Z-Boat (Book 3): Z-End

by Robb, Suzanne

Kevin lifted the gun and she felt her body stiffen. "Maybe, but why does he have to make life so hard for you?"

  Ally's forehead wrinkled. "What are you talking about? He doesn't make my life hard." She saw a shadow cross Kevin's face and wondered what she'd said wrong.

  "He does, you just don't see it. Takes control away from you. You're not in charge like before."

  She thought about it and realized Kevin was right. Since…well, Marcus if she really thought about it, she'd let others take the lead. A quick inventory told her she wasn't annoyed. In fact, she was relieved to share the pressure and responsibility. There was more than enough stress and guilt to go around.

  "Kevin, it's okay. I like it this way. I still get to do what I want, but the weight of so many lives doesn't fall on just me anymore."

  He snorted, but held back further commentary when Steve walked up with Emma, Harry, and five others. Ally wondered how many of them would make it back. She forced away the morbid thought and focused on the mission at hand.

  "Okay, the goal is to get to the control room, clear it out, lower the submarine in crane three into the inner harbor," she said, pointing to the area next to the barge.

  "Follow us, stay alert. If it moves shoot it. Those things that attacked you yesterday could be anywhere." Steve walked up the pier, leaving Ally to deal with any aftermath from his comments.

  "Stay alert and you'll be fine," she said, surprised at how easy it was to lie to these nameless people.

  "Hey, umm, Ally, I'm Lee, and these are Pat, Adam, Don, and Mickey," said a young man with blonde hair and blue eyes.

  She forced a smile. "We should get going."

  "Okay, whatever you say."

  Things went well until they passed the seaplane hangar. Misshapen men and women ambushed them from both sides, howling and screeching.

  Ally went back and Steve went forward. If she remembered right, she had Emma, Lee, and Mickey with her, as well as Kevin. They made a fighting retreat to an old pump room, firing as they ran. Screams echoed around the buildings, but there was no way to tell who it was. Ally waited, the tension in her building as the seconds ticked by.

  The door shattered, a group of diseased survivors bursting through it. Lee shouldered most of the attack until a survivor shoved a rusted piece of metal into his gut and yanked everything out. Ally's attention went to the woman in a business suit with shards of glass embedded in her fingers. Her lightweight armor took the brunt of the assault, but two daggered fingers managed to graze her neck.

  Kevin launched himself at the woman, grabbed her head, and cracked it open against the ground. Emma made a low moaning sound, and Ally turned in time to see Lee fall to his side, entrails hitting the ground first.

  "Christ, shoot them," Mickey yelled.

  Ally knew it wouldn't matter. These things were lethal and determined to kill them. Smoke filled the small room as shots ricocheted off the walls. Ally felt something hit her in the shoulder and then pull. She pulled her knife out and turned, slashing at the attacker. It screeched close to her face, but didn't let go. The blade caught between the bones of its forearm, and she pulled and scraped at the vice-like grip. They both moved backward until she slammed through another door. Light overhead, she was outside of the building. If she didn't do something quick, she'd be nothing but a pile of bones after dinner.

  Her foot caught on a pothole and she used it to stop herself. The survivor grappling with her was a male in a lab coat, his face twisted, turning red. She brought up her elbow and caught him on the side of the jaw. Teeth fell out and he leaned down, drooling on her face. Using her elbow, she got in a good shot to its ear. It howled and closed its eyes during a moment of disorientation. She wrapped her legs around his and twisted so he fell to the ground, forcing his grip loose. In a smooth arc, she had her rifle out and was firing into his face.

  "Ally, where are you? Ally?"

  Her heart thudded, blood pounded in her ears so loud, she thought her head might explode. Hands shook her, helping her up, checking her over.

  "I'm fine, give me a damn minute," she said in an effort to buy some time to calm down.

  "You heard her, back off." She recognized Kevin's voice with ease.

