Arcadium (9 page)

“Liss, can you
pass me my bag?”

I shove the
siphon tube into the backpack and take out an antiseptic wipe
because now I’m in an enclosed space, the stench of petrol is
making my head fill with butterflies. Everyone is watching me.
“What?” I say.

Everyone averts
their eyes, except Liss. “Are there any Chupa Chups left?” she
asks.

“Um...” I rifle
through my backpack and pull out the plastic bag. Exactly five
left. I pass her the packet so she can have first choice.

“You can have
the last watermelon,” she says, holding out the lollypop to me.

I stare at her
but keep wiping my hands clean. “Watermelon is your favourite.”

“I know.” She
jabs it toward me, waving it in my face. “Take it.”

My eyebrow
arches but I take it anyway. Liss passes around the packet and then
starts unwrapping one for Trouble, since he’s driving. She kneels
on the seat and leans over, putting it straight into his mouth.

Trouble smiles
and nods and gives an enthusiastic thumbs-up. And that makes me
smile. Liss slumps back into her seat and stares out the
window.

“I’m starting
to like him,” Kean says, nodding at Trouble. “What’s his deal?”

“As far as I
can tell,” I say, “he’s a Chinese baseball-playing stunt-driving
card-shark with a knack for finding apples.”

“Huh.” Kean
puts his Chupa Chup back in his mouth and stares at me for a few
seconds before looking out the window.

I shove the
antiseptic wipe into the old Chupa Chup bag and leave it in the
foot well. I glance over at Henry’s legs and he notices
instantly.

“How come they
don’t work?” I ask. I can’t believe I just said that. It’s like
shock has numbed my moral sensor. “Sorry.”

Henry grins. “I
don’t care. It was like maybe um... two years ago, yeah Kean?”

Kean nods and
looks back out the window.

“It was at
Christmas. My family was up at Echuca and there was this swimming
hole with one of those big swings that starts at the bank and then
you swing out and jump into the water. Well, Kean had already done
it and it was my turn. So I swing out, soar through the air and
drop straight onto this log. You couldn’t see it, just under the
surface. I fell funny, broke my back and they haven’t worked
since.”

“That’s awful,”
Liss says, leaning her cheek on the seat rest.

Henry shrugs.
“Don’t need legs to play computer games.”

“Need working
computers and electricity, though,” Kean says.

Henry waves his
hand. “A minor blip. Besides, I don’t need them if I’ve still got
you for entertainment.”

Kean grins and
the brothers clink Chupa Chups together like they’re doing a cheers
with glasses.

Liss looks at
me but the scene beyond the windscreen distracts me. Trouble slows
down and stops.

Since he
doesn’t actually say trouble I assume it’s not life threatening.
It’s not like a hundred infected people are circulating outside our
windows. They’re not. It’s just that a fallen truck blocks all five
lanes of the Burnley Tunnel. We’ll have to go on foot. Foot and
wheelchair wheels.

Beyond the
truck it’s perfectly dark like a huge unexplored cave.

“Is there a way
round?” Henry says.

Kean chews the
last of his lollypop. “Not unless you want to go for a swim.”

“See what I
mean?” Henry looks at me. “Pure entertainment.”

“Trouble
doesn’t seem worried,” Kean says.

But I’m
worried. It’s a few kilometres of pitch back in there, bound to be
filled with infected and we still have a kid in a wheelchair.
“There’s a raised ledge on the right hand side, wide enough for the
wheelchair.”

“Just say
wheels,” Henry says. “It sounds cooler.”

“It’s pitch
black in there,” I say. “If we get stuck...”

“I’ve got
umbrellas and a lighter,” Kean says, taking up the slack where my
words trail off. “What weapons have you got?”

I blink. “We
don’t really have any.”

He glances
across with a furrowed brow but says nothing.

“Although,
Trouble has a baseball bat. We’ve got flammable aerosol and a
lighter, so we can get blasts of light.”

Kean nods.

“We’re actually
doing this... aren’t we?” Henry says, shaking his head.

“Just think of
it as another computer game,” Kean says.

We jump out and
I shoulder my backpack. Kean whips out the wheelchair and sets it
up for Henry. Liss follows me as I walk up to Trouble. He’s already
got his bat out.

