by Bob Howard
Jean asked, “Do you think they found the shelter?”
“Doesn’t really matter,” I said. “They wouldn’t be able to get inside if they did find it. I’d prefer that they haven’t found it because we don’t want them watching the door, but as long as we have another way in, they can’t get to us.”
My three friends and fellow survivors all turned and looked at me like I had just beamed into the raft from somewhere. No one spoke for a full minute, and then I understood. I had forgotten to tell them about the emergency exits.
“Oh, man……I’m so sorry, guys. Seriously, it’s not like I’ve been trying to keep something from you. I just forgot because the emergency exits are so hard to see.” I must have looked pretty guilty since I figured out why they were giving me blank stares all by myself.
“Back up just a bit, Ed,” said the Chief.
Kathy added, “Yeah, hit rewind, Ed. What are you talking about?”
Jean didn’t say anything, but she had her arms crossed over her chest and was looking at me with a mock frown.
“There are at least three emergency exits that lead to the master bedroom. There could be more, but I only checked to see where three of them come out.” I sounded a bit defensive, but then I saw the smiles slowly start to appear on their faces.
“Do any of them come out where they won’t see us?” The Chief asked.
“As a matter of fact, Chief, all three of them are far enough from the northern dock for us to get in unseen. The one on the southern tip of the island is probably the easiest to get to because it comes out right at the beginning of the tree line,” I said.
Kathy asked, “What kind of lock does the door have?”
“Combination lock, just like the front door,” I said. “The combination is the reverse of the front door because they’re meant to be escape exits. My uncle had an ironic sense of humor.”
Jean chuckled and said, “I wonder what Uncle Titus would say about us using them to escape into the shelter.”
“He would kick our butts for leaving in the first place,” I said.
“Well, let’s get going,” said the Chief. “We’ve had a long day, and I can’t wait to get in front of the TV and dial up that hidden camera in the houseboat.”
“Not to mention just being safer than we are floating around out here,” said Jean. “Where do we go, Eddy?” She had a way of saying my name that was so hot.
Kathy said, “I’d tell you two to get a room, but since that’s exactly what you plan to do, I’d just be wasting my breath.”
Even in the dark I was pretty sure they could see me blushing again, so I turned around and started looking for the anchor line. As soon as I had it out of the water, Kathy and the Chief started paddling quietly back the way we had come.
It only took about fifteen minutes to reach the southern tip of the island for the second time tonight. I pointed toward the right place to beach the raft, and they steered toward it.
Kathy asked, “How can you find it in the dark like this?”
“I recognize this spot,” said the Chief. “Isn’t there a camera pointed right at us?”
“Yeah, there is,” Chief. “My uncle figured if you need to escape, it would be a good idea to get a peek outside first. I found a landmark in the view of each camera so I can line up with where the escape hatch is.”
As we pulled the raft ashore, I said, “We need to either drag it into the trees or set it adrift. The tunnel inside the hatch is going to be a tight fit for the Chief, so I don’t think we’ll be able to get the raft through.”
Jean said, “There’s always a chance our new tenants searched the island after they got here. If they take a second look and find the raft, they’re going to know someone came onto the island. They may not be able to get to us, but it would be better if they weren’t looking in the first place.”
“I agree,” said Kathy. “If they spot the raft adrift on the other side of the inlet, they won’t think someone got off over here first. Give me a hand, Chief.”
The two of them towed the raft back into the water and started to give it a shove, but the Chief stopped and looked back at me.
“Hey, Ed. Before I ditch our only ride out of here, how about opening the door first.”
“Makes sense to me,” I said. I turned toward the trees and then looked across the water for my landmark. I spotted one tree that stood out and then zeroed in on the camera location.
I walked up to the trees, and slipped my hands under the lip of the turf that marked where the beach ended and the trees began. When I lifted, it exposed a narrow shaft with a smooth steel hatch a few feet down. I hung down into the shaft and spun the combination lock. As soon as I pulled the handle to the unlocked position and opened the door, I gave the Chief a thumbs up signal.
Kathy and the Chief gave the raft a hard push away from the beach. We all watched for a minute as the raft glided away, then I motioned Jean forward and helped her into the tunnel.
“When you get to the bottom of the shaft, there will be a lever on the door. When you pull the lever, a spring loaded hinge will lift the door upward just like a hatch-back on a car,” I said.
She gave me a quick kiss and then dropped over the edge into the tunnel. Kathy followed behind her, and then the Chief. Just for a laugh he tried to give me a kiss first.
“Ugh, Chief. I’d rather kiss an infected dead,” I said.
He answered, “I’m so hurt.” He dropped down through the tunnel, but I could hear him laughing the entire time. I followed the Chief and squeezed into the gap between the camouflaged turf and the hatch. Once I pulled it into place, the hatch was no longer visible. The only evidence that there had been people on the beach would be the footprints we left, and they could have been from the infected dead.
