Fear The Outback (Book 1): Fear The Outback

by Cheshire, Stephen W.

  “Go, go, go!” the soldier yelled. “Get out of the city! GO, GO, GO!”

  Olivia watched as one of the zombies bit into the soldier’s neck. There were too many zombies to hold back. Olivia reversed away from the chasing zombies. They were attacking from all corners now. She swung the car around.

  Jett looked out the window at one of the zombies. It was a girl. Chelsea and Olivia looked at her as well. She was looking in at them through the window. She had a huge bite mark on her neck. Blood had dried around the teeth marks.

  “Laura?” Jett looked at the female zombie as she edged nearer to the window. She snarled and then slammed her arms into the car door.

  “Jesus Christ!” Olivia yelped as she pushed the accelerator down as hard as she could. As she drove away she glanced at Jett through the mirror. He had his face in his hands. She then looked at Ethan, who was wide awake and crying, but just a tiny bit. She took her attention off the family and returned it to the streets ahead. The chasing zombies slowly started to disappear into the distance.

  Chapter Two

  Flynn MacDonnell sat down in the left seat of the Queensland Fire Service fire truck. He clenched his feet every time he saw someone running close to the road. ‘Is that one of them?’ he would ask himself, waiting to see the gruesome glowing yellow eyes and snarling teeth and blood stains.

  “The hell is going on?” Owen asked.

  “You tell me,” Flynn replied.

  They looked ahead, seeing the huge plume of black smoke in the distance.

  “Move!” Owen screamed, letting some anger out

  The other fire officers looked out the front of the truck as they closed in on Brisbane City Hall. A small roadblock had been set up a short distance from the building. Owen looked forward as the yellow barriers were pulled back by the Brisbane Police officials. They were waved through very quickly. Flynn looked out at the burning building as the smoke billowed from the crack in the roof. The truck skidded to a stop next to the other engines.

  Flynn looked over to see Brodie, who was fixing one of the fire hoses to a hydrant. “Brodie!” he yelled.

  Brodie saw Flynn running over to him.

  “What the hell is going on?” Flynn asked.

  “You tell me,” Brodie replied. “That’s what I’ve heard all day.”

  Flynn looked at Brodie as he finished attaching the hose to the hydrant. Plumes of smoke started to intensify as the fire spread through the historic building. Flynn noticed one of the Queensland police officers run up to him.

  “Flynn,” the officer gasped. “Long time, old boy.”

  “Bobby Thompson,” Flynn gasped. “Please tell me you know what is going on.”

  “I know nothing,” Bobby Thompson replied. “Shit, man. People are dying everywhere.”

  “When did you first start getting calls through?” Flynn asked. “We have been swamped all morning, and now this…”

  Bobby looked at the small group of firefighters. “Where is the rest of your team?” he asked.

  Flynn looked around. “This is it,” he said. “Some have fled to get back to their families. The others… no idea.”

  Flynn looked at the town hall. The smoke was starting to intensify by the second. Bobby Thompson kept his hand on his sidearm the whole time. He looked over his shoulder to see Cristian Juarez, Brisbane’s mayor, who had been evacuated from the building when the fire began.

  “Jesus!” Juarez moaned in between vicious coughs.

  “Are you okay, sir?” Bobby asked.

  Juarez continued to cough up the last bit of smoke from his lungs. He looked around. Flynn could tell he was looking for someone. “Where’s my daughter?” Juarez demanded. The two guards simply looked at each other, “I told you to stick with her!” he scolded. “I have to go back in there.”

  “No, sir, it’s too dangerous,” one of the guards cautioned.

  Juarez looked at Owen and Flynn.

  Flynn looked at Owen. “Mount up,” he ordered.

  Flynn blocked out the sounds of the gunshots for a minute as he slipped the oxygen mask over his head. He looked at Owen as they stormed over to the burning building. He flicked on the light on his jacket. “Come on,” he ordered.

  Juarez watched the two firefighters enter the burning building. Flynn looked through the dense smoke as he grasped his axe. The building was ablaze; a dense blackness filled the room. Flynn and Owen sprinted through the back offices. His heart racing in his chest, Flynn skidded to a stop. He saw a completely motionless female figure lying on the ground, face down.

  ‘Is she dead or just unconscious?’ Flynn wondered. “Hey!” he yelled. He ran over to her. She was smartly dressed in a navy-blue suit and black high heels. The makeup was melting on her face from the intense heat of the fire.

