The Last Infection: A Post Apocalyptic Thriller (24 page)

Jenn’s statement shocked Chris for two reasons. The idea of finding some way to get up on the deck of a massive vessel, lying half-sunk seemed pointless. More importantly, Jenn clearly said,
you’ve
got to get on that ship, and not
we
. The look in her eyes told him she meant precisely that.

Chris eyed
a lone remaining line connected between the dock and the vessel and headed for it. The massive cable was as thick as a tree trunk, but the idea of climbing on it was a terrifying thought. There was little choice in the matter and the approaching army along the western edge of the dock proved they were out of options. Chris was caught off guard when Jenn snatched her arm away from him.

“What are you doing?”
Chris asked as she backed away from him toward an opening between the containers. “We have to get up there.”

Jake had already figured out the plan on his own and was helping
Alicen up on the line beyond the tie off point. They stopped what they were doing as Jenn continued to back away.

“I can’t make that climb,” she said.

Chris shook his head and took a step toward her. They swiveled their attention between one another and the fast approaching horde barreling toward them.

“You don’t know that,” Chris said
as he held out his hand. “I’ll help you.”

“It’s over for me,” she said
. She started to cry as she gazed at Jake and Alicen. “Take care of each other.”

Jake had to throw his arms around
his sister to keep her from jumping off the line and running after Jenn.

“Don’t leave,”
Alicen cried. “I love you.”

Jenn was balling
when she took another step back. The blood from her arm ran down her hand and onto her pants. “You have to get up there. I love you too, baby.” She wiped at her tears and smeared blood across her face. “You’re going to make it.” Chris took another step toward her and she yelled at him. “Get away from me, damn it. Save yourselves.” Chris took one last step and she spun around and ran directly toward the advancing dead.

“Jenn
.”

She didn’t
look back.

“Jenn?”

He tore himself away from the view and reached the kids. Alicen was still trying to get away from Jake, but the boy had a firm grip around her. Chris grabbed her face with both hands and made her look into his eyes.

“She’s gone,” he said. “She’s gone.”
Alicen’s eyes locked on him. “She wanted you two to be safe, and right now, we need to get up on that ship.” She sniffled and wiped her nose. “Do you understand?”

Al
icen nodded and pulled away. Then she started up the enormous line on her hands and feet. Jake went after her. Chris prepared to climb, but he wasn’t sure he could do it. Jake was having a difficult time, moving much slower than his sister was.

Chris put one hand out in front of the other, using his knees to push forward. The line
began to sway and he felt his stomach churn. He tried not to look at the masses rushing toward them, but he knew they would reach the end of the line within seconds. Fear urged him to move until his forehead was pushing up against Jake’s backside.

They were a few feet off the dock when the first of the infected reached the tie off
point. The sway from the initial impact almost sent Alicen crashing into the chilly waters below. The line swung to one side and the vibration was enough to force Chris to wrap both arms around the cable. The roar of the wicked crowd engulfed the climbers.

Chris peered over his shoulder long enough for the sight to steal his breath away. The infected covered every inch of the area, each of them howling and snapping their jaws at the moving meals. The dead
crammed in around them, swiping their hands out in the air. They reached out for Chris and the kids, some falling into the water as they got to close to the edge.

The line r
ocked back and forth as the horde worked itself into a frenzy. Chris saw the first of the infected trying to get up on the line. He clenched with his thighs as his knees slipped. A scream from Alicen pulled his attention up ahead. He saw the girl lose her balance and flip around on the line, hanging upside down by her hands. Jake wrapped one arm around the cable and pressed his chest against it. Then he leaned out and grabbed hold of her wrist.

Chris was barely hanging on. He tried to edge himself forward
, but Jake’s feet kept him from moving. Alicen was screaming at the top of her lungs, but it was barely audible over the frenzied chorus from the dock. Jake pulled at his sister and she feverishly flung her legs up, trying to wrap one around the line. Her heel hit the mark several times before she swung hard enough to stick it up on the top side. Jake kept hold until she got the other leg wrapped around.

The first of the infected managed to stay up on the line behind them and
appeared to consider their options as it swayed. Jake helped Alicen right herself and she was moving again as an infected woman took several steps. Chris gawked over his shoulder at her as she tried to walk the line like a tightrope. More infected got up behind the first, each watching the female for direction.

