Emperor of a Dead World (28 page)

The electrician had linked Brad’s computer to the racetrack monitors and everyone was watching. When the first creature fell off everyone cheered like his long shot had won the race. Thirty seconds later the next one fell and they started tumbling like dominos after that. Brad now took the drone back into the city to attract as many as he could. Once they started walking, they just kept following each other in the same direction. All he had to do was keep the leaders on track.

Now that he had them walking he circled the ocean at the end of the pier for another half hour. Unfortunately, some of the creatures walked back out of the ocean but his despair quickly passed when they mindlessly followed the others back onto the pier. Though his plan was working, his supply of creatures was too scarce and his gas was almost gone. He realized in order to maximize his success he needed to get as many creatures to the beach as possible before the dancer started. To do this, he decided to put on a fireworks show. He remembered how the creatures had followed the lightning and he hoped fireworks would have the same effect.

Since Disneyland was famous for their fireworks show, he decided to send some men to raid the place and collect all that were there. Once he had everything he needed he would start his show a couple of hours before dawn and by the time the beach was crowded it would be daylight. The only other thing he needed to do was set up the generator with a timer so it would start just after dawn. With this in mind, he made a quick flyby of Disneyland then brought the drone back and discussed his plan with his friends.

Everyone agreed it was dangerous to go out when you could not see so Brad decided to acquire a boat the night before then set off the fireworks from the boat in the morning. The creatures could not swim so they should be safe. Once this was resolved, Brad sent some men to Disneyland while he trained the electrician’s son to fly the drone. The kid was good at video games and he learned the plane quickly. When Brad was satisfied that the kid could handle the drone he told him to fly over at dawn to video the event.

Now that all their preparations were complete, they were ready to go. A sailor knew where they could find a suitable boat and they headed out early enough to get to the pier before dark. Since they already had enough men for the task, Brad asked Rudy to stay behind and take charge of the racetrack. After almost drowning when they blew a hole in the pier, Brad and Tyrone decided they should no longer put all three of the founders at risk at the same time.

It was shortly after six PM when Brad, Tyrone, a guard, the explosives expert and a sailor named Sam set out on board a 41-foot Rampage sport fishing boat. Sam chose this boat because they could all ride comfortably and there was plenty of room to shoot off fireworks. In addition, it was nearby and easy to acquire. They set up the generator without incident then anchored on the lee side of Island White. After dark, they drank the case of beer Tyrone had brought along and now had nothing to do but wait for dawn.

Chapter 23

When the alarm sounded, Brad jumped up but it took a couple of seconds for him to realize where he was.

“Turn that damn thing off,” Tyrone grumbled.

“Time to get up,” Brad returned as he shut off the buzzer.

The others sat up and yawned. It was still two hours before dawn.

The explosives man headed for the bow. He had set everything up the evening before and he was ready. “Just say the word and I will light this place up.”

Brad glanced over but it was so dark that he did not even know which way the beach was.

“It is over there,” the sailor pointed when he saw Brad’s confusion.

Brad looked but still saw nothing.

The sailor shot off a flare and Brad now saw the beach. Not many creatures but that would soon change.

“I will turn on the lights,” the sailor said as he headed below to switch on the anchor and running lights.

“How do you want to do this?” the explosives man asked as he looked over his setup.

“Send a few off to get their attention. After they take notice we will slow the pace.”

The man lit one off and it shot up and exploded in brilliant colors.

“Ooh,” Tyrone said sarcastically. “This makes up for missing the Fourth of July celebrations last year.”

The man set off three more in rapid succession then glanced at Brad.

“If we do one a minute how long will they last?” Brad asked.

“We have about three hundred so they should last for five hours.”

“Daylight is less than two hours away,” the sailor said.

“That is true but we may want to do this another time,” Brad replied.

“There are illegal fireworks everywhere,” Tyrone laughed. “Everyone was getting ready for the Fourth of July when all Hell broke loose.”

“Send one every thirty seconds and see what happens,” Brad relented.

Every time the man shot one off the beach lit up and after about twenty minutes, they started to draw a crowd.

“It is working,” the guard said.

“Good,” Brad replied. He now faced the man firing them off. “Do you have any that make louder booms?”

The man looked through some boxes with a flashlight then took one out and set it off. Not a lot of light but it was loud.

“Yeah, that’s the ticket. Send one of those off between the others.”

“Still at thirty seconds?” the man asked.

“No. Flash, boom, flash, boom every fifteen seconds.”

After half an hour, he said he was running low on noisemakers.

“Go back to thirty seconds,” Brad said. “They are already coming.”

“It might be a good idea to go closer to the pier,” the sailor said. “I can pull the anchor and we will drift that way. When we get closer I will drop anchor again.”

“Sounds like a plan,” Brad agreed.             

The sailor flicked a switch and the anchor came up allowing the current to carry them over. When they were about one hundred feet off the front and just west of the pier he dropped the anchor again. “These oil platform islands might make a nice home,” he suggested as he gazed at the small islands. “Those things would all drown trying to get us.”

“That is something to consider,” Brad replied as they all sat back and watched the show.

Half an hour before dawn, the beach was crowded with creatures.

“This is going to be great,” Brad said with enthusiasm. He got up and stretched then moved to the back of the boat.

Tyrone smiled but he knew the amount they killed would only be a drop in the bucket.

Standing on the stern, Brad watched the beach light up with the next explosion. Suddenly the boat rocked and he almost fell overboard. “What the hell was that,” he cried.

“Look out,” the explosives man yelled to Tyrone.

