Left 4 Dead (Closed)

[IntriguedLover]

I nodded to Robert as we continued inside. By the urgency in Jackson's voice, something was up. Hopefully we weren't losing fuel after this attack. "So, what's going on helmsman?" I asked as I looked to Kate who was sitting in the corner, covering her ears. It was odd seeing a naked woman with assets like hers sitting there. I looked over to Jackson and that's when he turned a knob on the radio, the overlapping noises filling the bridge. "Oh god.. So many survivors. We have to help them." I looked to Robert.

"But that's just the problem. They're all around the world. We don't have enough fuel for any of that. England maybe, but not the world," Jackson said as he turned down the volume.

Kate was over in the corner having a nervous breakdown because of the screams. "It's just like what we heard before most communications went down in Texas. People all across the U.S. screaming for help, but nothing we could do."

I looked to her again as I then looked to Jackson. "We must be in range of a major hub. There might be supplies there, or other survivors. How close are we to the Caribbean?" I asked Robert.

Francis turned to go sit down in the galley as Rochelle showed up behind him. She covered his eyes. "Guess who?" She was now covered up and dressed, but her breasts were pressing against his back.

"Erica Jean! I be damned! When did we pick you up?" He turned around only to be smacked upside the face. "Ow fuck! What was that for?"

Rochelle smirked as she looked to him, her arms crossed under her breasts. "Erica Jean, huh? Must have been a good fuck.."

Francis rubbed his face as he then grabbed her around the waist and pulled her in. "I made that up, just to see your reaction." He reached up to touch his face again. "I learned that I won't do that again.."

"He-hey, you learned something! It's a miracle! Woo-hoo!" Louis said as he was passing by, laughing up a storm as he started running to dodge a coke can that Francis threw.

Bill made his way back to the bunk as he laid his head back again. He heard Caroline coming in and put his hand up. "Ohh no. No more.. I'm too tired."

Caroline smiled as she removed her clothes again and laid up against him, snuggling against his chest. "You know what..." she said taking his cigarette to inhale a puff before sticking it back into his mouth. She puffed out the smoke, "...I am too." Bill smiled as she laid there against him. He hadn't had anyone in years to do this. His first wife left him just before the war and he had had nothing but a woman here and there. This was a nice change. He put out the cigarette as he put his arm around her, dozing off to sleep.

Nick found his way to the shower and laid his suit up on the rack. He grabbed some soap and tried to get the soda out of it. He had a towel wrapped around him. "I be damned if it isn't one thing. If it isn't the damned blood staining it, it's freaking Mr Pibb!" He grunted as he realized that it was hopeless.

Ellis made his way into the shower and noticed Nick was there. "Try baking soda and vinegar." He pulled off his hat and started getting ready to clean up.

Nick turned his head to look, confused by how Ellis knew this.

"I'm a mechanic, man. Helps with oil stains. Should help with that. And for the blood, find some peroxide. Makes it bubble, then rub it off." He stepped in and turned on the water, groaning from how the hot water felt.

Nick raised his eyebrows and stepped into the other shower stall to clean up. He would have to find stuff to wear while he tried that.

 

[guyloveshotstories]

The sailors went down to the cargo hold and the hull and began inspecting it. The fuel bunkers were intact and looking over the edge there was a few slight dents in the steel from where the Tank crawled up, but there didn't appear to be any serious damage except for a section of the railing that was warped into a pretzel.

I went to the map and began calculating our position. We were 200 miles off the coast of Texas. "Can you pinpoint their sources using the range finder?"

Jackson went to the instruments and turned it on, then turned down the radio so that their wailing and pleas would fade away. Kate took her hands away from her ears but still sat in the corner with a pale look on her face. The radio signals were coming from multiple sources, but the largest was coming from a small island off the southern edge of Cuba. Jackson joined me at the mapping table and pinpointed it. "Here, Captain. Isla de la Juventud. That's the closest and strongest signal. From our course and speed, it is a full days cruise away. It's a large and populated island, however" looking up and showing worry before going over and helping Kate to her feet so that she could cloth herself.

"Jackson, why don't you call your relief and take Kate down below" I said, "I'll take the watch for now." That would allow Zoey and I to have the bridge alone.

"Take a look at this, Zoey" I said to my red jacket lover, "Here's where we are. I didn't want to get close to a populated area, despite the desire for more survivors and supplies. "If we were to get to that island, it may have a dock, but it will have many people. If we stop there and pick up anything we would be only a day's cruise from those small islands further south."

Allisyn and Ellis were curling up in their bed together. Taking care not to touch his injured arm, her left hand reached over and continued to stroke his covered chest, head resting on his shoulder. "I was scared," she said, "when that thing got on board. I thought we were dead."

"Not while i'm here" Ellis smiled, kissing the top of her head.

"Where are we going?" she whispered.

"I don't know. Hush now" Ellis smiled as they curled up together.

Rochelle and Francis were curled up together as well. "You think when we get to an island, there will be other people?" Rochelle asked as she rested her head on his strong chest.

"I hope so" Francis said squeezing her tight ass.

"If we do..if there are other people...what's going to happen to us? You think we'll meet other people?"

"I...I don't know" Francis reluctantly said.

 

[IntriguedLover]

Rochelle curled up next to Francis, her mind racing with the thoughts of more survivors. She didn't want to lose Francis, but why would she? She laid her head against his chest as they both dozed off to sleep.

Kate took hold of Jackson's arm as they both went to go rest up. Kate wasn't sure why they hadn't heard that many survivors before now. Was it that they were always out of range? She shook her head as she laid in the bunk next to Jackson. Both of them were exhausted from the fear and excitement of earlier, so it didn't take them long to pass out.

