Rotter World: Rotter Nation Part 5

"Let's go."

Ari withdrew her machete from its sheath and stepped onto the boarding platform built into the yacht's transom, and then climbed the three steps onto the main deck. Emily followed. Brandis.h.i.+ng her hunting knife, Sarah brought up the rear. When the others were safely aboard, Josephine paddled around to hide alongside the starboard beam.

While Sarah climbed the ladder to the flying bridge, Ari peered through the hatch into the main cabin.

"It looks clear," whispered Ari.

"No rotters up here," Sarah reported as she descended the ladder.

"Are the keys in the ignition?" asked Emily.

Sarah climbed back up. "Dammit, no. What do we do now?"

"Don't give up hope, honey. There's a lot of places they could be." Emily made her way into the main cabin. "First, we need to see if this thing has any gas in it."

Emily opened the floor hatch leading down to the engine room, ushered the other two down the stairs and followed, closing the hatch behind her. "Take off your night vision goggles."

When both women complied, Emily switched on the light, illuminating the engine room in the soft glow of fluorescent lights. Emily made her way down the stairs and over to the twin engines.

"We know the batteries still work. That's a good sign."

"Can we do anything?" Ari asked.

Emily pointed to the work station behind and to their right. "Look around there for a spare set of keys."

Emily stepped over to the gas tank and checked the gauge. "It's full. With the batteries working, we should be able to start her up with no problem."

"How do you know so much about yachts?" Ari asked.

"Honey, it's all part of my sordid past." Emily chuckled. "As a grad student I dated a frat boy whose dad came from old money. One summer, we borrowed his family yacht and toured the East Coast. He taught me a lot about running a yacht, as well as other things."

"Got them." Sarah lifted the keys above her head.

"I want to check on the food supplies," said Ari. "And we have to make sure there are no rotters on board. Last thing I want are any surprises out at sea."

Emily took the keys from Sarah and led the way back upstairs. Before opening the door, she switched off the lights. The women donned their night vision goggles. Moving down the yacht, they checked on the kitchen, pantry, and each stateroom. Whenever they reached a closed door, they would knock three times and wait. If no sounds came from the other side, Ari would open the door and Sarah and Emily would step in, ready to dispatch anything that greeted them. They found each stateroom empty. The two near the bow contained boxes of canned goods, bottled water, and other supplies.

Ari opened the closest unmarked box and found medical equipment as well as over the counter medicine. "Someone was getting ready to ride out the apocalypse on the high seas."

Sarah reached in and pulled out a bottle of Motrin. "Thank G.o.d for us they never got a chance to shove off."

"I wonder what happened to the owner," Ari wondered aloud.

"He's probably roaming the wharf," said Emily. "If you ladies are ready, we can get this show on the road."

Ari nodded. "Let's get into position. I'll call Robson."

The three girls headed back to Josephine. None of them realized that the owner was still on board and had been immobile in the main stateroom's bathroom, the one room they had failed to search. Now alert to the presence of humans, it made its way out into the stateroom, down the hall, and followed the sound of the food at the back of the yacht.

Robson leaned against the school bus' fender. He stared across the inlet, although he knew that between the distance and the darkness he would not be able to see Ari's party. That made him nervous. So far he had heard no commotion from Portland or received any calls for help, so he kept telling himself that no news was good news.

This time DeWitt's team provided the perimeter defense because the Angels were down on sh.o.r.e with their inflatable boats ready to move out once they got the signal from Ari.

"Mike, are you there?" Ari's voice could barely be heard over the radio.

"I'm here."

"We found a yacht that we think is ready to travel. Now we need our diversion."

"Where are you?"

"We're at the end of the ferry terminal."

"One diversion coming right up." Robson dropped the radio back into his jacket pocket. He stepped down to the sh.o.r.e line, each of the Angels watching him expectantly. "Ladies, it's show time. You know what to do."

As the other Angels pushed their inflatable boats into the water, Natalie walked up to Robson and put her arms around him. The feel of her body against his was comforting, yet bittersweet. He had no idea how long it would be before he held her again, or if either of them would survive. Wrapping both arms around her shoulders, he hugged her tightly, savoring the last seconds they had together.

He couldn't think of anything to say other than, "Be careful."

"I will. Make sure you take care of yourself." Natalie broke the hug, placed her hands on Robson's cheeks, and kissed him. "I love you, and I don't want anything to happen to you."

"I love you, too." Robson hugged her back. "See you soon."

