Autumn The City Page 0,100

and followed the other man into the darkness.

'Back to the door we used this afternoon, okay?' Cooper reminded the others as they nervously grouped near to the remains of the mangled metal gate. Armitage climbed into the van and looked down at Croft, Cooper, Baxter and Heath. Baxter nodded for him to start the engine and he turned the key, sending a sudden splutter of noise and fumes into the cold night and causing more than a hundred bodies to turn and begin moving back towards the football pitch. Realising what was happening he slammed the van into reverse and skidded back a few meters to open up the exit. As soon as a large enough gap had been opened the four survivors ran forward into the darkness.

Armitage drove forward and blocked the entrance off again. Still somewhat sluggish and clumsy, but now with undeniable control and intent, the corpses stumbled towards the van. The light was low and the comparative speed of the four survivors was such that the creatures were not aware of them until they were close. A half-naked cadaver lashed out at Croft and knocked him off balance momentarily as he pushed his way back towards the university. Bernard Heath, running with his shoulder dropped, charged body after body out of the way as he let his momentum carry him back to the shelter. The ground was wet and uneven, a combination of autumn mist and some earlier rain having left a layer of surface water almost everywhere. Cooper slipped and fell and, by the time he was back up on his feet again, six bodies were within a meter of him. He punched and kicked his way through them and continued on towards the building. He was the last one to reach the sheltered area where the waste bins were stored and where the door they'd used earlier was. Croft was already there and had it open. He ushered the other men inside quickly. 'Get in,' he hissed. Cooper pushed past and listened with relief as the door slammed shut behind him.

Chapter Forty-Four

Michael and Emma lay motionless on the floor of the motorhome, still hidden beneath a heavy blanket and daring not to move an inch for fear of attracting the bodies again. There were still hundreds of them nearby - the survivors could sense their closeness - but their interest in the vehicle and its occupants finally seemed to have dissipated. For a while the relentless banging and rocking of the motorhome had stopped.

'So what the hell are we going to do now?' Emma asked, her voice the quietest of anxious whispers. 'Don't see we've got much choice,' Michael replied, equally quietly. 'Those soldiers seemed to just disappear. We have to be close.

Their base must be here somewhere.' 'How are we supposed to find it? We're not exactly going to be able to get up and go walking around outside, are we?' 'We don't have to. We'll just wait here and...'

'Wait here and what? Just keep hiding on the floor with a bloody blanket over our heads? For God's sake, how are we suppose to...?' 'So what else do we do?' he hissed, interrupting her. 'Do you want me to start the engine and try and drive us out of here? Imagine what that's going to do to those bloody animals around us.' Emma didn't answer. Instead she buried her head in hands and did her best to hide all the desperate emotions she was feeling.

Not since being trapped in the attic room in the farmhouse from which they'd recently fled had she felt such fear and hopelessness. Just when she thought their situation couldn't get any worse, they had taken another fall. Their options appeared to be simple and bleak - sit and wait as Michael had suggested or risk everything by trying to get away. Unable to contain her feelings, she began to sob. Instinctively Michael shuffled closer and wrapped his arm around her. 'We'll get out of this, you know,' he whispered, his voice softer and his face just inches from hers. 'Trust me. We'll find a way to...'

'How?' she pleaded. 'How can we?' Although she hadn't seen a crowd of this size for the best part of two weeks, she knew that one body would invariably attract the attention of another and, therefore, a hundred bodies would attract a thousand more. Every second that they lay still together and waited made their situation