Chapter 18
After everyone reconvened on the sailboat,
Alejandro piloted the vessel on a route that ran parallel to the seemingly
endless strip of hotels dotting the coast of Cancun.
“This used to be a city of half a million
when tourism was in full swing,” he said. “There are going to be a lot of those
things roaming around but they mostly stay by the buildings and hotels so you
shouldn’t run into too many along the beach.”
“I concur,” said Shane, pointing to the
shoreline. “From my brief scan of the area, it looks like the helo is located
on a police helipad between two buildings over there.”
“That’s the Coral Beach Resort and the
Endless Fiesta Hotel,” said Alejandro. “They mostly kept the helicopter there
for med-evacs from all the drunken college kids who got head injuries diving
into the outdoor pool at night.”
“Looks like the majority of creatures are
concentrated on the main street away from the beach. The best bet is to swim in
to the shoreline when it gets dark,” said Shane. “Getting to the helipad
shouldn’t be more than a twenty-minute sprint up the beach past the resorts and
over to the helipad but once that helo gets started, it’s going to draw a lot
of attention. We’ll need a distraction.”
“I can sail over to one of the docks and torch
one of the boats moored there,” Alejandro said. “Such an explosion will provide
the diversion you need.”
“Matias and I will get to the chopper and,
if all goes well, meet you back at the island,” Shane said, raising his hand as
he saw Carlie step forward to include herself. “I know you’re the boss but I
know my physical capabilities swimming in rough surf and Matias is the only guy
who can fly that rig. If anything happens to us, you’re the one who has the
contacts and passcodes for re-establishing contact with our government and
ensuring Pavel makes it back.”
Carlie folded her arms and frowned. She
knew Shane was right but staying behind didn’t sit well with her. “Alright, but
Alejandro and I will provide cover support from the boat with our rifles. We’re
not going to be very effective at this range and in these choppy waves for long
but it will give you a head start.”
“Sounds like a plan,” said Shane, who was
looking at Carlie and then beyond her at the low-hanging sun. “Let’s move the
boat in towards the shoreline in two hours at dusk and then we’ll liberate our
new bird from its zombie showroom.”
Chapter 19
As the sun dipped below the horizon,
casting its rosy fingers upon the water, Shane and Matias slid over the edge of
the sailboat into the ocean. Each man was clad only in a pair of shorts and had
a rifle slung tightly on his back along with individual fannypacks which
contained their tactical knives, pistols and a handful of magazines.
The mile swim to shore was uneventful as
the sun set and a partial moon illuminated the way. Shane noticed an old but
familiar feeling of subtle separation anxiety from his support crew on the boat
as the gulf between him and the boat increased. He’d felt it numerous times on
combat insertions similar to this where the umbilical cord back to your vessel
was severed as you entered hostile territory and were solely dependent on your
skills and the man beside you for survival. Only this time, there’d be no
search-and-rescue mounted if they didn’t return or were overwhelmed by superior
numbers.
As they approached an empty dock that
jutted two feet into the bay, they swam underneath the barnacle-encrusted
support beams until their feet touched the sandy surface below. Matias came up
alongside Shane and they both studied the beach ahead from their concealed
position. In the distance a few hundred zombies were staggering along the beach
between the resorts and the shoreline. These creatures were spread out over a
two-mile distance with some around the thatched cabanas while others moved
around inside the hotel courtyards that faced the ocean.
Shane looked at his old friend, whose face
was partially visible in the moonlight. “Did you ever think we’d go from
busting dope smugglers in the Sonoran Desert to doing an over-the-beach
insertion into Cancun to snag a helo from zombie central?”
“Every day I shake my head and pray to God
that he will release me from this same nightmare—the one where I lost my wife
and kids and am still stuck in this hellish purgatory.”
Shane held on to the wooden post as a
small wave rolled in past them, then he put his hand on Matias’ shoulder. “You
know I’m here with you, brother, and always have your back, right?”
“Yeah, I’d never forget that, amigo. It’s
just…you know…I spent my entire childhood living in poverty in Panama, eating
fish we caught with t-shirts strung up on forked sticks ’cause we couldn’t
afford a net or trapping rodents in the alley behind our shack. I didn’t even
have a pair of shoes until I was fifteen. I swore when I grew up that I’d build
a meaningful life for myself and marry a good woman. I did all that but yet
here I am—trapped in my childhood again, eking out an existence.”
“Damn, dude, I’m sorry. I’ve been so busy
living minute-to-minute these many weeks that I didn’t know this was eating you
up so much.”
Matias shrugged his shoulders. “Don’t
worry about me. I’m just whining like a schoolboy. I’m still good to go and
will be watching your six like I know you’ve always watched mine.”
Another wave spilt over their backs and
Shane looked out to his left at a nearby dock where Alejandro was moored. “If
there’s time after we secure that helo, I’m gonna grab us a six-pack of Tecate beer
and we’ll get shit-faced back at the island. That’s something that’ll be good
for both our souls.”
