by Tony Thomas
Lincoln turned to see the zombie that had been following them was only a few steps away. He lifted his bag and said, ‘Come on, Lara, let’s go,’ and started to run. As soon as they both started moving, the zombie made a moaning sound that was amazingly loud. It was answered by a roar from the other side of the river in Boat Quay. Within seconds, a dozen fast moving zombies had started to run across the bridge.
‘Oh fuck!’ Lincoln said.
Lara said nothing, she just put her head down and tried to run faster. She could see Mick had made it to the bumboat. He was fighting someone as he tried to climb onto the boat. As she ran she saw him club the other person in the side of the head and push him into the water. Chris had just thrown his bag onto the boat. Lara heard a scream from behind. She kept running, but slowed as she looked over her shoulder. Lincoln had been tackled by three runners who were beating him viciously. The slow-moving zombie was nearly on him. Other runners were still chasing her.
‘Oh shit, oh shit,’ Lara panted as she tried to run faster towards the bumboat. It had pushed out into the river. Chris was holding it close to the bank with a mooring line while Mick was in the main cabin. She saw a puff of smoke as the engine came to life.
‘Come on Lara, You can do it!’ Chris yelled.
Lara had about 20 metres to go when the first zombie tackled her from behind. She saw Chris let go of the mooring rope as the boat pulled away from the dock. Mercifully, the second zombie smashed her head to the pavement, knocking her out.
13:00 AEST: Sydney
Dan checked Piotr’s video link. There was no movement now. And nothing to show what had happened. He heard what sounded like an argument coming from the lounge room, so he quickly walked back to see what was happening.
‘Joanne, enough is enough. I can’t take any more of your shit,’ Gen said. Dan was a little surprised, but then he hadn’t been sitting with Joanne as long as Gen had.
‘What are you talking about, Gen?’ Joanne said. ‘What have I done?’
‘We told you to cut the religious crap. Every time there’s any report on the news you come out with a “Praise the Lord” or “Jesus, Preserve Us”. I’ve had a gutful. I can’t take it anymore.’
Jo started to say, ‘But I. . .’
‘Gen, we can’t send her out. It’ll kill her,’ Dan interrupted.
‘I know, but since she can’t stop herself from making those damn platitudes, we can make her stay downstairs. At least that way she can be safe and I don’t have to listen to anymore religious shit. She prayed over her sandwich for Christ’s sake.’
‘Gen, I can’t help it. I always say grace before a meal,’ Joanne responded. ‘You said I didn’t have to stop believing, and please, don’t blaspheme.’
‘You can believe whatever you want. You can even say grace if you want. Just don’t say it aloud, kneeling, and asking your “god to forgive the sinners who are protecting you”!’
‘She didn’t?’ Dan asked.
‘She most certainly did,’ Gen said. ‘In the most insulting terms possible.’
‘Jo, we’ve been more than reasonable letting you back in. But this is it. You have to stay downstairs. On top of that I don’t trust you as far as I could kick you so I am going to lock all the doors down there so you can’t sneak off and let those zombies in.’
‘But, Dan!’ Jo burst, starting to sob, ‘that’s like putting me in prison for my faith.’
‘No, Jo, it’s got nothing to do with your faith, but in your pig-headed insistence on ramming it down our throats. Sorry—but it has to be this way.’ Dan stood and walked downstairs. He locked both the outer screen and sliding glass door, then the windows, and finally the dead lock on the laundry. When Dan was satisfied the room was reasonably escape proof, he climbed back up the stairs.
‘Religious persecution is a terrible sin. I’ll pray for you both,’ Jo was still ranting. ‘You need Christ in your lives. He has kept me safe and he’ll keep you safe.’
‘Jo, the room is ready for you. There’s a bathroom, a couch, and a TV. It’s a long way from persecution, but if that’s what you think, fine.’ Dan stood at the head of the stairs and indicated the way down, ‘After you.’
Jo slowly rose from the lounge, ‘I am sorry you find the love of Jesus offensive. I will be praying for you to come to the light of Christ.’ Jo walked past Dan and descended the stairs.
