They watched as the zombies claimed the rest of Anna Maria Island.
“Johnson,” Petty Officer Davis ordered. “Hand me the radio and switch it to frequency 0537.”
“Yes Sir,” Johnson replied, handing the Petty Officer the radio receiver.”
The Petty Officer held the radio in his hand and lifted the receiver to his mouth.
“Saratoga, this is the away team, come in please.”
“This is the Saratoga,” the voice responded, “please hold for the Captain.”
A moment later, “This is Captain Richardson, please report Davis.”
“Operation ‘Conversion’ complete, Sir,” Davis replied. “I can verify that all went as expected. It was all a bit unnerving if I don’t say so, but the desired results were achieved. They were unstoppable.”
“Glad to hear that Davis,” the Captain replied.
“The area has been contained and there are no survivors. We are ready to begin the recovery phase on your command,” Davis said.
“The appropriate press releases were issued this morning. It appears all has gone well on both ends. Begin at your discretion,” the Captain replied. “Return on course 170. The sanitation operations will begin after your return.”
“Will do, sir,” Davis replied, “over.”
Petty Officer nodded at Johnson, who began to flip switches on the panel in front of him.”
Adam began to guide the boat out into the center of the channel.
The group all started to calm down after their close call.
Adam left off the throttle and turned to join the others in looking back at the island as the explosions started.
The first sounds of explosions began to come from the southern end of the island.
Then they began to get closer.
The sounds and dark clouds of smoke worked their way up the island.
The group watched in silence as the explosions moved northward.
They all looked at the distant view of the back of the Pelican Post as the buildings began to drop out of sight, replaced by bright flashes and then black smoke rising into the sky.
Adam and Nicole looked on in a stunned silence.
The explosions continued until the entire southern end of the island was engulfed in smoke.
The line of explosions stopped at the Cortez Bridge.
“Shit!” Adam exclaimed. “This is unbelievable.”
A moment later another chain of explosions sounded.
They all turned in time to see the entire Cortez Bridge drop down into the channel in front of their boat.
Only the tops of the draw bridge could still be seen as the top ends of the ramps protruded ten feet up out of the water.
“Get us further up the channel before something else blows up,” Dave said.
“I’m glad we decided to get off the island,” Nicole said. “I guess it was good to know if we would have stayed, at least we would not have turned into zombies.”
Adam laughed nervously, “I’m glad we left too but I’m still not sure the end result will turn out much better.”
“What would your books tell us to do next?” Dave asked.
“I don’t know,” Maggie replied quietly, “This never happened in any of my books.”
“Now what?” Adam asked.
Dave looked up and down the channel. How about we go up the channel and anchor the boat in the shade over near the far shoreline and take a break. I think I could use a Twinkie.”
“A Twinkie?” Maggie exclaimed.
“That sounds good to me,” Adam said. “We better eat them before someone blows them up.”
Adam anchored the boat about a mile up the channel.
Everyone was nervous as the boat sailed over the remains of the Cortez Bridge.
They felt relieved as they left the bridge behind, worried that one of the charges hadn’t gone off when the bridge fell into the channel and would go off under their boat as they crossed above the bridge.
They were eating their Twinkies in a stunned silence when another sound grabbed their attention.
They looked at each other in confusion.
“Now what?” Maggie said.
Suddenly three jets dropped down out of the sky and thundered towards the island.
A new wave of explosions began.
They started at the northern tip of the island and moved south.
As Dave and Adam watched, the entire island was soon engulfed in smoke.
All that seemed to remain was a dark pillar of smoke where the island had been.
Dave knew the island still had to be there, you couldn’t blow up and sink an island.
Buy all any of them could see now was a massive cloud of smoke hanging over the water where Anna Maria Island had been.
“Where the hell did those jets come from?” Dave asked out loud.
Maggie’s eyes lit up, “This means there is still someone left besides us.”
“The army did say they were expecting help to arrive,” Adam added, “Unfortunately they were about an hour too late.”
After remaining in the shadows for another hour, Adam started the boat and began to move north up the channel.
They hugged the coastline using it as a guide.
Anna Maria Island was now a distant memory, except for the smoke that still rose into the sky way back in the distance.
When it began to get dark, they anchored the boat about a mile offshore.
“You guys go below and try to get some rest if you can,” Dave said. “I’ll take the first watch.”
“I’ll stay up here with you,” Maggie said. “There is no way I’ll be able to sleep until my head stops spinning.”
“OK,” Dave said. “Honestly I could use someone to talk to.”
“Nicole, would you mind keeping an eye on Joey?” Nicole asked.
“Sure,” Nicole answered. “Maybe if I count kids I might be able to get some rest.”
Dave and Maggie moved over and sat on the deck of the boat with their backs against the cabin.
The others went below deck.
Dave and Maggie snuggled together as they watched the night sky darken.
Soon the stars started to break through.
