Welcome to the End

Chapter 23: Old Habits

Kevin dug under the console and work stations. He knew he'd seen a medical kit in here somewhere when they'd first explored the ship. Locating the white box, he grabbed it and handed it over quickly to George.

The priest tore open the box and rummaged through the stored items, selecting and taking what he needed. Cutting open Isabella's shirt around the stab wound, he examined the injury to determine its depth and the damage to the organs underneath. Certain there were no hemorrhaging organs or severed arteries, George took the necessary items from the kit and began stitching the wound closed. He applied disinfectant and a heavy layer of gauze before putting a large bandage on top.

Kevin and the people he'd brought with him checked the scavengers in the room, making certain they were dead. When the room was secure, Kevin divided the men into two groups, posting each one at a different door leading into the bridge. Returning to George, he checked on Isabella's condition.

"How is she?" Kevin asked.

"Not good," George answered without looking up from his ministrations. "She took some pretty deep wounds, and she lost a significant amount of blood. I just don't know if we got to her in time."

"We need to secure the ship," Kevin said, uncertain of how George would react to his suggestion.

George stood up and silently nodded his agreement. The look in his eyes made Kevin nervous. The priest didn't seem angry but strangely cold and calm as if his emotions had switched off.

"Barricade the doors," George instructed the men remaining behind to hold the bridge. He handed one of them the shotgun Isabella had been using of late. "Anyone tries to get in, shoot them."

"What if it's you?" the guard nervously asked.

"We won't come back in," George replied. "We'll call out to you from the hallway. If we walk through the hatch, it means the enemy has us at gunpoint and you need to be ready to start shooting. Remember, if that hatch opens, the enemy is coming in to kill you; kill them first."

George stepped over to the man and took a handful of his shirt near the collar and pulling him to within an inch of the priest.

"Guard this room with your life," George whispered. "If they get to her again, I'll kill you myself."

George released the terrified man and exited the bridge, either expecting Kevin to follow or not caring if he did.

Kevin swallowed hard as he trailed after the man dressed as a priest. His cop instincts were screaming at him that George was dangerous and a potential threat, but he didn't know what to do about it at the moment. After seeing the look in his eyes earlier, Kevin knew for certain he didn't want to get in the man's way.

George and Kevin headed to the engine room. Along the way, the two of them encountered several scavengers, but George dispatched them with his guns faster than Kevin could react. The moment Kevin saw them and started to turn his weapon in their direction, George fired and put them down. His shots were flawlessly precise, either striking his foes in the forehead or slipping between their pieces of armor to cut through the intruders at their weakest point.

Kevin felt as if he were following in the path of the Grim Reaper. George methodically and efficiently killed every opponent that appeared to challenge them, and through it all, his expression remained blank and emotionless. He was the hand of death itself.

The engine room was filled with the civilians George had enlisted to assist him in running the ship. They were completely unaware of the attack on the vessel as none of the intruders had gotten this far as yet. He had them barricade the doors into the compartment, leaving orders to attack anyone who tried to enter.