by Tony Thomas
Gen turned and looked towards the door. The blind was closed so she couldn’t see the doorway, but she could see the bottom of the sliding door beneath the blind, and as Dan said, it was wide open. She rushed over and drew the blind so they could see into the backyard.
Dan quickly walked past her and started to look around, while calling softly ‘Jo, are you out here?’
Gen stepped through the door and after a cursory look around stepped back inside. ‘Come back in, Dan. I think she must have gone back home.’
Dan turned full circle, looked at Gen and said, ‘There’s no way she could climb the fence. It’s almost 8-foot tall on our side and nothing to climb on. Maybe she’s going out the front?’
As Dan finished speaking, they heard the front gate squeal as it was opened. ‘Bloody hell!’ Dan yelled and ran around the side of the house.
‘Dan, come back!’ Gen screamed.
It was too late, Dan had rounded the side of the house and was running for the front yard.
Gen closed and locked the security door but left the glass door open in case she needed to open it in a hurry. She turned and ran back to the stairs and sprinted up them.
Dan hit the side gate at a run and pulled it quickly open, he slipped through and dragged it close behind him, before again running for the front yard. As he reached the front of the house, he saw the gate was still open. He could not see Joanne.
When Dan reached the front gate, he started to push it shut, then hesitated. As he looked back at the house, he saw the front door was still closed. He stepped around the gate and looked into the street.
Gen sprinted through the house and stretched for the front door. She glanced at the monitor as she reached for the door lock and saw Dan step round the gate. She thought ‘You bloody idiot’ as she opened the door and put her hand on the latch for the security screen.
Dan looked both ways as he stepped through the front gate. He caught a glimpse of Joanne as she hurried into her yard. She was carrying two rifles. The army truck was unattended, the soldiers were nowhere to be seen. There was no one on the road, living or dead. Dan saw a pool of blood on his driveway and two more wet patches on the road. One of them had footprints going through it.
Dan took a few more steps up his driveway until he was standing on the road, and again looked around. There was a rifle on the ground just under the rear of the truck. Dan kept looking around as he moved closer to the truck, there was still no one in sight. As Dan reached the truck, he heard a low moaning coming from it which made him pause in fright and turn to look around the street again. After a moment, he remembered the soldiers had captured three people and they were in the back of the truck. Dan crouched down behind the truck and picked up the rifle.
Dan looked at the rifle briefly before standing and looking into Joanne’s front yard. There were three or four bodies slumped on the ground, but none of the soldiers was in sight, and he could not see any of their weapons on the ground. Dan couldn’t make up his mind if he should be relieved or not by seeing what he hoped were unmoving corpses. He looked around one more time before inspecting the gun. He had no idea how much ammunition it had or even how to check, but he immediately felt safer.
Dan walked back towards his front gate. The implication of the lack of bodies behind the truck, despite the blood on the ground, was starting to hit him, but the weight of the rifle in his hands made him feel safer. As he reached his gate, he took one final look up and down the street before stepping back into his yard, pushing the gate closed with a grinding squeal, and fastening the latch.
09:00 AEST: Sydney
Within moments of washing her face in Gen’s bathroom, Joanne had calmed down. As she sat on the lounge, she realised she had become carried away and more than a little hysterical. Joanne sat for a while thinking about what had happened. She tried to be as objective as she could. Joanne knew that Mark was infected. His crazed actions were totally unlike his normal behaviour and he hadn’t recognised her as anything other than someone he wanted to attack. Joanne was sure the army would take him away.
With some embarrassment, Joanne thought of how crazed she had become. She didn’t really believe it was the apocalypse. It was simply an outbreak of a very strange disease. While she wore her faith with pride, she rarely proselytised and never let it get in the way of general conversation. After a little more introspection, Joanne realised that she couldn’t face seeing Dan and Gen again. Since the army had already arrived, she assumed they would make her house safe again. Joanne decided to take the easy way out and go back home without talking to Dan or Gen. She would apologise when next she saw them.
