Experiment Undead

‘Nate, she’s waking up,’ I hear Oscar shout.

Multiple footsteps crunch against the ground toward me. The palms of my hands burn along with my right cheek. My neck hurts, and it feels hard to breathe. I moan in pain and slowly open my eyes. As they adjust, I feel the warmth of someone’s hands in mine.

I blink a few times, and multiple faces appear around me, Emma, Kate, Nancy, Oscar, Nate, Todd, Carrie and James.

It’s still dark, but it looks as if the sun is about to rise.

I look down to see Oscar holding one hand and Nate holding the other, ‘Penny, you need to drink,’ Nate says and takes the flask from James, ‘It’s just water,’ he assures me as I sniff it.

My lips are so dry they’re flaking. I scull the flask of water within seconds.

‘What happened?’ I ask.

‘You passed out. Most likely from lack of food, water, exhaustion and probably shock. I noticed all the rations we gave you over the last few days were in your bag. Why didn’t you eat?’ Nate asks in a worried tone.

‘I wasn’t purposely starving myself. I knew we didn’t have much food. I was going to share my rations with you all when you ran out of food,’ I explain.

‘Penny, you can’t function if you don’t eat. I know food is scarce right now, but you must look after yourself too,’ he says.

‘I know, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to worry you,’ I say, staring miserably at my shoes.

His eyes soften, ‘How’s your neck? It looks swollen and bruised,’ Nate says.

I gently touch my neck, ‘It hurts. It feels a little hard to breathe, if I was, to be honest. It was Commander Bryant. He held me up with one hand and choked me.’

‘Who’s Commander Bryant?’ Todd asks.

James steps closer to us, ‘He was the man in the helicopter. Half his face was covered in bloodied bandages watching Penny. He was the one in charge of this camp,’ James answers, ‘It wasn’t supposed to be like this. We were meant to help protect the civilians and put fencing up around Rokewood, not the recreation reserve. The people were meant to stay in the houses and any others in tents,’ he explains.

‘Why was he staring at Penny like that?’ Todd asks

‘Yeah, what happened to his face?’ Oscar asks.

James and Nate frown at me. I nod at them to tell the group.

‘Well, you see,’ James begins, ‘Penny slashed his face open with a knife, then I arrived on the scene, and Commander Bryant vanished after that. He must have ordered the soldiers afterwards to find her. That’s why the soldiers were coming at us,’ he says.

‘Woah!’ Oscar says in amazement, ‘That would have been the coolest thing to watch. Man, I wish I was there,’ he says.

‘Yeah, well, I’m glad you weren’t there because it wasn’t as cool as it sounds,’ I say to him, thinking of Lyewood. He was only eighteen, still a boy, but I knew I had no choice. Otherwise, it would be me dead, laying on the floor of that house.

Nate takes the biscuits from my bag and passes them to me, ‘Eat. We’re going to leave soon,’ he says.

I look around and realise we’re still in Rokewood but hidden amongst the trees and bushes where we left Kate and the girls. I notice there are only two horses here, Buddy and Dreamer.

’What happened to Tillie? I ask with a mouth full of biscuits.

Kate frowns, ‘After everyone was freed from the reserve, there were people everywhere. Some came through the trees and found us here with the horses. I tried to fight the group back from taking them, but I had to protect Nancy and Emma. One man managed to get on Tillie, and as others were about to climb onto Buddy and Dreamer, Todd and James arrived and scared them off just in time. Then Nate came up behind them carrying you, with Oscar also by your side,’ Kate says.

‘How long have I been out?’ I ask.

‘About an hour at most,’ Nate frowns.

‘With only two horses and nine of us, I guess that means most of us will be going by foot?’ I say to them.

‘Nope,’ James says, holding up a set of keys, ‘I have an army truck. Whoever doesn’t go on horseback can ride with me,’ he grins.

‘What’s left of Rokewood?’ I ask.

