by Wilde, J. M.
“Eva,” she said quietly. “Run.”
We jolted into action, sprinting down the street and away from the horde that had appeared from the surrounding buildings. In all our excitement about seeing the helicopter, we failed to realize that it had drawn the attention of every zombie in the area. We ran, but it was futile. Within seconds, both ends of the street were blocked by zombies. We were trapped.
“Look!” Lea pointed to the boarded up window of a building to our right. A pair of wide eyes were watching us through a crack in the boards. When the hidden observer saw Lea pointing in their direction, the eyes disappeared. We ran to the window and started banging on the boards frantically, begging the person to let us in. A claw-like hand grabbed me from behind and dug its skeletal fingers into my wounded shoulder, making me scream in pain. Lea spun around in surprise and acted quickly, slashing at the zombie until it was in pieces on the ground. I turned to see more zombies getting closer, the youngest ones running towards us from the end of the street. A slow-moving zombie came close, a low rumble coming from its throat. I swung my axe at it, hitting it in the chest and knocking it back a few steps. I tried to pull the axe out to take another swing, but it was stuck in the zombie’s exposed collarbone. I lifted my leg up, pressing my boot against its torso and pushing it to release the axe before taking a final swing and hitting it in the head, right between its beady eyes.
“Hey!” a hushed voice said. “Over here!” I turned to see a blonde-haired teenage girl with thick-rimmed black glasses poking her head through a door. She was waving her hand at us to come over, and we hurriedly did so. Lea and I leapt inside, and I helped the girl pull the large wooden door closed just as three zombies reached for us. A sickly grey arm got caught in the door, and we pulled it closed even harder, severing it instantly. The girl flipped a deadbolt lock on the door and pushed down another lock into the concrete floor. I turned to see Lea and a middle-aged man pushing a large, brown leather couch towards us. I stepped out of the way so they could push it up against the door, along with a few other heavy pieces of furniture. I doubted any of it would actually protect us from zombies, but it did provide an added sense of security that seemed to calm everyone down.
“In here,” the girl said as she led us through another door and into a restaurant. A grey-haired woman who looked to be in her late fifties was standing by the window, right where we had seen the pair of eyes watching us outside. I gave her a polite smile and a nod, but she glared at me with a sour expression that made me feel very unwelcome.
I ignored her glare and turned to the blonde girl. “Thanks for letting us in.”
“No worries,” she said, smiling. “We couldn’t just let you die out there.” She held a hand out to me. I shook it and introduced myself. “I’m Eva, and this is Lea.”
Lea stepped forward and shook her hand, too. “I thought we were goners for a second. Thanks.”
The girl nodded at Lea. “I’m Ash, that guy locking the door is Richard, and this is Eleanor.”
I glanced over at the woman again, but she was still glaring at us. She had a plump figure, dark circles under her eyes and a half empty beer bottle in her hand. Her thinning hair was short and messy, and she looked like she hadn’t slept in weeks. I wondered if she had only just found refuge in the restaurant, too, as Ash and Richard appeared to be much more rested and in good spirits.
“How did you know we were in here?” Richard asked as he joined us.
“I saw one of you watching us through the window,” Lea said. “Isn’t that how you knew we were out there?”
“Oh,” Richard said, shooting a disapproving look at Eleanor. “No, we didn’t know you were out there until you started banging on the boards. Eleanor, why didn’t you tell us you could see them? We could have let them in much earlier and attracted less attention to us.”
“What does it matter?” Eleanor said, inappropriately loud. “They’re in here now, aren’t they?”
Richard held his palms up innocently. “Okay, okay. Calm down.”
“I’m bloody calm!” Eleanor said, stamping her foot on the floor like a child.
Richard rolled his eyes and ignored her, turning his attention back to Lea and I. “Are you hungry? We were just about to have lunch.”
“I’m starved,” I said, and Lea nodded in agreement. With that, Richard disappeared through a swinging door that I assumed led into the kitchen. Ash pulled two chairs out for us to sit down at a large centre table with her. I sat down and reached into my bag to pull out my can of lentils and peanut butter, offering to share them with the group as they were so generous to give us food and shelter. As I did so, the helicopter flyer slipped out of my bag and onto the floor, landing in front of Eleanor’s feet. She bent down to pick it up, and her eyes widened as she read it.
