Ranger Martin and the Search for Paradise

by Jack Flacco

  “Nonsense. You don’t owe me anything.” Toby pushed her in the direction where Randy had gone. “Now get out of here. If I know Josh, once this is over and done with, he’ll hunt you all down until there’s nothing left of you.”

  Matty nodded, then grabbed Jon by the hand and raced the length of the tunnel to the first right, as Toby had instructed.

  As they made their way to the manhole, outside, Ranger didn’t surrender firing his shotgun at the crates where Josh hid. Josh returned fire, blasting holes at the deck where Ranger had ducked behind. The more they traded gun blasts, the more Ranger wondered what would have happened to him if he had followed Lenny’s lead and ended up on the dock with him. He couldn’t shake the thought that Lenny was now lying dead on the pier.

  Soon, his thoughts left Lenny and he concentrated on wanting to get the kids out of that place. He wasn’t sure where they were, but the first thing he had to do was to get rid of whoever was firing at him.

  The shots had stopped and Josh raised his head from the crates, trusting the man with the baseball cap wouldn’t take a crack at his skull. He said, “Well played, good sir. You planned the takeover perfectly. Only a genius would have created a diversion at the doors to the city while the real invasion happened at the docks.”

  “You might want to rethink that.” Ranger lay strewn on his back with his shoulder behind the side of the deck while reloading his shotgun with shells he pulled from the pocket of his jacket.

  “What’s that I hear? Are you questioning my judgement? I just paid you a compliment. Coming from me, it’s a compliment of the tallest order.”

  “I’m glad you think of yourself so mighty. Like I said, you might want to rethink about the invasion comin’ from the docks.”

  Crouching behind the crates and staring at the ground, Josh massaged his forehead in thought. There was only one boat at the dock. His guards had searched it top to bottom not finding any troops. Other than the man behind the yacht’s deck who had shot at him, the only other person to emerge from the ship was dead on the pier. Perhaps he had made a mistake.

  “You’re wastin’ time if you think I’m here to take over this place.” Ranger cocked his shotgun and loaded a shell in the chamber. “All I want are my kids back. Your real problem will be knockin’ at your front doors. That’s to say, if your front doors survived.”

  Realization flooded Josh’s face with the understanding of the true meaning to the man’s statement. He shot to his feet, blew a few shells at the yacht and dashed into the street heading east to the doors of the city. Nothing else really mattered to the leader other than to keep those doors closed.

  When Josh left, Ranger rose from his stoop and scanned the docks. He noticed the two fishing boats tied to the pier, the crates with the holes at the top, the road leading into the city that Josh had taken and he couldn’t ignore the billows of smoke coming from two places in the fortress—north and east of where he stood. He was certain the north site was not his doing, but he definitely took credit for what was happening in the east.

  Next, he climbed from the deck to the dock and inspected the damage to the boat. Sure enough, although he detected a few bullet holes to the side, it was nothing he couldn’t handle on his own. None of them seemed to have hit the engine, and none seemed to have hit anything else that was vital.

  He thought too soon though. A high-pitch sound whistled from within the bowels of the ship and a small explosion blew a hole through the starboard bow. A bullet must have hit the engine from below the waterline; something he thought was intentional by nature. Water poured into the boat. It would be a matter of time before it sank.

  Without a boat and with Lenny lying on the dock dead, Ranger wondered if he had made a mistake by leaving the kids alone while investigating Lenny and Russell’s story the day before.

  In spite of his doubts, he had only one thing on his mind—find the kids.

  He held his shotgun tight to his body, and dashed from the boat to the center of the road leading to the city. Before going any further, a voice behind him startled him. He turned to face the familiar voice.

  “Where do you think you’re going?” Matty said, as she stopped in her footsteps with Jon and Randy trailing behind.

  “I thought I’d grab a bite to eat before headin’ home. I get hungry whenever I’m in the middle of lookin’ for kids who should have known better than stay where I’d asked them to stay.”

