of you to join us!"
I sighed. "Nice to be back, Roy." I glanced through the back window. "Is everyone okay in there? Jessie?"
Her thin face appeared. "I'm okay. It was a bit scary for a while, though. There was a lot of screaming and banging outside."
"You kept quiet. That was the right thing to do." She smiled a little at that.
As Mike swung out onto the street, he made no attempt to avoid the zombies making their way towards us. There were few living people in the vicinity now, having fled or joined the walking dead. My chest tightened as I recognised the dead father standing beside the blank-eyed chubby toddler he had tried so hard to save, watching us drive by.
As Mike made his way carefully down the main street, taking care to avoid abandoned cars and the occasional living human, we sat in silence, trying to make sense of the chaos. Michele didn't say much, still looking a bit stunned. I squeezed her hand tightly but left her alone to deal with her emotions. What could I say that could possibly make things better?
Pulling out the mobile phone, I dialled the police. As unlikely as it seemed that they didn't already know the score, I had to make sure. The line was engaged. I tried again with the same result. Too many emergency calls flooding the line.
Shutting the phone, I asked levelly, "Okay, folks, what's the next step?"
I desperately wanted to get to the twins but Kaye lived half an hour out of town in the rainforest - I had to believe that they were safe for the moment. These people, however, had families in more immediate need of rescue. I swallowed the urge to demand to be taken to my kids.
Mike answered slowly, darting the ambulance around a pileup. This far down the street, there were no obvious signs of zombies but the frantic behaviour of the people on the street suggested otherwise. "I think we should split up."
He hastened on before anyone could protest. "We've only got a small window of opportunity before this plague infects the whole town. It makes sense to split into two or three groups, collect our families and meet back at a designated location as quickly as possible."
"My sister's home." I instantly replied. "It's a raised home in a rural part of Crystal Cascades. If we had to, it would be relatively easy to defend it."
Mike nodded and there were murmurs of agreement from the others, even Roy.
" We could cover a lot more ground if we split up, I guess." Ken added his support. " I live out in Edmonton."
"I live in Earlville." Mike said. "We can ride together."
"What about you, Roy?" I asked, a little surprised at his reticence.
He snorted, cheeks reddening. "I left Melbourne two years ago to get away from my ex-wife. There's no one here for me to worry about."
I nodded, feeling a pang of empathy for him, and turned to Jessie. "What about you, Jessie? Where will we find your parents?"
She shook her head violently, her eyes darkening with distress, and sank back against her seat. I met Emma's eyes and saw my sudden realisation reflected in them. Jessie's parents must have been at the hospital this morning. I prayed that Jessie had not witnessed her parents' fate but I suspected that it was a forlorn wish.
We quickly agreed that Mike and Ken would head off together while Emma and I would check on her parents and brother, seeing her place was on the way to my sister's.
"Roy? Who do you want to go with?" I asked. His eyes darted between me and Mike. It may have been unfair of me but I suspected that he was calculating just who was less likely to run into zombies. A not unreasonable reaction, I guess.
"You girls will have your hands full with the kids." He responded gruffly. "I'd better go with you."
****
As we left the chaos of the city centre behind, I breathed a sigh of relief. Discussion turned to finding a car for Mike and Ken. As there was a rental car yard only a few blocks away, we headed over there. Pulling into the car yard, everything was quiet and business as usual.
I sighed. "Nice to be back, Roy." I glanced through the back window. "Is everyone okay in there? Jessie?"
Her thin face appeared. "I'm okay. It was a bit scary for a while, though. There was a lot of screaming and banging outside."
"You kept quiet. That was the right thing to do." She smiled a little at that.
As Mike swung out onto the street, he made no attempt to avoid the zombies making their way towards us. There were few living people in the vicinity now, having fled or joined the walking dead. My chest tightened as I recognised the dead father standing beside the blank-eyed chubby toddler he had tried so hard to save, watching us drive by.
As Mike made his way carefully down the main street, taking care to avoid abandoned cars and the occasional living human, we sat in silence, trying to make sense of the chaos. Michele didn't say much, still looking a bit stunned. I squeezed her hand tightly but left her alone to deal with her emotions. What could I say that could possibly make things better?
Pulling out the mobile phone, I dialled the police. As unlikely as it seemed that they didn't already know the score, I had to make sure. The line was engaged. I tried again with the same result. Too many emergency calls flooding the line.
Shutting the phone, I asked levelly, "Okay, folks, what's the next step?"
I desperately wanted to get to the twins but Kaye lived half an hour out of town in the rainforest - I had to believe that they were safe for the moment. These people, however, had families in more immediate need of rescue. I swallowed the urge to demand to be taken to my kids.
Mike answered slowly, darting the ambulance around a pileup. This far down the street, there were no obvious signs of zombies but the frantic behaviour of the people on the street suggested otherwise. "I think we should split up."
He hastened on before anyone could protest. "We've only got a small window of opportunity before this plague infects the whole town. It makes sense to split into two or three groups, collect our families and meet back at a designated location as quickly as possible."
"My sister's home." I instantly replied. "It's a raised home in a rural part of Crystal Cascades. If we had to, it would be relatively easy to defend it."
Mike nodded and there were murmurs of agreement from the others, even Roy.
" We could cover a lot more ground if we split up, I guess." Ken added his support. " I live out in Edmonton."
"I live in Earlville." Mike said. "We can ride together."
"What about you, Roy?" I asked, a little surprised at his reticence.
He snorted, cheeks reddening. "I left Melbourne two years ago to get away from my ex-wife. There's no one here for me to worry about."
I nodded, feeling a pang of empathy for him, and turned to Jessie. "What about you, Jessie? Where will we find your parents?"
She shook her head violently, her eyes darkening with distress, and sank back against her seat. I met Emma's eyes and saw my sudden realisation reflected in them. Jessie's parents must have been at the hospital this morning. I prayed that Jessie had not witnessed her parents' fate but I suspected that it was a forlorn wish.
We quickly agreed that Mike and Ken would head off together while Emma and I would check on her parents and brother, seeing her place was on the way to my sister's.
"Roy? Who do you want to go with?" I asked. His eyes darted between me and Mike. It may have been unfair of me but I suspected that he was calculating just who was less likely to run into zombies. A not unreasonable reaction, I guess.
"You girls will have your hands full with the kids." He responded gruffly. "I'd better go with you."
****
As we left the chaos of the city centre behind, I breathed a sigh of relief. Discussion turned to finding a car for Mike and Ken. As there was a rental car yard only a few blocks away, we headed over there. Pulling into the car yard, everything was quiet and business as usual.
Similar Books
