Fear The Outback (Book 1): Fear The Outback

by Cheshire, Stephen W.

  Justin got out of the helicopter. He looked at a small group of men—typical Outback Australians. They wore red tartan shirts and jeans with holes in them. One of the men was holding a double-barrelled shotgun.

  “Andrew,” another man said. “Glad you found survivors.”

  “So am I,” Andrew replied. “Anything to report?”

  “Nothing, sir,” the man replied.

  Andrew looked into the vast outback. “Come on,” he said. “Let’s show our friends their new home.”

  Justin looked at his mum as they walked towards the truck. Justin, feeling sleepy, couldn’t wait to sit down. It was going to be a tight squeeze. but it would work. Three of the men were sitting on the trailer, guarding it against any of the infected that could attack from any corner. Justin sat down in the back of the truck. He looked at Lucy, seeing that she was starting to refocus.

  “Hey,” he said.

  Lucy, tired with sorrow, turned her head up and looked at him.

  “Are you okay?” he asked.

  The only thing she could do was nod. She laid her head down on his chest.

  “Here, eat this,” Andrew ordered.

  Justin shook Lucy as Andrew handed her a very small chocolate bar.

  “Now get some rest,” Andrew ordered. “All of you. It’s about an hour’s drive.”

  Justin didn’t reply. He looked down at Lucy seeing that she was fast asleep. Justin looked at his mum. She sat down on the bed with her hands on her lap. Stuart was not breathing a word. Justin did the same thing. He leaned back, managing to stretch his legs out behind the rest of the group.

  ***

  The sun beamed onto Justin’s head. He held onto the fishing rod. He glanced down at his phone seeing the sunlight reflect off the black material.

  “Will you stop looking at that for five minutes?” his dad joked.

  Justin smiled as the screen switched to screensaver. The picture of him and Chelsea disappeared. He touched the screen to see the picture of him and Chelsea again. He gave a brief smile.

  “How’s school?” his dad asked

  “Oh. Yeah, good.”

  “College soon?”

  “Yep.”

  Adrian looked over his shoulder at Justin, who still had his eyes locked onto the picture of Chelsea.

  “Remember what I said,” Adrian said.

  “What’s that?” asked Justin.

  “If you need anything for college… Anything. Money, books… You come to me.”

  “Okay,” Justin replied.

  “Me and mum are very proud of you.”

  Justin gave a brief smile.

  Adrian tilted his head to a rumble in the distance. He squinted his eyes as he looked up to see a helicopter. “What’s that?” he asked.

  Justin turned and saw the Ranger helicopter. It flew past them before turning around. Justin closed his eyes as some water splashed up into his face.

  “What is going on?” Adrian asked.

  Justin looked up at the helicopter.

  Andrew Parker was on the megaphone. “I’d run if I were you.”

  “What? Why?” asked Adrian.

  “Trust me.”

  Justin suddenly felt the wheel on his fishing rod start to spin violently. “Woah!” he gasped. “Shit!”

  Justin held onto the rod. He then looked into the water. He frowned as he saw a set of glowing eyes raising to the surface. An infected person pounced out of the water. Justin stepped back as the infected tried to climb onto the speedboat.

  “Woah! Shit!” Adrian gasped.

  Adrian pulled the ripcord of the engine. The engine stuttered. “Come on!” he yelled. The motor came to life. Adrian turned the boat around, and the infected fell off the side of the boat. “What the fuck?” Adrian swore as he headed for the jetty.

  “Hey!” Andrew called.

  Justin looked up at the helicopter to see that Andrew had glowing yellow eyes.

  “Look..” Justin alerted his dad, only to notice that his dad’s eyes were yellow, too. “Dad…?” he mumbled.

  Adrian shot for Justin.

  ***

  Justin woke with a fright. He felt his saliva building in the back of his throat. He sat up, coughing. It frightened Lucy, and her eyes shot open as well.

  “You okay, boy?” Andrew asked.

  Justin didn’t reply.

  “How far now?” Stuart asked.

  “We’re here,” Andrew replied.

