A houseboat. Finegan Fine

contraption, is a rake, one taken from the large raking farm implement

in the yard. The cut weeds are thus swept aside, and can be collected

later for hay if desired. Next along the long contraption, are dual

plow blades, also lowered by the lever on the control panel.

And last, just behind the seated men, is a seed dispenser, which is a

cup ending in a funnel that lifts up and down like a pecking hen,

releasing and placing a couple seeds every foot or so. When the seed

dispenser lifts, an old boot at the end of a pole is stamped down on

top of the spot, tamping the seed into the dirt. The seed dispenser and

tamping boot are attached and under the control of a wheel that turns

as the contraption moves along. Finegan is ready to demonstrate.

Lets go.

They begin peddling and the contraption moves through the tall grass

for a few feet. Finegan throws a lever at his side, disengaging his

side, and throws the lever at the control panel, lifting the mower, the

rake, the plow, and halting the seed dispenser. The goat-herder

continues pumping until the contraption has turned 180°. Finegan re-

engages the levers and the pair plow a second row alongside the first.

38

Zombies

Joey and Finegan are loading the last of the pumpkin exchange aboard,

distributing them along the sides of the house atop various boxes or in

niches. The goat-herder comes up with a couple packs of goat cheese,

walking up the plank and handing them to Finegan. He nods and smiles at

Finegan.

Been a pleasure.

As he is walking back down the plank he remembers something, raises a

finger and the air and turns.

Going up river past Millstown?

Finegan nods an affirmative.

Watch out for them zombies! Some never left.

They’re like the living dead.

______________________________

The houseboat is moving up the center of a broad, slowing flowing

river. The rise in sea level has swollen the river as well as the

coastline, so tree limbs are sticking out of the water on either side.

A river-edge town appears in the distance, the streets flooded and all

the buildings under water at least into the second floor. There are no

high rise buildings, but there are several multi-story brick buildings

that serve as the business district. The river front eateries and piers

are all under water, with only the top of a sign occasionally sticking

above the water. One says “Millstown”.

Some stick thin, very pale people begin to emerge from the rooftop

stairwells, shuffling toward the edges of the buildings. They stare

silently at the approaching houseboat, not waving or calling out.

Finegan sticks to the center of the river. Joey hops down from his

station atop the roof and sits down on the deck, putting his arm around

Barney as they silently glide past the scene.

______________________________

Finegan is mooring the houseboat for the night, tying it to a sturdy

tree trunk toward the center of the river. Given the scene at

Millstown, he does not want to be close to shore. He is ready for a

good supper and a solid night’s sleep not interrupted by bleating goats

being milked at dawn. He is setting up his camper stove and putting a

couple fresh coals in the firepit, not yet lit, when he jerks his head

39

up suddenly, hearing the sound of an oar dipping into the water,

splashing.

A single man is approaching in a canoe, swinging his paddle from one

side to the other to steer the canoe toward the side of the houseboat.

He wears a broad brimmed hat, a faded flannel shirt, and faded loose

cut jeans. He is balding and middle-aged.

Finegan motions for Joey to catch the end of the canoe and tie the line

the man is tossing to the houseboat, while Finegan stands back in case

there is trouble. Passing the city earlier, he has his pistol at his

back. The man in the canoe asks,

Did you pass a town awhile’s back? River front

town. Millstown.

The man heaves himself onto the deck and fishes a map out of his back

pocket. He opens it and places it against a pile of boxes, running his

finger up and down the river and poking at the riverfront town they

have just passed.

My mother’s there. Or I think she might be. . .

We talked just before the trouble started and

she said she wasn’t going to leave. . . Been

there all her life. . . Taken me all this time

to work my way across the country. I’ve got to

check.

Finegan’s eyes meet Joey’s, a wordless understanding between them that

Finegan is going to help this man. Simultaneously, they both speak.

Joey says,

I’m going with you!

While Finegan says,