Chapter 3: Vacation
After continuing to browse through the sweet smelling store, I had ended up with my rather large bag of saltwater taffy, a couple of blue raspberry lollipops, and a couple packages of various flavors of bubble gum. To be honest, a basket would have come in handy. Oh well, hindsight is twenty-twenty. Glasses guy had been by my side the whole time, being my silent shadow the entire time. He hadn't gotten anything in the store for himself, which was weird.
To be honest, Glasses guy didn't seem like the kind of person who would like sweet things. Then again I didn't look like the kind of girl who was going to try to break into a medical research lab. However, it begged the question: who goes into a candy store and doesn't even look at what's being sold?
Oh well, creepy creepertons aside, I need to pay for this stuff.
I made my way towards the register, tall, blonde, and creepy at my side. The elderly female cashier had just finished with a previous customer when we reached the counter.
"Now is that all for you, sweetie?" the cashier asked.
I pulled my backpack off and reached inside for my wallet. I had just pulled it out when David Bowie's much more conservative cousin had pulled out his wallet.
"Allow me to pay," he stated.
I can pay for myself, thank you very much!
"Actually, I have it covered."
"Really, I feel as a gentleman that I must pay."
"That is really not necessary."
" I must insist."
The cashier suddenly interjected, "Oh, you two are such a cute couple!"
My brain temporarily shut down upon hearing her comment. That is the only excuse I have for what came out of my mouth.
"I –but- we –not –he."
While I was dealing with the connection between my mouth and my brain, glasses guy had handed the money to the beaming cashier and accepted the bag of plastic bag of candy. He started to walk away steering me towards the door with his hand on my back. Just before we went through the door, me still sputtering, the cashier called out to us.
"Now take care, you two lovebirds. Have fun."
Glasses guy continued to steer me out the door and down the street. As soon as I got control of my senses, I stopped. I crossed my arms in front of my chest and faced glasses guy. I needed to get a few things straight.
"Okay, before we get mistaken as a couple again, I think introductions are in order. My name is Octavia, Octavia West. Call me West."
"My name is Albert Wesker. The pleasure is all mine."
Oookay. Captain creepy has a name.
He handed me my bag of candy and I shoved it into my backpack. This was sort of awkward; we were just standing around saying nothing. On the other hand…
Here's my opening! Time to get the plan in motion.
"You came here to see the sights here, right? Well, all the really fun stuff is on the island part of the town. Trust me, I've been here once when I was younger. There's an amusement park, an aquarium, and there's even a nature tour boat ride through the nature preserve. There's also the beach but I guess it's not really the kind of weather for that. Oh, and there are probably some souvenir stores there too."
More importantly, the research base is on the island. In fact, if I remember correctly, it is located fairly close to the nature boat tour's route.
Wesker smiled, if it could be called that.
Oh my GOD, that is creepy. He looks like he just ate someone's kitten.
"That sounds utterly delightful. However, I don't remember seeing a bridge."
"Yeah, from what I remember, there isn't one. There is a ferry about every hour though. If we head over there now, we can catch it before the next boat leaves."
"Very well. Let us go."
From what I could tell, Wesker was a quiet and focused person. He acted smoothly and deliberately, like the way my grandfather's biker buddies track down deer in the hunting season. Grandpa's friends might be loud at the local bar and on the road, but they take hunting season very seriously. As soon as they hit the forest, I could swear they turn into ghosts for all the noise they make. Wesker did not speak very much at all. Then again, I wasn't exactly being chatty either.
The street we had followed had turned onto another that had one of the local high schools. It was just letting the students out and through the horde of teenagers, I could just make out the name: Oswell E. Spencer High School.
Yes, I was certain that Umbrella had made a nice cozy haven for themselves, like they had in Raccoon City. Renovate the infrastructure so as to bolster good feelings. Slap your name on a few buildings to boost the CEO's ego and show who exactly is helping out. There might even be a few bribes toward the officials to keep blueprints confidential and for the authorities to look the other way around the research lab.
We turned onto a sidewalk with a breathtaking ocean view. The island part of Morris' Point was about two to three miles away from the coast. To be honest it was rather inconvenient not having a bridge, but I thought of other reasons for the lack of a connection between the two halves of the town.
In the event of a hurricane they would be screwed, I mean an evacuation would be a nightmare. Umbrella on the other hand wouldn't really care as long as they… Oh oh oh, the lack of bridge is probably what Umbrella wants. The island half of the town being isolated in the event of an outbreak would make clean up a hell of a more easy. The fact that the research lab is located on the island half would mean that an outbreak would be isolated. A bridge would just let the virus migrate over to the mainland. Oh great, I'm turning into a conspiracy theorist. C'mon Canary, wait until you find hard evidence until you think every little thing is part of some horrible plot by Umbrella.
Wesker and I made our way down the street, the wind having picked up and now blowing in our faces. The sky was now even more overcast and it looked like it would surely rain tonight. In addition, the waves were getting fairly high on the beach. The air was briny and sand was being blown all over the street. The street was rather similar to the sea wall in Galveston. The beach was lower than the street and was accessible by stairs.
