by Bob Howard
"Not only that," I said. "Check this out." I pointed at the man in the cage. "Any chance we could help him out?"
"Oh, wow," said Kathy.
Tom and Bus came in and saw all the bright lights and the commotion around the cage. They moved in for a closer look, but no one said anything. It wasn't that we didn't feel a sense of urgency. We simply didn't know how we could help the man.
Bus asked, "Could we go up through the tunnels and then get to a safe spot where we can pick them off one at a time?"
"That would be my best idea," said Kathy, "but none of us has a clue where a safe spot would be. There are so many of the infected up there that we wouldn't be any better off than those other people were. We can't just run around until we find a safe spot."
"I have an idea," I said. "Watch this."
I keyed the intercom switch and then tapped three times on the microphone. Almost every infected dead turned in the same direction. I keyed the switch and tapped again, and the rest of them turned toward the sound. Some began to move toward the right side of the screen.
Kathy said, "You're a genius, Eddie. I'm going to go get Olivia. We can have her talk into the intercom while the rest of us go out through the tunnel. That cage looks like it's close to the exit down by the docks. I think we can get up on top of the walls where the infected won't be able to reach us. After we've cleared enough of them, we can get that guy out of the cage."
"That reminds me," I said. "Did you check Olivia for bites?"
"She understood completely," said Kathy. "I talked with her while she ate, and when we went to get her cleaned up, she insisted that I check her. She said she didn't want you guys doing it." Kathy smirked just enough to make us all a bit uncomfortable.
"Let's get going," said Tom. "I'd rather do this in the daylight, but I can't stand the thought of that poor guy out there."
Kathy went to get Olivia while the rest of us got our weapons ready. We didn't have a large amount of firepower, mostly just surplus M-16's. We all preferred them over the more powerful rifles because the ammunition was so small. We were able to bring more with us on this trip, and it would be easier to take more up the ladders to the exit.
When Kathy got back with a sleepy looking Olivia, dressed in navy blue coveralls just like ours, she showed her what we had seen on the monitor. She woke up fast when she saw the brightly lit fort and all of the infected dead walking around. She woke up even more when she saw the man in the cage. With fewer of the infected surrounding it, we could tell it was an African American man, and there was no mistaking that he was scared out of his mind.
"That's Chase," said Olivia. Her voice sounded pained. "Oh, my Lord, that's Chase Kennedy. I saw him around the College of Charleston and talked with him a couple of times. He's a nice boy. We've got to help him."
Olivia looked at us with pleading eyes. Even though we had already rescued her, she didn't know us well enough to know that we weren't the kind of people who could just ignore someone who was in trouble.
"That's why Kathy woke you up, Olivia. We need you on the microphone so we can have four guns up there instead of three. You ready to help your friend?”
Olivia enthusiastically got herself situated in the chair at the console and listened when Kathy explained the plan. We wouldn't need more than fifteen minutes to climb up to the landing by the door, so we synchronized our watches with Olivia and told her when to begin talking to the infected dead. We would wait five more minutes to allow her to get them all moving away from the cage, and then we would do our thing.
Our goal was simple. We would try to remain out of sight until we got to the top of the walls, and then we would start shooting. Hopefully, we wouldn't run out of ammunition before we ran out of targets, but we had packed our bags with everything we could carry.
We left Olivia at the microphone and ran off at a trot for the tunnel to the surface. As we expected it didn't take us long to climb up to the landing at the door. I could hear my heart pumping in my ears as we got ready to go outside for the second time.
When fifteen minutes passed, Olivia began talking into the microphone. We didn't know for sure what was happening on the other side of the door, but we were hoping the infected had begun moving toward the sound of her voice.
Five more minutes went by, and Kathy quietly opened the door. Tom had his rifle up to be able to shoot quickly if there was anything at the door when Kathy opened it. It was considerably brighter on the surface with the floodlights on, and we could see a set of worn steps that went to the top of the ramparts. They were steep enough and didn't have a railing, so anything that might follow us up there would be easy to knock back down.
Kathy pointed at the steps, and after closing the door, we moved in single file. We had to pass the opening to the main entrance, and as we went by we caught a glimpse of the dock where the tour boats used to arrive. It was deserted now. The boats had either left or drifted away, and the infected had wandered around until they fell over the sides.
As we climbed up the steps, we heard Olivia more clearly over the speakers on the other side of the fort. The infected were being drawn away toward the sound that promised them more living people to attack.
"Everyone spread out along the wall," said Kathy. "Single shots only, and try to work your areas so we don't double up on one. We need to make the ammunition last, so let the others know if you begin to run low. Ed, you have the steps. Keep one eye in that direction and watch for anything trying to come up here with us."
As we were getting into our positions, Tom said, "I wonder why none of the people in this fort tried to make a stand up here."
Bus said, "I think I know why. They were shooting each other. In the dark they were shooting anything that moved. When they got done shooting each other, they got back up and began biting the ones who were still alive. If we had turned the lights on sooner, they may have been able to defend themselves against the infected."
