Boyd just shrugged off what had just been said to him. Flynn looked ahead and saw Chelsea and Brett walking together, holding hands.
“Hey, Chelsea!” Flynn called.
Chelsea quickly released her hand from Brett’s. “Oh, hey,” she said.
“How are you doing? Is your mum okay?”
“She…” Chelsea began. Flynn looked down at Chelsea, begging for some good news. “She is doing fine, thanks to you,” Chelsea assured him.
Flynn smiled. He focused his attention on Brett. “You looking after her?”
“Of course,” Brett replied.
Flynn watched as Boyd started to walk forward again. “I’ll see you guys around.”
Flynn started catching up with Boyd. “Are you continuing to try the news and TV stations?”
“Every day,” Boyd replied.
“How about the radio station? Can’t we get a message out to request help?”
“Nope.”
“What? Why?”
Boyd stopped looking at Flynn. “We’re stretched enough for resources as it is,” Boyd snapped.
Flynn just looked at Boyd. He knew the pressure of trying to keep the town going was getting to him. He decided to listen as Boyd explained his point of view.
“If we broadcast a message to God knows how many people that could still be alive, we would be overrun, and supplies would be depleted very quickly,” Boyd stated. “We need to try and keep this town’s population as low as possible.”
Flynn looked at Boyd, who had suddenly turned around back toward the town hall. Flynn then looked to see Toby and Deserine walking down the pavement, back towards the hotel. He took a shallow breath and walked over to them.
“Hey, daddy,” Toby said.
Flynn picked Toby up and hugged him. Flynn then looked at Deserine. “So, where you two been then?” he asked.
There was a brief pause for a second. “We've been to the playground,” she said.
“Have you?” Flynn asked Toby
“I went down the slide,” Toby said, “and so did mummy.”
“Did she?”
Toby smiled as they slowly progressed towards the hotel.
“The fence is almost done,” Flynn informed Deserine. “People can sleep easy for a while.”
They arrived back at the hotel. Deserine span on her heels. She looked at Flynn.
“Where are you off to now?” she asked.
Flynn looked around. “Maybe do a quick check on the fence construction,” he said. “Then, to Anderson, see what he wants doing.”
Deserine looked up into the hotel. Flynn hugged Toby again. Flynn then looked out the corner of his eye and saw Michael standing across the street. Flynn looked at him. He just stood there. Michael quickly turned and walked away with his head down.
“Yeah, you move,” Flynn uttered.
Flynn turned back looking at Toby and Deserine. “Any shit from him,” he whispered, “come and get me.”
Deserine looked at Michael as he was now quickly walking away from the town centre.
“Shall we go to the Outback Bar again tonight?” Flynn asked.
Deserine looked down at the ground. “I don’t know. I think Toby may need an early night.”
“No, come on. We need to try and keep life going.”
Deserine looked down at the ground. “Okay. I’ll see how I feel.”
“That’s the spirit!” Flynn smiled.
Deserine turned around and went into the hotel.
Chapter Thirteen
The stars glistened down on the town. The gleam from the moon helped light some of the town as some of the street lights were left off to help conserve power from the generator. The patrols around the town continued with the security fence now nearly finished.
Dean McCrone had been in the town police force since it first opened. He felt his hands sweat in the warm summer’s night. He heard a snap. He shone his torch around, looking at the recluse houses in the distance of the town. The only light aiding him was the gleam from the moon. The snapping continued. He shone the torch around. He felt his hand twitching as he clutched to the torch. He looked to see a figure in the distance. He shone the torch over to the bushes. He slowly walked over to the bush. He pulled the handgun out of his pouch and looked through the sight, ready to squeeze the trigger. The cracking continued. Dean ripped the hedge back. His heart thundered. A German Shepherd was in there.
“Jesus!” he uttered. Dean stroked the dog. “Go on, get out of here,” he said.
Dean watched as the dog ran off into the distance, back to his house. A figure then ran out of the bushes towards the town.
