by Dan DeWitt
"But, I ... yeah, I got it."
Orpheus yelled up the chimney. "German! You okay?"
His head appeared at the top of the chimney. "Yeah. Christ."
"Get ready to move. You have any rope? Thompson's coming up."
"I'm doing what???"
German said, "I have a paracord bracelet. About ten feet, I think."
"Get it ready." To Thompson: "You. You're outta here."
"What about you?"
"Don't worry about that. I need you and German to get to the others and get the fuck off of this island. Don't ever come back."
"But-"
"Ever. Now shut the fuck up and go. We're playing with other lives now." Orpheus manhandled Thompson to the fireplace. "Watch your head."
Thompson was left with no choice but to duck into the fireplace. He put his arms above his head and tested the brick. It had cooled down just enough to touch without scalding his skin. "I hate this so much for so many reasons."
Orpheus was done with convincing him. He knelt in the still-warm ash, laced his hands together and dropped them low. Thompson placed his foot on Orpheus' hands. "On three."
When Orpheus reached three, he boosted Thompson as high as his injuries would allow. Thompson pushed off and his torso disappeared in the chimney. He grunted with exertion. "Don't stop." Thompson's shoes climbed up Orpheus until he stood on the man's shoulders.
"Grab the rope!" German said.
"Got it!"
Orpheus felt Thompson's feet disappear from his shoulders and he felt free to step away. His part was done. He positioned himself so he could look at the man's progress and also tried to avoid the downpour of soot that he was knocking free. Orpheus could make out a sliver of light between Thompson and the chimney. It was a tight fit.
"Almost ... there ...” Thompson coughed.
"Stop talking and get there. I will literally light a fire under your ass in ten seconds."
Orpheus heard German yelling as he tugged the reporter upward. The 550 cord that he used was strong, but it was thin and nowhere near as forgiving on the hands as a thicker rope would be. He'd probably lose some skin, and Orpheus couldn't even think of how much Thompson's ribs had to be screaming, but that was better than the alternative.
Orpheus saw a flurry of movement and then the full square of light at the end of the chimney returned before two heads appeared.
"Okay, now what?" German asked.
"Give me your gun," Orpheus said flatly.
"What?"
"You heard me."
German unholstered his sidearm, engaged the safety, and dropped it down the chimney. It tumbled end over end, but Orpheus managed to catch it. "When you hear me fire off a round, you tell the Rhino to come get you. They should be able to get close enough where you can just step onto the roof. Hopefully."
"What about you?" Thompson repeated. "We're not just going to leave you here!"
"Yes, you are. And you have to make my son leave, too. Do whatever it takes. I'm counting on you, Iver."
Thompson said, "This is so fucked. But yeah, I'll do it."
Orpheus meant to turn away, but something made him hesitate. It was an opportunity to atone a bit for a past error. "And fellas? Thank you."
This time, he did step away. He judged the distance from the front door to the bathroom and was certain he could make it in, shut the door, and throw something in front of it in time.
Pretty certain.
He pulled down the furniture that acted as a barricade on one window, smashed the glass with his tomahawk, and then repeated it at another window. Zombie limbs immediately reached through and clutched at nothing. His experience told him that the only way a zombie would get through a window that high was by accident, but he didn't necessarily need their entry, only their attention.
He stood at the front door and paused. Was there another way? He considered all that he'd miss. His wife. Being Ethan's best man. Seeing his grandkids.
But none of that would happen if everyone else died here, if no one was able to stop Trent from unleashing the virus again.
No, he was doing the right thing. He grabbed the bottom of the armoire and readied himself to move it out of the rut. The zombies would do the rest of the work.
"Fuck it," he said. "It's a perfect day to die."
O
The occupants of the Rhino had only just recovered from the helicopter's explosion when Fish spotted two silhouettes on the roof. He knew that one was German, and the other he couldn't make out. The only thing he knew for sure was who it wasn't. "Two people on the roof."
"Is it my Dad?" Ethan asked, hope in his voice.
