The Demon Dead

by Arthur M Wyatt

Thoughts of Susan filled his mind. His eyes began to water. Dwelling on it would do no good, he thought. Maybe it was unfair to Susan, but he made his mind up to not think about his life before. Not until later anyway. When they were safe.

  He felt responsible for keeping the group alive. Although he thought of them as equals, it was obvious that the others looked to him for leadership and he was terrified of letting them down. He shook these thoughts from his mind and turned his attention back to looking for survivors and getting them safely to the lighthouse.

  John took the binoculars and scanned the bank looking for any signs of survivors as the boat followed the water upriver.

  "Hey," Jimmy screamed at the top of his lungs, "over there."

  "Where?" John said.

  "Over there," Jimmy said, pointing to a private dock two hundred yards away, "there's somebody on that boat."

  "Wow, how can you see that?" Derek asked.

  "Lots of carrots," Jimmy answered.

  "Oh," Derek grinned, "guess I'm not eating enough carrots."

  John turned the binoculars on the small open fishing boat. Sitting in the back was one lone person with his back to them. Looking closer John saw that there was another person in the boat. An older lady who was slumped over on the floor of the boat as if she had been sitting and fallen out of the chair.

  "Derek give me one short blast on the horn," John said.

  Derek blew the horn one quick blast. John held the binoculars on the man in the small boat as he slowly turned around to look at them. John could see immediately that it wasn't a zombie. It was a scraggly older man who raised his right arm to wave. In his hand was a handgun of some sort.

  John moved over beside Derek and quietly let him know the man had a gun.

  “He’s got a gun?” Jimmy asked.

  "Hey buddy, I need you to go back down to the cabin. Ok?" John said.

  “I’m not a little kid anymore, I want to stay.”

  “You can’t, it’s too dangerous,” Derek told him.

  Without further protest Jimmy climbed down and went back inside. John pick up the receiver on the intercom and called the cabin.

  Amy answered.

  "What's up?” she said.

  "There is someone on a small boat at a dock ahead. He has a gun. Keep Jimmy inside."

  "What are you going to do?" she asked.

  "We're going over to check it out. Stay inside until I call you back."

  Derek pulled back on the throttle as John positioned himself in the front to keep the man in the sights of his rifle.

  Derek stopped the boat and held position thirty yards off the dock.

  "What do you want?" the man said. "Leave me alone."

  "We're not going to hurt you," John said, "we're looking for survivors."

  "You're too damn late," the man said motioning toward the woman lying in the boat, "she's dead."

  "What happened?" John asked.

  "I killed her."

  John tightened his grip on the rifle and put a little more pressure on the trigger.

  "Why?"

  "We don't want to live this way any more. She was sick. It was just getting worse. She couldn't take it any longer."

  "What was wrong with her?"

  "Don't matter. You go on so I can finish what I started." the old man started to turn around then looked back. "We thought everybody was dead. Except for them… I hope you fellows make it."

  "You can come with us," John said. "There are two more of us. A woman and a kid."

  "Thanks but I’m staying here. You take care of that kid you hear."

  The man waved, turned his back on them and sat back down.

  Derek looked over at John. John loosened his grip on the rifle and jerked his head in the direction of Drum Island. Derek understood, engaged the props and pushed the throttle forward. The boat headed off away from the dock and across the river. The old man turned and watch them pull away. A tear rolled down his cheek as he placed himself over his wife's body, put the gun to his temple, said a quick prayer and pulled the trigger.

  They heard the gunshot clearly. Derek and John looked at each other but didn't turn around. They knew what had happened.

  Amy emerged from the cabin, climbed up and sat down.

  “Food is ready whenever you want it,” she said. “What happened? Was that a gunshot?”

  “You couldn’t hear what was going on?” Derek asked.

  “No, not with the engines running.”

  “There was an older man and a woman in a small boat. Jimmy spotted them.”

  “Yes, he told me.”

  “The man had a gun,” John said.