  She calmed knowing he was okay. On the ground were the remains of Lee and Emma. The bodies of six survivors were scattered, and then one moved until Mickey delivered a powerful kick to the thing's head before bashing in its skull with the butt of his Galil. When he turned and saw everyone looking at him, he shrugged.

  "What? You want me to play nice?"

  Ally noticed Kevin's hands were coated in blood. She picked up a crusty rag from one of the exterior shelves and handed it to him.

  "Let's see if we can find the others. The crane room isn't far." Ally checked all her knives and guns, then slid her rifle into position.

  She spared a moment to look at Emma then moved on. The area the survivors caught them off guard was in-between two different sections, where the old and new architecture met. She wished she hadn't lost her glasses; she wanted to do a scan on the place. Now, more than ever, they needed to be careful.

  A body in a blue welding smock lay next to someone else. Ally pointed it to the others.

  "That's Pat, poor son of a bitch. He didn't even want to come on this, said he knew something bad was going to happen," said Mickey.

  "Like that's a shocker. Not a day goes by where something shitty doesn't happen," Ally said. She turned and walked away, hearing the others shuffle in line behind her.

  The deeper into the section they moved, the more Ally's anxiety elevated. Kevin stayed close, and acted normally as far as Ally could tell. They passed two more bodies in mechanic's gear. A breeze made the hair on the back of her neck stand up and she froze.

  "Over here, it's fine…for now." Steve stood next to the operation room for the clamps, a smile on his face.

  Next to him were Harry and Don. She counted again and realized someone was missing.

  "Hey, what the hell do you want me to do now that I'm up here?" a voice from above yelled out to them.

  Ally held a hand over her eyes to avoid looking straight into the toxic clouds. What was his name? Adam? He stood on the cherry picker, the mobile platform used to check on the outer body of the submarines for structural issues and make repairs. She counted and raised an eyebrow.

  "Why is he on clamp two?"

  "Because I want to see something," Steve said.

  Steve hit a lever and a series of lights lit up. Beeping carried over the whole island. The side hatch opened and two bodies fell to their death. Adam backed up, attracting more of them.

  Of course they'd seal in the crew. What else can happen in this hell hole?"

  Steve seemed rather smug, but Ally didn't like it. What he was doing served no purpose. They needed to focus on the third crane. That was their ticket out of here.

  "Can you do the same with the other one so we don't have to clean it out in close quarters? Having been in that situation, I promise you it sucks," she said.

  Steve pressed a button, more beeps sounded alerting every creature within ten miles to their whereabouts.

  "I can do almost anything. Running a sub must be in the blood."

  Ally noted the mocking tone of his voice and wondered what his problem was. As soon as she had a chance, she needed to read the contents of the panel he gave her. When the hatch opened, no bodies fell out, no hands struck out to grip the sides. Ally, almost certain this submarine was meant to be the escape method used by the survivors, figured it would be clear. Steve closed up the hatch and began the process of lowering it into the water.

  The crane holding the clamp in place jerked toward the drink and Ally went into the control room to see if she could help. Steve blocked her. "I don't need your help, go watch the others."

  "Listen, this is a delicate process. You mess this up and we're dead."

  "Shut up, I know what I'm doing." He hit a lever and crane one flew to the left, the submarine loose from its clamp.r />
  The crane hung for a moment then dropped. She heard a few screeches, some explosions, and then Adam waved his arms like a lunatic.

  "Shit, we got company! Zombies! Lots of them."

  "The sub must have landed on the generator building. There were dozens of rooms full of them. Nice going," Ally said.

  "We need to defend this location, no matter what."

  Ally grabbed him by the ear and dragged him out of the booth. "I'm lowering the sub into the water. If you have an issue with that I will drop the contents of clamp three on your ass."

  He grumbled and made a face, but left her alone. She pulled out the portable diagnostic panel she'd grabbed the day before and plugged it into the port for clamp three. The system activated the onboard controls and she started a systems check. While it ran in the background, she made sure other key programs were up and running like guidance, control, air circulation, and the pumps. With a full row of green, she sighed.

