

VIRO

BOOK ONE

VIRO

BOOK ONE

Barnaby Taylor

For Iris, as per usual and always...

Copyright  Barnaby Taylor 2018

All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

ISBN 978-1-9996332-0-2 (Paperback)

First Edition

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Barnaby Taylor

www.falconboy.ie
Virus

I am hiding on the roof of a shop. There is a strange girl with me. Everything was good yesterday. Presidents were saying mad things on television. That was like always.

But today is different.

The radio said about a virus. People are being zombies. A scientist said it was a disaster all over the world. No one is safe. The radio said apocalypse.

Mum works at the hospital. She's always gone when I get up. She feels bad about this. It isn't her fault. She has to do these things. I don't mind. I am independent. I like looking after myself.

I always hear Mum go out. I always go back to sleep.

Mum always says don't worry if she is late. She will be back. It was different today. She did not come back.

I was really worried. What if the zombies are chasing her?

The hospital is quite near to home. I thought I would look for her. That was my idea. I did not think anything else.

We live in a row of houses. The shop is at the other end. Mr. Bishop owns it. I like to go in before school. He lets me read the newspaper headlines.

Mr. Bishop is very friendly. I like him. Mum says his wife was dead. He really misses her. It makes him feel really sad. He still smiles at me.

'Hi Jake,' he always says. 'Come to read my newspapers again?'

'Yes, Mr. Bishop. I like to know what's going on.'

'Be careful, I might have to start charging you.'

Mr. Bishop likes to play this game with me.

'How much?' I have to ask.

'It's only doom and darkness, you can have that for nothing.'

He always makes me laugh. Mr. Bishop is a joker.

This morning I was thinking about Mum. I didn't look where I was going. I bumped into someone.

'Sorry,' I said.

It was Mr. Bishop. He wasn't friendly. He growled at me. He caught my hood. I couldn't get away. He wanted to bite me. I had to fight. I hooked his leg with my leg. I pushed really hard. Mr. Bishop fell over. He let go.

'Quick! Up here!'

Someone was shouting. It was a girl. I looked around. I couldn't see her. She wasn't near me. I was confused.

Mr. Bishop was getting up. He was angry. He didn't like falling over. He wasn't joking now.

'Up here,' said the girl. 'Look up here.'

Ellis

I looked up. There was a smiling girl on the roof of the shop. She had curly hair. The girl pointed.

'Climb on top of that van and jump across.'

I got on the van. Mr. Bishop was behind me. I started to climb. He caught me.

'Help,' I shouted. 'He's grabbed my ankle.'

'Don't panic. I'll knock him down.'

I didn't know what she meant. Something rushed past my head. Mr. Bishop roared. He let go of my ankle. The girl had a catapult.

'Good shot!' I shouted.

'I know.'

I scrambled on the top of the van. I stopped. I looked over. There was a gap.

'Jump,' the girl said. 'You can do it.'

I didn't know if I could. But I didn't want to say. I didn't know this girl. She might laugh. I didn't want that to happen.

I had to do something. I looked at Mr. Bishop. I looked at the girl. I jumped.

I grabbed the wall. I didn't fall.

'Hi!' said the girl. 'I'm Ellis. Welcome to my roof.'

'Jake,' I said.

I sat down. My head felt funny. I was winded.

'My name is Jake.'

***

'That's when I knew that I had to get away,' Ellis said.

She looked over the wall. Mr. Bishop wasn't on the van.

'It all happened so quickly,' she continued. 'One minute they were Mum and Dad, the next they were something else.'

Ellis was very sad. She tried to smile. It didn't work. Her lips were broken. Her story was too horrible.

I couldn't speak. I had no words for her. I didn't understand. This was so weird. I looked down at my trainers. They were brand new. The laces were very dirty. I needed new laces.

Ellis cried. All was bad for her.

'Viro,' she said. 'My mum and dad are Viros.'

Ellis's voice was choky. She sniffed as well. I didn't know what to do. I had no words for her story. But I wanted to speak. I said about anything.

'Viro is a funny word,' I said. 'What does it mean? Is it like zombie?'

Ellis shrugged.

'Virus. Viro,' she said. 'I made it up while I was sitting here.'

The word sounded clever. I didn't really know.

'Is it a joke?'

Ellis looked away. My words didn't help.

'They're not coming back,' she said. 'They're gone forever.'

She cried again.

I spoke quickly.

'My mum is at work,' I said. 'She cleans in a hospital. I get myself up in the mornings.'

My voice stopped working. Everything felt massive on my head. My face felt red and hot. I felt panic inside. Don't cry. Don't be a baby boy.

'What if my mum's a viro?'

