by Jon Schafer
Sheila gave her new friend an odd look, so Mary explained, “Take for example, everything here on this ship. It's the same way out there. All the shops and stores just waiting for us to come along and take want we want. No hassling with rude sales people or fighting the crowds. No limit on my credit cards.” She giggled and added, “No need for credit cards.”
“But we heard on the radio that the dead overran all the cities. How can you shop when you're dodging the freaks?” Sheila asked.
Looking with slitted eyes at Steve and Tick-Tock, Mary replied, “Well, I guess the Neanderthals have some uses. They clear the area of the dead so I can shop, so that's something in their favor.”
Steve noticed Mary and Sheila and waved them over to join them. Not seeing a way out of it, Mary led the way, pasting on the false smile she donned whenever she had to interact with Tick-Tock. When they reached the table, Steve said, “Connie and Brain made soup and sandwiches for lunch. You weren't here, so they saved you some. They're in the kitchen.” Looking directly at Sheila, he added, “Come back and join us after you grab something to eat. Now that Tick-Tock's here, I want to go over what you told us last night.”
Sheila looked at Steve's number two and said, “Tick-Tock?”
“The talking bush,” he replied.
Mary felt anger wash through her when Sheila giggled and batted her eyes at Tick-Tock. She wanted to scream at him, ‘you’re already fucking my Susan, so back off buddy.'
Instead, she said to Sheila in a sweet voice, “Let's grab something to eat, honey. I'm starved.”
After the women went into the kitchen, Tick-Tock said, “Looks like Mary's got a new candidate for the tongue in groove club.”
Steve laughed and said, “Crudely put, but true. I'm not too crazy about having two dead weights in the group, but it looks like we're stuck with them.”
“Cut them loose,” Tick-Tock suggested.
“Then I might as well put a bullet in Mary's brain,” he replied. “She wouldn't last five minutes on her own. Cutting her loose is the same as murdering her. I don't know how Sheila would do, she might survive, but Mary...”
“So we're stuck with a drunken whore and a lipstick lesbian,” Tick-Tock said with a slight smile.
Steve laughed and said, “Again, crudely put but true. Right now, with the world the way it is though, I'm not throwing anyone to the wolves unless they're a direct threat to me or the group.”
“Which means?” Tick-Tock asked.
“It means that I'll be the first to exile or shoot anyone who puts our lives in jeopardy. No hesitation. If I find out Sheila's setting us up, then at the very least she's getting her ass booted back onto the upper decks, if I don't shoot her.”
“What about the Faithful?” Tick-Tock asked.
I"
“I consider them a threat but not a direct threat,” Steve replied. “I know I can't save them, especially since Ricky's probably convinced them that I'm the anti-Christ come to drag their souls screaming to hell, and I can't even begin to sort out who to help and who to kill, but I still need to do something. If any of them become a threat, then they're dead, but the least I can do is let them know the truth about Ricky and the ship sinking. From there they'll have to try and save themselves.”
“It's more than I'd do,” Tick-Tock said.
Steve shrugged, knowing this was one of the few points he and Tick-Tock differed on. He had no doubt that his friend would put his life on the line for anyone in the group, except maybe Mary, but as for those who weren't with them or were apathetic toward improving their situation, they were on their own. Steve knew he wouldn't risk the lives of any of the others in the group to save the Faithful, but he would at least try to help those who couldn't help themselves. Those who could, but didn't, were on their own.
Mary and Sheila rejoined them with Mary giving Tick-Tock a dirty look when he gave her new flame his most winning smile and offered to get her some coffee.
Steve let Sheila finish eating before asking her to repeat what she'd told them at dinner. He'd already relayed to Tick-Tock everything the redhead had said but wanted the woman to tell her story again for a number of reasons, the most important being to see if he could catch her in any lies. Although it did appear Ricky wanted her dead, he still didn't trust her. The whole thing with the Z’s coming out of nowhere could have easily been staged.
