by Dean, Jane
They were unlike anything she’d ever seen before. Their heads were very large, about twice the size of a normal man’s head and their eye sockets were large. She stood up slowly and scanned their forms laying under the sheets. Their feet hung over the ends of the beds by about a foot. She estimated that they had to both be eight feet tall.
***
Ursa woke with her cheek pressed into the solid deck. She felt calm and assumed it was the movement of the boat rocking on the ocean relaxing her mind. On the quiet of the boat she could hear water echoing outside hitting the side of the boat. The sound travelled across the water to echo back to her. She thought she could tell how far from shore they were. Sounds became louder as she concentrated on them. She shifted her focus from the bright chrome and looked over to where Tod and Marshall had moved to the front of the boat.
Her hand shook as she pushed her hair over her ear and her eyes widened as she realized she could hear their hearts beating. She focused on Melissa and could smell her. How can this be happening? she thought to herself. As she sat up a huge of wave sensory information entered her mind at the same time. It crashed down as a sharp pain in the front of her mind. She blinked back tears and took a deep breath. Gradually the pain subsided as she fought nausea and faintness. She clutched the side of the boat. She could hear Tod talking above her.
“Glad to see that you got some rest.” She heard her brother’s voice coming other through a fog. She sat still and then turned her head slowly to look at her brother. As her eyes met his he moved back a little in his seat and put his hand over his mouth.
"Your eyes. Something's wrong with your eyes,” Callum said. He stopped backing away from her shaking his head he edged toward her to get a closer look.
"What're you talking about?” she asked. The light did bother her as she blinked against the light reflecting off the ocean and the white of the boat. “I’m fine. I just woke up. Give me a minute.” Blinking again, she rubbed her eyes and her contacts rubbed out and onto the side of her hand. She looked down at them and felt a moment of panic at not being able to see well. Looking up to squint at Callum she was surprised to find that he didn’t look blurry. If anything, he appeared clearer as she continued to blink. She could make out each pore on his face.
“Oh my god. Ursa. Don’t move, let me look.”
“What’s wrong?”
“Don’t worry.” His voice shook a little as he approached her.
“Talk to me!” she yelled.
“Your eyes have changed. They were blue and now they’re yellow. The irises are so large I can’t see any white and your pupils are almost nonexistent.” He got very near to her face and pulled the lid of her eye up. She reacted by blinking.
“I’m sensitive to the sun,” she said.
“They remind of an owl’s eyes. Go down and take a look. How do you feel otherwise?”
“Fine,” she said and stood too fast feeling a little vertigo. She focused on her steps and walked to the stairs to get below deck. Callum followed close behind. In the tiny bathroom the light was too much for her to bare and she turned off the light to look into the mirror. What she saw caused a fear to grip her insides as badly as the first time she’d seen a Walker attack someone. Her eyes glowed large and dark yellow. She steadied herself, looked away and then looked again slowly. Callum was right, her eyes were completely yellow almost gold, but now in the dimmer light her pupils were disturbingly large of the small room.
She let out a gasp, gripped the sink to keep from fainting and stared into the mirror without blinking. "Could the bite have caused this?" She asked more to herself than her brother. "I don't feel like I want to attack anyone. I still feel like I'm in control of myself. Something else must be happening." They walked back up to the deck. Ursa checked over to see that Melissa was still curled in a ball on the small bed.
“Let’s go talk to the guys about this. We don’t want them seeing you and rushing to conclusions,” Callum said. Callum walked in front of Ursa as they walked across the deck. The winds were picking up again and the ocean looked black and rough. “Tod, Marshall,” Callum yelled over the wind. “We’ve got something to talk to you about.”
Marshall glanced up at both of them. Ursa keep her eyes averted and sat down deal with the nausea building up inside her again. “Everything okay?” he asked.
“We’re not sure. Something’s happening to Ursa. She’s not a harm to any of us. I’ll say that right now.” Both Marshall and Tod stood and turned to study Ursa.
“I’m okay,” she said. “I feel sick but I’m not turning into a Walker.” She turned up her face and looked at the two men.
"Callum, man, she might be turning into one of them. Maybe it's taking longer than the others,” Tod said.
"She would have changed by now,” Callum replied. “I think this is something else. None of the Walkers I saw had this eye color and she seems fine otherwise. She’s communicating and reasoning.”
"Can we risk being alone with her if she decides to attack us? Do we leave Melissa with her and head out just the three of us?"
"No. I'm fine. I'm better than fine and you need me,” Ursa said. “I think what’s happening is making me stronger. My eyes look strange but I can make out every leave along the shore over there. There are other things too. I didn’t mention before.”
“What type of things?” Tod asked.
“I can hear your heart beat,” she said. “I can sense the animals on the shore and in the water. I can feel the fish under the boat.”
“Okay,” Tod said. “That’s not right. Marshall, what do you think?”
“Ursa,” Marshall said. “Do you feel any rage or anger and need to attack us?”
“No. I’m very hungry, but I don’t want to bite you or attack anyone. I’m scared guys. There’s too much information in my mind right now. It’s hard to sort out the senses pouring in.”
