“Do we even know where we might find a boat?” Ervin asked.
“No idea.” Colin shook his head. “But if we could find one, we could take our time crossing the river. We could find a nice quiet spot to cross. Get all our supplies and people across at our leisure. It would be a lot less risky than relocating through the city. We wouldn’t have to deal with the freaks. And I’m pretty sure the Sovereigns wouldn’t try to follow us either. We’d be rid of them.”
Samuel frowned at the mention of the Sovereigns. “I’m not a fan of just tucking tail and running from them.”
“Me neither,” Ervin agreed.
“We’ve got other people to think about, though,” Eric added somberly. “We don’t know much about the Sovereigns: how many there are, where they are located, what resources they have, how well armed they are, how smart they are.”
“Can’t be that smart. We kicked their asses twice,” Ervin muttered.
Eric nodded. “That doesn’t mean that they won’t rally and come to wipe us out. There aren’t any rules anymore. There is no telling what they’ll do.”
“Maybe we could look for them. Scope them out. Get a better idea of what we’re up against,” Eric suggested.
“Of course, we’ve been looking for them,” Samuel snapped before taking a breath to calm himself. “It’s like looking for a needle in a haystack. There are too many buildings. Too many places they could hide. If they’re dug in somewhere, it’s probably out of sight of the freaks, which means out of sight for us.”
“Do we have a map of some kind?” Rotna suddenly asked. She had been so quiet throughout most of the conversation that Colin had forgotten she was even there.
“One second.” Ervin trotted off, returning with the folded piece of paper. They spread it out on the ground, kneeling in the dirt as they all huddled closely around it.
“So we are…here.” Rotna pointed approximately to where Thies was located on the map. The others nodded in agreement. “Where was your first encounter with the Sovereigns exactly?”
“Here.” Samuel pointed to the cross streets of St. Charles Rock Road and Raymond Avenue.
Rotna marked the location with a tiny X. “Alright, so we can assume they are located somewhere close to there.” She looked over the map. “I’m not too familiar with the area. Are there any good locations where they might have holed up?”
“Well, they’re probably to the south of Interstate Seventy. My guess is like us they’re having trouble crossing a lot of the major highways,” Ervin speculated.
The others nodded in agreement.
“What about the middle school here?” Laura pointed to Pattonville Heights Middle School off Fee Fee Road.
“Maybe.” She circled the location.
“There’s a police station not too far from that.” Eric pointed to the Maryland Heights Police Department off Dorsett Road and Millwell Drive.
Ervin shook his head. “Police stations are death traps. Everyone and their mother went there. The freaks followed them in and had a feast.”
Eric nodded. “Maybe they went there first. If that’s the case, they may not have ended up too far away.”
They circled a few more schools and a building supplies store, and decided to check out the Chamberlin College of Nursing. While Colin didn’t think they would find the Sovereign there, it seemed like those places would have all kinds of things they could use.
“What about this?” Colin pointed to Creve Coeur Lake. The map showed a little island or sandbar towards the lake’s southern tip. “If they aren’t hiding there, it could be a good relocation spot. With the water on all sides, we’d be well protected from the freaks and other humans. Even if we don’t want to move there, we might be able to find a boat.”
It wasn’t too far from Thies. If they couldn’t move the boat down the Creve Coeur Creek, which connected the lake to the Missouri River, then they could take it the short distance across the land with a trailer. There had to be at least one sitting around the lake waiting for them to snatch it up.
Samuel nodded. “Colin, the boat was your idea. You check out the lake and see what you can find. Take whoever you want with you, just don’t draw attention to yourselves.” Samuel turned to Ervin. “If you don’t mind, I’d like you to check out the schools with some people. I think they’re the most likely to have a higher freak population. Since you know tactics better than the rest of us, you’re the most likely to get in and out without getting into trouble.” Ervin nodded. “I’ll take the nursing college and the building supplies store. I doubt the Sovereigns will be camped out there, but it could sure help us get set up and dug in for the long haul.”
