Fear The Outback (Book 1): Fear The Outback

by Cheshire, Stephen W.

  “Here we are,” he said.

  Justin grabbed hold of the bars, shoving them into his bag. He looked around the kitchen.

  “Come on,” he ordered.

  Scott looked at Justin. “Hey!” he snapped. “You don’t tell me what to do!”

  Justin looked at Scott as he stood by the door holding onto the baseball bat. Justin shrugged his shoulders. “If you want to, you can stay here. It’s up to you.”

  Justin walked off down the corridor. He looked at the carpeted floor. Within a few seconds, he heard Scott’s footsteps behind him. He gave a brief smile as he walked down the corridor. Justin walked onto a balcony. He overlooked the warehouse from there, seeing that it was a construction line.

  “Woah,” Justin said.

  “Jackpot!” Scott then said.

  Justin looked down into the compound at the construction line. They designed and assembled construction vehicles in this warehouse.

  “Andrew is going to be happy,” Justin said.

  Justin looked down at the line of mini diggers and then around the complex.

  “They must make them here and ship them out to mines across the outback,” Scott said. “I know I remember my dad and Andrew talking one time. There are loads of these places across the country.

  “It looks fairly new,” Justin said. Justin looked at Scott. “Come on, let’s go and check out the other ones.”

  ***

  Scott and Justin walked towards one of the other warehouses. Justin looked and realized that it was still being constructed. All sorts of machinery had been left around. He kept his eye on it as he and Scott arrived at the entrance to the other fully constructed warehouse they hadn’t been in yet. A gleaming white door was built onto the outside of it. Justin pulled the door. It was locked. He pushed the small silver button in on the door. Nothing. The door would not budge.

  “Fuck it,” Justin said

  A smash was then heard. Justin jumped, looking at the lower window to the door. Scott crawled through it, holding onto the baseball bat. He shrugged his shoulders, taking one last look over at the other warehouse that was being constructed. There was a slight stench in the air. Justin looked up at the pictures mounted on the wall. They were of cows from farms.

  “What the hell is this place?” asked Scott.

  Justin didn’t reply. He continued through the reception and along the corridors. He looked to his right, seeing a changing room. The door had been left open. He then saw some light blue overalls with headgear. Justin frowned as they arrived at a huge metal door. It had been opened manually from the other side. Justin grasped his handgun as he looked into the open warehouse.

  The first thing they noticed were the cages that had been set up.

  “What the hell is this place?” Scott asked again.

  Justin walked in; the stench was getting worse.

  “Oh, God that stinks!” Scott gagged.

  Justin continued walking forward, looking into the enclosures. He then noticed a shadow moving on the ground in front of him. He held onto the handgun and peered around the corner.

  “Woah!” he said.

  “Shit!” Scott let out.

  Scott and Justin both looked at the female cow that was standing there. She shuffled her head.

  “She could provide enough milk for the whole town,” said Justin.

  Justin and Scott stood looking at the cow.

  “Come on, let’s get back to the helicopter.”

  Justin and Scott walked back through the warehouse. They eventually came to an electric shutter. Justin hit the open button. The door didn’t open. “Fuck it,” he said. Justin continued to look at the shutter, trying to see if there was a manual release, unaware that Scott had walked off.

  Scott looked forward. He grasped his bat as he slowly walked down a set of steps. It was dark; he could just about see ahead. He walked down the steps. His hands shook as he held onto his handgun. He lifted his head to see a bulky, grey door ahead. He reached out for the handle, trembling with fear, still holding onto the handgun tightly. His hands gave one last shudder as he opened the grey door. Inside was a power plant. It looked like it could be started with the correct technical knowledge. Scott looked at all of the buttons, unaware of the shadow coming up behind him. Scott spun around when he finally noticed it.

  It was Justin.

  “Woah!” Scott yelled. “Jesus, man!”

  Justin folded his arms, looking at Scott. “Next time,” he said. “Do as I say.”

