“What?” Spencer asked, noticing the troubled look on Chelsea’s face. He turned to see the glowing eyes. He kept pumping the petrol though, knowing that they needed every drop of gas they could get. The baseball bat was still in his other hand.
“Take over, please,” he asked Olivia calmly.
“What are you doing?” Olivia asked.
“Just do as your told, please.”
Olivia took over the petrol pump as the petrol continued to fill the tank. Spence held the bat tight. He stood there and stared at the three sets of glowing eyes that were heading towards the petrol station. He held the bat back, ready to swing it and knock the zombie’s heads if they got too close. Chelsea watched as three dingo zombies appeared from the dense dark outback. They ran towards the car. Olivia watched in horror.
“It's okay, carry on,” Spence assured her. He looked at the first dingo; it seemed to be leading the small pack towards the petrol station. “Keep coming,” he beckoned.
The dingo leapt for Spence. he looked at its open snarling mouth. He swung the bat around, slamming it into the neck of the dingo. A slight squeak from the animal was heard as it landed on the ground. One more dingo had ventured out of the dark Outback. Spence kept the bat held firmly in his hand as the dingo ran at him.
“And one for good luck!“ he yelled.
Olivia had finished with the fuel. They had a full tank. “Come on!” she yelled.
Spence looked back at Olivia as she got into the car. He looked forward and saw more of the eyes charging towards them. “Fuck this, man; we’re out of here.” Spence ran to the car. He opened the back door and dove in. “Room for one more?”
“Mum, go!” Chelsea screamed.
Olivia slammed the accelerator down. She swung out of the petrol station back onto the main street. It was a huge relief to see the fuel gauge climb out of the red and to the very top. The engine was running smoothly, and the glowing and gleaming eyes of the infected dingoes were disappearing in the distance.
“Name’s Spence,” Spence said to Chelsea and Jett, “but call me ‘Spence.’”
Chelsea looked at Spencer. “Hi.”
Jett just looked at Spence as he gazed at Chelsea.
“You okay, darling?” Spence asked her “Nice to see there are still some beautiful Australian women like yourself left.”
Chelsea didn’t reply as they sped into the Outback.
“She’s sixteen!” her mum said.
Spence didn’t say anything else and just looked forward as they sped away into the outback.
***
Flynn struggled to keep his eyes open. He looked at the dark road ahead. Deserine was fast asleep with toby on her lap. Michael was staring out into nothing. Flynn kept his attention on Michael; it helped keep him awake.
Michael looked up and saw Flynn staring at him in the rear-view mirror. Flynn looked forward again onto the dead dark road, but his eyes quickly veered back towards Michael. Michael locked his eyes onto Flynn’s. Flynn looked away again, back to the road in front of him. Michael continued to glare at Flynn. Flynn looked in the mirror as the fire truck started to sway to the right. Michael gave a smirk as the fire truck swerved off the road. Deserine looked up as Flynn pulled back onto the road.
“Shit!” Flynn said
“What's the matter, pretty boy?” Michael asked mockingly “All this getting to you?”
Flynn slammed the brakes down, skidding the truck to a stop. He unfastened his seatbelt and got out of the truck.
“Hey!” Deserine yelled.
Flynn pulled Michael out the side of the fire truck.
“Flynn!” Deserine yelled again. “Stop it!”
Flynn threw Michael to the ground. He clenched his fist and punched Michael on the side of the face.
“Is that the best you can do?” Michael asked.
Flynn stared down at Michael as Deserine stormed over.
“Flynn, stop it!” she yelled once again.
Flynn continued to hit Michael. “Do you want me to kill you!?”
“Flynn, please!” screamed Deserine.
Flynn stood up and looked down at Michael as he remained laying down on the dusty ground. “Get up,” Flynn commanded. Flynn picked Michael up off the ground. “Get in the truck.” Flynn launched Michael into the truck.
When Flynn got back into the truck, he looked down at the fuel gauge. “We need fuel,” he said bluntly.
“How much do we have?” Phoebe asked.
