by James Harden
There was only one way to find out. Not that I really wanted to find out or even go underground for that matter. I mean, there was only one way in and one way out. Sounded like a death trap to me. But unfortunately, bypassing the tunnel wasn't an option either.
There were just too many cars piled up above ground and too many craters. The road was completely impassable. The other alternative was to keep driving around and find another way out. But that could take forever. It was proving to be an exercise in futility. Too many roads were clogged and damaged. We'd get lost again for sure. And the longer we spent in the city, the more likely we were to run into trouble.
I looked back at the sign. It said the tunnel led to the airport. That would be good. It would be an express lane out of the city. It wasn’t much but it was something. It was a small glimmer of hope.
"The airport," Daniel said. "That would be ideal."
"Yeah, but do you really want to go in there? Into a dark, confined space? God only knows what’s in that tunnel. Anything could be hiding in there."
"But staying here and doing nothing is just as bad as driving around and getting lost," he pointed out to me, even though he didn’t need to.
And just as he said that, off in the distance at very far end of the street, maybe two or three blocks away, that thing, that giant thing, slowly walked passed, appearing and disappearing between the buildings. We could only see its silhouette. It was just a shadow as it walked through the city. The red dust seemed to billow up and around its massive frame. It walked slowly and purposefully, like a predator stalking its prey. We could feel the road vibrate and shake as it walked.
We had to go. Even though it was a dark and confined space and designed to be a death trap, it was our only hope. Once again I shuddered as I remembered all those people who were trapped and massacred inside the Sydney Harbor Tunnel.
But we had no choice. Compared the to the city streets, the tunnel might just be the safer option.
Chapter 21
The giant monster thing had again disappeared from view but we could still feel the road shake and vibrate from its footsteps. A car stacked up precariously high in one of the mountainous piles of twisted metal and rubble began to waver. A second later it tumbled to the ground.
"It's coming," Daniel said, with a surprisingly calm voice. "It’s getting closer. We have to go. The tunnel, it’s our only hope."
"Are you a hundred percent sure? I mean, it could be a goddamn death trap. We don't know what’s in there."
"We can't stay out here with that thing walking around," Daniel said as he pulled the handbrake on. "Wait here."
"What? What the hell do you think you're doing?"
"I’m gonna check it out," he said as he snatched the rifle back out of my hands and switched on the torch. "Maybe see if we can roll that abandoned car further out of the way. See if there are any other wrecks blocking our way, further in."
"It’s too risky!"
"Look, we're in the middle of a warzone, everything we do is risky. We have to take chances. Doing nothing will get us killed. We have to take risks but we have to be smart about it."
Unfortunately, he had an excellent point. And the way he talked about taking risks and being smart reminded me of Kenji. I guess they must’ve had similar survival training.
"OK, well, I'm coming with you," I said as I picked up the other rifle.
"Fine. Just stay behind me," he said as he opened his door. "We have to be quick. We don’t have a lot of time. That thing is getting closer and if I had to take a guess, I’d say it was hunting us."
We got out of the car and started walking towards the tunnel and all of a sudden it stopped being a tunnel in my mind and turned into the mouth of a monster. The mouth was inviting us in, telling us not to worry.
Come on in, just a little further.
We were about to cross the threshold of the entry when suddenly we heard a gunshot. It was muffled, soft. It sounded like it came from a fair distance away. A second later the bullet hit the sign above the tunnel with a loud ping of metal on metal.
We ducked and took cover, instinctively diving for the ground, flattening ourselves against the road. The shot could've come from anywhere.
"Who the hell is shooting at us?" I asked as I looked up at the buildings, at floor after floor of glass walls and tinted windows.
"Could be the military or maybe just a civilian, a lone survivor maybe? High up in one of the skyscrapers. They probably think we’re infected."
"Come on. Seriously? Do we look infected?"
"We need to get back in the car," Daniel said. "We gotta get into the tunnel. It's too dangerous out here."
Just as we were about to make a move for the car, there was another gunshot, the bang echoing through the buildings. There was a split second delay and then the bullet hit the sign above our heads again.
"What the hell?" I asked.
"Get under the car!"
We took cover, sliding on our bellies underneath the Range Rover. We looked all around, trying to see where the shots were coming from but we couldn't see a damn thing.
"Can you see anything?" I asked.
"No."
"Where’s it coming from?"
"Shh."
"What?"
"Listen."
I could feel the road vibrate again. There was a deep rumbling noise coming from the direction of the tunnel.
I twisted myself around on my belly, so I was facing back towards the tunnel.
Shuffling out of the darkness came a lone dark figure. A man. He was missing his right arm. He was infected. And just behind him was another infected person and another.
"Oh no," I whispered under my breath.
Daniel grabbed his rifle and was about to slide out from underneath the car so he could shoot them but he didn't need to. We heard the distant gun shots again and one by one the heads of the infected exploded.
"What the hell?"
We looked around some more. But again, we couldn’t see anything.
One of the infected that had been shot was still twitching.
