Empire Of Salt (43 page)

The zombie climbed higher until it straddled the engine, sitting on the axle that held the blades.

Suddenly the engine caught and roared to life.

The zombie shook like it had been struck by lightning as the whirling blades dug into its backside and bore into its midsection.

Lu Shu grabbed an oar and used it to shove the zombie off the motor. The zombie hit the water just as Lu Shu lost his balance and the boat beneath him roared away. The man splashed furiously, kicking and screaming, but was jerked beneath the surface so suddenly it was like he had never been there at all.

Natasha stared at the boat roaring into the distance and all hope she'd managed to resurrect returned to the grave from which it had come. Now they had no chance.

As if to emphasize this, Lu Shu's hand floated to the surface. It bobbed for a moment, everyone's eyes riveted on the appendage, and was snatched back under.

The sound of running feet drew their attention to the shore. Dozens of zombies were charging from the sand to the dock, each running at a dead sprint. When they reached the end of the dock they jumped towards them. Although it was an impossible distance, each leap sent Natasha's heart galloping. The desperation the zombies were showing was horrific. As soon as they hit the water, they sank. And although she couldn't see them, she knew they were there beneath the water.

A rotting hand reached and grabbed the edge of the roof. Auntie Lin leaned over and began to poke it with her umbrella, but it did little good.

Metzger waited beside the old woman, and when the zombie rose out of the water, Salton Sea water pouring from its broken teeth, he shot it in the head. The bullet slammed it back into the water and it rolled on its side and sank.

Derrick pointed. "Look at the boat!"

It was coming around again.

They had only one chance left. Metzger handed Natasha the pistol and removed his vest and his armor, then hurriedly untied his boots and jerked them off.

The boat was closer now, and so were the zombies. She could see them moving beneath the water as dark shadows. She held the pistol in front of her with both hands and waited for one of the zombies to latch on to the trailer. One did; she fired and missed, three times. Its glowing eyes mocked her before the fourth shot caused the back of its head to explode in a shower of yellow ichor. The zombie fell back into the water and sunk from sight.

She didn't know how many more bullets she had, but they wouldn't last much longer at this rate. She shot a quick glance at her brother and finally understood what he'd told her a few weeks ago, when he'd been playing a computer game and she'd asked him how he was doing. His reply had been to itemize his ammunition.

It was all about the ammo, in both games and reality.

Only in reality there was no restart button.

The boat seemed determined to miss them. Metzger had cleared a path so that he could run the length of the trailer and jump for it. But just like the zombies jumping from the end of the dock to get to the trailer, his jump seemed impossible.

Still, as the driverless boat came back round, Metzger took a running leap, screaming obscenities all the while as if they were fuel for his flight.

He seemed to hang in the air for a long time, long enough for Natasha to be certain he was going to make it... then change her mind and be certain that he wasn't.

He hit the side of the boat at the rear hard, winding herself. He tried to grab the gunwale, but his hands slipped.

Natasha's hands flew to her face. If he wasn't able to grab it, he'd feel the bite of the engine blades, or worse, the bite of the zombies waiting beneath the water. Her heart was caught in her throat as she silently urged him into the boat, and somehow he managed to pull himself in. He rolled from sight as the boat roared away.

Derrick, Natasha and Auntie Lin watched it go, their smiles of hope fading as they saw no sign of Metzger. Finally, he pulled himself to a sitting position, gripped the rudder, and turned the boat around. He throttled down the engine, and the bow slapped gently on the water as it approached. Metzger grinned at them and waved tiredly.

But Metzger's smile vanished as his head suddenly jerked back and crashed against the engine. The engine quit but the boat continued on an intersect course for the trailer. Metzger tried to pull himself up, but his head was jerked back again. A zombie hand dragged across Metzger's forehead, carving deep bloody grooves. The fingers dug into the top of Metzger's scalp, the arm muscles tensed, and the zombie pulled itself out of the water. Even from twenty feet away, Natasha could see the unholy yellow of the monster's eyes as it sunk its teeth into Metzger's face over and over. The one-time soldier, crack addict, possible boyfriend and savior of them all punched at the creature to no avail. He cursed the monster as it chewed. He kicked, he punched, he even shoved two fingers into the creature's left eye. Yellow ichor exploded onto him, but the zombie didn't even slow down. As if sensing the inevitable, Metzger shouted one last curse to the universe - "
motherfuckingcocksucker!"
- pushed with his feet and sent them both over the side, where they disappeared beneath the water.

The empty boat struck the trailer hard, knocking everyone off balance. Auntie Lin toppled into the boat, but Natasha and Derrick fell into the water. They immediately began to kick and scream. Natasha felt hands beneath the water scrabble at her ankles and kicked as hard as she could.

"Kick, Derrick - kick and they won't get you!"

The pistol was doing her absolutely no good so she tucked it away. Suddenly she saw Auntie Lin above the gunwale, holding out an oar. Natasha latched onto it and let herself be pulled towards the boat, all the while kicking as furiously as she could, her feet striking something each time she lashed out, fingers brushing against her ankles like taloned-seaweed. When she was close enough, Natasha hauled herself out of the water.

