Rotter Nation (6 page)

Windows’ eyes closed tight and tears flowed at the prospect of being safe.

Price suddenly gripped her mouth tight and slammed her back against the head rest. When she opened her eyes, he leaned into her, his face menacing and mere inches from her own.

“Now listen to me, you little cunt. You do as you’re Goddamned told from now on, or next time I won’t let Carter save you. Do you fucking understand me?”

Windows was too scared to answer.

Price slapped her across the cheek hard enough to make her teeth clatter. “Do you?”

Her eyes closed and the tears flowed even heavier. She croaked, “Yes.”

“Good. Because tonight we’re going to have a victory party, and you’re the entertainment.”

Clutching Windows by the hair, Price dragged her out of the Wrangler and shoved her into the back of the Liberty Sport.

“I feel like I’m in a war movie,” said Josephine as she paddled the four-man inflatable boat across the inlet from South Portland to the downtown area.

Sarah chuckled. “You’re a real G.I., Josephine.”

Emily leaned forward. “Honey, I’d gladly do this rather than fight rotters.”

“If you two don’t keep quiet you’ll be fighting a whole city of rotters,” whispered Ari.

The four Angels stopped talking as they made their way toward the row of marinas in the downtown area. Ari glanced over her shoulder. Clouds obscured the moon, and she could not see the others waiting for them along the banks of South Portland. She knew the rest of the Angels waited with two inflatable boats, all of which had been requisitioned, along with the night vision goggles that each woman wore, after a supply run to the Deerskin Trading Post. Once Ari’s team found a working vessel large enough to carry them all, she would radio back to shore, and Natalie would bring the rest of the girls over while Robson provided cover. Once at sea, the Angels would then sail to Omaha. A simple plan, if not insane. Insanity had worked well for them so far, so why mess with a good thing?

When they drew closer to the first marina, Ari pulled the night vision goggles over her eyes and switched them on. She scanned the various boats, hoping to find a yacht or other large craft that could hold all thirteen women and endure the trip. She had several to choose from, and concentrated on those closest to the end of the wharves where there were fewer rotters. The first wharf contained tourist shops and restaurants, with only small pleasure craft tied to its moorings. In the green light of the goggles, she could see hundreds of living dead swarming along its length. Ari raised her forefinger in front of her lips and pointed toward the wharf. The other Angels nodded and silently paddled past.

Not as many rotters were on the next wharf, although there were still way too many for her liking. A fifty-foot yacht sat docked at the end, making the risk worth it. Ari maneuvered the inflatable boat along the port beam, which faced into the bay. She scanned the length of the yacht for any signs of movement and saw nothing, and then the wharf beyond. None of the living dead were aware of their presence, which suited her just fine. They should be able to sneak aboard.

A pair of rotters appeared on the back deck and raced over to the guard rail, snarling at the women. Ari jumped back and nearly shoved Emily out of the boat. Josephine had the presence of mind to use her oar to push the inflatable boat away from the fifty-footer and back out into the inlet. The rotters leaned over the railing, grasping for the Angels as they paddled away. The commotion attracted the attention of those scattered along the wharf, and soon dozens of the living dead shambled toward them. Within minutes, the rotters on the two surrounding wharves had also become agitated, letting out a collective ungodly wail that shattered the silence and followed the Angels back out into the darkness of the inlet.

“I guess that’s the end of that,” said Josephine. “Should we head back?”

“Not yet,” replied Ari.

“Honey, you’re not serious about going back there?”

“Not there.” Ari pointed ahead of them. “There.”

The other Angels looked in the direction Ari referred to. Wharves extended into the inlet all along the coast. About a quarter of a mile to the east, one large wharf jutted out farther than the others. It belonged to the Casco Bay Ferry Terminal. Two smaller piers extended from the main wharf. The car ferry was moored to the first. Tied up to the second was a seventy-five-foot yacht. In the green light of the goggles, the Angels saw only a handful of rotters on the wharf.

“Well I’ll be damned,” said Sarah.

“You will be if those things catch you,” added Josephine.