‘Nothing,’ Nate replies, ‘The soulless own it now,’ he adds.

I quietly munch my biscuits but stop when I envision Patricia. Although I’m still hungry. I stop eating. She could still be alive if only she had come with us. Moments before the soulless got Patricia, her face and smile told me she accepted her fate and wanted this. Her love for her husband must have been incredibly strong to want to die with him. I wonder if I will ever experience a love like that when I’m older. I wonder what that love would feel like. But then there’s a possibility I’ll never fall in love, or maybe I don’t want to. What if it makes me weak? Or it gives that person some control over me? I want to stay in charge of myself as it’s always been. The only way I know how to live. The only way I know how to be me.

‘I’ll get the truck,’ James says and walks away.

I notice Oscar is angry. I follow his eye direction to see Carrie and Todd holding hands. They’re smiling and quietly giggling at each other. They walk further away from us. Todd then pulls a rolled-up cigarette from his front shirt pocket and lights it. He shares it with Carrie. The smell of freshly mowed lawn hits me even over the smell of the crap she’s covered in.

I stand and walk over to Oscar, ‘Why did she have to be here in Rokewood?’ Oscar says angrily.

‘Carrie told me she fell off the back of the ute when the bomb dropped and wandered alone for three days until she was found and picked up by soldiers who brought her here,’ I tell him.

‘So, your brother and the others aren’t around here somewhere?’ he asks.

I shake my head and stare at him sadly.

Oscar puts his arm around me and hugs me, ‘We’ll find them, Penny. We’ll find them together,’ he smiles at me endearingly.

The corners of my mouth lift, ‘Thank you, Oscar,’ I say in hope and appreciation.

Oscar looks over my shoulder and frowns, ‘My uncle hasn’t smoked pot or taken any drugs since we last saw Carrie, and now he’s already smoking a joint with her. I would have preferred they run off into the bush and bonk instead, rather than see him stoned again, to be frank,’ he says.

‘Eww,’ I say, scrunching my face.

‘Sorry,’ he says, laughing at my reaction.

The engine of the army truck grabs our attention. Everyone but Todd and Carrie crowds around the vehicle.

’So, who’s going by horse and whose going by truck? Nate asks.

‘My daughters will go in the truck. It will be easier on Nancy’s broken arm rather than riding horseback. Penny, you need to rest too, so you should go with the girls,’ Kate says.

I want to ride Dreamer, but she’s right. I’m struggling to stay awake and need to rest, ‘Okay,’ I reply.

‘I’ll go with you,’ Oscar smiles.

I nod.

‘I don’t think Carrie knows how to ride a horse, and she’ll probably want to stay with Todd. So, they can go in the three front seats with James while the rest of you hop in the back tray. Kate and I will ride the horses,’ Nate says.

‘Can’t the redhead ride in the back?’ James growls, ‘she reeks and is covered in shit,’ he says.

‘If you haven’t forgotten,’ Nate says, looking James up and down, ‘You fell in the shit yourself, so you can both stink together in the front,’ Nate smirks.

Oscar, Nancy, Emma and I burst into giggles and laughter.

James mutters obscenities under his breath and gets in the driver’s seat.

‘Penny,’ Nate says, ‘We should clean the scrapes on your hands and cheek first,’ he says.

James whistles. Nate looks over to see James dangling a first aid kit out his door. He grabs it, brings it back to me, and opens a bottle of saline solution, ‘Open your hands,’ he says.

I wince as he rinses my hand off and pulls a tiny rock out with tweezers from my left hand. I then bite my bottom lip before Nate starts to wrap a bandage around the palms of my hands.

‘Here, I’ll clean the scrape on your cheek,’ Oscar says eagerly.

Nate narrows his eyes at Oscar, but Oscar grabs the other saline bottle and

helps anyway.

Once we’re all in the back, Nate hops on Dreamer and trots over to Carrie and Todd to get them in the vehicle.

