Read 03 Deluge of the Dead for Free Online

put his clothes back on awkwardly, still not used to doing the simplest things with one arm.  With his shirt unbuttoned he slipped out of her cabin quietly and walked down the corridor towards his own stateroom near the bow of the ship.  This was another reason he was glad Carla’s cabin had been closer: it was easier to sneak out than ask her to leave when he decided that he would rather sleep alone.  Clint wasn’t being callus.  He just didn’t want Carla to think that their encounter meant more than it did.  He enjoyed his independence and certainly wasn’t ready to make any kind of commitment just yet.  Finding himself in her bed in the morning would have been awkward to say the least. 
    It was well past midnight and the companionway was empty.  He walked several hundred feet to his stateroom and was a bit surprised when he saw a note taped to his door.  He took it off as he entered his room and set it down on the bedside table as he shed his clothes once more.  It wasn’t until he was in his bed that he thought of the note again, but by then he had turned off the light.  Whatever was in the note could wait until morning.  He rolled over to keep his weight off of the stump of his missing arm and drifted off into a dream in which he was healthy, happy and whole.
    *****
    Scag was up late snorting crystal meth after raping little Nickie and leaving her tied to his bed set up in an office on the upper floor of the aquarium.  His heart was pounding and he was sweating when he decided to go up onto the roof for some fresh air.  He stood on the roof, looking across the bay at the lights of the Queen Mary and the new safe haven beyond.  There were even more lights around the port tonight and Scag realized that several large cruise ships had recently arrived.  The people over there seemed well organized and it was obvious that they intended to set up a permanent base in the port. Scag had mixed feelings about that.
    On one hand, Scag knew that the only chance of long term survival and any hope restoring some form of civilization rested with groups such the one forming in the port. On the other hand, he wished they hadn’t chosen to set up their base so close to his hideout. Nobody knew his gang was there and the Aquarium had very few windows, so it was easy to keep the light of their lamps and the emergency generator concealed from prying eyes, but it was only a matter of time before those people sent out armed scouts to explore the Long Beach shorline. Eventually they were bound to stumble on the Surf Nazis in the Aquarium. Scag doubted they would like what they found. These thoughts only served to confirm his decision to move his gang soon.  The only question was where he would lead them and how they would get there. 
    Scag was envious of all the people who had escaped the nightmare on land by fleeing to sea in their yachts. He could see hundreds, perhaps thousands, of boats moored in the bay. He suspected they were full of fat cat assholes and their spoiled brat kids, living the good life afloat while the rest of the world went to shit. It really pissed him off. Why should they escape the apocalypse? Gazing out at the growing Flotilla with a mixture of lust and disgust, the kernel of a plan was planted in his mind.

 
    Chapter Two:
     
    To: Sovereign Spirit.net
Sovereign Spirit, are you still there? There's five of us here, including a 9 year old, hunkered down in a hotel room about three blocks from the beach. We only have enough scavenged supplies left for about another 3 days. Any suggestions on how we can get from our hideout to you? One of us has a broken leg, another has a few broken ribs, but we are determined. You wouldn't happen to have a working chopper on that ship, would you? Please, please help us. You are our only hope, Sovereign Spirit! -- K. Benson
     
    To: K. Benson
    From: Billy (@sovereignspirit.net)
I’m sorry that our helicopter is committed to other operations. However, there is an