Still Alive (Book 4): Zombie Oasis

by Javan Bonds

  He cut his eyes at me, insulted that I would question him. “You stupid son of a shit fuck! Don’t axe me no questions. I just know, fo real.”

  I guess I really didn’t have the right to question him. Especially after everything he has pulled off. I attempted a pitiful apology. “All right man, we will head out in the next few days.”

  I stood and began walking from the room. The Oracle shot a finger pistol at me. “Bet yo ass, cracka.”

  13

  Goodbye Grey Skies Hello Blue

  PROPHECY FROM THE Book of Smokes: Return to Normalcy. At some point after the initial outbreak, there will be a return to normalcy, at least to some extent. Order will be restored, children will be born, some luxuries will make a comeback, and life will go on as it must. Main protagonists will make plans for the future and things will generally start heading in the right direction. Keep an eye out, though. The good times never last long. There may be wolves camouflaged in the flock.

  The Hero had no clue of the specific reason the gangplank had been lowered. He simply assumed Crow dropped it to make coming onto the deck easier for her girlfriend. It remained down as the entire cast of main protagonists made their way onto the Viva Ancora. Today was a special day. A happy one, for a change.

  Mo’s parents made their way onto the ship. They set out a few folding chairs. The two of them made sure they were separated by a wide opening from the front to the back. The ceremony would be perfect.

  The Tech was the next to arrive. The sound system was already installed and tuned in. He did nothing more than adjust the positioning of the speakers, test the lapel mic, and go ahead and load the selected playlist. He only wished that there were more fireworks to ignite at the end of the celebration. The city must’ve stored more of them somewhere on the island. They couldn’t have used every pyrotechnic available to celebrate the destruction of the river bridge.

  Next, The Man of God and The Medicine Man boarded the vessel. Brother Williamson wore a black suit with a silver tie matching everyone else involved in the wedding. He had performed several weddings as of late and would be performing even more soon. This was the one union of souls he was most anticipating overseeing. After meeting The Protector, Ezekiel Collins, he could immediately see that Akambiya Ngona was the perfect match for him. The preacher wished Ezekiel’s brother, Elmo, could find an equal love. He chuckled to himself. Mo would then have to convince her to marry him.

  ☠☠☠

  Mo was coming out of the bathroom, thinking he was going to be a romantic – a goofy romantic, if there ever was one. He was about to go meet Sarah at the end of her shift at TEOTWAWKI. He was going to wear the same thing he always wore and was stumbling over himself trying to think of something else to do. Should I take flowers? Fuck! I forgot there’s no more Walmart after the zombie apocalypse. Chocolates? Shit. Maybe we could go to a movie? Summbitch. Maybe I shouldn’t go. He couldn’t stop overthinking it, as always.

  He was about to turn into his room to talk himself out of going when Crow walked past him to the stairs, wearing a bright pink gown. “What the fucking hell?” She continued up the stairs as if he had not spoken. He was standing, mouth agape. “Since when does Crow own a dress?”

  “Since I gots a suit and tie, cracka.” A rumbling chuckle came from behind him. He turned to see The Oracle approaching in a suit. Smokes actually looked respectable.

  Respectable, but also hilarious. It looked like something from a cartoon. Dark purple pinstripe coat and pants were finished off with a flourish with a similarly colored bowler on the top of his head. He carried a silver-knobbed, black lacquered, silver-tipped cane and sported a bright yellow shirt with a white silk necktie.

  “You have to be fucking shitting me.”

  “Hells naw, cuz. Dis my personal get up. Ain’t no tux shop round hur wit no sense of fashion. Dis was at my crib.”

  “Thank God! I was afraid the guy at Barclays had been going blind. Is that a zoot suit or some kind of leisure suit?”

  Smokes looked disgusted. “Man, fuck you, white bread! You just wish you had my style.”

  Mo tried to ignore the ridiculousness of the situation. He looked to the stairs the cook had just gone up. “What the fuck is going on?”

  “Yo brotha’s gettin’ hitched.”

  “It’s Aka, right?”

