“Abe Morrow. That low-life son-of-a-bitch. I should have known he was behind this.”
Connor listened intently as Diana relayed her story, sharing every detail from the escape from the storage room to her flight through Valley Forge. As she finished her tale, he sat back, running his fingers through his hair.
“What are we going to do?” asked Doug.
“We’ll deal with Morrow later,” said Connor, a troubled look on his face.
“In the mean time, we have something more pressing to worry about. From what you described, Diana, we could be looking at a swarm in Valley Forge Park. If that’s the case, the Complex could be in danger.”
“What’s a swarm?” Diana asked.
“A whole lotta trouble,” responded Doug, chiming in from the captain’s chair. “Take your worst zombie nightmare and multiply that by a thousand. That’s a swarm.”
Connor looked at his friend and then turned back to Diana.
“He’s right. A swarm is when hundreds, even thousands of zombies come together, moving in mass and destroying everything in their path.”
“Thousands?” exclaimed Diana.
“Sometimes tens of thousands,” Connor continued. “We’ve heard reports over the short wave radios about massive swarms of devastating proportions. If there’s a larger swarm in the park, things could get bad real quick.”
Diana held her hands to her face, trying to get a grasp on what she was just told.
“You may very well have encountered the leading edge of a swarm. If that’s the case, and you had slept another fifteen minutes or so, you probably wouldn’t be here right now.”
“Oh god,” she said, her face going pale.
“Should we turn back and warn the complex?” asked Doug.
“No. Stay on course. This mission is important, and I’m not going back until it’s complete. Besides . . . “ Connor looked at Doug and then nodded to below deck. “I have a radio array in a cabinet down there. You’ll find a CB radio and a short wave radio in there. One of them should get the message through to the complex. Let them know of the potential threat. We can keep in communication with them while we’re on the boat. In the mean time, we keep on course for the city.”
Doug nodded and headed below deck.
“Let them know that we’re not sure if it’s a swarm or just some scattered hordes. The Complex can handle the hordes, so let’s hope that’s the case.”
“I’m on it,” Doug yelled from below.
Diana climbed below deck just as Doug was finishing the transmission. Sitting on the bed, she watched as Doug wrapped things up and turned to face her.
“Something on your mind?” he asked.
Diana took a deep breath as she pondered her next words.
“So what’s the deal with Connor?” she asked, looking Doug directly in the eyes.
“Well, he’s my friend, and a good guy. Not much more to say.”
Diana leaned forward, as if to add emphasis to her next words.
“There’s more to that guy than just that. The way he talks. The way he tells you what to do. I saw the pile of weapons on the seat up there. Who is he? Really?”
Doug sighed, looking down briefly at the floor before raising his head to answer.
“Guess you’re going to find out soon enough anyways.”
Diana’s eyebrows raised in nervous anticipation.
“He’s called ‘The Seeker’. He goes where no one else will go. He gets what no one else can get. When it comes to zombies, he’s a killing machine. He’s the best at what he does. Period. And he’s on a mission. Unfortunately for you, you’re part of it now. And so am I.”
Diana looked worried.
“You said he’s going to the city, but I thought the city was overrun with the undead,” she said questioningly.
“That’s the thing,” said Doug. “It is.”
“Then why are we going?” she asked, her voice sounding increasingly concerned.
“Like I said, he has a mission, and what he needs to find is in the city. Plain and simple.”
“What is so important that he would risk going to the city to get it?”
“Not sure, but from what little I know, I’m guessing it’s some special medicine.”
“Medicine? He’s going to risk his life to get some medicine?”
“Yep.”
“He’s insane.”
“Maybe. But once he’s accepted a mission, he always sees it through.”
Diana slumped back on the bed, a mixture of worry and fear in her eyes.
“What about us?” she asked. “What are we going to do when he gets to the city?”
“Don’t know,” said Doug. “Guess we’ll find out when we get there.”
With that, Doug got up and climbed above deck. Moments later, the sound of Iron Maiden rose above the sound of the boats engines . . .
“Run to the hills, run for your lives.”
Diana listened to the lyrics, wondering if they were a dark foreshadowing of the events to come.
