Fear The Outback (Book 1): Fear The Outback

by Cheshire, Stephen W.

  “Shit,” he uttered. “This way!” Justin swerved the bike down into an alleyway. He focused his eyes down the alleyway. He skidded to a stop and looked down the next alleyway. It led out onto the street. He looked and saw a figure at the end of the alleyway. It was a member of the Australian army. He was just standing there.

  Justin slowed down holding back. Adam and Jack finished catching up. Jack panted for breath in the intense heat. He looked at Adam and Justin as they stood feet flat on the ground.

  “Look,” Adam said. Adam and Jack looked at the soldier.

  “Hello?” Justin said.

  The soldier looked forward, not moving a muscle.

  “Is he okay?” asked Adam before taking a deep breath. “Hey!” Adam called. “What’s going on?”

  The soldier swung his head back. His eyes were glowing yellow. His rifle was still dangling by its strap, his handgun still in its pouch. Justin looked at the weapons. He stepped down off the bike, grasping the bat.

  “Justin, what are you doing?” Adam yelled.

  “Trust me,” he replied.

  Jack and Adam stood watching in fear as the monster ran towards Justin. Justin stepped to the left to avoid it, causing the zombie to run into the wall. Justin then slammed the bat into its head. He reached down and took the rifle of the dead zombie’s body. He clipped the zombie’s belt to his body.

  “Catch!” he said to Adam, throwing the bat through the air towards him. Justin held onto the rifle as he climbed onto the bike. He gave Adam and Jack the look as he began riding again through the alleyway. He arrived at the end he looked down the street. They were high up, overlooking Adelaide. Jack and Adam pulled up next to Justin as he looked out into the distance.

  “My God,” Adam said.

  “Jesus,” Jack replied.

  Justin, Adam, and Jack stared across into the horizon of Adelaide. There, in front of their very eyes, was the city burning in flames. Flumes of smoke blew up into the sky as if from a nuclear explosion.

  “Come on,” Justin ordered.

  The boys rode down the hill at a steady rate. They arrived at the bottom of the hill when Justin looked and saw a police car screech to a stop. The door swung open.

  “What you boys doing?” the officer yelled.

  Justin stood there, looking at the officer.

  “I’m going home,” Jack panted.

  “Where do you live?” the officer asked.

  it took Jack a second to catch his breath. “Westside.”

  “It’s finished over there.”

  Jack began trembling with fear.

  “Do you boys want my opinion?” the officer yelled. Justin, Jack, and Adam awaited his instructions. “Go to the train station. There’s a convoy leaving Adelaide soon. I heard about it over the radio. You need to get out of the city.”

  The officer then quickly looked down the street as he had spotted a hoard of the zombies running towards them.

  “Boys, go! Please!” he pleaded.

  Justin, Jack and Adam rode away. The shooting from the officer echoed around the street. Justin looked back in horror. The officer was being eaten. Justin peddled fast. He looked back, seeing the zombies chasing after them now.

  Jack was starting to slow down. He was breathing heavily, trying to keep up with Adam and Justin.

  “Shit!” Jack said.

  Justin skidded to a stop. “Jack, come on!” he yelled. “We just have to get to the top of this hill, and then it’s all downhill to the station!”

  Jack continued to pedal but was slowing way down. Justin looked through the sight of the rifle as Jack was coming to a stop.

  “Jack, no,” Justin uttered. “Come on.”

  Jack fell off the bike. He stepped off it, trying to outrun the zombies as they sprinted after him. The officer that they had spoken to only a second ago was now one of the infected. Justin squeezed the trigger, trying to slow the creatures down. It was no good; there were way too many of them.

  “Jack! Come on!” Adam called.

  Jack fell to the ground. His heart was thundering his chest. He tried to crawl away from the infected people as they ran up to him. Justin could only watch. He knew this was the end for Jack. The former officer snarled, hunching over at Jack. Jack sealed his eyes closed.

  “No!” Jack cried out as the officer jumped down onto him. His teeth sank into his neck. Justin and Adam could hear Jack scream over the gunfire and explosions coming from the city.