“Yeah, it’s been a while, hasn’t it? No
offense to Alejandro but his piss-warm wine is making my stomach turn.
Piss-warm beer sounds much better.”
Both men chuckled while they watched an
orange ball of flame roil up into the sky from the distant dock as a small jet
boat exploded. Within seconds, the zombies on the beach began making their way
over to the conflagration, which created a wide swath of open shoreline before
Shane and Matias.
“Let the evening festivities begin,” said
Shane.
Both men pushed off the sandy floor of the
bay and made their way along the side of the deck, finally making it to the end
and sprinting to an overturned coffee kiosk. Unslinging their rifles and doing
a partial chamber check to release the water buildup, they crept along the
beach to the edge of a surfboard rental shop and scanned the route to the
helicopter three hundred yards ahead.
Chapter 20
With hundreds of creature pouring down the
beach towards the flaming boat, Shane and Matias slipped between concessionaire
stands until they were at the blue cement steps that led from the beach up to
the hotel. Shane went first, moving in a half-squat and ducking in and out of
groves of low palm trees. As he crested the last step he saw two immense,
kidney-shaped swimming pools flanked by numerous shade ramadas and tables. The
grounds were strewn with broken glass, palm fronds, and the remains of gnawed human
bones. Most of the lower-level windows of the hotels were completely shattered
and the insides littered with windswept debris and scuttling rodents. To the
right of the nearest pool was a miniature golf course and a fenced-in tennis
court. Both men moved along the edge of the artificial turf. Shane stopped by
the golf club rack and grabbed a solid steel putter, turning back to grin at
Matias. Shuffling to his right, Shane bumped into a columnar wire basket filled
with golf balls that was concealed in the shadows. The container tipped over,
spilling dozens of balls which rolled on the angled sidewalk into the pool,
plunking into the murky water like a hailstorm had just struck the region.
Shane turned and smirked at Matias, who
nodded his chin forward as six zombies near the tennis courts started beelining
towards them. Matias ran across the turf and grabbed the chainlink gate,
slamming it closed and sealing the zombies inside the tennis court.
“Damn, man, now I’ll never know how my
backswing sizes up,” whispered Shane.
“It would’ve been nice to have these for
whacking all the poisonous snakes we’ve had to contend with these past few
months,” Matias said, tapping his golf club on Shane’s shoulder and pointing the
handle to the helicopter, whose rotors could be seen glinting in the moonlight,
fifty yards away. Both men backtracked towards the pool and continued slinking
between overturned lounge chairs and bamboo-slat tables until they were at the
rear service doors of the hotel.
The landing pad was situated in a U-shaped
cement wall that was over twenty feet high with the cockpit facing out towards
the ocean. The location would prevent any creatures from coming in from the
rear but also squeezed in their escape route at the front if there was a mass
influx from the pool area.
Matias rubbed the back of his hand against
his chin while staring at the forty-five-foot-long helicopter, its blue-and-red
exterior glinting in the moonlight. “That’s an AW149 Maritime Rescue Helo and
it looks to be in decent shape—on the outside, anyway.” Matias continued
visually inspecting the aircraft. The five rotors above the twin engines looked
operational despite being coated with a thick crust of seagull droppings. The filthy
windshield on the modular cockpit was unmarred and revealed a cabin interior that
could carry at least twelve people. Tucked underneath the main frame between
the landing gear was a rescue hoist and cargo hooks.
“I’ll have to check the fuel level first
and then the instruments to make the sure the battery is functional, then I can
fire up the engine.” He smirked and looked over at Shane. “An entire pre-flight
inspection done in mere minutes—not sure I like that.” He scanned the area for
any movement. “After that, I’ll need five minutes minimum to get the RPMs
revved up enough so we can lift off—that’s going to draw a helluva lot of
attention to us during that time.”
Shane peered back over his shoulder at the
pool area where a few zombies were aimlessly stumbling over trampled lounge
chairs. “Alright, why don’t you head over and see if we’re getting outta here
on that bird or swimming back to the yacht crew.”
“Copy that,” Matias said, handing Shane
all of his rifle magazines except one, which he tucked into his belt.
“I’ll stay here as it gives me the best
overwatch of the area. If things fall apart, we’ll make a dash back to the
beach the way we came or head over towards that distant pier,” Shane said,
motioning to the south with his machete.
Matias patted him on the back and then
slunk off into the shadows along the rear of the cabana until he was alongside
the helicopter. He used the key that Alejandro had provided and slowly unlocked
the left front door. He peered inside briefly and then walked around the
helicopter and removed the tethers from the bolts in the ground that connected
the anchoring ropes to the rotors.
Shane lowered the golf club to the ground
and resheathed his machete then lifted his M4 and began making a slow arc to
either side of the landing pad in search of movement. He could no longer see
the dock with the burning boat but a faint orange glow in the distant sky
betrayed its position and the thunderous groans of hundreds of zombies drowned
out the crashing waves.
