by Scott W Cook
“Great,” Sam said, “Good luck.”
“You too,” Smitty said with a wave. He banged on the roof of the cab and the pickup began to move off.
“That went well,” Vicky Sanchez said as we all came back into the control cabin.
“Yeah,” I said, “Which is surprising, considering how they attacked us and we took out half a dozen of them…”
“You think something’s up?” Andy asked me.
I shrugged and looked at Sam, who also shrugged.
“Sanchez took the right seat next to Tony and looked at the board. Tony turned to us and smiled, “I wonder if we’ll see them again.”
“Me too,” Sam said, “Maybe I’m suspicious, but this wrapped up too neatly… or maybe these folks are what they say they are, just scared people trying to survive in a fucked up world. We’re only taking the engine, not the train… who knows. Either way, we’ve got a job to do. Let’s get underway, commander.”
“Hey…” Came a groggy voice from behind me, “Anybody know what time it is?”
Sam, Andy and I went to kneel by Rivers who was half propped up against the back wall. Tara was sitting next to her holding her left hand.
“Hey Gunny,” I said with a smile, “How are you feeling?”
“Like a bag of smashed asses, ma’am” Rivers said with a thin smile.
“How’s her pulse?” Sam asked Tara.
“Seems steady,” Tara said, “I think about sixty to seventy beats.”
“Excellent,” Sam said, “and it’s just after eight.”
Rivers face scrunched up in concentration, “you mean… we’ve only been on the ground for like an hour and a half? Jesus…”
That got a chuckle from us. Rivers then looked at Andy and reached out with her left hand to touch his arm, “Thanks, handsome. You did awesome out there, L T.”
Andy flushed a little and shrugged. I saw Tara’s eyes go flinty for a moment but then she seemed to calm down. Luckily, Andy didn’t notice.
“You too, Gunny,” Andy said.
She scoffed, “Yeah… got myself winged and didn’t even hit one of the fuckers…”
“Just circumstances,” Sam reassured her, “You still did awesome.”
Rivers grinned, “Thanks, Captain. But your new Lieutenant here deserves the credit. Damn fine work for a young guy just getting started. You guys must be proud.”
I smiled at her, “We are.”
Andy turned an even deeper shade of red that was impossible to hide under the fluorescent lights. He cleared his throat, “Okay, okay… do you need anything, Gunny? Water or something to eat?”
“Both,” She said, “It seems like we just ate… but I’m a bit hungry already.”
“Natural,” Sam said, “and a good sign, too.”
Andy went to one of the cabinets by the microwave and looked in, “Well, an MRE is probably too much now… but the engineers left us some goodies. We’ve got some chili here, and a few soups. Plus some snacky-poos.”
“snacky-poos?” Tara asked with a giggle.
Andy grinned back at her, “Technical term.”
“What kind of soup?” Rivers asked.
“Chicken noodle… chicken and corn chowder… hearty beef and veg… and New England clam chowder,” Andy reported, “never understand why anybody would eat that shit out of a can…”
“Chicken noodle sounds good,” Rivers said.
Andy pulled out a drawer and found utensils and a can opener. Above the microwave in a small cabinet he also found some plastic bowls, plates and cups. He opened the soup, poured it into a bowl and set it going in the microwave.
“You’ll make a good wife someday,” Rivers joked.
Andy turned and flipped her off, “A good wife someday, sir.”
Rivers laughed. Tara grinned and said, “he’s quite domestic, Julie. He cooks and everything. In fact… I caught him sewing one time.”
“Regular June Cleaver, ain’t ya’?” Rivers teased.
“Twats,” Andy mock grumped as he turned back to the micro.
That got a big laugh. I raised a hand, “Okay, that’s enough, ladies. Its bad enough he was raised mostly by a woman… don’t topple his fragile male ego at a time like this. I can’t sit back and let you emasculate my little muffin face!”
This got an even bigger laugh from everybody. Although Sam cocked an eyebrow at me. He was very protective of Andy and always took an active role in building him up, which I loved.
