by James Harden
Kenji nodded and then turned to me. "Stand clear! We’re gonna ram it!" he shouted.
Kenji closed his door. Daniel remained standing up, firing away.
The screams were getting louder now as more and more infected crammed into the tunnel.
Jack reversed the Humvee so he could get a run at the barricade.
Maria and I moved to the side of the tunnel. We ducked behind the boundary fence, hiding in the first row of seats to make sure we were protected from any flying debris.
I guess because we were too focused on the tunnel and the barricade and everything that was chasing us through the tunnel, we kind of neglected our surroundings. We didn’t even see this guy until he spoke.
"Hey," he said.
We turned around in shock. We had been taken completely by surprise. Maria screamed.
But for some reason I wasn’t totally scared. I think it was the way he said ‘hey’.
It just wasn’t threatening at all.
The man was a soldier. He looked to be in about his mid twenties. He was wearing military fatigues. He was lying down, pressed against the fence. He was jumpy as hell. He was scared just like anyone would be in this situation.
His eyes were darting all over the place. But his body remained still. Clutched In his hands was a rifle. Again I moved in front of Maria, acting as a shield. "Please don’t shoot!" I blurted out. "We’re not infected."
He shook his head. "It’s OK. I’m not gonna shoot you. Relax."
It was only after he said that I realized there was no ammo clip in his rifle.
"Who are you?" I asked, almost demanded. "What are you doing here?"
He coughed, shut his eyes and seemed to grimace in pain before regaining his composure. "I was part of a convoy," he said. "We were escorting some doctor or some VIP. I wasn’t even really sure. Nobody tells the grunts, you know? We got separated. Something attacked us. A horde. They were hiding. It was almost like they were waiting for us. And it wasn’t just the infected, something else, something bigger and smarter attacked us. They attacked as a pack, split our group."
He suddenly inhaled sharply like he was in pain. He coughed again.
"What’s wrong," I asked. "What is it?"
"Look, you gotta get to the airport. That's you're only hope."
"The airport?"
"Yeah, command set up a base of operations there. It’s heavily fortified, heavily guarded. It’s the only safe place left."
"OK, well let's go," Maria said. "Come with us. We’ve got an armored Humvee."
"No. I can’t. I gotta wait for my squad. This was the emergency rendezvous point. I gotta wait."
"You're kidding right? There's no one left, they're gone. The city is completely overrun, completely abandoned."
The man opened his shirt to reveal a bite mark on his ribcage. He was infected.
I took a deep breath. "Do you want me to help?" I asked as I vividly remembered the last time I attempted to put a soldier out of his misery, back in the morgue of the North Sydney hospital.
The soldier shook his head. He said he wanted to go out with a bang. He showed me the grenades strapped to his chest.
A second later, the Humvee smashed through the barricade. Bits of wood and metal and glass, shattered and exploded. The Humvee skidded to a stop on the dusty grass.
Daniel stuck his head out of the man hole. "Come on!"
"Looks like your ride is here," the soldier said.
I wanted to take him with us. But the bite, the infection. I knew it was hopeless. There was no point. Which sucked. Felt like I’d been kicked in the guts.
The soldier pulled the pins on his grenades. All four of them. "Go!"
We didn’t need any more telling. We both remembered the grenades from the police station. Maria was there. We’d both been shell shocked.
We moved quickly. We jumped over the boundary fence and sprinted for the Humvee as both Daniel and Kenji fired their last bullets into the unstoppable river of infected pouring out of the tunnel towards us.
As soon as we were in, Jack floored it.
We took off for the other side of the field, towards the other emergency access tunnel.
Behind us we heard the explosion of the grenades.
"Jesus Christ! What was that?" Jack asked.
"Grenades," Maria and I said at the same time.
"What? Where did you get grenades from?"
"There was a wounded soldier," I said only half explaining myself. "He was infected. He wanted to go out with a bang. Will we be able to smash through the other barricade?"
"Probably not." Jack answered.
"Great," Maria said. "Did you guys even think this through? What are we gonna do now? There’s no time to move this one!"
"Hold on!" Jack shouted as he pulled the steering wheel hard to the left.
He began to drive round and round in a circle, creating our own mini dust storm, tearing up the turf of the SCG.
Soon enough, the horde were chasing us in circles. We were running over some of them but they were more dispersed now. Jack had confused them. He straightened up and sped back towards the tunnel that we’d come in through. There were still more coming in but nowhere near as many as before.
Most of them were on the actual field now.
We drove back into the tunnel like a runaway freight train.
Jack told everyone to hold on. I grabbed on to Maria.
I held her and I did not let go.
We were travelling at what felt like a million miles an hour. The first few we hit we didn't even feel. But then as we drove deeper into the tunnel we started to run over more and more. They were wall to wall inside. At one point there were so many crammed up against the front windshield all we could see were infected. Their faces covered in blood, their teeth exposed.
Luckily the Humvee was reinforced. They couldn't break through. And since the vehicle was armored and extra heavy the wheels never lost contact with the ground. Although it was still terrifying being that close to so many and not being able to see daylight.
