January 25th Year 1 A.Z.
morning
When I awoke this morning, the first thing I did was check with The Twin, on the roof, as to whether she could see anything interesting. I relieved my bladder into the dirt as she replied that there was movement behind us, too indistinct to be sure it is the Dead horde, but there was nothing else back there. She estimated two, maybe three hours until we would definitely have to leave. Further along the road, on the other hand, she had spotted smoke, a column rising up to the heavens. I was about to call everybody out when I realised that The Colonel stood next to me. I asked her opinion.
“The two heavy machine guns up on the roof, your four close quarters people standing behind the bus. Your expert archer girl also up on the roof, but keeping watch the other way is a far better use of her time.” The Colonel began. “Obviously there are far too many of them to hope to kill them all here, but you will make a dent. Close quarters people also armed with guns, naturally. Need to get a few before they get too close for comfort, after all. I'll be supporting the archer on the roof, maybe even act as runner if she spots anything out there.”
noon
The Dead came onwards, closer with each step. I checked my .45, all in working order, safety off, fully loaded, several spare clips in my pockets. Apocalypse Girl, Junior and Biker joined me at the rear of the bus. Taking my cue, they too checked their firearms, Junior flushing with embarrassment upon discovering that he still had the safety on. We spread out, took a few steps forward and raised our weapons.
Archer and Copper opened up first, shredding the front ranks of the Dead, making some of them explode over their fellows. The oncoming Dead fell to pieces as round after round of heavy fire blasted them. But still, they continued their relentless, shambling charge. The overwhelming firepower from the two on the bus roof was not remotely enough to halt this glacial charge of Death.
Apocalypse Girl opened up first, followed quickly by Junior and Biker. I just shrugged and opened up at approximate head-height, knowing that I'd probably at least hit something. They came ever closer, each step seeming as though their numbers had grown exponentially.
All I could hear was the thunder of gunfire, as Dead fell apart from massive trauma. I felt a tugging on my arm, panicked and fell backwards, thrusting my weapon at whatever was attacking me. Luckily The Colonel was short enough that the bullet went flying over her head. She shouted in my face that there were more Dead approaching from the other direction. My eyes followed her finger and I saw a much smaller group of Dead shambling towards us, an arrow sprouting from the head of one as it fell while I watched. I grabbed hold of Apocalypse Girl, dragging her back towards the bus. Archer and Copper were descending from the roof, having lowered their guns down first, and The Colonel took the driver's seat, starting the engine as Junior and Biker flew through the door.
We fled the scene, over the Dead approaching from in front, only a few of those, really, but even one Dead can be a problem, if nobody knows about it. This time, the rear view was one of brutality and bloodshed. We had most certainly taken a toll on them this time. I smiled, but my glee was short lived, as the gap, bloody and wide though it had been, was swallowed by a horde of hungry Dead. We had done plenty of damage to them this time, that much was true, yet now it looked as though we had hardly made a dent. The Colonel sped up and the horde fell behind out of view.
evening
After eating, The Colonel and I began discussing our further options. She seemed to have broken out of whatever prison of self-doubt and loathing she had built for herself in the wake of her commands' demise. Apparently she had indeed been in direct contact with her superiors in Canberra, and had passed on my theory on the weather change, and as such was keen as mustard to hurry on up and get there. However, there was a large army reserve barracks just outside of Melbourne. It lay, in fact, almost directly on our path.
Apocalypse Girl was smiling slightly at the validation of her idea to head to Canberra, but was all for stopping off to gather more supplies. As it was though, we were still a very, very long way from our goal. Copper pointed out that we would need more fuel in a day or two. The Colonel nodded, saying that was true, and that there was a good chance of finding fuel on the road anyway. We would need to start stopping at every vehicle to siphon out petrol, and be sure to stop at every service station and truck stop along our way.
We also decided that we would begin travelling throughout the nights. That was certain to create more distance between us and our pursuers, and it will get us to Melbourne that much faster. Copper was pleased by that news, he was anxious to find any news of his family. The Twin and Junior were just happy to not have to deal with Dead for a day or two while we kept moving.
Archer kept grimly to himself. The expression on his face was that of a man with the world upon his shoulders, or more precisely a man being crushed by his circumstances. I wondered how much more of this he was able to cope with.
January 26th Year 1 A.Z.
morning
Driving through the night we reached the origin of the pillar of smoke shortly after sunrise. A massive group of dead Dead lay around a still burning service station. Clearly this had been somebody's last stand. We decided to stop the bus and search for any survivors, though the outlook was bleak. The blaze was so intense that getting anywhere near it proved impossible, so we figured nobody could survive it. The Twin stood guard upon the roof, bow at the ready, while Junior and I searched the surrounding area. The rest of our group stayed to make sure the Dead were indeed dead.
Finding nothing, we returned to the bus. Nobody had found anything useful in the hour we had spent here, and the horde following us would not have been still in that time. The Twin was signalling that she could see them in the distance as we approached.
