by L. D. King
Captain Tarek Wasem was the last member of the command staff still alive. As they left Mazatlan, Captain Wasem wanted to know what had just happened. He called the head of security, Theo, to the bridge to talk with him.
“Theo, what can you tell me about the condition of the ship today?”
“Captain, we know that there are many zombies on board. They’re killing people — crew or passengers alike — wherever they find them. I’ve not been able to find a way to stop them, or even really slow them down. I’ve closed all of the bulkhead doors, trying to keep the zombies confined. Somehow they have managed to find a way past the bulkhead doors. It is like they’re multiplying on our side of the bulkhead doors. Anyone who is still behind those doors has been sentenced to death. We’ve lost the engineering room; the engines that power the generators have quit, so we’ve been without power for a while. All of the food aboard has gone bad. The water, the sewage, the air handlers, everything that needs power is gone. The ship is dead in the water, drifting. There is nothing that I can do to stop the zombies from killing all of us.”
“Thank you, my friend. I know you are doing is hard. I know there is nothing that we can do to stop the zombies. I think it will only be a matter of time until the ship will have no living humans on board. Somewhere. If the zombies run out of people to kill will they die? I don’t know. I wanted to get to Los Angeles with as many people alive as I could, but we are adrift. We will go where the current takes us now. As a ship’s captain, I have failed. The only thing I command is a ship of death.”
“Theo, one moment before you go, please. We have many bodies in cold storage. There is no power to keep them cool. I want you and your staff to find some canvas or plastic sheeting to wrap the bodies. Then I what you to rail dump them. I want you to start doing this now. As your staff comes across a body, please, wrap it up and then dump it. Are you okay with this?”
“Tarek, this is the hardest order that I have ever been given in my sailing career.” He paused. “Yes, I will instruct my staff to do this. We will start with the bodies in cold storage. After that, when we find a body, we will wrap it and dump it over the side.”
“Thank you, Theo. Try to keep too many of the guests from seeing it.”
On the Oceania, there was dried blood and body parts in various places on the deck where a zombie had killed a person. The bodies were ripped or slashed far beyond what took to kill them. Captain Wasem made the difficult decision to wrap the bodies and have them buried at sea as quietly as possible so the remaining passengers would not become any more frightened than they already were.
The Oceania had been drifting for three months without power. The best guess that Captain Wasem had for their location was they were about 800 nautical miles off the coast of Oregon. Today, Captain Wasem was sitting with Dr. Hajjar in his cabin. They were discussing everything that had happened.
“Noble, I cannot figure out what is happening on my ship. We have lost nearly all of the people who were on this ship when we left Mazatlan. I have received reports from our staff that zombies have been seen everywhere on board. There is nothing that we can do. The only thing that we have to do is keep dumping the bodies as we find them. We haven’t found any way to stop the zombies.”
“We no longer have a single crew member that knows how to keep this ship under power. The ship’s engines have been offline for nearly three months, and we are drifting farther away from land each day. Nobel, what is happening?”
“Tarek, we’ve lost everything. All my medical staff is dead. From what I can see, you are correct in your belief that most of the people on board are dead. The remaining passengers are hiding in their staterooms. Some venture out, looking for food or water once in a while. As they come out of their staterooms, many are killed before they can return. Dead bodies are lying all over the ship. We do not have enough crew left to deal with the bodies. I don’t think that there are enough crewmen left to keep up with the kills. I think that somehow the dead may be turning into more zombies! I say this because I have seen some of the zombies wearing clothes that I know belonged to the dead I saw a few days ago.”
“If we don’t do something to get this ship under power again, we will all die soon. I believe that we have passed the point of being able to restart the ship’s engines with the number of crew we have on board. We are dying on this ship. I see no other outcome other than we will all be dead very soon… two weeks or less.”
“I have been down to the engineering decks. All the bulkhead doors have been locked down. Through the port in the door, all I could see was zombies and dead bodies.”
“The dead that we have dumped overboard were not prepared correctly, with a weight to take the body to the bottom of the ocean. Right now, if you look off the stern, you will see many floating bodies drifting behind the ship. All of the food in the galleys has spoiled. My friend, we are on a ship of death. We are doomed. We will then drift the oceans forever, unless we wreck against a shore or a reef somewhere. I’m afraid that if or when help arrives, the only survivors left on board will be the zombies.”
“Noble, my friend, thank you for your observation. I know our future is bleak. Please join me in draining this bottle of cognac. I have been saving it for years, for a special occasion. And what occasion could be more special than this? The only thing that I can think of is that I don’t want to die knowing that this bottle is still full after I have gone.”
Dr. Hajjar replied, “Since there is nothing in our future but death, I believe would be the right thing to do. It has been a wonderful seven years that we have spent together. My friend, I don’t think I can live in a world like this, with all of the zombies or whatever they bring with them. I’d be happy to share your cognac, my friend.”
