They Will Run You Down

Thirty: Descent

Early the following morning, John was wakened by a rambunctious Rebel who had decided to play a game of nibble nose and face wall-climbing. The furry alarm clock had officially sounded its bell.

John shook his head and pet the squirmy pup as he struggled to open his eyes, and when he did he realized quickly that Harley was no longer by his side.

Stiffly sitting up, John looked to his right to see Edvin, Robby, Taylor and Perez still sleeping under their shared blankets. He was understandably anxious that Harley wasn't there, and given her flight risk tendancies, John scooped up Rebel and crawled out of the makeshift tent to see where it was she had gone.

His body felt stiff and rusty after sleeping on the hard, gravely roof and he let out a grunt as he straightened himself out.

"You sound like a grampa," Harley's voice chimed from the opposite end of the roof where she sat on the foot high ledge, one leg hanging down the wall and the other folded underneath her.

"That's no way to speak to your elders," John teased as he padded over to her.

Harley snorted as she turned her gaze back down to the spot where the Jeeps had been left. Earlier in the morning, she had found some sunflower seeds in her backpack and took to chewing on them and spitting the shells over the edge of the roof so she could watch them fall slowly to the ground. Of course by the time they neared impact she could no longer see them.

As John approached, he placed Rebel on the ground, handed the leash over to Harley and took a seat next to her Polaroid camera, "You're up early"

"You were snoring," She said.

"Sorry," John replied as he looked out over the street, "Screamers have mostly cleared out," he added.

Harley spit a few more shells into the wind, "Yeah, but look at the Jeeps, mate"

John did as requested, squinting his eyes to scrutinize the two vehicles. He scratched the stubble on his cheek and sighed, seeing distinct bullet holes in the roofs and hoods of both Jeeps, "They might still work"

"Maybe," Harley shrugged, "Won't know until we get down there"

"Hope so," John muttered as he looked down at Harley's camera. Beside it lay a single Polaroid and John picked it up to see a snap shot of the Jeeps below and the few Screamers that still stubbornly roamed around them.

Suddenly Rebel stood on his hind legs and looked as if he wanted to climb up onto the ledge to be closer to Harley, but thankfully he was just a little bit too short to make it. Harley leant over and pet him.

"You know, my mum was born here," Harley spoke before going into her bag of sunflower seeds and popping a few into her mouth.

"Your mum was born in Sydney? How'd she end up in Perth?" John asked.

Harley shrugged, "Dunno, but- I heard she moved back here a few years before the outbreak.

"You knew where she was while you were growing up in foster care?" John prodded.

Harley shook her head as she spit out a few shells, "Nah, I didn't have a clue until I ran into this rough lookin' old guy who said he used to know her. Said I looked just like her and that's how he knew I was her kid. Anyway, he told me she was in Perth up until there was a warrant out for her arrest then she high-tailed it outta town"

"What was the warrant for?" John questioned as he leaned over and stuck his hand into Harley's bag of seeds.

"I dunno. Didn't ask," she replied.

John copied Harley, spitting the shells in his mouth over the edge and watching them fall, "Hmm"

It was quiet between them for a few moments as they both soaked up the crisp morning sun. In sharp contrast to the day before, the sky was crystal clear and the heat pouring down on the damp pavement gave the air a pungent, earthy odor that reminded John of London.