If Tomorrow Never Comes- A zombie novel

Chapter 14

The van slowed to a stop as Andy surveyed the parking lot of the marina from outside of the fence. "Son of a gun." he mumbled under his breath. The area looked worse than the public streets, at least there you could maneuver around stalled cars and accidents, but here there was no "wiggle" room. Oliver had been wrong about nobody using their boat as a means of ecape. Others had come to the same conclusion that they had. He was also wrong about the military guarding the docks. Two humvees along with cars, trucks, and RV's mangled the parking lot. A few vehicles had been on fire, others were used as a barrier to push, and sometimes run other people over. A few of the dead lingered, trapped beneath wheels, wedged between two or three cars, none were free. They posed no harm to the survivors in the van. Andy wasn't too sure how long soldiers were here for but it was evident that they were no longer at their post.

"Dad, what are we going to do now?" Brandon asked from the backseat, taking in the tear jerking scene.

"We stick to the original plan. I'll go and find our boat. Karla, Alex, you two keep a look out for the dead... and the livin. If I'm not back, find another way. Your main priority is to get the kids some place safe." Karla gave Andy a hesitant nod before he reached down between the two front seats retrieving his duffle bag, unzipped it, and removed his police issued Remington 870 magnum shotgun. He quickly loaded it before getting out of the vehicle.

He searched the entrance of the marina, but it mimicked the same as the parking lot - chaos. Someone had the bright idea to try and drive their truck down the stairs to get to their boat faster. They had lost control, hit one of the awning posts and flipped over. The driver laid crushed under his vehicle. Andy started to squeeze past when the driver came alive. He started to snarl, arms frantically clawing at Andy, trying to get a hold of him. It caused him to momentarily jump back. Logically he knew the guy was dead but Andy found himself asking if the man was okay.

He laughed. "You've gon' and lost your dang mind." He chided himself. The gun was too noisy and he didn't need anymore dead coming down on him. It was easy enough or so Andy thought. He'd just smash the thing's head - with his booted foot. How hard could it be to crush a human skull?

Bringing his booted foot up, Andy placed it on the dead things head before apply pressure but its head didn't explode into a big pile of brainy goo. The dead's head wouldn't be caving in that easily. Taking a deep breath he brought his foot down as hard as he could. It was clawing at his boot, and he brought his foot up higher and brought it down even harder. A loud pop was heard, the lurker's eyes started to bulge from its head. "Just a little harder." Andy pumped himself up. He grunted and put all his weight into his left leg, he thought about how pissed off his was right now. Pissed off at his wife running off and helping some strangers. Pissed off at how shitty his plan was already going and they hadn't even made it to the boat yet. He brought his foot down and the sound that followed reminded him of a watermelon splitting open on a sidewalk; a sickening slurping, sloshing, yet hollow sound.

The grunts stopped and Andy gazed down at his muck covered boot, fighting to prevent the bile that wanted to come up. All that gore reminded him of last night with Jackson and the mess he made in his front seat. He swallowed - hard - but he threw up anyway. He wiped at his mouth with the back of his hand, taking a few cleansing breaths before moving on. The scene that greeted him wasn't any better, a few abandoned strollers, some turned over, others stained with blood. Forgotten backpacks, suitcases, and garbage bags laid strewn on the boardwalk area, a few lurkers shuffled around a little further down the dock.

"Stop where you are and drop your weapon." A voice called out. Andy surveyed the dock area, but his search found nothing.

"I'm a police officer." He responded. "I'm tryin' to get in and retrieve my boat."

"So is everyone who owns a boat in this city. Now I'm not going to say it again, drop your weapon."

Andy narrowed his eyes, he wasn't about to let some punk ruin his plans. "Look man, I'm goin' to slowly lower my weapon and reach into my pocket all slow like. My badge is in there. You can come see for yourself."

"Why should I trust you? Didn't I just say everyone who comes here gets turned away. Besides, you're not law enforcement."

"I'm not asking much, son. All I'm asking is that you come and see my badge. That I'm the real deal." Andy pulled his badge out and tossed it about two feet in front of him.

A young man stepped out from between two boats. He was in his early twenties, thin build, slicked back hair in a small man bun, he pretty dark complected, but his shoulders and bridge of his noise were an angry red from sunburn. His gun was drawn yet his face was curious, and he kept it trained on Andy. He kicked at the badge before crouching down to retrieve it.

"Well, I'll be." He offered a slow smile as he walked towards Andy. "You really are an officer of the law." He stopped a few inches away from him, looking Andy up and down. "Say, if I let you in to get your boat, think you can get me out of here?"

Andy flashed him a reassuring smile. "Yeah, I think that's only fair." He reached out for his badge. The young man nodded and started to hand it back.

With practiced speed Andy struck, taking the stranger by the wrist, he took him off balance, spun him around and pinned him to his chest. The young man put up a small fight before going limp. Andy released him, letting him slide down to the wooden dock. Andy looked up, now noticing three lurkers making their way towards them. He quickly scooped the other man up and hoisted him over his left shoulder. Arm raised, he fired on the first of the dead-a head shot. It fell. The second one lunged at him, Andy turned to avoid the attack momentarily forgetting about the added weight of the other guy. He almost toppled over but he regained his balance just as the third lurker came up behind him. He fired off another shot, taking it out, then quickly turned around to finish off the second one.

Andy laid the still unconscious man down on the deck of one of the boats that he had come out from earlier. "I'll be back." he whispered before leaving.

****

Brandon didn't want to complain, but having to carry an extra backpack in the thick heat of the day was just too much to deal with. Not to mention having to work your way through mangled cars and trash. They had reached the overturned truck when he was about to voice his protest.

Andy ducked down, reaching over the dead body with the smashed head and snatched up the crowbar resting on the ceiling of the vehicle. Karla looked at him questioning, but he had no time to explain. They continued, "The boat's just down there." Andy pointed to his beloved boat just off in the distance. "I have one thing to do first." He jumped back up onto the boat where he had left the young man. He was still knocked out, a small trickle of drool running down the side of his face. Probably was the first true rest he had had since the world went topsy turvy. Andy placed the crowbar, two bottles of water, and three energy bars next to him.

With his good deed done he took everyone to his boat. Now all he needed was his wife to return to him safely.