Andy folded his arms and glared around the cabin, “Bunch of Goddamned hyenas in here. Laugh it up, fuckers… laugh it up. Get your jollies at the expense of the easy target, that’s cool…”
Tara went over and wrapped an arm around him, “Okay, everybody. I can personally attest that this guy is indeed a true manly man.”
That got an exaggerated drawn out, “Ooh….” from Vicky and Julie.
“Sorry kid,” I said, going over and giving him a peck on the cheek, “Just a bunch of idiots having a little post battle fun. Somebody’s always the butt of the joke. It was just your turn.”
Andy grinned, “That’s fine. Just keep in mind that you’ll pay… you’ll all pay for this insolence!”
Tony chuckled, “Just wait till the dick jokes start, L T.”
“Hey, skipper,” Vicky said as Andy removed the soup from the microwave and brought it to Rivers, “I’ve been studying this system and it’s got an interactive track map. It looks like we’re coming up to a switch track pretty soon.”
“How long?” Sam asked, going over and standing between the seats.
“We’re at twenty-five now,” Tony said, “Didn’t want to go too fast, just in case… looks like in about ten miles.”
“Hmmm,” Sam said, “That sounds like it’s connecting with the main north south lines. Can you tell if it’s set to go north or whatever, Vicky?”
“It’s set to turn us south,” She said.
“Figures,” I said from behind them.
“Can you remotely alter it?” Sam asked.
Vicky looked at her screen and then up with a small smile, “This locomotive might be high tech… but the railway isn’t so much, I guess. This says that this is a manual switch.”
“So we’ve got to stop and get out in the middle of Delray Beach,” Sam said glumly.
“I think so,” Vicky said, tapping at the touch screen, “This says the switch is a manual hydraulic lever system. Looks simple enough.”
I scoffed, “Famous last words.”
“Okay then,” Sam said, “Well, Tony and Vicky here have become our train experts, so they have to stay… Andy has had enough excitement for the evening… The Gunny went and got herself shot… so that leaves you and me, sweet tits.”
Sam patted my ass and grinned.
“And me,” Tara said from where she was sitting with Andy and Rivers. She had a bag of Doritos open and crunching away, “I also have sweet tits.”
“That right, Andy?” Tony jibed.
Andy just grinned and Tara blushed.
“Okay, chesty LaRoo… you can cover us from the platform,” I said, “If we need it.”
”I’m hoping this is a five minute deal and we can be on our way,” Sam added.
“Ay deos mio…” Vicky griped from the console, “Sir… never tempt the fates. I thought you were a sailor.”
Sam chuckled, “Good point, Commander. Let’s just hope for the best.”
Tony was already slowing us down and we were coming into the city proper. Our rail passed an industrial park, a ball field and some tract homes before moving close to the center of Delray Beach.
Like most towns and cities along Florida’s east coast, Delray Beach had started with US-1 as its center. It expanded out to the intra-coastal and the barrier island to the east and toward open land including I-95 and the Florida turnpike to the west. The north-south Flagler railroad ran between US-1 and A1-A to the east, when there was an A1-A. Although Delray Beach was a pretty densely populated area, it didn’t have a big
downtown of tall buildings like Miami, Fort Lauderdale to the south and Palm Beach to the north. But there were a lot of low-height office buildings, shopping centers and other stuff you’d find in any popular coastal town.
And unfortunately, as we crossed over US-1… that included zombies.
Thousands of them.
They seemed to be milling about aimlessly. Standing around in parking lots, wandering around in grassy areas or shambling along streets. There just seemed to be no rhyme or reason for anything they did.
But when they saw and heard us… they became curious. I don’t know if that’s the right word, exactly. I guess curiosity requires intelligence. I suppose it’s more an instinctual reaction.
See something moving, could be food. Hear something in the distance, might be food. Move toward the source and try and eat it.
Sam led me and Tara out onto the portside platform. We could get a much better view of the surrounding area. And a much better smell as well… well, maybe better is the wrong word… more like a much stronger stink.