Captain Wasem took two glasses off of his shelf and poured some cognac into each of them, handing one to his friend as he sat to enjoy his drink. The doctor took his glass as well. They sat in the Captain’s cabin, talking and drinking, until the bottle was empty. With the Captain’s final sip of cognac, he sat the empty glass on the table next to him.
With one fluid motion, he retrieved a .45 pistol from under his seat cushion, put it to his head, and pulled the trigger. His body slumped to the floor.
“No!” Dr. Hajjar cried out, but it was far too late. He choked on his words. “Goddamn you, why did you leave me here?” He knew he didn’t have the balls to do what Wasem had just done.
With his friend dead and the ship having become a deathtrap, Noble Hajjar was utterly lost. He stood and walked out onto the Captain’s patio. Then a solution came to him.
He climbed up on a chair next to the railing and stepped up onto the top rail. Standing there looking into the sun, Dr. Hajjar smiled as he took a final step out onto empty air, falling feet first into the ocean, where he was quickly swallowed by the waves.
The Oceania drifted on out into the Pacific Ocean under no one’s command. The Oceania was now truly a ship of death.
In the four short months since this had begun, it was over for the Oceania.
Chapter 12
Luxor, Egypt
ADZ +137d
Throughout Egypt, the countrywide electrical grid had failed. There were not enough skilled people to keep the electrical generating plants running. Simply put, there were too many people who had gone missing added to the number of people that have been killed by the zombies. There were not enough people to keep much of anything operating in Egypt. The failure of the electrical grid took with it the pumping of water, the pumping of the sewage or anything that required electricity to function.
The police departments, the fire departments, the military or much of any service that ran with a crew. People have stopped showing up for work. Many were dead, many had gone missing the rest of the living were running for their lives. Those that were not running joined together forming groups of lawless gangs of thugs who were trying to take any advantage they could have this outbreak. They roamed the countryside taking what they wanted
when they wanted it. The gangs were hoping that the outbreak was a temporary event that when it was over, they would emerge in possession of more than they had before.
Over the last five months, so many people had just disappeared. They were either killed by the zombies, killed by the gangs or just missing. During the last five months, the zombies brought upon Egypt a great slaughter of their people. No one had made the connection between the missing with the arrival of the zombies.
Zeyad, Sheref, and Assem had been walking for five months now. Zeyad’s car had run out of gas two days out from Luxor. There was no more gas to be had at any price. They abandoned Zeyad’s car and started the long walk to Cairo carrying everything they had. In the desert, the heat was oppressive. It sapped the energy out of everyone, especially anyone in the direct sunlight. Water was not an issue. The water in the Nile River was drinkable. In the five months since they left Luxor, they had only got as far as Bani Mazar. They were still a long way from Cairo. It was early afternoon. What they had learned while walking was that the zombies came out of their hiding to hunt late in the day.
On the outskirts of Bani Mazar, they came across a wonderful house to rest for the night. It must have been owned by a wealthy man of the town. They did not care who owned this house. What they were looking for was a place to rest that was secure from the zombies or the gangs. What they had found was that the owner made sure that the doors, windows of the house including the courtyard were built with security in mind.
After Zeyad with his men had climbed over the courtyard wall. Inside the courtyard, they discovered the front door to the house locked. They walked around the house until Assem their chance to get in.
“Zeyad, come look at this. That door on the balcony is open. Help me get up on that roof. I can reach the balcony from there.”
Zeyad boosted Assem to the roof of the shed next to the house. From there he was able to grab the bottom rail of the balcony pulling himself up onto the balcony. With a quick hop, he was through the door. Assem ran through the bedroom, down the stairs to the front door throwing it open. Zeyad was at the front door waiting for him. Sheref came running from the around the other side of the house through the front door slamming it behind him. As they were standing in the entry of the house he remarked.
“Wow! This is a great home. Now that we are inside I do not think that anyone is inside with us. We need to do a quick search if we are alone. Let’s get this done quickly. When you are done, come back here.” If we are alone, we need to go back around to lock this place up tight.”
They all took different areas of the house to see if they were alone. Finding the house empty, they met back in the entry way. Zeyad looked at each of them as he spoke.
“Did you find anyone in the house with us?”
“I was upstairs. There was no one up there.”
“I went to the back of the house. Same thing back there, no one.”
“Thank you both. I went through the front rooms. I did not see anything either. Now that we know we are alone this place needs to be locked up tight. While we are securing this place, look around. We might find something that we could use.”
As they locked down the house, they discovered something that they could have ever dreamed of.
“Sheref, come over here and look at this. Hurry. Bring Zeyad.”
“What do you have Assem?”
“Come, look in the garage.”
“Let Allah be praised. Assem, we will not be walking for a while. If this Range Rover runs, we will be doing much better. Do you think it will start?”
“Zeyad, the keys are in the ignition. It has been waiting for us! Look at the storage racks over there. If those cans are full, then there must be 50 to 60 liters of gas. We will be driving for a long time with all of this extra gas. You have found a treasure for us, Assem. Get in the truck. See if it will start.”
