by Wilde, J. M.
Another bullet sped by, followed by a scream from behind that made me flinch, and I turned to see Richard being taken down by a zombie. The sniper took another shot, killing the zombie, but it was too late. Richard was on the ground, bleeding and screaming as two more zombies launched themselves on him. His cries grew louder, but mercifully the sniper ended his pain. Lea, Ash and I ran side by side, speaking encouraging words to each other to keep us going, trying not to feel the loss.
The hordes were growing fast, too fast for the forces to overcome. The on-land soldiers began retreating onto the barge and the rumble of its engine rang into the air. Some waved at us to keep running to them as others held their arms out to catch us, waiting for us.
Zombies that had escaped the wire barrier came for us, and I knew there were too many for the snipers to take out. I braced myself, swinging my axe and hacking at zombie after zombie as I ran. Lea held her machete high, chopping and slicing at anything that got too close. And even though Ash’s arm must have been causing her great pain, she seemed to have moved past it—she was stabbing zombies with a kitchen knife she held in her good hand.
The barge started inching away, preparing to launch before the zombies got too close. We were less than thirty seconds away from setting foot on the barge, but the zombies were closing in. Desperate tears welled in my eyes as I fought through the rotters. Knowing I was close to freedom but even closer to death tormented me, but the sight of our rescuers and the promise of safety spurred me on.
Chapter Twelve
Forcing my legs to stretch farther and run faster than ever before, I stormed through the zombies, dodging the last few to make it to the water’s edge. Without stopping, I leapt into the air and into the arms of two waiting soldiers.
They grabbed my arms and pulled me onto the barge. “It’s okay,” one said. “You’re safe.” I hadn’t realised how much I wanted to hear those four words until he spoke them.
“Thank you,” I said, choking back tears. “Thank you for saving us.”
He nodded before turning his attention to Lea and Ash, who were right behind me, leaping onto the barge.
Lea looked to be in disbelief. “We made it!” I wrapped my arms around her and Ash as we began floating out into the harbour. A masked figure in a biohazard suit waved us over for testing, and even though I knew I was uninfected and healthy, I felt nervous.
“Hello,” a voice said from inside the suit. She began asking the three of us a series of questions, inquiring as to if we were bitten or otherwise exposed to the virus, how we were feeling, if we had a fever or migraine. We all shook our heads. “Good. I just need to run a couple of simple tests before we can let you on any of the ships.”
“Ships? There’s more than one?” I asked, but she didn’t respond.
We let Ash get tested first as she needed the most urgent medical attention. I watched curiously as the woman pulled a white hand-held device with a small screen off of her yellow belt and held it over Ash’s palm. The device pricked her index finger, leaving a minuscule drop of blood. The woman clipped the device back on her belt and pulled a small, pen-shaped light from her pocket and held it over Ash’s eyes. Satisfied with whatever she saw—or didn’t see—in Ash’s eyes, she slipped the flash light back in her pocket and unclipped the device again just as it began to beep. She looked at the screen and nodded. “Okay, you’re all clear. You’ll be taken to the M1 medic ship to get that arm looked at.”
Ash nodded and stepped aside—it was my turn. I held my hand out so she could prick my finger and stood quietly as she inspected my eyes. I reminded myself that Priya had given me the all clear back at the field hospital, but my heart still skipped a beat when I heard the device beep. The woman looked at it, then looked at me and nodded. “All clear. Step aside please.” I breathed a sigh of relief and stepped aside to make room for Lea.
A few minutes later, Lea was declared all clear and the three of us were sitting side by side, our legs dangling over the edge of the barge. As we slowly cut through the water, passing the bayside neighbourhoods, I watched the zombies roaming on the land and I hoped Jo, Wyatt and Ben were not still there with them. As elated as I was to be leaving, to finally be free from my nightmare, there was deep sorrow in me.
“Lea?” a quiet voice said from behind us. The three of us turned, and as soon as Lea laid eyes on the girl, she was jumping to her feet. Even if I hadn’t seen the photo of her the day before, I would know it was Skye by the way Lea wrapped her arms around her. They stood amongst the crowd, weeping in each other’s arms. A smile spread across my face as I watched their reunion, knowing such a scene was sadly very rare for those of us who had made it out.
“Are you okay?” Lea asked as she affectionately pushed a stray hair behind Skye’s ear.
Skye nodded as a tear rolled down her cheek. “I thought I’d never see you again.”
Seeing Lea reunited with Skye made my heart soar and shatter at the same time. It only highlighted to me that I was separated from the people I cared about most in the world. I looked at the sparkling Opera House with sad eyes, wondering if I’d ever see it, or my friends, again. Ash and I sat quietly for a while, watching the waves flow under our dangling feet and trying to comprehend the fact that we were finally safe.
“I thought you said it was just one ship coming for us?” Ash asked, breaking the silence.
“Yeah, that’s what I heard. Why?” She pointed behind me, and I turned to see a whole fleet of ships, all different sizes and from many different countries. My jaw dropped at the sight of them all, and I stood up to get a better view. It dawned on me that ours would be the biggest rescue mission ever undertaken. I was expecting one navy rescue ship, but what had been delivered to us was astoundingly more than that: three large cruise ships that had seemingly been commandeered by the military; four war ships, for defensive purposes; and two hospital carriers.
