The Fall of Society (Book 2): The Fight of Society (37 page)
The weapon ceased fire and went dormant. All that was left of thousands of corpses was a red carpet. Immediately, thousands more rushed on to the dock and replaced them. The cannon at the head of the ship moved toward the dock and the barrel took aim. When it fired, more than three 57 mm shells were spent a second. The cannon rounds arced across the harbor and, when they hit the dock, the explosive charges destroyed hundreds more of the stenches. Burst after burst, the shells also destroyed much of the dock as sections fell into the sea. The automated cannon ejected all the spent casings from under its barrel. The weapon stopped, leaving pure carnage on the dock—thousands more destroyed—many left with no limbs as they flopped around. More of them came; it was a non-stop flow of the walking dead.
The cannon made a change that was evidenced by the mechanical noises coming from within. Bear’s voice came over on the speakers. “Let’s see how they like some air burst rounds.”
Another volley fired from the cannon, about a dozen rounds, and when they reached the dock, they exploded fifty above it and sent hundreds of fragmented projectiles down into the massed horde. It rained death and the deadly pieces destroyed everything below, almost every undead skull shattered. This was a massive blood bath. The cannon went dormant.
“Rot in Hell, you pieces of shit,” Anthony said under his breath.
“That was a better show than any Fourth of July fireworks I’ve ever seen!” Derek proclaimed.
“You better believe it,” Milla added.
Ardent spoke to Bear through a radio. “Is that what you call restraint?”
“Yes, sir. It is.”
“Okay,” Ardent answered with a smile. “Take us out to sea, Bear. Get us away from this hellhole.”
“Yes, sir, heading for open waters.”
The ship’s water jets engaged and the Independence moved to leave the ruined harbor. The thousands of the dead that remained on all sides of the waterfront could go no further to chase the ship, and they watched in madness and roared with ravenous voices that would never be quenched. The vessel exited the harbor in favor of open waters and, with it, perhaps a new hope of survival.
The group on the flight deck watched the land shrink away as they chased after the setting sun, her rays bouncing off the ocean and caressing the ship, warming those onboard her. Anthony got to his feet and kept his sorrowful eyes where he left his brother. “Goodbye, Tom.” he said aloud.
Maggie heard him. “I’ll miss him.”
“I’m gonna miss Corina. I’m so sorry about her, Maggie,” Anthony said.
“Me, too.”
Derek looked at Milla and finally had a moment to appreciate her. He put his arm around her shoulder. “I love you,” she tenderly said to him.
He smiled. “I know.”
Milla laughed because she appreciated the kind of person he was, which was one of the reasons why they were so good together.
John and Lauren stood side-by-side as they watched the sunset. They had been through so much together—all of them had—but this was the first time since they met that John and Lauren had more than a moment to just stand there and not have to worry about looking over their shoulders. Not worry if their weapons were loaded, or worry about anything, for that matter. They just had to breathe and enjoy the moment. John had her on his mind as he glanced at her with different, kinder eyes. He could no longer deny what he felt for her. Even if it was a bad time to date someone, what was between them was real.
They stood so close that their hands almost touched, half an inch apart. The motion of the ship against the ocean waves closed the gap and their fingers came together. Lauren didn’t move closer because she was afraid he would reject her. She remained as calm as possible and enjoyed the feeling of his skin, for however long it lasted. John knew how to keep perfect balance on a moving ship, and his fingers were where he wanted them to be. He wanted to touch her. John Mandall was about to make a decision that would affect both their lives, perhaps even put them in jeopardy one day because of it, but he didn’t care.
John extended his fingers and wrapped them around hers…
Lauren’s heart skipped a beat.
She smiled and tightened her grip.
And like a person diving off a cliff into the dark unknown…
John held Lauren’s hand.
She squeezed his hand and he could feel what that meant.
Their souls would become familiar and they would face whatever the future brought before them.
The warm rays of the descending sun witnessed their union.
They were truly together now and nothing could stop them…
EPILOGUE
CASTAWAYS
FROM MILES AWAY, THE INDEPENDENCE WAS STILL LARGER THAN LIFE IN THE HARBOR. The 57 mm cannon fired faster than a blinking eye and the shells arced across the harbor, hitting the dock in multiple explosions, vaporizing hundreds of the corpses. The results of the thunderous blasts were fierce concussion shockwaves that created a disturbance in the air, even at three miles out. The sound was heard for miles…
On the west side of the harbor, miles away from the Independence, seven people emerged from a commercial building. They were armed with automatic weapons and their faces were armed with five o’clock shadows. Most of them carried duffle bags that were filled with supplies they had liberated from all over the harbor, this building being their last stop of the day. These men were in uniform, be them dingy and all wrinkled, but they were navy uniforms nonetheless. Most of them were officers.
The sailors approached the dock and saw the Independence firing its cannon at the horde, dispatching thousands to a permanent death. After a moment, the cannon ceased fire and the ship moved to leave the harbor for open sea. The sailors stopped in their tracks and watched the ship. Several dropped their bags in disbelief, some were very angry.
Except the two men at the front of the group, they were the officers in charge.
“I can’t fucking believe it!” one sailor said as he watched the Independence move away.
“Save that shit, Henderson,” Giles, the chief of the boat, said.
