Dead Calm (15 page)

Steve was about to object and tell Mary to get the
mattress herself when he decided he didn't want to expend the
energy arguing with her. With so many other things stacking up that
needed his attention, he resolved it would be easier to just let it
ride. “Go ahead Brain. Help her get Sheila out of here. Go and get
the extra mattress and then get some sleep. You've got guard duty
at the stairs in about four hours.”

Brain and Mary each grabbed one of Sheila's arms and
half-walked, half dragged her through the dining room. The last
thing Steve heard as they went out the door into the Centrum was
Mary saying, “It's so nice that you put my mattress in the T shirt
shop, Brain, but I really wanted to put it in the Birkenstock shoe
store. I love the smell of all that leather. Be a dear and move it
for me?”

Worried that he hadn't had a chance to talk to Brain
about Mary yet, Steve was relieved to see Connie following them
through the dining room. The dark haired beauty called out, “I'll
give them a hand. I don't want Randy to get lost in the dark on his
way back.”

Randy? Steve asked himself. Who in the hell is Randy?
Then it came to him, Randy was Brain’s real name. Shaking his head
rapidly to clear his overtaxed mind, he sank into his chair and
reached for his wine glass. Remembering that he had to relieve
Tick-Tock at the stairs, he let his hand drop to the table. He
needed a clear mind for the next few hours.

“That little tidbit of info about Ricky using the
dead to terrorize his people and keep them in line was kind of a
shocker,” Heather commented.

“Sounds like I should have let Tick-Tock shoot that
asshole when he first brought the idea up.” Steve said
bitterly.

“Bad move,” Susan said. “Like you said before, we
don't need a hundred of his fanatical followers coming down on
us.”

Steve nodded, but a growing dislike for Ricky welled
up in him. All his life, he'd hated seeing the strong prey on the
week or someone use and manipulate others for their own selfish
needs. And to make it worse, there didn't seem to be anything he
could do about it without putting his own people's lives at risk.
Resolving that somehow Ricky would be dealt with before he left the
ship, he turned his attention to Heather.

“So, what's the plan?” She asked.

“Stay alive, get Cindy somewhere they can study her
blood or spit, find a cure for the HWNW virus and live happily ever
after. But first we need to get off this ship with the supplies
we'll need to get to Florida or Texas. Whichever's closer.” Looking
at his watch, he was surprised to see it was after eleven. “I've
got to relieve Tick-Tock so he can get some rest, but I think it
would be a good idea to put distance between us and the Dead Calm
as soon as possible. Tomorrow morning, bright and early, we start
gathering supplies. If we bust ass, we can probably set sail by mid
to late afternoon. In the meantime, we need to double the guard. I
want two people on those stairs at all times and no one should be
moving around alone. We can shut ourselves into the stores when we
sleep.”

Looking across the dining room to where the two
youngest members of the group sat watching them, Steve called out,
“Tim, are you tired?”

“Not at all.”

“Good, then you're on watch with me. Go tell
Tick-Tock I’ll be there in a few minutes, and we can clean up the
bodies.”

Excited at the prospect of being asked to participate
in an adult duty, Tim bolted for the door.

“He's a little young for guard duty,” Susan pointed
out.

“No one's young anymore. Don't worry, he won't be
shooting. I need him for a second pair of eyes to help keep watch.
I also want to go over the floor plan of the ship with him and get
him to show me the back ways he uses to get around. I want to know
if he's seen a sextant or a nautical almanac. If he has, I want to
know where, so we can grab it.”

Rising, Steve said to Susan, “You and Brain will take
over the watch from me. Take one of the radios, and I’ll call you
when it's your turn. Please feed Tick-Tock, and then tuck him in.
Make sure he gets some sleep tonight though. Don't wear him out. I
need him fresh tomorrow.”

Blushing, Susan asked, “What do you mean?”

“I'm a light sleeper,” Steve replied with a smile,
“especially when I’m on a boat. I hear a noise at night and I get
up to investigate.” Turning to Heather, he said, “I’ll walk you to
your door. You need to get some sleep too.”

Looking at the dirty plates and glasses scattered
across the two tables, Susan asked, “What about the mess?”

