The Infected Dead (Book 3): Die For Now Read Free

we go down to Charleston harbor and liberate the cable laying boat?”
    Kathy laid a hand on top of Tom’s and said, “Charleston was known around the world as a friendly city, but the harbor isn’t as friendly as it used to be, Tom. The last time we were like sitting ducks to someone who had control of Fort Sumter. We were lucky to get away.”
    Tom didn’t flinch, but Allison did. Jean and I both saw it and exchanged glances. Since our return from Guntersville, Alabama, we had both seen Kathy try to bury the feelings she had for Tom, but this gesture was a slip up on her part. She wasn’t the kind of person to try to break up a marriage, but it was no secret Allison had filed for divorce before the infected dead had changed the world. She pulled her hand back, but I didn’t think it had occurred to her what she had done. Allison was simmering.
    The Chief didn’t miss much, but he didn’t let on like he noticed. He went ahead and explained the gravity of the situation to Tom and Bus.
    “We could probably get into the harbor and get the cable laying boat under way, but they’re slower than a snail on a hot sticky road. We couldn’t sail it out of the harbor past Fort Sumter, and it would take a lot of fuel to use the route we took the last time. I doubt we would be lucky enough to make it half way.”
    “Why can’t we fly in and land close to it, Chief?” I asked. “You could get it under way while Bus flies the Otter back out. The rest of us could come into the harbor from the Stono River and tow you back to Mud Island.”
    When we had been fired upon from Fort Sumter, we were forced to travel down the coast to the Stono River. It was a longer trip, but it proved to be a safe back door into the harbor. There would be obstacles, but they weren’t as bad as getting shot at.
    The Chief said, “That’s a good idea, Ed, but our boat wouldn’t be my first choice for towing a cable laying boat. I’d prefer a tugboat, but I don’t think we would have a very easy time liberating one of those.”
    Dr. Bus asked, “Why don’t we just take control of Fort Sumter?”
    No one answered him.

CHAPTER TWO
Fort Sumter

    Anyone who knows anything at all about the Civil War knows Fort Sumter was the site of the first real battle. It was a Union garrison built to keep the United States from being invaded by a foreign power the way they had in 1812. Construction began in 1829, and it wasn’t even finished when South Carolina seceded from the Union in 1860. In 1861 the Confederate army began shelling the fort and it was captured after only one day. Even though it became a national monument and a famous tourist attraction, very few people knew it was the site of another shelter.
    Dr. Bus was on the short list of people who knew about the shelters, and he hadn’t told us yet where the other shelters were located. When we asked him where they were, he just said he would tell us in due time. When asked why he wouldn’t tell us, he said he wanted us to appreciate what we had and not be thinking about the other shelters.
    The Chief and I had talked about it several times, and we always came to the same conclusion. Dr. Bus and Uncle Titus were both nuts. They were smart enough to build shelters, but they were nuts.
    I asked Dr. Bus once if he knew who built the other shelters, and he just answered, “Of course I do.” He didn’t volunteer to tell me any names, and I knew he wouldn’t tell me if I asked.
    This was what Dr. Bus must have meant when he said, “In due time.”  
    “Bus,” said the Chief, “the last time we got a close look at Fort Sumter, we were coasting past it on the Atlantic Spirit. It was populated entirely by the infected dead, and they were walking over the walls trying to reach us. The next time we were in the area, someone took a shot at us from behind those walls. Are you saying whoever that was also has a shelter like ours?”
    Before the Chief even finished asking his question, Bus was shaking