Lea found us in the crowd and introduced us to Skye, who was still wiping away happy tears from being back with the woman she loved. But our introduction was short-lived, interrupted by three small, bright red rescue boats speeding up alongside the barge, with six more zooming past to reach the other two barges that held survivors. The soldiers directed us to form three lines, one at each boat.
“Anyone who requires medical attention, please get on this boat,” a man called, cupping his hands over his mouth like a megaphone. “We will take you to the medical ship. Everyone else on the other two boats to be taken to a cruise ship.”
“That’s me, I guess,” Ash said, still cradling her injured arm.
“We’ll see you on one of the ships,” I smiled before giving her a gentle hug, carefully avoiding her arm.
“Thanks for bringing me here,” Ash said before hugging Lea and nodding at Skye. “Nice to meet you, Skye.” She joined the line for the medical ship as Lea, Skye and I joined our line, and with the help of people in orange vests, the crowd started filing on one by one.
I adjusted my satchel as I stepped over the water into the boat, patting the material to make sure the folder was still in there. Ever since Priya handed it to me, I had felt it there, carried the weight of its world-changing potential through thick and thin. I had made up my mind that I wouldn’t hand the folder over to anyone other than Commander Renner. All I had to do was find him and tell him I had a successful treatment for the virus in my possession.
I admired the ship as we sped up to it, in awe of its huge size. I held on to the side of the boat as we turned and reversed alongside the base entrance to the ship, ready to board. Before any of us could enter the ship, we each had to give our name to a woman in an orange vest holding a clipboard. I noticed a ribbon pinned on her vest: green with gold trim, and wondered what it was for.
Above me, I heard a sound I didn’t expect to hear out at sea: the sound of a dog barking. I craned my neck, looking up at the windows and balconies, searching hopefully. Then, standing at the tall glass barrier on the top deck of the ship, I saw my four-legged f
riend looking down at me.
“Hunter!” My heart did joyful summersaults in my chest as I smiled up at him, his tail wagging excitedly when I called his name. I searched the forming crowd around him, hoping to see three familiar faces among the people who were gathering to get a look at the new arrivals. But they were nowhere to be found. A minute later, it was my turn to exit the boat, so I jumped out and—restraining my urge to sprint up the stairs—began my search for Commander Renner. As much as I wanted to reunite with my friends, I knew delivering the folder was the more pressing task. I walked into the lobby and approached a man with a mustache who wore an orange vest with the word ‘volunteer’ printed on the back of it. I noticed that he, too, was wearing a green and gold ribbon.
“Excuse me,” I said. “Is Commander Renner on this ship, or one of the others?”
The man looked at me quizzically for a moment. “I’d say he’s on one of the navy ships.” Seeing my disappointment, he continued, “But if it’s urgent, I can take you to the captain, he can get on the radio to Commander Renner. What’s this about?”
I explained everything to him, watching his face carefully for any signs of doubt or suspicion of my story. Once I’d finished, he was looking at the floor and stroking his mustache as he thought about everything I’d told him. “Alright,” he said. “You and the other new arrivals have an induction starting in about five minutes. I’ll run up to the Captain. If you give me the folder I can show it to him.”
I placed my hand on my bag protectively and took a slight step back. “Actually, I’d prefer to deliver it to Commander Renner myself. It’s my responsibility.”
He nodded. “Okay then, go back to your group for your induction and I’ll talk to the Captain and see if he can bring Renner over. But he might not get here until the morning, with all the business of today’s evacuation there’s a lot to take care of.”
“Fine, thank you,” I smiled before turning to leave.
“Wait, miss?”
“Yes?”
“What’s your name?”
“Eva.”
“I’m Morris. I’m from Texas. And I just want to say I’m sorry for everything you’ve been through.”
I opened my mouth to speak, but didn’t know what to say. I just gave him a solemn nod of thanks and walked away, wondering how Morris from Texas wound up on a military-controlled cruise ship for the world’s biggest evacuation mission.
I returned to my group just as the last survivors were climbing out of the rescue boat. I walked with Lea, Skye and the rest of our group as we were led up to the eleventh floor, where we joined a crowd of about two hundred other survivors. I eagerly looked around the room, my hands shaking with nerves as I searched for my friends. The room was alive with chatter and conversations, many people crying on each other’s shoulders. It seemed we were the last group to arrive.
“Eva?” a wonderfully familiar voice called from the front of the room. I looked up to see Jo weaving through the crowd, shock written all over her face. “Eva!” She ran up and wrapped me in the tightest hug I’d ever received, and I was so happy I could hardly speak. She stepped back and held me by my shoulders, staring at me like she had seen a ghost. “What? How? Where?” she stuttered.
“Some people found me at the riverbank and took me to a hospital,” I explained. “They treated me. I’m okay. I made it.”
“But ...” she continued in a whisper. “You were inf—”
I stopped her, not wanting to frighten anyone. I knew there was a treatment for the virus, but until I handed Priya’s research over to Commander Renner, no-one else did. “I’m alright. Trust me.” I noticed a cut on her forehead, with dry blood staining her hair. “Are you okay?”