“Not enough.” Flynn got out of the fire truck and strolled around to the back of the truck and grabbed a petrol can.
“What is that?” Phoebe asked.
“Just before we went to the town hall,” Flynn explained, “Owen and I filled up some of these cans with fuel.”
Deserine gave a smile of relief. She watched as Flynn pulled the two cans out of the storage space. He dropped them to the ground. Deserine slowly walked up to him, glancing at Toby in the side mirror of the fire engine. The occasional grain if sand blew into her eyes.
“So…” she said.
“What?” Flynn asked.
“how's…things?” she asked.
“Could be better.”
“Flynn…” Deserine said.
What?” Flynn rested his head on the side of the fire truck.
Deserine didn't reply for a few seconds. ”What’s gotten into you suddenly?”
Flynn slowly turned around and looked at Deserine. “Deserine, I haven't seen Toby since you and me ended.” Flynn continued to refuel the fire truck with all of the fuel he collected from the petrol station. “And now, we are living in the apocalypse.” Flynn looked at Michael in the side mirror of the fire engine. Flynn slammed the shutters down. Deserine got into the fire truck as Flynn closed the door, trying not to wake Toby. He took one last look at Michael in the mirror; he was simply looking out of the window. Flynn pushed the accelerator down and drove away.
Chapter Four
Rebecca stared out the front of the ship. She looked at the moon as it gleamed through the glass window onto her head. Doug looked down at the avionics gauge. The fuel needle was starting to run into the red
“Shit,” he said.
“What is it?” Rebecca asked.
“We’re running low on fuel,” he replied.
The moon gleamed down onto the river as the ripples in the water disrupted the image of the moon.
“How much have we got left?” she asked
“About twenty miles,” he replied sadly.
Rebecca didn’t reply. She looked down the river. The distance was clear. Nothing could be seen. No cars were on the road, and no animals were in the outback. It was dead silent outside. Rebecca looked ahead. She saw a wooden pier come into view. Next to it was a wooden hut. But it is was what was on the pier what made her smile: a white tanker. Doug saw it as well.
“We have fuel!” Rebecca said. She walked down out of the bridge onto the deck of the ship. She looked through the sight of her rifle as the Doug slowed the ship down. It was hard to see the fuel station for the ships, though. She reached into her pocket and pulled out a small black torch. She clicked it on and shone it at the fuel station. The ship slowed right down. Clutching to the rifle, she climbed onto the wooden pier, keeping her eyes peeled for zombies.
Doug pulled the ship into the jetty. Rebecca stood on the wooden pier. She shone the torch around the pier as Doug got off the boat. He looked at the huge white fuel tanker. The gauge on the side read half full – not enough for another full journey into the outback. He turned the small switch to the right.
“Power’s down,” he said.
“I’m on It,” Rebecca replied.
Rebecca stormed along the wooden pier towards the steps that led up to the building above. She stepped onto the metal steps looking at the white gleam from the moon on the metal railing to the right. She arrived at the top and looked down at the river as Doug stood by the petrol pump waiting for the power to come on. She looked at the old building and
its small car park. A few cars were in it. She clutched the rifle and looked at the metal door ahead of her. She reached out and pulled the door open. It was a rest station for the boats and ships that go along this river. She walked in, shining the torch around the dark building. She entered the petrol station. The canteen was full of snacks and bottles of water.
“Perfect!” she said. Her focus was to get the power to the station running again so that Doug could get the fuel into the ship. She looked to see another door in the distance – a metal door with a zig-zag black electricity warning sign on the front. She gave a brief smile as she walked over to it. She grabbed onto the metal handle and began to pull. The door was locked, and would not budge an inch. It’s was a key lock, not an electronic one. She took a step back and knelt, looking through the sight of the rifle. She squeezed the trigger. The bullet blasted from the rifle, busting through the lock on the door. She stared through the sight as the door to the power room slowly opened. She edged forward, shining the light down the stairs. The area was clear. She arrived at the bottom of the steps. Rebecca walked down the stairs into the power station. She came to the bottom. She looked at the power box on the wall. All of the fuses had been switched off for some unknown reason. She peered over her shoulder, just checking to make sure there was nothing behind her. She flicked the switches up, one after the other. The power was dead. She looked at the power box, waiting eagerly for the generator to come back on. Nothing.
