Apocalyptic Pirates 4, page 16
The coffee and whiskey burned down my throat, and even though I’d had finer coffees and I’d had better whiskeys, this hit the spot in a way that was unparalleled.
“If we had Jameson, I’d offer you that instead,” the bartender said. “Unfortunately our options are a bit limited here.”
“Is that why you became a bartender?” I asked with a grin. “So you could share your name with your products?”
For a moment he looked puzzled, but then he laughed.
“I get it,” he chuckled. “James, Jameson.”
“It’s not the best joke,” I said with a grin. “But it’s all I got right now.”
“No, no, that’s funny.” He shook his head with a smile still faintly on his face. “Honestly, no, that never occurred to me. I became a bartender because I like alcohol. That’s the honest answer.”
“It’s a good answer,” I told him. “I’m a liquor distributor. Well, I was, before all of this happened.”
“No kidding?” James leaned forward on the counter in interest. “I bet that must have taken you all over the place.”
“Yeah, it did.” I took another sip of my coffee and swirled the flavors around on my tongue. “Which was kind of shit, because I’m a single dad, so I missed my daughter like crazy. But I can’t deny it was a fun time. And I was really good at it, too.”
“A proper salesman?” James grinned. “Gift of the gab, all that?”
“Why do you think I like Irish coffees?” I grinned back at him.
“So you’re a single dad? What about…” James nodded over my shoulder, and I looked around again to see that the women had settled down with their board game and were sitting in a circle on the floor.
The soft glow of the hotel lights touched their beautiful faces, and for a moment I forgot everything except the excitement and happiness that lit up their features. Their hair was damp, they weren’t wearing any makeup, and they were wearing the simplest outfits of shorts and t-shirts. But they were just beautiful.
“I don’t mean to pry,” James added as I turned back. “But, well, that’s a lot of gorgeous women for one yacht.”
“The yacht is actually Ally’s,” I told him. “The redhead? It was her ex-husband’s, and he probably got eaten by a dragon in the first hours of the apocalypse, so it’s practically hers now.”
“Probably got eaten, or hopefully got eaten?” James queried with a slow smile.
“Well…” I drawled.
James laughed. He grabbed another glass and splashed out a few fingers of the Macallan for himself.
“Cheers,” he said.
I clinked my glass against his.
“So what’s the dragon situation like out there?” James asked.
“Not pretty.” I blew out my breath. “I mean, we must have shot dozens of the fuckers by now, and maybe it’s gotten a little easier, but sometimes I still have to check myself and think, ‘Whoa, am I actually shooting at dragons right now?’ Maybe it’ll stop being weird in six months.”
“I’ve only seen a few of them,” James admitted. “In person, I mean. We had a few of the meteorites land nearby, but the dragons inside drowned pretty quickly.”
“Count yourself lucky,” I said and took another sip of my drink.
“Is it true that they’re breeding now?” James asked.
“Yeah.” I grimaced. “Unfortunately. The babies, man. They’re like something else. They’re tiny so their stamina isn’t as strong as the adults, but they’re so fast, and they’re really quiet, too. I think I’d rather face an adult than a flock of the little ones.”
“I can’t imagine what that must be like.” James shook his head. “I’ve only seen videos of them. I follow this YouTube channel called The Good Pirates, and ever since this thing started, they’ve been uploading videos to keep everyone updated on what’s going on. You know the news about the Coast Guard working with the cartel? That came from The Good Pirates.”
I couldn’t stop the smile that spread over my face. I knew of course that people were watching the videos– I got comments and messages every day from the channel’s subscribers– but it was different hearing in person what an impact the videos were having.
“Yeah,” I said. “I do know that channel, actually.”
James heard the repressed excitement in my voice, and he cocked his head at me. “What is it? Do you mean that you know the people themselves behind the channel?”
“Yeah,” I confessed, and I gave a little laugh at the weird embarrassment of having to admit to being a halfway famous internet celebrity while the world was ending. “That’s us, actually. We run the channel.”
“No fucking way.” James’ eyebrows shot up almost to his hairline.
“Yeah.” I got out my phone and showed him the YouTube channel as proof.
“Wow.” James shook his head in wonderment and stared at me, then at the women, and then back at me. “Now I really feel bad that we don’t have any Jameson.”
“It’s fine,” I laughed and raised my glass to him. “This is exactly what I needed right now.”
“Shit.” James was still shaking his head. “I just can’t believe it. You’re like a celebrity, man. Your videos have been such a lifeline. I mean, like I said, there aren’t any dragons here and it’s hard to know what to believe on the news, so it’s been really great having your channel to rely on for information about what’s going on out there beyond San Andres.”
“It’s encouraging to hear you say that,” I told him. “I started the channel because it seemed like people had a right to know. We got some useful information from other videos that people had uploaded, so it seemed like a really good way to pass information along.”
“Yeah, for sure. Well…” James nodded to me. “Thanks.”
“You’re welcome.” I smiled and made a mental note to relay all of this information to the women later on.
“Have you heard any more about the cartel?” James asked.
“Not since the Coast Guard incident,” I said.