Tyrone jumped up just as a creature grabbed at him. The thing was hideous and it was climbing onto the boat. He kicked it in the face knocking it back into the water.

“They are here,” Brad warned. “These are the faster ones.”

“Apparently they can swim,” Tyrone said as he punched another one that was climbing up.

“Let’s get out of here,” Brad shouted.

“Give me a second,” the sailor said as he turned the key. “I have to pull the anchor.”

He hit the switch and the anchor came up along with a creature. The guard was standing on the bow and he screamed when it attacked him. Tyrone ran over and grabbed the thing by the head then tossed it off the boat. As the body splashed into the water, he realized he was still holding onto the head. He quickly dropped it then frantically wiped his hands on his pants. Now three more creatures were climbing onboard.

“Over here,” the explosives man yelled as he hit one with an empty crate and knocked it into the water sending pieces of create flying as Brad and Tyrone rushed over to help. Before Brad could turn away, a piece of shard struck him in the lip splattering blood into Tyrone’s face.

“Hey,”
HeHJH
Tyrone exclaimed as he ran his sleeve across his face to wipe away the blood. He had a strange taste in his mouth and he spit out red saliva.
Gross,
he thought when he realized it was Brad’s blood.

Paying no attention to his wound or Tyrone’s complaint, Brad grabbed an oar and belted the two remaining creatures over the side.

“The anchor is up,” Tyrone called to the sailor. “Get moving.”

The sailor pushed the throttle and the boat lurched forward.

“Make sure none are riding along,” Brad warned as he steadied himself.

Everyone checked the sides and four more were hanging on. They hit them with anything they could and knocked them free.

Once the boat was clear Tyrone asked, “Is everyone alright?”

“I am bleeding,” the guard said as he held his neck.

Tyrone looked at Brad. They both knew what this meant. “Sorry buddy,” he said as he grabbed some peroxide, a few rags and a roll of duct tape. “I will take care of your wounds but then I am going to have to bind you for our safety.”

“I understand. Just kill me quick if I change. I don’t want to become one of those creatures.” He rubbed his neck were he had been bitten.

“Some people get sick and recover,” Tyrone said as he cleaned the man’s wound. “Brad was sick.”

They all looked at Brad.

“It was months ago,” insisted Brad. “I have been better for a long time.”

“I knew there was something special about you,” the sailor replied.

“When it gets light enough to see we will head back in,” Brad said to change the subject as they went out through the breakwater.

“Are you alright?” Tyrone asked with concern when he noticed Brad’s bloody lip.

“Yeah, I was hit in the face with a piece of crate.” He looked at Tyrone’s bloody face and asked,” What happened to you?”

“You splattered your blood all over me.”

“Sorry.”

“I am just glad it was your blood and not the creature’s.”

As the sun came up, they headed back toward the pier.

“Everyone, keep a sharp eye out,” Brad said as he got his oar ready. He then stood on the bow and watched the water for any sign of movement. “Go slow and steady,” he instructed the sailor.

Tyrone stood next to him holding a hammer.

“I guess we can forget about moving to the islands,” the sailor shrugged.

No one responded.

“Shit,” Tyrone said. “Look.” He pointed at the wounded guard. He was foaming at the mouth and trying to get free.

“Just do it,” Brad said.

Tyrone walked over and the man lunged at him. With great regret, he hit him once in the head with the hammer then threw him overboard.

“He was a good man,” Tyrone said sadly.

“It concerns me how quickly he changed,” Brad said. “The virus is definitely mutating and getting stronger.”

“That is true,” Tyrone agreed. “I have never seen anyone change that fast.”

“I saw it once before,” Brad said. “The day I went to the fort looking for you.”

“Was it one of our guys or one of theirs?” Tyrone asked.

“Theirs, I put him down right away.”

“You should have left him like that,” Tyrone grumbled.

When they got close to the pier, they could see the dancer flailing around and creatures heading toward it.

“At least the inflatable dancer is working,” Brad remarked.

“Over there,” the explosives man pointed. The advanced creatures were swimming toward the boat. “Do these things ever quit?”

“We better keep moving,” the sailor warned.

Brad watched for a moment. “They are not that fast in the water. Go slow and let them follow. We will lead them out to sea.”

“There sure are a lot of them in the water,” the sailor said dismally.

“Could be fifty or maybe even one hundred,” Tyrone replied.

“Maybe they will get tired and sink,” the sailor said hopefully.

Everyone watched and hoped the same thing as they cruised back and forth to draw attention. After hanging around long enough to see the first one fall off the pier, they headed out to sea.

“Keep a slow pace so they can follow,” Brad said. “After we get a ways out we will speed up. Once we are out of sight we can head back.”

“Aye, aye captain,” the sailor smiled.

When they finally made it back to the pier, the creatures were still dropping off.

“Gas should hold out for a couple more hours and they should keep following each other off for a while after that,” Brad observed.

“There is the drone,” Tyrone said.

“I regret that I told that kid to come,” Brad said as it circled around the boat. He waved it off. “That is all we need. This thing will bring the creatures back in from the ocean.”

“Let’s go home,” Tyrone said. “We can leave everything on board for next time.”

As they headed to the racetrack, Brad knew people would ask about the man that did not return so the entire trip back he contemplated how to break the news. When they got to the gate, Rudy met them with a couple of guards. He noticed the missing man but did not mention him. After they parked Lisa ran up. She was so relieved to see Brad that she did not notice there were only four men in the truck. Brad kissed her then led everyone to the control room and told them everything.