Apocalyptic Pirates 4, page 18
The main enemy was the amount of broken glass that had managed to make its way into seemingly every corner of the building. But we did our best, and once the carpets no longer presented a safety hazard, Kemelia announced that we could call it a night.
A ragged cheer went up from the islanders.
“I am beat,” Dia announced. “Who’s up for Monopoly?”
“God, no,” I said. “I don’t understand why you love that game.”
“Sounds like someone who could never pass go,” Shannon teased. “Aren’t you going to join us, then?”
“Not yet.” I shook my head. “I want to keep watch out here for a little while longer.”
“Don’t be too long,” Shannon said. “Remember that you need to take a break as well.”
“Sure, sure,” I said with a smile. “I’ll join you guys in a bit.”
Kemelia came to stand by my side, and we watched as the rest of the islanders filtered back into the lounge.
Within a surprisingly short amount of time, it was as though nothing had happened. The atmosphere in the lounge was a bit noisier and more energetic than it had been, but there was nothing that would indicate to a casual observer that these people had been fighting for their lives not fifteen minutes earlier.
People were weird like that, I decided. Some things it felt like people would never accept, and other things slipped into the human experience without a blip.
“It’s over so quickly,” Kemelia said as though she could hear what I was thinking.
“I know.” I shook my head. “It’s strange, isn’t it? How soon everything goes back to normal.”
“Not quite back to normal just yet,” Kemelia said. “The storm sounds like it’s getting worse, and I don’t think there’s going to be any more action tonight, but I’ve got guards posted at the back door, and I’m going to have Thomas and Pedro take the first watch out here. We were able to recover a few fallen firearms and quite a few bladed weapons, but in terms of ammunition, the group who arrived weren’t carrying any extras.”
“I’m good to stay in the lobby for a while longer,” I insisted.
“I know you are,” she said. “But honestly, I would feel more comfortable if you took one of the night watches, so you need to make sure you get enough food and rest before then.”
That did make sense.
Thomas and Pedro turned out to be two tall guys with matching curly mullets, and Kemelia assured me that Thomas was one of the few people in the hotel who could actually shoot straight.
I clipped the last magazine into my gun and reluctantly handed it over to Thomas before joining everybody in the lounge.
“Drew,” Ray exclaimed as I flopped down on the couch and heaved a huge sigh of relief as my muscles finally relaxed. “What an evening, huh?”
“You can say that again.” I rubbed the back of my neck and grinned at him. “Was that your Molotov cocktail I saw flying past the window?”
“Sure was.” He grinned proudly. “An old trick for an old dog.”
“Well, it was a damn good trick, that’s for sure,” I told him.
“Come and watch us play, Drew,” Dia called. “I’m about to bankrupt Ally.”
“You most certainly are not,” Ally declared with a haughty sniff.
“Prepare to sell that Louboutin collection, baby,” Dia declared.
I laughed and leaned forward to see the Monopoly board better.
As I did so, my phone vibrated.
I pulled it quickly out of my pocket and checked my notifications. I had an alert from YouTube telling me that one of the channels I subscribed to was about to start a livestream.
“What is it?” Valerie asked with her brow puckered.
I clicked on the notification, and it took me to the official government news channel I’d subscribed to. I stared at the screen and took in a sharp breath.
“What is it?” Ray asked in an anxious tone.
I turned the phone screen around so they could all see.
The only video posted was a livestream that was about to start. It was titled “EMERGENCY BROADCAST – A GOVERNMENT RESPONSE TO THE CURRENT THREAT”.
The video went black. And then it began to play.
Chapter 11
“The government broadcast is starting!” Shannon announced.
A hush fell over the room. The women crowded close to me as the livestream started.
The video showed an old white guy with thinning gray hair who I immediately recognized as our vice president. He was wearing a gray suit and standing behind a podium.
“My fellow Americans,” he announced in a grave voice. “We are in unprecedented times. We are in uncharted territory. We have effectively gone beyond the realms of what was once thought possible.”
“Cool,” Dia muttered. “Is he going to tell us anything that we don’t know?”
“Shhh,” Ally hushed her.
“We understand that the American public has doubts and questions over the events of the past few weeks,” the vice president continued. “By now, most, if not all of you, will have seen the video showing a United States Coast Guard vessel appearing to commune with another boat allegedly belonging to a criminal organization. The accusations of corruption within the Coast Guard have yet to be confirmed, and as yet, no further evidence of any wrong-doing within the US Coast Guard has been brought to light.”
“How much more evidence do they need?” Letty exploded.
“Shhh!” Ally said.
Letty crossed her arms angrily.
“Having said that,” the man said, and he tightened his brow in a show of seriousness that was too perfect not to have been rehearsed. “We would like to assure all concerned citizens that we are taking this matter extremely seriously. The United States Coast Guard will be launching its own internal investigation in the wake of this news, and in the event that a small number of individuals are found to have colluded with a criminal organization, they will face extreme penalties.”
“Of course, he doesn’t say what those penalties will be,” Letty muttered and then made a motion of zipping her mouth closed as Ally glowered at her for interrupting again.