"I hope so." Natalie ran down to the sh.o.r.e and climbed into the last inflatable boat. As the Angels paddled away and the pair of craft disappeared into the night, Robson walked back to the vehicles. He nodded to Dravko. "Are you ready?"

The vampire shrugged. "As ready as I'll ever be."

"Let's go."

DeWitt stepped up Robson. "Are you sure you don't want us to go with you?"

"I want you guys to follow us only as far as the bridge and wait there. This should be easy. Be ready to come get us if we get into trouble."

"Like that never happens," said Dravko, sliding into one of the Humvees.

Climbing into the school bus, Robson sat in the driver's seat, started the engine, and s.h.i.+fted into drive. Dravko moved the Humvee in behind him. The other vehicles followed, keeping their distance. The convoy moved through the deserted back streets of South Portland until they came upon the exit ramp for Route 77, which led to the Cas...o...b..y Bridge. The other vehicles stopped on top of the span while Robson and Dravko continued across into Portland.

Robson raced into the downtown area, pressing on the horn, blaring in a single, continuous wail. From behind the chain link fences paralleling the road, thousands of gray, dead eyes turned in the direction of the noise. The living dead flowed toward the fences, pus.h.i.+ng against them until the surfaces bulged like waves gliding across the ocean surface. More and more rotters joined the throng, shoving against the fence until Robson feared it might collapse. While that would provide the perfect diversion for the Angels, it would suck for him and Dravko.

He continued down Commerce Street until he reached the intersection with Franklin. The entrance to the Cas...o...b..y Ferry Terminal sat off to his right. There were fewer rotters here than farther down, so the pressure on the fence would be less. He stopped and s.h.i.+fted into park. Dravko pa.s.sed by and pulled the Humvee into a three-point turn. While the vampire reversed direction so they could get away, Robson pressed the horn, attracting the attention of those living dead around the terminal. Slowly, they made their way toward Commerce Street, leaving the terminal behind them.

From the flying bridge, Ari heard the commotion coming from Commerce Street and knew Robson was drawing the rotters away.

"Emily, that's our cue."

Emily slid the key into the ignition and twisted it to the right, then pressed the start b.u.t.ton. From below decks, the twin engines turned over but would not catch. Emily tried three times without success.

"What do we do now?" asked Sarah.

"We find another boat," answered Ari, forcing down her panic. "And fast."

"With the rotters all stirred up? No f.u.c.king way."

Emily switched the key to the off position. "Come on, honey," she coaxed. "Don't let me down."

Turning the key back to the on position, Emily pressed the start b.u.t.ton again. The twin engines turned over, this time catching and roaring to life.

Ari whooped and patted Emily on the back. "You did it!"

"Of course I did, honey." Emily smiled. "Now cut us loose."

Ari and Sarah ran down to the main deck, rus.h.i.+ng past Josephine who had brought the inflatable boat around to the transom landing and had climbed on board. The two women made their way to the fore and aft dock lines anchoring the port side of the yacht to the wharf. Using their machete and hunting knife, respectively, they cut the lines. When both women yelled up to Emily that they were clear, she pushed the throttles forward. The water behind the yacht churned as the twin propellers began spinning and the yacht moved away from the pier. Once two hundred feet into the bay, Emily throttled back to neutral. She removed her night vision goggles and told the others to do the same.

"What are you doing?" asked Ari.

"Making sure the others find us." Flipping another switch, the exterior lights on the yacht came on, the glare slicing through the dark.

"Over there," said Doreen. Not that anyone needed her to point it out. The yacht was the only thing lit up in the entire Portland area. The Angels paddled in its direction.

Dravko leaned out the window of his Humvee and waved until he attracted Robson's attention. Robson rolled down the school bus window.

"What's wrong?"

"Don't you think we should get out of here?" The vampire pointed toward the fence opposite the school bus where a horde of rotters yanked against the links. "That fence is not going to hold much longer."

"Give it a few more minutes. We need to make sure the girls get away."

"You're the boss. But if that fence collapses, we're the ones who aren't going to be making it out of here."

The first of the inflatable boats reached the yacht. Sarah stood by, waiting to help the Angels on board. Doreen grabbed the mooring cleat and held the boat in place against the transom's boarding platform. Tiara jumped off first, spun around, and reached out to a.s.sist Bethany, who struggled with the broken arm she had received on the journey down to Site R. Tiara had helped Bethany onto the platform when the women heard a moan from behind them. They turned to see the rotter that had been lurking in the stateroom exit the hatch to the main cabin and lumber toward them. It fell off the deck onto the boarding platform. Tiara dodged out of the way. Bethany, being off balance, could not move fast enough, and the rotter landed on top of her, clutching her leather jacket by the collar. The two toppled backward into the inflatable boat, bounced off the surface, and landed in the bay.