  Scott looked at the dead female on the ground. Justin looked at all of the buttons and switches. He began the process of starting up the generator. Scott watched as Justin finished powering the generator up. The multi-coloured lights on the grey box came to life. One after the other, the lights on the ceiling fired up.

  “Come on,” Justin ordered.

  Scott didn’t reply as Justin held onto the handgun, walking back down the corridors out into the milking complex. The machines were now running. The noise had intensified.

  Justin took one last look around. His gaze once again fell upon the white cow that was just standing in her cage, looking over at Justin and Scott.

  “She could provide enough protein for people,” Justin said. “If we can figure out the purification process, that is.”

  Scott didn’t reply.

  “Come on,” Justin said. “Let’s get back to the helicopter.”

  Justin and Scott began walking over to the shutter. They soon made their way out of the warehouse.

  Justin reached into his pocket, pulling out the flare. He aimed it into the air and ripped the cord out. “Eyes!” He screamed.

  Scott looked away, trying not to look back at the chasing cow. The flare shot up into the air. The cow was distracted for a few seconds as they continued running.

  “Okay, let’s roll,” Justin said.

  The helicopter flew towards the compound. Justin looked into the distance and saw the helicopter getting bigger by the second. The helicopter soon hovered above him and Scott.

  “Come on,” Andrew ordered.

  Justin and Scott climbed onto the helicopter.

  “What did you find?” Andrew demanded.

  Justin struggled to breathe as the helicopter flew away from the compound.

  “Well?” Andrew asked somewhat impatiently.

  Scott stepped forward.

  “They create construction machinery,” Justin reported.

  Andrew looked at Scott.

  “And there is a milk farm in there,” Scott added. “There is one cow left alive; she could provide milk and protein for the town.”

  Andrew hunched in the helicopter, looking out at the compound as they flew away from it.

  “You boys did all right,” Andrew praised.

  Chapter Nineteen

  Andrew entered the town hall. Justin and Scott strolled close behind.

  Scott sat down on the chair, feeling his forehead sweat. “Jesus,” he said.

  Andrew turned and looked down at him. “What’s wrong with you?”

  Scott looked up.

  “Not fit for duty…” Andrew muttered with a smile.

  Justin didn’t reply as Andrew reached for his radio. “Can Zane Bradshaw come to the town hall?”

  Justin sat down next to Scott as Zane arrived. He noticed the stubble that had started to build on Zane’s face.

  “What have you to report?” Zane asked

  Andrew sat down in Hudson’s chair as if it had been his all along. “We found a complex, with the help of Scott and Justin.”

  Zane looked at the two boys sitting down onto the leather seat. “What is this complex?”

  “It’s a multi-complex” Andrew answered. “One warehouse is a milk farm—”

  “A milk farm?” Zane gasped.

  “Yes,” Andrew replied. “We can feed the whole town from there.”

  The office went quiet for a few seconds.

  “I want to call a town meeting,” Andrew decided.

&n
bsp; “When?” Zane asked.

  “Now,” Andrew replied instantly.

  “Sure thing.” Zane left the office.

  “You two did good today,” Andrew praised them yet again.

  Once the townspeople had gathered outside the town hall for the meeting, Andrew jumped up onto one of the vans. He looked out at the gathering crowd of people. He could see some hadn’t washed in a while. Some were losing a lot of weight due to the low food resources.

  “Listen up,” he began. We have found a complex. Today, Scott, Justin, and I took a trip to this place. We found three warehouses. One is a construction distributor, and the other is a milk farm. The operating equipment is still in working order.”

  People started to talk to one another.

  “Now,” Andrew called, quieting the people. “What would Hudson have done?”

  People didn’t reply.

  “He would have gone to the town for a vote!” Andrew persuaded. “Now, I am giving you—the people of this town—the opportunity to vote on whether we should remain where we are, in this town, or relocate to the complex.” After a brief pause to let this sink in, Andrew continued. “We will be voting immediately, by a show of hands. Raise your hand if you want to stay here.”

