The Lost Journal Part 2 (A Secret Apocalypse Story) by James Harden Read Free Book Online Page B

to another intersection. "Hold it!" I said. "Move against the wall."
    Jack skidded
to a stop.
    "We can’t
just go running out into the open," I said.
    He nodded as
he looked back down the road. The fear of being chased was clouding our judgment,
making us do stupid things.
    I peeked
around the corner of the intersection. Looking left and then right. The street
was deserted. "OK, it’s clear. Let’s go."
    We started
off at a sprint once more. Maria was lagging behind.
    "Come on,
Maria," I said. "We’re nearly there. We can rest when we get inside."
    She leant
forward, forcing her legs to go faster. Digging deep. Calling on every last
reserve of energy. We picked up the pace, trying desperately to get away from
the chasing infected. We needed to be as far out in front as possible when we
got to the Town Hall. If they knew where we were hiding, they would follow us.
They would not stop.
    Unfortunately,
as we ran deeper into the city, the streets became more and more congested with
rubble and cars. All of the cars had been abandoned. Some had their doors left
open. Some of them had been crushed. Some of them had their windows blown out
and some were peppered with bullet holes.
    There was no
time to stop and check if there was anything hiding in or behind them, or under
them.
    We just had
to push through.
    Eventually
though, the street became too congested.
    There were
too many cars. Too much rubble and debris.
    There was
half a building lying across the road. It had collapsed and crumbled across
street, blocking both lanes, like a giant had taken a sledge hammer to it. It
was like we could see the skeleton of the building, its spine exposed. More paper
drifted down on us.
    It must’ve
taken fire from an Apache, I thought. Or maybe some F22’s or an A10 bomber. A
couple of air to surface missiles would be enough to do it. More than enough.
Huge chunks of concrete covered the street. A few blocks ahead, it was
completely cut off by more crumbled buildings.
    This section
of the city was lying in ruin. It had been utterly destroyed.
    We had to
take a detour.
    Jack took
the lead again. Maria and I followed without question. I risked a glance over
my shoulder. The group of infected were still chasing. The former riot squad
was out in front. We turned down another street. We seemed to be running
faster. I don’t know how. We were all exhausted. Maybe it was because the gaps
between all the abandoned cars, and taxis, and trucks were so narrow it felt
like we were running faster. I don’t know.
    Despite all
of the obstacles, we were putting good distance between us and the chasing
infected. The trade off was that we were being less and less careful. We were
basically running blindly through the streets. We could’ve been ambushed at any
turn. I think we all ignored that cold, terrifying thought. Our goal was the
sanctuary of the Town Hall. Hopefully it was still standing. Hopefully it was
empty.
    "Not far
now," Jack said to us over his shoulder.
    We turned
another corner and finally, the Town Hall came into view. The Town Hall was a
big square building with solid stone walls and a large set of stairs leading up
to the entrance.
    Most
importantly it was still in one piece.
    We climbed
the stairs at the front of the building and made it inside without incident. I
slid a couple of long wooden bench seats in front of the door to barricade
them.
    "I think
we’ve lost them," Jack said, doubled over, trying desperately to catch his
breath.
    Maria had
dropped to her knees, breathing deeply in through her nose and out through her
mouth. Her eyes were closed. "It’s not safe on the streets. Not safe."
    As we locked
the huge wooden doors of the entrance and barricaded it with tables and chairs,
we could still hear the constant chatter of machine guns in the distance.
    Hopefully
the infected would continue to pursue the remaining soldiers.
    It was a
gruesome thought. A selfish thought. But I couldn’t help thinking it.
    The Sydney Town