“Sheref check the cans. See if they are full of gas.”
“I will, Zeyad. While I was on the other side of the house, I saw a trailer that this could pull. We could put all of the gas cans in it. We won’t be walking for a long time with this much gas.”
Assem grabbed the handle of the driver’s door. Surprisingly, it was unlocked. He got in and turned the key in the ignition. The engine fired up like it had run the day before. With the truck running Assem was all smiles. He turned it off as he was looking out of the window at Zeyad.
“Allah be praised! It runs Zeyad. If the owner left this here what else did they leave in this house for us to find? This house must have belonged to a man of wealth. There must be many hidden places with so many things for us to find.”
“You are right, Assem. If someone had left such a vehicle behind, they did not leave willingly. If that is the case, then I wonder what else might be in this house? We must be diligent in our search of this house. Look everywhere; do not leave anything untouched. Look behind or under anything that you can move. Look for hidden places. Take Sheref with you to search the rest of this floor. I will be upstairs looking as well. When you are finished down here, join me upstairs. We will need to eat before it gets too dark. We cannot get soft simply because we found a vehicle. The zombies are still out there. They will kill us if they have a chance. We cannot let our guard down now that we have this truck. Don’t forget the road bandits out there who would not hesitate to kill us for what we just found.”
“All right, Zeyad, we will check the rest of this floor. As soon as we are done, we will join you. There has to be food in this house somewhere.”
Assem set out to search the back of the house. Sheref went to the kitchen which was right off of the garage. Feeling lucky after having found the Range Rover, they hoped that their luck was still on their side as they searched the rest of the house. Sheref was searching the kitchen when he found a camouflaged door in the pantry. He called out to Assem.
“Assem! Assem! Come see what I have found.”
“Sheref? Where are you?”
“I’m in the kitchen. Hurry.”
As Assem rushed into the kitchen, he stood there looking for Sheref. He called out to him.
“Sheref. Where are you? I don’t see you?”
“Come into the pantry. I have found a secret room behind this shelf.”
Assem stepped into the pantry. Sheref had lit a candle to see what was in the room.
“Oh, for the praise of Allah! Sheref, with all of this food, we will eat for a long time before we have to look for more. Look at all of the food you have found! Everything has been canned — the meat, the produce, fruit, bottles of water, bottles of wine and liquor and even more behind the cans. You have found the best room of all. What else must this house be hiding from us? How did you know to look here?”
“I had a short candle in my pocket. I lit it so I could see a little better. I got on my hands and knees. From that angle, I saw these drag marks on the floor where the hidden door scraped the floor when it was opened. I stood up, then I started to look for a hidden lever or handle. When I pressed the side of the shelf, the door popped open a bit. I pushed it the rest of the way, and this is what I found. Now that it is getting dark out, we won’t be able to find very much more without lighting candles. If we do that, it may attract the zombies or the road bandits.”
Sheref nodded. “I will use some of this food to make our dinner. Go find Zeyad. Bring him down to the kitchen so we can eat.”
“Very good, Sheref. I will be right back with Zeyad.”
Assem returned shortly with Zeyad. Sheref had set out some food for them. They talked as they ate; Zeyad even spoke with his mouth full of food. “Sheref, the food… what you found will feed us for a long, long time. We might be able to get all the way to Cairo with the truck and all the gas in the garage, along with all of this food. I want to stay here for a couple more days. Something tells me that there must be more hidden spaces with treasures that we have not yet found.”
“Zeyad, what do you think happened to the people who lived in this house?”
“I don’t know, Assem. They might have been some of the people who have gone missing, or they may have been killed by the zombies. I do not have the answer. If they were killed in the house, we should have found blood somewhere. The missing, on the other hand, did not leave any trail or sign that they left. They were simply gone.”
“So what do you think we should do now, Zeyad?”
“In the morning, we will go through this house from the roof to the basement. We will look for any traces or signs of hidden rooms or panels. We will only leave if someone or something forces us out before we have searched this entire house. Only after we have looked everywhere in this house will we leave. Cairo will be there waiting for us.”
“Tonight we will sleep in the beds that are upstairs. It will be nice to sleep in a bed instead of on the ground. Come on, let’s go. I want to get a good night’s sleep for once.”
“As secure as this house is, do you think we need a night watch, Zeyad?”
“I don’t think we do. This house is locked up tight. Whoever is awake when the sun is up will need to wake the others up. We will take tomorrow to search this house for everything it may conceal. If we cannot get it all done in one day, we will take two or three. Whatever time we need to find everything that is hidden in this house, we will take it. We need to take advantage of what this house has to offer. We may never have a chance like this again.”
“I think that whatever we find should be moved to the garage as it is found. That way it will be ready to load before we go. We will not have to spend a lot of time carrying everything out all at once. If we have to get out in a hurry, what we have ready can be loaded quickly before we go.”
“You have good ideas, Assem. We will do it that way. We won’t be so tired if we carry things to the garage as we find them. Thank you.”
