Swanson continued Joe’s thought. “Means she’s working for the other side.”

  Joe pushed the sheet aside, swinging his feet to the dusty wooden boards. “It also means, we can’t stay here. They will be coming.” He looked back at Swanson. “Why you telling us this?”

  Liz interjected, she too now with her feet on the floor. “What do you mean they will be coming?”

  “They know we’re here. We don’t have long.” Joe’s gaze remained fixed on the older man.

  “As I was saying. I thought to myself, Saul could you do a better job, than this Joe?” He leaned forward again. “And I thought. Nah, reckon I couldn’t. Reckon I need to stick with him, if I’m going to get through this shit.”

  Joe stood, embracing the pain that was still permeating his waist and thighs.

  Liz looked at her children. “Quickly, put your things in your bags.” Then looked back at her husband. “We have to tell the others.”

  “We can’t,” said Joe, while Swanson chuckled before taking another swig from the bottle.

  “What do you mean!”

  “If you tell people,” said Swanson. “There’s going to be a panic and those coming are going to see that and step up their plan. And none of you will get out of this camp alive.”

  She looked at her husband, fear in her eyes as the kids scrambled to throw what little belongings they had into their backpacks. Joe began doing the same. “He’s right,” said Joe. “But I’m not leaving our group.”

  Swanson thew his arms up. “How you going to get all of them out of here without anyone else noticing? You want to risk your kids’ future on doing that?”

  Joe had his pack ready and his jacket on, as did the rest of his family. “I appreciate you telling us. But now I need you to help us get out of this camp. Can you do that?”

  Swanson let out a breath while frowning. He then stood. “Yeah… yeah, I can do that.”

  Joe moved past him, peering through the single piece of clear plastic that acted as a window. “I think most are asleep. We’re going to have to split up.”

  Liz shook her head. “I can’t believe they are going into a trap… if there was someway—”

  “There isn’t,” said Joe, still monitoring the other shacks and tents, sprawled across the forest floor. “Any message we try to get to them will be heard by the authorities, and they will move in. They’re on their own and we have to get out of this camp.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

  LAUREN

  The three vehicle convoy passed swiftly over a highway which was full of vehicles, glistening in the moonlight. Amongst them, Lauren picked out the shapes of reanimated humans, before the scene of devastation moved out of sight, and the humvee, pickup and van, plunged back into the darkness of the eastbound, two-lane road. To her left, Baldwin was driving. In the rear seats were Jenn and Clara. While behind, the van was driven by Kelly, with Marge in the passenger seat, and Olive, Barb and Heather in the back.

  Lauren wanted to be anywhere than where she was, or in the direction they were driving. The General had requested she go on the mission, and she wasn’t about to disobey a direct order, even if the army she joined years before was now consigned to history. She wondered if any of the units had been evacuated and were now serving under a different flag. It didn’t matter. She just needed to get through the night. Locate and take the vaccine and get the brainwashed individuals off the island. Then perhaps they could start the trek north to a mythical place where the infected were not killed on sight. Where perhaps a new life could be had.

  She was tired. The madness hadn’t let up since the beginning, but there was still some way to go, until it would be over.

  “How far?” said Jenn from the backseat.

  Lauren flicked the switch on her flashlight and studied the foldout map on her lap. Her pen marks laid out a fairly direct route to the coast, and they had already covered most of it. “Not too far. Maybe another ten minutes.” She was sure she was already smelling the sea.

  “Good.” Jenn clicked on her radio and relayed the information to those in the other vehicles, making it clear that they all needed to be on the lookout for governmental forces, even this far out from the island.

  Baldwin briefly looked over her shoulder. “What’s the plan for the women on the island?”

  “Marge will take care of them,” answered Clara.

  “No, I meant, if they don’t want to leave? How we going to get them to come with us? People in cults can be pretty crazy.”

  Outside, large luxurious homes passed by at the edge of expansive squares of land that were already becoming overgrown with weeds.

  “I’ll convince them,” continued Clara. “I was there. I know what’s being done to them.”

  Lauren turned around in her seat. “What about the old guy in charge? The one you said was in the room when… things happened?”

  “I would have thought that was obvious. We kill him.”

  “No,” replied the General. Clara looked at her. “I’m not saying he doesn’t deserve it, but if we can take him with us, that should be our first concern. He could prove to be a very important source of intel. Especially if we are making the journey north.”

  Clara’s expression drained of emotion as Lauren turned back to face the dashboard, and within the darkness outside, the impression of buildings growing in frequency at the side of the heavily forested road.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

  MATHEW

  Mathew’s body was shaking. Involuntarily. His world once again reduced to just himself. He sat on his camp bed, his jacket on, his small pack, full of his worldly possessions over his shoulder.

  Joe was knelt near the entrance, looking through the smallest of gaps to the darkness and other tents outside, waiting, making sure there was no movement from any of them.

