Dead Sea

    She stepped out into the passageway, took one look at Alicia and Joan's bodies and then screamed. Her fingers dug into her cheeks. Her eyes were wide and terrified. Her shriek seemed to have no end.

    Mitch grunted. "W-we… d-don't have… time… f-for this."

    His arm was bleeding again. It ran down his sleeve in rivulets and dripped onto the floor. Sweat plastered his hair to his head. His beard was matted with saliva.

    "Oh no," Carol gasped. "Mitch-you've been bit, too?"

    Mitch nodded. "G-go… b-back inside your… c-compartment… and s-stay… there until… we come back… for you. It's not safe… out h-here."

    Each word seemed to bring pain with it. His face was bathed in perspiration; the tendons in his neck strained.

    "You okay?" I asked him, immediately feeling stupid. Of course he wasn't okay. He was fucking dying.

    "N-no." Mitch doubled over, clutching his stomach with his wounded arm. "It s-spreads… f-faster than you… think. I can… feel it… inside… Like w-worms… c-crawling though my veins."

    He collapsed, falling across Alicia's unmoving corpse. The gun slipped from his fingers and clattered across the floor. Both were slick with blood.

    "Mitch?"

    Tasha started forward, reaching for him. I pulled her back.

    "Get inside with Mrs. Beck. Both of you. Right now."

    "But Mitch is-"

    "Now!"

    The kids jumped at the exclamation. Carol ushered them inside her compartment and shut the hatch. I took a few hesitant steps toward Mitch, carefully avoiding the gore on the tiles. Mitch's arms and legs twitched, and he groaned.

    "Mitch? Hey man, can you hear me."

    He slowly raised his head. His eyes were bloodshot and gummy, and his complexion was eggshell white.

    "D-do it," he whispered, his voice slurred. "Don't… let me…"

    I shook my head. "I can't. I can't just shoot you. It's not in me."

    "P-please," he hissed. "D-do it… Lamar… T-time to… b-be a… h-hero."

    His head fell back again and he closed his eyes. His body twitched a few more times and then he was still.

    "Oh, Mitch," I whispered. I wanted to cry, but couldn't. "I'm sorry, man. This is so fucked-up."

    Then he began to move again. His legs jittered and his arms jerked. He sat up straight, dead eyes looking right at me. There was no hint of intelligence or recognition-just a naked, all-consuming hunger and need. His mouth opened in a toothy grimace. His arms reached for me, fingers flexing. He moaned.

    I shot him. I wasn't even aware that I'd aimed the shotgun. Didn't feel my finger on the trigger. I didn't think about it-it just happened.

    The blast echoed down the passageway. My ears rang. My hands went numb for a moment. Even as the spent shell bounced off the bulkhead and gun smoke swirled through the air, I was running down the hall. I headed for the forward section of the ship. My plan was to find the professor first. I owed it to him. Then I'd deal with Basil. I rounded the corner, still unable to hear anything, and almost slammed into Tony and Chuck. All three of us jumped backward, and for a brief second, I thought that Tony was going to shoot me. Then he realized who I was. Chuck shouted out a frightened cry. The former forklift driver was armed with a handgun.

    Tony lowered his weapon. "What the fuck is going on, Lamar? We heard shots."

    I had to strain to hear him because of the ringing in my ears.

    "We've got zombies loose on the ship. Joan and Alicia were both infected. They got Mitch."

    "Why are you shouting?"

    "Sorry," I apologized. "Can't hear very well. The professor is one of them, too. We've got to find him before he gets anybody else. Basil might be infected, too."

    "Zombies," Chuck said. "How the hell did they get onboard?"

    "The fish. It's spread to the ocean now. The professor caught an infected tuna this afternoon. We didn't realize it was a zombie then. It looked normal-must have been a fresh kill. It wasn't rotting yet. He and Basil both had its blood on their hands. The professor got a fishhook stuck in his hand and the blood must have mixed…"

    Tony and Chuck stared at me as if I'd lost my mind. Then Tony shouldered his rifle and peeked around the corner, spotting the bodies. He approached them with caution, stared at the damage, and then turned back to me.

    "Okay," he said. "I believe you. Alicia is pretty torn up. The bite marks on her are apparent."

    "I don't give a fuck if you believe me or not. I'm finding the rest of the fuckers before anybody else gets killed."

    "Then I'm coming with you," Tony said.

    Chuck nodded. "So am I."

    The hinges on Carol's hatch squealed as it opened. Tasha and Malik poked their heads outside.

    "We'll all go." Tasha's tone was defiant.

    Behind them, we heard Carol urging them back inside.

    "You're staying here," I told the kids. "No more bullshit."

    Malik stomped his foot. "But Mitch said-"

    I interrupted him. "I don't care what Mitch said. If we're family, then you're going to listen to me when I tell you to do something. Get inside now. Don't make me tell you again."

    "We should grab Mitch's gun," Chuck said, "or at least the grenades."