Fish lied. "Hard to tell."
"Rhino!" It was German on the radio. "Get ready to get us!"
"Who's with you?"
"Thompson. He's banged up pretty bad, but tells me he can hobble."
Tim said, "We might be able to pull up to the roof."
Fish relayed this, but German said, "Negative, it's too thick. It should thin out in a minute."
"What do you mean, 'thin out?'"
German's response was worrisome, especially in light of Jameson's sacrifice. "I'm not sure, either."
A silence descended over the four of them. Each of them, in their time on their island, had acted as some sort of bait in order to improve the group's situation. It was a necessary fact of survival of the island. So each of them knew exactly what Orpheus' absence meant. It was his turn.
Ethan grabbed the radio. "Germ, where's my father?"
Silence.
"Where is he?" Ethan repeated.
"Ethan, he's ... not coming. He said you'll know what to do."
Ethan's eyes glazed over for a moment and he gently placed the radio on the dashboard. He dropped back into his seat and rubbed his mouth. He felt the cushion shift and knew that someone had sat down next to him. He felt a warm, soft hand rest on top of his.
Rachel. Strong as always. He turned his hand over and gripped hers tightly, then let he go suddenly and stood up. There was just no time to be a little boy anymore. His father would expect more from him than that. "Everybody get ready. Fish, you think you can drive this thing as crazy as you drive anything else?"
"Crazier."
"Take the wheel. Let's load up everything we have and get up top. That cabin won't hold all of them. Germ and Thompson will need a lot of support."
Tim emptied out the ammo locker as he, Rachel, and Ethan made sure that they had more loaded magazines then they could possibly carry and swept them all into an A-bag. Tim was the first on the roof, and they handed the ammo and weapons up to him.
Ethan checked his sidearm twice before holstering it. "Ladies first," he said to Rachel, distracted. She moved past him and stopped. She put a hand on his face and turned his head. He could see the tears in her eyes, and it hit him that he was far from the only one suffering right now. He kissed her on the forehead and asked, "Are you okay?"
She, not for the first time, said exactly what he would have if the question had been asked of him. "No, I'm not." She sniffled and wiped her eyes with her sleeve. "But we still have fucking work to do." She disappeared up the ladder.
Ethan grabbed the radio and told German that they were ready to move as soon as they got the signal. With that done, all that was left to do was wait. His father was preparing, Ethan had no doubt of that. He wouldn't just give up, ever. But Ethan didn't see any way out of this one. He was literally surrounded by zombies, and it was about to get worse as soon as he let them in. He was about to be completely alone on the island, with no help coming.
Ethan stood next to Fish and waited for whatever was going to happen.
Fish broke the silence. "Ethan, wherever and whenever the end of this whole thing is, no matter where it takes us, no matter how long or dangerous, we're with you. You know that, right?"
Ethan wasn't sure of much, but he was sure of that. Still, hearing it from Fish of all people caught him by surprise, and he didn't have the words to adequately
respond. Instead, he just nodded.
Ethan jumped when German's voice exploded from the radio. "Ethan! It's a go!" They both looked at the cabin and saw zombies pouring in. Dozens. A hundred.
He ran to the ladder and made it just as Fish threw it in drive and floored it. Only a good grip on the rung kept Ethan from being thrown to the floor. He righted himself and scrambled to the roof. Tim and Rachel were already engaging. Ethan wasted no time joining them.
The cabin was coming up fast, as were the two figures running toward the Rhino.
Hostages
German heard the gunshot, then another. He peered over the edge of the roof, as Thompson was already doing.
"Few more seconds," Thompson said. "Even if they all won't fit, we have to go while they're all still trying." Thompson moved to the side of the house, wanting to be as far away from the door as possible. "Wait ... wait ... now!" He didn't waste any time and dropped to the ground. German heard a yelp of pain, screamed into his radio, and followed Thompson down. The reporter had a few seconds head start, but German closed the gap almost instantly. Thompson was a mess. German took the other man's arm and slung it over his own shoulder almost without breaking stride, and they were off.
