Captain's Log 31/3/2012: day 9, 11:30 am
We're ready to go. The cars are loaded up and we've been discussing where exactly we are going to go and how we will do it.
It's 2 cars between the three of us.
Hunnah hates me. After what I did to Shae, she hates my guts. She's barely talking to me, but Youssef says she'll come round. He reassured me that I did do the right thing and he's very grateful I did it. He said he wouldn't have had the stomach for it.
So obviously Hunnah and Youssef will be driving together in the Holden and I'll be by myself in the Golf. I chose the Golf because I've owned one before and therefore know my way around it. It's an automatic Diesel. The boot is packed full of garbage bags filled with food, clothes and other supplies. The Holden is similarly filled.
We're good to go. We're just going to discuss the plan and have lunch before we head off.
XX - 4pm
For the sake of suspense, I let you know that something happened. Whether good or bad I won't say. I'll simply explain what's happened since this morning.
We didn't realise until we were in the basement car park ready to go that the shutter gate to the street was electrically operated (no good since the power is down), so Youssef volunteered to pull it open himself and jump in the Holden driven by Hunnah.
I was to wait behind them in the Golf.
Youssef was supposed to disengage the catch and simply pull the roller door open.
Only it didn't go so smoothly.
We didn't bet on two things; several zombies standing right outside and the roller door catching and opening slowly.
Youssef managed to get the door open up to his waist before we saw the zombies outside and they noticed us. They reached for Youssef's legs and he flinched away before they could grab him or bite him.
Since the roller door decided to catch and not simply fall closed again, zombies started pouring into the car park.
And we're screwed. The plan has gone to hell in a hurry.
Youssef goes for the car and gets in cleanly, but then they do something really stupid.
They tried to ram through the roller door.
Instead of breaking through, they simply smashed the car and got stuck, which isn't great to say the least.
And then a gang of zombies start pawing at the windows of the cabin.
I could see they were trapped inside the car and would likely die unless I did something.
I smashed my hand down on the steering wheel, and the car horn was bloody loud in the closed space and most of the zombies looked for me. I got out and started shouting at them. Trying to bait them off and away and it largely worked.
I shouted at Hunnah and Youssef to get out and run for the stairway and close the door behind them.
I had quite a lot of room between them and me so I started running circles and waving my arms around. I also had my trusty pipe in my hands. The light was dim and I was scared out of my mind. I had a mini horde bearing down on me. Bloody mangled faces staring at me with hungry eyes and I was forcing myself not to simply run away and leave Hunnah and Youssef to their own initiative, whatever they might have been.
I couldn't see the Holden then as the zombies started closing in and I could sense breathing room quickly shutting off.
With flight mode suppressed, I engaged fight mode.
Thankfully the horde was spread out and I managed to smash down a few zombies fairly cleanly. But they kept coming. And those I smacked down were more often than not simply knocked down and not killed off. I'm not sure what it was, perhaps the sheer terror and dim light, but my aim or something must have been off.
They were closing in and I knew I couldn't do this all day. I strained to hear a shout that Hunnah and Youssef were OK.
"Get up the stairs!" I must have shouted that almost continuously as I tried to fight the tide back and keep them occupied.
"C'mon!" I heard Youssef's voice and that was enough for me.
There was only one zombie between me and the stairs and I jousted him with the pipe and jumped over as he fell backwards.
I got to the door way and could barely see Hunnah and Youssef in the dark. We closed and locked the door behind us and ran up to the second story apartment with the balcony.
When we got there, to the front door, I could see Youssef was injured.
It wasn't until we got inside that Hunnah started panicking and screaming and I was shouting back demanding to know what happened, both to the plan and to Youssef.
Hunnah was screaming at me. Absolutely screaming.
She was freaking out.
I was trying to get her to calm down, but she was hysterical. I simply shoved her to the side and looked Youssef in the eyes. He was slouched on the floor, but his eyes told me everything.
He'd been bitten and scratched. Badly.
Hunnah was still shouting at me and it was blind luck that I turned to try and sort her out again and dodged a stab attempt. She tried to kill me!
I backed off and lifted the pipe up in front of me like a sword. Hunnah tried it again, leading wit the knife and I managed to hit her in the forearm and deflect her lunge. I tackled her and got on top of her, but she was fighting me fiercely. I had her knife arm pinned, but she was wriggling, kicking and biting. Biting!
I didn't know what to do, so I did something I'm very ashamed of.
I punched her across the face.
It wasn't a knock out, but it was enough to seriously daze her. I took the knife away and backed up towards Youssef. Now he was shouting, but thankfully not at me, but at her. He was shouting that I saved their lives and to stop.
FINALLY, some sense!
Hunnah was wobbly on her feet, but could still yell.
Her and Youssef started shouting at each other in Arabic. I left the situation and checked the hallway. It was empty. I went down to check the lower floor. Still empty. I mustered the courage to check the car park door and it was still locked and secure. But I could hear moaning and banging on the door. I had to fortify the door pronto or we'd all be dead, drama or not.
I was angry, scared and had adrenaline instead of blood in my veins so I somehow managed to haul a 3 seater couch from the nearest upstairs apartment down to the stairway and brace it up against the door all by myself. Then I went and got another one and laid it in top of that one.
Good enough.
I raced back upstairs.
And found no one back on level two.
Empty.
I looked around out the balcony onto the street and couldn't see anything besides the milling zombie crowd below.
I checked upstairs and still nothing.
I went up to level four and found Youssef banging on an apartment door. I called to him and he saw me and (of all things) my balls turned to ice and my stomach imploded.
Youssef had turned.
He charged me with wild eyes and flecks of blood pouring from his mouth.
He RAN!
Thankfully I had my pipe still with me and I had enough sanity to use my kick and smack technique on him.
I should emphasise that this technique only works if you put all your weight and strength into the kick. I was caught off guard and the kick worked enough to shove Youssef back onto his butt, but it did the same for me.
I tried to get to my feet first, but Youssef was faster. I was in a squat when he was in a diving sprint, but I managed to get my pipe up in front of me and poke it into his stomach. It was enough to deflect his dive to the side, but it wrenched the pipe out of my hands.
I got up and ran back down the stairs in a blind terror filled panic.
I ran for the second story balcony apartment. I got there and closed the door behind me with only two seconds spare before Youssef was pounding on the door and making this horrible gurgling snarl.
I went to lock the door, but the door opened! Youssef either had enough human mind to use the door handle or bumped it accidentally. Either way I was screwed.
I ran for the balcony and jumped over the side to the rooftop. I had a snap idea and instead of running, I stood my ground and caught Youssef as he jumped the balcony railing.
I caught his arms and tugged him to the right, sending him tumbling down to the street.
He fell badly and flopped about. His legs were broken.
I watched as Youssef tried repeatedly to stand and fall over, his legs contorted every which way until the bone cut through his pants and stuck out. It was disgusting.
I climbed back into the apartment and passed out. At least that's what must have happened, because before I knew it I woke up to find it was 4pm on my watch when only 10 minutes ago it was 12pm.
I scoured the apartment block and finally found Hunnah.
She's inside the master bedroom of apartment 4-2, crying and wailing and refusing to come out.
Now I don't know what to do.
All our eggs were in one basket. We loaded up almost all our food in the cars which were now hopelessly off limits in the zombie filled basement car park.
There is no hope now. My lack of a future is certain. I am not going to survive this catastrophe.
I am going to die.