CHAPTER ONE
Alissa Madison stood on the stern deck of the cabin cruiser, watching
Nahant slowly recede into the distance. In the past thirty-six hours, she had
escaped from a deader-ravaged Boston, made her way home through a society
falling apart, and now had to evacuate the island when the outbreak spread this
far. Fortunately, the combination of distance and the encroaching darkness
prevented her from witnessing the death throes of her hometown. Even the
screams and cries for help from the islanders had faded, although she could not
tell if that was because they were too far away to hear them or because
everyone had been slaughtered.
A
warm, gentle hand touched her shoulder. Miriam, whose husband Steve owned the
cabin cruiser, stood behind Alissa. “Is everything okay?”
Will
it ever be? Instead of speaking her mind, Alissa
nodded her head and muttered, “Yes.”
“Steve
wants to meet for a few minutes. After that, I’ll take you below so you can
clean up.”
“Thanks.
I appreciate that.”
“It’s
the least I can do. My family is alive because of you and Nathan.”
Alissa
said nothing as she followed Miriam inside. Nathan stood by the steering
compartment with Steve, who sat behind the wheel, guiding the ship. Both men
had their attention glued to the radio broadcast coming through the console
speaker.
“We
can now confirm our earlier report that New Hampshire and Vermont have closed
their southern borders to all traffic. The governors of both states have
ordered state and local police as well as their respective National Guards to shut
down all roads and highways from Massachusetts and New York to stop the spread
of the violence northward. According to a State Police representative in Salem,
New Hampshire, the use of deadly force to prevent border crossings has been
approved. No one has officially commented on the rumors that the violence has
been caused by a highly infectious disease, but one New Hampshire public health
worker noted, off the record, that they cannot afford to let rabies spread into
the forests because it would be impossible to contain. According to
unsubstantiated reports we’ve received, Maine will also seal off their borders
from traffic within the hour. Stay tuned to this station for further updates.”
“My
God,” Miriam gasped. “It’s insane out there.”
“I’m
afraid it’s only going to get worse,” Nathan replied.
Steve
shook his head in frustration. “We need to get to New Hampshire as soon as
possible before they close down the waterways.”
Miriam
glanced around for Kiera and Little Stevie. “Where are the kids?”
“I
sent them downstairs so we could talk in private.” Steve turned to Alissa. “I
told them they could play with your cat as long as they weren’t rough with him.
I hope you don’t mind.”
“Not
at all. Archer is an attention hog. He’ll love it.”
“Good.”
Steve paused. “I know we’ve all been through a lot, but I wanted to plan out
tomorrow.”
“I
thought we were heading for Alissa’s cabin?” asked Nathan.
“We
are, but I don’t know where it is.”
“It’s
near North Conway, not too far from I-93.” Alissa thought for a moment. “Sorry,
I can’t remember the address.”
“I
don’t need that. I need to know the town so I can plot a course.”
“Are
we heading there now?” Nathan asked.
“It’ll
be too dangerous to travel at night under these conditions. I’m going to anchor
ten miles offshore. We’ll head north in the morning.”
Miriam
grew concerned. “Will we be safe out here overnight?”
“We
should be. Just in case, we’ll post a guard. I’ll take the first watch until
nine. Miriam will go on watch until midnight. Nathan and Alissa can do the next
two shifts, and I’ll relieve you at six and get us ready to head out. Does that
sound fair?”
Everyone
nodded in the affirmative.
“Good.
Nathan, any chance Miriam and I could borrow one of the weapons you brought on
board in case we need to defend ourselves.”
“Of
course. Any preference?”
“Bring
me whatever you can spare as long as it can blast apart deaders.”
“Miriam?”
“I
want one. But I’ve never shot a gun before. What do you recommend?”
Steve
and Nathan looked at each other and simultaneously replied, “Shotgun.”
A
spark of excitement lit up Miriam’s eyes. “Really?”
Steve
chuckled. “My wife’s becoming a bad ass.”
Miriam
leaned over and kissed him. “I thought I already was.”
