by Tony Thomas
‘Hi, Dan, it’s Jeff Holland here.’
‘No way, weren’t you at the Hordern Pavilion? It was blown up,’ Dan said, shocked at hearing from Jeff.
‘My friend and I decided we didn’t feel safe and got away just in time. We’ve found a place to hole up. We’re in a house in Randwick. We were very lucky.’
‘I can’t believe you’re still alive. Have you heard all the news about what’s happening?’
‘Yes. I’ve lost contact with my son. I tracked his cell phone by GPS and it’s still at the house, but he’s not answering.’ Jeff paused and gasped. ‘I’m thinking he must be dead.’
‘I’m so sorry,’ Dan replied. He knew he was hopeless at this type of conversation and struggled desperately to change the subject. ‘What about the friend you’re with? Are you at his home?’
‘No, I’m at the home of a friend of his. We’ll be here for the duration. It sounds like the government hopes to get us out of here within the next few days.’
‘I wouldn’t bet on that if I were you,’ Dan said. ‘Look, you have my address. If you can get here safely, you’re welcome. I’ve bought a pile of food, and it might be easier to get out of the city from here if we need to later on.’
‘Thanks, Dan, I appreciate it. I’ll keep in touch.’ The call dropped out.
Dan tried to call Rita, but the number rang out. That was a bad sign. If she had no signal he would have got a message.
Dan tried to call Ian, just in case. Ian picked up almost immediately. ‘Dan, why aren’t you using Skype? Has the Internet gone down?’
‘No, mate, I was just checking the phone was still working properly. We’ve lost contact with my sister-in-law.’
‘Shit, sorry to hear that. I’ve got more bad news for you as well.’
‘More bad news? Go ahead,’ Dan said resignedly.
‘The first outbreak has been reported in Auckland.’
‘Oh shit, mate. Shit. I thought you guys would be okay.’
‘So’d I, Dan. So did I. Listen, I’m just making sure I’m secure. Let’s keep in touch—okay?’
‘Sure, Ian, bye.’ Dan killed the call.
Gen was sobbing over her phone. Dan sat and hugged her.
14:45 AEST: Lawrence Hargrave Hospital
Lac Mitchell walked out of the Lawrence Hargrave Private Hospital. As a paramedic with the St. John Ambulance Service, he had been on duty when the crisis was announced. It had been a long shift and he wasn’t sure when he would get to go home. As a result of the curfew, there had been no activity at all. Now that it looked like the curfew was going to be lifted, he had decided to take a break and snuck out through a side door.
Lac walked down the driveway, stood on the edge of the road, and lit a cigarette. Drawing back on his first smoke in two hours, he closed his eyes, savouring the nicotine hit as he exhaled. Taking a second drag, he looked around and saw a man staggering towards the hospital. The man looked to be badly battered, he was staggering and looked very unsteady on his feet. Lac could see multiple lacerations and the man’s left arm was held at an unnatural angle.
Lac’s paramedic training kicked in. He dropped his cigarette and stamped it out, then rushed to help the man. ‘You need some help, mate?’ Lac asked as he approached.
The man turned his head at the sound of Lac’s voice, looked up briefly, then staggered towards him.
As Lac reached the injured man, he took him by the shoulders to steady him as he looked him over. The man staggered again. ‘It’s okay, mate,’ Lac said reassuringly, lifting the man’s right arm over his shoulder for support. ‘Come with me.’
They had barely taken a step when Lac screamed and jerked away from the battered man. The man fell clumsily to the ground. Lac’s hand flew to his ear, it felt wet, he instinctively looked at his hand and realised his ear was bleeding profusely. Lac tenderly probed his ear as he backed away from the man.
To his horror, Lac realised a large part of his ear was missing. He looked down at the man and saw he was slowly chewing as he struggled to regain his feet. Aghast, Lac held his hand to the side of his head as he ran back to the crowded hospital.
Brick rose slowly. Still chewing on the piece of ear, he slowly followed Lac up the driveway.
