Where The Dead Men Lie (The Secret Apocalypse) (2 page)

"What do you think this means?" I asked.
 
"Beware the black smoke? It was on the sign we saw the other day as well."

"Not sure," Daniel said. "Could be nuclear fallout."

"Is nuclear fallout black?"

"A few days after the attack on Hiroshima, back in World War Two, there was a black rain," Kenji said. "It was radioactive. Maybe the fallout has combined with smoke and ash from the fires in the cities and maybe the dust storm."

"Yeah it’s possible," Daniel said. "Be on the lookout for it."

The other warning signs simply read:

Do not proceed. Viral contagions ahead. Turn back immediately.

The military has been authorized to use deadly force.

Now that I look back, I realize we were in way over our heads. We hadn’t even made it halfway and we were already starving and dying of thirst. We were getting desperate and careless. But there was no turning back. We had no choice but to push on. So that’s exactly what we did. We kept walking to the next town. We kept rationing our water.

Unfortunately towns were few and far between. And it was always the same old story. The smaller towns were empty. No people, no food. Nothing. The bigger towns on the other hand were full.

 
Full of danger, full of death, full of infected.

At the intersection, with the warning signs we made the desperate and stupid decision to head south, closer to the bigger towns and the major cities. Hopefully we would find a town that had supplies. We knew it was a long shot; we knew there would be more infected the closer we got to the population centers but we had no choice.

Risk vs. reward.

Life vs. death.

Chapter 2

I remember when I first moved to Sydney. I had just become friends with Jack and Maria. Maria had invited me over to her place for a pool party. She had this awesome infinity pool that looked out over Sydney harbor. I was so mesmerized by the view that I forgot to put on sun block. Approximately thirty minutes later I was sun burnt to a crisp. I looked like a freakin lobster. Jack called me ‘Pinchy’ who was apparently Homer’s pet lobster in an episode of ‘The Simpsons’. For days, I was red, and dehydrated. For days my skin was on fire.

I never wanted to feel like that ever again. But as I walked across the Australian desert, that’s exactly how I felt. Constantly burning, my skin on fire. Dehydrated. Thirsty.

We were all lobsters.

A few days after we decided to head south we found an abandoned cop car. The trunk and the back seat were packed full with guns and ammunition.

We picked up hand guns, a shot gun and another two rifles.

We each had a rifle now. Daniel took the shot gun.

With the exception of Maria, who never really looked comfortable holding a gun, we were starting to look more and more like soldiers. In my mind we were a crack team of warriors on a mission to save the world.

Yeah, out in the desert, it’s easy to lose yourself in day dreams and stupid fantasies.

The guns and ammo were a great find. But ultimately it was another sign that society in this part of the world had crumbled.

To make sure we could all use the guns we had found, Daniel and Kenji decided to teach Jack and Maria and myself how to shoot properly. The shotgun kicked like a damn horse. Jack wasn't holding it properly this one time and he nearly dislocated his shoulder. We were all a lot more careful after that.

And we had to be careful with our ammo supply as well. We argued about whether or not we should even practice shooting. After all, ammunition was a precious commodity.

The problem was, at their present skill level; Jack and Maria were pretty useless with a gun. If it came down to it, and either one of them was forced to use a rifle to protect themselves or the group, it would basically be a waste of ammo.

I was a little better than those two but not by much. So I was glad for the extra practice.

But we still had to be cautious. As a result, lessons were few and far between. I mean, maybe we should’ve saved every last bullet for when the time came. But in the end we decided it was better if we all got some shooting practice under our belts. Five shooters are better than two, right?

The trick was to make every bullet count. I hope we did.

The next day after we found the abandoned cop car we came to a fuel station that had been completely cleared out. The fuel station had all the familiar signs of a panic brought on by disaster. Bare shelves inside the store, broken windows, abandoned cars. Hastily written cardboard signs that read, ‘No Fuel’.

We were just about to move on, when Kenji found a luxury SUV parked around the back of the store.

The driver’s door was wide open. The key was in the ignition. The left turn signal was flashing on and off. It looked like whoever had been driving it, had only just left.

We decided to wait around to see if anyone returned. But by late afternoon, when the sun began to set, it was obvious no one was coming back.

It was a nice SUV. It had leather seats, cruise control. It even had DVD players and TV screens built into the back of the seats. And for a minute it looked like we would be able to drive to Daniel's camp in luxurious air conditioned comfort. But we had only driven about hundred miles down the road when the car just died on us. Weird thing was, the tank was practically full.

The damn thing just stopped working.

The guys, Daniel, Jack and Kenji popped the hood and had a look at the engine. Maria and I had a look as well. Not that we knew anything about cars. I was hoping to see a giant 'on/off' switch. "Oh there's the problem. It was turned off."

But unfortunately there was no switch. There wasn’t even any smoke or steam.

Daniel shook his head. "Doesn't make sense."

"I knew this was a bad idea," Jack said. "These luxury SUV's aren't designed to last in the outback."

"If you knew this was a bad idea why didn’t you say anything before?" Maria replied.

Daniel tried key in the ignition one more time. But there was no sign of life. It was then he noticed the display monitor on his NBC suit was dead as well. I had given my suit to Maria, because we figured she was more valuable than me. She needed the protection of the suit more than anyone. I told her to check the display panel located near her left wrist. She said it was out. Blank. She held up her wrist and showed me.