  Jack struggled to push the zombie off. He felt an intense pain rush through his neck as the blood ran down the back of his neck into his lungs. The rest of the infected feasted on Jack. Justin looked away and so did Adam as the crowd of zombies bit into Jack.

  The zombies looked up at Adam and Justin after gorging on Jack. One of them snarled, looking straight at Adam and Justin as they looked down at them from the top of the hill.

  “Come on!” Justin ordered. Adam didn’t hesitate. They looked at Jack’s lifeless body in the middle of the road as the surrounding zombies started their chase. Justin looked down the hill. He looked at Adam, taking a few seconds to catch his breath. The infected were catching up extremely quickly. He took one last look down the hill.

  “How far is that bus station?” Adam asked.

  Justin looked down the hill, trying to ignore the running zombies. “Not that far,” he replied. Justin took one last look across Adelaide’s horizon. “Come on.”

  Justin and Adam rode down the hill. Justin held on tight to the rifle. He kept his finger on the trigger, ready to use it. He felt relieved that the road was all downhill from here to the bus station.

  “Come on, man!” Justin yelled to Adam.

  “Do you think we’ll make it?” Adam replied.

  “We will,” Justin replied.

  “I’m sorry about Jack!”

  Justin looked over at Adam as he rode along with him. “Hey! Don’t let me hear you say that again.”

  Adam frowned, looking across at Justin as he took his eyes off the road ahead of him. He held the brake pedal lever down, trying to maintain a steady speed down the steep hill.

  “Jack’s death wasn’t your fault,” Jack said. Justin briefly looked forward again down the hill. “We need to stick together, and we will survive this. You got me?”

  Adam didn’t reply; he just kept looking down the hill.

  They were approaching the end of the hill. Justin grasped the rifle, ready to use it. He squinted his eyes ahead to see a young blonde female. She was hunched against a lamppost. One of the zombies was snarling at her, ready to attack her. Justin peddled harder as he continued down the hill. He locked his eyes onto the zombie. He didn’t have time to aim the rifle. The woman’s scream got louder as the zombie edged towards her. Justin pedalled faster. He looked at the male zombie.

  “Hey!” Justin screamed.

  Adam looked at Justin as he pedalled towards the zombie. The zombie swung his head to the left, taking its gleaming eyes off the girl for a second. Justin grasped the handlebars of his bike. He launched his body up, swinging his body around. He stretched his legs out over the handlebars and slammed his feet into the head of the zombie. The zombie fell back, and Justin landed down on his feet, still holding onto the rifle. Adam skidded to a stop. He looked at Justin as he kneeled to the girl.

  “Hey,” Justin asked. “You okay?”

  The girl nodded.

  “Come on,” he said. “We’ve got to go.”

  The girl couldn’t move.

  “Come on, it’s okay,” Justin said.

  The girl staggered up off the ground. She struggled to walk.

  “Are you injured?” Justin asked.

  Adam looked around the streets, looking out for any of the infected.

  “Are you okay to walk?” Justin asked.

  The girl nodded.

  “Come on,” Justin said. “We have to get out of here.” Justin helped the girl up. He picked the bike up and put the girl on the front.

  “Any problems,”
he said, “just say.”

  The girl nodded as he began to ride with her on the front.

  “What’s your name?” he asked, trying to settle her nerves.

  “Lucy,” she said.

  “Lucy…” Justin replied. “Pretty name.”

  “Thank you,” she replied.

  Justin rode along the road, keeping his eyes peeled for any of the infected. He felt the handgun in the belt digging into his side. He stared ahead, looking to see the military convoy which was ready to evacuate survivors from the city. Justin skidded to a stop a short distance from the military roadblock.

  “Wait, what are you doing?” Adam asked.

  Justin got off the bike, quickly looking over and around his shoulders for the infected. He slipped the rifle into his bag, making sure the weapon was on lock.