"I see. So that would be the next stop, huh?" I said as I looked at the map. "Wouldn't it be logical to try to get to Gitmo? It would have numerous weapons which we're going to need not to mention the Cuban Base nearby.." I know that he wasn't wanting to risk more of the crew and with the latest mutations, it was going to be a pain in the ass. I looked to him as I placed my hand on his shoulder. "You have a lot to think on, but I believe you need rest. We're going to need our leader at his top peak. Rest and I'll watch the radar, if you want." I smiled as I looked to him.

The rest of the crew had handled the damage control and everyone was taking a break. It was a time for rest because we'd all have a duty to uphold soon.

 

[guyloveshotstories]

Giving Zoey a kiss to her forehead, I said, "I'll head to my quarters" and leaving gave her a pat on her fine butt. Going down to the room there were a lot of questions rolling through my mind. There were many places that still have survivors, people pleading for help. We obviously couldn't help all of them, but we needed to at least try, plus we needed to have a good place that we could call our own. One of the small islands in the Caribbean would be the best bet, but we still had plenty of people out there, like us, that were doing the same thing and would stop at nothing to kill us or enslave us and take our things. Laying down in bed after shedding my clothes I curled up in bed thinking of a route. We could stop at one of the islands, Juventud and then head to Gitmo, but I wondered what the personnel there would be like. The base was still, or was, run by the US military where they housed many of terrorist suspects. Perhaps they would be willing to join us if it meant getting off the high populated Cuban island and getting to some place safe. I don't know. It was a lot to think on and it was making my head hurt. Curling up with the blankets on top of me, I looked at the empty spot where Zoey was suppose to be and she wasn't there. Just a shallow depression and a slight lingering smell of sweat, juices, and perfume. I missed her already.

Jackson and Kate went to his room where Kate sat on the bed deep in thought. She didn't feel like sleeping, but Jackson kept trying to encourage her to do so, "You need your rest" the helmsman replied.

"Well after getting a good anal fucking and seeing a monster rise from the depths, I kinda lost my desire to sleep" Kate smiled at him.

With Ellis, Allisyn, Caroline, Bill, Francis, Rochelle all sleeping in their quarters now there were only a tiny portion of the crew still awake following their horrific fight as the Pigeon puttered along. The ship was sound but it would need a bit of work later on. It was a close shave. The radio in the bridge continued to crackle with more voices, cries for help. There were some offering money, riches, for someone to come get them.

 

[IntriguedLover]

I continued to look at the radar as Robert went to lay down. I sat back in the command chair, looking at the maps. It was amazing how far we've come since Philly. We have managed to survive this far, but how much further could we really last. The Tank incident was such a close call. The Infected were learning. It was as if they were learning that they could do different stuff to destroy survivors. I shook my head as I thought about the idea of Infected learning. The Green Flu was certainly changing in structure, mutating differently every day. I heard a noise behind me and turned around.

"Oh hey. Nick is it?" I questioned as I turned back to the radar.

"Yeah. You know where I can get some Baking Soda and Peroxide?" he asked as he was wearing a mechanic's jumpsuit, holding his normal white suit in his hand.

I looked to him and raised my eyebrows. "Uh, yeah. The Baking Soda will be in the spice cabinet in the Galley, peroxide in the medical bay."

He nodded and turned to walk out. He was an odd one, but who wasn't on this ship? I chuckled at the thought of how we were all different and how we had our own strange characteristics. But that's what made us work so well together. Perhaps that is how we have survived.

I turned up the radio and listened to some of the calls coming in over the static. Numerous people speaking of survivors everywhere. I pulled out a spare world map and began to map where most of them were coming from. "So spread out," I mumbled to myself. Another noise showed up behind me.

"Eh, I just thought you could use some coffee. Or these energy pills," Louis said coming over next to me.

I smiled and took the stuff from him. "Sure. Thanks Louis.." I popped open one of the pill packs and took a few, drinking down the coffee.

He smiled and left me alone again. I sighed and sat back in the chair. We'd never be able to save them all, but perhaps some. Who knows, we might need their help. But then I thought about how the Florida Keys plan panned out and sighed again. "Fuck.. Too much trouble.." I looked over at the radar and saw a few blips show up on the screen.

I walked out to the deck to look over the side of the ship, the light wind blowing through my hair. I smiled seeing a pod of dolphins swimming by. At least not all hope was lost. There was still some peace out there.

 

[guyloveshotstories]

Nick gathered some the baking soda and went to the medical bay for the hydrogen peroxide. Laying his top and bottom side by side he read the instructions before putting a little bit of powder onto a splotch and spreading it out with his finger. Removing the cap of the peroxide he took a niff, "Nasty" before allowing several drops to fall. When contact was made, there was an instantaneous chemical reaction and bubbles began forming. The bubbles caught him off guard and he jumped back, but they kept forming and popping. "Interesting" the conman said coming back, watching as they did their work.

I tossed and turned for a while as the ship went on. It wasn't easy trying to keep a clear mind. The ship groaned, metal rubbing against each other, the groans as the pressure of the ocean against the hull expanded and contracted. How could sailors back there learn to sleep with something like this going on all of the time?

Engineers checked the fuel lines and the bunkers once again and the engines hummed along. 10 1/2 knots going across the smooth ocean surface. Too bad no one else could have enjoyed the dolphins like Zoey was able to, they were belong decks either sleeping or about to sleep, their bodies physically and emotionally exhausted to go any further, except for Louis who was wide eyed and wandering around from place to place with a smug smile on his lips. He seemed full of energy, cleaning up the hatchways and the kitchen. In his pocket was a half consumed bottle of energy pills.

