Fear The Outback (Book 1): Fear The Outback

by Cheshire, Stephen W.

  “Do you think it worked?” one guard asked.

  “What?” the other replied.

  “Andrew’s plan.”

  “I don’t know.”

  A slight hum was heard in the distance.

  “What is that?” one guard asked.

  “What?”

  The hum was getting louder. Rebecca looked through her gas mask visor. She looked at the gates to the compound in the distance. They had been sealed shut. She grasped the handles of the motorbike, keeping her hands on the throttle. She ripped it back to full. The superbike screamed, exceeding 100 miles per hour. It continued to increase its speed.

  The two guards looked into the distance; they can’t see anything.

  Rebecca swerved to the right. She looked at the sandbank. The bike shot up, launching towards the fence of the compound. Rebecca leapt off the bike, still grasping the rifle. She fell back, looking through the sight of the rifle. She stared at the bike while still travelling backwards. She squeezed the trigger. The golden bullet shot from the magazine, hissing through the air towards the bike. It hit the fuel tank. It was a direct hit. The tank erupted. People ducked at the sound of the explosion. Rebecca landed onto the sandbank. The two guards got up after the explosion.

  Andrew stormed out of the warehouse. He looked at the burning bike. He squinted his eyes and spotted Rebecca. “It’s Chambers!” he said.

  Andrew looked at his men as they stood there. “Well, don’t just stand there!” he yelled. “Deal with her!”

  The men opened fire on Rebecca as she ran by the sand hill.

  “Come on, hit her!” Andrew yelled.

  Rebecca ran along the sandbank. She dove down out of sight, pulling a pair of cutters, which Flynn had given her back in the fire truck, out of her pocket. She cut the wire away as she looked into the distance of the complex. She saw the torchlights getting brighter by the second. She cut away at the wire.

  Andrew shone his torch and looked through the sight of his handgun. He aimed it at the fence that surrounded the complex. He saw the huge hole in it.

  “Shit,” He mumbled. He turned and looked at one of his men. “Well, don’t just stand there!” he screamed. “Find her!”

  Rebecca ran through the warehouses. She spotted the half-built one. She entered to see some of the infected, just like Justin said there would be, in a ditch, surrounded by a huge fence that had been constructed by Andrew and his men. She stood there, looking at the infected. Andrew had kidnapped people of all different ages from the town. They just stood there, looking up at her, their eyes gleaming, snarling. Rebecca swung her head back, looking to see the lights from the torches shining towards her.

  “Shit,” she uttered.

  The light from the torches entered the complex.

  “Surround the place,” she heard a voice say.

  Rebecca looked around for a place to hide. She ducked down behind one of the wooden crates as Andrew’s men stormed the complex.

  “Spread out,” Andrew ordered. Andrew looked at the snarling infected as they stood dazed in the ditch. He looked around the warehouse. Rebecca could not be seen anywhere.

  “Well,” he snapped. “Find her!”

  Andrew’s men started to spread out. Rebecca looked through the gas mask as his men started to surround the fence that surrounded the infected. Rebecca spotted an infected person—a female in her late 40s, dressed in tatty clothes, with huge bite marks on her neck and arms.

  “Find her!” Rebecca heard Andrew repeat. Rebecca looked to her left. There was a side entrance to the warehouse.

  Andrew continued to shine the torch around the warehouse complex, looking for Rebecca.

  “Shit,” she uttered. Rebecca got up quickly. A snarl from the infected female echoed around the warehouse. Andrew and his men swung their heads in the direction of the sound of the scream. There, running through the darkness, was Rebecca.

  “There!” a voice yelled.

  The men opened fire on Rebecca.

  “Watch your fire!” Andrew yelled.

  Andrew jumped to a spark. One of the bullets had busted one of the padlocks of the enclosure. The gate started to gently open. The infected looked up at Andrew as the gate gently swung back and forth. The only thing that could be heard was the sound of the hinges. The infected female screamed as she ran up the dirt bank and out of the enclosure.

  “Shit!” Andrew yelled.

  Andrew looked at his men froze with fear as they just stared at the gleaming yellow eyes.

  “Shoot!” Andrew ordered in a panic.

  None of his men opened fire, though.

  “Come on! Shoot!” Andrew screamed.

  His men just turned around and sprinted through the warehouse grounds.

  ***

  Fiona and Coleen walked out of the warehouse.

  “What the hell is going on?” Fiona asked.

  Lucy walked out as well. She looked over at the warehouse that is being constructed. It was silent. The rest of the town walked out of the warehouse. Coleen looked to see some of Andrew’s men running from the warehouse.

  “Run!” one of the men shouted.

  “What? Why?” Coleen demanded.

  Coleen looked around. She looked at Fiona as she held onto her son. She was just staring towards the warehouse. Coleen looked forward. There, storming towards her, were the infected. Their glowing eyes were getting brighter by the second.

  “Is that…?” she heard.

  “It is!” The other replied

  “Run!” they heard again.