Chris was moving again
, but the pace was painfully slow. They reached the midway point when the first of their followers tumbled off the line into the water now far below. Chris counted half a dozen still trying to make the climb. A few of the infected figured out that hands and knees offered a much better chance to reach their meal.

The trio was near the side of the ship when they reached the worst of the incline. The vessel sat on the water at a
forty-five degree angle with the deck slanting away from the dock. The line held at a fairly steady incline until the last several feet. Alicen pulled herself up the rest of the way. She had a hold of the railing and Jake pushed her feet to get her up and over the side.

Chris held still
, watching the cable. The infected hopelessly attempted to follow, their erratic and uncontrollable twitches making the climb impossible. None of them could make it to the midway point before plummeting into the water. Chris waited until the kids were up and over the side before he took his turn. His first look at the wide deck came as he climbed over the railing. They were forced to hold on to keep from sliding across the deck and off the other side.

One look at the damage to the deck
told them a fight had gone on there. Broken and battered canisters littered the far side railing. The walls along the cabin and the distant bridge were riddled with bullet holes. The first glance confirmed that the enormous space below deck would produce a nightmare’s worth of danger.

“What do we do?”

The answer to Jake’s question popped into Chris’ head a moment before he replied.

“We find a lifeboat.”

The first sign of what awaited them appeared as Chris gauged the distance between the railing and the edge of the staircase out in front of them. The sounds came from the open hatch leading into the heart of the cabin area. The moans of the dead bellowed out with hungry desire. The dreadful call told the survivors that their fight was far from over.

25.

The dead
emptied out of the bridge door like clowns pushing their way out of a car at the circus. Every time Chris looked back, there were more pulling themselves out of the dark opening. Moving on the deck created several problems for the living without any consideration for the dead. The surface was covered with smears of blood and only God knows what else. To make matters worse, the angle of the ship made it impossible to walk without holding on to something.

“Try to get over to the railing by the stairs,” Chris said,
keeping one eye on the dead behind them and scanning the doors leading to the cabin area. “Sit down on your butt and slide across.” The moaning was coming from both directions, but the inhabitants of the cabin areas had yet to show themselves.

Jake was holding onto the side railing with one hand and
Alicen with the other. The little girl was following directions as best as a terrified eight year old could manage. She was on her butt, aiming her feet toward the interior railing, but she refused to let go of the post. The only thing keeping them from becoming brain food was that the dead were having even more of difficult time walking on the deck.

“Let go and I’ll reach out as far as I can,” Jake
said, trying to keep from yelling at his sister. “You won’t have far to slide, I promise.”

Al
icen nodded, but didn’t let go of the post. Jake took his eyes off her for a second to look toward the bridge, and as he did, she let go. Alicen slid away and slipped from Jake’s hand. The boy jumped for her without thinking and Chris was too slow to react to do anything about it.

Al
icen screamed as she went across the slick boards. Her feet hit the railing with a solid thud. The momentum brought her up and she smacked the top bar at her mid section and had to grab hold to keep from flipping over and falling down the stairs on the other side.

Jake wasn’t
so lucky. The boy hit the rail at the lead post to the stairs. The blow struck him on the ribs and the impact knocked the air out of his lungs. His cry told Chris there was serious damage. Alicen sidestepped her way over to him as Chris prepared himself to slide down to where they were.

Chris followed his own directions and got down on his backside before letting go. He kept his legs out straight and felt the impact when his feet
struck the railing. He was up quick and caught sight of movement down below. Several figures approached the stairs from the next floor down, each trying to work their way up to the top deck.

“Give me your hand,” he
said, reaching for Jake. The boy was balled up tight, unable to stretch his side. “You have to get to your feet.” Chris’ eyes were on several stumbling zombies crossing the deck from the bridge. Every few steps, a few would slip and tumble down the slanted deck, smack into the far side railing, then flip over into the water. There were enough of them slowly making their way across to convince Chris that at least a few would make it. “Get up now.”

Jake took his hand and let out a
shriek as he was jerked to his feet. He doubled over, grabbing his side as he struggled to remain standing. Chris eyed the movement on the stairs from the other side of the rail and saw the first putrefying scalp and bloated face push up from the darkness below. He shoved Alicen closer to her brother and scanned their surroundings.

