“This is kinda out of control now,” he said. “I mean, we came looking for three soldiers. I was down with that. It made sense to me. They helped us, so in good conscience, I couldn’t leave them out here. Not if there was a chance to save them.”

“I agree,” I said.

“But not now, I mean, now it’s all different. You know what this is, don’t you? It’s a war. More than a battle. We’re at war,” he said. It was the most I’d ever heard him talk. Ever.

“We can’t leave them,” I said.

“I never said that,” he said.

Maybe we were all thinking it, though.

He pointed at me. “You, too?”

I nodded. “I just want to get back to the ship and be with my family. It’s all I’ve ever wanted, but I can’t just leave, just go back there. There was a time I think I could have, but not now. We have to try to find them,” I said.

“Some of them.”

I agreed, “Some of them”

Hated to think I mostly figured on just Lieutenant Marf. Not sure I was up to going after Vitale’s group. They had the two soldiers and Chatterton with them. They could fend for themselves, as we were. While I hoped to find and help Barron, Palmeri and Saylor, I think my faith that they were still alive was shaken, if not completely shattered.

Gunshots brought me out of my train of thought. “Where’d that come from?” I said.

“Behind us. All I can tell. Behind us.”

One at a time, I wiped my palms down my pants, but it did nothing, because there was as much mud and moisture on them as there had been on my hands. There was nowhere to clean them off. All I could imagine was dropping my rifle again. That was my lifeline and I didn’t want to risk losing it. I would have to do my best, and hope for it. The best. “Okay. Follow me,” I said.

I must be losing my mind, because I’d just volunteered to take point. No idea what I was thinking, just that I couldn’t be thinking straight. Point was a good way to go and get myself killed. Dead was the last thing I needed right now. Dead or worse.

“Right behind you,” he said.

The moon glow was about the only Godsend I’d witnessed since finding my kids. How pathetic have my last several days been? I silently counted to three, pushed off from the structure frame, and ran around the corner.

Something exploded.

A ball of fiery light shot into the sky. Flames mixed with black smoke. The heat reached where we stopped. I thought my eyebrows singed.

“Son of a bitch,” Dave said. “What do you think that was?”

It came from the center of the camp, I thought, but I couldn’t be sure. Question now, do we head toward or away from the fire? Toward could be a death sentence. The explosion would attract zombies. Noise did that. The fire might harm them. It would be awesome if the explosion killed most of them.

“I think we need to get back to the ship,” Dave said.

I couldn’t disagree.

Someone screamed. The person was crying out was clearly in pain. It could be that he was being eaten alive, or had been injured by the explosion.

Shots were fired behind us from outside the camp. Who was outside the camp? Spencer. That was who. Spencer who accepted orders to shoot Travis Keel if the fucker tried to pull the Coast Guard vessel away from the slip.

Was the good Captain hightailing it? Leaving with my kids? This sucked. It sucked because if he did pull the boat away, I’d be thankful. My family would be safer on the water. Those things weren’t going to swim out and attack the boat. That meant I had time to see who was screaming for help, and the truth was I really didn’t want to.

We didn’t run. We cautiously slinked toward the fire. Definitely, something burned toward the center of the camp. The sound was amazing. Loud. Crackling. Popping. Wet wood was defenseless against heat this intense. I smelled a combination of things burning. Some of it had to be flesh. Cooking flesh.

“It’s where the zombies are going, too, you know,” Dave said.

I put my sleeve to my mouth. “Lieutenant Marfione? Sergeant Vitale? Anyone?”

I stopped walking, waited and hoped for a response. Dave was right. The explosion had been loud. The noise would work like a bug zapper with flies. Attract them, but not necessarily kill them unless they curiously walked right into the flames. I’d seen them fall off a bridge into a river to get to us. It wasn’t that far-fetched to think they might walk right into the fire.

“You think Vitale or someone blew something up on purpose? You know, get them all to one spot?” he said.

It made sense. A lot of sense. Sounded like a military maneuver. A hunter’s scheme. A bait-n-shoot. The zombies were the deer.

“Marfione? Vitale?”

“Marfione here, over.” It was a whisper. Barely heard it. I pressed a finger against the bud and tried pushing it deeper into my ear, but the transmission ended.

“It’s McKinney, sir. We’re trying to find you,” I said.

“What exploded?” Marf said. “Over.”

“No clue, sir. Where are you? Are you okay?” I wasn’t saying the ‘over’ shit. When I was done talking, he’d know it. Then he could talk. It wasn’t that complicated.

“In one of the apartments. They came from behind me. We were getting sandwiched. How are you, how’s Rivera?”

“We’re good. We’re fine. We want to find you.”

“Won’t be hard. I’m in the apartment with the zombies outside of it. I can see them through the window. They’re everywhere. Thought if I were quiet they’d get bored and leave, but that hasn’t happened.”

I looked left and then right. Dave and I had not gone far. We, from what I remember, rounded one corner. The very next corner might be as far as Marfione got. Figured that had been the one Marf had gone around, as well. I didn’t see any zombies outside one of the apartments. I raised an eyebrow at Dave.

“I don’t see any,” he said, with a finger pressing his bud hard against his ear, too.

I hadn’t heard anything from Vitale, Spade, or Chatterton. “You sit tight, Marf. We’re coming for you.”

“We are?” Dave said.

I knew what he thought. He was a brave man. He had Sues now. Without his brother, she was all he had. Like me wanting to get back to Allison and my kids, he wanted to get back to her. The more time we spent out here, the less likely it was we’d ever return. I knew it. He must, as well.

“We’re getting him fast and then we’re out of here.”

“So we’re looking for a swarm of zombies. First time we’ve hunted them,” he said, and laughed.

I put a finger to my lips. “Shhh, are you kidding me?”

“Sorry. It’s just, Chase, we’re looking for a bunch of zombies.”

I got it. Didn’t like it, but I got it. The fire was not going out but seemed to grow. Red flames licked and roared at a black sky. Wonder if other structures caught fire, too? Think the rain might prevent a fire from spreading at least. Everything was so damned wet.

“Let’s find a swarm of zombies and get out of here,” I said.

Chapter Fifteen

0308 hours

They knew he was inside. No way could they smell him. The ones that chased him into the apartment before he slammed the door must have started scraping the wood, and tapping fingernails on the glass window. Then there was the moaning. Growling. Maybe it was like a call that told other zombies they had trapped a potential meal. Combined, it was more noise than I would of thought possible without an actual word being said. The ten, twelve of them there were all doing it, scratching, tapping and moaning. Growling. Yeah. Oh yeah, it was loud enough to attract the attention of more zombies to the area.

I’d also have guessed that the explosion would call some away. Didn’t seem to be the case. The food was here and they were intent on waiting it out, or scratching a way through the wall to get inside. Giving up didn’t seem like it belonged in their vocabulary, but they didn’t speak, so vocabulary was not accurate. Not at all.