"Don't look back," German grunted. "Nothing back there but a world of shit."
"The view in front isn't much better!"
The bullets started flying and the bodies started falling all around them. One of them was damn near crippled by pain, and they had no weapons between them.
German noticed a distinct increase in effort by Thompson. The reporter grimaced and grunted with each step. "Fuck, I looked back!"
Now German was powerless to keep himself from doing the same, and he immediately saw why Thompson was suddenly in much more of a hurry. The zombies that hadn't been able to shoehorn themselves into the cabin were coming.
The pace of the firing increased. He'd seen the mini-armory on each of the Rhinos, and the number of rounds it was stocked with, which was impressive. The shooters clearly weren't concerned with killing the zombies, just delaying them long enough.
German was fine with that. All of these things would be vaporized soon enough, anyway. The island's time had come and gone.
They were close now. The Rhino bore down on them at a rate of speed that seemed reckless, even given the circumstances.
Once again, German could not have cared less.
Someone on the roof was trying to get his attention. German could make out the words ... “... ladders in the back!"
The Rhino flew by German and Thompson and dismantled a small group of the fastest zombies behind the runners. German had no idea they'd gotten so close, but the Rhino absolutely exploded them and then skidded to a stop. The two men pulled a quick U-turn and made it to the back. German practically threw Thompson at the ladder on the right and took the one on the left for himself. Zombies got close enough to claw at German's trousers before a hail of bullets cut them down.
A pair of hands grabbed him by the shoulders and practically manhandled him to the roof.
"Just lay flat," Tim whispered next to him. "We're travelling like this." Tim reached across German's body and clipped him in.
"Works ...” German coughed and tried to catch his breath. " ... works for me." He felt the Rhino backing up for a distance, then make a wide turn back onto the road. He relaxed a bit once he knew that they were clear of the zombies. He just stared up and watched the night sky pass above him. It was bitterly cold on the roof with the wind whipping over him, but it was far better than the alternative. In fact, it was damn enjoyable.
He tried not to think about the man they'd left behind, but he was probably dead already. German hoped for that ending. It was the best of a bunch of bad choices.
He eventually recognized the scenery and realized that they were near the school again, but the Rhino showed no signs of slowing down. He rolled over to his side and propped himself up on an elbow. He saw forms milling around outside the school, then make a beeline for the fences as soon as they spotted the moving vehicle. "No."
Tim said, "Yeah."
"What happened?"
"No idea yet. We should get answers soon."
German laid back down. "Jesus, this place is cursed, isn't it?"
"Now you're getting the idea."
"Well, at least there's some good news."
"What's that?"
German said, "The ferry's still here."
The Rhino drove down the dock and was met by two guards. One of the guards hit a switch and lowered the ramp, which settled in with a thump. Fish pulled the Rhino onto the ferry and the ramp closed behind them. He parked the Rhino where it was and killed the engine.
Ethan helped Thompson down the ladder, and Fish assisted him when the injured man got to the ground. Ethan was the last pair of boots to hit the deck, and by that time, Tino had met up with them.
"Wow, I thought you guys were dead meat." Before his mind could process who was and wasn't there, he asked, "Where's Orpheus?"
German responded by shaking his head.
Tino sighed. "Aw, shit. I'm sorry." He cleared his throat. "We, uh, have another problem."
"Where?" Ethan asked.
"The bridge."
Ethan exhaled hard through his nose. "Patch Thompson up as best you can." He spoke to no one in particular, but Fish and Tim agreed. Then, to Tino: "Show me."
Ethan followed Tino up several flights of stairs. "As you know," Tino explained, "they're going to wipe this island out. It was supposed to have started already, and the ferry was supposed to have been long gone before that, but all of you were still out there. Ralston's orders were specific that it was a hard deadline."
"And?"
"So someone needed to change his mind."
They had arrived at the door to the bridge. The door was locked, and Tino knocked on it. Ethan tried to look inside, but the curtains prevented that.
"Who is it?" A female voice.
"Ethan's here."
