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BEN
They’ve been boating southward along the coast for two hours. Ben paces up and down the deck, unable to relax. Not even the clean, cold air of the Pacific Ocean can calm his nerves. He wants to be at Fort Ross already. The calm before the upcoming battle is making him edgy.
He decides it would be a good time to go through the weapon packs and reconfirm their inventory. It will be helpful to have an exact count on their munitions when they get to the fort—
Ka-thunk. Ka-thunk.
This sound is followed by an awful groan from the Fairhaven.
“Oh, shit,” Susan says.
“What the fuck was that?” Ben snaps.
“¡Que mierda!” Ash’s voice carries from the bow. “You guys better come see this.”
The Fairhaven gives another groan, the engine coughing and sending up a plume of black smoke.
Ben rushes to the bow where Ash stands. Blood and body parts bubble up from beneath the boat.
“Dammit,” he growls. “I think some zoms got hung up on the bottom of the Fairhaven. They’re breaking loose now.”
“I can’t steer,” Susan shouts. “I think there’s a body part in the propeller!”
As if to confirm her statement, the Fairhaven lets loose several loud thuds, followed by a distinct snapping sound. The charter boat instantly decelerates. More zombie body parts float free.
“The steering is shot.” Panic lights Susan’s voice. “She’s dead in the water!”
The Fairhaven lurches sideways. A huge wave picks up the boat, driving it toward the coastline. In less than thirty seconds, the half mile between them and the land is reduced by half.
“¡Hijo de puta!” Ash cries. “Guys, we have another problem! We’re headed straight for those rocks.”
Kate and everyone else rushes to the bow, including Susan.
“What can we do?” Kate asks. “Can someone go under the boat?”
“Not with these waves,” Susan says. As if to emphasize her point, the current gives the boat another shove, driving it toward the coastline. “Even if the water were calm, I don’t have the right gear. The tide is high and this part of the coast is littered with rock. We are in big trouble.”
Kate stares, taking in Susan’s white face and the waves that push them inexorably closer to the shore.
“Can anything be done to salvage the boat?” Kate asks. “Anything at all? I’m open to any idea, even if it sounds crazy.”
“There’s no way for us to repair the propeller out here.” Susan swallows, face pained. “We’re dead in the water. This coast will rip the Fairhaven into kindling.”
Ben studies the shoreline. There are rocks for as far as he can see. Big, boat-killing rocks. They’re everywhere. And the current seems intent on driving the Fairhaven right into them. He knows what has to be done, but he waits for Kate to say it.
Kate shades her eyes, studying the coastline. Her jaw is tense, but she isn’t panicked.
“Is there anything at all you can do to steer the ship?” Kate asks. “We need to get as close to the shoreline as we can.”
“The Fairhaven doesn’t have sails. There’s no way to steer it,” Susan says.
“What about an anchor?”
Susan’s face spasms. “Gary and I ... lost it.” She doesn’t elaborate.
Kate lets out a long exhale. “Okay. Everyone, gather your things. Pack as much food as you can. Prepare to abandon ship.”
Susan lets up a wail, but doesn’t contradict Kate. In fact, she’s the first one to scurry across the deck in search of her running pack.
“Take off your shoes,” Kate orders. “They’ll weigh you down if you try to swim with them. Tie your shoes to your packs so they aren’t lost in the water.”
Ben beelines to the weapon packs he collected for their mission. They can’t save Alvarez and Fort Ross with running shoes. Next, he strips off his shoes and socks, securing them to the outside of his pack.
He packed everything into two large backpacks, which he and Caleb had carried to the Fairhaven. They each weigh at least fifty pounds, if not more.
He pulls on his backpack of gear. If he’s going down, he’s going down fully armed. They can’t go up against Rosario’s people without firearms.
The deck of Fairhaven is quiet. Everyone is quiet as they gather their things. Kate’s muscles are taut, her eyes fierce as she pulls on her running pack.
This is the woman who has him in knots. She’s always at her best when her people are threatened. Nothing gets that woman out of a funk like a threat to her family.
