Zombie Files: Exiled at Sea - Part Three

 

A Fire in the Sky

    The wild boar finally entered his field of vision, so Gerard readied his aim against the hulking creature.  A shrill squeal pierced the air as it fell to the ground. “You're getting pretty good at using that bow,” Archer called out to him from behind a bush. “If we salt the meat, this pig will keep us all fed for at least a week or two.”

    “It's just like you explained it earlier: Visualize yourself making the shot in your mind's eye, then follow through with it,” Gerard recited the man's valuable advice back to him.

    “Correct,” he exclaimed as he gave Gerard a light slap on the shoulder. Even without sight, Archer was never one to lack his bearings. They placed a tarp beside the area and pulled the wild pig's remains onto it.  As they began making their way back, with the boar in tow, Gerard heard a rustling in the trees around them.  He dismissed it as the wind and his mind playing tricks on him. However, Archer did not feel this way as he immediately dropped the tarp and sprang around with his bow, ready to loose an arrow.

    Two ravenous feeders came hobbling out of the tree line. Their genders and attire lost to time and rot.  Archer sent an arrow swiftly into the eye socket of one, putting it down instantly. The second one had reached Archer before he could release another, so he calmly pulled out a knife and planted it into the feeder's face.

    “I take it you've done this before,” Gerard said with a hint of sarcasm. “You'd think that, after five years, every feeder would’ve been killed off by now. Where do they all come from?”

    “The caves. When people got scared, most of them hid there. It's cramped and dark, and all it took was for one infected person to doom them all. There's entrances to it all over the island, and they still trickle out, even after all these years...” Archer trailed off with sadness in his eyes. “We need to make it back to camp before dark.”

 

   Three weeks had elapsed since Gerard had washed ashore, and he was starting to feel like he was part of a family again. They had given him food, water, clothes and even a tent to use. Forrest, a slender mechanic with a goatee, had used a hacksaw to cut off Gerard's broken handcuffs when he first arrived at the camp.  Summer, a waitress, was married to Forrest, but it was unofficial due to the lack of government and available wedding dresses. And then there was Rose, the college student on her eternal summer-break. She was as beautiful as she was brave, and Gerard had developed quite the attraction to her, even though she was six years his senior. As the Sun went down, they gathered around the fire to eat the delicious boar that Gerard had hunted earlier that day.

    “Bet you didn't eat this good aboard that ship of yours, the... What was it called again?” Forrest asked Gerard.

    “The Helios, it was a yacht we found off the coast of South Carolina,” he lied to the man, for his true identity must be kept secret. “We hit rough seas, and I was tossed overboard by a wave. I woke up on your island still alive for some reason.”

    “Well, you are one lucky guy, Gerard. If those men at sea had gotten to you first, you'd surely be a corpse by now.”

    “Forrest, don't talk about that stuff while we're eating. I'm trying to enjoy this, you know?” Summer chimed in. “We should take some of this meat over to Blade's group. They were having a real hard time hunting this week, and I know they'd appreciate it.”

    “Sounds like a plan to me. I'll head out tomorrow afternoon,” Archer said as he smoked his wooden pipe, smoke billowing out of his nostrils. Gerard saw this as an opportunity to impress Rose, so he decided to volunteer as well.  “I'll go too.”

    “Archer can handle himself, he doesn't need your help,” Forrest said with a smug look on his face.

    “You might not be eating right now if it wasn't for him,” Rose interjected. “And he's old enough to make his own decisions.”

    “Fine,” Forrest grumbled. Gerard caught Rose giving him a smile after her verbal take-down had silenced Forrest.

    “It's settled then,” Archer told them. “Now, everyone eat up. Pig is too fine a meat to waste.” Everyone let out a laugh as they finished their meals and exchanged friendly conversation.

    The next day, Archer and Gerard made their way to Blade's camp. It would take about an hour for them to get there according to Archer. 

    “Why are all of your camps spread so far apart?” Gerard asked.

    “To watch the ocean for signs of raiders. There are fourteen different camps all over this island.  Unfortunately, we aren't on the best of terms with some of them.”

    They made their way deeper into the jungle, and eventually, they came upon the outskirts of the camp.  As they got closer, Gerard noticed something peculiar. He told Archer to hold position while he got a better look. Two people were on their knees with bags over their heads. There were two bodies lying next to them in the sand. They were being watched by two thugs with handguns while another guy searched Blade's camp for supplies. 

    “Shit. We have to do something,” Gerard whispered to Archer as he snuck back to him. “They are being held hostage by people from my ship.”

    “Gerard, we need to head back now,” he quietly responded.

    “What?  We have to help. They need us to do something.”

    “If we interfere, they'll torch the whole island and kill us all. There are plenty more men where they came from, and they have guns, whereas we have only arrows and knives,” Archer told him. A shot rang out in the distance as they executed another hostage. 

    “Fuck! They killed another one. Are you in or out? I'm doing this with or without you, but I'd rather someone have my back,” Gerard asked.

    “It seems my training has given you quite the confidence,” Archer continued. “If we do this though, we do it my way.  I'll flank them by sneaking around through the forest. Give me at least two minutes before you release your first arrow. I'll take it from there.”

    Gerard took aim at one of the Hyperion raiders as he waited for Archer to get into position. This man looked familiar to him, and then he realized who it was. It was an old boss he worked for in the kitchen on The Hyperion. He was not a bad guy, at least not to Gerard, but it seemed that he had been living a double life. The arrow glided through the air and struck Gerard's former boss in the neck.  He clutched his neck and swiftly collapsed. The other man fired his pistol in Gerard's direction, so he took cover behind a bush. After a few seconds, Gerard heard the man firing upon him scream. A wooden arrow splintered through his spinal cord as he fell back. The pilfering man came running back to his friends, only to be tripped up by the remaining hostage. Gerard and Archer came to the aid of this mysterious person. They quickly tied up the Hyperion thug and freed the hostage.

    “Thank you,” the man said through tears. “You saved my life.”

    “What happened here, Sage?” Archer asked.

    “They must have found a weak spot in our perimeter, because they came at us from behind. Blade tried to fight them off, so they shot him dead,” Sage told them both.

    “Anyone who stands up to us gets a bullet in the head,” the bound man threatened them. “My friends and I were just looking for a little bit of fun, anyhow. The real raiding hasn't even begun yet. We need to stock up for the winter, you know?”

    Gerard looked at the man intently. “If you and your friends are any indication, I think we'll be able to kill the rest of your ilk quite easily.”

    “Not the Butcher. There isn't a man alive who can take him down. And he's coming for you,” he cryptically said.

    “Who is he talking about?” Gerard asked Archer.

    “The Butcher is the ruthless maniac that leads the raiding parties. He doesn't use a gun or a blade, because he can beat a man to death with his bare hands. A mask shrouds his true identity, or so I'm told...” 

     After hearing a noise, Archer cocked his head back. The Hyperion goon had managed to free himself and was running back to his jet ski that was hidden somewhere along the beach. Archer released another arrow and hit the man in the leg. He fell to the ground, but once he was down, he pulled something out of his waistband and fired it into the sky. The projectile exploded, and tiny shards of fire painted the sky.

    “They'll probably come by nightfall. We have to warn everyone, so they can find a safe place to hide.  We don't have much time, Gerard,” Archer exclaimed.

    “No, your people can't keep running. We need to show Moore that you can't force people to live like this.  If there is a war coming, we need to be ready for it.”

    “How can we ever fight them? They will mow us down before we even get started.”

    “We'll be ready for them, Archer, because this time,” Gerard mused. “I have a plan.”

Special Guest Writer - Alex