The Dead Chapter 6

Book 1: The Dead

Chapter 6

We got back on the road and heading towards Daphne’s, disappointed that we hadn't found Sebastian and worried for him, but empowered by our discovery. The gun however did not make me feel any safer, it was a tool of violence and its presence reminded us of exactly how much our world had changed. But I had no more time to analyse my feelings, as we got closer to Daphne’s the sounds of screams and cars got closer, I remembered that Daphne’s is close to the hospital. Memories of my father’s last moments came flooding back and I paled and shivered. Nicole noticed in the driver’s seat and asked, ‘are you alright?’

‘Fine,’ I said, defensive, but then I sighed, ‘of course I’m not OK  my entire family’s dead-or worse-and yet I've got to get over it and move on, move forward’

‘I know what you mean,’ Nicole’s voice was sad and serious, ‘I don’t even know what’s happened to my family but I have to resist the urge to leave you guys and search for them like a crazy person.’ We both laughed

‘Now that’s something I can see you doing,’ we laughed for a few moments longer before I continued, ‘thanks Nicole, I needed that.’ She smiled back

‘Anytime.’

We finally made it to Daphne’s, the sounds of the chaos so loud now that we were all incredibly on edge. More than we were before anyway. At least we were more successful here than we were before, before we even stopped we saw Daphne and her boyfriend Simon exiting the house and entered their car. They still didn't stop when they saw us pull up and we quickly jumped out of our cars and ran to stop them before they took off. I stood in front of their car and that’s when they saw me, I heard Daphne say in disbelief, ‘Will?’ But the conversation never moved on as an out-of-control car crashed through a fence from the main road behind Daphne’s street and slammed into the side of Daphne’s car. I was thrown to the ground by the impact, I hit my head and blacked out.

                I woke up with a start and sat up, I sat up to fast and blood rushed to my head, adding to the pounding and the pain. I was grateful that I took that leather jacket, as it prevented several potential bad grazes but I had still hit my head and blood ran down the side of my head from a cut on the side of my head. I slowly returned to reality as I heard Nicole’s yells as she rushed towards where I lay, ‘Will! Will!’ As she reached me I slowly turned my head and surveyed the situation. Daphne’s car was trashed, as was the car that crashed into it, but she was standing outside the car, dazed and with what looked like a deep cut on her arm, Todd seemed to be yelling at her but she wasn't looking at him. Caleb and someone I didn't recognize were pulling someone from Daphne’s car, Simon I guessed. I saw through the new hole in the fence people running and screaming, and many abandoned cars filled the road. Wendy joined Nicole with some supplies from our car, when Nicole pressed a bandage with antiseptic onto my wound the stinging pain finally brought me back to reality.

                ‘Ah!’ I exclaimed, pulling away, but Wendy and Nicole grabbed me and held me still. They finally let me go when Nicole had finished bandaging my head

                ‘Are you alright?’ She asked

‘I’ll be fine,’ I said as they helped me up, I was barely listening to a word they said, consumed by worry for my friends. Nicole went over and began helping Todd with Daphne’s injuries. I ran, as best I could with a concussion, over to Caleb as he and the woman pulled Simon from the car, with Wendy running along beside me. Simon was covered in blood and unconscious. ‘Oh my god!’ Daphne had seen Simon, snapped out of it and was now crying hysterically at his side. The woman turned to us, ‘he’s badly hurt’

                ‘We have to get him to a hospital,’ Caleb said

                ‘We can’t,’ the woman said, ‘that’s where everyone is running from,’ she took a deep breath, ‘when the vaccinated people got sick they were taken to the hospital, its overrun.’  Nicole had dressed Daphne’s wound and Todd pulled her away towards the car, Nicole turned to us. ‘Nicole,’ I said, thinking, ‘you’re a med student now right?’ Nicole looked down at Simon’s state and backed away

                ‘No no no,’ she said scared, ‘this is way beyond first aid, Will’

                ‘Well we can’t go to the hospital, we have to do something now,’ I turned to Caleb, ‘go get the supplies from the Ute.’ I grabbed Nicole’s hands and looked her in the eyes, ‘you can do this, I have first aid training, I can help’ the woman took of her jacket and knelt beside Simon

                ‘Me too,’ she said

                ‘Who are you anyway?’

                ‘Brooke, I’m a store manager at K-mart. I-I was the driver of the other car,’ she looked ashamed at the last part

                ‘Are you hurt?’

                ‘No I’m fine.’ Caleb returned with the supplies and we turned to Nicole who still looked distressed and she looked over to Daphne, still crying in the car. She knelt down with us and got to work.

                After a while and using up half of our supplies we felt comfortable moving him. Todd and Caleb had made a stretcher which we used to load him into the back of the Ute, Nicole and Brooke joined him ‘we’ll take care of him,’ Nicole told me, ‘but he’ll need antibiotics, which we don’t have’

                ‘Let’s just see what happens before we make any decisions,’ Todd said

‘No Todd, even if he doesn't need antibiotics he should have them, and we’ll need them sooner or later, we should go to the hospital’

‘I’ll think about it.’ Caleb had found a working motorbike and went to find out the state of the hospital while Todd, Wendy and I discussed our plans. Eventually we decided Nicole was right, we had to go the hospital, but I held my reservations, but I think they may have been less concern for the safety of the group and more fear of what I would discover there.