  Only a couple of people raised their hands.

  “Okay,” he said. “Now, raise your hand if want to move to the complex.”

  Justin and Scott watched as almost the whole town raised their hands.

  “Okay,” Andrew said. “You have decided. We will begin moving in three hours.”

  People looked at one another, not quite sure what to do.

  “Go home,” Andrew said. “Pack anything that may be of use to you: medication, resources, clothing, tools.”

  People started to nod.

  “We leave in three hours,” Andrew repeated.

  The crowd started to disperse. Andrew looked over at the hospital. Riley was standing at the entrance, looking over at him. His arms were wide apart. He slowly turned around and went back inside the hospital. Andrew jumped down off the van and made his way towards the hospital. He entered and looked at Riley as he started packing up some medical supplies into a bag, ready to move to the new complex.

  Andrew looked at Lucy, who had returned to the hospital for a check-up after Justin had left for his mission. “Lucy, do you want to ride with the others?”

  Lucy nodded.

  “Do you need help?” Andrew asked.

  Lucy nodded.

  “Here,” Riley said, pushing a wheelchair towards Lucy.

  “I’ll see you outside,” he said.

  Andrew pushed Lucy over to the entrance of the hospital. “Hey!” he called to Justin,

  Justin stormed over. “Can you look after Lucy for me, please?”

  Lucy looked over at Scott. She turned her head away.

  “Sure,” Justin replied.

  Andrew watched as Justin wheeled Lucy off.

  “You killed him, didn’t you?” Riley accused with anger.

  Andrew froze looking at Riley. “Excuse me?”

  “You killed him, didn’t you?”

  Andrew looked up at Riley. “What makes you say that?”

  “I checked the gunshot wound on Hudson’s head.”

  “And…?” Andrew replied. “He shot himself in the head.”

  “I am referring to the angle it went through his brain. I have dealt with suicide gunshots before.”

  Andrew looked at Riley, folding his arms. “Someone had to,” he replied.

  Riley felt the anger building up inside of him. “Why’d you kill him?”

  “Because the people of this town need a leader, and he wasn’t the man for it.”

  Riley just looked at Andrew as he stood in the middle of the ward. “The only reason I haven’t told anyone is because it would cause chaos if people found out who you really are. The people of this town need all the hope they can get right now.”

  “Well, I have given them the hope,” Andrew replied.

  Riley watched as Andrew left the hospital. People were already starting to gather at the town hall, ready to leave for the new complex. Coleen and Fiona stood next to each other. Riley continued loading medical supplies into the ambulance.

  Andrew looked over his shoulder at Riley as he continued to load the ambulance. “Hey,” Andrew said to Zane.

  Zane walked over to Andrew. They walked together until Riley was out of sight.

  Chapter Twenty

  Andrew looked out the front of the truck. They were about halfway through the journey to the warehouses. Andrew looked into the side mirror of the truck, seeing the ambulance with Riley in it right behind them. Andrew slowly reached into his pocket. He watched a small explosion come from underneath the ambulance. The vehicle rolled onto its roof and slammed into the ditch next to the dusty road.

  “What the hell!?” Andrew screamed.

  The colony of vehicles skidded to a stop. Andrew jumped out of the truck, running down the dusty bank. Justin got out of the other vehicle which was travelling behind the ambulance.

  “Justin, stay there!” Andrew ordered. Justin froze. Andrew ran towards the overturned ambulance. He looked down at Riley. Blood was running out of the top of his head. He had been badly injured in the explosion.

  He slowly turned his head to look at Andrew, as blood dribbled out of his mouth. “You…” he coughed. “You won’t… Won’t get away with…” Riley closed his eyes.

  Andrew gave a smile. He slowly reversed out of the ambulance, brushing the dust and sand off his jeans.

  “He’s dead,” he said.

  Justin looked over at Andrew. “What happened?”

  “He must have hit something in the road,” Andrew replied. “You can tell he did, the way the tire went.” After a pause, Andrew asked, “Has Lucy got all of her insulin?”