When Sheila was done, Steve had to admit that she seemed to be telling the truth. Her story was clearer than the night before, which Steve chalked up to a lessened blood alcohol content, and hadn't differed greatly on any points, so he decided that for now the redhead could stay.
When he mentioned that Ricky had paid them a visit that morning, Sheila grew white in the face and visibly trembled, further leading him to believe her story. Her reaction wasn't something she could fake. When he explained about the Reverend giving them the Nautical Almanac, Sheila leaned forward in her chair and said, “Don't trust him, he's after something. He wants…” But her words died out as she lost her train of thought.
Shaking her head at the alcohol fog that remained from the night before, and the one that she'd already started working on that morning, she couldn't come up with the thought she was trying to voice. Although she knew Ricky needed a way to Cozumel, she couldn't make the connection between that and the people from the sailboat. Steve and Tick-Tock didn't make the connection to Ricky wanting the sailboat either, since Sheila hadn't thought it important enough to tell them about Cozumel. Besides, they all saw that the solution for the people stuck on the ship was simple. Tow a lifeboat full of gas and supplies behind them so they could reach land. That would give the survivors of the Dead Calm the range to make it.
Seeing Sheila's hesitation, Mary asked, “He wants what, Honey?”
Looking up morosely, she replied, “I'm not sure, I just don't trust him.”
“Neither do we,” Steve said. He wanted to say that the fake preacher's days were numbered but didn't want to tell Sheila about the fate Heather planned for the Reverend Ricky Rose. Instead, he said to Mary, “Since we're waiting on the sextant and for Brain to get the gas pump working, we're going to be here for another day at least. You can finish finding the rest of the items on the list I gave you tomorrow. You've done a good job, so take the rest of the afternoon and do whatever you want. Just stay on this deck.”
Ignoring the praise from Steve, Mary was concerned about Sheila who seemed to be struggling with something.
Shaking her head, the redhead finally looked up at Mary and said, “I could use a drink, and since you have the rest of the day off why don't we do some shopping.”
Thinking about all the high-tension alcohol in the shops and clubs, Steve almost ordered them to stay away from the booze but instead cautioned, “Take it easy on the liquor. If you get fucked up and something happens, we might not be able to help you.”
With smiles and promises to be good, the two women got up to go. After they left, Steve said to Tick-Tock, “Do me a favor and please don't try to bang Sheila. I've got enough drama going on right now in my life and I don't need any more.”
Tick-Tock laughed, “Don't worry. I'm just doing it to yank Mary's chain. I've got no interest in Sheila at all.”
Relieved that he didn't have to deal with some kind of bizarre four-way emotional love triangle between Tick-Tock, Mary, Susan and Sheila on top of everything else, Steve said, “Last night I was talking to Tim and he showed me some of the crew passageways that run through the ship. He told me that most of the time he doesn't have to use them. He moves around by using the stairs and walkways because no one notices him. All they see is a kid wandering around. He also told me that the best time to go onto the upper decks is just after sundown. Ricky and his Faithful are partying on the top deck, so there's no one around.”
“And you're telling me this because-?” Tick-Tock asked with an expectant smile.
“How'd you like to do a little recon tonight?” Steve asked.
“How do we ge
t past the spotters on deck five?” Tick-Tock questioned.
“Elevator shaft,” Steve answered. “Tim told me how he was getting chased by a couple Z’s one time, so he climbed through the hatch on the top of the elevator car. There's a ladder that runs up and down each shaft.”
“Sounds interesting,” Tick-Tock said. “Just you and me?”
“Heather and Susan will stay here which makes it a boy's night out. We'll take Brain along. He wants to try and get a look at the switching room or something,” Steve said. “He's having trouble getting power to the pump that controls the fuel supply. He needs to switch over to another generator or another line. He says he'll know what to do when he sees the electrical room.”
“What deck does he think this is on?” Tick-Tock asked.
“He's pretty sure it's on deck six, and I need to get onto seven to check out the lifeboat situation. After that, we can go wherever you want, but we need to stay together.”