Giles was an Asian man in his forties, pure Navy to the bone, a constant professional, even at the end of the world. The Commander of the Independence stood next to him, Christine Evans. She was a southern bell, though you couldn’t tell by looking at her. She had a dominating aura—this woman commanded respect when she walked into a room. With short blonde hair, tan white skin, and dark gunmetal eyes, she was a vision, even in a dirty uniform. Commander Evans was in better shape than most people half her age. She stood there and watched her boat sail away.
“Boy, do those fools have a surprise waiting for them,” one sailor said with a grin.
“They’re taking our goddamn ship!” another sailor spat. “I told you it was a bad idea to leave her unattended.”
“There’s only seven of us left, Guzman,” Giles said. “We need to stick together at all times.”
“Oh, we’re gonna stick together alright,” Guzman said. “Because we’re not going anywhere now.”
“Be quiet,” Evans said and her voice was precise. “Whoever they are, they’re not gonna get very far.”
“Who do you think they are, sir?” Giles asked.
“Well, since they know how to run the ship and fire the 57 millimeter,” Evans said. “They’re obviously not civilians, Chief.”
A low rumbling hit their feet as the dock was disturbed and a loud noise reached their ears—the horde of the undead appeared a quarter of a mile down the harbor—they only had a couple minutes before they were overrun.
“We need to leave,” Giles said.
Evans didn’t look at the horde. She heard them and knew how close they were by the sound. She continued to watch her ship move on. “Let’s go,” Evans said.
The sailors climbed down a ladder on the edge of the dock; in the water was their zodiac boat. Giles was second to last, as he waited for Evans to go before him. “Sir?” he said to his commander.
“Go ahead,” Evans told him.
Giles climbed down as Evans stood there by herself and watched the Independence. The horde was within a couple hundred yards of reaching their position, but Evans couldn’t care less; the Independence was her only thought.
“Those goddamn fools have no idea what they’ve gotten themselves into,” she said aloud.
On the Independence, the group watched what they had escaped shrink away but, unbeknownst to them . . . in the unexplored bowels of the ship, it was dark and empty. No one was present, but a sound—a faint banging noise echoed throughout—deeper into the steel chasm and the source was revealed…
The hatchway to the engine room was closed tight, locked in place, and for good reason. The pool of blood around the bottom of the hatch was a telltale to that. The blood was old and coagulated; it was also all around the seam of the hatch, as if it was pushed outside from within the hatchway. Old threads of brown blood were spattered across the frame of the hatch like the branches of an old tree—
BAM!
Something heavy hit the hatch from the inside…
BAM! BAM!
Again, stronger this time, with more ferocity, and then the unknown entities identified themselves verbally as they banged up against the metal door for freedom.
Dead people.
There were more than three or four pounding on the door to get out, using their bodies as battering rams, and the steel door began to give way after hours of nonstop attack. More precisely, the hinges and locking mechanism of the door were weakened. Bending slowly, little by little, by the will of creatures that cared not for their physical state. The locks holding them in would soon give way…
Behind the ones at the door, another twenty or thirty could be heard waiting for their chance to get out…
The dead only wanted two things: freedom and to feed, and at the rate the metal of the door was giving way…
They would soon quench their only desires…
Very soon…
Up above, Ardent, John, and Lauren, along with the rest…
Had no idea they were sitting on a powder keg…
Table of Contents
Copyright
PROLOGUE
ECHOES
DAY 45: ARDENT KELLER
OVER FIFTY YEARS AGO PASADENA, CALIFORNIA OCTOBER
DAY 45: ARDENT and BEAR
THE U.S.S. RONALD REAGAN CVN-76
DAY 45: MILLA and DEREK
DAY 201: CONFESSION AT THE LAST SUPPER
DAY 18: SAN BERNARDINO, CALIFORNIA
DAY 1: PIEDMONT, ARIZONA
DAY 18: DEN of THE BEAST
DAY 201: THE LAST NIGHT at THE HOSPITAL
DAY 23: THE HANGING MAN
DAY 202: DISCOVERY and ESCAPE
DAY 24: CERAULO and DONNIE
DAY 202: Z & C DAY
DAY 23: PAUL and KATIE
THE MARKET
UNABRIDGED
DAY 202: SITTING on THE DOCK of THE BAY
EPILOGUE
CASTAWAYS
Table of Contents
Copyright
PROLOGUE
ECHOES
DAY 45: ARDENT KELLER
OVER FIFTY YEARS AGO PASADENA, CALIFORNIA OCTOBER
DAY 45: ARDENT and BEAR
THE U.S.S. RONALD REAGAN CVN-76
DAY 45: MILLA and DEREK
DAY 201: CONFESSION AT THE LAST SUPPER
DAY 18: SAN BERNARDINO, CALIFORNIA
DAY 1: PIEDMONT, ARIZONA
DAY 18: DEN of THE BEAST
DAY 201: THE LAST NIGHT at THE HOSPITAL
DAY 23: THE HANGING MAN
DAY 202: DISCOVERY and ESCAPE
DAY 24: CERAULO and DONNIE
DAY 202: Z & C DAY
DAY 23: PAUL and KATIE
THE MARKET
UNABRIDGED
DAY 202: SITTING on THE DOCK of THE BAY
EPILOGUE
CASTAWAYS
