‘What the hell happened? Where’s your mum and dad?’ Harris asked.
Lizzy’s expression darkened. ‘Dad was out somewhere on the farm, wasn’t due back for a day or more yet. Mum… mum told me to take Gordy and run like hell. Knew you’d be coming back along the line. Glad you didn’t take too long. Gordon was getting upset.
‘Traaaaain,’ Gordon gurgled with a mouth full of sticky brown toffee juice.
‘He loves it when Harris comes to visit. You always bring him some kind of lollies.’ Lizzy looked at us a bit shyly. She seemed embarrassed by her brother, but protective of him at the same time.
‘Glad we could help out.’ I had this crawling ohshit thought crawling up the back of my neck. That was three places so far we had run into big mobs of evols. They weren’t supposed to be such a problem outside of the cities. So much empty land they could wander off into.
‘Well we’re heading up past Pimba, you kids are coming along. I’m not sending you home till I’m sure the place is clear.’ Harris would brook no argument, and while Lizzy seemed worried about her folks, Gordon got stuck on the idea of a train ride.
‘Best get on, the fire’s stoked and we have some miles to go.’ Harris swung the door open on the train cab and Gordon immediately clambered up hooting in delight. Else watched him suspiciously but climbed up to her spot on the mesh over the tender.
‘I guess we’re riding in the back,’ Lizzy smiled and led the way to the freight car. I gave a shout to let Harris know we were on board.
With the door closed the freight car was cool and shaded. Lizzy pushed some skins around and made a comfortable place to sit, so we did in silence for a while.
‘Where you from?’ she asked.
‘Sydney,’ I said trying to find somewhere safe to look between her thighs and her face.
‘I went there once. When I was a kid,’ the skirt split when she crossed her legs, sliding like a caress up to one bare hip. No undies or tan lines. I felt my throat go dry.
‘Yeah? How old are you then?’
‘I was seven when it started, dunno now. Old enough though.’ Lizzy slid forward, her knees parting as she lowered herself down in front of me. I stared down the dusky slope of her chest. Where the halter top bordered the swell of her tanned breasts a faint scatter of freckles lay like the first drops of rain on desert sand.
She opened my jeans and I lifted my hips, leaning back against the wooden side of the freight car. She pulled them down while I wiggled my feet and pushed my boots off. Lizzy slid a hand around me and squeezed up and down. I pulled her close, the musky smell of her skin was intoxicating. Sliding my hands up under her top I peeled it off over her head. She in turn pulled my shirt off, her skirt slipping away. The heat of her body intensified against mine as we kissed hard and hungry like evols. The last time I touched a girl like this it had cost me three cans of food and I’m sure one of them was spaghetti. I stroked my hands down her back, her skin so smooth and trembling. My tongue stroked over her teeth, they parted slightly and hers touched mine. There was a wonderful naivety to her kissing but a passionate need too. Drawing her knees up she settled over me, her hand slid down and with a slight gasp, she guided my cock into position. That intense enfolding heat made me groan. She sank down, clenching me as her head fell back and she cried out. ‘Ohhh fuck… yeah…’ Her hair tickled my hands. I gripped her sides and drove into her, deeper and harder. My mouth slid down her neck, onto the firm swell of her breast and the warm hardness of her nipple. I sucked and flicked it. She whimpered, her head falling forward, draping us in the soft fronds of her hair. In the close heat we writhed and pressed against each other. Thrusting and speaking in half words until our skin shone with sweat. In the final moment she bit down on my shoulder, screaming in muffled ecstasy and I came so hard I thought I might die.
We lay together afterwards, her head on my chest, and my arm around her.
‘That was nice,’ she murmured.
‘Very nice,’ I agreed.
‘I’d only seen mum and dad doing it before.’
‘They were okay with that?’
Lizzy giggled. ‘Hell no. If they’d known I was peeking they would have freaked. Gordy lets me watch him playing with himself all the time though.’
‘That’s not very nice, he’s a retard. You should treat him with some respect.’
Lizzy sat up and glared at me. ‘It’s not like I fucked him or anything.’
