already though and chugging the water like she hadn’t had a drop in a long time.
“Where are we going? How will mommy and daddy find us?” Uma asked
“When things calm down we’ll send them a note, or we can try to get in touch with them on a radio. We are going to a safe island. We are going to take a boat ride. Those bad guys won’t be able to follow us once we get on the water.”
“The zombies,” Uma said with certainty.
“They aren’t zombies, Uma,” her sister argued.
“Yes, they are!” Exclaimed her very certain sister.
“Are they zombies, Alexis?” Reese looked at me, waiting for me to tell her sister she was wrong.
“By definition I don’t know what else to call them. They seem to be the reanimated dead. They aren’t infected people, like people with a cold or a disease or even crazy people. They don’t seem to be able to do more than just simple tasks. This is what fiction usually labels a zombie. I’m afraid to say it, but Uma is right.”
“Told you.” Uma rolled her eyes and I was actually glad to see that little bit of defiance, it showed that she wasn’t in shock.
“The news just called them sick people, that they were mentally deranged, or that they were insane with a fever. Do you think that is why my aunt didn’t come back from the store? She’s a zombie now?” Reese asked.
“I think the news didn’t want to scare everyone. That’s why they called the sick people. And maybe your aunt hid somewhere and couldn’t reach you, I don’t really know.”
“I thought the news was supposed to report the truth.” Reese said skeptically.
“I thought so too.” I shrugged my shoulders and turned in my seat to take stock of our location. We were pulling up to the flood wall and Blake had outrun or overrun all of the zombies, so there wasn’t one in sight. He pulled through the gates and then radioed to Zachary to get Tillman to shut the gates so nothing could follow us in.
The gate was on rollers and slammed shut with a loud clang. Tillman jumped back in the Humvee and we were moving again, headed for the boat. Yesterday it was just me and Blake. Now we had added four more adults and two kids to our ranks. The boat was big enough for maybe one night, but we would get cramped soon enough. I hoped the island base was the salvation Blake and Zachary said it was.
THIRTEEN | Hope and a Tugboat
There were a few zombies milling about the warehouse. Blake and Zachary dispatched them quickly with the big knives that were now a must-have accessory in this post-apocalyptic world. I had to get one of those. The main shipping warehouse we had docked the boat near was surrounded by a large fence so the majority of little worker zombies were corralled without a way out. Their moans and reaching hands were unsettling, but they weren’t able to get to us.
Blake and Zachary had pulled right out onto the platform with the Humvees and both searched the horizon for anything to use for extra transportation. I know they wanted another boat. I didn’t think the ferry was feasible, a little overkill to be honest, but there had to be something they could use.
“There,” Marquez shouted and pointed to a tugboat about a quarter mile down river. “I should be able to man that thing and we can fit one of these bitches on the back of it, looks like a 120 footer.” He patted the Humvee like it was a pet. “We ain’t leaving you, baby. Might be a bitch to get it off, but we gotta try.”
“Fine, Kirk and Marquez, come with me, let’s get that tug. We’ll try and get it as close as possible. Tillman drive the Humvee onto the aft deck when we signal. We are not going to have a ramp, so you’ll have to just drive it over the side.” Zachary gave orders and the men around him nodded their acquiescence.
“We’ll bring the yacht in and load it with a few of the guns, the rest we can put on the tug. C’mon Alexis, help me haul some of this onto
“Where are we going? How will mommy and daddy find us?” Uma asked
“When things calm down we’ll send them a note, or we can try to get in touch with them on a radio. We are going to a safe island. We are going to take a boat ride. Those bad guys won’t be able to follow us once we get on the water.”
“The zombies,” Uma said with certainty.
“They aren’t zombies, Uma,” her sister argued.
“Yes, they are!” Exclaimed her very certain sister.
“Are they zombies, Alexis?” Reese looked at me, waiting for me to tell her sister she was wrong.
“By definition I don’t know what else to call them. They seem to be the reanimated dead. They aren’t infected people, like people with a cold or a disease or even crazy people. They don’t seem to be able to do more than just simple tasks. This is what fiction usually labels a zombie. I’m afraid to say it, but Uma is right.”
“Told you.” Uma rolled her eyes and I was actually glad to see that little bit of defiance, it showed that she wasn’t in shock.
“The news just called them sick people, that they were mentally deranged, or that they were insane with a fever. Do you think that is why my aunt didn’t come back from the store? She’s a zombie now?” Reese asked.
“I think the news didn’t want to scare everyone. That’s why they called the sick people. And maybe your aunt hid somewhere and couldn’t reach you, I don’t really know.”
“I thought the news was supposed to report the truth.” Reese said skeptically.
“I thought so too.” I shrugged my shoulders and turned in my seat to take stock of our location. We were pulling up to the flood wall and Blake had outrun or overrun all of the zombies, so there wasn’t one in sight. He pulled through the gates and then radioed to Zachary to get Tillman to shut the gates so nothing could follow us in.
The gate was on rollers and slammed shut with a loud clang. Tillman jumped back in the Humvee and we were moving again, headed for the boat. Yesterday it was just me and Blake. Now we had added four more adults and two kids to our ranks. The boat was big enough for maybe one night, but we would get cramped soon enough. I hoped the island base was the salvation Blake and Zachary said it was.
THIRTEEN | Hope and a Tugboat
There were a few zombies milling about the warehouse. Blake and Zachary dispatched them quickly with the big knives that were now a must-have accessory in this post-apocalyptic world. I had to get one of those. The main shipping warehouse we had docked the boat near was surrounded by a large fence so the majority of little worker zombies were corralled without a way out. Their moans and reaching hands were unsettling, but they weren’t able to get to us.
Blake and Zachary had pulled right out onto the platform with the Humvees and both searched the horizon for anything to use for extra transportation. I know they wanted another boat. I didn’t think the ferry was feasible, a little overkill to be honest, but there had to be something they could use.
“There,” Marquez shouted and pointed to a tugboat about a quarter mile down river. “I should be able to man that thing and we can fit one of these bitches on the back of it, looks like a 120 footer.” He patted the Humvee like it was a pet. “We ain’t leaving you, baby. Might be a bitch to get it off, but we gotta try.”
“Fine, Kirk and Marquez, come with me, let’s get that tug. We’ll try and get it as close as possible. Tillman drive the Humvee onto the aft deck when we signal. We are not going to have a ramp, so you’ll have to just drive it over the side.” Zachary gave orders and the men around him nodded their acquiescence.
“We’ll bring the yacht in and load it with a few of the guns, the rest we can put on the tug. C’mon Alexis, help me haul some of this onto
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