Steve grabbed the four corners of the tablecloth and
picked them up. Dishware clanked as he made a neat bundle. Carrying
it toward the kitchen, he said to Susan, “Grab the other one. We’ll
dump them in the trash.”

With the thousands of place settings stored on the
ship, he wasn't going to waste time washing dishes that no one
would ever use again. Susan copied him, and in no time they had the
dinner mess taken care of. Susan called Cindy over and told the
little girl she had just volunteered to help clean up the kitchen.
Even if they were leaving tomorrow, they still had a few meals to
cook and she didn't want anyone getting food poisoning. Before
leaving, Steve suggested she keep her rifle close by.

As he and Heather walked out of the dining room, she
asked, “So what do you think about Sheila telling us the ship is
going to sink?”

“In a couple weeks, she said. We’ll be long gone by
then,” he assured her.

“And the people left on board?” She asked. “We just
leave them?”

Steve knew where this line of questioning was going
and didn't want to follow it. Irritated, he said, “They've got
lifeboats. All they have to do is load the first one with people
and tow another full of gas. They can make it to land, no problem.
I don't know why Ricky or one of his people didn't think of
it.”

“Sheila said that the Ushers disabled most of the
lifeboats,” Heather pointed out.

Steve stopped and faced her, trying but failing to
keep the frustration out of his voice as he said, “I don't like
what Ricky's doing to the people on this boat, and it really pisses
me off, but I can't make myself responsible for them. I can warn
them that the ship's sinking, but then it's in their hands. I’d
like to save the world, but I can't. The best I can do is keep us
alive.”

Suddenly realizing how much pressure Steve was under
from having to make decisions that might result in one of them, or
all of them, becoming dead or undead, Heather regretted pushing
him. They had enough going on without trying to save over a hundred
people who put themselves in this situation, and this wasn't even
considering the fact that they would kill them at the whim of a
religious maniac. Although she knew she would do anything Steve
asked of her, she saw that her responsibilities paled in comparison
to his.

With downcast eyes, she said, “I’m sorry. I know you
have a lot to deal with without adding more.”

Feeling like an ass for losing it, Steve took her in
his arms and said, “No, I’m sorry. I didn't mean to snap at
you.”

After a moment, Heather asked ruefully, “Did we just
have out first fight?”

“Yeah, but the makeup sex is worth it,” he said and
pulled her closer.

Heather laughed and pulled away. “Not right now
though, you have guard duty.”

“Responsibility blows,” he said dejectedly.

Cutting across the miniature golf course to get to
the starboard side of the Centrum, Heather was once again amazed at
the variety of shops and activities on the cruise ship. Coming to a
short, decorative wooden fence that separated the mini-golf course
from the walkway, she noticed a warning sign on the barricade from
the Astroturf onto a strip of real grass. As Steve stepped over it
Heather cleared her throat and pointed to the sign which read
‘Please Keep Off Grass.’ In a mock angry tone, she asked, “Can't
you read?”

Glancing at the sign, Steve responded, “I thought it
was an anti-drug slogan.” Looking again, he added, “Maybe I’ll come
back later and change it, so it says, 'Please Keep Off Grass. Smoke
Crack.”

Heather laughed and the residual tension between them
evaporated, “Your mind works in strange ways, Wendell.”

Steve smiled, shrugged and continued on. As they
neared the grand staircase, he un-slung his rifle and held it at
the ready. Although everything might seem peaceful and quiet, he
knew that didn't mean squat when you were aboard the Dead Calm.
Reaching the planters, he called out softly for Tick-Tock. Fear
rippled through him when there was no answer. Tightening his grip
on the M-4, he looked around for any trace of his second in command
or Tim and was relieved when he heard Tick-Tock call out to him
from behind the rolled down metal gate of a darkened jewelry
store.

“Thought it might be best to find a new spot, in case
the guy watching from the deck above spotted me before he hauled
ass. You have to go back down to the access door next to the
Sunglass Hut and come in through the rear to get in.”

Steve and Heather did as instructed. Once they were
in the passageway behind the shops, Heather said, “This is where we
part company. I'm going to try and get some sleep. I'll keep the
radio on though. Call if you need me, I’m just a few stores down.”
Stretching up to kiss him, she added, “Wake me up when you come
in.”

