Zombie Dawn Exodus by Michael G. Thomas

of zombies moved from behind the debris
against the wall. The first grabbed his leg whilst another pushed
into his stomach, forcing him to the floor. A third dropped down to
bite him only to be stopped by the muzzle of Fernanda’s M4 carbine.
A short burst sent the zombie’s skull and brain up against the
wall. Kowalski ran over and grabbed the second zombie off him and
smashed his weapon into its face. He followed his attack up with
another two rounds, one to the head and another to the torso. The
rest of the unit spread out firing into the horde and cutting them
down in just ten seconds of shooting.
    Once the firing stopped Fernanda stepped up to the
barricade, looking for the survivors.
    “I am Sergeant Fernanda of the United States Marine
Corps. You’re safe now,” she said.
    From behind the barricade a young man stood up,
quickly followed by more people. The man wore a torn and battered
official uniform, presumably one of the crew. He climbed over the
debris and down to the Marines. More followed, helped by the
Marines.
    “Can you help us with the wounded?” asked the
man.
    Fernanda signalled to her men who moved over to
assist.
    “How many of you are there?” she asked.
    “Seven crew including me plus a dozen passengers,”
he replied.
    “That’s it, from the entire ship?”
    He stepped up to the Sergeant.
    “Yes,” he replied, looking a little confused before
holding out his hand.
    “I’m sorry. I’m Carter, Sam Carter. I’m Head of
Security here. We’re all that’s left, thank God you came!” he said
in a relieved tone.
    As he moved forward a rumble came from deep in the
ship followed by a series of low thumps underfoot. One of the
paintings tipped and then fell from the wall, whilst chunks of
plaster cracked and dropped from the ceiling.
    “How long has it been like this?” asked
Fernanda.
    “For the last two days. We’ve been on the run since
they overran the ship. There were over a hundred of us on the deck
waiting for the boats when they hit us. A rescue unit was trying to
hold them back when they triggered some explosions near the engine
room,” he said.
    He turned and helped one of the children over the
debris and into the open before continuing.
    “We’ve been barricaded in here ever since and the
fires have been spreading. We kept holding the creatures back, but
we lost people every time. I don’t think we could have managed more
than a few days more.”
    Fernanda’s radio crackled into life.
    “Sergeant, we’ve got a big problem here. Get your
people off the ship and fast,” ordered Captain Black.
    “What’s going on?” she asked.
    “Two things. Problem number one is your firefight
has drawn attention. We’re picking up movement on seven decks
heading your way. They’re in their hundreds, maybe thousands.”
    “Fuck! And the second?” she asked.
    “The fires are spreading through the hull so fast we
calculate the entire length of the ship will be burning in less
than fifteen minutes. If you don’t get topside fast you could be
trapped.”
    “Understood, we’re out of here,” she answered
quickly before turning to her unit.
    “Marines, we need to go, come on!” she shouted as
she left the room, closely followed by the mixture of survivors and
soldiers.
     
    * * *
     
    Captain Black stared at the computer screen
intently, watching the return route of Fernanda’s unit. Half of the
cameras were now down due to the electrical damage caused by the
fires. Dr Garcia was typing away on one of the computers, whilst
issuing orders to her own staff on the ship.
    “Doctor, do you have what you need?” he asked.
    “We’ve managed to collect medical supplies, fuel and
some food from the lower storage areas and crew compartments. My
people are loading everything onto the LCAC, they will be finished
in about ten minutes,” she answered.
    Some quiet gunshots came from within the ship.
Captain Black looked down at the screen, spotting movement the
floor below where the