  Justin turned around to the vehicle Lucy was travelling in. “Lucy, you got your insulin?” he asked.

  “No, it’s in the ambulance,” she said. “In a black bag.”

  Justin turned around and walked towards the ambulance.

  “No, I’ll go,” Andrew replied. “It’s too dangerous,” Andrew climbed down towards the ambulance. He saw a black bag hanging on a metal hook. He unzipped it, slowly rummaging through the insulin capsules. He looked over at Riley’s dead body as he hanged in the seat belt of the ambulance. Andrew reached to the bottom of the bag. He found a small piece of paper. It had been folded in half. He opened it up, looking at the blue ink, which read, ‘Don’t trust Andrew.’ Andrew smiled and ripped the piece of paper up into nothing.

  “Justin!” Andrew called. Justin walked towards the ambulance.

  “Ask Lucy what sort of bag it was again.” Andrew waited.

  “It was a black one,” Justin reminded him.

  Andrew gave a brief smile. “Here,” he said, pretending to find it. “Make sure she gets it.”

  Justin looked at Andrew as he walked back to the front truck. The ambulance began to smoke. “Come on,” Andrew said. “Before it blows.”

  ***

  The complex came into Andrew’s view. He watched as the sun began to set in the distance. The truck hissed to a stop as they approached.

  “Let’s do this,” he uttered.

  Andrew got out of the truck. “Okay,” he ordered “Be vigilant. Try not to use any bullets. Which one is the milk farm?”

  Justin pointed over at the warehouse with the milk farm.

  “You’ve done engineering?” Andrew asked. “Do you think you could work them machines in there?”

  “Yes,” Justin said. “Me and Scott can work it out.”

  “Well, then, lead the way,” Andrew asked.

  Justin and Andrew arrived at the entrance to the milk farm. Andrew held onto his handgun as they slowly walked through into the entrance of the milk farm.

  Andrew slowly walked up to the female cow. “Easy, girl,” he mumbled. Andrew looked at the animal. “Find it some water. It needs to be hydrated if we ar
e going to milk it.”

  Andrew turned his head to Justin, seeing him stare into space. “Justin!” Andrew said. “Go and get some rest. Keep your eye on Lucy as well, please.”

  Justin nodded and walked off.

  “Now what?” Zane asked Andrew.

  Andrew watched as Justin finished walking away. He then turned his head to Zane. “What is with the other warehouse?” He asked

  Zane looked at Andrew. “We are about to enter that one now.”

  “No,” Andrew snapped. “Wait for me.”

  Andrew soon made it over to the other warehouse—the one that was still under construction. He pulled his handgun out, seeing the metal fence that surrounded the warehouse. He peered over his shoulder and looked at the townspeople.

  “Keep an eye out,” Andrew ordered. He pulled the outer metal fence, looking at all of the construction tools. He grasped his handgun as he entered the warehouse grounds. Huge chunks of glass had been left where the windows once were. Andrew continued further into the warehouse. He came to the main grounds of the construction site. Metal fencing was everywhere. They entered the warehouse. Construction machinery was all over the place. There were diggers and drilling equipment, all loaded with fuel and ready to be used.

  Andrew gave a brief smile as he looked over towards the construction office. It was one of those portable huts. Andrew grasped the handgun as Zane shone the torch at the hut. Andrew slowly advanced over to the building. He looked at his men as they raised their handguns, ready to shoot anything that might be inside. Andrew pulled the door open, hearing a very slight squeak. He peered in. He looked at one of the construction workers, head down and facing the ground. Zane lifted his handgun, looking through the sight of the weapon.

  “No,” Andrew ordered.

  “What?” Zane gasped, trying not to make too much noise?

  Andrew walked backwards slowly, trying not to make any noise. He closed the door slowly, clicking the lock shut. “Perfect,” he said.

  “What is?” Zane asked.

  Andrew looked through the blinds of the hut at the infected individual. “Now we can begin phase two of our plan.”