by Damon Novak
We were headin’ to Key West, and that was all there was to it.
Ω
When everyone got up, we finished off our last couple of cans of corned beef hash, which had begun to taste like leather to me. I’d had the good stuff, and this wasn’t it, no matter how much Tapatio sauce I doused it with.
Sonya had washed her uniform, which I guess was dry clean only, and it clung to her petite frame, wrinkled and tight. I gotta admit, it still felt kinda good to have a cop with us, and the uniform was a reminder that at least this person of the law was on our side.
Even if the laws of nature seemed to be all topsy-turvy and scary besides.
“Everything packed?” asked Lilly, her hair in a ponytail. She wore jeans and a dark blue tee shirt and her dirty-white, canvas tennis shoes.
“Yep,” I said. “While I was on watch last night, I thought of somethin’,” I said. “We need to trailer the skiff with us.”
Lilly looked at me like I was crazy. “You’ve seen it out there, CB. It’s going to be hard enough maneuvering through those things, much less the mess of crashed cars out there.”
“I know, but we’re headin’ to Key West. To the south of Overseas Highway there’s nothin’ but water. We hit somethin’ we can’t get around, we’re screwed.”
“I don’t want to be hauling a boat all the way to Key West, then to Lebanon, Kansas. It’ll kill your mileage and make us have to stop more. You already get shit miles per gallon.”
I shook my head. “Lil, we can drop the trailer when we get there. By then, we’ll know the road back’s clear.”
“It’s a good idea,” said Georgie.
“I agree,” said Sonya. “Sorry, Lilly.”
Lilly stared between us for a few seconds. “Okay. I hadn’t considered all that. While we load these bags onto the dock, you get the trailer hooked up.”
“Leave the heavy ones,” I said. “I’ll toss ‘em in last.”
A heavy thud sounded from outside. Nokosi ran to the door, jumped up with her paws against the slab, her face pushed between the yellow curtains.
She was going ballistic.
I ran to the door and took my chances nudgin’ her away. I parted the curtains over the small window. “Oh, shit.”
“What?” asked all three women at once. I felt ‘em come up behind me.
“My God,” whispered Sonya. “They’re everywhere.”
I felt anger boilin’ up inside me. About three feet from the door, there was what had to be a 9-footer. It lay there still, lookin’ dead as could be. I could see the yellow biter flies swarmin’ around that one, and all the others.
And there were a bunch.
I stared through the window as I kicked the door, shakin’ it in its frame. Every gator within view suddenly didn’t look so dead anymore. Their mouths flew open wide, and the hiss they collectively let out filled the former serenity of the ‘Glades. Their eyes, while darker than ours, opened to reveal clouded corpse-like irises, unlike anything I’d ever seen.
I backed away from the door. “If they’re alive, then they’re fucked up,” I said. “Nothin’ normal about the way they’re actin’.”
“How the hell did they get on the dock?” asked Lilly.
“Easy,” I said. “We ran the gen last night ‘cause we didn’t care if we emptied the fuel tank. With that sucker runnin’, we probably didn’t hear ‘em jump up.”
“Damnit,” said Lilly. “So, what’s the plan? How are we going to get out of here?”
“We’ve got to shoot them,” said Georgina. “Like you said, we’re not coming back here, right? Mind breaking a few windows?”
“She’s right,” I said. “Sonya, head into the back bedroom. Bust out that window and take out as many as you can from there. I’ll knock out this window in the door out, and Georgie, take the window over near the generator wall. Lilly, you get the window in the bathroom. Aim between the eyes and use big guns. And Lil, before you say anything, I know you already know that.”
Lilly had her 30.06 leanin’ against the wall, so she just grabbed it and headed to the bathroom. I ran down the hallway and muscled the big duffle back into the front, putting it down on the sofa Georgie had been curled up on when I found her.
“This is crazy,” whispered Sonya. “I’d better put Nokosi somewhere she won’t freak out.”
“From the guns?” asked Georgie.
“No, she’s trained to handle lots of that. But with four of us, it’ll be loud. It could harm her ears.”
