Outbreak (Book 1): Emerald City by Jay K. Anthony

Maybe I could have gotten one more toke off that. He sighed and reached for the remaining pack in his pocket. Only one cigarette remained. “Son of a bitch,” he said to himself. “Did I really smoke all these?” Shaking his head, he pulled out the cigarette and stuck the filter between his lips. With a flick of his disposable lighter, he lit up and sucked in a lungful of smoke just as Matt walked through the door behind him.
    “Well?” Matt asked. Luke shrugged as he crumpled up the empty cigarette pack and threw it into a corner. The place looked completely empty.
    “Nothing,” Luke said. He turned around to go to the next house, when he saw something they could make do. There was a small, two person row boat tied up and hanging on the far wall. “Hey,” he said and pointed at the boat. “Check this out.”
    “Perfect,” Matt said. He poked his head out the door. “Hey! Jackoffs! Quit screwing with the stupid zombie and head back to the boatyard. Wait for us in the van.”
    “Ok, Boss,” Ted said and pushed Pete in the direction of the house.
    Luke leaned his shotgun against the wall and followed a wooden dock around the inside of the boathouse to the rowboat. He grabbed hold of the craft and was pleased to find it light and manageable. Some kind of fiberglass toy that rich people played around with on a sunny day , he thought. He was able to lower it into the water by himself. Matt handed Luke his shotgun and pulled down two oars.
    “I don’t suppose you’re going to row?” Luke asked.
    “Why do you think I brought you along?” Matt replied and the two of them climbed into the boat.
    Luke immediately began to wonder what he had gotten himself into. The boat on the water was shaky and once they were out of the boathouse, the wind had picked up and was pushing them toward the shore. Luke looked west across the horizon and ugly clouds were gathering. “You sure about this?” he asked.
    “Don’t be a baby,” Matt replied. “Let’s get this done.”
    Luke didn’t know that he had much of a choice at this point, so he pulled on the oars and guided them across the water. He had trouble working the oars at first, but once he got his rhythm, it wasn’t so bad. With his cigarette clenched between his teeth, he rowed and guided the craft along the shoreline, back in the direction of Bowman’s.
    By the time he got to the wrecked bridge, his cigarette was long gone and his arms were burning like hell, so he brought the oars in.
    “What’s wrong?” Matt asked.
    “I’m tired,” Luke said and wanted a fresh cigarette. He dug in his gear and pulled out a new pack. One of two packs left , he thought. And Goddamn menthols. He lit up anyway. “You want to row?” he asked.
    “No,” Matt replied and looked up at a container ship near where they floated. It was what had crashed into the bridge.
    Luke followed his gaze. Big damn ship, he thought when he suddenly saw movement onboard. “Those zombies?” he asked. Matt used his hand to block the glare from his eyes and looked up at the ship.
    “Something,” he replied. “Yep. Here they come.”
    “Here they come, what?” Luke asked and watched. Three zombies had apparently seen them and jumped straight overboard into the water. They flailed as they fell and hit the water hard. Somewhere in the back of Luke’s mind he had wondered if a zombie could swim and it was quickly evident they could not. The three zombies buoyed to the surface, but choked and floundered in the water. They splashed and growled at Matt and Luke, but did not appear to have the mental capacity to actually swim. It did not take long for them to start going under. A minute later there was no sign of them.
    Luke’s stomach twisted thinking about how many dead zombies were probably in the water underneath them, and he picked up the oars. Time to go, he thought and steered the rowboat for the Bowman docks. He made good time and before long they were at the back of the boatyard. As he