Free Undead Freaks by Jesse Bastide

sailboat was tied up at the dock
below the house. It was a small boat, without a cabin. Frank
wondered if the infection had spread to the islands. It was
possible. He wanted something to eat and the house had to have a
kitchen but he knew they'd better get off the island and away from
the fallout.
    Kelly saw the boat and went to it;
she started to work on getting the mainsail up. It was already in
the mast track and she undid the sail ties before pulling on the
main halyard. She'd been sailing as a kid. She thought that if
there was one good thing about this whole fucked up mess it was
that she wasn't home ordering online shit that she didn't need and
waiting for Terry to come home and slap her around. She was doing
something real. She was helping other people. It felt better that
way.
    The others followed her, climbing
onboard one at a time and taking their seats. Kelly untied the
boat. It looked like it could fit eight people if you crammed them
in.
    Todd pushed them away from the
dock and there was only a faint breath of wind now. It was enough
to move nice and slow. Kelly sat holding the tiller and steered
them away from the dock. They started to sail away. They were
moving no faster than a slow walk.
    Then they all heard it. There was
moaning coming from the house on shore. The moans were distinct and
they carried over the water. Three people walked into sight,
staggering toward the boat. Their expressions weren't vacant. They
were hungry.
    “ Freaks,” whispered
Todd.
    Zombies on the
island , thought Frank. They'd gotten out
here too. Not too much of a surprise. Islands seemed like a good
place to get away until you realized that everyone probably had the
same idea about them. There were fewer places to run and hide on
the islands.
    Todd raised his gun but Frank
said, “Put it down. Not worth it. Not unless they can
swim.”
    The zombies got to the water's
edge and stopped. It was like they were scared of it. And then one
of them, the shortest of the bunch, walked in up to its knees. It
kept going up to its chest, wading in.
    “ It's coming for us,” said Josie.
She was scared.
    “ It can't swim,” said
Frank.
    The zombie kept going and now the
other ones were walking into the water too. The first zombie that
had gone in disappeared, its head dipping beneath the surface.
There were ripples where it had been. The others followed
it.
    “ Will they catch us?” said Josie.
She looked at Kelly and Kelly didn't see her looking. Kelly was
thinking about sailing. She was thinking about getting them away
from the island, from the death that was all around
them.
    It was quiet. The boat creaked.
Then there was a sound like fingernails scraping on wood. It was
coming from underneath the boat.
    Josie held onto Pete's arm and
squeezed. He let her do it. He was fourteen and normally he was
awkward around girls but this wasn't one of those times. He was
scared too but he didn't show it. The scratching went on. It
sounded like they were under the boat, trying to grab onto the
keel.
    Then the noise stopped.
    The boat sailed into deeper water.
It was away from the island. They could all see the city across the
water. They watched it burn.

All characters and situations are
fictional. Any resemblance to real people is
coincidental.