"He can't come in yet."
Ethan looked at Tino, confused. "Is that Lena?"
"And Jen."
Ethan pounded on the door. "Come on, Lena, open up."
"Can't do it, Ethan. Is everybody here?"
Ethan swallowed hard before answering. "Yeah. Everyone."
Lena spoke to someone else inside. "Okay, now we can go home."
"Then let me in."
"Sweetie, step to the window and you'll understand why."
Tino said, "They locked me out before I even knew what they were planning."
Ethan sidestepped several feet and stood in front of the window. He couldn't see inside until the curtains were pulled open. Lena and Jen were in there with two other men. One, Ethan knew, was the ship's captain. The other was Ralston himself. Both of the men sat in chairs, and Ralston's hands were ziptied in front of him. The rage pouring out of Ralston was palpable. When he saw Ethan, his face turned an even deeper shade of red. Ethan was thankful that the Colonel didn't have a gun.
The only guns in the room were in the ladies' hands. Jen had hers pointed in the general direction of the captain, who didn't seem particularly stressed about the whole thing. She lowered it and the man took his place at the helm. Jen saw Ethan and said in a cheerful tone, "Hi! We're probably going to jail."
Ethan held up his hands. "What the fuck happened here, Lena?"
"We had to buy you time. They were going to bomb the island."
"They should."
"I agree, but this asshole," she motioned to Ralston, "... was going to do it with you still on it. Intentionally. We asked for a little more time, and he said no."
"It was for the security of-"
Lena's face took on a darkness that Ethan had never seen before. She took several steps toward Ralston and leveled the gun at his face. "Shut. Your. Mouth. You were going to kill my family. My family, you son of a bitch. I won't ever let that happen." The gun moved closer by an inch or two, and Ethan was concerned that it wasn't just for ef
fect. He was afraid that Lena might actually pull the trigger. Everyone had their breaking point.
"Whoa, it's over," Ethan said. "We're safe."
"Lena, hey," Jen said. "We did what we had to do." She put a hand on her friend's arm.
Lena didn't move, but Jen had gotten through to her. Her face softened slightly. "So we stopped him. Just us civilians."
Ethan said, "I get it. But it's over now. Let me in."
"It's over when we get back to the mainland and the press is everywhere, not before." Lena walked away from the window and Ethan could hear, "Captain, would you kindly take us back home?"
Cheers
It had been a busy couple of weeks for Martin Trager. He hadn't slept more than a handful of hours in the last three days.
That wasn't a figure of speech. There was just too much to do.
He was using every available resource, lawyer, media outlet, and personal favor he could to keep the Dynamic Duo out of jail. They'd surrendered peacefully as soon as the ferry got safely to port, as promised. They were arrested immediately, and there was nothing anyone could do about that. They'd pulled guns on two men, one of them a high-ranking military official, and caused a military op (albeit, a bullshit one) to be delayed by a grand total of 98 minutes, where it was then delayed indefinitely.
However, it wasn't as bad as it could have been.
For openers, as soon as Lena and Jen gave their first interviews they rocketed to #1 and #1A on America's Sweetheart Countdown. That's how well they played to the cameras. No one could bring themselves to believe that either one of these sweet little things would have ever harmed anyone. Trager wanted to agree with that statement. But he knew Lena. If Ralston had pushed her far enough, Trager had no doubt in his mind that she would've hurt him. Trager knew that Lena believed she was living on borrowed time, anyway, so the thought of jail to keep her friends safe didn't scare her anymore. Neither one of them would've harmed the ship's captain, though, and everyone knew that, as well.
The captain himself was a gift. He refused to press any type of charges. If Trager read him right (and he usually did) the captain never wanted to leave anyone behind on the island in the first place. He had to follow his orders. So when two women busted onto his bridge and made him sit in a chair instead of leaving people behind to die, he considered that a favor. Trager was having a lot of success in using the captain as leverage against Ralston. After all, if the captain didn't take it personally, why would a stout military man be so angry about people protecting some of his own men?