Gen waited until she was out of sight before saying, ‘Truly, Dan. She was impossible. She knew it was pissing me off and she kept on going. If we could send her away I would.’
‘I hear you Gen. I don’t understand why she would keep doing that when she knew it was bothering you. I just hope she doesn’t try and do anything stupid.’ Dan went and sat next to Gen on the lounge. ‘I checked on Piotr, still no sign of him. Twitter says that all the US networks are down or broadcasting the emergency warning system. Ian is still fine. I guess the time has come to just settle down and wait it out.’
‘I guess so. Maybe you should try to get some sleep now?’
‘Maybe.’
13:00 AEST: Randwick
Pete had watched the attack on the street from the bedroom window. His view had been unimpeded by the blinds, and his angle had been slightly different. He had seen the man recover from his beating, before joining the attack on his wife. Pete decided he needed to talk to Chris. He dialled his mobile with little hope that he would get through. To his surprise, it answered almost immediately.
‘Pete, you’re okay?’
‘I guess so. We just saw an attack though. A man was mobbed and beaten, then he changed and attacked his wife. I’ve never seen anything like it.’
‘I thought you were at the quarantine centre? Did infected get in?’
‘Yes and no. Uh, I decided I didn’t feel safe at the quarantine centre. There was some sort of dust up and I decided to get out. A seppo I met on the plane and I jumped the fence and took off through Centennial Park towards Randwick. By the time we were near the Duck Pond, the government decided to bomb the Hordern. Fortunately, we were far enough away for it not be a problem, but it was pretty sketchy.’
‘They bombed the quarantine centre! Bloody hell, I didn’t think they’d do something like that.’
‘We saw a news report that said there was an outbreak there, and they were trying to control it.’
‘How did you see a news report?’ Chris sounded confused. Pete thought he could hear an engine in the background but wasn’t sure.
‘After the explosion, we went to Brett’s house. It was the closest place I could think of where I could get transport.’
‘Well yeah, Randwick is pretty close to the Hordern. Did you borrow his car?’
‘That was my plan, but then Jeff, that’s the seppo, talked me into staying here. I didn’t realise that Brett’s place had bars on all the windows and doors. It’s like a fucking fortress. We caught the news report on TV when we got here.’
‘I never noticed the bars on his windows. So that’s good, you’re safe then?’
‘Well kinda. Apparently the bomb killed a whole pile of people, but it didn’t kill all of them. Now there’s packs of people running the streets. That’s when I saw the bloke attack his wife. Did I say she was pregnant? One of the sickos was trying to rip her belly open.’
‘Oh, mate. That’s messed up!’
‘Tell me about it,’ Pete said. ‘Anyway, the news report said that almost the whole world is fucked. New Zealand’s the only uninfected country. The PM is building a fence around Sydney to hold the zombies in. I’m stuck inside a zombie zone and I doubt we’ll ever get out.’
‘Listen, Pete, Mick and I are on a boat, we’re going to make it back!’
‘What happened to Linc and Lara?’
‘They didn’t make it.’ Chris paused. ‘We had to run for it and they were caught and attacked. Mick and I just made it onto a bumboat. Mick is driving us down the river to the harbour. We’ll get on a bigger boat and then head home.’
‘Chris, I
hate to say this, but I’m not sure I’ll be still around when you get here. The zombies are attacking houses. We’ve got buckley’s.’
‘I am not giving up on getting home, Pete. I’ll be with you as soon as I can.’
‘I know you’ll keep trying, Chris. But just in case. I love you. You’re the best thing that’s happened to me. If those fuckers in the government had let us get married I would have married you in Australia years ago. I’m just glad we could marry in NZ,’ Pete paused. Jeff had walked into the room while he was speaking. He looked a little surprised at the conversation but didn’t say anything.
‘I love you too, Pete. I’m glad you’re my husband. I am coming home. I’ll be there as soon as I can.’
‘Alright, mate. This is getting soppy. I’ll hold on as long as I can. If we leave here I’ll text you where I’m going, and just in case I’ll leave a message on our answering machine and on the fridge here. Okay?’
‘Okay, Pete. Stay strong. See you soon.’
