I climbed up the porch steps and waited by the front window while Ben searched his pockets for his keys. Wyatt and Jo stood in front of the house, keeping watch.
Out of the corner of my eye, I thought I saw movement from inside the house.
I stepped up to the window and cupped my hands over the glass to take a closer look inside.
My heart sank deep into my chest when I saw them.
There, in the middle of the living room, I saw a man’s body. His arms laid motionless by his sides and his head facing the window, his sad, frightened eyes staring into nothingness.
An infected woman crouched over him, her blood soaked hands clawing into his stomach as she fed on his intestines.
The sound of Ben’s jingling keys unlocking the screen door awoke me from my terror.
“Ben! Stop! Don’t unlock the door!” I whispered as loud as I could, making it sound more like a desperate screech.
“What?” he asked, freezing in place. “Why?”
I didn’t know what to say. He walked towards the window, his face wrinkled in agony as he saw my eyes brim with tears.
I gently put my hand on his arm as he tried to look through the window, trying to stop him.
“No,” he said, shrugging my hand away. “Whatever it is. I need to see.”
Watching him peer through the window, searching the inside of his house, I waited for his heart to break.
When tears filled his eyes, I knew he had seen it, too.
“Dad.” He breathed, choked by his devastation.
Wiping his tears away, he took a deep breath in before looking around the living room again. “Where’s my mum?”
Confused, I turned to face the window and looked inside. She was gone. He didn’t see what she had become.
“Ben…” I started, but I didn’t know where to begin. “She… Your mum, I saw her.”
Suddenly, something threw itself against the window, making us both jump back in fright.
“Mum!” Ben yelled, falling to his knees. “No. No, no, no, no, no.”
He couldn’t contain his tears anymore, they streamed down his face as he stared helplessly what used to be his mother.
Her fingers had been gnawed on, she had chewed her own fingertips off during her feast. Blood smeared onto the glass as she tried to bite through it, her lips and teeth covered in her husband’s flesh. I could see from the festering laceration on her hand that she had been bitten. Red raw and inflamed, it had already started to rot.
Wyatt and Jo had joined us, and together we sat with Ben on the porch, crying silently for our friend and his doomed mother and father.
After what felt like hours, I turned to face the garden, unable too bear the sight of the infected woman or her shattered son any longer.
My breath caught in my throat as I heard moaning from out on the street.
Peeking over the porch fence, I saw three zombies shuffling passed the house.
I held my arm out to warn Jo and Wyatt, and they slowly turned around, following my gaze. Wyatt put his hand on Ben’s shoulder, signalling him to stay down. We sat on the porch, barely breathing as we watched the zombies continue slowly down the street.
“We need to go.” I mouthed to Wyatt, who nodded in response.
“Ben, mate,” he said softly as he tried to look into Ben’s eyes. “I’m really sorry, but we need to go. It’s not safe for us here.”
Wyatt helped Ben to his feet, but he pulled away and moved closer to the window, standing face to face with his mother.
She growled at him as she pushed her palms onto the glass, trying to break through.
Ben held his hand up to hers, tears spilling onto his trembling lips as he looked into her dead eyes.
“I’m so sorry, Mum,” he sniffed. “I love you so much. Goodbye.”
He closed his eyes and inhaled a long, deep breath before stepping back from the window and turning away.
Wyatt and I followed behind as Ben walked passed us and headed for the RV, wiping his tears on his sleeve.
No-one said anything as we buckled our seat belts and drove away.
With barely any cars on the road, it didn’t take long for us to make it out of Melbourne. Heaviness filled the RV, each of us lost deep in our own thoughts as we watched the last of the neighbourhoods fly passed our windows.
As I slowly began to drift into sleep, I felt my heart ache for everything, and everyone, we were leaving behind.
What lay ahead for us remained to be seen, but as Melbourne lay in ruins behind us, I hoped it would be better than what we found today.
Chapter Fifteen
I gazed out the window, staring thoughtfully up at the clouds as the sun started to set.
I had managed to sleep for a short while, but my fierce nightmares had jolted me awake. All I saw when I closed my eyes were the rancid, gruesome faces of the infected.
I couldn’t stop thinking about how quickly this had all happened. A mere twenty-four hours ago, those rabid monsters were normal human beings going about their lives; going to work, worrying about paying bills, picking their children up from school. Their lives changed in an instant. The entire country changed in an instant.
“Eva,” whispered Ben as he walked over from the driver’s cabin and sat next to me, waking me from my thoughts.
He held one of our many first aid kits in his hands. “Here, let me look at your arm.”
He turned on one of the ceiling lights above me while I started unwrapping the scarf from around my arm.
“Ok, it’s not too bad,” he said as he gently wiped my cut with a cleaning pad from the kit, making me flinch. “It’s only about a centimetre deep, so it won’t need stitches or anything. I’ll just clean it and bandage it up.”
I watched him as he took such gentle care of my arm. I had been in awe of his strength ever since we left his parent’s house.
“Thanks heaps, Ben. How are you?” I asked, instantly regretting asking such an inane question.
