by Jack Walker
“I understand, I completely understand,” said the man flatly, “They came out of nowhere, and we suspect that they were criminals or gang members. They did have very basic tattoos, much like prison tattoos. Like mine; I was in a long time ago. It might be better if you left.”
Jones came trotting up to Simon; his face pale and drawn. He quickly whispered to him. He nodded, and then quickly told everyone that they were going to leave the golf club. As a group they slowly went back to the boat. Judith, Ella and the rest of the group were mystified as they made their way back to the boat. Jones was the last to leave; he stood facing the small group that had now stood up from their prone position. He had walked up to the man and shook his hand, then turned and quickly jogged back to join his group. George got back behind the wheel of the boat, and slowly they reversed the engines and moved away from the dock. Simon had waited until they were off shore then had told everybody what had really occurred and why they had left the people behind. He explained that they were safe; for now, and had wanted to stay there of their own accord. Although he could not fathom why, he had decided not to push the leader for his reasons. His plans had been rudely interrupted when Jones had run up to the group; what he had seen with the others that had been killed, he had then told Simon. What Jones had seen had terrified him; he had seen an infected on a leash; where the two had been killed by Jones. The leash was partially chewed through and he did not know why it was leashed. He knew that the group would not be surviving very long, eventually the tied up infected tied would escape; then all hell would break loose. He had right there decided that the best thing to do would be to leave the group on the Golf course to their fate.
Out on the water the group as a whole paled as they listened to Simon retell what he had seen. They had all shaken their heads in disbelief and disgust. Simon wanted to reassure the group that they would not be going back even if the other group wanted them to. He wanted to make his way now as soon as possible toward the mysterious Island. The fascination grew more and more as their journey was interrupted by the draw of a possible safe haven. Eating a meal on the deck in the sunshine was soothing and relaxing. Everyone was relaxing and enjoying the warm weather. Lying in the sun, Judith was happy to lie on the deck with Ella next to her; Simon was also sprawled out next to them and they were talking softly amongst each other. They had all shed most of their clothes; Simon was just enjoying the conversation with the girls, then he felt the soft trailing fingers of Judith on his naked back. He shivered as he felt the fingers trailing up his back. He felt her get up and kneel next to him; she placed her fingers spread out on his back and started to ease her hands all over his back. Her hands worked over his tired muscles and he relaxed. Her fingers and palms were rotating all over his back, stretching and squeezing the muscles; spreading warmth and releasing all the built up tension. Simon sighed with relief as his tired, sore muscles were massaged; squeezed and stretched. Tension radiated out of his body, and he could feel the tired muscles coming back to life. He felt Judith’s hair brush his skin as she leaned over him; his skin quivered as he felt himself react to the soft hair. The kiss on his back was the real surprise that shocked him back awake. Her soft delicate lips on his skin snapped him back to full wakefulness. He realised he had been drowsing there in the sun; lazily enjoying the sensuous massage. Judith whispered over her shoulder and he felt a second pair of hands join Judith’s on his back. Realising Ella had joined Judith; he smiled and savoured the feeling of four hands working on him. Simon felt Judith’s hands move downward to his legs. Strangely, he had a sense of déjà vu; feeling that this had somehow happened before. The fleeting though had no time to germinate; the hands working on his body was so divine. His muscles were so relaxed and tension free that he forgot nearly everything. Ella and Judith were whispering to each other and he could not make out anything. A cold wind blew across his back; and he almost sat up but did not quite. The warmth returned slowly as the sun returned and warmed his skin again.