  “We got hungry.” Matty stepped forward getting in Ranger’s face. “You’ve got a problem with that?”

  “No, but you should have left me a voicemail or somethin’. I could have used a hand with my search for Paradise.”

  Jon and Randy had grown so used to Matty and Ranger’s banter that they just stood and watched as the zingers passed back and forth between them.

  “Seriously,” Randy said, “we have to leave. Josh, will be back and I’m sure this time he’ll bring a whole crew with him. I don’t want to be here to find out what happens when he does.”

  “Josh is the idiot shootin’ at me?” Ranger asked.

  “Funny you should call him an idiot.” Matty said, “I was just thinking the same thing about—”

  “Can we get out of here?” Jon said. “We’re wasting time!”

  * * *

  When the smoke cleared from the explosions at the gate, Steadman ordered his men to haul the remains of the doors back on the hinges.

  He didn’t count on one thing.

  The first of the horde squeezed between the fiery pickup and the blown walls, rushing toward Steadman’s troop. It offered its teeth as a gift for allowing it entry into the human’s precious domain they had kept private since the beginning. It lifted its arms and dragged its way to the guards standing at attention thirty feet from the entrance.

  Steadman didn’t have a problem with one zombie. He pulled his revolver he had stashed on his hip and blasted the undead in the face, scattering its brains clear into the burning truck’s fire. Another appeared at the gate and another shot spun through the air to blast away an undead. As the shots hurled past the gate and the fire from the truck died a natural death, more zombies appeared.

  The faces of the guards led by Steadman shifted from confidence to worry. They had ammo, but not enough to quell the mass that began filing through the gate. Had the pickup not been there, a huge crowd of chewers would have rushed in brandishing their teeth at the troop. In two directions, single-file, the horde pressed their way slowly through the gate and headed to the guards.

  Pounding metal on metal, bullets whizzed to cut down the approaching horde. The edge went to the guards as Steadman pulled the trigger on anything that came through the opening.

  But nothing could have prepared him for what was about to happen next.

  Of the hundreds of zombies Josh had meticulously culled over the months, crowds he had brought to guard the fortress, half of them had speed in their limbs and hopped the smoldering truck to attack the guards with a fury.

  Every available guard had formed a line to tear apart the onslaught. Assault rifles sprayed their devastation on the oncoming mass. As long as the guards maintained their wall of firepower, the citizens of Paradise wouldn’t have anything to worry about.

  But it didn’t stop many of the citizens, who once played peacefully in the park, to run west toward the dock. Josh had always said if an assault were to take place, the citizens should lock their doors to their apartments and not leave unless called. Some did not listen to simple instructions as given by their illustrious leader.

  After seeing them flee, Steadman turned around and shot at the cowards in the back, which scared the rest to return to their apartments. Everything would have gone according to their evacuation plans hadn’t his ignorance created another problem. Several zombies stopped at the foot of the gate, raised their nostrils and began to shake as the frenzy within their bones took hold. The blood Steadman had spilled awoke the undead’s appetite. They couldn’t help themselves. The zombies shot
from their perch on the dead pickup and raced toward the troop in gallops.

  One body after another piled on top of each other as the guards pressed their fingers on the fate on those who were once human, became undead, then became fully dead. They couldn’t stop the carnage as the line began to grow weary of the mayhem.

  In the hot sun, the guards drew breath. The hatred they had for the zombies manifested in pools of green blood pouring from the bodies streaming toward their feet. The racers, those that had allowed the frenzy to dictate their destruction on the humans, had met the same fate as those who didn’t smell blood. They might have been fast, but the guards were faster. The guards had trained for an event such as this and allowed their instincts to lead their movement.

  Steadman led the troop of twenty-four to finish the horde with smoldering red-hot barrels and without remorse. He didn’t care the undead were once living people who had families and friends. He viewed them as roaches and he needed to squash them like roaches.

  Yet, as much as the troop had attempted to hold the crowd back, the chewers with the frenzy burning through their bones, spread to the inside of the entrance. The guards divided into two groups. Some shot to the left while the remainder shot to the right. They couldn’t allow the zombies to penetrate their forces. They had to keep them contained and at the gate.

