by DeLeon, Jon
Gio shook his head. Joe turned to face Teo. "They aren't going to do that, but you don't have to die here. None of us do."
"You already killed us all," Teo said, crying now.
"No. No, we can all live," Joe said, negotiating with him.
"You don't understand. The police are going to come and kill us all. You change nothing, another member of the elite will take over. I brought you here. How do you think that looks?"
"You're right. They are going to assume you're with us." Joe nodded sympathetically. "So why not join us?"
"I can't," Teo said.
"Why not? What else do you have to gain by staying loyal to a dead man?" Joe asked.
"It's not that. It's . . . things I've done. Ask Gio."
Joe turned and looked at the resistance commander. His face affirmed that something had happened in the past that he wouldn't let Teo forget. Joe turned back to Teo. "Look, I can promise you a fair trial."
"No," Teo said, "I'm sorry, but your brother and I are leaving together. It's the only way I can stay safe."
"You're going to deliver me to the police, aren't you?" Kurt asked.
Teo nodded. "Yes. It's the only way I get out of this. If I give them a bargaining chip, I have a chance."
Kurt looked at Joe. "I'm sorry."
"No," Joe said back.
Kurt reached up and grabbed Teo's hand. With one swift move, the needle penetrated skin and injected the Enerjax.
The Newlantis Waterways: Outbreak Day +109
Jolie had the throttle of the police boat pressed all the way forward. The water splashed her as the boat rocketed over waves. The blood that stained the uniform she had taken off the dead commander dripped red as the salt water saturated the fabric. She was heading for the military docks as fast as she could. As she rounded the wall, she almost ran into a pair of police boats roaring out of the docks. She steered hard, avoiding the collision. "What's going on?" she radioed over.
"Follow me!" a man shouted back over the radio.
"What's happening?" she asked again.
"The king is under attack. It's time to enact lockdown protocol. Come with us. We need to lock down the public docks. No ships in or out."
"What about the tower and the king?"
"Others are taking care of that. Your job is on the sea. Now hurry up and form up behind us."
Jolie turned her boat and steered to follow the police boats. She was about 800 yards behind the lead boats as they sped past the farming district. Her delay ended up being her saving grace.
Jet Skis and small fishing boats came from the wall's shadow loaded to the teeth. Those with passengers fired on the police boats. Others rammed the ships, trying to puncture their hulls. Jolie stopped her throttle, looking on in shock. Dozens of citizen boats were coming out of the woodwork. The police ships started sinking, some of the men jumping into the sea to escape. It didn't work. The citizen boats cleaned up the remaining survivors with bursts of gunfire.
Jolie was far enough behind to survive the initial ambush, but soon the boats turned their eyes on her. She steered toward open sea, running for her life.
The King's Tower: Outbreak Day +109
Kurt fell to the ground as Teo released his hold on him. Teo writhed, the needle still poking out of his arm. Kurt had taken a risk, but thanks to the practice with Tyler, his pull had been fast and his aim true. Liz pulled Kurt to his feet as the two scrambled away from the chopper.
Teo screamed as he pulled the needle from his arm. "Ahh! You!" he breathed, lying on the ground. He could feel the Enerjax spreading. "No," he said to the air. Teo jumped to his feet and hopped out the other side of the helicopter. He yelled, a battle cry, to steel his courage as he jumped off the platform's edge.
Joe hugged Kurt. "Dude."
Kurt answered back, "Yeah. That was intense."
"I'll call Philipo and let him know the king is dead," Gio said. "Thanks for your help."
Joe turned to face him. "You're welcome."
Gio walked away to make his call.
"Well what now?" Kurt asked Joe while putting his arm around Liz.
"Now we go home," Joe said, smiling. It only lasted a split second.
Two of the resistance fighters had walked around to where Teo had jumped off the platform. As they peered over the edge, they were unpleasantly surprised. Teo had landed on a stepped garden terrace, only a few feet below. His transformation, sped up by the direct blood release from the injection, had been fast. The now-zombified Teo reached up and grabbed the two men by the shins, dragging them over the edge. Their screams echoed into the air.
