TZA-The Beginning-3

“Mr. Mitch” said Greg. “What do you mean ‘the end’?”

Mitch realized he had paused. There were few things in his life that he remembered with absolute clarity. This was one of them, and it caught him off guard. He scratched his head as a stray breeze blew his hair away from his forehead, exposing more weathered skin. It was so long ago, and suddenly it was like it was yesterday. He looked at the kids and decided not to hide anything.

“It was the end of civilization, the end of all things that we knew and loved. It was the zombies. It was what Captain Berkett was listening to on the radio, what got him all fired up. I’ll leave out some of the gory details, but they were everywhere. We didn’t know it quite yet, or maybe it hadn’t sunk in, but the world had just ended.

“A few of the other party boats who were listening to the same broadcasts had pulled in ahead of us, not knowing what they were walking into. It was crazy, people running about, people screaming, trying to get off the docks and back to their cars.  And the whole time trying to fight through the zombies. Some of them made it to their cars, which didn’t do them any good because they wound up running into each other, or into zombies, or not zombies. Those that made it out of there were the lucky ones I guess. Those that didn’t got ate. There were explosions up the road, the sounds of car crashes, a few gun shots, and lots of screaming.

“ A few more party boats had pulled into the harbor, not docking just like us. We were safe as long as we stayed out on the water. That didn’t stop some of our guests from getting all frantic, yelling and screaming. I run up to the wheelhouse and ask the captain what to do. He was just sitting in his chair, looking out the window, saying to himself it’s all over. Over and over he did this, so he was no help. I go back down to the deck and try to calm everyone down, but that wasn’t working at all. Some of them were frozen at what they were seeing, some were crying. 

David said “I don’t understand. Why didn’t they fight back?”

“Well you see David, this was the first day of the zombies. No one knew what to do then. It was all new, completely unexpected. I mean, everyone talks about it, but no one ever believed it would happen. Which means they weren’t like us, survivors trained in the art of zombie killing.”

“Did you say “fart?” Said Wendell.

“You know I didn’t Wendell. How would you like to go on watch on the docks tonight? You and your partner Julian. You should have a good time.”

“Hey, what did I do?” said Julian.

“You two are always causin’ trouble. You think I don’t know? Now watch yourself.”

Wendell said “I’m sorry Mr. Mitch, I’ll be quiet.” He also got an elbow to the ribs from Julian.

“Good. Now where was I. Right, so this was the first day. No one knew what was going on, and no one knew about fighting the way we do it now. It was all, ‘Help, I’m being eaten by zombies!’ Everyone was scared and running around like crazy. And us sitting in the harbor not knowing what to do or where to go.

“The captain circled around and dropped anchor in the middle of the harbor. The other party boats that were out there did the same. There was a lot of talking between these boats, mostly folks panicking about what was going on. A lot of questions. No answers.”

Lacy asked “Which boat was Captain Bern on?”

“He wasn’t on any of them. We met him later, but I haven’t gotten there yet.”

“ He wasn’t?” Said Lacy. “Then where was he? I thought he was with you?”

“He was but I didn’t get to that part of the story yet, so pipe down!”

Paul chipped in, saying “Yeah Lacy, if you love him so much why don’t you marry him.” This sent the entire group to laughing, leaving Lacy embarrassed.

“Quiet down everyone, and stop making fun.” Mitch gave them all a stern look, which had the desired effect. Amidst stifled laughs, he continued.

“Anyway, all we could do was sit out there in the middle of the harbor, watching the horror. Some of the guests wanted to go ashore to find their families and kids. The captain wouldn’t have it. He was not pulling up to the dock for any reason, told them if they wanted they could jump in and swim for it. No one was that crazy or desperate, so we sat there. The day turned to night, then back to day and we were still out there, sunburned, exposed to the elements, scared, and sea sick, or zombie sick, I couldn’t tell which. The boat being more deck then boat was tough. The only covered spot was the captain’s wheelhouse, and he wasn’t letting anyone in there, saying there’s only room for one. The next day there were still zombies about, making meals of the unlucky, or trying to. The number of people who were turned was looking for their own meals, leaving the dock area empty of the living. They began to drift off, but they weren’t in any hurry.

“It was weird seeing that for the first time. I watched them folks get eaten by the zombies. Then later I watched those same people get up, just stand up of their own accord. One moment someone is overwhelmed by zombies. The next moment they are zombies. First they were dead. Then they’re, well, still dead, but moving about like they’re not. And always with that lifeless look in their eyes. Seeing that made some of the women cry. And the men? It was a mix of wonder and fear, anger and disbelief. Yeah, day one had a lot of people wondering what was wrong with the world. I know that’s how I felt, like logic decided not to work anymore.”

The kids got real quiet after hearing that. Quiet enough to hear the waves hitting the shore half a mile away, their faces tuned to Mitch.

“The captain had come out of the wheelhouse by then and just watched the shore line with his binoculars. He figured we could just wait it out, but after the third day it was pretty obvious this was it. Most of the zombies had moved on, but there were still a few walking around the docks.

“It was about that time when we ran out of water. We also found out the captain’s got a gun. Remember when I said he was a mean cuss? He was a bastard and a coward too. He pulled his gun and told the guests they had to get some water or go for a walk. No one was crazy about either idea, but when you’re out of water there weren’t too many options. The harbor master’s shack usually had a few cases in case someone forgot theirs and are willing to pay his high prices. Problem was It was at the head of the dock, closer to the zombies than we wanted. So the captain made a plan…”