 

[IntriguedLover]

I could tell that the sun was coming up over the horizon, to the East. It was strange to see that glow instead of the glow of blazing infernos in every city we pass. The scent in the air wasn't a stench now at this moment. The salty sea air of the Gulf was filling the winds as the ship sputtered along. My mind was reminded of the times that I used to go to the beach with my parents. That's when I felt a tear falling down my cheek. I would never see my parents again. Nothing would ever be the same. I wondered if I had never gone to see if they were okay, if I'd be fine with the realization of them being gone. I shook my head clear of the thoughts and watched as the Dolphins swam beneath the waves, way out of my sight. I turned to go back inside and saw Louis dancing in the bridge. My eyes widened as I looked to him. I walked back inside and stood in the corner until he noticed me.

"Oh fuck, Zoey! I didn't know you were there.. I found this music station and..." Louis gulped as he stopped speaking suddenly, his gaze now on the radar. "We have another issue. We need to get someone in here to control the boat."

I shook my head and looked to him. "Dude, how many pills have you taken? You have a problem.." I walked over to him and nudged him out of the way.

"No, but I'm serious. There's a huge blip on the screen. I think we need to get the captain.." he tried to explain.

I shook my head. "It's only a pod of dolphins. It's nothi---ng to worry about.." I paused and looked at the radar. It was something big. Really big. And moving fast beneath us. Three huge dots. I didn't know what it was so I picked up the intercom.

"Could I get Jackson and Robert here to the bridge, pronto! We have a questionable sighting on the radar." I turned to Louis and noticed he was itching. "Ease off of the pills and go get some rest. I'll call you guys up if we need ya."

He nodded and turned to go rest. I looked back to the radar and waited for the Captain and the Helmsman to come up to the deck. I wasn't sure what the heck was on the radar, but it was big.

 

[guyloveshotstories]

Hearing Zoey's voice on the PA system, I scrambled out of my quarters while Jackson did the same. When we reached the bridge my eyes were wide with worry. Was it another Tank? Or had they made contact with others? Zoey beckoned us to the sonar where the three large blips were almost directly underneath us. Jackson saw for himself and his eyes were wide in horror. 'Please don't be a horde of Tanks' I said to myself. We barely survived one of them clambering onboard, we couldn't take on a whole army of them.

"Jackson, try the sonar." I turned to the helmsman.

He went to the machine and placed the headphones over his ears and began moving the dials. The Pigeon continued on its present course. 'Please don't be zombies' I kept saying as the helmsman was able to hear what was going on underneath us. Everyone on the bridge gathered around him as he sat down on a stool and listened intently, one hand on the dial and his eyes closed. He was going deep into thought. We held our breaths as his eyes flashed open and then a nervous smile.

"They're contacts, 100 feet down and moving with us. No mechanical noises," Jackson said. That meant that they weren't submarines. Closing his eyes and listening intently as all of us gathered around closely, Allisyn holding on to Ellis and I holding on to Zoey, his eyes suddenly popped open, "They're whales!" Jackson cried, "They're fuckin' whales!" but he cried in delight. Off the bow the whales broke the surface and sprayed from their blowholes.

"Holy cow!" Francis said. It was the first time he saw a whale up close.

The whales have survived the carnage so far. We couldn't help but be filled with hope.

 

[IntriguedLover]

I breathed a sigh of relief when Jackson said that it was just a pod of whales. It was such a huge relief that we wouldn't have to deal with anymore Tanks, at least not anytime soon. I looked to Robert as I then bowed my head. "Sorry, I thought it was something major. I didn't mean to get you up." I placed my hand on his shoulder and moved to put my arms around him. "We can go lay down if you wish. I think we're in the clear for now."

Francis smirked as he ran out of the deck of the ship, dodging the small patches that the Tank had damaged. He made his way to the railing and looked down into the water. "Damn, they're too deep in the water. And it's too dark to see a damned thing.."

Rochelle showed up behind him, a bit tired but nevertheless happy to see him react in this way. She tapped him on the shoulder and handed him a pair of night vision binoculars. "Maybe these will help," she said with a smile on her face. He took them from her and she turned to go back inside. He adjusted them and looked down beneath the waves. "Ooh boy, that one would make a hefty meal," he said with excitement.

 

[guyloveshotstories]

"Don't worry about it" I smiled at her as my arm snaked around her waist, "We should head down" turning to Jackson, "You should get some sleep. Have some one else take the helm for awhile". Jackson was overcome by joy that he continued to sit there and listen to the whales, enjoying their music as they moved along with the ship. Even though they were too deep for us to see, their sounds were played on the PA system. It was a the voice of hope, that we weren't alone. Rochelle and Francis continued to hold on to each other while they stayed on the bridge. Though the temperature was freezing and it was near pitch dark out, the others didn't seem to mind it, the sound of the whales, it was better than the sounds of the desperate humans.

Going below and sealing ourselves from the chill of the night, Zoey and I returned to my quarters where I removed my top and bottom and went down to my shorts and laid upon the bed waiting for her to join me. "I didn't expect we'd be running into whales" I smiled at Zoey, "For a minute there-I thought it was a whole damn army of those Tanks!" I was nervous, even scared about what it would have been. "Come lay down with me and in the morning-we'll be near our destination. Hopefully we it will be better than where we've been" I said while patting the open spot of the bed next to me.

"Who do you think will survive? Us or the whales?" Ellis asked Alliysn as they headed towards their own bed, arm in arm.