But then a few seconds later we emerged from the tunnel. Jack swung the steering wheel hard to the right. Most of the infected were thrown off. But a few of them were able to hang on somehow.
Daniel climbed up and out of the manhole and picked off the determined ones with expert precision.
We were finally free.
We drove across the road, bouncing over the median strip and the sidewalk and the gutters. We drove through the tree line and back on to the open parkland. The Humvee fish tailed back and forth as the tires momentarily lost grip.
Jack wrestled with the steering wheel and eventually regained control as we sped away from the Sydney Cricket Ground.
And I continued to hold on to Maria. I did not let go.
Chapter 31
We flew across Moore Park. It was exhilarating. And I couldn’t believe what we’d just done, what we’d just accomplished. It felt like a huge victory.
But we weren’t in the clear yet.
"Which way!?" Jack shouted as he gripped the steering wheel with both hands. "Where do we go?"
"Maybe back to the parking lot?" Kenji suggested.
I quickly checked my GPS device. The little blue ball appeared on the map. It told me that we were moving across Moore Park, back towards the city. I did not want to go back there.
To our left, further south was a couple more miles of parkland. And just beyond that was a golf course. And another golf course. And another.
It was a huge section of green space on the map. It was perfect.
"Turn left!" I yelled from the back seat. "If we head south, we’ll be able to drive through a series of connected golf courses. We can put some distance between us and the chasing infected."
We drove across about a mile of flat parkland before we came to the first golf course.
Jack drove on to the first tee and then up one of the longer fairways. We came to a stop at the peak of a small hill. Kenji told him to
park the car so we could look back and see if we were being chased.
We exited the Humvee and looked back the way we’d come. The hill we were parked on top of wasn't huge but it gave us enough elevation so we could see pretty much everything. Visibility was still low but through the red haze we could just see the stadium. We could actually see all the way back to the CBD. Jack was right. Strangely, the dust did seem to be coming from the middle of the city.
Kenji climbed on top of the Humvee and looked through the scope on his rifle. "I don’t think they're following us."
We all breathed a sigh of relief.
"So, what now?" Maria asked. "We had it so good in the stadium. Now we're back out in the open. We're screwed."
"Maybe not. Remember what the wounded soldier said," I reminded her. "The airport. He said there was a base of operations there or something. He said it was the only safe place left."
"Who was this guy," Daniel asked. "Was he part of the army? Or the Marines? Or what?"
"We don't know," I answered. "But apparently he was with the convoy when they were ambushed. He was bitten. He said they were escorting someone important. He said the military had set up a base of operations at the airport. He said it's heavily fortified, heavily guarded."
"Wait, if they've got a base of operations set up at the airport, why didn't they see us when we flew in?" Daniel asked. "We would’ve flown right past them, definitely in range of their radar."
Kenji shrugged his shoulders. "Maybe they did see you. Maybe they let you through anyway?"
"Maybe their radar is down?" Jack offered.
Or maybe no one's there I thought to myself, maybe the base was overrun and abandoned like the rest of the city. Maybe they’re all dead.
I kept these dark thoughts to myself. I don't know why I didn't say anything at the time. I guess, I thought the airport was still a good place to go. Better than the alternatives, that's for damn sure. And once again it gave us hope.
"But it could be worth checking out." Jack said. "I mean, there's always a risk that they could blow us away on sight. But maybe if we contact them somehow, like via our pathetic little toy radio we could convince them that Maria is immune. Maybe they'll take her in."
And then kill the rest of us. Not that it really mattered what happened to the rest of us. I think I’d already come to peace with the fact that I would sacrifice myself for Maria. She was really all that mattered. Maria needed to get out of this city, out of this entire country. And at the moment, the military were the only ones capable of evacuating her. And even though they'd already failed once it was really our only option. We had to try.
The other option was to somehow magically transport ourselves all the way back to Daniel's secret camp in the outback and fly away in the X-wing. We could try and get her out there. But the camp was about two thousand miles away. It may as well have been in another galaxy, on the other side of the universe.
"We could do something similar to what we just did?" I suggested.
"What do you mean?" Kenji asked.
"I mean, Daniel and I go in with our cloaking devices activated. We sneak up on them and get close enough to transmit. We tell them that we have a survivor who is immune and that we need them to evacuate her immediately. They'll probably be aware of Maria anyway. She’d be famous by now."
Maria tilted her head to the side. "Famous?"
"Yeah, you were all over the news before I left," I explained.
I caught her up on what had happened. How Kim and I escaped and were taken to New Zealand and how I was extradited back to America. I told her I made a YouTube clip that told the world about the Oz virus and about her, that she was probably one of the only people on the planet who was immune. I told her the military organized a rescue but they’d failed. I told her how I was part of a second rescue mission.
After I told her everything she was shocked into silence for a few seconds. Oddly enough the thing she was having the hardest time believing was that the suits we were wearing could turn invisible.