Daniel inched forward on his belly towards the tunnel. "I’m going to check this out. I’m gonna make sure that one is down for the count."
He moved out from underneath the car, crouching in front of the hood.
"I'm going with you," I said.
"Stay close to the car. Stay low to the ground. The shots are coming from back down the road. Keep the car between you and them. I’m not entirely sure but it looks like they are providing cover fire. But they could just be shooting at anything that moves. They still might think we’re infected. So keep the car between us and them, OK?"
I nodded my head as I slid out from underneath the car and pressed my back against the front grill. I crouched down in front of the hood, feeling the heat radiating from the engine.
Daniel crouch walked cautiously towards the corpses. I decided to follow his lead. Not wanting to be left behind more than anything. I made sure to stay low and keep the car between me and the unseen sniper, using the car as a shield.
Daniel shined the torch on his rifle into the tunnel. We couldn’t see very far but there didn't seem to be anymore in the immediate vicinity. Then he shined the torch into the eyes of the twitching zombie. Its eyes rolled back in its skull. A second later it stopped moving altogether.
"Is it dead?" I asked.
"Ah, I think so."
Daniel was about to check the other ones but just then we heard yelling and shouting off in the distance. We turned instantly at the same time, spinning and dropping to one knee. Daniel raised his rifle as did I. We both looked through the scope.
"Can you see anything?" Daniel asked.
"No. Nothing."
We couldn't see them but we could hear them shouting.
"Who the hell is it? What are they saying?" I asked.
"Not sure. Wait. I can see them," Daniel said.
"Where?"
"Over there. Two guys running tow
ards us, waving their arms back and forth. One of them has a rifle. They look military."
"I can't see them."
"They're right there!"
I was scanning back and forth but I couldn’t see a thing.
Then we heard the rumbling noise again, that threatening, deep guttural sound. The same noise we heard before the infected came out of the tunnel, the same noise I heard right before Griffin was speared through his chest and taken, never to be seen again. I turned back around.
More and more infected were pouring out of the tunnel. At first they were shuffling, almost stumbling towards us, but then they started sprinting. I opened fire in a panic, completely ignoring Daniel's instructions about staying cool and only firing in short, controlled bursts.
Big mistake.
I must've hit ten of them but I hit them in the chest, stomach and arms, a couple in the legs, some of them didn't even flinch or notice they were being shot at and kept running at full sprint. Some of them fell over but kept clawing their way forward.
Daniel turned and open fire. He must've unloaded a full ammo clip but it barely made a dent in their numbers.
"Get in the car!" Daniel shouted
We ran for the car and jumped in, slamming the doors. Daniel was fumbling with the gear stick.
"Drive!" I yelled.
"I'm trying!"
A couple of infected had climbed up onto the hood of the Range Rover but as soon as they did, their heads exploded. We were definitely getting cover fire from someone. We were being helped.
Unfortunately the cover fire was not enough. In a matter of seconds the car was covered. They were swarming. The infected were smashing the windows with their hands and fists and their heads.
And then the engine stalled.
"Get down!" Daniel shouted. "Go as low as you can!"
We both dived for the floor of the car. Daniel had managed to turn on his back and get a couple of shots off out the front windshield. But again this had no great effect on their numbers.
Suddenly a feeling of incredible claustrophobia consumed me. I realized that any second now we would be bitten, infected, ripped apart.
Daniel was desperately trying to hotwire the car again, his hands were shaking as he tried to get the engine to tick over.
Suddenly there was a spark and the Range Rover came to life once more.
"Just drive," I shouted. "Press the accelerator!"
Daniel was on his back. He reached up and yanked the handbrake off. He then pushed the accelerator with his hand. The engine revved loudly but we didn’t move.
"Damn it! It’s not in gear!"
He started fumbling around for the gear stick again.
Well, that's it, I thought. We're done for. I guess it was only a matter of time, seconds really, before they smashed through and ate us alive. But what did we expect? We'd walked right into the middle of hell, the belly of the beast. We'd stirred up the hornet’s nest and now we were paying the price.
I think at that point I had closed my eyes and held my breath. I was waiting for that first bite, for the blood stained teeth to sink into my flesh. But the bite never came.
I'm not really sure what happened next but just as decomposing arms and hands and black, decaying fingernails were reaching in through the broken windows, the roof of the car started to disintegrate. The infected were being ripped apart, they were exploding right before us.
The infected were screaming as they were blown apart. Something was tearing though the Range Rover. Bullets maybe, I thought.
It was a constant barrage. The noise was so loud; I had to put my hands over my ears.
I curled into a ball and covered my head with my arms to protect myself from flying glass and shrapnel, completely helpless as to what was happening.
A few seconds later the onslaught had stopped as suddenly as it had started. I was frozen from fear, shell shocked.
Someone opened my door; well actually it was more like they ripped the door off its hinges. I initially thought I was concussed or maybe I was dreaming. Maybe I was dead. I don’t know why I thought that. But standing there, helping me out of the wreckage was Kenji.
