by SD Tanner
His pilot was now circling the ship and he could see hunters were angrily prowling the decks. Still dressed in ACUs and casual clothes, they looked like they always did, but now they were covered in blood, and already their heads were vibrating manically while they hunted for prey. Looking across the water, he saw local ships were helping to rescue people on the lifeboats, and the birds were hovering nearby, but there was nothing left for them to do.
“Cutter, I’m gonna line up three birds and get them to fire missiles at the front, end and middle of the ship.”
“What? Why?”
“Because they’re our people down there and there’s nothing we can do for them, but end their suffering quickly. Waiting just means they suffer for longer and none of them would want that. They’re our people and we still need to take care of them.”
Sounding resigned, Cutter replied, “I guess so, but we’re destroying our own command base.”
“I know, but it is what it is.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN: Marie Celeste is born again (TL)
The ship was even more dangerous than he expected. The emergency lights were on and the corridor was bathed in a dull red glow. All around him, he could hear the sound of endless shuffling and growling. They were making their way down the corridor on the main deck toward their suite, which was at the far end of the ship. The further they walked into the ship, the more they could see how lost it was. Being only recently turned, the hunters didn’t yet stink of vomit, but the stench of blood and gunfire was pervasive. Someone must have put the ship into an emergency status. The air conditioning wasn’t working and he couldn’t hear the sound of the engines idling.
Without Ip with them, he had no doubt they’d be swamped by hunters. Even with her controlling them, in the narrow corridor the hunters were often within arm’s reach, and if they weren’t careful, they could easily be overwhelmed. He was in lead and Ip was moving around them while they cautiously moved down the corridor. They each aimed their weapons at open doorways as they passed, but so far she’d managed to control the hunters haunting the rooms. To make her job easier, they were in a tight formation, and every so often Pax clipped him with his gun as he swung it around to cover a door.
From behind him, Gears muttered, “What a fuckin’ mess.”
Passing another door with a newly turned hunter snarling at him, he sighed unhappily. That snarling woman was a friend of Izzie’s and one of their nursery school teachers. They’d shared dinner more than a few times. He remembered her as a bit ditzy, but someone who spread warmth wherever she went. Now her head was vibrating and she wanted to eat him alive. As Ip walked past the door with him, she flicked out her hand, and touching the woman, she instantly dropped to the floor. In one sense he was relieved she was no longer a threat, but it also meant she was dead. No time to mourn, he thought grimly, he was here for his yet to be named son. With a pang of guilt, he realized the poor boy had died before he’d named him. His son should have at least had a name before he died, and he knew Lydia would be angry with him for being so careless with their child’s young life.
Lydia, he thought, and an image of her smiling face drifted through his mind. He missed her. She’d been good company. So much smarter and yet she’d still wanted to be with him. He supposed her being pregnant had brought them much closer. She’d needed him and he’d wanted to be there for her, but couldn’t be. Too much to do and too little time, he thought, as he swung his gun to cover another open door. Quickly glancing into the room, he saw it had been the ship’s school. Empty now, but there were overturned desks, and even in the dim red light, he saw blood was smeared along the back wall. He didn’t want to think about what must have happened in that room and he was grateful it was now empty. The double doors that opened to the reception area were hanging off their hinges, and he tried to imagine what force could possibly have torn the doors down. Suddenly Ip pushed her way past him and ran into the reception area with her sword drawn.
“Shit!” Gears shouted, as he turned and began to fire down the corridor behind him.
He didn’t have time to curse. A man wearing ACUs and drenched in blood had launched at him from the old schoolroom, and he fired continuously at the man’s head. The force of the gunfire sent the man spinning and spiraling back inside the room. Ip was hacking at a man who was wearing a coat, so drenched in blood it was colored a bright red. Realizing they needed to be where Ip could protect them from their own people turned hunters, he moved into the reception area and continued to fire at the advancing hunters. Gears and Pax quickly followed on his heels, both firing continuously down the corridor, and he assumed they were holding back the hunters in their wake.
Almost as quickly as it had begun, the hunter attack stopped and they retreated and stood grumbling while they waited. He looked across to his brothers. “What the hell…?”
