He twisted her arm at the wrist, spun her around and shoved her arm halfway up her back.

“Get them off my ship,” Keel said.

“You can’t do that,” Allison said.

“Break the girl’s arm,” Keel said.

Maar applied pressure. The threat, the possibility he’d break bone was very real. She didn’t want to cry out, but couldn’t hold it in. Pain shot through her arm to her shoulder. “Let go of me!”

Maar forced her to walk.

“Keel, tell him to stop,” Allison said.

Keel shrugged. “We’re pulling away. Either you get off right now, or once we pull away, we’ll throw you into the water. All three of you.”

“Captain,” Erway said.

“Stop choosing the wrong sides, Erway. Learn your place, dammit!”

Erway grit her teeth and hefted a medical bag over her shoulder. “I’m getting off, too.”

Again, Keel laughed. “You’re not going anywhere. I’ve had enough.”

The zombies were closer. Char couldn’t tune them out. She couldn’t look to see how many either. Cold tears filled her eyes. “Let me go, please,” she said in a whisper.

“You put a gun to my head,” Maar said. “Where was your mercy?”

“She’s a kid. Leave her alone. She doesn’t have a gun. She’s not a threat.”

The pressure stopped. Just like that. Gone. Char pulled her arm up to her chest and cradled it.

Allison was wide-eyed.

Char turned around. Maar wasn’t behind her. He was balled up on the ground, out of it. Blood spilled from a crack on the back of his head.

Sues Melia held a fire extinguisher in both hands. She smiled. “Now what?”

The rest of the Coast Guard crew was on deck. Char counted them. Too many to fight. She bent down, picked up her handgun. “We’re out of here,” she said.

Allison said, “What?”

“We’re not staying on the ship.”

“Charlene,” Allison said.

Char faced her. “Staying on this ship isn’t safe. They’re crazy, Allison. We won’t be safe. Look at him. The captain has lost his mind. They’ll kill us. They just shot that corporal guy. See anyone flinch? We’re getting off.”

Char went to the side of the boat, put one leg over, and then the other. “Cash, come on.”

Allison held her brother’s hand.

Cash tugged and yanked in an attempt to pull free.

“She’s right,” Crystal said. She was on her feet, standing beside Sues. “I’m not staying.”

“Come with us, Allison,” Char said.

Keel fired three shots into the air. “Get off my boat. Now!”

“We were leaving. Why did you do that? Why did you fire that stupid gun? You just called more zombies over here!”

“Too fuck--”

Char shot him. She just raised her gun, pulled the trigger and shot the captain. The impact spun him around, arms flailing. He did more than a one-eighty, leaned over the helm, and swore as blood pooled and then spilled from the corner of his mouth.

“Oh, shit,” Allison said.

Char was far from done. She aimed, fired and fired and fired.

The Coast Guard returned fire.

Screams came from everywhere. Char drowned out the noise. She concentrated instead on targets. And fired. And fired.

She only stopped when she thought she heard Allison scream out a name. Her ears rang from all the gunplay. A slight shake of her head would clear the clouding. That was when she heard it again. Only Allison wasn’t screaming. Not anymore. Now she sobbed. Sobbed and said the same name, over and over.

“Cash. Cash!”

Chapter Eighteen

“I can walk,” Saylor said. He shrugged off hands trying to help him. He held up his handgun. “I’ve got this.”

He could walk. He’d never be able to run. He winced every time he put any weight on his leg. Ankle was probably worse than a sprain.

“We going for Marf?” I said.

“See if he’s out.” Palmeri checked the clip in her rifle. Seemingly satisfied, she locked it back in place.

“Marf?” I said into the radio.

“Yeah,” he said. No ‘over’ this time.

“You out?”

“No. Still here. Can’t get out through the floors. Place is kind of well constructed, surprisingly, and if I’m not mistaken, there’s even more zombies,” he said into my ear.

I told Palmeri, and then went over the radio again. “Anyone else copy this transmission? Anyone?”

Silence.

Everyone looked at me. I shook my head.

The Coast Guard should hear us. They should be answering at the very least, but they weren’t. I couldn’t help wondering if we were going to return to an empty slip. The vessel gone. My kids, gone.

“Tell Lou we’re coming for him.”

It finally hit me. Lou, short for Lieutenant. I told him and he thanked us.

“You know where he is, right? You were at his apartment?” Palmeri said.

“About two back that way,” Dave said, pointing. “I’ll lead the way.”

Palmeri nodded. “Okay. We go slow. I don’t need to stress this, but we look in every direction all at once. Got it?”

We agreed.

Dave stood at the door with one hand on the knob. Saylor was by the window, silhouetted against the flames of the fire just beyond. He craned his head left and right.

“How do we look?” Palmeri said.

“Seven? Eight? I can’t see everything, but they’re out there.”

As if to illustrate the point, something knocked against the door. Dave jumped back.

“They’re milling around. They don’t look like they’re trying to get inside. Not really. They just look, I don’t know, kinda lost,” he said.

“Lost is good,” Palmeri said. “We can surprise them, hopefully.”

I took in a deep breath. Eyes closed. I saw the camp in my head, best I could remember it. The fence outlined everything. The apartments were in rows. We never made it past the center. Way it sounded, we never would. “I think we get Marf, and then we keep going west, toward the fence. Follow it around to the gate,” I said.

“We should stay between apartments,” Saylor said. Again, he spoke loudly, forgetting that his booming voice could attract unwanted attention. “We need to hide, get away from them, and the fence isn’t going to help.”

He might be right. “Okay,” I said. “I agree.”

“How lucky for me,” Saylor said.

“Cool it,” Palmeri said. She knew how to yell without raising her voice. “We’re behind you, Dave. As soon as you’re ready.”

I exhaled.

“As ready as I can be,” he said. He looked at me. I nodded. “Here we go.”

I took a knee, raised my rifle and aimed.

Dave pushed open the door.

The door knocked two zombies over, sending them to the ground. Their arms and legs flailed; looked like they were making mud angels. I almost fired at nothing. Didn’t have to wait long. Another creature stuck his head in the doorway. It was a woman who had long curly hair. Most of it was matted against her face, and neck. Her arms reached for us and we could see that her flesh was clearly bitten. Mouth-size chunks were missing up her forearm and the bone was exposed under what was left of her decaying meat and tendons.

I fired.

The bullet went through the bridge of her nose. Her eyes crossed as she fell forward. Dave kicked her body out of the doorway. He sent a few rounds into the mud angels. Their bodies danced as the bullets slammed into them, then nothing. They lay flat and still.

Three down, five to go, if Saylor had been correct. Five, if our gunshots didn’t attract more.

“Move,” Palmeri said.

Dave stepped out of the apartment. I was right behind him. I held my gun up, swiveled left and right. To the right were three more. I fired, missed, cursed, and fired again. Chunked out a slab of shoulder. The zombie jumped back, off balance, but didn’t go down and didn’t stop advancing. It slowed him, but nothing more.