Adrift

by Trimboli, TJ

  “Whoever kills this man will get first pick of the land in my oasis!” Kendra shouted.

  From behind, a stocky, top heavy Mexican with a thin mustache like chocolate milk, bear hugged Morris. The knife dropped from his hand. A woman left her son by the side of a stranger running in to grab the knife. A third man, a teenager no older than eighteen, raced in with his shiv to shank the defenseless Morris.

  Kendra gripped her meat cleaver stalking in to end this once and for all.

  Morris’ face went purple, his bones crunching under the weight of the beast that had ensnared him. She was less than two feet away from him when he kicked his head back with all his might fracturing the monster’s orbital bone.

  He let go of Morris instantly grabbing at his face.

  People gasped as it became clear his eye socket was hanging on his cheek.

  Kendra picked up her stride coming down at Morris as the teenager did.

  Morris parried her blade but took the shiv straight on against his stomach. The teenager struck with lightening quick speed stabbing him a total of four times before Morris kicked him away. He pushed Kendra away with the force of his blade tucking his elbow in as he did colliding it with Kendra’s face.

  She fell back, blood seeping from her nose. Two of her followers approached to check on her and she shoved them away. Now she was angry. She stormed at Morris.

  The woman who leapt for the knife finally reached it but was met with a running knee from Morris as he pivoted to take the teenager head on. She was unconscious before her head hit the floor.

  The teenager ran head on slicing like a fencer at Morris’ chest. Morris stepped back countering each one. His back was to Kendra. She dove at him, blade out.

  At the last nanosecond, he grabbed the teenager by his wrist pulling him towards Morris.

  He ducked out of the way, as Kendra’s blade tore into the boy’s throat. She ripped it out pushing the teen away. Blood sprayed everywhere as the kid collapsed. She swung back at Morris swiveling to meet his parry. Their blades met and she swung a haymaker with her left connecting with Morris’ temple.

  He stepped back dazed, but she kept on him. Slicing and dicing at every body part, she charged, but he was too quick evading each and every one.

  Kendra could see that he was drawing her in. He spun the knife in his left hand so the blade was directed right at her stomach. She continued her onslaught with her meat cleaver reaching behind her back with her left hand. She had a shiv tucked away in her back pocket that she gripped.

  Morris’ back was almost against the glass pane doors. He blocked an overhead swipe, countered an uppercut swing, exposing her stomach wide for him. He grabbed her wrist rotating it a hundred and eighty degrees snapping it. He crested his other arm upward swinging the blade towards her throat.

  She seized her opportunity ramming the shiv upwards blocking his arch stabbing directly into his carotid artery. The knife slipped from his hand. She jammed it further in, as far as she could muster. Morris spasmed, pushing himself free. His blood caked her face crimson. She watched him fall back against the door sliding down the length of it leaving streaks of blood on the glass. He was dead before he hit the ground.

  No one uttered a word. The arcade music was all there was to break the terror in everyone’s eyes.

  She looked to the footbridge catching Richard’s glare from the shadows. “Find us a way out, and let’s finish this!” she shouted.

  The lamp beside her exploded. She ducked back against the sparks. All around the room lights exploded. Lights burned brighter than they ever intended to, causing smoke to burn from its bulb before exploding. The arcade machines short circuited, their screens exploding sending debris flying in every direction.

  People ducked, screaming for their lives as chaos ensued around them.

  “People! Calm down. The power is over charging from too much juice too quickly. It’s okay.” She was cut off as an explosion of epic proportions ignited in the restaurant beside her. The explosion lifted her off her feet throwing her through the glass windows of the gift shop opposite her.

  Fire burned forth from the restaurant. People raced out from its door burning to death, screaming in agony as they slowly cooked alive.

  Panic set in as everyone tried at once to break down the bullet proof doors.

  Kendra came to, shrugging the shards of glass off her robe. She peered around at the carnage around her. If she didn’t do something and quick, they would all burn to death in this hallway.

  “Listen up!” she shouted at the top of her lungs.

  All eyes turned to her.

  “The plan has not changed. Find me a way out of here.” She turned to the dozen or so inhabitants trying to break down the door. “All of you search for whatever liquid we can find and try and fight back these flames. We don’t need to put it out but we need to keep it at bay long enough for everyone else to find an escape. Move.”

  Everyone kicked into motion. The fire roared from the building igniting chairs, couch’s, planters, anything in its vicinity. It would take a miracle to get them out of here alive so she sat, mere feet away from the flames, and she prayed waiting for her sister to answer her call.

  CHAPTER FORTY-TWO

  TRENT

  He stumbled then fell, then fell and stumbled, over and over, as he scoured the ship. For what, he did not know. In fact, he knew very little anymore. The alcohol numbed every single one of his senses and he could barely make out what was happening two feet in front of him. His vision blurred as if he wore glasses all his life and now lost them. His hearing came in waves as if a grenade detonated inches away from him. He walked like the ship was rocking back and forth in a storm. He hung onto a railing in the corridor thinking that last one may just be true. He squinted to see where he was going. He couldn’t tell if the blinding white light that encompassed his vision was real but it stung his eyes forcing him to constantly hold one hand over his brow.