Chapter Thirty
The explosion ripped them all from the languorous slumber that had inhabited them all. A massive fireball rose up from the direction of the location of the carrier. Jones was immediately on his feet, scanning the horizon. His worst fear had now been realised when he saw the fireball where the carrier should be. Moving quickly to the radio he sent a terse message to the carrier. No reply was forthcoming as he realised that the attack by the boat attacking them must have been a success. He knew that if the boat had enough kinetic energy then it would be able to do major damage to the carrier; possibly even sink the carrier. He could imagine the sheer panic and desperation that the crew would have gone through. Imagining the sheer terror felt by the crew of the carrier he could easily think how difficult it would be to remain calm in the circumstances. Looking across at the horizon, the fireball now receding; Jones knew his fate now lay with the survivors and his niece. He now had to look toward the future of his journey to the island, and whatever lay in store. Simon looked distraught; noticing Jones had gone pale. Realising that their second avenue of rescue was now well and truly out of the equation. He groaned as he thought of all those poor people that had been on board the carrier. If the group survived then they would have to be extremely careful. With their previous encounter on the golf course; Simon had realised that he would have to stop being so trusting of strangers that they would encounter. His faith in human nature had taken a huge battering. How quickly the infected had taken over New York, the people that were infected causing the chaos and disruption to normal, modern society. He looked helplessly at the horizon; wishing that things had gone differently, and that he had had more training. More training in tactics; more military style training. At one stage in his life he had wanted to join the army to get some experience and had never acted on that impulse. He shook his head now; thinking that if he had actually been and done some basic training; then he would have been able to be calm and collected like Jones. He looked over at Jones then, and he smiled. Judith was now talking to her uncle, and was stroking his back and talking soothingly to him. Jones was not quite crying; he was just numb. He looked a bit shell-shocked after the realisation that their rescue might not happen now. He realised now that Judith was a good person to have around; she was definitely a comforter. She was a calming presence in the group that had formed with the happening of the infection. Looking at her, he realised that she had also had an impact on him. Her calm demeanour and absolute conviction that she could be a calming presence; was such a good thing. He realised as well that he was also falling hopelessly in love with her. Her beauty was striking; not model beautiful, but good homely beauty. A plus was her gorgeous curvy body; that promised so much to him. He knew without a doubt that he wanted to survive this even, and wanted to make a life with her.
Judith looked over at Simon; saw him watching her console her uncle, and realised that there was a peculiar look in his eyes. She smiled as he returned the smile, and realised that there was a mutual attraction between the two of them. She wanted to pursue it further and really get to know him a lot more intimately. From their first encounter she had felt that spark; the signal that they were meant to be together. She thought back to their kiss they had shared, and felt her body warm; the heat flushing her cheeks as she stood there next to her uncle. He noticed and grinned at her. He could see the apparent attraction between her and Simon, and was happy that she had made a good connection with him. He was a strong character that had so far done a lot for this little band of survivors. Without military experience; and very little planning, he had actually succeeded pretty well to keep them safe.
Jones was glad Judith was with him on the boat; at least this way he could protect her as much as possible, with as little harm as possible. She had actually surprised him with her utter loyalty to Simon, and had actually been part of the core group of survivors that had made a huge impact on their survivability. Being positive in such a situation was exactly what the group needed. Yes, there was some self
-doubt on Simon’s part, but it was to be expected. Simon was not a military man, but he had good character and that was what people would remember in him. He nodded at Simon, and a hint of a smile crept back onto his face. Thinking about the group dynamic, he looked around for Judith; the one thing that had surprised him was Judith. Her presence in the group was also something he had not expected, but had been very happy of. She had also been a very good part in the machinery of the group that was held together by the common aim of survival. Her presence every time she was near him was something that he had not expected either; she had made an impact on him as well. He wanted to keep her safe, for her not to be injured. Her presence also elicited another more primal response in him that he had not felt for a very long time. Possibly she had opened up an emotional gate in him; something that he had been missing for a very long time without realising it. Hope was springing in his heart that there was some spark between the two of them. He knew Simon had seen the way they looked at each other as well. Now that the carrier was gone, he was not certain what the future held for him; but wanted her to be a part of his life. It would be a struggle if they had to survive against the odds with the infected if they managed to escape the confines of New York. Looking back toward the now receding cloud of fire that was the carrier, he just shook his head; he was going to mourn for his crew mates aboard the carrier. Judith was with him, and he could see that she understood why his demeanour had changed with the explosion. Jones sighed, and put his arms around Judith, knowing how much that would mean to her. She also needed comforting as much as he had needed it.