“Ursa. I think we should keep watch over you.” Marshall said. “I don’t want you to take this the wrong way, but I think we should talk about the possibility that you might be turning.”
“She said she’s fine,” Callum said. “We shouldn’t jump to any conclusions.”
“We don’t know this for sure,” Marshall said. “What the hell do we really know for sure? She might be changing into something similar to those things, it could be taking longer. I think we should tie her up until we go any farther.”
“I’m sorry Callum. I’m going to agree with Marshall. She doesn’t look right.”
“Ursa,” Callum said to her. “I’ll do it. We’ll make you comfortable and secure you watch to see what happens. I’m so sorry.” He looked out to the water and then back at Ursa who sat trying to decipher the messages she was receiving from the talking men and the life all around her.
“That’s okay,” she said. She closed her eyes and the world slipped away as she lost consciousness.
TEN
"Tod, get up. Tod.' Marshall kicked at Tod’s foot. Tod rolled onto his back and opened his eyes.
"Marshall. Glad to see you man! You won't believe the dream I had. We were running with this beautiful girl and her brother and there were these dead people chasing us."
"Yeah yeah. Very funny. I think we might be here. I’m not sure. You’ll need to check the nav system.”
Tod got up and walked up the stairs to the deck. The sun was coming up and the air was almost cold as he walked onto the deck. He half smiled thinking that it would be a perfect morning to sail. He scratched his scalp with both hands which he knew made his hair stand straight in the air and looked at the display on the screen.
“The whole world’s crashing down around us but the satellites are still orbiting,” he smiled again.
“Are we where we should be?” Marshall asked again.
“Well according to this,” he motioned to the glowing map, “we should be coming up alongside Cape Disappointment State Park. We should take it in here after this beach.” He pointed up ahead to the sandy shore. A Wal
ker walked along the beach dragging a foot out behind him. Another smaller person emerged from the forest and walked to the edge of the water. He moaned toward the moving boat and entered the water walking in their direction and went right down until they could only see his head and then that disappeared.
“Are we safe here you think?” Marshall asked Tod.
Tod took a look at the instruments in front of him. “It’s pretty deep right here. I don’t think anything can reach us. We should stay alert though and watch overboard. I would guess that some of the big ones might be floating and could grab hold.”
Callum walked to them after tying down the sail. “Can we make it to Longview on the gas we have?”
“I think we’ll be okay,” Tod said.
“We’ll find a car and get to Yakima from there,” Marshall said pointing to Longview. Callum nodded, sat down heavily and turned to watch the small biter walk into the ocean another came out of the forest and then another. They ran down the beach toward the boat and into the water.
“I think we should avoid the main highway,” Callum said. “The back road might be less congested. Can you imagine the number of biters waiting for us on the highway? What about Ursa? She’s been eating a lot, but other than that she seems okay. I don’t think she’s a threat.”
“We’ll take her with us, but Callum, if she turns, we’ll have to end it,” Marshall said.
“Okay. Agreed, but I don’t it’ll come to that. I think I might know what’s happening. I don’t think it’s the bite that’s doing this to her.”
“What d’ya mean?” Tod asked.
“Dad saw her before she flew out here and he vaccinated her. He knew what was about to happen and vaccinated her when he had the chance.”
“Why not you?” Marshall asked.
“He tried. He wanted me to visit before I left but I’d got around him.”
“What’s she changing into then?” Marshall asked.
“He’s a very smart man. He must have known the vaccination would help and it probably saved her life after she was bit.”
* * *
The Prime Minister of India was now on the large screen. "What have you determined Prime Minister Lambert?" he asked into his microphone. He blotted his head with a handkerchief and held it over his nose and mouth.
The Prime Minster of France rested his hand on his chin and sat back in his chair. His image could be seen on a smaller picture on the screen. A few people stood behind him in his conference room. "The country of France isn't going to remain a country for long. We have outposts currently reporting to us but we need help now,” he yelled.
"I'm afraid help isn't going to come from any part of the world at this point,” said the Major.
"What have you determined Raj?" The President of the United States still looked calm but his tie was undone and his suit jack hung over the back of his chair.
"We have people working night and day testing humans. It looks like the drug is working. We've now turned our attention to fortifying territorial boundaries and ensuring that protocols are strictly enforced. No one can enter secure areas without a 48 hour quarantine. We don't care who they are. Some small settlements remain stable but we have too many people who have turned. The walking dead outnumber us 1000 to 1. We can only wait and hope our ammunition doesn't run out before we can vaccinate everyone."
TEN
Come on if we're going to do this, let's go." Marshall packed food into a backpack and the last few bottles of water he'd found in the hold.
"This is a suicide mission man." Tod rolled over and fluffed up his pillow. "I can't even run around the block let alone through a field into town. It must be a couple miles into town."
Ursa walked up the stairs to join them at the back of the boat. "Quit it Tod. We'll make it."
I found a crowbar and these metals rods in the hold. We'll take anything light." Ursa hefted the crowbar onto her shoulder.
