“No. I’m the only person around here who has nothing to gain or lose.” Again a slight smile. “You’re learning though. And I wouldn’t blame you if you stopped treating me kindly.”
“You don’t have to worry about that.” Windows lifted the door and stepped out. Before she closed it, she stuck her head back into the unit. “I’ll see you in the morning.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
Natalie sat on the edge of Bethany’s bed, stroking the unconscious woman’s hair. When her hand brushed across the woman’s forehead, she could feel the heat emanating from Bethany’s skin. The fever had started late in the afternoon and became progressively worse. Natalie had been sitting with her for several hours, praying it would break. With each passing hour, the fever brought with it the realization that everything they had gone through these past two weeks had been a complete failure. Bethany was turning into a rotter, which meant the vaccine had failed.
A light knock sounded behind her and Natalie saw Ari standing in the doorway.
“How’s she doing?” Ari asked.
“She’s turning.”
Ari’s mood brightened. “You mean she’s getting better?”
“No. I mean she’s turning into a rotter.”
“Oh.” Natalie could feel the enthusiasm drain out of Ari. The young woman entered the room and crossed over to the bed. “She’s not turning into one of them. She’s going into septic shock.”
“What’s that?”
“She has a staph infection that can’t be treated because we don’t have antibiotics.” Ari gestured for Natalie to move so she could sit beside Bethany. Ari slipped on a pair of rubber gloves, reached over, and carefully peeled away the adhesive tape holding the blood-soaked bandage to Bethany’s cheek. “That’s one thing we never considered with the vaccine. While we’re no longer in danger of turning, the threat of infection is now much greater. God only knows what diseases are in a rotter’s mouth.”
Ari removed the bandage. Yellowish-green pus mixed with the dried blood around the bite marks. The skin was red and inflamed. Ari sighed. “She’s going septic We’ll survive the initial bite to die a more painful death from a staph infection.”
“How painful?”
“The infection has already entered her bloodstream, which is why she’s feverish. The blood will spread the infection to her organs, which will eventually fail.” Ari poured rubbing alcohol onto a sterile gauze and used it to wipe away the pus and blood around the wound. Even while unconscious, Bethany moaned and moved her head to one side. Ari placed a hand on the opposite side of Bethany’s head, pushed it back, and continued to dab. “In the end, she’s going to suffer a lot more pain than if she just turned into one of those things.”
Natalie hovered over the two women, feeling powerless. “How do you know all this? Were you a nurse?”
“I wanted to be. I couldn’t afford nursing school, so I volunteered in a hospital to gain experience while I saved up for classes. Michelle, one of the floor nurses, appreciated my enthusiasm and mentored me. We were on duty together the night of the outbreak. Michelle died when one of the victims turned on the ER table and ripped a chunk out of her throat. I guess this is my way of paying back all she did for me.”
“She’d be proud of you.” Ari placed fresh gauze over Bethany’s wound and taped it into place.
“Is there anything you can do for her?”
“Without antibiotics, no. All we have are over-the-counter pain relievers, so we can’t even make her comfortable in her final days. And believe me, she’s going to suffer a lot over the next few days.” An uncomfortable silence followed while Ari finished taping the gauze to Bethany’s face.
“Is there anything we can do to stop her suffering?” asked Natalie.
“Yes.” Ari stood up. She dropped the soiled gauze into a plastic bag, removed her rubber gloves, and dropped them into it as well. “You’re not going to agree with it.”
“How?”
“We can put her down gently.”
“You mean kill her?”
“I mean euthanize her. Unfortunately, we have no way of doing it humanely. We don’t have morphine or prescription pain killers, so there’s no way to put Bethany to sleep.”
“So the only way to stop her from suffering is to let her go?”
Ari’s lips tightened. “Yes.”
Natalie didn’t even want to consider the possibility. “There’s no way I could do that to Bethany.”
“I wouldn’t want to have to make the decision, either. Just so long as you realize that one way or another, Bethany is not going to make it. How much she suffers is up to you.”
Ari exited the room, pausing just long enough to give Natalie a reassuring pat on the shoulder. Natalie sat back down on the edge of the bed and began stroking Bethany’s hair again, struggling with the decision about what would be best for her friend.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
A soft hand against Windows’ shoulder brought her out of her slumber. At first, she didn’t realize someone was trying to wake her because of the deep sleep she had been in, the result of not having to satisfy Meat the night before. The nudging continued until Windows stirred and groaned.
“Miss Windows, are you awake?”
“I am now.” She rolled over. Cindy knelt beside her. “What’s up?”
“Can you help me? Something happened to my mother.”
Windows sat up and threw off the folds of the sleeping bag. “What happened?”
“Something bad.”
When Windows got up, Cindy took her hand. She led Windows out of the container unit and toward the far end of the compound near the kitchen. The first rays of sunlight streaked across the eastern horizon. Everyone was still inside, either sleeping off their drunken binges from the night before or, in the case of the women, resting up after another night of abuse. Cindy maneuvered through the landscape without concern, either oblivious in her youth to the dangers it posed, or showing an incredible ability to adapt.