  Justin focused his eyes on a huge mining facility. The truck slowed down, making a very sharp turn. Justin held onto the bed as they drove through the open gate. The truck hissed to a stop.

  “What is this place?” Stuart asked.

  “I’ll show you.”

  Justin looked at Lucy as she got out of the truck. Justin kept an eye on his mum. Stuart was by her side. He looked at her as he looked at the huge mining complex.

  “What do you do here?” Stuart then asked, eager for information from Andrew.

  “This,” Andrew yelled, “is all mine.”

  “What is it?” Stuart asked again in a dead monophonic voice.

  “This is my mining company. I employee a majority of the small town here.”

  “What town?” Justin asked.

  “That one,” Andrew said as he pointed into the distance.

  Justin looked to see a small suburban town. It couldn’t have had a population of more than a couple of hundred.

  “Is there a hospital there?” Justin asked.

  “We do have medical facilities,” Andrew replied.

  Justin turned and looked at Lucy. “I think she will need to see someone.”

  Andrew looked at Lucy. She was struggling to stand up. “Okay, ” he said. “I’ll get someone to take her over to the small medical facility we have there.”

  Lucy looked over at Justin. He could see the fear in her eyes. “I’ll come with you,” Justin said.

  “It’s okay,” Coleen said. “I’ll go with her.”

  Justin looked at his mum and Lucy as they walked away from the mining plant.

  “Don’t worry. She is perfectly safe,” Andrew assured.

  “So,” Justin asked, “how are your people surviving through this ordeal?”

  “Truthfully?” Andrew began. Justin looked at Andrew, awaiting some good news. “Badly.”

  “Badly?” Justin said, hoping for an elaboration.

  “Yes,” Andrew replied “Water is on a strict ration. Same as food and medical supplies”

  “Where do you get water from?”

  “Underground. But the pumping system is soon to fail…”

  “Jesus,” Justin replied.

  “We’ve got routine patrols around the town,” Andrew said. “The mayor ordered that. We are going to be sending of scouting missions soon to look for supplies,” Andrew said. “This is where you come in,”

  Justin looked at Andrew. “Me?”

  Justin and Andrew stopped walking immediately.

  “Don’t think that you are safe from them things now or that it’ll be an easy ride for you here.”

  Justin folded his arms, looking over at his mum and Lucy as they got into a small van. “Okay, what have I got to do?”

  Andrew looked at Justin. “The town is running low on supplies. Tomorrow, before sunrise, we are heading over to a city about a hundred miles from here.”

  “Which city?” Justin questioned.

  Andrew looked over towards some metal stairs which led to his office. “Come,” he ordered.

  Justin and Stuart followed Andrew towards his office. Justin could only hear the tinging sound of the shoes over the machinery. Andrew opened his office door. Huge windows overlooked the compound.

  “Here,” Andrew said.

  Justin looked down at the map of a city.

  “This is Melbarton,” Andrew said.

  “What’s the population?” Stuart asked.

  Andrew looked at Stuart. “11,000,” he replied.

  “What?” Justin gasped.r />
  “I know,” Andrew replied.

  Justin looked at a red circle that surrounded something. “What’s this circled?”

  “That’s the city mall,” Andrew replied. “That’s where we’re going tomorrow.”

  “Why there?” Stuart asked.

  Andrew looked at Stuart. “Why do you think?”

  Justin had his eyes locked onto the city shopping mall. “So,” he said. “When do we set off?”

  “Tomorrow. Before sunrise.”

  “Why so early?” Stuart asked.

  “Because we have to go someplace else as well.”

  “Where?” Justin snapped, looking at Andrew.

  Andrew walked over to another map on the other desk. “This fuel depot out here. We’re going to scout it out see if we can claim some fuel for the helicopter.”

  “How much jet fuel you got?”

  “You see that white tanker when you entered? It’s got about enough for 2000 miles,”

  Justin looked out of the window again, trying to forget about the day ahead tomorrow.

  “Get some rest,” Andrew said. “You’re going to need it.”

  Justin looked at Andrew, trying to keep a straight face.

