Dead Calm (19 page)

“I come in peace, brother,” Ricky said.

“That didn't answer my question,” Steve said
flatly.

“I've just come to tell you that neither I nor any of
my followers mean you any harm,” Ricky said, while thinking, ‘If I
get out of this, I'm going to have Parsons tossed to the stinkers.
His great fucking idea for me to come down here and put these
maniacs at ease to keep them on board is going to get me
killed.’

Forcing a smile, Ricky added, “Our religion is a
non-violent one.”

Heather snorted in disbelief as Steve said, “Is that
why you let the dead out to walk around and terrorize people?
Because that sounds kind of violent to me.”

Indignantly, Ricky replied, “Whoever told you that is
a liar. They're just trying to smear my name and stop the good
works I'm doing on this ship. True, we have a problem with the
frea-.” Ricky caught himself before going on, “I mean, the poor
souls trapped in purgatory that still wander the ship, but their
occasional appearance has nothing to do with me.”

“That's not how Sheila tells it,” Heather said.

Ricky put on a thoughtful expression and said, “Ah,
poor Sheila. I tried to bring her to the Lord but her alcoholism
and promiscuity kept getting in the way. I'd heard she'd run off
again.” Shaking his head sadly, he said, “That girl can sure tell
some tales. I've urged her time and again to be truthful.”
Switching to a pious expression, he added, “You can lie to others,
but the Lord knows the truth.”

Heather and Steve exchanged a look that said, 'What a
load of shit,' before Steve asked, “What about the ship sinking. Is
that a lie too?”

Hesitantly, Ricky replied, “We're having some trouble
with a few of the pumps but we're working on it.”

To avoid further questions, he put on a humble
expression and said, “Now, the other reason I came down here,
besides to welcome you to the Calm of the Seas, is to be a good
neighbor and ask if I can be of any assistance to you while you
stay on the ship. Is there anything you need?”

Steve was about to reply that they were leaving soon
but caught himself. He didn't want to give any information about
their plans to this fat, bearded asshole. He oozed so much false
sincerity that it made him feel physically ill. After a moments
thought though, he decided, what the hell? It's not like Ricky and
his people can stop us.

“We need a sextant and a nautical almanac.”

Ricky kept his joy at hearing this in check. He and
Parsons had racked their brains for the reason behind the
appearance of the sailboat. This request confirmed their suspicions
that these people were fleeing the HWNW virus. This meant that they
had nowhere to go and made it easier to convince them to stay on
the ship.

At least until I throw them overboard, Ricky thought.
Alive if possible.

This also confirmed his suspicion that it wasn't just
their GPS that was malfunctioning, but it was a system wide
failure. It had taken Brother Raymond weeks of studying the books
they'd found in the Captain's quarters before he was able to figure
out their position. Now that Brother Raymond was gone, one of the
others would have to figure it out since it looked like GPS was
going to be out of the picture for the next few generations.

Or, Ricky thought, I can find out who in this group
knows how to plot a course by hand. Maybe in the upcoming slaughter
I can spare them, until we reach Cozumel.

Putting on his thoughtful look again and pursing his
lips, he said, “I'm sure we could find those things for you. It
might take some searching, but my Faithful have quite a bit of time
on their hands.”

Between the partying and orgies, I'd think they were
pretty busy, Heather thought but didn't voice. If Ricky were going
to give them the tools they needed to find their position, it
probably wouldn't do to insult him. That didn't mean she was going
to trust him, since she knew he was scum. She'd heard the stories
Sheila had told. After meeting the Reverend Ricky in person though,
they paled in comparison. There was something oily and slimy about
him that left her feeling queasy.

Kind of like getting too close to a lawyer.

Not wanting to give up control of the conversation,
Ricky continued on by saying, “Now that I've shown you my good
intentions, I was hoping you'd reciprocate.”

Thinking that Ricky would ask for Sheila back, Steve
was prepared to cut him off with a flat 'No'.

Instead, Ricky beamed a smile at them and said, “I
just want to know your names. Your Christian names of course.”