  “What do you think?” Justin said. He zipped the bag up, making sure the rifle was well-hidden in his bag. “If I were you, I’d keep quiet about this.” Justin threw the bag back over his shoulder, walking with the bike down to the roadblock.

  He looked at the soldiers as they stood looking at the small group.

  “Guys, come on!” the soldier yelled.

  Justin ran with Adam and Lucy to the roadblock.

  “I need to check your bag,” the soldier said when they got there.

  Adam handed his bag over. “What are you looking for?” he asked.

  “Weapons. They’re not allowed on the truck.”

  Justin stepped back, trying to keep away from the soldiers for a couple of seconds. He pulled the handgun out from underneath his belt, ready to hand it to the soldier. Lucy was patted down by the female soldier. Justin grasped the handgun to hand it over. The soldier went to look in Justin’s bag.

  “Contact,” someone was heard saying.

  Justin swung around, away from the soldier. He looked to see one of the infected running towards him. The soldier took the infected person out. Justin spun around, looking down the street. A horde of the infected was heading towards them.

  “Handgun,” the soldier ordered.

  “What?” Justin gasped.

  “Handgun,” he ordered again.

  “Can I keep it?”

  “I can’t have a kid on the truck with a gun in his possession,” the soldier replied.

  As one of the infected quickly ran up behind one of the soldiers, Justin spun around and pulled the trigger of the gun. The bullet shot past the soldier and went into the zombie’s head. Justin looked at the soldier, who shrugged his shoulders. Justin looked at the zombies as they ran towards the military barricade. Justin opened fire along with the soldiers. The zombies fell, one after the other. Justin watched as the top of the handgun pinged back.

  “Think fast,” the soldier yelled over the gunfire, tossing Justin a handgun magazine. They kept firing, but there were too many zombies to take on.

  “Right, everybody!” the soldier screamed. “On the truck! On the truck now!”

  Justin jumped into the truck, slipping the handgun into his belt. The truck roared to live.

  “Go!” the soldier screamed.

  The convoy picked up speed and drove away.

  “Where are we going?” Justin asked the soldier.

  The people looked in fear at the soldier, awaiting his response. “I don’t know.”

  Justin looked at Lucy. She was hunched up against the side of the truck. The truck headed west towards the border of Adelaide and into the outback. Lucy was just staring off into space, hardly even blinking. The makeup that had run down her face from crying earlier had now dried onto her face.

  “Hey,” Justin asked. “You okay?”

  Lucy nodded. She put her hands over his eyes, rocking back and forth while starting to cry again.

  “Hey,” Justin sympathised.

  No one could look at him as he looked after Lucy. The roads were starting to get wider and quieter as got further away from the burning city.

  Justin looked up after finishing hugging Lucy. He looked out towards the skyline of Adelaide. The rest of the survivors did the same thing. Justin blinked his eyes. There in front of him, getting smaller and smaller into the distance, was the skyline of Adelaide. The buildings and skyscrapers were burning. Huge black plumes of smoke were blasting into the air. Adelaide—the city he once called home and the place he met Chelsea, the girl of his dreams—was now finished. The truck continued north, away from the city.

  Hours later, the sun started to go down. It was soon going to be dark. The sky had already started to turn a light pink. Justin lifted his head after a quick rest. He looked across at Lucy when a squeaking sound made them look around. Justin got up and reached for his bag. None of the soldiers had discovered that he had a rifle inside it. He got up, looking out the front of the military truck. A tree had fallen in the middle of the road.

  “Shit,” the soldier mumbled. “Defence positions, soldiers. Move it! Now!”

  Justin watched as the soldiers got off the truck. He hugged up to Lucy, trying to settle her nerves. The soldiers gathered around the tree.

  “On three,” the soldier ordered.

  The soldiers struggled to move the tree. The sergeant looked at the struggling soldiers.

  “You!” he ordered the soldier that was still on the truck. “Go help them.”

  “Sir!” The soldier replied.

  Justin twitched his feet, trying to keep his nerves calm. “Come on…” he uttered. Justin looked up at the soldiers. They had hardly moved the tree.