“Here’s the
plan, Trouble. We...” I point to everyone. “Are going in there.
Single file.” Liss jumps in behind me and we walk along showing
him. He doesn’t do anything, just watches with sharp eyes. “Up
along that walkway.” I point and then do a thumbs-up to see if he
understood any of it.

Trouble grins
and lifts his bat up.

“Yep, good. Ok,
I think he kind of gets it.”

Trouble keeps
scanning for... well... trouble. Liss and I stand at the tunnel
entrance, peering in as Henry and Kean roll up. “Liss, can I have
the deodorant and lighter?”

She rummages
about in her pack.

“Who’s going
first?” Kean asks, pushing Henry out of the rain.

Trouble leaps
up onto the walkway and looks down at us, waiting.

“Guess that’s
settled.” Kean says.

“Liss can go
second, I’ll follow. Henry and you can bring up the rear?”

“Alright,” Kean
says. “So Trouble’s got a bat. You’re in charge of light. Liss, do
you want an umbrella?”

I answer for
her. “No, she doesn’t.”

“Then an
umbrella for Henry, the tyre iron for me and we’re set.”

To get Henry up
onto the platform Trouble lifts him out of the chair and pulls him
up, then Kean and I lift the wheelchair and roll it onto the
concrete. I help Liss up, and Kean and I follow, shuffling around
into our positions.

Trouble is
looking at me for the sign to go.

I look down our
line and then into the pitch dark. “Ok. We’ll go straight through.
It’s going to dip down and then when it starts rising again we’ll
know we’re on the home straight. If there are infected in there...
I don’t think they’ll be able to reach us as long as we stay
against the wall, ok?”

“Yes sir.”
Henry gives me a sharp salute and smiles. I know that smile: it’s
hope.

I take a deep
breath. “Let’s not make any noise. They won’t be able to see us but
they’ll hear us coming. And we can’t use the light unless we
absolutely need it.” I hold Liss’ hand and nod at Trouble. He keeps
the bat in his right arm and takes Liss’ other hand with his left.
Even with everything going on, I feel this tiny blip of warmth
inside me. Even if something happens to me, I get the sense that
Trouble will look after Liss.

“Here we go,”
Henry says like we’re about to hop on a roller coaster at a theme
park.

We edge our way
into the dark, cool tiles against our back. I can hear dripping in
the distance but I remember reading somewhere that the tunnel was
always leaking but it didn’t necessarily mean it was a bad thing.
It’s cool down here, our tiny sounds echo in the cavernous space:
short breaths, careful footsteps, clothing dragging along the
walls, Henry’s wheel chair.

As we edge
deeper, the light from the entrance bleeds away until we’re in
complete darkness. I can’t see my hands, can’t see my nose. It
feels like we’re floating in space. The wall against our backs is
the only guide.

Somewhere out
there in the dark is a shuffling sound. I squeeze Liss’ hand tight,
maybe for her, maybe for me.

I close my eyes
because my vision can’t grasp onto anything and I keep imagining
things. Henry is leaning forward with his hands out so that Kean
doesn’t ram him right into me. Every now and then he bumps against
me and it’s actually reassuring. Just a tiny reminder Liss and I
aren’t in this darkness alone.

This is easily
the scariest thing I’ve done since the outbreak. Running through a
minefield of infected was nothing compared to this. Before, I had
some kind of control because I could see everything I needed to
avoid: obstacles, infected people. But now all I can do is listen
and feel. Every sound seems amplified, and they shoot around like
hundreds of tiny bouncy balls. I can’t be sure of which direction
the sounds come from. It’s completely overwhelming. I can’t be sure
of anything.

The tunnel
starts to level out which means we’re almost halfway through.
Behind us a groan ripples through the airwaves. I turn my head
sharply, following it.

“That’s close,”
Kean whispers.

He’s right. I
feel like it’s not just a passing comment. It’s a warning to be
ready.

I move Liss’
hand to my jacket and she grips onto the bottom, freeing up my
hand. I raise the can and the lighter, just in case, and keep
sliding along the wall.

I can feel them
out there, shuffling along the concrete, sliding against cars,
invisible in the dark. And for a moment we’re not so different from
the infected, we’re just more bodies shuffling along in the pitch
black.

