by Scott W Cook
Bill looked open mouthed at us but he still didn’t move. He just shook his head and looked down to the pile where Carlos had been. By the screams I could tell it was too late for Stash.
“Move your ass!” Sam bellowed at him, “Your friend is dead!”
“Stop!” Admiral Banks was yelling from the stage, “Decker? That you? What the hell do you think you’re doing?”
“Come on, dude!” I called up to Bill. The kid – although he was probably a couple of years older than me – just hung there, frozen.
“Fuck!” Sam roared. He looked to where the rest of the marines who’d been handling the wagon thing were getting their weapons ready and heading in our direction.
“Shit…” I grumbled and leapt up onto the chain link and began to climb.
I got to the open door and put my foot on the bottom edge and swung in, extending a hand to the terrified man only a few feet away, “come on, man. It’s now or never.”
“No one interferes,” Banks roared, “Marines!”
There was no other order but I guess the marines knew what to do. I heard a three round burst from somebody’s rifle and gouts of blood erupted from Bill’s left side and leg. He looked at me with bulging eyes and let out a cry of agony as his body jerked convulsively and he fell backward to the concrete.
The zombies turned their attention from Carlos’ partially eaten body and came at Bill like somebody had rung the dinner bell. I watched in horror as a zombie latched onto the right side of his face and peeled his cheek and part of his nose off.
Whatever was left of my key lime pie on a stick joined the rapidly spreading pool of blood below me.
“Get off there, young man!” Banks said in a stern and harsh tone, “Or you’ll be shot too!”
I looked down at Sam and saw that he’d dropped the M4 he’d taken and was surrounded by three marines with automatic weapons. There really was nothing I could do so I slowly climbed down.
I hadn’t realized it until then but the crowd had been going crazy. They were eating this up. I guess it didn’t matter who won or lost. It only mattered that they got to see some blood.
I stepped to the ground and one of the marines grabbed me roughly and pushed me toward Sam. He frisked me and found the Glock I’d been carrying and relieved me of it.
“What the fuck were you thinking?” The marine, a young guy maybe three or four years older than me said. He didn’t seem mad, though. I could swear he almost smiled, “That was pretty fucked up, man.”
Banks appeared next to Sam and me, “Decker, you’d better have a damned good explanation for this.”
“You’re kidding, right?” Sam asked, “Why the hell do you think I did this, sir? I couldn’t stand by and watch this anymore. How could you? How can you watch such an abomination?”
“It’s the way of the world now, Decker,” Banks said firmly, “Treason is a serious charge, as it’s always been.”
“Now what happens?” Sam asked.
I looked away and at the crowd to where we’d been standing. I really expected Tony to come running up, weapon at the ready. I was pretty surprised when I didn’t see him, either coming toward us or where we’d been.
“I don’t know,” Banks said with a sigh, “I can understand your empathy… and hell, the crowd loved it… but this is a serious breach. Possibly even insubordination, Captain.”
“Sir!” Sam protested, “We just tried to help that man.”
“You interrupted a legal proceeding,” Banks said sharply, “I can’t just let it go. How would that look?”
Where the hell was Tony?
“Then I take full responsibility,” Sam said, stepping nearer to me, “Andy was just following along. Let him go and I’ll face whatever punishment you dole out.”
Banks frowned and looked at me for a long moment, “Sorry, Decker. As I understand it, you swore him in as a Navy Lieutenant. He’s a big boy now and has to face the music. Lock them up.”
That was that. The marines grabbed my arms and pulled them behind my back and cuffed me. They did the same thing to Sam and we were led away.
The weird thing was that the only thing I thought as we were marched away from Malory dock was that Mom and Tara were gonna kill me.
Chapter 31
Andrea’s diary – 12/7/2019 - continued
“What is going on?” Brenda asked as we sat in the dinghy.
After seeing the shit show on Malory dock, Brenda, Tara and I had made our way back to the two dinks tied up at the Galleon marina. Now that night had come, the temperature was dropping into the low sixties and we sat there hugging ourselves.