Morrow didn’t use the helicopter much. It drew too much attention to the fences and it took time to clear away the zombies after he used it. So he just kept it maintained and in working order in case he needed it. For the most part, he figured he’d only need it as an emergency escape means, to conduct new ZOMBIE OFF business, or hopefully to meet with surviving government leaders to arrange large scale deals for his product.
But now he needed it for a different reason. That bitch from the research team had managed to elude his men again, and this time she had help. Helicopter fuel was limited, but this situation left him no choice.
Picking up the two-way radio again, he barked out a question.
“How long until you’re in the air?”
“Estimating thirty minutes sir. The fog is still too thick to fly,” crackled the reply.
“Let me know when you’re in the air and have the teams.”
“Yes sir.”
Setting the radio down, Morrow turned back to the window, looking out over the slowly thinning fog.
“That girl is really beginning to piss me off,” he muttered.
Diana sat on the bench seat outside of the cabin, the warm spring air blowing through her hair as the boat sped down the river. It was almost enjoyable, if not for the all too common sight of zombies roaming the banks as they passed. That and the knot in her stomach as they got closer and closer to the city.
Connor had surprisingly cut the music about five minutes ago, leaving Diana to enjoy some much needed peace and quiet. She didn’t know why the sudden need for silence until she felt the boat suddenly slow in the water. Moments later, Doug peeked his head out of the cabin and asked her to join them. Getting up, the knot in her stomach grew as she entered and sat down.
Doug was back at the wheel, while Connor sat on one of the bench seats with a large map spread out next to him.
“Cut the engine, Doug, and drop anchor. I need a few minutes to talk to you both.”
Doug did as instructed and returned moments later, the boat now securely anchored to the bottom of the Schuylkill River. As Doug sat down next to Diana, Connor turned from the map and faced the two, a somber look on his face.
“Things have gotten complicated,” he started, hands folded in front of him as he leaned forward. “This was meant to be a one man mission, for me alone. As Doug can attest, I always work alone.”
“Why?” interrupted Diana.
“I have my reasons,” replied Connor. “But that isn’t the issue right now. What is the issue, is that I now have two new variables that I didn’t plan for, and two new variables I have to account for.”
A wry smile crept over Doug’s face as he spoke.
“Everything happens for a reason, my friend.”
“Maybe that’s so, but there are still issues I have to deal with. First of all, I can’t make either one of you come with me into the city. I can’t ask you to join me and I w
on’t ask you to join me. In the same respect, I don’t recommend that either of you stay with the boat.”
“Why not?” asked Diana. “It’s got to be safer than the city.”
“Not necessarily.” It was Doug that spoke up now. “You forget that someone is trying to kill you.”
“Exactly,” acknowledged Connor. “Do you think for a minute that those men won’t come looking for this boat? I’m guessing we have about an hour’s lead on them, maybe less. If you stay on the boat, they’ll find you. And they will kill you.”
Diana spoke up, a frustrated tone in her voice.
“So you’re telling me I have two choices. One, I stay on the boat and get killed by Morrow’s men. Or two, I go into the city and get torn apart by a hundred thousand ravenous zombies.”
“Actually, we estimate more like 700,000,” said Doug casually.
Diana’s jaw dropped upon hearing the number.
“700,000! Are you two completely bat shit crazy?” she exclaimed. “I’ll take the bullet to the head! Hell, just toss me back in the river and let me drown! 700,000 zombies?”
“Calm down,” said Connor, a reassuring tone in his voice. “There’s one thing you’re forgetting about.”
“ZOMBIE OFF,” said Doug smiling.
“ZOMBIE OFF? What the hell is ZOMBIE OFF,” Diana asked incredulously. “And why the hell are you smiling?”
“He’s almost always smiling,” said Connor. “Bugs the shit out of me too.”
Diana looked at Connor for a second, and then burst out laughing, the overload of tension finally spilling out with the gravity of the situation.
After a few moments, Diana regained her composure and turned to Connor.
“Sorry about that. Now, about this ZOMBIE OFF stuff?”
Connor reached into his bag and pulled out the can.
“This is ZOMBIE OFF,” he said, tossing her the neon green can.
Diana looked at the can with disbelief on her face.
“What is it? What does it do?”
“It allows you to walk among them, undetected. Unnoticed.”
“Are you serious?”
“Yes. It’s how I’m able to complete missions like this. The stuff works. I can attest to that.”
“So what’s the catch? There’s always a catch?”