Joanne stood and tried to raise the Roman blind that blocked the door. Somehow it had become stuck. As she tried to free it she heard creaking coming from the stairs. Joanne ducked under the blind, unlatched the back door, and stepped outside. She first moved to the left to climb back over the fence to her yard, but reconsidered as soon as she looked at its height. She turned and went to the other side of the house and followed the path up the side. Joanne hurried through the side gate and started to run. She didn’t want to face Dan or Gen, she just wanted to get home as quickly as she could.
When Joanne reached the front yard, she was a little surprised to see the front gate closed. In the three years she had lived next door to Gen and Dan, she had only ever seen it open. She didn’t even know it could close. Joanne found and released the latch and pulled on the gate. It made a screeching sound as it opened which startled her, so she left it open. She ducked through the gate and walked up the driveway.
Joanne was surprised to see the army truck still sitting on the road. There was a pool of blood at the top of Gen’s driveway. She started to walk towards her house and saw a rifle laying on the ground behind the truck. She hesitated briefly before picking it up. As she bent she noticed another rifle on the path near Gen’s fence. She walked over and picked it up, it was sticky with blood, but she carried it anyway. She looked into her front yard and was shocked to see bodies slumped on the ground.
Joanne heard feet pounding up Gen’s driveway, she hurried through her yard, past the bodies, and towards her front door, which faced the street intersecting the one Gen lived on. As she climbed her front steps, a soldier stepped from the smashed open door pointing a rifle at her. Joanne dropped both rifles and raised her hands. ‘I’m okay!’ she almost screamed. ‘This is my house.’
The soldier raised the rifle and said, ‘Quick, come inside. It’s not safe out there.’ Joanne ducked past him into her lounge room. The soldier stayed at the door.
Another soldier came from her kitchen. ‘Mrs Spencer?’ he asked.
‘Uh, yes. I’m Joanne Spencer,’ Joanne managed to reply.
‘I’m Corporal Lang,’ the soldier introduced himself. ‘I was heading the team that came to collect your husband. Unfortunately, we have run into some problems.’
‘Is Mark okay?’
‘Your husband is infected. He got loose when we were taking him to the truck. Some of your neighbours had come out to rubberneck at what was happening and a big group of infected people attacked them and us. Private Johnson and I were the only two to get away. We retreated back into your house. The mob of infected seem to have moved on, they were chasing your neighbours.’
The soldier from the front door walked back into the room carrying the two rifles Joanne had dropped. ‘Corp, she brought these with her, they’re both empty.’
‘Thanks Johnno,’ said Lang. ‘They probably aren’t much use anyway.’
The soldier left and went back to his post at the front door.
‘I hope you don’t mind, but I’ve used your phone to call command,’ Lang said. ‘Unfortunately our radio has disappeared along with most of the section. We’ve been instructed to hold our position and wait for support.’
09:05 AEST: Woronora Road
‘My god! That’s unbelievable!’ Rita said. She pulled to the side of the road. ‘How can a country get wiped out?’
> They had only been driving for a few minutes when Rita had tuned in to the news. She had pulled over while listening to the report from India. They had sat, aghast, as the headlines rattled off country after country closing their borders. The news from India had shocked them both.
‘It could happen here you know’ Rita said. ‘If enough people like Bozo break quarantine, this thing could take over here as well. He could even be infected.’
‘I don’t think so, Cindy and Jill both changed pretty quickly from what he said. He wouldn’t have even made it to the road block if he was infected.’
Rita thought for a moment. ‘I guess that’s true, but we did hear that some people changed over hours and others in minutes.’
‘So you think we should find a cop and report him?’
‘No, I don’t, but I keep thinking of them getting loose while he’s driving and attacking him.’
‘That’s not what bothers me. What I keep thinking is that we had a close call. Bozo lives ten kays away from us and there were attacks there. Gen and Dan saw an attack at their place and that’s five kays away in a different direction. The radio is still saying that there have only been a few incidents and they were close to the airport. We know that’s bullshit. Either the news is not getting reported or the government has clamped down to stop a panic.’