Steve hesitated, wondering what he really wanted.
Looking at Heather who only shrugged, he said, “Steve and
Heather.”

Heather didn't think it possible, but Ricky's smile
got bigger. “Welcome to the Calm of the Seas, Brother Steve and
Sister Heather,” he cried out happily. “Please feel free to explore
the ship and make yourselves at home. Even though we're running on
reduced power, there are still a lot of activities that you can
enjoy.” With a wink, he added, “We even power up the casino every
once in a while. I mean, we're not Baptists after all.”

Steve gave a tight smile at this comment.

Not wanting to lay it on too thick at their first
meeting, Ricky clapped his hands together and rubbed them back and
forth while saying, “Well, I don't want to keep you any longer, so
I'll take my leave. I'll get my people out searching for those
items you need right away. What did you say they were again?”

“A sextant and a nautical almanac,” Steve
answered.

“Consider it done,” he told them.

Ricky flashed them a peace sign and turned to go. As
he walked to the stairs, he looked beyond to the double doors
leading into the cabin area. One reason for coming down here was to
put the newcomers at ease and keep them on board; the other was to
get a good look at the chains keeping the dead in. Letting them go
was still an option if their first plan failed.

Satisfied at what he saw, Ricky headed for the
bridge. The whole way there thinking of how he would kill the
people he'd just met.

After he was gone, Steve said in a low voice, “Now
that I've met Ricky, I can see what a scumbag he really is. Before
this is all over, I'm going to kill him.”

“Not if I get him first,” Heather replied.

***

Four hours later, Steve was called to the stairs
again. When he arrived, he found Heather talking to a young girl.
As he came closer, he heard the visitor speaking in a thick
European accent. Seeing that she was carrying something in her
hands, his first thought was of religious suicide bombers. Looking
closer, he saw it was only a book, but this did little to ease his
trepidation.

When he joined them, the girl asked with a bright
smile, “You are Steve, yes?”

“I am.”

“This is good then. The Reverend ask me to give this
to you please,” she said as she held out the book.

Glancing at the cover, he could read the words
Nautical Almanac
. Not believing Ricky had come through, he
thanked the girl.

“But there is more,” she said. “The Reverend say to
tell you he look for other thing more or less now. Not find soon
but he will find soon.”

Steve was slightly confused by this, which was the
reason Ricky sent the younger of the two sisters. Her English was
barely passable. The obscure message, along with only giving one of
the two things they'd asked for, had a dual purpose. Stall them,
and at the same time gain their trust.

“Tell the Reverend thank you,” Steve said.

The girl turned to go, but Heather stopped her,
saying she wanted to finish the conversation they were having. With
a concerned look, she asked, “Does Ricky ever touch you or make you
do things you don't want to? I want you to know it's wrong for
adults to do this, and you can stay here if you want to. It's
safe.”

The girl gave Heather a big smile and said, “But it
is the Reverend Ricky. He can do no wrong. He is a man of God's
choosing.”

With this, she turned and trotted up the stairs.

Steve gave Heather a curious look, so she said,
“Before you showed up I was talking to her. I saw some signs that
she might be abused. I used to be a cop and we were trained in what
to look for.”

“And?” Steve asked.

“I’m not sure, but if I find out he is, all bets are
off. His ass is all mine right there and then. Fuck his
Faithful.”

With a nod, Steve said, “Then he's all yours and we
take our chances with the Faithful. Until then, we need to keep a
close eye on him though, because he's up to something. I had Tim
sneak around the upper decks after Ricky left. Told him to do a
little recon and see what was going on up there. He told me no one
was looking for anything and that most of them were still sleeping
off last nights drunken orgy.”

“He's slow walking us then, but why?” Heather
asked.

“I don't know, but I'm only going to play this game
for a little while,” Steve said.

“And then?”

“Then we take what we need,” he replied.