Bethany had the presence of mind to take a deep breath before they hit, not that it would be of much help. The dead ma.s.s weighed her down, and the pair sank into the bay. With only one hand free, she could not break away. The rotter lunged for her neck, its movement slowed by the water. Bethany slapped at its mouth. Rather than her neck, it bit her on the right side of her face. She felt its teeth slice through the skin and sc.r.a.pe against her gums. Bethany grabbed the rotter by the hair and held its head in place so it could not tear away a chunk of flesh. The pain overwhelmed her. For a moment, her senses went numb. She didn't even realize that she had gasped, sucking sea water into her lungs.

Sarah saw a cloud of blood turning the water crimson, so she dived into the bay after her friend. As she swam after the two, she withdrew her hunting knife. When Sarah reached the pair, she grabbed the rotter by the back of its s.h.i.+rt and plunged the knife into the base of its skull, twisting the blade and severing its spinal column. The rotter went limp and released its grip on Bethany, who continued to descend into the darkness. Sarah pushed away the rotter, grabbed Bethany by the jacket, and swam for the surface. She couldn't see where Bethany had been bitten, but judging by the amount of blood, she a.s.sumed it was bad.

Sarah breached the surface and gasped for breath. Tiara and Doreen knelt on the boarding platform waiting for her. They reached out, took Bethany under the arms, and dragged her onto the main deck. While Sarah climbed onto the boarding platform, the second inflatable boat came into view.

"What's all the commotion?" asked Natalie.

Sarah took a deep breath. "A rotter bit Bethany."

"Oh, G.o.d. How is she?"

"We don't know yet." Sarah scrambled up onto the main deck.

Bethany lay p.r.o.ne, blood flowing from the bite wound and pooling around her head. Tiara had her head on Bethany's chest. "She's not breathing."

"Give her CPR," ordered Natalie.

Tiara hesitated. "She's infected."

"No she's not." Natalie knelt on the opposite side of Bethany. "We've all taken the vaccine. Remember?"

Bending over, she administered CPR, alternating between breathing into Bethany's mouth and compressing her chest. On the fifth attempt, Bethany sat up and hacked, spewing sea water from her lungs. She drew in several deep gasps, desperately sucking in air, and each time coughed up more water. The choking stopped and Bethany lay back on the deck, trying to calm her nerves. She reached up to touch her face, but Natalie grabbed her wrist and stopped her.

Bethany's eyes went wide. "How bad is it?"

"Pretty bad. But you'll live."

It didn't help that when the rest of the Angels climbed onto the main deck, Katie saw Bethany and gasped. Natalie slid off her leather jacket and pulled her t-s.h.i.+rt over her head. Folding the s.h.i.+rt several times, Natalie placed one surface against Bethany's ravaged cheek and pressed. Bethany winced from the pain. Placing her other hand on the opposite cheek, Natalie held her friend's head in place.

Ari's head appeared over the railing of the flying bridge. "Is everyone on board?"

"Yes!" Doreen yelled.

"Good. I'll tell Em.... Jesus, what happened?"

"A rotter attacked Bethany," said Natalie. "We need to do something for her. Now."

"Okay. I'll get some medical supplies." Ari yelled something the other girls couldn't hear. A second later, the engines came to life and the yacht sailed forward. Ari made her way down to the main deck and headed inside. She waved for the others to follow. "Come on. We'll put her in one of the cabins and take a look at her wound."

Natalie and Tiara picked up Bethany and carried her inside. Sandy, who held the briefcase with the vials of vaccine, entered behind them. The others milled around for a few seconds, uncertain what to do, before finally following their friends.

DeWitt's voice crackled over Robson's radio. "I think the Angels are safe."

"Can you see them?" Robson asked.

"No, but the yacht is on the move and it's heading out to sea."

"Roger that. We'll be there in a few." Opening the door to the school bus, Robson jumped out and rushed over to the Humvee. Upon seeing him, the rotters along both fences broke into a frenzy, moaning and snarling as they tried to reach him through the links.

Dravko motioned to the bus. "Are you leaving it here?"

"Without the Angels we don't need it anymore. Right now it's more of a burden than anything else." Robson opened the door and slid into the pa.s.senger seat. "Let's get out of here before these things break through."

"No argument here." Dravko pushed his foot down on the accelerator.