by Wilde, J. M.
But it was too late.
One had already launched itself towards him.
Chapter Fifteen
I picked my knife up off the wet floor and leapt through the broken window, running as fast as I could towards Wyatt. My screams alerted him to the danger and he spun around, ducking just in time as the hollow creature pounced at him.
I ran and pushed Wyatt out of the way with more force than I intended, knocking him to the ground and sending his knife sliding far under the RV. I slashed furiously at the zombie, crushing my knife into the side of its skull. The other two zombies growled menacingly as they ran for me, their glazed mouths frothing for our warm, juicy flesh. I tried not to panic, but I knew with only one knife between the two of us, we needed to act fast.
Wyatt was lying on his front, stretching his arm out to reach his knife. I turned to call for Jo and Ben to help us, but they were battling two more zombies just outside the store.
I looked down at the zombie I’d just killed and stomped on its neck. Reaching down, I clutched onto its hair and pulled, stomping down again until I decapitated it. I tried not to look at the disgusting head as I held it behind me and threw it forward, hitting the nearest zombie in the face and causing its neck to snap backwards with a sickening crack. I braced myself as the third monster veered towards me with an ear-piercing screech.
In the corner of my eye, I saw the glint of something sharp sitting on the dashboard of the motorhome. The axe!
“Wyatt,” I said as I handed him my knife, “use this!” He took the knife and bounced onto his feet as I jumped onto the step of the RV and swung the passenger door open, reaching for the axe. Wyatt kicked the zombie down to the ground and thrust the knife into its forehead.
I felt something grab hold of my leg, and looked down to see the mangled face of another zombie. Half of its jaw had been ripped off, leaving it hanging only by a few exposed muscles. It clutched to my ankle as it crawled out from under the RV, using my leg as leverage to pull itself up.
Biting down on my bottom lip, I pushed myself forward and snatched the axe from the dashboard. The jawless zombie tugged on my leg, pulling me out the door and slamming me onto the concrete. I cried out in pain as my head hit the ground hard. My vision went blurry from the impact, but I could hear the zombie as it let out a loud groan and jumped on top of me, pinning me down by my arms.
“No!” I yelled. I felt its top teeth pressing against the bare skin of my left shoulder. My vision returned and relief washed over me as I realised it couldn’t bite into me with only half a jaw. I used the butt of the axe to hit it in the face, knocking it off of me. Wyatt ran over and jumped on its back, gouging its eyes out as it tried furiously to grab hold of me again. He wrapped his arms around the zombie, allowing me to wriggle my legs free from underneath it. He pulled the zombie’s head back by the eyes, exposing its decaying neck. I held the axe over my head and swung it sideways, slicing through the dry, rotting skin. The head still hung by thick strands of muscle, flopping around but still attached. I swung the axe again, this time sending the head flying into the air and cracking multiple times as it bounced along the road. Wyatt held out his hand to help me up, but the zombie I hit with the decapitated head before had returned. Its neck was broken and its head hung backwards. It couldn’t bite us in such a mangled state, but it was trying.
It dug its fingers into Wyatt’s back, causing them both to fall to the ground next to me. I jumped to my feet and grabbed the zombie by the arms, carefully avoiding its chomping teeth. “Hold it still!” I yelled, as I held its hair with one hand and readied my axe with the other. Wyatt rolled onto his back, grabbed the monster’s arms and kept it still while I slammed the sharp axe into its skull. Once I pulled the axe out of its split open head, I kicked the creature off of Wyatt.
Looking around, I breathed a sigh of relief to see we had killed them all. I fell to the ground next to Wyatt as we both caught our breath. Without saying a word, he grabbed me by the shoulders and pulled me into him, hugging me tight. I closed my eyes and rested my head against his shoulder, grateful to be alive and in his arms. The thought of how close I’d just come to losing him spiralled through my mind. As he held me close, I realised I couldn’t wait any longer. Our time together could be cut violently short at any second.
