Left 4 Dead (Closed)

"No. I have no one" Jackson said, "Just kept working in the shipyards and construction. Hard life trying to make a living in a tough town. Recalling his fondest memories, he hadn't been out on the town in months before all of this. It was all just a faded memory that he couldn't even recall who he was with those nights not because he was plastered because he rarely drank, but it was so long ago. "That's how I joined up with the crew of this tub".

We were speeding away at a brisk 11knots. By my calculations it would take us more than two days to reach Galveston, even if the wind shifted in our favor. In the mean time we needed to find a fuel source. Our course wasn't a direct route, we moved northward to come close to New Orleans where we hoped to find an oil tanker or the sort to be able to syphon fuel from. Our other provisions were good. We could last months on what we had already with our small crew. I told this to Zoey as I held her and continued walking towards my quarters, "Jackson is chatting with her, keeping her talking and we can home in on her beacon. It's strong and the weather, so far, is in our favor. Just hope we don't run into any more damn ships."

At the same time Ellis was waiting patiently for Allisyn to finish dressing. She found some slightly loose jeans and a tank top that fit her plus some clean undergarments. After doing up her hair she looked like a high school, young and pretty with a smile now back on her face as she hugged Ellis tightly. "Okay, miss" he said surprised by the affection, "I'll take you to your bed".

"Will you stay with me?" she asked.

"Well, I already have my own bed" he replied.

"I'm afraid of being alone" she cried. "I'm afraid of the dark and the monsters in it. Please?"

He couldn't resist those large soft eyes begging him silently. "Oh, okay".

The speed of the ship was brought down to a good pace as everyone decided to go to sleep. Well, try and get some sleep anyway. I went into the quarters with Robert and laid down on the cot with him. "We'll find a place for us, I'm sure of it," I said laying in his arms.

"I'm just going to sit over here. You get some sleep, Allisyn," Ellis said to the young woman. She was still frightened, so he sat next to the cot letting her hold onto his arm for comfort. He moved the hair out of her face that had gotten loose from her ponytail. She soon fell asleep and he dozed off watching her like he had promised.

"I think most of the ship is asleep, huh?" Francis said to Rochelle, holding her tightly. "Chelle?" He looked at her and she was sound asleep for the first time in a long time.

"Oh yeah! Give it to me, baby!" Caroline said screaming out.
"Ungh, yes! You will get it!" Bill said in response gritting his teeth pounding Caroline.

"Ugh. Gross," Francis said before falling asleep pulling the wool blanket up over him and Rochelle to try and block out the sound.

"I need to get some rest. Haven't slept since 0600 yesterday morning," Katelyn said to Jackson over the radio. "I could put some music on so the signal stays strong, if that's okay with you?"

Louis was too hyped on caffeine and energy drinks to sleep at this point. He was standing on the deck of the ship and swinging around a katana. "Hoh! Oi!" He almost cut his own tie off and he sat it down, imagining himself as a samurai.

"Afro Samurai. That's me!" Louis boasted as he sat there, blade across his lap. Looking as the black sea he couldn't see much of the horizon except the little light coming from the stars and the nearly gone moon. The wind rushed and splashed against his face, but he barely felt anything as the caffeine kept him going that his hands twitched with each pulse of the veins. He had a good source of stimulates for now, but they were doing a number on his body that he wasn't getting any sleep. His eyes were hung open, staring intently into the darkness.

Jackson was still there, but even though he needed to get to sleep he didn't want to leave his new friend. Plus he relief had not arrived yet. "It's going to be a long couple of days" he said softly, "Just pray that we get there fast enough". He knew about the fuel, but it wasn't on his list. All that he wanted to do was reach his new friend. He didn't have a picture of her other than the simple answers of hair, eye, age, and height, but going off her voice she sounded like a mature and seasoned woman and if she was able to be alone for this long then she had to have skill. Finally his relief showed up to take the controls, "Okay. I'm going to sign off for now. Talk to you in the morning". Then he waited for her farewell before hanging up the receiver and heading below.

Zoey and I were fast asleep in each others arms, but nearby the mature couple of Caroline and Bill were reaching the end of their little session. "Jesus fucking Christ" she exclaimed wiping her face, hairline and half covered chest with the palms of both hands, "Where the...how the fuck did you have so much?" she was surprised to have so much sperm come shooting out of her new lover that it seemed unreal. "It was like a geyser".

