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  He goes to the common room to get some water. Not that water will help him sleep, but he could use the distraction. He’s just grabbed a cup when the ham radio crackles with sound.

  “Mama Bear, this is Foot Solider. Fort Ross to Humboldt. Is anyone there? Over?”

  Ben jerks, knocking the ham receiver to the floor in his haste. Fumbling it into his hand, he answers.

  “Fort Ross, this is Humboldt. Where the hell have you guys been? You have Mama Bear worried sick. Over.”

  A beat of silence. “Who is this?”

  Ben wracks his brain for a call sign. He’s never spoken to Alvarez on the ham before. He says the first name that comes to mind. “This is Word Smith. I live with Mama Bear and Wandering Writer.”

  Word Smith? Where the fuck did that name come from? He’s the last person who should be using that call sign.

  “We’ve been waiting for your call,” he says.

  “Good to hear your voice, Word Smith. Shit has gone sideways at Fort Ross. We’re under siege.”

  “What’s the sit rep?” Kate mentioned Alvarez had a military background.

  “Word Smith, are you military? Over.”

  “That’s affirmative. Thirty years of service. Over.”

  “Thank fucking god. Maybe you can help us. Can you get Mama Bear? I don’t want to tell this story twice. Over.”

  “Affirmative. Back in three. Over.”

  43

  Siege

  BEN

  As he rushes away to get Kate, his premonition kicks into high gear. This is the shoe drop he’s been expecting. Whatever Alvarez is about to tell them, it’s not going to be good.

  A short time later, the entire Creekside crew, minus the children, is gathered around the ham radio. It had taken only minutes to wake everyone.

  “Foot Soldier, this is Word Smith. Over.”

  Several heads swivel in his direction, Kate’s the first among them. Ben feels his face heat and keeps his eyes locked on the ham. Why the fuck had that handle popped into his head?

  “Word Smith, this is Foot Soldier. Everyone there?”

  Kate takes the receiver from Ben. “Foot Soldier? This is Mama Bear. We’re all here. What’s your status? Over.”

  “Not good, Mama Bear. We’re fucked. Over.”

  “That is not a detailed report of the situation,” Kate grinds out. “Details, Foot Soldier. Right now. Over.”

  “Remember those bandits I told you about? The ones who kidnapped our people?”

  “Yes.”

  “They’re back, only there’s more of them. It started with raids on the perimeter of our land. The livestock. The horses. The orchard. The fish we left out to dry. Then a few of our people disappeared.”

  Ben feels his temper start to boil. He grips the edge of the table, fighting against the flashback that tries to force itself to the forefront.

  “We formed search parties. More of our people disappeared,” Alvarez says. “Then over two dozen people on bicycles were spotted north of Fort Ross on Highway One. They were heavily armed and heading straight for us. We secured the fort just before the bandits arrived.”

  Kate’s knuckles are white around the receiver. “What’s your situation now?” she asks.

  “Mr. Rosario, the bandit leader, wants Fort Ross.”

  At the mention of the name Mr. Rosario, Kate’s entire body stills. Ben’s hackles go up at the sudden rage that paints her face. He doesn’t know who this Mr. Rosario is, but Kate’s reaction is enough to make him want to start shooting something.

  “It gets worse,” Alvarez says. “Rosario has seven of my people. She’s given us twenty-four hours to surrender. After that, she’ll execute one of them every day she has to wait.”

  Seconds tick by. Kate visibly wrestles with her anger, jaw clenched so hard Ben can hear her teeth grind.

  “Twenty-four hours?” Kate barks. “When did the clock start ticking?”

  “Twenty-seven minutes ago.”

  Kate leans over the table, her face a set mask of determination. “I’m coming, Foot Soldier. Hold on. I’ll be there. Over and out.” She slams the receiver down on the table, glaring at everyone and nothing. “Will someone please tell me why that crazy bitch is named Mr. Rosario?” she shouts, lifting her eyes to the ceiling as though the answer might drop from the sky.

  The room stills, everyone frozen by this uncharacteristic display of anger.

