The Lost Journal Part 2 (A Secret Apocalypse Story) Read online

  Organize a pick up point.

  Organize a time.

  I figured that would be the safer option. Beat the hell out of walking up to them blindly on the streets. Who knows how they would react? They would probably enforce the containment protocol. Shoot first, ask questions later. We could not take that risk.

  "In the meantime," I said. "We need to get off the streets. We need to get to a building. Get to the high ground."

  "All right then," Maria said. "Let’s go."

  We climbed down the narrow stairwell of the harbor cruise boat and stepped out on to the jetty. We were about to make our move when we heard something coming from the other end of the marina.

  Running footsteps.

  "Who is it?" Maria whispered.

  I moved to the edge of the boat and what I saw took my breath away. For a second I felt disorientated and confused. Like, I was dreaming, like everything that had happened that afternoon didn’t really happen at all.

  Why? Because the person running towards us as fast as they possibly could, like they were being chased…

  It was Jack.

  Maria had moved up next to me. We looked at each other just to make sure we had both seen him and that we weren’t crazy.

  "Is that Jack?" I asked in a state of complete denial.

  Maria couldn’t contain the smile on her face. She was about to jump off the jetty and run up to him but I held her back.

  "No. Wait. It’s not safe."

  Jack was sprinting at full speed. He kept looking over his shoulder like he was being chased.

  Was he being chased?

  I’ll admit it was good to see him. But on the other hand I couldn’t fight the cold; sinking feeling I had in my gut.

  Something had gone wrong.

  Horribly wrong.

  What happened to their boat?

  Images flashed through my head. Nasty god awful images.

  Did they crash?

  Were they attacked?

  Apaches helicopters.

  F22 Raptors.

  A10 bombers.

  Where was Kim?

  Where was Rebecca?

  Where the hell was Rebecca?

  The Return of Jack

  Jack was close now.

  "We have to get him," Maria said. "We have to tell him we’re here."

  "I… I know."

  I wanted to say we needed to make sure it was safe. That he was not being chased. That we were not endangering ourselves.

  But I couldn’t speak. I couldn’t think.

  Where was Rebecca?

  Maria couldn’t wait any longer. She jumped up and ran towards Jack. I followed right behind. Gun raised and ready. If Jack was being chased we wouldn’t have long to get the hell out of here and find another hiding spot.

  Jack saw us right away. He saw me first. He saw my gun and stopped running immediately and raised his hands. But then he realized it was me and he relaxed. Then he saw Maria. And his jaw dropped.

  Maria ran up to him and they hugged, wrapping their arms around each other. Holding on tight. Jack was exhausted. He had practically collapsed on top of Maria whilst hugging her. But Maria didn’t care. Jack then collapsed for real and I had to help Maria carry him back into the boat. Jack was breathing hard. He was trying to speak but he couldn’t get any words out.

  His chest was heaving.

  "It’s all right," I said. "Just breathe. It’s OK."

  He took a few minutes to calm down and catch his breath. His legs were shaking, his hands were trembling. Adrenalin was coursing through his veins.

  He was in shock.

  I told him to take his time. Breathe. I told him that everything was all right. But in my head I knew everything was not all right. In my head I couldn’t stop thinking the worst.

  Their boat. Sunk. Crashed. Blown up.

  Rebecca. Kim. Drowned. Or shot.

  Blown to bits.

  Or eaten.

  "Is…Um… your sister?" I asked tentatively "And Rebecca?"

  "We got away," he gasped. "We were pretty far out. On the other side of the bridge. I jumped overboard. I left them. I’m sorry."

  "Why? Why did you leave them?"

  "I’m sorry," he repeated, struggling to speak. "I swam back to shore. Started running. Sprinting."

  "Why did you jump?" I asked again. "Why did you come back here?"

  "I couldn’t leave Maria. I just couldn’t. I know Kim is hurt, she’s bleeding. I know it’s going to be tough out there in the open waters. But I couldn’t leave here without knowing what happened to Maria."

