it was necessary to remove an 'existential threat' to the American Way of Life. Maine was Ground Zero for the zombie infection, and he asked the country to pray for the men, women, and children who lived there. He was careful not to say the words 'zombie' or 'undead' during his address. But Facebook and Twitter and Snapchat were spreading the word anyhow.
That was the start of the national panic.
By the time the authorities realized what was happening and cut off all cell, phone, and Internet access to the state, the first pictures of the devastation were already going viral all across the Web. There were pictures of zombies tearing into the throats of soldiers; an eastern seaport transformed into a nuclear-devastated city; a blood-smeared baby eating the breast of its dead mother. The cat was out of the bag. Those who survived tried to show the horrors until they were cut off.
It was probably better that the survivors on the island hadn't heard the President speak. It was easier to cope when you didn't know what you were up against. When the blast hit Portland, there was a shock wave that went through the air and flattened downtown, lighting it up in flame. The blast blew over the island a second later, passing over the lee side and the survivors still in the little Cessna stuck in the sand. The boom followed like the deepest, most rumbling thunder they'd ever heard.
They were lucky. If they'd been flying, they would have been incinerated.
"What was that?" said Kelly. Everyone in the plane had felt it.
"What I was afraid of," said Frank. "A nuke."
Everyone got out and the kids scrambled up on the rocks to get a look at the mainland a few miles away. Josie saw the fires and said, "I think everyone's gone now."
She was right. There was some buildings like fried insect carcasses somehow still upright but they were just burned out shells. The rest had collapsed or were on fire. It was bright in the night. There was a warm wind coming from the land.
Frank was with Kelly and Todd by the plane, leaning against the engine cowling. He said, "It happened. Now we gotta get outta here. If we can find a boat we can get away before the radiation from the fallout poisons us."
The ash hadn't started falling on them. Not yet. It was the luck of the wind. Frank knew not to count on luck. It was a fickle mistress.
"Shit, the radiation," said Kelly. "I didn't think about that. I'll go look. I'll bring the kids with me."
"We'll all go," said Frank.
They went up the beach. There was an empty summer house on the water with a dock. The blast had passed over it and it was intact. Even the windows were whole.
A sailboat was tied up at the dock below the house. It was a small boat, without a cabin. Frank wondered if the infection had spread to the islands. It was possible. He wanted something to eat and the house had to have a kitchen but he knew they'd better get off the island and away from the fallout.
Kelly saw the boat and went to it; she started to work on getting the mainsail up. It was already in the mast track and she undid the sail ties before pulling on the main halyard. She'd been sailing as a kid. She thought that if there was one good thing about this whole fucked up mess it was that she wasn't home ordering online shit that she didn't need and waiting for Terry to come home and slap her around. She was doing something real. She was helping other people. It felt better that way.
The others followed her, climbing onboard one at a time and taking their seats. Kelly untied the boat. It looked like it could fit eight people if you crammed them in.
Todd pushed them away from the dock and there was only a faint breath of wind now. It was enough to move nice and slow. Kelly sat holding the tiller and steered them away from the dock. They started to sail away. They were moving no faster than a slow walk.
Then they all heard it. There was moaning coming from the house on shore. The moans were distinct and they carried over the water. Three people walked into sight, staggering toward the boat. Their expressions weren't vacant. They were hungry.
"Freaks," whispered Todd.
Zombies on the island, thought Frank. They'd gotten out here too. Not too much of a surprise. Islands seemed like a good place to get away until you realized that everyone probably had the same idea about them. There were fewer places to run and hide on the islands.
Todd raised his gun but Frank said, "Put it down. Not worth it. Not unless they can swim."
The zombies got to the water's edge and stopped. It was like they were scared of it. And then one of them, the shortest of the bunch, walked in up to its knees. It kept going up to its chest, wading in.
"It's coming for us," said Josie. She was scared.
"It can't swim," said Frank.
The zombie kept going and now the other ones were walking into the water too. The first zombie that had gone in disappeared, its head dipping beneath the surface. There were ripples where it had been. The others followed it.
"Will they catch us?" said Josie. She looked at Kelly and Kelly didn't see her looking. Kelly was thinking about sailing. She was thinking about getting them away from the island, from the death that was all around them.
It was quiet. The boat creaked. Then there was a sound like fingernails scraping on wood. It was coming from underneath the boat.
Josie held onto Pete's arm and squeezed. He let her do it. He was fourteen and normally he was awkward around girls but this wasn't one of those times. He was scared too but he didn't show it. The scratching went on. It sounded like they were under the boat, trying to grab onto the keel.
Then the noise stopped.
The boat sailed into deeper water. It was away from the island. They could all see the city across the water. They watched it burn.
All characters and situations are fictional. Any resemblance to real people is coincidental.
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