Second {Z Nation}

Chapter 16

Season 2, Episode 7 [Down the Mississippi]

     We haven't found a truck yet, and continue to hike through the forests of Illinois. Our lineup seems to always stay the same; Warren and Vasquez in the front, Doc and Addy second, Murphy after them, and 10k and I in the back. As we walk I glare daggers into Murphy's back, hoping that one day once the cure is made, I can actually throw daggers into his back. We step out of the shade of the forest and into a grassy clearing just beside a river. On the river sits a small, ruddy pontoon boat crowded with Zs. 

     "Well, the Mississippi sure ain't as mighty as it used to be," Doc observes.

     "We can move faster on river than on foot," Warren points out. "We can take this south to Memphis and then head west."

     "Can't we find another one?" Doc complains.

     Warren draws her machete and swings it around in her hand, "no," she states before walking towards the boat. The rest of us draw our stabbing or clubbing weapons of all kinds and follow her, except Murphy. We all walk forward, leaving the blue man behind- Vasquez stops and turns to him, and I already know how this is going to play out.

     "You wanna help us out?" Vasquez asks Murphy.

     "No I don't," Murphy tells him and I roll my eyes- knew it. "By the way- I can't swim," he adds.

     Warren is the first on the boat, she slices a Z's head clean in half and draws her gun, shooting another, Addy slams her bat into the back of a Z's head and I draw my gun, shooting one of them in the eye. It takes maybe thirty seconds to kill all of the Zs, when they're dead I turn to see Addy pointing her bat at a man in a bucket hat who lies on the ground, his hands raised.

     "Woah, woah! Easy! I don't want any trouble!" The man tells us. 

     "What are you doing here?" Vasquez demands him.

     "It's my boat," the man explains.

     "Makes sense," Doc comments.

     "It's ours now," Vasquez tells him.

     "What the hell- now wait a minute," the man protests, sitting up. "I don't like this deal- can we negotiate?" He asks and Vasquez points his gun at him. "Hey, listen," the man pleads, "listen, this boat ain't easy to operate. Well, plus I know the river, the-the channel patterns- I'd make a great asset."

     "Forget it," Vasquez tells him, "you talk too much."

     "No, no, no, no, no, no, listen- I can keep quiet. You won't hear a peep," the man promises.

     "Can you take us south to Memphis?" Warren asks him.

     "Well hell yes," the man tells her.

     Warren looks to Vasquez who withdraws his gun from the man's face. "Let's go," Warren says.

     "I'll take you to the Gortner Bridge, just south of the city," the man says as he hops in the seat just before the wheel. "Roadblock on the east side keeps things pretty quiet. After that where you headed? East? West?" The man asks.

     "Shut up," Vasquez orders.

     "Sure thing," the man gulps "nothing worse than a blabbermouth that won't shut up."

     "I can think of something worse," I growl, glaring at Murphy who looks down at me.

     "It's kinda like back in the before, I had this brother in law-" the man starts but Addy cuts him short.