Ellis didn't say. She didn't know. She opened her rucksack. It was a ham sandwich. She gave me some.

'We should eat,' she said. 'It might make us feel better.'

Vinnie

I looked around as I chewed. The morning was getting brighter. It was quiet. We were safe. No one could get us. But there was no roof. I saw black clouds. They looked angry. I didn't want it to rain. We would get really wet. That would be bad. I didn't feel better. My head felt fast. My brain was full. I wanted to know things.

'What are we going to do?' I said. 'How am I going to find my mum?'

'We need to find my brother Vinnie first,' Ellis said. 'He'll be able to help us find your mum.'

I liked this idea. It was good. We needed help. I asked another question.

'Where is Vinnie?'

'Vinnie didn't come home last night. He had a big archery tournament coming up and his team was called in for extra training. He said he would see me when he got back.'

Ellis smiled. It was better than tears.

'He never came home but I know he's still alive. He's very good at looking after himself.'

This was good. Vinnie sounded older. He was in a team. He could do things. I wanted him to help us. I felt better. We had a plan.

'What school does he go to?'

'St. Dunstan's.'

I didn't know that school. I didn't care. I only wanted to find Vinnie.

'Let's go there now.'

Ellis shook her head.

'We won't get far during the day. We'd better wait until tonight. It'll be much safer to travel then.'

Ellis was sensible. I knew she was right. But I was disappointed.

We waited for night to come. We spoke to each other. I said about my life. Ellis talked about hers. Nothing was normal now. We cried a real lot.

'Mum and Dad have been married for ages,' Ellis said. 'They were childhood sweethearts. Now, they are just two of those things.'

She sniffed.

'We were at home. I was tired and went to bed early. Someone screaming woke me up. I looked out my window. Mum and Dad were fighting with our next-door neighbours in the street. They both got bitten. There was blood everywhere.'

Ellis shivered. She was crying loud again.

'More neighbours came out of their houses and Mum and Dad went off with them. I waited until they had gone and then ran away. I thought I would get to the school but I only got as far as this roof. I was waiting to leave when I saw you fighting with that viro.'

She meant Mr. Bishop.

'He was my friend,' I said. 'He isn't now.'

It felt funny to say that.

Later on Ellis stopped crying. I did too. I said my story. I liked talking to her.

I said about my dad going away when I was born. He knew I was different to other babies. He wasn't happy. It was a genetical thing.

'That must have been awful,' Ellis said.

'I was too young. Mum was too strong.'

I shrugged. I was happy to say about me.

'I'm different to other people. It's okay. They're different to me.'

I smiled.

'I know who I am. I am me.'

Ellis nodded. I think she understood me. I liked that.

'Have you always lived here?' asked Ellis.

'Two months and three days,' I said. 'Mum got a new job. She's going to college. She wants to be a teacher.'

'Your mum sounds amazing,' said Ellis. 'I'd really love to meet her.'

'She is,' I said. 'You will.'

Catapult

We watched Mr. Bishop trying to climb the van. He couldn't do it. He was nothing like the old Mr. Bishop.

'He looks so angry,' I said.

'Wouldn't you be?' Ellis replied. 'Once he was a normal old man, now he's a bloodthirsty zombie.'

'I suppose,' I said.

I didn't really get it.

'How come we're not?'

'I don't know,' said Ellis. 'We still might. Perhaps it is something to do with our DNA.'

'Maybe,' I said.

DNA sounded funny. I knew what it meant. Mum said it before. So did the doctors.

Ellis looked at me. She could see my geneticals. I didn't mind. They were hard to hide.

'Sorry, Jake, I wasn't thinking.'

I thought she felt bad. She fiddled with her catapult. It had a thing for your wrist. It looked really dangerous.

I didn't mind her words. She wasn't teasing. I asked her about the catapult.

'Where did you learn to shoot that?'

'My uncle David has a farm in the country and every summer we'd stay with him. Vinnie and me would spend the days just exploring. Uncle David said he'd let me earn some pocket money by hunting rats and collecting a bounty for each one I killed.'

Ellis patted the catapult.

'This beauty has killed over two hundred rats,' she said as we watched Mr. Bishop wander off, 'but seeing as we're not on the farm any more I now have new prey to hunt.'

When it was dark we got off the roof. It was easy to do. I followed Ellis. I scraped my knee. It hurt a lot. I couldn't stop. We had to keep going. We needed to find Vinnie.

It was new being out like this. I didn't like it much. I wanted someone with us. It was better to be with an adult. They could help me choose.

The streetlights made everything orange. It looked dangerous. I didn't say anything. I thought someone would hear my voice. I didn't want them to chase me. It was too hard. I felt really lost.