"You really know how to turn a guy on." Tod smirked and pulled himself up.
"Come on streak. Let's get moving. You can romance me later." Ursa left the two men and went to find Melissa to get her ready to leave.
"Melissa, how are you doing hon?" Ursa helped Melissa get up out of bed and watched as she rubbed her eyes.
“They let you go?” It was the first sentence she’d ever heard Melissa utter. She decided not mention the fact and pushed the little girl’s hair out of her face.
“Yes, hon. They let me go. They thought I was dangerous, but I’m fine and I’m not going to leave you.” For a moment Ursa thought she saw Melissa look around and become conscious of her surroundings but in the next instant the little girl stared at the wall and didn't seem to be listening or sensing anything around her again.
Ursa tucked the little girl's hair into the oversized coat she’d found. "Let's get ready for a trip okay? We thought we'd go to the grocery store. Did your mummy ever take you shopping?" The little girl stared straight ahead. "You can find a lot of things at the store. They have candy and toys. Maybe we'll find some good things there." Ursa picked up the little girl and went out to place her on the stairs leading up to the deck.
Tod and Marshall were arguing at the top of the stairs as she readied herself and brought Melissa topside. She put her down and waited for them to finish.
"I can't take it man. I can't go back out there. It's a fucking nightmare and I've had enough." Tod was looking at the biters gathering around the roadway and the bank. Some were walking into the water and were almost able to get to them.
“There aren’t going to be any less of them if we wait.” Marshall said. “So what are you going to do? Lie down in here and rot? We've got to at least try. What if we make it?”
"Yeah. And what if we get there are it's crawling with dead people. What then? Do we just walk in the front door and say, Pardon me but you'll all have to leave because we're here now? Get real Marshall.”
“At least I have hope.”
Ursa stepped in between them and stuck her finger into Tod's chest. "We're all going and that includes you."
Tod took a deep breath. “Okay.” He took a few more breaths and let them out slowly. “We should consider our strategy then.” He started the motor and continued down the river.
“Where are we going?” Marshall asked.
“The river will be crawling with them if we try to cross here. Let’s bring them all down the river away from the point we want to cross.”
“Good idea,” Marshall say.
“This is as close to shore as I'm comfortable with" Tod said as he maneuvered the boat to a point visible to all the biters. Hundreds of them were entered the water now and walking on each other. Tod kept moving the boat to spread them out as they walked into the water and disappeared. One floated face first, his arms splashing and his legs moving but to no purpose.
"Some of them float pretty well. They could make it tricky to get to shore,” Callum said.
"Should we take the dingy to get to shore?” Ursa asked.
Marshall picked up the binoculars and scanned the edge of the water. He saw the biters clearly and tried to not get emotional looking at the terrible disfigured faces and bodies. “There’s a gradual incline up to a hill only about 500 feet away. I can see a couple cars sitting empty up there too. We could drop anchor here and get over quietly. The biters might only be interested in the boat. We could raise the sail and lead them to it. We not be spotted or followed until we start the car.”
“Okay,” Callum said. Let’s wait until all of them are in the water and go for it. If things get bad we could get back here fast without worrying too much about biters chasing us right out to the boat."
"Do we all go?" Marshall asked.
"I think we should stick together,” Callum said. "We can carry more and we might find a secure place to settle for a while."
"What about Melissa?" Tod asked.
They all looked down at the little girl who stared at the floor. “I can take her,” Ursa said. “I thin
k the vaccine is working to improve more than my eyesight. I feel like I could almost lift a car. I can get the two of us to shore. You all cover us and we’ll make it no problem.” Ursa put her hand on the Melissa’s shoulder. The little girl still didn’t move. Ursa moved to the side of the boat to watch the Walkers continue to walk into the ocean.
“Can you sense the Walkers?” Callum asked.
“Yes. It’s strange. They’re very different then the life I’m able to sense. They have weight almost as if they weigh down on my mind. That’s the only way I can describe it. They make me tired.”
“How many are there? Can you tell how many are coming?”
She held onto the railing and looked down into the water. Hands floated up toward them. They reminded her of a kelp forest of arms and hands. Tod stopped the boat 100 feet from where they planned to beach their dingy and they waited. The sloop floated noiselessly on the water. Moans drifted to them from the shore, gurgled and faded after entering the water. The large floating biter bounced off the boat and couldn’t hold onto anything to climb up to them. He reminded Ursa of a water spider waiting for its prey, black, deadly, rocking up and down with the waves.
“That looks like all of them.” Tod said. “I’ll turn us around and head back. Callum, be ready with the dingy. Are we all set to go?”
“Ursa can you sense any more of them out there?” Callum asked.
“No. Well there are a few odds ones but much farther off.” Some of the biters stood on the others on the bottom of the river and hands would shoot into the air then fall back quickly into the dark water.
“Okay, Tod, Marshall. We’re ready.” Callum prepared the dingy as Tod drove the sloop back to their launch point.
“I’ll lay anchor,” Tod said. “If we ever have to come back the boat should be here for us. The island we were talking about might seem like a good idea.”