“Stick her in the storage closet,” I said. “It’s big enough for her to lay down. And about what you said. Hell yeah, it’s crazy. I’ll be glad as hell to get outta here.”
I pulled out the appropriate guns and handed them to the other two women, then ran back down the hall to get the ammo case. I dumped the rounds into their cupped hands. “Let’s go get ‘em.”
Followin’ the sound of breakin’ glass, I heard boomin’ shot after boomin’ shot. It sounded like a SWAT siege at a cult’s compound.
For my part, after I broke out the window, I took my initial shot at the big boy right outside. The round went right in its mouth, and it jerked its fat head side-to-side, croakin’ and hissin’ like crazy. For a second, its mouth snapped closed, and I fired again, this one hittin’ its mark.
Right between the eyes. It fell still.
“Brain shots do it!” I yelled. “Big surprise!”
To my joy and surprise, I heard Georgie call out, “Thank you!”
Three other gators within my view moved slowly toward the door, only two inches of solid core pine separatin’ the killers from me.
There was somethin’ about the way they advanced; they still stood high on their stubby legs, but they didn’t run. Instead, they kinda plodded, but I still saw single-minded purpose in ‘em, not all that different from when they were alive.
All their eyes were that strange lookin’ clouded gray now. I turned my barrel toward the next biggest one, about a seven-footer. I was usin’ Winchester’s Ballistic Silvertip ammo. .300 Winchester, 180 grain. It would kill any gator dead with an accurate shot.
Now, I wasn’t so sure about killin’ these particular gators, because if they were already dead, I wasn’t sure the standard applied.
There’s about a 2-inch by 2-inch square area right behind their eyes you gotta hit dead on. Usin’ this ammo, I didn’t have much doubt I’d blow through it, but when we’re harvestin’ them for their parts, as it were, we use .22 long rifle rounds. Does less damage to their heads, which we cure and sell to the tourist who has everything.
Everything but a dried out, shellacked gator head.
I’m sure you’ve seen ‘em and shaken your head. Or, maybe you bought one.
Either way, I fired. The rock-hard skin on its noggin blew inward, and its head jerked sharply to the left as its body seemed to almost flatten and settle into the dock.
“How you guys doin’?” I called out, and all three ladies responded at once. I didn’t understand any of ‘em, but nobody came runnin’ in, so I figured they were good to go.
I made quick work of the next one, with a good shot right between its eyes. It was hangin’ half on and half off the dock, and fell into the water with a splash.
I looked out, but didn’t see any others comin’ toward the dock. I saw one tail just off to my right, but I couldn’t kill it from there, and I knew none of the women would have a clear shot of it. We needed to clear ‘em all if I wanted to hook up that trailer.
“If you’ve got ‘em, come on up here!” I shouted, pushin’ the door open about a foot. I leaned forward and made sure it was as clear as I’d thought. Smaller gators wouldn’t be able to jump up on the dock, but that wasn’t much comfort; there were plenty of big boys and girls in these ‘Glades, and I didn’t want to encounter any more.
Lilly came runnin’ in. “CB, you sure?”
“Yeah, I got all of ‘em except one. Just keep your barrel aimed at these fuckers outside the door, just in cas
e they’re playin’ opossum.”
“I got it,” said Lilly, loading more rounds in her gun. She chambered a round and said, “Go!”
I did, and she pushed out behind me, standin’ just between two of the dead ones I’d shot. None of ‘em moved, but I felt better with her there, just the same. The tail swished as I neared the corner, then disappeared.
I held my rifle barrel down and stepped around the corner, my finger already twitchin’ on the trigger. I sure as shit wasn’t expectin’ what happened next.
With a hiss-croak, that six-footer was in the air, its nasty claws extended, its mouth wide open. I fired once, then another time, right into its mouth. I saw the round exit through the back of its head, splatterin’ the dock behind it with skin, innards and coagulated blood. It didn’t seem to notice.
It dropped down on all four feet, but kept comin’, and I staggered backward, turnin’ to make sure I still had dock left behind me.
Only two feet of planks left. I spun on my bootheel, rounded the corner, and planted my feet as the bastard came around fast.