Chapter Ten

The Dead Calm:

Sheila finally roused herself at two; an hour after
Mary first woke her to see if she was feeling all right and to see
if she might want something to eat. Nauseated and lost in her
misery, she could only shake her head as she tried to will herself
back to sleep. When this didn't work, she shakily sat up on the
mattress, wondering how she had gotten there the night before.
Looking down at the disheveled clothes she'd slept in, she snorted
in disgust. As she tried to smooth some of the wrinkles out of her
blouse, her jangled nerves caused her to jump when she heard a
female voice say behind her, “I had to guess at your size, but I’m
sure I got it close.”

She turned and saw Mary holding up a fashionable
dress and tennis shoes with a shy look on her face.

Sheila gave a pained smile and said, “Thank you, but
what I really need is a drink.”

Setting down the clothing and reaching into a basket
at her feet, Mary came out with a bottle of wine in each hand and
asked mischievously, “Red or white?”

“Both,” Sheila answered. Then laughed and said, “You
and I are going to get along just fine. What's your name
anyway?”

Mary deflated slightly at finding Sheila had
forgotten her name. Seeing this, Sheila racked her brain for the
good-looking blonde woman's name. Suddenly it came to her, and she
said, “l'm sorry, I’m a little out of it. You're Mary.” With a
small, deprecating laugh, she added, “Now I wish I could remember
who the hell I am, I really tied one on last night.”

Mary giggled and forgave the good-looking redhead for
her lapse in memory.

After Sheila dressed in her new clothes, the two
women had a few drinks while they got acquainted and Mary filled in
some of the blanks of what happened the night before. Finally
deciding they needed to put something in their stomachs besides
wine, the two women window-shopped as they headed for the dining
room. Entering, Mary stopped them short, just inside the door, when
she spotted Steve and Tick-Tock sitting at a table eating
sandwiches.

“Oh God, there's Doctor Buzzkill,” Mary said in a low
voice.

“Yeah, what's his problem anyway? One of the things I
do remember from last night is him and some blonde chick running
around looking like they just came back from a patrol in
Afghanistan. I thought they were going to shoot me.”

“Steve's got a John Wayne complex or something, and
his girlfriend, Heather, is not much better,” Mary said. “They're
on this mission to save the world from the dead. The way I see it
though, I think having zombies rise up from the grave is one of the
best things that ever happened.”

Sheila gave her new friend an odd look, so Mary
explained, “Take for example, everything here on this ship. It's
the same way out there. All the shops and stores just waiting for
us to come along and take want we want. No hassling with rude sales
people or fighting the crowds. No limit on my credit cards.” She
giggled and added, “No need for credit cards.”

“But we heard on the radio that the dead overran all
the cities. How can you shop when you're dodging the freaks?”
Sheila asked.

Looking with slitted eyes at Steve and Tick-Tock,
Mary replied, “Well, I guess the Neanderthals have some uses. They
clear the area of the dead so I can shop, so that's something in
their favor.”

Steve noticed Mary and Sheila and waved them over to
join them. Not seeing a way out of it, Mary led the way, pasting on
the false smile she donned whenever she had to interact with
Tick-Tock. When they reached the table, Steve said, “Connie and
Brain made soup and sandwiches for lunch. You weren't here, so they
saved you some. They're in the kitchen.” Looking directly at
Sheila, he added, “Come back and join us after you grab something
to eat. Now that Tick-Tock's here, I want to go over what you told
us last night.”

Sheila looked at Steve's number two and said,
“Tick-Tock?”

“The talking bush,” he replied.

Mary felt anger wash through her when Sheila giggled
and batted her eyes at Tick-Tock. She wanted to scream at him,
‘you’re already fucking my Susan, so back off buddy.'

Instead, she said to Sheila in a sweet voice, “Let's
grab something to eat, honey. I'm starved.”

After the women went into the kitchen, Tick-Tock
said, “Looks like Mary's got a new candidate for the tongue in
groove club.”

Steve laughed and said, “Crudely put, but true. I'm
not too crazy about having two dead weights in the group, but it
looks like we're stuck with them.”

“Cut them loose,” Tick-Tock suggested.

“Then I might as well put a bullet in Mary's brain,”
he replied. “She wouldn't last five minutes on her own. Cutting her
loose is the same as murdering her. I don't know how Sheila would
do, she might survive, but Mary...”