by Wilde, J. M.
Wyatt, Ben and Jo spun around at the sound of the shutting door and I watched as their eyes widened in terror when they saw me.
“Eva!” Wyatt said as he took a step towards me, but the blade dug deeper into my skin and I heard a loud, husky voice in my ear.
“Don’t move, mate!” the man warned as he held the knife to my throat.
Another man appeared from one of the rooms, holding a shotgun.
Wyatt held a hand in front of him. “Just put the knife down. We’re here to help.” He was acting calm, but I could see the panic in his eyes. He turned to Sharon, “Please, tell him we’re here to help your son.”
Sharon laughed as she pushed by him to stand next to the man with the shotgun.
“Son?” the voice said loudly in my ear, making me squirm.
“How else was I s’posed to get ‘em here, Dan?” she laughed again. Dan laughed, his hot breath blasting on my neck.
“Nice one, Shaz,” he said. “What’ve they got?”
She grinned proudly and stuck her hands in her pockets. “RV.”
“Sweet! Grab their knives, would ya?”
She stepped towards Ben and reached out to grab his knife, but he pulled it away from her. Dan tightened his grip on my arm. “Ey, you kids do as I say and we won’t hurt ya’s. We’ll just slip away in the RV and you’ll never see us again. Or ...” he paused, tilting the knife to catch the light, making it glint. “I’ll slit her throat and throw her outside as bait. All the zombies in town will come for ya. And we’ll still take the RV. Either way, the RV is ours. Now hand over your knives.”
Reluctantly, they gave their weapons to Sharon, who threw them in a bag and slung it over her shoulder.
“Good kids,” Dan said. “Now, gimme the keys.”
“The tall one was driving, he’s got ‘em,” Sharon said as she stood in front of Wyatt, holding her hand out expectantly.
Wyatt’s eyes locked onto mine, and I could see he was afraid of the same thing I was; would they be true to their word and let me go, or would I be dead as soon as he dropped the keys in her hand?
“Do it, mate,” Dan grunted as he pressed the knife deeper, piercing my skin. I flinched in pain before I felt blood trickling down my neck. At the sight of my blood, Wyatt pulled the keys out of his pocket and threw them at Sharon. “Let her go,” he urged.
“Nah, I think I’ll keep her,” Dan said. “Just until we get to the RV, in case you try something stupid. Jack here will take good care of you while we’re gone.”
The man with the shotgun stepped in front of Wyatt as Dan pulled me out the front door and into the street, with Sharon picking up my axe before leading the way back to the RV.
Panic started to take hold.
I knew they would kill me as soon as we reached the RV. And even if they didn’t, they would abandon us with no food and no weapons, in a town full of zombies.
Either way, we did’t stand a chance.
It was over.
Chapter Eleven
I thought about running. I imagined myself stomping on his foot or head-butting him and running for my life. But running away wouldn’t keep me alive for very long, not without all our supplies in the RV. I couldn’t let them take it from us. I couldn’t let them win. But I didn’t know what to do.
“Heads up,” Dan said to Shaz. “Zombie. Get it.”
I looked ahead to see a zombie, its arms outstretched as it shuffled towards us.
“Oh,” Sharon whined. “Why do I gotta kill it?”
“Because I’ve gotta hold on to the girl!” Dan answered angrily.
“Well, I’ll hold her,” she argued, trying to grab my arm. “Don’t make me kill it, Dan. It’s so feral! Please?”
“Oh bloody hell, Sharon!” Dan said as he pushed me into her. “Why do I have to do bloody everything?” She wrapped her arm around my neck, almost choking me.
“Hey, I found the RV, didn’t I?” Sharon pointed out as Dan started walking towards the zombie.
I watched as Dan edged closer to the zombie, and I knew I had to take advantage of this distraction and act quickly.
“There’s something you should know, Sharon,” I said.
“Oh yeah? What’s that?” she asked, keeping her eyes on Dan.
“I’m infected.”
Sharon gasped. I bit down on her arm, my teeth piercing her skin.
“No!” she screamed before pulling herself away, inspecting her wound with fear in her eyes. “She’s infected!”
