‘I’d almost reached the gates of the marina when I saw Mac get out and come after me. I could tell he was infected by the way he was moving, and I knew I wouldn’t be able to outrun him. I stopped and unloaded half a clip into his chest. He barely slowed and I realised he was still wearing his flak jacket. I aimed more carefully, popping a round in his head, dropping him instantly. I still can’t believe I killed him ...’ David’s voice faded out.
‘Anyway,’ David started speaking again after a few seconds, ‘I finally got back to the boat and took it out as soon as I could. Once I was away from shore, I turned on the FM radio and listened as things kept getting worse and worse. Eventually, I figured the best thing to do was to find somewhere to hole up and wait this thing out. I’d been down here before, years ago with my family, and from what I remembered, it had pretty much all I’d need to survive. As I travelled south, I ran into a few other boats and we eventually formed our little group, and that’s how I ended up here with all these people to look after.’
‘It sounds like you were lucky to get out when you did.’
‘Yeah, I guess so.’ David stared at the deck of his runabout. ‘But then why don’t I feel like I’m the lucky one?’
I looked at him. He had a sad smile on his face, his eyes slightly out of focus. ‘Anyway, it’s good to finally meet you and I guess I should leave you to it.’
I watched as David motored across the harbour and saw him rubbing his eyes with his hand. Given what Jack and Kathy had told me, he hadn’t been quite what I was expecting. Yes, he was a bit gung-ho, but he seemed to be willing to work with the community and, regardless of his views, he was clearly trying to think of what was best for the group as a whole and not just himself. That, I thought, could only be a good thing.
Chapter Eleven
We’d been in Hope Town almost a week when Jon and I took our newly acquired runabout out for its first proper spin. Jimmy came with us for something to do and he brought along his new friend, Jeff. The weather was perfect and the Sea of Abaco was like a mirror. We decided to head offshore to try to catch some tuna as it would make a change from the smaller fish we could get closer to shore.
I was still learning about the local waters and particularly the treacherous passes that led east through the islands and reefs to the open ocean. To help with this, we picked up Andrew as we passed his boat. Andrew was dark-skinned and stocky, with short hair and a sparse, stubbly beard. Having grown up in the Abacos, he knew the waters well and could show us both the safe routes through the reef and the best places to find big fish out on the ocean, like tuna, bonita and even marlin.
Andrew was about the same age as Jon and the two of them hit it off from the moment they met. In Andrew’s company, Jon’s previously hidden sense of humour rose to the surface, revealing it to be intelligent and razor-sharp. Andrew’s story was unusual. I didn’t know how he’d ended up there, but I’d heard he’d survived for two days locked in a small hut on the end of a dock as a horde of infected tried their best to get in. I was amazed he’d remained sane, and I wasn’t sure I’d have done the same if I’d found myself trapped like that.
Once out of Hope Town, I opened up the throttle and felt the runabout lift out of the water until we were skimming across it, leaving a deep, white wake behind us. This was the fastest I’d travelled since leaving South Africa and I found it unexpectedly exhilarating. It’s amazing how much you miss things you used to take for granted, things like going faster than you could ever possibly move without a powerful engine.
Just outside the harbour, we saw David. I waved and he slowed down, indicating he wanted to talk.
‘What are you guys up to?’ David smiled as he spoke.
‘We’re heading out to do some fishing. What about yourself?’
‘Been getting some conch.’ He gestured to the bottom of his boat where a dozen large shells lay in a jumbled heap.
‘Not bad going. You see any infected?’
‘Yeah. There were some on the beach at Lubbers and there’s a couple of drifters clinging to a plank of wood down around Tilloo Bank. Other than that, it seems pretty quiet.’
‘You deal with the drifters?’
‘No, they’re far enough away that they shouldn’t cause us any problems and I didn’t want to waste the bullets. We’ve only got so many and there’re better things we could use them for.’
I knew he was thinking about his plans for taking back some of the land, but I didn’t want to get drawn into it, so I ignored the last part. ‘If we end up down that way, we’ll keep an eye out for them.’
