Adrift

by Trimboli, TJ

  Land.

  Bobbi limped out of the room towards the stairs.

  After some hallways then stairs, she hobbled past the pool deck gripping on the stairwell railing. Dawn was quickly approaching and the cool morning ocean breeze felt revitalizing as it nibbled on her neck. She welcomed it, needing all the energy she could muster. She hadn’t seen Richard since he revealed his true colors to her but she knew he would not be far behind, stalking silently from the shadows—all that remained of their diabolical plot and she heavily doubted he would go down without a fight, and he was cunning too. She was a thousand percent sure, there wouldn’t be a scratch on him. He was a man who tugged the strings from the curtain, never out in front, never dirtying his hands, never putting himself in harm’s way, but she would change that.

  There was no one left to fight his battle.

  She heard the banging as she reached the second platform of stairs. It sounded loud, hollow, and incessant. It told her two things.

  One: Richard had yet to gain access to the bridge.

  Two: He would have nowhere to run.

  Reaching the top of the steps, she spotted him fifty or so feet in front of her. He stood at the top of the steps outside the bridge entrance banging on the hollow door. The glass window had been shattered and she could hear the faint echoes of his venomous words he spewed Xao’s way. She tumbled towards him stopping just shy of the steps. She stood with her hands at her side like the Sheriff she was, ready to call out the desperado that threatened her town.

  Behind Richard, the sky was a vibrant swirl of orange and pink hues signaling the oncoming rise of the sun.

  “Richard Voegler!” She vociferated.

  The banging ceased, Richard’s body shriveling under the sound of his full name. He turned towards her grinning. “Sheriff.” He sneered.

  “It’s over Richard. Kendra is dead. There’s no one left to fight for you.”

  He glided down the steps methodically. “You lie. You don’t have what it takes.”

  “I didn’t but my husband did.”

  The remark caught him off guard. She could see he obviously hoped by letting the rabid dog off his leash just long enough to kill Bobbi, they could then put him out to pasture like Old Yeller.

  “Husband and wife together again. Congratulations.”

  “He’s dead too.”

  His eyes lit up at that. “I’m sorry for your loss.”

  “The hell you are.”

  Xao appeared sticking his head through the porthole. “Bobbi. Land ahead. Three hundred feet,” he shouted.

  “Don’t stop Xao,” she shouted back. “No matter what happens out here, don’t stop and don’t come out.”

  “Yes, Xao. Don’t stop. Don’t stop until you crash onto land and put us back in tow with the wrath that ravages this land. What the hell were you thinking Bobbi? We could have had it all, living the life of luxury creating a new world, one which people could believe in. One that could stand the test of time. We could have put our stamp on the world in the most influential way possible. Our new society would have spoken of us for eons to come as leaders, as saviors, as GODS. Now no one will look upon us. Now we’ll just be more bodies thrown on the cairn. The humans that let civilization die.”

  “You did that yourself Richard. We were put in charge on a council tasked to keep us all together, not tear us apart.”

  “That way of doing things was outdated, can’t you see that? Democracy was broken, it no longer worked. We needed something new. We needed a change. The evil that plagued this Earth.

  The money hungry, the greedy, the disillusioned, the fat, the stupid, the mass murders, the wars,

  ISIS, all of it.”

  “You didn’t change anything. You did the same thing, as they would have just for a different outcome. You back stabbed, you lied, you politicked your way to the top. Just like everyone did before us, the same things every money hungry pig before you tried.” He put his right hand behind his back.

  Bobbi felt the handle of her hatchet waiting for Richard to make his move.

  “It was a means to an end. It needed to be done to give these people a new world. To give them a new hope. What do you think you’re going to find out there? Say this ship crashes and there’s still a contingent of our society left to fight back. Do you think anything is going to change? Do you think we will have seen the error of ours ways and will ourselves to do better? No. There will always be people looking to get ahead, looking to cut costs for maximum gains, people who will one day soon, create the same thing they vowed to fight against. It’s the natural order of things. You can’t have more than three people in a room without at least one of them looking to stab the other in the back to get ahead.”