Kate hops on Buddy, and they gallop a couple of metres behind us as we drive up Colac-Ballarat Road.

We stop at Corindhap. Nate wanted to take James to scavenge the houses for food. The problem is there are people already here. I recognise a bus from Rokewood and a couple of army trucks.

‘I recognise some of them,’ Carrie says through the window behind her. ’They were in the recreation reserve with me. They would have only gotten here in the last hour or so.

There’s a large dam full of people washing themselves.

James stares at Nate, ‘I don’t think they’ll hand over any food. They’ve eaten less than us, having been starved in that camp.’

‘You’re right. We will keep going then. I don’t want a fight on our hands,’ Nate replies.

As James starts the truck, people exit the houses and approach slowly. Some are freshly washed, while others are still covered in bodily fluids. A few have guns they have taken from the dead soldiers, while others arm themselves with tools from the sheds.

A tall man stands six feet tall, towering over most people beside him. His hair is thick and unkempt, hanging in greasy strands around his face. His eyes are small and beady, darting between us with intense energy. His uneven teeth jut out from his mouth at odd angles, giving him a menacing and intimidating appearance. As he shouts, spittle flies from his lips and lands on those around him. ‘Leave the truck and the horses and keep going!’ he shouts.

‘Not going to happen, Mate,’ Nate replies. ‘We don’t want anything. We are only passing through and will keep going to the next town,’ he adds.

The man’s nose is crooked and appears to have been broken more than once. It’s slightly swollen and sits off-centre on his face. He wipes his nose with his arm and steps closer, aiming a rifle at Nate, ‘You can keep going to the next town. When you step out of the truck and hop off the horses,’ he says sternly.

‘Damn it,’ Oscar says. ‘What do we do?’

I grab the rifle at my feet and stand, aiming at the man.

James and Todd aim their guns at the other people while Nate slowly raises his hands.

The man laughs, ‘Check out that kid, will you? She probably doesn’t even know how to use the weapon,’ he says.

The people behind him laugh until I take the safety off and pull the charging handle.

Nate smiles at them, ‘Don’t let her age fool you,’ he says, giving them a twisted grin. ‘Let’s all calm down and talk this through,’ Nate suggests. ‘We don’t want any trouble, and we’re not here to cause any.’

The man hesitates but eventually nods his head. ‘Fine, take your truck and horses but leave your weapons here,’ he orders.

Nate shakes his head. ‘Not going to happen. We need our weapons for protection. They’ll be staying with us.’

The man glares at us, but he knows even if they shoot and kill us, some of the people with him will also perish. He lowers his rifle and gestures for us to go.

As we continue on our journey, tension fills the truck. We all know that encounters like this could happen again, and we must be prepared for them.

‘I don’t like the idea of using violence, but we need to protect ourselves,’ Kate says, breaking the silence.

‘I agree,’ Nate replies. ‘We need to do whatever it takes to survive.’

The rest of the journey is quiet, with occasional small talk and laughter to break the tension. As we approach the tiny town of Dereel, Nate instructs us to keep our guard up.

‘We don’t know what’s out there, so keep your eyes peeled,’ he says.

We pull up and immediately notice the lack of activity. The milk bar is closed, and there’s no sign of life.

‘This place looks deserted,’ Todd comments.

Nate nods, ‘We need to be careful.’

James and Nate go together to scavenge for food and supplies. While the rest of us wait with the horses and truck. Todd and I hold rifles, scanning the area for any soulless or if anyone tries to ambush us. My vision is a little blurry due to a lack of sleep, so I struggle to focus.

Meanwhile, James smashes the milk bar door open and gathers supplies.

As they load up their bags, they hear the sound of footsteps outside.

‘Someone’s coming,’ Nate whispers.

‘Stay quiet,’ James whispers.

The back door to the store creaks open, and they see two men enter. They look around the store, scanning the two small aisles.

‘Let’s grab what we can and go,’ one of the men says.