Dan spun around, but I was already running down an alleyway.
“No she’s not, you idiot!” Dan yelled at her. “She would’ve turned already! She tricked you!” He started to run after me, but gave up. “Forget her. She won’t survive, anyway.”
I ran as fast as I could, my eyes darting all over the alley on the lookout for zombies. I didn’t have any weapons, so my speed was my only asset.
I came out of the alley and onto another street, turning left towards the main street where we left the RV. If I could get there before them I could get a weapon and have Hunter by my side to fight them.
I slowed my pace as I reached the main street and stood against the brick wall of a corner store, catching my breath. Carefully, I peered around the wall to see the RV, but Dan and Sharon were already walking towards the door.
“Shaz, go to the back,” I heard Dan say. “Let’s see what goodies they’ve got for us.”
Sharon pulled the door open and there was Hunter, waiting patiently inside the cabin.
“Oh! A doggy!” Sharon smiled as she stepped closer to Hunter. I knew that if he saw I was in danger, he would attack her and Dan, giving me a chance to get the keys and get away with the RV.
“You’re not taking our RV!” I said, running towards Dan. He took a swipe at me with the knife, but I dodged it just in time.
“Get back, bitch!” he yelled.
My plan worked. Hunter bared his teeth and growled, causing Sharon to jump back in fright, dropping the axe to the ground. I seized it before she had a chance to pick it up.
“Give me the keys,” I said to Sharon as she cowered in front of me. “Now.”
“Don’t do it, Sharon!” Dan yelled.
I stepped closer to Sharon and swung the axe high as a threat. She panicked and flung the keys onto the ground.
“No!” Dan yelled. I picked the keys up off the ground just before he lunged at me with the knife, but Hunter had already leapt from the RV to attack. He jumped on Dan’s back, biting into his neck. Dan screamed in pain as he spun around, furiously stabbing the air behind him, trying to hit Hunter.
I gasped as Dan reached back and grabbed Hunter around the waist, throwing him to the ground hard. Hunter whimpered as he held him down, holding his knife up in the air, ready to thrust it into his stomach.
“No!” I yelled as I ran towards him. I spun my axe and swung it sideways, the back of it cracking into the side of Dan’s head, knocking him out cold. Sharon screamed as she knelt to the ground next to Dan, trying to wake him up. I picked up his knife as Hunter stood up and snuggled up to me, licking my face.
“Let’s go get the others,” I said as we jumped into the RV, leaving Sharon and Dan in the middle of the road.
I made sure to pull over far enough away from the house so that Jack couldn’t see it was me at the wheel. I didn’t want to give him an excuse to start shooting.
I pressed the horn and ducked down as I watched the front door open and Jack step outside, gun in hand. Staying out of sight, I moved into the cabin and opened the door, standing quietly behind it so I could whack him with my axe upon his entrance.
My heart raced as I listened to his footsteps get closer and closer. I was so nervous that my palms were sweating, making it hard for me to hold the axe tight.
I held my breath as he stepped onto the first step, but a voice in the distance made him pause. “Stop!” I could hear a woman’s voice yelling. It was Sharon, she was running down the street toward us.
“Hu
h?” Jack said as he jumped back onto the road.
“Wait!” I heard Dan yell. “She’s in there! Get her!”
I stepped out from behind the door just as Jack turned to look inside. I held the axe with both hands and jutted it forward, smacking him in the face with the handle. I watched as he fell backwards onto the road, his head hitting the ground with a loud thud.
“Wyatt! Jo! Ben!” I yelled as Sharon and Dan sped down the middle of the road. “Run!”
They burst out of the house and into the street, running as fast as they could to beat Sharon and Dan to the RV.
I jumped into the driver’s seat and revved the engine, ready to go as soon as everyone was safely inside.
I could see Sharon and Dan getting closer, but even if they made it to the RV first, Hunter was standing at the door, waiting.
Wyatt, Ben and Jo jumped into the RV, slamming the door behind them as I put my foot down and started driving, watching Sharon and Dan get smaller and smaller in the rear view mirror.
