Experiment Undead

As I fire the trigger, I realise Jane is standing behind me. She had come back to get me. She stares at me, clearly horrified that I killed Officer Kip, and doesn’t know he had been bitten and had begged me to end his life before he turned.

Jane races towards me and grabs the gun, placing the weapon into the pocket of her thick woollen cloak. As she takes my arm, there are horrific screams from the other side of the supermarket. As we catch up to Liam, we swiftly take cover behind the deli counter. After regaining our breath, we cautiously gaze through the window of the meat display, only to find that the man who had previously fled is now devoid of all humanity. He viciously assaults anyone in sight. We huddle together, lowering ourselves down with our backs against the counter.

Jane’s breaths become more rapid and laboured. Her make-up has smudged, and her eyes are puffy and bloodshot from shedding tears over the loss of her husband.

‘I need you both to stay as quiet as possible, alright?’ Jane sobs, addressing Liam and me. We nod in response. ‘We’ll be safe once help arrives,’ she tries to reassure us, but since Officer Kip informed me most of the police are infected, I doubt that any assistance will arrive anytime soon.

Liam whispers. I can hear the worry in his voice, ‘What if help doesn’t arrive, Mum?’ His shoulders slump as he contemplates their dire situation.

Jane looks at him with uncertainty in her eyes. Her brow furrowed with worry. She’s unsure of what to say.

‘We’ll wait it out as long as possible, or until nightfall, and then we’ll sneak out,’ I reply, trying to offer a solution.

‘Penny, don’t worry, help will come. The police won’t abandon us,’ Jane responds with a frown, trying to quell the growing panic.

I swallow hard and bite my lip. My face contorted with fear. ‘Most of the police force is already gone,’ I whisper, my voice barely above a hoarse whisper.

Jane and Liam startle at my words, their eyes widening with disbelief and terror.

‘How do you know?’ Liam asks, his voice shaking with fear.

I meet his gaze squarely, my expression resolute. ‘It doesn’t matter. I just know,’ I reply firmly.

We fall silent and huddle together, hugging our knees tightly to our chests as we hear the soulless creatures shuffling by outside the front window of the deli. Our bodies tense with apprehension. We know we must remain calm and quiet if we hope to get out of here alive.

Jane and Liam sit huddled together, their faces etched with fear, while I ponder our escape plan. I crawl quietly to the other side of the food island, my mind racing with ideas, but Jane quickly grabs my leg.

‘Where do you think you’re going?’ she growls in a hushed tone, her eyes darting around nervously.

‘I’m going to see if there’s an exit back here or anything we can use as weapons,’ I explain.

‘It’s too risky. I’ll go instead. You might make too much noise,’ Jane insists, her voice firm and resolute.

‘I’ll be quiet as a mouse,’ I huff.

Jane’s frown deepens, but she eventually lets go of my leg, her eyes pleading with me. ‘Just be careful, okay?’ she says, her voice barely above a whisper.

I nod, understanding the gravity of our situation, and creep stealthily around the deli, my eyes scanning for anything that might aid in our escape.

I slowly reach the kitchen block and take the two butcher knives. There is a wooden door nearby. I creep towards it, praying it’s a way out. A mop falls and bangs on the ground as I open the door. I freeze and hold my breath, waiting to see if the soulless has heard.

After a minute of sweating and holding my breath, I’m certain I’m safe. I look inside the open door to see a cupboard with cleaning supplies.

I sit back against the wall and look for anything else I can use. A fire extinguisher? Too heavy. Stacks of styrofoam trays, glad wrap, meat? All useless.

I crawl under a bench and bump my head as I crouch up. I hold my mouth shut as I mumble a few profanities from the pain and look up to ensure I don’t hit my head again, only for a large air vent to grab my attention. It could be our way out! I look closer and see it has a screw in each corner. I’ll need to find something to remove the vent covering.

I cautiously peek over the counter, my heart racing with fear and sadness as I take in the gruesome scene before me. The infected have overrun the supermarket, and I can see at least a dozen of them milling about, their vacant dark eyes and twisted faces a stark contrast to the peaceful customers they were just hours before.

In the distance, I see the lifeless bodies of Doug and Officer Kip. The moment of me shooting them replays in my mind. A lump forms in my throat as tears threaten to spill.

But I shake my head, steeling myself against the overwhelming emotions. ‘Come on, Penny. You can’t cry right now. You need to hang in there a little longer,’ I tell myself, using the self-pep talk to push away the despair.

