The Survivors (Book 1): Pandemic

by Burns, Alex

  “Fluke.”

  “Nah uh.”

  “Prove it.”

  I aimed and fired again. Kept my eyes open. Missed.

  “Damn it.”

  “You just need more practise,” Jack said kindly. “It took me awhile to get the hang of it when I started shooting.”

  “How old were you?” I asked, putting the gun down. My shoulder was starting to ache.

  “Dunno. Maybe eight or nine? Pa taught me and Josh.”

  We went back every week or so after that. I slowly got better. A few others joined us, wanting to learn or practise as well. Bec and Melissa turned out to be quick learners, Ben was about as bad as me though. I didn’t feel quite so bad. Addison blew us all out of the water though when she came along the first time.

  “My dad used to take me rabbit shooting,” she said shyly after she hit all the targets smoothly and handed the gun back to Jack.

  “You can come with me any time you want,” Jack said, eying the targets.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  I have no idea how she survived on her own for so long. Jack brought the little waif to us the week after Sarah and Chris’ funeral.

  He stood on the front verandah, his hand firmly on the little girl’s shoulder. I had the feeling that if he wasn’t holding her in place, she might scarper. She was all skin and bone, her dark brown hair a matted mess, and dark smudges under her eyes. I could smell her from where I was standing, slightly behind Mum. She stank like she’d been living in a barn and hadn’t washed for weeks, which turned out to be fairly accurate.

  “Jenny, this is Ava,” Jack said cheerfully. The cheer didn’t reach his eyes. The little girl’s big brown gaze stared up at Mum.

  “Hello, Ava,” Mum said kindly, and then shot a questioning look at Jack when Ava didn’t respond.

  “I brought Ava to visit Charlotte,” Jack said in that same odd cheerful voice. “I told her all about Charlotte’s doll house.”

  “Ah, yes. The doll house. Why don’t you two come in?” Mum stood back and I quickly stepped back to avoid being trod on. She hollered Charlotte’s name. Ava jumped. Jack patted her shoulder reassuringly.

  Charlotte came trotting out of whatever little bolt hole she’d found and looked curiously at the visitors.

  “Charlotte honey, come and meet Ava.” Mum beckoned for Charlotte to come forward. She smiled shyly at the other girl and then looked up at Mum and back to me.

  “Can you show Ava your doll house?” I asked, trying to smile for her.

  Charlotte nodded and glanced back at the other little girl. “Come on,” she said and darted off without waiting to make sure Ava was following. Ava stared up at Jack, who nodded and smiled at her.

  “Go on,” he said softly.

  Ava gave Mum and I both a long, wary look and then followed after Charlotte.

  Mum followed the two girls, and I led Jack to the kitchen.

  “Tea?” I asked.

  “Please.” He sank down wearily into one of the chairs and leaned back, rubbing his face.

  Mum soon reappeared. “They’re both playing.” She took a seat opposite Jack. “What happened? Where did she come from?”

  Jack ran his hand through his hair and let out a sigh. “I found her hiding in her cubby house out on the McConnell farm.”

  “She’s been alone all this time?” I asked, aghast.

  “Looks that way,” Jack said heavily.

  “The poor child,” Mum said, frowning. “How did we miss her? We went out there twice.” I tried to remember which one was the McConnell farm. They’d started to all blur together in my nightmares. I thought I remembered which one it was. Two parents and three kids we’d taken from there for the burial pit. None of us had realised there should have been four kids.

  “I guess she was scared,” Jack said slowly. “She hid. I only found her today because I heard her crying.”

  “The poor, poor child,” Mum said again, hugging herself.

  “I thought - well, I was wondering, if perhaps you could take her in? She could be company for Charlotte,” Jack said tentatively. “I would, but I don’t have the foggiest about looking after little kids, and with Nan the way she is…” he glanced between Mum and me hopefully.

  “Of course,” Mum said quickly. “Of course she can stay here.”

  After Jack left, we got the two girls in the bath. Ava was absolutely filthy. The little girl didn’t speak at all, but she obediently did whatever Mum or I told her to do. She closed her eyes while Mum washed her hair twice, and sat limply in the warm water while I scrubbed her skinny arms and legs. Charlotte watched it all with wide eyes, and thankfully didn’t complain about the dirty water.

