Plague War: Pandemic

by Alister Hodge

  ‘I’m not blind, you idiot! I want to know why you nearly mowed down my recruits with a busload of the pricks on board,’ said the Sergeant.

  ‘My group was heading to the evacuation point. We picked up a hitchhiker on the road. The bugger lied, said he was free of bites. My friends told me not to risk it, that we shouldn’t stop, but with what we’d been through over the past months – I couldn’t leave him on his own in the middle of nowhere. He looked exhausted, so I let him sleep down the back. Next thing I knew he was attacking my group; turned the place into a slaughterhouse. He bloody killed them all.’

  ‘Why didn’t you stop and open the doors?’ asked the Sergeant.

  ‘I did, but he’d moved to the front of the bus and no-one could get past. And now I’m trapped. Once they reanimated, they wouldn’t leave the bus, just ignored the open door and hammered at my enclosure, trying to get in. That’s why I’ve been heading here at full pace, hoping to find the army evacuation point to help me before they break in and finish the job.’

  ‘Can you get through your window?’ suggested Jai.

  ‘This is as far as it goes,’ said the driver, pointing to the ten-centimetre gap he talked through. ‘Are you guys going to help me or not?’ he asked, starting to become more agitated.

  The Sergeant looked pissed off with the situation. ‘If you’d just listened to your mates, I wouldn’t have to risk my troops to save you. How did you survive this long only to pull a rookie mistake like that?’

  At his words, the bus driver broke down, tears spilling as he started to blub. The Sergeant pulled an uncomfortable face and relented.

  ‘Ah, for fucks sake, get a grip. We’ll get you sorted. Give me a second to talk to my squad.’

  He returned to the line of recruits, running his gaze over the faces of each and every person he had trained. Behind him, the inside of the bus windscreen was filled with the Infected, hammering on the glass to get at them.

  ‘This situation isn’t ideal; however, I think you can handle it. On that bus is twenty-odd Carriers. These ones aren’t half frozen like we’ve encountered outside to date, they’re warm from the bus’s air-conditioning, and that means they’ll be faster than usual. I reckon this situation can be used as a final exam. If you guys do well enough, I’ll be recommending each of you for deployment.’

  A ripple of nervous tension passed along the line of recruits as his words sunk in.

  ‘I want two lines of ten facing past the bus doorway, first kneeling, second standing behind. Remember the driver is still on board, so no shooting into the bus or he’ll end up dead all the same. Get to it!’

  The recruits fell into place, lined up twenty metres in front of the bus. Steph and Jai stood in the back line, rifles at the ready. The Sergeant stood to the right of the group with a clear line of sight to the bus. He stood ready to pick off any Carriers that escaped the bullets of his soldiers.

  ‘Open her up!’ yelled the Sergeant to the bus driver. The door hinged open, and suddenly they were out. The Carriers moved faster than anything that Steph or Jai had seen to date. Not being used to tracking targets at such speed, the recruits were caught off guard. Within moments the bus had disgorged its contents, the Carriers launching themselves at the army line. Jai flicked to automatic and aimed at head height. Half the Infected were thrown from their feet, heads obliterated within a metre of leaving the bus, others dropped momentarily by the force of the bullet strike. Steph changed her focus to these Carriers, joining her Sergeant in picking them off before they regained their feet. Two of the Infected made it to the group, unscathed by the automatic fire, they smashed into the front line and knocked two recruits onto their backs. Steph and Jai drew their captive-bolt guns, jammed them against the skulls of the attacking Carriers and fired. The Infected slumped to the ground, shoved to the side by the recruits as they gained their feet once again.

  ‘Check the dead!’ ordered the Sergeant. Captive-bolt guns were drawn by the recruits as they wandered between the corpses, firing twice into each skull to ensure they were permanently out of action. Deaths confirmed, the Sergeant had his recruits clear the road by dragging the bodies into the grass.

  Only now did the bus driver finally emerge. His legs gave out after a few steps and he landed with a thump on his arse and started crying. Jai turned away to give the man some privacy. He felt a hand descend onto his shoulder and looked up to find the Sergeant indicating for him and Steph to step aside from the group.