“I like this girl,” smiled Doug. “She thinks like me.”
“Great, that’s all I need right now,” said Connor, shaking his head, “two of you.”
“There is a catch,” said Doug. “Actually, a few. Don’t sweat, don’t get wet, don’t make noise, and . . .”
“Never, ever run,” finished Connor, his face becoming deadly serious. “And one more thing. It goes on exposed skin, and you need to keep the skin exposed to the air to maximize its effectiveness.”
Diana sat back shaking her head, a stunned look on her face.
“You mean to tell me that if we spray this stuff all over our bodies, we can just waltz into the city and walk through all those zombies, completely unscathed and unnoticed?”
“Yes,” replied Connor. “As long as you follow the rules we just stated. But it’s not as easy as it sounds, especially in this situation. When you’re shoulder to shoulder with a dozen zombies, it can rattle your nerves. When you’re in the midst of a hundred, it can make you more than nervous. When you’re surrounded by a thousand, it can toy with your sanity. ZOMBIE OFF can get you in and out, but if you’re not up to the task mentally, you’re as good as dead.”
“Where did you get this stuff?” asked Diana.
Connor leaned forward, locking his gaze on her.
“I’m surprised you didn’t know already. It was invented by the man who’s trying to kill you. Abe Morrow.”
Connor sat patiently as the words sank in. Morrow had kept his invention secret from everyone else at Chemcorp, and now that Diana knew about it, he could see that she was putting all the pieces together. Diana had the one thing that could mess with Morrow’s plan. The one thing that could interfere with his vision of world domination. And now she knew that he’d stop at nothing to find her. She knew that he wouldn’t stop until she was dead.
Turning to Connor, she spoke, a soft but determined tone in her voice.
“I want to go with you into the city.”
Connor looked up, not a hint of surprise in his face.
“I figured as much. Doug, what about you?”
“You even need to ask?” he replied, laughing.
“I know, I know. Just making sure.”
Taking a deep breath, he continued.
“Then here’s the deal. I have enough ZOMBIE OFF for one application for each of us. That’s it. When I planned this mission I didn’t figure on three people, and this is my last can. This is all we got. ZOMBIE OFF only lasts four to five hours, so we need to get in and out within that time frame or we’re in deep, deep shit. Understand?”
Diana and Doug both nodded.
“If you guys do what I say, and follow my lead, we can pull this off. If you don’t, then God help you both.”
There was silence for a moment as his words sank in. Finally, Connor spoke.
“Pull anchor, Doug. Let’s get this show on the road.”
Diana sat in a daze as Doug pulled anchor and got the boat underway again. Learning that Abe Morrow had invented ZOMBIE OFF, it suddenly made sense. She always heard how power hungry Morrow was, but she never realized he was capable of killing. While she and her colleagues had been working for a vaccine, Morrow had been working a different angle, one that would make him the most powerful man on the planet. She felt that the research team was getting close to a breakthrough, and Morrow must have felt the same way. Hence the zombie massacre. Holding the small duct tape wrap that held the flash drive, she vowed to find a way to finish the research. Squeezing the package tight, she also vowed to make him pay.
“We’re in the air, sir. ETA to the teams, five minutes.”
Morrow picked up the radio.
“Good. You should find the teams at the 422 Schuylkill crossing.”
“Roger that. Will report when the teams are acquired.”
Diana felt the boat slowing again as Doug dialed back the engines. The boat moved along slowly, just above idle, barely making a sound as they passed under a pair of bridges. Diana got up and moved to the front of the cabin to see what was happening. She was just about to ask what was going on when Connor held up a fist, indicating silence. As the minutes passed and the boat crept along, she got her answers. Slowly but surely more and more zombies appeared on the banks of the river. Dozens at first, then hundreds. As she stood, staring at the ever increasing numbers of undead, she suddenly recognized where they were. She’d never seen it from this angle before, but she knew it all the same. They were moving along Kelly Drive and the Schuylkill River Trail.
In the past, this trail would have been filled with bicyclists, joggers, people on roller blades, and people just enjoying a walk along the river. Now the trail was filled with the undead. Bicycles littered the trail, while zombies of all shapes and sizes roamed about. Some were in jogging attire and some in bicycle leotards, still wearing their helmets. Men, women and children, bloodied and grotesque, staggered about the shoreline in a never-ending search for food. In a brief moment of humor, she watched as an undead struggled to stand, falling repeatedly as it tried to balance on the roller blades it was still wearing.
