Jaqui asked “What did he do next?”
“Well”, said Mitch, “he whipped us all into shape and the rest is history.”
This didn’t sit right with the kids. Julian asked “That’s it?” Erin asked “Wait, you were going to tell us more!” Billy asked “What happened after that?” Wendy asked “That can’t be all.” David said “Don’t stop, tell us more!” There was more uproar from the kids after feeling cheated out of a good ending.
“What’s more to tell? He actually let himself get captured so that he could take the ship. He gathered us up and turned us into a real crew. He made me the pilot and first mate, as I was the only one who knew how to steer the boat. He went through the whole ship to see what we had and what we needed. He checked us out and saw a bunch of people just hanging on. After taking stock of everything and everyone he went to work with what we had. We had our doubts and he put them all to bed, and we’ve been better off since.” Mitch looked at their faces and realized that he needed something more, a bigger ending to satisfy them.
“Oh, here’s a good one, right after he took the Maxine he decided we needed a bigger boat, one that had an inside so we weren’t exposed to the weather all the time.
“So we cruised a little bit north until we found a pier that was loaded with all kinds of boats. He saw a yacht berthed not too far from where we found him and said ‘Yeah, that one.’ A fifty-footer named Sweet Ethel. Don’t ask, I don’t name these boats and I don’t know what people are thinkin’ when they do. Anyway, he had a plan.
“We would gather up everything we needed from the Maxine, then we would cruise up to the dock real slow while keeping our heads down. He would jump off and walk to the front of the dock and get the attention of the few zombies that were there, then he would head north, keeping to the coastline as much as he could. When the last zombie passed, we would jump off the Maxine, being real quiet of course, get into the Sweet Ethel, pull the moorings and head north to catch up to him. Then he would jump into the ocean and swim out to us, just like we do now, but now you know where it comes from. So Jaqui, when you’re out there running don’t forget to stay with the team. I heard about how you like to run ahead. That’ll get you or someone on the team dead. Ya’ hear me?”
“Yes sir” said Jaqui, proud and chagrined to be called out in front of the kids.
“So the plan goes off without a hitch. We get the yacht and start cruising north, where we see him not to far up, clanging his blades together and leading a bunch of zombies behind him. When he saw us cruisin’ by he made for the sea and jumped right in, started swimmin’ to us.
“Now here’s the interesting part. Me and some of the guys, we’re up in the wheelhouse and someone says, ‘Why don’t we leave him?’”
“No way” says David. “Nah uh” says Lacy. “What!” says Benny. All of them had something to say to that.
“Yeah, we did” said Mitch. “And I’d be lyin’ if I weren’t thinkin’ the same thing. We had a bigger boat with an indoor deck. It was fully stocked with water and food, bless our luck. And he wasn’t a captain let alone a sea fairin’ man. Also, he was dangerous. While we appreciated what he did to the old captain, there’s no tellin’ if he would do the same to us. Remember, we just met him. We didn’t know anything about him or what he wanted from us. And he killed the captain without a thought, a little too easy, a little too quick, and without a word, just a whip of his arm and it was done. Is that someone we could trust?
“But then Miss Mellisa came up behind us, said we couldn’t just leave him out there. Then we’d be just as bad as that bastard captain. She was right of course, we weren’t that kind of people. And he did save me and the scavenging crew, so I guess we owed him. So we steered closer to him and hauled him in. I don’t know how he managed to stay afloat with his clothes on and those machetes acting like scoops slowin’ him down.
“So he gets on board and passes the word to me to find someplace to anchor while he stayed aft takin’ off his clothes and wringin’ them out. Miss Mellisa came running to the wheelhouse blushin’ and cryin’ ‘he’s getting naked.’ I guess she ain’t never seen a naked man before. She kept lookin’ back and front, not knowin’ where she should be lookin’, hand on her mouth, goin’ ‘oh my, oh my, the whole time.” The kids giggled at that.
Then he went below deck to find something to wear, walked right through the boat in front of everybody completely naked, like it was as natural as breathing. He did some rummaging around and came out wearin’ some frilly robe. Boy was he a sight.” Mitch expected some kind of reaction to that, but got nothing. Weird, he thought.
“So he comes out and calls us all for a meeting. He tells us there are two kinds of people out these days, survivors and zombie food. He’s a survivor, and he wants us to be survivors too. He won’t keep anyone who wants to leave, but those that stay become part of the crew. We all work together, those that can’t get left behind. Our life was on the sea now, and there’s plenty to learn, for him too. He also says he’s not going to be nice about it, there’s no more use in being nice. ‘We can either be nice to each other, or we can survive with each other. Being nice just means that you want to apologize to the zombie for not being more tasty. Those who want to be nice can get off now’. He wanted us to survive with each other, and not against. Then he promised to be the best captain they deserve, as long as we became the best crew he deserves.
