While We Fall (The Eva Series #2)

Chapter Twenty-Two

I didn’t breathe as I tried to listen to what the voice was saying, and I let out a sigh of relief when I realised the man had a British accent. It couldn’t have been Elliot.
Finally, my fingers found a light switch and flicked it on.
My jaw dropped as light enveloped me, and I saw just how large the bunker was.
Spanning the entire length of the house, it was huge and completely open, the bare concrete walls making it look like an empty parking lot.
A mattress sat on the floor to my right, it looked like someone had slept in it recently. A white kitchenette traced along the right wall, with a shower and toilet just beyond it. The side walls of the other end of the bunker were lined with shelving and cupboards.

As I ventured further into the bunker, I could see the shelving on the right contained canned food, water jugs, and a large refrigerator and freezer in the centre. The shelving on the left side of the bunker was full of weapons, first aid kits and survival supplies. A couch sat in the centre, with an old coffee table in front of it.
This must be where Elliot disappears to all the time, I realised.
Three flat screen televisions were propped up on the far wall, with radios and computers sitting on the long desk that spanned the width of the room. The man’s voice was coming from one of the radios.
“If the radio works, then maybe…” I muttered to myself as I turned on the television, making sure to mute it so Elliot wouldn’t hear it from upstairs.
All the channels worked perfectly, meaning Elliot lied about the satellite dish losing connection in the storm. A swirling mix of fury and relief filled me when I realised that wasn’t all he lied about.
“The world hasn’t ended.” I sighed, tears filling my eyes as I sped through the channels, each one proving that the world was still very much alive. Reality shows, breakfast television programs, movies… everything was as though nothing had happened at all.
I continued flicking through the channels as I listened carefully to the radio, and realised it was a pre-recorded message on loop.

“This message is for any uninfected survivors in Australia. This is Commander Eric Renner of the HMS Saviour. We, the British Royal Navy, the Royal Australian Navy and United States Navy, are on our way. Our rescue ships will be docking at ports on the following dates to rescue survivors.”

I fell onto the couch in shock, the increasing volume of my pounding heart almost drowning out the radio. Commander Renner listed the rescue dates, all of which had already past.

“Our final rescue mission will begin in Darwin on the seventeenth, followed by Cairns on the eighteenth, Brisbane on the twentieth, Sydney on the twenty-fourth, Melbourne on the twenty-seventh, Adelaide on the twenty-ninth, and finally, Perth on the third. Due to the danger and increasing risk levels, no more rescues will take place after these dates. We will have a ship at every major dock in those cities. Only the uninfected will be accepted on board. I repeat, if you are infected, you will be left behind.”

Fear coursed through my veins as I heard those words. Today was the twentieth, we had already missed our chance to get to Cairns or Brisbane. Our only hope was to get to Sydney.
I landed on a news channel on the television, and un-muted it when I saw footage of the outbreak. I hadn’t seen any news since before we left Melbourne when the virus broke, but I had seen first hand just how devastated this once-beautiful country had become. Helicopter footage showed the eerily deserted streets of Melbourne, half-eaten bodies strewn all over the road.
Zombies owned this country now.

The vision switched to footage of a press conference, dozens of cameras flashed as politicians and army officials took the stage.

“Since British Prime Minister Grant met with Australia’s Prime Minister Saunders, President Chandler and other world leaders last month to discuss the outbreak in Australia and arrange refuge for those not infected, over one thousand survivors have been rescued.”

Prime Minister Saunders appeared on the screen, exhaustion and concern in his eyes as he spoke to the camera.

“I owe immense gratitude to Prime Minister Grant, President Chandler and the entire world for all of the support, help and compassion you have offered myself and the Australian people. To my fellow Australians, I say this; We may have lost our loved ones, our homes and our country, but we have not lost our Australian spirit. We will recover from this. We will move forward. We will forever be united, not by the pain of this unimaginable tragedy, but by our strength, by our hope, and by our sheer determination not just to survive, but to thrive – no matter where we now find ourselves in the world.”

Tears welled in my eyes as the reality of these new revelations began to sink in.
The world had not ended. Rescuers were coming for us. There was still hope. But it was too late for Wyatt and Ben.
I stood up, forcing any thoughts of them out of my mind. If I was going to save Jo and get us out of here, I couldn’t let anything bring me down. I would have plenty of time to cry and hurt later.
I switched the television off and started walking over to the weapons on the wall, when I noticed a ladder next to it, leading up to the ceiling. I looked around the bunker and saw four more ladders placed randomly around the room. As I stepped closer to it, I saw something written on one of the rungs; Bedroom 1.

A sickly feeling grew in my stomach as I realised where it led to, but I had to see it for myself.
I climbed up the ladder and slowly opened the hatch, bile rising in my throat as I peeked through and saw my bedroom, with a perfect view of my bed.
That explains all those weird noises I heard at night.
I shuddered at the thought of Elliot watching me while I slept.
Closing the hatch, I realised all the ladders lead into the bedrooms, and one into the living area. Elliot had been spying on all of us this entire time.
“You found my secret.” A voice said from behind me. Chills ran down my spine. It was Elliot.

I threw the hatch up, frantically trying to pull myself through it, but Elliot had already grabbed hold of my legs and started pulling me down.
In an instant, I was lying on the concrete floor of the bunker, my body screaming in pain from the hard fall.
“Why do you continue to defy me, girl? After everything I’ve done for you?” He sighed as he grabbed me by the wrists and began dragging me towards the open door of the bunker.
“Everything you’ve done?” I growled, anger raging inside me as I struggled to break free from his grip. “You lied to us! You made us think the entire world was gone! You killed Wyatt and Ben! You’re worse than the zombies.”
Elliot stopped, lifting me up by my wrists to face him.
“The zombies gave us freedom. I gave you paradise. And this is the thanks I get?” He sneered. “I lied to you because I knew if you found out the virus hadn’t spread, you would all leave. You’re still brainwashed by the old way of life, stuck in the way things used to be. I knew once you tasted what it is to truly live, you would see the truth.”

I shivered as I looked into his eyes, they were as black and soulless as all the other monsters’ I had come face to face with since this nightmare began. But Elliot was much more dangerous than any of them.
“Before the zombies saved us, we were animals in a cage. Ruled by money and greed. Trapped by society. Our minds occupied by petty things and useless thoughts. Not anymore. We’ve been liberated. Everything else falls away when all you have to do is survive. We can do whatever we want. We’re free.”
“Free?” I spat back. “Being terrified to leave your own home is not freedom! Sleeping with one eye open because a monster could tear you and the people you love to shreds at any moment is not a liberated way to live. You see this as a game, running around the rainforest like some warrior on a mission. You’re the ones who’s trapped, Elliot. You’re trapped in your own mind.”
Elliot threw me against the wall, clutching his hands around my throat and lifting me up by my neck.

I tried to pull myself free from his grip, but I could already feel myself losing strength.

“This is the end for you, Eva.” He whispered into my ear. “After I’m done with you, I’m going to slaughter that mutt of yours, and Jo and I are going to live happily ever after, right here in paradise.”

Tears fell down my cheeks as I struggled for air, knowing the next breath I took would be my last.