  Smokes scoffed. “Da fuck you thank, white bread?”

  Mo smiled sheepishly, already knowing it was. “Well, maybe I ain’t the last to know.”

  The Oracle grinned. “Actually, you prolly is.”

  “I hope they didn’t expect me to dress up.” He gestured down to his T-shirt and blue jeans.

  Smokes only grunted and swung his head to the stairs. “‘Mon, mufucka.”

  The two of them topped the stairs to see a small audience gathered in rows of chairs. The Expert, Crow, and The Love Interest all stood to the left of a podium wearing matching gowns, smiling wide. The Man of God waited behind the podium with The Old Friend, the mayor, and The Medicine Man to his right.

  “Of course Bradley’s the best man. Mary’s the fucking flower girl, right?” The Oracle put his finger to his lips and quietly led The Hero to one of the back row seats. He made another quick jab. “I’m surprised you’re not the ring bearer.” Smokes cracked his neck and ignored the other.

  Easy rose from speaking to his mother in the first row and approached his position. Mo was surprised his perfect brother looked nervous.

  Mo whispered to his husky friend beside him, “Where the hell did y’all get all these fancy suits, anyway? Is there still a tailor alive? And how many suits did they have to put together to fit you?”

  The unhealthy zombie prophet cocked an eyebrow threateningly.

  “Should I be insulted that I wasn’t asked to be a groomsman?”

  Smokes sighed before smiling. “Cracka, he should be insulted you is at his shindig.”

  The Hero dropped his head, knowing he had just been bested.

  ☠☠☠

  Classical music began playing as the bride started walking down the aisle. She was led by none other than the zombie prophet. What the hell? He was just sitting right here! Mo nearly exploded in laughter. I was expecting to hear John Williams. He was taken aback by her elegance and loved the way the perfectly white dress contrasted with her mocha skin. The fact that a vat of blubber rolled beside her didn’t detract from her beauty. Shame immediately overtook him as he tried to think of anything besides his brother’s wife in her wedding dress as hot. Maybe Sarah is up for some fooling around after the ceremony is over.

  The soon-to-be-betrothed couple stood before the assembled group, facing each other and clasping hands like they were both afraid the other would slip away. Easy knew as long as he had his hands on Aka, she would always be safe.

  The pastor gestured for the group to sit before the massive bodybuilder recited his vows. “Akambiya Ngona,” he seemed to melt as he stared at her, “I love you. I loved you since the moment I met you and I did even before that.”

  Mo thought, Fucking Savage Garden.

  Music started playing gently as ambience. “You will always be perfect for me and I wish I had known you sooner. From this day forward, everything I do is because of you. If you ever want anything, just ask and I will do everything in my power to see it happens. Nothing can come between us and we will never be apart.”

  Mo whispered to Smokes, who had suddenly reappeared next to him. “Holy shit, how many more songs is he going to quote? If he says ‘I do cherish you,’ I’m going to shit!”

  The Oracle somehow managed to keep his shrill response at a whisper. “Shut da fuck up, white bread! Dis shit romantic.”

  The Hero could only respond by shrugging his shoulders.

  ☠☠☠

  The Hero face palmed when Brad Paisley’s “The World” started playing. Dear God, if this wedding gets any more corny, I’m going to need to go throw up. After Tim McGraw and Faith Hill’s “I Need You,” Rocky Lynn’s “I Love You M
ore” and “Close Enough to Perfect” by Alabama came over the speakers, he whispered to Smokes, “It sounds like they watched The Top 50 Love Songs on CMT or something. This is embarrassing.”

  The Oracle cut his eyes at him, letting him know he betta shut his cracka ass up.

  Easy half-turned to take the enormous ring from his best friend. This was the first time in recent memory Mo could remember his brother looking scared. Maybe this really is the one. I need to get her to show me how to scare him like that. He knew he would be just as scared if he did something stupid and destroyed his life like getting married. Dammit! Sarah is probably loving this goofy shit.

