To Sail a Darkling Sea

“There’s gates on this marina,” Sophia said. “Get them closed so we have a secure fallback point.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Barney said. “SR Zelenova, move out.”

The reason the infected had only been trickling in to the marina was clear when they got to the gate. There were two. The larger rolling gate was locked. The smaller swing gate was jammed by a small car that had hit the partially open gate and rolled over, blocking the entrance. The passenger side window had been smashed out.

“Yu,” Barney said. “Climb up on the car and see what the other side looks like.”

“Nothing, Sergeant Major,” Yu said, looking around. “Some cars scattered around. I don’t see any infected.”

“Orders, ma’am?” Barney asked. “Do we clear the gate or try to get the other open?”

“Can we clear it?” Sophia asked.

“Oh, yes, ma’am,” the Sergeant Major said.

“Clear the gate, Sergeant Major,” Sophia said, stepping back.

“Singer team, drop your Singer,” the Sergeant Major said. “Jumper team, drop your gear. Over there to the side you bloody idiots, not in the bloody way. Zelenova team, outside and keep an eye both directions. Hill team, that’s Hadley and Hill, over the car to the far side. Singer Team, take the bonnet side. Steinholtz, that side, I’ve got this. Now, the trick is for everyone to lift on command, with your knees… The command will be a two part, prepare to lift and lift. Team, prepare to lift… Lift! Walk it to the water… careful… ”

The Fiat 500 only weighed 2400 pounds. Six reasonably in shape guys could lift it easily. Once it was out of the gate, they set it down.

“Keys are in it, ma’am,” the Sergeant Major said. “Tip it upright and try to get it started?”

“We’re going to need cars that are a bit bigger,” Sophia said. “But might as well just to get it out of the way.”

“Right, and here’s how you do that… ”

* * *

After several months upside down the Fiat wouldn’t start but there were plenty of cars abandoned outside the gates.

“Orders, ma’am,” the Sergeant Major said as the abandoned small SUV finally caught.

“The way the Marines usually do this is two-man teams,” Sophia said. “I don’t think we should split up, though. Find a car with a sunroof. Put the Singer up there. Put that in the lead. I’ll take that one. Then the rest of the teams, two to a car. Wait… ” She stopped and thought. “Standby. Division, Away Team.”

“Away team, Division.”

“We can secure this marina. There are gates and we can get them closed. Request additional support for hand-off of refugees at the marina gate. We’ll handle the town. Over.”

“Roger, away team, we’re observing that. We’ll unload the security element from the Guppy to hold the gate, over. Also going to check on the fuel situation. One of these yachts is nearly dry.”

“Thanks, Division. Seawolf out. Okay, that’s got us a secure point to fall back on. We’ll go as a group forward. If we find refugees, we’ll send them back with a two-man security team. Does that sound like a plan?”

“Sounds like a plan, ma’am,” Sergeant Major Barney said. “All right you horrible lot…!”

* * *

“Hola!” Sophia said as an emaciated man staggered out of the apartment complex. He was being helped along by Olga and Yu. “Buenos Dias!”

“Buenos Dias, verdaderamente,” the man said. “Bendice a la Armada de Estados Unidos!”

There were four more refugees with him, all skinny as a rail. But most people they found were. The apocalypse had been the best diet plan in history.

“Bendiciones para los habitantes de las islas Canarias,” Sophia said. “Sergeant Major?”

“Hill, Hadley, get these people back to the marina then catch up.”

“YES, SERGEANT MAJOR.”

CHAPTER 26

Things got hot in El Salvador

C–I-A got caught and couldn’t do no more

He’s got diplomatic immunity

He’s got a lethal weapon that nobody sees

Looks like another threat to world peace

For the envoy

Warren Zevon, “The Envoy”

“Before we move you over to the other boat, you need to go through a decontamination shower.”

Thomas Walker covered his shades covered eyes with his arms against the sun and just reveled for a moment at the touch of sunshine. There were thin clouds that cut down on it a bit but that was for the good. After so long in that fetid hold it was glorious. The smell of rotting flesh had become so common he barely noticed it. What he mostly noticed was the strong, clean, wind from the sea. It smelled like wine it was so clean.

Thomas Walker wasn’t his real name. It was a common alias he’d used over the years. So common, he’d stopped using it years before the Plague. He knew why he’d instinctively given an alias when the crap hit the rotary impeller. He was out in the cold. Until he was sure what he was dealing with, he was staying under cover. Right now what he seemed to be dealing with was some sort of militia, not the pre-Plague military.

The other reason was, this was a new world. That was what none of the idiots he’d shared the compartment with for six long months could understand. Who you had been, what you had done, accomplishments and failures, no longer existed. The only thing that existed, now, is who you really were.

For now, he would be Thomas Walker, English as a Second Language Instructor, and just go with the flow.

The harbor of Santa Cruz De Tenerife was crowded with boats and ships. There were two megayachts, a dozen smaller yachts, two supply ships, a small passenger liner and a tanker all moored in the channel. Around and between them zipped at least a dozen inflatables.

What he noticed, first, was that one of the megayachts was the Denʹgi Ni Za Chto. That was Nazar Lavrenty’s yacht. So the oligarch was apparently involved. Not something in the group’s favor: he couldn’t imagine Lavrenty changing his spots. An American flag was flying from it, but flags could be changed. There were some uniforms, all US. Navy and he’d seen one Coast Guard driving a boat. Uniforms could have come from a salvaged vessel. Although it would take a ballsy militia to loot a Navy ship. Or complete idiots like the Somalis. The team that found them identified themselves as United States Marines and they had the sound. Except for the woman who he’d pegged as teenage girl despite the encumbering gear. Teenage girls were not Marine Lieutenants. Or, perhaps they were in an apocalypse. New world. Which was rather exciting since he had been getting bored with the old one.

“There are some clothes, not much, over here,” the man said. “Grab a pair of shorts, a shirt, a towel and one of the plastic trash bags. Put the shorts, shirt and towel on the table by the shower. Get in the shower. Put your clothes and personal effects in the bag. Then turn on the water. You get one temperature, which generally feels scalding at first. You can take as long as you’d like, we refilter the water, but please clean off quickly. We’ve got more survivors coming through. Do not drink the water. It has decontamination chemicals in it and while it won’t kill you, it will make you throw up. If you’re really thirsty, right now, there are bottles of water. So grab some clothes and let’s get moving.”

“May I ask a question, sir?” Bennett said, raising his hand.