  Gunfire made her move faster. She operated the control, stick watching as the magnetic locks of the clamps detached. As soon as they were clear, she guided the sub into the water with ease, grabbed the panel after syncing it up with the submarine's wireless system and joined the fray.

  Steve and the others had pulled together bits of debris to form a pathetic barricade. Ally thought about reinforcing it, but when she turned she cursed herself for asking what else could happen in this hell hole.

  Behind them an army of survivors launched themselves at them.

  Chapter Thirty-Seven

  "We're surrounded," Ally yelled over the roar of gunfire.

  Steve glanced behind him and swore. "Pair off."

  They fought back to back with one another. The zombies were easy to take down, but their numbers were overwhelming. Ally faced toward the survivors and fired at a man in a black suit, hair sticking out at odd angles, his teeth sharpened to points. He staggered, then threw himself forward, landing on Don. Like a rabid dog, he ripped his throat out. Ally ran forward and fired five rounds into his head at point-blank range.

  "Dammit, watch the ammo," said Mickey.

  She wanted to tell him to shove it, but he was right. They needed to escape, find a place to regroup and come up with a plan. In every direction she looked creatures came for them. Adam yelled something from above.

  "Everyone, get to the ladder! Go up to the repair docks."

  Steve climbed up first, and try as she might, she couldn't find it in herself to be shocked anymore at how selfish people were. She pushed Kevin in line, with Harry next. Mickey stood beside her with a grin on his face, and it occurred to her he liked this shit.

  Behind her, teeth snapped and she swung around low, whipping out her machete and gutting the zombie. A sidekick to its knee brought it down and she chopped off its head. Checking on Kevin, she saw he was ten feet up and Harry was grabbing the lower rungs.

  "Girl, get your ass over here."

  Ally ran to Mickey, switching the machete out for an eight-inch knife from a sheath on her thigh. The old man was on his back, three survivors tearing away at him. She hit one with enough force to knock it off and jumped on its chest. A quick slit along the throat, and it would bleed out, but to be safe she grabbed its head and twisted, smiling at the sound of the breaking neck. Mickey was on his knees, holding a survivor by the neck as he shoved the end of his rifle into its mouth.

  She turned and found the third one creeping up on Harry. She grabbed her Desert Eagle from its holster and with careful aim blew a three-inch hole in the back of its head. The next moment she found her face scraping against pavement, rocks digging into her skin as something grabbed her by the hair and pushed.

  She cried out, trying to wiggle her way free. Something latched onto her foot and she felt the pressure where it bit into her ankle. No matter what, she couldn't move.

  Resigned to her fate, she closed her eyes.

  The pressure on her back made it hard to breathe, and as she let her body go limp she felt the slow trickle of something warm on her neck. Was she bitten? Had one of the survivors impaled her with an archaic weapon?

  The air shifted and she could breathe again. Her eyes opened, and she found herself eyeball to eyeball with a survivor's dull, dead orbs. Kevin screamed for her to get up. She kicked at the thing trying to gnaw on her leg and then a beefy hand grabbed her.

  "Move it, we don't have time to sit around." Mickey dragged her to her feet.

  Around her, four bodies lay unmoving. "Thanks, thought I was done for," she said.

  "Wasn't me." He plowed his fist through the face of a zombie, not bothering to shake off the bits of flesh and teeth when he moved on to the next target.

  Mickey took down three zombies in the time it took her to raise her Micro Galil and take out a woman clad only in a surgical gown. Bodies dropped left and right, and she gazed upward to see the others in sniper position.

  "Come on, they're covering us so we can get to the ladder," she said.

  "Go on, let me take care of some down here so you don't waste as many bullets," Mickey said.

  Ally grabbed his arm, but he threw her off with ease. "Come on, there's no reason to sacrifice yourself."

  "I ain't that noble. Now get out of my face. You're nothing but bad luck, have been ever since you set foot on the floating city, probably earlier."