  ‘You two know what you’re doing and have done since the start of this bloody training camp. I’ve heard what you two achieved on that farm, and I’ll be buggered if I’m going to see such a resource wasted. The rest of the group will graduate, but they’ll stay here to help defend the town. I’m going to suggest the two of you get sent to Victoria; they’re going to need level heads like yours to get through the next few weeks down there.’ The Sergeant gave them a hard smile, then turned away to organise the squad’s return to town.

  ‘Funny way the army’s got to show its appreciation,’ Steph said to Jai.

  ‘What do you mean?’

  ‘Haven’t you noticed? The better we succeed, the more danger they throw at us.’

  ‘Fine by me. It means we’ll actually be on the front line to push these bastards back into a grave. The Sarge just did me a favour as far as I’m concerned.’

  Steph said nothing, and Jai noted the self-doubt painted on his mate’s face. ‘You’re good at this shit, Steph. We’ll be fine,’ he said, trying to reassure her.

  He looked over his shoulder. ‘Look, the rest of the group’s on the move, we better get going if we don’t want to be left behind. We’ll talk about it tonight. You want to help me get this guy moving?’

  Steph nodded, and joined him at the side of the bus driver. Taking an arm each, they helped the man to his feet, speaking some quiet words of encouragement as they started back to Jindabyne.

  Chapter Ten

  Wind hammered at the thin window of the demountable, making the glass shudder. Outside, a range of keening notes fluctuated with the intensity of gusts, as the wind cut around clotheslines and tent stays. Erin lay awake in her bunk, trying to block out the sound of the storm and fall asleep. Her bladder didn’t help the situation. She’d broken her usual rule and allowed herself a cup of tea before bed and was paying the price as she desperately needed to pee. Erin would have gone an hour earlier, but the thought of moving through the camp at night still freaked her out. If she didn’t go now though, she’d wet the bed.

  Erin climbed out from underneath her sleeping bag and pulled her jacket on. She was still fully clothed to keep warm; the temporary building structure barely kept out the rain and wind, so retaining any heat was beyond its capabilities. Pulling a torch from the side pocket of her bag, she stepped carefully between a few sleeping bodies on the floor to reach the doorway. The camp was at capacity, and yet they still delivered more refugees to the island. The small demountable now had every bunk full and the floor crammed with six additional kids. A sleepy head lifted off its pillow next to the doorway and squinted into the torchlight.

  ‘Is that you, Erin? What are you doing?’ asked a girl called Tina, no older than eight.

  ‘I’m just going to the toilet, do you need to go as well, I can take you with me if you want?’ offered Erin.

  ‘No way! Don’t you know there’s monsters in the night? It’s not safe out there,’ she said, eyes widening in fear.

  ‘Tina, that was on the mainland. You’re safe here, there’s none of those freaks on the island,’ said Erin, trying to reassure her. She found herself jiggling back and forth between her feet – she was busting. ‘I’ll be back in a few minutes, you’ll see.’

  Tina nodded meekly and shimmied backward, so she could open the door. Erin pulled her beanie down over her ears, took a deep breath and went outside. The wind immediately blasted into her, making her groan as it stripped away body heat and set her teeth chattering.

  There were a few ligh
ts through the camp, but not enough to see all the trip hazards. Erin turned on her torch, aiming it ahead as she started to jog toward the toilet block. Tents took up all the remaining space between the original demountable buildings, now also extending in an undulating sea of fabric up to the perimeter fence. Erin’s eyes flicked sideways, checking the shadows between the buildings and tents for movement as she went. She may have reassured the younger girl about the absence of monsters on the island, but Erin knew better. They were here all right, just not of the plague variety.

  There had been a steadily growing number of assaults against women in the camp. The guards blamed it on the new men but seemed unwilling to investigate or do anything about it. Erin didn’t believe a word. She was convinced the attacks were perpetrated by a group of guards, led by that creep, Jeremy.

