Welcome to the End

Chapter 22: Costly Victory

A bullet screamed past George's head and struck a metal support beam in a small burst of sparks. Resembling a Wild West gunslinger, George drew out the pistol holstered at his side and fired. His aim was far superior to the scavenger who had attacked him, and the bullet dropped the man where he stood.

"Time to go," George said, returning his gun to its holster.

"Yeah," Kevin agreed.

Abandoning the fuel drum they were attempting to claim, Kevin and George jumped onto the transport float with the barrels they'd already collected. While Kevin started the motor they'd attached to the rear of the cargo platform, George released the cable securing them to the rig.

"Let's give them something to keep them busy," George suggested, drawing out a grenade and pulling the pin. He tossed the weapon onto the refining platform and took a firm hold of the transport float, bracing for the expected turbulence.

Kevin planted his feet and tried to maintain a steady course as the grenade went off. The explosion of the grenade itself was minor compared to successive detonations that followed in a chain reaction. Steel fuel drums were set ablaze and burst in thunderous fireballs resembling an out of control fireworks display.

Metal supports gave way and collapsed as whole sections of the refinery folded in on themselves, creating an ear hurting din of clanging metal. Bursting fragments of the station were thrown out to sea where they hissed and extinguished when they made contact with the waters. Larger pieces of debris created great waves of displaced water, chasing after the small cargo transport trying to get away.

Although the damage to the refining station was extensive, the worst harm to the scavengers came from what the explosion did to the drilling platform. Secured along the side of the tower structure were the long pipes used for the undersea drill. The explosion shook the pipes loose, and similar to a tree falling, the pipes slowly tipped away from the rig, gaining speed as they fell until they splashed down in the water.

George had to abandon his grip on the side of the transport in order to steady some of the fuel drums threatening to topple overboard. Kevin turned the motor several times, trying to even out their course over the turbulent waters caused by the falling pipes. The transport was buffeted and tossed, but it managed to stay upright and moving away from the rig.

Unfortunately for the scavengers, the angle the pipes fell was shallow and left one end still on top of the platform, allowing a gentle enough slope for the undead in the waters below to start crawling up to the rig. They began emerging from the bay and slowly traversing the pipe until they reached a point where it crossed a portion of the platform. Falling off like dead fish, the corpses flipped onto the rig with sloshing sounds.

The long duration under the waters of the bay had loosened the skin of the undead, and it hung from their skeletons like clothes several sizes too big. They were waterlogged and the liquid poured off of them with every step toward the scavengers.

The Coral Blade clan had their hands full putting out the fires on the connected refining station and attempting to fix the damage caused to the drill rig. The unexpected arrival of the undead immediately gave them other concerns, dividing their focus and limiting their effectiveness. As gunfire erupted across the station, the scavengers did their best to eliminate the encroaching ranks of the undead, giving Kevin and George the time they needed to make a clean escape.

***

Razor and Red surfaced near their ship and pulled off their scuba flippers to climb the ladder hanging off the prow of the vessel. They were already on alert as the ladder wasn't supposed to have been lowered until they returned. Quietly reaching the main deck, Razor softly set down the waterproof bag holding his rifle and drew a knife from his belt with each hand.