by Damon Novak
Georgie and Roxy were already on their knees, openin’ panels and searchin’.
“Got it!” said Georgina, pullin’ out a red and white can with a bell-shaped horn on it.
“Go up top to do that,” I said. “Give it a good long blast, unless there’s some special code you use. Terry?”
He shrugged. “Just make noise. There are signals if you’re going to pass them, but I don’t know any to ask if they need help.”
“Gotcha,” I said.
He trotted up the steps behind Georgina. In another ten seconds, I heard a high, shrill chirp. She blew it five times.
Lilly had the binoculars up. “There!” she said. “Someone’s pushing on the cover over the window there.”
“Lemme see,” I said. She gave over the binocs and I looked. On the lower left side of the window, the vinyl cover, which had been fully snapped down, now flapped in the wind. A second later, I saw a hand stick out and wave twice, then pull back in.
“See that?” I asked. “Someone stuck their hand out!”
“You have the glasses,” said Roxy.
“Yeah,” I muttered, still lookin’. “They’re a little gun shy, but someone’s definitely in there. Probably for good reason with that zombie chick out there. So, what’s the plan?”
Georgina came down the steps and said, “Whoever it is, we have to save them, right? We can’t leave them there to die.”
I waggled my hand in the air. “Eventually the zombie’ll probably get washed over the rail. Then they could –”
“Then they’ll be stranded in the middle of the ocean, CB,” said Lilly.
“I know, I know,” I said, shakin’ my head. “I’m freakin’ kiddin’. Ideas, anyone?”
“There’s two life rings hanging on the railing back there,” said Roxy. “And dock lines. If you get close enough, can we toss it over there? Maybe tow them clear, and pull them to the boat?”
“I hope someone has a good arm,” I said. “And Georgie, you’ve got a helluva shot, based on what you did to that tit-swingin’ zombie outside your place. Wanna take her out?”
“There was a tit-swinging zombie?” asked Terry, a smirk on his face. “Somebody else’s tits?”
I looked at him and nodded, my eyebrows doin’ a dance on my forehead. “Nasty ol’ banana tits.”
Terry crinkled his nose.
“Immature much?” asked Roxy. “Terry, seriously? From you?”
He shrugged as Georgina explained her acumen with a gun earlier. “I was on solid ground, and only about twenty-five feet away from her.”
“Yeah, but you hit her right in the head with a pistol. Think you can hit her with a rifle?”
“If it has a scope, sure,” said Georgina.
“I can get within about thirty feet comfortably,” I said. “On a pass-by, I might be able to get closer. We can throw the life ring with the rope attached. Swing it from the rope, get more distance.”
“I’ll get the ring set up. Mom, you kill the zombie lady.”
I looked from Terry to Lilly. “I love it when a plan comes together.”
Lilly got up and walked out of the wheelhouse. Before she disappeared, she said, “You may be a smartass joker, but it really is nice to know some things never change.”
I knew my sister, and she was tellin’ me I was keepin’ her sane. I was still the brother she knew and loved, despite what had happened to the world.
I heard a slappin’ on the side. I slid the window open and stuck my head out. “Okay, closer!” shouted Georgina, grippin’ the rifle with one hand, and the railing with the other.
“Roxy all set?” I asked.
“She’s gettin the rope tied to the ring. Hurry.”
I looked around us out of habit, and pushed the throttle forward a good amount. The props pushed the Sea Ray closer to the Bayliner. Now that I was serious and we had a plan, I got us into position fast.
I was ready to throw it into reverse if things got hairy, mainly because I didn’t know shit about thrusters, and I hadn’t taken the time to learn how to use ‘em.
I’d do it the old-fashioned way for now.
“Okay, good enough?” I asked.
“Roxy!” she yelled. “Come here, quick!”
I heard the footfalls on the deck, and Roxy came into view.
“Lean against the cabin and crouch down. Just wrap your arms around my knees and hold me,” said Georgina.
It took Roxy only a second or two to get into position and grab hold of her mom. Once she was stable, Georgie raised the rifle to her eye.
