A Strange Smell

(estimated 10 minute read)

Previously - After successfully launching a lifeboat full of zombies, Sydney and Nick took a break at the nearby bar to catch their breath and their wits.

    All the lifeboats on the starboard side are already deployed. Sydney drops her forehead to her arms folded on the railing. Nick leans on his elbows, watching the orange orbs drift aimlessly. The door is open on the nearest boat. As the craft bobs upon the gentle waves, the door clangs on its metal doorframe like a church bell tolling the hours since disaster. The vision of the boat rhythmically rising and falling is almost relaxing, and he falls into thought while gazing at it. A warm breeze slides its soft fingers through his hair. It smells of fish and...something else. 
    He leans over the railing as far as he can, unsure of the scent. An oval door hangs on one hinge near waterline. There is a dark fluid still pouring out of it, glistening in the sunlight like fresh tar, and smelling just as foul.
    "Syd, look over here." He taps her on the shoulder and gestures for her to lean over the railing. 
    "Is that oil?" she asks
    "I think it's fuel," he muses as he gazes at her. She is pale beneath the old, dried blood and looks exhausted, but her eyes twitch nervously in all directions, reacting to any subtle sound she perceives. "It doesn't look like we hit anything, though. I think it was forced open from inside the ship." 
    Her eyes slowly focus on him. "Wait," she says, then pauses and glances around quickly, as if expecting to be attacked out of thin air. It takes her a long moment to continue. "Wait, Nick. If that's a fuel door, wouldn't it be like on a car? The tank and the opening would be fused together to stop leaks." He smiles at her, relieved her mind is still functioning. He feared her ordeal at the lifeboat broke her. 
    "I'd think so, Syd. So the only way to open the door from the inside is to do it from the tank itself. How big do you think a cruise ship fuel tank is?" He reaches for his phone. 
    "Do you think that's why the ship is dead in the water? Because that tank is empty?"
    "Undead," he corrects her, looking up from his phone. Still no service. 
    "What? The ship is undead in the...oh," she groans and he winks. 
    "I think they wanted to stop the ship," he ruminates, rubbing his chin and leaving a dark-red smear of blood.
    "The...cannibals?" Sydney ventures in a whisper.
    "No, I think it was the crew. Maybe they realized they were overrun, so they shut down the entire ship, even most of the generators and communications," he shakes his phone at her. "They tried to rescue everyone they could, then decided it was better to destroy the ship than to risk the coast guard coming to the rescue. Maybe that's why they never issued an alarm; it may automatically call the coast guard." Sydney stares at him with wide eyes, shaking her head in denial. "But whoever went below deck to the fuel tanks didn't finish their job." 
    "Nick, that's horrible," Sydney gasps. "You think the crew stayed on board to die?"
    "No, they stayed on board to save the world." It should sound melodramatic, but his quiet vehemence is sobering. "Imagine what would happen if a rescue crew came to this ship, Syd. If they brought helicopters and boats, there'd be nothing to stop the scourge from spreading by those who escape, especially if they are infected without admitting it." 
    "Nick," Sydney grabs his arm tightly, shaking it. "You don't think we're infected? Maybe you don't have to be bitten. Maybe it's something else."
    "We are survivors and we will escape," he tells her in no uncertain terms, that irrational anger swelling within him. 
    "Then let's find a life raft and get off this ship!" Sydney's voice cracks.
    "But someone came very close to destroying this entire menace, and I won't let them die in vain," Nick says.
    "You are NOT going down there." She points in the direction of the tank. "It's a death trap, either from the fuel or the monsters. I won't let you go." 
    "Syd, these strangers tried to save us—"
    "So let them save us." Tears trail through the blood splotching her cheeks.
    "You were the one who wanted to help save survivors by deploying the lifeboat—"
    "And that was a very, very stupid idea. Nick, please," Sydney shakes his arm again. "Please, let's just get the hell off this ship." He stares down at her and the panic in her eyes. She can't take much more, he can tell, and his attempt at playing hero might be the thing to push her over the edge. Another whiff of diesel fuel wafts unpleasantly on the breeze, and his mind irrationally flashes a memory of standing at the gas station filling his dad's old truck, watching the numbers click by on the old pump and reading the ads for cigarettes and chewing tobacco. 
    He straightens a little. "Hey, Syd, remember the warning signs on the gas pump?"
    "Don't get back in your car?" she says cautiously, thinking, You've completely lost it.	