“Lifeboats?” Tick-Tock questioned.
Sheila says most of them are disabled, but that's just what she heard from Ricky. She never saw them herself. I want to take a look,” Steve answered.
“To make sure Ricky's Faithful can get away safe?”
Steve nodded.
“Screw the Faithful and the horse they rode in on, but I'm up for a little tour of the ship. I've got something I want to do anyway. What time do we go?” Tick-Took asked.
“Seven o'clock, by then it'll be dark.”
***
Located near the stern and high above the Calm of the Seas, the Crow’s Nest Lounge looked out over the length of the ship. Off limits to the Faithful and the regular Ushers, it was the private domain of Reverend Ricky and his Head Ushers. Enjoying the panoramic view enhanced by being hundreds of feet in the air, Don Parsons stood behind the bar mixing drinks for Ricky and himself. The remaining three Head Ushers sat with their leader watching the sun sink down to meet the horizon. Every afternoon before joining the Faithful at their gathering for the rapture, Ricky and the Head Ushers met to go over what was happening on the ship and to brainstorm ideas on how to get to Cozumel. With the arrival of Steve's group, the main topic of discussion was how to get the sailboat without getting themselves killed in the process.
Finished with his bartending duties, Parsons brought Ricky a Black Russian, waiting for him to take a sip and nod his approval before settling into one of the overstuffed chairs pulled together in a half circle.
Ricky said, “I've managed to acquire an informant on deck four. Word is that three of the newcomers are planning to take a little tour of the ship tonight after it gets dark.”
This announcement was met by excitement from the men gathered around.
“What are they looking for?” Parsons asked.
“We're not sure exactly, but it appears they're having trouble powering the gas pump down in the watercraft area. My person told me that they're also going to check out the lifeboats.”
“Why the lifeboats?” Parsons asked.
“To see if they're really disabled. The one named Steve has a plan to tell the Faithful that the ship is sinking, just before he and his people leave. He wants to tell them that, if they take a lifeboat and tow another boat full of gas behind them, they can reach land.”
“We can't let the Faithful find out we've been snowing them about the lifeboats,” Brother Seth interjected.
Still mad at Seth, and sure that the man was lying about what had really happened at the Masthead, Ricky exploded, “No shit, but that's not the point. The point is, we can't reach Cozumel without that sailboat. That's what we need to focus on. I'm just relaying what my snitch told me about what the people on deck four are up to. I really couldn't give two shits what happens to the rest of the people on this ship. And another thing, if you hadn't let Sheila-.”
Not wanting the meeting to turn into another one of Ricky's rants, Parsons leaned forward and interrupted by saying loudly, “Despite all that, our plan seems to be working. They seem to feel comfortable enough to explore the ship.”
Ricky continued to glare at Seth but nodded at Parsons’ reasoning and seemed to calm down. After giving Seth a last warning look, he said, “But we've still got to find some more things they need, so we can keep them here long enough to feel comfortable going out in groups of one and two. There'll be three of them tonight with guns. Three people armed with automatic weapons are too many for us to take on.” Giving Brother Seth a hard look he continued, “Especially now that we're down one man.”
“They still need the sextant, so that should buy us a day or two,” Parsons said. “We can crack the lens before we give it to them and hold back the spare to buy us another couple days while we tell them we're looking for it.”
Brother William spoke up, “It's kind of hard to entice them with anything since they have damn near everything they need on deck four. Food, water and all those stores just sitting there waiting to be picked over. That's one of the decks we haven't raided for food and booze yet, so it's pretty stocked.” Turning to Ricky he asked, “Did your informant give you any idea about anything else they need?”
“Nothing yet,” Ricky replied. “But you have to remember, our snitch just started telling us what's happening down there. We need more time, but time is what we don't have.” Looking at the last Head Usher, Brother Cal, Ricky said to him, “Tell Don what you told me earlier.”