Hmm, we better get on the ferry now before the sea gets too rough to cross over.
We approached the dock and got in line for our tickets on the ferry. From what I could tell, the boat was in fine condition. On the other hand, I really don't know that much about boats. I know my way around cars and motorcycles, but boats are somewhat out of my experience.
Also in the line were a couple of families and a large flock of teenagers. The line quickly moved and we soon reached the front of the line to the kiosk.
"Two for the ferry?"
I quickly handed the old man manning the kiosk the money for the tickets before Wesker could pull out his slim, black leather wallet. I can't help it that I'm competitive and I don't like people paying for me. To be honest, it's a personal pride thing.
I noticed that some of the people weren't paying and instead had some sort of pass to get on the ferry. They must have been locals trying to get home or do some shopping.
The ferry soon let down the gates and a few cars drove on. Wesker and I hopped onto the bridge to get on the ferry. We soon climbed up the stairs to take us to the sheltered upper level for people who weren't driving. We secured a bench near the stern and got comfortable.
Wesker was his normal quiet self, looking all over the boat from where he was sitting down with his hands on his knees. We heard a commotion coming up from the stairs and a large family led by a heavyset middle-aged woman in a loud pink t-shirt slowly made their way towards our bench.
There were about five children in the family the oldest looking to be about ten or eleven years old. There was what I thought to be
The mother (as far as I could figure) sat them down on those benches closest to us and the youngest child toddled their way towards us. I couldn't tell if it was a boy or girl and to be honest, I didn't really care. I did care that the kid seemed to be oddly fixated on either Wesker or me.
One of my self confessed berserk buttons is people not watching their kids. What makes me even angrier than that, are parents not stopping their kids from bothering other people who are just minding their own business. This kid was starting to make grabbing hands motions towards Wesker and Wesker was starting to look fairly uneasy.
"Uh, ma'am. I am pretty sure that this is yours," I said while pointing at the small child who was starting to try to climb onto Wesker, reaching for what could have been Wesker's sunglasses. Of course, given my experience with small children, the kid could have also been trying to get ahold of Wesker's hair or nose.
"Oh, he just wants to play with y'all" she demurred.
"That's nice but my friend here really needs his space so could you come and get your kid?"
She huffed indignantly at me but came and got her kid off of Wesker while shooting me a dirty look.
What the hell did I do? It's your kid!
The kid was still making grasping motions at Wesker while she tugged him off. Wesker looked very irritated about the whole incident and I didn't blame him. The woman looked extremely put out and started talking loudly about how his companion (me) obviously hated children and how horrible I must be to be around.
Lady, I barely know him and I don't plan on fixing that anytime soon. I mean, how passive aggressive can you get? Oh hey, nature's calling. Best escape route ever.
I quickly excused myself to go powder my nose and I got up to go to the ferry's small one-person bathroom. As I left I could hear her start to talk to (More like talk at) Wesker about her kids soccer team or something. I did my business quickly and washed my hands. Then I caught sight of my reflection in the dingy mirror. My hair was still a bit wild looking from being knocked down in the candy store and the wind. I let what little hair that was still in the bun out. I quickly combed my hair and pulled it back into a tight ponytail using a few of the hairpins I had used for my bun.
No use leaving my hair free with the wind like this. Hmm… my bangs are kind of getting long. I really need to get them trimmed. Speaking of that, when the hell did I last get a haircut? Oh right, before Africa and after that horrible family reunion. I swear my cousin needs to control his kids better. Putting gum in my hair because I wouldn't play with them is not cute. It's bratty and entitled. Besides, I am not their babysitter. Watch your own damn kids.
I left the small bathroom and made my way back to the bench where I had last seen Wesker. The tall blonde creeper was still sitting on the bench. If anything, he now looked like he wanted to drown himself, or the kid's mom just to get her to stop talking at him. Having been in similar situation several times before in my life, I decided to take pity on him and perform a rescue.
"Hey Wesker, do you mind taking a few pictures of me on the boat?" I asked while holding up the disposable camera I had fished out of my large backpack.
"Of course dear heart," he stated, noticeably relieved to get away from the woman who was bound and determined to talk his ear off.
We went up towards the bow of the ship where there was only a metal railing instead of the ceiling to floor walls. We went through the door and I leaned my hips against the railing. I handed him the disposable camera and I turned towards the island in the distance. I heard a few clicks of the camera and Wesker handed it back to me. I kept my face turned toward the island while keeping a firm grip on the railing.
"How about we just stay here until we get to the island? To be honest, I'm not good with small children."
"Perfectly understandable", Wesker flatly replied.
Does he ever stop speaking in monotone?
We waited there at the front of the boat for it to reach the island dock, Wesker standing there firmly with his arms crossed.