  “Hey!” Flynn yelled to Owen. “We got someone!”

  Flynn turned the lady around looking down at her. “Hey! Can you hear me?” he yelled to her.

  Her eyes shot open. he gasped upon seeing her eyes gleaming yellow. She jumped up and grabbed him, bringing him down to the floor.

  “What the hell!?” Flynn yelled. He struggled to push the lady away as she continued attempting to sink her teeth into him. The axe which he had left on the floor caught his eye. He reached out, desperately trying to grab hold of the weapon. “Come on…” he pleaded, but it was no use. The axe was out of reach. He felt his heart pounding as the woman dug her hands into his oxygen mask. He stared up at her glowing eyes and teeth as she snarled at him. Then, he heard a sudden thud. The next instant, the female zombie was lying on the ground. Blood was gushing out of a wound on her back.

  Owen looked down at him as he laid down on his back. “How do you find these women, man?” Owen joked.

  Flynn got up off the ground and grabbed the axe. “Let’s stick together from here onwards,” Flynn insisted.

  “Yes. Let’s do that,” Owen replied

  They continued running through the building. They heard another snarl from behind them. Another one of the infected was running towards them through the intense smoke—a middle-aged male this time, who was wearing a suit and tie.

  ‘How are there infected things in the building?’ Owen thought as he held on the axe.

  “No, let me,” Flynn insisted

  Flynn took hold of the axe. He stared at the running man as he continued sprinting towards them, snarling. When the infected man was within range, Flynn swung the axe with all his mite. As the axe struck and penetrated the man’s neck, Flynn heard the disturbing yet satisfying crunch of the man’s bones breaking. Flynn watched as the man’s head rolled off his shoulders and slammed into the ground. The now lifeless infected body fell to the ground.

  Flynn and Owen continued through the building. All the corridors were filled with smoke. Flynn stopped to look down one of them. He saw that intense smoke was building up outside one of the doors. Flynn got Owen’s attention, and they both ran up to the door. The smoke waved around at the bottom of the door as though something on the other side was blocking the smoke from seeping in from the space under the door. Flynn banged on the door.

  “Hello?” he yelled. “Anyone in here?” Flynn continued to bang on the door, eager to hear someone call out for help.

  “Get back,” Owen ordered. Flynn stepped back as Owen lifted his foot and slammed it into the door. As he continued doing this to try and kick the door in, the wood started to crack. The door finally gave way, and after a few blows with the axe, the two firefighters were able to enter the room.

  Owen saw that some clothing had been stuffed under the door in an attempt to prevent the smoke from entering the room. It had worked fairly well.

  “Hello?” Owen called out.

  Flynn and Owen entered the room. Flynn was still grasping the axe waiting for the first sign of any more zombies that could be lurking around.

  “Hello?” Flynn yelled. “Fire service! Call out!”

  Flynn and Owen edged around the room. They weaved through the smoke whi
ch was quickly filling the room. As they shone their lights on the ground, they saw a motionless female figure lying there, face down.

  “Shit,” Flynn said. He edged down towards the body. He rolled her over as Owen stood with his axe, ready to use it if provoked.

  “Check her eyes,” Owen instructed.

  Flynn lifted her eyelids. They were not yellow.

  “Thank God,” Flynn said. He swung his head back to look out into the smoke-filled corridors. The sunlight was completely blocked out by the smoke. Owen kept watch near the hallway, looking out for any sign of the infected.

  Flynn felt for a pulse. “Come on, girl,” he said. H felt a light pulse. As Flynn ripped his mask off, he immediately felt the burning heat on his face. He held his breath, trying not to breathe in the smoke.

  “What are you doing?” Owen yelled.

  “Trying to save her!” Flynn replied.

  Flynn put the mask on the girl’s face. He squinted at the girl as the smoke and the intense heat from the fire stung his eyes. “Come on. Breathe, girl.”

  The girl started to move. Owen looked back and forth between the mayor’s daughter in the room, who was now starting to come around and the hallway where more zombies could appear at any moment.

  “Come on,” Owen said. “This place is coming down.”

  Flynn looked up and heard the ceiling crumbling. The fire was rapidly spreading through the building. Owen was right; the building was going to collapse soon. Flynn put the mask back on and hauled the girl over his back. Owen led the way through the black smoke, which was now so thick that they could hardly see. The walls were starting to collapse in front of them; before long, the roof of the huge building was going to cave in on them. Flynn and Owen began sprinting through the corridor.