  “Then maybe we deserve what’s coming to us. Zombies tearing us limb from limb. Maybe we deserve to be the end of the human race, for the good of the Earth.” “LAND!” Xao shouted from inside the bridge.

  “I guess we’ll find out soon enough,” Richard solemnly replied.

  “I guess so.”

  “You could have been a GOD, Bobbi.”

  “Sounds overrated.”

  Richard chuckled at this, his arm clenched obviously gripping whatever weapon he hid behind him. “I meant what I said when I told you I owed you my life. I wouldn’t have made it this far without you.”

  The gall of this man.

  “A mistake I mean to rectify.”

  He nodded his head in understanding. He remained silent after that, no longer trying to sway her mind. He knew there was only one way for this to end. One of them had to die.

  They stood as still as statues glaring into each other’s eyes daring the other to make the first move. The sun crested the sky and the foghorn blew.

  Richard pulled a pistol from his back, Trent’s pistol, aiming for Bobbi. Lightening quick, the hatchet was in her hand as she swung it straight for Richard’s chest. The hatchet flew with the speed of Superman lodging it squarely in Richard’s bicep. His arm went wide as he pulled the trigger. The bullet once destined for Bobbi’s heart ended up in her shoulder blade. They both doubled over, collapsing on the floor. The gun slid from Richard’s hand falling over the ledge to the pool floor below.

  The foghorn blew.

  “Land. One hundred feet!” Xao shouted.

  Bobbi came to crawling her way towards Richard. He lay on the floor screaming in agony.

  She gripped at her arm, the bullet traveling straight through. Blood poured relentlessly.

  Richard ripped the hatchet free, ignoring the blood flowing from his arm. His bicep was hanging on by a thread of nerves. He stood holding the hatchet in his left hand. “Come on. What else you got?”

  Bobbi used the railing to help her upright. She made a boxing stance waiting for Richard to take a shot.

  He swung at her face. She quickly dodged underneath, grabbing Richard by the waist. She lifted him over her head in a front suplex. He flew straight over the railing. He let go of the hatchet grabbing at Bobbi’s neck pulling her over the side with him. They fell ten feet onto a group of pool chairs grouped together.

  Bobbi landed on her right shoulder on the arm of the chair, once more popping the shoulder from its socket.

  Richard landed sideways on his leg snapping it clean through the skin. He lay doubled over in pain.

  Bobbi rolled off the chair landing on top of the hatchet. Snatching it up with her hand, she rose to deal the killing blow. She put all the pain, agony, and heartache every individual on this boat had received into her thrust. It connected with Richard’s chest plate tearing flesh from bone, spraying nerves, cartilage, and tendons flailing.

  Blood seeped out of Bobbi’s mouth.

  It took her a minute to process the pain that slipped through her gut, up her chest, into her mind. She looked down to see the blade lodged in her stomach. Richard fell back leaving the blade dug all the way to the hilt embedded in her gut. She choked on the air struggling to breathe. She gripped the handle of the blade unable
to muster the strength to pry it free. She collapsed against the back of the chair staring up at the sky above her.

  The storm had passed, clouds parted, the hint of a beautiful day crept its way across her eyesight.

  Richard lay beside her breathing short, heavy gasps wincing with each expulsion of air.

  “Brace for impact!” Xao shouted from a distance.

  Richard choked. “Look on the bright side. At least we’ll be dead before the zombies come.” “IF the zombies come,” Bobbi corrected him.

  He didn’t reply, merely nodding his head.

  The ship collided into the dock ricocheting everything around them into a hundred different directions. Bobbi & Richard slid down the length of the pool ending up beside the steps that would put them by the bridge. As she rolled, the knife bent tearing the wound an inch wider. She screamed, blood oozing from her stomach. She fell back against a tall steel beam holding the deck above in place.