"Okay, everybody pick your targets and make your shots count," said Kathy. "Get the ones that are closest first and then wait for the others to replace them."
The first volley of shots was almost one sound, and it dropped four of the infected. After that the shots were spaced out, and it sounded like a string of firecrackers. The infected dead began turning from the sound of Olivia's voice and coming back toward us. There was no way to tell how many there were, but it looked like the first days of the apocalypse when I had watched the television feed that showed their steady advance toward the fenced in radio station. The big difference was that back then they would be replaced as they fell, but inside the fort they would have no replacements.
I kept glancing to my right to be sure none were coming up the steps, but they weren't getting that close yet. We were all hitting our targets, but I think we all had a bad moment when it felt like there were too many for us to kill them all. They may not have had replacements coming from some hidden army of infected dead, but it sure did seem like it.
Olivia helped by yelling into the microphone. Some of the infected turned back toward the speakers in search of the voice, and that helped to thin out the crowd that was advancing toward us.
We had a bit of a problem when they began passing the cage where Chase was trapped. Even though we were being careful with our shots, we didn't want any mistakes to be too close to him.
"Shoot anything that's moving in the direction of the cage," yelled Kathy. "Let anything that's already in line with the cage get closer until you're almost shooting down at it."
We switched our targets as Kathy said and began preventing more of the infected from getting close to the cage. The ones that had already passed it were getting closer to our position, but we would deal with them when we had to.
******
The Chief saw Fort Sumter light up like a Christmas tree, but against the black sky behind it, the lights were even brighter. He slowed the forward motion of the boat until he was just coasting. A pair of binoculars would at least allow him to figure
out if the lights were turned on by friends or by the occupants of the fort. At this distance he couldn't tell what was happening.
The boat bobbed on the water as the Chief tried to spot any activity. He thought he saw someone jump over the wall and fall to the rocks below, but he wasn't sure. He knew he had to get closer, but he didn't want the wrong people to hear the boat approaching.
The feeling that he was alone came over him slowly at first, but then there was a feeling of certainty. The Chief turned toward the stern and saw the empty bench seat. There was a short set of steps that led down to a tiny cabin in the bow, but he knew without looking that she couldn't have gone down there. He knew the only place she could be was in the water. He turned the wheel and let the idling engine just rotate the boat in one spot.
The Chief didn't need a degree in Psychology to know what he had done. He only needed to know how people think when they're in denial. He had deliberately kept his back to Allison for a long time, and he knew he had done it to give her the opportunity to take matters into her own hands. She knew there was no going back either way. If she went to Fort Sumter, she still wouldn't live long enough to see her daughter again. In the mean time, she would be a danger to her friends. She also knew there would be no going back if she jumped into the dark water while the Chief was speeding across the harbor. He wouldn't have been able to help her even if he spotted her in time, but at least she would eliminate the threat she would become.
He stopped idling in a circle and faced back toward the city of Charleston. Somewhere back along the path he had taken, Allison had done what any of them should do if they were bitten. Love wasn't enough to beat this infection, but it was enough to keep others from being bitten. The Chief silently hoped Allison had the chance to show her love for her family and friends by doing it herself, but he would never know for sure. He thought of the many bumps over swells and quick turns on the wheel and knew she could have fallen over the side whether she was alive or dead, and he also knew if she hadn't done it on her own, he would have eventually done it for her. Either way, it was done.
The Chief didn't know how long he stayed in one spot. The wind was calm, so he sat in the boat and let the feel of the swells comfort him. He was always more at home on the water, and for at least a while he needed to feel at home. No infected dead, no people, and no responsibility for a few minutes. He only gradually became aware of the popping sounds from the fort that had to be made by guns. He had no way of knowing if it was good news or bad news, but he couldn't stay where he was if his friends needed his help. He turned the boat toward the fort and increased his speed.
As the Chief drew closer to the fort he could see that the dock was abandoned. Whoever was doing the shooting inside didn't have a means of transportation once the shooting was done. That meant his boat had just gone up in value.
******
The infected were mostly coming our way. They either lost interest in Olivia's voice, or they were more attracted to the sound of gunfire. It didn't matter which it was to us as long as we were able to keep dropping them fast enough. We were practically shooting straight down, and the infected had been passing the cage without showing the least bit of interest in Chase. To his credit, he was smart enough to get low to the ground and to stay very still.
Olivia could see that she had lost her audience, and she was shouting four letter insults at the infected as if it would make a difference. She even tried singing to them, and when that didn't work, she switched to ugly mother jokes. Under different circumstances she would have had us all in stitches.
The bodies were piling up in front of us so fast that we had created a barrier, and the infected were having to crawl over them. As we shot the ones that were crawling, it became more and more difficult for the ones in back to advance. The result was that they began spreading toward the edges of the horde. I saw the infected dead that were going around the left end where Tom was shooting, but for some reason I didn't look to the right. I just kept alternating from shooting the crawling infected to shooting the infected going around Tom's end.