Gears turned and looked down at the body at Ip’s feet. “Farrington?”
Ip speaks: Here is the cause of the grief. The demon is the one who speaks.
Farrington wasn’t dead, but he was disabled. His head was hanging at an odd angle, and he could see that Ip had cut through the back of his neck so deeply she’d severed his spine almost to his throat. Unable to control his limbs, Farrington was lying on his side with his face half-buried in the once plush, but now worn and bloodied carpet. His arms and legs were slowly drifting, and he was surprised when he heard him make a deep, but wet chuckle. Gears walked up to Farrington, and with one large and booted foot, he pushed his shoulder until he was lying flat on the floor.
Crouching down next to the prone body, Gears asked, “Whatcha laughin’ at demon?”
Its voice gurgled through its damaged throat. “You…fool….War. You…lose…again.”
“I ain’t lost shit, asshole. There’s a hundred thousand of us and you killed maybe five hundred.” Glancing up around the reception area, he added, “Sure, it looks like hell now, but we’ll fix it up. You can keep pullin’ our homes down, but we’ll just keep rebuilding ‘em.”
Looking down at the demon, Pax grunted, “Yeah, don’t underestimate the tenacity of your enemy.”
Gears shot Pax a surprised look. “Tenacity? That’s a big word for you, Pax. You been learnin’ or somethin’.”
“Since BD’s been gone I ain’t had as much to do at night. I’ve been readin’.”
“I didn’t know you could do that.”
He shook his head in disgust. “Do you think you two monkeys could stay on point?”
Gears stood up. “Finish the job, honey, and let’s keep movin’.”
He was surprised by his brother’s disinterest. “You don’t wanna question it?”
“Nah, these demons jus’ talk a load ‘o crap.”
Showing an equal amount of disinterest, Ip strolled over and severed the demon’s head with a single blow to the front of its neck. Feeling equally as disinterest as Gears, he watched its head roll away from its body. “True, they are getting to be a bit samey.”
Returning to their original formation, they continued to walk down the next corridor toward Mom’s cabin, which was next to their suite. “I wanna check Mom’s cabin first. She might have had him in her room.”
Not waiting for a reply, he cautiously moved to the door of Mom’s cabin, only to find it was closed. Gears and Pax got on either side of the door and Ip was standing next to him. Pax reached across and pulled the door handle down, pushed it and swung the door open, while he stood with his gun ready to shoot anything that came through the door, but nothing did. With Ip behind him, he slowly entered the room, but it appeared to be empty.
“All clear.”
Gears and Pax entered the room and Ip followed them, closing the door behind her. It was a two-bedroom cabin with a small lounge and kitchenette. Unlike their suite, it didn’t have a balcony, but it did have a decent size window that offered a sea view from the lounge and main bedroom. Being larger than most of the other cabins it was called a junior suite and it shared a wall with thei
rs. He walked into the main bedroom and immediately noticed his son’s cradle was missing. Pax followed him into the room and opened the small wardrobe.
Sounding relieved, Pax said, “Mom ain’t here. Her clothes are gone.”
Gears poked his head into the en-suite bathroom. “Toiletries are gone too.”
Looking around at the collection of baby goods, he added, “Looks like all his baby stuff is gone as well.”
A feeling of relief surged through him. Mom must have left with his son. Knowing Pop was at the Ranch, he suspected she’d gone to join him, but realizing it was even less safe than the ship, his relief was immediately followed by a sharp sense of anxiety.
“Damn, she must have gone to the Ranch to see Pop.”
Gears had left the room, and from the lounge he said pragmatically, “Better she’s there than here.” Before he could argue with him, Gears shouted. “Oh shit! Gotta go! Gotta go!”
Hearing the alarm in his voice, he ran from the bedroom and collided with Pax as they both tried to get through the narrow door at the same time. Looking out of the door, he saw Gears was already moving swiftly across the room heading toward the door to the corridor.
“What?”
“Incoming birds! I think they’re about to blow the ship.”