‘Yeah but-’
‘He’s my brother. I look out for him and I don’t need you telling me I’m doing it wrong.’
I sat in silence for a moment, there were worse crimes being committed every day. ‘Do you think your mum and dad will be okay?’ Lizzy lay down again, her fingers tracking through the grime on my chest.
‘I don’t know. If mum made it back inside she can lock herself in the cellar. If the Z’s can’t get in they’ll leave. Dad was out checking stock. He might have been got. Or a snake could have bit him or his horse.’
‘Harris will take you back after he’s dropped us off at Pimba.’
Lizzy hesitated. ‘Is she your girlfriend?’
‘Else? No. She’s… No she’s not my girlfriend.’
‘I could be your girlfriend. You could take me with you and we could be together all the time.’
‘I dunno. It’s hard enough looking after me, let alone two girls.’
‘I can look after myself. I can shoot with a rifle and a bow. I can skin, and cook and fish and I’ll let you fuck me when ever you want.’
‘What about Gordon?’
‘What about Gordon? You want to fuck him too? Sure he’d probably like it.’
‘No, I mean who’s going to take care of him if you come with me and Else?’
‘I don’t care!’ The anger in her voice was bitter and absolute. ‘I’m sick of having to look after him. I don’t want to spend the rest of my life on the farm. I want to travel, see other places, meet people and see things.’
‘There’s nothing to see out here. It’s all gone.’
‘There is more out there than there is on the farm.’
I sighed. We had a way to go, and I liked the idea of another round before we reached our destination.
‘You can do whatever you want,’ I said and drew her tighter against me, laying kisses on her hair and face. We did it again and I hated myself for lying.
CHAPTER 19
The hiss and shudder of the train braking woke me up. I pulled my clothes and boots on, Lizzy stirred sleepily on the sheepskins. I peered out through the gaps in the wood, seeing only dry scrub and red sand. We were still in Australia then.
I pulled the door open, letting the hot smoke of the engine swirled in. I looked down past the long black chassis and saw we were rolling into a town. A battered sign said ‘Welcome to Stirling North.’ The place seemed quiet.
Harris brought the train to a halt. I waited until he hopped down and started back towards us.
‘Get up, Harris is coming,’ I said and jumped out, sliding the door shut behind me.
‘Regular pit stop,’ Harris said with a casual glance around.
‘No zombies here?’
‘There’s no one here. The few survivors buggered off to Port Augusta back in the panic. The rumour was that there were UN ships coming and Port Augusta had boats to get you to Adelaide. The roads were choked, so for many folks it was the only option.’
‘And the boats?’
‘Never came as far as I know.’
‘There were a lot of rumours, seemed everyone thought that someone had a cure, or an escape. They were dark times.’
‘Dark?’ Harris snorted. ‘They were complete shit. The government lost control. People were in complete panic and everywhere you looked dead people were trying to kill you.’
‘You should have been in Sydney. What are we doing here?’
‘Top up the boiler, and gather some supplies. People left pretty fast, and the Skipper doesn’t let people out of Port Augusta with
out good reason. They reckon the dead plague is carried by the living.
‘So they don’t let anyone into the town?’
‘Nope. I offload about half a click out of town and run a flag up to let them know that supplies are there. They leave their barter goods for me and that’s how we do business.’
‘More fish?’
‘Sometimes. Mostly it’s machine parts, hardware, lumber, fuel, that sort of thing.’
‘Where do they get it all from?’
‘They’re a port. I guess they trade it with other ports.’
The idea of a working port, particularly one with some kind of working economy immediately had me intrigued. ‘How can we get in there?’ I asked.
‘Like I said, you don’t. Anyone gets within range their snipers shoot you in the head. There’s a white line about four hundred metres out from the town wall. White from the bones of the walkers and the wanderers who got to close.’
The door beside us slid back and Lizzy jumped down. ‘Stirling?’ She asked.
‘Yeah, how was the ride?’ Harris spoke casually, blandly, and I nearly choked.
‘Not bad, I slept for most of it. How’s Gordy?’ Lizzy said casually.