“You should tell Kemelia that you are behind the videos,” he told me, and then he lowered his voice. “Between you and me, we’ve had some trouble with gangs ourselves. News has got around that this island doesn’t have any dragons on it, so we’ve had a few gangs try to set up camp here and use the hotel as a base. We’ve managed to send them packing, but I can’t see how they’re going to give up that easily.”
Now Kemelia’s comments at the front door about having had trouble with humans made sense.
“I’ll do that,” I said. “Thanks for the heads-up.”
“No problem, man.” James lifted his glass to me, and we both tossed back the remainder of our drinks.
I took my coffee with me, but when I looked around the lounge, I saw that Kemelia was nowhere to be seen.
I headed out of the lounge into the lobby and immediately saw Kemelia standing by the barricaded front doors.
She was peering out into the darkness, but she spun around as I approached.
“Hey,” I said.
“Oh, it’s just you.” She blew out her breath in a long sigh. “Why aren’t you resting with the others?”
“I was talking to James at the bar,” I replied. “He said I should come talk to you.”
“Why?” she queried with a raised eyebrow.
“He mentioned you were having some trouble with local gangs trying to attack the island,” I said. “And we’ve had some run-ins with gangs ourselves. We actually fought a cartel boat not that long ago.”
Kemelia stared at me in surprise.
“You fought a cartel boat?” she repeated.
“Well, yes.” Even as I said the words, I knew they sounded a bit ridiculous, so I hurried on self-consciously. “The women and I, we’ve kind of started a YouTube channel where we upload videos about the dragons and the news and what we know about the situation. We saw the Coast Guard shaking hands with the cartel boat and we filmed that, so–”
“Oh, Lord,” Kemelia interrupted. “Are you The Good Pirates?”
“Yes,” I admitted with a slightly awkward shrug of my shoulders.
“Oh, Lord,” Kemelia repeated, and she looked me up and down with wide eyes. “I had no idea. You seem so ordinary.”
“Um, thanks?” I responded with a dry chuckle.
“No, I didn’t mean it like that.” She waved a hand dismissively. “But your videos have been so useful in helping us keep track of what’s going on out there. We’re a bit cut off on this island, you see.”
“Yeah, I guess you would be.” I nodded toward the barricaded front door. “So is that the reason for the barricade? And why you’re on watch now?”
“Yes.” She sighed and ran a hand over her shaved head. “We’re not a very well-oiled machine yet. We only have two guns between everyone, and some of the people here never had to fire a shot before the meteor storm. We have guards posted at all of the entrances, and we’ve blocked ourselves in as well as we can.”
Just then, the walkie-talkie at her belt crackled with static.
Kemelia grabbed it and pressed the receive button. “Thomas, is that you?”
“It’s Thomas at the back door.” The voice coming through the radio was crackly with static, but even so I could hear the fear in every word. “They’re back, boss. The gang’s come back.”
Chapter 10
My heart leaped in my chest as my adrenaline spiked, and energy coursed through my limbs.
Kemelia gripped the walkie-talkie with white-knuckled fingers.
“Where are they coming from?” she demanded in a voice that was hoarse and low with sudden tension. “How many are there?”
“I can’t see properly in all this rain.” The voice on the other end of the radio was crackling and indistinct.
Shit, what if they were going for the yacht?
The thought made my heart plummet into my stomach. If the gang decided to try and steal the yacht, we would be seriously fucked. Kemelia had said that the dock where we were moored was pretty hidden away, but what if the gang members also knew about it?
The radio suddenly crackled again, and my body was so tense that the sound made me flinch.
“It looks like they’re coming from the east,” the guy said. “They must have known we’d be watching the north-west dock.”
“Your boat is at the north-west dock,” Kemelia told me as a quick aside. “They won’t have seen your boat.”
“Thanks for clarifying that.” I exhaled slowly.
The yacht was safe. For now.
“How many of them are there?” Kemelia asked in a tight voice.
“Fifteen so far,” the guy replied. “Maybe more. Okay, definitely more now.”
“Keep me updated.” She pressed another button and spoke quickly into the radio. “This is Kemelia addressing all staff members. I don’t know if you all heard Thomas’ news, but the gang has come back. Stick to your posts and make sure the barricades hold.”
A gunshot rang out somewhere outside the hotel.
Kemelia froze. For a second, she stood there with her chest rising and falling as she gulped down quick, shallow breaths.
“Kemelia,” I said in a low, urgent voice.
The other women rushed out of the lounge with their guns at the ready.
“What was that?” Shannon demanded. “Was that a gunshot?”
“It was.” Kemelia shook herself and seemed to snap back into control. “We’re under attack. We need to get everybody ready to defend the hotel.”
“Just when I thought we might have a quiet night in,” Ally quipped.
“I was winning at Monopoly, too,” Letty sighed.
“Do you guys have any extra ammunition with you?” Kemelia asked. The tension was coming off her body in waves, but her voice was steady.
“We do,” I replied. “We brought extra magazines with us. Shannon’s our best shot.”
“Drew’s the second best,” Shannon added.
“Tell us where you need us,” I said to Kemelia. “You know the hotel best, and you know where all its weak spots are.”