  The sound of a car brought both Mum and I running to the front room. I drew back the curtain and peeked though. A muddy, dark blue SUV had just pulled up into the driveway. The windows were heavily tinted, so I couldn’t even begin to guess who was in the vehicle.

  “Do you know that car?” Mum asked me.

  I shook my head. I stepped back as Mum pushed her nose almost against the window, trying to get a better look.

  “Oh my goodness!” Mum gripped my arm tight.

  “What? Who is it?” I tried to look around her, but she was blocking the view.

  “It’s your brother!” She dropped the curtain and raced out of the room. I hadn’t seen her move so fast since Sarah nearly dropped Tom on his head when he was a baby. An uncontrollable grin speed over my face as my brain caught up with Mum’s words. I followed her out.

  “Tom!” Mum barely waited for my little brother to get out of the car before pouncing on him, pulling him into a bear hug. “Oh my god, Tom! We thought you were dead!”

  I ran up to them and collided into their hug, grinning like a mad woman. I wrapped my arms around both my mother and little brother, and then patted Tom’s head to make sure he was really there. We stood there, all three of us holding each other, rocking back and forth, until the car door slammed shut.

  I looked up. Yi-Ling hovered by the front of the car, smiling, with tears running down her face. I held out my arm for her too.

  I have no idea how long we stood there, holding each other in our messy embrace. Tom finally tore himself free though with a faint laugh. He held Mum out at arms length to get a good look at her. I kept my arm slung around Yi-Ling’s shoulders. I’d almost forgotten how short she was.

  “I’m so glad you’re both alright,” Tom said, looking between us both.

  “Likewise,” I said and punched him lightly on the arm. “We were worried about you…”

  “I know, I’m sorry. I did try calling a bunch of times, but nothing’s worked…”

  “It’s fine,” Mum said, reaching for his hand, unwilling to let him out of her grip. She tucked his hand under her arm and patted it. “You’re here now, that’s the main thing. Let’s get you inside, out of the cold. Are you hungry?”

  I almost laughed. It was an old family joke - Mum was always trying to fatten Tom up. I felt a painful twinge when I imagined what Sarah would have said if she’d been there.

  Mum reached for Yi-Ling’s hand as well and all but dragged them both inside, leaving me to trail after them.

  “Charlotte!” Mum called out. “Come see who’s here!”

  Tom’s eyes widened as Charlotte came skidding around the corner, Maggie and Horatio at her heels.

  “Uncle Tom!”

  Tom knelt down and Charlotte leapt into his arms, wrapping herself around him. The dogs both tried to join in as well, jumping and licking at Tom and Charlotte. I grabbed Maggie’s collar and tried to haul her backwards. She looked up at me, tail wagging, and then moved towards Yi-Ling, evidently wanting to sniff out the stranger. She was so big and strong, I didn’t have much choice in where we went.

  “Hello, gorgeous!” Tom hugged our niece to him and then stood up, still with her in his arms. He glanced behind her into the house and frowned.

  “Sarah and Chris?” he asked in a low voice. Mum’s face sag
ged. She shook her head. Tom closed his eyes and hugged Charlotte even closer to him. Yi-Ling let out a low grown and then stepped up to touch Tom’s back.

  “I’m so sorry,” she started. Mum shook her head and pursed her lips. She took Yi-Ling’s hand again and squeezed it.

  “I’m just glad you two are both fine,” she said. “Come through to the kitchen. Ava! Food time!”

  Tom threw me a puzzled glance. “Who?”

  I opened my mouth to answer, but Ava evidently hadn’t been far away. She stuck her head around the door and eyed the newcomers warily.

  “Ava, this is my son, Tom, and this is his girlfriend, Yi-Ling.”

  They both murmured hello to her, but she just stared at them wide-eyed for a moment and then turned and ran off towards the kitchen. Mum sighed and followed her.

  Tom turned to me, still holding Charlotte tightly to him. She was starting to get a bit squirmy, so he let her down and she darted off after Mum.

