Zombie Dawn Exodus

by Michael G. Thomas

  The Marines placed a remote sensor unit that combined thermal imaging and a rotating camera unit that could monitor the entire floor. Continuing past the bodies they moved up the stairwell and to the part of the ship known as the Commodore’s Club. This was a small but exclusive bar that provided views out over the bow of the ship. The door leading inside was half open and a body in a uniform was sprawled out blocking the way in.

  Fernanda updated Captain Black with her progress.

  “Sir, we have secured the floor leading to the Commodore’s Bar. We’ll clear this section then meet you at the bridge,” she said.

  “Understood, we are one floor above you and approaching the luxury suites. Be careful, we’ve found bodies from the crew and the undead already,” answered Captain Black.

  Sergeant Fernanda entered the bar, closely followed by three more Marines who raised their weapons, scanning for signs of trouble. The bar was smaller than she expected but it was well furnished. All along the length of the room were windows facing forwards. She moved up and spotted the Marines out in the forecastle. To the left was a small group in civilian attire, which must have been Dr Garcia and her assistants.

  “Sir, it looks like the Doctor has arrived on the forecastle,” she said into her radio.

  “Affirmative,” came the response.

  Looking around she was satisfied the room was clear.

  “Close it up, we need to keep moving.”

  They left the room whilst they sealed it securely behind them and then returned to the stairwell. Moving upwards they entered a small lobby area that led to the luxury suites. These were the forward facing accommodation and therefore the most expensive and prestigious parts of the ship to stay in. All of the doors were either broken open or slightly ajar.

  Throughout the open area a number of bodies were dotted around, as well as blood stains and burn marks. It was a main hub for this part of the ship and the number of bodies suggested quite a few people had been caught out there.

  Johnson examined part of the damaged wall and then double-checked two of the bodies. He turned to Sergeant Fernanda.

  “There was definitely a battle of some kind here, look,” he said as he pointed to a number of objects near the bodies.

  As she stepped forwards Johnson prised what looked like an improvised maul from the fingers of the dead man on the floor.

  “Yeah, I’ve seen this before. Be careful,” she said.

  The communication system clicked, informing her that Captain Black was approaching the luxury suites from the other side.

  “Hold your fire, friendlies coming in from there,” she pointed to the doorway leading to the port stairwell.

  The door opened and two Marines each one carrying an M4 carbine entered, both of them looking for signs of the enemy. Sergeant Fernanda gave them a thumbs up signal which they then passed on to those waiting on the staircase. They moved up to Fernanda, Captain Black came up next and the rest followed. The unit was now reassembled in the open area at the luxury suites.

  “According to my plans the bridge is directly above us,” said Captain Black. “You, you and you, check the rooms.”

  The three men moved off to examine the suites whilst Captain Black and Sergeant Fernanda discussed the next move.

  “This area leads off in three directions and it’s a critical hub for this part of the ship. It is essential that we maintain control of this. I don’t want us trapped in the bridge with no way to get out. I want you and your Marines to cover the open lobby here, the corridor leading to both stairwells. We’ll proceed to the bridge, I’ll update you when we get there.”

  “Understood. Do you think you’ll be able to get the security systems online?” she asked.

  “I doubt it. This ship is state of the art and according to Dr Garcia, contains the latest networked security systems. Why do you think she’s coming aboard?”

  “Let’s hope she can get the system online then.”

  Captain Black nodded and then headed for the stairwell.

  “First Squad with me, Second Squad stay with Sergeant Fernanda,” he ordered.

  Without pausing the Captain left the open area and started working his way up the staircase, the rest of his squad followed. Sergeant Fernanda then turned to her own squad and organised her Marines into defensive positions. Their first job was to cover each key point, but once these were secured they then pulled out furniture from the suites to form a series of rudimentary barricades. In less than three minutes the lobby had been turned into a small fort with cover facing the corridor, suites and entrances to both stairwells. With that kind of cover the dozen Marines should have no trouble defending the area.

  With half of the squad in the centre guarding the lobby the rest split into three groups of two so that they could patrol the immediate area for intruders. After facing many similar situations though, none of them ventured so far as to be out of sight of the rest of the group.

  Captain Black was the first to reach the entrance to the bridge. Like most of the rest of the ship the doors were ajar, but unlike previous locations there were no bodies to be seen. He entered the section and moved inside. All along the one side were a dozen screens. There were a substantial number of windows providing an excellent view of the forecastle, bow and both sides of the ship. In front of the computer screens were lots of chairs, each of them facing the displays and the windows. The Captain moved to what looked like the most important position and pressed a few keys on the system. Though there were a few lights on, none of the computers appeared to turn on and the screens remained dark and lifeless.

  “Dr Garcia, the forward section of the ship is secured. We could do with you and your technicians to get this ship active. What is your ETA?” he spoke into his radio.

  There was a short pause before the familiar voice of the Doctor replied.