“The United States government would also like to assure all citizens that in light of the reports about the dragon nests that have been spotted, we will be taking military action against this threat.” The vice president paused for dramatic effect, and a few people in the lounge gave a little cheer at this news.
Letty raised her eyebrows disparagingly, but Ally looked up with hope sparkling in her light-green eyes. I didn’t want to squash her optimism, so I just gave her a non-committal smile.
“Finally!” someone shouted. “Good old Uncle Sam!”
I was surprised to see that Ray and Valerie didn’t seem that excited. They looked at each other, and Ray gave the tiniest shrug of his shoulders while Valerie pursed her lips.
The news about the Coast Guard seemed to have rocked them more than I’d expected, but from how they’d described their youth, they couldn’t be strangers to the idea that the government might not be telling it straight to their citizens. Maybe they’d managed to forget that idea, but now they were waking up to the reality of it again.
“Government scientists have been working closely with the military to devise a plan that will deliver maximum impact with minimum disruption to civilians,” the vice president continued. “Our concern for civilian life is, and always has been, our number one priority. Previous attempts to target the dragon nests have been unsuccessful due to the potential threat to civilian life, but we can now announce that we are planning a widespread military operation against the dragons that will take place in the next twenty-four hours.”
“Yes!” someone shouted.
“The strike operation will target the dragon nests that have been spotted and logged by our drones,” the man continued. “We have also reached an agreement with the countries extending through what scientists are calling ‘the meteorite belt’. This so-called belt comprises the East Coast of the United States, where the majority of meteorite and subsequent dragon activity appears to be concentrated in our country, as well as areas of Mexico, the Central Americas, Cuba, and Jamaica. We will be lending the military might of the United States to aid the countries along the meteorite belt in handling the infestation of these dragon nesting grounds.”
The vice president paused for a moment. He could have been overcome by emotion at the gravity of what he was saying, or he could have been looking down at his notes.
“The strike operation against the dragons will begin in the next twenty-four hours,” he continued. “We advise all civilians to find shelter and remain inside during these critical next few days while we strike back at these predators that have invaded our planet. These are grave times, my friends. In these turbulent days, we must have faith and trust each other as we trust those in power to see us through these difficult times. We must stay strong. We must be vigilant.” He raised his hand and gave a brisk, stern nod. “God bless America. God bless us all.”
The broadcast ended.
A ripple of applause ran around the room.
“God bless America!” someone yelled, and more people started whooping and cheering.
Many of the non-American residents just furrowed their brows a little and gave slightly confused claps, but it seemed that some of the English speaking people were trying to translate anything they’d missed.
“It’s over!” someone sobbed. “It’s over!”
My eyebrows shot up in disbelief. I looked around at the women, at Ray and Valerie, and at Kemelia who had joined our little circle to hear the broadcast.
“What utter horseshit,” Dia said in disgust.
Even Ally’s previously hopeful face had fallen, and she was chewing on her lower lip in worry.
“You guys don’t think that it’s good news?” Kemelia pushed.
“Do you?” Letty challenged her.
“Well…” Kemelia hesitated. “I want to believe it’s good news. Why would they lie about this?”
I could think of several reasons why. Suppressing information, stopping people from panicking, distracting us from the possible corruption in the Coast Guard.
Letty’s eyes were bulging with barely-suppressed outrage, and I could see Dia working up to letting loose a full-blown tirade, so I quickly stepped in.
“We’ll find out soon enough either way,” I said. “This meteorite belt they’re talking about, that’s basically the route we took to get here. And if they’ve been monitoring this part of the ocean and have recorded the dragon nests here, they must have targeted the nests on Isla Providencia.”
“We won’t be able to see the strike from here,” Ray said in a thoughtful voice. “But we’re right along their path to continue along that meteorite belt they mentioned. So any planes they’re using should fly this way when they’re done. That’ll prove it one way or another.”
“Exactly.” I nodded.
Kemelia nodded, too.
“I’m sure we’ll see something tomorrow,” she said confidently. “I’m sure of it.”
“Kemelia!” someone called her from another group. “Let’s celebrate! Is there anything good hidden behind the bar?”
“Ah, I think I should go and curb this quickly,” Kemelia said. “Excuse me.”
She went over to try and work some crowd control on the lounge’s collective enthusiasm.
We all stared at each other.
“You don’t believe any of that, do you, Drew?” Letty pushed.
“There could be a strike planned against the dragons,” Ally said in a stubborn voice. “I know you’re going to say that they’re lying and they’re just saying this so we don’t panic, but the government has to do something about the dragons eventually, so why not attack the nests?”
“I don’t want to say that they’re definitely not going to do it.” I tried to pick my words carefully to avoid upsetting either of them. “But…”
Letty and Ally both folded their arms and huffed out an exasperated sigh.