  “Jack found her last week. She’d been living by herself since… well, since you know. We’ve been looking after her. She’s a bit… well…” I waved my hand uselessly.

  “Shit. Poor kid.”

  “She hasn’t talked yet. At all,” I said. I thought she would have started talking after she got used to us, but not a peep out of her yet.

  “She must be very traumatised,” Yi-Ling said slowly.

  “Yeah… bit of a common problem around here lately, unfortunately.”

  Yi-Ling rubbed her eyes and nodded.

  Mum and I bustled around the kitchen, making hot drinks for everyone and putting out some food. Charlotte made herself comfortable on Tom’s lap. The lure of freshly baked bread brought Ava back out. She wouldn’t stop staring at Yi-Ling though. Yi-Ling noticed and squirmed, shooting me a pleading look. I just shrugged though. She’d probably stop it once she started eating.

  Tom sat, resting his chin on Charlotte’s head, watching us with sad eyes.

  “Have you heard from Dad at all?” he asked after a few moments.

  I cocked my head. “Yeah, but not since the network went down. He and Gillian were heading bush to ride it out. Hopefully… They were up near Kakadu somewhere.”

  Tom nodded. It was impossible to know how Dad was unless he miraculously rocked up like Tom had. It was hard not knowing, so I tried not to think about it too much.

  “What about your family, Yi-Ling? When did you last hear from them?”

  Yi-Ling stared down at her hands, twisting them in her lap. Her parents and older brother were still in Taiwan.

  “Not for a long time. I don’t know how they are. Last time I spoke with them, they were still healthy, but… it’s been a while.”

  We all looked at her with sympathy. Not knowing, was it harder than knowing the worst?

  “I guess you haven’t been able to talk to Tristan either,” Tom said with a sigh.

  I shook my head.

  “What a clusterfuck.”

  “Language, Tom.” Mum inclined her head towards Charlotte, who was still sitting on Tom’s lap, watching us all wide-eyed.

  “Sorry, Mum.”

  Ava giggled. We all stared at her for a moment, but she didn’t say anything.

  “Did you have any trouble on the roads?” Mum asked after she drained her cup of tea, and got up to flick the kettle back on.

  Tom shook his head. “Nah. We mostly steered clear of towns and people, after the first town. Took the back roads. We only saw one other bloke, and he didn’t know much. Just wanted to know if we had any food to spare…”

  “Have you had any trouble here?” Yi-Ling asked, holding her cup out for a refill of tea from Mum.

  “Not really,” I said with a shake of my head.

  “How many are left?” Tom screwed his eyes up, and I knew he was expecting the worst.

  “About thirty,” Mum said softly.

  “Thirty?” Tom repeated. “That’s it? Really?”

  Mum and I both nodded. Tom leaned back on his chair still clutching Charlotte.

  “Jesus fucking Christ,” Tom swore. “Sorry, Mum.”

  “No need,” Mum said with a big sigh. “I’ve always told you swearing was only okay in extreme circumstances. I think this qualifies… just don’t make a habit of it.”

  I contemplated my tea. Tom shovelled a sandwich into his mouth with an enthusiasm I couldn’t feel, but slightly envied.

  “This is a nice change from baked beans and instant ramen,” Tom said through a mouthful of egg and lettuce sandwich. Yi-Ling nodded her agreement.

  “I don’t want to eat baked beans ever again,” she said fervently.

  Mum seemed to take that as her cue to fish out even more food.

  “Slow down, Ava, you’ll choke,” I said, slightly alarmed. The child was almost inhaling her food. She didn’t have quite the emaciated look she’d had last week, but she was still extremely skinny and ate as if her food was going to disappear if she didn’t eat it fast enough.

  “The city isn’t safe anymore,” Mum said after a few moments. “Alice and I… we were held up when we went to collect Sarah and Chris.”

  “What?” Tom spluttered, choking on his sandwich. Yi-Ling gaped at us both while slapping Tom on the back. “What happened?” Tom demanded, dropping his food back on his plate.

  “Well, it all turned out fine, obviously,” Mum started and then glanced worriedly at the two young girls. “We just bumped into some young men who seemed to have banded together. They had… G.U.N.S.,” Mum spelled out.