Chris was sure
that if they were going to find a lifeboat, it would be on the far side of the ship. He located several support arms extending from the deck near the ships aft. He stepped around the kids and grabbed hold of the post at the top of the stairs. He aimed himself toward a large clasp bolted to the floor about ten feet toward the center of the deck, then let go of the post.

He took short,
slow steps, leaning back toward the higher side of the ship. He realized halfway to his target that the zombies still moving toward him were walking in a similar fashion. He couldn’t tell if it was by intelligent discovery or not, but the thought of them
figuring it out
was terrifying. Chris reached the clasp and leaned down to grab hold. He counted three undead nearing him and a shout from Alicen told him that the figures from the floor below were near the top of the steps.

“You’re going to have to slide to me,” Chris said
, realizing they were out of time.

“What?” Jake asked.

“Alicen first,” Chris instructed, “Push her out away from you and I’ll catch her as she slides by.” The boy’s eyes opened impossibly wide, enough so, Chris knew he didn’t believe him. Alicen’s two steps further down the railing told him she didn’t either. “Move your ass.”

Al
icen screamed again as a badly disfigured head popped up above the top of the stairs. Its face was blue and bloated beyond recognition. Its sole remaining eye was three times normal size and its blackened tongue hung out one side of its mouth, dangling as it walked. It reached up for Alicen through the railing and grabbed hold of her foot.

Jake
tugged on his sister as the girl howled. She pulled her foot free and stomped on the lunging hand before she got around her brother. Jake didn’t hesitate, once he got both hands on her. He slammed her down on the deck without explanation and pushed her out away from the railing. Alicen kicked and screamed, trying to grab hold of something, but she was already sliding before she had a chance.

Chris
steadied himself with one hand clutching the deck clasp and the other out wide at the ready. Alicen flew toward him, picking up speed as she went. The little girl lashed out for him, desperately trying to grab hold of something. Chris crouched down as low as he could and swept his arm around her. The impact pulled him back with intense force. His fingers nearly snapped as he tried to hold on to the clasp. Alicen clung to him and her head whipped back as her momentum came to a sudden stop.

“Grab a hold
on this,” he pointed to the fastening. “Lean out away from it.”

He
didn’t have time to make sure she did as she was told. Jake had already let go of the post and was trying to walk toward them. His foot slipped on the first step and he nearly fell. The bloated zombie cleared the top step and took a swipe at the boy, missing him by a hair. Three of the undead managed to cross the deck and were now closing in from the other side.

Jake took two small
steps, and then froze. He wobbled from side to side as he tried to steady himself. In one glorious moment, his feet came out from under him and he was down. The zombie at the stairs was out on the deck having as difficult a time with its balance as Jake was. The sequence that followed looked choreographed from Chris’ viewpoint.

The bloated zombie’s graying bare feet slipped backward and it fell flat on its face. A second
later, both Jake and it were sliding down toward Chris’ outstretched hand. The walking corpse moaned as it slid, matching Jake’s cries for help. Chris grabbed Jake by the arm after the two missed hands in passing. The pull almost jerked Chris from the clasp and the yank on his shoulder nearly pulled it out of socket.

Jake was trying to get up on his feet when the zombie reached
the clasp. It lashed out and managed to grab hold of Chris’ leg, kicking Jake in the face in the process. Chris felt Jake slipping from his grasp and he couldn’t hold on. The boy yelled, and then slid away.

Chris saw
Alicen let go of the clasp, but there was little he could do about it. He kicked at the zombie as it pulled itself up by his pants. In quick succession, it had hold of his belt, then a pocket on his jacket. Chris beat of the side of its head with his free hand as it tried to bite through his shirt. The blows knocked its head back far enough to keep it from sinking its teeth in.

The zombie seized two hands full of jacket and tried to pull itself up face to face with its victim. Chris grabbed it by the throat and squeezed. He pushed with all his strength
, but couldn’t break its hold of him. It lunged at him over and over, snapping its jaws an inch from Chris’ face. The reek of death poured out of its decaying mouth, saturating Chris’ senses.

Chris squeezed with all his might and
he was rewarded with a tear. The blue skin ripped at the throat, but still, it tried to bite him. A second more, and Chris felt the innards of the throat on his fingers and he pulled. The esophagus shredded beneath his grip and his finger wrapped around the bone. Chris yanked until the bone snapped and even as the head rolled back and split from the rest of the body, its jaw snapped at him. The body went limp and slid across the deck, ending with a splash into the water.

