“It might be nice to live on a boat for a while,” Maggie smiled, “zombies can’t swim.”
“Are you sure?” Dave asked.
“No,” Maggie smiled, “But if by any chance they can swim, I’m pretty sure they won’t be able to swim very fast.”
“I’ll tell Adam,” Dave said.
Maggie nodded.
Chapter 17
“I wish you would reconsider,” Adam said.
“I wish I could too,” Dave replied. “I also wish you would reconsider and come with us. It would be a lot easier with all of us together.”
“It would also be easier here too,” Adam smiled, “but I understand why you are leaving. I admit maybe it’s me who is making a mistake by staying, but my gut is telling me to stay. Hopefully we are both right.”
“I just hope that we both aren’t wrong,” Dave added.
“I agree with that,” Adam nodded.
Maggie and Nicole walked out of the bedroom.
Maggie was carrying a small grocery bag containing all their belongings.
Joey followed carrying Morris.
“Do you think we can take the box with Joey’s toys?” Maggie asked.
“We can try but I don’t know how long we will be able to drag them along with us,” Dave replied. “Once we get on the mainland we might have to leave them behind.”
“It will give Joey and Morris something to do on the boat until then,” Maggie smiled.
“Here I packed you some lunch,” Nicole said holding up a small bag. “It should hold you until you get the hang of fishing.”
“We can’t take your food,” Maggie protested.
“It’s only a few Twinkies,” Nicole said.
“Besides,” Adam laughed, “We have two shopping carts full of food waiting for us up at the Circle K.”
“Good luck with that,” Dave replied.
Adam laughed, “Sooner or later I’ll find a way to get them out of that store.”
Adam walked over to Dave and held out his hand.
“Good luck Dave,” Adam said as they shook hands. “I think we enjoyed having you stay at the Pelican Post more than any other guest we have ever had.”
“Even though you are leaving it in worse shape than anyone ever has,” Nicole laughed, “we are going to miss you.”
Maggie got tears in her eyes and ran over and gave Nicole a hug.
“Be careful,” Nicole whispered.
“You too,” Maggie whispered back.
“When you get to the marina,” Adam said, “Go over to Andrew’s boat and open the cabin door. Inside on the right should be a five gallon can of gas. It should keep you going a bit longer before you have to learn how to use the sails.”
“Thanks,” Dave laughed, “that should be a real circus.”
“I know you are probably going to want to go north,” Adam said, “You might want to consider sticking close to the shore line and stay out on the water until your gas gets low. That will be less ground you will have to cover on foot once you do go inland.”
“Thanks,” Dave replied, “By the way, how do you start the boats engine? I guess I should have asked you that question yesterday.”
“When you sit in the pilot’s seat, the ignition is on the lower left of the control panel. Most guys keep the key on a nail down in the cabin next to the door. If you can’t find it there, just pull the wires out from under the control panel. Touch the red and green wires and the engine will start right up.”
“That’s good to know,” Dave laughed. “How did you learn that?”
“I lost the key to my boat two years ago,” Adam grinned. “I’ll walk you guys down to the corner of the motel.”
Nicole stood at the door and watched Adam walk Dave and Maggie towards the corner of the Pelican Post.
They weren’t even out of sight and she was already beginning to feel lonely.
The last few days had been hell, but there had been something special about struggling to survive together under these dire conditions.
It was a feeling of closeness and trust that people didn’t experience by going to lunch or going shopping when things were normal.
Nicole was going to miss Maggie and Dave.
Dave walked into unit seven to retrieve Joey’s cardboard box of toys.
Dave wasn’t sure how he would feel when he went into the room.
First he thought about Carl, lying in the room next door, then he thought about the first few days on the island with Maggie and Joey.
In many ways they had been the best days of their lives. At least they had been the best days they had in the last two years.
He was glad he and Maggie had a chance to enjoy this life even if it had only been for a few days.
Only God knew what was coming next.
At least he would be with Maggie and Joey, but even that could end up being a nightmare.
Dave looked around the room, smiled and left.
Maggie was talking with Adam when he came out.
Adam gave Maggie a hug then shook Dave’s hand.
Neither of them said anything.
The silence said more than they could have expressed in words.
The unknown future weighed heavily on both of them.
Neither of them knew what the future would hold or even if there would be a future.
It was however, something neither of them could avoid. It would be what it would be.
They just nodded at each other, turned and went towards the future they had chosen.
As they walked around the corner of the motel, Maggie turned for one last look.
“Wait a minute Dave,” Maggie said before walking over to the corner of the building.
“What is it Maggie?” Dave asked.
“I wanted to see what the sailors were putting on the buildings today. That’s when I ran into Carl,” Maggie said. “I never did get to see what they were doing.”