She ran to the other side of the boat. Auntie Lin had Derrick by the wrists. She pulled as hard as she could, but could not bring the boy from the water. Natasha joined in, but Derrick wouldn't budge.

Then she realized that he wasn't kicking.

He screamed and his body began to shake. "They're eating me! They're eating me!"

Auntie Lin looked once at Natasha, then dove into the water.

Natasha grabbed for the old woman's ankles, barely managing to grab one as Auntie Lin plunged into the depths. Her weight almost jerked Natasha overboard, but she wouldn't let go. She was up to her shoulder in the water, her hand and arm firmly gripping Auntie Lin.

With her other hand, she helped Derrick aboard. He seemed so weak. She roared as she heaved, and he fell into the boat and rolled over. His lower legs were a mess of blood and bite marks, and huge chunks had been torn away. Blood began to fill the bottom of the boat. He moaned for a moment, then his eyes all but rolled up into his head.

Natasha began to pull Auntie Lin, but like Derrick, she wasn't moving. If the zombies had her it was face first. The old Chinese woman began to quiver and shake, and the water began to churn, like a feeding frenzy of piranhas were consuming Auntie Lin. Natasha could barely hang on; her whole body shook as she struggled to maintain her grip on her old nanny. The dun-grey surface of the water suddenly turned crimson as it bubbled and roiled.

Natasha heaved backwards with all that was left in her. She managed to get her own shoulder and arm out of the water. She used her other hand to grip the wrist that held Auntie Lin's ankle, and used her feet to support her and help lever the old woman out.

The water suddenly calmed, and Natasha fell back, her hand still gripping a leg... all that was left of Auntie Lin. Natasha leaned over the gunwale and hurled the limb from her hand. It hit a gory slick, leaving a ripple.

She emptied her stomach, spraying the water with vomit and gripping the gunwale with both hands to keep from falling in. She got to her knees shakily, drool lacing from the corners of her mouth, tears welling from her eyes until they ran dry, until she was empty.

She snapped out of it when knocking began on the bottom of the boat. Natasha lurched to the rear seat, sat down hard and tugged on the starter cord several times before it finally caught. When it did, she turned the handle on the rudder to full and the boat roared away as she turned it out to sea. She glanced at Derrick to make sure was still breathing and not a zombie, before giving one last, hopeless look at Bombay Beach.

S
he'd bandaged Derrick's arm as best she could by the time the boat hit the beach on the far shore from Bombay Beach. The paltry supplies in the boat's first aid kit weren't adequate enough for the job. After all, there was no tincture for zombieness. It was only a matter of time.

They climbed out of the boat and began walking towards the highway, visible just beyond the dunes. A blonde woman walking a pair of Great Danes passed them, heading for the water.

"Welcome to Desert Shores," she said with a smile. Then, seeing the state they were in, "Are you kids all right?"

Natasha and Derrick ignored her.

"You need to get that kid to a hospital," she called after them.

Natasha thought about yelling back that there was nothing a hospital could do, but she was so soul-tired that she didn't want to waste a breath. They found a picnic table and sat down. She looked despairingly at her brother and held his hand in hers.

"I'm scared, sis."

"Me too."

"I can feel it inside me. I'm so hungry. I'm so angry." He squeezed her hand. "Promise me that you won't let me bite you."

She shook her head as tears poured down her cheeks.

"Promise me, please." His voice began to change. "You have to shoot me."

She watched as his whole body stilled. He inhaled once, then exhaled, then didn't breathe for a while. She couldn't help herself. She got up and backed away, putting the table between her and her brother, who sat with his eyes closed on the picnic table bench.

Then she heard the sound of a helicopter, coming in low over the water from the direction of Bombay Beach. It was white with no markings. It could have been anyone, but Natasha knew what it was, or at least who it was.

Just then Derrick hissed.

Natasha jumped as she watched her brother come back to life, his eyes glowing yellow, his skin turning green. He glared at her.

She backed away, aware that Metzger's pistol was still in the small of her back. She could grab it and protect herself if she had to. She kept backing away, her eyes never leaving her brother. He of the comic books, and he of the video games, he'd always been so easy to make laugh. He'd been a good kid and a better brother. He didn't deserve this. He didn't deserve to be a zombie. The words
Old Yeller
whispered through her mind and she knew what she had to do.

She glanced at the helicopter. It was getting closer.

But then the image of her brother, shouting
Booya
when he'd figured out the crib filled her vision and she knew that she'd never be able to pull the trigger.

She kept backing away, and found herself on top of a sand dune a hundred feet away.

Derrick raged at the picnic table, howling at the sun, his eyes glowing, his fists clenched, his back arched like an animal.

The helicopter swooped in and landed in a clear space adjacent to the picnic table. The doors slid open. Two soldiers leaped out and took up positions. They each fell to one knee and sighted down their rifles towards the zombie.