But she was also having a hard time believing I was part of a rescue mission. When she realized what I was saying, when she realized I’d come back for them, for her, she hugged me. And she wouldn't let go. She just hugged me and started crying and said thank you over and over.
I told her not to thank me, that it was Daniel who was the real hero. So she hugged him as well and thanked him multiple times.
"OK, break it up you two," Jack said. "Can we get back on track?"
Maria then actually apologized for crying.
Jack put his arm around her and told her it was going to be all right. He told her that she would've done the same thing for anyone one of us.
"So, you're saying they'll have Maria on file?" Kenji asked from the roof of the Humvee.
"They'd be mad not to," Daniel answered. "All the soldiers probably have a picture of Maria so they can identify her if they need to."
"Woah, hang on a second," Jack said. "You're saying all the soldiers; all those guys would probably have a picture of Maria?"
Daniel nodded.
"I do not like that idea at all."
"Wait, so maybe I should go by myself?" Maria suggested.
"No, it’s too dangerous," Daniel explained. "If the airport is fortified, they'll have snipers up to cover every conceivable angle." He turned to Kenji who was still on the roof scanning the horizon. "You're a sniper, right?" Daniel asked. "What's your record? How far?"
"About two miles," Kenji answered. He then lowered his rifle. "How do you know I'm a sniper?"
"Read your file," Daniel said. "But my point is Maria could be picked off before they even know who she is. I say we stick with Rebecca's idea. We approach the base in stealth mode. We make contact and proceed from there."
"But maybe Maria could wear my suit," I suggested. "That way she would be invisible. Then she can make contact and explain and confirm who she is. This would save time. No need to organize a pick up or a secondary meeting point. She could just walk straight in."
Daniel thought this idea over.
But Kenji didn't like it. "No. If they don't go for it, they could zero in on us," Kenji said. "Carpet bomb our location, shell our location. We don't know how they're going to react."
"Yeah good point," Daniel said. "And besides, I think it's more believable if we sound self sacrificing," he added.
"Self sacrificing? What do you mean?" I asked.
"Early on they probably had hundreds of people trying to break in, trying to convince them that they were not infected or that they were immune. And all those people would've all been lying. So if Maria goes in there claiming she's immune, chances are they might not believe her. And they could react without thinking. But if we tell them that we have someone or that we know the location of someone who is immune. Then they might listen."
Kenji jumped down from the Humvee. "Let’s do it. Exactly the same as before. We'll drive as close as possible and park the Humvee. You two go in and I’ll cover you. If anything happens, you run."
"What's the best way to the airport," Jack asked.
Daniel and I checked our GPS again. "We can follow the golf courses," I said. "All the way to the airport. There are actually three separate courses, one after the other. It should be pretty easy to follow. Plus it'll be nice and open so we'll be able to see any infected from a mile away."
Jack hopped back in the driver seat. "All right, let's go."
I swallowed hard. I felt like I’d just volunteered for another suicide mission. Time to go cheat death again, I thought to myself.
But we had to do it.
We couldn't let Maria go because she might get snipered or bombed. We couldn't take that risk.
So we were going. Me. Daniel. This was the better option. This was the safer option.
But of course what we didn't say out loud and what we didn't need to say out loud was that it wasn't really safe for us either. We could just as easily be blown up or taken out by a sniper.
And besides, what was the alternative?
Find another hiding place?
How long before the infected found us? Hours? Days?
They found us at the casino.
They found Jack and Maria and Kenji when they were hiding in the city. They found them at the stadium.
I mean, they came out of nowhere and took Daniel and his team of trained, professional soldiers by surprise.
Infected brain dead psychopaths, ambushed a Special Forces team.
It was clear, it was painfully clear that we could no longer hide and hope to wait this out.
Like Doctor West said, the Oz virus was designed to find life. We don't know how, but we'd come to realize that the virus was amazingly good at doing what it was designed to do.
Chapter 32
We crammed back into the Humvee. Even though it was a huge vehicle it was really only designed to sit four passengers. Two in the front and two in the back. So Maria and I had to share a seat. I didn’t mind at all. It was nice being close to her again, knowing she was safe for the time being, knowing that I’d come here with Daniel to do a mission, to save Maria. And we were close.
Jack turned the key in the ignition but for some reason the engine struggled to start.
"That did not sound good," Maria said.
"Did we damage the engine?" Daniel asked.
"No, it’s cool," Jack answered. "I think we’re just low on fuel."
"How low?" Kenji asked as he leant over Jack to have a look at the fuel gauge.
"Ah, well, the needle is below the little ‘E’ for empty."
"Oh, great." Kenji said.
"Is there a puncture in the fuel tank?" Daniel asked. "Is there a leak?"
Jack shook his head. "I don't know. I guess with everything else going on, I haven’t really checked the fuel gauge in a while."
"There might be some spare cans of fuel in the back." Daniel suggested hopefully.
Maria squirmed her way into the rear compartment and had a quick look. "There’s nothing back here. Just empty bullet shells. And dried blood."
"It’s cool," Jack repeated. "There’s a fuel station right near here. We can make it."