SPACESHIP ZOMBIE CRUISE

FILE ENTRY 41.0

Bella Starr

Before the Black Mambas reach the Celestial Sea, with Electra Draco sprawled out on her back still clutching the knife embedded in her stomach, Halo manages a clever act of technical wizardry with what little strength he has left, which is not much. Since Draco had used her retina to give us security clearance to enable and use the comm system, we also have access to the rest of the ship's computer system. All video and audio surveillance from the bridge is wiped clean and deleted.

Now, I help walk a barely conscious Halo out of the bridge with Adrianna tagging along by my side. On the way down, we were in such a rush to get to the Atlantic Deck—in the middle of battling a hoarde of the infected—that we took the stairs one floor down. It was quicker and seemed to make sense at the time, but with Halo muttering to himself incoherently, on the doorsteps of infection and/or death, the elevator is the only option this time. He might never make it up the stairs anyway.

As the doors part on the Sea Breeze Deck to a heavy body count and darkness, I start out into the corridor with Halo draped over my shoulder, occasionally dragging a foot behind him as we go. Adrianna wants to help, and in a kind gesture she puts her shoulder to Halo's side and gives the best effort she can muster.

When we make it to the dining room of the cafe, I freeze, reminded of what I must do next. In doing so, I think of Astra who's stuck in the freezer. I sigh loud enough for Adrianna to glance up at me. Halo groans but doesn't move, his head hanging low, eyes closed. It probably wasn't such a great idea to leave Astra in the cold, but it seemed to make sense at the time. She had a fever. Putting people with high temperatures in a bath tub full of ice had been done in the past. While it may not have been the best option, it seemed like a logical move. If Astra survives the chill, she might still be alive.

But back to what I have to do.

I exhale a puff of air.

I have to follow the same logic with Halo and even myself that I did with Astra. To further convince myself, I recall that Caprica might still be locked inside the bathroom of her own stateroom. It seems like the humane thing to do. Lock yourself up so you can't hurt anyone.

I angle toward the starboard side of the ship, toward the front. Straight back, I face a series of restrooms and storage closets. There are two main bathrooms and a family restroom in the middle next to a handicapped restroom. I pick up the pace; I have to hurry. Halo is like dead weight, but he still manages to move his feet somewhat. Five minutes later, we stand in front of the bathroom doors.

"Adrianna, can you open that door, right there." I nod toward the family restroom.

The girl hurries, twists the lever and nudges the door open. Carefully, I lower Halo against the interior wall. He doesn't look up or acknowledge what I'm doing. I feel his forehead. He's burning up. Soon, he'll go the way of the infected.

I lock the door from the inside and close it.

"In here," I say to Adrianna, nodding toward the handicapped bathroom. Inside, I kneel in front of the girl. "Listen, I locked Halo up to keep him from hurting people—if there are anymore survivors on this ship—but you...I'm locking you in here to keep you safe. Help is coming, but I need you to wait in here until they come for you."

"What about you?" Adrianna gazes at me with those sad brown eyes. "You can stay with me."

I show her my hand with the cut across the palm. "I can't, I'm sick too, like Halo. I'm already running a fever. It won't be long. My only hope is that they can find a cure before it's too late." I try to be positive but the absurdity of what I said reveals itself in the tears welling up in my eyes. A single droplet slides down my cheek.

"I don't want you to cry," Adrianna says.

"It's okay. Keeping you safe is my biggest concern. So stay here and don't come out until help arrives. And don't worry, if they have to, they'll bust down the door to save you." I graze the girl's chin with the back of my fingers. "I have to go...now."

With that, I stand, turn and lock the door from the inside and close it behind me. I don't look back because I don't have it in me to look at Adrianna's innocent face one last time.

My eyes burn, not with rage, but with a sickness that's claimed almost everyone on the Celestial Sea. I pause at the door to the women's main restroom, turn away and sling the katana sword as hard and as far as I can. It whirls through the air and lands with a series of loud clangs among a group of tables and chairs. The silence that follows strikes me hard. I've had enough killing. I don't like who I've become in order to survive. The thought makes me wonder where all the infected have gone. Have they ran out of healthy people to eat and wandered off to other decks on the ship? Or have they killed each other off? Who knows? I shake my head and push through the door. Since the door opens inward, I doubt once I turn I'll have the capacity to know how to pull it open from the inside.

I lean against the wall and slink to the floor, rest my head on my knees. Here, I wait in the sickening silence for the infection to take hold of my body.

My head is woozy. My stomach churns, and a headache pierces my eyes.

A chill sweeps over my body and sends goosebumps rolling across my arms and the back of my neck. I quiver, my insides shaking.

I hear a vicious growl through the wall and someone pounding their fists in the bathroom next door. "Goodbye, Halo," I say, my words trailing off.

My head swims and my vision blurs. I feel my body slipping, falling to one side. And it is. The side of my face kisses the cold bathroom floor.

I lie there until the coldness fades away and the darkness crowds around me and envelopes my entire being.

Then I'm gone...

...until my eyes flicker open, my body floating in the air, arms hanging at my side. I'm still in the bathroom but I'm not in the same spot that I was before. I'm drifting, weightless across the room.

Blood smears the opposite wall. I look at my hands and my knuckles are cracked and bleeding. It's my blood on the wall. I'd been beating against it, trying to free myself from a prison of my own making. I had been infected. I had been a zombie, but I'm not anymore.

I claw at the wall and move myself closer to the door. I reach down and do my best in the zero gravity to push my way out of the bathroom.

When I finally make it out, a man's voice calls to me, "Are you infected? Can you hear me?" The soldier soars through the air, decked out in a black pressure suit and helmet, a black but compact rifle butted against his shoulder, aimed at me. "I'm Commander Amari Kanumba. My team was sent here to rescue you. Are you okay?"

"I think I am," I say. "But I'm worried about my friends."

"Don't worry, we're finding survivors all over the ship, hidden in staterooms, bathrooms, you name it."

A feeling of hope bursts inside me and I'm sure it shows on my face. At a sound behind me, I crane my neck to see another soldier guiding a little girl toward me. And then I see someone else being helped to exit a bathroom door.

Somehow, someway, Halo is alive. Adrianna is alive. I'm alive, and that gives me hope...hope that shines as bright as the sun.