‘See you, lover,’ Pete said, and hung up. He looked at Jeff, who had his phone to his ear. ‘Is your boy okay?’
‘He’s not answering,’ Jeff said, looking broken.
13:15 AEST: Sydney
‘What the fuck was that?’ Dan blurted, running back into the lounge room.
‘It was definitely glass breaking,’ Gen said. ‘You don’t think that stupid bitch is doing a runner again?’
‘I don’t know what else it can be.’ Dan walked to the front door and picked up the rifle. ‘I’m not going down there without a gun, just in case.’
Gen frowned, but didn’t argue. They both walked quickly down the stairs. Dan held his hand up, ‘Stay back, okay? Let me see what it is before you come in.’
‘For goodness sake, Dan!’ Gen argued, before taking a step back and letting Dan have his way.
Dan held the gun by the grip with his right hand, as he slowly opened the door with his left. When it was open enough to look through he suddenly said, ‘Oh shit!’ and let the rifle grip go, leaving it hanging on its strap before rushing into the room.
Gen followed closely, then stopped, aghast. Joanne had smashed the mirror on the bathroom cabinet. She had taken a shard and rammed it into her throat. She was bleeding out on the bathroom floor. Dan had dropped the rifle to the floor and was rushing forward to help her.
‘Dan, don’t touch her!’ Gen screamed.
Dan stopped moving, turned to Gen and said, ‘Why?’
Gen came and stood next to Dan, looking at the pool of blood growing around Joanne. ‘She might be infected, we don’t know for sure. Maybe that’s why she carried on the way she did, maybe that’s why she killed herself.’
Joanne’s skin had started to turn grey from lack of blood. Gen noticed that the pool had reached the drain in the bathroom floor and started to flow away.
‘That wasn’t on the list of symptoms they gave us, Gen,’ Dan said. Joanne was no longer moving. Her eyes were open and unblinking. Dan was sure that if she wasn’t already dead she was very close to it.
‘I know, but she kept getting irrational. Surely that’s a sign that she was sick. God, I feel dirty. Like I need to scrub my hands with bleach or something to make sure I don’t have any germs from her on me.’
Dan nodded. ‘I know how you feel. Look, we’re going to have to clean this up. I’m not sure why I’m not horrified by this, but after seeing those other corpses I guess I’m getting used to it. I’ll get a bucket of water with bleach in it and we can wash our hands. Then we’ll grab a couple of garbage bags and put her in them before we clean the floor. I guess we throw her body over the side fence where the other bodies are.’
Gen started walking to the laundry at the other side of the downstairs room. Dan slowly followed, picking the rifle up as he walked past it. As Gen reached the laundry door, she turned slightly and looked back at Dan. ‘Jesus fucking Christ! She’s moving!’
Dan turned to see what Gen was talking about. Joanne was sitting up. As Dan watched she slowly looked up and caught sight of them. Jo’s face contorted into a snarl, then she drew her legs in and started to climb to her feet. Dan aimed the rifle at her and pulled the trigger. Nothing happened.
Joanne started to stand but slipped on her blood. As she staggered, Dan pressed the white button above the grip, releasing the safety catch. He aimed the rifle at Jo’s head and pulled the trigger. The rifle jerked and made three load bangs as he watched Joanne’s head explode with the close range impacts. She slumped to the floor.
15:15 SST (13:15 AEST): Singapore
As the bumboat neared Marina Bay, Mick said, ‘Chris, I’m fucked. I think that bastard infected me.’
‘What do you mean?’ Chris asked, although he knew that Mick had fought the man that was still on the boat when they boarded. They were both sitting in the front of the bumboat, inside the tourist cabin.
‘I’m not feeling right, mate. That boatman was infected. I’m starting to feel crook and I think I must have caught it.’
‘Are you sure?’ Chris said. ‘It’s been at least twenty minutes. Everyone else changed really fast.’
‘I don’t know, mate. I just know I feel really crook.’
‘Alright. I haven’t got a fucking clue what to do about this. I guess you should just keep your distance eh?’
Mick coughed heavily. ‘I guess so. Listen, if I do turn, I’m happy for you to push me overboard. I don’t want to turn into one of those fuckers.’
