To Sail a Darkling Sea

your sector. Lock and load if I tell you. Fire if I tell you. Do not load, do not fire if I don’t tell you.”

By the time they got to the vehicle entrance to the park, the Marines were already across the road and into the far building. The building had a metal gate with an electronic lock that the Marines had “bypassed” with a Halligan tool.

“Okay,” Mcgarity said. “We plant ourselves here until we get called forward. Olga, there,” he said, pointing to one of the parked cars. “Steinholtz, there,” he said, indicating the opposite side. “Hadley, Larson, on Olga north. Yu, Hill, on Steinholtz, south.”

“Can we lock and load now?” Steinholtz asked.

“No,” Mcgarity said. “Because we’re going into that building over there. And I’m not going to have one of you idiots AD in a stairwell and have it bounce around until it hits me in the ass.

“Infected, Petty Officer,” Olga said.

“Your sector,” Mcgarity said, putting a hand on Steinholtz’s helmet to forestall him turning around. “You have to trust me and Olga to handle it. How far, Seaman Zelenova?”

“End of the road,” Olga said. She still hadn’t charged her weapon.

“These things are trickling in from that direction,” Lieutenant Smith said. “Stand by. I’ve got this. Keep them on target. Golden Guppy, Seawolf, over.”

There was a burst of fire from inside the building and everyone flinched.

“Your sector, Steinholtz. Larson, I see you trying to turn around, too. Keep an eye on your sectors… ”

“Golden Guppy.”

“Jerry’s Kid loping down the road. See it?”

“Roger.”

“Take him out for me, please.”

There was another burst of fire from in the building followed by more from the.50 offshore.

“Your sector, Steinholtz, Larson, Hill. Do not look at the fire… ”

Olga fortunately did not have to turn around to see the effects. Then again, she’d seen them from behind one of the guns. The infected splashed when the massive machine-gun rounds hit her.

“Okay, okay, Mcgarity,” Steinholtz said, excitedly. “There’s one this way, too… ”

“Hill’s sector,” Mcgarity said. “Keep on your sector, Steinholtz… ”

“Noby, Noby, Seawolf… ” the Lieutenant said as there was another burst of fire from in the building. “Can you engage that infected headed north on Colon?”

“Negative. Our security team’s moving to the beach and they’re too close for us to want to risk it, over.”

“Anarchy, one, say again, one of our people can engage… ”

“Hill, your sector,” Mcgarity said. “Lock and load one thirty-round magazine.”

“Okay, okay,” Hill said, pulling back his charging handle.

“The correct response is ‘lock and load one thirty-round magazine, aye,’ ” the Lieutenant said. “And keep your freaking finger away from the trigger.”

“Lock and load one thirty-round magazine, aye,” Hill said. “I’m loaded, can I fire?”

“Jesus, it’s getting close… ” Steinholtz said.

“Watch your zone, Steinholtz,” Mcgarity snapped. “Hill, take a good firing position. Calmly. You’re on a range. You want it to get close. Trust me, I’ll take it out if it gets too close… ”

“I got another one,” Olga said. She was just barely following the conversation. She was paying close attention to her sector.

“Guppy, you got the Jerry Kid…?”

“Take your weapon off of safe… ”

There were several burst of fire from inside the building and another infected exploded with.50 caliber fire…

“Aim for the chest… Deep breaths, just on a range… ”

“Division, Shewolf. At the top of the building… ”

“Fire single, aimed, rounds… ”

“Oh, just let him shoot it!” Steinholtz yelled.

“Steinholtz,” the Lieutenant said. “One more word out of you and I will pull the trigger on this pistol. Do you understand me?”

“Yes, ma’am… ”

“. . . we’re putting up the scaling ladder now… ”

“Engage… ”

There was a crack of a round from behind her…

“Division, we got a posse up here, you see this?”

“I got it. I got… her… ” Hill didn’t sound so much elated as deflated.

“Roger, Shewolf.”

“We don’t have an angle. We can scrum… ”

“And I’ve got another,” Olga said. “Where are they trickling in from?”

“Can you get these without hitting us or the survivors, over?”

“Division, we have this infected,” the Lieutenant radioed. “Releasing support to Team Shewolf… Olga, lock and load one thirty-round magazine.”

“Oh, and now they’re trying to climb down the ladder. Don’t engage those, Division. We don’t want the ladder damaged… ”

“Lock and load, aye,” Olga said, pulling back her charging handle.

“Prepare to engage infected with single, aimed, fire… ”

“How come she just gets to shoot… ”

“Steinholtz, shut the fuck up… ”

“Prepared to engage, aye,” Olga said.

“Engage.”

It took five rounds to drop the infected. The man had soaked up four and she was pretty sure she missed with one.

“Place weapon on safe,” the Lieutenant said.

“Division, Shewolf. Way is clear to the survivor building. Starting entry for clearance at this time.”

“Seawolf, Division, move your people forward to key locations to screen survivor movement, over.”

“Mcgarity, you’ve got Steinholtz and Larson… ”

“Oh, thank you sooo much, ma’am.”

“Hold this position. The rest of you with the exception of Olga. Remove your magazines.”

“Why?” Hill asked.

“Because the LT told you to, fuck head!” Mcgarity said. “Pull out your fucking mag. Now!”

“Okay, okay,” Hill said, dropping his magazine out of the well.

“Pull back your charging handles and ensure your weapons are clear,” Sophia said. “Not you, Olga.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Olga said as the others cleared their weapons.

“Now, put the mags back in and do not charge your weapons.”

“There’s one this way,” Steinholtz said. “Can I shoot it now?”

“Now when I say ‘lock and load’ you say ‘lock and load, aye,’ then you lock and load. Got it. And only lock and load and don’t put your finger on the trigger til I tell you… ”

“Order of movement will be SR Zelenova, myself, Hill, Hadley and Yu.”

“Who?” Hadley asked.

“Me, you dumbfuck,” Leo Yu said.

“Now you can fire… ”