SurvivorZ: Grave Harbor

103

MAUREEN

Maureen swept Emily up in her arms on their way to the boat, sacrificing her hold on Lee to do so. As they approached the dock, she slowed to check over her shoulder. Lily kept pace behind her, puffing like a freight train, with Bradshaw helping her along while keeping an eye peeled for danger. Maureen was relieved to discover Lee racing next to them. The boy flashed her a smile, putting her mind at ease.

Looking past them, she spotted her eldest daughter trailing further behind. Danielle kept slowing, waiting for her friends to catch up. Maureen didn't know what was keeping them, but it was hard to miss Drew carrying Laurie in his arms and not worry that something was wrong.

"Come on, guys, run," she muttered between breaths.

At least they weren't all the way back at the wall, fighting off monsters like Graves and Mike. She watched one of the beasts impale itself into the spikes atop the fence. Whatever they were doing to keep those things at bay, it seemed to be working. If her hands weren't otherwise occupied, she'd cross her fingers for their safe return.

"Mom?" Emily moaned.

Maureen turned back and pushed herself harder for the docked fishing trawler floating in the harbor. "Almost there, baby girl."

Erica, Stan, and Paige were already aboard the vessel, firing up the motor and getting everything ready to receive the other refugees. Watching them prepare to flee once again, it struck Maureen that perhaps this outcome was for the best.

If the past couple of weeks had taught her anything, it was that every bastion, no matter how secure, was doomed to fall eventually. Between outside forces and threats from within, maybe it was too much to expect any shelter to guarantee their safety for long. In that sense, staying mobile might be the answer they had been searching for all along.

Despite appearances, the billions of man-eating corpses infesting this empty shell of a world weren't the worst threat humanity faced. Mankind's real enemy, especially now, was time itself.

The gunshots from the fence went silent, leaving only the distant cracks from the fort. In the relative stillness of the splashing harbor, Maureen became aware of her own heavy breaths for the first time.

Their escape craft loomed closer, revealing a fading name along her side. The Salty Seahorse. A metal ladder hung from her deck. Maureen stopped near it and set Emily down to help her out of her gasoline-soaked poncho before boarding.

"Ah!" Lily gasped, out of breath. "Made it."

"I think they took care of the ghouls," Elliot noted, staring across the dockyard at the others running to catch up to them.

"Thank goodness. Climb up, honey." Maureen supported her daughter by the waist as she scaled the ladder.

"Lee." Lily waved at the boy. "You go next."

While the children took the lead in ascending the ladder, Maureen discarded her poncho and scarf. The stench of diesel lingered on her hands, legs, and hair.

"Fuck this! Had enough of this shit," Tommy cried as he suddenly blew past her. He didn't stop until he hit the ladder. He started climbing before Lee had even crested the top.

Eve took a position next to the boat, holding her sidearm in both hands as if guarding the vessel from unwanted passengers. She briefly eyed Maureen, before turning her frightened gaze back towards the remainder of their group still coming on the run.

Maureen checked again on Danielle's progress. Her daughter was speeding towards them with Richard, Charlie, and Robin. Looking weary from his exertions, Drew followed close behind them, still carrying Laurie. Sam and Sergeant Lowe lagged at the rear, slowed by the obese man's noticeable exhaustion. Way behind everyone else, Mike and Graves were coming on the double. She looked closer, but thankfully still couldn't see anything chasing them. She dared to breathe again, trusting that they had made it out safely.