“It's okay!” he called.
“Hang on,” The girl said. “I'll let you in.”
Flynn and Owen ran to the main entrance of the school. It was a short wait before the door buzzed and opened.
“Come on in,” the girl snapped. ”Close the door and make sure it locks.”
They entered the school. the corridors were empty. He looked around the hallway and into all the empty rooms they passed. No children were painting or drawing.
“I didn't mean to startle you,” she said. “Name’s Tanya.”
“Have you seen my son?” Flynn asked.
Tanya stopped looking at Flynn. “Who is your son?” she asked.
Flynn and Owen entered the other room. “My son,” Flynn said, “Toby.”
Before Tanya could blink, Flynn heard a voice. “Daddy?”
Flynn closed his eyes and looking up as he felt a very strong sense of relief. He looked down to see Toby. Toby slowly walked up to his dad, his hands up, ready for a cuddle. He was surely unaware of what was going on outside.
“Hey, sport,” Flynn whispered. “It is so good to see you.” Flynn picked Toby up. He hugged him tightly as he felt a small tear run down the side of his face. Amidst the intense crisis, it was a relief his son was alive.
“I’ve missed you,” Toby said.
“I’ve missed you, too,” Flynn replied. Those short words made Flynn pull in Toby more tightly.
Owen looked out of the window at the fire truck. The streets leading up to the school were dead. No one an nothing could be seen or heard.
“Are we going to see mummy?” Toby asked.
Flynn looked at Toby. “Yes,” he replied without hesitation. “Yes, we are.”
“I don’t like Michael,” Toby said.
Flynn looked down at Toby as he grasped his hand. “Why is that, bro?” he asked?
Tony didn’t say a word for a second as he looked out at the fire truck.
“He isn’t very nice to mommy.”
Flynn stopped and looked down at Toby. his heart was rushing with fear.
“What do you mean?” he asked. “What does he do?”
Toby didn’t speak for a few seconds. It was like his imagination was playing scenes in his head.
“Toby?” Flynn asked.
“He shouts at her. He makes her bleed.”
Flynn clenched his fists. “What?” he asked, trying to keep his cool.
Tanya then interrupted them. “Can we go?” she asked.
“Yeah, come on,” Owen added. “We need to get out of here.”
Flynn forced the door open as he looked out into the playground. His eyes were squinting in the intense sunlight as it beamed down onto his forehead. He looked down the street. Still, nothing could be heard. Flynn pulled the gate open, unaware of the squeak it made.
“Are we going home?” Toby asked.
Flynn opened the door to the fire truck. “In you get, bro,” he said, avoiding the question as he lifted Toby into the fire truck.
“We haven’t been formally introduced yet,” Tanya said “Name’s Tanya. Tanya Morris”
“Pleased to meet you, Tanya,” Flynn replied. “This is Owen, and this is my son, Toby”
Tanya didn’t reply. Before she could respond, a crash was heard from behind. Flynn swung around, grasping the axe. An old car skidded around the corner.
“Great,” Flynn sighed. Deserine was in the car. Michael was in the driver’s seat. The car came to a stop beside the fire truck. Deserine got out of the car, with Michael close behind. Flynn squinted his eyes to see a slight bruise around her eye.
“Shit,” he muttered.
Deserine ran over to the fire truck. She looked at Toby.
“Mummy!” Toby gasped.
Flynn looked at Deserine. “Hey, you okay?” he asked. Deserine ignored him as she climbed halfway up into the fire truck.
Owen looked at Michael as he slowly strolled over to the truck. He had left the car door open.
Flynn looked up at Deserine as she hugged Toby. “Come on,” she said. “We have to go.”
“What about daddy?” Toby asked.
Deserine went to pull Toby out of the seat.
“Hey,” Flynn said. “It’s not safe the city. Me and Owen are fleeing. Come with us.”
“No,” Deserine snapped.
Flynn looked at a small bruise on the side of her face. She had tried to cover it up with makeup. “Look,” Flynn intervened. “I know that you and me didn’t work out, but, please, for the sake of Toby… Please.”
Deserine looked Flynn in the eyes. “What happened to your eye?” he asked.
Deserine quickly wiped her face. “Nothing. I fell,” she replied quickly.
Flynn felt the anger starting to build up inside him. “Deserine,” Flynn asked again. “What happened to your eye?”
Deserine shuffled her eyes to the left, trying not to look back at Michael.
“Are we going?” Michael snapped.
Deserine held onto Toby and slowly turned around.
“Daddy?” Toby asked.
Deserine started to walk towards Michael.
“Come on, Toby,” Deserine asked.
Michael looked at Deserine. “Get in the car,” he ordered. “Now.”
Flynn clenched his fist tight again. “Hey! Don’t talk to her like that!”
“Keep out of it, arsehole!” Michael replied. He then returned his attention to Deserine. “Get…in….the…car…now,” he demanded.
Flynn stormed over to the car. “Look, listen to me,” Flynn pleaded with Deserine. “Brisbane is finished; those things are everywhere.”
Deserine looked at Phoebe. “Who’s this?” she asked.
Flynn looked at Phoebe. “The mayor’s daughter.”