We filed into the bus and fled the scene. So far that service station had been the only potential for fuel we had come across all day, but we still had more than enough to last us for the rest of the day at least. We drove through the smoke, smearing the windscreen with soot, hoping that the Dead following us would follow us through the flames, and continued on our way.
noon
Just after we left the flaming service station we found a lone solitary car, doors and boot open, but when we risked stopping for a moment to check for fuel, a gunshot rang out, and we flew back into the bus and drove on at The Colonel's suggestion. She was right, there was little point in fighting with other Living with the Dead on our heels. Another shot came seemingly from nowhere, and one of our tyres exploded. Archer nevertheless drove onwards, as a window at the back of the bus shattered and Apocalypse Girl screamed in pain.
Archer kept on driving, and Biker and I went to Apocalypse Girls aid. She had taken a hit in the arm, and had some lacerations from being showered with broken glass. Together we cleaned out her injuries, and examined the bullet wound. The entry was messy and the bullet seemed to have flattened against the bone. Apocalypse Girl's hand grabbed hold of my own, and I looked at her face. “May I please have some morphine?” She asked. I grabbed the supplies we had scavenged earlier, giving her one of the little blue pills. The effect was almost immediate, the pain on her face vanished to be replaced with mild nausea. Biker told me we needed a scalpel to gouge out the bullet, and I handed one to her. She gave it back, shaking her head as Apocalypse Girl vomited all over her.
Biker fell back to be replaced by Junior, who I told to hold down our wounded comrade. I shouted at Archer to slow down and keep the bus steady while I operated. I sliced open the already unpleasant looking wound, and dug the bullet out of the bone. Apocalypse Girl had lost consciousness by this time, thankfully, and I asked anyone if they had anything with which we could sew up her wound. The Twin was already rummaging around the supplies we had and came up with a stapler. I looked at it doubtfully, asking if there was anything else at all. The Twin shook her head, telling me to hold the wound closed. I obliged as well as I could, though the blood made it slick, and The Twin stapl
ed Apocalypse Girl's injury together. Surprisingly the staples held, and we bandaged up her arm.
evening
We parked for the evening and ate. Apocalypse Girl was still unconscious, and a little feverish, though resting comfortably. The Colonel was furious that we had been shot at by other Living, and was venting loudly about it. Biker, having changed into vomit-free clothes, was attempting to calm our newest member down with limited effect, and The Twin was working with Junior to assess the damage to the bus. Only one of the tyres had been shot, which meant we were still good to go for now. Add yet another thing to the list.
Archer and Copper were discussing whether or not and to what degree the shooters would delay the Dead. I put a stop to their conjecture by simply saying that they were also Dead by now, and probably also heading in this direction. Archer asked if we were going to be driving through the night again, to which I replied affirmatively. We debated whether the car had been a trap, or if they had perhaps thought we were ransacking it. We decided that it probably was a trap.
We all got back on the bus and continued our journey. From behind me I heard a weak voice asking “What's wrong with my arm?” and I rushed to Apocalypse Girl's side. I asked if she remembered being shot. She replied that she remembered glass all over her and asking for morphine but no more than that. I gave her water to drink while telling her the story.
“Let me get this right, you stapled my arm?” She asked. The Twin poked her head around the seat behind us just long enough to inform Apocalypse Girl that she had stapled her arm, and that Apocalypse Girl was likely to have died otherwise, and that she was welcome. She thanked us all for our quick-witted assistance.
Archer told us that according to his map there was another small town coming up soon, we would perhaps find it tomorrow. We all hoped that meant more fuel at the very least, or maybe even food.
January 27th Year 1 A.Z.
morning
It turned out that Archer was correct, there was indeed a town in our path. We arrived shortly after dawn, only to discover that the entire place had been already overrun by the Dead. A horde easily the size of the one following us milled about aimlessly in the middle of town. Our bus went into one side of the mob, slowing almost instantly to a halt. Archer turned the engine off, as we were critically low on fuel and not capable of forward motion.
The Dead swarmed about the bus, rocking it forward and back, not able to reach us inside the bus, but not letting that stop them from trying. The Colonel stood by the shot out window, firing round after round into the never-ending horde. I put my hand on her shoulder, shaking my head when she turned to look at me. I told her there was no point in what she was doing, there were far too many Dead out there. There was terror evident on most of the faces around me, none more than Apocalypse Girl. I reached out and squeezed her unbandaged arm, eliciting a slight smile in response.
Archer and Copper clambered up onto the roof, manning the heavy machine guns in an attempt to take out as many as they could with what little ammo they had remaining. They ran out of bullets far too quickly, tossing the now useless guns over the side and jumping back inside.
“Only way clear is to the south.” Archer told us. “According to the map the road bends away to the east after a few klicks, but the trick is still going to be getting out of this bus.” A particularly violent shove from the Dead sent The Twin stumbling into Junior. It lit up a fire in my brain.