  "So the boat is OK? Is Kim, is Rebecca all right?"

  "Last I saw, yeah," he answered. "The harbor was empty. The skies were empty. They had a clear run to the ocean."

  A wave of relief washed over me. They were alive. At least for the moment. I knew that could change in a heartbeat.

  "I can’t believe I found you guys. I can’t believe it. How?"

  "Those soldiers, the men in black. They tried to get me out in a helicopter," Maria said. "We took off. For a second there I thought we were going to make it. But one of the soldiers was infected. He must’ve been bitten while they were breaking into the casino, or while we were getting out. There was a lot of infected chasing after us. He went crazy. And the scariest part was he was sitting right across from me. I mean, if he had decided to lunge for me, bite me, attack me. I’d be dead right now."

  She shrugged her shoulders, "Anyway, just after we took off, he attacked the pilot from behind. Bit his neck, almost ripped his head clean off. After that it was complete chaos. We started going down. We were spinning out of control. I was pushed back in my seat. I couldn’t move. Next thing I knew we were in the water."

  Jack couldn’t believe it. He hugged Maria again. He kept saying sorry. I don’t know why he was saying sorry. Maybe he was sorry for leaving her. I don’t know.

  A couple of hours later, Maria fell asleep. She was exhausted.

  Jack was still wired with adrenalin.

  "You shouldn’t have come back," I said to him. "What about Rebecca? What about Kim? You should’ve stayed with them."

  "The harbor was empty," he answered. "They were safe."

  "You don't know that!"

  "It was clear as far as the eye could see. Trust me. I wouldn't have left them if I thought they were in any danger."

  I stared at him. "There’s no way you could’ve known if it was safe."

  "I had to know that Maria was all right," he continued. "Maybe I wasn’t thinking straight. But I couldn't help it. I couldn't stand by and do nothing."

  I shook my head. I think I understood his reasons. "They almost had her out," I said. "They were so close. But the chopper, the pilot lost control. It's a miracle she's alive. If the military come back, we have to hand her over. Do you understand?

  "What? No way! They tried to kill us. They’re destroying the city. They're killing innocent people. That's why you left right? You didn't want to be a part of it?"

  "I… I left because…"

  "Yeah. And now you want to hand Maria over to the military? Are you crazy?"

  "Maria is too important. She’s too valuable. The military, the soldiers, the men in black, they are enforcing the containment protocol because that's their orders. That's the only way to stop the spread of infection."

  "There's gotta be a better way."

  "There is," I answered. "Maria. That's why we hand her over to the military when and if they come back. With Maria, they can manufacture an anti-virus. They can put a stop to all of this."

  "What if they don’t come back?"

  "Then we have to contact the military. We have to let them know that Maria is still alive."

  "You do realize that if they come back for Maria then they’ll probably just kill us."

  I nodded. "Yeah. I do."

  Jack didn't like the idea at all. He didn't trust the military one bit. And I can’t blame him. Not after the massacre at the bridge and everything else that had happened. But he reluctantly agreed. He knew Maria was important. He knew she should’ve died when she was bitten.

  After all, everyone dies.

  Everyone turns.

  Maria didn't.

  She was different.

  That's why we needed to protect her at all costs. That’s why we had to hand her over to the military when they came calling.

  It was an easy decision to make.

  Unfortunately, the military never came back.

  Maybe they didn't believe the fact that Maria was immune. Maybe they didn't want to risk any more Special Forces soldiers on a rumor. Maybe they couldn't spare the men. There were a million possibilities.

  The only certainty; it was up to me and Jack. We had to protect Maria at all costs.

  We were on our own.

  Going deeper into the city. Risking everything.

  We continued to wait it out in the harbor cruise boat. Eventually, the shelling and the gunfire ceased. The city fell quiet. The silence was even more unnerving and terrifying then the constant gunfire.

