Dead Tropics (32 page)

Swallowing, I sat on the balcony's edge. I looked over at Mike who smiled encouragingly at me.
Okay, here goes nothing
. I pushed off with both feet, aiming to hook my arms around the branch. I hit it with my chest, knocking the wind out of me. As I flailed in panic, trying to get a footing, Mike reached down and gripped my hand firmly. I relaxed, knowing he had me and would never let go.

Once I'd found my feet and regained my breath, we started carefully making our way down the old mango tree. The horde was gathered only thirty feet away, so we made our way down with excruciating slowness and quietness. As we crouched on the lowest branch, Mike whispered. "We need to hit the ground running. Head for the back of the golf club. Ken said he'd leave keys in a golf cart for us."

I looked at him askance. "Golf cart? They're not very fast, are they?"

"They just need to be faster than those things." He tipped his head at the mob.
Point taken.

Mike lowered himself to the ground quietly, the thick trunk between him and the horde. Then I swung down and let him lower me quietly to the grass. Taking a deep breath, I nodded to let him know I was ready. He held his hand up, watching the sky. He was waiting for cloud cover, I realised. Without the moonlight revealing us, we might actually make it across unseen! Excitement and renewed hope filled me.

The night darkened as the moon disappeared behind heavy black clouds.

"Now." Mike whispered and we bolted into the open. Trying to run fast but lightly, I fought to keep pace with Mike's long stride. We managed to make it halfway across the park before the moon reappeared.

As we entered the car park, I saw the remainder of the horde, a large group of at least two hundred, mobbing the heavy doors of the clubhouse. Hopefully, that meant the horde didn't realise the group had gone already - and not that the group was still trapped inside. Racing for the side of the building, I heard the excited moans of the mob. We had been spotted.

My chest burned but knowing what awaited me if I slowed gave me the impetus to keep up with Mike as we rounded the back of the clubhouse. There, in a row, were three buggies. The first and second carts didn't have keys but, with deep relief, I saw that the the third cart did. Jumping in as Mike turned the cart on, I held on as the vehicle jerked forward. It darted forward over the landscaped grounds as corpses spilled around the corner. God, it seemed to go so slowly, even though I knew it was probably travelling at least twenty miles an hour.

Slowly, slowly, the distance between the mob and us increased. As we traversed a small hill and they disappeared from sight, I breathed a sigh of relief. The buzz in my head made me lightheaded. Grinning, I looked over at Mike and saw my baby still patiently sitting with her eyes covered. Laughing, I reached over and removed the blindfold. Blinking, she focused on my face and smiled in response to mine. Then she saw where she was and clapped her hands. "Ooh, buggy ride!"

Mike grinned at me. "That's what I love about kids. So easily pleased."

We steered clear of all dark patches as we drove across the beautifully manicured lawns. We didn't have the time or inclination to deal with any stray corpses lurking in bushes. Some minutes later, I spotted the gleam of the creek separating the golf course from the bay upon which the marina had been built. To my delight, I saw the dark shape of the two other golf carts and the figures standing around them. They were still here and safe!

Jumping out, I ran into the embrace of my family and friends. I kissed my children, then Jessie and Kaye. Mike was confronted by an ecstatic chihuahua who fought her way out of the backpack to jump into his arms and cover his face with licks.

I paused as I came to Ken and Lucas. As happy as I was to see them, the pain in their faces reflected the loss I was feeling. Wordlessly, we drew together in a long, tight hug. Finally, dropping our arms, I took Lucas' face in my hand. "She told me to take care of you, Lucas. You need to know that you are family - now and always." He nodded, eyes dark with emotion.

I turned to Ken. He was clearly struggling to be strong. We looked at each other for a long moment.

"We've only got a couple of hours till dawn, folks." Mike reminded us gently, returning an enthusiastic Phoebe to Jessie's backpack and picking up his own backpack, which Ken had been shouldering. "Let's get across."

"Um, aren't there crocodiles in this creek?" Michele asked nervously.