  Fiona and Coleen turned around. The door had shut and was locked.

  “Shit, the door is locked,” one man said.

  “Come on! Open it!” Fiona yelled.

  “I don’t know the code,” the man replied.

  Coleen looked at Lucy as she stood there, shaking. The eyes of the infected got closer by the second as the infected screamed. The man continued to bang on the door.

  “Hey!” he shouted. “Let us in!”

  He looked to the right seeing one of the infected—a female.

  “Megan?” he said.

  The female shot for the man. Lucy screamed at the gushing blood from his neck.

  “Come on!” Coleen screamed. Coleen, Stuart, Fiona, and Lucy ran from the construction manufacturing warehouse. Coleen looked around.

  Scott looked over at Lucy. One of the infected was running towards her. “Shit!” he said. Scott ran over to Lucy. “Lucy, move!” he screamed.

  Lucy yelped as Scott pushed her out of the way. The zombie bit into the back of Scott’s neck.

  “Agggh!” he yelled. “Shit!” Scott punched the infected away. “Lucy!” he sobbed. “Andrew killed my dad! I’m sorry.”

  “It’s okay,” Lucy said.

  Scott held onto the back of his neck. “Look…” he said, pointing

  Coleen looked to see a hut. It had been used by the construction workers.

  “Go and hide in there,” he panted. “Quickly.” Scott started to cough.

  Coleen dragged Lucy over to the hut followed by Fiona. She dropped the small bag of insulin. “Inside,” Coleen said. “Come on.” Coleen pulled the plastic door open. “In, in, in!” she screamed.

  Coleen pulled the door shut just in time. The infected slammed into it.

  “What do we do?” Fiona cried.

  Coleen looked at Fiona. “Pray.”

  Coleen hunched up next to Fiona, listening to the sound of the zombies slamming into the plastic window.

  Andrew arrived at the milk farm. The door was wide open. He held onto the handgun as he entered the building. Blood was on the floor and walls. He knew the infected had broken in.

  “Fuck, fuck, fuck,” he gasped.

  Coleen looked up at the door, seeing that the plastic window had started to crack. One of the infected had nearly broken into the cabin.

  “Shit!” Fiona cried, hugging her son.

  A shot was fired. Fiona got up. She looked through the broken door out onto
the infected. She jumped to Rebecca.

  “Are you Coleen?” Rebecca asked.

  “No, I am,” Coleen said as she got up. Coleen looked at Rebecca. “Who are you?” she asked.

  Rebecca froze. “All I can say is that Justin is safe.”

  “Where is he?”

  Rebecca turned around.

  “See that hole in the fence over there? Go through it and run. I’m right behind you” Rebecca handed Lucy the insulin. “I believe these are yours. Don’t worry. Justin told me everything.”

  “Come on,” Coleen called.

  Rebecca watched as Coleen, Fiona, and Lucy crawled through the fence. She turned around and looked at the milk farming warehouse. She stormed over to it.

  Coleen held onto Lucy’s hand as they staggered across the sandbanks.

  “What are we doing?” asked Lucy.

  “Hey!” Flynn said.

  “Jesus!” Coleen yelled.

  “Hey, it’s okay,” Flynn said. “Are you hurt?”

  Coleen looked up and down her arms. “No, I’m good,” she said.

  Flynn looked around. “Where’s Rebecca?”

  Coleen and Fiona frowned at Flynn.

  “The soldier,” he then said.

  “Oh,” Coleen said. “She said she had business to take care of.”

  ***

  Rebecca entered the milk farm. She looked around the compound. The occasional scream was heard. She grasped the rifle, looking through the sight as human shadows passed along the wall.

  “Rebecca!” a voice echoed.

  Rebecca froze, looking down the sight of the rifle. Only a few of the huge lights above were on. She stared as one of the infected sprinted towards her with its eyes and mouth wide open. One shot in the head, killing it. Rebecca quickly looked up to see the lights on the ceiling start to shut down. It soon went completely dark.

  “Shit,” Rebecca uttered.

  She looked around the milking plant. She turned to the right and saw that one of the cages that held cattle in. The metal gate had been opened. Blood was smeared along the metal framework.

  “Rebecca!” she heard again.

  Rebecca reached into her pocket and pulled out the torch. She held onto the rifle while shining the torch around the milking plant.

  “Rebecca!” she heard again.

  Rebecca stopped. “Oh, come out and play,” she called. Rebecca continued to look around the milk plant. She saw a shadow quickly move along the floor. She then felt a horrific crash against her back.

  “Aggh!” she screamed, dropping to her knees. The rifle crashed onto the floor. Rebecca panted for breath.

  “Not so tough, now, are you, soldier girl?” the voice said, much closer now.

  Rebecca coughed with the intense pain. She staggered up as Andrew slammed a metal pole onto her back again.

  “You’re a pretty girl, aren’t you?” Andrew said angrily.