“I’m chilly,” Tara muttered, rubbing her arms, “and I’m not totally sure it’s from the temperature.”
I scoffed, “Yeah, no shit. I guess the world really has changed. We’ve been here what, a couple of hours and we’ve seen some kind of slavery, or maybe indentured servitude… we’ve seen people beaten with a cane and flogged… and that thing with the zombies…”
“That’s some fucked up shit,” Brenda grumped, “The rest you could almost overlook. But just the idea of putting people in a cage with zombies…”
“Shit,” Tara chimed in, “Just the idea of keeping a group of zombies in town near so many people is beyond fucked up.”
We were silent for a time, listening to the distant crowd cheering a mile away or so. It was eerie. There were a few people walking along the sidewalk by the hotel and sitting at The Sunset Grill, but most were somewhere else and a great many were at the end of the Malory dock area.
“I vote we go back to the boats,” Brenda said, “I don’t like it here and I’m getting cold. Carl’s probably worried about us.”
Tara frowned. I don’t think she liked the idea of leaving the boys without saying something. I wasn’t a fan of that idea either.
“You can go if you want,” I said, “But I think Tara and I want to wait for Sam and Andy and Tony. I didn’t want to watch that freak show… but I want to know what happened. Or maybe I feel like I need to know. I don’t really want to.”
Brenda sighed, “Yeah… maybe I’ll wait a bit too. But not long.”
We didn’t have to wait much longer. It was maybe fifteen minutes later when we saw a dark figure hurrying along the floating docks toward us. It was too dark to see, but by the size of the man, I figured it was either Tony or Sam. He got nearer and passed by a lighted power pedestal and I could see it was Tony.
“What’s up?” I asked, “Where’s Sam and Andy?”
“We need to go,” Tony said, climbing into the Sorcerer’s dink, “Sam and Andy have been arrested.”
“What!” Tara and I said in unison.
“Come on,” Tony said, yanking the pull cord on his outboard, “I’ll explain when we’re away from here.”
Fuck…
I yanked on our own motor until it sputtered to life. We quickly cast off and headed toward the gap in the breakwater. Tony wasn’t screwing around, either. As soon as we got into the fairway between the Galleon marina and the A&B marina, he gunned his engine and took off. I did the same but we weren’t going quite as fast with three people in our boat.
Tony slowed so that we were side by side and we headed for the anchorage. It only took about ten minutes and we were tied up to Sorcerer. Tony had gone over to Sexual Heeling and collected Carl so that we could all be together.
“Okay, now will you tell us what the hell is going on?” I almost barked at Tony when he and Carl came below, “How did my man and my son get arrested for fuck’s sake! And for what? Jesus, Tony, you saw how they deal with so-called criminals.”
“Yeah,” Tony said gruffly, “I did see.”
He told us about how Sam and Andy had run to try and help one of the men in the cage and had been arrested.
“What’ll that crazy fucking Admiral do to them?” Tara asked, visibly nervous.
“I don’t know,” Tony said, “When they took off running, I went the other way. I circled around the crowd so
that I could get to the back of the stage. There was no way I could’ve rescued them, but I did see where they were taken. Interestingly, it wasn’t to the carrier’s brig. They took them into the Westin. Probably in one or two of the empty rooms.”
“That’s weird,” I said, “The brig would be much more secure…”
Tony shrugged, “I’m sure they’re under guard. Maybe it’s logistically easier to use part of the hotel as a prison, I don’t know.”
“So when do we go,” Tara asked, her fear instantly changing to angry resolve.
“Go?” Tony asked, “As in go bust them out?”
“Fucking yeah!” Tara said in exasperation, “You’re a fucking SEAL and Andrea is a marine chopper pilot. And I’m ready to put it on the line for them, too.”
Tony held up a hand, “Hold on, Rambo. It’s not that easy. This isn’t some bullshit action movie. Right now we’re five against ten or fifteen thousand. There are Navy and Marine personnel everywhere. We can’t just waltz in with guns blazing and expect to live for more than a few seconds.”