"That's why the gook babes called me, "Numba one!" Bill chuckled holding up a slender index finger and taking another puff on his smoke. Caroline couldn't believe it as it was everywhere and as she wiped it up she ate it, being a good girl.

"Numba one, yeah...well your numba one almost put my fucking eye out!" Caroline said pushing him over after cleaning herself off. She was on top of him so fast, quickly getting him hard once again. "Can ya go another round, soldier boy?"
"Oh yeah, little red habanero!" he said flipping her over onto her back.

The wind was grazing across Louis' bald head as he laid back looking at the disappearing stars. Then it was like lightning! He did a hip-up and held the sword at bay. "Die you muthafuckers!" he said practicing lobbing off zombie heads.

"No one sleeps around here, ugh!" Francis said trying to find something to stuff in his ears hearing Bill go at it and Louis become an idiot. But soon enough he was sound asleep, Rochelle close to his chest as they slept.

Allisyn woke up screaming from a nightmare and Ellis was right there. "They can't get you anymore, sweetness," he said to her, calming her down. She looked at him and then laid back down, getting back to sleep fairly quickly.

Louis continued swinging his blade freely. They were all around him! He sliced and cleaved their heads off as they sailed through the air. "Who's the badass?" he called out to noone. The only person that could see him was Jackson's relief, Thompson who was at the wheel and checking the course and radio homing. "What you got?!" Louis shouted stabbing, twisting the blade, and recovering then spinning on his heels and swinging again and cutting a Tank down to size. "Ah yeah!" he smiled sheathing his blade. The lightning on the horizon continued and he looked at it. Appeared that there was a storm. Thompson could see a bit of a squall but their course would take us around it.

Caroline rode Bill like a bronco, thrusting her pelvis down onto his member, feeling her hold stretched and filled, his head poking against her womb. "Yes!" she groaned as his main vein filled her up inside and she collapsed beside him, nearly fainting as her energy was gone.

Zoey and I were sound asleep that we couldn't hear them and now that Francis and Rochelle and now Ellis and Allisyn were asleep the Pigeon continued on its course at a steady pace. Eventually Louis staggered back inside and collasped on his bunk as the caffeine wore off leaving Thompson the only man awake and his eyes were on the storm with the brilliant white and blue flashes of lightning as they descended from the heavens and lit up the horizon.

Morning soon came and Katelyn felt the need to go relieve herself. She still had the music on with the radio still sending signal to the Pigeon. She finished using the restroom and grabbed a granola bar as she made her way to the window to see what was going on. It was raining in Galveston -- the air was misty with the rain pelting against the Coast Guard station's windows. It was quite a sight indeed. "I might have to go into town today. I wonder if the jeep still works," she said to herself. She walked over to the radio and picked up the receiver. "Pigeon, come in Pigeon. Whomever is over this radio right now, I'm going to leave the station and head to the A&P near the Bay. You guys have a front coming through with storms and is going to bring cold weather behind it. I'll be back by 1100. Signal will stay on. Over and out."

I woke up in bed next to Robert. I turned over and looked at him in the face. A small smile crossed my lips as I turned to get out of the bunk quietly. I stretched a bit and opened the room door as quietly as I could. With a small creak, I was out and in the corridor. I walked toward the kitchen and opened up one of the many freezers. "What can I make for breakfast?"

Allisyn woke up and found that Ellis had never moved his hand from her grasp. She looked at him and pushed the ball cap he wore out of his face. She smiled feeling a sense of caring and love come over her for him. She stood up out of the bunk, making him stir. "I'm sorry.. Didn't mean to wake you," she said to him.
"Oh, no worry miss. Hopefully you slept well," he replied.
She nodded as she got up, him still by her side at this point.

Francis turned over in bed and found the bright brown eyes of his lover staring at him. "God damn, you scared me," he said falling out of bed.
Rochelle sat up on her arm and looked at the man she had fallen in love with on the floor. "Well, I didn't mean to, babe. You look so cute when you're sleeping."
"Shuddup," he said as a bright blush crossed his rugged cheeks.

Bill woke up first next to Caroline. He slipped out of the bed, put on his fatigue blouse with his last name on it, Overbeck, and his black beret, boots laced up tight and headed out leaving the woman still purring away. As he walked down the metal corridor he felt a bit of pain in his crotch, a side effect of coming many times during the night. He felt young again see the cum eruptions and the look of surprise on Caroline's face as she was doused.

