The Lost Journal Part 2 (A Secret Apocalypse Story) (15 page)

I
found the emergency stairwell and climbed up on to the roof of the stadium. I
was anxious to find out what the situation was. Maybe the military were starting
to clean this place up? Maybe they were starting to reclaim the city? They
could start from the coast and out behind the western suburbs. Close in from
both sides. Go through suburb after suburb systematically and methodically.

That’s
what I’d do.

But
when I got to the roof I didn’t see anything. I don’t know what I was
expecting. Maybe I expected to see choppers and jets and tanks. But the city
looked quiet and lonely. It looked deserted.

Suddenly
I spotted one lone jet, high above the city. I couldn’t quite make out what
kind of jet. It appeared to be black. It could’ve been a B-2 stealth bomber. I
guess, someone was out there. Someone was watching the city. Planning.
Organizing. Hopefully they would make their move soon.

Two
smaller jets flew in unison with the larger jet. The Jets banked sharply to the
east. They then straightened up and gained speed. A split second later a huge
boom echoed throughout the sky and the city. The two smaller jets disappeared
over the horizon, heading back out to sea.

The
larger black jet climbed, gaining altitude and disappeared behind some clouds.

I
wondered what they were doing.

Reconnaissance
maybe.

But
reconnaissance for what?

All
of a sudden Franco was standing next to me. He had a spotter scope up to his
eye. "Yeah," he said. "Reminds me of that mission as well."

"Franco?"
I whispered. "What? What mission?"

"In
the Hindu Kush when the F16’s took out that hidden Al Qaeda base. Battle damage
assessment. What a load of crap. Nearly got us killed. Why did they want us up
there? It wasn't for the bombing. No way. Why were they digging those graves?
Why did command ask us if any of them got back up? Sound familiar?"

"What
are you saying?"

"You
already know. You know damn well what I’m saying. You're just too scared to
admit it. Afghanistan is a long way away. A world away. The Middle East. West Asia.
The biggest most populated continent in the entire world."

"Franco,
you don’t know."

He
shook his head. "Why did we agree to that mission? Why? We were dropped miles
behind enemy lines. Just the two of us. You know how dangerous that is? You
know how exposed we were? I’m surprised we got out of there alive. If it wasn’t
for your shooting ability we’d be dead right now. We’ll, you’d be dead as well.
My point is; we should’ve died up in those Afghan mountains. We should’ve died
with our faces buried in the mud. That’s what should’ve happened. But you kept
us alive, Kenji. You’re a goddamn hero."

"I’m
not a hero. I was just following orders. I was just…"

"Yeah,
yeah. Semper Fi, right? Always faithful. Right to the end. Even when we get
ordered up into the mountains for some bullshit assignment. They were digging a
very large grave. Do you know anything about a proper Islamic burial? What am I
saying? Of course you do. You’re a smart guy. Islamic tradition dictates that a
burial include bathing the body, wrapping the body in white cloth, burying the
body so that it faces Mecca. Did it look like they followed any of those
rituals? I don’t think the Koran says anything about being thrown
unceremoniously into a mass grave. Anyway, I’m just rambling on now. You were
there. You saw how messed up the whole situation was."

"Yeah,"
I said. "It was messed up."

"Oh,
and I don’t think I ever said thanks."

"Thanks?
For what?"

"For
saving my life. Like I said, we should’ve died on that mountain. We should’ve
been shot to pieces. You saved my life. You’re a good soldier. And I don’t care
what you think, you are a hero."

I
shook my head. I was about to tell him that I was no hero. That we should’ve
been more careful in Woomera. He’d still be alive if we were more careful and if
I didn’t hesitate. But he was gone.

When
I got back to our room, Jack and Maria were awake.

"What
was that noise?" Maria asked.

"A
couple of jets. Sonic boom."

"A
what?"

"Sonic
boom. When a jet breaks the sound barrier."

"Oh."

Jack
looked hopeful. "Do you think the military are coming back? Do you think
they’ll organize rescue operation for Maria?"

"I
honestly don’t know."

"We
should get to work on that sign as soon as possible," Maria said.

I
knew she was right but I didn’t feel like it at that moment. What was the
point? Even if the military saw the sign would they rescue us? Would they be
able to?

I
don’t know.

The
hope of being rescued was giving us strength and energy but I think it was also
making us delusional. We were sitting back, hoping that we would be saved, waiting
for our knight in shining armor or whatever. When I look back it was obvious we
were on our own. They weren’t coming back for us. Not even for Maria. If we had
any chance of survival, we would need to get out of this city. And we would have
to do it alone.

March 1st - The choices we make

We’re going back in. I’m probably not going to get much sleep tonight. Our plan
to escape the city didn’t work out so well for us last time but we have to keep
taking calculated risks. We can’t just sit here in the stadium, waiting to be
rescued.

That
ain’t gonna happen.

We
might as well be waiting to die.

So
we decided that we had to make the move. Like I said, hope gave us strength and
courage. And right now, we need strength and courage to go back into the city

So
we’re going back in.

Let
me explain how we got to this point of desperation. A few days ago we heard a
huge explosion. This time we all went up to the roof to check it out.

None
of us could’ve of expected what we saw. It was a huge red, mushroom cloud. It kept
getting bigger and bigger.

"What
the hell is that?" Maria asked.

Jack
looked worried. "Did they just drop a nuclear bomb on Sydney?"

"I…
I don’t know. I don’t think so. It hasn’t destroyed anything. The buildings we
can see are still standing. And after an explosion like that, they most definitely
should not be standing. And if it was a nuclear bomb there would be damage,
fires. We would’ve felt the shockwave, the blast wave. The heat wave."