Shane felt a trickle of water roll off his
forehead, unsure if it was from his still-wet hair or a bead of cold sweat. He
was nervous but not about the potential for combat. Rather of what would become
of them if this retrieval mission failed.
If I had a beer for every time
I’ve been wet, miserable, and hungry in the last few months I could open a bar.
I sure hope that bird is operational so we can finally leave this green hell.
I’d rather take my chances back in a small town in the States than be stranded
again on some tiny island counting the notches in my belt as my waistline shrinks.
His mind drifted back to Carlie, wondering how she and the others were doing. He’d
hardly had any time to even give more than a passing thought about Carlie and
how she figured into his future or he into hers but he knew that if time ever
permitted, he’d revisit the idea.
The humidity was so thick it stood like a
membrane between his skin and his surroundings. He noticed that the slight
ocean breeze had ceased and a foul stench of rotting leaves and human remains
from the stagnant pools was piercing his nostrils. As he shook his head,
sending droplets from his wet hair onto the chalk-blue patio, he heard the
sound of the helicopter engines groan. The rotors sputtered and the rear
exhaust belched out a plume of black smoke, the loud blast echoing off the
cement walls. He could see Matias leaning slightly in his seat while he tried
to engage the engines via the controls.
Movement off to Shane’s left yanked his
awareness back to the pool area. He could see at least fifty or more creatures
pivoting away from the beach and heading towards him. “Welcome to the Cancun zombie
fest,” he said, clenching his rifle and moving to the front of the helo as the
rotors began spinning and the engine roared.
Chapter 21
As the rotor speed increased, Shane knelt
down on one knee, his hair aloft in the mini-cyclone. He laid out twelve rifle
magazines on the ground beneath him and then refocused his sights on the
entrance to his right.
A barrage of leaves and sand began whipping
against him and the engines erased the noise of the hungry flesh-eaters
converging on his position. With only a hundred yards between him and the mob,
he looked back over his shoulder at Matias, whose tan, scruffy face was eerily
illuminated from below by the instrument panel. The wiry Panamanian raised his
hand up to indicate five more minutes and then folded his fingers into a
fervent thumbs-up position thrust towards the glass.
Shane turned around and grit his teeth.
The two concrete pathways up from the beach were the only approach routes for
the creatures to take but the chokepoints were spread apart fifty feet so Shane
knew he could only devote a few seconds of shooting to one before he had to
work the other entrance. As the first dozen zombies climbed onto the patio,
Shane began a steady barrage of headshots. After four bodies piled up, he’d
switch to the other entrance on the left and dispatch nearly the same amount
then swing back to continue another barrage. This back-and-forth motion continued
until he had burned through five magazines and a tangle of corpses were strewn
about the concrete, which glistened ruby-red in the moonlight.
As he turned to the pathway on his left,
he saw a lithe creature spring up on the garden retaining wall near the pool.
He hadn’t seen one like this since their battle on the destroyer and the sudden
movement sent an icy shiver along his neck. He repositioned his rifle sights
but the beast had already bolted over the patio, moving on all fours like a
rabid chimpanzee. He resumed his aim and fired off two rounds, striking it in
the shoulder and right pectoral. It clumsily somersaulted into a shelf full of
beer bottles and then sprung back to its feet. Shane fired off another round
into its head, removing the back of its skull.
He gulped in a deep breath and then
refocused his vision on the two entrances, which were suddenly overrun by
dozens of creatures streaming onto the main patio. His shooting tempo increased
until he was feverishly firing off rounds into the nearest heads then swinging
his body to the other side to quell the incoming tide. He dropped out his spent
magazine and reached down, fishing for the last one. A zombie dressed like a scuba
diver rushed up the patio, his head shattering from a single round as Shane
focused on close-range shooting. Two more beasts on his left, clad in pink
bikinis and resembling twins, scurried beside the rear hotel doors, within
twenty feet of Shane, who quickly dispatched them with the last of his rounds.
He slung the rifle off his back and immediately transitioned to the Bersa 9mm
pistol that Alejandro had provided.
As he plinked another creature in the
forehead, he heard the faint voice of Matias behind him. “Let’s roll, amigo.”
He stood slowly, keeping in a crouched
position, his hair whipping across his face as he continued shooting
selectively at the onrushing crowd that was now moving around the front of the
helicopter. He fired off the last three rounds into two creatures outfitted
like waiters and then yanked open the side door and hopped inside. The maniacal
beasts flowed around the helipad, some of them raising their arms furiously
only to have them snipped off like rosebuds by the rotors.
Matias rose up forty feet and then
accelerated forward, flying over the beach and past the flaming dock until they
were safely over the bay. Then he swung to the left, turning on the searchlight
and scanning the waters below for Alejandro’s sailboat. A few minutes later he
saw a pattern of three flashes ahead. He descended slightly and flew over the boat
and circled around it twice, both men smiling at the crowd on deck below who
were raising their fists and howling.