Life After Death

After having breakfast and giving ourselves some time to wake up properly, we decide to sort out our stuff before we head for the town. It seems a bit ridiculous to constantly drive everything around with us now we have a 'base camp'. The fishing gear and half the medical supplies are left with the tent, along with most of our personal items such as our clothes and toothbrushes. Emergency gear and food will be kept in the car, as then it's not only easily accessible, but the food also won't get eaten by any animals. After shifting all our items around, we have a little more room in the car. I sit on a large log that lays just metres from our tent as I pack my bag, preparing for today's trip. I spot a small lizard on the tree next to me and I follow it with my eyes as the little reptile scampers up the bark and along a low tree branch. My focus turns to this branch as I notice some other large branches behind it, growing just a little higher than the first. The way they are placed reminds me of some sort of natural staircase, leading to the tree canopy. I assess each branch from my spot on the log, following the pathway that leads to a great eucalypt with a large space between its thick branches. "Hey! Hey, Karlee! We should build a tree house! Just up there- see, we can use these as steps!" Her eyes light up in excitement and she hastily runs to the few 'staircase branches', clambering along until she reaches the last one. She looks up to see the area enclosed by the bases of the tree's branches, and I know she understands my idea.

"Yeah! We could use that wood we found in the warehouse!" she smiles. But her grin quickly fades as she remembers what it was like when we went to Bunnings yesterday. Something tells me we are going to have to face plenty more undead people today, and I'm not looking forward to it. But we have to go into town anyway, so we may as well get the wood while we're there- makes for fewer trips, and we'll be safer sleeping above ground-level. I hook my crowbar onto my belt and tell Karlee to get out of the tree, both of us ready to leave and a lot of work to be done.

We're only about ten minutes from the town and I notice my petrol gauge slowly slipping down. It won't be a while yet before we run out, but I make a note of it to look for some at the station- after all, it would be just our luck to run out while being attacked by the corpses. I just hope there's actually some left, we'll be in real trouble if it's all out.

"How do you think this whole virus thing started out?" Karlee starts the conversation. I think about her question for a bit before replying. "You know how when people get shots for the flu, or the cold or whatever, and then the virus changes, so every year it's technically a different thing?"

"Yeah?"

"Well, I think that the flu became immune to the latest vaccine, like usual, but then it mutated into some sort of brain infection. Maybe it made people go crazy or something, stuffed up the body's normal functions. Or maybe it's even some sort of rabies" she adds.

"Huh, true..." There is a long silence before Karlee gives her answer. "I think it's a cure for cancer gone wrong. You know how the healthy cells die? Maybe it was something to bring the cells back to life to overcome the cancer, and then the dodgy 'cure' got out and spread. So, yeah, also a bit like rabies."

We ponder over the possibilities for some time and before we know it, we find ourselves at the entrance to the town. So far, so good- it's rather quiet on this road. I travel slowly so as not to make any noise, and also so that we can survey the area without missing anything. That 'anything' could cost us our lives. We pull up outside the warehouse again, stopping and checking the surrounding area. We take note of a couple of wandering corpses loitering on the far side of the park to our right, apparently unaware of our arrival. The place looks pretty clear, so we quietly get out the car and cautiously enter the familiar darkness of the warehouse. I don't bother locking the car in case we need to make a quick getaway- besides, there are not many living people around here, so it's not like it will get stolen. The cold, spooky store is free of corpses. Well, the alive ones at least. The decaying bodies that we killed yesterday, while lying at the very back of the warehouse, cause a horrible odour to hang heavy in the air. We both cover our noses with our shirts as we weave our way through dark, daunting isles in search for the shovels. We find some resting against the wall; they must have been too heavy for most people to use as weapons, or just not the prime choice given the other more efficient options. We grab one each, then as we turn to dump them in the car, Karlee takes two pairs of gloves off their hooks. "What for?" I ask.