No more cloaking device. No more GPS. We were now travelling blind.

Kenji looked to the sky, turning slowly in a circle. He studied each section of blue sky extremely carefully.

"What are you looking for?" I asked.

"A mushroom cloud."

"Huh?"

"A mushroom cloud. From an explosion."

"Like a bomb blast?"

"Yeah."

"You think the car broke down because of a nuclear EMP?" Daniel said.

"It would make sense."

"Nuclear EMP?" Jack asked. "What’s that?"

"When a nuclear bomb is detonated, it produces and electromagnetic pulse," Kenji answered. "Knocks out all electronic devices in the area."

Jack suddenly looked very worried. He put his hands up to his eyes and scanned the horizon for any signs of a nuclear explosion.

"Do you think that’s the reason the car stopped working?" I asked.

Kenji shrugged his shoulders. "I don’t know. I can’t see any evidence of a mushroom cloud. Maybe Jack was right. Maybe luxury SUV’s aren’t designed to last in the outback."

We didn’t know it at the time but this was just the beginning of our troubles.

In two days time we would run out food.

A day after that we would run out of water.

We would be forced to raid a town crawling with infected.

Yep. Things were going from bad to worse in a real hurry.

Chapter 3

We spent the night in the SUV. The next morning we continued our journey. We had only walked about ten miles before we came to a driveway that led to a two story, mansion of a farmhouse.

We had been travelling on the road for just over a week. And by Daniel’s estimate we had travelled about three hundred miles. A combination of driving, walking and running. He said we’d earned ourselves a break. The farmhouse would be a good place to rest for a day or two.

"Nuh uh. No way," Maria said.

"Why not?" I asked.

"Look at it."

The house had two levels. It was painted white. It stood on top of a small hill. A dirt driveway led all the way from the road to the house. Next to the house was a barn.

"Looks like a regular old farmhouse," I said.

"No. it looks anything but normal. It looks haunted. It looks like the house out of the ‘Texas Chainsaw Massacre’. I am not going in there."

"Don’t be silly."

"Hey that big dude," Jack said. "‘Leather Face’ or whatever his name is. His chainsaw would’ve come in real handy back at that supermarket we tried to raid last week."

"Don’t even joke about the guy with the chainsaw," Maria said.

"Fine," he said. "You can stay out here."

She didn’t like that idea either.

I must admit, after Maria mentioned the Texas Chainsaw movie, the house did start to look creepy in my mind. But it was a two story mansion of a house. It would be a perfect place to rest up. Provided it was empty.

Like I said earlier, in these situations we sent in the trained professionals. Jack, Maria and I stayed out near the road, out in the open so we could see any dangers coming from a distance. Kenji and Daniel moved up the driveway with their rifles shouldered and ready for action.

As they got closer to the house, they made noise to draw out any infected that were possibly hiding inside. Or any survivors.

We hadn’t found any other survivors yet.

They checked the house and the garage and the barn. It actually took awhile because it was so big. But eventually they called us up. The house was empty.

It was a rough and rustic looking farmhouse. Probably more than a hundred years old. Jack said the corridors and hallways were so huge they could’ve played indoor cricket inside.

We gathered in the kitchen to see if there was any food but unfortunately the cupboards were bare.

Spread out on the kitchen table was
a map of the area. It looked like the previous occupants had planned an escape route before they left.

Smart people.

Next to the map were a few letters.

One of the letters was from the government.
The letter was an official warning about a ‘possible’ viral outbreak. It also listed precautions to take.

It read:

Wash hands regularly.

Cover mouth and nose when coughing or sneezing.

Avoid people acting aggressive.

Report any violent or unusual behavior.

Stay indoors when possible.

Do not go outside at night.

Quarantine and isolate any sick family members.

The next letter mentioned the nationwide quarantine. It gave instructions for an evacuation.

The locations of the military safe zones.

One of the notes was handwritten.

It read:

Jim,

Don’t know if you will ever read this, but I thought I’d better warn you about the biker gangs that have started showing up in these parts. Apparently they are moving out of the cities and looking for camping sites out here.

I haven’t actually seen any gangs yet but word on the grapevine says they’ve started acting more and more violent. Ever since the police station closed and the police officers were sent down to Melbourne and Adelaide to help with the quarantine.

Anyway, better to be safe than sorry, right?

Also, I thought you should know that tomorrow we are leaving for Hope. Father Damon is offering shelter, food and water at the church there. So that’s where we’ll be.

Good luck mate.

Ed.

Below the main letter was another note written in different handwriting.

P.S. Jim, if we’re not back by Monday could you check up on Princess Cinnamon. We let her out in the back paddock.

Thanks. Sarah.

Kenji had a closer look at the note and then handed it to Daniel. "Biker gangs. What do you think?"

"Doesn’t surprise me. People become aggressive in these types of situations."

"These types of situations?" I asked.

"Yeah. Survival. Self-preservation. These are strong motivators. People will do whatever it takes. Their behavior becomes extreme in extreme circumstances."

"So you’re saying people will become dangerous?"

"Sometimes. It’s a survival mechanism. Only the strong survive."