  Richard laid in front of her staring right at her. He was dead.

  The ship came to a halt moments later. It no longer rocked, nor swayed, nor dipped with the waves. After weeks at sea, it was a wholly uneasy feeling. The sturdy non motion made her nauseous, or it could have been the gaping hole in her stomach. Footsteps raced above her with the feet attached to the sound appearing at the steps a moment later.

  Xao ran down the steps looking for her. He spotted her and his grim expression told her all she needed to know. She was dying, and it wouldn’t be long now.

  He dropped to his knees beside her, looking over her wounds. “Don’t move. We’re going to get you some help.”

  Behind him the little girl appeared.

  Bobbi couldn’t help but smile at the sight of the young child, it reminded her just who she did all this for. It was a perfect last thought to retain as she slipped into the void.

  From the doors of the pool deck, whatever citizens of the ship left alive appeared confused and shocked to see land rising above the top of the ship. She saw Hector in the sea of individuals, she felt overjoyed to see he survived the battle. The group would need his strength.

  They all saw Bobbi remaining still. No one knew what to do. They needed someone they knew to guide them, not lie to them, or manipulate them towards a certain path, they simply needed a leader who would listen to them.

  She placed her hand over Xao’s. “You need to lead these people.” Bobbi remarked.

  “Bobbi. I’m not a leader. Look at what I did here. No one should follow me.”

  “You kept the kid safe. You can keep all them too. They need someone to guide them, someone they can trust. Be that man Xao. Don’t let civilization die with us.” She croaked. She clutched her stomach in agony feeling the sudden shut down of many of her vital organs. Her body was failing her and she had mere moments left. “Promise me Xao,” she barked as an order.

  He nodded.

  “I promise,” he vowed holding her hand.

  An explosion rattled off in the distance rocking the boat.

  Someone or something was trying to get in.

  Ravenous muttering echoed out through the pool doors. It was incomprehensible but it sounded like rabid dogs. It was the same sound she heard out of Trent at the end and it was getting closer. Some of the people around her screamed, running away from the doors. Their murmuring grew so loud, it kept them from hearing the threat approaching.

  “Everyone, get behind me!” Xao bellowed.

  In double time, they all ran behind Xao not having to be told twice.

  No one wanted to be the first to fall victim to the creatures of the deep. They all stood, eyes glued to the doors as the ravenous grumbling grew louder.

  Their shadows grew visible from the stairwell. There were dozens of them.

  “I’m sorry Bobbi. Looks like we were wrong,” Xao said gripping her hand tight.

  It all felt odd to Bobbi. The grumbling felt more akin to radio static and the near constant thrum of chattering than it did a bunch of ravenous zombies. It was entirely possible that some of the zombies were officers and thus would have radio’s attached to them but would any still be in working with order this far gone.

  Her questions were short lived as the horde breached the door exposing themselves to the destitute few left.

  Bobbi’s eyes widened as she took them in.

  Towering over them all stood seven of the most intimidating soldiers she had ever seen. Strapped head to toe in Kevlar vests, knee pads, elbow pads, riot shields, sub-machine guns, a riot gun, pistols strapped to their utility belts, head gear.

  They all stared them in the eyes and not one of them was a zombie.

  They were real, they were human, and they were magnificent. Their own magnificent seven. “Don’t worry. You’re safe now,” the lead soldier said taking a step towards them.

  A solitary tear slipped down her cheek and with her one last gulp of air, Bobbi succumbed to her injuries passing on to her next adventure, knowing that she achieved her goal and protected those in need. She glanced at the kid, who sat crying tears of joy, and shut her eyes letting the afterlife wash over her.

  EPILOGUE

  XAO

  He dug the shovel into the moist soil, sweat cascading off his brow. He didn’t think he’d ever sweat so much in his life, not in all his time as a sailor, nor in an internment camp, not even when he was aboard the Voyager. Xao had no idea how much time he spent on the ship for no one spent very much time on calendars anymore but he guessed it was a little over a month and not once did he sweat as much as now.