  The Protector slid the ring over her ebony finger. The diamond looked perfect. Almost as if it was made for her, for this moment in time. It only accentuated her beauty and Easy felt that his quest earlier today had been justified. Everything that ever happened came together to make this moment possible. The two of them had never been happier. Now they were finally one.

  ☠☠☠

  “… and you may now kiss the bride.” Brother Williamson ended the ceremony as he had traditionally ended all he had presided over. Easy plunged in to kiss his new wife deeply, passionately, and for a moment that could have lasted forever. The new Mr. and Mrs. Ezekiel Collins walked the majority of the way down the aisle, hand in hand. To the surprise of the bride, he picked her up and threw her legs over his other arm, walking just a little faster. The assembled group laughed and cheered as the newlyweds exited.

  ☠☠☠

  The Williamson girls, Crow, Hammer, and Sarah waited for the bouquet to be thrown. No one on the boat believed they would be the next to get married, but maybe the next in this core group. The flowers flew back despite the playful scuffling, and they wound up in The Love Interest’s hands. Crow made sure to say something about “motherfucking white people” as everyone congratulated her. She couldn’t wait to tell Mo!

  ☠☠☠

  “There’s food, right?”

  Mo’s mother walked up behind him. “Oh of course, Rose made everything.”

  His face fell. “You let her cook the food? Why would you do that? This is a celebration. We shouldn’t be eating fish!”

  The Hero was dumbfounded when pastries he had never heard of and an ornate wedding cake began arriving. This could not possibly be her doing. He was certain she knew how to cook almost as good as he did. When he tasted the cake, he asked no one in particular the first question that came to mind. “Is the Albertville Bakery still open?”

  ☠☠☠

  The newlyweds waved farewell and walked down the gangplank. No one was willing to be wasteful, so no seeds nor rice were thrown. That was okay with them. The couple planned to be frugal in their long life together.

  They drove away in a Toyota Camry, dragging aluminum cans behind them. The Old Friend graciously offered them the gym alone tonight. Mo almost laughed. He was giving up The Running Man to stay in a lavish suite onboard the Cora. What a sacrifice!

  14

  New Territory

  IN THE FIRST few minutes over The Huntsville International Airport, Benji could hear clear messages being relayed over the radio. There were people out there. They weren’t alone anymore! He was the only one that could hear these transmissions, so the rest of the crew had no idea.

  He quickly pressed the transmit button for his headset. “Hello?”

  “This is Gray Fox. Who is this? Over.”

  He almost squealed at the reply. “This is Azrael 2. Do you need assistance? What is your location? I’m en route to Marshall County and can provide safe transportation if needed. Over.” He was willing to use as much radio lingo as the person he was talking to.

  Gray Fox replied with incredulity, “Where are you coming from? Over.”

  The officer described his story up to just taking off from Huntsville and was surprised to discover he was talking to a person in Marshall County. The man began describing the happenings of the past month from their end.

  This was hard to believe and he couldn’t help but doubt the guy. “You mean you have an island full of people? Have you seen anybody named ‘Collins?’“

  The radio chuckled. “Son, who do you think you’re talking to?”

  It was impossible: This was one of his fairly close relatives. He knew Randy well enough and had actually spent time with Randy’s children growing up. “No way.” He could only blink in unbelievable surprise. “It’s me, Benji!”

  The older man paused before coming back. “Well hell, Benji. Mo ain’t gonna believe this!”

  Mo. Wow, his cousin was still alive. “Have you seen—” He swallowed his question with a shaky gulp. If his parents were alive, Randy surely would’ve said something by now.

  The mayor understood the question even before it was finished. “Not yet. There’s always hope son.”

  The pilot put thoughts of his immediate family to the back of his mind. He needed to focus on the present.

  “You’re in Guntersville. Got anywhere I can land this bird?”

  Mayor Collins explained that Buck Island, the island just north of the main city, featured a small municipal airport and was in the process of being cleared. It was not one hundred percent free of infected, but it was getting there. Benji had more than enough fuel to do a few flyovers, but he wanted to get on the ground and see his family as soon as possible.