  “Captain Black, we are in the stairwell and on our way up, I estimate two minutes before we arrive. Please don’t touch anything till we get there,” she said in a serious tone.

  One of the Marines dumped a large pack onto the floor in the middle of the bridge and proceeded to unload various communications and surveillance equipment. The first item out was a rugged looking laptop. He placed it on top of the first box and flicked the switch. As it started up a serious of small windows popped up, each showing a view from the cameras the Marines has set up so far. He then flipped out a secondary screen from the rear of the machine that showed another two views, one from the UAV and the other from the hovercraft that was returning to the ships.

  The door opened and in walked Dr Garcia, flanked by two of her personal security guards. These men were very well armed and wearing purpose built body armour, perfectly designed for use in infected areas. She walked onto the bridge and looked around, taking in the computer terminals, networked systems and power units dotted about. She then turned to Captain Black.

  “This is as expected. The equipment looks undamaged but we don’t have the main power back up do we?” she asked.

  “That’s correct, from my plans we would need to reach the auxiliary engine room to reactivate the power.”

  “That’s ok. We aren’t looking at taking the ship. We just need enough power to get the computer system and network back up so we can see what’s going on here,” she replied.

  Two more Marines arrived. They were carrying Dr Garcia’s equipment and placed it down near their own surveillance equipment. Dr Garcia gave their gear a quick glance.

  “Quaint,” she said annoyingly and then turned to her own people.

  “Get the portable power rigs up. You, set up my system over there next to the network switches,” she ordered.

  The Marine nodded and started moving the equipment to the appropriate place. Captain Black moved up to the Doctor.

  “Nice to see you’re getting comfortable here. How long do you need to get the security feeds back up?” he asked.

  “Well, I anticipate it will take around fifteen minutes to power up the bridg
e’s systems and then up to ten minutes to break the security. I’ve checked the system specifications and it shouldn’t be too much of a problem…assuming no more interruptions,” she said.

  “Then don’t waste time talking to me,” he said as he moved back to the group of Marines waiting at the other side of the bridge. As he made his way across the room he radioed in.

  “Black here. Bridge is secure, suites secure and forecastle is secure. Anticipate access to security feeds in approximately twenty five minutes,” he reported.

  “Affirmative. Do you require anything else for your operation?” came the reply from Captain Mathius back onboard the ship.

  “Negative, we have everything we need. Just make sure the helo and LCAC are ready in case we hit trouble. We don’t know what else is out here,” answered Captain Black.

  “Understood.”

  The lights in the room flickered, causing Captain Black to look back at Dr Garcia and her team. One of the technicians looked back at him, noting his interest.

  “We’re getting there,” he said, almost apologetically.

  * * *

  Sergeant Fernanda and her squad were secure in their position outside the luxury suites, just one level below the bridge. In the fifteen minutes since they’d been there they’d come across no movement, either dead or alive. On the improvised barricade one of the Marines had set up his M249 machine gun and was scanning it from side to side, looking for trouble down the dark hallways.

  Fernanda’s radio crackled.

  “This is Black, we have partial feeds up and working. I’m sending down six men to relieve you.”

  “Sir?” replied Fernanda.

  “I need you to take your squad directly to the Grand Lobby and fast.”

  “Have you found something?” she asked, sounding concerned.

  “Most of the cameras are down in the aft section of the ship and a large number are also down near the Grand Lobby. We’ve managed to isolate sounds in that area though and it seems there’s movement there, but we cannot determine whether it’s survivors or the undead. We have a route that appears clear to get you there.”

  “What’s the rush? Can’t we wait until we have more intel before we go in?” she said.

  “We could, but it seems the ship has problems, serious problems.”

  “What do you mean?” asked Fernanda.

  As she waited for a reply she signalled to the Marines patrolling the corridor leading to the aft of the vessel.

  “This is Dr Garcia here. I’ve gained access to engineering and it seems there are problems with the refrigeration plant’s engines. They are positioned deep in the centre of the vessel, at the bottom near the bilge. From the information I have it seems there are major electrical failures in that area and increases in heat,” she said.

  “A fire?” asked Fernanda.

  “Yes. Either the electrical system has failed and started a series of fires, or more likely there are survivors who in their struggles they have either accidentally or deliberately set these sections on fire,” she replied.

  The voice on the radio changed abruptly as Captain Black took over.

  “Either way, Sergeant, you need to get your team aft and fast. I’m sending the Doctor’s route to your PDA now,” he said.

  As their conversation continued the port stairwell door opened to reveal the relief unit of Marines that had been sent down by the Captain. Fernanda called out to her unit.

  “Listen up!” she barked whilst she grabbed her M4 carbine.

  The Marines moved back to her as she explained the plan whilst she slung the weapon across her torso. Without stopping she pulled on her armoured lower arm guard and moved off down the corridor and into the darkness of the ship.

