“I don’t have a good feeling,” she’d said. She watched the flame ball roll into the sky. Maybe she’d reached for Allison’s hand first. She definitely reached for Cash’s.

“Is Daddy, okay?”

“He’s fine.” Char gave his hand a squeeze. “He’s probably the one that blew whatever that is up. Killing zombies.”

Cash smiled. “You think so?”

“Think so? No. I know so,” she said. “He’s out there kicking zombie butt.”

Cash giggled. “Yeah, he is.”

“Yeah, he is,” Char agreed.

She didn’t believe it. She had no clue where her father was, if he was all right, or what caused the explosion and who was kicking whose butt.

The boat sat on the river with the only light coming from the fire. The flames did next to nothing to pierce the darkness that enveloped them. 

“That’s it,” Captain Keel said. “We’re done. We’re pulling away.”

“Sir?” the paramedic, Erway, said.

“We’re pulling out. Not leaving, just going out onto the river. Not leaving, just getting away from land.” Keel walked toward the helm.

Char tugged on Allison’s shirt.

“Don’t worry,” Allison said. She let go of Char’s hand. “Captain?”

“Not now,” he said.

Char watched Allison rush toward the man. “Sir, we can’t pull away. If they come back, if they’re being chased, the boat needs to be here. They might not have time to wait for us to get back into the slip.”

“It’s what we’re doing.”

“I don’t think…”

“Ms. Little, if you do not like it, if you have a problem with my command, you are more than welcome to get off my vessel and wait with Corporal Spencer,” he said. “Deisenroth, fire up the engines.”

“Sir,” Allison said, grabbing the captain’s arm.

He shrugged out of the hold with a violent shake. Allison stumbled backward. Erway caught her from behind.

Char watched Allison closely; knew she was working out what to do next. Had to be wondering whether they go or stay. Couldn’t be an easy choice. Had to be made. “Allison,” Char said.

Allison nodded. Their eyes locked. “Don’t let go of your brother.”

“You’re not seriously going to get off the vessel,” Keel said.

“We are, and we’re going to take some supplies. And these weapons.” Allison spun around.

Keel reached out. His hands tugged on her hair. Erway stepped between them. “Captain!”

“You are not getting off the ship, and you most certainly are not taking anything that belongs the Coast Guard, ma’am.” Fat fingers fumbled with straightening his tie clip. “Do we understand each other, Ms. Little?”

“I’m sorry. I do not believe we do.” Allison backed away.

Char didn’t need direction. She gathered their weapons, and from the footlocker, extra ammo and knives.

“Young lady,” Keel said. “Maar, stop her. Stop that child.”

Maar wore a Coast Guard baseball cap that clearly rested on a head of thinning hair. When he got close to Char, she dropped what she’d gathered. Dropped everything except the handgun. She brought it up, finger inside the trigger guard, arms extended with the barrel half a foot from Maar’s forehead.

His hands went up. “Sir?”

“Ah, geez, Maar. It’s a child.”

“Don’t matter how old I am, does it?” Char said softly, her words barely audible. “I could be six or sixty, and kill you the same. Isn’t that right, Maar?”

He backed up.

“Cash, pick up the guns and the knives, now.”

Allison and Cash picked up as much as they could. “This could have been avoided,” she said.

“Here’s the thing now, Ms. Little. You want off my ship, good. Go. Because when your friends return, when the military gets back, we’ll bring them on board. But you and your kids, you’re going to be stranded. Left here. Shit out of luck,” Keel said.

Erway said, “Captain, I think we’re…”

“Enough,” Keel waved a hand at the paramedic. “Let them off the boat, Maar.”

Like Maar had done anything to stop them. Permission from the Captain didn’t mean a thing, Char thought. I’d already granted myself permission.

“Where are you going?”

Char took her eyes off Maar. Spencer was by the side of the boat. He was yelling. Deisenroth had revved the engines. In the silence of the night, they sounded like rockets firing up on the space shuttle.

“We’re pulling out of the slip,” Keel said.

“No. You’re not. You want to keep the engines running, that’s fine. But you, Captain, are not going anywhere,” the corporal said.

“This is my ship.”

“And I have my orders, Captain.”

Travis Keel laughed. “What orders? I never gave you any orders.”

“You’re not my Captain, sir. I wouldn’t take orders from you under any circumstances,” Spencer said.

“These orders, what are they?”

“No reason I can’t tell you. You try moving this boat; I put a bullet in your skull. I’m paraphrasing. Kind of. I think you get it though, don’t you?” Spencer raised his rifle.

Maar looked sideways at Char. She cocked her head to the side. “No funny ideas,” she said. She motioned with her gun for him to step aside.

She wanted her back to Spencer and the Coast Guard personnel in front. “Allison, you and Cash get off the ship.”

“I don’t think now’s the time,” Allison said.

“We’re getting off,” Char said. “Now.”

“You must be out of your mind,” Keel said. “You are not going to shoot a captain.”

“I don’t care if you were the president. You try to move this boat, and you’re dead, and I’m not fooling around.”

Char jumped. Didn’t expect it. The gunshot boomed.

She stared at Keel. Thought he’d been hit. Way he put a hand to his chest, maybe he’d thought so, too.

“Was a warning shot,” Spencer said. “I’ve changed my mind. Shut the engine.”

Keel removed his hand real slow. His lips spread wide and he laughed. “You are out of your mind, corporal. You know how many guns are aimed at you right now.”

Char took a look around. All of them. Even Deisenroth with one hand on the wheel, one on a gun. Where were Allison and Cash? She didn’t want to take her eyes off the Coast Guard. She never let her gun waver; if she pulled the trigger, Maar was dead.

Despite the engine chugging, the river water slapping up against the side of the ship, there was no mistaking two sounds. If the wind wasn’t blowing, Char knew she’d smell them, as well.

Moaning.

Growling.

Both fast and sluggish zombies were coming.

She knew the sound attracted them. The engine. The warning shot. Calling cards. Zombies were coming. Getting off the boat didn’t make sense.

Keel must have heard them, too. He wasn’t laughing. His smile froze on his face. He looked up and to the left, but it was far too dark to see anything. He said something to Deisenroth, and then turned. “Get off my ship!”

Allison pushed Cash behind her. “The things are coming.”

“You wanted off. You wanted to go wait for your man. Go. It’s not a request. Get off my ship.”

Spencer climbed aboard.

A gunshot was fired. Char didn’t see who did it. She saw, instead, Spencer stumble back a step, another, hit the side of the boat before falling over and splashing into the icy river.

Something slammed into her arm. She dropped the handgun as she turned her attention back on Maar.