With that, we let the boats drift apart and I restarted the engine. As soon as we were back up to speed, I turned to Andrew. ‘What do you make of David?’
‘He’s an odd one, but he’s nice enough. He’s a bit obsessed with taking on the infected, but I think he’s mostly harmless.’
‘That’s pretty much the impression I got. Jack doesn’t seem to trust him though.’
‘Jack’s just worried about him trying to take over.’ Andrew scratched his head thoughtfully, ‘It did seem that way at first but it’s calmed down now, especially since you guys arrived.’
I glanced around to make sure Jeff wasn’t within earshot. ‘Kathy and Dan don’t like him much either.’
‘Yeah.’ Andrew thought for a second, ‘But maybe it’s just a clash of personalities. Kathy and Dan are very laid-back, new-age hippy types, and David’s a bit … well, a bit uptight; a bit too military for their liking. You know what I mean?’
Once Andrew pointed it out, I could see why David wouldn’t get on with Dan and Kathy. They had very different views of the world and they’d easily rub each other up the wrong way.
Within an hour we were through the narrow passage between Elbow Cay and the next island down, and were far out into the deep blue ocean. Andrew pointed to some black specks, no bigger than dust motes, dancing against the sky. Using the binoculars, I could just make out a patch of ruffled water below them. As we got closer, the specks resolved themselves into frigate birds. I watched them swooping down to catch the small fish which flung themselves into the air to escape the tuna that were attacking from below. Within the mêlée, spotted dolphins chased flying fish as they glided above the waves, in a vain attempt to evade the pursuing predators.
We set the lines and circled the feeding frenzy. Within minutes, Andrew had hooked a large yellow-fin tuna. The fish dashed back and forth in a desperate attempt to escape, and it was almost half an hour before it was alongside the boat. Once it was there, Jon and I leant over the side and manhandled the struggling animal on board, while Jimmy and Jeff watched from the bow.
I could now see it properly for the first time, its torpedo-shaped body glinting in the sunlight, the yellow streak along its side contrasting with the dark of its back and the silver of its belly. Its mouth gaped for air, and every now and then it beat its tail rapidly against the bottom of the boat, as it tried to flip itself back into the water. I looked up at Andrew. ‘What do we do now?’
Andrew pulled out a screwdriver from his back pocket and knelt down beside the fish with one knee pinning it to the deck. ‘We do this.’
As he spoke, Andrew drove the tool deep into the animal’s brain. It struggled for a second and then went still. Andrew held the head over the side of the boat and severed the gills, letting the blood that spilled from them fall into the water. When the flow finally stopped, he slit open its belly, removed the guts and cast them over the side. Finally, he took some water and washed out the empty body cavity before cleaning his hands in the sea.
‘You guys think you can handle the next one?’ Andrew looked at us questioningly. Jeff and Jimmy hung back reluctantly while Jon glanced at me before answering confidently. ‘Yeah, I can do that.’
I wasn’t so sure. While I’d caught plenty of fish before, none of them had been anywhere near this size and the strength of its muscles meant it was capable of giving you a painful slap if you weren't careful. Yet, this wa
s one of the many things I’d have to learn to do in order to survive in the world I now found myself in.
After four hours, we had three large yellow-fins in the bottom of the boat. At well over fifty pounds each, our catch would feed almost everyone in the Hope Town community for a day or two.
‘What now?’ Andrew turned to me and Jon.
I didn’t know about the others but I was getting hungry. ‘Why don’t we find somewhere we can cook up a tuna steak or two?’
‘Sounds good to me.’ Jon turned to Andrew, ‘Got any ideas of where we could go?’
‘I think I know just the place,’ Andrew replied. I let him take the wheel and we headed back towards the islands.