On the bridge Thompson heard the message and wrote it down for me. By his calculations we were forty miles south of New Orleans. He looked at the northern horizon and couldn't see much, but to the west was a dark cloud. The storm was still moving and now we were going to get hit by it. I was still asleep when a knock on the door woke me up, it was Jackson, "Sir, you're wanted on the bridge."

"Fine" putting on my clothes. Heading up there Thompson showed me the storm. We were going to have to go through it, at least the southern portion. "Where's Zoey and them?" I asked.

"Zoey's in the galley preparing breakfast," Jackson replied, "Everyone else is still waking up"

"Have the crew come on deck and tie down everything. Alter the course to 260. We'll swing underneath the storm." Thompson spun the wheel and watched the compass slowly swing as Jackson called the crew on deck, Zoey, Ellis, Caroline, and the others were to remain where they were.

"What's that all about?" Francis groaned watching the sailors rush out.

"I don't know" Rochelle replied as she clothed herself.

Francis saw one and called, "Hey, sailor boy, what's the shit?"

"Captain is calling us on deck to tie down equipment for the storm" the sailor replied standing in the hatch way. "You guys are to stay below decks."

"They're keeping us down below," Francis said walking into the kitchen with Rochelle by his side.
"I kind of figured we would hit a storm, just wasn't sure when," I said in response to him, never looking up from cooking. "It's Autumn now and I know that we'll be having some."
"Damn, when did you become a weather woman?" Francis said chuckling, grabbing a cucumber spear and breaking it in half for him and Rochelle.
"Just always been that way," I said slapping his hand away with a wooden spoon when he started grabbing at the sausage.

"Ahh, that was a good time," Bill said relieving himself. His groin was still quite sore but it was worth it. He hadn't cum so much in a long time and Caroline was so willing.
"Big boy sore from the big explosion," he heard from Caroline behind him.
"Aww shit! Don't startle a man while he's taking a piss!" he said rushing to zip himself up.

Katelyn got the jeep started and headed down the small road leading up the hillside to the coast guard. She got out to the area that made up Seawall Blvd and headed back up I-45. The A&P was not far up the road but maneuvering around the vehicles stalled was a problem. Before a majority of the men and women had died at the station, they had cleared a path on the freeway leading to the island. "Damn it, more zombies," she said making her way to the outpost store. She pulled out her blade and silencer-covered gun and started popping heads off.

Louis was laying in his cot now with a migraine, "Oh boy.. Need to lay off of the caffeine."

"All hands on deck" I said, "Lash down everything and prepare for the storm." We changed our course but we were still going to get a piece of it. The waves began to white crest and slap against the hull. Nothing major yet but in the distance I could see five foot waves. The beacon was still coming in strong. The crew and I dawned our rain gear and life lines and began tying the boats and any outside gear down, shut the hatches and got the pumps going.

Those machines down in the hull began churning and pushing out the salt water that had come in and our screw was spinning and pushing us along at 13 knots and the seas quickly became choppy. I was at the midsection tying down the launch as waves splashed over deck and hit us making the deck slick. "Son of a bitch" I cursed at the bitter cold. Even with slicks and gloves on I could feel the chill going down through my bones, I was numb. On the fantail the colors were taken down and secured on the bridge.

It took perhaps half an hour for the deck to be secure and when it was everyone hustled inside to remove their coats and wet clothes and get into some clean, dry ones and a cup of joe.

Going to the bridge there was one already waiting. Using the ships' PA system I relayed a command, "No one is to go on deck" I said, "Until we have passed through this storm. We have waves now cresting at 10 feet. We're less 200 miles from Galveston and by our calculations we should be through this storm in 3 hours. I suggest you get a hot meal while you can. Cooks, be careful with the stoves. The waves are going to hit us hard."

"Great. Just great. I hate storms," Francis said leaning up against the wall of the Galley drinking coffee.
"You hate everything, don't you?" Rochelle said raising an eyebrow, waiting his response. She had her arms crossed while she looked at him making me chuckle.
"No, I don't hate y---you.." he said in response to her. I chuckled more making him give me a glare. I coughed a bit before getting back to work.
"Go tell everyone that breakfast is almost ready. Get ready to eat," I said to the two of them. Damn, you could have cut through the tension with a knife.