“I’m… I don’t know. Just keeping myself busy, I guess,” he sighed, wrapping a bandage around my arm and clipping it into place. “How did you get through this when…”
He stopped and bowed his head, unable to say it.
I knew what he was going through all too well. Months passed before I could physically say that my parents had died, as though somehow it wouldn’t be real until I uttered those agonising words.
“To be honest, I’m not sure how I got through it,” I replied, not wanting to sugar-coat the pain he was going through. “I just did. It hurt like hell, and I think it always will, but I’ve learned to live with it. I don’t understand why it happened, and I wish it didn’t, but it did. I learned to accept that.”
It has been so long since I spoke about the death of my parents, that just hearing those words come out of my mouth made me realise how far I’ve come since that tough time. But my heart ached for Ben, knowing he was only at the very beginning of this shattering experience.
“I know it feels like the whole world is crumbling around you, Ben… and I guess in a way it is, with everything that’s happening. And you know what? It’s okay. It’s okay that you feel that numb. It’s okay that you feel like shit. It’s okay. Feel it. Then, once you’ve had enough of feeling that way, let it go. Change it. Shift your focus to the things that make you happy. Remember the good times you had with your parents. But right now, just feel it.” I took a breath, surprised at the wisdom I had just imparted. I hoped desperately that I had helped ease his pain, even just a little.
Ben looked up at me with tears in his eyes and hugged me tight.
Seeing the heartbreak in his eyes, I finally knew what it felt like to be on the other end of this exchange. The only difference being he would never see relief in my eyes, I had already survived that tragedy; it didn’t scare me anymore.
“Thanks, Eva.” Ben sniffed as he stood up.
“No worries, Ben. We’re all here for you.” I replied, giving him a slight smile.
/> As he packed up the first aid kit and climbed back into the driver’s cabin, I looked over at Jo as she slept. All of a sudden, these three human beings were all I had. Now, a new fear loomed over me; losing one of our little tribe.
It’s us against the world now.
At that moment, I noticed the RV had started to slow down. Turning to look out the window, I could see we had turned off the highway and were driving through a small town, so I unbuckled my belt and walked over to the driver’s cabin.
“Petrol.” Said Wyatt as I leaned against the back of the driver’s seat, as though he knew what I was thinking.
“Better wake up Jo. We’ll run in and grab more food and anything else we find while Wyatt fills it up.” Added Ben.
“Cool. Do you think it’s safe here?” I asked, looking through the windshield for any signs of danger.
It seemed a long main street and a few houses scattered around the area was all that made up this tiny town. I could see it had not escaped the wrath of the infection; with dozens of devoured corpses strewn along the road and sidewalks and a few shop windows smashed in, the havoc looked recent.
“Not sure. We’ll have to be quick, and careful.” Answered Wyatt, looking at me in the rear view mirror.
I nodded and stepped back towards the dining area to wake Jo.
Slowly, we rolled into the local petrol station, glancing around suspiciously for any movement. Squinting to see through the broken windows of the station store, I couldn’t see anyone inside. Wyatt pulled into the station and for a moment we sat in silence, listening closely.
“Ok. Let’s hurry.” Said Wyatt as he opened his door and stepped outside.
We quickly climbed out of the motorhome and made our way over to the store, peering through the windows carefully before entering.
“I think I see a crowbar behind the counter.” Said Jo as we entered, the bell ringing as the door swung open and closed behind us.
Ben ran straight over to the snack foods, ripping open a packet of potato chips, while Jo ran behind the counter to get the crowbar.
“Just grab everything, we don’t know how long will be in hiding for.” I said as I picked up an empty milk crate and started packing it with bottles of water and snack foods.
Even though we had many packets of dehydrated meals packed away in the RV, I wanted to gather as much food as we could. While potato chips and chocolate bars weren’t the healthiest options, they would at least bring a bit of normalcy to our lives while we hide out in Cairns.
Preparing to pick up the crate to take it back to the RV, I paused when I saw Jo down the aisle. She stood frozen and slack-jawed, clutching the crowbar so tight her knuckles had turned white as she stared wide-eyed out the window.
“Jo?” I asked, following her gaze.
I could see Wyatt standing by the motorhome, holding the petrol hose as it filled it up.
I shifted my gaze behind him and gasped.
What I saw in the distance made me jump to my feet, with fear tightening my chest.
Three sickly grey zombies were lurking up behind him.
“Wyatt! Run!” I screamed, but it was too late.
One was already about to launch itself on him.
Chapter Sixteen
I pulled my hunting knife out of my jeans pocket and leapt through the broken window, running as fast as I could towards the motorhome.
My screams alerted Wyatt to the danger and he spun around, ducking just in time as the hollow creature pounced towards him.
Rushing around the RV, I pushed Wyatt out of the way as I began slashing furiously at the zombie, hacking it’s head clean off.
Wyatt fell to the ground, his knife sliding under the motorhome and out of reach.
The other two growled menacingly as they edged closer, their glazed eyes hungry for our warm, juicy flesh.
I tried not to panic, but I knew with only one knife between the two of us, we needed to act fast.
I looked down at the dicapitated head still spinning at my feet, its jaw mindlessly biting at the air.
