Fearing the Dead

7// The Yacht

Everything was ablaze.
The once sunny happy streets of Los Angeles were now an orange battlefield.
Fire was strewn everywhere along with the wailing and crashing of the beach waves, as we all stood on the sand outside of Strand's luxury house.
Nick, Alicia, Daniel, Ofelia and Strand were all on the small motor dingy that was speeding along towards the yacht, a few kilometres off shore.
Maddy, Travis, and I were on the beach, hurriedly bringing supply's down to the shore line, as Chris sat up on the rocks with his mothers dead corpse.

"I can't see the boat anymore!" Maddy yelled as we grabbed a hand full of bags.

"They're out past the break line!" I yell to her as the sound of explosions get nearer.

"They'll come back when they're off!" Travis yells in response to me.
But all I'm doing as well as carrying bags is making sure Chris is okay.
He solemnly sits next to his dead mum, tears in his eyes and his shoulders slumped.
Never. Have I ever seen him so upset in my life.
But that's understandable.

"Come on" Travis says running back up to shore as we wait in anticipation for the dingy to arrive again.
Explosions getting closer and closer, louder and louder.

Maddy runs back to the water placing more bags down, And let's be honest. We all look like headless chooks.
But hope bubbles inside of me as I see the lights from the yacht turn on meaning the others had made it safely on board.
I smile and laugh slightly seeing as all this seems to be too good to be true having us all getting the boat. But it is.
Because then I hear it. The infected. And they're snarling.
I see that Maddy and Travis haven't heard it but when I turn to look at Chris. I know he has because he looks up and looks at me, his eyebrows furrowed together.

"Travis!" Maddy yells looking up at Strand's house, and I see it. Or them.
There had to be 100. There were so many of them.

"Oh, Jesus, Maddy" Travis calls as I stand, paralysed in fear.

"Chris!" Travis yells to his son who isn't listening to him at all.
"Move to the water!"
"Chris!"

"I'm not leaving her!" Chris yells back at his dad, as he pick up a rock.
My brain fizzles as I am confused as of what to do.
But then they strike.
The infected are upon us as one jumps onto Travis and starts attacking him. Maddy helps him break free from it but I can't do much to help before one grabs hold of me and pins me onto the sand.

"NO! GET OFF ME!" I scream, at the top of my lungs, my arms burning from me pushing away the huge force on top of me. My arms get weaker and weaker as I continue screaming, that thing snarling and snapping for me. I feel like giving up before blood splatters everywhere, the infected on top of me is pushed off, dead.
I look into my rescuers eyes and give them a thankful nod somewhat hoping it would be Chris, but to my surprise it was Maddy.

More and more infected come closer before I hear the glorious sound of a speed boat in the distance.

"Come on! Let's go, let's go!" I hear someone yell as we all quickly gather everything running into the water, closer and closer to the dingy.
Maddy and I grab all the bags and Travis grabs Liza's body, Chris tagging along, never leaving his mothers side, as we get to the boats side.
We all pant as we reach the boat clambering in it to try to get to safety as quickly as possible. Maddy climbs in, followed by Chris who accidentally slams into Nick who is driving the boat, but I go and help Travis place Liza on it.
In doing so Travis gets on but then we hear the infected's snarling.
And it's close.

"Come on! Come on!" Nick yells to me as Travis helps me in but not before his face turns to fear and my foot is grabbed.
From the act of us being soaked I slip from his grip into the water, along with the infected.
When I re surface I scream and stand up, hurriedly getting back into the boat, with Chris calling out to me in fear.
I am pulled from the water by Chris and Travis, as Chris pulls me closer to him, our bodies pressed up against each other.
The infected that grabbed me was a few feet in front of the boat before Nick pulled up the motor allowing the thing to hit its face against the propeller that was in full force. It's face coming clean off.