Deserine looked at Phoebe as she stood next to Flynn.
“He ordered me to watch over her before he…” Flynn explained. “Before he was killed by one of those things.”
Deserine just looked at Flynn. She knew she had to go with him into the outback to stand some sort of chance of survival.
“Brisbane is finished” Flynn repeated “As I said a minute ago, it’s not safe in Brisbane. No one is left alive.”
Deserine looked at Toby as he looked at his dad.
“Please, Deserine,” Flynn asked.
“DESERINE!” Michael shouted over “Get over here! Now!”
Deserine slowly turned around, holding onto Toby. She walked over to the car. Flynn looked at Michael, who pulled the door to the car open very quickly. Michael looked at Deserine. He grabbed her by the hair and yanked it back, forcing her into the car. He gritted his teeth as he looked down at her as he felt her neck crack.
“When I say ‘Get in the car…’” he said in anger, “I mean ‘GET IN THE CAR!’”
“HEY!” Flynn shouted at the top of his voice. He ran over to Michael and ripped him away from Deserine. He threw Michael against a nearby lamppost and then pushed him up against the wall behind it.
“You touch her again,” he snapped, “and I’ll feed you to them things myself!”
Michael focused his attention on Toby, who was standing next to his mum, crying.
“Guys, please!” Deserine pleaded with them to stop.
Flynn locked his eyes onto Toby as he continued to sob. “Are you okay, bro?” he asked.
Toby nodded. He started to wipe a few tears away from his face. Flynn looked at Michael as he stood by the lamppost. Owen looked at Flynn as he slowly walked closer and closer to Michael. His eyes were locked onto him.
“Flynn, leave it,” Owen said. Owen watched as Flynn continued to walk closer to Michael. Flynn’s eyes were wide open with anger.
“Flynn, now is not the time,” Owen said again. “Come on, man.”
Flynn continued to ignore Owen as he got closer to Michael.
“Flynn, please!” Owen asked once more. He was ignored once again.
Flynn continued to approach Michael. “You hit or touch the mother of my c
hild,” he warned, “ever again…and I will kill you. I will break both of your legs and feed you to them things.” Flynn edged a few inches closer to Michael. “You got it?”
Michael didn’t say a word. He just nodded.
Flynn pulled away from him. “Deserine, come on,” Flynn asked again. Deserine slowly walked with Toby to the fire truck.
Phoebe sat in the back seat She looked back towards the estate. She saw one of the infected running towards Owen. “Look out!” She yelled
Owen looked back. He didn’t have time to react. Before he knew it, one of the zombies bit into his neck. Owen screamed in pain as he fell to the ground. He didn’t even have time to yell at the others to go on without him.
Flynn looked at Owen as the zombie bi down into his neck. “Come on,” Flynn ordered. “GO, GO, GO!”
Michael ran to the fire truck. Flynn looked at him as he skidded to a quick stop. Michael looked at Flynn, his eyes filled with sorrow with regret.
“Get on,” Flynn insisted. Flynn pushed Michael into the truck. The zombie looked up quickly, its eyes glowing. Flynn started the truck as he looked into the mirror to check on Toby. He gave him a quick smile. Phoebe screamed as she looked at the female zombie who was snarling and trying to break through the window of the fire truck.
“Go, go, go!” Michael yelled.
Flynn slammed the accelerator down. The truck pulled away. In the mirror, Flynn could see the zombie chasing after them, but quickly falling behind. He then looked ahead onto the suburban road. No zombie or vehicle was in sight.
“Damn, damn, damn!” Flynn yelled.
“Fuck, that was bad!” Michael yelled.
Flynn looked into the mirror at Michael, who immediately went dead silent.
***
Flynn looked ahead as the sped towards the highway that was going to get them out of Brisbane.
“Fuck, fuck, fuck!” Michael swore again.
Flynn looked into the mirror. “Hey,” he snapped. “Don’t swear in front of my son.” Michael just looked at Flynn. “Don’t swear in front of my son again,” Flynn ordered.
Phoebe sat next to Toby. She knew there was going to be another fight in a minute between the two men.
“Watch the road!” Michael said.
“Don’t tell me what to do!” Flynn said, outraged. He took his eye off the road for a second to look back at Michael. “Just sit there and keep your mouth shut,” Flynn ordered Michael
Deserine looked ahead. she could see that Flynn had taken his eye off the road and didn’t see what was lying ahead. “LOOK OUT!” she screamed.
Flynn looked forward again quickly. There in the middle of the suburban street was a truck. Flynn’s eyes opened wide. “Woah! Shit!” he yelled. He swerved the fire truck around the vehicle. He felt it go onto two wheels.
“Jesus fuck!” Michael yelled.
Flynn turned the wheel to the left, and the fire truck slammed back down onto all four wheels. He felt his heart pounding as he looked forward along the empty street.
“I tried to tell you,” Michael said.
Flynn looked forward again. He felt his heart starting to slow down. He saw a slight hill ahead and noticed the street sign. “The highway!” he exclaimed. “That’s our ticket out of here!”