CHAPTER 6
Going Home
We had all agreed it was time to look at the outside world, but we had mistakenly believed there would be some form of resistance to the spread of the infection. Mankind couldn’t simply give up without a fight. Someone had to be winning against this thing, but we hadn’t been given a clue where to look.
What we had found instead of resistance was people waiting for their turn to die. The world we had known wasn’t dead yet, but it was definitely dying everywhere we looked. There were small battles being fought on the highways and in the homes, and there were large battles being fought at military installations and at sea. Small or large, they were all being lost.
There’s no way to describe how it felt to be back home. Even with the squatters on our doorstep, we were at least safe again. No one could sneak up on us, and nothing was waiting around the next corner to bite us.
When I reached the bottom of the Emergency Exit, only Jean was waiting for me, and she looked utterly exhausted. I had no doubt that it was as much mental fatigue as it was physical. Jean was tough, but she was more petite than the rest of us that no one would blame her for being tired.
“Kathy and the Chief went up to the living area to check out what’s happening in the house boat,” she said. “I think I’d like to rest a bit before dealing with more problems.”
I made sure the hatch was sealed then took her in my arms. “This isn’t really a big problem, Jean. They’re out there, and we’re in here. At least we know about them. They don’t even know we’re here.”
“I know, Eddy, but right now I feel like they just need the right can opener to be able to get inside.” Jean was frowning and looked defeated.
Jean obviously didn’t know my uncle as well as I did. When he said no one could get in, he meant there wasn’t a can opener that could force the lid off of this can. For one thing, they were a mile away. They also would serve as another way of keeping the infected from walking around on their end of the island.
“Jean, try to think of them as if they were another layer of protection, kind of like putting a really mean dog in your yard. They’re going to be busy enough with trying to survive out there in the house boat. Even i
f they explore the island enough to find the entrance to the shelter, remember what my uncle told me. This place could survive a nuclear bomb or a tidal wave, and those guys out there are probably fresh out of nuclear bombs.”
Despite her worries, I felt her relax against me, and she had a nice smile on her face where the frown had been. When I tilted her head up with my hand under her chin, she brightened a bit more.
“I guess I’m just tired,” she said. “We saw more in one day that we’ve seen in the last month. It’s one thing to watch it on a TV screen and another to see it in person. We’re lucky we made it back in one piece.”
“I don’t think it was all luck,” I said. “We made a pretty good team out there.” I gave her a kiss and a big hug.
“Go join the others before they come looking for you. I’m going to get some rest,” she said.
I gave her another quick hug and headed upstairs to where Kathy and the Chief were studying the views from several cameras. They had both stopped at the refrigerator and grabbed cold beers. They must’ve been expecting me to join them because there was a third beer waiting for me.
Kathy looked up as I came in and asked, “How’s Jean?”
“She’s just tired,” I said. “She’s also worried that we aren’t safe with the new tenants up there.” I nodded toward the TV and asked, “What do we know so far.”
Without looking up, the Chief said, “We know there are at least eight of them. There are five men and three women……no children, thank God.”
I sat down on a chair next to the sofa and leaned in to get a closer look. The Chief had the grid view open. One rectangle was the view from the hidden camera inside the house boat. Five of the people were in the field of vision. I found the other three outside on the dock. They were drinking from bottles that looked like beer and whiskey, and they were smoking something that must have been pot because they passed it around.
Kathy said, “The world goes to hell in a hand cart, but we still get the same deadbeats you can find on any street corner on a Friday night.”
“I’m not too worried about them,” I said. “They don’t think like survivalists, so the fact that they’ve survived this long is more of an accident than brains. I’d be willing to bet they had larger numbers before, and these are the misfits who lasted.”
Kathy moved closer to the screen that showed the trio on the dock. She seemed to be studying something she had spotted.
“What is it?” Asked the Chief. “See something?”
“Yeah, look at this guy’s belt in back.” She put her finger on the spot she wanted them to see. “What’s that look like to you?”
“It’s hard to tell in this light,” said the Chief, “but is that a set of handcuffs?”
“They don’t look like police officers,” said Kathy, “so I’m thinking these guys helped themselves to some gear along the way from wherever they started. Those shotguns look like police issue, too.”
The Chief said, “If you’re saying you don’t think it’s a good idea for us to invite our new neighbors over for supper, Kathy, I was already thinking the same thing.”
“Hang on a second,” I said. “I don’t think my uncle put the house boat out there with the expectation that anyone who moved into it was bad, and I’m not saying these guys look like friendly neighbors, but we have to go with the real possibility that one day some good people are going to move in. When they do, we’re going to be faced with the decision to help them or to leave them to whatever comes next.”
“So you think your uncle wanted you to play god?” Asked the Chief.
“No, of course not. I’m just saying what if they had been good people and we just left them out there? Then along comes a group of bad people. Would we just stay in here and watch the bad people kill the good people?”
I probably sounded more sanctimonious than I intended, but at the back of my mind was the thought that I didn’t turn my back on the Chief, Kathy, and Jean when they showed up.