“He was inspiring, the way he said it. I can’t remember the whole speech, I guess you had to be there. But because of that speech no one wanted to get off. We looked to each other and thought ‘What did we have to lose?’ He inspired us, gave us hope that we could survive this.
“There really isn’t much more to tell after that. Captain Bern started training us on how to do scavenging runs, with some of the crew being runners and the others grabbing the goods. We began looting bigger stores too, and even made it further inland, and got food, clothes, blankets, tools, guns, books, you name it. Even managed to score some walkie talkies, which really helped with the runs. Once the scavenging team came back aboard we would pick up the running team down the shore line. We got really smart about it too. We found a jet ski and tied a banana boat to it, so the first team could just run into the water and grab one of the banana handles.”
“A banana boat?” Said Lacy.
“Don’t worry, you’ll see it later. Later we got our hands on a sail boat, a schooner named Bessie, which meant we didn’t have to stop for gas anymore. We also had to learn how to sail, Captain Bern included. Boy did that take some doin’. I’ve worked a lot of boats before the end, but I never sailed. We made mistakes, especially Captain Bern, but we learned from them, and never stopped trying.
“And that’s the thing. We never gave up. Captain Bern wouldn’t let us. It’s like we woke up to the idea that we were alive and well, and the captain was the one who was shaking the bed, tellin’ us to wake up and get to work. And work we did, and we loved every minute of it. Between learning new things, and doing the runs, it was the best time in my life, in everyone’s. The crew began doing something I haven’t seen in a long time; smiling. That seems like a little thing now, but back then, before Captain Bern, smilin’ was something we only seen on billboards.
“We ran into other party boats that were out there doing the same thing we were doing and Captain Bern got some of them to join us, which meant we needed an even bigger ship, which meant more room for supplies and more beds. After a while Captain Bern decided we needed dry land under our feet, so we took this island. That took some doing, but the captain had trained us well in the art of killing zombies. We had crafted a bunch of new weapons to do this, spears, long axes, some hammers. Well, not so much the hammers. You hit a zombie in the head with them and it splatters all over the place. Messy. Anyway, we didn’t use guns too much, can you tell me why?”
“CAUSE GUNS MAKE TOO MUCH NOISE!!!” came the lively reply.
“That’s right. So here we are, on Bern Island, living the dream. Captain Bern did a lot more than give us a home. He brought us back to life. Before we were just a bunch of guys living day by day, not knowing what was in our future. When he showed up he shifted our attention from wallowing in self-pity to being survivors. He made us work for a living instead of hoping for the best. This was a welcome change, cuz it made us better not just physically but mentally too. He lifted morale, made us think positively. He made us who we are. And the training made us understand that zombies are easy. Think about it, they’re mindless beings that only want one thing. Which means you can lead them about anywhere.”
Lacy said “But what about the other captain? Didn’t he deserve to come here too?”
“Well Lacy, that’s a tough question. Tough because it’s a real answer. It’s like this, the old captain had lost his spark. He never liked the guests in the first place, and when they became the crew he was even meaner. He didn’t have Captain Bern’s vision, and made sure we didn’t have any visions either. He was always putting us down, had no problem in leaving anyone behind, and all while he had that nice big cabin all to himself. No one liked or trusted him, and he didn’t trust any of us, even me, his first mate. He kinda’ had to go. He was the kinda’ guy who dragged everyone down with him. You know what I mean?”
“Kinda’”
“Well the important thing is that it all worked out for the best. That’s why we have this island, and we have homes, and greenhouses, and even livestock. If it weren’t for Captain Bern none of this would be possible. Which is why we call that day the Beginning, the day he found us. By the way, you know he didn’t name this island. Me and the crew did. We even made today, Beginning Day, a holiday. He wouldn’t do it, in fact he thinks it’s a waste of time. But he humors us and lets us celebrate the day we became human again. We owe him a lot, and don’t any of you ever forget that, you hear me?”
They all spoke as one. “Yes Mr. Mitch.”
“Good. Well story times over. Go play.”
The kids jumped up, screaming and laughing, thanking Mitch for the story. He got quite a few hugs before they ran off. He watched them run, a big smile on his face and a contented feeling in his heart. If there was ever a symbol of how good life is, he saw it in every kids face, and in the way they ran, laughing and playing. “Yeah kids”, he said, “Happy Beginning Day”. Then he walked off in the direction of the kids, slowly, like a man his age should.