"Us. I hope" she replied with a smile. "I can't imagine if we don't survive. I mean, I like the whales, but I don't see a world without us humans, you know?"

"I know what you mean" Ellis replied as they reached their room and carefully laid down.

Jackson and Kate laid in their own bunk, her heaving breasts pressed against his chest and a smile on her lips. The soothing music of the whales managed to calm her nervous demeanor from before, but there wasn't the idea of sex, maybe some cuddling and playing. Tracing a finger down chest chest Jackson asked, "Um, how many guys have...you know? Cum on these guns? Just curious" nervously smiling.

 

[IntriguedLover]

Kate smiled as she laid in Jackson's arms. "Ohh, you wouldn't believe me... You're the first to cum on these 'guns' as you call them." She smirked as she kissed his lips, pressing her body up against his, loving his warmth. "Bet you would want that to happen again, huh?"

I laid in the bed next to Robert as he patted beside him. "I was fearing the worst. Horde, Tanks.. Hell I don't think we've really seen a Witch lately. Maybe they're not mutating as much," I said to him. "I am not sure what else we can expect. But knowing us, anything is possible, right?" I smiled looking to him, laying my head against his chest. I slowly fell asleep listening to the creaking of the ship and the beats of his heart.

Bill was sound asleep with his redhead as he started to dream. He was in the war again. But this time, instead of the VietCong coming after him, it was the damned zombies, Tanks in the mix too.. He stirred awake and sat on the edge of the bed. Caroline was asleep next to him. He just looked to her before trying to lay back down. He curled up next to her and nuzzled his grizzly face into her hair to sleep.

Rochelle turned her head as she stayed asleep next to Francis. He was wide awake, not sure of what to think next. He had found a wonderful woman in the midst of this hell, but he could only think of what would happen if he lost her. He shook his mind clear of the thoughts as he turned to hold her. He didn't know the future, but right now, she was all that mattered.

 

[guyloveshotstories]

"Oh" Jackson smiled, "You have no idea" glancing down at her swollen chest, those two basketballs as they pressed up against him, teasing for another go. But, he couldn't. It was best to save their strength. Hopefully in the morning we would be close enough to see land and find a dock. That meant more people. More dangers and more fun.

"Yep" I said to Zoey before slowly fading out to her heartbeat, "Anything's possible." Going into my own dream, there we were on a lush tropical beach. The Pigeon was tied up in a dock and all of us were laid out soaking in the warm rays of the sun, sipping on coconut halves full of Pina Colatas as Zoey, Rochelle, and Kate were running around on the beach in bikinis, splashing each other while in the lapping surf and running in slow motion. It's my dream and that's how I imagined it. Peaceful and perfect.

"You know what would even make this more perfect?" Louis asked as he laid himself out on the bunk above that of Nick who groaned in being kept up.

"That's not right" Nick growled.

"What's not right?" Louis replied peeking down at the edge of his bed.

"More perfect? That's not a real thing. If something's perfect then it's flawless. You can't make anything more perfect."

"Since when are you an English teacher?" Louis giggled.

"I was always good at reading" Nick sighed, "But, what's your idea?"

"Well...what would make this BETTER is when we get to an island and claim it as our own, we can get like a sugar mill. I heard that those in Hawaii can be self sustaining."

"We're going to harvest...sugar?" Nick said staring up at Louis. "Who are we going to sell it to?"

"Anyone passing by. C'mon now. Everyone likes sugar!"

"Except diabetics. And I know a few on this boat that could go without sugar for a while."

Tilting his head sideways Louis said, "What are you implying?"

For several hours the Pigeon sliced through the calm waters of the tropics. The radio signal faded in and out then stopped completely and the whales moved on. A careful chart of our progress was marked on the maps to where by sunrise we were less than a hundred miles off of chosen island.

 

[IntriguedLover]

Everyone was sleeping peacefully by now and everything was going great. By morning, the radio static had ended and everything was now silent. Kate woke up early even though she had been exhausted the night before. She looked to Jackson as she smiled. Then she got up and walked out into the corridor bumping into Francis on the way into the showers. "Oh my bad, didn't mean to bump into ya there." She turned to leave but he stopped her short.

"Let me ask ya something...something about the female side of things..What could I get for Ro to make her mine. I want to give her..ya know..a ring..a promise ring.." He was blushing. It was unusual that the biker showed any kind of effort for anything.

Kate was surprised as she gave a gentle smile. "Ask the Captain..he might have a washer or something you can use to fashion one.." She continued on her way.

Francis' face lit up as he rushed off to go find some stuff. He was a man in love and that made him now the man on the mission!

I turned over to look at Robert as he still slept. I pushed his hair out of his face as I watched him sleep. I was certainly happy. Even though I didn't have any family left, the crew and people on this safe haven of a ship were like family now. I had my lover and then I had numerous brothers and now sisters as we were surviving on this ship. Everything was working out. We just have to make it and hope the world goes back to normal. Even if it doesn't, we'd work it out.

 

[guyloveshotstories]

Francis went to the work shop, frantically opening the drawers to find a washer. "C'mon. Where are you, ya stupid..." muttering under his breath. When he finally found a zinc coated washer his smile returned, but it was not the right size to fit Rochelle's fingers, but he had plenty of tools in which to craft it. Though not a metal worker or an artist, unless you count tagging buildings as art, he went to work to fashion 'the one ring to rule them all'.

Slowly my eyes fluttered open. Looking up at the ceiling and felt the gentle sway of the ship. It had to be morning, and for once I felt rested and relaxed. There was a brush against my legs that made me look down my chest. There was Zoey, already awake. "Hey, baby" I said sitting up and giving her a kiss to the cheek, "How'd you sleep?" There was no nightmare for me that night. I don't remember what it was, but it was peaceful that I didn't shake or toss about despite what had happened. Strange. Perhaps it was the peace that Zoey gave me by sleeping with me.

