“You thinking what I’m thinking? Johnny asked as a smile crept onto his face.
Roosevelt chuckled, “If you’re thinking about getting aboard that boat to relax for a while then yes I sure as hell am!” Johnny nodded and eased the car down the hill. He stopped next to the dock that led out to the boat. Before they climbed out, they sat there watching the surrounding area for any signs of threats.
“Think anyone is on board?” Johnny asked as they both climbed out of the car. They turned to face the massive boat and then took several large steps back. Eight sprinters appeared at the edge of the boat's upper deck growling and snapping their teeth at the two men below.
“Well, shit. I guess this place is a bust.” Roosevelt said, looking up at the growling monsters that were once peaceful people.
“I bet they were out here having a great time until one of them turned and crashed the entire party.” Johnny speculated.
“That's one hell of a surprise party!” Roosevelt added. Johnny glanced up at the biting bastards and then flipped them all the bird. Somehow this seemed to agitate the things even more because they all started to ram themselves into the boat’s walls. A man in a brightly colored Hawaiian shirt raced forward and slammed into the half wall hard causing it to flip head over heels to the water below.
“Holy shit!” Johnny and Roosevelt said at the same time. The rest of the undead followed the first and soon the water was a course of splashes as each one of the zombies flipped over the railing. The monsters sank into the dark murky water, disappearing from sight. Everything around them was now silent as they stood there watching the water for the creatures to come crawling out.
“What do you think? Should we check it out now? Looks like the zeds aren’t a problem anymore.” Johnny said.
“Zeds?” Roosevelt asked, confusion covering his features.
“Yeah. Zeds. Has a nice ring to it and it's a damn sight better than saying zombies.” Johnny said.
“What about dead heads?” Roosevelt asked. Johnny rocked his head from side to side, his hands palm up in front of him.
“Eh. I don’t know. Seems a bit too long for my liking but you can call them whatever you want.” Johnny answered.
“Infected? No wait, biters!” Roosevelt offered with a shrug.
“Those two aren’t bad. So, Zeds, Biters and Infected. I can live with that.” Johnny said, nodding his head.
“Then let’s check this boat for infected and possibly get some damn rest.” Roosevelt said, pushing past his friend. The tall yellow grass swished on their pant legs as they made their way to the dock. A rush of water caught both of their attention as they stepped onto the dock ramp. Three of the infected busted forward out of the water making a bee line directly for them. Two more splashed up on their right making the total number of infected reaching five.
“Three more!’ Roosevelt said as they backed up the boat ramp to board. When they started to move the group of zeds took off like a shot toward them. They both raised their pistols and started firing at the advancing group. Three shots hit their target and five more hit low, knocking them back a few steps.
“Steady yourself!” Johnny said, tightening his own grip and pressing the gun back out. A course of shots rang out and the rotting corpses of eight zeds lay from the dock to only a few feet in front of the two men.
“That was too damn close!” Johnny said, running a hand through his hair.
“Yeah it was. We need to tighten up and get the headshot the first time, every time, from now on.” Roosevelt replied. Johnny nodded and turned to the entrance to the boat. He stepped down on the deck and glanced around, seeing broken bottles and overturned tables all over the upper deck. Blood was smeared all over the floor at the front of the boat and what was left of two bodies lay next to one another. Let’s go down in the cabin and see what it looks like.” Johnny said, turning away from the two dead bodies. He started forward and grabbed the door handle that led down into the lower decks of the boat.
“Wait a minute. Listen close and see if you hear any growling in there before you open that.” Roosevelt suggested. Johnny nodded.
“Ok. Good idea.” Johnny said before placing his ear to the door. Hearing nothing, he turned to Roosevelt and shrugged.
“Seems quiet to me,” Johnny said.
“Alright. Let’s check it out but be extremely careful.” Roosevelt said. Johnny slowly opened the door with his left hand, his Glock in his right and eased into the door. Roosevelt followed and together they descended the stairs to the main living quarters. Everything seemed to be intact and in its proper place as they moved through the room. They stopped at one of the bedrooms and quickly peaked inside before moving in quickly to cover the room. Finding nothing they stopped and looked around at the room.
“Looks empty to me.” Johnny said before he turned to leave the room. Roosevelt turned to follow but stopped dead in his tracks as a female voice sounded behind them.
“Drop your weapons now!” She said.
Chapter Two
1:36 p.m. New Year’s Day 2049
Athens Georgia
"Don't move I said!" The woman's voice commanded as both men instinctively raised both hands above their head.
"We're human." Johnny said calmly.
"So were my family, you see how that turned out. So were the soldiers that killed the nice family that lived next door. Human doesn't seem to mean what it meant last week." She said, her voice cracking as she spoke the last sentence.
Johnny spun on his heels to face a middle-aged woman. She was short and thin. The twelve-gauge shotgun she was holding against her chest appeared to