  It would have worked hadn’t an eater hidden behind a group that advanced against the line at a quick pace charged with fury. It jumped and landed on one of the guard’s chest.

  “Get it off me!” The guard said, shaking the thing with his hands. “Get it off me!”

  No one could do a thing. The crowd had grown fierce in numbers and had become brazen in attacking the troops. The eater unleashed its teeth and tore into the guard’s neck in the midst of his unbearable cries.

  Steadman blew the head off the eater and couldn’t help the guard without holding the line. He noticed the crowd had covered the gate and were pouring in from all directions. He thought there wouldn’t be any chance at survival if they stayed where they were.

  By that time, Josh had arrived and fired shots of his own into the crowd.

  “What happened to the rest of the company?” Josh asked, yanking Steadman next to him.

  “I ordered them to protect the entrance to the apartments.”

  “You think we worked all this time to protect those who don’t need protecting? Our future is on that island out there in the bay. Hold your position. I’ll get the others.”

  “But Josh—”

  “I said, hold your position!”

  Steadman nodded and fired another shot into the crowd. Doing what Josh wanted would have required him to go against the fact he’d die if his troop didn’t move.

  “I didn’t hear a yes!”

  “Right. I’ll hold our position.” Steadman said, with the realization Josh didn’t care what it took; the children on the island were his future. He didn’t care about anything else but them.

  As Josh turned to make his way to the apartments, he caught a faint glimpse of a Humvee climbing a hill beyond the horde at the gate. He didn’t need anyone telling him the owner of the vehicle must have been the man with the baseball cap who had fired shots at him defending his newfound turf on the dock. He arched his back as anger bubbled within his stomach. He blamed himself for allowing them to get away.

  Josh disappeared into the apartments while Steadman maintained his position, just as he had promised.

  The blood that drained from the neck of the guard at Steadman’s feet drew more of the undead to frenzy. The eaters sprang from their feet and pounced on the frontline to take them down in one swoop. They dove on the bodies of their victims, tearing them apart. The more guards fell to the frenzy, the more Steadman’s gaze turned to fear.

  His loyalty to Josh served to delay what should have never happened. He was losing his troop, and as the bullets quickly disappeared, he drew his knife to fight the oncoming horde.

  Gone were the tough exteriors on his men. The crowd they had kept for protection turned against them, making them into their afternoon lunch.

  Steadman slashed and stabbed anything that came in his way. He would show Josh his loyalty no matter what happened. It was with that attitude Steadman didn’t see an eater pouncing straight for the back of his neck. The eater brought others and Steadman screamed while its teeth tore through his flesh, pouring his life on to the ground.

  Paradise was no more.

  Chapter 27

  After having picked up Silver and Abigail, and driving several miles east of the overthrown fortress, at the side of the road the Humvee came to an abrupt stop. Dust filled the air as the wheels skidded from their position into the dirt.

  Matty had stepped on the brake while Ranger was driving.

  “What the hell!” Ranger glared at the teen. “Are you out of your mind?”

  “Maybe I am. Maybe I’m not.” She said. “We have to go back.”

  Shock hit Randy’s face and it threw him from the back of the truck. Jon and Abigail followed without an argument. They were lucky to have escaped alive, and Matty wanted to go back?

  “We have to go back.” Matty shifted the truck to park and pulled the keys from the ignition.

  Ranger wondered who was driving. He was sure it wasn’t anyone else but him, considering he sat in the driver’s seat. After Matty’s episode though, he wasn’t certain.

  She stepped from the vehicle to join the others.

  “Sis, I think the fumes in the sewers have left you a few brain cells short of intelligence.” Jon said.

  “I know what I’m doing.”

  Ranger sat in the truck, alone, shaking his head. Everyone in his life had gone crazy. He had just rescued everyone from a place they didn’t belong, a place they should have never visited. Now, she wanted to go back? He thought she belonged in a mental institution. All he could do for now was sit and burn with frustration, tightening his grip on the steering wheel and hope she would figure out how nuts she sounded on her own.