Minutes tick by. They’re caught in a waiting game, stuck in limbo as they wait for the current to carry them as close as possible to the shore.
“Shit,” Susan screams. “Everyone, hold on!”
Ben grabs the closest railing as the Fairhaven lurches sideways, grinding against several large rocks. The stern whips around, pushed by the tide. Ben grabs onto the railing to keep from pitching over the side.
“Drop the packs if they’re too heavy,” Kate tells him and Caleb. “You are both more important than anything in them.”
Ben doesn’t bother telling her there won’t be anything to use against Rosario if they lose the artillery bags. He plans to do his damnedest to get them to shore. If only because he can’t stand the thought of what will happen to Kate if they fail to rescue Alvarez.
The wait is agonizing. The waves continue to drive the boat closer to the shore—and subsequently closer to the rocks. The tide beats at it with relentless fists, once again spinning the boat around. The Fairhaven surges, driven straight into two boulders. The boat groans, becoming lodged between the two rocks.
This is as close are they’re going to get to shore. They’re two hundred yards from land. That’s going to be one hell of a swim with these waves and rocks. It’s going to make Humboldt Bay look like a cakewalk.
Then comes a sound even worse than the sound of the rudder snapping. The hull groans and squeals. Ben can feel the pressure building—building—
The hull snaps. Ben can’t see it, but he feels the vibration up through his hands as he grips the railing.
Susan cries out. “No!”
“Will the weapons still work if they get wet?” Kate asks him.
“Yes. So long as we dry them out and clean them well.”
Her attention is on the shoreline. He doesn’t have to ask what she’s looking at. The rocks. They dot the coastline like zits, some of them as large as the Fairhaven.
Swimming through that maze will be a bitch. Doing it with the pack full of weapons might be suicide.
“Drop the artillery bags,” Kate orders. She picks up a length of rope. “Tie the packs to one end.” She looks at Ben. “Are you okay tying the other end around your waist?”
“So we can fish them out of the water once we’re on shore?”
“Yeah. That way you can cut it away if you need to. Do you think it will work?”
He has a better chance of surviving if all he has to contend with is the rope. He can cut through it pretty easily if things get hairy. “It’s worth a shot.”
“Okay. Let’s try it. Don’t drown on me out there.” She squeezes his wrist.
“Back at you,” he replies. Ben decides not to dwell on the wrist squeeze. Right now, he has to focus on not dying.
“Everyone, get ready to swim,” Kate calls.
Fuck. Twice in one day in the water. Ben is not looking forward to this. His only consolation is that this time he doesn’t have to do it in his underwear.
His body begins to secrete adrenaline, just like it used to do before he went on a mission or into battle. It makes his heart pound and his limbs jittery. He shifts closer to the portside railing, ready to jump when Kate says the word.
A screech of metal goes up from the Fairhaven. The entire ship shudders. Susan’s shout is drowned out in the noise.
The shoreline seems a thousand miles away, a maze of jagged rocks standing between them and safety. It will be a miracle if they all make it.
“We go in groups,” Kate calls. “We look out for one another. Everyone makes it to shore. Understand?” At everyone’s nod, she assigns groups. “Ash and Caleb. Eric and Reed. Susan and Ben.”
“You’re with us, Mama,” Reed calls.
Kate nods, grouping herself with Eric and Reed. Ben is relieved. Those two will give their all to get Kate to safety.
“I don’t want to leave.” Susan wraps her arms around her chest. “The Fairhaven is all Gary and I have. We lost everything in the outbreak.”
Ben grabs her arm, propelling her to the side of the sinking charter boat. “Your husband survived a fucking great white shark. Are you going to let a swim in the Pacific get the better of you? Man up!”
His words have the desired effect. Susan’s face hardens, the agony over the loss of the Fairhaven momentarily buried.
“Stay with me,” Ben tells her. He has no intention of failing Kate. She told him to get Susan to safety and he plans to do just that.