  It could only mean one thing. All the soldiers were dead.

  No, I thought. They would’ve put up more of a fight. Maybe they’ve completely fallen back. Maybe they got out.

  Then again maybe they were hiding. Keeping quiet, same as we were doing.

  I could imagine what must be going through their minds at this point in time.

  I could imagine it all too easily.

  "Where’s our goddamn aerial support?"

  "Why is Command not responding? Is the radio broken?"

  Confusion at first.

  Then fear.

  And panic.

  And then the cold realization that they had been left behind.

  A diversion. Collateral damage.

  A sacrifice.

  I took a deep, deep breath as I remembered being in that exact situation not too long ago. Less than a week ago, I thought. Again, I’m ashamed to admit it, but whoever was left, a squad of soldiers, maybe more, they were keeping the infected occupied. This made our lives a whole lot easier. Probably saved our lives.

  "So what now?" Jack asked. "We can’t stay here forever."

  He was right. We were so exposed. Even though this section of the harbor seemed to be deserted for the moment, we knew it wouldn’t stay that way.

  The infected would come through here. It was only a matter of time. The reality of the situation was that we were in deep trouble. We were surrounded and massively outnumbered. We were exhausted and hungry and dehydrated.

  We needed to find shelter and then food and water. In order to do that we needed to head deeper into the city. I woke Maria because she needed to be a part of the planning process. Local knowledge is invaluable.

  "We need to make our way deeper into the city," I said. "We need to find a secure place to rest and recover."

  They both nodded.

  "Any suggestions?" I asked. "You guys know the city. I’ve never been here before in my life."

  "I don’t know," Jack said. "I mean, those things could be anywhere. And the soldiers. They’ll shoot anything that moves."

  "That’s why we need to be careful," I said. "Keep our eyes open. And our ears. But we’re gonna have to make a move before it gets dark. It’s no good moving around when we can’t see."

  "Yeah, I don’t want to be on the streets at night," Maria said. "Good point."

  "We need to find a suitable hiding place," I continued. "Secure it. Try and contact the military or someone. Explain that Maria is immune and needs to be rescued."

  Again Jack did not like the sound of that idea at all. "But they’ll kill us all. They’ll shoot us on sight and they’ll harvest her organs. It’s a no win situation. We can’t do it."

  "What the hell else are we supposed to do? We need to get Maria out. She is all that matters."

  "I know that. But maybe we should at least wait until everything settles down."

  "Take a look around. This isn’t going to settle down."

  "Guys," Maria said.

  We stopped arguing.

  "We can talk about this later. After we secure a hiding spot. We need to prioritize. First things first. Staying alive. Then we can worry about getting rescued, all right? We need to get to a building. A solid building. One that we can fortify. And one that we can get the hell out of in a hurry if we need to. Like the casino. But better."

  She looked at me then. "Kenji we know the city, we can point you in the right direction but you have to lead us. If Jack or I take us into the city, we’ll more than likely to lead everyone into a trap or a bunch of infected zombies or trigger happy soldiers. You have to keep us alive. You have to lead us."

  Maria continued to surprise me. She had been through so much today. She had come close to falling apart.

  But she didn’t.

  She kept herself together.

  She had a strength, an inner strength that I was envious of and amazed by and humbled by.

  I loaded the second rifle I had scavenged and handed it to Jack. "OK, you guys tell me where to go. And I’ll lead us there. Do not fire your rifle unless absolutely necessary," I said to Jack "Stealth is our biggest advantage right now. If I had to take a guess, I’d say the infected are chasing the military as they fall back to the coast and to the airport. This gives us a small window of opportunity. If we hurry, if we go now, we should be able to make it."

  I told them to stay close. Stay behind me.

  I told them we had to be as quiet as possible because if anyone or anything was to see us or hear us, it would be the end.