“How about we help them tip the bus over?” I asked. They stared blankly. “If the bus falls so that the window that was shot out is on top, we can get out easy enough, then jump down and head south. Maybe even rig the bus to explode somehow?”
Copper nodded. “That should be simple, just stuff a flaming rag into the fuel tank. That does mean someone has to hang back to do that, though.” Archer volunteered instantly for the task. “You sure? You might not make it.” He indicated that he was aware of that. “That's settled then. Everybody grab as much food and water as you can, we're going to need it. No telling when we might find another vehicle like this one.”
Again the bus heaved sideways under the great force of the throng of Dead, but this time, rather than stumbling around like idiots, we were ready for it, and threw ourselves into the movement. The bus tipped slightly, though not nearly enough to fall. The Dead seemed to sense what we were about, and that it would result in a tasty snack for them, and heaved once again. We once again threw ourselves against the southernmost wall of the bus, this time resulting in it seeming to hang in mid-air forever before finally falling to the ground with a mighty crash.
We picked ourselves up from the new floor we had fashioned, and used the seats to climb out of the open, waiting window. Archer and Copper went first, Junior then assisted me getting the girls up and out, starting with Apocalypse Girl. Biker followed next, then The Colonel and The Twin. I grabbed my sword, Junior his club, and together we threw the prepared bags of supplies up to the others before following them up. We handed the guns out to everybody, and what few melee weapons we had available, The Twin took her bow and the few remaining arrows we had left and we began to clear off the southern side while Archer prepared his fuck-you to the Dead, removing his shirt and lowering it into the petrol tank first one way, then the other, making sure that it was thoroughly covered in the flammable liquid.
Junior, Biker and I jumped down first, taking out the few remaining Dead that were left. Apocalypse Girl jumped down when it was clear to do so, followed by The Twin, with an arrow knocked and ready, and The Colonel, with .45 raised. Copper joined us, and we ran, faster than I thought possible. Suddenly we were picked up and flung forward by the shockwave from the exploding Greyhound. After we picked ourselves up we turned, and saw that the Dead had been scattered by the blast.
We fled to the south at a slow jog, keeping our eyes open as only those on the run for their very lives can. I had never felt this naked until this point. I really felt we were doomed.
afternoon
Archer had indeed been correct, the road turned to the east after a short hike to the south, and we found an abandoned five-car wreck that we raided for supplies. We found nothing of any real value, though Apocalypse Girl grabbed a mobile phone charger. Copper asked her why bother, but she wisely pointed out that she could access the internet with her phone, and find out if there were any survivors from this thing that had happened to the world, and if there was any information or news that could help us to survive. She just needed a working vehicle now, in order to charge it up.
As Apocalypse Girl's bandage had become red with blood, we decided to inspect the wound and change the bandage. It had torn open slightly with the impact of the bus tipping over, and a little more when she leapt to the ground, but was otherwise alright. She was not amused about needing more staples however, but she took them with no more than a sharp intake of breath for each of the three required.
evening
We moved on from the pileup, and found an abandoned farmstead to hole up in for the night. As it was we made sure that it was well barricaded, and that we had left an escape route, but it proved unnecessary for the moment. It could be that the Dead that had pursued us had been foiled by the exploding bus. I didn't dare hope that was the case, but so far there had been absolutely no sign of any Dead at all. No Living, either, but that was to be expected. Anyone alive would have almost certainly left by now to try and find friends and family, or at the very least other Living.
January 28th Year 1 A.Z.
morning
Still no sign whatsoever of any Dead. We ate a leisurely breakfast of whatever salted beef we had managed to salvage while departing the bus, while going through the cupboards and pantry of the farmhouse. Copper had automatically and foolishly gone to the fridge, and the smell emanating from it alone was more than enough to make him chunder. We found a large stash of baked beans and other canned goods which we took with us, and a box of shotgun shells. Other than that, nothing.
The Twin had gone to the barn,
but returned white-faced. Evidently, upon hearing about the risen Dead, the farmer and his wife and their two children had all strung themselves up in the rafters. I followed her directions, and flung wide the barn door. True to her word, there they were, just hanging about, being Dead. Farmer, wife, son and daughter, all jiggling and snarling, trying to reach me. Two dead cows lay on the floor in their own filth, having starved when their owners had died. Shaking my head, I turned and left.
noon
We left the farm, heading east along the roadway. The weather was feeling colder again now, almost like winter. Perhaps we hadn't noticed the change so much spending all of our time inside a bus for the last several days. I wondered just how far we had travelled, and asked if anybody had taken the map from the bus. Their collective silence spoke volumes, and their embarrassed faces told even more. Well, if they were all guilty of having forgotten to grab the map from Archer, then I was no less so. Onwards we trudged.
Anno Zombus Year 1 (Book 1): January Page 10
