***
Monday, 1 p.m.
The twenty-foot Malibu Wakesetter wasn't built for the Chesapeake Bay. Luckily, the breeze was gentle and the water was calm. Still, it was closing in on 90 degrees so we had erected the canopy over the back portion of the boat. The Wakesetter seated ten so we were fairly comfortable with only six people and a dog, but the deck was a mess with gear. Plus, Holly hadn't had a chance to crap in the rush to the boats and had since relieved herself at our feet.
About five miles up the Chesapeake shoreline, Matt turned off the engine and dropped the anchor. Everyone was hungry and we'd brought the fishing poles for a reason. Matt, Rob and I strung up some bait and it wasn't long before we'd reeled in a couple rockfish. A quick session on the grill and everyone had had enough to at least quiet the stomach rumblings. Rob asked the question everyone was thinking.
"So what's the game plan?" Rob asked.
Anne whispered inaudibly under her breath, but the look on her face indicated she thought Rob's question was insensitive, given the events of the morning. No one else responded for a long thirty seconds, until Sarah spoke.
"What do you want to do?" she asked, directing her question to Melissa. If anyone was able to understand what Melissa was going through, it was Sarah. She'd lost both her parents less than two days prior.
Melissa looked at her shoes then raised her head.
"We go get Matt's parents. Then Jason's. We can figure out the rest from there," she said confidently. That was the order in which we'd find them heading due north. Matt's parents were in West Chester, PA, and north about 100 miles was the Poconos. Anne's father and Rob's parents were in safer parts of the country, in opposite directions. The group would have to eventually choose which way to go. "I know what happened to my father. I can't deny you guys the chance to know what happened to yours."
"Let's do it," shouted Rob. "We can stay here and float around and hope this shit gets better, which it won't. Or we can do something."
"You realize West Chester is probably overrun by now, right? It's a suicide mission," said Matt.
"So what?" replied Melissa. "Rob's right. Besides, if your dad really was bitten by one of these things and he's still alive, it's worth a shot."
Sarah sat up. "He got bit and didn't turn?" she asked.
"That's what my sister said. For all I know it was some crack head," answered Matt.
"I say we try," I said. "The Susquehanna flows into the Chesapeake. We can at least head that direction and try to make it up the river. As long as we're on water, we're safe. And if it looks bad, we just stay on the water. But I can't sit here and wait when I know my parents are probably scared shitless. I wanna try."
Matt shook his head and turned around to face the water. Melissa rubbed his leg.
"Only if this is what you want," Matt said, looking at Melissa.
"Yes. This is what I want."
And with that, I was one step closer to reaching my parents.
The Infected: (Book 1) Page 6