Steve found the back of the jewelry store and entered
through the pried open door. Making his way through the darkened
shop, he found Tick-Tock and Tim at its doorway facing in opposite
directions so they could cover both the stairs and the length of
the Centrum. He filled Tick-Tock in on what Sheila had revealed
before she passed out and explained his decision to pack up and
haul ass.

Tick-Tock nodded in agreement and said, “Then we’ve
got a lot to do tomorrow. I’m gonna eat and get some sleep. It's
too bad we have to leave, I’ve only seen a little bit of it, but I
know I could spend a week checking this ship out.”

Moving over to one of the showcases, he looked down
and said, “Rolexes are on sale. I’m gonna get one before we go. You
should grab one too.”

After Tick-Tock left, Steve did a radio check to make
sure he could contact the others. Heather, Brain and Susan replied
instantly, letting him know they would be sleeping lightly and
listening with one ear in case he called for help.

Despite being up since early that morning, Steve
wasn't tired. He decided to let the others get some much-needed
rest and stretched his shift out to five and a half hours. He spent
most of the extra time going over the ship's diagram that Tick-Tock
had pried off the wall, marking in red pen the routes Tim used to
move undetected through the Calm of the Seas.

Susan showed up shortly after Steve called and told
him Brain was right behind her. When Brain arrived, they dragged
the bodies of the dead they had shot the night before behind the
counter near the fire doors. Soon they would start to stink even
more than they already did, but by then they should have set sail.
Steve briefed Brain and Susan on the areas to watch, and then
headed for the Captain's Clothes store. He finally found it after
two wrong turns but stopped before entering. Heather had left a
short note taped to the door, along with an object that made him
laugh out loud.

The note read, ‘Use this to wake me.’ Below it was a
long, fluffy feather.

Chapter Eight

Quantico, Virginia:

The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs called the meeting
to order over the speakerphone.

“The first order of business is the President, and
it's not good news,” he announced with mock severity. “I’ve been
informed that he's issued federal warrants for our arrest.”

This statement was met with laughter from the rest of
the men listening in from different military bases scattered across
the country.

After the fall of Washington D.C. to the living dead,
the President had retreated to a secure base inside Cheyenne
Mountain. Once ensconced in his new seat of power, he slipped into
insanity by refusing to take the medication prescribed him for his
bi-polar disorder. He started issuing commands that made no sense,
while continuing to refuse to issue orders to combat the spread of
the HWNW virus by declaring nation-wide martial law and releasing
the military to deal with the dead. When it became apparent that
the United States was on the brink of falling into a chaotic state
from which it might not ever recover, the Joint Chiefs took control
of the country in a bloodless coup by simply cutting the President
off from his lines of communication and issuing their own
orders.

Sending designated units in to retake the Dead
Cities, while at the same time having all available military units
move out from their respective bases, forts and camps in order to
retake the areas surrounding them from the dead. They soon gained a
foothold that could be built on in the battle to eradicate anyone
infected with the HWNW virus. After the initial push was over in
mid-November, the Joint Chiefs called a halt to operations so they
could resupply the front line troops and send in replacements for
those who had fallen. These fresh recruits were enlisted from the
newly cleared, Dead Free Zones, otherwise known as DFZ’s. Bolstered
by the people from these areas who were eager to join up and fight
the dead who besieged them, the volunteers swelled the ranks of the
weakened military to pre-dead numbers. Basic training depots were
expanded, and in no time the front line troops were back up to full
strength. These were filled with men and women eager to take their
country back from the hordes of dead that now freely roamed it.

The second push to expand the Dead Free Zones and to
gain more ground in the cities deemed critical to the rebuilding of
America started in mid December…and ground to a halt after only one
week. While the soldiers were willing, able and motivated, their
supply lines had broken down and couldn't furnish them with the
necessities to sustain the campaign. With no fuel for their tanks
and limited ammunition with which to fight, many became
disillusioned. AWOL rates skyrocketed as soldiers headed back to
the safety of the free zones or took their weapons and equipment to
go in search of missing family and friends. The problem became so
widespread that the military instituted a new set of laws. Simply
put, the punishment for going AWOL was death by hanging. This, and
the fact that supplies were now reaching the front line troops,
stemmed the flood of desertions.