Table of Contents
The Zombie Proof Fence
Copyright
Contents
00:30 Aest: Sydney
01:40 Aest: Qf12
02:00 Aest: Sydney
02:05 Aest: Ba275
01:00 Sst (03:00 Aest): Singapore
03:15 Aest: Ba275
03:30 Aest: Sydney
01:30 Sst (03:30 Aest): Singapore
03:50 Aest: Sydney
03:55 Aest: Sydney
04:00 Aest: Sydney
04:15 Aest: Ba275
02:30 Sst (04:30 Aest): Singapore
04:30 Aest: Sydney
04:45 Aest: Sydney
05:20 Aest: Sydney
05:30 Aest: Sydney
05:30 Aest: Ba275
05:45 Aest: Qf12
05:50 Aest: Sydney
04:00 Sst (06:00 Aest): Singapore
06:00 Aest: Sydney
06:15 Aest: Qf12 Sydney
06:15 Aest: Sydney
06:20 Aest: Sydney
06:25 Aest: Princes Highway Heathcote
04:30 Sst (06:30 Aest): Singapore
06:40 Aest: Qf12 Sydney
06:45 Aest: Sydney
06:45 Aest: Princes Highway
07:00 Aest: Qf12 Sydney
07:00 Aest: Sydney
05:00 Sst (07:00 Aest): Singapore
07:00 Aest: Ba275
07:15 Aest: Sydney
07:15 Aest: Heathcote National Park
07:30 Aest (05:30 Sst)singapore
07:45 Aest: Heathcote National Park
07:50 Aest: Sydney Airport
08:00 Aest: Sydney
06:00 Sst (08:00 Aest): Singapore
08:00 Aest: Ba275
8:05 Aest: Sydney Airport
08:15 Aest: Woronora Dam
08:25 Aest: Ba275
08:30 Aest: Woronora Dam
06:30 Sst (08:30 Aest): Singapore
08:30 Aest: Sydney
08:35 Aest: Sydney Airport
08:45 Aest: Sydney
08:45 Aest: Woronora Dam
08:45 Aest: Sydney
06:55 Sst (08:55 Aest): Singapore
09:00 Aest: Sydney
09:00 Aest: Sydney
09:05 Aest: Woronora Road
09:15 Aest: Hordern Pavilion
07:20 Sst (09:20 Aest): Singapore
09:30 Aest: Ba275
09:30 Aest: Sydney
9:40 Aest: Picton Road
07:40 Sst (09:40 Aest): Singapore
09:40 Aest: Sydney
09:45 Aest: Panorama House
09:45 Aest: Hordern Pavilion
09:55 Aest: Sydney
08:00 Sst (10:00 Aest): Singapore
10:00 Aest: Picton Road
10:05 Aest: Hordern Pavilion
08:10 Sst (10:10 Aest): Singapore
10:15 Aest: Sydney
08:25 Sst (10:25 Aest): Singapore
10:30 Aest: Panorama House Lookout
10:30 Aest: Sydney
10:30 Aest: Hordern Pavilion
10:45 Aest: Ba275
08:45 Sst (10:45 Aest): Singapore
10:50 Aest: Sydney
11:00 Aest: Hordern Pavilion
11:00 Aest: F3 Freeway
11:00 Aest: Sydney
11:15 Aest: Sydney
11:15 Aest: Hordern Pavilion
09:15 Sst (11:15 Aest): Singapore
11:30 Aest: Sydney
11:30 Aest: Hordern Pavilion
09:45 Sst (11:45 Aest): Singapore
11:45 Aest: Sydney
11:45 Aest: Centennial Park
12:00 Aest: Sydney
12:00 Aest: Randwick
12:10 Aest: Illawarra Regional Airport Quarantine Station
10:15 Sst (12:15 Aest): Singapore
/> 12:15 Aest: Randwick
12:15 Aest: Sydney
12:35 Aest: Sydney
12:45 Aest: Albion Park
12:45 Aest: Randwick
10:45 Sst (12:45 Aest): Singapore
13:00 Aest: Sydney
13:00 Aest: Randwick
13:15 Aest: Sydney
15:15 Sst (13:15 Aest): Singapore
14:15 Aest: Lady Fuller Park
14:30 Aest: Sydney
14:45 Aest: Lawrence Hargrave Hospital