“There is the first star,” Maggie said. “They say if you make a wish when you see the first star in the night sky, that wish will come true. What are you going to wish for?”
“I’m afraid to make a wish,” Dave replied. “The last thing I wished for turned out to be a nightmare.”
“Then I’ll make a wish for both of us,” Maggie said.
“What did you wish for?” Dave asked.
“I can’t tell you,” Maggie whispered, “because then it won’t come true.”
“God help us all,” Dave said and pulled Maggie closer to his side.
After a few minutes Maggie looked at Dave.
“What are we watching for?” Maggie asked.
“I don’t know,” Dave replied. “Just keep an eye out for anything unusual.”
“It’s going to be a busy night,” Maggie smiled.
Chapter 19
Dave and Maggie sat on the deck of the boat.
The cold air coming in off the water made them shiver.
But the cold air was enough of a distraction that Maggie soon dozed off.
Dave continued to watch the stars twinkle in the sky. It reminded him of the many nights he spent staring up into the sky when he was a kid, wondering if there was anything out there. Was mankind alone or were there others out in the galaxy trying to contact us.
Dave thought to himself, “Life has changed since he was a kid, but in many ways the questions remained the same.”
The stress from everything that had happened today finally took its toll on Dave and he drifted off to sleep.
The sun was shining brightly this morning. Dave could feel the warmth of the sun’s rays on his face.
He was starting to become aware of where he was, when someone shook his shoulder.
<
br /> Dave opened his eyes and saw Adam standing over him.
“Good morning,” Adam said.
“If you say so,” Dave replied still not fully awake.
“I thought you were going to wake me up in the middle of the night so I could take my turn standing watch?” Adam asked.
“Sorry,” Dave replied. “It was so quiet out here. I felt the boat rocking in the waves and was going to just close my eyes for a few minutes.”
“It’s OK,” Adam smiled, “We all needed the rest. I didn’t think I was going to be able to fall asleep last night. The last thing I can remember was hearing Nicole snoring and then I was out.”
“I don’t snore,” Nicole protested as she came up on deck, “that was Morris.”
“You probably heard Maggie snoring,” Dave smiled and looked down at Maggie still sleeping on the deck next to him. “Are the kids still asleep?”
“Yes, so keep it down,” Nicole replied smiling. “Let me enjoy the water and sunshine before I go back on duty.”
Dave stretched then stood up to look out over the water.
“I’ve never been out on a boat before,” Dave said. “It’s kind of nice.”
“It’s been a while since I’ve been out,” Adam said. “We’ve been so busy working at the Pelican Post that we haven’t had much time.”
“That’s something you won’t have to worry about any more,” Dave added.
“Yea,” Adam smiled sadly, “but I’m sure there will be other problems coming up to keep me busy.”
Suddenly the song, ‘Who let the dogs out’, started playing.
Dave looked around confused.
Adam reached in his pocket and pulled out his phone.
“It’s my phone!” Adam said looking surprised.
“I thought your phone wasn’t working?” Nicole asked.
“It wasn’t,” Adam replied.
“Maybe you should answer it,” Dave said.
Adam swiped across the screen and held the phone up to his ear.
Maggie was now awake and stared at Adam holding the phone up to his ear, waiting to see what was going on.
Adam finally lowered the phone and laughed.
“What was it?” Nicole asked.
“Apparently Carl had his calls from home transferred to the Pelican Post,” Adam smiled, “It is our answering service. He got two messages. Well actually he got three messages but the connection went dead before the third message started.”
Adam laughed, “I wonder who showed him how to transfer his calls?”
“What messages did he get?” Maggie finally spoke up.
“Was it the vet calling to tell him his squirrel was overdue for its rabies shots?”
Adam laughed, “You’re close. The first message was the landlord letting him know if he didn’t pay his rent by next Friday, he was going to be evicted.”
“That’s not funny,” Nicole said.
“His second message was some girl with a sexy voice,” Adam smiled. “She wanted to know if his squirrel wanted to come over and play.”
Maggie giggled then smiled sadly, “Poor Carl.”
“It seems strange that you got a call on your phone,” Dave said. “I know it was just an automated service, but over the last few days your phone was totally dead.”
“Since we got a call in,” Nicole said, “see if you can make a call. Try calling your mother.”
Adam lifted his phone and pulled up his contact list and tapped on his mother’s picture.
He put the phone to his ear and listened.
After a minute he put the phone back in his pocket.
“I swear it rang once but then a message came on saying the call couldn’t go through, try again later,” Adam said. “I didn’t expect anyone to answer but I’m surprised to even get any kind of message.
“It was worth a try,” Dave sighed, “but it was just probably a few automated systems that are still active. They will all probably be dead in another few days too.”
Adam put the phone back in his pocket, “I should probably just toss this thing in the Gulf but I guess I’ll keep it until the battery goes dead. Who knows,” Adam smiled, “Maybe we will still get to listen to get Carl’s third message.”