  ***

  Lucy and Coleen looked forward to see the small town [MP1]slowly coming into view. An old sign was swinging back and forth. It read: ‘Coningsby.’ Lucy looked at the old typical Australian suburban houses. some were okay; some were more a bit more run down than others. A small hill was ahead. A corner shop was out to the right. It was like a Western town in the United States. Woven chairs were found outside on the porches of the homes which had swinging front doors. It was very much different from Adelaide and the other cities she had been to.

  Something ahead quickly caught her attention. She looked to see a back garden in one of the houses. A child was playing in a sand pit. Lucy locked her eyes onto the mother as she sat in the doorway of the house. Her head was tilted to the left, and her eyes were drying out as she kept her eyes on the child. Her face was covered in muck. She hadn’t washed for a few days, probably in an effort to save the limited water the town had remaining. The van drove up onto the small hill that led down to the town. Lucy looked at some of the houses scattered about, with the small town in the middle. A church could be seen. People were dotted about the town. It was very peaceful. Huge antennae were located at the town limits. Most were probably out of order now. There were no red lights to warn aircraft that they were there. Lucy looked ahead and saw the town’s medical facility. It was nothing like the advanced hospitals in the inner cities. It was a triangular building with a huge red cross is on the top of its door. It was mucky; it hadn’t been cleaned for a while.

  “Hey,” Coleen said.

  Lucy turned her head to look at her.

  “Are you okay?” Coleen asked.

  Lucy could only nod.

  “Come on,” the man ordered. ‘Let’s get you to a doctor.”

  Lucy got out of the van. She looked across the street to a man who was standing there. He was 20 years old, maybe a bit older. He was just looking across at her. Lucy looked forward and away from the man. His eyes seemed to have locked onto her.

  Lucy and Coleen entered the medical facility, which clearly hadn’t been renovated in a while. Lucy looked to see a late-aged man sitting in the corner, wearing a scrub. He slowly stood up and walked over to Lucy and Coleen. There were a few medical beds and a couple of rooms in which the doctors could see patients quietly.

  “Hello,” the man said to Lucy. “I’m Doctor Riley Dawn.”

  “This is Lucy,” the man said. “Can you check her over quickly, please?”

  “Sure I can,” the doctor replied. “That’s what I’m here for”

  Lucy looked at Coleen.

  “It’s okay,” Coleen said.

  Lucy went and sat down on the bed.

  Riley looked at Lucy. He could see the small wristband on her. “Are you diabetic?” he asked her.

  Lucy gave a brief nod.

  “Do you have any insulin?”

  Lucy showed the doctor her insulin packets.

  “You were lucky to have some spare.”

  Coleen gave a brief cough. She looked towards the entrance of the hospital.

  “Can I check you over?” Riley asked Lucy.

  Coleen looked at Lucy. “Do you want me to go outside?”

  There was a brief pause.

  “Would you?” Riley asked.

  Coleen got up and left the small cubical. Riley pulled the tatty old blue curtains closed. Coleen wiped a few tears away from her eyes. She looked over towards the front entrance to the building. The young man who they saw a short while ago was standing there, just looking over at her. He was blocking some of the sunlight into the building. Coleen shook her head and walked over to the chairs near to the entrance, hoping the young man would turn around and leave the building. He seemed to have his eyes locked onto her, though. Coleen looked ahead to some of the wooden woven chairs. She looked and saw the man looking at Lucy now as he still stood in the doorway. Coleen took her eyes off him for a second. She slowly walked over to the chair and sat down. He continued to stand there. He was dressed in a leather jacket, white T-shirt, and jeans; biker boy look. Coleen sat down on the chair. He began to walk over to her with his hands in his pocket. Coleen lowered her head, hoping he would just walk past her. He slowed down and looked down at her, though, when he got to her. He was chewing on some gum. Coleen lifted her head, trying to keep her eyes off him.

  “What’s it like out there?” he demanded.

  Coleen didn’t answer.

  “Hey!” he snapped. “I’m talking to you.”

  Coleen lifted her head out of her hands, trying to kick away the memories of that day, but it wasn’t working. “What?” she asked softly. “Sorry, I didn’t hear you.”