Louis was groaning and tossing about. It felt like a hangover, the worst kind. His groaning prompted Nick to kick the underside of his bed. "What the hell, man?" the black man spat.

"You're groaning" Nick replied.

"My head hurts"

"Probably all that shit you were eating. If you're going to continue it, take it elsewhere. I'm trying to sleep."

"Fine. Baby" Louis said hopping down from his bed and going down the hall. Along the way he caught a glimpse of Kate and Francis before the biker hustled off. He caught up with the Coastie and asked, "Where's he going?"

"To make a ring, I guess" she replied.

"A ring? Oh. I got to see this!" Louis smiled and ran after him.

 

[IntriguedLover]

I smiled as I watched him open his eyes and yawn. I looked to him and moved to kiss his lips. "Oh I slept great. A lot more comfortably when I'm with you." I ran my hand over his chest and ran it up to his hair. "I'm going to head to the kitchen and find some stuff to make breakfast for everyone. Why don't you go get cleaned up and refreshed?" I kissed him once more and got up, getting dressed and winking to him as I left out.

Louis followed Francis while he tried to be stealthy. "What the hell are you doing?" Louis thought to himself. He stayed in the doorway as he watched the biker work on the project. He heard Francis curse as he looked at his finger. "Whatcha got there, buddy?" Louis asked as he stepped into the room.

Francis looked up with a deathly glare on his face. He moved over and pushed Louis up against the wall. "Don't you say a word to anyone, pill man!"

"Oh fuck dude, I'm not going to do a thing.. now..ack..can you remove your arm from my throat?" Louis tried to move Francis' arm away, to which the biker obliged and moved.

"I'm making a ring for Rochelle...but it's a fucking surprise, got it?" Francis said as he moved back to work on his project.

Louis smirked as he straightened his tie. "Heh, it's alright. You gotta be smooth when ya give it to her."

"You don't fucking think I know how to treat a woman?" Francis growled.

Louis backed off. "Nah man, I'm not saying anything like that. Just have fun making it. I'll just go to the kitchen and get some sort of flowery herbs for you to give to her as well.." He ran off as Francis just huffed looking back to the project.

Bill woke up to the smell of coffee filling the room. He looked to his side and Caroline was still asleep. He slipped from the bed and worked his pants back on, pulling out his cigarette pack to pop one in his mouth. He lit it as he made his way to the galley. "So, you're cooking this morning huh?"

I looked to him and smiled. "Yeah, anything you want, Bill?" I finished chopping up the stuff I needed for the eggs this morning.

"Nah, I'm all good. Just wondering where we are. There hasn't been any noise this morning so I'm wondering if the Captain has a plan," he said as he leaned up against the wall.

"Ahh, well he'll be out in a little while to let us know his ideas," I smiled as I put everything into the skillet.

 

[guyloveshotstories]

I was a bit slow in getting up and getting dressed as it was so peaceful at the moment, but when you're the captain you have to do what is necessary and that means getting up to break the peace in your mind. Homing in on the smell of eggs and coffee into the chow hall I found myself a seat beside Bill as he placed a package of smokes before him and lit up. The breakfast of champions for him.

"Where are we, captain?" Bill asked as he lit up his smoke and shook the match out.

I didn't have any knowledge at the moment until another sailor came into the room with a clipboard, "There you are. I have your morning briefing," the sailor said approaching and putting the clipboard before me. With a small map already covered in pencil markings, the sailor pointed to the dot just north of Isla de la Juventud, "We're here, sir. Approximately 90 miles north of the island. We've had faint transmissions that we triangulated are coming from the island, so there's life, but we don't know how many, and they don't respond to our hails and we're too far away to make visual contact. No signs of any other ship on the surface radar or sonar.

That was not a good sign. Before we were getting strong radio signals from the island. Now they're weak.

The sailor continued, "We have charts on the current and water depths as well as the harbors to the north. We're good to approach the north end of the island for scouting."

"Alright" I said, "Take us to withing 5 miles off the northern tip and we'll scout and continue to hail the island and if we get nothing we'll move closer."

"What if we gain contact?" Bill asked.

"Then we'll try to open an exchange. We need to find an island and if we can win the people over..."

"That island will have more people than we could handle" the old veteran pointed out.

"I know, Bill" I said, "But if this island doesn't work then we still have plenty to the East."

In the work shop Francis was still laboring to finish the ring. He didn't want a simple band, he wanted an intricate work of ark much like his old hog. Louis continued to watch him, amused and surprised as Francis was able to slowly forge a highly polished ring using brass wires stretched and twisted into long strands and wrapped around the original zinc ring.

"Where did you learn how to make this?" Louis asked.

"I worked in the shops," Francis said, "I made hogs and hog parts. I know how to work 'em."

 

[IntriguedLover]

"Everything seems like it's falling into plan, eh?" Nick said rubbing the back of his neck, grunting until he had coffee in his hands. He sighed as he took a seat next to Bill.

"Yeah, the Captain here and his crew has it all in working order. You need a cig? Seems like you need a pick-me-up.." Bill said holding the pack over to him.

Nick just put his hand up. "Nah, this is all I need. Some samurai idiot kept me up all night with his grunting and tossing in the top bunk."

I just chuckled as I helped the cook bring the plates around to everyone. "Seems like he's going through withdraw. It won't be long. He's been doping up on pills since we've known him. It's better for him to be on a sugar rush than a high.."

