The Undead World (Book 2): The Apocalypse Survivors (37 page)

Chapter 36

Neil

New York City

What started out as a simple affair—a demonstration of the viability of a vaccine—became a scene straight out of Mad Max.

Since no one trusted anyone else, every faction kept an observer near the two prisoners which made for a cramped and uncomfortable setting. Arguments were nonstop and fights frequent. Because of the friction Neil and Sadie were brought to one of the Staten Island ferry boats that were moored across the pier from the cruise ship.

In the center of it, where cars were normally set, was a cavernous open space, lit only by a few low-watt bulbs high-up on the ceiling. There the two prisoners were chained by the neck to the floor just out of reach of each other. They had only enough links in their chains to stand and even then the metal bit into their skin.

To make the proceedings seem more official and less like a circus, Yuri had them inspected by a physician. Their scratches and scrapes were documented, their temperatures were taken, and blood was drawn, but for what test it was never revealed.

Sadie seethed in her chains at her coming death. At first she was like a wild animal, but Neil advised her to save her strength just in case there was an opening to escape. Escape was a pipe dream. It would be impossible. There were eleven separate factions from all over the country and each was willing to pony up a wealth of goods
for a vaccine, but only for a vaccine that worked. With a real demonstration as the only true test they would do their best to thwart any escape.

Within an hour
, the news of the demonstration had circulated around the boat twice and such was the curiosity that a separate viewing area had to be created to keep the people back. It was low-rent fancy. Tattered, red crushed velvet ropes were appropriated from a nearby theater and strung down the length of the boat, allowing people to walk by and stare at the two prisoners. Most just looked while others heckled:

“Let’s see your face!”

“What did you two do? Kill someone?”

“Is it true you guys are father and daughter?”

“I heard he’s going to let her die.”

“I heard he was nothing but a coward.”

“Don’t listen to them, Neil,” Sadie said, coming to his defense as always. “I know how brave you are.”

He laughed softly. “If I’m so brave then why do I feel like I’m about to piss myself?”

“Because that’s who you are,” she replied. “You’re the most frightened person I know, but there isn’t a fear you haven’t overcome. I know you’ll be tough for this, too.”

“Probably not,” he said. “I won’t have anything to be tough for.” Conspicuously absent from the crowd was Sarah and Eve, and of course Jillybean whose disappearance was a mystery to all of them. He had failed as a father and a husband.
This certain knowledge made it hard to look anywhere near Sadie. Her death was on his shoulders.

Sadie dropped her head. “It's going to be ok. I hope. I love you, Neil.”

“Love you too.”

The spectators razzed them for this display and there were more taunts and insults. For some reason the people thought it was proper to spit at the pair. The guards did nothing until someone threw a battery at Neil. The man received only a warning.

At just after ten, when the moon hung quartered in the sky, Yuri and the faction leaders, along with as many people as possible, crammed onto the ferry boat. There seemed to be thousands of them. They whispered like snakes and pointed and joked and laughed like hyenas.

Yuri did not make a speech. He raised his hand and in it was a syringe. “The vaccine!” he shouted. The people cheered. The Russian advanced on Neil, who sat waiting docilely. Sadie couldn’t stop herself. She raged against the chain sending out flailing kicks and when that proved fruitless she spat at Yuri and cursed him for a coward.

The crowd roared its approval and began to chant for her to get the vaccine in Neil’s stead. Unable to shout above the noise Yuri shook his head and then pointed at Neil.

“Boo!”

“Give it to the girl!”

Yuri did not. Her death had already been bought and paid for. He held up his long pointer
finger and wagged it at the crowd as if they were naughty children for even suggesting such a thing. He then went to Neil and the crowd was so loud that not even the closest to them heard Yuri say: “Good luck.”

When the shot was given the crowd quieted
and watched Neil, looking for signs of his immunity. Eventually some began to depart, but, like an Emcee under the big top, Yuri cried out: “Now for the monster!”

The crowd buzzed with excitement and then a woman shrieked
and people pointed.

A zombie, wrapped in chains, was brought down the center of the boat, causing people to crush in on themselves to keep away. There was little danger. Though it was a large and healthy male,
and although it moaned and snarled and gnashed its grey teeth, theatrically, it had four handlers who kept it in check.

It was chained just across from Neil and Sadie so that the three of them formed a triangle. Slowly, link by link the zombie was given room to move. It leaned at the pair going back and forth testing the chain
s.

This entertained the crowd for a few minutes; they cheered and jeered, but just when they began to grow quiet again with the show seemingly over, Yuri clapped loudly twice. It was a signal, clearly, and the crowd began to look back and forth expectantly.

It was not long before a second zombie was brought forth. This one was more subdued.

“What’s it for?”

“Why are there two?”

“One for each of them?”

Sadie glared at Yuri for his sick ways and tried her best to inch closer so that she could give him a swift kick in the balls if the opportunity presented. It did not.

The zombie was brought forward and unlike the first
who was wrapped across the torso, this one only had a chain around its neck, while its hands were cuffed behind its back. And again unlike the first this one was soaking wet: it dripped water and red blood onto the steel of the deck.

“That’s a man!” someone shouted.

It was a man. Neil felt his legs go wobbly when he recognized Victor Ramirez beneath grey makeup and new wounds. He was shackled by the neck to deck and his cuffs removed.

Yuri held up his hands for silence. “We have uninvited guest,” he said in his accented English. “Is there a faction who will claim him or perhaps I let him go?” Neil saw the Russian’s eyes flick to Cassie who stood with the
Blacks
. The question had been for her sake—Ram wasn’t going to be let go, not when Yuri could make money off the deal.