‘Excited. You might want to talk to him about not touching things in the cab. He’ll listen to you.’
‘Sure,’ Lizzy gave me a slow smouldering look as she brushed past.
Harris and I unloaded two wheelbarrows from the freight car and walked back along the train to where Else stood on the roof of the train cab. She climbed down and came to me, scowling at Lizzy who smirked harder and tossed her hair back.
‘Harris says we need to get supplies. Water and stuff,’ Else said. ‘He say’s he needs to fill the train with water and we have to get the supplies from in there,’ she pointed vaguely at the deserted streets that stood next to the tracks.
‘Sure thing, we can do that. There’s no evols here. Harris says everyone left years ago,’ I said.
‘I can’t hear them,’ Else whispered.
‘That’s good though, right?’ I put an arm around her and gave her a hug. Else tensed and then pressed against me, one arm folded up like a wing against her chest.
‘Gordon, you can help me with the water okay?’ Harris clapped his hands and Gordon lumbered out of the cab. Laughing like a child in his rumbling baritone.
‘Whaddya want me to do?’ Lizzy stretched and swept her dark hair back, exposing a good expanse of taut midriff as she did so.
‘Give those two a hand. Collect anything that’s not nailed down. But make sure it’s stuff we can trade. Nothing broken, or useless.’
‘Nothing broken or useless got it.’
‘We can handle it Harris, Lizzy should stay here and help with Gordon,’ I said. Putting the two girls together seemed as smart as looking for a gas leak with a flamethrower.
‘Time’s wasting and the boy is fine. Go on you lot. Use the wheelbarrows. Oh, and you’ll need this. It’s a list of the places I’ve already stripped.’ With that he returned to unpacking a heavy hose from the train.
‘Lizzy, grab a wheelbarrow. Ladies, this way.’ I pushed one of the barrows ahead of me and we went to town. The rough map Harris had sketched showed each street, the houses he’d already pillaged were marked with an X. We walked through a ghost town. The occasional sheep panted in the shade, blinded by its heavy wool.
‘So you from Sydney, too?’ Lizzy piped up. Else ignored her. ‘Hey, Blondie, I’m talking to you,’ she tried again. Else kept walking, scanning the houses to each side as she went. Expecting trouble because that’s all she knew.
‘What is she, deaf?’ Lizzy carried on.
‘Shut up, or they will hear you,’ Else said.
‘Who will hear me? The zombies? There’s no one here!’ Lizzy twirled her arms flung wide, head back, mouth open with a joyful expression I knew intimately. ‘There’s no one here! Just us!’ she shouted it to the sky and laughed.
‘Lizzy, quit it,’ the unnecessary noise made me nervous too. Else gave Lizzy a look that said what she was thinking.
Lizzy gave her the finger, which meant nothing to Else. Then she scowled hard when Lizzy laughed at her glancing upwards to see what the other girl was pointing at.
‘I don’t like you,’ Else said which made Lizzy laugh in shocked surprise.
‘Well fuck you too, bitch!’
‘Whoa!’ I grabbed Else’s sword arm as her blade came out and she lunged at Lizzy. The black-haired girl stumbled back with a scream.
‘She’s crazy! She’s fucking nuts!’ Lizzy yelled from a safe distance.
I struggled with Else, her teeth were bared and she snarled and spat.
‘Liz, go down a block and start checking those houses.’
‘But-‘
‘Just go!’ I didn’t know how long I could hold Else for, or what she might do if I let go.
Lizzy stormed off, taking the wheelbarrow with her and marching away in a slighted fury. Else stopped struggling. ‘And don’t come back!’ she yelled at the other girl’s back.
‘Else, calm down. We need to work with other people to survive. You can’t go around killing everyone who pisses you off.’
‘I don’t want to kill everyone. Just her.’
‘Well you can’t.’
‘Why not!?’
‘Because… because you don’t kill people.’
‘We kill people all the time.’
‘Well that’s different. They’re dead. Which means they aren’t real people any more.’
‘Do you want to make her a mummy?’
I blinked. That came out of left field. ‘What...? No. Of course not.’
