Authors: David Forsyth

02 Flotilla of the Dead (42 page)

BOOK: 02 Flotilla of the Dead

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“Not much of it, perhaps,” said Bernhard in a distracted tone of voice. “But some of it did get through. Look at the spectrograph and Ph balance scales. Then look at the white blood cell and antibody levels. He might not have fallen victim to the full effects of the virus, but… Oh my God, he’s a carrier.”

*****

“So what brings you here?” Clint asked an attractive woman sitting next to him at the bar on the aft deck of the
Sovereign Spirit
. She smiled sadly and seemed to consider the question before answering.

“My husband was eaten by zombies. A womanizer in an RV picked me up in Cabo and brought me to this ship. I had no choice in the matter.”

“You were the woman in Pedregal?” Clint responded. “Shit! I almost blew your head off, but Scott told us to hold our fire. He saw that you were normal. Mark and I were ready to blast anyone that got in the way of that RV. Wow. I know Mr. Hammer can rub some people the wrong way, but you really lucked out.”

“I guess I did,” she answered slowly. “What about you?”

“Oh, I’ve been aboard this ship for almost a year now. I had just been laid off from work when Scott offered me a chance to cruise around the world for free. I didn’t expect the world to end before I got back though.”

“I know what you mean,” she replied. “So what happened to your arm, if you don’t mind me asking?”

“You don’t know?” said Clint with apparent surprise. “Here I thought you were only talking to me because I was famous. I got bit by one of those zombies and Scott cut off my arm before the virus got to my brain.”

“Oh my!” she exclaimed. “Are you sure you’re all right?”

“Right enough to be drinking with you, beautiful. I’m a walking miracle. Not one of the walking dead. My name’s Clint, by the way. What’s yours?”

“Carla,” she said with an alluring smile. “It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

*****

Carl had just arrived in Scott’s office aboard the
Sovereign Spirit
when the phone rang. Carl was suffering from culture shock since coming aboard the ship. Something as normal as a ringing telephone seemed magical. After two weeks in Hell, he felt as if he had died and gone to Heaven. Scott pushed the speaker phone button and said, “Hello, this is Scott.”

“Commodore?” a man’s voice replied. “This is Captain McCloud. The
Stratton
is en route back to Terminal Island now and we are escorting the cruise ships. Over a thousand small craft are following us too.”

“That’s great news,” said Scott. “We’ll be expecting you. Is there anything else I should know?”

“Yes, sir, I think there is,” Captain McCloud responded. “I just met with our meteorologist and reviewed the latest pictures from the weather satellites. There is a large storm front moving towards us from the northwest.”

Scott froze for a moment as he thought about the ramifications. Then he met Carl’s gaze, saw the same dawning realization there, and said, “Are you saying what I think you are, Captain?”

“Yes, sir” responded Captain McCloud. “It’s going to rain.”

This concludes the second book of the Sovereign Spirit Saga. Thank you for reading it.

Your reviews, comments and suggestions for the continuation of this series are welcome.

To contact the author, please email
[email protected]

You can also become part of the adventure at
www.sovereignspirit.net

Or follow the author’s blog at
http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5620466.David_P_Forsyth

If you missed the first book in this series, or want to recommend it to your friends…

Voyage of the Dead
can be found at:

http://www.amazon.com/Voyage-Dead-Sovereign-Spirit-ebook/dp/B006Y3XF4A/

And in the UK at:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Voyage-Dead-Sovereign-Spirit-ebook/dp/B006Y3XF4A/

The Sovereign Spirit Saga will continue with “Deluge of the Dead” later this year.