"I’m with Kenji on this one," Jack said. "We need to regroup. And we still need to stock up on supplies if we’re going to make the trek out west. If we hole up in the penthouse it’ll give us a chance to plan this thing properly. And we might as well do it in style."
It was a majority vote in favor of the penthouse. Kim was against it because I think she was still thinking about all those slasher films she had seen where running up the stairs meant a certain death but she trusted the group.
Kenji led us to the other side of the building where the second staircase was located. He opened the door carefully, stepping inside the stairwell with the shotgun raised and ready to fire. Kim was behind him with the handgun.
They looked up and looked down. It appeared to be empty.
"Is it safe?" I asked.
"Shh," Kenji and Kim said in unison.
They had their heads turned to the side, listening.
"I think it's clear," Kenji said after a few minutes. "Let's go."
We climbed the stairs to the penthouse. Jack had to carry Maria because she was too weak to walk. When we finally arrived Kenji told us to move back. Kim stepped up beside him and together they moved inside the room with their weapons at the ready.
Once they were satisfied we were the only occupants they called out to us.
The penthouse had a huge open plan living room and for some reason everything was white. The leather couches were white, the marbled floors were white and the curtains were white. There was a grand piano over by a fully loaded bar and they were both white. Even the throw rugs on the floor, which looked like they were made from some kind of endangered animal like a snow leopard or an alpaca, were white. I guess who ever they hired to do the interior decorations wasn’t a fan of color.
The roomlooked completely different from the other night. Maybe because it was daytime now or maybe because this time the curtains were drawn back and we could clearly see the ruins of Sydney harbor. There were fresh columns of smoke rising from other areas of the inner city as well. It looked like a poster from a disaster movie.
"It’s worse than we thought," Kim said.
In the distance I could see a massive aircraft carrier heading back out to sea. "Where do you think it’s going?"
Kenji shook his head. "I don’t know."
We could also see helicopters flying over the city skyscrapers and I suddenly felt very exposed. "I think we should close those curtains."
"Yeah, good idea."
Kenji and I moved quickly, closing all the blinds and curtains, making sure no one could see in. We didn't want to leave anything to chance, not after what happened in the catamaran. Afterwards I felt a little better but I don’t think I’d ever be able to relax while we were right in the middle of Sydney, right in the middle of the warzone. At any moment we could be spotted by a sniper or a helicopter flying past. Or eaten by a horde of infected, psychopaths. We needed to plan our escape as soon as possible.
"All right guys we need to move fast," Kenji said wasting no time. "Those things are everywhere downstairs, which means the infection has spread right throughout the city. We need to get out of here. But we need to be smart; we need to plan it right. Because once we leave this room, once we leave this building, there’s no turning back."
Chapter 34
We sat around the huge open plan living room in silence for awhile. We all knew what Kenji said was right. As nice as it was, we couldn’t stay here forever.
"So, do we all agree that heading out west is our best option?" Jack asked.
Kenji nodded his head. "We need to get to the less populated areas. The less people there are the less people the virus can spread to. It’s definitely our best chance for survival."
"But what about Maria," Kim asked. "Shouldn’t we try and get word out that we have a person here who may be resistant to the virus? Maybe if they knew that bit of information someone would come and rescue us?"
"Or maybe they would try and do what they did to us last time," I reminded her. "But who would we even contact? There’s no one left."
"We could try and contact the Government." Kim answered.
"We don't even know if the Government is still operational. We don't even know if there are any survivors at all."
"What about Tasmania?" Jack suggested. "Surely the virus hasn't magically spread across water. Maybe the government or whoever is in charge has regrouped down there?"
Doctor West cleared his throat, "It only takes one carrier to spread the infection. And I assure you it can spread across water. My advice would be to stick with your original plan and get as far out of the city as possible. The virus is designed to spread quickly from person to person. No people means no fuel for the fire."
"But wouldn’t the Government want to send help if they knew we had someone who quite possibly held the key to a cure, to the freakin survival of the entire Australian population?" Kim said.
"I’m sure they would," Doctor West replied. "But even if they do send a rescue, how long will that be? Days? Weeks? Do you think you will last that long here?"
I think we all secretly wanted to be rescued right then and there. It would be so much easier than fleeing the city on foot.
"First things first," Kenji said. "We need to make sure all the doors in the stairwell are locked on every level. Especially on the gaming floor. Once we do that, then we can get back to arguing over what to do or who to call."
"Wait, what about the elevator? Are we sure that’s secure? I mean, what’s stopping them from riding the elevator all the way up here?" Kim asked.
Doctor West shook his head. "No. They wouldn’t be able to press the buttons; they wouldn’t be able to read the numbers. They’re just not capable."
"But what if they did it on accident? Like what if they bumped into it and they just happened to press the button for the penthouse suite."
The doctor thought it over. "I suppose there’s a slight chance."
"Relax guys, like we said earlier you need a key to get on the penthouse floor anyway." Kenji assured us. "It’s completely secure."
I wanted to believe him but I was starting to agree with Kim. I remembered how easy it was for me to get inside the penthouse the other night. I basically just walked in. And even though we had locked the doors and the elevator needed a key to be activated, I still felt vulnerable, especially with so many infected people down stairs.
"Come on Rebecca, let’s go check the stairwell." Kenji said.