"Probably." I admitted. "Stick together and we should be fine. They like to pick out the stragglers."

I had no idea if that was true, actually, but we needed to get across that river, regardless.

The creek was only about thirty feet across. Ken seemed pretty confident that we could walk across, so the guys and Kaye, who was the tallest female in the group, carried the babies on their shoulders as we entered the cool water. Michele and Jessie stayed firmly in the middle of the group. I could see Michele casting nervous glances around us. Maybe I should have been more worried but I had yet to hear of a crocodile attack on a golf course in Cairns. Still, we all breathed a sigh of relief on making it safely to the other side.

"What now?" Ken asked, trying to squeeze water out of his shirt. A slight breeze made our dripping clothes chilly and uncomfortable. Mike nodded at the sand dune blocking the view of the marina.

"Let's check it out."

Ken, Mike and I struggled up the sandy bank and lay down just below the dune's edge. Mike pulled out the binoculars and focused on the marina sprawled below us. A few lights shone from boats moored there. In the dark, it was difficult to see any other details from the dune.

"What do you see?" Ken asked.

"Walking corpses."

I sighed. Figured. Part of me had hoped that the marina was somehow miraculously empty, silly as that was.

Mike lowered the glasses. "It'll be too dangerous for all of us to go to the marina. I suggest a couple of us fetch a boat while the rest wait on the beach."

"Yeah." I responded tiredly. "Makes sense." Turning to Ken, I asked. "Will you lead them to the beach, Ken? Keep them quiet and out of sight?"

Glancing from me to Mike and back, he looked ready to protest. Then he sighed. "I guess you two
are
a good team. You've already shown that. Okay, I'll wait for your signal."

Scrambling back down the dune, he gathered the group. I looked at Mike who was staring at me. "What?"

"You could sit this one out, you know, Lori."

Could I? As much as the thought appealed, our lives hung on the success of this mission. I knew how Mike worked, he knew how I worked. Ken was right; we were a good team. I wasn't about to risk the group's life by changing things up now. I smiled at him. "What, and miss out on all the fun? Not likely."

5

Keeping to the long grasses and palm trees that grew along the edge of the sand bank, Mike and I crept towards the marina. The moon glinted in the water which sloshed soothingly on the beach. It was a picture of serenity and beauty. I knew better. As we drew alongside the first row of boats, I could see dark figures wandering along the pier. The boathouse above the pier stood dark and forbidding.

"How are we going to do this?" I asked in a low whisper.

Mike nodded to the boats before us. "We swim out to the end of the pier, climb up the ladder and work our way through the boats till we find one with keys and fuel. Considering some of the owners must have been killed while still onboard, it shouldn't be too hard."

I swallowed, pretty confident it would be
bloody
hard. "Okay. Let's do it."

I glanced uneasily at the horizon. Was it my imagination or was there a ghost of a light already there? I knew dawn couldn't be far away.

Staying low, we slid into the gentle waves. I'd never really liked swimming in the sea. Between sharks, jellyfish and crocodiles, I had always found it hard to fully relax and enjoy the experience. Now I could add the possibility of walking corpses to the list of things that could be waiting for me beneath the water. However, except for a couple of scary moments when I felt unseen things brushed my legs, the swim to the end of the jetty was uneventful. Mike pulled himself up the ladder and paused at the top for me to join him.

"I'll check the left side, you check the right." He whispered. "Stay alert, Lori."

I nodded and scurried into the nearest boat, a fifty-foot sailing boat. I checked the ignition. Nothing. Pulling out my parang, I crept down the stairs into the living area. It was small but comfortably decorated, designed to feel like home. I glanced around, wondering where the owners would keep their keys. The kitchen? Keeping a wary eye out, I backed into the compact kitchen. No keys on the bench tops or hanging on the walls. I started searching through the drawers. As I bent down to peer into the bottom drawer, a sixth sense alerted me.

