Autumn The City Page 0,97

through a narrow gateway and over a cattle-grid which shook and rattled the struggling machine. Once through the gate they were suddenly free to travel across an otherwise empty and featureless field. In the near distance the transport began to slow down. Michael gently eased off the accelerator as he began to catch up with the vehicle in front. 'But there's nothing here...' he whispered. 'There's got to be.' The powerful military machine stopped. Concerned, Michael stopped too. 'Shit,' he cursed. 'They've seen us. They must have seen us.' His heart began to pound in his chest as he stared at the motionless greygreen 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 them.

When he did finally catch sight of them he paid them little attention. They didn't matter. 'What's going on?' Emma asked, cold with nerves and afraid. 'Don't know. I think they might have...' Without warning the transport began to move again. With a sudden loud roar and a belch of dirty grey exhaust fumes it began to power forward with 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. 'That's it,' Michael said, forcing the motorhome forward again. 'That's got to be it.' He approached the ridge with dangerous speed and mounting trepidation. Both of the survivors knew the importance of the moment. 'Careful,' Emma hissed as the motorhome dipped to one side as one of the back wheels clattered through another deep pothole.

Michael didn't respond, fixing his concentration on following the soldiers instead. Not knowing what was 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 climbed up momentarily before dropping down into the darkness like a stomach-churning fairground ride. At first all he could see were the lights of the soldier's vehicle.

Seconds later they had gone, swallowed up by something unseen in the blackness. 'Where did they go?' asked Emma. 'How the hell should I know?' Michael shouted in reply. The velocity of the motorhome increased as they sped down the incline. He fumbled with the switches at the side of the steering wheel, trying desperately to turn on the lights whilst maintaining control of the vehicle. Seconds later and the ground levelled out. The front of the motorhome began to smash into shadowy shapes in the increasing darkness. Michael found the lights and switched them on. There was no sign of the military transport. There was no visible sign of the base.

For as far as they could see the field they found themselves driving through was filled with hundreds upon hundreds of bodies. Terrified and not able to see an obvious way out of the field, Michael immediately slammed on the brakes, switched the lights off again and silenced the engine. He looked out over a sea of rotting heads, desperately hoping to catch sight of something man-made amongst the decaying flesh. There was nothing.

As the nearest creatures began to smash their rotting fists against the sides of the motorhome he instinctively grabbed hold of Emma's hand and dragged 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'd hidden numerous times before. He held her tightly and pulled the blanket over their heads as the deafening noise increased.

Chapter Forty-Three

Donna ran the length of the university complex with Clare following close behind. They quickly worked their way through a labyrinth of dark, featureless corridors, hoping that they would be able to remember the way back to the others. After several minutes of running Donna decided that they had gone far enough. 'This'll do,' she said breathlessly, slowing down to walking pace and resting her hands on her hips. 'Where are we going to do it?' asked Clare. Donna looked around. There was an exit door to her right. Through small, square, safety glass panels she could see a narrow concrete pathway which led to a detached storage building.

'Perfect,' she whispered as she carefully forced open the door and stepped out into the night. The pathway between the main university complex and