A groan cuts
like a speeding bullet toward us. It’s coming from behind. Then
footsteps, heavy ones, thudding and slapping with an eager pace. My
heart clenches and I point the can toward the sound, angled away
from the wall so I don’t singe Kean’s eyebrows if I use it.

“Kean?” I
whisper.

Henry grabs my
leg and we all stop.

It’s growing
louder and faster, narrowing in on us.

“Kean?” I
hiss.

Nothing.

My heart beats
in my ears like it’s trying to explode out of my body.

“Light!” Kean
says.

I flick on the
lighter, aim the can and spray for just a few seconds. Fierce
orange flame whooshes out, burning a bright path. I see it, the
infected shadow up on the ledge. Maybe he followed us in. Maybe it
doesn’t matter.

I also see
Kean, way closer than expected. I lift my finger off the spray can
and hear metal clatter to the ground. He swears. I think I just
burnt his hand.

“I just dropped
the tyre iron. I need light!”

I aim the spray
away, out into the tunnel and this time I see two things I don’t
like. First the infected person on the ledge with us is close, real
close, and Kean’s just standing with raised fists. And second, as
the flame spits out into the tunnel it reflects off all the shiny
sets of eyes. Hungry faces look up at us from between shadowy cars
and suddenly there’s noise everywhere. Groaning and moving
sounds.

Something dark
flashes past me, underneath the flame: Trouble.

He darts to the
back of the line and swings the bat. The infected head cracks
against the wall and the body falls away.

“Kill the
light!” Kean yells.

I lower the
lighter and the darkness closes over us like water. “Go Liss,
move!”

She’s making
whimpering sounds but starts moving.

Arms swipe over
the edge of the ledge, bony fingers slipping over our boots, bloody
hands searching for a grip.

“Faster,” I
say, pushing her along. “Henry?”

“Here.” His
wheel is clattering against the wall.

“Kean?”

“Yep,” comes
his reply.

“Trouble?” I
call.

“Trouble!” he
calls back.

I step on a
hand and the bones snap beneath me. Liss lets out a little scream
and reels away from something. I push her onwards. The tunnel is
beginning to angle upward.

“Are they up on
the ledge?” I call back.

“Just that
one,” Kean replies.

“One’s coming!”
Liss screeches and tries to back into me. I shoot the flame out in
front and a decaying face flashes up, just a meter away. I train
the flame on its head and suddenly the infected woman’s long hair
catches. She grabs wildly at Liss so I drop everything and dive for
her, grabbing the front of her dress. The flame on her head lights
up a small space around us as I twist and go down.

Liss is
screaming like she doesn’t need air. My back hits the concrete
ledge hard and I use the momentum to roll the woman off me and into
the crowd of clawing hands.

For a moment
I’ve lost the wall and completely lost my bearings. Hands grab me
from all sides and can’t tell which are friendly and which are not.
I scrabble to my feet.

“Florence!”

I feel Liss’
small hand on my arm and she pulls me back to the wall. I press my
back against the wet tiles and run sideways. The infected lady’s
flame head bobs away into the crowd and disappears.

Screeching,
yelling and yelping fills the air. Henry and Kean are shouting. The
infected know we’re here so there is no point in being silent
anymore.

I just hope
like hell there are no more infected up on this ledge because I
dropped the can and lighter and now I’ve only got my fists.

My boots are
being battered and I’m just crunching over flesh and bones. It’s so
gross.

And suddenly we
pass around a bend and I see the exit. I swear it takes my breath
away, hovering like a sun breaking into the night. Grey light
filters down to us and I glance back and catch Liss’ frightened
expression. There’s a huge pile up of cars here, acting as a
barrier to keep the infected in.

When I pass it
I begin to run straight instead of flat against the wall. Liss and
I burst out into the daylight. It’s still raining, but it’s just a
spray of mist now. There are no infected on the other side of the
car barrier... yet. I look over Liss, and my hands. All seems
clean. Liss’ backpack is hanging open and I zip it up.

Henry and Kean
burst out and stop when they see us. Kean’s out of breath and
Henry’s clutching the blood soaked umbrella. I look around them,
back into the tunnel. “Where’s Trouble?”

Kean looks
back. Everyone does.