“It’s just that it’s a bold claim to make,” I said and raised my hands in the air to try and avoid drawing their anger. “So far, all of the nests that we’ve seen have been in areas that are either secluded or have been abandoned. So why has it taken them this long to organize an attack? Their excuse is that they were worried about civilian casualties, but none of the nests we’ve seen have been near civilians. We’ve got a drone, too, and we’ve been able to see how abandoned plenty of places are very clearly.”
“Maybe there are some nests that are near more populated areas,” Ally insisted.
“If the government can organize a military strike, then surely they could have organized an evacuation,” I sighed. “I don’t know, Ally, all of this is speculation, anyway. None of us can know for sure.”
Ally sighed and rubbed the tips of her fingers against her closed eyes.
“Hey,” Letty said to her in a soft voice. “I want to believe in good news, too.”
“No, I know you’re right.” Ally opened her eyes and leaned her head against Letty’s shoulder. “I want to stay positive, but there’s a line between positivity and insanity.”
“Don’t worry,” Letty assured her. “We’ll tell you when you cross that line.”
“Thanks,” the redhead said with a chuckle.
“It’s hard to find the balance between cynicism and realism,” Valerie said in a thoughtful tone. “You want to be prepared for things to go wrong, but half the time when you expect something bad to happen, you can end up making it turn out that way.”
“Like manifesting it?” Shannon queried.
“Yeah, I guess so.” Valerie shrugged. “Like everything. It’s all about balance.”
“I think what you said is useful to keep in mind.” I inclined my head at Ray. “Isla Providencia is right along the path of the meteorite belt after San Andres, so we should be able to see any planes they use for the airstrike as they continue on this way.”
“We’ll just have to sit tight.” Ray nodded. “Keep our eyes open. See what happens.”
“Yeah,” I agreed. “There’s nothing wrong with being hopeful.”
“Plus, Drew posted that video about recognizing dragon nests just in time,” Shannon said with a more upbeat tone. “That means whoever watched it will be able to identify if they’re in a problem area that much faster, and evacuate accordingly.”
Ally smiled widely at this, and even Letty looked a little happier.
I didn’t know if I believed fully what I was saying, but I knew for a fact that nothing was going to be solved by the group falling out over worries about what might or might not happen. I’d learned long ago that it was pointless to waste time trying to figure out what could be going on in a person’s head. It didn’t matter if it was a friend, or partner, or the President of the United States. If you weren’t a mind-reader, it was fruitless trying to act like one.
That would be one for the books, wouldn’t it? If the next stage of the apocalypse was humans developing mind-reading powers?
I wasn’t sure that I was thrilled about that possibility. I’d watched my fair share of Marvel movies, and it always seemed like superpowers were more trouble than they were worth. I didn’t want to dick about with radioactive spiders when radioactive dragons were already more than enough to deal with. I just wanted to get to Hawaii and see my daughter again. That mattered more than all the vibranium shields and adamantium claws in the world.
“Food!” someone shouted.
A woman in a surprisingly spotless white apron came into the lounge pushing a dinner trolley that was stacked high with plates full of steaming food.
I hadn’t realized just how hungry I was until the smell of hot crab patties hit my nose, and then I had to swallow hard to control myself.
“Oh, my goooodddd,” Dia groaned.
She leaped to her feet and hurried over the trolley and helped the woman hand out the plates to everybody.
When everyone was served, she sat down with us and stuffed a burger into her mouth without even pausing for breath. She let out a moan that was almost erotic, and I had to bite down on my own burger to stop my thoughts running wild about any other possible situations when Dia might make a noise like that.
It was a good distraction. The crab patty was soft and tangy, and while it could have used a little lemon juice– Letty would definitely have turned this into something mind-blowing– it was hot, and filling, and exactly what I needed inside me at that moment.
“Not a patch on your cooking, Letty,” Ray mumbled through a full mouth, and he dropped her a wink.
Letty hid her pleased smile with a bite of her own burger.
After we’d finished eating, a few people hung around in the lounge for a little while, but the majority of the islanders announced that they were heading up to their rooms.
“We’ll be setting up guards,” Kemelia announced. “I’d like everybody to take a shift if they feel up to it.”
I raised my hand, and Kemelia nodded to me.
“Thanks, Drew,” she said. “And thanks, Daryl.”
I turned around to see that Daryl, the very tanned and rather creepy guy from before, also had his hand raised. He flashed me a broad smile, and I nodded to him before turning back.
“Ew,” Letty whispered. “You’re going to be on watch with that creep?”
“Drew’s probably safe from Daryl’s charms,” Shannon murmured.
“What, are you saying I’m not his type?” I joked.
“Well…” Shannon drawled. “Maybe if you dolled yourself up a little. Here, I have some lip gloss you can borrow.”
“Get that away from me,” I laughed. “I think I’ll be okay.”
“I’ll tell Daryl that you didn’t want to make yourself pretty for him,” Shannon teased.
“Fine,” I said and imitated one of Ally’s haughty sniffs. “I’m not ashamed of my principles.”
The women all snorted with laughter.
“Hey, Drew.” It was the man himself.
Daryl came over to the couch where we were sitting, and the women all hastily got to their feet.