“We're running out of water,” Cal announced to astonished looks from everybody except Ricky. “As you remember, our last desalination unit died a few weeks ago and I couldn't fix it. Even at less than one twentieth of passenger capacity, we still go through a hell of a lot of water. There's bottled water to drink, but when the Faithful find out that the tanks are empty and they can't shit, shower, or shave, we'll start to lose control over them. One of the main reasons most of them have followed us this long is because we've kept everything running.”
“How long until were completely out?” Parsons asked.
“Three days at the most,” Cal answered.
“Son of a bitch,” Parsons exclaimed sharply. “Why didn't you tell us this earlier, Cal?”
Reverend Ricky cut in, “He told me when he first discovered the problem a few days ago. I saw there was nothing we could do about it, so I didn't see any need to pass the information along.”
Parsons wondered what else Ricky was keeping to himself - like who his informant was - but dismissed the thought. Their priority right now was still the same, regardless of the situation with the water. They needed to get off this ship and get to safety. Thinking of the island they were trying to reach, he asked Seth, “Anything on the radio from Cozumel?”
“Nothing,” he answered. “I'm picking up a signal out of Brownsville from a ham radio operator and some distant military chatter that's probably from one of the military bases near Corpus Christi but that's it. There could be a number of reasons we can't hear Cozumel though. Sunspots, distance or maybe their generator went out.”
“If we hadn't gotten caught in the Gulf Stream, we'd be a hell of a lot closer to Cozumel than we are now,” Brother
William pointed out. “At the rate we're going, we may have to try for Texas and take our chances going down the coast by land.”
“And cross through five or six cities full of the dead?” Ricky said. “No thanks. Everyone we’ve talked to on the radio since this shit started says that the stinkers are running around everywhere and eating up the living. People barricaded themselves inside because those things were roaming around every city and town across the country. We wouldn't make it two miles on land. Our only chance is to reach Cozumel by water.”
“Maybe it’s gotten better,” Brother William said. “We've had so little contact with anyone. Maybe the zombies ran out of food after they ate everyone. Maybe they died?”
“They can't die, William. They're already dead.” Ricky pointed out as if explaining something to a child.
“Maybe they'll eat each other when they run out of f
ood then,” William proposed.
“That would be cannibalism,” Seth pointed out.
“Isn't that what they're doing now?” William challenged, sounding like a five year old on a school play lot.
“Is not,” Seth said.
“Is too.”
Ricky shook his head sadly as he thought that, while both of them were loyal as dogs, they were so dumb their lips moved when they thought. Sometimes, when he’d been listening to them for too long, he got the feeling his IQ had dropped twenty points.
Ricky was about to break up the debate between his two Rhodes scholars when Don cut in and said sharply, “Enough about the dead. The ones we've had locked up in the cabin areas are still moving around and ready to take a bite out of your ass, so they're still out there in the cities too. We head to Cozumel like we planned. We only have a few days left, so we need to move our timetable up.” Turning to Ricky, he said, “Our problem is that the newcomers need to be spread out, so we can deal with them separately. Maybe what we need to do is give them more room.”
“How so?” Ricky asked.
“We give them deck five. We pull the spotters back to six and let the newcomers move around. That might give us a chance to take them out. We'll have to play it by ear and keep giving them enough rope to hang themselves. It should make them feel more comfortable, and maybe they'll split up and go off in different directions. Then we can isolate and kill them.”
“What about having your snitch just cut the chain in the door and let the freaks loose?” William proposed.
“That's only going to be done as a last resort,” Ricky said. “Don and I discussed it. We know there's a couple hundred stinkers locked in the cabin area on deck four, and they could easily overwhelm and kill the people down there if we let them go, but then we'd have to deal with the dead to get to the weapons and the sailboat.”
“So, do we let the three newcomers have the run of the ship tonight?” Brother Cal asked.
“I want no interference with any of them,” Ricky ordered. “If we give them an inch, I hope they'll take a mile.” Standing, he looked down onto deck twelve and saw that some of the Faithful had gathered for his evening sermon and their chance to ascend into heaven.