‘Oh shit, Mick. This totally sucks. We wouldn’t have got to this boat without you.’
‘Shit happens, mate,’ Mick said. He let go of the controls but the boat kept moving slowly forward. ‘I think you’d better get ready to knock me overboard.’
‘You’re kidding me, Mick. I can’t do that.’
Mick was fading fast. He was sagging against the side of the cabin and rapidly losing consciousness.
Chris started to move towards him then checked himself. ‘Mick, are you okay?’
Mick seemed to have passed out. He was slumped against the back of the seat, not moving. The boat continued moving forward past Marina Bay towards the Singapore Strait. Chris could see zombies walking straight into the bay as they came towards the noise. The boat was slightly off course and looked like it would run aground before they made it out of the entrance to the bay.
Chris knew he had to do something. He decided that he had no choice but to move Mick. He bent to grab his weapon just in case Mick turned. As he removed the desk leg from his bag, he heard Mick cough again. He looked up and said, ‘Are you right, mate?’
Mick turned at Chris’ voice. He stared at Chris with a hungry look in his eyes. Mick let out a roar as he surged towards Chris, hands out and ready to tear him apart. As Mick tried to stand he tripped on his bag which had been sitting on the floor beside him. Chris swung the heavy desk leg as hard as he could at Mick’s head but missed and hit him in the shoulder. Mick’s momentum carried him forward and down, and he fell to the deck. Chris swung again, this time hitting Mick in the temple with a meaty thunk. Mick slumped back to the deck. Chris swung again and again, pulping Mick’s head. He was sobbing as he swung the heavy club.
A jarring shock ran through the boat as it collided with the pier at Marina Barrage. Chris looked up in horror as a group of fast moving zombies ran onto the boat. He stood and raised his club as they surged into the cabin of the boat.
14:15 AEST: Lady Fuller Park
Brick stumbled on his way through the thick bush. His fall down the escarpment from Panorama house had done some damage, tearing skin and breaking bones in his arms as well as some ribs. His head was undamaged despite multiple cuts and scrapes. Brick felt no pain as he pushed through the dense scrub. All he felt was a primal drive to feed.
Brick wandered downhill until he came to a fire trail that crossed his path. It was easier to walk on the trail than through the bush, so he continued along it as it made its way down the steep slope. He stumbled occasionally, but managed to keep his feet
.
The gate at the end of the fire trail was low, and out of Brick’s direct line of site. He walked straight into it, toppling at the waist and tumbling over the gate. Brick slowly climbed back to his feet, then continued his shambling walk down the hill along what was now a paved road, Phillip Street in Thirroul, a suburb of Wollongong, the city to the south of Sydney. When the road levelled out, he continued on his way, the path was blocked on both sides by parked cars.
14:30 AEST: Sydney
Dan had almost lost what little he had to eat while he cleaned up the mess of Joanne’s death. He had worn safety glasses and one of the dust masks that he used for sanding and painting, as well as two layers of rubber gloves soaked in bleach. He had crammed Joanne’s body into a doubled up heavy duty garbage bag, then dragged and carried it out to his backyard. He had briefly considered throwing Joanne back over the fence into her yard but decided against it, that fence was impossibly high. Instead he dumped it in a corner of his yard, depending on how things panned out he would try to bury it later.
It had taken a lot of rags and almost all of their bleach, but he had cleaned up the bathroom and the floor of the downstairs room. Dan removed all of the blood and other mess he could find. He put all the rags into another garbage bag, and tossed it over the side fence into Joanne’s yard.
After finishing the cleaning, Dan came back upstairs. Gen was dialling her phone over and over.
‘What’s wrong Gen?’ Dan asked.
‘Rita’s not answering. Neither are her kids.’
‘She might be in a dead zone,’ Dan paused, rethinking his words, ‘I mean she might be in a no signal zone.’
‘I don’t think so Dan. Last time we went down the coast there were only a couple of spots with no signal. I’ve been trying for the last half hour.’
‘I guess you should just keep trying then, Gen. She’s bound to pick up soon,’ Dan said. Almost on queue his phone rang. Dan looked before answering—it was a private number. ‘Dan speaking.’