Bill and Caroline went to the bridge to see the captain. "It's pretty nasty, isn't it?" Bill asked, looking out the window at the gulf rising and falling, lightning crashing.
"Not as nasty as somethings can be," Caroline said with a huff that turned into a smile.
"Learn your place woman," the old man said being gruff.
"Woman? I thought last night I was your little sugar puff that loved your c---" Caroline said before being interrupted by Bill handing her a cigarette.
"Here, fill the hole with this," he said lighting her cig with his own.

"Seems like you two love birds are getting along alright," Nick said catching Ellis and Allisyn in the hallway on their way to the galley.
"Oh yeah, we're like two peas in a pod now, I suppose," the country boy said replying.
Allisyn was holding onto him for dear life as the ship shook and caused her to be scared.

The ship tossed a bit with the waves as they splashed over the deck. Allisyn was feeling woozy and had to sit down while still holding onto Ellis. He grabbed a small paper bag for her, "Here. Use this" he said to her.

Nick sat and tried to stay there as the ship tossed. Zoey was ready to serve breakfast but with the tossing some people were beginning to feel tightness in their stomachs. Some of the sailors came down eager to eat. As they spent their time on the water the waves didn't bother them. The pumps were working and the ship was batten down so they didn't have any worries. When they saw what Zoey had prepared for them, they were all smiles and eager in particular the scalding hot coffee.

I was still on the bridge listening to Caroline and Bill as they were puffing on their smokes and looking at the black windows. They were like an old married couple, bickering back and forth. With the course plotted I kept my eyes on the rough horizon, the waves white capping and it was impossible to see the horizon. Briefly it was illuminated by the brief flashes of lightning. The beacon was still transmitting. Good. We were closing in but every few minutes I was wobbily on my feet. Nothing major yet.

"I'm heading to the galley" I said to the helmsmen.

With the tossing of the ship, most of the guys were feeling like tossing their dinner from last night. They were having a tough time holding onto their coffee while they managed to hold down their barf. I wasn't having a tough time serving the ones that did want to eat. There were rubber placers for the bowls and plates, so everything was well. "Enjoy and eat up!" I said with cheer in my voice. I saw Robert come into the galley. "Hello, sweetheart," I said walking up to him and kissing him on the lips.

Ellis was sitting in the corridor with Allisyn, who was going through some sea sickness. He ran his hand along her back to calm her down. "Are you doing any better?" he asked with concern.
She nodded before throwing up into the container. She grunted having lied to him.
He just smiled and looked up at the ceiling before continuing rubbing her back.

"Oh...mm...gonna kill...zom-behhss...yaahh" Louis said talking in his sleep. He continued snoring while the ship shook on the waves. He was out cold from not sleeping for so long.

"Sounds like those two are already married," Rochelle said walking into the Bridge seeing Bill and Caroline bickering.
"Eh, they're better bickering than fucking, for certain. Sound wise anyway," Francis said shivering from imagining what was happening on the other side of the wall last night.

"Hi, sweetheart" I replied kissing Zoey's sweet lips. We headed towards the table where she had prepared plates for the both of us. We sat down side by side and ate slowly even as the ship continued to heave. It was hot and tasty, "It's wonderful" I said to her. Having been on the water for so long, the tossing didn't bother me, but on the other side of the galley, Allisyn was green faced and clutched the bag tightly. Her cheeks puffed before wrenching once more. Ellis had to look away from it and so did the others after hearing her. "We shouldn't be going through this much longer" I said to Zoey, "The scope said that the storm is going north and we're passing underneath it. It should only last a couple more hours." As soon as I said that a strong wave hit the side of the ship and forced the Pigeon to list a few degrees before it quickly righted, but that was enough to have young Allisyn to get up and rush to the head with Ellis right behind her.

"Hey, Bill" Francis called out, "When you guys fuck, does dust shoot out of your dick instead of cum?" before busting out laughing. Rochelle concealed her smile behind a palm of her hand and turned away, but Bill wasn't amused. He took a puff from his cigarette and said, "Boy, the next time a Tank is pounding your head into the ground like a golf tee, i'm just going to laugh."

"Aw man, that isn't cool," Francis said while Rochelle rubbed his arm comforting him.
Most of the sailors chuckled at Bill's comment and then quieted down to continue eating. Soon everyone had finished and were going back about their business. The storm outside was quieting down as well. Allisyn came back to the galley after rushing to the head and was able to finally hold down some crackers because the ship was stabilizing. Ellis took her to the Bridge for the time being.