  “Fuck…” she coughed. “Fuck you.” Rebecca kicked Andrew away. She got up, reaching for the rifle. Andrew ran over as Rebecca swung the weapon around, counter-attacking him. She rolled away from him and managed to get up off the ground. She looked into his eyes as she stared at him through the sight of the rifle. Andrew stood up straight, looking at Rebecca. She lowered the rifle.

  “Round two,” she said.

  “Bring it,” Andrew spat.

  Andrew flew at Rebecca. Rebecca swung her fist around, but Andrew dodged. She kicked him in the groin, but he managed to stand up straight.

  “Balls of steel, hey?” Rebecca said.

  Andrew stared at Rebecca. “Bring it.”

  Rebecca went for Andrew. He swung the pipe around. Rebecca lifted her arm, blocking the pipe, but Andrew managed to crash it across the side of her face. She froze as she saw a set of glowing eyes behind Andrew. She stepped back.

  “What’s the matter, pretty girl?” Andrew aske.d “Can’t take the heat?”

  Rebecca pulled out the torch from her inside pocket and shone it behind Andrew. Andrew turned around. There, in front of him, was a pair of gleaming yellow infected eyes. The infected had blood on his teeth. It snarled, looking into Andrew’s eyes. It was Scott.

  Andrew started to walk backwards slowly as Rebecca continued to shine the torch on Andrew. Scott just snarled at him. Some clapping was then suddenly heard. Andrew looked and saw the cow slowly walk up next to Scott. They both just looked at Andrew.

  “Shoot it!” Andrew said.

  Rebecca summoned up the energy to stand up briefly. She looked over her shoulder. Andrew walked backwards but walked into a wall. He looked back. He had nowhere to run. Rebecca stood with her arms folded, struggling to stand up straight. Scott suddenly started to snarl heavily. He lunged towards Andrew. Andrew fell to the ground. Rebecca watched as Andrew was ripped to pieces by the cow and Scott. She turned around and ran as Andrew’s screams faded away. She ran towards the exit, gasping to the rifle, struggling to stay upright.

  Rebecca made it out of the milk farm. She staggered, trying not to catch the attention of the infected that were roaming the grounds of the complex. She staggered along towards the hole in the fence. She fell to her knees in pain before she could make it. She staggered back up to her feet and looked up to see one of the infected sprinting towards her. She rolled onto her back as the gleaming eyes got closer to her. She looked at the infected individual. A shot was heard before she could reach her rifle. She looked back and saw Flynn. He had forced his way through the broken fence.

  “Come on,” he yelled.

  Flynn picked Rebecca up off the ground. More of the infected sprinted towards them.

  “Is Andrew…?” Flynn began to ask.

  “Yes,” Rebecca affirmed.

  Flynn pushed Rebecca through the opening in the fence. He then ripped the fence back, interlocking the metal so that the infected couldn’t break through. He hauled her over his back and ran along the grounds away from the complex.

  “Such a strong boy,” she joked.

  ***

  Deserine looked out into the distance. The moon gleamed down from above. She squinted her eyes, looking to see Flynn. He had Rebecca over his shoulders.

  “Oh, thank God!” Deserine exclaimed.

  Flynn ran up to the fire truck, reaching into his pocket and pulling out the keys.

  “Are you okay, darling?” Spence asked Rebecca with a smile.

  Flynn got Rebecca into the truck. Rebecca grabbed Spence by the shirt collar. She interlocked his lips onto hers.

  Deserine looked away with a smile as Flynn got into the driver’s seat of the fire truck. Justin was in the back with Chelsea.

  Rebecca pulled away from Spence. “Happy?” she asked.

  Spence smiled. “I sure am”

  “Don’t get any ideas,” Rebecca said.

  Flynn looked into the mirror at Rebecca. “You okay?” he asked.

  “I guess so.”

  “Let me check,” offered Spence.

  “No, thank you,” she joked.

  Justin looked at Brett as he sat in the corner of the truck. “Brett, this is Lucy,” he said, introducing the two.

  Lucy smiled at Brett as he looked at her.

  Flynn looked to the left. The glowing eyes of the infected ran towards the fire truck. “I think it’s time to go,” he declared. Flynn started the engine and began pulling away from the sandbank onto the road. Flynn locked eyes onto the infected as they disappeared into the vast night.

  “Now what?” asked Deserine.

  Flynn looked forward, watching the moon disappear behind the horizon. “We carry on.”

  [MP1]In this part of the story, we are still in Justin’s memory as he is telling Boyd Anderson what really happened to him leading up to his arrival in Tmagoroa, yet Justin would not have known what happened to Lucy and Coleen after they got into the van.

  In an attempt to resolve this, I have broken the book into PART ONE and PART TWO. In this way, PART TWO is mostly Justin’s story while allowing for the development of subp
lots that do not involve him. The reader can assume that Justin is telling Boyd and the others what he remembers of everything in PART TWO.

  [MP2]This name hasn’t come up in the story yet. Was this supposed to be a different name?