  “Okay,” one of the soldiers said again. “On three.”

  There was a short pause.

  “Three!”

  The tree was forced to the side of the road. At this point, the moon was already starting to glow down onto Adelaide. The soldiers prepared to begin the convoy again. Justin kept his hand on his bag. The soldier climbed back onto the truck when a snarl was heard. Justin looked to see a group of the infected running towards the convoy.

  “Shit,” The soldier gasped. “Contact!”

  Lucy looked around the truck. Justin grabbed her hands. He looked and saw one of the passengers get up. It was a male in his late thirties.

  “I’m getting out of here!” the man yelled.

  “No, wait!” Justin yelled after him as the man jumped off the back of the truck.

  “Get back on the truck!” the soldier ordered. “Now!”

  The man ignored the soldier.

  “Look out!” Justin yelled.

  Justin pointed towards one of the infected. It was too late. The infected individual slammed his teeth into the neck of the soldier. People tried to run from the trucks, but it was no good. The infected were everywhere.

  “Fuck it,” Justin mumbled under his breath.

  Justin unzipped the bag, pulling out the rifle. He looked through the sight, keeping one of the magazines in the inside of his pocket. “Come on,” he ordered Adam

  Justin then looked at Lucy, who was hunched up crying. “Come on, Lucy!” he said. Justin helped Lucy up. He looked at the convoy of vehicles. There was no way they were going to get into another vehicle and drive.

  “This way!” Justin ordered.

  Just kept his hand wrapped around Lucy’s arm, still holding onto the rifle with the other. He looked back and noticed that one of the infected had seen him. He looked at the river of blood running down the side of the zombie’s mouth when it sprang up and began sprinting towards Justin. Justin didn’t want to squeeze the trigger, as one gunshot could alert the rest of the infected to their location. He grabbed hold of the weapon, looking at the zombie as it ran towards him with its eyes and mouth wide open. When the zombie got close, Justin slammed the end of the rifle right into the zombie’s face. It fell back.

  Justin took a second to look at the military convoy. The gunfire had died out. He spun around to look at Lucy and Adam. Both of them were staring in shock and disbelief.

  “Come on,” Justin ordered them.

  Adam still just stood there, staring at
the infected as they overtook the soldiers and innocent people.

  “Adam!” Justin said urgently. Adam just stared at the infected. “Guys!” Justin yelped. Justin tapped Adam on the top of the head. Adam shook out looking at Justin. “Come on!” Justin ordered.

  Justin grabbed hold of Lucy’s hand and pulled her through the shrubbery.

  “Where are we going?” asked Lucy.

  “Anywhere.”

  Adam struggled to keep up for a few seconds. Justin kept his hand tightly around Lucy’s arm.

  “My head!” she complained.

  Justin stopped.

  “What’s wrong?” he asked

  Lucy put her hand on her head. “My head!” she cried again. “It’s really sore!”

  Justin looked at Adam as he kneeled and peering through the shrubbery, looking for any infected people.

  “We can’t stay here,” Justin said. “We’ll find some water soon, I promise”

  Justin helped Lucy up off the ground as she kept her hand on her forehead. He looked at her wrist and saw a small band around it.

  “Lucy, are you diabetic?” he asked.

  Lucy nodded.

  “Shit,” he gasped. “Do you have any insulin?”

  She could only shake her head.

  “We need to find some,” he affirmed.

  “Where?” gasped Adam.

  “Anywhere”

  A scream from one of the infected was heard in the distance just then. It seemed to echo on. Justin and Adam gasped at the same time as they looked back.

  “Come on!” Justin ordered.

  Justin peered through the shrubbery. He looked across the road in front of them “Look!” he said.

  Adam looked out across the road and saw an empty petrol station.

  “Come on,” Justin ordered, still helping Lucy stay upright.

  “Stay with me, Lucy,” he encouraged her.

  “I… I…” she was able to barely get out.

  Justin arrived at the entrance to the petrol station. He grasped the rifle. He then reached out pushed the door open. A slight jingle was heard from the bell above the door.