Page 11

“The navigation system.” I typed childcare centre into the search bar, trying twice before I got the spelling right.

When the nearest option popped up, a rush of air left me. Farrar Avenue, Sheldon.

“I used to work in one,” I said, “and I didn’t even think of it until now. They have bathrooms and sleeping mats. Lockable doors.”

He pressed Start on the screen and waited for the directions to load, then a woman’s voice instructed us to continue straight for two hundred metres.

“Nice,” he said, a shallow dimple appearing in his cheek.

“Woo!” Kirby leaned forward and slapped my shoulder. “Let’s go.”

At least I knew my brain still functioned, even if it was lagging.

Luke checked the side mirror and took off, giving a wide berth to a young guy on an e-bike racing down the centre of the road.

We travelled in silence through the next few turns, then the woman’s voice announced we’d reached our destination.

Our headlights lit up the empty car park, reflecting off the centre’s darkened windows. For a split second, I imagined an infected kid popping its head up between the painted flowers on the windows, and a tremor ran through me.

Luke pulled up and kept his foot on the brake. “Do we all agree with turning off the engine?”

Kirby exhaled hard as the engine hummed. “I guess so. It’s not like we have a choice.”

Luke scanned the windows and the fence line. “If you want to keep going, we can get a few more k’s out of the tank.”

He was right. We could continue driving and use up the dregs searching for something better—or stop here and make the best of whatever we found.

“Turn it off,” I said. Each time I searched the darkness, the shadows were more threatening, and it was harder to tell which ones were moving. The idea of walls and locks, and maybe a soft mat, had become more appealing than ever.

He held his finger over the ignition. “We’re doing this.”

I nodded, but he wasn’t looking at me anymore. We were all staring at the damn button.

Do it.

Don’t do it.

He waited one more moment, then committed and pressed it.

My fingernails dug into my palms as the warmth from the heater lingered. Our one sure thing—gone.

But we had each other. We had something.

I uncurled my hands and let out a breath. After everything we’d seen, we were lucky to still be alive.

Luke stood beside the tubular fence securing the only play area facing the car park. Colourful plastic equipment sat in the yard, and tall shrubs lined a paling fence on the left boundary. On the right, a side door led through to the kids’ room.

For the first time since we’d left the airport, I caught the faintest scent of death in the air.

Luke tossed both backpacks to the other side, then gripped the top of the fence and launched himself over, landing on the mulch-covered ground.

“Quick.” Kirby gave me a shove as dragging footsteps came from behind us. “Throw yourself over that thing. It’s a soft landing.”

I chanced a look behind me as she jostled into position. Four of the infected were headed our way, their wet groans even more frightening as the last of the light faded.

“Ava. Now.”

Luke’s sharp tone got me moving. I scrambled upwards until the rounded top of the fence pressed into my stomach, forcing a breath from me. Before I could make it all the way over, Kirby swung her leg out and almost clocked me in the jaw.