Joe, Kurt, Liz and Ricahrd began backing up slowly, moving behind the resistance fighters. The helicopter blocked their view of the platform, but they could hear fingernails scraping and bodies dragging. With a violent yell, the three zombies came running through the middle of the Black Hawk's main compartment.
The resistance fighters opened up, quickly eliminating the threat.
Liz breathed hard. "Will this ever end?"
"We have to go," Gio said, worry in his voice. "Philipo said the police are storming the tower. We need to get out of here now."
"Okay." Joe nodded. "Which way?"
"The way we came up," Gio answered.
"Oh man," Ricahrd complained.
Joe saw the police open the door to the heliport as he took his first step over the ledge. They made eye contact. "Go! Go! Go!" Joe yelled, pulling his body over the edge. He was yelling to the rest of the group who were slowly making their way into the hatch leading to the now-zombie-filled tower. He rushed to the hatch, hearing the police commander yell to the other men. "They're headed to the towers!"
Joe jumped into the open hatch. He fell about ten feet before he caught hold of a dead body hanging by its neck from the wall. This zombie, killed by the Enerjax booster earlier, stunk and felt of slime. Joe almost threw up.
"Joe!" Kurt shouted from his perch on another zombie about twenty feet lower.
"Hide behind the bodies," Joe yelled down.
A few seconds later, bullets rang down the length of the tower, hitting metal and tearing off undead body parts. Then a voice, the police commander's, could be heard. He was on the radio. "Execute underground Z."
The Newlantis Underground: Outbreak Day +109
The climb down the slick and rotted bodies was hard and sensually disturbing, but they had all made it to the bottom in a short time. As they regrouped, they heard the creaking of metal. Hinges turned, fighting the rust that had held them stiff.
"What's that?" Kurt asked.
"I don't know," Joe said.
The group of fighters held their flashlights pointed toward the source of the noise. A pair of eyes shined back at them in the dark. Then another and another and another appeared.
"Run!" Joe, Kurt and Gio all yelled in unison.
The group ran at a breakneck pace. Gio led them through the maze of barge hulls. The resistance had welded and cut passages between them all. Twisting and turning, they ran, using corners to gain some distance from the horde. Gio led them to a dead end. He reached up and pulled a lever that held a door overhead in place. He reached up and pushed. It didn't move. "Help me!"
Joe, Ricahrd, Kurt, Liz and Gio all pushed against the stubborn door. It wouldn't move. Something held it in place. Gun blasts echoed farther down the path. The resistance fighters were trying to buy them time.
They all pushed with everything they had. Nothing.
"Fuck!" Ricahrd shouted.
"What now?" Kurt asked Joe.
Joe looked at his brother's face. Fresh out of ideas. The gunshots stopped. Now they could only hear the sound of footsteps coming their way.
Gio spoke. "We are in the bridge between the main market and the first farming fields. So we can sink this one and not doom Newlantis. If we blow a hole in it, we can swim for it."
"What?" Joe asked.
Gio, acting out of terror, pulled a grenade from his bag and pulled the pin.
"No!" Joe reached for Gio but was too late.
He pulled the pin and threw the grenade down the barge.
"Cover!" Ricahrd yelled.
Kurt jumped on top of Liz, shielding her. The blast left all their ears ringing.
Joe grabbed Kurt, who was still disoriented from the blast, off of Liz. About an inch of water was in the barge's hull. Splashing footprints could still be heard. "What did you do?" he shouted at Gio.
"Gave us a chance. We can swim out of here if we're fast." Gio started to walk toward the source of the blast. The water was rising fast, almost at his knees now. He reached down and felt a crack in the metal about four inches wide.
"You have to seal the explosion to make it have enough effect," Joe said, pulling Ricahrd to his feet.
Gio waded back to the men.
The water was rising still, now at their waists. The sound of the zombies struggling against the water started to dissipate. "Well you solved our zombie problem," Ricahrd said. "Too bad we're going to drown."
"How far to the nearest hatch?" Joe asked, contemplating swimming the distance. Gio just shook his head.
