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Quarter to ten

Michael was sitting in a chair in the corner of the bedroom with his eyes closed He was tired and he needed to rest but there was no way he could sleep, not even for a second

Ee of the bed where Carl still lay She had taken care to position herself so that even though it was dark, she could still clearly see botheither for Michael to open his eyes and decide that they should move or for Carl to return to full consciousness She was a little less worried about Carl now He seeenerally still and quiet, but his face now see relaxed

Taking care not to make any more noise than was absolutely necessary, she stood up and walked over to thePeering down cautiously into the yard below she saw that the seethingbodies re heads Hundreds and hundreds of theet closer to the house and their sheer nu concern because, individually, the corpses were slow and dumb While she watched she saw five or six of the on the et up and get out again She saw another one of theateposts on the bridge, trapped and unable to ed on a large wooden splinter but it couldn&039;t see how to pull itself free

There was another reason why the bodies terrified her

It was more than just their horrific appearance and the fact that their rotting flesh was host to many unknown and deadly diseases Emma was morbidly fascinated and repulsed by the creatures because, less than a o, each one of them had been like herself An individual A person A hu with a clear and identifiable personality and individual tastes, skills and beliefs What scared Emma - what chilled her to the core in fact - hat these once ordinary, normal people had becoone the same way And as to say that when she died, she too wouldn&039;t spend the rest of eternity dragging her deco body aimlessly around their dead world?

One or two of the bodies weren&039;t a threat A group of between, say, ten and fifteen was a concern, but nothing they couldn&039;t deal with But in the cold darkness outside the far hundreds of them

&039;No better?&039; an unexpected voice asked fro her momentarily She span around quickly It was Michael He was up and out of his seat

&039;They&039;re still here,&039; she replied with her heart thu&039;

&039;I&039; that he&039;d startled her &039;I didn&039;t mean to make you jump&039;

She nodded and turned back to look out of theagain

&039;Do you think they knoe&039;re in here?&039; she asked

&039;I don&039;t know,&039; he answered &039;I think they sense that there&039;s soht just be because of the noise we ht be because of the e move&039;

&039;But what do they want from us?&039;

&039;I don&039;t think they want anything&039;

&039;So why are they here?&039;

&039;Instinct&039;

&039;Instinct?&039;

&039;Yes Like I said, we&039;re different, that&039;s all Whatever&039;s left of their brains is telling them we&039;re not the same as they are and they&039;re drawn to us I don&039;t think they mean us any harm, they just want to knoe are If they react towards one of us, it&039;s because they&039;re looking out for their own safety&039;

&039;They think we&039;re a threat?&039;

&039;I think so, yes&039;

Michael took another few steps closer to Eently put his arms around her For a second she involuntarily recoiled at his touch Sheby her response She wanted to be close to him but, at the same time, she wanted to be alone Truth was she didn&039;t knohat she wanted anyht?&039; he asked, concerned

&039;I&039; round to face hi to make eye contact &039;I&039;m just tired,&039; she mumbled, &039;that&039;s all&039;

&039;Sure?&039; he pressed, not convinced

She shook her head and her eyes filled with stinging tears

&039;No,&039; she finally adht hold of him She pulled him closer and buried her face in his chest &039;I don&039;t think we&039;re ever going to get away fro to be okay,&039; he said instinctively and without any degree of conviction in his words

&039;You keep saying that,&039; she sobbed &039;You keep saying that but you don&039;t know if it&039;s true, do you?&039;

She was right Michael knew asStill holding onto Ehtly, he shuffled closer to theand peered outside As she&039;d already suggested, nothing out there seeot to go,&039; he announced suddenly

&039;What?&039; E herself away fro about We&039;re not ready to go yet&039;

&039;It&039;s not going to get any better,&039; he said, his voice surprisingly calm and unemotional &039;We could wait here forourselves if we think it&039;s ever going to get easier&039;

&039;But what about Carl?&039; she nervously snapped &039;We can&039;t leave here until he&039;s&039;

&039;You&039;re hed &039;We&039;ve both been ot to do it&039;

She kneas right and didn&039;t bother to argue Truth was they had both been avoiding the inevitable But suddenly Michael seemed determined totrepidation There was a new found concentration and direction in his voice which she understood but which also frightened and disturbed her She knew that this really was it She knew Michael was right and that leaving was their only chance, but that didn&039;t make it any easier to accept or to deal with She watched as he pulled a thick juhtened the laces on his boots

Michael looked up and noticed the concern on her face

&039;You okay?&039; he asked

She nodded quickly but it was is were heavy with nerves She could hardly breathe

&039;Look, I&039;enerator,&039; he continued &039;There are fewer of them out the back and&039;

&039;What, only five hundred instead of a thousand?&039;

&039;There are fewer of them,&039; he continued &039;I&039;ll see if the noise will distract theth Michael see all his attention and effort on the task immediately to hand He walked towards the door and then stopped and turned back to face E to her but didn&039;t

&039;Are you sure about this?&039; she asked

He shrugged his shoulders

&039;No,&039; he replied with brutal honesty, &039;but I can&039;t think of any other option Now do et Carl to wake up Get him ready to leave As soon as I&039;o for it&039;

With that he turned and disappeared into the darkness leaving E into the space where he had just been, trying desperately to make sense of the sudden confusion all around her

Michael crept down the staircase, frightened that even the slightest noiseeffect on the vast crowd outside the house Perhaps even so floorboard would be the final straw thattheir way into the house

With his heart pounding in his chest with cold, dark fear and with his entire body drenched with a sticky, clammy sweat, Michael lowered hi the hallway, keeping out of sight of everyand every door He had reached the back of the house in just a few seconds, and he carefully lifted hi his body tight and flat against the nearest wall

Once upright he had a clear view of the back lawn through a slass There were still many, many bodies outside, but on this side of the house their numbers seemed fewer and much more diffuse He watched as the shadowy silhouette of one of the pathetic creatures stuone by he silently turned the key in the lock and pushed the door open Holding his breath he slipped through the narrowest gap he could and then pushed the door shut behind him He was outside

He had seen thousands of the lamentable corpses over the last few days and yet, at this erous time, he still found hi perfectly still he watched thes heavy and uncoordinated For the most part their heads were bowed and it seemed to take more effort than any of them could muster for theenerator was some twenty meters away from where he stood He knew that to run towards it would attract more attention It made sense to try and walk slowly toslowly seemed to infinitely increase the le step He was now inches away from the first few bodies and he knew that one false move would be all it would take to set off a deadly chain reaction throughout the enor step he moved across the back lawn Bodies stumbled past him, some even collided with him, and yet he forced himself to remain focussed and not to panic He wanted to run He wanted to kick and punch at the bloody corpses all around hienerator This was like playing with fire Thehot water and not ony, but every alternative orse

Another cadaver lurched into his path For a fraction of a second he allowed himself to look into its cold and clouded eyes before quickly looking down at the ground He winced with repulsion as the body crashed into him, and he instinctively lifted his hands to protect himself The body&039;s torso eak and rotten His hands pushed effortlessly through the creature&039;s decayed flesh and into the chest cavity Biting down on his lip to stop hiust, he carefully pulled hienerator