  Ally shot out the knees of two survivors, then did the same on four more that tried to sneak up on her from either side. They crawled on the ground toward her, but the urgency to kill them was gone. She wanted to reason with Mickey, but was pissed off at his accusations. She didn't t know if she was mad because he was right, or because she believed him. To relieve some of that anger, she used her machete to hack off the heads of the few survivors crawling toward them.

  "I don't know what I am, but good or bad, I try and protect the people I care about. Now move your ass, Mickey."

  His broad shoulders sagged. "What will it take to get you up that goddamned ladder? I'm done for." He pulled the collar of his jacket away from his neck revealing a nasty bite mark. "Keep your bullets, but make sure you have one left for me."

  Not knowing what to do, she went to the ladder. "Thanks for everything," she called over her shoulder knowing he couldn't hear her, but needing to say it.

  Kevin grabbed her jacket and pulled her onto the platform. "Are you hurt? There's blood everywhere."

  Harry kept his weapon pointed at her while Steve and Adam provided cover for Mickey.

  "Why isn't he going for the ladder? We can't cover his ass all day," Steve said.

  "He won't be joining us. He did ask we save a bullet for him. Do it before he changes."

  Steve sighed and Adam rolled onto his back, swearing. Kevin seemed content that Ally was fine and backed off. Harry eyed her, not lowering his weapon.

  Probably thinks I'm infected, maybe he's right. Bad luck, right?

  Below them, the zombies crowded around the base of the ladder. Mickey's head bobbed in and out of view, making it hard for Harry, their best shot, to take him out. The survivors made high pitched noises and disappeared back into the shadows.

  From up here Ally could see the destruction the dropped submarine had caused. Flames erupted around it and she suspected something inside the facility was getting ready to blow. A soft sigh escaped her lips and she watched the horde below. A few agile and smart enough, even after months of no food, had figured out how to climb the ladder.

  Adam and Steve knocked them off if they got to the top, but for the most part they fell within the first thirty feet. Kevin sat with his back against a post, face ashen. Mickey had called her bad luck. Everyone she cared about had died. Only two people were left, and Kevin wasn't doing well.

  If something happened to Sean...

  "Got him," Harry said, smiling.

  Ally didn't hear the shot, nor did she see Mickey hit the ground, but she knew it happened. The sky above darkened, storm clouds moving in. A quick look around the island and she almost fell off the platform.


  She stood so fast she lost her balance and would have fallen to her death if Steve hadn't been there to catch her. She pointed.

  "What is it?"

  "Just look."

  The North Beach swarmed with zombies. They rose out of the water, dragging strands of the goop and bits of trash from the surface. Some crawled on shattered limbs. Ally realized by their condition and what they wore, they'd traveled from the ships they'd passed two days earlier.

  "They've been following us this whole time," Ally said, her voice barely a whisper.

  "Shit, they're heading for the Inner Harbor. We have to do something." Steve paced back and forth looking between the pack of hungry flesh eaters determined to get a meal and a group of innocents who weren't prepared.

  Zombies roamed the ground below them, about half of them losing interest in Ally and her team. Ally knew all it would take was one little noise, and no way could they would make it down without dying. A distraction might help, but their options were limited.

  "Anyone happen to have a grenade?" Ally knew it was a longshot.

  No one came forward. Grasping at straws, she noticed the platform they were on extended near the water towers over the Inner Harbor. If they could get to the top and then climb down they might be able to get people into the submarine before the horde reached them. Of course they still needed to open the gate they'd shut when they arrived, a suicide mission. More bad luck.

  The platform was designed for workers in safety harnesses because of the mix of height, wind, and narrow walkway. Ally made her way toward the other end. Kevin followed, mumbling something about heights.

  "Where the hell are you going?" Steve said.

  "Water towers. It's our only choice."

  Adam and Harry joined the effort, walking along the other side. The trip took longer than expected and by the time they'd covered five hundred feet, the frame had a four foot yaw in either direction. Knuckles white and fingers aching, she stopped at the last possible spot. Thirty feet below them was the top of the water tower, roughly twenty feet in diameter. She could see large patches of rust and holes dotted around it.