“Jesus!” Tara complained, pinching her nose, “These things stink.”
“Yeah,” I griped along with her, “I hope nobody lives around here, it’d be a fucking nightmare.”
Sam looked pensive as we rolled by more and more zombies who looked at us and started slouching in our direction, “Smells like corruption… which means they’re decomposing, although at a slower than normal rate… maybe it is just a matter of time… maybe they will simply rot away and die off.”
“We’re coming up on it!” Tony shouted from inside, “I’m breaking now… and we’ve got company.”
We could see that. As the locomotive ground to a halt, there were at least several dozen ghouls meandering about and moving toward us. Not hundreds, thankfully.
“Shit,” Sam said, “this sucks… okay, let’s make it fast, babe. I think we can handle these if we hurry.”
I swallowed hard and followed Sam down the ladder. There was no track bed here to speak of. The spur line was more or less level with the ground around us. Said ground consisted of a couple of warehouses slightly behind us and some open spoil ground between them and A1-A, where we could see the perpendicular tracks running.
And of course, zombies.
Combat doesn’t scare me. At least not in any real terrifying way. I’ve been in my share of scrapes, both as a pilot and even on the ground once or twice against people. Yet zombies… zombies got under my skin. I guess because there was no margin for error with them.
You either killed them or they got you. They’d eat you alive of course, which was horrific to think about… all those small human mouths tearing your flesh from your bones… how long would that take? How much indescribable agony would you have to suffer before you shut down?
But the biggest problem was that they could recruit you into their ranks with nothing more than a scratch. That was hard to handle psychologically. The thought of turning into one of those mindless undead creatures frightened me down to my very soul.
Sam and I ran forward to the switching gear. It was simple enough at first. There was a lever and a wheel. I could see the switch track and how it could swing south and would connect to the closer of the two rails, or north to the further. I just hoped that one or two people could move it.
Sam grabbed the lever and tried to pull it toward him, but it wouldn’t budge. He braced his legs and yanked but the lever wouldn’t move so much as a millimeter.
“Oh, of fucking course!” he cranked.
By now, at least two dozen stiffs were within twenty or thirty feet of us. I wanted to help but I also needed to keep them off us. I unslung my carbine and sighted in.
My shots ripped the night open and sounded like thunderclaps in my ears. With every bullet I sent downrange, I wondered how many stinkbags would turn their heads and start schlepping our way from who knows how many miles distant.
“What the Christ is with this thing?” Sam asked as he threw his weight on the six foot tall lever.
“Hey, Einstein!” Tony called from the platform. He stood next to Tara who was also taking aim and firing with her M4, “You’ve got to unlock the system first. Turn that wheel.”
Sam slapped his head and went to the wheel and began to turn it counter clockwise. He turned it a few times and then went back to the lever and took hold.
“Fucking hurry!” I urged, “I’m red and there are more coming!”
“First off!” Sam said loudly as he began to pull the lever toward him. It seemed to move easily and the switch track began to swing with a grinding and unsettling medium-loud screech, “Fuck you, Tony… and second… no pressure, right?”
I swapped out my magazine and began firing again. By now, the two dozen or so ghouls had swelled to more like fifty or sixty and that number was increasing rapidly. And that was with Tara’s and my kills.
“Got it!” Sam said triumphantly.
“Now lock it back down and get your asses up here!” Tony shouted.
Sam spun the locking wheel and gave me a smile, “No prob—“
“Sharky!” Tony shouted, “Behind you!”
Sam didn’t look or take time to consider. I could only see him out of the corner of my eye and what I saw wasn’t good.
A trio of zombies had gotten within arm’s reach of him. I hadn’t seen them at all. Sam must’ve been right in my line of sight. My heart leapt into my throat as I saw him fall to the ground.
“Sammy!” I shouted, terror clamping over me like a vise.
I thought they’d dragged him down, but he’d only dropped and rolled away. He shot to his feet, kicked the nearest ghoul in the chest and began back pedaling toward me.
