FORTRESS OF THE LIVING

[soldierboy234]

Sean was the first one up the ladder on the side of the yacht. Right away he knew that they'd probably find nothing but infected on this boat. There were two dead bodies in the middle stages of decomposition. He unslung his M4 and waved the others up. Once they were all aboard, he put Billy and Mick on the deck and the other two went with him to scour the boat.

They found several more bodies in the staterooms. One had committed suicide by a pistol in the mouth, the rest were reanimated. They dispatched the walkers and continued their search.

In the freezers, which were still working on a backup battery, they found enough frozen goods to last a while, and more canned and perishables in the pantry. They began working, storing the stuff on the back deck. Billy and Mick got on the crew boat, and the supplies were transferred to it. Then the ID's and other useful items were collected, as well as the radios and all electronics.

Sean had the stuff brought back to the platform, and it was brought on board. The crew boat was tied to the bouy and the men aboard brought back up.

The dinner that night was steaks and baked potatoes, courtesy of the people on that yacht. They ate heartily, and enjoyed every bite. Then Sean geared up and headed back up to the helipad. Amy, who hadn't spoken to him since that morning, followed him.

"Why are you avoiding me? " she asked.

"I'm not. I just have a lot to do. " he said.

"I see that. Standing on a helipad in the middle of the Gulf of Mexico is a lot. " she said.

"You may not think so, but somebody has to do this. I have alot of experience with all night guard duty. " he said.

"So you can avoid me. "she said.

"No. " he said, then appeared to be composing his thoughts.

"I can't be the kind of guy you're used to. " he finished.

"The kind of guy I'm used to was the one that gave me a kid then left us both to go back to his wife. That's the kind of man I don't want. I want the kind of guy who will fight for me and my daughter; the kind who risked his life to make sure we got to safety, then asked me for nothing. " she said.

He didn't say anything. He couldn't.

She walked up to him, stood on her tiptoes, and kissed him on the lips. He pulled her to him. She didn't protest.

When they finally parted, she looked at him.

"Still want to avoid me? " she asked.

He shook his head, no.

"Good. Then when you're done up here, meet me in the room. We have a lot to discuss. " she said. He nodded and went back to scanning the horizon.

[soldierboy234]

He woke the next morning to hear a baby crying. Amy was still asleep. They had slept together twice the night before. Thank God that there had been a sizable store of condoms available for birth control. Not that Sean didn't want kids, but this wasn't the time for them. He got out of the bed and picked up the baby, and began rocking her to sleep. Amy had prepped some formula. It was in the galley, so he walked to the fridge and grabbed a bottle, zapping it in the microwave oven, then testing it by putting a couple of drops on his arm. It wasn't too hot, so he stuck the bottle in Hannah's mouth. She ate heartily.

"You're pretty good at that. " said Amy from behind him.

"My older sister has three, my younger sis has one Hannah's age. " said Sean.

"Are they here? " she asked.

"Holly and her husband are on another platform. The Runt is here; she helps mom out in the infirmary. " said Sean.

"I think I've met her. Cute little girl, kind of chubby. " said Amy.

"We call her the Piglet; she eats like I used to. " he said.

"So do you regret last night? " she asked.

"No. I'll have plenty of time to explain it all to you. For now, let's get this little girl back to sleep and get back to sleep ourselves. " said Sean. Amy nodded in agreement.

[soldierboy234]

Sean awoke and headed for the radio room to relieve his mother. The radio, for the most part, remained silent save for the normal government broadcasts. Things weren't looking good at all. Most of the major cities had turned into war zones and were abandoned. Several 'safe zones' had been established, but two of them had already fallen. The others were running out of food and medical supplies.

"It's getting worse. " said Anne as she looked up at him.

"We're safe for now. It's when others get ahold of boats and make it this far out that's got me worried. " said Sean.

"We have guns too. " she said.

"Still, I'd like to get ahold of some heavy stuff. " said Sean.

"We could try for the Coast Guard Station at Intercoastal City. " she said.

"Good idea; we'll start planning. We'll need more fuel soon too. " he said.

He sat and listened to the radios. It was the normal apocalypse chatter; evangelists crowing about how this was the end; that judgement day was near. People calling for help and recieving no answer. Government officials speaking about safe zones, and academics theorizing on the best ways to handle the situation. None of this would help.

When he was done with the radio watch, he stood up and stretched out. Then he went to grab some coffee. Amy was there, getting instructions from his mother. Anne Riley had been a trauma nurse for twelve years, and was used to seeing wounds. She was training Amy to do the same; out here she would proabably see her fair share of nasty cuts and scrapes. Sean sipped his coffee, then went to gather some of the men to inform them of their first forage mission.

[soldierboy234]

Sean walked into the makeshift gym; it had been discovered when the rig had been reoccupied. It consisted of an elliptical running machine, a small weight bench, and a treadmill. He got on the elliptical and began to run. Amy walked inside, dressed in a workout suit and hit the treadmill.

"Where did you get those? " he asked.

"The Wal Mart when we stopped to get me and the baby some clothes. " she said.

"Figures. " he said. She looked at him and slapped him playfully on his soulder.

"You know you like it. " she said. He laughed as he ran.

"How's your nursing lessons going? " he asked.

"Your mom's pretty great. " she said.

"Yeah. It was pretty cool growing up with a mother who's a nurse. And it kinda sucked. I could never fake sick. " he said.

"And I bet you tried. " said April. Suddenly, Mick ran into the room.

"Sean, you gotta come to the radio room." he said. Sean stopped the elliptical and followed Mick to the radio room.

"Who's out there? " asked Sean.

"Just made contact with what's left of a National Gurd unit. They say they're near Eunice. They can reach Intercoastal City tomorrow. They have plenty of rations, but they're running low on large caliber ammo. " said Billy.