  He’d been saved from his hell hole at sea only to trade it in for a completely new type of hell on land. Bobbi had been right when she foretold that land would not be as ravaged as we thought. Indeed, there still were humans, a lot of them in fact, fighting the good fight against the ultimate evil. There were sacrifices along the way.

  The entire western hemisphere from Canada, to North America, to South America was gone. Contact was lost and never regained and any scouting missions that were sent over, never returned, so they simply stopped sending them and admitted defeat. It was a tough pill to process, the thought of the United States no longer existing but when he really got down to it, none of the countries truly remained.

  Sure, parts of Russia and China still remained and there was the huge contingent of the army here in the southern portion of Europe but each section was comprised of hundreds of different races, creeds, religions, and ethnicities. There were no longer any Americans, or Japanese, or Europeans, they were now simply people fighting against an unspeakable evil, and they were winning.

  At least, that’s what they wanted us to believe.

  It’d been only a few weeks but it seemed like ages already, since being pulled from that ship by the magnificent seven. They were all led from the dock to the army’s personal defense headquarters, where the last leaders of the free world left alive conducted their counter attack.

  They were given food, shelter, and a shower and anything else that one could think of. Then came the wake up call.

  Each one of them was lead into a room where they were poked, prodded, studied, and questioned endlessly. In the end, they took a hundred and fifty of the three hundred and nine survivors to enlist in the good fight and set to training them then putting them on the front lines. That was the last time he saw her. The kid had razor sharp reasoning and deducing skills, and her combat scores were one of the highest not just in her class, but of all time which was surprising to the higher ups given her age and lack of verbal communication.

  It never once surprised Xao. He knew her to be exceptionally talented and a special individual. She was taken from him two days after her scores were posted and thrown into the Zombie Strategic Defense Core. He never saw her again. The rest of the civilians that were too frail or old to be of any use were sent to a facility outside of Rome to languish away and hope the good fight never reached their door. As for Xao, even though he was closing in on eighty he was still sprightly and formidable for an
old man. His verbal skills and communications were fair but he had laborer’s hands and the turmoil at sea showed he could lead people, so the army saw fit to stick him on a farm with like minded individuals, put him in charge and had them all overseeing their produce.

  For him, it was a slap in the face to all that he promised Bobbi. A promise that barely lasted a week. He hoped she was in a better place but the thought soured him, worrying that she would be looking down on him in shame for lying to her. He knew he could never keep the promise he made but who was he to deny a dying woman’s request?

  He left the shovel in the dirt dabbing his forehead with a handkerchief. He peered around at the other farmers tending to their crops. These were good people. People like him. Once he got here, he learned that his story wasn’t the only one to be told, his anguish just another in a long line of people forced to do unspeakable things in a world that so quickly and suddenly, did a one eighty on them.

  All around him pain existed, everyone kept it nestled up in a ball in their heart with each step. It was what finally forced Xao to give his all up. He knew he could’ve sat around for the rest of his days, however long that may be, and constantly look back on all the pain, mistakes and heartache that was caused but in the end, it would get him nowhere. What was done is done and there was nothing that could change that. No matter how much he wished it so.

  Besides, there were more important things to worry about than the past. Like the future, which was quickly creeping towards them. The zombies had infiltrated Northern Europe and were spreading their disease outwards. It would only be so long before they made their way south, and there would be no fighting them with past regret. So, he continued to dig, honing his muscles, keeping his mind sharp and on the task at hand because one day, they would wake up as that foghorn roared and it would be time. There was a storm on the horizon and he feared his fight had only just begun.

  Author Bio

  I am a young and hungry multitalented new artist. Novelist, Screenwriter, and musician. I have studied and applied my trade ever since graduating from New York Film Academy. I’m from Long Island and play guitar in the band Dan Flanders & the Midnight Standers. We can often be found playing Funk music across the island.