“Eva!” Wyatt said as he fell into the passenger’s seat while Jo and Ben stood next to him. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah, I’m fine. Hunter saved the day,” I smiled. “Are you guys alright?”
“Yeah,” Wyatt said as he reached out and took my hand.
Tears spilled down Jo’s cheeks. “We thought we’d never see you again.”
I shook my head. “As if I would let those assholes stop us,” I said with a wink. “Not when we’re so close to the end. They didn’t stand a chance.” I tried to be tough, to pretend as though I hadn’t been fearing for my life, but they saw straight through my act.
“Eva,” Wyatt said as he traced his thumb over my fingers.
“I’m okay,” I said again. “Really.”
I wanted to fall apart, to crawl into a ball on the floor and cry until the fear and pain went away.
But I couldn’t. Not yet.
I had to hold it together, at least until we reached Elliot’s.
I wouldn’t be any help to anyone if I lost it now.
Chapter Twelve
“It’s not my fault!” Jo insisted. She and Ben had been arguing ever since we left that hellhole of a town in the middle of nowhere. The only quiet moment I experienced was when we pulled over so Wyatt could drive; I was too tired to go any further.
“I’m not saying it’s your fault, Jo,” Ben fought back. “But you need to understand, we can’t stop and help people anymore. It’s not safe.”
Ben was furious that we stopped to help Sharon only to be betrayed and almost killed yet again. I knew he was right, but I was too drained to argue with them. Wyatt and I sat quietly in front while they battled it out.
“Things are different now,” Ben continued. “People are doing whatever they can to survive, and that includes lying, stealing and killing. We need to toughen up. We need to put our own survival before anyone else. It’s not just zombies we have to be afraid of now: it’s humans, too.”
Wyatt let out a sigh. “Guys, can we call a time-out here? We won’t be stopping again anyway. We’re almost there.”
After driving for days, surrounded by burnt earth and cracked soil as far as the eye could see, and surviving everything from zombie-filled towns to crocodile-infested waters, my hope grew the moment I saw the sparkle of the ocean in the distance. I grinned as I pointed out the window. “Guys, look!”
We were driving down the long, winding road of the Queensland coastline. I smiled at the sight of clear blue skies, turquoise ocean and palm trees. Jo moved to stand behind me so she could get a better look at the picturesque scenery. “Wow, it’s gorgeous!”
I leaned as close to the windshield as I could, resting my arms on the dashboard as I marvelled at the sight before me. The ocean glistened in the sunlight like diamonds, and we weaved in and out of the lush green rainforest headed to our life-saving destination.
The RV swerved and took a sharp turn to the left, and I gripped onto the dashboard to stop myself from swaying off the seat. Hunter whimpered as he fell off of the couch and skidded across the floor.
“Sorry, guys!” Wyatt called. “I nearly missed the turnoff into Elliot’s driveway. It’s more concealed than the last time I was here.”
Hunter jumped up and huddled next to me, his head darting every which way. The sight of the ocean disappeared behind us and all I could see was bushland. The RV bumped up and down constantly as Wyatt navigated the winding dirt road.
Ben leaned forward between Wyatt and I, searching the area. “I don’t see any house.”
“It’s pretty hidden on the mountain,” Wyatt explained. “We’ve got a long and bumpy ride ahead of us before we get to the front gate.” He slowed the pace of the RV to avoid skidding on the narrow road.
As we bumped along the dirt driveway, I noticed a makeshift sign on a tree. A piece of wood had been nailed to the trunk, with a warning scrawled on it in red paint.
WARNING: PRIVATE PROPERTY. NO TRESPASSERS.
Further down the road, I spotted more signs.
YOU ARE UNDER SURVEILLANCE. TURN AROUND NOW.
DANGER: TRESPASSERS WILL BE SHOT.
SERIOUSLY. GO BACK NOW.
Chills ran down my spine like electric shocks. So far, Elliot’s place didn’t look like the safe haven I had imagined.
Wyatt shot me a sideways glance, and smirked when he saw the worried look on my face. “Don’t worry, it’s just a security measure. He’s paranoid, remember?”
Ben raised an eyebrow. “Are you sure we’ll be safer here than out there, man?”