When Cassie saw who the bedraggled person was her eyes flew open. “I’ll give you three barrels of fuel-oil for him.”

John, the leader of the
Whites
raised his hand. “I’ll give you four!”

Almost as one, the crowd blinked. They had never seen a person auctioned off like this—no American had in almost a hundred and fifty years.

The crowd grew so quiet that Cassie didn’t need to raise her voice to say: “Five.”

“Six,” John shot back.

“He don’t have no six barrels,” Cassie screamed, in fury. “Yuri, he’s lying. He don't have no six barrels of fuel-oil. I don't think he gots any.”

Yuri shrugged. “He would not lie to me. He needs my vaccine too much to even think about lying to me. So, do I hear seven barrels?”

John raised his hand again, but not for a bid. “Listen, Cassie, I’m willing to go to nine barrels, but I’ll retract my bids if you give me the girl. Really, do you hate them both so much to pay out this much?”

Cassie looked torn between her different hatreds. “If I do, how much will I owe?”

“That’ll be between you and Yuri," John said, scratching his head beneath his
Phillies
cap. "This wasn’t a formal auction. He’s just playing us to get the most out of the situation.”

“Cut her loose,” Cassie ordered, snapping her fingers. “I’ll give you four for this man and not a drop more.”

At first Yuri’s face went hard at losing his chance at a bidding war, however he waved a hand as if to say it was nothing. "Four it is, but that's on top of three you promised to pay for this small man and of course three for girl from before." When she nodded he grinned at the haul he had bargained for. "You are generous to your enemy. A fine display for a leader."

"Yeah, I can be generous," Cassie agreed. "But he will be worth it. Having him as my slave will be well worth it."

Colonel Williams, who had been standing alongside the other leaders smirked at this. "Wrong. He won't be your slave. If he's taking the girl's place, he'll be dead of the fever by this time tomorrow."

"No, I want them switched," Cassie demanded.

"But we already inoculated this little man here," Yuri said. "By sunrise he will be immune. And girl is no longer yours. We can not let her be victim unless you buy her back. No, we will have this other man die of fever. It will be good, he is big."

Cassie's large doe-eyes went to slits as she realized she wasn't going to get everything she wanted. "You white-boys trying to play me?"

John laughed nastily. "Hardly. What's happening is that your hatred is getting in the way of your common sense. You're more interested in death than in life. We should be protecting women and children. We should be freeing these people not..."

The colonel interrupted, "Slow down
, cowboy. Unless you're going to volunteer we're going to need someone to step up and test the vaccine. Are you going to do it?"

"No," John said. "But I still want
the girl. She was part of the deal."

Deal or no deal, John didn't get her
just then. Everyone rightly assumed that a free Sadie was a dangerous Sadie. She stayed the night chained just out of reach of two men whom she loved and a zombie that tore open the skin at its neck to try to get at them. Their only consolation was that after many hours it crushed its own larynx with the chain and could no longer moan.

The crowds slowly died away and the three of them, and the zombie
, were left with an oversized guard of fifteen men. Three were Yuri's men and were armed with AR-15s. The others were basically paranoid babysitters who watched each other more than they watched the prisoners.

"
Alright, Ram. Tell me this part of some master plan to escape?" Neil joked. His joke was flat, but he still barked out a high laugh that betrayed how nervous he really was. Though it wasn't exactly a secret; his face was as pasty white as it could get and his insides were all a jitter.

Ram
dropped his chin to his chest. "I wish. They have every way onto this boat watched. They were on me before I could even stand up. Philly was a little better, except I almost got killed there. If it wasn't for Jillybean I would have been..." He stopped at the shock on their faces. "I'm sorry. I forgot to mention she stowed away with me. I bet you were worried."

"Is she...?" Neil couldn't bring himself to finish the sentence.

"No, she's alive," Ram said after a quick look to the watchers. "North of here by the river," he said in such a low whisper that it was easier to read his lips than it was to hear his words. "She should be ok for a little while. But what about Sarah and the baby? Please tell me they got away."

Neil swallowed and opened his mouth but when that was all he could manage, Sadie intervened, "That evil fake Jesus has Eve. He bought her as if she was a freaking goat. And Sarah...I don't know. They took us away and I haven't seen her since. But if I
had my guess, I would bet the colonel has her. That rat-bastard was eyeing her real hard."

They lapsed into a long silence that was broken only by Sadie fingering the length of her
shackles in a constant rattle. It was a simple length of chain hooked to itself twice with padlocks: once in a loop around her neck and again after passing through a ring set into the floor.

"If we had a screwdriver we could escape," Sadie said
. She had given up on the chain and was inspecting the ring bolt attached to the deck. "Anyone got a screwdriver?"

"We'd also have to get past them," Ram said
, lifting his chin at the watchers.

Neil cleared his throat. "I think we have to admit to ourselves that we're not going to be rescued. We've been in our fair share of scrapes, and one of us always came through. But I don't think it's going to happen this time. Sarah's our only chance and she's not a fighter. She can't take on this many guys, and I don't want her to try. Maybe...maybe we should pray."

"Yeah," Ram said in a choked voice.

The two men went quiet for a long time. Sadie clicked her chain until she couldn't take it anymore. "I don't
know what I should be praying for," she burst out in a rush. "I want God to kill them all. I want him to sink this boat, and I know that's not right, but it's all I can think about right now! It's not fair that you two...that you two..." She broke down sobbing and Neil cried with her.

His coming torture formed a black mist on his mind making it impossible for him to think beyond it. He cried quietly, ashamed of his tears and thankful that the
dark hid them. He cried deep into the night until the stars had crossed the sky.