“Fuck it!” she yelled. She kicked the box on the wall, and a bleep was heard a few seconds later. Three lights came on. The power was running. The lights in the open car park began to power up, lighting the area around. Rebecca gave a brief smile and turned around, walking back up the stairs looking around the kitchen of the petrol station. The lights in the small fridges had come back to life. No drinks or anything had been left inside them, though. It was like someone had been in here since the infection began.
Rebecca looked to see another window in the rear of the kitchen. She approached the window, still keeping her eye open for any infected people who could be lurking in the building. Rebecca blinked as she looked into the car park. She saw a coach, the side door of which was wide open. Blood was sneered along the adverts on the side of the bus. A puddle was on the ground by the door. She then looked into the outback. it is still dark, though the sky was starting to turn a light purple. A few stars were in the sky, glistening down onto the country. It made Rebecca wonder if life was so bleak in other countries. She refocused her attention back on the ship. She looked through the sight of the rifle as she walked back towards Doug.
Doug looked at the lights on the fuel pump as they switched on, one after the other. He could now refuel the ship and take them further down the river into the outback.
“Good job!” he called to Rebecca.
Rebecca stopped after Doug had called to her. She slowly turned around and walked back up the steps towards the car park. She felt the palm of her hand go numb as she held onto the rifle.
“What are you doing?” Doug called.
Rebecca put her hand up, trying to stop him from talking. She crept around the side of the building towards the car park. She knelt and looked at the gleaming street lights as they beamed down onto the empty vehicles. it was dead silent except for the sound of a single chirping cricket. She raised the rifle, slowly looking through the sight into the vast outback. The moon continued to descend into the distance. The sun was going to be up very soon. She knelt, her eyes still locked on the outback. She blinked. As her eyes reopened, sets of glowing eyes were slowly getting brighter.
Rebecca saw the sun starting to climb in the east. The top of the sun started to appear slowly as the sky gradually became lighter by the second. The infected eyes were glowing, but these infected people were not running. They were dazed for some unknown reason. The infected strolled towards the lights of the petrol station. It seemed to be drawing them to it. If they saw Rebecca, she and the rest of the group were history. She quickly looked over her shoulder, down towards the boat. Doug was still fuelling up the tanks. The infected strolled towards the lights of the car park. Rebecca glanced into the distance. The sun continued its climb. The dense outback was a lot easier to see now.
The zombies continued to stagger closer and closer to Rebecca as she continued patiently looking through the sight of her rifle at the infected people. She quickly glanced over towards the vessel again.
Doug looked up towards her. Before she even had a chance to signal him to be quiet, he called out, “Almost done!”
Rebecca felt her heart thunder in her chest. She saw one of the infected lift her head quickly. Her eyes shot open. She looked right at Rebecca.
“Shit,” Rebecca uttered under her breath.
Luckily, the zombie was struggling to see in the dark, but the sun was getting brighter every minute. The zombie snarled in Rebecca’s direction.
“Please look away,” Rebecca begged. She was frozen.
To Rebecca’s immense relief, the zombie started to look away from her. As the sun rose and the sky became brighter, the lights in the car park started to switch off.
They needed to fill the boat with fuel soon or they would be sitting ducks.
“Come on,” Rebecca uttered under her breath. She looked over at Doug.
He started to lift his body. She knew he was going to call up to her again. “Almost done!”
Rebecca sealed her eyes closed. She swung her head up to see a few of the infected as they spotted her. The zombie that had spotted her earlier looked at Rebecca again and snarled at her. The infected began running towards her. She had thirty rounds in her rifle. She started taking single shots at the infected.
