The Sixth Level (35 page)
Authors: James Harden
I powered off my NBC suit and thing expanded and loosened around my body. It looked like I was wearing a wetsuit made for someone much larger than me.
I stripped down and suddenly realized this was the first time I’d ever been skinny dipping.
It was fun and relaxing. Maria was swimming around, squirting water out of her mouth like one of those water fountain statue things. My faced was caked in dust and after I’d washed all the dirt and grime off I felt like a different person. It was like a cleansing ritual.
But my smile soon disappeared.
Overhead, a huge flock of black crows flew by. They were squawking and carrying on. For a second I freaked out. What if they were infected?
Fortunately, they kept flying. They paid us no attention. But it was enough to make us nervous. We jumped out of the river and dressed as quickly as possible.
I was just in the process of slipping back into my NBC suit when Maria screamed.
I turned around, expecting to see an infected person. But there was nothing.
Maria was staring at the water with her hands over her mouth. I followed her gaze.
There was a body floating down the river. It was badly decomposed, impossible to tell if it was a male or female.
There was just one at first.
But then more.
And more.
Until the river was full.
We ran downstream to where the guys were bathing but luckily they were already out of the water. They had jumped out as soon as they’d heard Maria scream. Daniel and Kenji had grabbed their rifles and were about to come and see if we were all right.
It was kind of funny seeing them just in their undies and boots, carrying their rifles.
But they were all business, completely serious. "Are you OK?" Kenji asked.
But we couldn’t answer him. We were speechless.
Maria just pointed at the river. "The river," she stammered. "It’s… it’s full of bodies."
Kenji turned and aimed his rifle at the water. I could hear him flick the safety switch off. I think he initially thought we meant there were infected in the river. But once he saw the floating bodies he lowered his rifle.
We just stood there for a few minutes. Watching them all float by. There must’ve been thousands.
Kenji said they didn't look infected. Most of them had bullet holes in their chest and torso. He said they had been executed.
More innocent people, I thought.
But then I wondered if maybe it was better this way. Maybe execution was the kinder, more merciful option. I don’t know.
"So, what now?" Maria asked after awhile.
No one answered her right away. Jack was staring at the water shaking his head. Kenji was silent, his shoulders were slumped forward.
"We head west," Daniel said. "We scavenge whatever food and water we can, from wherever we can. And we head west."
"To the camp?" I asked.
"Yeah. If we can get back to the camp, we can get out of here."
"What about Kim?" Jack asked.
"Christmas Island is even further than the camp," Daniel said. "A lot further."
"We can’t just leave her there!"
Maria put her arm around Jack but he brushed it off. "We can’t! I won’t!"
"Maria, is too important," Daniel explained.
"And we don’t know if Kim’s even being kept at that facility," Kenji added.
Jack lowered his head. "I know that. I do. But I can’t leave here without trying, without doing something."
Again, no one said anything for awhile.
He then looked at all of us, one by one. "I’m not leaving without my sister. I have to get her. Or at least try."
The scary thing was Jack was one hundred percent serious. He was going to Christmas Island with or without us.
After a couple more minutes we decided to get as far away from the river as possible.
Daniel told everyone to make sure their feet were dry. If they were wet, we’d get blisters. We did not want that. We had long way to walk.
A long way.
We walked at a steady pace for the rest of the day. And eventually the bushland began to thin out. The ground became drier. The land, the terrain became flat and desolate.
We were at the edge of the outback, staring into oblivion.
Daniel told me the locals call it ‘the Never Never’ because it’s such a huge area; a seemingly, never ending desert.
And we were walking straight into it.
But we didn’t have a choice. To our back was the east coast of Australia, the most populated region of the country. And on that coastline were millions upon millions of infected. We needed to get to Daniel’s camp. We needed to get to the hypersonic jet. That jet was our ticket out of the apocalypse.
So we’re heading west, into The Never Never. Into oblivion. A sort of abyss, albeit a bright, sun scorched abyss.
What’s that saying again? Stare into the abyss and the abyss stares back into you?
Well, we’re staring into the abyss right now. We are walking down a lonely, old road that we can’t see the end of, we can’t even see the horizon, it just turns into a shimmering, heat mirage.
No one has said anything for a couple of hours. I think we’re all wondering how the hell we we’re going to cross this huge desert on foot. How are we going to survive? What are we going to eat? Where are we going to find water in a desert?
It’s a lot to think about. I want to talk to Kenji, get all these thoughts and fears out of my head. I want to hear his voice, engage him. At the very least I just want to walk next to him, shoulder to shoulder. Maybe even hold his hand. But I don’t.
Daniel has been walking out in front for most of the day. Lost in his own world, lost in his own mind. If I had to guess, I’d say he was thinking about Ethan and his team. He told me Ethan was like a father to him. I hope he is strong enough to keep himself together. We need him to be focused if we want any chance of surviving in this harsh and unforgiving environment.
Jack and Maria have been joined at the hip for the entire trek so far. They both look worried. Jack is probably thinking about his sister. Maybe he’s wondering if he really is going to rescue her. Is it worth it? Or is it just a suicide mission?
Overhead, a huge eagle flies by, soaring majestically through the dusty red sky. It appears to be gliding effortlessly on the wind.
"It’s a wedge tailed eagle," Jack says. "I wonder if he understands it’s wonderful to fly."
"What?"
"Nothing. Just some lyrics from a song."
I’m about to ask him what song but I don’t. We continue to walk in silence for what seems like a long time. Hours maybe. Then Maria starts reciting lines from a poem. It’s a famous Australian poem.
I love a sunburnt country,
A land of sweeping plains,
Of ragged mountain ranges,
Of droughts and flooding rains.
I love her far horizons,
I love her jewel-sea,
Her beauty and her terror…
I can’t remember who wrote it or what it’s called. But we had to study it last year in English class. Maria got an A as usual.
Anyway,
I’m pretty sure there’s more to the poem but she ended on the word ‘terror’.
And I guess that’s what we are all feeling right now. Maybe that’s why we’re walking in silence. We’re terrified.
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COMING SOON IN 2011
Where The Dead Men Lie
Book 3 in The Secret Apocalypse series
OUT NOW
A Secret Apocalypse Novella
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Copyright © 2011 by James Harden
This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places and incidents are products of the
writer’s imagination or have been used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any
resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events locales or organizations is entirely
coincidental.
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