Samuel blew a long breath out as he looked over the map one last time. “Everyone know what they’re doing?” The others nodded. “Good. We’ll head out tomorrow at first light. The sooner we’re fortified and know what’s up with the Sovereigns, the better I’ll sleep at night.”
“You’re sleeping at night?” Ervin asked with mock disbelief.
Samuel rubbed his face tiredly. “No, but I can always dream, can’t I?”
Day 15
Creve Coeur Lake was practically in their backyard, but they hadn’t explored the area before. It hadn’t held anything they were interested in until now. The lake and the area surrounding it held docks, a clubhouse, and some soccer fields. Until now, what they had needed most was food and weapons. The clubhouse might have had food, but it wasn’t enough to draw their interest. Therefore, they had ignored it.
Things were different now, though. Now that they were looking for a boat, the lake was their best bet. Though they had the Missouri River behind Thies, Colin didn’t even know where to begin looking for docks or a rental shop, if there even were any. The image resurfaced of the small fishing boat floating down the river, the freak snarling at them from the rocking boat.
Colin had asked Rotna and Eric to come with him. They had formed a good trio. They worked well together.
They had decided to start their search on the eastern side of the river. There were boat ramps at the north edge of the lake. Further down, along the lake’s southeastern side, was a rental place. They could check both locations. In the meantime, they could circle around the lake and scope out all it had to offer.
They had already reached the ramps. They kept their distance, though, hiding in the bushes down the road. The parking lot next to the ramp was packed with cars. It was July. People had flocked to the lake in an effort to escape the repressive Missouri heat. A truck had backed up to the lake, with the trailer and boat still attached. The boat was small, but it could have worked. Their work would have been as easy as just driving the truck back to Thies. If only the truck hadn’t sunk up to its windshield into the lake.
Freaks mingled between the cars and near the lake’s edge. There had been a panic as the freaks reached the lake. Several cars in the parking lot were smashed together. One car sat parked atop a lifeless body. Colin wasn’t sure if the person was infected or simply hadn’t gotten out of the panicked driver’s way fast enough.
Several more boats drifted aimlessly on the lake’s calm yet murky waters. Towards the lake’s middle, three boats were tethered together—or at least Colin assumed they were, as they floated in a tight group. There was movement on their decks, but he couldn’t tell if the occupants were infected or still human.
He silently pointed out the odd grouping to Eric and Rotna.
“Do you think there are people still out there?” she asked after a few moments of inspection.
“It’s hard to tell from here.” Colin shrugged. “There must have been live people on those boats at one point. The boats didn’t tie themselves together.”
“Hey, guys,” Eric whispered, pulling their attention away from the trio. He pointed to a freak teetering slowly down at the end of the dock. The lake was calm, but gentle waves lapped against the sides of the dock and rocked it. In the freak’s lethargic, uninterested state, the small movements were threatening to throw it off its fe
et. The beast was too stupid to move itself off the dock to safety. Instead, it shuffled back and forth drunkenly on the dock, seemingly unaware of its own movements.
Then it happened. Another wave forced the freak to take a step to its right. With no more dock available, the creature tipped over the edge and into the water. The thing began to flail, splashing in the water wildly as it tried to stay afloat. Colin could almost see the primal panic on the creature’s face as it scratched at the edge of the dock.
He leaned forward a bit, focusing on the freak’s struggle. It was no more than thirty yards from the edge of the lake. But instead of swimming to the water’s edge, it continued to scrabble at the dock. It bobbed in the water and sank below the surface before splashing back up a few moments later. Each time it slipped below the water, the freak took longer to resurface. Finally, it sunk underneath the water and did not return.
They had seen the same thing happen to the freak drifting down the river. At the time, Colin hadn’t been sure if the current had drowned the freak or if the thing couldn’t swim. Now they knew.
