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Moody sighed as he stared down the barrels of the 3 guns pointed at his chest from the other vessel - He didn't have time to deal with these poor starving fools. The radiation sickness would likely kill him in less than a month. He could probably make it to the port before his legs stopped working, but he couldn't afford any more delays
The first pirate leapt over the gunwale of Moody's depressing little sailboat and pressed his pistol directly into the chest of the grizzled old man, motioning for the other two to board and search the cabin.
Moody searched the eyes of the man now holding him at gunpoint. There was a hint of malice and sadism, likely suppressed for many years before the catastrophe. But mostly he saw desperation. And that was what concerned him the most.
He had to be quick.
The gaunt pirate glanced toward his comrades now ransacking the sailboat's cabin.
Now.
Moody's left fist crushed the man's windpipe with shocking speed as his right hand diverted the barrel of the gun away from his chest. The pirate fired instinctively, missing his mark by a mile, as Moody drove his knee into the man's stomach before sending his head into the guardrail.
It was the coughing fit that saved Moody's life.
As the spasm wrestled him to the deck, a shot split the air and a bullet screamed by above him. He grabbed the gun from the limp form of the first pirate and trained it on the two emerging from the cabin.
?Get off my boat,? Moody rasped, unsuccessfully attempting to affect strength in his voice.
The two pirates nervously stood their ground, pistols pointed at Moody. They were young, no older than 20, and looked like they hadn't eaten in weeks. One had faded blue eyes that must've been bright and full of life in the old world.
How pathetic, Moody thought to himself, a dying old man against two half-starved jackals.
The boys glanced at each other, equally unsuccessful in their attempts to portray confidence.
?Mister,? the blue-eyed one said, ?there's two of us and one of you. You ain't gonna win this fight.?
?Probably not,? Moody agreed. Seeing the small green book in the boy's other hand produced a flash of anger in him.
?I know you boys don't remember much of the old world,? said Moody, ?but we used to-?
?Shut up, old man,? Blue-Eyes interrupted, ?put the gun down or I'll shoot!?
?Why haven't you shot me already??
Blue-Eyes didn't have a good answer for that. He pursed his lips, glancing again toward his friend.
?Why don't we just shoot you and take the supplies anyway??
?You do that and one of you is gonna eat a bullet before I go.?
An uncertain silence entered the conversation.
As the last glimmer of light faded, Moody pulled the boat alongside what was left of the dock. There was one small section amidst the bent and splintered wreckage that looked mostly stable enough to walk on.
Mostly.
Road map, water, flares, spare batteries; Check. He threw the bare essentials into a small backpack, flipped on his headlamp, and tucked the little green book into his left breast-pocket before stumbling off the boat onto the pathetic excuse for a dock.
Regaining his balance, Moody pulled the pirate's pistol out of his waistband and racked a round into the chamber. The little 9mm would have to do, though he wished he still had his old Glock .45 - if the rumors were true, and Moody knew that they were, he'd need as much knockdown power as he could get.
At least those boys had the sense to load hollow-points, he thought. He put his hand on the knife at his side to reassure himself.
With his pack, his gun, and his little green book, Delroy Moody entered the dead city.
Moody opened the road map to get his bearings.
Just one more block.
Moody shook off the sentimentality creeping into his mind. He'd come so far, overcome so much; he couldn't let his guard down now.
Crunch.
Moody spun around, dropping the map and yanking the pistol out of his waistband. He already knew what had made the noise, but he prayed with his whole heart that he was wrong.
Moody found it perplexing at times that he still prayed. Most people gave up on it shortly after the Catastrophe. And yet, after all that had happened, after every atrocity that he'd witnessed since then, he just couldn't bring himself to let go of that hope. Maybe that was why he was still here...for now at least.
A scuttle to his left.
He whipped the gun around, but the culprit evaded his light yet again.
Should've stayed on the boat, he thought to himself.
He shined the light into the gaping hole that was once a laundromat's door in front of him. Every hair on his body stood up as a single pair of eyes shone back at him through the darkness.
He fired three times into the first pair of eyes, then spun around to face the creature behind him. He squeezed off one shot before quickly stumbling to the left, barely dodging the clawed form that leapt at him from the edge of the light. Spinning to meet his shrieking foe, Moody now saw the rat in plain view.
To call it a rat would be only half true. It certainly had some rat in it, but in appearance it resembled a deformed Great Dane with long retracting claws and thick quills along its back. Moody had seen only one of them before and swore he'd never wander into their territory again.
And now there were six of them.
Moody put four bullets point blank into the closest rat's head. It did the job, but barely. He kept his head on a swivel, revealing more of the creatures.
It didn't take a PhD to do the math - he didn't have enough ammo.
Thankfully they were mostly coming from one general direction. He fired his remaining three shots to halt their advance before reaching back and pulling a flare from the side pocket of his pack.
SKREEEEE! An unearthly scream shook Moody to his core before he could light the flare as another rat lunged from the right and took him to the ground. It's claws sank into his shoulders producing the worst pain he'd ever felt. The beast roared into his face and attempted to sink its teeth in his throat, but he brought his knife up first, skewering its brain.
The rest of the pack engulfed him, jostling one another for a chance to grab some meat.
Amidst the tearing and ripping, a scarlet light flashed beneath the grotesque dogpile, blinding the rats and scattering them in all directions.
Moody lay there for a moment holding his flare and catching his breath before shrugging the dead rat off of him. He'd suffered some pretty bad lacerations and he was missing his left ear, but his would-be predator had acted as a nice meat shield protecting his vitals. He looked his lifeless ?protector? in the eye.