They reached the end of the compound. Cindy turned the corner at the end of the row of storage units and pointed ahead of her without saying a word.
Windows let go of Cindy’s hand and covered her mouth, stifling a scream.
Debra dangled from one of the light fixtures bolted into the top of the perimeter wall. One end of a rope was anchored to the fixture, the other end forming a noose around Debra’s neck. A wooden stool lay overturned by her feet.
Windows’ initial shock turned to anger. She knelt down and turned Cindy to face her. “Who did this to your mother?”
“She did it to herself.”
The nonchalant manner in which Cindy spoke the words caught Windows off guard. “Why did she commi… do this?”
“She had a fight with Meat last night. Meat told my mother he wanted to break up with her. They argued for a few minutes, and Meat told her to shut up and go back to the Clubhouse or he would see that both of us went on the Line.”
Windows fought back the urge to vomit.
“After that, Mom took me to the kitchen. We stayed there for a few minutes while she found some rope. She told me to wait there until either she returned or you showed up for work, gave me a big hug and kiss, and left.”
“You didn’t listen to her.”
Cindy shook her head. “When she didn’t come back, I went looking for her and found her like this. I figured it was bad, so I came to get you.”
Windows glanced over to the corpse hanging from the light fixture. Flies had already started to swarm around the body. She didn’t know if she should be angry at Debra for taking the easy way out, or envious that she had the courage to end this nightmare. Not knowing what to do, she clasped Cindy’s hand in her own.
Cindy reached into her pocket with her free hand and withdrew a sheet of paper carelessly folded several times. She handed it to Windows. “Mom wrote this before she left. She asked me to give it to you.”
Windows took the piece of paper. “Did you read it?�
��
“No.”
Windows unfolded the letter and began to read:
By now you’ve found my body. You probably think I’m a coward. I guess in a way I am, but I’m doing this for Cindy. I’ve known for some time that Meat was getting bored with me. Usually when one of these assholes gets tired of us, we either become gang rape fodder or are banished to the Line. I couldn’t let that happen to Cindy. When you came along, I saw the chance to provide for her safety. Meat likes you and will take good care of you, in his twisted way. He always protected Cindy from the others when he was with me. I’m hoping he’ll do the same for her now that he’s with you. Please adopt Cindy as your own and take care of her. Always tell her I love her. And no matter what you think of me, please don’t bad mouth me to Cindy. I would say God bless the both of you, but I stopped believing in Him when I got to this place. So instead I’ll wish you the best of luck.
Windows could barely read the last few sentences through her tears. She refolded the letter and shoved it into her back pocket.
Cindy squeezed her hand. “It’s okay to cry. I used to do it all the time when I first got here.”
Windows ran her palms across her face. “Why don’t you cry now?”
“Why bother? It doesn’t do any good.” Cindy paused for a second. “Who’s going to take care of me now?”
“I am, if that’s okay with you.”
Cindy nodded her head and hugged Windows tight. “I’d like that.”
Windows wrapped her arms around the girl and gently rocked her, outwardly showing strength. Inside, however, fear gripped her. She knew the degrading things Debra had done to protect Cindy, and wondered if she had enough courage to do the same.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
The knocking on the cabin door roused Natalie out of her restless sleep. She ran her hand across her face and rubbed her tired eyes. Twisting her neck from one side to the other, she felt the muscles strain. A deep yawn escaped from her mouth, and she opened her eyes to see Sandy standing in the doorway.
“Is it shift change already?” asked Natalie.
“Nope. Emily wants you to come to the bridge.”
“Oh, fuck.” Natalie shoved herself out of the chair by Bethany’s bed. Her arms were so tired she almost fell back into the cushions. “What now?”
“This is something you’ll want to see.”
Natalie followed Sandy. The sun had risen and sat low on the horizon, nearly blinding her when she came on deck. She stumbled, trying to see through squinted eyes, and banged her shin against a deck chair. By the time she reached the flying bridge, her eyes had adjusted to the light.
Ari stood behind the wheel, with Emily standing to the left holding a pair of binoculars. Natalie moved in between them. “What’s up?”
Emily pointed straight ahead. “That.”
A massive container ship floated two miles in the distance. “Big deal. It’s another derelict. What’s so special about it?”
Emily handed her the binoculars. “See for yourself.”
Natalie lifted them to her eyes. The container shop had run aground on a sandbar, with approximately one hundred feet of its bow lodged onto the sand. A Coast Guard cutter was tethered to the vessel’s starboard beam near the stern. She saw no signs of movement, either living or living dead.
“I don’t get it.”
“That container vessel didn’t get hung up on the sandbar because it was adrift. It had to have been moving at a pretty good speed to run aground like that. And that Coast Guard cutter has fuel lines running from the container ship, which means there’s probably fuel aboard one of those two ships.”
“Thank God. What’s our situation?”
“We’re practically riding on fumes, honey.”
The fuel situation had been precarious for most of the trip. They had been fortunate in finding a fueling station on an isolated portion of Nantucket that allowed them to fully replenish their tanks. However, after that it became hit or miss. Every station they stumbled upon had been infested with rotters, forcing them to siphon off what little fuel they could scavenge from derelict small boats. Finding the container ship was fortunate. Now, if only their luck held and it still had fuel on board.
