The Last Words

From the journal of Jude Guerrero 12/25/2012

Of course I heard it first, but then the whole van tipped up onto two wheels and hovered there for a second.

I heard a thud as Tim Tom slammed into the side, giving the van a little more momentum and weight on the side that was in the air.

We came down in what seemed like slow motion and hit the ground hard, rocking from side to side for a few seconds.

Good old Tim Tom.

“Everyone all right?” I asked.

“Yes,” Cassie yelled, “ just fucking drive.”

I started again but quickly realized the tank that had blown was way too close to us, and unfortunately, ahead of us. Flame was now in the straight path down to the water that we had had before.

“Dammit. Where now?” I asked the Doctor.

“Back up.”

“Really?”

“It’s the only way.”

So I kicked it in reverse, backing blindly up since there was no rear view and the mirrors on the outside had been torn off. I couldn’t even put my head out of the window to look because of the bars we had welded on the outside, oh, and the affected might tear it off anyway.

I managed to not hit anything somehow and the Doctor yelled, “OK, to the left here.”

I turned and headed down a ways, through more affected and smoke, until I heard, “OK, right now.”

“A little more warning Doc.”

“Sorry.”

I took a hard right and we were on the way to the water again. I sped up as much as I possibly could, hoping to get well ahead of any affected following us because I knew we were going to need a head start once we got to the boat. A little time at least to get out, untie it, and get going.

At last we were down by the water. I took a left and we were cruising right alongside the barge and heading toward the tugboat. Then I realized we might have a problem.

“Shit.”

It was attached to the raw sewage barge. Of course it made sense, that’s why it was docked there in the first place, it had pulled the big barge in.

It would take a lot less time to release the barge and tugboat from the dock than to try to get the tugboat unhooked from the barge itself.

“OK, change of plan everybody.” I turned around, “we’re going to have to untie the barge to, it’s going with us.”

“What?”

“Goddammit.”

“Sorry. Try to explain it to Tim Tom as best you can. I’ll need him to help.”

I got back down to the first tie point and stopped, hopping into the back.

I grabbed a shotgun and opened the door and didn’t hesitate a second before opening fire on two affected heading our way.

“OK,” I pointed at Tim Tom and using my hands made what I was saying clear, “come with me. You two cover us.”

They pointed their guns out, shooting any even close to us, Cassie actually hitting them. Luckily, I had given us a little time and not many were right here, but I knew the guns would start drawing them right to us like moths to a flame.

Tim Tom figured out what we were doing real quick and we got the huge rope off the tie and jumped back in the van. I headed toward the front, not bothering to close the door since we weren’t going far to get to the next one.

“Hold on,” I started driving and stopped again.

“I got this one,” Tim Tom said and jumped out, taking shots with his shotgun as he ran and got the rope off the next one all by himself, even with the injured hand. He was a big tough motherfucker.

“OK,” he yelled and jumped in, trading his now empty shotgun for a fresh one and telling the Doctor to reload that one.

To the next one I drove, hoping we would keep getting lucky and they would all be this easy, with plenty of slack in the ropes, cause if they started getting tight we were fucked.

The next one came off easy, but with the back starting to drift out I knew this last one was going to be a bitch, so I jumped out with Tim Tom.

Damn. The rope was taught. We couldn’t get it off. We tried hard, affected sprinting toward us, Cassie and the Doctor putting a few down but not enough. Then Tim Tom pointed his shotgun at the rope and fired and I’ll be damned if it didn’t fucking work. It tore off a big chunk of the rope and another blast cut it right off and we were on our way again.

While the slack in the rope was good news for getting it off, I realized real quick it wasn’t all good news. I could see affected jumping onto the boat, some grabbing at the rope and climbing up. OK, maybe they were a little smarter than I gave them credit for.

The ropes to the barge itself were much easier since it wasn’t being pulled away from the pier by the barge quite yet.

We grabbed the bag of ammo and food and water the Doctor had packed and ran aboard, affected right on our heels. Tim Tom and I had cover fire duty, our shotguns taking out a few at a time. I aimed low, at the concrete, and took out the front of the crowd with shot that ricocheted off the ground, the way riot cops are taught to do with rubber shot. It bounces off the hard surface and spreads out, taking out their legs. With these guys it would only slow them down, not stop them at all, but it was enough to put those on the front on the ground and the ones after them were sent spiraling when they tripped over them. Then more shots at the ground and I was hitting the ones on the ground in the head while Tim Tom continued shooting the ones behind them straight on.

Everyone was on board and we headed up the ladder and I kicked it in as Tim Tom released the final rope and we were off. Affected were jumping off the pier, trying to reach us on the boat but were just far enough that they went right into the water except for a few more athletic ones who jumped far enough to hit the side before going in. One particularly tall one actually managed to grab a hold of the boat but a shotgun blast took care of that. Now we were drifting free and I had to go get that engine started before we drifted into the other side of the river.