She waited. I turned the wheel and gave it forward and reverse thrust, tryin’ to keep the boat in position.
“Don’t move,” Georgie yelled, and I saw her steady, despite the movement of the boat beneath her.
I looked up. The zombie woman was on her knees now, her head and shoulders visible above the rail.
Boom! Boom!
The first shot missed. The second was a dead hit. No pun intended.
“Yes!” yelled Roxy, standing up and taking her mother by the hand as they moved back toward the stern. When they were out of view, I closed my window.
“Terry, go out there and have them blow the horn again. Tell ‘em to do somethin’ fun, you know, like shave and a haircut, two bits.”
Terry looked at me like I was a zombie with two heads. “Shave and a what?”
I did the knock on the wall. His face lit up.
“Got it,” he said, rushing out. A moment later, I heard the familiar pattern squeaked out on the boat horn.
Ten seconds after that, I saw the vinyl cover move aside again, only this time it lifted higher and I saw a kid’s face. I couldn’t tell his age, but I’m thinkin’ pre-pubescent.
I stuck my arm out the window and waved, as though telling him to come on over.
His head moved quickly from side to side, and next thing I know, he’s pointing toward the back of the boat.
I responded the best way I knew how. I drew my finger across my throat and stuck out my tongue. Then I waved him over again.
We waited about thirty seconds after the flap closed again. The rear door of the cabin eased outward, and the kid appeared.
He stared at the motionless body on the deck.
“Blow that horn again, Georgie!” I yelled out the window.
She did, and he looked over. I was right about his age; he was probably thirteen or fourteen, but I was shit at estimatin’ ages anymore. I’m guessin’ that was his mama out there on the deck. That didn’t give me much confidence in his mindset right then.
I didn’t know what was happenin’ up top, but Roxy must’ve held up the swim ring, ‘cause he pointed to us, then at his deck, noddin’. I saw him keep glancin’ down to the deck, and though I couldn’t see the dead zombie, I pretty much knew why.
He moved to the rail, holdin’ on.
Terry ran back in. “Okay, your sister said she’ll throw it. They said for you to get as close as you can.”
“Got it,” I said, takin’ a deep breath. “Tell her to be ready.”
He trotted off again, and I pushed the throttle forward and steered to the left, anglin’ toward the boat.
Just then, a huge gust came out of nowhere, and I found myself fightin’ the wind as well as the choppy swells that tossed both boats around like toys in a two-year-old’s bathtub.
The kid teetered to the side, holdin’ onto the rail with one hand. His feet apparently slipped, and he went down, out of sight for a few seconds. My bow was now pointed straight at the Bayliner, and I was gettin’ so close I worried I couldn’t make the turn in time.
The gust subsided, and I cranked it hard right, bringin’ us into a parallel position. I pushed the throttle again and knew we wouldn’t be able to get any closer.
Lilly was smart; she must’ve known it, too, because I saw that life ring fly, the rope whippin’ in the wind behind it.
The wind gusted again, blowin’ the ring sideways. It hit the outboard on the Bayliner and dr
ifted away from the boat. Lilly immediately started reelin’ it back toward the Sea Ray.
“Shit!” I yelled and leaned out the window. “Hold on!”
I didn’t know whether they heard me or not, but I didn’t have a choice with the weather and surf buildin’ up. I pushed that throttle forward again and guided the Sea Ray around the front of the Bayliner, roundin’ the boat until I was facin’ south, now on the port side of our target.
The wind was now blowin’ me away from the Bayliner. I felt better about that, but it required me to turn into the wind to keep from movin’ too far away for Lilly to hit it.
Just as I was sure I’d drifted too far west, the ring went out again. We were only fifteen feet off the other boat’s rail, and this time, despite the fact Lilly was throwin’ into the wind, she hit it. The ring just made it over the portside rail.
I stuck my arm out the window and jabbed my finger at the ring, and saw the boy run across, hesitate when he reached the body on the deck, and move around to grab the life ring.
“Go! Go!” I screamed. “Jump!”
