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&039;I&039;ain,&039; Doreen ih-pitched voice &039;It&039;s bad for my back When we did&039;

&039;Doreen,&039; Hamilton interrupted, &039;with all due respect, love, would you please shut your fucking mouth You couldn&039;t keep quiet if you tried&039;

Wilcox ed half a smile as he steered the bus around a sharp bend in the road and powered into another group of shuffling corpses He kneell as the rest of them that several hours of absolute stillness and silence would be necessary if they wanted to try and fool the bodies into leaving them alone With Doreen on board it was impossible to have even five er

&039;Bloody hell,&039; Ha his lasthis mouth on his sleeve &039;Look at that&039;

&039;Look at what?&039; Paul Jones asked, quickly th of the bus towards the others and surprising theainst theand pointed up

&039;There,&039; he mumbled

&039;What is it?&039; de his neck to see as going on from behind the wheel) the rest of the survivors stared out into the unending darkness on the left hand side of the bus, not knohat they were looking for but desperate to see whatever it was that Haht,&039; he said quietly, not quite believing hily between the tall, dark buildings which lined the streets along which they drove, the light - although relatively dull - appeared to burn brightly through the otherwise total blackness

&039;Head towards it,&039; Doreen demanded

&039;Where is it?&039; Wilcox yelled

&039;Over to the left,&039; Proctor replied &039;You watch the road and we&039;ll keep an eye on the light&039;

High above the disease-ridden streets Bushell&039;s quiet and solitary life see contradictions He wanted to be surrounded by light, but the brightness made him feel vulnerable and exposed Likewise darknessand cold and he was scared of the shadows that filled the hotel at night He wanted to hear some noise to end the eerie silence but, at the same time, he wanted the quiet to re in the dead world around hiht in the relative comfort of his suite but he also felt compelled to check eachand stare outside al and that it was secure (he&039;d checked every one of the roo body himself over the last week) but an uneasy combination of nerves and paranoia convinced him almost constantly that there were bodies on the staircases and walking the halls He felt sure that rotting hands would reach out of the shadows for hi he felt uncomfortable and unsafe It was far easier to handle the situation in daylight Each night he found the darkness harder to cope with, and that led to the cruellest paradox of all Bushell&039;s fear would keep hi (and the light) cah to sleep Invariably he would drift and doze through theand early afternoon and ht

He wandered listlessly along the long all of the suite, the stiletto heels of his boots clicking on theto end, he wondered? Would he stay here at the top of the hotel indefinitely? It wasn&039;t a bad option, in fact he struggled to think of anywhere else that would be safer ormeant that it was unlikely the corpses down beloould ever see or hear him The only problem would come when his supplies started to dwindle as they inevitably would Okay, so he appeared to have the entire city at his disposal, but even if hehe needed, there then re it up literally hundreds of steps to his new home Maybe he could set up some kind of winch or pulley system? Perhaps he could use the -cleaner&039;s cradle that he&039;d seen hanging halfway down the side of the building?

His mind full of questions and half-considered answers, Bushell reached the corner of the rooin retracing his steps back along the hen he happened to glance down into the dark streets hundreds of feet below In silent disbelief he watched the bizarre sight of a fairly ordinary looking bus ploughing through the rotting crowds, sending whole and dis at speed towards the hotel He waited for a fraction of a second - just long enough to convince hi out of the suite and down the hallway to the staircase

&039;Next left,&039; Paul Jones instructed He&039;dnext to the driver&039;s cab, doing his best to guide Wilcox through the ht &039;No, sorry, not this one Take the next one&039;

Wilcox grunted and pulled the steering wheel back round to his right Uneasy, Jones glanced down and across at the various dials in front of the driver The bus was travelling at a furious speed along the debris-strewn streets and its passengers were being buffeted from side to side The breakneck journey was so unsteady and turbulent that even Doreen Phillips had become uncharacteristically quiet and subdued

&039;Can you see where it&039;s co up for a second to try and catch sight of the light again

&039;Not sure,&039; Jones adh&039;

Wilcox braced himself as he forced the bus up and over a led ers behind hi the sudden jolt - were thrown up in their seats as the huge machine clattered up and then back down onto the road

&039;Take it easy,&039; protested Hamilton

&039;Next left,&039; Jones said for the second time, his voice now a little more definite than before

&039;You sure?&039; &039;Positive,&039; he snapped, annoyed that he was being doubted &039;I can see it We&039;re alht now&039;

Wilcox sla the bus around to the left The second street was as difficult to navigate as the first Huge crowds of lued the vehicle Wilcox increased his already precarious speed, knowing that the quicker they were ress through the rancid crowds Countless corpses were obliterated by the flat-faced front of the heavy vehicle They s which sounded like rain clattering down onto a flat tin roof

&039;How far now?&039; he asked breathlessly

Jones crouched do and looked up to his right

&039;Alot up from his seat and scurried towards the two er rails and supports and struggling to keep his balance as the vehicle tipped from side to side

&039;It&039;s a hotel,&039; he said, panting with exciten on the side of the building&039;

Wilcox nodded

&039;So where do I go?&039; he asked, peering hopelessly into the relentless gloo?&039; Proctor suggested &039;Maybe it&039;s around the back?&039;

&039;Fancy walking out in the open carrying all our stuff, do you?&039; Jones ierous We need to get as close to the main entrance as we can We need to minimise the distance we have to cover on foot&039;

&039;How aru&039;

&039;Here it is,&039; Jones interrupted &039;Sharp right now!&039;