We left at daybreak the next morning. We had about a twenty mile walk to the town. Daniel kept reminding us that we’d have to walk the same distance back; each step away from the house was a step we would have to take back. It was a huge trek.

A huge risk.

Especially if we didn’t find any food or water.

I don’t think he was saying that to get us down in the dumps or anything, I just think he was making sure we all knew what we were getting ourselves into. This would be no walk in the park.

We followed the creek that ran through the property.

We walked in silence.

After about ten miles we came to a huge open-cut mining operation. The operation consisted of three massive mines. They were basically three extremely large holes in the ground.

We stopped and huddled together. Daniel said we needed to climb to a vantage point so we could see the mine. Just in case.

“Was this on the map?” I asked.

“No.”

We climbed out of the creek bed and picked a spot to observe the mine. From our vantage point we could see the three open-faced mines, the offices, the warehouses and storage sheds. The buildings were laid out in a grid like pattern.

“What do they mine out here?” I whispered to Jack.

“I have no idea.”

“Metals like zinc, silver, lead and iron,” Daniel answered. “Some of them are coal mines. Some of them are uranium mines.”

The whole western edge of the closest mine was in ruins. Without proper maintenance it had crumbled. The two other holes had filled with water. The office buildings and the storage sheds looked run down as well.

“Do you think there are any survivors down there?” I asked.

“Not sure,” Daniel answered.

“It looks like they shut down the mine,” Jack said. “I’m guessing all the workers would’ve gone home.”

Both Kenji and Daniel were using the scopes on their rifles to scan the office buildings. So I did the same. At first glance it appeared to be deserted. But down near the storage sheds, I thought I saw something move. It was almost like a small, concentrated dust devil. It was more like a horizontal tornado than anything. If that even makes sense. It was very dark. Practically black.

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The way it moved, it was hypnotic, like a snake, slithering low on the horizon.

“Hey, what the hell is that?” I asked.

Maria looked over to where I was looking. “What’s what?”

“That thing over there. It’s like a dust devil or something.”

I pointed down to a small group of warehouses. The dust cloud seemed to flatten itself against the wall of the building, and then disappear.

Maria looked over to where I was pointing. “Um, I don’t see anything.”

“It was right there.”

We waited for a few moments to see if it came back, but it never showed.

“You sure it wasn’t just a heat mirage or something?” Maria offered.

“I’m sure. It was black. And it was sort of elongated. And it was moving.”

“Sounds like a heat mirage to me.”

“Whatever. Just keep your eyes peeled.”

I looked over at the warehouse one more time. But there was still nothing. I suppose it could’ve been a heat mirage. But then again, the thing seemed to move with a purpose, like it was looking for something. Like it was hunting.

Or maybe I was just losing my mind.

“Hang on a minute,” Kenji said. “I’ve got something.”

He looked up from his rifle, blinked a few times.

“Where?” Daniel said.

“On the far side of the mine. Military vehicles. Two tanks. Three Humvees.”

The tanks and the Humvees were stationary. They appeared to have broken down. They were all facing the same direction. In amongst the tanks and the Humvees, we could see craters caused by the tanks main guns. Their shells had torn up the ground, leaving a long line of destruction that moved out into the desert.

What had they been shooting? Was it the infected? If so, where were the bodies?

Flanking the tanks were the Humvees. There were three of them. Each Humvee appeared to have a huge satellite dish on its roof. The satellite dishes were all pointed in the same direction, the same direction the guns on the tank were aimed.

The closest Humvee appeared to be covered in black dust. It almost looked like ash.

One of the Humvees had been flipped over.

“What do you think happened here?” I asked.

Daniel shook his head.

“What the hell brought them down?” Kenji asked with a worried expression on his face.

“I have no idea,” Daniel said in disbelief.

“I wonder if they were trying to defend these mines?” Jack asked.

“It’s possible. But why? And from who?”

It was a puzzling scene. And one that we could not afford to investigate. It would be too time consuming. So we agreed that it was best if we stick to our plan and keep walking towards the town of Hunter.

Just as we were about to leave, I took a closer look at the nearest open faced mine. There was something in the pit.

Bones. Lots and lots of bones.

My jaw dropped.

Maria saw it as well. She held her hands up to her mouth; she was going to be sick. “Oh my god,” she breathed.

“What the hell?” Jack said.

Kenji had his rifle up to his shoulder again, looking through the scope. “They’re carcasses. Animal.”

“What kind of animals?” I asked

“Ah, it’s difficult to say. They’re all ripped up, torn apart. Dogs, maybe. Cows?”

“Human?”

“I … I can’t tell.”

Daniel looked closely through his scope as well. “We should keep moving.”

At that moment we heard a deep, guttural purring noise. The same sound I heard in the middle of Sydney. Right before that giant monster thing attacked us.

We couldn’t be sure, but it sounded like it was coming from one of the other mine pits, about half a mile away.

“Guys, I think we should get the hell out of here,” Maria said.

Something roared.

“Go!” Kenji shouted. “Back to the creek! Go now!”

We started running. The ground shook.

I looked over my shoulder. I needed to see it. But Kenji pushed me forward, told me to keep going.

I turned and kept running.