  When she’d talked about this to Rachael, the older girl had shied away from the conversation, unwilling to discuss the topic. Erin was worried about her and the changes that had happened over the past week. Rachael had started out forcefully condemning Jeremy’s harassment of her and other women, but that had changed shortly after she had encouraged Erin to start carrying a knife. Now she just looked scared if Erin mentioned Jeremy or his cronies.

  Erin finally reached the toilet block, another pre-fabricated building drenched in reassuring light. She bolted into one of the cubicles, slammed the door shut and sat on the loo, releasing a long overdue stream to churn into the toilet bowl. Erin finished and wiped herself, then froze. There was blood on the paper. She felt her eyes begin to fill with tears and blinked them away furiously. She’d be damned if she’d let herself cry about this. A number of her friends at school had already got their period before the plague took hold, and as her own body had begun to change and fill out over the last few months, she’d known hers was likely close. But now? She wasn’t upset about getting her period as such, but it reinforced how alone she felt. This was the sort of thing you were supposed to have a mum or dad to help with and talk through, wasn’t it? Who was she supposed to turn to? She needed to get hold of some pads or tampons, but at this time of night she was stumped for options. She rolled up a wad of toilet paper, shoved it into her undies and pulled up her pants. She wiped her eyes on the back of her hand, blew her nose then mentally shook herself. She could deal with this, it was just a bodily function for god’s sake, and a sign that her body was catching up with the maturing her mind had been forced into over the past months. Rachael’s room was nearby; she’d be able to help.

  Erin washed her hands at the sink, then set off again. Within minutes, she found the small building. It was at the perimeter of the camp, scrub bushland starting within a metre of the building’s rear. One of the few single roomed structures with an ensuite, the small bungalow pre-dated the camp from when the property had been a hotel. At first Rachael had been glad of the privacy and relative luxury compared to the other camp accommodations, but that had gradually changed. Before she’d become mute on the subject, Rachael said she thought the guards had allocated the room specifically to ensure she was alone at night, and that she’d woken to Jeremy knocking on her door requesting to be let in some nights.

  Erin could see a light on behind the curtain. She glanced at her own watch, 01:30AM, what was she doing up at this time? Erin crunched the last few steps to the door on the gravel path and lightly knocked.

  ‘Rachael, are you up? It’s me, Erin,’ she called softly through the door. She heard movement inside, then the door opened a crack. A solitary eye peered through the gap at her for a moment before opening it wide to allow her through. Once inside, Rachael closed the door once more, and flipped the lock.

  The room was warm, courtesy of a small electric heater in one corner. There was a tiny bathroom with a shower and toilet through a door to the right. A double bed extended from the far wall, covered in a thick quilt. Rachael limped to it and perched on a corner, drawing her knees up under her chin. Her face was pale and eyes red, like she’d been crying.

  ‘Are you ok? What happened?’ asked Erin, suddenly worried about her friend.

  Automatically, Rachael’s eyes flicked to the door then window, as if worried she might be overheard. ‘It’s Jeremy. The bastard’s got hold of a key to my room. He’s been letting himself in at night over the past week. Tonight, he brought another of the guards to join in...’ she whispered, her words trailed off as her bottom lip quivered. ‘I don’t think I can take much more of this, Erin. Who do I turn to when it’s the fucking guards raping me?’

  Erin wrapped an arm around her shoulders, giving her a hug. ‘What about that officer that helped me the other day? He said to come to him if I got hassled again, surely he can help you too?’ said Erin.

  Rachael stiffened. ‘You can’t do that. He said if I told anyone it wouldn’t just be me, that he’d start to target some of the younger kids as well.’

  ‘You can’t let yourself be hurt just to protect us. He has to be stopped! Of all the people killed by the plague, why the hell does a piece of scum like him get to survive? It’s not fair,’ said Erin.

  ‘That’s just the way it is,’ said Rachael, the expression around her eyes hardening. ‘I’ll get him sorted, don’t worry about me, ok? Just promise you won’t go to the Officer. Let me do it my way.’

  Erin looked at Rachael, trying to work out if she could believe her. ‘Ok, but nobody has the right to hurt you like this. He needs to pay for what he’s done.’

  ‘Deal,’ said Rachael. ‘Now why are you coming to my place in the middle of the night?’

