02 Flotilla of the Dead (28 page)

Then, like a monster waking from a long and deep sleep, the engine of the fire truck sputtered, coughed, and roared to life!  New hope sprang alight as Carl released the ignition and revved the engine.  Now, if he could only figure out how to put it in gear, there was a chance of getting out of this alive.  He looked and felt around the floorboard, but didn’t see a clutch.   Carl hoped that meant it was an automatic.  Reaching up to the column he pulled down what he assumed was the gear shift and was rewarded by seeing the gear indicator slip through reverse and neutral into drive, but when he applied a little throttle the truck didn’t move.  Carl was starting to panic slightly as he searched for the emergency brake release.  Meanwhile the zombies climbing on the passenger side of the truck were starting to pull their dead comrade back out of the shattered window. 

Finally Carl found the brake release located between the driver and passenger seats. At least a dozen zombies were clinging to the sides of the fire truck as he eased it forward, pushing an abandoned Honda out of the way with a grinding screech, and turned north on the southbound lanes of Aviation Boulevard.  He could see the Cat and the SUV up ahead, swerving back and forth as they tried to delay the advance of the horde.  He could also hear Karen’s intermittent and amplified screams as she drew them towards her in a valiant attempt to protect Carl.  It was an act of bravery that he would never forget and he only hoped that they would both survive long enough for him to thank her.

Then Carl remembered that there was a fire department band radio in the fire truck.  He fumbled with the frequency setting as the truck plowed through zombies and ran over them like squishy speed bumps.  He knew he had found the right frequency when he heard Peter’s voice saying, “…can come down there if you think we can save him.  The cargo truck is almost full and we can leave now, if you need us.”

“Yes!” Karen’s voice came through loud and clear.  “He needs help now!”

As soon as the frequency cleared Carl press the transmit button and said, “Not so fast, partners.  There was just a slight delay.  I’m okay and I’m catching up to you now.”

“Carl?” Karen said breathlessly.  “Is that you?”

“Yes,” Carl answered.  “I’m right behind you. Now use the PA to tell Peter to head back for Big 5.  I’m fine and I’ll be right behind you.”

He heard Karen’s voice on the PA a moment later, but was too far away to make out her words.  Then the Cat straightened its course and drove down the center of the road, clearing a path paved with pulverized zombies.  The SUV swung into line and followed closely.  Carl couldn’t resist swerving back and forth to take out some of the zombies that the earthmover missed, but he knew better than to get carried away while driving a large and unfamiliar vehicle.  As they drove back towards the sporting goods warehouse Peter’s voice came back on the radio saying, “We are wrapping up here and all vehicles will be ready to roll in a minute or two.” 

“Excellent,” Carl answered.  “When you see us coming, just fall in behind with the Panther right behind the new fire truck.  I’ve got a bunch of hitchhikers hanging onto this thing.  Maybe you can wash them off with your water cannon.”

“No problem, Carl,” replied Peter.  “I got your car wash hanging.”  Carl wasn’t quite sure what he meant.  It had sounded almost obscene until he spotted the big machine moving out from behind the Big 5 retail store with its water cannon extended on a 30 foot boom in front of the mammoth eight wheeled fire fighting machine.  Since Carl’s version of the Pied Piper had drawn all of the zombies away from the warehouse, it would have a full load of water too.  Yes, that was one hell of a car wash hanging out there!  Carl chuckled as he followed the Suburban into the intersection and turned left towards the refinery.  The dice were still rolling in his favor.

Chapter 7: Message from Avalon

“How I wish that somewhere there existed an island for those who are wise and of good will.”

– Albert Einstein

It was less than an hour cruise at moderate speed for the
Sovereign Spirit
to reach Catalina Island from Long Beach, but that speed was cut in half by Scott’s desire to bring the Flotilla’s first task force to the harbor of Avalon in a coordinated fashion.  The tug pushing the fuel barge was the slowest member of the task force, so she set the pace for the rest.  This put their speed at about eight knots and stretched the crossing time to almost three hours.  Scott spent much of that time reviewing everything they had learned about conditions on Catalina and how the Flotilla could improve them most effectively.