“Ben, he’s my brother,” Wyatt said. “We can trust him.”
I leaned back in my chair, trying to ignore the signs of danger. I needed to believe that the worst was over. I needed to believe we were finally safe.
After an uphill drive, we reached a tall, rusted gate. A large padlock and chain had been wrapped tightly around the entrance, and another sign was plastered proudly on the bars.
YOU WERE WARNED. WHATEVER HAPPENS NEXT IS YOUR OWN FAULT.
Ben and I exchanged worried looks, but neither of us dared say anything for fear of upsetting Wyatt.
Wyatt unbuckled his seat belt. “Stay here,” he said before he jumped out of the RV.
Ben scoffed. “Nope.” A moment later, he was out of the RV and walking towards the gate. Jo and I followed cautiously behind, with Hunter by our side. A tall cyclone fence sat on either side of the gate and continued on deep into the rainforest on both sides. I stepped up to the gate and peered through the bars. I tried to search through the trees for a house, but saw nothing. Something didn’t feel right. My heart started beating harder and my skin started to prickle as I realised I was being watched. I could feel it. I quickly turned my gaze up higher into the trees, trying to spot whatever had its eyes on me. A tall figure fell to its feet right in front of me on the other side of the gate.
I gasped in fright and jumped backwards, slamming into the front of the RV.
“Ouch ...” I moaned as I rubbed my sore back, looking up to see what had frightened me.
It was a tall man with a shaved head and a goatee. He was wearing a camouflaged singlet and pants with black combat boots. Two stripes had been drawn onto his cheeks in mud, and he was filthy, as though he had been running around in the jungle for days. I was so shocked by his surprise entrance that I didn’t even notice the gun in his hand.
“Elliot?” Wyatt asked as he approached the gate, sounding as shocked as I felt.
“Wyatt!” the man said with a smile that made him seem much less threatening. “I knew you would come!”
“It’s good to see you, man,” Wyatt smiled. “You look ... different.”
“Good to see you, too, brother. Now, show me your legs.”
“What?”
“Your legs, boy. I need to make sure none of you are infected.”
“Oh.”
We all lifted our pants and sleeves to show him we hadn’t been bitten.
Satisfied, Elliot slid his
gun into its holster, pulled a set of keys out of his jacket pocket and started unlocking the gate.
“Come in!” he said, smiling ear to ear. “I’ve been waiting for you, although I must admit I didn’t expect you to bring company.” He pulled the gate open and waved us inside.
“Yeah, this Eva, Ben and Jo,” Wyatt replied, gesturing to each of us in turn. “Oh, and this big guy is Hunter.” He patted Hunter on the head, making him wag his tail enthusiastically.
“Welcome, everyone!” Elliot said, holding his arms out wide and puffing his chest out. “Welcome to paradise!” Before any of us could greet him, Elliot turned on his heels and started running into the bush. “Wyatt, my boy! Lock the gate behind you, will you? The house is just up the path. Go on in and make yourself at home. We can move the RV into the garage later. I’ll meet you up there!” And then he was gone, vanishing into the trees.
Jo laughed awkwardly. “He’s quite the character, isn’t he?”
“He’s definitely something,” Ben said, his words tinged with sarcasm.
Wyatt locked the gate and we began following the path towards the house. Turning a corner, we entered into an open area of green grass, palm trees and landscaped gardens.
“Woah,” I said as we all stopped in our tracks to admire Elliot’s house. In the middle of the open land on top of the hill sat a huge cabin. A long patio wound around each side, and solar panels covered the roof, which boasted a rooftop garden in the centre. A large satellite dish sat proudly on the other side of the house, and next to it was a water tank.
Relief washed over me as I stared up at our beautiful new safe haven. “We made it,” I said, tears filling my eyes. Jo jumped up and down by my side and wrapped her arms around me, squealing excitedly. I hugged her so tight I thought I might crush her. Ben and Wyatt high-fived and laughed excitedly, almost in disbelief. Jo let go of me as Ben scooped her up into his arms and they spun around in celebration. Butterflies danced around my stomach as Wyatt wrapped his arms around my waist and held me tight.