Chapter Thirty One
George was swift to react after the explosion, and decided they should maybe do something about seeing if there were any possible survivors. Going over to Simon he spoke quickly to him and explained that he wanted to go to the aid of any of the survivors. It was a long way out from where they were, and Simon was curious as to their fuel situation. George went back to check and Simon meanwhile tried to get the group together to find out if they were willing to go out to where the explosion had occurred. He explained that they would be going out to survivors, and wanted to know if anyone would object. The group gathered and muttered softly amongst themselves; trying to decide if they should go. Explaining that it would be the right thing to do, the group somewhat reluctantly decided to head out toward the site. They would be going in with their weapons ready Simon explained; just in case there was something not quite right. Survivors would be their first priority to see if they needed help.
Just then the radio crackled to life; and the voice of the commander of the carrier called out to ask if Jones was still alive. “Commander Michaelson; you’re alive sir? I am still alive, on board a larger motor yacht.” Jones said excitedly, “Do you need any assistance? We may be able to help out if you need any.”
“Jones, good to hear your voice, for now we are safe, we managed to get off about one hundred and fifty crew onto a small island. The rest of the crew unfortunately did not make it. It was the last helicopter and the crew that got us off safely. We managed to get off a reasonable amount of fuel and rations as well. However, I had to detonate the explosive charges. That was probably what you saw and heard.” Michaelson said, “We managed to get away safely, however the long term survival will be difficult. There is no access to the island from New York at all. We can survive without infection safely. Some of the rescue boats did manage to get off before the carrier blew; so we have transport. Fuel is going to be a problem for the helicopter though.”
“Commander, do you know if there were any survivors from the attacking boat that survived?” Jones asked quickly. “We are wondering if we should go and have a look to see if there are any other survivors that are still in the water.”
“Well, I am not sure but we suspect that there could possibly be some survivors out there. That is not impossible as they could have been protected from the blast by being in certain places on board their boat.” Michaelson explained, “Besides that, we did actually see someone in the water swimming toward land. We do not know if it was a terrorist or friendly. Right now we do not have eyes on the site or we would send out somebody to investigate. We would like to know if you could actually investigate for us.”
Jones cocked an eyebrow up as he looked at Simon, wanting to know if they he had decided they would head over to the site. Simon looked at the group and they were again muttering among each other. As one, they looked at Simon and nodded. Simon looked back at Jones, to who he nodded. Their decision was made; they would be going to investigate.
“We need the co-ordinates where the carrier was when she sank Commander. Please can you relay it to us and we will head over shortly.” Jones intoned, “Honestly I do not hold out much hope for survivors; however if we do find any then we will advise the situation.”
Jones wrote down the information and he quickly passed the information onto George. George grinned and started the engines. Turning the wheel, he pointed the boat in the direction of the last location of the carrier. “Right, we are going to head over and have a look for any survivors Commander.” Jones said into the radio. “We will keep you updated if we discover anything new out here Commander; Jones out.”
Simon looked at Jones and then at George, “Right, hopefully we will be able to get there without too much bother. It may be we could run into trouble. I want everyone to have a weapon. Is there anyone that wants to volunteer to be at the bow? We need to have a good lookout.” Simon asked.
Jones stuck up his hand; then looked over at Dawson. He nodded slightly to her, hoping she would get the hint. He wanted to spend a bit of time with her just to get to know her better. Dawson smiled and nodded at him as well. He was glad as she saw the nod being returned.
“I will gladly be on lookout; but I would like it if Dawson was keeping lookout with me. She is ex-military, and has experience in looking for the unexpected.” he reasoned confidently.
