TYBEE ISLAND
By By Paul Paul Cales Cales & Becca
Continued from the Nov 2018 Beachcomber.
Catch up @ http://tybeebeachcomber.com/magazine
CHAPTER 17 – JOEY’S NOT AFRAID, HE’S JUST LAZY
DAY 6
“Dude!” Johnny exclaims, “Who the hell was that?”
“Sounded like Crabber,” Becky says.
“And it looks like he’s got friends,” Tony adds. “I saw at least two
more people with him. One’s a girl.”
“How do you know that?” Joey asks.
“I saw long red hair.”
“Could have been Ginger Mike,” Joey states simply.
“Could have been,” Tony sighs.
“How the hell did Brian find us?” Cheryl asks.
“I have no idea,” Tony says. “But the fire decoy worked like a
champ. Great job, Johnny.”
“Every once in a while he has a good idea,” Cheryl laughs.
Smiling big, Johnny snaps back, “Aww! Thanks a lot babe!”
“Well guys, we’re going to need a pla…” Tony begins, before
being interrupted by the ear shattering roar of jet engines flying just
over the tree tops followed by several explosions.
Johnny’s smile dissolves. “Shit, man. That’s Wilmington Island.”
“You don’t think we’re next, do you guys?” Becky asks.
“I doubt it,” Tony says. “Tybee may be next, but Little Tybee is
uninhabited, save us and those idiots we just ran off.”
“The zeeks actually ran them off,” Becky interrupts.
“Do you really think Tybee might be next?” Joey asks.
“I don’t know,” Tony says, “But we need to warn Doug that the
bombing is getting closer to his apartment.”
“You’ve seen Doug?!” Joey asks excitedly.
“Yeah man. He’s holed up at his place with Nomi. At least he was
three days ago. We’ll have to go and get him. I haven’t been able to
reach him on the walkie talkie since we left his place.”
“Umm… so let’s go and get him,” Cheryl says, already annoyed
with the delay.
“Someone is going to have to stay here and keep guard over our
luxury penthouse in the sky,” Johnny says.
“Agreed,” Tony answers. “I think this is a two-person job.
Traveling has proved difficult and the more people there are, the
higher the risk. Joey, up for an adventure?”
“I mean… I guess. I kind of like being safe here in the trees…
28 TYBEE BEACHCOMBER | DEC 2018
ISLAN
but whatever.”
“Jesus Joey,” Becky sighs. “I’ll go.”
“No, I think Joey needs to go,” Cheryl begins. “He’s not afraid,
he’s just lazy. Right Joey?”
“Okay, okay, I’ll go! But I’m definitely not going to be the one
shooting Doug if he’s a zombie. He’s MY bartender when I’m not
behind the bar, and shooting him would just be wrong…”
“Jesus Joey. If he’s a zombie, I’ll shoot him,” Tony snaps and
then looks at the rest of the group that is staying behind. “While
we’re gone make sure you guys have three hundred sixty-degree
security with guns at the ready. Whoever that was knows where we
are and that we have firepower. Don’t be afraid to use it.”
Tony and Joey then collect some provisions just in case they
don’t make it back to camp for a while and point Captain Nick’s
boat towards Lazaretto Creek. They silently ride and watch the
shoreline as they approach it until Joey speaks up, “Damn. This is
some crazy shit.”
“I know, man. Remember when we used to sit around and talk
about what we’d do if zombies took over the world?”
“They haven’t taken over the world just yet,” Joey muses. “The
government must be alive and well. We’re still hearing jets roaring
overhead. Someone has to be giving the orders to bomb.”
“I suppose you’re right. They bombed Savannah first, then
bombed Wilmington. They may have contained this thing already
since they’re working their way towards Tybee.”
“What makes you think they have it contained?”
“Well… I think this whole thing started on Tybee. I also think that
Marissa just may be patient zero.”
“Seriously?” Joey asks.
“Well… she got bit by something in the water, we took her to an
ambulance at Alley 3, and the ambulance never left. We found it in
the morning covered in blood and there were no bodies anywhere
around. It was enough blood for the slaughter of at least three
people.”
“Jesus!” Joey exclaims.
“And we’re pretty sure that Tybee is cut off from the mainland.”
“Well, why don’t we swing around to the Bull River Bridge to see
if it’s still there?
“Sounds like a plan, brother,” Tony says and pushes the throttle
to three quarters full. The duo settles in for an uneventful tenminute
ride to the bridge that separates Wilmington Island from the
Tybee causeway.
As they approach, Joey squints and puts a hand up to his
forehead to block the glare of the sun. He points to the bridge with
his free hand. “Do you see that Tony?” There are 2 M1A1 Abrams
main battle tanks nose to nose on the bridge, completely blocking
access between Wilmington Island and the causeway that leads to
Tybee. How the hell do you get past two tanks that are barricading
the road?
“Rules of engagement. They were probably operating under
limited fire. They could only shoot if they were shot at first.”
“That’s not very smart during a zombie apocalypse,” Joey
observes.
“It’s typical. I was in Egypt during a joint arms training mission
with the Egyptians back in ’97. Operation Bright Star they called
it. We took small arms fire from the hills. Hit the side of my tank.
We weren’t allowed to fire back. That’s how the army works. They
probably weren’t allowed to shoot. I wouldn’t be surprised if there
/magazine