Nick nodded as he turned to greet Rochelle that had come in the room. "Anyone seen Francis? He was gone out of the bed this morning."

"Nah, I don't think he's been around he---" I started to say then Kate came in the room with a smile on her face. "You seem happy. What's up?"

Kate just skipped into the room as she sat on one of the benches with Jackson. "Ohh nothing. Someone is going to be happy really soon," the busty Coastie said as she nodded her head over to Rochelle. Everyone looked to Rochelle, who now felt uncomfortable.

"I'm gonna go look for him, shouldn't be too far off.." Rochelle turned around only to bump into Francis. "There you are! Where you been, baby?" She reached up to kiss him as Louis moved into the galley to grab some food. Francis had a bright smile on his face, something he never really had.

"I've got something for you. I just want to prove to you that you are my girl. Even though the world may have gone to shit, you are the only proof I need to know that there is a bright light just around the corner. Everything is hopeful when I'm with you.."

Bill's mouth was agape as he and everyone else looked to the two. Francis got on one knee and took Rochelle's hand.

"Wha---what are you doing?" she asked as she moved her hand over her mouth.

"Rochelle...uhhh... I don't know your last name, but Rochelle...will you promise to stay by my side and ride the hell out of this Zombie Apocalypse for however long it lasts?" Francis said as he pulled the ring he had fashioned out of copper wiring and the washer, holding it next to her hand.

"Now kiss and get it over with!" Louis said with a smile on his face, scratching his head as he was still going through the hell of withdraw.

Rochelle looked around and saw that everyone else had gathered -- Ellis, Allisyn and Caroline included. She looked back to Francis. "Oh yeah. I won't marry ya, but I'll be your girl, Vest Guy.."

Francis stood up after putting the ring on her finger and just spun her around.

"Ohhh yeah boy! Congrats y'all!! Woohoo!! Maybe you can help me make one of those for Alli here!" Ellis said as he kissed Allisyn deeply.

"Great, now you have a job after the apocalypse ends. Making jewelry," Bill chuckled as he took a bite of food.

I looked to Robert and smiled. We were all one big happy family living on this ship. But with resources running dry worldwide, we couldn't stay on this ship for long. I knew it was only a matter of time before we'd be making landfall -- possibly by the end of the day. I hoped it wouldn't be a trap like the Keys was. If there were more people, we'd need more supplies and more room. This place was cramped as it is.

"Captain!" a sailor came to the room. "We've got contact... But they're speaking Spanish I think.."

{~The Ring~}

 

[guyloveshotstories]

"Anyone here speak Spanish?" I asked looking around the room. Most were looking at Rochelle's ring, but there came a tired voice from a thin frame slinking into the room. It was Louis yawning, "Spanish. Did someone say Spanish?"

"Yeah. We made contact with someone on the island," the sailor said to him, "But we think they're speaking Spanish."

"I'll give it a try" Louis said. "I can speak passing Spanish."

"How the hell can you speak Spanish?" Bill said gathering up his smokes.

"I worked with a tech firm. We did international deals all the time. I'd figure that it would be smart to learn some words," Louis smiled.

That put him above the rest of us. "Get to the bridge and establish a dialog with whomever they are. Ask who and where they are and the situation on the island" I said to Louis then turned to the sailor, "Continue to bring us close to the island and stand on alert."

I didn't want to leave yet because I didn't get a chance to finish my breakfast. Rochelle held on to Francis while looking down at her new ring. It wasn't gold or silver, but it still had luster to it and it was hand made so there was value to it, emotional value rather than monetary value as she had never had such a ring before. "You're the best, vest guy" Rochelle said kissing his cheek.

"I know" Francis nodded.

Kate and Jackson went after Louis to the bridge. With the ring now in his mind, Jackson wondered if he should get himself a ring for Kate, but he didn't want a brass one. It had to be special, made of silver or gold.

"I didn't think the lug nut had it in him," Bill mused.

"About what?" Kate asked.

"That he could make something like that" the veteran replied.

"What? You don't think that underneath that gruff exterior that he can have a soft side?" the coastie smirked.

"Kid, if you've known him as long as I have you'll know that he loves to show off and he's brazen. Good to have in a fight against the infected, but if and when we get to civilization...he's going to go bonkers."

"Oh yeah! Spanish rum! Cuban cigars! Cane sugar!" Francis yelled, "Let's do it!"

On the bridge there was a woman's voice coming through the speakers. It was Spanish, but not the Mexican style Spanish. "It's Cuban" Louis said.

"Can you still talk to them?"

"I can try" Louis said.

The voice on the radio continued, "Hola. Puedes oírme? Si es así , por favor responda . Somos el pueblo de la iglesia Nuestra Señora de los Dolores. Si puedes escucharme , por favor responda . Tenemos personas que necesitan ayuda."

Taking the mic Louis cleared his throat and pressed the button, "Hola!"

"Hola! Oh, Dios mío , me encontré con alguien! Sí. Estaban aquí! Puedes ayudarnos?"

Looking at the faces around him Louis scratched his head, "They say 'hello' and asking for someone to respond. They're the people of...the Somos pueblo Nuestra Delores or something or other, but it's a church. They say they have people there and they need help."

Jackson went to the charts where the island was rolled out and began looking for the place as the woman on the radio continued.

Louis translated, "They say there were the unholy dead. The devil's body walkers on the island"

"Were?" Kate responded.

Louis said, "They said they killed all or most of them on the island, but the few of them that remain are almost out of supplies. Their drinking water was contaminated by bodies. The same for the crops. They say that there's around 200 on the grounds of the church."