I quietly return to Jane and Liam, my eyes betraying the turmoil within me, and pull out the knives tucked into the back of my jeans and give one to Liam.

‘Penny!’ Jane growls quietly, ‘What in the world are you thinking, giving your brother a knife? Give them both to me before you hurt yourselves.’

‘No, we need to protect ourselves,’ I argue.

‘I’ll protect you.’

‘You can’t protect us if you are fighting the soulless off or become injured, and we have the soulless after us too!’

Jane bites her lip in thought, ‘You’re right, your always right, Penny,’ she says, handing the knife back to Liam. ‘You know to both hold the knives pointing down to the ground until you need to use it to defend yourself, right?’ she says.

Liam and I nod.

‘We heard a bang earlier. What happened?’ Jane asks me.

‘I found a door, hoping it was a way out, but it was just a cleaning cupboard. A mop fell out as I opened it.’

‘Were there any other doors back there?’

‘The only other door I found was for the freezer where the meat is kept, but there is an air vent we can fit into. I just need something to unscrew it.’

‘Okay, I think we should wait till nightfall, and if no one has come to help us, we will try and open the vent,’ Jane says.

I nod, agreeing with the plan.

***

Eight hours pass. It’s night-time. We peek through the deli window again. There are even more soulless, walking up and down the aisles. We all nod at each other and crawl away towards the other side of the deli. We are halfway there when one of the dead enters. We all look at each other terrified. We stay as quiet as possible. Liam crawls backwards and bumps into the rubbish bin knocking it over. The soulless screeches and moves closer towards us. I stand up. It’s no use hiding now. I wave my arms and yell quietly to get its attention.

‘Hey, over here!’

It turns to me instead of Liam. I pick up raw steaks and lambchops waiting to be packed into trays and throw them at the soulless man. I quickly open the freezer door and lure him in. I quickly circle him, pick up the mop and use it to shove him into the freezer. Liam slams the freezer door shut. I poke the mop handle through the latch.

We breath a sigh of relief.

‘You saved me,’ Liam says, unsure why when he knows I don’t like him.

‘Well, no one else is going to save your ass,’ I smirk.

Liam rolls his eyes and tries to hide a smile.

Jane shuffles over to us and hugs us with relief, ‘Penny, Liam, Let’s get the hell out of here.’

We nod and follow her.

I climb onto the bench with Liam and reach up to the vent. We pull at the grate, but it won’t budge. I stare at the screws intently for a moment, pull out my knife from my pocket and use the tip of the knife as a screwdriver. Liam’s face lights up, and he helps to unscrew the others with his knife.

The vent falls and clashes to the ground loudly.

‘Shit!’ Jane says. ‘Quick, climb in. They’re coming,’ she says, as the moans from the soulless grow closer.

Liam gives me a boost lifting me into the vent. He climbs in behind me and then Jane. After a few turns, I end up at another vent. I can see directly outside. I go from crawling on my knees to sitting and kicking the vent until it loosens and flies off.

I poke my head out and see a dumpster below us to the left. There are flashing blue and red lights from the police cars everywhere. One of the few uninfected officers frantically calls for backup on his radio, saying the infected have outnumbered them. Most of the police members I see are no longer human. There’s rubbish as well as groceries everywhere. Abandoned cars crashed into trees, and others have been abandoned with smashed windows with open doors.

Hundreds of other people are scattered about trying to flee and escape, but unfortunately, many are caught, cornered and bitten. They turn shortly after, becoming one of the undead and straight away hunt a human of their own to eat and infect. There are organs and intestines outside of the dead, laying on the streets. I can hear the groans and moans of the soulless nearby in the car park. The streetlights are out, making it hard to see, and then I notice all the power in the town of Colac must be out.

I take my chance and jump into the dumpster. The smell is horrid. I try not to gag and hold my breath as I wave for Liam to jump. He jumps, hitting his arm on the side and just makes it inside the dumpster. I cover his mouth with my hand as he swears from the pain of hurting his arm. Jane jumps in and quickly checks Liam.

‘It’s okay, it’s not broken, but you may end up with a bruise,’ she says.

Liam nods.

Jane and I climb out of the dumpster and reach up to help Liam.

‘How are we going to get home? Are we walking back, or what about our car?’ Liam asks.

‘It’s too risky. The soulless are everywhere in the car park. We won’t be able to get to the car safely,’ Jane tells him.

I bite my lips in dismay, thinking of my roller and ice skates in the car, but I know it’s not worth risking my life over them either.