  ‘It’s a bit embarrassing, but I haven’t got anyone else to really ask,’ Erin took a deep breath then looked Rachael in the eye. ‘I got my first period and I don’t have anything to deal with it. Have you got any pads or tampons or something, and..’ she paused, looking away, ‘can you show me how to use them?’ Erin looked back warily, scared she might find Rachael smirking at her. She needn’t have worried. Rachael’s face had softened as she reached out her arms to give her a hug. Erin accepted the gesture, giving her friend a tight squeeze.

  ‘No problem. It sucks not having a mum around, eh? I miss mine too you know,’ Rachael said. She got up and went into the bathroom. ‘I’ve got some stuff under the sink, it’s pretty straightforward but I’ll show you what to do,’ she said looking over her shoulder at her. ‘You might as well crash here afterwards, it’s too late to be walking around this camp by yourself.’

  A knot of anxiety slowly uncoiled in Erin’s gut at her words. ‘Thanks Rachael, I knew I could depend on you.’

  ***

  Erin was in the kitchen. The dinner service had been completed and washed up, but she’d convinced the head chef to allow her to make a thankyou dessert for Rachael. It was something simple, just pancakes rolled up around frozen berries and caster sugar, but she thought Rachael might like them. With the dessert finished and in a container, she started to wash up the dishes. The chef had stayed with her, having a cup of tea and watching the news while waiting.

  ‘Do you reckon they’ll help, or just leave them to get eaten like the rest of the country?’ asked the chef. She was a middle-aged woman with thinning grey hair and a gut that professed a love of her own cooking.

  ‘What’s the story? I haven’t been listening,’ Erin said.

  ‘One of the cruise liners used to evacuate civilians from the mainland turned up off the north coast of Tasmania this week. But most of the boat’s overrun with plague, only the crew on the bridge is unaffected at this stage.’

  ‘If they’re too scared to let our group of refugees in, that boat’s got no chance,’ Erin said.

  The chef snorted a laugh at the tone of her young charge. ‘You’re right there. They got turned away quick smart, but now they’re heading in our direction, requesting the navy to cull the Infected on board and allow the crew to join the refugee camp. The news report reckons they’ll be off our coast by morning.’

  ‘As long as they don’t end up bringing the plague on shore,’ Eri
n said. She finished drying her utensils and returned them to the cupboard. ‘I’m all done. Thanks for letting me make this stuff, I owe you.’

  ‘Don’t worry kiddo,’ said the chef, ‘I’ll be getting you in for an extra shift this week to make it up.’

  Erin just smiled, any excuse to be in the warm kitchens was ok with her. She grabbed her container of stuffed pancakes, a couple of knives and forks, gave the chef a wave and left.

  Erin’s happy mood wavered as soon as she got outside. The camp was pitch black again. She tightened her coat and tried to ignore her own fear as she broke into a jog to arrive at Rachael’s building more quickly. With relief, Erin rounded the last corner of the path but slowed up as she saw Rachael’s bungalow. Something was wrong.

  The front door was hanging half open, light spilling onto the path from within. Erin walked up slowly, peering into the surrounding shadows as she approached for signs of danger. She reached the doorway.

  ‘Rachael? Are you here?’ she said hesitantly. Nothing. Erin put her head around the corner, finding the room empty. Her breath caught in her throat and heart started to race. Something had happened in the room. The bed clothes had been ripped off to lie in a mess on the ground. A bedside table was turned over, one leg smashed. Erin’s eyes were drawn back to the sheet on the bed. A slick of congealing blood soaked into the mattress. Something had happened to Rachael. She moved quickly now, concern for her friend outweighing any fear for her own safety. She quickly checked the bathroom, confirming that the bungalow was empty before returning to the front door.

  Erin pulled a small torch from her overcoat and shone it into the surrounding shadows as she stepped off the porch to explore. From the amount of blood soaked into the sheets, Rachael had to be close by if she had moved herself. She moved around the side of the house to search the edge of the scrub and swept the torch in a slow arc over the ankle length grass. A cry of anguish lodged in her throat as the beam of light reflected off pale skin.