  When Mathew was told that the others were heading into a trap, he tried to persuade Joe that they should alert everyone. That they should try to reach them on a radio. Maybe they were still within range. During those moments he wasn’t thinking. He was simply expressing his deep-rooted feeling of loss at probably not seeing the woman he cared for, ever again. But those feelings washed away, when it became obvious that for any of them to survive what was about to happen, they couldn’t tell anyone what they knew. He had to leave the camp, and do it without anyone noticing.

  “Won’t they know something is happening when one of the vehicles goes missing?”

  Joe continued scanning the surrounding shadows for movement. “We’re not taking a vehicle.”

  “What?”

  “We’re hiking out of here, through the mountains. We’ll find a vehicle at some point and then drive from there.”

  “The mountains, in the middle of the night?”

  “There’s not many undead out here.”

  “I’m more worried about the wildlife!”

  “That’s the least of our worries.” Joe sighed, and looked back to his friend. “There are no good options here. This is the best I got. We’ve got four kids to try to get out of his mess, Mathew. I’m going to need you to step up.”

  He nodded without comment, but couldn’t help but notice how the man in front of him looked ten years older, than when he first met him at the train station in London. When the horror was still raw. “How’s your back?”

  “I’m managing.” Joe shook his head. “Where are they…”

  Before Mathew could enquire who ‘they’ were, a click came from Joe’s radio and he replied with a further two clicks then looked back at Mathew. “Let’s go. Stay close.”

  They moved into the cool night air, walking quickly but not so fast so that the sound of their boots would draw any attention. Mathew kept flicking his eyes towards the few hundred small fabric homes that glowed amongst the absolute black of the forest. Like motionless fireflies. If anyone saw them walking during the early hours, he and Joe would just say they wanted to stretch their legs. A night time walk. It sounded like a dumb excuse to Mathew as they continued along the narrow path, moving deeper into the forest, and his mind lurched between Heather, escaping without being detected and what lay waiting for them at the higher altitudes of the rockier landscape.

  Joe’s hand landed on his chest, stopping him, and they moved behind the trunk of a wide tree, the light from the encampment now only providing scant illumination of the surrounding woods.

  Joe clicked the talk button on his radio twice, the same coming back to him almost immediately. “They’re just ahead,” he said pulling Mathew with him as they moved back onto the dirt track.

  The timber frame of the walkway which covered the ravine and river were just about visible as they continued and the white noise of the tumbling waters, confirmed they were moving in the right direction.

  Mathew sighed in relief at seeing the group of eight individuals standing on the walkway. Liz stood behind the four children, while Ember checked her pack, holding her baby close to her chest in a well wrapped sling. Maggie stood a little further on, with her dog on a leash. Swanson held onto the guardrail. He turned around.

  “Took your time! Now the gang’s all here. You all think we can get out of here?”

  Joe looked around. “Where’s Aiden?”

  “How the fuck do I know? Hopefully, he’s still sleeping.”

  “I told him to meet us here,” said Ember.

  Joe nodded. “We can’t wait any longer. This path takes us through the top of the ravine and then we’re in open country. Let’s go.”

  The group moved off, the sound of the creaking planks being overwhelmed by the rushing waters, only feet below. It was the reason why none of them heard the approaching footsteps.

  Rain barked before the rest of them saw the circle of light on the path nearby. Mathew hoped they would not be seen on the deck, but a voice enquired from the darkness, lower down.

  “Hello?” said Harper. “Why are you all up there?”

  Her lantern tilted upwards, and like escaping convicts, everyone froze in the beam.

  She walked closer. “What’s happening?”

  Joe replied first. “We’re… going on an outing.”

  She stood alongside the walkway which was face level with her. “At 1 a.m. in the morning?”

  “Yes, why not.”

  Mathew tried to smile when her light landed on him but it was obvious she wasn’t buying the story. They all had large packs across their shoulders.

  Behind the glow of her light, confusion came to her face. “But… why are you leaving? Your people are with the others on the… rescue… mission…”

  Even with the scant afterglow from the lantern she was holding, everyone could see the thoughts falling into place in her mind. She began to back away, moving towards the camp. “I think I need to leave.”

  Joe tracked her, walking along the deck by her side. “No, wait, I can explain.”

  She broke into a run, quickly moving back into the woods when there was a thump sound and a scream which dissolved into a gurgle then silence.

  Joe and the others stood still, momentarily unsure of what to do, as a tall figure emerged from the shadows, a knife glistening in the moonlight.

  Aiden climbed up onto the deck then over the guardrail. A few drops of liquid fell from the blade. Joe held his ground. “I took care of it,” said the American.

  “What?” said Joe. “What did you do?!”

  Aiden waked closer. “You want to stand here and argue about it, or you want to leave?”

  Mathew felt sick. There was no going back now.

  Joe turned around, walked past the others and waved everyone onwards.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

  CLARA

  Within the darkness, light coloured, large wooden homes with wrap around decks and porches, passed by the three vehicles as they moved slowly through the coastal town.

  “Keep going,” said Lauren. “This road goes to a marina, just up ahead.”

  “Looks clear of the undead,” said Baldwin.

  Clara wasn’t paying attention to the streets but rather the strip of darkness they were heading towards, on the horizon. The Atlantic was beckoning once more and she began to feel dizzy as memories began to force their way to the surface. She gripped the seat below as if she was already at sea.