“Watch out, CB!” shouted Lilly, but it was too late. My heel hit the head of the big gator I’d taken out, and I tumbled backward, landin’ directly on my back, my head slammin’ into the wood hard.
Stars danced in my vision as I heard two loud booming shots ring out. Next thing I knew, I felt hands slappin’ my face.
I opened my eyes to see Lilly and Georgina bendin’ down over me. Both of them looked scared to death.
“Oh, thank God!” said Lilly, and the two helped me to my feet. The back of my head was throbbin’, and I leaned back against the wall, tryin’ to shake it off.
“I fuckin’ fell, didn’t I?”
“Tripped on your kill,” said Lilly. “Inside with you.”
“I thought it was a gunshot,” said Georgie. “You might have a concussion. That was a hard impact.”
They walked me inside, and I saw Nokosi was back in the front room, and she looked concerned as hell.
“Don’t you worry, pooch. I’m fine. Except for the headache.”
“Bad?” asked Georgie.
“Dull, mostly. Low throb.” I looked at Lilly. “You get it?”
She nodded. “Yes, I did. Can’t believe you let the smallest one take you down.”
I had to laugh to myself, because my first instinct was to make an excuse. I offered it anyway. “Technically, it was the big one that took me down. Like a goddamned speed hump.”
“You feel sharp enough to get to the boat?” asked Lilly. “It’s clear out there for now, but there are a whole bunch out there in the deeper water.”
I nodded fast, more to try to shake off my haziness. “Yeah. Let’s get this done.”
Ω
I chewed a few aspirin with no water as I tossed Lilly the keys to the Rover. She said, “I don’t want you in that boat alone. You can’t drive and defend at the same time.”
“Look,” I said. “Let’s get the trailer hooked up and see what’s what then.”
We ran out to the parking lot, jumpin’ over the dead gators along the way. By the time we hit the gravel parking lot, we were still in the clear. I ran over to the trailer, lifted the tongue and pulled it to the back of the Land Rover while the girls loaded the lighter bags in the back.
“I’ll get the gun bags. You guys get in.”
They did. I ran back to the shop and slung the bags containing our guns and ammo over my shoulders. The second their full weight was on me, my back screamed.
I had to drop one. “Fuck!” I said.
“Need help?” asked Georgie from behind me. “Sounds like it.”
“Yeah, but it’s heavy. Why aren’t you in the car?”
“Your sister said to ride in the boat with you. You can’t drive and shoot at the same time.”
I didn’t like it, but she was right. “See if you can manage the ammo bag,” I said, hoisting it up on the table. “Easier to lift from here.”
She walked over and bent down, slipping her right arm through the straps. She stood, and I could see her strugglin’.
“Come on!” she said, then hurried out the door.
I stared at the empty doorway for a second, then followed.
By the time I rounded the corner, she was halfway to the Rover. We both reached it and she rested her bag on top of the gas cans Lilly had lined up along the tailgate rack.
“You’re a tough one,” I said, leaning down and hoisting both bags inside.
She looked at me, her face flushed with exertion. “We’ve all got to do our part to get through this,” she panted.
I reached into the bag and pulled out a .45 and a model 70 Winchester .30-06. “Can you handle this?” I asked, giving her the rifle. “It’s loaded, bolt-action.”
“Doesn’t matter,” she said. “I will. Show me how to cock it.”
I nodded and pulled the bolt forward and back, locking it in. “That’s it.”
“Easy enough,” she said. “How many rounds?”
“Five. The .45 will be a good backup, but I don’t plan on dilly-dallyin’.”
“That’s good to hear,” she said. We ran to the dock, slowing instinctively before stepping onto it.
“Look at them all,” said Georgie.
I did. They were layin’ in the water, and if it were nighttime and they still had the eyeshine, we’d have seen more than two dozen pairs starin’ at us.
We practically tiptoed onto the dock. “Get in,” I whispered.
I took her left hand as she stepped into the boat, holdin’ the Winchester in her right. The second the ripples emerged from around the boat, the gators started to move.
“Hurry!” she said, her voice tense.
I bent down, fighting the pain in my back and shoulders, and unwound the docklines, tossing them in.
