crouched and made their way along the
concealed platform.
Jared leaned out from under the lip of the
dock supports and scanned the offerings ahead. “Those three speed boats are all
in close proximity to each other. I’ll swim over there while you cover me from
here. The best bet is to untie all of them and let ’em drift into the bay. Then
we can swim aboard each one and see if they will get started.”
Jared rubbed the whiskers on his chin. “As
I mentioned on the flight over, the gasoline they used over here had more
chemical preservatives in it than our stuff back in the States so the engines
may fire up after all this time.” He looked back towards the vicinity of the
creatures and at the rising sun over the ocean. He handed his rifle to Eliza
and then started sliding down into the water.
“Hey,” Eliza said, resting her hand on top
of his as he clung to the boat dock.
“Yeah.”
“We’ll find her. Amy’s a fighter like you
and she’s probably just as worried about you right now.”
Eliza saw him clench his jaw and she could
see the old Jared returning, his blue eyes focusing on the choppy waters ahead.
Then he turned and slunk into the current, making his way towards the boats.
Chapter 24
Shiro powered down the speedboat as it
neared the weathered posts of the dock. The sun was almost above the horizon
and he could see the road in the distance behind the aquatics center starting
to fill with creatures. Though they had blocked the one entrance road long ago
with buses covered in razor wire, the occasional creature still got through,
especially if they were motivated by unfamiliar odors or noise.
Peering through the rear exit door of the
building was Haru, his eyes widening at the sight of the stranger clad in
military garb. Three slender zombies had slithered over the contorted bodies of
others caught in the razor wire and jumped down onto the street. While the men
disembarked from the boat, the creatures began sprinting. Yoshi was frantically
tethering the boat to the dock while Shiro unsheathed his sword. With the
creatures bounding like starved leopards on all fours, Shane’s suppressed M4
slightly crackled as he deftly dropped two of them with headshots within forty
feet. The third one was on the other side of Shiro and Shane couldn’t move in
time to make sure the man was clear of his muzzle. With blinding speed, Shiro
slid forward a few feet and then sidestepped with only a glint of steel
reflecting momentarily off the sun to indicate that his sword had just swept
through the air. The decrepit figure kept rushing forward, its body seemingly unaffected
by the head dropping off behind it like a ripe cherry. The decapitated creature
came crashing to a halt before the end of the parking lot, its severed spine
throbbing out black ooze upon the cement.
Shiro looked back at Shane without any
sentiment and nodded for everyone to retreat inside. With Yoshi securing the
door behind them, Shiro rushed up to a desk in the lobby. A cluster of radio
equipment, old laptops, and wiring were jumbled together. Shiro flipped a red
switch and then began adjusting a black dial until a CD began playing a karaoke
version of “Ring of Fire” by Johnny Cash.
Shane raised an eyebrow and looked at
Yoshi. “This music will play on speakers we have mounted on storefronts on the
other side of the barrier. It’ll draw the goryo away from the buses,” the
younger man said.
“My man, Cash, comes through for us even
now,” whispered Shane.
Nora and the other residents had descended
the stairs at the sound of the unfamiliar voice. Upon seeing Shane they slowly
crept around him in a circle, visually inspecting him like curious visitors
standing before a zoo observation window. Nora’s son Tyler was the only brave
one to reach out and try and touch Shane but his ambivalent mother quickly
pulled him back into her arms.
The room was silent and Shane could only
hear the droplets of water cascading off the inside
concealed platform.
Jared leaned out from under the lip of the
dock supports and scanned the offerings ahead. “Those three speed boats are all
in close proximity to each other. I’ll swim over there while you cover me from
here. The best bet is to untie all of them and let ’em drift into the bay. Then
we can swim aboard each one and see if they will get started.”
Jared rubbed the whiskers on his chin. “As
I mentioned on the flight over, the gasoline they used over here had more
chemical preservatives in it than our stuff back in the States so the engines
may fire up after all this time.” He looked back towards the vicinity of the
creatures and at the rising sun over the ocean. He handed his rifle to Eliza
and then started sliding down into the water.
“Hey,” Eliza said, resting her hand on top
of his as he clung to the boat dock.
“Yeah.”
“We’ll find her. Amy’s a fighter like you
and she’s probably just as worried about you right now.”
Eliza saw him clench his jaw and she could
see the old Jared returning, his blue eyes focusing on the choppy waters ahead.
Then he turned and slunk into the current, making his way towards the boats.
Chapter 24
Shiro powered down the speedboat as it
neared the weathered posts of the dock. The sun was almost above the horizon
and he could see the road in the distance behind the aquatics center starting
to fill with creatures. Though they had blocked the one entrance road long ago
with buses covered in razor wire, the occasional creature still got through,
especially if they were motivated by unfamiliar odors or noise.
Peering through the rear exit door of the
building was Haru, his eyes widening at the sight of the stranger clad in
military garb. Three slender zombies had slithered over the contorted bodies of
others caught in the razor wire and jumped down onto the street. While the men
disembarked from the boat, the creatures began sprinting. Yoshi was frantically
tethering the boat to the dock while Shiro unsheathed his sword. With the
creatures bounding like starved leopards on all fours, Shane’s suppressed M4
slightly crackled as he deftly dropped two of them with headshots within forty
feet. The third one was on the other side of Shiro and Shane couldn’t move in
time to make sure the man was clear of his muzzle. With blinding speed, Shiro
slid forward a few feet and then sidestepped with only a glint of steel
reflecting momentarily off the sun to indicate that his sword had just swept
through the air. The decrepit figure kept rushing forward, its body seemingly unaffected
by the head dropping off behind it like a ripe cherry. The decapitated creature
came crashing to a halt before the end of the parking lot, its severed spine
throbbing out black ooze upon the cement.
Shiro looked back at Shane without any
sentiment and nodded for everyone to retreat inside. With Yoshi securing the
door behind them, Shiro rushed up to a desk in the lobby. A cluster of radio
equipment, old laptops, and wiring were jumbled together. Shiro flipped a red
switch and then began adjusting a black dial until a CD began playing a karaoke
version of “Ring of Fire” by Johnny Cash.
Shane raised an eyebrow and looked at
Yoshi. “This music will play on speakers we have mounted on storefronts on the
other side of the barrier. It’ll draw the goryo away from the buses,” the
younger man said.
“My man, Cash, comes through for us even
now,” whispered Shane.
Nora and the other residents had descended
the stairs at the sound of the unfamiliar voice. Upon seeing Shane they slowly
crept around him in a circle, visually inspecting him like curious visitors
standing before a zoo observation window. Nora’s son Tyler was the only brave
one to reach out and try and touch Shane but his ambivalent mother quickly
pulled him back into her arms.
The room was silent and Shane could only
hear the droplets of water cascading off the inside
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