I didn't want to leave, but as captain, I had to go. Scarfing down the hot eggs and bacon then some coffee I had enough time to kiss Zoey, "Thanks for the breakfast" and hustle off leaving her there, though I didn't want to.

Only one left in the galley with her was Nick still sipping his coffee and feeling the stubble on his chin, "I'll help you with the dishes. Everyone's got something to do up on the bridge except for me," Nick said with his charming smile.

 

[IntriguedLover]

"People?!" I exclaimed. "Wow, we've made contact with them." There was hope after all. I looked to them all as everyone ran off to the bridge and continued to handle their own things. I kissed Robert as he hurried off to the bridge. "You're very welcome." I said to him as I turned to clean up the dishes. I heard Nick offer his services and I just smiled. "Nah, you don't have to. But the help is appreciated." I continued to handle everything as Nick offered his hand to do the dishes.

"Yeah, just seems that I'm pretty much useless here," Nick said as he picked up to sponge to wash the plates.

"You're not useless, man. You're not a bad shot when it comes to fighting the infected. You're a valuable person to our team.." I reassured him.

Nick just nodded as he continued what he was doing.

"They're surrounded by the infected at the big church on the shore is what I can decipher," Louis explained.

Jackson nodded as he looked to the charts. "There's a port on the west side of the island. We might be able to make a landing there and then..."

"Then what? Fight off the massive horde that has taken over that island? I don't think we need to risk it, helmsman.." Bill grunted as he took another drag on his cigarette.

"Yeah, but what if this is our last chance that we find people -- last chance for us to find supplies?" Caroline said arguing with Bill.

Bill just groaned as he looked over to the Captain, as well as everyone else.

"It's your choice in the end, man," Ellis said as he held onto Allisyn. "I'm ready to fight more of those fuckers," he said before he grabbed at his arm that was still injured.

 

[guyloveshotstories]

When I got to the bridge, Louis explained to me the situation. The woman on the radio was still talking. "They're low on supplies" Louis said.

"No word on their size?"

Louis spoke to the woman in Spanish. Her reply was quick. "She says that she doesn't know. They've been in the church for quite some time."

Frowning I went to the chart that Jackson showed me the harbor and the location of the church. They were almost on opposite sides of the island. Damn. Hoped to get in close. We had to help them. But we couldn't' just rush into it. If we were swarmed here then our run would be over.

"We'll help them out. Take us in slowly to their harbor and we'll send out a large landing party to secure the docks. From there we'll move towards the church. Instead of going through the streets we'll go along the rooftops to make ourselves less of a target."

Bill nodded but continued to take long drags on his cigarette knowing that he was going to need it.

"When we arrive and secure the church we'll resupply them and use them to help secure the island" I said.

Jackson redirected me back to the map, "Captain, there's a large sugar mill factory near the church, about a half a mile south of it. Next to that is a power plant and a water purifier. I believe these will be key to our survival"

"Okay. Good. I'll send all but six people ashore, including myself. We'll need everyone to take the docks and move on."

"What if we run into those special infected chumps?" Francis asked.

"Then we'll deal with them with more firebombs" Jackson smiled.

When the plan was put in place and the Pigeon moved closer, I went back to the galley to inform Zoey myself that she and I were to be part of the landing party and the situation at the church. "I feel sick about it, but we'll have to do it." I said to her.

 

[IntriguedLover]

I looked to Robert as he made his way into the galley. "Well hell, we have to try. And I'm willing to go to be the sniper. You know how well I am at that," I said with a smile. I finished securing the dishes into the cabinets as I dried my hands. "Nick, go see what job there is for ya on the bridge. Seems we might be going sooner than later." Nick nodded as he went off to the bridge. I looked back to Robert. "So when are we going to be making landfall?"

"Let's go kill some motherfuckers and get that island back to its people!" Louis cheered out loud as everyone shh'd him. "Oh come on, everyone... Let's be happy. It should be really easy.."

"You're on the pills again aren't you?" Bill said as he looked to Louis, a gruff expression on his face.

"It's either that or I sleep all the damn time.." Louis grumbled.

Francis pulled Rochelle close. "I'll be the one to go this time, so you are safe."

Rochelle looked to the biker. "Oh heck no. I'm the one that wants to go."

Ellis grinned as he looked to Allisyn. "You don't have to worry. I'm injured, so I'll be useless. I'd be better watching the shore from here."

Allisyn smiled. "That's great. I don't want to lose my country boy-toy!" She kissed him as she looked to the rest of the group.

"Seems that it's time to set up the team once the Captain comes back," Kate said as she looked to Jackson.

Nick arrived and heard what was going on. "Alright, who wants to load ammo? Seems like you guys are going to need a lot of it.."

 

[guyloveshotstories]

I said to Zoey, "We'll make landfall at the harbor on the western side of the island and the church on near the north-eastern side. They say that there are infected there, but they've been holed up for some time in that one location that they don't know the extent of the rest of the island. I'll leave six men with the ship, Ellis being one of them because of his injury, and put the rest of us ashore. We'll secure the harbor and move across the roof tops towards the church. Since you're good with your rifle, you'll be our advanced scout. I don't want to be running into any Tanks or ambushes. We don't know how many other people are going to be on the island and their intent so we're taking everyone with a grain of salt." That was the plan. Sounded simple enough, but there were other things lingering in the back of my mind. "You go ahead and pick your team and everyone else will be with the main group. Once we secure the harbor I'll leave some men to hold it while we continue on to the church."

"We'll also need cocktails and bombs" Francis said, "You know what we need, a bazooka."

"I prefer a LAW" Bill smirked, but still loved his grenade launcher.