"So I was wondering about what we're going to do once we get to Galveston," I said to Robert who was staying behind for the moment. "Perhaps we could find a random place to just hide and fuck," I said with a wink while I washed dishes.

"Damn it. Most of the shit has gone bad now," Katelyn said looking up and down the aisles of the A&P. She had raided the place soon after the dead started walking the Earth, before everyone around her turned into them. Now a majority of everything that was left had gone to the rats or completely to the bugs. She continued searching for stuff to return with but it ended up being a bust. She got back into the Jeep and headed to the station. "Well, guess I need to get back to Jackson on the radio," she said turning the windshield wipers off since the rain had stopped.

"That would be nice" I smirked nudging her backside with my own as I helped her clean the dishes. I had a flood of hot thoughts of her and me being alone and on solid ground to have a good fuck, then came another pitch of the ship and the dishes we were about to drown slid to the right and I clapped a hand onto them to get them to stop. "Think we can do some anal?" snickering.

"How anal can you be, old man?" Francis asked. "When you were over there, did you stick your dick into some whore's twat that had a razorblade?"

"That's a myth" Bill scoffed, "You get that from the internet?" before Francis could answer Bill continued, "Tell you what, kid, you may be good with a shotgun, but you're not when it comes to brains. That's why zombies don't really go for you, they usually go after Zoey because she knows how to pick real men." Immediately there were outbursts of laughter and cackling from the other sailors as Francis frowned and stepped forward ready to beat Bill for this slight, but Rochelle stepped in with a hand on both their chests.

"C'mon, guys. We're on the same team here. We're trying to stay alive and we need both of you to stay alive. Now let's just get over this."

The men said nothing but stared at each other, balling their fists and gritting their teeth but eventually they turned away and went to different parts of the bridge.

"Oh yeah," I said leaning in to kiss Robert deeply, letting my tongue slip into his mouth before I continued washing the dishes. Images of doing him on dry land were coursing though my mind as well. Screaming out his name and having him fill either of my holes, sucking his cock all the way to the hilt and having him hold onto my head. I was growing wetter by the second as each image hit my mind. "We might have to do something before dry land, though.. You should feel my pussy quiver," I said with a sly smile.

"Whew...damn, you two are gettin' some, so why don't you just quit rutting like bucks over one doe," Ellis said walking in hearing the tail end of the argument.
"Bah...whatever," Bill said moving over to the side and sitting near Caroline.
"Everything is fine now," Rochelle said moving over towards Francis.
"Eh, yeah.." Francis said.

"I just hope that when we do it on dry land that your wailing doesn't attract a horde" I replied nipping at her nose. I didn't know how long we would be able to stay on land, I hoped for at least a few days as it would do morale a world of good as this storm was making almost everyone lose their cookies. "Besides that, we might want to get some form of protection, you know, just in case. We don't have a doctor and we will need to keep our wits about us when it comes to sex. We don't want a pregnancy right now". I did like children, but right now we didn't have the facilities to deal with one. "We have to be cautious". Didn't mean to be a bit of a downer, but it was my duty as captain to look after the wellbeing of my crew as everyone onboard was his responsibility. Looking at my watch, we should be coming out of this storm soon and then it would be smooth sailing to Galveston.

Those on the bridge suddenly fell quite with the tossing and pitching of the ship. The beacon was coming in strong with the helmsman looking at the compass constantly and adjusting the wheel to try and cut with the waves to lessen their effect, but white caps continued to splash over the bow as it knifed through.

"I hate storms" Francis growled as he hugged tightly to Rochelle.

But looking outside there was a bit of a bright spot as the waves, on the horizon slowly began to lessen. "Hey!" Ellis cried, "I think we're in the clear!"

I looked at him when he mentioned my wails.. "I promise, sailors honor, that I won't scream...too loud," I said with a sly smile. The idea of me possibly becoming pregnant from us fucking, was enough to make me think. "I'm certain that the person in Galveston will have some sort of stash or know where we can get some protection and me on the pill."

"I know, sugar," Rochelle said running her hand over Francis' head. She held him close and looked outside when Ellis announced the weather was getting clear.

"Good," Nick started. "Let's see if we can help getting us back in working order on deck." He removed his white suit jacket and looked over his shoulder. Louis was just getting up.