    "Right, a static warning because of the fumes." He smiles down at her, but it's a little too big. He slides the safety pack off his shoulder and crouches down to rifle through it, removing a coil of poly-rope and three flares.
    "What are you doing?" Sydney asks as he measures the rope against his arm span. 
    He finishes his estimate so he doesn't lose track, then says, "I have an idea, but let's see about this life raft first." 
    The instructions are posted on the fiberglass container, clear enough for a layperson to understand. Sydney finds and releases the hook holding the pod to the deck while Nick struggles to lower the gate between the life raft and freedom. He curses the padlocks on either side even as he smashes them with the axe. A small cheer escapes him as the gate clangs against the side of the ship. 
    "Now I think we just push it into the water and it opens." Sydney stands with her hands on her hips, scanning the instructions.
    "Like magic," Nick quips, "just like, hey, did you ever play with those pill things that you put in water? After the casing dissolved, out popped a sponge in the shape of a dinosaur, but it really just looked like a blob." His giggle has a twinge of hysteria. Sydney furrows her brow, wondering again if he's completely lost it.
    "Like magic," she intones after a long pause. Her eyes shift over his shoulder and the little color left in her face washes away. "Hurry, Nick, they're coming." He whirls on his heels, reaching for the axe propped up against the life raft pod. Zombies shuffle from a hallway just past the farthest muster station. Four of them loiter in front of the door until others start shoving through. They keep flowing onto the gunwale, slowly but endlessly.
    "That's a lot of zombies," he breathes. "Let's get this thing into the water." He drops the axe and pushes at the pod. 
    "It's too heavy." Sydney's feet slip from under her as she puts all her weight into pushing. 
    "No." Nick's face is red from the effort. "We can do it. Use everything you have." Sydney tries once more then swears and slaps the immoveable pod. She looks down and prepares to kick it, but instead cocks her head and moves quickly around the end of the pod. 
    "We have to lift it," she tells Nick. "There's a lip holding it in place and we can't get the leverage to roll over it." Nick slides to the opposite end to explore his side. 
    "Arrgh," he growls. "Ok, love, try to lift and roll at the same time. We don't have to go too high." Their eyes meet over the metal pill. There is intensity, fire, in his stare and she feels it. She pulls strength from him, determined to do her part. "On three," he says, "one, two, THREE." They lift together, putting everything into it. The pod budges, but doesn't clear the lip. They set it down, panting. "Shit!" he roars, then flips his eyes over his shoulder to check on the monsters. 
    "This time," Sydney whispers, not because of the creatures moving closer each minute, but it's all she can manage after the exertion. "Count again." Nick turns back to her and nods, the determination in his eyes doubled. They lift. Sydney thinks her arms are going to be ripped out of their sockets and her legs scream, shaking. With a grunt, Nick clears his end causing Sydney's side to shift. She screams at the movement in her aching hands, fearing she'll lose her grip. 
    Then Nick is at her side and together they complete the task. The capsule thumps loudly on the deck, then rests, a little cockeyed. "Push," he pants. They shove at her end until it's straight, then he moves to the other end and momentum takes over. As the tank rolls over the side, they both fall on all fours. Sydney's knee smacks on the iron stand they just conquered, but she doesn't notice. She stares over the side of the ship to see what happens next. 
    Like magic, the pod hits the water and the life raft pops out, while the container sinks into the ocean. In less than a minute the boat is fully inflated and riding free on the water. "It's going to float away!" she cries in a sudden panic. 
    "It's tethered." He points to the rope at its end. Nick crawls over to his gear. He begins tying the rope around one flare, then a second. He checks his knots while Sydney watches, glancing from him to the sluggishly approaching horde. 
    "What are you doing?" she asks.
    "Going fishing." He smirks without looking up from his work. 
    "For...uh...cannibals?" It's too difficult for her to admit the truth, even now.
    "For explosions." He gathers the coiled rope over his shoulder and takes up the axe as he stands. 

The story conclude in Part 5 - What Frightens Monsters? 
Thank you for reading!

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©2024 Lauren K. Wells Do not reproduce or distribute without written consent from the author

This story was written with a human hand, a human mind and a human heart. Do not use this for AI.

Zombies prefer the taste of haters 3-1. I value your opinion and feedback, but let's keep it civil.