I stood up and grabbed him by the shirt to pull him onto his feet. No more waiting. Still holding on to his shirt, I drew him in close so that our lips were only inches apart. He looked into my eyes and smiled before he closed the gap between us, kissing me hard.
A sense of desperation sparked in the way he kissed me, as though he knew just as I did that this first kiss could also be our last. My heart pounded in my chest, but for the first time today, it wasn’t out of fear. As Wyatt ran his fingers through my hair, it seemed as though everything around us just disappeared. In that electric moment—the moment I had been waiting for—we were untouchable.
After what seemed like a beautiful eternity, our lips parted and I fell back down to reality. “Are you okay?” I asked, running my fingers down his cheek as my eyes searched his face and neck for injuries. Wyatt patted himself down, making sure all his limbs were still intact.
“Yep!” He grinned, taking me by the hand.
“Are you guys okay?” Jo called as she and Ben emerged, panting as they tried to catch their breath.
Ben’s jaw dropped, and I spun around to see what he was gaping at. My heart leapt into my throat as I saw hundreds of zombies stumbling out of houses and stores. They had heard our violent scuffle with their undead companions.
I stared at the horde, feeling sick at the sight. From the elderly to little children, the entire town had been infected.
And they were headed straight for us.
Chapter Sixteen
My hands trembled as I pulled the cabin door of the RV open. “Get in!” I said to Jo, who jumped inside. I followed behind her while Ben and Wyatt climbed into their seats, with Ben at the wheel.
I heard the click of the keys turning in the engine, but nothing happened.
“Shit!” Ben sputtered, and once again I heard the click of the keys. Nothing. “No, no, no. Come on!”
Wyatt stared at Ben with wide eyes. “Don’t tell me ...”
Ben shook his head, turning the key once more. “It won’t start.”
I watched through the window as the horde closed in on us.
The youngest and fastest of the infected had the lead of the pack. A teenage girl with curly blonde hair and freckles had sped up ahead of the others. Her eyes had glazed over but her skin hadn’t started to decay yet, so I knew she must have been one of the newest to turn.
They were getting too close. Even if the RV suddenly came to life, they would overwhelm us. I had to do something.
I took Jo’s hand and looked her in the eyes. “Come with me.”
“Eva, are you crazy?” she asked as I pulled her out of the RV.
“What are you doing?” Wyatt called from the passenger seat.
“Keep trying to start the engine!” I called back as I tugged on the petrol hose. “Jo, get the lighter from the drawer.” She ran back into the motorhome as Wyatt jumped out, holding the axe.
“Eva!” Jo called as she threw the lighter, and I caught in with one hand while the other poured petrol over the ground. Wyatt ran at the closest zombies, swiping at them one by one. Jo joined him with the crowbar she found in the store, and they began fighting them off while Ben continued to struggle with the engine. I ran as far as the hose would allow, drawing a line with petrol across the width of the road. I turned and sprinted back towards the RV, seeing Ben slamming his palms on the steering wheel in frustration as I did so. I dropped the hose and started unwrapping the bandage from around my arm, cringing as it lifted from my wound. I picked up a broom that sat perched against a nearby petrol pump and tied the bloodied bandage around the end of the handle. Carefully, I dipped the tip of the bandage into the pool of petrol on the concrete and held it away from me.
My heart drummed in my chest as I held the lighter to the petrol-soaked bandage and flicked it on, lighting it on fire instantly.
“Guys, come back!” I yelled to Wyatt and Jo, who turned and ran towards me with zombies right behind them. The horde was about to cross the line of petrol. I glanced over my shoulder at Ben, who was repeatedly turning the key in the engine, trying desperately to get it to start.
Wyatt and Jo stood by my side, holding their weapons ready as the horde edged closer.
Just then, the RV roared to life. “Yes!” Ben cried before frantically calling us over. I threw the flaming broom to the ground, igniting a stream of fire along the road.