  He looked down again Coleen. “I’m going to ask you again. What’s it like out there?”

  Coleen didn’t want to answer the question. “Sorry,” she whimpered. “I didn’t hear you,”

  “What is it like out there?” He then said again, abruptly.

  Coleen looked down.“Truthfully,” she whimpered. “Horrible.” Coleen looked down, hoping that her show of tiredness would make him leave her alone.

  “Finally,” he replied. “Quick word of advice, love: When I speak to you, answer me straight away.”

  Riley then walked out of the ward. He looked at the man who was still talking down to Coleen. Riley took a shallow breath. “Hey, Scott!” he snapped.

  Scott turned his head and looked at Riley. He stood there looking over at him. “What do you want?” Scott snapped.

  “How dare you speak to her like that?” Riley shouted. “God only knows what she and her in there have been through!”

  Scott felt anger inside him as he was being spoken down to.

  “If I see you speak to her like that again,” Riley bellowed, “I’ll—”

  “You’ll what?” Scott asked. “I can put you out of a job like that.”

  “I’m the only doctor left in this town,” Riley snapped. “If you want to try to get me fired, be my guest. Even though 99 percent of the Australian population is dead, I’ll make sure you’re the most hated person in this town, which is what you already are.” Scott could only look at doctor Riley. “Now get out of my hospital!”

  Scott stormed towards the door and kicked it open.

  Riley looked at Colleen. “Are you okay,” he asked.

  “Who is that?”

  Riley watched Scott walk away. “His name is Scott Green,” Riley replied. “Town mayor’s son.”

  Coleen watched as he continued to walk away into the distance.

  “Stand up to him, and he backs off” Riley added.

  Coleen looked towards the ward, seeing Lucy laying on the bed.

  “She’s okay,” Riley said, “but I’ll need to keep an eye on her for a couple of hours.”

  Coleen looked down at the ground
.

  “Can I check you over, please?” Riley asked Coleen.

  Coleen looked up at doctor Riley. “I’m okay,” she said softly.

  “I think it’s for the best.”

  Coleen followed Riley into another cubicle and got onto the bed. “That feels good,” she said.

  “I bet it does,” he replied. Riley began to check Coleen over.

  “Why are you the only doctor here?” she asked.

  There was a short pause. “There are usually three of us, plus support staff.”

  “Where have they gone?”

  “One is on holiday in Perth. The other left to save his family on the Gold Coast, and, from what I remember before the news stations went off, the Gold Coast is finished, and so is Perth.” Riley looked down at the ground. After a moment of silence, he asked, “Where were you when all this started?”

  “We were on a cruise,” Coleen replied.

  “Whereabouts?”

  Coleen looked up at the ceiling of the hospital.

  “The Philippines,” she replied. “It was mine and my husband’s anniversary.” Coleen tried not to cry. “It was such a perfect holiday. We had a wonderful time. We booked it last year. We were so lucky to have got such a great deal; I thought we weren’t going to be able to afford it.”

  “Think of yourself as one of the lucky ones,” Riley replied. “If you weren’t on that ship…”

  Coleen looked down, crying. She was having flashbacks to when she was saved by Adrian on the ship. “He saved my life,” she cried.

  Riley couldn’t answer. He looked up and saw a woman walk into the ward. “Excuse me,” he said.

  Coleen lifted her head. She looked to see the woman. She had seen this woman before, while in the van as they came to the town. She was looking for someone now.

  “Hey, Fiona,” Riley said to the woman. “What’s up?”

  “Have you got anything for my son?” she asked. “I think he is coming down with something, I want to catch it before it gets too bad.”

  Riley turned around. He walked towards a medical cabinet. Coleen looked at Fiona as she paced from left to right, eager to get back to her house.

  “I’m glad there are survivors,” Fiona said to Coleen.

  Coleen looked at Fiona, not knowing how to respond.

  Before she could think of what to say, Riley returned with some medicine. “Here,” he said. “This is all I’ve got.” Riley handed Fiona the cough medicine. “I have just thought of something,” he then said to Coleen. “Where are you going to be resting?”