“Are you sure you want to do this?” Asked Wyatt as he slammed the boot of the Hummer shut. We had stopped on a dirt road just off the highway, outside of a small truck-stop.
Tom had decided to take Max to Darwin, where some of his family lived, so we helped him find a car and gave him some of our supplies to help them on their journey.
“Yeah. If we beat the virus, we should get there in time to find my family, jump on a boat and get away from here.” He replied, buckling Max into a baby seat we found in an abandoned car.
We all knew the chances of them beating the virus were slim, but we had to hope that they could do it.
“Well, if you change your mind, you know where we’ll be.” Wyatt said as he shook Tom’s hand.
“Thanks,” Tom smiled wearily, and looked at Ben, Jo and I. “Thanks all of you, for everything.”
We nodded and said our goodbyes, waving to little Max as the Hummer pulled away.
“At least they’ll be safe in that thing. It’s practically zombie-proof.” Ben grinned, and it felt good to see him smiling like his old self again.
“Where’s Martin?” Asked Jo, holding her hand over her eyes to block the sun while she looked around the parking lot.
“I think he’s in the RV. Sulking.” Grumbled Ben as he started walking back towards the RV.
“Nah, I saw him go into the cafe,” Said Wyatt. “I’m driving this time.”
Ben threw the keys to Wyatt and they both climbed into either side of the driver’s cabin. None of us wanted Martin to tag along, especially after he abandoned Tom and Jill, but he begged us to let him come with us to Elliot’s.
As I stepped into the RV behind Jo, I heard a loud crash come from inside the truck-stop cafe, followed by a scream.
I jumped back out of the RV with my axe at the ready as Martin flew through the cafe door and skidded along the dirt.
“Run!” He yelled as he scrambled to his feet and started racing towards me.
I climbed back into the RV and waited for Martin to get in before closing the door and turning the lock.
Wyatt turned the engine on and started driving back onto the Highway while Martin struggled to catch his breath.
“What happened?” Asked Jo, startled.
I looked out the window to see the zombies emerge from the cafe and start shuffling after us.
“That was too close.” Martin replied, wiping sweat off of his forehead.
“Why the hell did you go in there, anyway?” Asked Ben as he turned in his seat to face Martin.
“I was looking for a weapon,” he answered, holding his palms up defensively. “I didn’t think anyone would be in there. It looked empty.”
Ben rolled his eyes and turned to face the front again, clearly irritated.
I put the kettle on and started preparing a few of the dehydrated pasta meals for our lunch. None of us had eaten much over the past few days, the stress of this new world had taken it’s toll on our appetite, but we weren’t safe yet and we had to keep out energy levels up.
After handing a bowl of pasta to Jo and Ben, I offered one to Martin, who had been sitting silently at the dining table.
“Not hungry.” He muttered, shaking his head.
As I sat across from him to eat my pasta, I noticed he still had sweat beading on his forehead from his scare back in the cafe.
“How long until we get to Daintree?” He called to Wyatt, so suddenly that I dropped my fork on the table in surprise.
“Still got about fourteen hours.” Wyatt called back, and Martin groaned in frustration.
I turned to look at Jo, who sat cross-legged on the couch with Dixon by her side, and she had the same worried expression as me.
“What?” Asked Martin suspiciously, and I knew he was talking to me. “What are you looking at her like that for?”
“No reason.” I answered, turning back to my bowl of pasta to avoid making eye contact with him.
“You got a problem?” He asked, this time louder.
My discomfort grew as he leaned forward in his seat. I could feel his eyes burning into me, but I didn’t take my eyes off of the meal in front of me.
“Nope.” I lied.
“Good.” He grumbled as he crossed his arms and leaned back in his seat again.
Dread filled me as I thought about having to spend the next fourteen hours trapped in the RV with him. I had a bad feeling about this guy, my instincts started sounding the alarm about him the moment he stepped into the RV, but he had nowhere else to go. If we kicked him out now, he would surely die.
As I argued back and forth with my conscience about what to do, I could feel Martin’s eyes burning into me again.
Trying to be inconspicuous, I quickly glanced up at him, only to realise he wasn’t staring at me, he was staring at my food.
“Do you want some?” I asked, pointing to the extra bowl of pasta on the kitchenette bench that I had offered him just ten minutes earlier.
“Yes.” He answered, but I noticed something different about his voice.
I stood up to get the extra bowl, but by the time I had turned around to give it to him he had started shovelling mine into his mouth.
“Sure, go ahead.” I muttered sarcastically as I sat across from him at the dining table again.
He snapped his head up from the bowl to glare at me, and the look in his eyes made my heart skip a beat.
I could hear Dixon growling from the back of the RV, and I slowly turned to see he had his eyes locked on Martin.
Suddenly, a horrible realisation occurred in my mind.
I watched as he gorged on my bowl of pasta, then pulled the other bowl in front of him and started scooping that into his mouth, too.