Tara slapped her hands on the couch cushion, “What the fuck, Tony!”
“He’s right,” I said firmly, “Believe me, Tara, I know how you feel. But we have to act smart or we’re all sunk.”
Tara seethed. I think she knew we were right but her fear and anger were driving her right then.
“First,” Tony said, “I’m going to see the Admiral tomorrow. Find out exactly what’s up. Then if I can, I’ll go visit Sam and Andy. That’ll let me recon the situation. After that, if need be, we can plan a mission.”
“Do you think he’ll be hard on them?” Carl asked.
“Hard to tell,” Tony said, “Sam tried to take full responsibility. But Banks said that Andy was sworn in and was an adult now and had to face the music, basically. I don’t know what type of crime he’ll classify their actions under… I hope not sedition or treason. I’m hoping that he’ll understand how hard it would be for some people, who are new, to sit by and watch that spectacle.”
“And if he doesn’t?” Tara asked.
Tony smiled grimly, “Then we handle it.”
There was silence for a long while. I think we were all wondering how we’d handle it. Yes, I’m a marine pilot and Tony’s a SEAL… but he’s just one man and injured to boot and I’m no counter insurgent. I can do it, but planning and executing a rescue of two men being held a few hundred yards from an aircraft carrier isn’t exactly a fucking cake walk.
“Is this our world now?” Carl wondered out loud, “I mean… it’s bad enough to deal with walking stiffs… but it seems like everywhere you go, the surviving humans are assholes. Little petty dictators trying to rule their own little fiefdoms. We had that Drake guy in Saint Pete and now this admiral guy here…”
It was almost funny how Carl had used nearly the exact words Tara had a few hours before. But the point was spot on.
“Good point,” Brenda added, “Why are there so many of these people? Where are the good people?”
“Probably subjects of the bad, for the most part,” Tony said thoughtfully, “It’s a bit like the fall of the Roman Empire…. Well, the western empire, anyway.”
Tony was usually a good natured wise guy. He had a twisted sense of humor and was the first to crack a joke. I always thought it was funny when he dropped that part of his personality and let his strong intellect shine through.
“After the western empire crumbled toward the end of the fifth century,” Tony explained, “What had once been the provinces splintered rapidly. Instead of being an organized society, petty little city states rose up. That’s how the dark ages started, really. This massive power gap not only left people open to subjugation it also had a remarkably negative impact on technology. European people went from living in cities with hot and cold running water, plumbing, educational and legal facilities and a government to basically fending for themselves in the wilderness.”
“Like now,” Tara muttered.
“Exactly,” Tony said, “I think that’s where we’re headed too. Unless some kind of organization occurs, and unless we can find a way to solve the zombie problem, one way or another, humanity is going to be yanked backward into the middle ages. It wouldn’t surprise me if a hundred years from now people are living in small villages with log walls around them and maybe even some kind of feudal state with a little castle overlooking the simple farmlands of its kingdom.”
“Sounds bleak as shit,” Carl grumbled.
“Yup,” Tony said with a sigh, “And that’s why Sammy and I want to do something about it. That’s why we need to rescue him and Andy.”
“Plus we love them,” I pointed out.
“Oh sure,” Tony said airily. He grinned and got that old familiar impish gleam in his eye.
“What’s first?” Tara asked.
“First we get some rest,” Tony said, “Then Andrea and I will call on the local lord in the morning.”
Entry continued – 12/8/2019
I was kind of surprised when Admiral Banks agreed to see us early that morning. I don’t know why, I guess I expected him to be petty and deny us anything we asked out of spite.
Tony shook his head as we walked along Malory dock toward the Teddy Roosevelt’s brow, “I’m not. He still sees himself as a good guy. An honorable man doing what’s hard but what’s necessary.”
“Tony, he has people flogged and eaten by zombies for entertainment,” I quietly exclaimed, “How the fuck is that being a good guy?”