We bolted back to the RV as the flames spread to the horde. Wyatt and Jo leapt inside just as the motorhome started driving away, and I ran to catch up to it. They both held their hands out for me, urging me to hurry. I was about to take hold of Wyatt’s hand when I tripped on a crack in the road. I skidded onto the asphalt in a painful tumble. I saw the RV slam to a stop and hurried to pick myself up, but something landed on top of me, forcing me back to the ground. I rolled over, holding the zombie at arm’s length as best I could while kneeing it in the ribs. I clutched onto its neck, trying to hold it back as it snapped its diseased teeth at me. I could tell by the sound of screeching and growling that more were coming. The heat of the fire warmed my skin as the flames continued to spread around me. For a brief moment, I wondered what would kill me first: the zombies or the fire.
With one swift kick, I knocked the zombie off of me and sat up.
“Eva!” Jo cried as she reached me, swinging the crowbar into the zombie’s skull while Wyatt took my hand and helped me to my feet. Together, we ran back to the RV and scrambled inside just as Ben slammed his foot down on the pedal and we started speeding away.
I fell to the ground on my hands and knees, struggling to catch my breath as we flew out of town. In a state of shock, no-one said a word as we turned onto the highway. Once my heart stopped racing and my breathing slowed, I moved to sit at the dining booth, where Jo and Wyatt were sitting.
Wyatt turned to me, concern filling his eyes. “Are you okay?”
I nodded. “Just a bit shaken up.” I held my hands tight, trying to stop them from trembling. “Are you guys okay?” He and Jo nodded, sweat gleaming on their foreheads.
“Were you trying to get yourselves killed?” Ben yelled from the driver’s seat.
“Hey, we slowed them down,” I retorted. “They would have swarmed on us.”
I saw Ben roll his eyes in the rear-view mirror. “Don’t you remember what I said earlier?” he said. “Don’t be a hero!”
“Hey,” Jo said, crossing her arms over her chest, “if Wyatt and I hadn’t fought them, and Eva hadn’t set them on fire, we’d all be dead right now.”
“We had to fight back,” Wyatt said.
“But we already know fire doesn’t kill them!” he argued.
I sighed, not wanting to fight with him. “That’s not why I started the fire.”
“Then why?”
A thunderous boom echoed in the distance, and we looked behind us to see the petrol station had exploded into a huge fireball, the flames soaring high into the sky like a mushroom cloud.
“That’s why,” I said, turning to Ben as his jaw dropped open in shock.
Deep down I knew that blowing up one little diseased town wouldn’t stop the virus from taking over the entire country. But I needed to believe it saved at least a few people from being infected or killed. No-one else would be in danger of stopping there and being ambushed like we were.
“Woah,” Ben said as he slowed the motorhome to a stop. The four of us stood at the rear window of the RV, watching the flames billowing into the sky.
“You know,” Jo said, linking her arm with mine, “after everything we’ve been through today, it feels really good to know we just blew up a ton of those monsters.”
We sat together in silence, watching the fire burn as the sun set in the distance, a mix of vibrant colours painting the sky. It was an eerily beautiful sight, but one that we couldn’t marvel at for long.
“We better keep going,” Wyatt said as he stood up from the couch and made his way over to the driver’s cabin. “It will be dark soon. We need to hit the road. I’ll drive a bit more, if that’s cool with you, Ben?”
“Sure, man,” Ben answered, still watching the flames as they burned bright.
Once again we sped down the road, heading north for Cairns.
"Hello? Anyone out there?“ Wyatt spoke into the radio transceiver he held in his hand as he drove. “Can anyone hear us?”
He had been trying for hours to reach any other survivors that might be out there, but so far we had heard nothing but silence.
It made me wonder how many others there were like us. The virus would be spreading further and further west by now, hitting South and Western Australia.
I had tried to find news of the outside world on the RV's television and radio, but nothing worked. I even tried using the internet on my iPhone, desperately clinging to the last string of hope I had that we could somehow connect with the outside world, but the signal was still dead. We were entirely cut off from the rest of the world.
Eventually I gave up and slumped into the passenger's seat next to Wyatt.
