by Perrin Briar
He needed to keep as many of his forces alive as possible. He needed them to infect the pirates and the natives, in order to rebuild his army and launch an effective attack against the Flowers. And finally, he would have his revenge.
But for now, he would watch. He would wait to see what happened, for the best moment to attack.
Screams from the crew. The Overlord In Black, present via his undead, shut his eyes and wallowed in the most beautiful sound in the world.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
THE REMAINS of Captain Shih’s crew stood on the fringes of the jungle, armed with their assault rifles. The Spinner had done its duty and tore through their ranks. They had managed to subdue it, and there were still an intimidating number of pirate crew remaining. But it pleased Bill to see that some of them sported injuries, no doubt from the traps they’d set up.
One man stepped from their number and approached Bill. He kept checking over his shoulders as if expecting there to be a sniper waiting to take him out at any moment. He was a big man and sported severe burns on his shoulders.
Bill extended his hand to the man. The pirate looked at the proffered hand but did not shake it.
“Bill Flower,” he said.
“Skull Smasher,” the other man said.
“Colorful name,” Bill said.
“I would say why we’re here and what our purpose is, but judging by our welcome, I’d say you already know our purpose,” Skull Smasher said.
“Yes,” Bill said. “She’s being brought to us now.”
“It was stupid of you to attempt to take her prisoner,” Skull Smasher said.
“Less smart not to attempt anything, I fear,” Bill said.
Skull Smasher glared at Bill, who felt calm with having a gun in his possession. Had anything in the history of the human race ever done more to offset the natural pecking order than the humble pistol? Bill thought not.
The other Flowers stood on the opposite side of the clearing, within easy jumping distance of cover. They were spread out, ready for action should it rear its ugly head. An uneasy silence passed between the two factions.
Captain Shih was brought over to Bill and Skull Smasher by Ernest and Jenny. They removed her restraints.
Skull Smasher opened his mouth to speak and begin negotiations.
“That won’t be necessary,” Captain Shih said. “No one but me will negotiate for my life.”
Skull Smasher nodded, let out an obvious relieved sigh, and stepped back into the crew’s ranks.
“Well, this is a pretty pickle, isn’t it?” Captain Shih said. “Here we are, trapped, in a war, with little for us to do but stare at each other.”
“We can negotiate,” Bill said.
“Negotiate about what?” Captain Shih said. “So far as I can tell, there’s little you can do to stop me if I wanted to take anything I wanted from you.”
“We’re armed,” Bill said.
“We have greater numbers,” Captain Shih said.
“I have a bomb strapped to my chest,” Bill said. “How does that fit into your calculations?”
Captain Shih looked him up and down.
“My interest is piqued,” she said. “But are you really ready to die?”
“If it means going back with you to your ship without rules and protection?” Bill said. “You bet.”
Captain Shih’s eyes were fiery pits, boring into Bill’s soul.
“I believe you,” she said.
She clapped her hands.
“So, where shall we go negotiate?” she said. “Any suggestions?”
Bill knew full well that any place he suggested would be turned down, and so he ought to pick one he actually didn’t want.
“Robin’s Nest,” Bill said. “It was the least damaged in the recent attack.”
“And entirely too small,” Captain Shih said.
“Too small?” Bill said. “For what?”
“You don’t honestly expect me to go in there by myself with you?” Captain Shih said.
Bill made what he hoped was a nervous expression.
“Then where would you like to go?” he said.
Captain Shih turned to survey the area, before affixing her eyes on Falcon’s Nest.
“There,” she said.
“All right,” Bill said.
Bill led the way to Falcon’s Nest. The rest of the Flower family stood watching from a safe distance. Captain Shih began to scale the ladder, a dozen men following her up.
“Why are you bringing so many men?” Bill said.
“They’re my personal bodyguard,” Captain Shih said. “You wouldn’t want me to come to any harm, would you?”
Bill didn’t answer.
They ascended the steps to Falcon’s Nest. The wind howled and the wood creaked, under strain.
“You actually live in this place?” Captain Shih said. “What a dump.”
“It didn’t always look like this,” Bill said. “It was a wonderful home once.”
“It must have been,” Captain Shih said. “I wouldn’t let a dog live in conditions like this. But I suppose we’re each of us different.”
Bill steeled himself against the biting remarks. He picked up an overturned seat and stood it upright. He sat down.
“No, no, no, no, no,” Captain Shih said. “I think I’ll be sitting on that side of the table, thank you.”
Bill got up and Captain Shih took his seat.
“You’re very suspicious,” Bill said.
“It’s how you learn to survive on board The Red Flag,” Captain Shih said.
She looked very comfortable with herself.
Bill picked up another seat and sat on it. Captain Shih leaned forward and rested her elbows on the island. She leaned forward, her men standing around her. Bill was on his own. Liz had wanted to be with him, but he had warned her it wasn’t a good idea, and only served to double their chances of one of them getting hurt. She had acquiesced, not that she had been very happy about it.