I picked it up by the hair and forcefully threw it at the second zombie, its neck snapping back as it hit it in the face, causing it to fall backwards.
I braced myself, my heart pounding as the third zombie ran towards me, drool dripping from its blood stained lips.
In the corner of my eye, I saw the glint of something sharp sitting on the dashboard of the motorhome.
The axe!
“Wyatt! Here!” I said as I handed him my knife.
I jumped onto the step of the RV and swung the passenger door open, reaching for the axe.
I screamed as I felt something grab hold of my leg, and turned to see the mangled face of a zombie. Half of its jaw had been ripped off, leaving it hanging only by a few exposed muscles. It clutched to my ankle as it crawled out from under the RV, using my leg to pull itself up.
“Eva!” Wyatt called as he kicked the other zombie down to the ground and thrust the knife into its skull in a loud crunch.
I snatched the axe from the dashboard just as the disfigured zombie pulled me through the door and slammed me onto the concrete. I groaned in pain as my head hit the ground hard. Before I could move out of the way, the hideous creature let out a loud screech and jumped on top of me, pinning me down by my arms.
“No!” I yelled as I felt its top teeth pressing against the bare skin of my shoulder.
Luckily, its semi-attached jaw meant it couldn’t bite down or pierce my skin.
Wyatt ran over and jumped on its back, gouging its eyes out as it tried furiously to latch onto my skin.
He wrapped his arms around the zombie, allowing me to wriggle free.
Nodding at me to use my axe, Wyatt pulled the creatures’ head back by the eyes, exposing its decaying neck.
I held the axe over my head and swung it sideways, slicing through the dry, rotting skin. I could see the head was still hanging by some muscle, flopping around but still attached.
I swung the axe again, this time sending the head flying into the air and cracking multiple times as it bounced along the road.
Wyatt held out his hand to help me up, but the zombie I hit with the decapitated head before had returned.
It launched itself onto Wyatt, causing them both to fall to the ground next to me.
I jumped to my feet and grabbed the zombie by the neck just before it bit into Wyatt’s back.
“Hold it still!” I yelled, as I held its hair with one hand and readied my axe with the other.
Wyatt rolled onto his back, grabbed the monsters’ arms and kept it still while I slammed the sharp axe into its skull.
Once I pulled the axe out of its slit open head, I kicked the creature off of Wyatt.
Looking around, I breathed a sigh of relief to see we had killed them all. I fell to the ground next to Wyatt as we both caught our breath.
Without saying a word, he grabbed me by the shoulders and pulled me into him, hugging me tight. I closed my eyes and rested my head against his shoulder, grateful to be alive and in his arms.
The thought of almost losing him spiralled through my mind. As he held me close, I realised I couldn’t wait any longer. Our time together could be cut violently short at any second.
This is my moment, I thought as I stood up.
I grabbed him by the shirt and pulled him onto his feet.
No more waiting. I’m making this my moment.
Still holding on to his shirt, I drew him in close so that our lips were only centimetres apart.
Looking up at him, I saw passion and fire in his green eyes.
He looked into my eyes and smiled before he closed the gap between us, kissing me fervently.
A sense of desperation sparked in the way he kissed me, as though he knew, just as I did, that this first kiss could also be our last.
My heart pounded in my chest, but for the first time today, it wasn’t out of fear. As Wyatt ran his fingers through my hair, it seemed as though everything around us j
ust disappeared. In this electric moment – the moment I had been waiting for – we were untouchable.
After what seemed like a beautiful eternity, our lips parted and I fell back down to reality.
“Are you okay?” I asked, running my fingers down his cheek as my eyes searched his face and neck for injuries.
Wyatt patted himself down, making sure all his limbs were still intact.
“Yep!” He grinned, taking me by the hand.
“Are you guys okay?” I heard Jo yell as she and Ben emerged from the store with their bags full of supplies.
“Oh no.” Ben gasped, looking behind us, and I spun around to see what he was gaping at.
My heart leapt into my throat as I saw hundreds of zombies, stumbling out of houses and stores. They must have heard our violent battle with a few of their undead companions.
I scanned the hoard, feeling sick at the sight. From the elderly to little children, the entire town had been infected. Any who hadn’t lay eaten on the side of the road.
Now they were hungry for more.
And they were headed straight for us.
Chapter Seventeen
“Quick! Get in!” I yelled to Ben and Jo, pushing the door of the RV open as they ran towards it.
“C’mon, Eva!” Said Wyatt as he squeezed my hand.
“I think I have an idea.” I said, looking into his eyes. “Get in and start the RV, I’ll be right behind you.” I promised.
“Are you crazy? If we go now we can make it outta here before they reach us!” Wyatt insisted, tugging on my arm, but I stood firm.
“And leave them to kill or infect others?” I replied, pulling away from him and grabbing the petrol hose from out of the RV.
“Hurry, just go. I handle this by myself.” I pushed him away, but he didn’t move.
Instead he stood there, his jaw clenched as he glared at me.
“Eva. I know you can handle it by yourself, but you don’t have to. Let me help.” Wyatt said sternly.
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