Free The Beginning of the End (Book2): Road to Damnation by Sean Kidd Page A

back in the metal
building at the fairgrounds. Sidara decided against a rifle and put
all of her faith in that .44 caliber hand cannon she kept on her hip
now. It could stop a rhino, but was inaccurate as hell after fifteen
yards.
    During the summer
months, the ferries run twenty-four hours a day. The New York boat
crew must have docked the boat here and tied it up when everyone
started getting sick.
    Cowboy removed his hat,
eyeing the wheelhouse on top of the ferry, “So, are you thinking of
boating over to Vermont, hoss?”
    “No,” I said,
stepping on the ferry, “I’m thinking of taking this to New York
City.”
    Cowboy wiped his brow
with his sleeve and replaced his Stetson. He looked intrigued.
    The storm missed us,
and the clouds had given way to an intense fall sun. I hadn’t
realized I was sweating. It had to be over eighty degrees now.
    “Can you take a boat
all the way from here to New York City?” Cowboy asked.
    “Sure you can. I
remember my dad talking about some friends who had driven a boat from
Plattsburgh to New York a few years ago. He said it took them
twenty-four hours.”
    “Sounds like a good
plan, hoss, but why not just drive? It will take a quarter of the
time.”
    “Easy answer, Cowboy.
No zombies.”
    “I guess you got a
point. Do you know how to drive one of these things?”
    “Sure I do,” I
said. “How hard can it be, it’s a boat? We’ve got a Yamaha
LX2000 at home. I take that out all the time.”
    We headed up to the
wheelhouse and broke in using the tomahawk to smash out a port
window. I went to work on the ferry’s control panel.
    Thirty minutes later,
Cowboy and I had flicked every switch and turned every knob on the
ferry. No matter what we did, we could not get the thing to turn
over.
    “You know, Ty. I used
to watch a show where all these guys made a living catching crab in
the Bering Straight. On one episode, their boat was dead in the
water. The Captain and the Engineer were in the engine room trying to
fix the problem, it looked like they might have started it from down
there, and it wasn’t as easy as turning a key. There was a whole
process to it. I think your idea may not work.”
    I hated to admit it,
but I knew he was right, and I was sick of flicking switches.
    “Do you want to check
the engine room or do you want to call it quits and take the
vehicles?” I asked feeling defeated.
    “I know you had your
heart set on the ferry, but I’d rather just get there sooner than
later. Besides, I don’t like boats. I can’t swim.”
    “You can’t swim?”
I giggled.
    “I’m from Texas;
it’s all desert. What’s the point?”
    “Hell with it then,
let’s take the vehicles. I don’t want to take a chance of losing
you overboard, not being able to swim and all.”
    Back at the gift shop,
we met up with the girls. They were sitting at a table drinking warm
bottled soda.
    “What are you guys
doing? You’re supposed to be grabbing supplies.”
    “They’re all gone.
These are the last of them,” Sidara said, holding up her drink.
    “Gone? What do you
mean they’re gone? Like they were closed down for the season
early?”
    “No,” Sidara said,
“like someone’s been taking them. The only thing left is some
Vermont Maple Syrup and maple flavored candies. It looks like
someone’s been coming here every day eating the food.”
    “If someone’s been
stealing food, then where the hell are they now?” I asked.
    “Sidara’s right.”
Mom said, “someone’s been coming here, and I’ve had the
strangest feeling we’ve been being watched since we stepped out of
the Humvee. I think it’d be a good idea to get out of here as soon
as we gas up. I’ve had Sage watching out the windows since we
realized it.”
    The side screen door
slamming open startled us. Chevy ran in screaming, “We need help!
Hurry, Luther’s holding them off.”
    The rhythmic sound of
Luther’s AK-47 firing started and repeated until he changed out his
mag. A second of silence