The three sat in silence as the boat moved hauntingly down the river. No one spoke as they crept along, being careful to not draw any attention to themselves. Moving along the western side of the river, they were able to increase speed slightly as that side harbored far fewer zombies than the city side. After ten minutes of careful navigating, Connor signaled for Doug to head for the eastern shoreline, pointing at a row of houses with large docks in front of each. Diana instantly recognized Boathouse Row.
“Now what?” whispered Diana.
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“Now we switch boats,” said Connor. “We need to go over the dam, and Syrinx can’t do it. I’m planning on using her to get us home, and if she goes over the dam, she’s stuck there. So our next move is to commandeer one of the small boats over there to go over the dam.”
“Sounds like a plan,” said Doug.
As the boat headed for the shore, Diana watched as Connor moved to his weapons pile and quickly slung two large machetes over his back in a crisscross fashion. Moving behind Doug, he pointed to a specific dock.
“Get me close to that one,” he said. “After I’m off, take Syrinx to the small dock on the peninsula over there. Tie her off on the far end so she can’t be seen from the river.”
Connor pointed in the direction of a small inlet that was formed by a peninsula of land that jutted into the river, parallel to the shoreline, near the southernmost of the houses.
“There are extra supplies below deck. Get what you need and can carry.”
“Got it,” replied his friend.
Slowly Doug maneuvered the craft to the boathouse dock. As he approached, he could see movement between the houses as a slew of zombies came into view. Doug gave a quick glance at Connor, who simply nodded, indicating he should keep going. Diana watched as the two exchanged a brief smile before shifting their gaze back to the dock. A few seconds later, Connor nimbly jumped onto the pier as Doug spun the boat into position. The second he was on the dock, Doug pulled away without hesitation and headed for the peninsula.
As they moved off, Diana watched as more zombies appeared from between the houses and made their way toward Connor.
“Shouldn’t we help him?” she asked, a worried look on her face.
“Nope,” said Doug calmly. “He can handle himself.”
“But more zombies are coming.”
“Just tie us off when I get to the dock. You can watch the show from there,” he said, a slight smile crossing his face.
Confused by his words, Diana forced herself to turn away as they approached the peninsula. Skillfully, Doug steered the boat to the far end of the dock, a spot that effectively shielded the boat from view of anyone coming downriver. As he approached the dock, Diana quickly jumped off and anchored the boat securely in place as Doug cut the engine.
“What next?” she asked as she jumped back on board.
“Now we wait for Connor,” he replied. “Have a seat. This outta be good.”
Grabbing the seat next to Doug, she turned her attention to the dock where they dropped off Connor. Her eyes widened as she saw the scene unfold in front of her.
Connor had moved to the nearest of the small boats docked there, and was calmly checking it out. In front of him, no less than 15 zombies were now heading his way. Looking up occasionally, Connor continued to go about the task of inspecting the boats, seemingly indifferent to the group of undead heading his way. Standing up, he took a look around and surveyed the situation. The dock Connor was on was a hodgepodge of planking, with four separate access ramps to the main part of the dock where he currently stood. Moving slowly along the dock from right to left, he calmly walked halfway up the left most ramp and stood there, unmoving, as the zombies closed in.
“What is he doing?” Diana asked in a worried tone.
“He’s setting them up,” replied Doug. “By moving the way he did, he set the majority of them up in a line.”
Smiling, he turned back to watch Connor.
“I just wish I had popcorn.”
Diana gave Doug an incredulous look before turning back to the boathouse docks.
By now the first of the undead had reached the ramp, while the remaining zombies were still making their way along shore to his locale. As the first two undead hit the boards, Connor sprang into action, drawing the two machetes simultaneously as he moved calmly up the ramp. The zombies managed three more steps before their heads bounced off the planking, Connor’s arms spread wide as the bodies dropped to the boards, the machetes dripping with blood as he stood momentarily frozen, like Moses parting the red sea. In a flipping motion, the machetes were at his side as he moved forward to confront the remaining undead.