Light shined brightly into the dark tunnel as dirt fell into the water when the hatch opened. "Hey, guys." David's voice was calm and playful as he spoke to the group of men now standing in chest-deep water. "Time to come out of there.”
A short climb later and all three of the men had pulled themselves out of a hole in the middle of a cornfield. David closed the hatch again. "Sorry it took me a while to find y'all. You guys ran too far. Ended up all the way here, in the farming district. Luckily for me, you guys used that blast to show me where you were. Sank part of the field in the process, but it worked. I guess what they say is true. Cornfields can save your life.”
"Who says that?" Kurt asked.
"Nebraskans," Liz said, laughing. David just smiled.
"Looks like it was our turn to come up from underground, literally," Joe said.
"I'm so sick of this survival shit," Ricahrd said, kicking a cob of corn close to him.
Kurt and Joe bumped fists, celebrating their survival.
"Well, looks like David was right," Philipo said, walking down the corn row. "You did go too far."
Joe stood up. "Well your revolution is started," he said to Philipo.
"More than you know, actually. The citizens all over are rising up and taking down the corrupt police force." Philipo smiled, offering his hand to Joe.
Joe shook it.
"I'm not sure what your destiny has for you, but a lot of people here can live free now because of what you've done. Newlantis is reborn, with a chance to be a force of good from this point on," Philipo said. "I'm glad you got your brother out of all this too."
"Thank you." Joe returned his professionalism.
"Can we go back to the convoy now?" Ricahrd asked, almost complaining.
Philipo laughed.
"Sir." Another man ran up through the cornfield row. "Do you know someone named Jolie?"
The Newlantis Waterways: Outbreak Day +109
Jolie was on the run from a pair of Jet Skis, taking wild shots at her with handguns. They had chased her nearly all the way around Newlantis. She grabbed the radio and called out on all channels. "This is the police boat being chased by the two Jet Skis. Stop firing! I'm not police. I'm convoy security. I'm on your side. My name is Jolie! Stop firing."
The firing stopped, but the chase persisted. Did that work? A bullet whizzed past her head. Nope. She tried again. "I'm not police. I'm convoy security. I'm on your side. My name is Jolie! Stop firing." She looked back to see the Jet Skis turning away.
Over the radio, a voice she had been longing to hear called her name. "Jolie?"
She grabbed the handheld hard. "Ricahrd!"
Newlantis Public Docks: Outbreak Day +109
"Here comes your ride," Philipo said, pointing at the police boat coming down the public-dock waterway. Joe, Kurt, Liz and Ricahrd stood with him on the floating gangway. "You know you could stay and join us," Philipo said.
"No, thanks, I like the convoy," Ricahrd said.
Joe answered for Kurt and himself. "We won't be coming back."
"Have it your way. Take care," Philipo said as he turned, leaving the men.
La Vida Dulce: Outbreak Day +109
Jolie and Joe tied the police boat to the mooring points of La Vida Dulce. Joe barely finished his knot before Kira jumped into his arms. He caught her and held her tight, only separating enough to plant a kiss on her lips. After a few moments of kissing and hugging, Joe let go of his embrace and turned. "Kira, this is my brother, Kurt."
"Nice to finally meet you," she said with a tearful smile on her face.
"You too," Kurt said, offering his hand for a handshake.
Kira walked past it and gave him a big hug. "I'm so glad you're safe. You know Joe wouldn't have been okay if you hadn't been."
"Thanks," Kurt said. He let go of their introductory hug. "This is Liz."
"Nice to meet you too," Kira said, hugging Liz as well.
"Oh, you too," Liz said, returning her hug. "I'm just so happy to be here."
The rest of the reunion hugs and introductions were full of smiles and laughter.
"Mr. Joe?" Jack's small voice was little more than a nervous whisper.
"Hey, Jack," Joe said with a grin on his face. "Come here and meet your Uncle Kurt."
The boy walked over slowly, shy. "Hi," he said while hiding behind Joe's leg.