Kemelia raised her eyebrows for the briefest second. I wondered if she’d expected me to muscle in and try to take control, but I wasn’t about to charge into a situation where I didn’t know the layout or the individual personalities of most of the people involved. She gave me the tiniest nod, and then she snapped into action.
“Come with me,” she said, and she led the way back into the lounge.
Everyone there had heard the shot and was on their feet.
“What’s happening?” someone called.
“One of the gangs is back,” Kemelia announced and then raised her hands to try and calm the panicked clamor that rose up in the wake of her words. “I understand that this is scary and difficult, but right now we have to focus, and we have to be ready to defend ourselves and the hotel. We knew this might happen. Now it’s here, and we have even more weapons than we expected we might, as well as extra people to help us. We can do this.”
The calm authority in her voice was impressive, especially considering how I’d seen her freeze when she heard that first gunshot. Kemelia was a woman used to directing others, that was clear, and even in these extreme conditions, she wasn’t backing down from taking the lead.
There was a small pause as the people in the lounge looked at each other.
I wanted to yell at them that there wasn’t time to debate about this. How could they be under attack and not immediately leap to defend themselves?
But this had to be their decision. If they weren’t going to join this fight whole-heartedly, they wouldn’t be of much use at all.
After a second that seemed to last for hours, Atticus stepped forward.
“You’re right,” he said. “Tell us what to do.”
“Bless that man,” Letty whispered under her breath.
“I know,” I whispered back.
“Get your weapons,” Kemelia ordered.
The lounge exploded into frenzied motion as everyone suddenly started moving.
“Remember the options we spoke about!” Kemelia called above the noise. “Golf clubs, tennis rackets, kitchen knives, anything you have in your possession and anything you’ve found in the hotel!”
“God, I’m really glad I’ve got a gun and not a fucking tennis racket,” Dia said in disbelief.
Kemelia came back to my side.
“We discussed that this might happen,” she said breathlessly. “So we’ve been trying to gather what weapons we can. But obviously firearms are best.”
“Put us where you need us,” I urged her.
“I will.” She nodded and then raised her voice. “Everyone, remember your assigned positions. Daryl, you’re upstairs in the Mango Room, remember? You’re defending the big window there.”
People were running around and taking up their positions at various doors and windows. More people were hurrying upstairs to defend the windows on the top floor.
“It was Shannon, wasn’t it?” Kemelia pointed to the door behind the bar. “Are you happy going with James and defending the back?”
“Of course.” Shannon nodded.
“If you want two guns defending the back,” I put in. “Dia and Shannon make a great team.”
“That sounds good to me.” Kemelia nodded.
“Be careful,” Shannon told me.
“You, too,” I said. “Dia, don’t be a menace.”
“I’m not a menace, I’m adorable.” Dia’s face was pale, but she managed to flash her trademark cheeky grin before she and Shannon headed down to the back.
“We could do with more guns upstairs as well,” Kemelia said. “Ally? Would you go with Ray and Valerie?”
“Of course,” Ally replied.
“Take care of yourself, Drew,” Valerie told me.
“I’ll be fine,” I told her reassuringly. “You take care of yourself too, though, you hear me?”
Ally touched my arm briefly, and then she and the old couple hurried up the stairs.
“And then, the two of you,” Kemelia said to Letty and me. “Are you happy to be posted out here by the front door?”
“Delighted,” I said, and I gave her a quick smile.
Kemelia ushered Letty and I out of the lounge and into the lobby. We crouched down behind the piano with our guns ready.
“Thank you,” Kemelia said, and she handed me one of the walkie-talkies. “I’ll be on the other end of this, so just push the button if you see anything or need to talk. Good luck.”
“You, too.” I nodded.
Kemelia huffed out a quick, sharp breath, and then she turned on her heel and ran through the lobby to the lounge.
It had seemed like an enormous commotion of noise and movement, but the whole mission of getting everyone armed and ready had only taken less than a few minutes.
Now, as I crouched behind the piano with Letty, I was suddenly aware of how eerily quiet the hotel had become.
The wind was howling outside, and the rain fizzed and hissed against the glass panes of the lobby door. The windows in the lounge rattled in their frames, and the door groaned as the storm blasted against it. A floorboard creaked upstairs as someone settled into their position.
Then all the lights went out.
Letty jumped like a startled horse, and I grabbed her arm to steady her.
“It must be the timer on the generator,” I explained in a whisper. “Kemelia said they only have the power on for a little while to save fuel.”
“Whoa,” Letty whispered. “That really startled me.”
“Me, too,” I whispered back.
The radio crackled.
“Drew?” Kemelia’s voice came through the speaker on low volume.
“We’re here,” I said while keeping my voice low. “How does it look out there?”
“Quiet so far,” she said. “I’m upstairs, and I can’t see anything. They seem to have backed off for now.”
I doubted that very much.
“Maybe.” I hoped my voice stayed non-committal. “We’ll still keep our eyes open down here.”
I reached out and squeezed Letty’s shoulder. Her face seemed full of shadows, and her black skin looked like velvet, and her eyes were both dark and luminous, and full of fear and courage.