  Reed tentatively raises a hand in the air. “Mama?”

  “What?” Kate snaps.

  “I know the story of Mr. Rosario.”

  “Tell me.” She attempts to rein in her fury and completely fails.

  “Mr. Rosario was the original drug lord of northern California. When his wife caught him cheating, she cut off his balls and locked him in a shed in the woods and left him there until he starved to death. His wife took on his name and took over his business. The story is that she set up a compound around the shed where he died. She runs all her operations from there.”

  Hands on her hips, Kate glares. Not at Reed, but past him, like she’s seeing a memory she’d rather forget. Ben can relate to that.

  Then she stalks out of the room, leaving everyone sitting there in stunned silence.

  Ben is the first one to move. Kate isn’t going anywhere without him. He charges out the door after her, Carter and Jenna right on his heels.

  Kate is inside her room, shoving supplies into a running pack.

  “Mom?” Carter pokes his head around the doorframe. Ben and Jenna hang back behind him. “You can’t do this.”

  “My friend is in trouble,” she replies, not looking up. “I’m going to help him.”

  “Did you hear the part about Fort Ross being surrounded and outgunned by a band of raiders?” Carter says. “You can’t go.”

  Kate spins on him. “You know what that bitch did to me and Frederico. She captured us. She chained a collar of bells around our necks and pushed us out into a forest infested with zombies. We almost died trying to get away. She did it for her own entertainment.”

  Ben sees red. The mental image of Kate with a collar of bells around her neck makes him want to strangle something.

  “I’m going with you,” he says.

  Kate flicks a glance at him, nods, then goes back to shoving supplies into her pack. “This will be a volunteer mission only.”

  “Um, Fort Ross is two hundred miles away,” Jenna says. “It’s not safe to drive. You saw what happened when Leo and his people tried to drive.”

  “You’re a badass, Mom, but even you can’t run that far in twenty-four hours.”

  Kate straightens, flinging her pack over her shoulders and snapping it into place. “I’m not going to run. I’m taking the boat.” She marches past them and into the bathroom, filling her pack bladder with boiled water kept in jugs on the floor.

  “What boat?” Carter demands.

  “Susan’s boat.”

  “You don’t know how to drive a boat,” Jenna argues.

  “I’ll have Susan show me.”

  Carter turns to Ben. “Will you talk some sense into her?”

  “We just need to take enough firepower to blow those fuckers to the moon and back,” Ben says. “That will take care of them. We can figure out the boat.”

  Kate spins toward him, jabbing a finger into his chest. “That’s what I’m talking about. You’re in charge of pulling together everything you think we’ll need. I’ll get the alpha zom recordings.” Her mouth sets. “I’ll sic an entire horde of zombies on that bitch if I have to.”

  “Mom!” Carter shouts. “This is a suicide mission!”

  Kate blinks, briefly coming down from her state of focused rage. She grabs Carter in a fierce hug. “I can’t lose Alvarez, baby,” she says. “I just can’t. I already lost Lila and Jesus. I can’t lose anyone else.”

  “Those were accidents,” Jenna says. “We all miss them, but it’s no one’s fault they’re gone. Don’t throw yourself away trying to fix something that can’t b
e fixed.”

  “We can do this.” Ben steps forward. “A small guerilla team. Me. Caleb. Ash. Reed for his speed and Eric for his sniper skills. We boat down the coast. It won’t take more than seven or eight hours. Those assholes will never know what hit them. Like you said, we’ll take the alpha recording. If we can’t out-gun them, we’ll turn the zoms on them.”

  Face contorted, Carter glares at Ben. “Just because you’re in love with my mom doesn’t mean you have the right to encourage her suicide mission!”

  The room goes silent. Kate’s face turns red.

  Ben considers crawling under a table. He stomps out of the room instead. “I’ll go get the guns.”

  He slams the door behind him. Maybe sometime in the next twenty-four hours, he’ll regain some of his self-respect.

  44

  Apocalyptic Bounce House

  KATE

  “There’s only one problem with your plan,” says Susan after I lay out the bullet points to the assembled group. “My boat is almost out of fuel. It’s the reason Gary was in the water when he was attacked by the shark. He was siphoning gas.”