After spending a few more moments watching the water’s surface return to its lazy slapping against the dock, Colin let out a breath he hadn’t known he’d been holding in.
“Did that thing just drown?” Rotna asked, puzzled.
“I think so.” Colin nodded.
“How is that?” Eric asked. “You can cut of their head and the head can still move, but they can drown?”
Colin mulled it over. It didn’t make much sense. “Maybe it didn’t drown, but it sure as shit can’t swim.”
“So what? Do you think the lake is full of those things? Just milling around the bottom waiting around to grab someone and pull them under?” Rotna shuddered as the words left her lips.
Colin blanched at the idea as well. He had never liked swimming in lakes or rivers. As a child, his imagination had run wild with visions of creatures lurching below the surface, waiting for an unsuspecting swimmer to pass overhead. Now, it chilled his blood to think that there really might be things waiting for just that.
Without easily accessible boats, they had abandoned the docks. The trails were mostly quiet and empty as they wove their way around the lake. From the trail, they could look over the lake to their right and trees to their left. It was quiet. Peaceful almost.
Almost.
Up ahead, a bike lay on its side across the trail. Only a few feet from it, a large pool of blood had dried and turned brown against the pavement. A smeared handprint stood out at the side of the dried blood.
They continued past it. It was only one death among the many.
The boat rental place turned out to be a small pagoda rather than a physical building. Colorful flags brightened the otherwise unimpressive brown structure. A sign to the right displayed the prices of rentals. Bicycles. Paddle boards. Kayaks. Canoes. Nothing big or impressive. Only a few boats remained pulled up on the beach. Three kayaks and one canoe.
“I guess it’s slim pickings,” Eric murmured.
Colin nodded. “So what do we want to do?” Colin eyed one of the kayaks. He didn’t like it. It was too small. Too confining. Just looking at it made him feel trapped.
“I want to go check out the floating fortress,” Rotna said almost immediately. “We should at least check and see if people are still on it.”
Eric nodded.
“What about these?” Colin gestured to the few small watercrafts laid out before them. “Even if we could…commandeer one of the boats out on the lake, we’d need a trailer and a hitch to move them. We’d also need something to haul them with.”
“The canoe is too small to move everything across the river.” Eric nodded in agreement. “It’d take too many trips and we’d get to tired having to fight the current. I think our best bet is to go boat to boat and make sure they’re clear. We can keep searching for a trailer to bring them back on. There has to be one around here somewhere, right?”
The canoe had slid easily into the lake. Getting into the boat was another matter entirely. As each one of them entered, or attempted to enter, the boat had rock precariously. Eric, the only one familiar with boats of any kind, had assured them that despite the rocking the canoe would stay upright. Colin wasn’t so sure.
After a lot of splashing, kicking, and cursing, they were all finally in the boat. It had taken a few more minutes for them to get the paddle cadence down and the boat pointed back in the right direction. Now, they were finally, if slowly, on their way.
“What did you guys do all summer as kids?” Eric asked, smirking at Colin and Rotna’s obvious frustration.
“I don’t know. I hung out with my friends.” Colin dug his paddle into the water. Actually moving the boat was more difficult than he had imagined.
“City kids,” Eric muttered, grinning at them as he pulled at his own paddle easily.
“Don’t make me beat you to death with one of these,” Rotna muttered.
“Aw. You wouldn’t do that.” Eric flashed a smile at her. “If you did, you guys would be stuck out here. Probably die right here in this boat just a few hundred feet from the shore. You need me.” He snickered.
Rotna stuck her tongue out at him.
The boat settled into silence as they worked their way back across the lake. The lake itself wasn’t exceptionally large. In fact, it was pretty small and seemed smaller as they cut a straight line across its glassy surface.
A dozen boats dotted the water’s glassy surface. None of them moved with any purpose. Of course, they wouldn’t have a reason to move around unless there was something they were specifically looking for or trying to do.