  “Come on!” Owen screamed. “We haven’t got long!”

  “Da…” The girl mumbled. “Da…”

  “Don’t worry,” Flynn said. “He is outside.”

  ***

  Mayor Juarez’s gaze hadn’t left the town hall since the two firefighters had entered. The huge pillars in the front of the building started to disappear behind the smoke. the huge dome on the top of the building started to crumble.

  Bobby tried to warn the mayor. “It’s coming down! Sir, I think you should step back!”

  Juarez didn’t budge. He looked up at the huge dome, watching the lumps of concrete and brick start to tumble to the ground and crash.

  “Sir!” Bobby tried to warn him again.

  Before Juarez could respond, a large portion of the top of the building gave way. The plume of dust and muck helped fan the flames, and dense, black smoke blasted out from the building as well. Juarez continued looking up from behind the police car as the last of the building started to cave in from the inside. Juarez slowly stood up as the building continued to collapse. He slowly stood up, blocking out the sound of the gunshots and the occasional screams in the distance. He just stared at the building. As he stared into the dense black smoke, he jumped at a sudden explosion. A huge burst of fire blasted up into the air. The plume of flames dissipated into the hot late-morning air, leaving a shadow of smoke in its place

  “PHOEBE!” Juarez screamed. He looked at the crumbling building in disbelief. The last few pillars tumbled to the ground. Just then, Juarez saw two figures run out from the dust and smoke. Then, he saw a third figure—his Phoebe—over Flynn’s back and dangling over his shoulders. Bobby let out a great sigh of relief upon seeing the two firefighters.

  “Medic!” Bobby ordered.

  One of the city paramedics was on hand, though many of his colleagues were now dead. He held onto his red bag as he looked at Flynn, who put Phoebe down onto the ground.

  Flynn ripped his mask off and felt the summer air on his face.

  “Thank you,” Juarez praised. “Thank you so much!”

  Flynn sat down on the ground to catch his breath after the rescue. He looked over at the burning building as it continued to cave in on itself. Soon, it would be nothing.

  “Now what?” Owen asked Brodie.

  Brodie turned and looked at Flynn and Owen as they awaited his orders. They listened to the screaming and shouting in the distance. Brodie looked up upon hearing a thunderous sound. Flying above the Brisbane city centre were two military Chinook helicopters. Struggling to see through the burning sunlight, Flynn and Owen looked up at the helicopters floating above the city. Flynn watched as the side of the helicopter opened. A rope was lowered down onto the ground. Soldiers slid down the rope, one after the other, dropping down into the city. The shooting around the city centre only intensified as the military arrived to try and help curb the infection.

  “Truthfully,” Brodie answered, “I have no idea.”

  Bobby stood next to the mayor, guarding him.

  “Contact,” A voice was heard saying.

  Flynn and Owen could only watch as a group of the infected ran towards them with their eyes glowing yellow and with blood running out of their mouths. They had recently fed on someone. The mayor’s bodyguards opened fire on the zombies. As the group was distracted with the first hoard of attackers, Flynn swung his head and looked at Phoebe as the medic continued to check her over.

  “Can we get her to a hospital?” Bobby asked over the heavy gunfire

  The paramedic looked up at the mayor. He gave a look to him as if to say, ‘No way.’ The mayor’s cheeks puffed out as he tried to keep his emotions to himself.

  Phoebe slowly sat up on the ground. She pulled her black hair away from her face. She looked up at Flynn and Owen as they looked down at her. “Thank you,” she said, coughing. “Thank you so much.”

  Flynn and Owen looked down at her, the gunshots in the distance were getting more by the minute. Phoebe looked around. She turned to her dad as she started to get up from the hot ground. She looked at her dad as he hugged her.

  “Dad, what is going on?” she asked, crying

  Juarez looked at her as he cradled her. “I…” he said. “I don’t know.”

  Flynn and Owen looked at each other as gunshots were heard from close range. Phoebe screamed as she spotted another hoard of zombies running towards them.

  “What do we do?” Owen asked.

  Flynn looked at him. “You tell me,” he replied.

  They heard a sudden scream come from their left. Bobby was being bitten into by one of the zombies who had broken into the co-ordain around the building.

  “H-h—” He gasped. “HELP!”