The task force that Scott had put together for this first mission to Catalina included half a dozen ships and a dozen smaller boats.   The
Sovereign Spirit
and the Coast Guard Cutter
Stratton
led the way for the container ship
Traveling Trader,
the old cargo ship
SS Lane Victory,
the
LP Odyssey
and the tug boat
Lester Jones
that was pushing a large fuel barge filled with 250,000 gallons of diesel and 150,000 gallons of premium unleaded gasoline.  The barge was designed with a U shaped wedge in its stern where the tug boat’s bow fitted in like the missing piece of a puzzle, allowing the tug to push the barge as if it were an extension of itself.   The barge, named
Gladys 151,
would be anchored offshore to become a floating gas station for the boats surrounding Catalina Island, with a two man live-aboard crew to operate the pumps, while the tug boat would be free to perform other work around the island, or return to Long Beach to fetch other barges. 

The smaller vessels included three commercial fishing boats, two sport fishing boats, one fish processing ship, a refrigerated fresh fish transport, a refueling tender that could be refilled by the fuel barge and distribute the fuel to other boats, and four utility boats that would distribute supplies to all the yachts they expected to find off the shore of Catalina Island.

Since the
Sovereign Spirit
and the
Stratton
were cruising side by side, less than a hundred yards apart, Scott was able to hold a video conference on his local wi-fi network with Captain McCloud who had the most detailed information about Catalina via reports from Coast Guard units that had fled there with the boat people on Z-Day, as well as information from recon flights by his Dolphin helicopters.  Now he shared video from the latest recon flight with Scott.  It was quite informative.

“As you can see,” Captain McCloud spoke while the video played on Scott’s computer and McCloud’s face appeared in a video dialogue box in the corner of the screen.  “There are now several thousand boats moored along the eastern side of Catalina.  We spotted hundreds more in protected coves on the western side of the island too.  Most of the Catalina high speed ferries are there at Avalon Harbor.  But the most interesting vessels we found were five large cruise ships anchored off the coast of Avalon.”

“That is interesting,” Scott interjected.  “Do you know which ships they are and whether or not they are full of passengers?”

“Yes,” replied Captain McCloud, glancing down at his notes.  “The ships are the
Carnival Inspiration
, the
Carnival Splendor
, the
Sapphire Princess
, the
Oosterdam
, and the
Disney Wonder
.  At least three of them should have passengers aboard, although with the economy the way it was they probably weren’t full.  Some of the people may have gone ashore on the island too.  The other two ships, the
Disney Wonder
and
Carnival Splendor,
were scheduled to depart from San Pedro and Long Beach, respectively, on the afternoon of Z-Day, after arriving back to port early that morning.  Most of the returning passengers probably disembarked before they realized what was going on ashore and the ships probably would have left port without waiting for new passengers to arrive, once they figured out what was happening.  Those two ships probably didn’t get refueled or re-provisioned on Z-Day either, so they will be low on fuel and supplies.  In contrast, the
Oosterdam
had departed San Diego the night before Z-Day for a 15 day cruise to Hawaii.  She must have turned back soon after the news broke and decided to anchor off Catalina until things settled down.  She’d still have a lot of fuel and provisions, as they were prepared for a long cruise.”

“It’s interesting that they all chose to gather off Catalina,” Scott commented.

“It’s not really surprising,” replied Captain McCloud.  “Cruise ship captains like to stay relatively close to other cruise ships whenever possible in case of emergencies, such as a fire at sea, so that they can transfer their passengers if they ever had to abandon ship.  Catalina offers a safe anchorage away from the chaos on the mainland, but near enough to receive radio and television news reports.  The first ship that chose Catalina as their refuge probably radioed the rest of the ships to meet them there.  By staying close to the mainland they may also be hoping for the type of assistance that the Flotilla is about to provide.”

“That makes sense,” Scott agreed.  “And now we can offer four of them sanctuary at the Terminal Island Safe Haven and one at the Cruise Ship Terminal next to the Queen Mary.  They should be quite happy to see us.”