My heart started to beat faster as my eyes scanned his face.
His skin had grown pale and sallow, sweat drenched his skin and the blood vessels in his eyes had quickly inflamed.
I searched his arms and any exposed skin for a bite or a wound, but I couldn’t see anything.
Polishing off his second bowl of pasta, he pushed it aside and rested his head on his arms on the dining table.
It instantly reminded me of the man I saw in the diner a few days ago, when all of this began. The irritability, the hunger, the sickly appearance, it was all the same. Within minutes, that man had transformed into a zombie.
The same was about to happen with Martin.
He must have been bitten by one of the zombies at the truck-stop.
Now he had started turning right in front of me.
Quietly, I stood up from the table and walked over to the driver’s cabin, watching Martin the entire time.
I could tell from the rhythmic movement of his back that he was still breathing, which meant we still had time. But the infection would kill him soon, and once that happened it would only be a matter of seconds before he came back as one of them.
“Guys,” I whispered, trying my best to stay calm. “Listen very carefully. We’ve got a serious problem.”
“What is it?” Asked Wyatt as his shoulders tensed.
“It’s Martin, I think he’s been bitten.”
Ben peered around me to see Martin hunched over the dining table.
“Are you sure?” he asked. “It looks like he’s asleep.”
“I’m think so,” I replied. “Remember the guy from the diner? The first time we saw a zombie? He was pale, sweaty, aggressive… it’s all happening to Martin. I watched it with my own two eyes.”
“Ok. I’m pulling over now.” Whispered Wyatt as Ben started rummaging through his backpack.
Suddenly, I felt a chilling warmth on the back of my neck. Someone was standing behind me.
“What are you all whispering about?” Martin bellowed. “Why are we stopping?”
I froze, too afraid to face him.
“Are you feeling alright, man?” Asked Ben. I could see him slowly pulling a knife from his backpack.
“What did you say to them?” Martin growled as he gripped onto my shoulders, throwing me onto the ground.
I rolled over and kicked him in the knee, hearing a loud crack as it snapped backwards.
Screaming in pain, Martin fell to the ground next to me while Wyatt pulled the RV to a halting stop. His face looked much worse, now a sickly grey colour, and his eyes were blood red.
“Eva, are you okay?” Wyatt asked as he and Ben held Martin to the ground.
“I’m fine. We don’t have much time!” I warned as I jumped to my feet and grabbed my axe from the kitchen bench.
Jo watched in confusion while holding Dixon back, who growled and bared his sharp teeth at Martin.
“Get off me, you bastards!” Martin yelled as he thrashed his body around violently.
“Get him outside!” Ben said to Wyatt as they lifted him to his feet.
I held the door open and tried to catch my breath as the three of them stumbled out onto the highway.
Jo and I stepped out of the RV and closed the door, leaving Dixon barking at Martin from the window.
Wyatt stood behind Martin, holding his arms behind his back to keep him still while Ben searched for the bite.
“Eva, what’s going on?” Asked Jo, trembling beside me.
“He’s turning, Jo. Look at him.” I said, motioning to his face.
“Oh my God!” She gasped as she studied his face from where we stood.
Her expression turned from fear to anger, and I watched in surprise as she stormed over to Martin.
“You knew you’d been infected and you came with us anyway?” She shrieked. “You could have killed us all!”
My jaw dropped as she scrunched her hand into a fist and punched him in the nose.
“Bitch!” He yelled, but she didn’t even flinch. I’d never seen her so furious in my life.
I pulled her back and held my arm around her as he glared at her with those fiery eyes.
“Have you been bitten?” Ben yelled as he held his knife against Martin’s throat.
“What are you talking about?” Martin sniggered.
“You know bloody well what!” Said Ben, anger in his voice. “Tell us now! Did you get bitten?”
“Piss off!” Martin spat as he tried to struggle out of Wyatt’s grip.
After pulling his shirt sleeves up and finding nothing, Ben crouched down to search his legs.
Seeing an opportunity to fight back, Martin kicked Ben in the face, sending him flying back onto the ground with a loud smack.
“Ben!” Jo cried as she fell to her knees next to him, but he was out cold.
A rumbling growl emerged from Martin’s throat, and he threw his head back, head-butting Wyatt in the chin.
In one swift movement, Martin thrashed out of Wyatt’s grip and leapt free.
I stood in front of Jo and held my axe back, expecting him to launch himself on us at any moment, but he didn’t move.
He just stood still, poised like a cat ready to pounce at anyone who came near him, his head darting back and forth from me, to Jo, to Wyatt.
I watched his eyes carefully, and noticed something odd about them. One moment he glared at us with hunger and desire, the next he would emit a profound sadness that was utterly human.
It appeared as though he was fighting an internal battle; his human self versus the monster that had started taking control of his body.
“Please…” he whispered.
“Help me.”