Voyage of the Dead - Book One Sovereign Spirit Saga (31 page)

 “Yes, sir.  Thank you, General Barstow,” confirmed Scott with only the slightest bit of hesitation.

*****

“That was amazing!” said Clint as they all climbed back into the Dolphin helicopter.  “I thought we were screwed there for a while.  But you really turned them around, Scott.”

“Charlie Mike,” confirmed Mark with a grin.  “Looks like you have some clout in this madhouse, Scott, I mean
commodore
.  I think that general likes you too.”

“Cool it, guys,” Scott cautioned.  “Let’s save the BS until we get back to our own ship.”

“Good point,” agreed Mark glancing around the flight deck at all the armed men staring back at their helicopters.  “With all this firepower, the Navy and Marines should be able to wipe out all of the zombies around here soon, don’t you think?”

“I’m not sure,” replied Scott.  “It depends on how many zombies there are.  There were a million people in and around San Diego last week.  Over a million more along the Mexican side of the border too.  How many are zombies now?  Half of them?  More?  I think things will get worse before they get better, but I hope that the military will be able to at least secure Coronado and provide some other safe havens for the survivors.  I just hope they have the resources to take care of all the refugees.”

“We could have the same problem if we pick up as many followers as you suggested in there.  How will we take care of thousands of
boat people
?”  Mark pointed out.

“We’ll tackle that problem when we face it,” decided Scott.  “But I’ve got a few ideas that I’ll tell you about later.”

“Thanks again for rescuing us, Scott,” said Blain.   “We were trapped like rats in that penthouse.  The power and telephones went out on the first day and I spent most the time staring out the windows at the madness, you know?  It almost drove me crazy, watching people get eaten alive, then watching them get back up and go after other people.”

“How did you get that email to me?” asked Scott.

“That was weird,” Blain Ford said.  “Every few hours I would turn on my cell phone to see if I was getting any service.  I never did, until about two in the morning on the third day.  Suddenly I had full signal, but I couldn’t make any calls.  I did download my email though and saw the message you had sent about coming north from Cabo in your ship.  So I replied to tell you where we were.  I’m glad you replied back right away because the service went down again within an hour.  I don’t know how the service came on at all, maybe the military tried to get it going again, and I’m not sure if it ever came back on later because my phone’s battery died that day while I waited for it to work again.  It’s just good luck or an act of God that I got through to you at all.”

“You can say that again,” Scott agreed.  “And it looks like your luck is holding.  No refugee camp for you!  In half an hour youloadll be in the lap of luxury aboard the
Sovereign Spirit.
  I’ll make sure they take you straight to a nice stateroom where you can take a hot shower and I’ll see about getting you all some clean clothes too.”

“Oh my God,” exclaimed Mindy Ford.  “You’re an angel.  I was so sure we going to die in that penthouse, and then I was sure we were going to be stuck in a refugee camp on Coronado.  Now we’re not just going to be safe, but clean too?  Fantastic!  I remember your ship from before you left on your trip around the world.  You’re right, it will be the lap of luxury!  Thank you so much for saving us and our son, Jody.”

“That’s what friends are for, right?” Scott answered self-consciously. 

“Yeah,” confirmed Blain.  “But you all risked your lives and freedom to rescue us.  We won’t forget it.”

“Don’t worry,” Scott replied slyly.  “I’ll find a way for you to even the score someday.”  He already had a few ideas about how valuable Blain and Mindy could be aboard the ship.

Scott turned to look out the right side window as the Dolphin whirred up the coastline.  The beach and landscape were still beautiful, but strangely alien.  No cars moved on the roads below.  Some of the buildings and homes had burned down, a few still smoldered.  Further inland a wildfire was spreading unchecked.  Along the beach near Del Mar he spotted an Amtrak Surfliner train that had plowed into a bus at the crossing for a beach parking lot.  The bus was smashed and the train derailed.  Fire trucks, ambulances and police cars surrounded the scene with most of their doors open and lots of bodies littering the ground, many in uniform.  The only sign of movement came from a few stray zombies who all turned, reached, and gaped at the passing helicopter, apparently welcoming them to this new world of the dead.

*****

Interlude in Hell

Big 5 Complex on El Segundo Boulevard; 11:55 AM, April 6, 2012

The sporting goods store was a goldmine for survival items.  It was located across the parking lot from the Big 5 Corporation’s headquarters building so it was a flagship outlet with a large stock of every item.  Moreover, the Big 5 distribution warehouse was on the other side of the parking lot and Carl was sure that it contained even greater riches.   Since it was all just a few blocks from the refinery, and they planned to make more supply runs, they hadn’t bothered to open the warehouse this time.  There was more than they could carry back on display in the retail store anyway.  It had already taken them more than two hours of hard labor to fill half of the big rig’s trailer with loot. 

Yes, Carl knew they were acting like looters, but what choice did they have?  Civilization had fallen apart.  Nobody was here to accept his credit card.  He thought about leaving a blank check, but his checkbook had been in his carry-on bag that he abandoned at LAX when Pricilla had been attacked.  No, this was the only way for the men from the refinery to get the supplies they needed.  If this was looting, then Carl was proud to be a looter.  At least they had earned their take by dispatching hundreds of zombies in the parking lot.   

“Look at all of this stuff,” Gus said as he gestured towards the men loading items into the big rig.  They were currently stacking boxes full of ammunition next to stacked cartons of dehydrated camping food, which sat next to piles of sleeping bags and clothes. “We hit the jackpot here, pal.”