Chapter 22
At first I was in complete denial. It couldn't be.
But then he spoke, he said my name. And I knew it was him.
I was lying on the ground so he sort of tilted his head to the side and looked at me. "Bec!?"
Instantly, I jumped up and hugged him. I wrapped my arms around his neck and my legs around his waist.
"Rebecca, you're...you're choking me."
I started crying and I think I managed to say sorry. But I can’t really remember.
After I let him go I had to take a step back so I could get a good look at him. Kenji’s face was completely covered in dust. He was almost unrecognizable, almost. He was also wearing a towel or some sort of cloth around his face, like Daniel and I were, to protect against the dust.
Later on Kenji told me he was confused as well. He said he just couldn’t believe what he was seeing. In fact he didn't even recognize me at first because of the NBC suit. He said I looked like some sort of superhero.
But when he saw my face, he knew.
"Your hair?" Kenji said. "It’s so... short! What the hell happened?"
"Long story," I said as I ran my hand over my scalp. "I'll tell you sometime."
Someone had moved up behind me and tapped me on the shoulder. "So where's my hug?" they said.
I turned around. "Jack!"
I hugged him, still in disbelief that we’d found them. "What the hell are you guys doing out here?" I asked. "Where’s Maria?"
"What do you mean what are we doing here?" Jack replied. "What the hell are you doing here? And what the hell are you wearing?"
"It’s a special protective suit," I answered.
"You look like a total babe."
"Shut up."
I think Jack was covered in even more dust than Kenji. It looked like they had been through hell.
"So what are you doing here?" Jack repeated. "How did you get here? Where’s Kim? Is she all right? Is her arm all right? Is she with you guys?"
He fired off question after question in rapid succession.
But before I could answer him and tell them about our escape and the outbreak in New Zealand and everything that had happened we heard another deafening roar. That giant thing was definitely getting closer.
Daniel broke the mood and brought us back to reality. "Guy's sorry to break up this little reunion party but we need to get out of here. Right now."
"What the hell was that?" Jack asked.
"We don’t know," Daniel answered. "But it’s big and it’s scary and it sounds like it’s pissed off."
I regained my composure. I snapped out of the shock and surprise of finding Jack and Kenji. It was time to go.
The heavy footsteps were getting louder, closer. The road was shaking. Tiny pieces of rubble were bouncing and vibrating across the bitumen.
That thing probably couldn't see us but I bet it could hear us. And after all the gunfire that just went down, I bet it was coming right for us.
"We need to get as far away from here as possible," I said. "Where’s Maria?"
"She’s hiding," Kenji said. "She’s safe for the moment."
I wanted to ask him where but I didn’t get the chance. Suddenly a car smashed down beside us about fifteen feet away. It rolled and flipped and somersaulted along the road and eventually came a stop on its roof.
We all ducked, diving for the ground.
"What the hell was that? What's going on?" Jack asked.
Before anyone could answer him, another car came hurtling towards us, flying through the air, appearing magically through the dust. It hit the road and skidded, slamming into the side of a building.
And then the giant thing roared again and the whole city shook.
"We gotta go!" Daniel shouted.
"Where?" I asked.
The tunnel; it was the obvious cho
ice.
"Do we go in?" Daniel asked Jack and Kenji.
"NO!" they shouted together.
They were adamant it was a very, very bad idea. I suddenly realized why. Surrounding the car were piles and piles of infected. Their limbs and their guts and their other assorted body parts were splattered all over the road.
And we could hear more howling screams coming from the tunnel.
"Follow us!" Jack said. "We know the way."
We ran back down the road away from the tunnel.
But I hesitated. "Damn it! I left my rifle in the Range Rover!"
"Forget it," Daniel said. "There’s no time."
We kept running. About half a block away, we came to a small alleyway. At the entrance to the alley was another Humvee. It was heavily armored. It sort of looked like a tank.
"We found this over near the stadium," Kenji said. "It’s armored, reinforced. Figured it was used for someone important."
It even had a machine gun on top like the other one.
Kenji climbed up to man the gun but then Daniel volunteered. "It's cool. I got it. You navigate with Jack. Two people who know the way is better than one."
He had a good point considering we'd just spent the past hour or so completely lost.
So Jack drove and Kenji sat in the front passenger seat, riding shotgun so to speak. I was in the back.
We took off at high speed. The Humvee was deceptively fast for something that was built like a tank. It must have weighed something ridiculous. Jack was speeding through alleyways and side streets, ramming broken down cars and rubble out of the way.
As we raced through the backstreets of the city I couldn't stop thinking about how bizarre it was to have found Jack and Kenji like this. We were supposed to rescue them, yet here they were rescuing us. It was crazy. I mean, how the hell had they survived? I guess Kenji was pretty tough. And Maria and Jack knew the city better than most people. But still, it was total miracle. And really, we owed them our lives.
Jack accelerated and smashed through a pile of cardboard boxes. After a couple of twists and turns I was completely disorientated.