Dave walked over behind Maggie and saw here poking around at an object attached to the side of the main building of the Pelican Post.
“Maggie, don’t touch that,” Dave yelled.
“Why not?’ Maggie asked. “I want to see what it is. Nicole thought the sailors were putting some kind of sensors on the buildings so they would know when the zombies came around. She said that way they would know where the zombies were and would come out and kill them.”
Dave grabbed Maggie by the arm and pulled her away from the object.
“Dave?” Maggie started to protest.
“Get away from that,” Dave said urgently.
Maggie looked at Dave.
“That’s C-4,” Dave said, “and that little wire is some kind of remote detonation device.
“It’s what?” Maggie asked.
“It is a very powerful explosive,” Dave said. “In fact there is enough here to level this entire building.”
Maggie jumped back and scrambled around the corner of the building.
“Did you say the sailors were putting these on all the buildings?” Dave asked.
“Yea, Nicole and I watched them for about ten minutes,” Maggie replied.
“Where else did they put them?” Dave asked.
“They put one over on the Post Office, I think they put one in the office below the cottage too,” Maggie replied.
Dave walked around the corner of the building.
Adam had just reached the steps to the cottage.
“Adam,” Dave called out.
Adam looked back at Dave, “Did you change your mind already?”
“Come here,” Dave said.
“What’s up?” Adam asked as he walked back over to Dave.
Dave led Adam to the side of the building.
“Look at this,” Dave said.
Adam studied the object for a few seconds. Suddenly his eyes lit up.
“Where the hell did that come from?” Adam asked.
“Maggie said that she and Nicole watched the sailors come through the area while we were up at t
he bridge today,” Dave said. “She said they were putting these on all the building. She said they put one in the office and across the street on the Post Office.”
“Let’s go look in the office,” Adam said looking confused.
They walked up to the office.
A large block of C-4 was sticking to the side of the counter.
Dave and Adam walked out of the office and stared over at the Post Office.
They could see the large block on the side of the Post Office near the loading bays.
“Maggie, where did they go after they left the Pelican Post?” Dave asked.
“They went down First Street and then went left and walked up Church Avenue,” Maggie replied.
Dave and Adam walked out on First Street.
Maggie followed, dragging Joey and Morris along with her.
“There were a lot of sailors,” Maggie said. “We could see them going up and down all the side streets too.”
“Over there,” Dave pointed to the side of the building that contained suites one and two.
“There are more,” Adam said pointing back up First Street.
“They have this entire block wired to blow,” Dave said. “If these things go off, there isn’t going to be much left standing.”
“Nicole said she thought the sailors were setting up sensors so they could clear out the zombies,” Maggie said, “But I thought they were up to no good.”
“If they were putting these all around the southern end of the island,” Dave said, “They will certainly eliminate a lot of zombies on this end of the island.”
“And anything else that is living around here,” Adam added.
“I don’t think they give a shit about anyone that is still alive on this island,” Dave said.
“I get that feeling too,” Adam added. “Do you and Maggie think you would be willing to make room for three more on your boat? I think I just changed my mind about staying on the island.”
Dave looked at his watch, “No problem but I would recommend we hurry.
“Why are you looking at your watch?” Adam asked.
“It’s just a hunch,” Dave said, “but my guess would be when they detonate these explosives, they will do it on the half hour or on the hour.”
“Really?” Maggie asked.
“All the movies you have ever watched. Did you ever hear someone say they set the explosives to go off at 11:43?” Dave asked. “It’s always more like they are set for 1:00 or 2:00. I know it’s not something you can rely on but it’s what popped into my mind when I saw the C-4.”
“It’s good enough for me,” Adam said. ”Let’s go get Nicole and get the hell out of here before this place blows sky high.”
Chapter 18
“But why would they do this?” Nicole asked as Adam led her and Everly down out of the cottage.
“I don’t know, but this entire area is wired to explode and I don’t think we want to be here when someone decides to set it off,” Adam replied.
“Can’t we just move the explosives over to the Post Office like we did the GPS tracker the soldiers put on Dave’s car?” Nicole asked.
“We don’t know for sure if we could find them all,” Dave added. “One block of that plastic explosive is still enough to level the motel.”
“We can’t take that chance,” Adam said. “Even if we did manage to find it all, we can’t clear the entire area. When the rest of those charges go off, there wouldn’t be much left around us. There wouldn’t be anything left to stay for.”
“It also leaves a big question unanswered,” Dave said. “Why are they doing this?”
“If it was to help us,” Maggie added, “They would have told us what they were doing. They didn’t even try to see if we were still around when they came through today.”
Adam helped Nicole and Everly off the last step.
