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Michael Collins sat anxiously behind the wheel of the motorhome with Emma at his side They had been stopped in this location for al to htearlier this inning to wonder whether they were going to co party The motorhome was parked in a field adjacent to the track they&039;d discovered By nestling the large and cureystone wall and underneath heavy tree cover they had caed themselves to an extent and their relative invisibility was reassuring

The otherwise bright day had been interrupted by an unexpected shower of rain a short while earlier and drops of water still fell steadily fro down onto thean eerie soundtrack to the afternoon Apart from those few random sounds the world was quiet and deceptively peaceful &039;Want so to drink?&039; Emma asked Michael shook his head &039;No thanks,&039; he replied abruptly His sto with nerves and uncertainty For what felt like the hundredth time in the last hour he turned and looked over his shoulder, peering back down the track in the direction in which the soldiers had disappeared earlier He stared into the distance, hoping that he would soon see ely relieved that nothing see Emma slid across the front seats and put her hand around his shoulder He didn&039;t respond She leant over and kissed the side of his cheek Still no response

He wasn&039;t ignoring her, he simply had far too much on his mind for him to be able to react towards her in the way he normally would have done If he was honest with hi more than to be open and unrestrained and tell her exactly how much she meant to him, but noasn&039;t the ti They needed so which resembled stability and order back in their lives before they could move on The bottom line was that they both needed more than they presently had, and Michael hoped and prayed that the soldiers they had seen would bring them the relative security and comfort they desired &039;I hate it when you&039;re this quiet,&039; Eht?&039; &039;I&039;m okay,&039; he replied, subdued Much as he wanted her close, he also wished she&039;d leave him alone to think

&039;What we need to do,&039; she continued, &039;is find&039; &039;Shh&039; he snapped, interrupting170 &039;What?&039; &039;Listen&039; Emma did as she was told She pushed herself away froe of her seat and listened carefully She could hear the sound of an engine approaching &039;This is it,&039; said Michael as he turned the key in the ignition, causing the cuine to rumble into life He sat h the large wing h the stone wall obscured much of his vieas able to see the point where the track snaked away into the distance and disappeared The soldiers in their transport eventually appeared over the brow of a low hill, their vehicle&039;s bright headlights burning brilliantly in the gloom of the late afternoon He watched as they drove closer and closer until his line of vision was blocked by the wall A few seconds later and he saw thereen roof of the transport just visible over the top of the grey stones

He began to cautiously nudge the motorhome forward &039;Don&039;t follow too close behind,&039; Emma said nervously &039;They don&039;t knoe are TheyHe inched out of the field, driving just far enough forward to enable hi its way down the track When it was al without his headla noticed) Michael followed the bright brake lights of the vehicle in front Keeping a sensible distance between them the survivors watched as the transport drove around to the right and then to the left

Two hundred meters further down and the track narrowed and becah and uneven The sides of the road beca Michael with no option but to keeptheir view of the soldiers ahead Theover such harsh terrain One of the front wheels sank down into athe vehicle to lurch to one side and its chassis to scrape along the ground momentarily &039;Christ,&039; Eood idea As soon as we can we should get off this track and&039; &039;We&039;re fine,&039; Michael snapped, annoyed and trying hard to concentrate &039;It doesn&039;tIt&039;s not like we&039;ve got garage bills to pay or anything As soon as we find where these soldiers are hiding out we can clear our stuff out and ditch it&039;

&039;I know but we don&039;t kno far away they are&039; Emma let her words trail away The banks on either side of the track quickly dropped down again as they drove through an area of woodland Brittle branched trees suddenly surrounded thestill further the already low light levels The track curved and twisted in apparently random and unexpected directions

Still not prepared to use his headla pace A randoainst the side of the motorhome &039;Jesus Christ,&039; cursed Eure in the side mirror She watched as, in silhouette, it turned and stumbled after them The transport disappeared froain as they eh a narrow gateway and over a cattle-grid which shook and rattled the struggling ate they were suddenly free to travel across an otherwise empty and featureless field In the near distance the transport began to slon Michael gently eased off the accelerator as he began to catch up with the vehicle in front &039;But there&039;s nothing here&039; he whispered &039;There&039;s got to be&039; The powerful military machine stopped Concerned, Michael stopped too &039;Shit,&039; he cursed &039;They&039;ve seen us They an to pound in his chest as he stared at the reen machine just ahead His concentration was so intense that he failed to notice the three bodies which dragged themselves across the empty field and moved towards theht of them he paid them little attention They didn&039;ton?&039; Emma asked, cold with nerves and afraid &039;Don&039;t know I think they an to rey exhaust fuan to power forith unexpected speed and force It drove up and over a grassy ridge that had been unnoticeable in the low light, and then disappeared down a steep incline and out of sight &039;That&039;s it,&039; Michael said, forcing the ot to be it&039; He approached the ridge with dangerous speed andtrepidation Both of the survivors knew the importance of the moment &039;Careful,&039; Emma hissed as the motorhome dipped to one side as one of the back wheels clattered through another deep pothole

Michael didn&039;t respond, fixing his concentration on following the soldiers instead Not knoas on the other side of the ridge he accelerated hard again With his heart in his mouth he pushed himself back in his seat as the front of their vehicle cli down into the darkness like a storound ride At first all he could see were the lights of the soldier&039;s vehicle

Seconds later they had gone, sed up by soo?&039; asked Emma &039;How the hell should I know?&039; Michael shouted in reply The velocity of the motorhome increased as they sped down the incline He fu wheel, trying desperately to turn on the lights whilst round levelled out The front of thedarkness Michael found the lights and switched then of the n of the base

For as far as they could see the field they found theh was filled with hundreds upon hundreds of bodies Terrified and not able to see an obvious way out of the field, Michael iain and silenced the engine He looked out over a sea of rotting heads, desperately hoping to catch sight of so

As the nearest creatures began to sainst the sides of the rabbed hold of Eed her into the back of the vehicle Pulling a blanket off the bed to cover them both he threw her down into a small space between the bed and the table - a place where they&039;d hidden nuhtly and pulled the blanket over their heads as the deafening noise increased