  “They wanted food,” I interrupted. “We didn’t have anything other than the sandwiches we’d packed for lunch. They let us go… eventually.”

  “That’s nuts. I wish I could say I can’t believe it, but…” Tom sighed and shook his head, picking up his sandwich again. I was torn between admiration and repulsion at his ability to eat through life-changingly bad news. He’d only just found out our sister was dead half an hour ago.

  “It was concerning while we were in the situation. I had no idea how it was going to turn out. Some of them… well, let’s just say they weren’t the nicest bunch.”

  “Well, obviously, if they’re holding up an old lady - sorry, Mum - and a young woman.”

  “I don’t want to go back there any time soon,” Mum said with a shudder.

  Tom raised his eyebrow at me. I mouthed that I’d tell him later.

  “So, what news do you two have?” Mum asked in her false-positive voice.

  Tom and Yi-Ling glanced at each other and then shrugged.

  “Not a whole lot,” Tom said. “We just stayed at the cabin for weeks. We both got sick, and I thought… well, you know. I didn’t think anything great was in our future, but… one morning, we both started getting better. I don’t know why.”

  I shuddered, realising how close I’d been to losing both of my siblings. “We would have come sooner, but we wanted to make sure we were completely better.”

  “We had no idea what was going on in the outside world, either,” Yi-Ling said. “There was no mobile phone or internet up there. We were very isolated.”

  “Yeah, we really didn’t have the foggiest about what was going on.”

  “That was hard,” Yi-Ling said. “Not knowing…”

  “Well, the network crashed not long after you left,” I said. “So you didn’t miss much. I didn’t really have any idea what was going on either, and I was in Melbourne for the first few weeks.”

  “Alone?”

  “Yeah. Just me and Gertrude and Maggie.”

  “Gertrude’s here?” Tom asked, a delighted look spreading over his tired face.

  “Of course,” I said, slightly affronted. “I wouldn’t abandon her!”

  “Where is she?” Tom asked, looking around the kitchen as if the cat would magically appear.

  “In my room, probably. She doesn’t like the dogs much.” Gertrude spent most of her time on top of the bookshelf or dozing on the end of my bed if I was there to protect her.

  After Tom
had finally ate his fill, he pushed the plate away with one hand, keeping his other tightly around Charlotte.

  “Where did you bury them?” he asked.

  None of us needed to ask who he was referring to.

  Mum led him out to the oak tree. We trailed after them.

  Tom stood, looking down at the graves, rocking slightly back and forth on his feet. Charlotte went up to him and held his hand. My eyes blurred and I rubbed them.

  Later that night, it was just Tom and I curled up on the couch in front of the fire. We’d broken open a couple of bottles of wine in celebration of Tom and Yi-Ling’s return. Mum had put the two girls to bed, and then gone herself not long after, giving both Tom and Yi-Ling a big kiss and hug before saying goodnight. Yi-Ling hadn’t lasted much longer. She kept yawning, and Tom finally sent her to bed with a fond smile.

  “So how are you, really?” Tom asked me.

  “Shouldn’t I be asking you that?” I retorted.

  “Why?” He leaned over and topped up my glass of red wine.

  “Well…” I paused, floundering slightly. “You only just found out about Sarah. I’ve known for a month.”

  “Oh. Right.”

  “Well?”

  Tom leaned back into the couch and closed his eyes.

  “This’ll probably sound terrible, but I’d already mentally prepared myself for you to all be dead. Finding out that you, Mum, and Charlotte are still alive… well…

  “The past few weeks, and the whole drive here, really, I was terrified we’d get here and there’d be no one… no one alive… I’d prepared myself for it, actually. I dunno, I thought it might be easier somehow… prepare myself mentally for you all to be dead and then be pleasantly surprised if someone was alive, instead of assuming you’re all alive and then finding out you’re all dead.” He opened his eyes and looked at me. “Is that weird?”

  “Um,” I said. “It’s morbid, but kinda practical, I guess.”

  “Yeah… so you didn’t answer my question.”

  I let out a breath. “I dunno, Tom. Some hours are okay. Some days are even sort of okay. Others aren’t. What can I say?”