“Hey!” Dean called. He ran after the figure. “Hey!” he yelled again. “Stop right there!”
Dean reached for his radio. “Code red,” he yelled. “Heading to the centre”
***
Flynn sat with Deserine and Toby in Bar Outback. He looked out of the window. He looked to see a few of the town’s police cars swing into the centre. Armed men and police officers were running around left, right, and centre.
“Hey, what the hell is going on outside?” he asked.
People looked out of the window. Jett stopped singing straight away. Flynn looked out of the window. Boyd Anderson could not be seen anywhere. Flynn then looked at Deserine. He handed Toby over to her.
“Rebecca!” he called.
Rebecca got up. She still had her rifle with her.
“Wait here,” Flynn said to Deserine.
“What?” Deserine said.
“Just wait here.”
Flynn ran into the streets. “Hey!” Flynn yelled to an officer.
The officer looked at Flynn. “It’s a code red,” he said.
Flynn looked to see a group of boys. “Boys. Town hall. It is filling up in here.”
The boys didn’t argue. They just ran down the road. Flynn looked over at the roadblock that was set up in the centre.
Rebecca ran out holding onto the rifle.
“Which way is it coming from?” Flynn asked.
“The northwest,” the officer responded.
Rebecca locked her eyes through the sight. Everybody in the bar tried to look through the window. Flynn couldn’t blink. He looked to see a figure running towards the centre of the crossroads. He couldn’t see any glowing eyes. The figure stopped a short distance from the police barricade. Flynn zoomed his eyes in.
It was a boy in his early teens. He fell to his knees. He took some deep breaths, raising his hands. “Don’t shoot!” he yelled. “I’m not one of those things!”
Rebecca lowered her rifle. Flynn slowly walked out. The people from the bar looked into the crossroads, seeing the boy on his knees.
“It’s just a kid,” a voice said.
Chelsea stood next to Brett, still holding his hand. She zoomed her eyes in, looking at the figure. Olivia looked at Chelsea. She released her hand from Brett’s. She stormed towards the door.
“Chelsea!” Olivia screamed.
Chelsea stormed down the road.
“Chelsea!” Flynn yelled.
“Justin!” Chelsea cried. Chelsea wrapped her arms around him and hugged him tightly. Brett froze as he looked at Chelsea and Justin hugging tightly in the middle of the street. Olivia walked over and looked at Chelsea. Chelsea wouldn’t take her arm off him.
“Oh, my God!” Chelsea cried. “I thought I had lost you.”
Justin didn’t reply as he kept his arm tightly around her. Jett walked along, looking at Chelsea and Justin as they stayed in the middle of the street.
Brett, with his eyes filled with anger, looked at Justin.
“Oh, my God. What happened?” Chelsea asked.
“I don’t want to talk about it,” he said.
“I knew you were still alive!”
Justin got up and looked at Brett as he stood on the sidewalk looking at him and Chelsea.
Boyd then approached Justin and Chelsea.
“You,” Boyd called. Justin froze, lookin
g up. “Town Hall” Boyd ordered. “Now.”
Justin looked at Chelsea. “Come on,” she said. “We’ll get you some food.”
Brett locked his eyes onto Chelsea as she and Justin walked towards the town hall.
“I’ve missed you,” Justin said.
Chelsea dragged Justin to the town hall. Olivia looked at Brett. She could see that he was jealous. Brett caught the eye of Olivia and Jett. He turned around and stormed back to his house.
***
Justin sat down on the chair. Chelsea watched as he shoved the piece of bread from the sandwich into his mouth.
Boyd just looked down at him as Rebecca stood with her arms folded.
“You okay?” Chelsea asked.
Justin could only nod.
Boyd stepped forward. “So,” he asked. “Where did you come from?”
“Adelaide,” Chelsea intervened.
Justin nodded.
“Chelsea,” Boyd asked softly. “Let Justin speak for himself.”
Justin sat with his head down in the chair, trying not to fall asleep.
“Hey,” Flynn said, trying to get his attention.
“What?” Justin asked.