The boy stared at me for a second, then stuck the ring over his head and leapt over the rail.
He hit the water and disappeared beneath the heavy surf. I saw the edge of the ring, but I had no idea whether he had a hold on it.
Lilly ran back inside. “CB, you need to go down and haul him in!”
“Has he got it?” I asked, starin’ toward where I’d last seen him. His head popped up, his arm curled around the life ring. “There!”
I jumped up and ran toward the steps leadin’ down toward the rear deck. “Hold the boat steady south, as best you can!”
Lilly came over and dropped down into the captain’s chair. “I got it,” she said, with more confidence than I felt.
I said a quick prayer and jammed down the steps two at a time. I hit the deck and ran to the rail. Lilly had tied it off to the rail. I reached out and pulled it in to give me some slack and untied it.
Lookin’ out, I saw the boy still had a good grip on it. I ran to the rear step and planted my feet, leanin’ back as I hauled that dock line in with everything I had.
Twenty feet. Fifteen. Ten. I could see the boy’s eyes now, scared as hell, his face white as a ghost.
I gotta be honest with you; when that boy was out there, in that churnin’ water, my mind went right back to the gators. How they’d changed. Yeah, I know they’re reptiles, but what I knew about the transformation of the world could fit inside a thimble.
I feared somethin’ would come leapin’ outta the water and rip that boy right off that swim ring, draggin’ him down into the depths of the Gulf of Mexico.
With that in mind, I leaned back and pulled, hand over hand, coilin’ the dock line up on the swim step behind me.
With a thunderous crash, the clouds that had moved above us let loose a torrential downpour, the drops so big and heavy that I felt like someone was dumpin’ a bag of grain on my head from twenty feet up.
I squinted my eyes against the blowin’ rain and saltwater as I continued to muscle the kid to the boat.
I was almost workin’ blind, but next thing I knew, he was at my feet, his chest resting on the swim platform.
Reachin’ down, I grabbed the swim ring with one hand, and wrapped my other fist in the material of his shirt, yankin’ him up and into the boat. I followed right behind, and dropped down to my ass, exhausted.
Georgie and Roxy were both standin’ at the door to the lower cabin, wavin’ at me to bring him in.
I’d have yelled for them to give me a sec, but I couldn’t breathe yet. I was shakin’ pretty good from the exertion.
I looked around; the Sea Ray was a good distance from the Bayliner now, so Lilly had open water in which to maneuver. She took full advantage, and now had the boat pullin’ away, headin’ back toward the southern tip of the Florida mainland.
The emergency past, I just waved the girls off, breathed and looked at the kid. “You okay?” I huffed between gasps. The rain dumped buckets down on us.
Thank God the water wasn’t black.
He didn’t answer me. He stared at his feet, his hands pressed flat on the boat’s fiberglass deck. His hair was red, and it hung down over his face, water cascadin’ off it. I saw his arms were heavily freckled; the kind of freckles that go on forever on some gingers.
“Kid, you alright?” I yelled over the roar of the storm. “Better answer me or I’ll throw you on your back on this deck and do CPR. I don’t know my own strength, so I’m bound to break some ribs”
He looked at me, his face and his voice obscured by the pourin’ rain. “You only do CPR when someone’s not breathing!” he yelled over the torrent. “You see me breathing, don’t you?”
Great. I’d caught us a smartass. I wondered if I shouldn’t throw him back. Instead, I laughed and called back, “C’mon! Let’s get inside! It’s shit out here!”
I actually kinda figured me and that smartass kid might get along fine.
He nodded and tried to stand up, but the boat was tossin’ us all over the place, and he stumbled right into me.
“Grab hold of my elbow,” I said. He didn’t hesitate. I guided him up into Georgie’s and Roxy’s open, waitin’ arms.
Ω
CHAPTER THREE
In the torrential rain, the flybridge was no longer feasible. It was necessary when I needed a higher perspective to maneuver around the Bayliner, but that was done.
