into the side of the ship, thumping loudly and screaming as she fell. Mary Beth did hold onto the rope, clutching it with both hands in a death grip.
“Oh God! Help me! Somebody help me!”
“Calm down. Mary Beth...”
“Help me! Don't just stand there help me!” she screamed at Tom.
Tom looked up at Lance, who gave his head one shake and shrugged his shoulders. The woman was about twenty feet away, closer to the bottom of her climb than the top.
“Mary Beth I am going to help you, but you have to stop screaming!”
The screaming stopped, the short haired brunet looked up at him with wide, tear filled eyes.
“Okay. Good. Now close your eyes. Yeah, just close them and think for a minute.”
Mary Beth did as she was told, clinging to the rope and whimpering.
“Are you calmed down a little?”
“No.” she sobbed.
“Alright, then maybe you had better slowly lower yourself and get back down to the exercise room.”
“I can't go back there! There are zombies in the exercise room! Paul has Jack holding the door shut so they can't get to us!”
“Then you need to climb up, but Mary Beth, up or down it sounds like you better get moving.”
The woman lay there for a moment, then opened one eye, she focused it on Tom, “Couldn't you come get me?”
“I don't have a rope. Look, it isn't so bad, it is almost like walking, just put your feet under you and take a few steps, okay? One step at a time.”
Ever so slowly the woman righted herself and got to her feet. Tom had to coax her to take each step, she would not move unless he told her to. He allowed her to rest between each step and then cajoled her to make the next one. Eventually Mary Beth was within reach of the railing, Tom had her take one more step then told her he could reach her hand and not to be afraid. When he touched her she immediately grasped his arm and let go of the rope, sobbing as she clutched him. Tom had braced himself for that, but was still almost pulled over the railing when she started to grapple with him. Lance was at his back in a flash, grabbing Tom from behind and jerking Mary Beth over the railing with one meaty hand.
“There we go, you made it. I'm Lance.” he said as he held his hand out to shake hers. Mary Beth ignored him and sobbed on Tom's shoulder.
“You saved me! You saved me! I couldn't have done it without you. Thank you!” she started smothering him in kisses that quickly turned from mere pecks to more adult like nature.
Tom blushed red and said, “Hey, hey, hold on there, you're safe now, but we got to bring the rest of the people up!”
Lance smiled and called down “Alright we are ready for the next one!”
While his back was turned Mary Beth dived into Tom's mouth with her tongue, a passion he was only able to resist for a few moments before returning it in a desperate frenzy. He broke off when he saw Lance grinning at him from over the woman's shoulder.
“Hey lady, you better let him up for air, you wouldn't want to suffocate him after you just met.”
Mary Beth stiffed and then pulled away from Tom. “I'm sorry. I don't know what came over me.” She stepped back out of Tom's embrace and sat down on the deck, where she buried her head into her knees as sobbed.
Tom looked at Lance, who shrugged and said, “The next one is coming up faster.”
Tom looked over and saw a tall red headed woman pulling herself up the outside of the ship, she smiled cheerfully and said, “I see you've met Mary Beth, I'm Angela.”
They called down their names and Lance told Tom to take care of Mary Beth, he almost managed to keep the smirk off his face as he did so. Tom brought the woman over to the door into the bridge and asked, “Do you want to wait inside while I help Lance with everyone else?”
“Will you come in with me?”
“No, I better help Lance.”
“Then I will stay out here with you. I don't want to be alone.”
“Okay, but stay back a little, the deck is going to get crowded as the people climb up.”
Tom returned to stand next to Angela and Lance and the three of them were talking when the next person started climbing up. Lance was looking at Angela with great appreciation and she returned his look with a predatory look of her own, so it was Tom who saw the man climbing up next and gave a cheerful wave of his hand saying, “Hi I'm Tom, you're almost there, what's your....” Tom's voice froze in his throat. The man climbing up the rope was Carl.
Chapter 9
“Lance!” Tom yelled, pointing at Carl, who stood, frozen, halfway up the rope.
Lance turned to follow Tom's gaze, raising the rifle as he did so. “Don't move!” he shouted at Carl.
Carl stood like a deer in headlights, and stammered, “Wh-what?”
“You should be dead!” Tom accused.
