by J M Lassen
The last pirate stopped laughing.
“Get off our boat,” I said, and kicked him over, bullhorn and all.
%~<>
The ¡Adios, Vatos! was fully fueled; it was stocked with provisions and guns and extra ammunition. Nine men had planned to do a lot of pirating on this vessel—lots more than they got a chance to do. We were one of their early conquests, but not their first. We found wallets in the lounge—a bucketful. Dozens of them.
I don’t know who they got them from...who they killed...but if I ever shed a tear, it’s for them...not the pirates Harry killed.
There was no GPS, but at least they had a working compass. We got the motor going and aimed the boat north...toward Texas. But something weird hung in the air...and it wasn’t just that me and my brother both stank like gasoline.
He and I exchanged a look.
“You thinking what I’m thinking?” I asked Harry.
He pursed his lips.
He said, “Don’t mess with Texas?”
“I was thinking ‘Texas sucks,’” I told him. “But it’s basically the same sentiment.”
I turned the boat around and pointed her south.
We left a trail of laughers dogpaddling after us through the muck. Man, they sure thought something was funny.
;/{}
Copyright
Acknowledgments
“Family Buisness” by Jonathan Maberry. © 2010 Jonathan Maberry. Originally published in The New Dead: A Zombie Anthology. Reprinted by permission of the author.
“The Wrong Grave” by Kelly Link. © 2007 Kelly Link. Originally published in The Restless Dead. Reprinted by permission of the author.
“The Days of Flaming Motorcycles” by Catherynne M. Valente. © 2010 Catherynne M. Valente. Originally published in Dark Faith. Reprinted by permission of the author.
“The Barrow Maid” by Christine Morgan. © 2007 Christine Morgan. Originally published in History is Dead: A Zombie Anthology. Reprinted by permission of the author.
“You’ll Never Walk Alone” by Scott Nicholson. © 2003 Scott Nicholson. Originally published in The Book of Final Flesh. Reprinted by permission of the author.
“The Dead Kid” by Darrell Schweitzer. © 2002 Darrell Schweitzer. Originally published in The Book of More Flesh, 2002. Reprinted by permission of the author.
“Seven Brains, Ten Minutes” by Marie Atkins. © 2003 Marie Atkins. Originally published in The Book of Final Flesh. Reprinted by permission of the author.
“The Third Dead Body” by Nina Kirki Hoffman. © 1993 Nina Kiriki Hoffman. Originally published in The Ultimate Zombie, 1993. Reprinted by permission of the author.
“The Skull-Faced Boy” by David Barr Kirtley. © 2002 David Barr Kirtley. Originally published on Gothic.net, March 2002. Reprinted by permission of the author.
“The Human Race” by Scott Edelman. © 2009 Scott Edelman. Originally published in Space and Time. Reprinted by permission of the author.
“Deepwater Miracle” by Thomas S. Roche. © 2011 Thomas S. Roche. Original to this volume.