  The Dead City

  It was late afternoon when we made our way into the center of the city. Storm clouds gathered in the west, slowly making their way towards us. A cold wind blew in from the south, dropping the temperature by quite a few degrees in a very short amount of time. The wind was funneled through the buildings, blowing dust and paper through the streets.

  The paper.

  I’ve never seen so much paper blowing in the wind before. It seemed to be raining down on us.

  When we left the relative safety of our boat, we couldn’t hear any gunfire at all, certainly no explosions. So we figured it was as safe as it was going to get. But as soon as we left Darling Harbor, we could hear sporadic burst of gunfire start up again. Fortunately for us the gunfire seemed to coming from a fair distance away. Further east, towards the coast. And towards the south. Jack said that’s where Sydney Airport was located. The military had probably set up a forward operating base there, I thought.

  We made our way slowly through the city streets. And I couldn’t help but feel I was leading Jack and Maria into an ambush. The sky scrapers of the inner city towered over us. Imposing. Casting shadows. There were literally a million places for an enemy, infected or otherwise to be hiding.

  Buildings were pockmarked with gunfire, shelling, and the blackened scorch marks of explosives. The streets were completely torn up with huge bomb craters. Cars were everywhere. They had been left behind by their owners in the middle of the street and the middle of the intersections, even on the sidewalks. There were all kinds of cars.

  Family sedans.

  SUV’s.

  Luxury cars.

  Work trucks and delivery vans.

  Military vehicles.

  Humvees covered in blood.

  Even tanks had been Left behind. They had possibly run out of fuel. Although some of them had become trapped in between abandoned trucks, and cars and concrete rubble.

  Blood splattered the road and the sidewalk. We started seeing limbs. Legs, arms, hands, fingers. No bodies though.

  It was a scene of complete madness. Total chaos.

  Lucky for us the city center seemed to be deserted at that point in time. And this street was empty. But I had a feeling it wouldn’t be for long.

  "This is awful," Maria whispered. "I’d never thought I’d see Sydney in a state like this. I am so glad we missed whatever happened here."

  "Yeah, this looks like a goddamn warzone," Jack said. "Where is everyone?"

  "If the military were falling back on foot, they’d head for the coast," I answered. "To the beaches. Or maybe towards the airport. So I’m guessing the infected are chasing them, following them out there. But they’ll be back."

  "Who will be back?" Maria asked.

  "The infected."

  "How do you know that?"

  "Remember what Doctor West said. The Oz virus is designed to find life. They’ll be back, and they’ll be looking for us."

  Maria seemed to tense up when I mentioned Doctor West. "Guys," she said. "It’s getting late. We need to get off the streets before dark."

  Storm clouds continued to build and move over the city. Jack told me this was a typical Australian summer storm. The storm would usually build up during the hot and humid day. And then by late afternoon you’d have a violent lighting storm. Strong winds. Even hail. But it would be over pretty quickly.

  Lightning cracked overhead. Thunder echoed throughout the dead city.

  "Where should we go?" Jack asked.

  "Preferably a taller building," I said. "We want to be high of the ground floor. High above the streets."

  "Down there," Jack pointed. "The Center Point shopping complex. There’s about four buildings connected. If we can get to them and get inside, we’d be off the ground. And we would have options, we could move around. Get away if we needed to."

  I nodded. "Yeah, that sounds like a good idea."

  "We better hurry," Maria said. "It’s going to start pouring down any minute now."

  "All right. Let’s go."

  We were about to make a move. We actually took a few running steps. I was looking forward to getting inside, getting off these streets, getting to high ground. But at that moment another flash of lightning and another loud clap of thunder cracked and ripped the sky apart. It sounded like it was right on top of us.

  The lightning bolt lit up the dark streets.

  Directly in front of us, about four city blocks away we could see the infected. From where we were standing they were just shapes off in the distance, moving and running in all directions. Some of them were just standing there in the middle of the street. Some were shuffling aimlessly. Some of them were headed in our direction. They didn’t know we were here yet. But they would soon enough.