“I was willing to take a chance on the soldiers holding the barrier,” Adam said, “but now with us finding the explosives I think we should go with Dave and Maggie."
“I don’t think the soldiers believe they can keep the zombies from getting through their barrier,” Maggie added. “It looks to me like they are planning to destroy everything when the zombies break through. If they can’t hold the island they aren’t going to let the zombies have it either.”
“I never thought about it that way,” Dave said as they walked past the corner of the motel. “Maybe that is there way of doing us all a favor. The Sergeant said if the zombies broke through that is was over. The Petty Officer said if they couldn’t clear the island that he felt no one would survive. Maybe this is their way to save us all from becoming zombies.”
“Better dead than Zed,” Maggie said.
“I’m not sure I know what that means,” Nicole said, “but I think it means we better get out of here.”
“It means better dead than being a zombie,” Dave laughed. “It’s zombie book lingo, right Mag?”
“So their way of protecting us is to kill us?” Nicole asked. “I’m glad they are on our side. I’d hate to think what they would do if they didn’t like us.”
They all hurried down Church Avenue towards the marina.
Dave and Adam started to breathe easier when they were in front of the marina.
“Get the girls on the boat,” Dave said, “I’ll get the extra gas off of Andrew’s boat.”
“Grab a few of the tools that are lying around in the cabin,” Adam said. “Hopefully we won’t need them but it wouldn’t hurt to have them.”
Dave nodded and ran over and jumped onto Andrew’s boat.
Maggie and Nicole got on the boat and took a seat near the back of the boat.
Adam couldn’t find the keys down in the cabin so he started to pull the wiring out from under the control panel.
Dave climbed on the boat a few minutes later and put the gas can on the deck in front of the cabin.
He was about to go and try to help Adam when everyone’s attention was pulled towards the bridge, two blocks above the marina.
The occasional gunshots were now replaced by what sounded like an all-out battle.
“It sounds like something is happening up at the barricade,” Dave said. “Is there a problem with the boat?”
“I’m not sure,” Adam replied, “Touching the red and green wires always worked before.”
“Maybe,” Dave started to say but stopped when all the gun fire up at the bridge abruptly stopped.
Everyone turned again and looked up towards the bridge.
“Dave, untie the boat and give us a push out away from the dock,” Adam said.
Dave hopped off the boat and removed the rope from around the post on the dock.
When the groaning sounds began to come down Highland Avenue, he quickly gave the boat a push and jumped back aboard.
The boat slowly drifted away from the docks as the first zombie appeared coming down the street from the police station.
It was only a moment later when hundreds of the creatures followed.
The massive chorus of groans began to grow louder when the zombies spotted the group on the boat.
“Adam, try touching some of the other wires together,” Dave said, “We need to get away from this dock.”
“I’m trying,” Adam said nervously.
“The barrier didn’t hold did it?” Nicole asked.
“I don’t think so,” Maggie replied. “A fence could never keep zombies away for very long. They probably pushed it over.”
“Adam, if there is a power switch on the panel try pushing it,” Nicole said. “You always forget to push the power switch.”
A second later the engine came to life.
The zombies were only ten feet away from the boat as the creatures waded out in to the water.
Maggie and Nicole sat huddled together, holding the kids tightly.
Morris had already disappeared down into the cabin.
Dave stood holding a wrench, ready to start trying to repel the first creatures that w
ere about to climb up on the boat.
Adam engaged the propellers and the boat slowly moved out into the channel as the front of the horde began to disappear under the waves.
They all sat quietly and watched the zombies swarm down over Church Avenue.
“I’m glad you spotted that C-4 before you left,” Dave said. “Otherwise Nicole and I would have been trapped in the cottage in another few minutes.”
“Look at how many there are,” Maggie said.
The two helicopters rose up from the beach as the zombies swarmed over the army’s position.
The thousands of creatures coming from the north end of the island were too much for the fence the army had erected.
After crashing through the first fence, they ignored the maze of barbed wire.
Even the creatures snared in the sharp razor wire paid little attention to their situation, they struggled forward, leaving rotting flesh and body parts behind, attached to the barbed wire.
The horde behind them crawled over their bodies, creating a bloody bridge over the obstacles.
The second fence was less fortified than the first fence and quickly collapsed.
The army’s ammunition only lasted a few minutes. Many of the soldiers never had the chance to use what little ammo they had left.
The remaining fifty men were quickly engulfed in the tidal wave of mangled rotting bodies.
It was over five minutes after the first fence had collapsed.
The massive horde began to make their way down Gulf Drive to claim the last remaining refuge of the living.
The helicopters lifted off moments before the horde reached the beach where they had been parked.
Each helicopter held half of the sailors that had come to the island from the Saratoga.
Now It Begins Page 20