  Olive’s voice came through Jenn’s radio. “Yeah, yeah. You see the dock in front of you? End of street? That’s where the large boats are. That’s where we stayed. It should be on the right. It’s the biggest, you can’t miss it.”

  She wasn’t wrong. All in the pickup spotted the wide bow of the luxury yacht at the same time, its white bridge and mast standing tall against the night sky.

  “Surprising that these boats were left here,” said Lauren.

  “People were told to go west, no point having a boat,” said the General.

  They slowed then stopped, Baldwin not wanting to move too far onto the largely empty and exposed stretch of concrete which jutted a hundred feet over the water. “I’m going to check it out.”

  “Take Aaron with you.”

  She nodded, got out and closed the door behind. Clara watched her walk to the humvee, disappearing around the side then reappear with the tall soldier. Both then jogged across the light grey ground, moving out of sight along a slim causeway between the boats.

  Clara could feel the sweat on the back of her neck. She wanted to jump out and run away from the turbulent waves which she could hear not so far away.

  “We shouldn’t stay here, too long,” said Lauren. “We might be spotted from above.”

  “We won’t,” said Jenn, who then looked at her watch. “We’re on schedule.”

  Baldwin appeared on the bow of the boat and waved. Clara almost wanted the soldier to be shouting for them to leave, but instead people from the vehicles started filtering past.

  “Let’s go,” said Jenn. She got out, Lauren following. Clara being the last to get out.

  Somewhere within the masts a bell clanged from the breeze which blew across them all, and Clara followed the others, all making their way to the gangplank, then moved onboard.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

  JOE

  Joe needed to stop. The pain across his lower back had been cascading down his leg for over an hour. Building to a crescendo which was beginning to affect his thought process. He paused on the slope, then looked down through the trees to the others climbing up to him, paying particular attention to the smaller human shaped shadows and the taller one beside them. “You okay?” he shouted to his wife.

  “I’m fine, but can we take a quick break?”

  “I was thinking the same.”

  Each of the group sat where they were, not wanting to take another step. He did similar, planting his rear on a fallen tree, which Aiden also sat on. No conversation had passed between the two on the hard trek through the forest, and Joe had no inclination to begin one now. The pain in his back was doing a good of blotting out any thoughts of what happened to the woman who ran the camp.

  “I had to do it. You know that, right?”

  Joe slowly turned his head towards the man wearing the baseball cap. “I don’t know what had to be done. I do know there’s no point talking about it.”

  Aiden looked away. “Yeah, well. It was them or us. I chose us.”

  Joe turned back to the darkness, trying to make out Liz amongst the scant light from the moon, but instead, something caught his attention, out of the corner of his eye. A distant light sparkled. Painfully he stood and then climbed up, on top of the trunk to get a better view into the valley. His mouth briefly fell open.

  “What?” said Aiden, joining him, balancing on the log. “Shit.”

  Some of the others got to their feet, trying to also see what was below.

  Joe had no doubt what the snaking points of light were, but before he could tell the others, the ground began to shake, making him topple backwards where he landed painfully on his back. He knew what the shuddering meant, but the black shadow sliding across the sky above him, confirmed it. With the help of the trunk he scrambled back to his feet. “We have to keep moving. It’s happening.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

  FORBES

  Forbes hated the countryside. Hated how it smelt and how it clung to his shoes when he traveled anywhere within it. He also disliked the silence which came from a place of no civilisation. It now being even more dead than before.

  He grew up on a farm, but left it and his family behind as soon as he learned to drive. That was over forty-five years ago, and the stench of pine was bringing back memories he would have rather left buried.

  The radio belonging to the sergeant whom was seated in the front passenger seat crackled into life. “This is squad alpha. Not seeing much in the way of guards. Should we proceed? Over.”

  Boone looked over his left shoulder at the man in charge. Forbes nodded and the sergeant told the other officer to move into the camp.

  Forbes felt a tingling in his spine. This was the moment he had been waiting for since the foreigners arrived on these shores. Bringing their prize with them. Almost, but not quite, to his door. So far they had luckily avoided capture. But not this time. The plan was perfect. It had always been a matter of when not if, he captured the girl. And those he reported to inside the newly formed government of Western States, would recognise his importance and give him what he was promised. A lifetime supply of the vaccine, as well as a secure location to live out his days. Not just for himself but also for those under his command. That was the deal that was made, and he had no reason to doubt it would happen.

  The humvee he was in, in the middle of a column of five, slowed as it rounded the corner of the hill, the semi-truck trailers apparent across the highway further along, where the entrance to the once tourist spot was. Sparks and flashes of light were already lighting up the woods half a mile away to his left. He knew they would put up a fight, but they weren’t operatives. They were just the survivors. The final dregs that the contagion had deposited in this remote mountainous location. There were others within the state, each of them oblivious that they were earmarked to be cleansed within the next few weeks. But that was not his operation. He had been tasked to obtain the special child. The one that would allow the Western States to thrive amongst a world ridden by the dead.