Flynn slowed the fire truck down. He looked at the road leading down onto the highway out of Brisbane so they could leave this nightmare behind. Flynn applied the brakes, slowly bringing the truck to a stop. He shut the engine off as he looked out onto the luscious green fields that surrounded the road they were on. The only other road was the highway. Flynn stepped down out of the truck onto the street. He held onto the axe as he continued to look out into the empty fields. Phoebe was close behind, stood next to him, as Toby held onto his mum’s hand. Deserine overlooked the highway, trying not to cry.
“No!” Deserine sobbed
“They tried,” Michael said, “like we are doing.”
The entire group stood on the road and looked down onto the highway. Flynn blinked again, and he looked down onto the multi-lane road, his heart pounding with fear while he tried to plan another route out of the city into the outback. Each and every single one of the lanes leading out of the city was blocked on both sides. Blue police lights could be seen, and the screams from frightened drivers could be heard in their imagination. The occasional puff of smoke was seen from brief explosions that were heard in the distance. The group couldn’t go back to Brisbane. It was too dangerous. By now, the majority of the population would be feasting on each other.
“What do we do?” Deserine asked.
Flynn looked down onto the smouldering highway. “We go around,” he said, “and find another way”
***
Rebecca Chambers sat back on the cold metal side of the Australian Air Force C-130 aircraft. It had been descending towards Sydney for the last couple of minutes. At age 26 and enrolling into the Australian army only 4 years ago, Rebecca never believed that after a tour of the gulf and the Middle East that she would be guarding Sydney against a zombie epidemic. She looked over at Scott Jenson, with whom she had joined the service after they finished college.
“Scared?” Scott asked Rebecca
Rebecca looked forward at the other soldiers as they sat waiting to drop into the city. “Nope,” she said.
“Neither am I.” Scott coughed as the aircraft finished descending.
“T minus two minutes,” someone was heard announcing.
Rebecca got up out of the seat. She felt the parachute gripping to her body.
“Right,” Scott said. “Let’s do this shit.”
The back doors of the aircraft slowly opened as the aircraft slowed down for the drop. The soldiers looked in fear at the red light as it shone brightly in the back of the aircraft. They just stared at it, waiting for the command to jump. The light switched to green.
“Okay,” one soldier yelled. “Go, go, go!”
One after the other, the soldiers jumped from the back of the aircraft. Rebecca ran out the back of the aircraft. She looked down onto Sydney. She ripped the cord out of the parachute. She and the soldiers floated down into Sydney. She was near the city centre, close to Circular Quay. She could see the Sydney Opera House—the place she used to hang around when she was a child, where she met her first boyfriend, where she would hang out with her college friends—on fire. It slowly caved in on its self. No firefighters were tackling the blaze. She focused her attention on the landing zone. She looked down into the streets. Cars and people were everywhere, trying to escape the infected. She could only imagine the screaming.
Her gas mask stuck to her head as she prepared to land. She hunched her legs up as she landed. She unclipped the parachute and chucked it on the grass next to her. She grasped her rifle and looked through the sight. There were only a few people around. She looked into the distance, where she saw more soldiers being deployed into the city.
“Shit,” she uttered. She was a short walk from Circular Quay, where all of the commuter ships departed from. People were running in all directions. She looked to her left. There was a small alleyway. In the alleyway, Rebecca noticed a figure kneeling on the ground. Rebecca squinted at the female zombie and saw that she was eating a dead body. Blood was rushing out of the zombie’s mouth as it bit into the dead body which then came back to life as one of the infected.
“The hell?” Rebecca said under her breath
The zombie swung its head it looked at Rebecca. Rebecca looked at its gleaming eyes. The zombie snarled at her. Rebecca jumped as she held onto the rifle. What she was thinking was true. The dead were attacking people in the streets of Australia. The zombie jumped up to its feet and started running towards Rebecca. Rebecca looked through the sight of her rifle, aiming at the zombie’s head. She squeezed the trigger, taking the zombie down in one shot. She watched the figure fall back onto the ground. Its body twitched.
“REBECCA!” Scott yelled. He ran over to her. “Shit, man,” he gasped. “This is fucked
up.”
Rebecca looked at the zombie she had just shot. She stormed forward, not even replying to Scott. She looked out onto Circular Quay. There were a few people in the quay. Smoke was smouldering up into the air from the burning Sydney Opera House. Rebecca was still having flashbacks to when she was young—of rides on the ship to the other parts of Sydney, of meeting her first boyfriend on the other side of the river, of her first kiss under the bridge. It felt like only yesterday that all this was happening in her life.
Rebecca finally looked at Scott.
“What should we do?” he asked.
Before she could respond, she suddenly felt the ground beneath her start to vibrate. She noticed the half-empty abandoned coffee cups on a nearby silver table start to fall, smashing on the ground, one after the other. She tried her best to keep her heart rate low as she wondered what on earth was causing the ground to shake. She looked out in the direction of the strongest vibrations. There, slowly strolling around from the corner, was a turret from one of the military tanks. Joe White, another soldier who had joined the army at the same time as Rebecca, was sitting in the driver’s seat. The tank slowly pulled up next to her. She smirked up at him, still staring through the visor of her gas mask.
Fear The Outback Page 3