‘Why not? She looks at you like she wants to make babies with you and you look at her funny.’
‘I don’t want to make babies with her.’
‘Why not?’ Else stamped her foot in frustration.
‘I don’t want to make babies with anyone!’ I knew as soon as I said it that it was a mistake. Else’s face twisted in a sudden grimace of pain.
‘Else… I didn’t mean it like that. You know you’re special to me.’
Else threw her hands up in the air and walked off at a brisk pace.
‘Else! For chrissakes!’ I shouted after her.
‘Just stop talking!’ Else ran up the driveway of the nearest house. We searched it in silence, finding canned pet food and shelves full of books. We loaded the wheelbarrow, Else making room for new books to add to her collection. In a different world she would have loved libraries.
CHAPTER 20
With our barrow loaded to teetering we started back to the train. Else got halfway down the street when she froze and put a hand out to stop me.
‘What?’
‘Someone’s there,’ she quivered like a hunting dog.
‘Evols?’
‘No, someone alive.’
I set the barrow handles down and took a slow look around without being obvious about it. Else’s senses were just another odd trait she had. If she somehow made it past her 30 day life span, I wouldn’t be surprised if she learned to read minds. We stood there, in the middle of the street for a long minute.
‘Lizzy? Or Harris?’ I couldn’t see any sign of anyone.
‘No…’ Else drew her sword. It glinted in the sun. She held it in a casual way, pointing off to one side, tip to the ground.
With a sudden whirring noise, kids on bicycles came at us from all directions. They were shirtless, filthy and bone thin. I stood there with my mouth open. ‘What the hell…?’ Each wore little more than pants made from cast-off clothing. They wore helmets and masks made of grass, animal skulls and bits of plastic.
Else watched them come, her sword ready but waiting to see what I did. ‘Don’t move Else, we’ll see what they want.’
The worn rear tires of their bikes slid to a halt in front of us. A nicely synchronised power slide that raised dust and looked cool. None of them could have been over fifteen years old and most were younger. They dropped t
heir bikes and jabbed at us with rough blades of sharpened metal beaten into crude sword shapes. Each home-made sword carried a jagged edge that could tear through flesh, living or dead with ease.
‘Hi,’ I said with my arms gently raised to chest height and a friendly grin on my face. One of the older kids with a dried carcass of a hawk woven into his bike helmet and a big sword got in my face.
‘Whaddya doin’ here? This is our place right?!’
‘Sure,’ I smiled and nodded. ‘Your place right.’
We weren’t going to walk away from this one, these kids were wired. In the back row they crouched down in the dust and hopped from foot to foot. A gleeful chant of Hawk-Head! Hawk-Head! Hawk-Head! started, low and menacing. Those squatting down started drumming on the ground with cupped hands the rest started fidgeting and dancing.
‘We’d best move on then,’ I started to walk and was immediately blocked by Hawk-head’s buddies and their crude swords.
‘Our place! Our stuff!’ Hawk-head barked, his voice breaking and going shrill.
‘Your place, your stuff, I get it. Okay. No problem.’ My jaw was beginning to ache from the constant smiling. I tried not to blink when a scream ripped through the town air. Lizzy. Shit, they’d gotten her too. The chant grew louder, each beat of those drumming hands adding authority to Hawk-Head. Each voice pushing him up, making him a big man. Telling him to do something really impressive, give them a reason to keep chanting his name.
Four boys dragged Lizzy out into the street. She kicked and swore and clawed at them. A younger boy ran ahead, blowing across an open bottle, adding a dirge like tone to the drumming rhythm of the group. They pushed Lizzy to her knees in front of Hawk-Head and the crowd went into a frenzy. Leaping and shouting, slapping their chests and thighs. Hawk-Head stared at the girl at his feet and then raised his hands high cutting the noise off like a switch.
‘Our place! Our stuff!’ he shouted and they roared their assent in shrill and cracking voices. I remember seeing a nature documentary years ago about hyenas. Half dog, half demon. Those animals scavenged the dead and the weak on the plains of Africa. These kids were hyenas.
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