“I’m good,” He said, grabbing my arm and turning me toward the locomotive, “Let’s go!”
We ran toward the ladder. There was only twenty-five or thirty yards to go, but we both could see that what had been a gobble had grown to a big munch and they were pressing on us. It was a tossup who would reach the back of the locomotive first.
I think Sam saw it to, because he shifted course to the left, pulling me along and angling more toward the cabin door.
The platform was about five feet off the ground which wouldn’t be a hard climb under normal circumstances. But these weren’t normal circumstances.
“Sling it!” He shouted in my ear.
I did as he asked and as we came up to the engine, Sam got two steps ahead and then turned back to me. He put one arm through my crotch and before I knew it, I was soaring upward, the top of the platform railing coming at me.
I grabbed it and felt myself pushed again and did a clumsy but effective summersault over the railing and onto the decking.
“Go, go, go!” Sam roared from the ground.
Tara was the only one on the platform. Tony had gone inside and I heard the engine rev up. In confusion, I looked over the rail and saw Sam leap up and grasp it with both hands. I grinned down at him and then realized he wasn’t alone.
He’d just gotten one boot on the rim of the platform when a huge zombie reached out and wrapped both of its catcher’s mitt sized hands around Sam’s dangling left ankle.
The thing must’ve been a professional wrestler when it was alive. Or a football player. It was easily close to seven feet tall and as wide as a yard stick. It had bread loaf arms and whatever muscle strength they had left was hauling Sam backward.
I tried to get my M4 around, but the fucking strap was tangled. In my fright and my mad rush to save him, I wasn’t thinking and was only making it worse.
A shot did crackle next to me, though. Then another… and another.
“Why won’t this fucking thing die?” Tara all but shrieked.
“The head!” Sam hollered, his face red with strain and his arms nearly straight out. He began kicking the thing with his right foot but it did absolutely nothing.
Finally, Tara’s next shot hit home and the big zombie jerked and began to fall. Unfortunately, in its death throes, its grip d
id not come loose and Sam’s hands were dragged off the railing.
“No!” I screamed in pure fright.
The train was moving now, and Sam, who was kicking at the wrists of the beast, was slowly moving behind us. As I watched, seemingly unable to move, he got his ankle free, jumped to his feet and vaulted up to grab the railing again, just as four more G’s reached for him. This time, though, he got his boot on the deck and propelled himself up and over the rail to land like a cat.
‘Holy fuck!” he said with a grin that stood out on his pale face, “That was scary!”
Tara and I rushed forward and embraced him tightly. He put his arms around us as well.
“Hey, if you’re not too busy with your threesome,” Tony quipped from inside, “You might want to know that we’re turning north. It worked.”
I had tears in my eyes as did Tara. Sam kissed me and then kissed Tara too, “thanks, sweetie. You saved my bacon.”
“You’re welcome,” She said, wiping her eyes.
“And fuck you Tony,” Sam said with a grin.
We headed inside and saw Andy shaking his head. Tony looked back and grinned, “This is supposed to be a serious mission, Sharky. And here you are playing tag and making out with two chicks. Shameful.”
I scoffed, “It’s easy to armchair quarterback. Sitting around in a big comfy chair watching others do what you obviously can’t. And it’s nobody’s fault but yours that you don’t have a chick to make out with.”
Tony flipped me off, “You’re only busting my chops because I’m black.”
“Yes,” Sam said deadpan.
“Absolutely,” Andy chimed in.
“No doubt,” Tara quipped.
I just flipped him off and smiled. I was still a little freaked by what had just happened but the banter was helping.
“I barely know you, commander,” Rivers said from her floor, “But I’d have to agree. Nobody likes a smart mouthed darky.”
“Oh, you guys suck…” Tony grumbled.
Vicky laughed, “Hey, I kinda like black dudes.”
“Oh, here we go…” Andy groaned, “Don’t encourage him. You’ll just give him a bigt head, and his ego is already big enough!”