“I...I can explain! Don't shoot me!”
Between the two men, Angela crouched down a little lower and asked, “What the hell is going on? Why are you pointing the gun at him?”
“His name is Carl, he's a preacher from...Minnesota?” Lance said.
“We know all that, without him we wouldn't have made it here, he drove some of the zombies off for us!” Angela said.
“How'd you meet him?”
“He met us. We were on the main lobby level and he was hiding behind the bar. Paul thought he was a zombie at first, he was all bloodstained.” Tom and Lance exchanged a quick, knowing look.
“What?” Angela asked.
“Nothing. Yet.” Tom said, “What do we do with him?”
“Well ah would rather have him where we can keep an eye on him than running around loose.”
“What's the hold up? Can the next guy come up now?” called Paul from below.
“Almost.” yelled Tom, then to Carl, “You come up here, we won't do anything to you.”
Carl nodded, started climbing and said, “I told you I could explain, and I will.”
“Well, until we get to that sir, you need to go up top.” said Lance gesturing with his rifle towards the ladder as Carl climbed over the railing.
“Okay, the next guy can come up.” Tom called.
The next man up was Paul, he was tall and lanky, well over six feet and sported a crop of short blond hair. He had some sort of bag slung over his shoulder that looked like a gym bag stuffed full of something.
“Hi! I'm Paul Lee, you can call me 'Paul'.” he said, shaking everyone's hands as he made it to the deck, then he called down, “C'mon up Erik!”
The rope grew taut again as the man below started climbing.
“Where is Carl?” Paul asked.
“Up top, he needed to get some air.” Lance explained, pointing with one hand to the ladder.
“How you doing Mary Beth?” Paul asked the woman, who was still crying near the door to the bridge.
“Fine, that Tom saved me, I froze up on the rope...The rope!” she yelled. Everyone had been looking at her when she spoke, now they turned back to the rope, or rather where the rope had been. A man's scream came from below them, followed by another yell from further down, then silence.
“You son of a bitch!” Tom yelled leaping for the ladder.
“Careful Tom!” Lance yelled running after him.
“What the fu
ck just happened?” Paul asked.
“The rope got loose, Erik fell.” said Angela, pointing to the empty railing.
Tom made it up the ladder in two bounds and saw Carl leaning over the railing, looking down the front of the ship. Carl turned around to see Tom's shotgun pointed at his face, Lance climbed up the ladder to stand on the deck and prevent anyone else from climbing up.
“I...I tried to grab the rope, it came undone really fast, I didn't catch it.”
“Sir, that’s just bullshit. I tied that mahself, ain't no way it came untied.” said Lance, “Tom, don't do nothing foolish.”
“He's one of them, first Dan, now Erik.”
“We don't know that.”
“What the hell are you doing, let me by Lance.” said Paul from the ladder.
“No sir, you just stay put, see, we know 'Carl' here, don't we Carl?”
The preacher nodded.
“What? How? You mean from earlier, on the cruise before everyone got sick right?” asked Paul.
Tom shook his head, “No. It was after.”
“He was with us, helped us get by a bunch of zombies, like Angela said he did for you. Only there were four of us then. What happened to Dan?” asked Lance.
“He, well he didn't make it.” said Carl slowly.
“Tell us what happened.” Tom said.
“It's hard to talk with the barrel of a gun in my face.” Carl replied.
“Harder with a shotgun sized hole in your head.” Tom responded.
Gulping, Carl nodded and stammered, “Dan and I went down in the elevator, the doors opened up into the main lobby. There were zombies there. They got Dan.”
“And you just got away?” Tom asked sarcastically.
“I did, praise be to God. The zombies didn't touch me.”
“Bullshit.”
“Look Tom, they don't bother me for some reason, they just leave me alone. Maybe it's because I am a man of God?”
Lance was the one who said “Bullshit.” this time, “A whole mob of them? And you just drove them back, but couldn't save Dan too? We saw you push 'em back on basketball court, so something ain't smelling right here on the pig farm.”
“You gotta believe me, it...everything I said was the truth!”
“Oh, I believe that. I just don't think you told us everything, did you?” said Tom, “Hey Paul, what was Carl here wearing when you ran into him?”