‘They can’t do that—they’re not allowed to censor the press.’
Brick shook his head. ‘They didn’t use to, until that arsehole attorney-general made it illegal to do their job properly. Maybe you should give Gen a call and find out if they’ve heard more.’
Rita checked her phone, there was not much of a signal but she figured it was worth a try. She dialled Gen’s number. To her surprise, it answered almost immediately. ‘The number you have dialled cannot be connected. . .’ Rita lowered the phone and killed the call. ‘Sorry Brick, can’t get through.’
‘Dad, I can’t get a signal either,’ Max chirped up.
Brick looked into the back seat. Sharn still looked shocky but Max looked happy enough. ‘Thanks, mate, how about you keep an eye on it and let us know if you get one.’ Brick turned to look at his daughter, ‘You okay, Sharnie?’
Sharn turned to look at her father, and tried to smile. ‘I’m okay, Dad. I just want to get to Aunty Sue’s place.’
‘I know, hon, we’re getting started again now. We’ll be there before too long.’
Brick sat back in his seat. ‘Rita, let’s get going. Max, keep an eye on your phone and tell us if you get a signal.’
‘You’ll probably get something as we get closer to civilisation,’ Rita said as she pulled out.
Apart from Bozo, they hadn’t seen a single car on the road since the site of the accident. Brick had decided to chance the old highway and directed Rita to continue along the Woronora Road rather than taking more fire trails. Rita had slowed after coming over a crest and seeing a sign indicating a T intersection ahead. As she rounded the bend, she saw Bozo ahead—forcing open the gates with his bull-bar.
‘Geez, never thought of that,’ Brick said. ‘I’m not sure I’ve got the key for that gate.’
‘I don’t think you have to worry about that,’ Rita replied. Bozo had driven his Range Rover slowly right up to the gate near the lock post. His bull bar had taken the pressure and they could hear his engine revving as he pushed against it. Suddenly, the gates snapped open and Bozo’s car surged forward. He barely slowed for the intersection and turned right—heading south.
‘Well I guess that makes getting through the gate easier, but I’m not all that happy he’s going the same way as us, or that we told him where we’re going,’ Brick said.
‘Nothing we can do about it now, Brick,’ Rita said as she slowly drew up to the intersection. ‘Still heading south?’
‘Yep, but I think we might have a change in plan.’
‘What do you mean, Brick?’
‘I think we might take a punt on going down the highway. It’ll be quicker and if we get turned back we can always hit the fire trails again. I’m betting Bozo will try back roads all the way now.’
As Rita turned right down the highway, she said, ‘So do we join the Motorway if we follow this?’
‘Not straight away. It winds down past Helensburgh. I guess that’ll be the first test if we can keep going that way.’
Max piped up. ‘What’s the Garrawarra Centre Dad?’
Brick realised that Max was keeping a sharp eye on what was happening. The sign had only just become visible. ‘It’s an old people’s home, mate,’ he said.
‘Will we get phone reception there?’ Max asked. Rita looked at Brick and started to slow down.
‘Maybe, but I don’t want to detour just yet. We’ll get reception soon enough,’ Brick replied. Rita started to accelerate again.
09:15 AEST: Hordern Pavilion
The tunnel seemed to have looped around the airport and they saw a brief glimpse of the planes on the tarmac before entering a four-lane highway with high sound control walls on either side. As the motorway continued, the walls were soon replaced by trees and greenery. Jeff could see industrial units on one side but very little on the other. After a few more moments, they passed what looked like a new hi-rise residential area before taking an exit. So far the only other vehicle they had seen was the bus they were following.
The exit ran past some very pleasant looking terrace houses before they came to an intersection. There was a police car parked in the middle of the road. On the near corner was an older-looking building with writing on the awning proclaiming it the ‘Bat and Ball Hotel’. A policeman standing in the middle of the intersection waved them through the lights which were flashing orange.