“Jake?” H
e scanned the far side railing, but didn’t see any sign of the boy. “Alicen.” A movement closer to the side of the ship caught his eye and he spotted her. “Stay there.” She had her back against the side of a metal crate bolted to the deck. “Where’s Jake?”

The little
girl didn’t respond. She was moving to one side, working her way to the edge of the crate. Chris followed her direction and found Jake beyond the crate against the railing. He wasn’t moving and Chris feared the worst.

“I’m coming, wait there.”

He didn’t know if she would listen, but first, he had to figure out how he was going to get down to her. Alicen kept moving and he made a rash decision. Using his hold on the clasp as leverage, Chris ran his feet along the deck for momentum and let go. The result was an angled slide directed at Alicen and the crate. The distance was further than he realized and he closed in at a high rate of speed.

Chris hit the crate feet first with the impact of a car crash. The shock sent pain up his legs through his back and neck. He lay against the wet deck trying to shake the throbbing from his head. He was sure he’d lost an inch or two from his overall height. He managed to get his eyes open as
Alicen began to straddle herself around the end of the crate.

“Hold on.”

He reached out for her and instantly regretted it. His body shook with residual pain and he rolled over, ending face down on the deck.

“I can see him,”
she said. “He’s hurt. I see blood.”

Chris tried to move again and found the experience only parti
ally paralyzing. He forced himself to sit up. He had his feet flush against the crate and reached out for it as he tried to stand. He was up a few seconds later, but Alicen was half way around the edge of the crate reaching out for something. He took a step towards her, but she slipped out of view, following with a yelp.

He rushed
forward, ignoring the sting in his hips. The deck was littered with decomposing figures, all trying to stay on their feet. They were fixated on him. Some lost their balance and fell, sliding into the railing below him, and then tumbling over the side. Chris gauged them to be far enough away that he could keep his attention on getting the kids under his control.

He pressed his chest up against the side of the crate and slid his head out around the
edge. The steep angle of the ship made him feel like he was lying down. He found Alicen first, only a few feet away, hanging on to the container’s door release lever. Jake was further down against the deck rail. Chris readied himself to move.

“Hold still
and don’t let go.”

Al
icen had her feet against the deck, but her grip on the lever was keeping her in place. Chris reached out as far as he could and felt the metal bar with his fingertips. He was forced to come out from the side of the container to get a firm grip. He planted his feet and walked toward Alicen, now with both hands firmly on the lever.

“I’m going to go do
wn first,” he said. “Once I get myself to the railing, I’ll make my way over to your brother.”

“I want to go with you,”
she said. Her eyes were on the growing number of figures further up on the deck. “Don’t leave me here.” She jumped as another zombie lost its footing and plummeted down. It slid by dangerously close and managed a swipe at Chris as it did. “Don’t leave me here,” she repeated.

Chris studied the railing closer and discovered several undead lying up against it. Each of them had undoubtedly made the fall from further up
, but they were saved from a watery end. Most of them were horribly bent and broken, but still trying to move.

“Fine,” he said. “
I’ll get to the railing then you can drop down to me.”

He didn’t wait for her response. The distance between the front of the crate and the rail was no more than a couple dozen feet. The trick
, he guessed, was hitting the railing so he didn’t slide between the bars and off the side of the ship. Chris mentally rechecked his footing, leaned back, trying to match the angle of the deck, then let go of the lever.

He made it several steps before
the trouble started. One foot slipped out from under him and he managed to keep from falling. It was when he was sure he was ready to continue that he lost his balance altogether. The result was a ten-foot slide that ended with him up against the railing and a pole parting his legs. The hit nearly caused him to vomit as his manhood tried to climb up into his stomach. Alicen called out to him as he tried to remember how to breathe.

He turned his head and found Jake a few feet away. Chris watched the boy’s chest and was relieved to see it rise
then fall. Jake’s breaths were shallow, but at least, he was breathing. He turned his attention back to Alicen. She was already trying to get a footing when he turned over and got on his knees. She made about as many safe steps as he managed before sliding the rest of the way. Chris got hold of her before she hit the rail.