Ellis was much better. She was confident. She stepped well on the pavement. She looked around. Everything was planned in her head. Ellis was ready for anything. I was glad I met her.

Suddenly Ellis stopped. She said, 'Don't speak' with her eyes. I nodded. She pointed.

A big gang of viros was in front of us.

They looked like they were going to a football match. Or waiting for the cinema. They were all standing still. Their backs were facing us.

I wondered what they were waiting for. The viros mumbled. It was a funny sound. I thought I could hear some words. I didn't know.

I looked at Ellis. I pointed back the way we came. She nodded. We went to leave. It was too late. There was another gang behind us. We were trapped.

Doomed

I froze. This was terrible. I wanted to shout for help. Ellis shook her head. Her eyes were wide. She was scared like me.

The viros were all around us.

I looked around. The houses were thin ones. They stood side by side. The gardens were small. I could see trees and bushes. All the houses were closed. No doors or windows were open. There was no one to ask for help.

I remembered a picture of Hell in an old school book. All the dead men and women and children were twisted and unhappy. The book said they were tormented. I looked at the viros.

They looked just the same.

Twisted.

Unhappy.

Tormented.

We had to do something.

I pointed at the nearest garden. Ellis agreed. We climbed over the wall. We hid behind a hedge. I shut my eyes. I knew we would be eaten.

I grabbed Ellis's hand. She gripped mine hard. There was nothing else to do. I waited to die.

It was really loud now. The viros wailed. They sounded angry and upset. They smelled like rusty apples. It was too strong. I was sick in my mouth.

I felt useless. We were doomed. I knew Ellis felt the same. She squeezed my hand really hard.

This is it! I thought. We're dead.

Then I heard gunfire and engines. The noise was louder than the viros. I opened my eyes. White flashes made it easier to see. Crazy shadows danced in the night.

The angry viros were being killed.

A long line of trucks drove through the crowds. I saw big soldiers with gas masks. They were shooting guns. It was really noisy. Viros were falling down everywhere. Some were ripped apart by the bullets. Others fell under the trucks. They screamed as they were run over. I heard bones breaking and bodies crunching.

I wanted to run to the trucks. The soldiers had to rescue us. I needed them to help us stay alive. They were better than us. They had guns. They were experts. We would be safe with them.

I tried to stand up. Ellis pulled me back. She held me tight. She wouldn't let go.

'They'll shoot you,' she whispered. 'It's too dark for them to know the difference between them and us. We're all viros right now.'

She wrapped her arms around me. I stopped struggling. She was speaking sensible. Ellis looked at me.

'We need to stay here.'

Shipwrecked

Then the night was quiet again. We waited. Nothing happened. We waited some more. Still nothing. I stood up slowly. My legs ached. I had pins and needles. My ears were singing. A big viro lay next to the wall. Its clothes were ripped. One arm was missing. I saw a body hole full of blood. There were more bodies all around. Great big piles of human bits and pieces. It looked like a horrible cartoon.

Ellis said to me.

'Did you see those soldiers and their guns? Where did they come?'

I shrugged. I couldn't answer properly.

'I don't know. I want to go where they are. I don't want to be here.'

I didn't like this. It was awful. I tried to look nowhere. Everywhere was terrible. I wanted to be safe with the soldiers. I wanted them to take me to Mum.

Ellis picked up her backpack.

'We'd better get moving while we have the chance.'

I was very sad. I felt shipwrecked. It was like being lost. I turned away. I didn't want Ellis to see me like this. I didn't feel strong. Everything was horrible.

Ellis said we should head to the railway line near the ring road. We had to stay out of the town. It would be too busy. All the viros would be there she said. Ellis was very sure. I thought I believed her. She might know more than me.

I didn't care too much. I was glad to get going.

I didn't want to see the dead viros anymore.

Battle

A bunch of tall trees stood next to the railway line. They had bushes around them. It was the perfect hiding hole. Anything could be waiting. I waited. Nothing came out.

We sneaked through them. The ground was muddy. I was careful. I didn't want to slip. Ellis walked next to me. Her feet were steadier. She was looking where she was going.

I saw orange flashes far away. The sound of guns was soft.

'That must be a big battle,' I whispered. 'I'm glad we're over here.'

'At least it means that someone is fighting back,' said Ellis. 'I'd hate to think we were the only people left alive.'

'What about those soldiers we saw?'

'But what if they were all that's left,' said Ellis. 'A handful of trucks against a world full of zombies?'

She stopped speaking. I think she was thinking about Vinnie. What if he wasn't there? Then what?