“Chief, what if I had not gone out there to target practice that day? You guys wouldn’t have spotted me, so you would have kept rowing for shore. If you had kept going in a straight line, you would have eventually spotted the house boat. You would have moved in and thought you were pretty safe, but we already know what else is out there. These people don’t know it yet, but their days are numbered.”
Kathy could see that this was the first time the Chief and I looked like we were squaring off with each other, so she stepped in and said, “Hey you two. Keep it friendly, okay? I don’t think Eddy’s talking about baking them a cake, Chief.”
The Chief and I both looked a little embarrassed, especially since we were disputing a hypothetical situation. If my friends had landed on the island and found the house boat, I was sure that I couldn’t have left them out there. The house boat was probably safer than most places, but the obvious threat was from people like this group that was in there now. They looked like they wouldn’t have asked Kathy, Jean, or the Chief if there was room at the inn.
“Point taken,” said the Chief. “If we see someone move into the house boat that looks like good people, we’ll find a way to decide if we should help them or ignore them. Until that time, I think we’ve already made a decision about these animals.”
“Agreed,” I said. “Chief, it didn’t take long for me to decide about you three, and if Hampton had set up house out there, we would probably bring him in. Like we said when we were trying to get back to Mud Island, there’s got to be some good people out there.”
Kathy said, “Now that you two are ready to give each other bro-hugs, or whatever it is you guys like to do, what are we going to do about these guys? I don’t think it’s a good idea to let them stay.”
The Chief was stroking his beard and looked like he was thinking of a plan, but he surprised us both when he said, “Nothing, is probably our best option. I think we should let this play out a bit so we can learn from it.”
“Learn what?” I asked. I didn’t have a clue about how we could get the squatters to move out, but doing nothing seemed like we were just hoping it would all work out for us.
“I think we should wait to see how bad it gets out there for them, not us,” said the Chief. “Come into the kitchen and let me show you something.”
The Chief brought out one of our big rolled maps we had discovered in our supplies and spread it on the table. He weighted the corners then started drawing and explaining at the same time.
“Here’s Mud Island,” he said as he labeled our location. “Here’s Simmonsville, Pawley’s Island, and Surfside. Further south we have Georgetown.”
He looked at us as if we were already understanding why he felt the need to give us a picture to look at. When he saw two blank stares that basically said, “So what and thanks for the tour,” he went on by adding arrows to the map.
“For some reason, everything seems to be moving south, but I think it’s just dumb luck. We chose to move northward and then planned to let the current bring us ashore. We only did that because it was better than letting the current drag us all the way back to Charleston harbor. I think the infected dead and the people who are trying to survive are only moving along the path of least resistance. There’s probably an army of living and dead fanning out in all directions from every city, but along the coastline it just seems like they’re all coming this way.”
“Makes sense, Chief, but what are you trying to tell us?” I asked.
“I’m trying to tell you that it’s far from over, Ed.”
Kathy said, “Tell us something we don’t know, Chief.”
I thought he Chief looked really frustrated, as if he was trying to write a book named Zombie Apocalypse Survival for Dummies, and he couldn’t dumb it down any further. He was even a bit more red than usual.
“Okay, let me put it this way,” he said. “Sooner or later the infected dead that are heading south are going to collide with the ones coming north, and in between them will be the living who are
running south and the living who are running north. Never mind that we also have some going east and west, just not as many because of natural barriers.”
The lights came on for Kathy and me at the same time. The ocean had everything blocked to the east, and we had already witnessed that there were dangerous things out there that would be coming ashore over time. Rivers to our west were creating a natural barrier because they generally ran north and south in this part of the country. The living were smart enough to block bridges just as they were in Georgetown, and the infected tended to try to walk on water, so as long as the living didn’t get caught in between, they were going to survive a bit longer.
The Chief continued when he saw that we were understanding, “Until we run out of people, we’re going to have the living and the infected arriving on Mud Island. That means we’re going to be playing god for a long time, my friends.”
I felt a bit naive for asking what I was thinking, but I had to know what the Chief and Kathy would say. So, I asked, “Do you think it would be possible for someone to live out there in the house boat with a little help from us?”
We weren’t strangers to philosophical discussions and hypothetical situations. After a month of sitting in front of the TV with the Chief, sipping on adult beverages, and talking about what could have caused the infection, we had covered plenty of scenarios. This one was new, though. We knew that sooner or later someone would take up residence in the house boat, but it was a foregone conclusion that when it happened, we would just make sure they never learned of our existence. It had never gotten far enough in conversation for us to have to consider that we were sentencing the occupants to death just by laying low. Sooner or later they would run out of supplies and die when they tried to get more. Either that, or they would die when the next occupants came along.
We also never considered what would happen if we got a bunch of derelicts in the house boat like this group. Other survivors, good people like Hampton might show up, and this group would probably feed them to the sharks.