“What do we do now?” Maggie asked.
“I guess we go north,” Dave said. “Once we get up past Tampa we can start to look for somewhere we can go ashore. The population isn’t as dense up that way. Hopefully we can find someplace where we can safely hold up for a while until we see how things are inland. What do you think, Adam?”
”Sounds good to me, I guess we will just figure it out as we go,” Adam replied, “If you would help me hoist the sails. There is a nice breeze this morning and we should try to save our fuel.”
“Good idea,” Dave said as he got back to his feet.
“Maybe Maggie and I could fish while you guys sail the boat,” Nicole said. “We could have fish for lunch.”
The boat moved along in the brisk morning breeze.
Nicole and Maggie fished off the back of the boat as they moved along the coast.
Soon Joey and Morris joined in.
When Everly got up, Nicole held Everly and guarded the bucket of fish from Morris, while Maggie and Joey did the fishing.
The next hour was an enjoyable time as they moved north.
It was almost enough to make them forget about the last few days.
Dave and Adam, as they watched the others fishing, even joked about how much easier it looked than their last trip up to the Circle K.
Dave and Adam were sitting at the control station guiding the boat when “Who let the dogs out” started blaring again in Adam’s right front pocket.
Adam laughed, “I guess we are going to see who Carl’s third caller was.”
“I bet it was another nut,” Maggie shouted, “anyone want to bet me?”
“Not me,” Dave laughed.
Adam laughed as he pulled the phone out of his pocket and swiped across the screen.
He held the phone up to his ear.
“Mom is that you?” Adam asked, “Are you OK? Where are you? I’m glad your call got through, the phones have been out now for a few days.”
“What do you mean you’re at home and where did I think you would be?” Adam repeated, “I was worried the zombies got you.”
Adam listened for a minute and didn’t say a word.
“The zombies almost got us a dozen times, they smashed the Land Rover, busted up the Pelican Post, then the army blew up the Pelican Post……..” Adam listened again for a minute.
“Where am I?” Adam repeated, “I’m on a boat out on the Gulf.”
“I don’t know whose boat it is. It was in the marina and we needed a boat so we took it,” Adam replied. “Mom, Mom,……hold on,”
Adam looked at Nicole and held out the phone.
“It’s Marie, she wants to talk to you,” Adam said sounding annoyed.
Nicole grinned and reached out and took the phone.
“Hi Mom, its Nicole,” she said into the phone.
“No Adam hasn’t been drinking,” Nicole grinned as she looked back at Adam.
“He didn’t steal the boat,” Nicole said, “the owner was probably dead and we needed a boat to get away from the zombies.”
Nicole looked at Adam and shrugged her shoulders.
“We’re not high on anything,” Nicole laughed, “Mom, the phone is beeping. I think the battery is going dead, I’m losing you. Stay at the house, if there aren’t too many zombies maybe we can get back to the house. Mom? Mom? The phone is dead.”
“She sounded like she was crazy,” Adam said.
“How are the phones working all of a sudden?” Dave asked.
“I don’t know,” Adam replied looking worried, “but I’m glad they are. But now that I know my mom is still alive and I know where she is, I have to try and go get her.”
“As crazy as she sounded we might need a big net,” Nicole replied, but she also looked c
oncerned. “But we have to try and save her before something happens.”
Adam looked at Dave.
“Dave, this is Tampa Bay to our right. I’m going to guide us into shore and try to find a place where Nicole and I can go inland,” Adam said. “I don’t expect you to come with us, but we have to do this, it’s my mom. I have to try and save her.”
Dave looked at Maggie, she nodded.
“We don’t have anything else to do,” Dave smiled. “Besides, I don’t know how to sail this thing. I think it would be better for all of us if we stayed together. If your mother has been able to survive where she is now, maybe that would be a good place for all of us to go. That is if you don’t mind us coming with you?”
“God, I would love for you guys to come with us,” Adam smiled looking relieved. “I didn’t know how I was going to manage by myself.”
“What do you say we anchor here and I’ll make us fish for lunch?” Nicole asked. “I’d hate for these fish to go to waste.”
“Sounds great,” Maggie said. “Besides it might be some time before we get to eat again.”
Nicole used the propane stove in the boats cabin to fry up the eight fish they had managed to keep from Morris.
They talked while eating lunch.
“If we can get safely ashore somewhere along the coast here,” Adam said, “we would have about thirty miles to travel on foot. With any luck we can make it in two days.”
“Maybe we could find a car once we got inland,” Dave said. “With any luck we could reach your mom late today.”
“Don’t count on that,” Maggie added, “the highways will be jammed with abandoned cars. In all of my books, when they zombies attack, the cars can’t move and everyone gets out to run for their lives. They just leave their cars abandoned on the highways because they can’t get through all the traffic.”
“Maybe that is another thing your books got wrong,” Dave replied. “So far they have had more wrong than they got right.”
Now It Begins Page 21
