As They Rise (The Eva Series #1)

Twelve

“I got this.” Said Jo as she pulled two bobby pins from her hair and bent down to slide them into the lock on the roller door.
Ben, Wyatt and I looked down at her, wide-eyed in surprise.
“I lock myself out of my car a lot.” She explained as she bit her lip in concentration.
The three of us kept watch while Jo jiggled the lock open and slid the door up high enough for us to duck under, sliding it back down again once we were safely inside.
“You rock, Jo!” I smiled, hugging her tight.
Jo smiled broadly as we started exploring the store, searching for anything we might need to survive the road trip to Wyatt’s brother’s house in Cairns.

Looking at the row of backpacks along the wall, I had an idea.
“Here,” I said, walking over to the racks and passing Wyatt, Ben and Jo a backpack each. “We should have a backpack full weapons, food, first aid kits… So we’ll all have everything we need… in case we get separated.”
“Ok, everyone pack your bags and meet back here in ten minutes.” Added Wyatt, and with that we took our empty backpacks and began filling them with anything we could use.
I packed a dome tent and camping kit, a pocket knife, five hunting knives, a first aid kit, water canteen, a torch and batteries, binoculars, some rope and as many packets of hydrated food as I could squeeze into the two front pockets.

“Hey… guys?” I heard Ben call from the centre of the store as I tied a sleeping bag to the outside of my backpack.
We all ran over to meet him, instantly seeing why he had called us over. 
He stood in front of a huge motorhome parked on a small stage, the giant sign next to it promoting a Bob’s Camping Giveaway, of which the motorhome was first prize.
“I think I’ve found a better way to get to Cairns.” He grinned.
“Yeah, because that’s completely inconspicuous.” Said Wyatt sarcastically, staring up at it.
“Well, it’s no more inconspicuous than a bright yellow Chevy Impala,” replied Ben. “We’ll be able to store heaps of weapons and food in there, and it’s practically zombie proof!” He added as he banged his hand on the side.
“It would be more comfortable. But how would we get it out?” Asked Jo, walking around to the door and opening it. She climbed in to take a better look.
“The same way ‘Bob’ got it in; drive it.” Answered Ben, following her up the steps.
“But… my car.” Muttered Wyatt, concerned about his beloved automobile.
“It’ll be alright here, it’s safe enough. It’s not like anyone’s going to steal it,” I said, trying to make him feel better. “C’mon, let’s take a look.” I smiled, following Jo and Ben inside.

Stepping into the motorhome, I started to feel more optimistic about road-tripping to the other side of the country, which was fast becoming a zombie wasteland. 
With a kitchenette, complete with an oven, stove, microwave and refrigerator, four seater dining area, and even a toilet and shower, this would be much more comfortable than Wyatt’s Chevy, stylish as it may be.
Wyatt climbed in after me and walked over to the driver’s seat. 
“There’s about a quarter tank of petrol,” he smiled as he inspected the rest of the cabin. “And a CB radio!” 
Turning the radio on, we could only hear static.
“We’ll try it out once we’re on the road.” Wyatt said, switching it off again.

“Check this out!” Said Ben as he pressed a button on the wall. 
A double bed descended from the ceiling, over the couch along the back wall. “Looks like there’s only one bed.” He winked, glancing over at Jo.
“Calm down, Ben,” she replied, pressing another button, and a double bed came down over the driver’s cabin. “There’s another one here.” She said, rolling her eyes at him.
I avoided making eye contact with Wyatt as we all stood looking at the two double beds, but I could feel my cheeks warming into a blush.
“We won’t be using them, anyway. If we all take shifts driving we can make it to Cairns without needing to stop. I don’t think it’s safe to have the beds down while we’re on the road; anyone not driving will have to sleep on the couches.” Said Wyatt as he stepped back out of the motorhome, leaving Ben looking very disappointed.

“Let’s load it up!” Called Wyatt from the store, and the three of us climbed out and started grabbing as much as we could carry. “Now that we’ve got the RV, we can pack more than just gear for the trip north; grab anything we could use when we get to Cairns, too.” 
Wyatt ran over to the counter and started searching through the drawers.
“Got the keys!” He called as held up a set of keys for the RV.

After we had gathered enough supplies, Wyatt and I surveyed the motorhome, taking note of everything we had brought aboard. 
With countless knives, ropes, a few axes, over a dozen first aid kits and survival kits, plastic jugs that Wyatt had filled with filtered water from the tank in the back room of the store, torches, lanterns, extension leads, tents, sleeping bags, walkie talkies, enough matches to fill a drawer and enough dehydrated food to fill three of the cupboards in the kitchenette, I felt confident we had more than enough to survive.

“I think we’re ready to go,” I said, putting my arms on my hips triumphantly. “All we need to do now is get out of Melbourne Central.”
“That should be fun.” Wyatt grinned at me, placing his hand on the small of my back.
My heart started to race as he leaned in close to me. 
My moment! 
I closed my eyes, waiting for his lips to grace mine.

Once again, we were interrupted, this time by the sound of Ben clearing his throat. 
I quickly stepped back, my cheeks burning red, while Wyatt clenched his jaw, glaring at Ben.
“That’s new.” Ben smirked, with Jo smiling widely behind him. “Just came to tell you we’ve cleared a path out of the store and the roller door is up. We better go.”
“Let’s do it.” Said Wyatt, stepping into the driver’s cabin and taking a seat.
“Dibbs on the passenger seat!” Yelled Ben as he jumped into the RV, stopping to look at me. “Oh. Unless you want to sit up front?” He winked, gesturing to Wyatt, who was starting the engine.
“No, I’m ok,” I glared back. “I’ll sit back here with Jo.” 
After everything we’d been through, I wanted to spend some time with Jo to find out how she was coping.

Ben buckled himself into the front passenger seat while Jo and I strapped ourselves into the bench seats in the dining area.
“Everyone ready? Doors locked?” Called Wyatt, turning to look at me, his eyes sparkling.
“Ready.” I replied, nodding my head as I tightened my seat belts.
“Here we go.” Wyatt said as he started edging the RV towards the door and out of the store.

I looked out the window as we drove out into the shopping centre to see at least twenty zombies roaming around now, and they had all just spotted the big white motorhome driving towards them. 
I grabbed my backpack and pulled out two hunting knives.
“Here,” I said as I passed one to Jo. “Just to be safe.” 
Jo took the knife and held it tightly in one hand while she closed the window curtains with the other. 
“Just to be safe.” She repeated, smiling nervously.
We picked up speed as we approached the hoard, slamming into them one by one. 
I cringed as I bumped up and down in my seat, zombies falling under the wheels while others banged on the walls.

“Get rid of him!” I heard Ben yell, and I leaned over to see what was going on. 
One of the zombies had climbed onto the front bonnet and was hanging off of the left side mirror, it’s mouth frothing as its dilated pupils glared eagerly at Ben.
“Hold on!” Wyatt yelled as we approached the exit. “It’s going to be a tight squeeze!”
I braced myself as the RV crashed through the automatic doors, snapping the left mirror off and crushing the zombie against Ben’s window, smearing blood and infected saliva along the glass. 
“Ugh.” Ben cringed as we sped out of Melbourne Central and turned onto the city streets, sending the squished corpse sliding off onto the road.
“We made it!” Jo yelled, almost surprised.
We cheered and laughed as we made our way out of the city.
I smiled wide, feeling the most relaxed I had felt all day.