03 Deluge of the Dead by David Forsyth Read Free Book Online Page A

provide at least partial defense against zombies until the storm arrived.
    Carl was about to get into the Suburban when his friend Gus jogged over and asked to ride along in the back seat, seeing that Karen had already claimed the front passenger seat.  Carl tried to dissuade him, but Gus persisted.  “What is it with you two?” Carl asked in exasperation. “You’d have to be crazy to want to go out there and face another horde of zombies. I have to do this because it’s my idea, but you can both stay in the safe haven.  Why the hell do you want to go with me?”
    “Where you lead, I follow, Boss,” said Gus. “Don’t forget that you made me a hero when we saved all those people at the RV Park.  I got a reputation to live up to now. Besides, I’m starting to think that sticking close to you is the safest place to be.”  Carl snorted and shook his head in defeat while Karen let out a giggle. Five minutes later they were leading the expeditionary force back towards the Vincent Thomas Bridge.
    *****
    There was a lot of activity throughout the port on the morning of April 14.  The cruise ships which had remained just outside the breakwater overnight were now moving slowly towards their new berths in the Port of Long Beach.  The largest of the Carnival cruise ships was going to her regular berth at the terminal next to the Queen Mary.  The rest of the cruise ships headed for the former CosCo container terminal just across the narrow peninsula. Longshoremen used to refer to the CosCo docks as “The End of the World” because its berths were the closest to the open sea.  Scott hadn’t yet decided if that was a fitting name, or not, for the spot where they planned to create a floating city composed of at least four cruise ships and additional support vessels. Before the ships docked Scott instructed them to launch all of their lifeboats for use in the coming rescue missions.
    Hundreds of other boats and yachts were on the move too.  Long lines of them formed next to fuel barges in preparation for the mass evacuation of survivors along the coast.  Dozens of boats, including several tug boats, were also dispatched to the marinas along the shore of Long Beach on a mission to retrieve abandoned boats and tow them back to secured areas of the port.  They would start with those tied to docks that appeared secure from zombies, but once the rain started they hoped to be able to collect many more vessels. Since they didn’t have keys to the abandoned boats they would all have to be towed, but that didn’t matter. The plan was simply to bring as many yachts as possible into the safe haven where they could be used to house the expected influx of refugees.
    Scott was pleased with the progress by the time his stomach reminded him that he hadn’t had breakfast yet.  He left Captain Fisher on the bridge and went back towards his suite to eat with his family. On his way there he suddenly remembered that nobody had been able to locate Clint last night. So much else was happening that it had completely slipped his mind.  With a feeling of growing apprehension he decided to go down one deck and look for Clint himself.
    *****
    There had only been a handful of zombies waiting for them on the bridge to San Pedro. The rest had followed Carl into a dead end trap the previous afternoon.  The few zombies that had made it back onto the bridge were quickly dispatched with single shots to the head by Marines as they led the expeditionary force through the gate.  The big Cat and a smaller front end loader lowered their buckets to scoop up not only the bodies of these newly fallen zombies, but also the remains of hundreds of others that had been crushed by the Amtrac during Operation Pied Piper.  They took turns clearing the mangled bodies, alternating between scooping them up and dumping them over the side of the bridge.  Carl had suggested doing this, even though it consumed precious time, because he hoped that many survivors