“Where have you been,” Boyd asked, “this last week?”
“Oh,” Justin replied. “Around.”
Rebecca looked into Justin’s eyes. From her colleagues who had developed post-traumatic stress, she could tell he had witnessed something horrifying.
“It’s okay,” Chelsea said. “Take your time.”
Justin looked down at the floor. He became quiet again.
“Do you want a drink?” Chelsea asked.
Chelsea walked over to the window. She poured a glass of water. She briefly looked out of the window onto the streets. Things had settled down. The people of the town started to go back to their normal day-to-day life.
Chelsea turned around and walked back over to Justin. “Here,” she said softly. “Drink this.”
Justin took the drink and glugged it down.
“Do you want another?” she offered. She went and got Justin another drink. “Now,” she asked, “what have you seen?”
Boyd could tell that the pressure from Chelsea wasn’t helping Justin and that Justin’s brain kept going blank.
“Here,” she said again. “Drink some more.”
Justin drank the water.
Boyd looked at Chelsea as she sat back down next to him, trying to drive out of his brain what he had seen during the outbreak of the infection. Boyd then looked at Rebecca as she continued to lean against the drawers of the office.
Rebecca walked up to Chelsea. She put her hands on her shoulder.
“Chelsea, come for a walk,” she asked.
Chelsea didn’t move.
“Come on. It’s okay.” Rebecca said.
Chelsea walked with Rebecca out of the office. Chelsea looked back at Justin as Flynn slowly pushed the door closed. Chelsea watched as the view of Justin was obscured behind the wooden door. The plastic blinds were down as well.
“Come on,” Rebecca said. “Let’s go for a walk. I need one, too”
Rebecca walked down the steps with Chelsea, and she took her for a walk along the pavement. It was a lovely night. Not a cloud was in the sky, and the stars were glistening down onto them.
“So,” Rebecca said. “Tell me about yourself.”
Chelsea just stared into space. It took her a few seconds to register what Rebecca had just asked her. “Oh,” she said. “I’m—well, I was at college…”
“You just finished school, then?”
“Yeah.”
Rebecca knew she was thinking about Justin. “How did you meet?” Rebecca then asked.
“Oh,” Chelsea replied straight away. “I knew him in school. I had this one guy who kept bugging me for my number, and, and…”Rebecca looked at Chelsea. “You know what I mean.”
“I do indeed,” Rebecca replied. “So, he was your knight in shining armour?”
“Oh, God, yeah.”
Rebecca looked forward. “I remember my first date,” she said.
“Where was it?”
Rebecca looked up. she looked at the clear night sky. “It was at the Sydney Opera House,” she said. “Not some fancy show, though. “You know what I mean?”
“What happened?” Chelsea asked.
Rebecca looked at Chelsea. “He cheated on me.”
“Oh.”
“Yes,” Rebecca said. “He said that when I cornered him in front of his friends.”
“What did you do?” Chelsea asked
Rebecca looked at Chelsea. They both stopped in the middle of the pavement. “I kneed him right in the bollocks, at the playground in front of his friends.”
Chelsea smiled. “What made you join the army?” she asked.
“Needed something different,” she said.
“You sound like you have lived an exciting life,” Chelsea said. “Where were you when this started?”
“At base. We got word of the infection and were deployed to Sydney.”
Chelsea slowed down. She looked back towards the town hall. She wanted to get back to Justin.
“Don’t worry about him,” Rebecca said. “He will be looked after.” Rebecca knew she had to keep Chelsea away from the hall. “Fancy a drink in the Outback Bar?” she asked. “On me.”
“God, yeah,” Chelsea replied.
“Well, let’s roll,” Rebecca said, “as they say.”
Rebecca and Chelsea turned towards the Outback Bar and Lounge.
***
Saheli finished her examination of Justin. It had been a short while, and he had had the time to clear his head.
“He's fine,” Saheli said. “Just keep him hydrated, and he should be back to normal soon.”
“Are we okay to talk to him?” Boyd asked.