Tony grinned at me, “It’s the mentality of evil, if you will. Those who are or who practice evil don’t see themselves as evil. They don’t see themselves as bad people. It’s human nature.”
I grumbled something as we approached the ramp. We were allowed on board and were shown to the Admiral’s stateroom.
“Good morning, Commander Sturgis,” Admiral Banks said as he held out a hand, “And this is Major Andrea Milani. Thank you for being prompt. Please have a seat. Would you like some coffee?”
I shook my head no and Tony elbowed me, “Relax.”
The Admiral smiled at me, “I understand your pique, Major. I’d be worried too if my son were in custody.”
“Especially having seen your brand of justice,” I said tightly.
“Major,” Tony said sternly, “At ease. The Admiral is a reasonable man and I’m sure we can work something out. Let’s not antagonize him.”
I zipped my lip. Technically, Tony outranked me. Not that this mattered much anymore, but I got his point.
“It’s all right, Commander,” Banks said, holding up a hand, “I know this all seems pretty strange at first. It’s not the way things were, Major. Sadly, the world has changed for the worse and we’ve all had to adapt.”
“Sir,” Tony pressed on before I could open my mouth, “Can you tell me what’s going on with our friends? What are you going to charge them with?”
Banks leaned back in his leather armchair and sipped his coffee, “It’s a bit of a pickle, Commander. I don’t want to do anything to Decker or young Mister Summers. Hell, I can understand why they tried to help that man. If I were in their shoes, I would’ve probably done the same thing. A year ago I would’ve probably opened fire if I’d seen the kind of spectacle we put on here, frankly.”
That gave me a bit of hope. I leaned in, “Then you’ll let them go, Admiral?”
Banks sighed heavily and put on a sad face. You could almost believe he was wracked with doubt and regret. Almost… but I didn’t buy his bullshitting for a second.
“The problem is,” Banks answered, “While I’d like to just let them go with a word of warning, there’s the public interest to think about. You folks would all be a great asset to our community, Commander. Yet that community is held together by the most fragile of threads. I’ve got to maintain a balance in order to give the people a feeling of security and hope.”
“Sir?” Tony asked, although I didn’t think he was confused at all.
I sure as
hell wasn’t. What the man was saying was that he was a fucking warlord and he had to maintain a certain image of fierceness. He had to keep the people afraid of what he’d do in order to hold power.
What a crock of shit.
“They must know they can count on us… on me… to keep them safe and fed,” Banks explained, “If I show favoritism or let somebody off when they commit a blatant crime in front of thousands of people…. Well, discipline starts to break down. You can understand that, I’m sure, major.”
I sighed, “Sir… they tried to help a doomed man. Nobody was hurt. So I’m sure that any punishment would be relatively light, wouldn’t it? A few days in the brig? Maybe even a few lashes with the cane at most?”
Banks sighed wearily. A man with the weight of the world on his shoulders. I wanted to relieve him of the burden by throttling the life out of him, “Their actions bordered on insurrection. That’s something I can’t allow.”
That hit me like a KA bar in the guts.
“What does that mean?” Tony asked.
“I’m not sure yet,” Banks said, “It usually means a death sentence. That could be by fighting the G’s, man to man combat in the ring…”
“Don’t those sentences have a possibility of survival?” I asked desperately, “I mean you said it last night. If those four guys would’ve killed all the stiffs, then they’d be let go, right? And a man to man fight usually has a victor. Wouldn’t that victor be set free?”
Banks shrugged, “As for the zombies… nobody ever survives that. It’s sort of set up that way. There is a chance, to be sure, but a slim one. And if a man is put into the ring and he wins… he’s relegated to become a fighter until he doesn’t.”
“Jesus…” I breathed.
“So if Sam fights in the arena,” Tony said flatly, “That’s what it really is, if we’re honest… he becomes a gladiator and has to keep fighting until he’s killed.”
Banks nodded, “and in Decker’s case, that would probably be a while. He’s a highly trained SEAL and has size and strength on his side.”