Nathan
faced Alissa. “What can I set you up with?”
“I’ll take
a shotgun as well.”
“Are
you sure you don’t want one of the semi-automatics?”
“I
want to make sure I hit what I aim at. I’ve never fired anything bigger than a
handgun before.” A tidal wave of images flooded her memory as she recalled her
escape from the hospital and all the deaders she had to shoot. “Until yesterday.”
“You
got it,” said Nathan. “I’ll get them ready and pass them out later tonight.”
“Thank
you.” Miriam smiled at Nathan and wrapped her hand around Alissa’s arm, leading
her below deck. “As for you, we need to get you a hot shower and a change of
clothes.”
“I
didn’t bring any with me.”
“Don’t
worry about that. I can lend you some of mine. My husband says I have too much
anyways.”
* *
*
Miriam
showed Alissa to her cabin, pulled a facecloth and several towels from the
linen closet, and told Alissa she could take whatever clothes she wanted from
her wardrobe. Once Miriam had left, Alissa stripped out of her bloody outfit
and placed it on the tiled floor in the bathroom. The blood had soaked through
to her underwear, so she added them to the pile. She also removed the bandages
around her right pinky and chest, leaving them on the counter. A minute later,
hot water streamed over her face and down her body. This time, Alissa did not
use the shower to relax and wind down, merely to clean herself. Once she had
rinsed away all the blood, she dried off and re-entered the state room.
Archer sat on the bed with his legs folded
under him, like a furry loaf of bread. Upon seeing his mistress, he meowed once
and rolled onto his back, stretching out his legs and exposing his belly.
Alissa sat beside him and slid her right hand across his stomach, massaging his
chin with her thumb and forefinger. Archer allowed himself the simple pleasure
for a few seconds before wrapping his front paws around her wrist. He gently
bit her hand while kicking at her arm with his hind legs, an affectionate gesture
on his part. After a minute, Archer let go, rolled onto his paws, and rushed
onto the pillows where he proceeded to groom himself.
“I
love you, too, asshat.”
Despite
everything, Alissa had been able to save Archer. He had been her sole source of
comfort since Paul had asked for a separation eleven months ago. Losing Archer
would have devastated her. For the first time, she began to realize how lucky
she had been. So many families had lost loved ones or were completely
devastated by the spread of this virus. Sure, Alissa had gone through her own
Hell and had lost her home, yet everything truly important had survived. Once
they made their way to her cabin, with luck, they could all ride out this
crisis and be able to begin their lives over.
Alissa
returned to the bathroom and checked her wounds. The pinky still hurt from
where she had caught it in the scaffolding while trying to escape from the
hospital, but it had ninety-percent mobility. The skin around the ribcage under
her left arm was heavily bruised, the black and blue now nearly a foot long and
six inches wide, having doubled from the day before. She winced when she
pressed against it, the area still being extremely tender. Luckily, she had not
broken or cracked a rib otherwise the pain would be crippling. All she needed
were pain killers and a few weeks to rest, the latter of which she doubted she
would get. Searching through the cabinets, Alissa could not find new bandages.
No big deal. The original ones were still relatively clean. She wrapped the
longest gauze tightly around her chest and secured it, then shifted to her
pinky, reusing the makeshift splint she had made from an old emery board.
Returning
to the stateroom, Alissa opened the closet. She slipped on the panties Miriam
had given her. The bra, however, was much too big. No problem. She could go without
one until they reached the cabin. No one would be paying attention one way or
the other. Sorting through the closet, she eventually picked out a pair of
jeans and a white sweater that were comfortable and durable enough for what lay
ahead. She draped the clothes over the back of a chair and prepared to go to
bed, then thought about it at the last second. Things went south quickly back
on Nahant, and she and Nathan had only minutes to get to safety. She would hate
to have to face another emergency while naked. She pulled on what she had
picked out and slid under the covers. The sway of the ship along the waves
relaxed Alissa and she fell asleep within minutes.
She
remembered Archer curling up in a ball against the back of her head and purring
contentedly before she dozed off.
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