With fluid precision, he calmly cut down every zombie in his path. Spinning to the side, he swung his machete as he dodged the grasp of a member of one of the rowing teams, never stopping as he took the top of its head off without looking back. Two more rowing team members moved in as the first one fell, intent on ripping flesh from bone. Meeting them head on, Connor rotated the weapons, blades up, and drove the machetes through the chins of the zombies, the black blades nearly splitting the skulls in half as they protruded out the top.
One after another the undead fell as he continued the bloodbath. Soon, just four zombies remained as he stood on the blood soaked concrete near the dock. Closing in from three sides, Connor looked them over as they neared, their moans escalating as they sought to feed. Now just six feet away, The Seeker let loose his fury.
Turning to his left, he launched a wicked sidekick that sent the putrid zombie flying backwards to the ground. Spinning around, he brought his machetes to bear, using the momentum of the spin to skewer the two middle undead in the chest. With the creatures still impaled, he kicked the zombie to his right, sending it staggering back a few steps. As the zombie regrouped, he shoved the impaled undead backwards, pulling back the Twins at the same time. In one fluid motion, the machetes pulled free and swept over his head, the two blades slamming deep into the zombie skulls. As the zombie on his right rushed forward again, he ducked low and swept his leg around, taking its legs out from under it and sending it tumbling to the ground. Pulling the Redneck Toothpick from the sheath on his side, he wasted no time as he drove the blade into its eye socket.
Standing, he walked to where the Twins lay imbedded in the heads of the zombies. Prying one loose, he turned to face the last of the undead. The creature had just regained its feet as Connor dropped to a knee, severing its leg just below the knee. The zombie dropped to the ground, clawing at the pavement as it struggled to reach its prey. Rising, Connor kicked the zombie in the face, sending it crashing onto its back. As he stepped forward, the creature reached up, still trying to gain his flesh. With a flash of his weapon, the arm went flying, followed soon after by the other arm.
Standing over the abomination, Connor stared down as the zombie’s mouth bit at the air, still trying to feed. Looking at the helpless creature, Connor turned as if to walk away. Taking a step, he stopped and paused for a second before spinning around, driving the machete deep into its skull. Removing the blade, he cleaned it on the creature’s clothes before moving to retrieve his other weapon.
“Woah,” muttered Diana, amazed at what she just saw. “Where did he learn to do that?”
“Cool, huh?” smiled Doug. “I told you he was the best.”
“Cool? That was amazing.”
“You think that was amazing, you outta see him when he gets angry.”
With that, the two went about gathering the supplies as Connor finished up at the docks.
“Eagle 1 to Morrow.”
“Go Eagle 1.”
“Sir, I have the teams in sight. Preparing to land.”
“Good. Get them loaded then find that boat.”
“One thing, sir. There’s a swarm in the park.”
“How many?”
“Estimating 8000, maybe more. Sir, if they get onto 422 . . .”
“I know the implications. Once the teams are acquired, head north over the mall before following the river. That might draw them to the south. We’ll have to keep an eye on them after we get the girl.”
“Roger that. On the ground, loading the teams.”
“Good. If you’re in range, report back when you’ve found the boat. If not, you know what to do. Morrow out.”
Sliding the machetes back into their sheaths, Connor quickly moved to a small rowboat a few feet away that was moored in the middle of the docks. Grabbi
ng three oars from the boat, he quickly moved to the adjacent dock, heading for another rowboat that had access to the river. Throwing the oars into the boat, he untied the ropes and climbed in, pushing off from the dock just as more zombie shambled from between the houses.
Grabbing an oar, he quickly paddled his way across the inlet to where Doug and Diana waited. By the time he arrived at Syrinx, the two had already gathered up the supplies and were covering the boat with a military style cammo netting to help keep it hidden. Handing the supplies to Connor, they quickly loaded the rowboat and cast off, each grabbing an oar. Rowing around the end of the peninsula, the three headed for the dam.
“Keep the boat straight,” said Connor. “As long as we go over bow first, we’ll be fine. The dam isn’t that big. When we’re about to go over, move to the back, kneel down on the floor, and hold the sides for stability to make sure the nose stays up and no one falls in.”
“OK. Got it,” the two responded.
After a minute of paddling, the boat was at the dam. Keeping it straight, the boat slid over the rounded concrete and into the water below without issue, gently floating downriver with the current. As they paddled on, Doug spoke up.
“Next stop, Zombidelphia,” he said smiling.