“Jones, I will gladly be on lookout with you. I think we can be good as a team.” Dawson said with a smile in her voice. “She looked over at Jones and smiled secretively. “I want to be very hands on in the search if there is anyone out there.” The flirting was so blatantly obvious to everyone; they all smiled at Jones and Dawson.
They watched as Jones followed Dawson out to the bow of the boat. Simon shook his head and laughed silently at the two of them; they were like two teenagers in love. He looked over at Judith and grinned. She came over and stood next to him and placed her arm around his waist. Leaning in she said softly to him:
“I think my uncle is a little besotted with a certain lady. She certainly seems to have made an impact on him. He has not seemed this happy in a long time.” She explained to Simon softly, “You see he lost his wife about ten years ago; and had closed himself off to people. Dawson has certainly made an impact on him. I have not seen him this excited in a long time. He actually wants to get to know her a lot better.”
Simon grinned, looking down at Judith; he enjoyed being with her so much. She really made him feel good.
“You know, I did not know that; so she died ten years ago?” He asked enquiringly, “What was she like?”
“Her whole life she was an army wife, she traipsed all over the world with him. They really did a lot of travelling. He never really managed to get settled for very long, and she always managed to get the house set up in such a way that if they had to leave for a new assignment; then it would take very little to get the packing done and get relocated.” She explained to Simon, “She never moaned about it and was the most supportive wife to him. She loved her various hobbies; but the one thing that she did miss was the fact that she could not have children. That was why she doted on me when I was born and always made time for me.”
Chapter Thirty Two
Sighing she leaned into Simon, “I just want him to be happy. I need him to be happy. I know he has been lonely; although he never really showed it. I could always tell however that he wanted someone else in his
life to spend time with. Being ex-military she is possibly the perfect person that he could have met.” She said wistfully, looking into his eyes she continued, “He really has been a different person since he met Dawson. She has made his face light up with joy every time he looks at her.”
“I know; I can see it in his face every time he looks at her. I agree that she is a good match for him. I know we are not supposed to be trying to get them to get together but they are gravitating towards each other naturally.” Simon intoned, shivering as he felt a cold breeze catch him. He wondered where that little breeze had come from. The weather was actually pretty good, and the only breeze was relatively warm. He was a bit puzzled by that. He shivered again as he felt the breeze again; but Judith did not seem to notice him shiver. For an instant he swore he was staring at a white wall; but dismissed it instantly. How could he see a white wall if he was on-board a boat in the ocean? He looked down at Judith again, smiling he noticed something odd. She looked a bit stiff to him but was still moulded to his body. He shrugged and probably thought he was hallucinating. He realised that he had not eaten anything in a while.
“Judith, I am going to go grab something to eat; I just realised that I have not had anything to eat in a while. I am feeling a bit strange; and feel as if I am not really here.” he said, feeling a bit dizzy. He knew it was possibly just the whole trip they had been on, but wanted to be sure. Judith took a moment and seemed to finally register. She nodded and smiled at him. “Tell you what, I think I will come and make a sandwich with you. I need to get something inside me as well. I realised that I am also hungry. Lead the way captain.” she said, smiling at him. The boat was riding the swells, making the boat lurch slightly. They held onto the railing tightly, and Simon held Judith’s hand as he carefully traversed the way down to the deck. Reaching the deck, they saw that other people did have food; they had obviously gone to get themselves food as well. He was glad that people had not relied on him to tell them to go grab food for themselves. He nodded at the people and looked carefully at them. They were all sitting in small groups; talking amongst themselves. They were relaxed and alert, having managed to get some of the rations dished out amongst themselves. He was sure that they would all make themselves heard if they did not have anything to eat. At least they could actually act on their own initiative and get themselves food to eat. They all nodded as he headed into the galley. He looked at their supplies and had a flash of inspiration.
