Part 49 (1/2)

At least we did before tonight.

Now, sitting on the back of my bike, she squeezed my waist and put her lips to my ear. ”I love the wind on my face,” she said. ”Go faster.”

Dinner was the best thing I'd ever tasted, roasted mutton with wasabi mashed potatoes and asparagus. To this day I have no idea what the h.e.l.l wasabi is, or where you get it, but I sure loved the bite it gave those mashed potatoes.

And the scenery was fantastic. The stars dappled on the surface of Canyon Lake. On the sh.o.r.e, the tops of the hills were silvered with moonlight. There was music, a few older couples dancing on the open air deck, glimpses of a world long gone.

The conversation, on the other hand, lagged. At least at first.

I'd never really talked to a girl. Not like you do on a date, anyway. I didn't know what I was supposed to say, how I was supposed to act. She knew little about weapons, or the Zone, and that pretty much exhausted what I knew. She was into growing vegetables and had plans for building schools.

But I told her dad I was going to treat her like a cla.s.s act, and I did. The thing is, deep down inside, I am, and always will be, a Zoner. Life, as I had known it, was short and mean and cheap, and I spent a lot of time wondering if it was really worth the effort I put into it. When you think that way, it can be hard to look at a girl and think the two of you have a chance at romance.

She asked me if there was anything wrong.

”This world seems kind of pointless, don't you think?” I whispered across the table to Heather as the waiter poured each of us another gla.s.s of wine.

”There may not be a point,” she said. ”But even still, we're here. You and me. That's enough, isn't it?”

Her answer surprised me, the simple practicality of it. ”That's true,” I said. ”Here we are.”

After dinner we danced on the open deck of the Starliner Starliner. A cool, late spring breeze was in the air, carrying with it the thick, marshy smell of lake water. I held her body close to mine, the first time I'd ever held a real girl, and lost myself in the warmth of her green eyes and the smell of her skin.

That feeling, that comfort of absolute privacy, the romance of it, was why the Starliner Starliner cost so much. The infected were everywhere, and not even the strongest compound was completely safe from them, but when the cost so much. The infected were everywhere, and not even the strongest compound was completely safe from them, but when the Starliner Starliner was off her moorings and out on the lake, it was its own world, untouchable by the harsh realities of the Zone. was off her moorings and out on the lake, it was its own world, untouchable by the harsh realities of the Zone.

But of course there were other dangers in the Zone besides zombies. As the evening drew to a close, and the Starliner Starliner began her slow cruise back to the wet dock, Heather and I stood on the bow and talked about the future, about the stars, about anything and everything except the past. It was our night, and though our bonds had been forged in the heartaches of the past, we wanted our night together to be about the future. We wanted our own happy memories together. began her slow cruise back to the wet dock, Heather and I stood on the bow and talked about the future, about the stars, about anything and everything except the past. It was our night, and though our bonds had been forged in the heartaches of the past, we wanted our night together to be about the future. We wanted our own happy memories together.

There were no other boats on the lake. At least there hadn't been during most of our date. But as we rounded a final elbow of land and entered the cove, we saw a large cabin cruiser waiting for us, the vague shapes of men ringing the rails of the deck.

Heather broke off in the middle of a giggle and watched them.

”What is it?” I asked.

”Not good,” she said. ”I think that's Wayne Nessel. Daddy warned me he might try something. Daddy didn't think he'd do it out here though.”

I knew of Wayne Nessel. He was Ashcroft's biggest rival, and a man with a lot of resources at his disposal. People in the Zone called him ”The Bull.”

”He couldn't know you're here.”

”He knows,” she said, and then she guided me to the far side of the Starliner Starliner.

”But how?”

”He's got spies everywhere, Andrew.”

She crossed to the opposite side of the deck and climbed the railing.

”Wait a minute,” I said. ”Where are we going?”

She looked down at me. ”Can you swim?”

”Yeah.”

”Good.” She waited till Nessel's boat lit up the Starliner Starliner with its spotlights, then she gave me a wink and dropped herself over the edge. with its spotlights, then she gave me a wink and dropped herself over the edge.

I went in after her.

I thought we'd cling to the side of the boat and wait it out, but that wasn't what Heather had in mind. She went under and kept swimming under the Starliner Starliner's hull. hull.

I followed.

Above us, through the green murky haze, I could see the glow of the spotlights and the s.h.i.+mmering outlines of men running on both decks. There were a lot of m.u.f.fled popping sounds that I took to be gunfire, but none of that was directed down at us. It was all boat to boat.

We surfaced on the far side of Nessel's boat and swam to sh.o.r.e. I'd hidden my motorcycle in the brush next to the Starliner Starliner's docks out of habit, and now I was thankful for my instincts. As we swam, we decided it'd be best to come ash.o.r.e a little ways from the dock, just in case Nessel had men covering his back on land.

We crawled up on sh.o.r.e and Heather pulled her black hair back with both hands, her camisole clinging to the curve of her b.r.e.a.s.t.s like wet paint.

There were voices nearby, just on the other side of the bushes. Nessel's men, I thought, left here in reserve.

I spotted them a moment later. Four men, all armed with AR-15s. They were lined up on the dock, looking out at the boats, pointing and laughing.

”Amateurs,” I whispered. ”Look at that. They're just watching the show.”

”Can you get them all?”

”No,” I said. ”Not all of them. Maybe one or two, but not all of them.”

”What do we do?”

The switchback road we'd taken to the docks led a short distance up a steep hill behind us before curving out of sight. Low, scraggly oaks and cedars lined the sides of it. I told Heather to go up around the curve and wait for me.

”What are you going to do?”

”Try not to get shot,” I said.

She frowned at that, but she made her way up to the road just the same, careful to stay in the shadows.

When she was safely out of the way, I made my move.

My bike was hidden in a clump of cedar behind an old rusted truck. I crossed behind the guards and made for the bike, praying they didn't turn around.

I got most of the way there before I heard one of them holler something. The next instant, they were firing at me. Little chunks of concrete exploded around my shoes as I made for the truck, but they didn't hit me, and if their lack of attention on the sh.o.r.eline hadn't convinced me they were just hired goons, their shooting certainly did. At that range, professionals would have killed me with ease.