“What’s this?” she asked as she stormed towards me. “Huh? What the hell is this?” She slammed the bottle on the table and held her face inches away from mine. I was so surprised by her anger that I was lost for words. “Answer me!” she screamed as she held a hand up, about to strike me.
“Hey!” I said as I grabbed her wrist and held it away from me. “Relax! It’s a flyer. Didn’t you hear that helicopter? It dropped hundreds of these all over the streets. It’s a message. They’re coming to rescue us tomorrow.”
Ash lit up with excitement. “Really? Is that true?”
“No!” Eleanor said before I could answer. She tore the flyer up and threw it in the air. “It’s a lie! The devil sent it to tempt us outside.” Her eyes darted towards the windows, paranoid beyond sanity. “He’s waiting for us out there. Him and his demons. They’ll drag us down into the underworld the moment we set foot out there. Like they did with my Frank. They took him and now he’s a demon, just like them. And if we go out there, we’ll share the same fate.” She turned her chin up and stormed towards the bar at the back of the restaurant.
Ash slumped into a chair opposite me. “Sorry,” she said quietly. “She’s drunk. As usual.”
“It’s okay,” Lea said. “We don’t need that flyer anyway. We know where the rescue will be.”
“You should come with us,” I said. “All of you.”
Chapter Nine
After I told Richard and Ash everything I knew about the rescue, over a meal of wilted salad and cold lentils, Eleanor returned from the bar.
“Eleanor,” Richard said as he held out a plate of food for her. “Did you hear the good news? We’re being saved!”
Eleanor swatted the plate away, preferring her full glass of bourbon. “No-one is being saved.” She sat at the table and stared forlornly into her drink.
“Sure we are!” Richard beamed. “Eva and Lea told us everything. The military is coming for us. You’re coming with us, right?”
“Pfft!” she scoffed. “Are you kidding me? I ain’t goin’ out there!”
“But it’s our only chance to escape,” Ash pleaded. “To survive.”
Eleanor lifted her eyes to look at Ash sternly. “How many times do I have to tell you? Only God can save us now. All you’ll find out there are demons.”
“You’re really going to stay here?” Richard asked.
Eleanor stood up with a slight wobble. “Yep.”
“Wait,” Lea said, reaching into her pocket. She pulled out her wallet and opened it to find a photo. “While we’re all here, I just want to ask you if you’ve seen this woman.” She held up a photo of a dark-haired woman with a big, bright smile. Lea watched their faces hopefully as they each studied the picture.
“No, sorry,” Ash said.
“Haven’t seen her,” Richard added, shaking his head.
“Nope,” said Eleanor, eyeing Lea as she took a swig of bourbon. “She your sister?”
“Girlfriend.” Lea slid the photo back into her wallet.
Eleanor sighed. “I’d give up tryin’ to find her. In case you haven’t noticed, it’s Judgement Day out there. We’re gonna end up in eternal damnation, or the Kingdom of Heaven. Either
way, death is upon us. I hope you’re ready for hellfire, ‘cause no-one is getting out of this alive.” She wandered slowly back over to the bar, muttering to herself.
“We will,” Lea said with determination.
“I am so sorry about her,” Ash said, holding a hand over her eyes, irritated by Eleanor.
Lea waved a hand dismissively. “It’s fine. She can believe what she wants. Clearly, she’s resigned herself to death. That’s her choice.”
“It’s not fine,” Richard said, clearly frustrated with Eleanor. “I can’t stand to be anywhere near that woman for another second. She was completely normal when the chaos began. I got to know her and her husband quite well in the first two days. She told me she’d been sober for thirty years,” he leaned in closer and lowered his voice. “But then her husband snapped, he couldn’t stand hiding in here and not knowing what was going on outside. He and a few others ran out, saying they would find help. But they never came back. After that, she spiraled out of control. As much as we all encouraged her to stay sober, she couldn’t do it. She started drinking again. She’s grown darker and darker ever since, and goes on endless ramblings about God and Judgement Day.” He sighed and leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms over his chest. “That’s why she won’t go with us to the rescue. She really thinks God is going to save her—literally shine a light beam down from the sky and take her up to Heaven. This whole thing has really messed her up.”