"Okay. Get the crew boat ready. When they come on tell them we're sending help. Meet us at the Shell Terminal in Intercoastal City tomorrow. Hold if they can. If not we'll wait offshore until we hear from them again. " said Sean. He looked at Mick.

"Get the men together. Billy, you're wife's about to pop; you're staying. " he said. Billy nodded. His wife, Angela, was nine months pregnant.

Sean stood in front of the group twelve minutes later.

"You all know my family. My father picked most of you for this group years ago. There's a group of soldiers who are trapped on the mainland. I'm going after them. My mother is staying, so's Doc Cotler. Amy's got the basics down, so she's going to come with me as a Medic. I need volunteers. " said Sean.

"We don't have much room here." said Jon Collins.

"No, but platform twelve is still unmanned. While we're gone you can get the generators started and make the place livable. " said Sean.

"We have an obligation to save who we can. " said Anne. Her husband, Michael, nodded.

"Okay. Anyone who wants to come, grab a weapon and meet me on the back deck. " he said.

[soldierboy234]

Corporal Jason Wilder, Texas National Guard, slapped a fresh mag into his M16A2 and kept firing over the hood of his Humvee. They had been jumped by a big group near Intracoastal City; more walkers than they had rounds. His platoon was down to seven effectives; four women and three males.

"Jason, there's too many of them. " said Private Ana Shaw.

"No choice, Ana. " said Wilder as h fired another round. In the turret of the Humvee, Shaw's husband was rocking the .50 caliber, slowing the horde down but not stopping it.

"Wilder! Someone on the radio! " yelled Compton, the radio tech. Wilder ran to the radio.

"This is Corporal Jason Wilder, Texas National Guard! " he yelled over the gunfire.

"THis is Sergeant Sean Riley, Louisiana Guard. What's your position and situation, Corporal? " asked a calm voice on the other end.

"Two miles outside of Intracoastal City! We're under siege here! " yelled Wilder.

"Okay. Find the Shell terminal. We're about ten minutes out. We'll be there waiting. Drop anything you don't need; we have ample supplies of everything here. " said Sean.

"On it. " said Wilder. He put down the hand mike and yelled to his people.

"Ditch the Hummvees! Grab what ammo you can for your rifles and let's book! Get on the cargo truck! "

The soldiers did as Wilder ordered, grabbing their personal weapons and ran for the LMTV. Once they were aboard, the truck started up and they headed for the Shell Terminal.

[soldierboy234]

Wilder spotted the crew boat shortly before they reached the terminal. He hopped out of the truck and walked to the man in ACU's who was on the pier, armed to the teeth.

"Man, am I glad we got in touch with you. " he said, offering his hand.

"How many do you have, Corporal? " asked Sean.

"Seven. We're all that's left of Bravo Company, 153rd Support Battalion, Texas Army Guard. " said Wilder.

"Okay. What's in the truck? " asked Sean.

"MRE's and ammo. It's the only truck we could take with us. The rest ran out of fuel. " said Wilder.

"Okay. We'll start loading the stuff on the boat. That is, if you want to come with us. " said Sean.

"Of course. The accomodations here aren't what they advertised. " said Wilder.

"Right. Let's get started. " said Sean, turning to the boat.

"Mick! Billy! Get to the end of the pier; pull guard while we load this stuff on the boat. " he said.

It took about forty minutes to offload the truck. The horde that had been chasing Wilder's people was just appearing on the terminal when they got onto the boat and headed back out into the Gulf. Wilder stood on the back deck and watched. Sean walked up to him.

"Take your people inside and get some rest, Corporal. We'll have plenty of time to talk later. " he said.

"I guess we're under your orders? " asked Wilder. Sean nodded.

"Thanks for coming for us, Sergeant. We wouldn't have lasted the day. " said Wilder, clapping Sean on the shoulder and walking into the boat.

[soldierboy234]

Sean gave them a good bit of time to rest; they had been through hell, fighting their way across Texas into Louisiana to try to link up with another unit they had made contact with. The unit they had been fighting to reach had been wiped out, so then they had simply kept moving, trying to stay ahead of the hordes of undead. Sean was glad to have them along; more trained soldiers was an advantage he hadn't expected. And now he had a second in command. Wilder was an MP, and the only one in his group with any combat experience. Ana and Johnny Shaw, both PFC's, were supply types; Sean could make use of them by having them keep track of their supplies. Hector Ramirez, Specialist, was a helicopter mechanic. He could assist Sean's uncle E.J. in keeping the rig's generators running. Specialist Sienna Gomez was a Medic; Sean was definitely glad to have her along. Melissa Powers had been an Intel puke; she had no real use in their current situation, but Sean figured she could man the radio and be an extra gun hand.

Sean had Mick spell him at the wheel and stepped down the ladder to where the others were sprawled out on the couches. He looked at Wilder, who was sitting over a cup of coffee.

" Good? " he asked.

" Yeah. Thanks again for the rescue. " said Wilder.

" From what I saw you did a pretty good job of keeping your people alive, man. " said Sean.

" Nah. We were an entire platoon, and none of us had worked together. When San Antonio fell, some Captain patched us all together and we tried to link up with your Third Battalion. We're all that's left. " said Wilder.

" Well, my family's all roughnecks. We've been planning this for a while. I'll admit, we don't have enough, but the MRE's you added to our stores will improve our chances out here. I for one am glad to have you along. Especially you and Ramirez; my uncle could use another experienced mechanic out here. " said Sean.

" Why me? " asked Wilder.

" Next to me, you're the only one with real combat experience. I have a lot of relatives who were in service at one time, but none who have actually been under fire. " said Sean. Wilder nodded.

" I hereby place myself and my people under your orders. " said Wilder.

" I accept. " said Sean.