We all retreated down into the main cabin where I toweled off, managing to put on a shirt and a pair of dark blue cargo shorts in between turnin’ the boat into the oncomin’ swells. Georgina had found the clothes in the master cabin dresser, and it was good to be dry again.
I used my towel to dry off Nokosi, who’d been layin’ with us up in the weather, I guess more comfortable in our company, no matter the conditions. She let me, and never growled once.
The only shirts in the dresser were ultra-thin, V-neck undershirts, so thin my modest areolas showed through. Guess the former owner always brought the newest, most fashionable button-down shirts when he went out on his mini-yacht.
Lilly threw all my stuff and the wet towels in the dryer after giving everything a quick wash in the sink using dishwashing soap. We didn’t find any Tide Pods. Probably the owners’ kids ate ‘em all.
Lilly and Georgina took the kid into the master suite cabin and made him strip down to his birthday suit. Georgie had the boy sit on the closed lid of the master bathroom toilet, and looked him over, inspecting for signs of bites or scratches.
Lilly had given his clothes a quick washin’, too, and they were in the dryer with the rest of the stuff.
When the door to the master cabin slid open and they reappeared, Georgina said, “Well, Liam here says that was his mommy out there on the deck of the other boat. She didn’t bite or scratch him, nor did anyone else. I gave him a quick rundown of what caused her to change.”
“And my dad, and my brother and sister,” he said, sitting on the curved bench seat that ran along the starboard side. “Why didn’t I get sick?”
His eyes were as green as some of my favorite marbles when I was a kid; the ones that looked almost like cat eyes. He was inquisitive, but not necessarily sad. I figured he was in some kinda shock, and all this would catch up with him eventually. We’d try to be ready if it did.
“Luck of the draw will have to do for now,” I called back to him. “Seems pretty random right now.”
“That was a dumb answer,” he mumbled.
“And that was rude,” said Georgina. “You had better respect your elders if you intend to remain with us.”
“Yeah?” he challenged. “What’re you gonna do? Kick a kid off the boat into the ocean?”
I had to bite my lip. What I wanted to do was go grab that kid by the ankles, hang him upside down as I carried him back into the rain and dangle his ass over the railin’. I imagined it would straighten him out fast, but in reality, it might scar him further – or more a
ccurately, erase any chance we had at establishin’ trust between us.
I didn’t want his good behavior based on fear. Not a healthy way to start. Of course the kid was upset; he’d just lost his family. I could relate.
He sat there wearin’ a burgundy-colored robe with the Sea Ray logo embroidered on the lapel. It hung almost all the way to the floor on him.
“What’s your last name, Liam? Cool name, by the way,” said Terry.
“Are you a gay?” asked the boy, starin’ at Terry.
Terry was nonplussed, which I’ll grant you, is a word I don’t use much.
Terry said, “Yes, as a matter of fact, I am gay, which is how that word is used. You’re not ‘a gay’, you’re just ‘gay’. I feel like using it the way you did is … well, making fun of gay people in a way.”
Liam began fiddling with the belt on his robe. “My Uncle Michael calls them bone smokers.”
Keeping a straight face, Terry said, “And when you hear that term, bone smoker, how do you think it relates to gay men?”
Liam’s face turned all shades of red. He shook his head and averted his eyes, but never answered.
Terry looked around the room at us. I was tryin’ to hold my laughter and failed. When I let it out, so did everyone else.
Terry shook his head and began to laugh, too. “There’s the ever-popular rump rangers, too,” he said, which further sent us all into a tizzy.
The kid laughed now, too, but I’m not sure he even knew why. I never would’ve believed usin’ gay slurs would cheer him up, but whatever it took. If he kept it up after, we’d set him straight as necessary.
Terry settled in and started askin’ him questions, and Liam told what he could of his story, seemin’ to warm to him.
Anyway, I started to think it was good that Terry didn’t take offense at Liam’s comments. He was still young and psychologically pliable, and maybe they were just words to the boy.
Turns out he was only twelve years old. He looked older, but maybe that was because his red hair was pretty long, down just past his shoulders, and his eyes were haunted and sunken.