“Yes,” McCloud agreed.  “And in return, each of them can offer sanctuary for thousands of refugees, minus the beds already filled by their own passengers and crew, of course.”

“Absolutely,” Scott confirmed.  “That could more than double the housing available on Terminal Island.  I’m sure they would prefer to be docked at a secure pier with shore power and access to supplies than being anchored here off Catalina.  We should be able to convince them to accept refugees in return for secure docks, shore power and replenishment from the supplies in the port.”  Scott was jotting down notes as they talked.  “Of course the passengers could create some problems, if they expect to be pampered indefinitely by the crew.  We’ll need to find productive work for them, but I suppose my own
Possession Rule
will allow them to keep their current staterooms indefinitely.”

“Yes,” said Captain McCloud approvingly.  “They should be allowed to keep those cabins.  But that doesn’t mean they will keep getting free food or service from the crew of those ships without pitching in for the common good.  I’m sure we’ll have to work out details on a case by case basis, at least at first, but just being able to keep them safe and alive will be a major accomplishment.”

“Truer words were never spoken, Captain,” Scott agreed.  “That has to be our first priority.”  Scott nodded towards the video camera on his computer and Captain McCloud smiled acknowledgement on the screen.  They both took for granted the technology that allowed them to video conference between their ships.  But Scott’s face hardened slightly as he thought about how much of the technological civilization had been lost since Z-Day and how those who were still plugged into the shrinking internet were becoming islands of technology, as isolated in many ways as the island of Catalina that they were sailing towards. 

“There’s something else that might interest you,” Captain McCloud interjected.

“What’s that?” asked Scott absently.

“The little Catalina airport is totally packed with airplanes,” McCloud explained and Scott’s interest was indeed sparked again. 

“Really?” Scott said.  “How many planes?”

“Over a hundred,” replied Captain McCloud. “Crammed in so tight that they’re almost blocking the runway.  Here’s a video from the flyby our Dolphin made this morning.” He keyed something on his computer and a video replaced his image on Scott’s display.  “As you can see, it looks like a dozen or more planes either overran the end of the runway, or were pushed over the edge to make room for more to land.”

“Yes,” Scott agreed.  “It was probably a mixture of the two.  That can be a tricky field to land on for pilots who aren’t familiar with it, but it does look like they also ran out of room to park any more planes and started pushing them off the hilltop too.  You know, this concentration of planes, and obviously the pilots who flew them here, could prove invaluable.  I probably should have expected it too.  Catalina would have been a natural place for pilots of small planes to escape to on Z-Day.  Even if there were zombies in Avalon, they wouldn’t be likely to climb ten miles of hills to reach the Airport in the Sky, as local pilots refer to it.  Anyway, I think we should try to arrange a meeting with as many of those pilots as possible and discuss how they might be useful in the recovery process.”

“That’s a good idea,” agreed Captain McCloud.  “And if the Mayor of LA takes your advice about setting up a safe haven at Bob Hope Airport in Burbank, they would have a safe place to fly from here.  There are probably other airports that could become safe havens too.”

“My thoughts exactly,” confirmed Scott.  “In fact, there used to be a naval air station on Terminal Island, but it’s been replaced by industrial developments.  However, I think we can find a mile long stretch of straight four lane highway, or clear a strip in one of the larger container yards that could be used as a runway for small planes.  With ground transportation virtually impossible, at least in the cities, aircraft are one of the few remaining options for travelling inland.  All of those planes and pilots on Catalina could become very useful. 

“In fact, since we still have a few hours before the task force reaches Avalon, I think I’ll take my helicopter over to the Catalina airport and see about setting up a meeting with some of those pilots.  I saw a lot of people hanging around those planes in the video you showed.  They’re probably low on supplies by now, so maybe I’ll bring them a few cases of water and canned food too.  It might make them more receptive to our plans.”

“That sounds like a good idea, Scott,” Captain McCloud agreed.  “I think I’ll take one of the Dolphins and fly over with you.  That should make your offer appear more official.  It will also give us a chance to eyeball the rest of the island before the ships arrive.”