  I pace, chewing at my bottom lip as I sort through options. “Can boats use regular gas?” There are enough abandoned cars around.

  Susan shakes her head. “No. They use MDO. Marine diesel oil. The closest marina is in Eureka, but there are too many zoms there. Our best option is to try the communities on the west side of the bay. Lots of homes there have docks and boats. We can siphon from them. I think we have enough gas to make it across the bay.”

  “Then that’s what we do.” I nod, mind racing. “This is a volunteer-only mission. You all know the risks. No one is obligated to help.”

  “You’re not taking my boat unless I drive it,” Susan says. “Besides, you saved Gary’s life. This is the least I can do to repay the favor.”

  “I’m going.” Leo folds his arms over his chest. “Rosario raided our lab and stole some of the proprietary hybrids we developed. Butchered them and sold them on the illegal market. I’ve been wanting to get back at that bitch for years.”

  “Great.” I nod to Susan and Leo, grateful for the help. “We need to be packed and ready to leave by sunrise.” That’s a little less than two hours. “Are there any other volunteers?”

  To my surprise, nearly everyone volunteers. Even Carter and Jenna, despite the fact they think this is a kamikaze mission. I chose the four people Ben named to round out the team: Caleb, Ash, Reed, and Eric.

  Carter is pissed I’m leaving. My son doesn’t get mad very often. But when he’s mad, he stays mad. For a long time. I can only hope to earn his forgiveness.

  “You and Jenna are in charge while I’m gone,” I tell them. “Keep up the workouts. Focus the rest of your days on scavenging and installation of new solar panels for the indoor gardens.”

  Carter is so furious he can’t make eye contact with me. Jenna gives me a hug. “Be safe, Kate.”

  “I’ll be back before you know it.” I kiss Carter on the cheek, pretending he isn’t giving me the cold shoulder. If I die on this mission, he’ll remember that I love him.

  I find Ben in the armory organizing firearms. I feel awkward after the thing Carter said. I decide to use the same tactic I’ve been using ever since our awkward kiss. When I enter the armory, I pretend like nothing happened.

  “Think we have what we need to take down Rosario?” I ask.

  Ben doesn’t look up. “Long-range weapons and explosives,” he says. “Those will be our best line of defense to take these fuckers down. We also have a handful of compact travel rifles that fold in half and fit into a pack.”

  I take in the two large backpacks filled with weapons and explosives. “Ben, you don’t have to come. This is my fight.”

  He gives me a flat, what-the-fuck look. “This woman chained bells to your neck and set zombies after you, Kate. She deserves to be strung up by her entrails. That’s exactly what I’m going to do if I get my hands on her first.” He goes back to sorting weapons.

  “Everyone you named agreed to come with us.”

  He snorts. “Of course they did. There isn’t a person in this place who wouldn’t follow you into hell, Mama Bear.”

  “Susan and Leo are coming, too. Susan to pilot the boat. Leo to get revenge on Rosario.”

  “Good. We can use their help. Don’t forget the alpha recordings. Wish those kids had time to get more than that single command.” Ben slaps some extra magazines into a backpack. “Do you mind grabbing my bug-out pack and running shoes from my room? I’ll meet you downstairs with the rest of the ammo.”

  “Sure, Ben,” I say, grateful to have his help on this mission. “See you downstairs.”

  “SHIT. THIS SUCKS.” Susan runs a hand over her face, pursing her lips as she stares at her boat.

  We stand ankle-deep in the swampy waters of Humboldt Bay. Fairhaven, the charter ship, has been left to its own devices for weeks. It’s become wedged in the soil and lists to one side.

  “She’s going to be a bitch to get out of that mud,” Susan continues. “It’s going to take some time.”

  Alvarez doesn’t have time. Lives are depending on us. We’ve wasted enough time just getting here.

  Crossing the highway hadn’t been any easier this time. We had the trick of setting off car alarms to draw the zombies away, but Eric still managed to get himself grabbed by a zombie with broken legs that was stuck under a car. Only Reed’s quick reflexes had saved him.