Nate and James grip their rifles tightly, ready to defend themselves if necessary.

The men turn the corner and see them, their eyes widening in surprise.

‘What are you doing here?’ one of them asks.

‘We’re here for supplies,’ James replies, trying to keep his voice steady.

The men exchange a look, and Nate can see the uncertainty in their eyes. After a moment, they nod.

‘It’s not safe here. My wife is pregnant, which is his sister,’ he says, pointing at the guy beside him.

‘It’s not safe anywhere anymore,’ Nate says to them. ‘Look, there’s plenty of food here for all of us. Grab a plastic bag from behind the counter, pack the food you need for your wife and yourselves, and then get out of here,’ he says.

The unarmed men nod at Nate with gratitude and fill two bags with food before hastily leaving the store.

Nate and James sling the backpacks full of food over their shoulders and grabbing whatever they can carry before returning to the truck.

Nate throws me a packet of plain chips and a small bottle of lemonade. ‘Yes!’ I say excitedly and hug the chips.

I jump down from the truck and hug Nate with gratitude, ‘I knew they were your favourite snack,’ he smiles.

As Nate and James hands everyone else out snacks, and as I open my chips, I drop them as Carrie squeals, ‘Does that sign say there’s a Lagoon two hundred metres up the road?’ she says, her eyes shimmering with hope.

‘Apparently so,’ Nate smiles and nods at the sign.

I grab Nancy’s good arm, and our eyes beam happily into each other’s.

‘All right then. Keep guard of the truck and horses,’ Nate laughs. ‘James and I will check a few houses along the way and clear out any soulless. Then we can go to the lagoon,’ he says.

I pick my chips up off the ground and blow the dirt off the few that fell out of the packet before munching them down.

James and Nate searched two houses along the way and return with a few cans of food, some clothing and a couple of blankets. We reach the Lagoon surrounded by an abundance of trees, and there is only one house across the road from it.

‘Let’s check this house. If it’s clear, we can stay here the night and figure out what to do tomorrow,’ Nate says.

James pulls up in the driveway, and the horses are led to a small enclosed paddock in the backyard. I spot a koala in a nearby eucalyptus tree, munching on the leaves.

As we approach the house, its weatherboard and cream-coloured exterior come into view. The tin roof glimmers in the sunlight, and the wooden porch creaks slightly as we walk up the steps to the door. The house looks like it has weathered many storms, with its peeling paint and worn-out shutters.

I push open the front door, and a musty smell hits my nostrils. The inside of the house is dimly lit, with only a few rays of sunlight filtering through the dusty windows. The furniture is old and worn, and cobwebs hang from the ceiling corners.

‘Looks like nobody’s been here for a while,’ James says, his voice echoing in the empty room.

We all fan out, checking the rooms for signs of life or resources. I push open a bedroom door, ‘Hello? is anyone here?’ I ask out loud.

There’s no answer. I step inside slowly and look around. Nate, James and Oscar are right behind me, checking other rooms. I walk across the dusty floorboards to the other end of the house and open the closed main bedroom door.

An odour that smells worse than Carrie hits me. I cover my mouth as I see a couple who had become infected, sitting on the floor in front of the bed side by side. Each has a bullet hole through their head, and maggots crawl in and out of their eye sockets and decomposed mouths.

My face softens as I see whoever killed them put their hands in each other’s hands. Whoever shot them must have known they were probably a couple or married.

‘What’s that smell?’ Nate says, approaching from behind me.

He stares at the decomposed infected bodies, ‘They’ve been dead for some time,’ he says.

‘We should bury them. I think it would be the right thing to do,’ I say, turning to Nate.

‘It would be easier to burn them out the back,’ Nate says.

‘No, I want to bury them,’ I reply.

Nate stares at me in thought, ‘If it makes you happen, then I’ll check the shed for a shovel,’ he says.

‘Thank you,’ I nod in appreciation.