Once we’d returned to the sheltered waters of the Sea of Abaco, Andrew took us over to a small island. It lacked tall vegetation and the beach was only revealed at low tide so we could see it was clear of infected. Andrew nosed the runabout onto the shining white sand and I set foot on land for the first time since Hole-in-the-Wall. It felt so good and yet so wrong. Within a few minutes, we’d collected enough driftwood for a small fire and were cooking up thick slices of tuna. While we waited, I cut some more into thin strips of sashimi and ate it raw.
After we’d eaten our fill, I lay back with my eyes closed, enjoying the sun and the gentle, afternoon breeze blowing off the ocean, while the others chatted.
‘What d’you do before all of this happened?’
Given how much time they’d spent together since we’d arrived in Hope Town, I was surprised Jon hadn’t asked Andrew this before now. Then I thought about it. I hadn’t asked anyone about this either, not even Jack or Dan. It had somehow become taboo to talk about life before, almost as if none of us wanted to be reminded of how things used to be. We were gradually making peace with the world we’d been thrust into, and recalling memories of past lives only made it more difficult.
‘This and that,’ Andrew replied. ‘I worked out at the airport some of the time, and helped out at one of the marinas in Marsh Harbour when I wasn’t working there.’
‘The one you got trapped on?’ Jeff knew Andrew’s story as well as the rest of us.
‘Yeah.’ Andrew sat up, pulling his knees to his chest, ‘It’s amazing. Until a few weeks ago my biggest worry was putting someone’s luggage on the wrong plane.’ He paused, lost in thought for a few seconds. ‘I was out there when things finally fell apart around here. People had known something was going on for a while, but they didn’t know what. There were rumours about some new disease in Haiti, but that was all a long way off. Then we heard it had gotten into the US inner cities and people started to panic.
‘The airport was bedlam. Well, it was always bedlam, but it was worse than usual; hundreds of people crammed into the small room where the check-in desks were. Lots of Americans were trying to get home. I don’t think they knew why; they just felt they needed to be closer to family and friends, where they’d feel more secure. Some of the locals were trying to get out too, figuring no matter what they’d be better off in the US. It was just like when a hurricane threatens and everybody tries to get out at the last minute. But at least with a hurricane people know what they are running from.’ There was a touch of anger in Andrew’s voice.
‘There were only a few planes left to take off and people were starting to think they wouldn’t get out. Whenever there was a boarding call, everyone in the room would surge forward and the airline people had to push them back, to stop them spilling out onto the runway.
‘Then across all the other voices, I heard an American shouting at the girl behind the ticket desk. He was yelling about how it was important he got out, that he had to get to a doctor. He was waving a large bundle of dollar bills. The girl told him there were no tickets left, but he just kept yelling at her.
‘Then someone tapped him on the shoulder. As the American spun round, he looked so angry I thought he was going to explode. Then he realised the guy was holding out a ticket. It cost him a thousand bucks, but he was just happy to be getting out. He barged his way to the door and out onto the tarmac. Once there, he seemed to calm down. As he walked over to the plane, he started dragging his feet and stumbling as if he was drunk. When he was waiting to climb the steps, I saw his head nodding forward as if he was about to fall asleep. Once on board, I saw him through the windows shuffling down the aisle and slumping into a seat in the last row. As the plane taxied to the end of the runway, I wondered what was up with him.
‘Suddenly something happened at the back of the cabin. People started squirming in their seats, trying to look over their shoulders. Others were standing up and turning round. The plane moved forward, and the people who’d got up started to scuffle.
‘As it passed me, a hand slammed against the last window, leaving a blood-red print. Further forward, a young woman was banging on the glass, a silent scream of terror on her face. Then something spattered across the windows at the back and the angry American struggled to his feet. He threw his head back, his mouth wide open and I could see blood dripping from it. He was waving something around. At first, I couldn’t work out what it was.’
Andrew stopped and looked down. ‘Then I realised it was a child’s arm.
‘In a second the plane was past me. I stared after it as it rose out over the bush and banked to the left, not quite believing what I’d seen. When it reached the point where it should have levelled out, it just kept turning. It took a moment for me to realise it was heading back to the airport. It came closer and closer, and I could see it was going way too fast to land safely, so I turned and ran. I made it into the car park before it hit the runway and burst into flames. The left wing smashed into the airport building showering it with fuel. It finally came to a stop about fifty feet down the runway. I was sure no one could have survived. There was sort of whump sound behind me, and I turned to see the airport building was on fire too and people were pouring out to escape the flames.’