Finally navigating past Pax and into the lounge, he glanced out of the window and saw three birds lining up along the side of the ship. Yep, he thought, they’re gonna fire on us. Paying no attention to the newly born hunters, they raced down the corridor and headed for the stairs. Gears was throwing himself bodily up the stairs, and Ip was doing her best to move the hunters out of their path. Behind him, he heard the growing sounds of growling hunters as they followed in their wake. To his surprise, Gears didn’t take the exit that would lead them to the next deck, but taking three stairs at a time, he raced to the top of the ship.
“Where the hell are you going, Gears?” He panted, struggling to keep up.
“Top ‘o the ship,” Gears shouted, sounding out of breath.
“Why?”
“Betta place to dive off,” Pax roared.
He thought that sounded like a terrible plan. “Bullshit.”
Gears had burst through the door on the very top deck, and within seconds, he and Pax followed. Ip was taking control of the hunters on the deck and they that began to stream through the door behind them. While the hunters burst through the door, their heads were vibrating manically with the excitement of the chase. Ip had leapt onto a box that was bolted to the deck, and from her higher position, she could see and control all of the hunters on the top deck. The hunters calmed down and became still.
Dropping his gun noisily, Gears jumped onto the wall that surrounded the top deck and began to wave his arms at the birds. The birds were lined up one next to the other, and dropping low as they came into formation, they were clearly ready to fire in unison.
“No! Abort! Abort!” Gears shouted.
He dropped his gun and joined Gears standing on the wall and began to wave his arms as well. Pax climbed onto the wall, and the three of them stood in a line facing the incoming birds and waving wildly.
“Even you would lose against a Hellfire, Gears!” He shouted. “Do you really think this was a good plan?”
“Nah, nothin’ll ever kill Gears. He’d just catch that missile in his teeth and spit it out, right, Gears?”
“Shaddup, Pax,” Gears shouted. “Or you’re gonna die talkin’ shit.”
“That’s always gonna be true, Gears, ‘cos Pax only knows how to talk shit.”
Suspended over the water, the birds seemed to hesitate and then one advanced toward them. Coming just thirty feet from the ship, it was so close they could see the pilot wearing his helmet and darkened goggles. The bird turned until it was side on to them, and there was a man wearing ACUs hanging from the door and he waved.
“Is that fuckin’ Ted?” Pax asked incredulously.
“Yeah, I think so,” Gears replied with disgust. “What kinda crap have you been teachin’ that boy? Bombin’ his own damn ship.”
“He’s jus’ showin’ initiative. You should be proud.”
“You’re a fuckin’ dumbass, Pax,” Gears said dourly, as he jumped down from the wall.
Captain Ted gave them two thumbs up and the bird continued to hover, while he and Pax also jumped down from the wall. Ip had clustered the hunters leaving a clear path back to the door they’d just come through. The hunters, now calm, were standing around grumbling, and he could have sworn they looked bored.
“Well, it looks like Mom and your boy are fine,” Gears said pragmatically. “You risked our asses for nothin’.”
Pax punched him in the shoulder. “Yeah, TL. Overreact much?”
He wasn’t listening to them. Standing next to him was Lucie. Her red hair stood stark against her pale face, but other than a torn and bloodied sleeve, she looked like she always had. If he hadn’t known better, he would have thought she was fine. Her eyes had always been blue, but now they looked flat and unfocussed. Her mouth was slightly slack and moving while she ground her teeth and groaned. With her elbows bent, her fingers on each hand were slowly stretching and bending. He thought she still looked beautiful, but he knew her hair would fall out, her skin would dry, and her slender frame would become even smaller when she leaned down. Watching Lucie, he was struck by the tragedy of losing people to the hunter virus. While he stared at her, Lucie’s eyes suddenly looked directly into his, and for the briefest moment he thought she saw him. He was about to speak to her, when her eyes drifted away and she moaned unhappily.
“Why doesn’t Ip do what she did in New York?” Pax asked. “You know, march ‘em off a short pier.”
Whirling, he stared angrily at his insensitive brother. “No Pax! You will treat these people with respect. They were our friends and some of them were like family to us.”
“Sheesh, you’re getting’ real sparky, TL. They’re hunters now. Our friends are gone, dude. Fuckin’ chill, will ya.” Turning to Gears, he added, “Will you sort him out. He’s gettin’ to be a real pain in the ass.”
