Where the Dead Men Lie Read Online Free Page A

they’ve gone mad or something? What if they’ve turned into complete savages?"

    "That’s why we need to be careful. We need to stick together. We’re a formidable force when you think about it. We're heavily armed. We’re being really careful. And we’ve got two soldiers with us."

    "Yeah. I suppose you’re right. I’m worried about Jack though. He puts on a brave face but I can tell he’s struggling."

    "What do you mean?"

    "He keeps telling me that his parents got out of Sydney in time, that they’re safe at his grandfather’s farm. I think he’s trying to convince himself more than me. But I also think that deep down he knows the reality. And I think it's starting to get to him."

    Yeah, I thought. The reality was that his parents were dead. It was an awful reality.

    I started to think about my own mother. And how I haven’t really even thought about her much. Does that even make sense? I don’t know. It’s confusing. But I think ultimately it’s just easier not to think about that stuff. Especially when we needed to be strong, when we needed to be focused on getting out of this place.

    Then again, maybe I’ve already come to terms with the fact that she’s gone. That there’s no way she was evacuated. I saw the military’s ‘containment protocol’ in action. I saw the virus in action. There’s no way she got out. And I think I’ve accepted that. Almost.

    As for Jack, well, he was strong. We all knew that. I saw just how strong he was when he saved me from drowning in Sydney Harbor. And when he jumped out of our escape boat and swam back for Maria when she had been captured. That was courage and strength, real, freakin, hardcore strength. But losing both parents at once and Kim, his sister. His whole family. Not even Jack was strong enough to deal with that all by himself. Sooner or later he would lose it, he would break down. He needed to. It was only natural, it was only human. I just hoped he could keep it together for a little while longer, at least until we made it back to Daniel’s camp, back to the X-wing.

    "Do you think he was serious when he said he was going to find his sister?" Maria asked.

    Jack’s sister Kim was supposed to be in quarantine facility in New Zealand. But at Sydney airport we found a computer that belonged to Doctor Hunter, one of the madmen responsible for the outbreak. On his computer we saw video footage of Kim being interviewed by another Doctor. The footage clearly showed that she had been drugged. She was being held captive at a facility on Christmas Island. We think she was being used as a test subject in some sort of experiment. Possibly for a cure. Apparently this island was way off the west coast of Australia.

    Despite the fact that the facility was so far away, and that it would probably be heavily guarded, and that even attempting to get there would be a suicide mission, Jack had told us all he was going to try and save her. With or without our help.

    "Well?" Maria asked. "Do you?"

    I nodded. "Unfortunately, yeah, I do. Jack is a stubborn guy. Once his mind is made up and once he knows you’re safe, I think he’ll do everything in his power to save his sister. That’s just the kind of guy he is. I guess that’s why he’s one of the good ones."

    Maria smiled at this. Even though she knew that if Jack ran off and tried to save Kim it would be the death of him. "Yeah," she said after awhile. "He is one of the good ones."

    Once Maria had confessed her fears to me she finally went back to sleep.

    I looked out the window, up at the galaxy of stars. At the moon. A sliver of cloud moved across it like a knife.

     
    CHAPTER 5

    The next day we continued to rest up. I slept for most of the morning. In the afternoon I made my way down to the main living room and found some books to read.

    Jack and Maria were playing a heated game of ‘Jenga’.

    Kenji was keeping watch upstairs somewhere and Daniel had gotten to work on boarding up the house. He