Order 17

Chapter 3

Bodies were everywhere. They were all over the paths, in cars and even on the nearby balconies of skyscrapers.

"Oh my gosh..." Rae trailed off. We could still hear the gunshots and screaming, although it now sounded a couple of kilometres away.

"Why would they..." she began again but stopped mid sentence.

"I can't believe they would do this!" she said furiously.

"How is this possible?" Delilah asked.

"I don't know" I say, still surprised by all of the bodies lying around us.

"We have to go" Eaton says, surveying the area. "They might come back looking for us."

"I agree." I say, also looking around.

"What about our families!" Rae says, looking worried. "What if something happened to them!"

"I didn't think about that...Let's just hope that they heard the gunshots and ran." Eaton says, a gloomy look on his face.

"We have to see if they're okay!" Delilah says, a desperate look on her face. "What if they're still here hiding!"

"We can't stay here." Elle says. "They'll probably bring reinforcements."

"You're right." Eaton says.

"Yeah....I guess." I say. I think about my mum, and what might've happened to her. I hope she made it out okay.

We decide to go towards the tram station. From there, we'll follow the tracks until we find the tram. Once we've found said tram, we check for any signs of life, take refuge in it and make out plans. Following the tram track proves to be a harder task than we expected, due to many bodies lining them. It seems this was a popular escape route. Not only are there lots of bodies, but there is also a stream of blood. Beautiful. It feels like we're in a horror movie. After about six kilometres, we spot on of the trams, heading in the direction that we've come from. All of the windows have bullet holes in them, doors have been smashed open and the driver is sitting dead in his operating chair. So much for signs of life. I go inside first, deciding that it would be wise to check for supplies anyway. It seems that lots of people wanted to go shopping, because that tram is full of people. Upon first glance I notice a water bottle in somebody's lap. I guess they won't be needing it anyway. I walk down the length of the tram and search handbags, satchels, and some pockets. I nearly finish searching the entire tram and see a pram. That's when I stop and stand still for a moment. I don't want to get any closer, but I don't exactly feel like walking away. I just feel....Depressed.

"James?" I hear a voice say from behind me. Delilah.

"Yeah." I say in a gloomy tone, turning around to face her.

"What are you doing?"

"I just saw....ah....you know...." I say and point my thumb behind me.

"Oh. Yeah. Well the others are getting bored. Do you think they should come in?"

"No." I say. That Pram could be empty, but it's still getting to me. "Let's find another."

***

"So, any suggestions as to what we should do?" Elle asks. Good thing this tram doesn't have many people. They're already starting to smell of death.

"Umm, what if we go to Q1 and stay there until we know the coast is clear." Says Rae.

"No, they would totally see us. Plus it's the tallest building on the coast. It'll be pretty obvious too." I say. "If we do go to any of the skyscrapers, let's choose a smaller and less obvious one."

"What about.....Chevron Renaissance?" Rae says. "It's smaller and has a shopping centre just below it too."

"Yeah that sounds like a good place to stay." Eaton says. We walk another ten or so kilometres before reaching the three buildings. It's quiet outside, and there is no sign of soldiers. We decide to get in through the carpark, and make our way to the top. The carpark is littered with bodies -not surprising- but there aren't any cars.

"That's odd." Elle says. "Where did all the cars go?"

"I don't know." I say. "Yet's just hope that they were the ones that managed to get out."

We find the staircase to the ground floor and walk up. The restaurant filled galleria is deserted, and strangely enough there aren't any bodies here.

"That's odder." Delilah says. "There aren't any bodies here."

"That's weird." Rae says. "Maybe everyone went to get their cars but they got stolen...?"

"Maybe." I say. This is getting really strange, and it feels like something isn't right. We walk up another set of stairs and decide to cross a small bridge connecting one of the two storey buildings to the one opposite it. We get about halfway and drop to the floor, silent. Because we can hear footsteps entering the galleria.