  “What happened to the woman?”

  “The old man killed her,” Derek said. “He said she was sick, and getting worse. They decided they didn’t want to live any longer.”

  “That’s terrible,” Amy said.

  “He told us to leave so he could finish what he started. So we did,” Derek said.

  “So he killed himself?”

  “Yes,” John said, “we didn’t turn around to look but I’m sure that’s what it was.”

  "That’s awful,” Amy said.

  They sat in silence as Derek guided the boat around the island and slowed as they passed under the bridge. They craned their necks to look up at the road surface but saw no one.

  The boat glided slowly past the port. It was eerily quiet. Normally a beehive of activity, the cranes sat idle now, their cockpits empty. Finally Amy spoke.

  “Can we stop somewhere? At least long enough to eat something, clean up a bit and stretch our legs on land."

  "I don’t see why not,” Derek said, “we can stop at the aquarium. There's a dock there,"

  “How far?” Amy asked.

  “Not far, just past the port.”

  “Come on guys we just got started,” John said.

  “I agree with Amy. Lets stop for maybe an hour. It would be nice to get cleaned up. Eat.”

  “Ok,” John said, “but no more than an hour. We need to get to the lighthouse before dark.”

  “Can Jimmy come back out? He's dying to get back up here."

  "Yeah, send him up," John answered.

  Amy climbed back down and into the cabin. Jimmy and Suzie came out. Jimmy retook his seat by Derek while Suzie made herself comfortable down on the deck.

  “What happened to that man?” Jimmy asked.

  “He wouldn’t come with us, so we left,” Derek said.

  Jimmy nodded but didn’t ask any more about it. There was no need to explain it to him, Derek thought. His young mind has seen enough death already.

  John positioned himself in the open. Rifle nearby and binoculars at hand. When the Aquarium dock came into view he trained the binoculars on it. The dock was clear. Scanning the area between the dock and the buildings he saw nothing to worry about. He handed Derek the binoculars and held the wheel.”

  “What do you think?” John asked.

  Derek looked around the dock and buildings.

  “Looks safe to me.”

  As the boat neared the dock, Derek cut the throttle and let the boat coast.

  “When we get close enough I’ll jump over to the dock and tie us off,” John said then climbed down.

  Derek reversed the engines just as they neared the dock and put the boat right up against it. John slung the rifle over his shoulder, threw the ropes over then climbed out.

  Feeling the boat bump up against the dock, Amy came out on deck with the shotgun in her hands.

  “Need help tying up?” she asked.

  “I think I’ve got it,” John said tying off each end snuggly.

  “Uh oh,” Derek said from the bridge as John was finishing up.

  “Uh oh what?” Amy asked.

  “Three zombies. Near the ticket office.”

  “I’m almost afraid to ask,” she said, “but, can you tell what kind they are?”

  “Looks like regular zombies thank god. John can you take them out from here?”

/>   “I’ll need to do it from the end of the dock, but I can get them.”

  John walked up the gangway to ground level. He lay down in a prone position and checked the zombies out with the binoculars. They hadn’t seemed to notice them yet. The three zombies stood just under the awning in the shade. One was facing the water, the other two the building.

  John sighted in and pushed the stock of the Remington against his shoulder. He would take out the one facing him first. John took a deep breath, exhaled, held it for a second then squeezed the trigger. The zombie’s head jerked back so violently John thought it was going to separate from its shoulders. The zombie crumpled to the ground. Instead of turning around to see where the shot came from the other two zombies looked down at their companion and staggered back away from it. He worked the bolt and ejected the spent cartridge then tried to slam another round into the chamber. The bolt went a quarter of an inch and stopped.

  “Shit!” he screamed.

  “What’s wrong?” Amy shouted.

  “It’s jammed.”

  John looked up. The remaining two had seen them and were now walking, or stumbling, toward the dock. At the rate they were walking it would take them at couple of minutes to get there.

  “Shit, shit, shit!” John said again.