Doug looked up upon hearing the gunfire. “Come on!” he ordered. He unfastened the rope as Rebecca tried to slow the infected down. “Rebecca!” Doug called.
Rebecca heard her rifle click. The infected were not slowing down. “GO!” she screamed down at Doug.
The boat started to power away from the jetty. Rebecca spun around and ran down the steps. She could hear the snarling infected as they ran after her. “GO!” she screamed again. She ran along the bank of the river. She heard one of the infected behind her closing in on her.
She only had one option: She had to jump and hopefully land on the boat. She took a deep breath, keeping her rifle held tight in her hand. She leapt off the bank. She turned her body around, as one of the infected had jumped after her. She reached into her pouch and took out a sidearm. Travelling backwards through the air, she aimed and squeezed the trigger, blasting a bullet through the head of the zombie. Rebecca’s momentum carried her to the boat, where she landed. The zombie splashed into the water. Rebecca got up and stormed up the stairs towards the bridge of the ship. She looked at Doug as he grasped to the wheel.
“How much fuel we got?” she asked.
Doug looked down at the gauge. “About three-quarters of a tank.”
“How far will that get us?”
“As far as we go.”
Rebecca looked back towards the jetty as the powered further and deeper into the outback.
Chapter Five
Olivia looked forward into the horizon. She felt her eyes start to close from the tiredness of driving all through the night. She lowered her head, trying not to full asleep. The sun was starting to come up in the horizon as the stars started to disappear in the blue sky. The car started to swerve to the right.
Chelsea looked up and saw that her mum was falling asleep. “Mum!” she screamed.
Olivia lifted her head quickly. She swung the car back onto the road. The wheels screeched “Sorry,” she said.
“Mum, why don't you take a break?” Chelsea asked.
“No,” Olivia replied. “We need to keep going.”
Spence slowly lifted his head, looking at Olivia.
“What was that?” he asked.
Spence looked at Chelsea.
“It was nothing,” Olivia replied.
Spen
ce shook his head as he looked out of the window into the outback. “Where are we?” he asked.
Olivia didn't reply as she continued along the stretch of road. Spence took another look out of the window.
“I never did ask you…” Olivia began.
“What's that?” Spence asked
“What were you doing out there?”
“Out where?”
“Back at the diner. When you…”
Spence took a second to think. “Oh. Ran out of juice before reaching the station.”
Jett looked at Spence accusingly. “Where were you before that?” Jett questioned.
“Me? Oh, went to meet some broad who I met on Tinder.”
“Tinder?” Olivia asked.
“It's a dating app,” Spence replied. “Use it a lot of the time.” Now Chelsea looked at Spencer accusingly as he continued. “Found her, got chatting to her… She told me where she lived…” Olivia shook her head gently. “So, went to her house and nailed her. Big time.”
Jett smiled. “What was she like?” he asked.
“Not bad.”
Olivia looked into the rear-view mirror at Spence. “Do you two have to?” She asked.
Spence looked at Jett. “So, how about you, sport” he asked, all but completely ignoring Olivia. “You got a girlfriend?” Jett looked down. “Oh,” was Spence’s reply to this.
Chelsea looked down at her phone again. It had no power remaining at all. She trembled, begging for Justin to be alive. Olivia kept the accelerator down hard. She looked out into the distance. She was still very tired from the long drive up from Adelaide. She looked at Ethan through the mirror at Ethan sat quietly in his seat, still fast asleep, still unaware of the crisis going on in the inner cities.
She contoured along the road as they continued up the hill they were on. As the approached the top of the hill, a huge canyon could be seen below. Olivia looked forward again as they got near to the top of the hill and felt a shudder suddenly as she noticed the rock that was in the middle of the road. She didn’t have time to react and drove right into it. It burst the car’s tire. Olivia lost control of the vehicle. She didn’t even have time to break. Chelsea screamed. Still going at a high speed, the car swerved off the road into the dried grass along the side of the road. Olivia hit the brakes, and the car flew onto a hill. It car skidded along the dry ground, not seeming to be slowing down at all.
Fear The Outback Page 5