Natalie scanned both the container ship and the cutter, panning their decks for anything unusual. Corpses, dried blood smears, debris, evidence of a battle, anything that might provide a clue as to what happened to the men aboard the two ships. Yet everything looked normal, which bothered her. Nothing was normal any more.
“What do you think?” asked Emily.
“We’re limited in our options.” Natalie lowered the binoculars. “Do you know how you transfer fuel from one ship to another?”
“I do. We’re going to have to go below deck to do it.”
“Shit.” Natalie thought for a moment. “Go get the Angels, and have them bring their weapons. I want to make certain we’re ready for anything.”
“Sure thing, honey.”
Emily rushed off to get the Angels, and Natalie went back to studying the two vessels. A large access hatch sat open on the starboard beam of the container vessel, about fifteen feet above the cutter’s main deck. A large hose draped over the bottom of the hatch, dropped down onto the cutter, and wormed its way along the deck before disappearing behind the superstructure. She couldn’t see any movement aboard either vessel and, as far as she could tell, both were deserted.
A few minutes later, Emily returned with her M-16A2 slung over her shoulder. “The rest of the girls will be here shortly.”
“I don’t get it. Why would the Coast Guard just abandon one of its ships?”
Emily shrugged. “Maybe one of the engines broke down. Or the crew transferred to a larger vessel. Who cares as long as it has gas?”
The rest of the Angels came topside just as Ari cut back power and maneuvered the yacht alongside the Coast Guard cutter’s access ladder. Emily grabbed one of the dock lines and moored the yacht to the cutter. Ari shut down the engine, and everything went quiet. Natalie listened for the telltale moan of rotters. The only sound came from the water slapping against the side of the yacht.
“Ari, you stay here and be prepared to move out if anything happens. We’re going on board.”
Emily placed her hand on Natalie’s shoulder. “Why don’t you stay here within Ari and make sure everything is okay topside? I’ll take care of things aboard the cutter.”
As much as she wanted to be involved, Natalie knew Emily was right. Emily knew about ships and how they operated, and could handle this. Natalie would only get in the way and slow things down as the Angels looked to her to give orders. Reluctantly, she nodded her approval.
Emily boarded the cutter. One by the one, the Angels followed.
Ari saw the concern on her friend’s face and leaned closer. “Don’t worry. They’ll be fine.”
“I know.” Deep down she thought, I hope you’re right.
* * *
When the Angels had gathered on the cutter’s main deck just aft of the superstructure, Emily motioned for them to move closer. “Chances are this ship is abandoned, but I don’t want to take any chances. Stephanie and Josephine, you’re with me. The rest of you stay here and keep your eyes open. If anything happens, start shooting and we’ll come running.”
The rest of the girls spread out, and Emily led Stephanie and Josephine across to the port side of the superstructure.
“Do you think this is safe?” asked Stephanie. “I mean, just the three of us going below?”
“We don’t have to go that far.” Emily pointed to the hose. After emerging from the container vessel, it snaked around the cutter’s superstructure before disappearing into an open hatch. “If the fuel tanks were below, those hoses would have gone through a hatch on deck. What we want is right behind this bulkhead.”
Emily raised her M-16A2 and inched her way along the superstructure, the other two Angels close behind. She paused by the open hatch long enough to take a deep breath to steady h
er nerves, and then centered herself in the hatchway. She exhaled audibly. Turning to the other women, she gave them a thumbs up and entered. Stephanie and Josephine followed.
Four large fuel tanks filled the space, two on the port side and two starboard, the fuel hose attached to the tank on the far end. Removing a flashlight attached to a wall mount by the hatch, Emily switched it on and walked along the line of fuel tanks to port. She bent over to check out the first fuel gauge.
“Empty.”
She moved down to the next one.
“Empty.”
She crossed over to the starboard tanks.
“Empty.”
“Fuck,” mumbled Josephine. “This was a waste of time.”
Emily stood in front of the last tank and grinned. “No, it isn’t.”
“You’re serious?” asked Stephanie. “It has fuel?”
“More than enough.” Emily made her way back to the women and offered a flirtatious wink. “Ladies, get ready. We’re about to be pumped.”
* * *
It took less than twenty minutes to make the preparations. Emily followed the fuel line along the deck, finding a segmented break just underneath where the hose exited the open hatch in the container vessel. Unscrewing the connection, she dragged the hose onto the yacht and attached the lose end to their own fuel tank. Leaving Stephanie aboard the yacht with a two-way radio to let her know when they were full, Emily went back aboard the cutter and switched on the generator that powered the pump. It made an unbearably loud noise and disrupted the calm of the ocean. None of the Angels cared. It was worth it to see the pulsing of the hose transferring fuel into their yacht.
Emily and Josephine were standing in front of the pump and fuel tank checking on the process of the transfer when Sarah stuck her head through the open hatch. “I’m going to check out the rest of the ship and see if there’s anything worth salvaging.”
Rotter World (Book 2): Rotter Nation Page 13