"Morning sleeping beauty," Bill said letting Caroline run her fingers through his hair.
"Ugh, what time is it?" Louis said rubbing his eyes as Allisyn handed him a cup of coffee.
"You missed it. The biggest fight of the century. We won of course, but damn was it tough," Francis said, teasing him.
"What?! I couldn't have been out that long! Wha-what the fuck happened?" Louis said freaking out.
"Easy now, man. It's alright. We haven't left the sea yet," Ellis said putting his hand on Louis's shoulder as the man had already pulled out his katana, ready for a fight with the dead.
"Aw, I wish you guys wouldn't mess with a man that is tired," he said sitting down holding his head, with a slight hangover from crashing from the caffeine and energy pills.

Then my thought shifted to the woman that Jackson had been talking to. The events of Fort Jefferson had me worried that this will be another ambush. "When we land, we'll be armed, but we're going to be friendly with her and any companions she had," despite her saying she was alone. "We have to be cautious on that."

Speaking of Katelyn, Jackson relieved the watch and called out for her smooth voice on the radio. Her beacon was still coming in, "Come in, Galveston" he said and went to the map chart to gauge their progress. The storm was moving further north and the seas were still a bit choppy but much better than before and everyone could relax.

When Zoey and I were done with the dishes we headed up for the bridge as Nick was heading out with his distinctive white jacket over his shoulder. "Where you off to?" I asked him.

With a smirk he replied, "Going to help with deck" he replied. Right behind him was Louis and then Ellis, but Allisyn was still clinging to him, "Darling, I have to go help the guys. I'll be back" he assured her.

"Oh, come here, you big baby" Caroline scoffed.

"Ease off" Bill fumed"

I went to Jackson, "Where are we?"

"I would plot that we will be in sight of Galveston in five hours" Jackson replied looking at the chart carefully, using the compass and doing his calculations again. "Yes, five hours." That was good to hear. "The storm had moved us a bit north with the waves, but we're doing alright. Our fuel bunkers are nearly 60%."

"Good" I nodded satisfactorily.

"No, I'll stay with Zoey," Allisyn said moving away from her mom.
"I said come here and I mean it now, Allisyn Schwartz!" Caroline said basically hollering at her daughter.
Bill was attempting to keep her off of the young girl since she was still in quite a state after they had been taken from the fort. "You need to leave her be. Let her get used to you again," the man said gruffly taking Caroline up top for some fresh air.

I held onto Allisyn and looked into her eyes, "Don't worry. When Ellis is done with what he's doing, you can go back to him. For now, how about you come help me do some laundry?"
Allisyn still shaking a bit from her mother's actions nodded and went along with me.

Katelyn was just getting back into the Coast Guard Station when she heard the announcement coming through on the radio. "Come in, Galveston," is what she heard. She dropped everything she had after securing the doors and picked up the receiver. "Galveston copies, over. Jackson, is that you? Just got back from my weekly run to the A&P."

"It's me" Jackson smiled, "We're past the storm and coming in. Should have you in sight within four to five hours". We would be running dark until we were right upon the station to prevent our lights from attracting the infected, this is what Jackson told her.

"She better be worth it" Francis growled.

"Oh don't start" Rochelle said stroking his large chest.

"She better be some kind of a hottie or something," he went on. This got Rochelle a bit upset but she clung to her man.

On deck Nick, Ellis and the others were going from position to position to check on the equipment. The deck was slick with water that they grasped onto anything they could, including the railings. After a few minutes in the chilling weather their fingers started to numb up but they pressed through. The rigging was intact and the the antenna to the radio and radar were still intact as well.

When Caroline was out of earshot I said to Zoey in a whisper, "We got to get her (Caroline) to ease off. She's being over protective of her daughter. Right now that girl can't be left alone. She's too frightened."

I heard him say that and could sense that he was concerned about the girl's well being as I was. "Yes, I agree. We should try to see if Ellis can keep her occupied away from Caroline. It's the best for the girl right now."

"I see! That's great. Remember, you have to loop south through the opening from the Gulf to the Bay, a small straight but you should be able to fit through. After that, you should be able to swing back around to a section just south of Bolivar Peninsula and that's where I will be. Most of the ships are moved and you should be able to glide right up to the shore," Katelyn said giving some instruction on how to get to the Coast Guard Station.