“Now,” Captain Shih said, “we both know why we’re here. We have a vested interest in Jim, now known as Jenny. As far as I see it, you owe nothing to Jim, or Jenny, or whatever his, her, name is. You ought to be taking better care of you and your own.”
“You let me worry about me and my own,” Bill said. “You want what she knows, and we’ll give it to you, but she will not go with you on your ship.”
“Then what do you suggest Bill?” Captain Shih said. “The age of modern technology and smartphones is over. There is no way to converse over large distances so easily anymore.”
“Then each time you need to know the location of a particular cache, you can come back and get it,” Bill said. “That way, it’s fair for everyone.”
“Sure,” Captain Shih said. “Fair for everyone but me.”
“You’ve already shown you’re unreliable and cruel,” Bill said. “Just one glance at your crew shows that much.”
“Jim is my property,” Captain Shih said. “He belongs to me. You can’t take him.”
“She belongs to no one but herself,” Bill said. “And she will do whatever she wants.”
“I don’t think you understand the gravity of the situation we have here,” Captain Shih said.
“No,” Bill said. “I don’t think you do. This is not a negotiation. This is what is going to happen here today: you and your men will get back on your boat and get out of here. You will take some maps, drawn by Jenny, with you, so you can recover whatever weapons you need. Then, you will find them, pillage, kill people, do whatever it is that you usually do, and then when you need more, you can come back and get the maps you need.”
“That’s it?” Captain Shih said. “That’s what you’re offering? You’re negotiating from weakness, Bill. You need to give me more than I give to you. That’s how this works.”
“I’m sorry you feel that way,” Bill said. “But this is the only offer we can make.”
“There’s another option,” Captain Shih said. “Join us. A m
an of resource like yourself, a doctor to boot, you’ll hold a high position in our crew.”
“No, thank you,” Bill said.
“You were right when you said this was not a negotiation,” Captain Shih said. “This is the first and last offer you will be receiving from me. You know as well as I that there was never going to be a peaceful resolution here today, Bill. I know men. It’s how I got to be where I am. And I recognize a man who can’t be bargained with.
“You were never going to give up the boy, much less your family. But you would give up yourself for them. But I need you all. You’re going to be a useful man to have around, and I intend on getting everything I can out of you. Having your family held hostage is the only way to do that. This will be my move.”
“What makes you think you and your men are going to get out of here alive?” Bill said.
Captain Shih had a lopsided smile on her face.
“You’re a doctor,” she said. “Liz is a housewife. Your kids are just that, kids. Taking lives and inflicting harm is as alien to you all as poisoning a babe is to a new mother. It’s not in you.”
“Sometimes people surprise you,” Bill said. “Sometimes they’re capable of things you couldn’t imagine. Sometimes they’re even worse than you, because a doctor knows the human body, knows all its strengths and weaknesses, how to inflict the most amount of harm. How to kill efficiently. You made a grave error coming here.”
The captain’s smile faltered.
“Do you think you’re the first person to come to our island and try to take what we have from us?” Bill said. “We have a graveyard full of would-be usurpers. They failed, just as you did, and for the same reason. You underestimated us.”
Captain Shih frowned, the lines in her forehead thick fleshy folds.
“Get back on your ship now, sail away and don’t ever come back,” Bill said.
The crew in the shack glanced at each other, uncertain.
“What’s the matter?” Bill said. “Expecting a meeker opponent?”
It had previously occurred to Captain Shih during their exchange that Bill never once looked particularly perturbed being surrounded by some of the most feared pirates on the open sea.
There was something in the way Bill spoke that made the captain unsure about going further. There was an understated confidence, rooted in she didn’t know what. He should have been terrified.
“You are right I can’t do harm to another human being,” Bill said. “At least not directly, by my own hand. But I can set traps, can put things in place that mean they can happen without my direct involvement. Didn’t you notice the little holes in the walls here? Liz wasn’t altogether happy with me drilling holes in her kitchen, I can tell you. But it’s for the greater good.”
The captain looked at Bill, whose grin grew broader the longer he spoke. Captain Shih’s eyes went wide.
Bill tipped himself back in his chair, falling backward.
The captain stood up to leave.
The glimmer in the shadows on the wall caught her eye. It was a shape she knew well enough, though she was usually on the other end of it: a barrel, black and cold, facing her grill.
“No,” she said, as if she could forestall the inevitable.
Bang!
It sounded like a single pop, but was actually two dozen guns exploding in the same instant, unloading into the large meat sacks.
Bill hit the floor, moved his legs to either side of the chair seat, and lay with his eyes closed, relaxed. There was nothing he could do now.
There were thuds on the floor, collapsing bodies. Windows smashed, and for a moment the world was bathed with sheer noise.
Then silence. Smoke from the gun barrels filled the room and wafted up to the ceiling.
The silence was deafening.
Bill got to his feet. Not all the pirates were dead. One was bent, crouched over, hands wrapped around his head, waiting for more gunshots, more bullets, to be fired… But none came. He turned to Bill and grinned at him, wishing to share their mutual good luck. Then the pirate made a grab for his gun.
Blam!