?Fuck you.?
He'd lost his head lamp and his gun in the fight with the rats, so he relied on the light of the flare to guide him and keep any other nearby mutants at bay. Thankfully he was close now.
So close.
Continuing down the macabre street, he could see more eyes glaring at him hungrily from the darkness. But he was too exhausted now to pay them any mind. He felt his strength draining with every step and wondered if he'd actually make it. Perhaps he'd only delayed his awful fate.
And then he saw it.
?Treasure Island?, it read on the cover. His childhood favorite. He opened it to read the inscription on the inside:
?Property of the New York Public Library?
He found the slot by the door labeled ?After-hours returns? and slid into it his precious MacGuffin.
Glad I got that off my chest, Moody thought happily to himself as he breathed a sigh of relief.
Moody lit his last flare and held it, tightly gripping the knife in his other hand, and smiled.
In a small town of Pasadena, there lived a man named James Ejay. Ejay was a very wise man who had the smarts of a philosopher. He read the most powerful books, and he stood for world peace Always willing to help the needy. He owns a small barbershop on the corner of a quiet street. Ejay doesn't know that he would soon take his last breath, and neither does he know, he will get a chance to see the future and witness how he would be remembered. He was an outdoor wilderness man. He enjoyed camping out, even though he had a huge house and stocks and bonds. Something about living and surviving in nature attracts him. He'd camp for weeks and weeks. Surviving on fish and campfires' warmness. A wise soul who wasn't afraid of anything. He lived his life freely. This is the main reason why he and his ex-wife Sharon separated. She claimed he was selfish and only cared about his own needs. His ex-wife was tall, blonde, and 10 years younger than he was, but she left long ago, so he lived alone, in his big house with a 4x4 truck, and a pet golden retriever named Sam. James Ejay was a rational person who didn't believe in magic or the hocus pocus Junk. One day Ejay was walking and finds a stick. A plain wooden stick, he picks it up and continues walking. While walking he mutters to himself, ?I wish I didn't have to sit for hours fishing. I wish the fish would just come to me,? he chuckled. The moment he says those words the stick falls out of his hands accidentally and a pile of fish appears in a bag. Ejay is astonished. He quickly takes the bag of fish and heads home. He and his dog Sam had a nice fish and potato salad meal. After dinner, Ejay begins to talk to his dog, Sam. ?When you get to be my age boy and your life is lived and all you have is memories or regrets. Sometimes I wish I were dead just to see what the folks around here thought about me.? Sam raised up with the stick in his mouth. Ejay says, ?Wait.. boy give me the stick.? But it was too late, the stick fell from the dog's mouth and Ejay's wish about being dead became true. Ejay had lots of family, but he always felt like a loner. Ejay's body was found by police next to a river. The police contacted his brother Eric, and Eric told the people of the town. "My brother Ejay is dead but no one is to blame, my brother is a cuke. He has always been crazy. Police found him near a river. He probably tried to drown himself and died before he reached the river.? Ejay was dead but was watching over Pasadena. He heard every bad word people had to say about him. He and his brother didn't speak much, but he was hurt by the words his brother had just uttered. ?A cuke ain't the word more like a nut,? says Ejay's ex-wife. Eric chuckles and says, ?My brother is an educated fool and everyone knows it. Who would abandon their house to live in the wilderness, or live like he is poor when he has a mansion and 75 acres of land??
A short lady of the town says, "I thought he stood for world peace and was a wonderful man?? Eric says, ? He stood for something, and it was the king of the cukes.? ?Silence,? says an older man named Charlie. ?Ejay was a humble man, he really lived his life freely, the way he wanted to. Everyone else in this town is just living to please everyone else. He took risks, did the things he wanted to do, and never feared. What a great and honest man was he." ?If you say so,? claimed Eric. What are you doing with yourself the older man asked Eric. ?Huh,? Eric responded. ?Maybe you are mad because you gambled your house and car away and now say in an apartment. And how about your wife or are yall still together since the last time she wanted to leave you because you drink too much,? says Charlie. Eric becomes heated, ?This is not about me.? Deep down inside Eric knew those words were true, all this time he had been jealous of his own brother Ejay and as far as Sharon, Ejay's wife, she was just a pessimist who could find bad in a whole pile of good. Is the glass half empty or is it half full kind of people. Ejay thought he had lived his life and knew everything there was to know about life, but he didn't know he would ever see the day his own brother and ex-wife would have so much to say. His mom and dad were deceased now, but they both thought very highly of Ejay, so I guess you can say that's where Eric's anger had come from. The old man Charlie mutters, your brother Ejay wrote a Will about 5 years ago and I would like to read it. ?I, James Ejay, leave my house, my dog, and half of my bank account to my wife Sharon, and I leave the other half of my bank account and my barbershop to my brother Eric.? James Ejay was standing in the middle of the crowd listening to the conversation when Sam tugged at his leg. ?Hey boy,? Ejay replied, ?how can you see me?? Sam replied, ?Wolf when I accidentally dropped the wooden stick and you wished you were dead, I wished that wherever you go I would be close to you. So when you died, I died too.? Ejay rubbed Sam's head, ?My little buddy I love you.? After everyone finished the discussion about Ejay, they all went home. Have you ever heard of the saying, ?Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.? Karma is very real and one thing about it, it always comes back around. Ejay's brother Eric takes the long walk going home. While walking home, Eric discovers a wooden stick and picks it up?.what will happen next? Stay tuned for a truth coming to light.
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