  In his left hand, he double fisted two bottles of merlot. One was nearing completion but the second had yet to be uncorked.

  His lips were stained purple from the near constant swigs of wine. This was the third bottle he had consumed in under an hour and he had plans to polish off many more.

  Tonight is the night. He kept telling himself.

  He would finally accomplish his mission and drink himself to death. It was better off that way his brain would tell him. He had caused nothing but heartache for his dearly beloved and terror for everyone else. He sent a priest to his God and countless others he couldn’t remember.

  He took a large swig of the merlot finishing it off. He threw it against the wall shattering it into pieces. He laughed maniacally.

  A figure came into view on the other side of the hallway. He could barely make it out but the large variations in his depth perception made the figure look like slender man. He crept towards it.

  As the figure came into frame, he saw the red bow tie, the black slacks, the white button down with black vest over it. His mind had deteriorated well past the point of no return but the man’s image would be forever seared into his psyche.

  Noah grinned at him before hightailing it up the stairs.

  Trent pulled out a corkscrew gripping it between his middle and ring finger.

  “I’m coming to get yah!” He cackled like a hyena racing after the figure.

  CHAPTER FORTY-THREE

  BOBBI

  She sat in awe of the bright smile strewn across the kid’s face. It had been ages since she last saw someone truly happy and the wonder in the young girl’s eyes at the sight of light again, filled her heart with glee. It made all of her struggles worth it. Her face reminded her of Kevin’s. The bright, sunny disposition the young boy always had that was taken from her police department way too soon. It warmed her heart to know this young girl wouldn’t suffer the same fate.

  Still, they weren’t out of the woods yet. They needed to make it back to land first and even then there was still no guarante
e this girl would get a happy ending but if that were the case, at least the girl would get one last moment of happiness before it all came crashing down.

  Radio static filled the room.

  “Bobbi?” Xao’s voice echoed through the speaker built into the console.

  She grabbed the walkie off its perch. “Yeah, Xao. I’m here.”

  “You did it. Power is back, lights are on. We’re back in business,” he sang.

  “Have you heard anything from Morris?” She hoped.

  “Nothing. None of Kendra’s goons have showed up though, so his plan must have worked.”

  “Let’s hope it works a little while longer. We still got a ways to go.”

  “How’s the kid?”

  “Fine.”

  “Alright then, let’s get down to it. I’m charging full steam ahead. There should be a sequence of buttons that will light up as I pull the lever to the speed we want. As each one lights up, push it. The engines should start pumping, kicking the motors into gear. After which, this baby should start kicking it into high gear.”

  She looked over the panel. There were dozens upon dozens of buttons. She hoped Xao knew what he was doing because she was operating in the dark down here.

  “It’s going to be tough going Bobbi. The seas are angry as hell tonight. This storm isn’t gonna let us go without a fight. Once we get moving, you need to get up above, somewhere safe. With all the holes and open doors on the bottom levels, there gonna fill up with water real quick, got it?”

  “Got it.”

  “Alright, here goes nothing.” His voice clicked out.

  Bobbi waited. A whistle roared from somewhere overhead, steam pouring out of it. She stared at the console board ready to play the best game of Simon says possible. A moment later, the first button lit up. She pressed it and the thrum of the engines kicked into overtime. They were building up speed she hoped. It sounded like the engines were going to tear right out of their place setting and take flight.

  The second, third and fourth buttons lit up in lightening quick succession beside each other. She kept pace with them pressing each one a half a second after they lit up. This continued for another minute or so until it quickly cut out. The engine continued its roar.

  She waited for another button to ignite and was caught off guard by the forward momentum of the ship. She lost balance tumbling over. She regained her composure listening for the movement of the ship. With the rocking of the waves, it was barely discernible but it was there.

  They were moving.

  “We’re moving. We’re fucking moving!” she shouted jumping up for joy.

  The little girl stood watching her, a grin running from ear to ear.

  Bobbi grabbed the girl lifting her into the air and for once, the kid made no attempts to run. She let herself be swept up. They spun and danced, happiness filling every one of her bones. It was a long shot that this plan would ever work but they did it. They got this boat moving again and now, she would know for sure. They all would. They would either confront the zombie apocalypse head on or discover the world was better off than they imagined. She prayed for the second option but knew it would land somewhere more in the middle.

  “Heewoo!” Xao, shouted over the walkie. “Can you believe it! We’re moving. We’re really moving. It’s happening. Its—”His voice cut out.

  Bobbi put the kid down running to her walkie. “Xao?”

  Through the speakers, they heard glass shatter. The kid took off for the vent. Bobbi was too far away to stop her. She could only watch as the kid leapt up onto one of the dormant engines jumping her way up into the vent.