There was a groaning sound to my right that reminded me of the very first time I had heard that sound. I had spent the night in a tree, and it seemed like the infected dead had spent the night waiting under the tree.
I was in a prone shooter position sighting on the head of an infected dead that was trying desperately to reach the top of the pile of bodies when I heard the groan, and it was too close. I saw my mistake immediately, and the infected was already reaching for me while my rifle was pointed in the wrong direction. It had gone around the pile of bodies on the right side and managed not to fall over the edge when it came up the steps. I heard Kathy screaming to look out, but there was no way any of my friends were going to be able to bring their rifles around fast enough to save me.
I tried to roll away from the grotesque creature that was so close that it was literally going to fall on top of me, and I tried in desperation to bring my feet up into its stomach as it fell forward. I guess I planned on hurling it backwards, but these were recently dead people. They weren't emaciated and paper thin like most of the infected dead we had seen recently.
When my feet made contact, and the infected dead began to fall with its full weight against me, it felt like it weighed a ton. My legs bent at the knees as its face came straight at mine. Then the weight was gone.
I didn't even realize the force of it landing on me had made me shut my eyes for a split second. It had driven my feet so far into me that my knees had knocked the air out of my lungs. My eyes were shut for a split second, but when they opened, it looked like the infected dead had learned how to fly. I watched with fascination as it seemed to rise in the air on its own power.
There was a second flashback in that moment. I remembered when I had finally come down out of the tree on that first day, I had become tangled in the thick bushes along with an infected dead. Neither of us could move, and it was trying its best to reach me. Just when it managed to free itself and moved in for the kill, an alligator had grabbed it from behind and dragged it away.
I had a split second expectation that an alligator had grabbed the heavy infected dead and pulled it off of me, but the last thing I expected was to see a mountain of a man dressed in Navy coveralls holding the infected dead straight up in the air. The Chief only rotated slightly at the hips and threw the infected so far that it landed beyond the barrier of bodies. It immediately began to crawl back toward us.
"If you aren't using that rifle let me borrow it for a minute," said the Chief.
I heard Kathy, Tom, and Bus cheering behind me, but I was so dumbfounded I just held my rifle out to him. The Chief gave me that big smile we all loved to see and turned back to the stairs. He pulled the trigger several times, and the result was a pile of bodies at the bottom of the steps.
There are few words to describe what it felt like seeing the man I had come to know standing above me taking aim at the infected dead below. It was a crowd, but it was growing smaller in size with every shot. He had effectively blocked the steps with bodies, so those that came around the main kill zone to the steps were no longer a problem.
My other friends resumed firing, but as I reloaded their magazines for them, I saw they were as wide-eyed as I was. All except Tom. I noticed he kept glancing over his shoulder toward the long dock that extended away from Fort Sumter. From the wall where we had made our stand, we could see the entire dock, and there was one boat tied up at the very end. We could also see there were no other passengers in the boat. Wherever Allison was, she had not arrived with the Chief.
Kathy would shoot three or four times and then look at the Chief. I saw her eyes were wet and she looked like she was holding her breath. Bus hadn’t made the connection yet about Allison not being there, but he would soon enough. He loved her as if she was his own daughter, and he was likely to think the Chief brought her back in one piece. He stayed focused on his targets, but he looked as if he wanted to laugh because he was so h
appy.
The Chief caught me glancing at him with a questioning look, and his smile was still there, but I caught the brief nod he gave me. It was a silent acknowledgement of the obvious. Allison didn’t make it. I returned the nod, and the Chief went back to work.
Olivia’s voice continued to taunt the infected dead even as the last of them were falling. The popping shots from the rifles decreased until no one could find another target, and then it was quiet except for the voice. Olivia couldn’t see anything moving anymore, so the speakers went silent, too.
Below us and across the entire area of the fort were bodies. If we could see the rocks along the walls down by the waves that splashed against Fort Sumter, we would see a similar scene. The gang that had controlled the surface of the fort had been far more numerous than we had known, and that was why we had won.
A smaller force might have been able to kill the infected that had appeared amongst them, but the large force was so congested that it had quickly become a raging mob of bitten victims. They turned quickly because they were attacked by so many of their comrades at once. There were no lingering deaths to allow the living to strike back in time. The arrogant leader of the gang had learned he was no more safe than his followers, and with no one to rally them into a defensive stance, they were as feeble as sheep inside a fence.
All of us gradually stood from our places along the wall to face the Chief. Kathy almost knocked me over getting to him. She passed her rifle to me, not even waiting to see if I had taken it and was hugging the Chief with everything she had. I could tell from behind her that she was sobbing because of the way her back was heaving between her shoulder blades.
There wasn’t much room for us all to stand next to each other on top of the wall, but I managed to get the Chief’s huge hand in my own and shake it behind Kathy’s back. Tom and Bus both needed their turn, so I eased past them along the wall to let them by. Bus shook his hand and gave him a sad smile, and I could tell Bus had come to the same realization that Tom had earlier. He stepped back around Tom to where I was standing, and gave Tom room to face the Chief.