"Damn it! Hold on!" Nick said holding on for dear life on the edge of the ship. He was starting to get a chill. Ellis had slipped and was unable to get back up. He made it over to the young man and picked him up. "Don't...do that..again.."

"Oh I'll try not to. Dang deck reminds me of the time that a friend of mine, Jo Lynn and I went skating on Uncle Buck's pond. We slipped and fell through the ice, to which I saved her. In fact, that was my first kiss too," Ellis said heading inside to get warm.

"That's real nice," Nick said rolling his eyes at the incredibly long story Ellis had spoken of.

Jackson went to the map chart we had pulled up of Galveston and noted our current course as well as the depths that were marked out already. The current was moving to the north-east as we drew closer so we had to aim a bit further south to get around the island. We were almost there.

"It's going to be hard, those two" I said, "Caroline doesn't fully trust us yet. We can't force her to do it, but if Bill can keep her tamed with what he's doing and keeps her off our backs then eventually..." I stopped myself and looked at Zoey, "See what you can do to help." At the moment everyone else on the bridge was looking out towards the west expecting to see the coast, but there was nothing yet as the sun began to dip. There were no fires that we could see, but then came a bit of a glow from the north and then from the south. Radar swept the area-we were nearing land. Less than 20 miles.

Great.

Ellis staggered along towards the bow and looked towards the west, "Hey, I think I see something" he shouted above the howling wind, but no one else could hear him. Nick was clinging to the rail with one hand and shielding his eyes with the other from the biting rain until he noticed Ellis pointed straight ahead.

"What is it?" he called out.

Turning towards him Ellis smiled, "I think I see land. Yeah, man. That must be Galveston."

Seeing it for himself Louis smiled, "I knew we'd make it!"

I nodded hearing Robert about the fact that Caroline was so controlling. "Yes..I'll keep Allisyn within sight, as I know that Ellis will as well." I smiled looking towards Allisyn who was folding some of the clothes out of the dryer. "She really has taken a liking to the young man, huh?"

We could hear the commotion coming from the deck. "Horde?" I finished up with what I was doing and took Allisyn with me to the deck.

"Welcome to Texas, ladies!" Ellis said waving his hand out towards the shore. "I've only been here once and that was for some shooting tournament with my cousin Bobbie Lou. Damn she could shoot skeet so well. I never made the top three, but she did. Whew-ee! It was so amazing! Perhaps I can take you shooting some time, Allisyn," Ellis continued rambling on pulling the young girl near him.

I shook my head and walked to the bridge to meet up with Jackson. "So, we made it, huh?"

"Oh, it will be good to get off this ship for a while. Perhaps find us a room," Bill said pulling Caroline with him. She was focused on Allisyn being with Ellis at this point. Bill pulled on her arm again making her come to.
"Oh yeah..cannot wait to ride the numba-one G.I. again," the redhead admitted to the gruff old man.

"Perhaps there's somewhere for us as well, my sexy vest-man," Rochelle said holding onto the rail with Francis.
"Heh heh, yes, my little momma," the tough man said putting his arm around her.

Katelyn started looking over the radar that she had kept running over time. Her heart was beating so fast, thinking about meeting people for the first time in a long time. She picked up the receiver and phoned in, "I can see you guys on radar! I'll get down to the shore with flags to guide you in."

"Understood, Galveston" Jackson said as he looked at the compass and then at the shore. The din light coming from the shore showed what lay before them as the Pigeon slowly moved into the shallow waters. Speed was reduced to six-knots, the current was 1 knot moving north so it was a bit of a struggle as the old ship came closer and Jackson took out a powerful set of binoculars and scanned the horizon trying to find her.

"Anything yet?" I asked.

"Nothing yet, captain" he replied with his eyes still focused. The wheel was turned to swing the bow south a few more degrees.

Ellis was giddy as a clam watching with his body leaning over the railing, feeling the cold wind splashing against his face. Any further forward and he would have toppled over into the frigid waters.

"Hope she has room for everyone" Francis replied as he looked out himself to try and see for himself, but there still wasn't much to see and we were still running dark. Jackson turned to me, "Sir, should I turn on a light?"

"Not yet" I replied looking at the radar scope. "Wait till we're 3,000 yards from the shore"

"That's awfully close, don't you think?" Bill said looking back at me.

"I don't want to warn a horde" I replied.