  “XAO?” she shouted into the walkie.

  Static blared through the speaker with only one sentence forcing its way through. It was enough to kick her ass into high gear right behind the little girl. Through the speakers, she heard it again and again, as she disappeared up into the vents.

  “I will eat you alive.” It was Trent.

  CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR

  KENDRA

  Her prayers were answered twenty minutes later. Her dedication came massively close to folding when she felt the ship kick into motion but she held true. She sat, inches from death staring out the portside window at the storm encompassing them. Rain fell a mile a minute but it was impossible to see. Where they finally had light, the outside world had none. They had stolen it.

  If it wasn’t for the flashes of lightening every minute or so, they wouldn’t even know the real world was out there. It seemed like they were stuck in a box. A floating box coasting an endless sea in every direction but still she prayed. She clutched her rosary beads in her hands running her fingers over every square inch of the necklace.

  Her virtue was true and conviction was second to none. She knew her sister would answer her call. She had to. As far as Kendra was concerned, she was owed that much. If it wasn’t for her, God would have disappeared with the lights and humanity would have stood no chance. But it did, thanks to her. She’d seen to the survival of the human race, the survival of the church of her sister’s keeper. It was all thanks to her. She would not burn here in the fires of hell. That was Bobbi’s plight and she would enter it by her hand.

  Richard slithered out from the shadows, smooth as a cucumber, too calm for the situation he was currently in. He took a seat in front of her kicking his feet up on the small wooden coffee table in front of him. “I think it’s time to hang up the phone. No one’s answering,” he said in reference to her prayers.

  She put the beads back around her neck. “You don’t seem too nervous for a dead man.”

  “What makes you think I’m a dead man?”

  “I’m not an imbecile Richard. I sent you to do a job. You being here, tells me just what I need to know. There’s no escape.”

  “At the moment no, but one may soon present itself.”

  “And how do you see that happening?”

  “Patience,” he said, words flowing off his tongue like he was the coolest cat on the block.

  “I’m tired of being patient. My entire life has been about patience. This life, my new life, is about action.” She howled.

  “Did I ever tell you about the summer I spent building homes with my dad? I was in tenth grade and was running around with a bad crew. Not bad-bad, but let’s say, bad enough that it would lead me down a road I couldn’t pull a U-ie on. I was ditching school, smoking weed, drinking booze, having the time of my life. Then I got somebody pregnant. My dad, he made us get an abortion, the girl was all too willing to co-operate. She didn’t want the kid either but right then and there, my daddy knew I needed a change. So he signed us up and that summer he and I drove down to Louisiana to build homes for the less fortunate.” Richard pulled out a pack of cigarettes, probably one of the last on the ship. He pulled out two from the pack wetting the filters against his lips.

  Kendra just shook her head staring at him.

  He got up walking to the flames, igniting the two cigarettes perfectly. When he returned, he slipped one into Kendra’s hands, right between her index and middle finger and continued his tale, “It was a good thing he did too. That summer, the guys I was running with decided to get in a little deeper and pushed drugs around. Unfortunately for them, they weren’t the only runners in the area and some harder guys came calling, one of my friends was carrying, probably thinking he was some kind of bad ass. They all died,” he said savoring each and every drag of his cigarette.

  “Why are you telling me this?” She wondered as she pulled her own drag. The rush of nicotine through her body felt euphoric. She trembled in her seat.

  “I learned a lot of things that summer. I learned a lot about people. The good from the bad, the smart from the dumb. Bobbi is both and that makes her dangerous but it also makes her an ally when the need arises.”

  “And you think that time is now?” she asked sucking down another orgasmic puff of her cigarette.

  “Look around. We’re still many, many miles from shore and she needs this sh
ip. Land is no good to her if this boat goes down.”

  “Which it will, if we don’t put the fire out.” Kendra smiled firmly understanding Richard’s meaning. “She’ll have to come and tend to the fire. She needs it out as much as we do. Richard you’re a genius.”

  “Though she can let it burn and we could still all be long dead before she decides to put it out. Sure, the smoke has a lot of space to fill but eventually the inhalation will still get us.”

  As he spoke, she saw him eye a set of support beams behind her that held up the restaurant. They were the only wooden beams built into the foundation as the walls had been torn down during the initial explosion. They were burning and pretty soon would collapse.

  He stood up walking around the length of the chair he sat on stopping behind it. Placing his arms on the headrest, he softly patted the leather.

  “So what do we do to get her to put the fire out before it kills us?” she asked.

  “Fortunately for us, there is one more thing I learned building houses that summer that may come in handy.” He effortlessly picked up the chair launching it over her head. It slammed into the support beams snapping them in half, the chair disappearing into the flames.

  Kendra jumped back just as the roof of the restaurant collapsed. The entire room above them fell to the floor trapping the fire beneath it. She could see the flames beneath the rubble gasping for a way out. She turned amazed to Richard, he was still full of surprises.