Dead in the Water

Richard Kant
Richard tries to keep himself steady, as Billie-Faye sets about shunting the ship into a more advantageous position. The others have all but forgotten about his gun, as they race to save those in the water.

Were they to glance up at the man, would they be able to read his thoughts?…

Snarls erupt from the bank, and Richard’s head snaps to attention. He watches, as three walkers break out from the trees and aim straight for the boat. Hearing had been one thing, but seeing was quite another. The walkers break out in a chorus of groans and hungry moans that set Richard’s teeth on edge.

The closest one is a woman, wearing a long, dark dress. She’s waterlogged from the waist down, and the meat on her legs is bulbous and blackened. She slaps into the water, and struggles to keep upright within the current. Still, she gets her hands up on to the side of the craft, desperately clawing at the passengers just above! She’s flanked by two men, in various states of disrepair after more than a year of exposure to the Georgian wilderness!

Billie-Faye Cooper
Billie-Faye assumes command of the vessel as the others go about fishing their friends out of the drink! She can’t help but look to the bank, as the snarl’s sound and Richard levels his weapon.

Three! For now…

Billie-Faye fights for control of the ship against the current, hoping to massage the ship into a better position to pick up those overboard. She hears a wet slap behind her as another of the three falls into the water.
A tall, lank of a man is battered against the back of the boat, as the current tries to sweep him away. Billie-Faye looks back and down at the thing just out of arm’s reach! It snarls and snaps at her from his place in the river, and the woman winces as the walker runs its teeth along wet, boat metal. Eventually, it gets a long arm up, and tries to swipe at the woman.

Two shots ring out, one after the other. Each sends a walker flailing back and crashing into the water beneath, and offering the group a moment’s respite.

With Herculean strength, both Shayna and Owen manage to pull Eva and Tracy from the fast moving water. Like wet rags, they flop down onto the deck of the pontoon, coughing water and gasping for air.

Only one walker remains; unperturbed by the swift dispatching of its fellow walkers only a moment before! Richard, being the closest to the bank, and drawing attention with his shot into the walker-woman’s head, is the thing’s target.

It’s clambers over the body of the dead-dead walker, and tries to take a chunk out of the man!

Richard’s gun burps again, and the walker takes one through the dome! It takes its time hitting the dirt; slumping half into the pontoon, before being kicked off the boat by the engine being brought back to life! It slides into the water, and gets stuck between the shore and the boat until one or the other moves!

Snarls break out somewhere in the distance, in response to all the shouting and racket! While you can’t see them, you know that there must be walkers combing through the trees, ready to descend on this location at any moment!

"I’m… I’m okay!" Eva pants, her hands reaching for her sister, and checking her over for wounds. The woman slips a little on the puddle forming beneath her on the deck.

"Fucking GO!" Tracy cries, with the ‘go’ coming out as a desperate, wet cough. Emma races over to him, hammering him on the back with one hand, and steadying herself on the pontoon with the other!