“Can the chatter,” ordered Ari. “And start rowing.”

They paddled across the inlet and let the moaning of the living dead recede behind them. Ari scanned the ferry terminal, praying they wouldn’t stumble across a horde of the living dead wandering around out of sight. The closer they got, the better their prospects appeared. She counted only five rotters. Even more importantly, the yacht appeared operable. They needed to sneak on board without being detected, make sure the engines worked and the gas tanks were filled, get it started, and slip away before the hordes of the living dead set upon them. No sweat.

Coasting up to its starboard beam, Emily and Sarah used their hands to prevent the inflatable boat from bumping too loudly into the larger vessel’s hull, and then hand walked the inflatable boat down to the stern. Stopping before the end of the hull, Ari peered around the corner. The nearest rotter was more than a hundred feet away and walking away from them. The Angels gently paddled around to the stern. Ari turned to the others and spoke in a hushed voice.

“Josephine, once we’re on board, move the boat out of sight and wait for us. Warn us via radio if you’re spotted. Emily will check out the yacht to see if it’s sea worthy. Sarah and I will cover her. Any questions?”

The three women shook their heads.

“Let’s go.”

Ari withdrew her machete from its sheath and stepped onto the boarding platform built into the yacht’s transom, and then climbed the three steps onto the main deck. Emily followed. Brandishing her hunting knife, Sarah brought up the rear. When the others were safely aboard, Josephine paddled around to hide alongside the starboard beam.

While Sarah climbed the ladder to the flying bridge, Ari peered through the hatch into the main cabin.

“It looks clear,” whispered Ari.

“No rotters up here,” Sarah reported as she descended the ladder.

“Are the keys in the ignition?” asked Emily.

Sarah climbed back up. “Dammit, no. What do we do now?”

“Don’t give up hope, honey. There’s a lot of places they could be.” Emily made her way into the main cabin. “First, we need to see if this thing has any gas in it.”

Emily opened the floor hatch leading down to the engine room, ushered the other two down the stairs and followed, closing the hatch behind her. “Take off your night vision goggles.”

When both women complied, Emily switched on the light, illuminating the engine room in the soft glow of fluorescent lights. Emily made her way down the stairs and over to the twin engines.

“We know the batteries still work. That’s a good sign.”

“Can we do anything?” Ari asked.

Emily pointed to the work station behind and to their right. “Look around there for a spare set of keys.”

Emily stepped over to the gas tank and checked the gauge. “It’s full. With the batteries working, we should be able to start her up with no problem.”

“How do you know so much about yachts?” Ari asked.

“Honey, it’s all part of my sordid past.” Emily chuckled. “As a grad student I dated a frat boy whose dad came from old money. One summer, we borrowed his family yacht and toured the East Coast. He taught me a lot about running a yacht, as well as other things.”

“Got them.” Sarah lifted the keys above her head.

“I want to check on the food supplies,” said Ari. “And we have to make sure there are no rotters on board. Last thing I want are any surprises out at sea.”

Emily took the keys from Sarah and led the way back upstairs. Before opening the door, she switched off the lights. The women donned their night vision goggles. Moving down the yacht, they checked on the kitchen, pantry, and each stateroom. Whenever they reached a closed door, they would knock three times and wait. If no sounds came from the other side, Ari would open the door and Sarah and Emily would step in, ready to dispatch anything that greeted them. They found each stateroom empty. The two near the bow contained boxes of canned goods, bottled water, and other supplies.

Ari opened the closest unmarked box and found medical equipment as well as over the counter medicine. “Someone was getting ready to ride out the apocalypse on the high seas.”

Sarah reached in and pulled out a bottle of Motrin. “Thank God for us they never got a chance to shove off.”

“I wonder what happened to the owner,” Ari wondered aloud.

“He’s probably roaming the wharf,” said Emily. “If you ladies are ready, we can get this show on the road.”

Ari nodded. “Let’s get into position. I’ll call Robson.”