  Derek took a screwdriver from the console and tossed it down to Amy.

  “Take him this,” he said.

  Amy appeared frightened but climbed onto the dock and ran to John. Handing him the screwdriver she kneeled down and looked at the two zombies heading their way.

  “John they’re getting closer.”

  “I know that Amy,” he said working frantically to clear the weapon.

  At that moment a scream echoed through the air as a fourth zombie emerged from the shadows at the aquarium and ran toward them. John froze. On the boat Suzie began to bark furiously.

  “Oh shit,” he said, “it’s a demon.”

  “My, aren’t we fond of that word this morning,” Amy said.

  John frowned. “Where’s the shotgun,” he asked going back to work on the rifle.

  “I left it on the boat.”

  “Great, get back to the boat and get it,” he said turning to look at her. Amy stood with eyes wide and mouth agape. Frozen where she stood.

  “Now!” John screamed.

  Amy jumped up and headed back down the gangway.

  The demon was coming fast. When he was no more than fifty yards from them John finally cleared the gun. Derek fired three pistol shots from the boat but only grazed it. This of course had no effect. The other two were half way to the boat by now but he still had plenty of time to deal with them he thought.

  John worked the bolt and took aim. The sweat poured down his face and into his eyes. He pulled the trigger. The sweat forced him to close his eyes. He wiped the sweat away with his sleeve. When he opened his eyes the demon lay on the ground thirty yards in front of him. Face down, the back of his skull blown away. John lowered his head for a second and took a deep breath.

  “John!” Derek screamed from the boat, “look out!”

  Amy had the shotgun now and was running back to where John was. He looked up to see that one of the other two zombies had changed and was now charging him at full speed. The other followed at the same pace as before.”

  “It’s a demon now,” Amy screamed.

  She shouldered the shotgun and fired. She hit it but was too far away to do enough damage to kill it. It stumbled to the side a bit but kept coming. John chambered another round and fired striking it in the center of the forehead. A red mist exited the back of its head as it fell to the ground.

  “Shit!” Amy said.

  John looked up at her and frowned. “Hypocrite,” he said as he worked the bolt.

  “Sorry,” she said, “John, look.”

  John turned his attention to the last one. One hundred feet away. It had stopped and was standing, glaring at them. Suddenly it straightened up, its eyes widened and a different look came over its face. It flexed its muscles as it screamed and lunged forward. John took aim and fired again hitting it in the neck. Amy began letting loose with the shotgun as John fumbled with the bolt on the rifle. The demon performed a macabre dance as his body jerked with every blast. Derek opened up again with the pistol striking it two times before the pistol was empty. John fired again. This time the zombie was so close he had to aim up at a steep angle. This round blew the top of the demon’s head off. Blood, brains and bone rained down on the ground behind it. Amy fired two more times emptying the shotgun. The demon fell to the ground and slid to a stop five feet in front of them. A mangled and bloody mess.

  “Damn,” John said breathing heavily, “those bastards can take a lot of damage.”

  On the boat Derek was relieved to see his friends alive. Jimmy sat in the chair, mouth agape, eyes wide and still holding his hands over his ears.

  Derek reached over and pulled his hands away from his head. “It’s ok now Jimmy. The shooting is over.”

  Jimmy pulled his hands away from Derek’s grasp and put them back over his ears.

  “Are you sure,” he shouted not aware of how loud he was talking.

  “Yeah I’m sure dude.”

  Jimmy lowered his hands a little and tested the air. Satisfied that no more shooting was going on, he sat back in the chair and lowered his hands.

  “I’m hungry,” he said.

  On land John slowly pulled himself up, resting on one knee. Amy stood looking down at the demon. The shotgun in her right hand and pointing at the ground. She switched it to her left hand and took the pistol from her belt.

  John looked up and directly into Amy’s eyes. “We’re on the water, she said... What could happen, she said...”

  “How was I supposed to know?” She said shrugging her shoulders.