Suddenly the sound of helicopters catches my attention. Looking up, I see police and military helicopters flying overhead. They lower down onto the rooftops, where people wait to be rescued and evacuated.

We wave our arms around, jumping up and down and screaming from the dumpster, hoping a helicopter will come down to us, but it only attracts the attention of the undead.

We must keep going quietly on foot or try to get on a store roof where they land. The only problem with reaching a store is going through the horde of infected filling the main streets. There are fewer infected in the outskirts towards the residential houses.

‘We stand a better chance of surviving by going home. We can barricade the doors and wait for help,’ Jane says.

Liam and I agree with her.

We tiptoe around the car park. I trip over something soft but manage to land quietly. I stand and stare at the item. My heart is pounding as I lean over and pick the brown teddy bear up. One arm has been ripped off with stuffing sticking out. The bear’s left side is covered in blood, most likely the blood of the child who owned the teddy. Jane gasps and quickly tries to grab it from me, but I don’t let go. I don’t want to let go.

Jane stares at me, trying to read my mind, her shoulders slump, and she lets go of the bear, ‘We need to keep moving,’ she whispers.

A family climbs onto the roof of a car. The parents hold their children tightly, but they are not high enough. The infected moan and grab the mother’s ankle, pulling her off the car. The child she holds slips from her grip, and the undead circle them. The mother and child’s screams become muffled as the soulless feed from them.

Jane, grabs my hand and pulls me behind her, ‘We can’t save them,’ she says as her lips tremble.

I turn my head to see the father and son on the car roof, crying and screaming for their loved ones. One of the infected climbs onto the car’s bonnet.

Jane yanks my hand, making me turn back to her, ‘I don’t want you to watch,’ she says as tears run down her face.

The noise from the helicopters flying over us attracts the attention of a large group of infected, who move toward us following the sound. We quickly run to the other side of the street and hide behind boxes beside a store to avoid the oncoming swarm. As soon as they pass by, we continue on foot. Cars continue to speed and swerve to avoid people trying to escape. Some drivers, in utter fear, hit the infected. Their windshields shatter, and blood splatters everywhere.

A car then swerves to avoid hitting the woman near me, but it crashes into a building, exploding in a fiery inferno. Another car comes screeching down the road. I scream as it only just misses me and hits the woman, sending her flying into the air and landing on the road with a thump.

The driver doesn’t stop to check on her but speeds off into the distance. Other members of the public trying to flee race to help her but have no choice but to leave her as undead are coming this way in large groups.

‘Penny!’ Jane screams and pulls me into her.

I can feel her heart racing as she hugs me tight.

She grabs my face and looks at me, ‘Penny, are you okay?’ she asks.

I could only just hear what she said. The screams, sirens, alarms, helicopters and cars make it difficult to hear.

There’s an explosion from a store. We duck, hugging each other as debris flies everywhere.

‘I’m okay,’ I say, trying to catch my breath.

Liam places his hand on Jane’s shoulder and points to the infected gaining on us. Jane takes his hand as well, and we run together. Buildings are on fire, and the streets are littered with debris. The undead are everywhere, seeking out the living.

I continue running through the streets with Jane and Liam, weaving through the abandoned cars, debris, and the dead. People are being attacked left, right, and centre. We have no way of helping any of them without risking our own lives. We have already lost Doug, my father, and seen hundreds of other families lose members from theirs just in the last hour.

I let go of Jane’s hand and follow her up Queen Street. We walk as close as possible to each other. I try to block out the sounds of car alarms and store alarms as we walk by dozens of dead laying on the road. Pet dogs are roaming the streets. I stop as two dogs growl and bark at each other as another chews on the arm of a dead woman nearby.

This can’t be real? I have to be dreaming. I slowly turn around in a circle as I stare at the devastation that has become of Colac. It’s like I’m in a horror movie. I close my eyes and mutter. ‘It’s not real. It’s not real,’ but as I’m about to open my eyes, I feel a warm hand take mine. I open my eyes and tilt my head to see Liam standing by my side, holding my hand and taking in the devastation.

He then turns his head and stares into my eyes. I can see the fear and worry in them. He squeezes my hand to reassure me and stays beside me until we reach Chapel Street. His hands drop, releasing mine. His mouth gapes open, but his body remains still.

I look down to see a little girl. She looks to be four, maybe five years old at most. I step closer and kneel beside her. I subconsciously glide my hand over her eyes to close them, place the bear I hold on her chest, and wrap her arms over it before standing up and standing beside Liam.

Jane shrieks when she sees the little girl and vomits in the nearest front garden. She tries to tell us not to look and step away, but nausea takes over mid-sentence each time.