“It’s messed everyone up,” I said. “Maybe she’ll be thinking more clearly tomorrow morning and decide to come with us.”
I glanced over at Eleanor as she sat at the bar with her head in her hands. I felt sorry for her, and even though I hoped she would leave with us in the morning, a part of me knew she had already given up. I remembered what Lea said: some people don’t want to be saved. I could see Eleanor was one of them.
“You guys must be tired,” Ash said, changing the subject.
“Exhausted,” Lea said, stifling a yawn.
Ash stood up and gestured for us to follow her. “We have a few spare rooms up in the penthouse. I’ll show you up.”
We followed her into the nearby stairwell and began climbing the six flights to the highest floor.
“This is a small hotel. With the power out, the lifts are stuck and the key cards don’t work to open the doors of all the other rooms,” Ash said. “Luckily, the penthouse can be reached by a private emergency stairwell from the fifth floor. It’s pretty safe.”
“So,” she continued, after a pause. “What did you do before the outbreak?”
“I worked as a waitress and was training to be a makeup artist,” I said.
“I was a veterinarian,” Lea said. “What about you?”
“I was about to graduate.” Ash held her index finger and thumb a centimeter apart. “I was this close to getting my BA in Computer Science. I was going to be a Software Architect. I guess that dream is dead now.”
“Don’t think like that,” I said, holding on to the railing as we climbed, my legs throbbing from fatigue. “Once we’re on that ship, we’ll all have a chance to start again. Who knows, maybe you can still graduate.”
“I hope so,” Ash said. “I can’t wait to get out of this place.”
We reached the fifth floor and followed Ash to the private stairwell into the penthouse. I hadn’t noticed how tired I was until Ash offered us a place to rest, and as we entered the first floor of the suite, all I wanted to do was lay my head on a soft pillow.
Ash held the front door open for us, and we were greeted by a panoramic view of Sydney Harbour. I marveled at the sight. “Woah.”
“Pretty amazing, huh?” Ash smiled.
“Not a bad place to hide out from the apocalypse,” Lea joked.
The three of us stood at the window, watching the city like it was ours to protect.
“We’ll be able to see the ship coming in from here,” I said, looking out over the water. “We’ll know exactly where to go.”
Ash placed her palms against the glass as though trying to touch the sky. “What’s it like out there?”
“It’s like nothing I’ve ever seen before,” I said. “Everything just changed so quickly. One minute I was at work with my friends, the next we were running for our lives. But now, it’s become so normal ... I don’t even remember what it feels like to not be scared for my life.”
“Me either,” Lea said. “I don’t even know how to describe what it’s like out there. It’s what I imagine Hell would be like.”
“According to Eleanor, it is Hell,” she paused to let out a worried sigh. “Can we really do it? Will we make it to the ship?”
“Of course we can,” I said. “If I can travel from Melbourne to Cairns to Sydney in this mess, we can make it across a few city blocks. We just need to be smart about it.”
“But first,” Lea yawned, “I need some sleep.”
“I’ll let you get some rest,” Ash said as she stepped back from the window and pointed down the hall. “The spare bedrooms are down that hall. Take your pick. I’ll see you in a few hours.”
Lea and I chose rooms on either side of the hall, agreeing to work out a route to the wharf over dinner, before retreating behind our respective doors. I slipped under the covers and fell asleep instantly, the ordeals of the day taking their toll on my still recovering body.
By the time I woke up, the sun had set, leaving the city outside bathed in darkness. I got out of bed, slipped my boots on and stepped into the hallway, noticing that Lea’s door was open and her bed empty. I began sliding my hand against the wall to guide me through the unlit penthouse while listening for signs that Ash or the others were near.
“Hello?” I asked when I reached the living area. A lone candle sat on the coffee table in the middle of the room, providing just enough light for me to see. My eyes adjusted to the dimly lit room and I could see the shadowy figures of Lea, Ash, and Richard standing at the window.