Louis was still on the radio trying to gain as much information from the woman as possible, but his Spanish was reaching its limit.

"We better start loading out" I smiled at Zoey.

Nick and Ellis were in the magazine opening ammo cans and loading magazines. Everyone would have to carry a great deal more than what they were use to along with bombs and cocktails with First Aid and rations so we can help those at the church when we arrive. We'll have all day for this. The sun was just above the horizon as the Pigeon crawled to just within visual range of the island, it was just a dark line on the horizon.

Radar and sonar were showing no contacts. Good.

 

[IntriguedLover]

Louis was ready to get going. He was back on the pills again but that was for the best right now. He could go through withdraw at another time. Louis grabbed up an auto-shotgun and both of his katanas. He was willing to go into the pits of hell just to make it where we all could make it and live.

Bill grabbed his grenade launcher and loaded the ammo for it into a side pouch. He was going to be the long range shot that everyone needed. It wouldn't take much to clear a horde of infected with his pride and joy. He kissed Caroline who was sad at this point that he was going, but he just waved her away as he made his way out onto the deck.

"We need to be ready for anything. It is insane right now. We know how America went under, now is our chance to see how the rest of the world has fared," Nick said as he made his way out onto the deck, Francis close behind.

"Yeah, it's going to be like a rite of passage for most of us," the biker said as he swung the auto-shotgun over his shoulder.

"It's not going to be a walk in the park," I said as I walked out with Robert, grabbing a gun from Ellis. "But we've been through worse. We can do anything!" I was trying to seem happy about this but we had no idea what we would have to deal with. I grabbed a pair of binoculars and checked the shoreline. I looked at the shore and my eyes widened. "Oh god," I said.

Bill walked up behind me. "What's wrong Zo?" he asked. I handed him the binoculars and point to where he should look. He just gasped as he lowered them down, his cigarette almost falling out of his mouth. "I haven't seen one of those in forever..."

"What---what is it?" Louis asked as he took the binoculars.

"We're going to need more auto-shotguns. There are like a dozen of those Witch infected and that's just on the shore alone.." I said as I looked back to Robert.

 

[guyloveshotstories]

Looking for myself sweeping slowly left to right, "Damn. There's a lot of them". These infected were slowly moving about, their long black talons covering their faces. There didn't seem to be any aim in their movements. I tried to count them. There was one spot, a sliver on the sandy beach where none were milling about. That's where we'll land, showing them to the others. "Lower the starboard launches" I instructed. The landing parties gathered on deck examining their weapons and their radios.

"We have to put into shore" I said to Zoey, "I don't think there's any other suitable landing spots in this area and we need a harbor. We'll do well if you can show us how to deal with these fuckers" flicking my head towards the shore. The boats were lowered but before everyone boarded I had the sailors listen to the veterans in their tactics in taking out these new infected.

Bill said, "Witches, as we call them, are not to be trifled with. They cry and weep and move around or sit alone. You can tip toe around them, but if you touch them then that's where they get mad. Their fingers are huge claws and will rip you apart in seconds and despite their slim figures they are incredibly resiliant. The best way is crown them, and we're going to show you how."

All of the auto-shotguns, 10, were handed out to those that knew how to use them and a mixture of 00 buckshot and deer slug were loaded into them. Bill said, "The best way is to sneak up behind them, put the muzzle right to the back of their head and pull the trigger." He made it sound simple enough, but he knew that the best way was to show it on a real life Witch. "Leave it to me and the others like Zoey," you boys watch our backs as we clear out the harbor."

When the boats were lowered a cargo net was cast down the side of the ship and we climbed down. Turning on the outboard motors we turned towards the shore. It was like an invasion, we were going to land on Cuban land armed to the teeth and ready to kill. We were all hunched forward at the waist with our weapons on safe moving side by side as the wind rushed against our faces spraying us with salt water as we went in.

 

[IntriguedLover]

Everything was starting to get in a rush. It seems that everything was going according to plan. Well, the plan with the minor change in having to deal with Witches. I nodded to Robert and followed closely behind. I looked to the first Witch and realized that all of them were different. It didn't make any sense but I guessed that it was certain that with each person mutating it would be expected to see different ones. "Watch and learn guys..." I said as I walked up behind one. The Witch moved her arms out as she sensed that I was nearby. I pulled the barrel of the auto-shotty up to her head and pulled the trigger. The brains of the special infected splattered outwards as the body collapsed on the ground. "That's how it is done.. If you ever try to take one out but the circumstance changes, back off. Don't risk taking one on."

Everyone nodded as they followed us on. Louis looked through the sights of one of his guns and saw something that made his eyes go wide. "Oh my g--- Nick, dude! Look through here! See---see that? Look at the big ass knockers on that one!"

Nick looked at Louis weird and took the gun to check the Witch that was nearby. "Oh holy shit...that---wow..." Nick and Louis were awestruck by the large breasts on some of the Witches. Their happiness was soon lost as Bill walked up behind one Witch and pulled the trigger blasting its brains away. Their jaws dropped and a resounding 'Aww man' was heard from both guys.

Bill turned to look at them both and just shook his head. "You guys are idiots if you would hit that." He continued on following the expedition to the church.

Louis and Nick lowered their heads as they continued on. Sighs were coming from both of them. Francis came up behind them and laughed.. "Cheer up fellas! Maybe there is a good couple of hunters that are up for a good time and I hear Spitters don't gag!" His comment made them both grumble. I just looked back to the three of them and laughed.

That's when the familiar sound of a horde echoed through the air. "Everyone get ready. Be careful not to shoot a Witch during this!" I shouted to everyone.