"Well, I don't want to touch them unless I really have to." Of course, smart thinking. The shovels are placed in the boot of the car and we go back in to the darkness to find the planks of wood. Trying desperately to avoid the reeking dead bodies, we collect the timber that was left up on the platform we were stuck on yesterday. Before Karlee climbs down from the ladder, I ask her to also get the nail gun- I had left it behind in my panic when we retreated the scene, but I regretted leaving such a useful weapon behind. She comes back down with the tool and about fifteen nails. She hands me the items and clumsily hauls up a few planks of the heavy wood, staggering to the entrance. This is going to take some trips.

With everything packed into the car, the next item on the list is the petrol. I can't see a petrol station close by, so we decide it's safest to drive around the town rather than travel on foot. It doesn't take long before we find one, and there are still empty fuel bottles out the front of the little shop. The place inside looks as though it had been bombed- there are crushed packets of food all over the floor, racks of items tipped over, smashed glass everywhere. Drinks had somehow fallen out the fridges, spilling their contents all over the tiles, now dry and sticky. I walk to the pump (it's still working, thankfully) and start filling up the containers while Karlee still stares through the dim windows. She gives a quick look about the place and then peers around the corner of the small shop. Suddenly she pulls back and presses herself against the wall, giving me a wildly terrified look. I freeze and watch her, unsure of the danger. I find the courage to walk to her and take a look myself, peeping around the corner to find a wire fence holding back a single corpse. The undead, a girl about our age, is facing the other way, and it looks as though she is alone and trapped out the back of the station. Her hair is long and straw-like, and her greyish arm has a large chunk ripped out of it, the wound torn and blackened. Her breathing is rattled and I hear her clacking her teeth as she begins to smell our living flesh hiding around the corner. I retreat to the spot next to Karlee and she shuffles over in fear. "Do you want to do it?" she asks.

"What? No, she's fine there. It can't get out, we don't have to kill it" I whisper.

"But what if there's another way out, or she breaks free, or makes noise?" Karlee's so worried she can't even look me in the eye, her stare instead fixed on the corner of the building. I give in. It will be easy to take her out anyway- my crowbar can fit through the gaps in the wire and it will be a quick and silent kill. I take in a deep breath as my adrenaline rises and, acting brave for my friend, I march around the corner. I almost shit myself. Another four corpses have made their way around the back to the fence, and the dead girl turns to look at me. A hideous snarl spreads across her paled face and she frantically staggers to the tall wire gate. The others follow, growling and moaning in predatory hunger as they stumble to the fence, their arms reaching up and long bony fingers wrapping around the wire. They furiously gnash their exposed and reddened teeth at me, their eyes clouded and wild, and I find myself incapable of moving from this spot. I consider killing them all through the wire- but the violent shaking and twisting of the fence eliminates this option. Karlee grabs my wrist and pulls me back towards the car, only to have the door of the station burst open in front of us, more corpses wandering out into the sunlight. We have no choice but to turn away from the car, our path to escape blocked, and run into the streets in search for refuge. As I'm running, knees weak in fear, I turn back to see the wire fence come crashing down, the undead clambering over the twisted metal to join those that had escaped from the service station. There must be about eight of them hunting us down, and I have no idea where to run. Karlee runs beside me, then in a boost of adrenaline rushes past. She doesn't leave me behind, but instead checks that the corner ahead is clear. She signals me to follow and we turn down the empty street, one other corpse joining chase. I frantically look about for someplace to climb- a ladder, a truck, a large car- but there's nothing in sight. Karlee turns down an alleyway at the end of the street and I follow, taking once more glance back before I go round the corner. Luckily we are much faster than the infected and they've dropped behind by almost fifty meters, but they don't look like they're tiring. We are already gasping for air, but the chase is still on. Determined, my friend sprints ahead, stopping by a large dumpster to make sure I catch up. My crowbar slips out of my grip as I rush to close the gap between us, but the sound of growling and shuffling close behind me prevents me from stopping to pick it up. A corpse rises from behind the dumpster and heads for Karlee from behind. She doesn't notice as she's fixed on the small crowd on my tail, so I frantically point over her shoulder as I run. It opens its mouth and reaches for her and my heart stops, powerless as I realise I'm unable to help my friend. I can only scream at her as the corpse approaches, fingertips inches away from grasping her hair...