Ignoring the other boats, they made straight for the small flotilla. They were the only ships with the most obvious signs of life.
The ships were quiet as they approached. No one came out to regard them with curiosity. No freaks stirred on the decks either. The ships were just empty.
“Hello!” Colin called out. After a few moments, no one else called back. They had seen movement earlier form the shore, but now all was quiet.
“Do we go on the boat or move on?” Colin looked to Rotna and Eric.
Eric chewed on his lip nervously. “I don’t like this. If there was anyone left, I think we would have seen them by now.”
“What if they’re just hiding from us? Hoping we’ll go away.”
Colin scratched his chin as they thought. “Let’s take a look. Just try and see what happened.”
They circled around the vessels until they found a small ladder they could access on one to climb up. The boats weren’t very large. One was a small plain houseboat while the other two were even smaller bowriders. They were meant for people who wanted to go out and enjoy a day on the lake.
On the boats, it wasn’t hard to guess what had happened. It was the same thing that had happened everywhere. The smaller bowrider was covered in blood. It had pooled over one of the long bench seats that lined the left-hand side baking into a large rusty-brown stain in the sun. The trail of blood spread to the large boat. It ended at a door that Colin presumed contained small living quarters. Gore marks and bloody handprints covered the small door and the walls on either side. Amazingly, the other small boat was nearly untouched.
Colin carefully peered inside the small circular window in the door to the houseboat. Inside, he could see nothing but darkness. He raised his hand and rapped hard on the door. Furious banging responded from the other side. A face slammed against the window, blood spraying the glass. Hungry teeth gnashed fervently against the window.
Colin sighed and looked to the others. “Well, that answers that.” Even though he hadn’t expected to find any survivors, gauging from the amount of blood covering the deck of two of the ships, his heart sank. They hadn’t seen anyone new since their encountered with the Sovereigns. They couldn’t be the only ones left, but the freaks were everywhere. If other survivors were out there, they were staying hidden. Colin couldn’t blame them. More than likely, that was why
they were still alive.
“Let’s just get this over with.” Rotna motioned for Colin to open the door.
“What do you mean?” Eric sounded perplexed. “It or they are trapped in there. Let’s just leave them there. Who knows how many are trapped in there!”
“Why not just clear them out? Might as well rid the world of a few more of the freaks while we’re here.” Colin shrugged. “Besides, then we can come back for these boats without having to worry about anything.”
“Or we can just take the one that’s not covered in blood.” Eric gestured to the smaller boat, which was almost untouched. “Then we really don’t have to worry about anything.”
“We can’t leave them here,” Rotna snarled fiercely. “If we don’t start doing something now to take this world back, we will never get it back.”
Eric looked between Colin and Rotna. “Guys, we don’t need to take unnecessary risks right now. There’s enough shit trying to kill us without us doing stupid shit that could get us killed.”
“But when do we stop just trying to survive and start trying live again?” Colin asked.
“It has only been two weeks!” Eric exclaimed. “We still don’t even know what the fuck we’re doing! None of us were trained for this! Hell, I probably have the most useful skills out of the three of us, and I still have no idea what I’m doing.”
“Why wait?” Rotna asked. “The sooner we start, the sooner we can make things better.”
“Things aren’t just going to get better. This is the world. This is how it is. Things are not going to go back to normal. Not now. Not soon. Not ever!”
“I know that.” Rotna’s voice was calm. “I know things are going to be fucked up for a really long time. If we don’t do anything, they are going to stay fucked. I would rather do something than do nothing.”
“If nothing will ever be the same again, then what is the point of holding on to what once was?” asked Colin.
Eric sighed, running his hands through his hair. “I get it.” He deflated. “I get it. You’re not wrong.” He glanced towards the door, the freak on the other side still beating furiously on it. “Let’s just get this over with.”
Death & Decay (Book 2): Divided Page 13