The night had grown dark, and even though I could hardly see further than the headlights in front of us, I felt safe knowing he was driving.
"Do you think other countries are infected, too?” I asked, knowing he couldn't possibly know the answer, but hoping he could reassure me.
"I hope not,” he sighed. “I’m hoping it’s just Australia, because other countries could still send help. I mean, I know the world can be a pretty tough place, but whenever there's a crisis like this, everyone always seems to band together. Like we have." He smiled at me and reached over to hold my hand, intertwining his fingers with my own.
It felt weird to be utterly disconnected from the world. With the internet and media providing me with all the information I needed, whenever I needed it, I had grown accustomed to knowing exactly what was happening across the globe. Now, without warning, we were completely isolated.
I hoped Wyatt was right. I hoped the outbreak was contained to Australia and not spreading overseas. Being surrounded by ocean, it wouldn't take long for authorities to stop anyone from entering or leaving the country, creating a massive quarantine on our island home. It’s what could happen in the immediate future that worried me: armies of other countries could come to our rescue, or we could be left to fight for ourselves. The world might not even know there were survivors.
Countless questions ran through my mind, and I knew I might never have any answers. All I could do was survive. That had become our only mission.
"How's your arm?" Wyatt asked, snapping me out of my thoughts.
“Getting better,” I said, looking down at the fresh bandage Ben had wrapped around it. “It doesn't hurt much anymore.”
"Good," he replied, his lips forming a tired smile. "All we need to do now is get to Elliot’s place. We'll be safe there."
I took a deep breath and looked out the window, gazing up at the stars. I trusted Wyatt completely, and I knew he was right. We would be safe once we arrived at his brother's house. I just hoped we could make there alive.
The road that lay ahead of us was uncertain. I had no idea what kind of danger awaited us on our journey. But as long as the four of us stayed together and fought as hard as we could, I knew we could do it.
As the first day of the apocalypse came to an end, I knew we were only at the beginning of this new nightmare that was now our lives. But as I admired the night sky with my hand in his, it was the happiest nightmare I ever had.
The End
WHILE WE FALL
Chapter One
The glowing sun rose on the horizon, sending streams of gold, orange and pink along the skyline. I sat cross-legged on the passenger’s seat, my eyes feeling almost as heavy as my he
art.
Wyatt had held my hand tight all through the night as he drove the RV. Knowing his fingers were wrapped in my own was like a comforting anchor, keeping me grounded while my mind raced over all the horrible things I’d seen and done over the last twenty-four hours.
My emotions had taken me on a long and winding roller coaster ride under the cover of night, and as day two of the apocalypse began, I hoped the ride would end soon. One moment I would feel overwhelming gratitude for having survived the outbreak, the next I would be overcome by indescribable grief, fear and sorrow for all I had lost.
My head spun as I remembered that only the day before, I was sound asleep in my bed in my little apartment in Melbourne, my biggest problem being that I had to get up early for work on a Saturday morning.
I admired the sunrise with great concentration, taking in every stroke of pink and streak of gold, breathing the beauty of it into my lungs and filling my heart. I knew it could be the last sunrise I ever laid eyes on.
The deserted highway stretched out in front of us, surrounded by the burnt land of the outback, interrupted only by a few shrubs of green dotting the scenery.
My breathing halted as I noticed something moving out of the corner of my eye, and for a moment I froze, too afraid to look in case it was one of them. Slowly, I moved my gaze out the passenger window and sighed in relief to see it was just a kangaroo.
Watching it as it hopped along by the side of the road, it occurred to me that I had only ever seen kangaroos in zoos, never in the wild. I admired the native creature, in awe at its strength and grace. It looked so free.
The notion of freedom hit me hard somewhere deep inside my soul. In some ways, I’d had more freedom in the last twenty-four hours than I had in my entire life. There were no worries or thoughts about work, money or paying bills. All I had to worry about now was staying alive, and keeping those I care about alive, too.
Yes, it was a newfound freedom, but it came with a price.