  They returned to the dock. John untied the ropes and threw them back on the boat.

  “We’re not staying,” John said helping Amy back onboard, “Derek get us away from here.”

  “Why? Aren’t we stopping?”

  “Hell no. That’s it I’m not going ashore again until we leave the boat to go to the lighthouse. I’m done.”

  Derek pulled away from the dock and out into the water stopping about one hundred yards out. He cut the engines and climbed down.

  “What are you doing?” John asked.

  “We’re anchoring here until we can figure out what to do. Besides I’m hungry.”

  “You sound like Jimmy now,” Amy said, “that kid’s always hungry.”

  Derek walked to the front of the boat and threw the anchor over the side. Jimmy climbed down and took a seat on the floor beside Suzie. John, Derek and Amy collapsed into deck chairs. A dazed look on their faces.

  “That was close,” Amy said as she sat down.

  “Too close,” John said, “we were almost killed.”

  “We were lucky,” Amy added, “that’s what we were.”

  “It looked safe,” Derek said shaking his head.

  “Well it’s not. Nowhere is safe. Anywhere, any time.”

  “Guy’s, you realize what just happened don’t you?” Amy said fingering the cross hanging from her neck.

  “Yeah,” Derek answered, “when John killed the first demon it went into the next one, and when that one went down it took over the last one. Just like he said they would. It’s not just a theory.”

  “No, I’m afraid not,” John said.

  “And the scary thing is,” Amy said, “we know it’s still out there somewhere.”

  “And, it may be in a new body already,” John said”

  “Maybe,” Derek said. “but man, that was intense.”

  “Intense?” John said shaking his head. “Intense doesn’t even begin to describe it.”

  “Look,” Amy said holding out her hand, “I’m still shaking.”

  “It was cool,” Jimmy said.

  “Cool?” Amy said.

  “Yeah, like watching a movie.”

  “A mov
ie?” Amy said.

  “Who would play me?’ Derek said grinning.

  “Will Smith,” John said.

  “How about you?” Amy said pointing at John.

  “Probably Brad Pitt,” he said smiling.

  “I was thinking more like that dude with the greasy spiked hair,” Jimmy said.

  They all laughed.

  “Let’s eat,” Derek said getting up, “all this zombie slaying is making me hungry.”

  “Me too,” Jimmy said following him into the cabin.

  Amy held her hands out in front of her and looked down at them. They were still shaking as the smile faded from her face and was replaced with a frown.

  “We’ll be there in a minute,” John said.

  “You ok?” he asked Amy.

  “Yeah, I’m fine. I think.” She said not really meaning it and feeling like she would burst into tears at any moment.

  John slid his chair closer and put his arm around her. He could tell she was emotionally spent. Amy leaned over and put her head on his shoulders. She began to quietly cry. He put both arms around her and held her tight. That was the best he could do at the moment he thought. He was at a loss for words.

  Inside the cabin Derek and Jimmy sat down to eat. Suzie sat at their feet begging for anything they would give her.

  “Derek,” Jimmy said, a very serious look on his face, “are we going to die?”

  “What?”

  “Are we going to die?”

  “No, why would you say that?”

  “Everybody else is dead.”

  “Well we’re not dead, and we don’t plan on dying ok.”

  “What about the man in the boat? He’s dead.”

  “How do you know that?” Derek asked.

  “I just know,” he said. “I heard a gun?”

  “You know what? Maybe he is and maybe he isn’t. We don’t know for sure. We heard the shot too but we didn’t see him shoot himself. If he is dead it’s because he wanted to die. We gave him a choice. Life or death. He chose death. Well, we’re tougher than that Jimmy. We don’t want to die and we’re not going to. We chose life.”

  Jimmy looked down at his food. “I don’t want to die Derek,” he said. “I choose life too.”

  “You’re not going to die Jimmy. None of us are. I promise ok?”

  “You promise?”

  “Yeah, I promise.”

  “Is somebody coming to rescue us?”