Knight in the City: A Zombie Apocalypse Survival Tale by Stephen J. Beard

 
    Monday, January 12, 2015
                  I look over at John and he attempts to smile.  At least I’m not by myself.  It’s not that cold today but we’re all huddled in the wheelhouse of the Beauregard.  It’s always colder on the water.
                  Ben and Tyler, Captain Ron Rendina’s two trusted lieutenants are acting like everything is fine and dandy.  Or, as fine and dandy as the apocalypse gets.  Tyler is piloting the boat as the Coast Guard station comes into view.  We’re not far from the City Marina now.  Not far from Ben and Tyler trying to kill us.
                  My dad, Ryan, told John and I before we left that he was sure we were being set up on this supply run.  He was sure Capt. Rendina was sending us to be killed.
                  I close my eyes and I can see my dad in the pillory.  Every lash to the skin of his back goes by in slow motion.  He’s crying out in pain.  I’ve only seen him cry twice:  getting whipped in the pillory and when my mom, Samantha died.  It’s the most heartbreaking thing I’ve seen so far in my life.  I hope I never see him cry again.  But, the world has gone crazy and I don’t think I’ll get my wish.  Well, I will if Ben and Tyler do what Capt. Rendina told them to do.
                  Ben and John handle the lines.  Maybe John can take Ben out while they’re out of Tyler’s sight.  Then we can take out Tyler and be safe.  I’ve killed plenty of zombies now, but I don’t know how I’d do killing a living human.  Ben and John come back up to the wheelhouse together.
                  “All right,” said Ben.  “Get your gear together.”
                  “Do we have a plan?” asked John.
                  “Find a vehicle in the lot here at the marina and head to the hospital.  Roper is closest,” he replied.
                  “What medical supplies are we looking for?” John asked.
                  Tyler held up a slip of paper.
                  “We have a list,” he said.
                  There were only a few zombies on the docks.  Ben was in front and he pushed the first few into the water rather than shooting them with the crossbow and losing the bolts.  I could see zombies on some of the boats as we went by.  Some were behind glass sliding doors.  Some were on the decks.  One fell into the water trying to get to us.  I watched him drift away with the tide still trying to get at me.
                  At the end of the pier was a marina store and a parking lot.  There were plenty of cars for us to take but even I could see it wasn’t going to work.  The road was blocked.
                  Tyler climbed up onto the hood of a car to get a better look, ignoring the zombie inside.
                  “New plan,” he said.  “We’re walking.”
                  “That’s a pretty horrible plan,” said John.
                  “You have a better one?” asked Tyler.
    “Yeah, we get back on the boat and go back to the fort.  Downtown Charleston is going to be full of zombies.  The hospital is too far on foot,” said John.
    “Captain Rendina tells you to do something, you do it.  We can’t go back to the fort empty handed,” answered Ben.
    John just shook his head.
    Tyler led us out of the parking lot with Ben in the back of the group.  They kept John and me in the middle.  I noticed we came off the boat like that.  I guess that way they could keep an eye on us.  They had to suspect we knew that something was up.
    Cars were everywhere this close to the western bridges.  Some were where they were supposed to be but many more were scattered about as people panicked trying to get out of the city.  The center lane was blocked with accidents and other cars were on the sidewalk where they’d tried to get around the