  The Asian NFO offered to do a quick scan of the island and clear out any peevies his crew could see. Randy was more than happy to witness more explosions.

  The causeways on the north, west, and east of Buck Island had been gapped with mobile pontoon bridges similar to Guntersville Island, and all of the hunters scouring the island for any remaining monsters had been withdrawn. Azrael 2’s crew was given the go-ahead to send anything moving to its blue grave.

  Before withdrawing to the bridges, some of the humans left heaps of barbecue sauce in open places around the area. At a grouping of four cannibal nudists, the 40 dropped a package of death and destruction. The peevies disappeared in a ball of white and the gunner kept his sights on the scene. When the explosion cleared, he could see nothing of his targets but was humored to see only the mound of barbecue sauce. It was impossible for the sticky pile to be there, but there it was.

  The chain gun began firing on three revenants walking almost single file from their gooey find into the cover of the woods. Less than a handful of shots were fired. The waiting seemed to take hours until the infected exploded into a gaseous state and disappeared. Bullets hit them nearly square in the top of their heads and pulverized everything on its way to the ground.

  After a few more rounds and spying no movement, Randy called up. “I think you took care of business.” He chuckled as he said, “Bring her on down.”

  Benji Collins began to bring his plane down on a clear runway. As the bird dropped, Randy realized that something that big surely needed more than five thousand feet to touch down on.

  “Pull up!” he shouted over the radio. “You might not have enough runway.”

  Benji smiled. “I got this. It won’t be a problem.”

  He landed the plane smoothly and quickly. The mayor was amazed at how little of the runway the plane actually needed to land.

  The crew got out, led by their commander.

  The mayor, walking up to shake the younger man’s hand, asked, “How the hell did you do that?”

  Benji grinned and threw a thumb over his shoulder at the front of the plane. “No worries. We can land on strips even shorter with our ‘JATOs.’” The Asian pilot clarified, “Jet Assisted Takeoff. See those little rocket engines on the side of the plane? They can turn around and make it possible to land on or take off from short runways.”

  Randy nodded as if he already knew that.

  The two men conversed as they rounded the alleyway between a hanger and the small terminal. The rest of the crew and the islanders who had greeted them searched an empty bay before beginning to unload the equipment from the plane. Another g
roup of military personnel was a great addition. The aerial fortress with bombardment capability would be handy to have around, as well. The mayor was pleased.

  “Mo and Easy are here?”

  “Yep, and their mama, too. Mo went down to Birming—.” The mayor was interrupted when a starving naked blue child launched itself onto the younger man.

  Randy took a step back and drew his pistol while the monster tried but failed to sink its gnashing teeth into Benji’s exposed skin. He wasn’t sure if it was the infection or just desperation that gave the animal inhuman strength, but it was quickly wearing him down.

  Spittle flew from the cannibal’s mouth as it strained against Benji’s grasp. Its teeth gnashed inches away from the delicious flesh when three pops sounded.

  The undead shuddered and grew slack. The yellow eyes seem to lose their intensity as the pilot threw the peevie off of himself.

  He stood and brushed himself off. “Thanks,” he offered meekly.

  Randy smiled and said with a bit of nostalgia, “Just another day in the neighborhood.”

  15

  Mo Journal Entry 2

  WELL APPARENTLY IT’S going to take a few more days to get out of here than I had expected. I just had to swing by The End of the World As We Know It a few times to load up on the beef barbecue they had been grilling since receiving God’s gift of electricity. I’m really glad the island has no access to pigs and only to cows: I am deathly allergic to pork. Okay, not deathly, but if I were to eat pork you would wish that you were dead.

  For my entire life, if I ever consume even a single pork hot dog, I experienced some unbelievably painful stomach cramps followed by fiery, explosive diarrhea. Hot dogs, bacon, sausage, and even glorious ham remain off-limits to me. My options when eating fast food for breakfast are cut down to a couple of choices: a steak or a chicken biscuit. I thank God for the advent of turkey sausage and turkey bacon. I wish fast food restaurants carried that selection back when there were fast food restaurants.