Andrew took a deep breath as if steadying himself before he carried on. ‘Then a figure appeared against the flames. I couldn’t tell whether it was a man or a woman. When it leapt from the plane, I saw it was on fire, but it didn’t seem to notice. It sprinted towards the nearest group of people. One of them stepped forward to help, but instead they were attacked and pulled to the ground. I could see blood spurting everywhere. It was like nothing I’d ever seen before.’
‘No one knew quite what to do. One of them tried to pull the burning person off, but they were attacked too. That was all any of the people on the runway needed to see and they scattered. The attacker left its second victim and chased down another. When that one had been brought down, it went for a fourth, but before it could get there, it finally succumbed to the flames and collapsed. While the first person it attacked was clearly dead, the last two writhed on the ground for a few seconds before going still.’ Andrew looked away towards the horizon as he relived the events in his mind.
‘I assumed they’d died. I think everyone did and they started to gather round. There were probably about twenty people there when the ones on the ground began moving again. They leapt to their feet and started attacking anyone they could catch. All the people running around seemed to confuse them and the attacks didn’t last long; just long enough to bring the person to the ground. Then they’d be onto the next.’
Andrew turned to look straight at us. ‘That’s when I knew I had to get the fuck out of there. I tried my car first, but I’d left my keys behind one of the check-in desks. I wasn’t going to go back for them, so I just started running. I kept looking over my shoulder, back at the burning airport, but I didn’t see anyone following me. As I ran I could see others driving in the opposite direction, going to see what had happened.
‘When I was almost half-way back to town I heard a car coming up fast behind me. I’d seen it going the other way a few minutes before. It screeched to a halt. I took the hint and I leapt in before it raced off again.
‘The driver looked at me. “Andrew?” I recognis
ed him from the marina. He was one of the cetacean research people; one of the guys that used to run around in the boat you scavenged. As he drove, the guy spoke rapidly. “The people out at the airport, they’re attacking each other, ripping each other to shreds, I only just got away.” He stared into the rear-view mirror. “But I think they followed me, they’re heading this way, maybe a couple of hundred of them. They’re acting more like a swarm than people. I think it’s the virus, the one from Haiti. It’s here. We need to get out of here.” I clung on as we skidded round a corner, the car almost tipping over from the speed. He ignored the stop-light and shot straight across the junction, causing others to brake sharply. When we reached the marina, he pulled up. Not knowing what to do, I got out and he sped off down the road.
‘No one at the marina seemed to know what had happened, or what was happening. They could see the smoke twisting up from the airport, but that was about it. But I knew what was going on and my only thought was to get off the island as quickly as possible. I knew there were keys for some of the boats in the marina office, so I went in there. I was just trying to break open the drawer they were kept in when I heard people shouting. Then I heard screaming. Through the office windows, I saw people running and I knew the infected couldn’t be far behind.
‘I ran outside and looked up the road. There was a solid mass of people running straight at me. The sight rooted me to the spot and all I could do was stare. The infected swept along the road, chasing people, attacking them, bringing them down and then moving on. I saw children, old people, men, women — anyone who couldn’t run fast enough — just get swallowed up by the horde. I heard their screams as they were ripped apart.’ Andrew glanced around.
‘I recognised faces both amongst those who were killed and amongst the infected. These were people I knew, some I’d known all my life. I couldn’t believe all this was happening here. To me. Then I recognised another face. My mom, running as fast as she could. I called out, but she couldn’t hear me over all the screaming. Suddenly, a little boy appeared in front of her and she stopped. I ran forward, worrying she was going to be attacked, but before I could get there she tore into him, blood dripping from her face as she bit him again and again.’
For Those In Peril (Book 1): For Those In Peril On The Sea Page 16