‘Almost there now, mate,’ Pete said, finally breaking his silence.
They turned right into a tree-lined avenue with parkland on either side. After a few hundred yards, they passed a school before crossing another intersection. Again a policeman stood in the middle of the flashing orange lights and waved them through. After another few hundred yards of parkland, they took a sharp left and drove past an old building on their right. Their bus pulled in behind the bus they had been following. Two police cars with flashing lights were parked at an angle ahead of the first bus.
‘Here you go folks.’ The soldier driving the bus announced. ‘Hopefully you won’t be here too long before this all gets sorted out.’
They waited as seat by seat the bus started to empty. People continued to move as though in a bit of a daze. Jeff hefted his bag and thanked the driver as he debarked, with Pete tight on his heels. As they left the bus they were immediately directed to cross the road in front of it by a waiting police officer.
Directly in front of them was a solid-looking fence with gates wide open. The building to their right had a sign saying ‘Royal Hall of Industries’. A sign in the middle said ‘The Entertainment Quarter’ and the sign to the left said ‘Hordern Pavilion’.
Jeff followed the line of people walking through the gates into a courtyard between the two buildings. After another sixty odd yards, there was another gate which allowed entrance to the rather grand-looking old building.
‘First concert I ever went to was here,’ Pete said. ‘It was the Countdown Music Awards. Moving Pictures played. I loved that band.’
‘I don’t think I’ve ever heard of them,’ Jeff said.
‘I guess not, I don’t think they ever really cracked it overseas.’
A queue was forming at the entrance to the building. As they joined it, Jeff noted that a third bus had pulled up and the first had left. ‘I wonder if they’re going to keep us here long?’ he pondered aloud.
‘I really hope not,’ Pete said. ‘I’d like to get home.’
Jeff suddenly realised that he had talked a lot about his family but hadn’t once asked after Pete’s. ‘Do you have family waiting for you?’ he asked.
‘Just my partner, Chris,’ Pete said.
‘She must be worried sick,’ Jeff said, and remembered
Pete’s phone battery was flat. ‘Do you want to use my phone to call her?’
‘No, don’t worry. Chris was flying today as well. He won’t be landing until tonight,’ Pete said, stressing the ‘he’.
Jeff was oblivious. ‘Truly, if you’d like to use my phone. It’s no problem,’ he said. ‘I don’t think my company will care about any local calls I make here.’
‘I think I’ll wait until we get inside. I should be able to charge my phone in there. Besides—we’re almost in the door,’ Pete observed.
In the short time since they’d joined the queue, they had moved forward until they were at the glass doors in the front of the building. As they walked through the doors, they were met with a long desk set against the far wall of the lobby. It was manned by three men and five women in orange coveralls with ‘SES’ in bold print on the left of their chest.
‘Name please, sir?’ asked the woman in front of Jeff. Jeff noticed Pete was being served at the same time.
‘Jeffrey Holland.’
The woman rapidly typed into a laptop. ‘You’re from Maple Grove Minnesota?’ she asked.
Jeff nodded.
‘Thank you, sir. I have you listed as staying at the Travelodge Old Sydney, the Rocks. Is this correct?’ she asked.
Jeff was impressed. They must have used the details from his arrival card, he wasn’t sure how else they could have picked up the information. ‘Yes, that’s right,’ he said.
‘Okay, sir. At this stage, we’re not sure when you will be transferred to the hotel. There are bunks being laid out if you need to catch up on some sleep. It might be a good idea to grab one early, I suspect they might be in big demand tonight.’
‘Why would I still be here tonight if I have a hotel booked?’ he asked, a little testily.
‘Well sir, someone may be in the hotel that can’t leave,’ the woman explained patiently. ‘You can leave your luggage in the marked off area to the right of the stage. There are catering stations on either side of the hall, bathrooms are behind the catering stations.’ The woman paused to look at Jeff and when he nodded she continued, ‘There’s plenty of seating around the hall. Please listen for announcements.’