“Yes, but take it easy on him,” Saheli said. “Don't rush him. Don't forget he has seen a lot worse than we have.” Saheli picked up her medical bag and left the office.
Flynn moved the chair in front of Justin. “Okay,” Flynn said. “Justin, I need you to think. How did you get here? Are there many more people alive?”
Justin closed his eyes.
Justin’s Story!
Justin stared out the front of the car window. His eyes were locked onto the street in front of him. He heard the snarls from the infected people as they ran past the car.
“What the fuck, man?” Adam gasped.
“I know, man!” Justin replied. “Shit is fucked up, man.”
“What's the plan?” Adam asked.
Justin looked at Adam. “Get the hell out of Adelaide.”
Justin looked forward as they pulled into the housing estate. Some homes had been abandoned with the front doors left open.
“So,” Adam asked. “What do we do?”
Justin took a second to think. “We stay at my place until we decide what we should do.”
Before long, they arrived at Justin’s house.
“Come on,” Justin said. “We need to get inside.”
Justin and Adam got out of the car, followed by Jack. They got inside, and Justin slammed the front door shut. He looked at Adam and Jack as they just stood there waiting for his instructions on what to do next.
“Go and get the settee,” he said.
Adam and Jack entered the lounge and pushed the settee along together towards the front. He watched as Adam and Jack slid the settee in front of the front door.
“Shit,” Justin mumbled. Justin stormed upstairs. He entered his room. The bed hadn't been made, the cups and plates from the night before had been left on the table next to his bed. He looked out of the window out into the back garden.
“So, what do we do?” Jack panicked.
“We wait like Justin said,” replied Adam.
Justin looked out, eagerly awaiting Chelsea and her mum to speed around the corner. He looked into the distance. No one was coming.
“Come on, Chelsea,” he begged. “Where are
you?”
Justin looked out of the window into the garden again. He heard some thumping on the steps. He looked at the door.
Jack stormed in, panting for breath. “Jus… Justin! We have got to go!”
“Go where? The city is fucked, man. You saw what it was like out there.” Jack leaned against the wall. “Look at you!” Justin said.
Jack frowned. He stood up straight, trying to prove he could run from the infected. He stumbled against the door.
“My family is waiting for me,” Jack yelled.
“Jack,” Justin pleaded. “You need to stay here.”
Justin looked down into the garden, then at the clock. He looked again at Jack, who was still just standing in the doorway. He could see in Jack’s eyes that he wanted to leave.
“Shit,” he uttered. Justin looked at Jack. “Come on.”
“What?” Jack gasped. “Where we going?”
Justin launched his backpack over his shoulder. He felt the weight pull down on him. “Come on,” he said to Adam now.
“Where we going?” Adam asked.
“Out of here,” Justin ordered. Justin stormed through the house.
“What?” Adam gasped.
“You heard me.”
Jack and Adam followed Justin through the house. He stormed into the garden and grabbed his bike.
“Grab a bike,” he ordered the others.
“That’s suicide!” Adam objected.
“You can wait here if you want,” Justin replied. “There isn’t much food in the fridge.” Justin grabbed onto the bike. He wheeled it through the garage, seeing Adam and Jack do the same thing behind him.
“Shit, man,” Jack said.
Justin jumped onto the bike. He kept his feet on the ground.
“Where we going?” Adam asked.
“His house,” Justin replied, looking at Jack.
“Then what?” Adam asked.
Justin looked at the two boys as they looked at him. “I don’t know.” Justin hit the button on the wall of the garage. The metal door started to roll open. He kept his foot on the pedal, as he grasped a baseball bat he had picked up. The streets ahead were empty.
“Come on,” he ordered. “And stay close.” Justin felt his muscles burning in the backs of his legs as he looked through his sunglasses. Cars and vehicles were whizzing about the streets. Justin looked back and saw Adam behind him, with Jack a short distance behind Adam. Justin looked ahead down the hill. He squinted his eyes. The road was full of the infected.
Fear The Outback Page 12