“It’s a good start,” Carl replied.  He had to raise his voice to be heard over the continuous sound of the water cannon.   The Panther was using water from the hydrant outside the store to hold off a growing crowd of zombies that had arrived since the first mob had been dispatched.  Carl watched for a moment as the stream of water swept back and forth in a 240 degree arc that maintained a 40 to 50 yard radius clear zone in front of the store’s entrance.  The zombies were obviously enraged and confused.  As the stream of water swept past them the zombies would surge forward, only to be driven back as the water cannon swung their way again.  It was almost like a dance.  The important thing was that it was working, holding the zombies back, and giving Carl and the men from the refinery time to load up survival gear. 

“Just a good start?”  Gus asked incredulously.  “This is unbelievable, Carl.  We’ve already loaded up at least a hundred guns.  Pistols, rifles, shotguns! We’ve got tents, cots, cook stoves, backpacks, air mattresses, cross bows.  Man, we got it all now.  And we wiped out all those zombies, thanks to your ideas about modifying these vehicles.  I knew you’d be useful.”

“Thanks,” said Carl absently.  “I’m just glad that it’s working as planned.   Can’t still believe that the water cannon is holding them off.  And I’m really glad we were able to save that family trapped in the store.”  He was referring to a couple and their three young girls who had gone to the sporting goods store for supplies and been attacked by zombies.  The father had been able to get his family into a bathroom and lock the door. But they had been trapped in there for five days with nothing but tap water to drink and the constant pounding of zombies against the door.  It almost drove them crazy.  However, their presence in the store must have been what drew all of the zombies inside and explained why they all boiled out of the store when the refinery convoy arrived. 

The store had been a shambles when Carl first entered it.  Racks of clothes and gear were overturned and there were numerous blood stains on the floor.  Many of the early shoppers, or looters, must have been transformed into zombies because there were no bodies in evidence, aside from what appeared to have been a zombie lying near the gun department with a hole in her head.  Carl and Gus, along with several other men, had made a quick sweep of the store, calling out to attract the attention of zombies and survivors alike.  One lone zombie had emerged from a hallway, running towards Gus with murderous intent, but Gus had swung his axe with near perfect timing and split its head open at the last second. 

A few minutes later, as Carl was collecting guns from the hunting section, the father of the trapped family emerged from the bathroom to see if it was safe to bring out his family.  Carl had almost shot him in the head when he peeked around the corner, but the man gave a joyful shout, unlike anything a zombie would do, and quickly explained his family’s dire situation.  They were all safely aboard the shuttle bus now, after offering profuse thanks to their rescuers.

Carl and the others were almost finished loading the big rig with what they considered vital supplies.  It was time to head back to the refinery, before too many more zombies arrived.  Carl suggested that they block the doors to the store to keep the zombies out.  Frank, the operator of the Caterpillar, offered to dump a van in front of the doors.  That seemed like a good idea, so as soon as everything was packed up he used the front end loader to pick up a minivan near the entrance and place it to block the entrance to the store.

Before leaving the parking lot they decided it would be best to dispatch the new mob of zombies that were moaning and milling about just outside the range of the water cannon.  Carl was happy to lead the way and made use of the continued blast of water from the Panther to wash the blood off of the Suburban as he sliced through the crowd of agitated undead.  The Caterpillar followed him with a repeat performance of its zombie crushing prowess.  When most of the zombies were down Carl drove back through the jet of water to wash off more infected blood.  Then the Panther’s crew disconnected the hose from the hydrant and the convoy drove back to the refinery without further incident: Mission Accomplished.

Chapter 10: A Few Good Men

“A ship without Marines is like a garment without buttons”
  
 
A
dmiral David Porter, USN, to Commandant of the USMC John Harris (1863)

            When the Dolphins reached the
Sovereign Spirit
and
Stratton
off the coast of Oceanside the escort chopper landed on the
Stratton
first.  There was not enough room for both Dolphins to land on the
Stratton
at the same time and Scott didn’t want to waste any time getting back to his own ship.  So he had radioed ahead and asked Mick Williams to take the Super Huey for a little scouting flight.  That cleared the helicopter pad on the
Sovereign Spirit
, allowing the other Dolphin to land and drop off Scott and his friends. 

As they climbed down from the helicopter pad Scott decided to modify his earlier promise of taking the Fords to a normal stateroom for a shower.  Instead, since they were right there, he ushered them into his own master suite.  Making sure that Michelle was not in the master bath at the moment, Scott told Blaine and Mindy to help themselves to the steam shower, sauna, and Jacuzzi tub, which he recommended in that order.  He would have bath robes and clothes brought to them and see about finding them the best available stateroom while they washed off the fear of the past week.  They were more than grateful for the offer.

            After the Fords withdrew to the bathroom Mark and Clint exchanged glances and Mark said, “What about us?  Don’t we rate the deluxe treatment after getting zombie blood all over us?”

“Sure guys,” Scott replied with a grin.  “Strip down and jump in the hot tub on my private deck out back.  It’s hot.  Use soap and I’ll bring some disinfectant too. I’ll flush the tub overboard when you’re done.  Then you should shower again in your own rooms.”

            “Well,” replied Clint grudgingly.  “That sounds a lot better than we would have gotten from the Navy on Coronado.”  Mark nodded agreement and they turned to walk outside.

            “Wait a second,” Scott told them.  “I’ll come with you.  I’ve got some fear and tension sweat to wash off myself.  And I want you both to know how proud and grateful I am to be able to count on you in a situation like this.”  He paused to get a grip on his emotions.  “First in Cabo, now San Diego, and you know that we’ll be going into even more hostile territory soon.  It’s rare to have friends willing to trust you enough to put their lives on the line like that, not to mention ones as capable of doing so.  I just want to say thank you.”