"So
what the hell is it?" Jack repeated.

"I
don’t know. It could be a different kind of weapon?"

"A
different kind? What do you mean?"

"You
know, to stop the infected."

"Do
you think it’s poisonous?" Maria asked.

"It
could be. We should get inside. Close the doors. The windows. Everything."

The
mushroom cloud continued to grow bigger, wider and higher. It had almost
covered the entire city and it showed no signs of slowing down. Maybe this was
the military’s last chance, their last roll of the dice.

Whatever
the hell it was, I hope it worked.

Dust Storm or Hell on Earth

Over the next couple of days the city became engulfed in a huge dust storm. Surprisingly
we also heard more activity, more noises coming from the city center. We could
hear jet engines and choppers. More explosions.

I
really wanted to go back up to the roof to check it out. But I wasn’t sure if that
was such a good idea to go outside in the middle of a giant dust storm that
might be some sort of poisonous, biological weapon.

However,
a couple of days later we heard another chopper fly overhead. It sounded close.
A few minutes later we heard more explosions and more jets flying over the
city. We argued about going back into the city. Well, I argued. Jack and Maria
were just trying to talk me out of it.

"We
gotta go," I said. "There could be people, other survivors. Maybe soldiers. If
I can meet up with some marines or rangers or whatever, I could get us help. Get
us out of here."

Jack
shook his head. "Kenji, it’s too risky. It’s too dangerous. For all we know,
they’re ordered to shoot anything that moves. You could just be getting
yourself killed. It’s not worth it. We need you here. Maria needs you here!"

"They
won’t shoot me. I’m in uniform. They won’t shoot one of their own."

"How
do you know that?"

Another
chopper flew overhead. Another explosion.

"I’ll
be careful. I’ll stay hidden. I’ll only approach anyone if I think it’s safe.
Trust me. We need this. We’re running low on food and water. We need this."

Jack
was still against it. He kept saying it wasn’t safe. "You hear those
explosions? That’s not a good sound. In fact I would go so far as to say the
sound of an explosion is a really, really bad thing."

"There’s
gotta be supplies in there," I continued. "The military pulled out in a big
hurry. That means they would’ve left stuff behind. Vehicles, equipment. We can
find something. Weapons. Radios. Something. We could find better walkie-talkies
and contact someone, anyone. Even the military. And we can find out what the
hell is going on in there. Recon is an important exercise."

"What
about the dust storm?" Maria asked.

"The
dust isn’t poisonous," I said.

"How
can you be sure?"

"Well,
I guess we can’t be sure. But the dust is everywhere now. It’s covered the entire
city and the outer suburbs. It’s spread up and down the coast as far as we can
see. Everything is covered in it. There’s even dust inside now. There’s a thin
coat on all the tables and chairs, and the walls. If it was poisonous, we’d be
dead by now."

Jack
reluctantly agreed. I think in the end he knew that in order to get Maria out
of the city we needed to do this.

He
held his hands up in defeat. "Fine. We go in," Jack said. "But I’m coming with
you. And Maria stays here."

I
nodded. "Agree."

Maria
on the other hand did not like the idea at all. "No way. No goddamn way are you
leaving me here by myself. Are you both mad?"

"It’s
too dangerous to take you back into the city," Jack said. "We barely got out
alive last time."

"So?
You can’t just leave me. It’s… I mean this place. It’s hell on earth. This is
no place to be alone."

She
broke down. She started crying.

I
think she knew it was the right thing to do. I’ll admit being alone would be
terrifying. But she would be safe inside these walls.

So
Jack and I are going back in. And I’m probably not going to get much sleep
tonight.

March 2nd - Straight to Hell

We knew the risks involved. We knew what we were doing was extremely dangerous.
But we were prepared. We were vigilant. And when we found the armored Humvee we
figured our prayers had been answered. It was built like a tank. It had armored
doors, reinforced windows and a 50cal heavy machine gun on the roof. It was
perfect.

It
was our ticket out of the city.

But
once again, everything has gone straight to hell.

I’ve
told Jack about a million times in the past five minutes that we did the right
thing. Leaving Maria inside the stadium was the right thing to do. I think I’m
trying to convince myself more than anyone.

We
woke early. Maybe because we had been resting all week. Or maybe because we
were too nervous and too scared to sleep. We moved down to the lower levels and
raided the locker rooms for towels to wrap around our faces to protect against
the dust storm. And before we left we told Maria to have the radio on her at
all times.

Jack
and Maria then hugged.

"Don’t
worry," Jack whispered. "We’ll be back before you know it."

I
wanted to tell him not to say stuff like that. Don’t make promises you can’t
keep.

But
I didn’t.

We
were able to use the cop car to drive back into the city. Lucky for us it hadn’t
been touched. The keys were still in the ignition and it still had about half a
tank of gas. The windshield was completely covered in dust and it took a good
five minutes to clean it off so we could see.

Once
we could see Jack drove off at a hundred miles an hour. I told him to slow
down. A car accident was the last thing we needed.

It
took us a long time to make it back into the city. It was bad. The streets, the
mess. And of course, the infected. Again, Jack’s knowledge of Sydney was
invaluable. He knew every inner-city suburb, every side street and alleyway.

Jack
had driven us into an industrial area of the city. This turned out to be a good
thing because the industrial area of the city was completely deserted. It had
been left untouched by the military’s containment protocol. There were no
abandoned cars clogging the streets. The roads were in good condition. The
buildings were still intact. And there didn’t seem to be any infected roaming
around.