“Yeah, well at least he’s jus’ gettin’ there. You staked out a camp there decades ago and you ain’t moved since.” Looking over at him, Gears said, “I dunno, TL. We gotta clear the ship, and we gotta get back to New York to take care of the people who are still alive.” With a wave of his hand, he added, “Realistically, these guys are all dead and we need a fast solution.”
Staring back at Gears in disbelief, he grabbed Lucie by the arm and dragged her forward until she was a foot from Gears. “Look at her, Gears. Do you really think there’s no one left in there?”
Lucie’s head lolled slightly and then it straightened. She looked Gears in the eye before her head dropped again and her attention drifted.
Frowning, Gears took Lucie by her jaw and turned her face up to his. “Lucie?” Again Lucie’s eyes focused briefly on him and then her attention seemed to wander.
He looked up at Ip, who was still standing on the box on the deck. “Ip, is Lucie still in there?”
Ip speaks: Strange question for you to ask. Where do you think her soul has passed?
“Do you mean her soul hasn’t left her body?”
Ip speaks: Where would it go? Her body still moves. Without fuel it would cease to do.
“Ip never makes any goddamn sense,” Pax remarked dourly.
“No, no, no, she’s making perfect sense. She’s saying that the hunters still have souls. The people they used to be are trapped inside a damaged body.” Beginning to understand the implications, he added sadly, “This is such a crapshoot. The hunters are still people and we’ve been killing them like they mean nothing.”
Tilting his large head to the side, Gears studied Lucie. “So, if Lucie’s still in there, can you talk to her, honey?”
Ip speaks: Yes and no and maybe too. The mind is broken except for a spirited few.
Looking up at Ip again, he asked, “Do you mean there’s more lef
t intact in some hunters than in others?”
Ip speaks: Man is made in a common mold, but each is his own as he unfolds.
“What about Lucie?” Gears asked. “Can you talk to her?”
Ip didn’t reply, but Lucie looked up at her and her eyes focused again. Unlike before, Lucie’s eyes continued to focus on Ip, and her mouth grew tense and her hands stopped moving. For a minute, the two women stood staring at one another, until eventually Lucie’s eyes drifted again and she began to moan.
Hoping that maybe there was more of Lucie left than not. “What did she say?”
Ip speaks: She is strong. That is true. She wants to continue the fight for you.
While he continued to watch Lucie intently, Gears asked, “How can she do that?”
Ip speaks: The Devils spies and he lies. Perhaps you should learn and apply.
A grin broke across Gears face. “Can she do that, honey? Can she spy for us?”
Ip speaks: An ally she is, there is no doubt. With her loyalty, she could have clout.
Gears laughed and grabbing Lucie by the back of the neck, he turned her head to face his. “You’re made of strong stuff, Lucie. I’m sorry this happened to you, but we need all the help we can get.”
Lucie’s eyes focused on Gears, and for a fraction of moment, he thought he saw the real person inside her again. If Ip said she was in there then he believed she was. He looked around at all the newly born hunters who were once their friends, and wondered how many of them were buried behind the damage the virus had done. It changed his view of the hunters. They were not mindless creatures to be killed without thought, but people who were trapped inside deeply damaged bodies. In another time they would have been cared for as the injured people they really were. It wasn’t a luxury they could have now, but he realized the hunters were the real victims of the virus.
They flagged down the bird and it landed on the ship’s helipad. Sealing the doors to the deck, Ip moved the hunters to the end of the main deck and killed each with a touch. Combat shooters loaded their bodies into body bags and lowered them onto small boats that were pulled alongside the ship. Once they’d cleared the deck, Ip returned to the lower decks and brought more hunters to the top deck, and he knew they would repeat the process until the ship was safe again. He supposed it was lucky Ip saw it as her role to bring Death, otherwise he didn’t believe anyone could easily carry the burden of guilt to kill so many. Now they knew the people still remained trapped inside their diseased and damaged bodies, it didn’t seem right to simply dump them into sea. They planned to take the bodies back to the mainland where they would be buried, and they all agreed, the least they could do was bring them home.