I jumped into the skiff. “Be ready,” I said, firin’ the engine.
It caught immediately. I threw it in reverse and pulled the throttle toward me as the boat shot out of the slip.
“Go! You’re clear!” she said, as the rear of the boat angled away from the ramp. I eased the throttle forward, heard the transmission engage with a staccato grinding, and the boat surged forward.
Lilly had reached the boat ramp and was backing down. I kept my eyes on the rear of the Rover as the bow lifted and I set the trim to bring it back down.
We were only a third of the way there when Georgie yelled, “Cole, they’re coming!”
I tried to maintain focus. The trailer was completely submerged, save for the fender wells. I saw the doors open, and Sonya and my sister jumped out, running down to the bottom of the ramp.
“Get back in the truck!” I yelled, now only fifteen yards away. Instead, both raised their weapons and began firing.
Behind me, Georgina’s gun fired, and as I looked to my left, I almost shit. There were at least twenty gators movin’ toward us in steady streams. I reacted, shoving the throttle forward more than I meant to.
I heard a scream behind me, then a loud crash, as the boat shook. I looked behind me to see Georgina face down on the bottom of the aluminum boat, the gun jammed beneath the bench seat.
“You okay?” I yelled, now just feet from the trailer.
She didn’t answer me, but I could feel her back there, trying to get up. “Hold on!” I shouted, as I felt the bow hit the pads of the trailer.
“Hurry, CB!” shouted Lilly, and I gunned it again. Sonya and Lilly both stood at the base of the ramp, firing round after round behind us.
As the boat slid up the trailer and stopped about ten inches from the winch roller, I cut the engine, jumped up and reached down to help Georgina up, one eye on the infested water beyond.
“Sorry!” she said. “I wasn’t ready, and I –”
“Don’t worry about it!” I said, and ignored the electric shock that shot up my back as I took her hand and yanked her to her feet. “You okay?”
“I tweaked my wrist when I fell over the seat,” she moaned.
>
“Okay, just sit there and hold on. Lilly!” I yelled, slapping the aluminum hull of the skiff. “Go!”
The Rover pulled forward fast, and to my relief, the boat did not slide off the trailer pads. As that relief hit me, I heard another gunshot.
I jerked my head to the right and saw that Sonya hadn’t gotten in the Rover. She fired twice more, then her gun clicked.
Empty.
As though she sensed danger, Nokosi started barkin’ like a rabid dog. I could see the Rover shakin’ from the canine jumpin’ around inside.
Rather than run to the car, she reached into her pocket, I assume for another magazine. “Sonya!” I called. “Fuck that! Get back in the –”
My words caught in my throat. Now, I’ve thought back to what happened a hundred times if I’ve thought about it once, and I can only conclude that it was my fault. I distracted her.
Sonya’s eyes met mine before turnin’ toward the boat ramp. I followed her gaze and saw three massive gators mounting the ramp and movin’ fast. Lilly had pulled the Rover forward about fifteen feet, and now the rear of the boat was right beside Sonya.
“Run!” I shouted. “Jump in the boat!”
She took one step. It was all she had time for. Behind her, from a sparse copse of mangroves, a monster gator emerged fast, running, then pushing off the ground and into the air, its mouth stretched wide open.
When the jaws clamped around Sonya’s midsection, Georgina shrieked. Sonya’s brief scream was cut off in the middle, as the massive teeth and jaws crushed her chest and flattened her lungs.
Nokosi went ballistic.
The monster reptile shook the police officer, its huge, deadly jaws scissoring open and closed, shreddin’ the uniform she wore, and splittin’ her in two. Blood erupted from her mouth as she tried to utter just one last scream.
No sound came out.
Her lifeblood sprayed from the massive wound, splashing onto the ramp in buckets as we pulled away. As we rolled farther and farther up the ramp, I saw Georgina drop onto the seat again, defeated.
As we watched, five or six more gators rushed up the ramp and converged on the police officer, each rippin’ into her flesh with a ferocity I’d never seen before. Her arms and legs were torn from both halves of her body as the undead reptiles whipped her back and forth in a feeding frenzy.