  “I’m going to have to agree with your brother on this one,” Randy said, kicking the dirt from the side of the road, “He sounds like he knows what he’s talking about. Besides, I have one question. Are you on medication? We almost lost our lives in there!”

  “Shush, Randy. My fight isn’t with you.” She said then glanced at Ranger. “He’s burning up in there and he’s going to come out in a minute to tell me I belong in an insane asylum with a chin guard around my neck.”

  Ranger didn’t move. He heard the conversation as if they were in the truck with him, yet he kept his gazed fixed on the dirty windshield. He didn’t want to get out of the truck, and most of all, he didn’t want to listen to what Matty had to say.

  Abigail opened the passenger side door and stared at Ranger. She had the same look Ranger had on his face. Frustration. They didn’t need to do anything other than head for safety. Then again, she wasn’t with Matty, Randy and Jon when guards had captured them. She had done the smart thing. She hid.

  Trading glances, Ranger and Abigail thought it was time to go.

  By the side of the road, Matty waited for Ranger with the keys in her hand and a smug look on her face. She hated to admit it, but Ranger was right about not wanting to go back. She dared not say it aloud. She did have an argument ready for him, though.

  He couldn’t wait any longer. Ranger kicked his door open and stepped from the vehicle. He scanned the road behind and concluded the zombies at the fortress would keep the good citizens of Paradise busy for a long while. The burned out pickup he had Silver ram into the gate blocked any attempt of anyone coming after them. The guards were too busy running from the horde to worry about those who had escaped from their hands.

  Ranger walked to the side of the road and stood in front of the kids not saying a word. He knew Matty for a while and he knew that he’d have a tough fight on his hands if he confronted her. They were both stubborn, and they both had a need of wanting to do things their way. Yet,
he couldn’t deny her the attempt to sway him into her thinking. He had to give her a chance.

  As Matty and Ranger stared at each other, Randy and Jon leaned against the side of the Humvee while Abigail sat in the passenger seat with the door open. The heat hadn’t let up and they slowly drained their water bottles to keep hydrated.

  “Are you goin’ to start?” Ranger asked.

  “Start what? I thought you were going to tell me just how wrong I am.” Matty answered.

  “How ‘bout tellin’ me the reasons why you want to go back. Then I’ll decide if what you’re tellin’ me is somthin’ I’m willin’ to spend my time pursuin’. All right?”

  “You mean our time.” She stepped forward and took the first shot. “It’s not all about you, you know.”

  “Matty, I’m tired. I’ve been shot at. I don’t remember the last time I ate. This heat isn’t helpin’. And the last thing on my mind is gettin’ into a fight with you. So, if you don’t mind, let’s get this over with so we can find some food and maybe a place to stay.”

  “We’re past all that, Ranger. I’m not talking about going back to that place. I’ve had enough of seeing the inside of a cage for one night. We have to go back to the bay, find a boat and travel to—” Matty turned to Randy and asked, “What was that place called?”

  “Alcatraz.”

  “Right, Alcatraz. We have to find a boat and go to Alcatraz.”

  Ranger stared at her, then without warning, while holding his belly with his hands, bellowed with laughter. His face turned bright and his eyes lit with amusement at the teen’s suggestion. He hadn’t heard anything so ridiculous in all his life. He thought he had said odd things himself, but Matty’s idea was the absolute worst one yet. Tears ran from his cheeks with the hilarity of the situation.

  “Okay, okay. It sounds like a stupid idea.” She pressed her hands in the air hoping to calm the zombie slayer.

  “Stupid?” Ranger asked, wiping the water from his eyes. “Pineapple on pizza is a stupid idea. Bringin’ a radio in a bathtub is a stupid idea. Honkin’ at the police car in front of you is even a stupid idea. But Matty, what you’re askin’ here is not stupid. It’s just plain dumb.”