The three girls headed back to Josephine. None of them realized that the owner was still on board and had been immobile in the main stateroom’s bathroom, the one room they had failed to search. Now alert to the presence of humans, it made its way out into the stateroom, down the hall, and followed the sound of the food at the back of the yacht.

* * *

Robson leaned against the school bus’ fender. He stared across the inlet, although he knew that between the distance and the darkness he would not be able to see Ari’s party. That made him nervous. So far he had heard no commotion from Portland or received any calls for help, so he kept telling himself that no news was good news.

This time DeWitt’s team provided the perimeter defense because the Angels were down on shore with their inflatable boats ready to move out once they got the signal from Ari.

“Mike, are you there?” Ari’s voice could barely be heard over the radio.

“I’m here.”

“We found a yacht that we think is ready to travel. Now we need our diversion.”

“Where are you?”

“We’re at the end of the ferry terminal.”

“One diversion coming right up.” Robson dropped the radio back into his jacket pocket. He stepped down to the shore line, each of the Angels watching him expectantly. “Ladies, it’s show time. You know what to do.”

As the other Angels pushed their inflatable boats into the water, Natalie walked up to Robson and put her arms around him. The feel of her body against his was comforting, yet bittersweet. He had no idea how long it would be before he held her again, or if either of them would survive. Wrapping both arms around her shoulders, he hugged her tightly, savoring the last seconds they had together.

He couldn’t think of anything to say other than, “Be careful.”

“I will. Make sure you take care of yourself.” Natalie broke the hug, placed her hands on Robson’s cheeks, and kissed him. “I love you, and I don’t want anything to happen to you.”

“I love you, too.” Robson hugged her back. “See you soon.”

“I hope so.” Natalie ran down to the shore and climbed into the last inflatable boat. As the Angels paddled away and the pair of craft disappeared into the night, Robson walked back to the vehicles. He nodded to Dravko. “Are you ready?”

The vampire shrugged. “As ready as I’ll ever be.”

“Let’s go.”

DeWitt stepped up Robson. “Are you sure you don’t want us to go with you?”

“I want you guys to follow us only as far as the bridge and wait there. This should be easy. Be ready to come get us if we get into trouble.”

“Like that never happens,” said Dravko, sliding into one of the Humvees.

Climbing into the school bus, Robson sat in the driver’s seat, started the engine, and shifted into drive. Dravko moved the Humvee in behind him. The other vehicles followed, keeping their distance. The convoy moved through the deserted back streets of South Portland until they came upon the exit ramp for Route 77, which led to the Casco Bay Bridge. The other vehicles stopped on top of the span while Robson and Dravko continued across into Portland.

Robson raced into the downtown area, pressing on the horn, blaring in a single, continuous wail. From behind the chain link fences paralleling the road, thousands of gray, dead eyes turned in the direction of the noise. The living dead flowed toward the fences, pushing against them until the surfaces bulged like waves gliding across the ocean surface. More and more rotters joined the throng, shoving against the fence until Robson feared it might collapse. While that would provide the perfect diversion for the Angels, it would suck for him and Dravko.

He continued down Commerce Street until he reached the intersection with Franklin. The entrance to the Casco Bay Ferry Terminal sat off to his right. There were fewer rotters here than farther down, so the pressure on the fence would be less. He stopped and shifted into park. Dravko passed by and pulled the Humvee into a three-point turn. While the vampire reversed direction so they could get away, Robson pressed the horn, attracting the attention of those living dead around the terminal. Slowly, they made their way toward Commerce Street, leaving the terminal behind them.

* * *

From the flying bridge, Ari heard the commotion coming from Commerce Street and knew Robson was drawing the rotters away.

“Emily, that’s our cue.”

Emily slid the key into the ignition and twisted it to the right, then pressed the start button. From below decks, the twin engines turned over but would not catch. Emily tried three times without success.

“What do we do now?” asked Sarah.

“We find another boat,” answered Ari, forcing down her panic. “And fast.”

“With the rotters all stirred up? No fucking way.”

Emily switched the key to the off position. “Come on, honey,” she coaxed. “Don’t let me down.”