"So, have you figured out what you want to do when we get there" I asked offhandedly. I took a minute to scratch the back of my neck while stretching my other arm out. "I mean the weather looks like it could turn into a downpour so I guess the amusement park will probably be pretty deserted. It's a good thing if you don't mind getting wet and hate lines. The most that the operators will probably do is close the rides if there's any lightning but only to wait it out from what I've experienced. If you don't mind crowds and hate getting soaked, then the aquarium is probably a good bet."
I was honestly curious what he wanted to do and I was bored. He didn't seem like the sort of person who liked anything remotely fun. Actually, I really shouldn't be talking. I like fun way too much. I think my best friend Dylan described me best when he called me "an adrenaline junkie and a budding supervillan". I cannot help the fact that I like burning things and I do take the necessary precautions. In fact, I think we would have needed that fire extinguisher anyway, especially after last Thanksgiving. Then again, that's just my opinion.
"The aquarium sounds delightful dearheart."
"Please don't call me that."
"My apologies, Octavia."
"Please don't call me that either. If you need to, you can call me West or Canary."
"Canary?"
"It's a long standing nickname."
The boat soon stopped and people began to get off starting with the large flock of teenagers, the families that had been on board and finally, Wesker and me.
The island part of the town was filled with stores of all kinds near the boat dock. There were the requisite souvenir shops, a gas station, and a bait shop. Just down the street I could see a gun and hunting supply store. Down another road I could see a small restaurant.
"Hey Wesker, I'm getting kind of hungry. Do you mind if we stop to get a bite?"
It is past lunchtime anyway.
The diner was a typical American greasy spoon. The floor was made of blue linoleum and the green and white striped wallpaper was starting to peel in the corners of the room. The booths were made of vinyl and the tales were made of fake wood. The place smelled faintly of old grease and bleach. There was an old jukebox in the corner playing "American Pie". I freaking loved it.
Aww, this makes me feel nostalgic for all those summer road trips with Grandpa.
The waitress seated us at a booth near the entrance quickly taking our drink orders. Wesker ordered a black coffee and I opted for a Coke.
I perused the menu for anything that sounded good and ended up unable to decide between a bacon cheeseburger and a plate of fried chicken and waffles. I had finally decided on the chicken and waffles when the next song on the jukebox had started playing. The waitress had come back to our table with our drinks.
"What all are you having?"
"I shall have the minestrone soup."
"Can I have the chicken and waffles with the maple syrup on the side, thanks."
"Alrighty, I'll have that out to y'all in a jiffy."
After that little interlude silence reigned at our little table. Well, as much as it could if I considered the noise going on around us. The diner wasn't that crowded but it had all the usual chatter between patrons with rattles and clangs occasionally coming from the kitchen. I didn't really want to talk. Partly because I don't do it that often and when I do I tend to ramble on and on. From the looks of it, Wesker didn't want to start a conversation either.
"So Miss West, you have been to Morris' Point before?"
Well I was wrong about that.
"Um, yeah. It was about ten or eleven years ago with my grandfather."
"Is he the one who gave you your nickname?"
"Uh, no. I was first called Canary in middle school. I just had really bad luck and a lot of people ended up noticing."
"However did that turn into calling you Canary?"
"Have you ever heard the term 'Canary in a coal mine'? Stuff just always seemed to happen to me before it happened to anyone else. People even started to keep an eye on me so they could get out of the way in case of an emergency."
If anything, it's at least better than being called a jinx.
"Such as?"
"If someone came to school with a cold, I would end up being the first one to catch it from the contagious idiot. If the cafeteria food had gone bad, I would be the first one running for a trashcan or the nurse's office. At prom when someone spiked the punch, I was the first to have some and end up drunk. Y'know, stuff like that."
"Sounds…frustrating."
"It was, but enough about me. What brings you here?"
"I heard about this town through my previous job. I am now taking a few… me days before my next job interview."
"Oh food's here!"
The waitress had just brought Wesker's soup and my chicken and waffles to the table. I could smell the fried goodness on my plate, but before I could even cut into my dinner all hell broke loose.
One of the busboys that I had seen earlier had shot out from the small hallway that held the restrooms like he had seen a ghost, before slipping on a puddle of spilled iced tea and falling to the ground, knocking over a couple of chairs. Then he turned around trying to get traction to get up and away from what had frightened him so much. Then we all saw it.
The thing was horrible. At first, it had looked human, but no human I knew of had greying skin that was practically sliding off of its flesh and bone. The creature was hunched over and sort of shuffled its way into the rest of the restaurant. The busboy was still on the floor trying to scramble away from the creature, no, zombie. It was the only word that made any sense. At some point, the zombie must have once been a man, but it was as far from human as an elephant was from an elephant seal.
As far as I could figure looking back, the restaurant must have had a cleaning supply closet in the small hallway near the bathrooms. The zombie must have come from either there or the bathrooms. The poor busboy must have seen or accidentally let it loose and had run for his life.
The whole restaurant had gone deathly silent and still. The only sounds that were heard was the ungainly shuffle of the zombies feet and the unearthly, rattling moan that came from the thing's decaying throat. I could see Wesker tensing up in the corner in my eye. Then, all of a sudden it lunged.