  “Let’s not stand around with our thumbs up our asses,” Ben growls, sloshing through the water to the boat. “Let’s get our gear loaded and get this girl out to sea.”

  We have two large backpacks crammed with munitions. To me, it looks like enough to resupply a small army. For the first time, I’m glad I know how to fire a gun. I won’t hesitate to shoot Rosario if I have the chance.

  Caleb and Eric climb into the boat while the rest of us pass gear up to them.

  “See if you can find a tarp or something to put over the weapons in case it rains,” Ben says.

  “Aye-aye, captain,” Caleb says with a mock salute.

  The look Ben gives Caleb has enough rancor to level a city block. The tension between the two men is electric.

  “I haven’t figured out why those two don’t like one another,” Leo whispers.

  “Neither of them talk about it,” I whisper back. “

  Once we get our gear loaded, I turn to Susan. “Now what?”

  “The good news is that the tide is in. A captain is never without her tide chart.” Susan taps her jacket pocket. “I checked before we headed out. Good thing I have one that goes through the end of the year.”

  “What’s the bad news?” Ben asks.

  “Hold up,” Susan replies. “There’s more good news. The bow of the boat isn’t stuck in the mud. Only the stern.”

  “But that’s where the propeller is,” Caleb says with a frown. “We sort of need the propeller.”

  “Are you ready for the last piece of good news?” Susan says.

  “You have a secret M&M stash downstairs?” Reed asks.

  “Not quite, but it’s almost as good as that. There are seven of us, which means we have at least a thousand pounds between us.”

  “That’s good news?” Leo asks. “Won’t we just grind the boat farther into the mud?”

  “Not if we’re all standing in the bow. Come on.” Susan leads the way, herding us all toward the front of the boat. “The theory is simple. We stand on the bow together and jump up and down until we get the stern out of the mud.”

  We all stare at her.

  “Like an apocalyptic bounce house?” Reed asks.

  Susan grins. “Exactly.”

  Under Susan’s direction, we pile around the bow, all of us standing on the lip and gripping the railing. If Susan wasn’t adamant that this was a tried and true method of freeing a boat that had run aground, I’d think she was delusional.

  “We need to synchronize our jumps,” Susan says.
“Everyone, squat down.”

  We obey, dropping onto the balls of our feet and using the railing for balance.

  “On the count of three, everyone needs to push up in a jumping motion. Make sure you don’t let go of the railing or you could end up in the mud. Ready? One, two, three!”

  We shove. To my amazement, the entire back end of the boat shifts upward. Not a lot, but enough for my skepticism to morph into hope.

  “Let’s do it again,” Susan says. “One, two, three!”

  For a second time, we crouch down and jump. The stern of the boat shifts again.

  “We need to get a rhythm going,” Susan says. “No more long pauses between each jump. Ready? On my count. One, two, three! One, two, three!”

  We push in time to her count, rocking the boat up and down. With each jump, the back of the boat lifts a few inches higher.

  “Who needs a tow truck when you have an apocalyptic bounce house?” Reed asks with a laugh. “This is kind of fun.”

  “Focus,” Susan tells him. “We’re almost there. One, two, three! One, two, three!”

  The back end of the boat abruptly lifts free. At the same time, the front of the boat tips forward at a dangerous angle. Ash slides off the bow and lands in the muddy water below.

  “Shit,” she snarls, getting to her feet and shaking off the muck. “I didn’t bring a change of pants.”

  None of us had room for much in our running packs. The whole point of them is to pack light so we can move fast if necessary.

  “On the bright side,” Susan calls down to her, “we got the propeller out.”

  “It’s not your ass that’s muddy and wet,” Ash replies.

  The Fairhaven bobs in the shallow water, rocking in the gentle current. Ash climbs onto the deck and Susan hands her a dry shirt.

  “It’s the best I can do.” She gives an apologetic shrug. “I used all the towels on Gary’s leg.”

  “We have to tell Johnny about this,” Eric says. “This needs to go in his book.”