Spinning around and falling on my bum, I saw a man rushing at me. Swallowing a scream, I thrust my parang up defensively as the man flung himself on me. The knife lodged in his chest, giving me the space to throw him to the side. Scrambling to my feet, I swung my parang down, cleaving his forehead. Pulling the knife out, I brought it down again with all the force I could muster. Brains spilling out of his skull, the body stilled.

Breathing heavily, I spun around in case the noise had attracted any other corpse lurking in the ship. But nothing moved. Heart thumping, I quickly checked the rest of the ship but there were no further surprises. I moved back out onto the pier. Mike emerged from his ship and shook his head. Damn it.

I stepped onto the next ship, a fishing boat. Again, the keys weren't in the ignition. I searched the entire ship cautiously, but there was no trace of the keys. Feeling the dawn pressing on me, I hurried onto the next ship, a motor boat. As I searched the galley, I heard footsteps pounding down the stairs. Mike appeared in the doorway, looking grim. "We've got company."
Oh hell.

Rushing out, I saw a wall of dark bodies flooding down the jetty towards us. So many corpses pressed down the narrow wooden walkway, that bodies spilled into the sea continuously on either side.

Wordlessly, Mike and I ran to the next boat, a catamaran. Again, no keys. I smacked the side of the boat in frustration. As Mike searched below, I ran across the jetty to a large motorboat. To my delight, I spotted keys in the ignition.

"Mike!" I screamed excitedly, scrambling into the boat. As I reached for the keys, a moan brought me to a stop. A man, grey haired with dulled eyes, stood up from behind the captain's seat. From the cabin, a woman stumbled as she tried to climb up.

Mike came up beside me.

"You take the woman, I'll handle the man." He murmured. Nodding, I lifted my parang in preparation and slid cautiously forward. At the top of the stairs, I waited for her to look up at me. The middle-aged woman bared her teeth at me although her eyes remained emotionless. With a powerful swipe of the knife, I lopped off her head. It bounced off the steps as the body fell to the side. Turning around, I saw Mike stepping over the man's fallen body to turn on the ignition.

Glancing around, I saw, with an ice-cold chill, that the mob was only minutes away. The whole length of the jetty jostled with corpses desperate for us. Noting them, Mike turned the ignition. Nothing. He tried again. Grimly, he turned to me. "Might be a spark plug but we don't have time to find out."

Scrambling onto the jetty with Mike behind me, I looked around desperately. Just ahead of the mob spilling down the jetty was a speedboat tied to a cruiser. Blood smeared the back of it. I looked at Mike and he nodded. We bolted across the boardwalk. It seemed I could feel the zombies' hands on my neck as I screeched to a halt ahead of them and leapt into the speedboat.

"Keys!" I yelled ecstatically. Pausing to remove the mooring rope, Mike leapt in after me and grabbed the outdoor motor with surety. Tilting it back, he quickly opened the tank vent, moved the shift gear into neutral and adjusted the choke.

"Mike." I whispered, voice quivering. Glancing up, he muttered a choice word as he saw corpses above us.

Standing up, he swung his rifle up. As he took careful aim, he spoke to me in a measured tone. "Lori, you need to prime the fuel system. Squeeze the line until it feels firm and then pull the cord. Got it?"

I nodded, my heart in my throat, as I stared into the faces of the zombies, so close I could count the lines and wounds on their faces in the moonlight. As Mike fired, taking out the nearest body, I primed the gas-line bulb with shaking hands, trying to decide if it felt firm or not. Rapidly, Mike aimed and shot, aimed and shot. As quickly as the bodies fell down or off the jetty, more took their place.

Finally, I pulled the cord. The engine stuttered. With more strength, I pulled the cord again. It roared for a moment, filling me with excitement. As the head of the drifting boat bumped along the jetty, corpses threw themselves at us. To my dismay, several hit the boat, causing it to rock severely. Mike stumbled and fell over a corpse as it moaned on the bottom of the boat. Desperately, I pulled at the cord again
. Please, God, start!
The engine roared to life. I don't think I had ever heard such a sweet sound in my life.