We hear the sounds of cars speeding and people screaming in the distance. Liam grabs my hand and pulls me along behind him. Jane follows us as we run passed her.

‘Over here,’ I point.

We huddle together, hiding behind someone’s front fence, out of sight, as people in Quamby Avenue run, screaming for their lives. Some have been infected, and some are already soulless.

‘It’s too dangerous to stay on the footpath. We’ll have to jump through everyone’s backyards until we get home,’ I tell Liam and Jane.

Jane nods, her expression determined as she leads the way towards the closest backyard.

The wood creaks as we climb over the fences, and the leaves rustle under our feet. My heart races as I spot several dead bodies lying on the ground, their eyes glazed over and their skin a sickly grey.

I swallow hard, pushing down the wave of nausea rising in my throat. I can see Liam’s face pale as he looks away, unable to face the gruesome scene.

There are dead pets as well, their bodies lying still and silent. I can see the pain in Jane’s eyes as she looks at them, her lips pressed tightly together.

We move quickly, not wanting to linger longer than we have to.

Every rustling leaf, every sound of a twig snapping, sets us on edge.

We finally arrive in Toorak Cres in our backyard. Jane shakes as she struggles with the keys to the back door, dropping them twice on the ground. Liam quickly picks them up and unlocks the door, feeling for the light switch and flicking it on, but there’s no electricity. He opens the blinds, and moonlight filters into the room, casting eerie shadows on the walls.

I can see the fear in Jane’s eyes as she looks around the room, taking in the familiar surroundings that now seem so foreign and dangerous. Liam tries to reassure her with a comforting touch on her shoulder.

‘We’ll be okay. We just need to secure the place,’ Liam says.

Jane stumbles her way into the loungeroom through the darkness, pulls out her mobile phone from the drawer of the coffee table and turns on the torchlight function, lighting up the room.

‘Mum, give me your phone for a moment so I can grab the other torches,’ Liam says.

Jane hands him the phone, and he quickly leaves the room, returning with two small torches. He hands me one, and I take it, grateful that we now have a light source.

I turn on my torch, filling the room with a dim but steady beam of light. We move around the house, securing the doors and windows with furniture.

Jane grabs a chair from the kitchen and pushes it under the knob of the back door while Liam and I push the couch against the front door.

‘Liam, grab Dad’s tool bag from under the sink,’ Jane says and then looks at me, ‘Penny, you grab the planks of wood from the garage. Use the door attached to the house, okay?’ she says.

I nod and enter the garage through the laundry door. I grab as many wood planks as possible from Dad’s wood stash and carry them inside. I drop a couple along the way. I give the ones I have to Jane and run back for the ones I dropped. She nails the wood planks across the windows on the lower floor.

I suddenly feel dizzy and hold my head.

‘Penny, are you okay?’ Liam asks, concerned.

‘I’m fine. I think I just need to lie down for a minute,’ I reply.

Liam wraps an arm around me, helps me upstairs to my room, and helps lay me on my bed.

‘I’ll be back in a few minutes,’ he says.

I nod, leave my torch on, and place it on my bedside table.

The day’s events replay in my mind, causing my body to suddenly jolt upright. A wave of nausea overtakes me, and I frantically make my way to the bathroom, barely making it to the toilet before throwing up.

Liam appears as I rinse my face with cold water, holding a drink out to me. Grateful, I take it from him and gulp it down in one go.

‘Thanks,’ I mutter, still feeling queasy.

‘I made you a sandwich, too,’ Liam offers, holding out a plate.

I eye him suspiciously, remembering his mischievous streak. ‘It’s not like you, Liam, to bring me water and something to eat. You didn’t spit in the sandwich or anything, did you?’ I ask, scrutinizing the food.

Liam chuckles, a genuine expression of amusement on his face. ‘I don’t blame you for being suspicious of the sandwich, but no. I didn’t spit in it. I promise,’ he assures me. His demeanour then shifts, and his shoulders slump. ‘It’s not every day we have people trying to kill and eat us,’ he says bleakly.

We stand silently for a moment, the weight of the day’s events heavy upon us. ‘Liam, tell me this is a dream, that this isn’t happening, that Dad isn’t dead?’ I implore him, desperate for some kind of relief from the pain.

Liam doesn’t respond but walks solemnly over to my bed and sits on the edge. I sit beside him, and he pulls me into him and cries. ‘It’s not a dream, Sis, but a nightmare,’ he chokes out between tears.

.