  Owen ran over and used the axe to knock the zombie off of Bobby. The zombie stumbled back as it eyed up Flynn and Owen. Flynn swung the axe around and whacked the head off of the zombie before it had time to attack. Owen looked at Bobby as he staggered around, blood running out of his neck.

  Bobby fell to his knees as he looked up at Flynn and Owen. “Do it,” he said as he coughed up blood.

  Flynn looked at Owen as Bobby kept his hands on the bite wound, he knew that he would turn into one of them very soon.

  “Do it,” he coughed again. “Please.”

  Flynn looked down at Bobby as he crawled forward.0

  “Do it,” he pleaded once again. “Please, tell my fam… fam…”

  Bobby started to cough up more blood. He started to snarl. He was turning quickly; his body heat was increasing by the second, and his eyes were beginning to glow and gleam yellow.

  A shot was heard. Flynn and Owen looked over to Brodie as he stood there with his gun. “Sorry,” he said. “Had to be done.”

  Phoebe started to cry as her dad hugged her.

  “It’s okay,” he said to comfort her “I’m going to make sure that you are safe.”

  Phoebe continued to cry as she looked at the dead firefighter laying on the ground. Flynn and Owen looked up after looking down at the dead commander.

  “Look out!” Flynn screamed.

  The guards moved back, as a few of the zombies were now running towards them. Both guards were out of ammunition. Phoebe screamed as both of the
guards were pounced on. Flynn grasped the axe.

  “Move!” Juarez ordered Phoebe as he pushed her away from a zombie. The zombie then lunged at him. As he put his hands up, he felt the zombie’s teeth sink into his arm through his bloodstained suit. “Hey!” he yelled to Flynn.

  Flynn looked down at Cristian Juarez as he tried not to scream as the zombie continued biting into his arm.

  “Take my daughter!” he ordered, “and keep her safe! You got me!? THAT’S AN ORDER!”

  Before Flynn could reply, the zombie pulled her teeth out of his arm. She snarled down at him.

  “No!” He pleaded

  The zombie dove down onto his neck. Phoebe screamed as the zombie lunged down into his neck. Flynn and Owen looked around and saw that there was nowhere to run. Brisbane’s city centre had been taken over by the creatures.

  “This way!” Flynn ordered. He and Owen took Phoebe and ran to the fire engine.

  “DAD!” Phoebe screamed.

  Juarez jumped up, his eyes glowing yellow, Phoebe watched as he ran towards the fire engine while Flynn started up the fire engine. He pushed the accelerator down to full. In the side mirror, he could see the zombies chase after the fire engine. As Phoebe cried at the thought that her dad was now one of them, the fire truck pulled away from the city centre.

  “Where are we going?” Owen asked

  Flynn focused on the streets. “I’m going to get my son.”

  “What? I thought—”

  Flynn looked at the streets ahead as the military tried to battle the infected. “Well, that’s out of the question now,” he replied as he kept his eyes ahead on the jammed streets.

  “Where are you going first?”

  “I’m going to try his school. Then I’ll try her house.”

  Owen looked at Flynn as he grasped onto the wheel of the fire engine.

  ***

  Flynn looked at the school. The gates were sealed closed. One of the infected was snarling at it, relentlessly trying to break in.

  “Oh, no you don’t!” Flynn said.

  Flynn pushed the accelerator down and grasped to the steering wheel with anger. He blasted the horn. The zombie swung its head around. Owen held his eyes shut as the truck slammed into the zombies. The back wheels locked as they screeched to a stop. Flynn stepped casually out of the fire engine. He looked down at the twitching zombie, and he peered through the fence into the school. It seemed deserted. Flynn walked up to the gate. He lifted the bolt in the ground. He clicked it into place, looking at the small selection of houses behind him. He squinted as the gate squeaked. He ventured through into the playground. the playground is clean not a blood stain is seen on it. that was a good thing for Flynn. Flynn walked up to the window of the school. He walked up to the window, holding onto the axe. The blood from earlier attacks had now dried onto the blade. He felt the sweat building up on his forehead as he peered in through the window. Tea and coffee cups were scattered about the desks. A few small dried-on stains were on the table from where they had been nudged. Flynn then saw a small shadow on the ground. The top of a head slowly started to come up from the underneath the window. A young female with fuzzy hair and half-cast skin appeared in the window. She stood up and stared at Flynn as he looked in through the window.