The pirate reeled back, clutching his bloodied hand. He wasn’t in pain yet, the shock still flooding his system. Bill motioned for the pirate to climb down the ladder with the pistol in his hand. The pirate was only too pleased to do so.
A gurgle.
Bill spun, pistol aimed. Captain Shih had taken a bullet through the throat and was gasping her final few breaths. Bill stood over her.
“You should never have come between me and my family,” he said. “And you were right, not that it matters now. I wouldn’t have been able to do this in the old world. But the world has changed, and we have to change with it. Or we die.”
Captain Shih’s feet kicked out, but she was impotent. She became still, and her body flopped to one side. Bill checked each body for a pulse. There were none.
Then, shouting outside. A voice Bill couldn’t make out. But it sounded frantic. Horrified.
And then the shooting started.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
IT WAS now or never, Rupert decided.
The undergrowth snapped behind him. Manuel was drawing closer. He was going to fall upon him like a ton of bricks and once he got his hands on him, there would be no escape.
The men standing before him in the clearing were armed with guns, knives, full combat gear, and they knew how to use it, as Rupert knew full well. They were former fellow crewmates.
Rupert was just about to step into the clearing when a shout went up, not in his direction as he had feared, but from the opposite side.
The pirates shouted and unleashed a barrage of bullets. Rupert couldn’t believe his luck. It was just the distraction he needed.
He dashed into the clearing, throwing his legs forward. They felt like heavy logs. The foliage rushed behind him, and he knew then Manuel was hot on his heels. There was no escaping him. He couldn’t have waited a moment longer.
Rupert had forgotten the crew of The Red Flag was so large. There had to be forty, fifty men, all armed to the teeth. Whatever they were firing at had stoked their ire.
Rupert caught sight of torn clothing and shredded flesh, and the unholy moan of the undead. Rupert didn’t pay that much attention to them. He needed to concentrate on getting across the clearing as quickly as possible.
He knew his sprint would get the attention of the crew, but it should be obvious he wasn’t infected, especially since he was running away from them. He hoped he could get across the clearing before they opened fire.
Bullets danced at Rupert’s feet. He thought he even felt one whizz past his ear.
Rupert got to the other side of the clearing and dashed into the jungle. He skidded to a halt and turned to look back. His heart leapt. He’d been right. The pirates had accosted Manuel and they would put him down. But he was not making it easy for them.
Manuel met Crusher, a large man, so named due to his huge muscles and the demolition tattoos on his arms and back. This would be a fight to remember, Rupert thought. He was dismayed to see Manuel put a hand around the other man’s neck, lift him up off the ground, legs dangling, before then bringing his fingers together, into a crushing grip, tearing Crusher’s throat out.
Undead just ahead. Manuel shifted his weight, stepped hard with his right foot, and pushed forward with greater speed. The undead reached for him. He ducked to avoid their flailing rotting limbs, performing a limbo dance. He slid on his knees, but was up in an instant, almost losing his feet. He threw his weight forward and ran straight into a tree. He was quick to react, and pushed himself off it, turning to look over his shoulder.
Manuel didn’t stop, didn’t hesitate for a moment as he rushed forward, a lumbering unstoppable juggernaut, and smashed into the undead, knocking them over like bowling pins. He caught one in his hands and gripped its head in his hands and pulled, tearing its head apart like rotten fruit, into soft meaty chunks that rained down over the scene.
Nothing st
ood a chance against Manuel.
Nothing.
And as Manuel destroyed every man he came to, it became clear that he was going to break through all the pirates to get to Rupert.
Metal mosquitos slammed into Manuel’s muscle bound body, causing him to grunt. But he did not stop. He seized a fellow former pirate and used his body as a shield, drawing in close to the offending pirates. Manuel tossed the body onto the man and slammed his heel into his face.
But always, his eye was on his prize: on the bush that Rupert was hiding behind. Then Manuel tore through the undead with equal ferocity, never slowing, never stopping, forever heading relentlessly forward, onward.
Toward Rupert.
Rupert gibbered and turned to run. His plan had failed and now, with nothing left to defend him, he staggered back into the jungle, his legs and spirit like jelly. He was doomed for sure.
Chapter Thirty
THE FLOWERS pulled back, laying down suppressing fire to aid their escape. They did not want to be a part of this, what would turn out to be a massive massacre of all those left remaining.
The natives fired upon the pirates, who fired upon the undead, who attacked both fighting forces in equal measure. Manuel tore through everybody, until he ran into the jungle, disappearing from view. It was a mess.
The undead raged against the living, pulling them apart when they got their hands on them. As soon as one victim was felled, the undead turned and descended upon another. As fast as they were blowing holes in the zombies, the undead were tearing through them too. They tore into their injured bodies, infecting them.
The bodies writhed on the ground, jerking and dangerous, and then they began to rise. The undead were too orchestrated in their movements for it to be anything but an overlord in control of them.
The pirates and natives shared a look, and an understanding, for the moment, passed between them. They turned to fight on the same side—against their former comrades. It was the turning point.