Bloodshed (Book One in the Apocalypse Trilogy)

Chapter 15: Betrayal

Location: Darwin

Williams

He and Jake had remained at the cliffs, while Cal and Johnny went to search the city. They all knew that       the only option now was to make the trip to Perth. First, though, they would find a way to get there.

Williams was cleaning the guns. Jake sat on a rock, staring at the ruined skyline of Darwin. What he was looking for, Williams wasn’t sure of.

“Jake, can you pass me the pipe cleaner? It’s in my bag.” Jake got up silently, but spent quite a lot of time at the bags. Eventually he came back, but not with the pipe cleaner. He had the photo of Williams’ family.

Jake handed the photo to him, and pointed to the woman in the photo. “That’s my mum.”

Williams looked at him. “What?”

“That’s her. This was taken when she was younger, but that’s definitely her.”

Williams cleared his throat. “Jake, that’s my family, before the apocalypse.”

Jake looked at him. “Then... Wow.”

“Yeah, wow.”

“I thought you looked familiar,” said Jake. “But I thought you were dead.”

“I thought you were as well. How did you escape?”

“When we got separated, Mum got shot. The guy who did it threw me onto a truck, asking me to forgive him. The truck left, and after a while I came to Mildura.”

Even though he had known it in his heart, Williams was saddened to know that Bridget was in fact dead. A small part of him had been hoping that she had been alive all this time.

A gunshot in the city interrupted them. A flash illuminated the grey sky, and yelling echoed from one of the buildings.

“I’ll be right back,” he promised Jake, and he grabbed his gun before skidding down the gravel mountainside. The building was close to the cliff, so he reached it within minutes.

He found Johnny and Cal, guns pointed at one another and a spray of small holes in the wall. Smoke wafted from Johnny’s gun. One barrel was still loaded.

Williams sprinted in, taking down Cal and kicking his shotgun into the corner. Johnny aimed his other barrel, but Williams’ boot caught him in the ankle, sending it to the ground. It discharged, and another spray of holes appeared in the wall.

“What the hell is going on?” he demanded. It was then that he saw the white tube which was Johnny’s cigarette rolling along the floor.

“Oh, man. Johnny...”

Johnny shook his head in denial. “You ever been addicted to something? It hurts when you have to give it up.”

“Shut up, you bastard!” Cal yelled, trying to attack Johnny. Williams held him back, and he stopped struggling.

“Yeah, it hurts. But you don’t start again!” he said.

“That drug killed my wife!” Cal yelled.

A fire blazed behind Johnny’s eyes, but his rage was interrupted by a zombie bursting through the doorway. Williams whirled around, andfired a few rounds into its torso. This zombie was different, though. Williams could see the tough, leathery skin that marked it as different. It must have evolved to withstand the hostile environment of the deadzone. A few more bullets sent the creature to the ground.

Another gunshot sounded behind him. Johnny was clutching his stomach, blood seeping through his fingers. Cal had reclaimed his gun.

“Cal, you idiot!” Williams screamed at him, punching him in the side of the head. Cal simply looked from Johnny to Williams, a sad Look on his face. Moans and shrieks came ever closer, and they could see the faint glow of blank, white eyes.

Johnny collapsed, and Cal rummaged through his jacket. He eventually found what he was looking for: the vial of red liquid, the prototype cure.

“I’m sorry,” he heard him whisper.

Johnny was still alive, but there was no way to move him. They ran outside, the zombies swarming the building. Johnny’s screams of horror and pain could be heard as they sprinted into the night, followed by zombies.

They found an unlocked car and scrambled inside, where Cal hotwired the engine. Blood was streaming out of a gash on his cheek. Leaving behind the zombies, the raced to the bottom of the cliffs, where Jake was throwing down the bags.

He slid down himself, and they took the highway, and found themselves back in the desert.

Jake asked no questions about Johnny, but Williams knew that his son was going to find out. His son. Still alive after seven years.  It seemed that even in this godless world, miracles could still happen.

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The first casualty of the story. Not the last.