  * * *

  Captain Black and Dr Garcia watched the numerous displays on the equipment they had both brought. Whilst the Marines’ equipment provided video feeds from the Marines themselves, Dr Garcia’s equipment and her work with the ship’s system provided limited viewpoints of different parts of the ship. It wasn’t perfect but it was a lot better than no footage. On the one screen they could see the entire length of a long corridor. It led from their original starting position towards the rear of the ship. The Marines had already travelled about a hundred metres along it when they appeared on the cameras. One of the technicians hit a few keys and managed to get several of the lights to come on, providing some illumination for the small unit of Marines.

  One of the smaller screens showed a feed coming directly from Corporal Armstrong. He’d taken point for the unit as they made their slow progress through the ship.

  A light started flashing on one of the computers followed by a low toned alarm.

  “What’s that?” asked Captain Black.

  “It’s detected movement on one of the ship’s cameras. I’ve modified the protocols here to detect image pattern changes rather than heat changes,” answered Dr Garcia.

  The Marine officer nodded, immediately understanding the point of the changes.

  “Yeah, that makes sense. Passive infrared is useless against the dead as they’re as cold as the walls of the ship. Can we see what is causing the movement?” he asked.

  Dr Garcia gave him a glance, pleasantly surprised at the knowledge of a mere Marine, before turning back to the screen.

  “Let’s see what I can do,” she said whilst making a few tweaks.

  The screen flashed and then revealed a dark, very noisy image with what looked like a large moving silhouette.

  “Fuck!” swore Captain Black as he grabbed for the radio mic.

  “Fernanda, you’ve got hostiles moving in about four rooms down on the left,” he shouted.

  “Affirmative,” she replied.

  Another light flashed on a different display showing similar movement in one of the function rooms off to the right of the Marines’ position. Before they could pass on the information the camera picked up the door being torn open and a dozen shapes staggered out into the hallway.

  “Sergeant!” shouted Captain Black.

  The screens on the Marines’ equipment flickered as they tried to adjust to the light changes as they opened fire. The one CCTV camera in the corridor showed a mass of people and muzzle flashes.

  Captain Black moved for the door but Dr Garcia grabbed at him.

  “There’s nothing you can do for them by running off. They know what they’re doing. I need you and your men’s help to get more of the systems online so we can get them to the Grand Lobby in time,” she said.

  Captain Black looked back at the screen to see the flashes had stopped and the Marines were still moving along the corridor. With a crackle Sergeant Fernanda’s voice returned.

  “That was fun. We were jumped by two groups of them, no casualties to report. We are continuing on,” she said.

  “Good work, Sergeant. We have a clear route coming up shortly, keep your eyes peeled.”

  There was a short delay before Fernanda replied.

  “Understood, Captain.”

  * * *

  Kowalski and Armstrong moved to the end of the corridor and into the open space leading to the stairwells and main elevator system. The rest of the Marines took up positions to cover the access to the stairwells. Sergeant Fernanda called back to the bridge.

  “We’re at the entrance to the stairwells, do you have any intel on them?” she asked.

  “We have movement from the level immediately above the Grand Lobby, everything above that looks clear. Don’t take any chances though,” answered the Captain.

  “Affirmative,” replied Fernanda.

  She gave a signal to Armstrong who slowly opened the door and shone his torch inside. He turned back and waved them to follow. He moved in and rushed down as quickly as he dared, the rest of the unit close behind. In a matter of thirty seconds the Marines were positioned above the Grand Lobby. The stairs had already transformed into a beautiful spiral grand staircase and the furnishing matched in details and quality. Kowalski leaned over towa
rds Armstrong.

  “Holy shit, now this I like,” he whispered.

  “Yeah,” replied the Marine, “rather be back on our own boat though.”

  “Amen to that,” whispered Jackson, who was waiting patiently in the darkness with his Heckler and Koch MP5 lifted and ready for action.

  “We’re in position,” whispered Fernanda into her mic.

  “We have you on the screen. From here onwards the security system is inactive. We have no idea what you will find. I repeat. You are entering an unknown, potentially hostile area. Take it easy and if you hit trouble, fall back towards the theatre,” answered Captain Black.

  “Also, be careful, you are directly above the refrigeration plants and that’s where we think the problems are concentrated,” added Dr Garcia.

  “Understood, we’re going in,” said Sergeant Fernanda as she gave the signal.

  Kowalski and Armstrong entered the grand staircase first, with the rest of the Marines spaced out in a long column behind them. They inched their way down, using their lights on the lowest settings to avoid drawing too much attention. As Armstrong rounded the first bend he looked over the ledge and down into the exquisite lobby below. Surprisingly some of the lights were still working and provided light to the more enclosed areas. The staircase led to a wide open gallery in a semi-circle shape. At the centre of the semi-circle was a rounded glass platform that split off into two spiralling staircases, both had thick red carpet.

  “Nice,” whispered Kowalski.

  The Marines continued towards the glass platform that offered a complete view of the lobby area.

  “Fernanda here. We’re in the lobby area, top of the main staircases on the platform,” she said.