“Hey, we’re over here,” Lea’s voice said from near the window. “I just woke up, too.”
“We’ve been watching for lights out on the water,” Ash said. “But there’s nothing yet.”
“We’re going to take shifts watching,” Richard said. “That way we can leave the moment we see the ship and get there as early as possible.”
“Where’s Eleanor?” I asked, and I could feel their tension pick up at the sound of her name.
Lea shrugged her shoulders. “At the bar, probably.”
“I’m right here, actually.”
We all turned to see Eleanor standing behind us, a bottle in her hand.
“Oh, hey, Eleanor,” Ash said.
“Are we gonna eat, or what?” Eleanor slurred. “I’m hungry and I can’t see anything down in that kitchen.”
“I’m pretty hungry, too,” Richard said. “Why don’t we take a break and have a quick dinner.”
I picked up the candle to light our way as the five of us carefully started down the stairs.
“Are you really leaving in the morning?” Eleanor asked. I heard a quiet vulnerability in her voice, vastly different from the booming anger she had shown before.
“Yes,” Ash said. “Please come with us, Eleanor. You’ll be safe with us.”
“No-one is safe out there,” she said. “It’s the end. Those demons out there were sinners as humans, and now they’re getting what they deserve. The evildoers are awakening Hell on earth.”
“How could you say that?” Lea asked. “Your husband is out there.”
“His sin was leaving me here! He abandoned me!” she roared. “He deserves whatever those demons did to him. But we don’t have to make the same mistake. God can bring us into His Kingdom. And He will, if we’d just stay here, pray and be patient. God will save us.”
I cupped my palm over the candle flame, protecting it from the breeze as we made our way down the stairs. “What if God’s way of helping you, of saving you, is by sending the rescue ship?” I asked, doing whatever I could to convince
her that her only chance was to leave with us. “Maybe, sometimes, God helps us by giving us the courage to take action ourselves, instead of waiting.”
My attempt at encouraging her to come with us backfired awfully, and Eleanor started running down the stairs towards me. “How dare you!” she screamed as she pushed past Ash, knocking her into the wall.
She took a mighty swing at me, but I dodged it just in time, dropping the candle in the struggle. The flame went out, and for the next few seconds all I could hear were loud thuds and bangs as Eleanor tumbled roughly down the stairs.
“Eleanor?” I asked when it fell silent. I bent down and carefully felt around for the candle, finding it a few steps down. “Does anyone have a lighter?”
“I do,” Richard said. After a moment of trying to find each other in the darkness, Richard lit the candle and we looked down towards the next level landing.
“Oh my God!” Ash gasped.
Eleanor was lying in a crumpled heap at the bottom of the stairs. Her right arm was disjointed and, by the way her head had twisted in an unnatural position, we could see that her neck had been broken. As we walked down the stairs towards her, I noticed her eyes were still open, but she wasn’t breathing. Lea ran down ahead of us, crouched over her body and checked her pulse, confirming what I already knew.
“She’s dead.”
Chapter Ten
The sun had begun to rise over the city, casting a soft golden hue over the landscape in front of us. I rested my forehead against the glass as I watched the horizon for the fifth hour in a row. The water in the harbour was eerily still, not a wave or ripple in sight. It felt as though all of Sydney was holding its breath with us, waiting hopefully to see a blinking light, the tiniest silhouette of a ship on the skyline—anything to signal that our rescuers were on their way.
None of us had slept and we had hardly spoken, too despondent from what had happened to Eleanor. After it happened, Lea and I dragged her lifeless body into the hall of the fourth floor while Richard comforted Ash. She had been hit the hardest by the loss, having spent most of the night crying. Richard tried not to show it, but I could tell he was broken up about it, too. Lea and I were disheartened by what happened, but we were coping. Perhaps because we had only known Eleanor a few hours, or maybe we had each seen so many lives taken that we were becoming desensitized to it. Death seemed such a perplexing phenomenon. Even with all the deaths I’d witnessed, the fact that Eleanor had been there one minute and gone the next was hard to grasp. No matter how abrasive she had been, no matter how aggressive or troubled, she didn’t deserve to die.