“Oh, yeah,” she said as she traced her fingers over the cut. “It’s just a little cut.”
“From the crash?” I asked, realising it was her blood I saw on the RV floor and had followed into the city.
Her eyes widened in surprise. “Yeah! How’d you know?”
“I saw the RV. You left a blood trail across the bridge.”
“Oh,” she said, cringing at the memory of all the zombies on the bridge. “Oh, Eva,” she smiled. “I’m so glad you’re okay! We thought we’d lost you.” We hugged again, crying tears of joy.
“Where’s Wyatt and Ben?” I asked, looking behind her into the crowd.
“I got separated from them back at the wharf. They’re on one of the other ships, but they’re okay. I asked if I could be moved to their ship but they won’t allow it unless we’re relatives. Hunter is here though, but he has to stay outside on the upper deck.”
I smiled and nodded. “I saw him when the rescue boat pulled up outside.” I felt disappointed that we were still separated from the boys, but glad to hear they were alright. “How’s Wyatt?” I had tried not to think about him ever since I woke up in the field hospital, the thought of him grieving over me was just too sad to consider. But knowing I would see him again, and soon, I wanted to prepare for however he might react.
Jo looked down at her feet. “The last couple of days have been tough. He thinks he’s lost you. He keeps going over that night in his head. We all do. We all asked ourselves if we could have done something more to help you. We couldn’t believe we didn’t see that you were ...” she trailed off, not wanting to say it. She wiped her tears and smiled. “But none of that matters now. Once Wyatt sees you, once he knows you’re okay, he’ll be so happy. We have to find a way to get in touch with them.”
A muffled tapping noise filled the room, attracting everyone’s attention. A young man who looked to be in his early thirties stood on a carpeted platform at the front of the room, talking into a microphone.
“Welcome, everyone. I’m Bill,” he said with a warm smile as we stood awkwardly in the back. “Please, take a seat. You must all be exhausted.”
Jo and I sat down, pausing our conversation to listen to the induction, but all I wanted to do was find Wyatt and Ben. As Bill began to speak, I had an idea that could help move them to our ship.
Chapter Thirteen
I sat patiently, listening to Bill as he ran through the safety procedures on the ship before briefing us on their rescue mission.
“Our next stop is Melbourne,” he said into the microphone, rattling off the induction like he had already done it a thousand times before. “Following that, we’re headed to Adelaide, then Perth, then we’ll set sail to the United Kingdom, where plans are being put into place as we speak to provide you with food and shelter. This will be a long journey—around five weeks—so it’s important that everyone follows the rules here.” He took in a deep breath and surveyed the room before delivering the next piece of news.
“This will come as a shock to many of you who may not know this, but the outbreak was not an accident.” A few horrified gasps could be heard from around the room, but Jo and I sat unaffected by the revelation, having heard the rumours on our journey. “I’m sorry to tell you that this was an orchestrated terrorist attack. It was highly sophisticated and very well planned, taking the entire nation of Australia by surprise. All we know right now is that people, who have been dubbed suicide bio-bombers, turned themselves into Patient Zeroes in public places like festivals, community events, train stations, sports arenas, and city centers. Before entering these highly populated areas, they injected themselves with the disease and timed it so they would turn while surrounded by the unsuspecting public. It’s believed over one hundred of these bio-bombers were strategically placed at certain locations at specific times to have the biggest effect possible. It’s believed it took years of careful planning, not just to engineer the virus but to plan the localized attacks. Multiple government and international agencies are working around the clock to find the people responsible, but right now we don’t have any more information than that. It’s been extremely difficult for any details on how it started to come to light, as much of the evidence has either been destroyed or cannot be investigated because Australia is still a hi
ghly volatile area, and may well be that way for years to come. I’m afraid to say that this is a mess that won’t be cleaned up for a very long time.”
A woman near the front of the room began to wail, and he glanced at her with sympathy before continuing. “None of us here can even begin to imagine what you’ve all been through. I promise we are doing everything we can to give you all you need to get through this. This is the largest mass evacuation ever attempted, and there will be some unexpected challenges along the way. But we have almost two dozen ships and thousands of volunteers from all over the world here today with one aim in mind: to get you out of here safely.”
Hearing those words made me tear up, my emotions forming a lump in my throat as I tried to hold it all in.
“We volunteers are here to help in any way we can,” Bill continued. “If you ever need to locate a volunteer, we’re the ones wearing orange vests and the green and gold ribbons. These ribbons are being worn by people all over the world. You don’t know this, but this event has brought the world together in a way that has never been seen before.” He touched the ribbon, holding it between his thumb and forefinger. “Millions of these ribbons have been sold to raise money to provide you with everything you need. What’s more, they’ve become a symbol for solidarity and peace. So, please know that the entire globe is behind you, praying for you, and supporting you.”
If there had been anyone in the room who wasn’t weeping before, they were after hearing that. It was incredibly touching to know that we were in the thoughts and prayers of the whole world. I wiped my tears on the back of my hand and sat up straighter in my seat to get a better view of Bill as he spoke.