I was about to suggest maybe he take someone with a bit of muscle like Jack. Or Kim because she knew how to handle a gun way better than me. But then he gave me this weird look and raised his eyebrows. I think he was trying to tell me something but I was too tired to figure out what. At first I thought it was because Kenji wanted to talk about something, like the letter he gave me which I still hadn’t read. But when we were alone in the stairwell he said he thought it would be best if Kim stayed up there just in case Doctor West tried anything. He didn’t trust him at all.
I hadn’t given it much thought. Not after everything that had happened today with Maria basically on her death bed and then coming back to life in a matter of hours. Combine that with everything else and I felt like my emotions were being pulled in about eight different directions. I think it was easier just to ignore the possibility that Doctor West was dangerous.
But then again, he did say that he created the Oz Virus. When I found him, he appeared to be drinking. Maybe the guilt of everything that he had caused was too much for him. Maybe staying behind in the heart of the city was his way of punishing himself. Maybe he didn’t want to get to safety. Maybe he didn’t want to be rescued at all? I forced the doubts from my mind.
We began our descent to the ground floor. It seemed to take forever. I asked Kenji how long it would take for them to find us if they broke through our barricade. He said from what he he’d seen they probably wouldn't be able to find their way off the first floor. People who were infected had lost all of their higher brain functions, so the ability to think and solve problems was impossible. Finding their way through a hotel all the way up to the top floor would be like finding their way through a maze. There was a chance they might eventually stumble to the finish but it wasn't likely. The real danger was if they actually saw us. Once they had something visual to pursue they wouldn't stop.
Kenji marked the door that led to the gaming floor with a huge red X that he wrote in lipstick.
"Where did you get that?"
He shrugged. "Found it in the master bathroom. I figured who ever owned it won’t mind."
The door that we would need to exit if we were leaving in a hurry was one floor below. We thought it led to the basement or maybe the casino car park. But we weren't sure so we went to check it out. Kenji put his ear up to the door to see if he could hear anything.
"Should we open it?" I asked.
"I don't know. I'm not sure that would be wise. I mean, they could be in there. They could be right on the other side."
"Exactly. I don't want to run out into that."
"But if we open it and they see us, then it could compromise our whole safety. If they broke through this door, the stairwell would lead them straight to our room."
"So you're saying when the time comes to leave we should just run out their blindly?"
"At least we would have a head start."
I guess it was all we could hope for. But even as he said it I could tell he really wanted to open it. "If we just open it a crack we’d be able to see how far we had to run and if there are any obstacles in our way. It would be a huge advantage."
"But if they made it inside to the gaming floor that means there’s got to be more of them around here."
I suddenly realized that when the time actually came to leave, we would have to leave in a real big hurry. If there were more around here and there probably was, we would be lucky to make it out alive.
"OK. You’re right." I said. "It would be pretty stupid to just open it. We would be putting the whole group in danger."
We were about to climb the stairs back to the penthouse but then we heard yelling, shouting, and loud running footsteps.
Someone sounded like they had just run past the door. A voice yelled out for help. They sounded close, like they were just on the other side.
"We have to open it," I whispered.
"No way. We don’t know who that is. They could be infected."
We heard more noises then. A car engine revving to its limit and tires screeching.
Kenji dropped to the floor and lay flat on his stomach. He was trying to look under the door. "This doesn't lead to an underground car park," he said. "It leads outside. Darling Harbor is just across the road. I think."
The guy on the outside must have seen the door because he tried the handle but it was locked. He then started kicking it as hard as he could. The noise seemed to reverberate up and down the entire stairwell.
I backed away but Kenji finally gave in and opened the door. I expected the man on the other side to fall to his knees and burst into tears and thank us both for saving his life. But there was no one there. We stuck our heads out the door and looked around the corner. The man was already running away. He looked back over his shoulder in our direction but he wasn’t looking at us. Back down the street where he had just come from was a military jeep. It was moving fast, swerving all over the road. I couldn’t tell if it was a Humvee, like the one we had driven the other day because at that moment it was covered in people hanging on, infected people. They were trying to smash through the windows, to get to whoever was inside. The jeep eventually swerved violently and lost control. It somersaulted in the air two or three times before rolling to a stop on its roof about five meters from where we were standing.
Some of the infected people were thrown off when the car flipped, some had been crushed. Amazingly there were a few that had managed to hold on. They never once stopped trying to break through the windows.
One of the soldiers had actually survived the crash but he must have been heavily concussed, maybe he didn’t know where he was. He tried to crawl out of the passenger window and was immediately set on and ripped apart.
It all happened in a matter of seconds. Kenji grabbed me and threw me back inside the stairwell. He slammed the door shut and backed away slowly.
"We have to go," he said quietly, almost to himself. "We have to get the others and get the hell out of here."
As soon as we began running up the stairs, the banging and the thumping started. The noise echoed all the way up the stair well. It seemed to fill the entire building. Now that they knew we were inside they wouldn’t stop.
Chapter 35
We ran so hard I was sure my lungs had actually caught on fire. My legs were so full of lactic acid I thought they were going to burst. I tripped over the last step because I couldn’t lift my feet anymore. Kenji picked me up.
Kim was waiting at the top of the stairs. "What is that noise?"
"They’re here," Kenji gasped.
We shut the door and I collapsed on the floor. Kenji was doubled over trying desperately to catch his breath. I tried to stand but my legs were too shaky. It felt like we had just sprinted to the top of a never ending staircase.