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Michael was asleep by eight o&039;clock Curled up on a sofa in the sitting room of the rustic farmhouse, it was the best and un Fate had dealt everyone some bitterly cruel hands recently but, for this one htmare had arrived

The house was silent save for his gentle snoring and the muffled sounds of Eh they were easily as tired as Michael, neither felt able to close their eyes for even a second No s had unexpectedly beco was as inhospitable and fucked up as it had been since the first edy last week

&039;I could have tried to get it going tonight,&039; Carl yawned, still talking about the generator in the shed behind the house &039;I just couldn&039;t be bothered though We&039;ve got plenty of ti&039;

Thinking about repairing the ely relaxed It re forward to getting on with the job torease and graft would allow hiine that he was back at work and that the last few days had never happened

Emma and Carl sat on either side of the fireplace, wrapped up in their coats because the rooly cold Michael had prepared a fire earlier but they had decided against lighting it for fear of the s attention to their location Their fear was irrational but undeniable Chances were they were the only living people for miles around but they didn&039;t want to take any risks, no ht Anonye rooht ca shadows on the walls After an aard silence that had lasted for a good ten minutes, E to be all right here?&039; she asked cautiously

&039;We should be okay for a while,&039; Carl replied, his voice quiet and hushed

&039;I like it&039;

&039;It&039;s okay&039;

The staccato conversation died quickly Next time it was Carl who disturbed the quiet

&039;Emma, you don&039;t think&039;

He stopped before he&039;d finished his question, obviously unsure of himself

&039;Think what?&039; she pushed

He cleared his throat and shuffled aardly in his seat With soain

&039;You don&039;t think the farmer will come back, do you?&039;

As soon as he&039;d spoken he regretted what he&039;d said It sounded so bloody ridiculous when he said it out loud but, nonetheless, the body of the far These days death didn&039;t seem to have the same finality as it always had done before and he wondered if the old ht somehow find his way back to his hohtfully his He knew that they could get rid of hiain if they needed to and that in a reanimated state he would pose little threat, but it was just the thought of the body returning which unnerved hihts were irrational but even so the hairs on the back of his neck had again begun to tingle and prickle with cool fear

Emma shook her head

&039;I&039; to say Bloody stupid thing to say&039;

&039;Don&039;t worry about it,&039; she insisted &039;It&039;s okay&039;

Erey smoke snake away from the top of the candle nearest to her and dissolve into the air She sensed that Carl atching her and, for a moment, that made her feel suddenly and unexpectedly uneasy She wondered if he could sense what she was thinking She wondered if he knew that she shared his own deep, dark and unfounded fears about the body of the farht and that he would stay down - after all, the bodies seemed to have risen en ged the or they&039;d stayed where they&039;d fallen and died And even if Mr Jones did soain, his movements would be as rando corpses Pure chance was the only thing that would ever bring hi to happen and that they asting their ti about the dead man but she still couldn&039;t help herself

&039;All right?&039; Carl asked quietly

She turned and smiled and nodded and then turned back and looked at the burning candle again She stared into the flickering yellow flaht back to a couple of hours earlier when the three of them had shifted the body of the farmer and that of a fare Mr Jones had been the et rid of He had once been a burly, well-built ined, had worked every available hour of every day to ensure that his farm ran smoothly and profitably By the ti his aard bulk, however, his lior ust as one of the s With a lack of respect they had dragged hih what used to be his home She recalled the look of irritation so clear on Michael&039;s face when they hadn&039;t been able to h the front door

They had taken the two bodies into the pine forest which bordered the farht of the corpses ( two trips) and she had carried three shovels from the house She remembered what happened next with an icy clarity

After laying the bodies out on the ground Michael had turned to walk back towards the house Eun to dig

&039;What the hell are you doing?&039; Michael had asked

&039;Digging,&039; Carl had replied His answer had been factually correct, but he had completelywhat?&039;

Thinking for a moment that he had been asked a trick question, Carl had paused before answering

&039;Graves of course,&039; he replied before adding a cautious; &039;Why?&039;

&039;That hat I was going to ask you&039;

&039;What do youdirectly between the twothe conversation develop