Kurt and Liz both squatted down. Kurt said, "Hey, Jack. It's really nice to meet you. This is Liz. She's really nice too."
"Nice meet you," Jack said. "My sister's named Liz."
Liz spoke in a caring voice. "Really? That's cool. I never had a brother, but if I had, I think I would have liked his name to be Jack."
The young boy smiled.
"Is Megan here?" Ricahrd asked.
"Yeah, the kids are downstairs," Kira said. "I figured it would be better to introduce them after we all met first. Jack, though, he's a brave little one. Aren't you, Jack?"
Jack nodded happily.
"I think it's time to introduce you to the rest of the family," Joe said to Kurt and Liz.
La Vida Dulce: Outbreak Day +114
Kurt and Joe sat on the fly deck, watching a helicopter leave Newlantis. Over the last few days, Philipo, having taken complete control, had restarted the rescue missions.
"You know, it's been almost three weeks now since I left on a helicopter heading out to find you," Joe said.
"It's amazing how fast time flies when you’re not on the run from everything," Kurt said. "Or stuck in a cabin in the Russian woods."
"Yeah," Joe said. "So, man, are you ready to leave tomorrow?"
Kurt nodded his head. "Yeah, I really am. Thanks for letting us crowd into your ship, man."
"Of course," Joe replied. "You’re family. Besides, with Jolie moving to the convoy ship, we had the open room."
"So what now, bro?" Kurt asked Joe.
"I don't know. I mean, everyone is safe. I don't know what to do next," Joe answered.
Kira chimed in. "We go to that island we talked about." She’d just walked up the stairs to join the brothers.
"If only such a place existed," Joe said.
Kira smiled. "Well, about that."
The Caribbean Island: Outbreak Day +142
"Captain Feller." Thad called La Vida Dulce over the radio.
"Call me Joe, Thad," he responded.
"Joe, the oil platform is straight ahead."
"Yeah, I see it."
"Do you see the island on the horizon to our eleven o'clock?"
Joe could just see the faint outline of a green landmass. "Yeah, tracking."
"That's it," Thad said. "That's the abandoned resort island."
"You sure it's empty?"
"Was last time we were here," Thad replied.
"Okay. We'll go check it out." Joe turned La Vida Dulce to steer toward the island.
"Okay,
" Thad replied. "We'll start the pump and then come your way."
It took about twenty minutes for La Vida Dulce to reach the island. Kira and Joe traded command of the vessel. Kira dropped him, Ricahrd and Kurt off.
Kira circled the island, nervously awaiting their signal. It took almost an hour before Kira saw the flare fire into the sky. All clear.
The Caribbean Island: Outbreak Day +365
"Did you know today is the one-year anniversary of Outbreak Day?" Kurt asked Liz.
She rolled over on her beach towel to tan evenly. "One year, huh? It doesn't feel like it's been that long." She paused. "But it also feels like it's been longer at the same time. Do you know what I mean?"
Kurt adjusted his sitting position in the beach chair he had repaired. He stared at the shadow on the horizon. Thad's oil tanker was headed back to New Miami to join the convoy, this time full of fuel to trade. "Yeah I do," Kurt said. "It's hard to believe all that happened, all the shit that we went through, and now being here. It's hard to even think of that stuff when looking at this paradise and believe they happened in the same lifetime, let alone the same year. I mean, look at that." Kurt pointed to the beach where Joe, Kira and four kids played in the waves.
Liz turned so she could see them. "It's great to see that even though those kids went through so much, even lost their parents, they are still able to live happily. I think Kira and Joe are to thank for that. Their love for those kids, and even Megan, who they just basically adopted, with Jolie and Ricahrd leaving with the convoy, is amazing. It's cheesy, but if you think about it, it's love that saved all of us. Kira and Joe's love for each other kept them going and got them to you, which brought you to me."
Kurt took a deep breath of humid tropical air and smiled. He sat there, watching the sun as it slowly sank lower on the horizon and listening to the laughter of the kids playing in the warm water, looked over at the woman tanning on the ground next to him, and then looked at his brother, smiling and laughing.
I guess this zombie world is okay after all.