I wanted to say something good but couldn't. I didn't like her upset. It wasn't fair. Anyway, she might know the truth. The soldiers might be the last ones left. No Vinnie. No Mum.

Nothing was good. I didn't know what to think.

Mouth

The railway tracks went into a dark tunnel. It looked like the dirty mouth of danger. Ellis was in front of me. She was aiming for the tunnel. I pulled her arm. She turned around.

'We can't go in there,' I said.

My voice wasn't big. My tummy ached. I was frightened. The tunnel looked evil. No way did I like it. I had to say. I didn't care if Ellis laughed.

'But we must,' she said. 'It's the quickest way.'

I shook my head.

'That is a death sandwich. It will be full of viros!'

Ellis didn't look worried. She smiled at me.

'Those things are everywhere now,' she said. 'Maybe the tunnel has less of them than the town. If they are hunting humans then they would be better off sticking to the streets.'

Ellis sounded confident. She spoke with clear thinking.

'This way might be viro-free,' she said.

This wasn't true. It couldn't be. I wanted to make Ellis see. I couldn't find all the words. I only said soft when I needed to be harder. I didn't know how.

'I doubt it,' I said.

Ellis looked at my eyes. She didn't speak again. I felt I had to be brave. She wanted that. I had to try. That was what she wanted.

I led the way. I had to show being stronger. Ellis followed me. I didn't want to be the last. We climbed over a wood fence. It wobbled. There were loads of stinging nettles behind it. I nearly fell.

'Hold your breath,' said Ellis. 'My uncle told us it was how you stopped yourself being stung by them.'

I held my breath. I walked through the nettles. I didn't get stung. It worked.

We came to a wall. I sat on the edge and dropped down. I landed in thick bushes. The railway line was next to them. Some of the brambles scratched me. Ellis passed me her backpack. It was her turn. She lowered herself down. I heard her hiss.

'Ouch!' she said. 'I've just twisted my ankle.'

Ellis had stood on a broken brick. It made her foot hurt. Ellis limped out of the brambles. She sat down.

'My ankle is really sore,' she said. 'I don't think it's broken but it doesn't feel right.'

She looked sad again.

'I'm sorry.'

I sat down next to her. I wanted to put my arm around Ellis's shoulder. I didn't know if I should.

'Don't say sorry,' I said.

'But I'm going to slow us both down,' Ellis said. 'It'll take forever to get there now.'

'We'll be fine,' I said but I wasn't sure. 'If your shortcut works then we'll find Vinnie soon.'

I stood up. I was in charge now. I really had to lead. I leaned down to Ellis. I pointed at the tunnel.

'We'd better go.'

Footsteps

The tunnel looked dark and dangerous. I didn't want to go inside. No way. I wanted to run away. But I had to help Ellis. She had helped me at the shop. She thought this was the right way to go. Ellis put her arm around my shoulder. We started to walk.

The darkness ate us all up. It was impossible to see. I looked back at the entrance. I wished we were out there still.

Ellis limped next to me. Her ankle was very sore. She was trying to be brave. I heard her gasping. It was so frightening.

We went very slowly. I was very edgy. Danger could be anywhere. I kept my head clear. I needed to pay real attention.

I heard something. The stones moved. I hoped it was just an animal. I heard it again. I thought it was a footstep.

The stones moved again. It was footsteps. I felt upset.

'What's the matter?' Ellis said.

'There's something behind us.'

'We'd better hurry then.'

It was hard to hurry. We couldn't go fast. Ellis was too sore. Her ankle made us slow. This was danger.

The footsteps kept coming.

I was really worried. I pulled Ellis through the tunnel. She sounded hurt but didn't say anything. We kept going.

The footsteps started running.

This was bad. Ellis couldn't go faster. I knew the tunnel was a bad idea. Why didn't I say so? I should have done. It was too late now. We couldn't go back.

'Ellis,' I said. 'We need to get out.'

'How? Tunnels only have one way in and one way out.'

'Maybe,' I said. 'I did a project on old trains at school. We need a ventilation shaft.'

I touched the side of the tunnel. I wanted to find a ladder or a doorway. Bricks. Bricks. Bricks. Then I felt metal pipes. They were on the side of the wall.

'Quick,' I said. 'Follow the pipes.'

I kept my hand on the pipes. There was muck all over them. My hand was dirty quickly. I felt the tunnel curving.

It was hard to touch the pipes and pull Ellis along. She was really sore.

'I can't keep going,' she said. 'My ankle is killing me. You find the shaft and come back for me later if you can.'

'No way!' I said. 'You won't be eaten in this terrible tunnel. You saved my life. I'm saving yours.'

I pulled her harder.

'Come on.'

Then the viros howled. The sound was way back. The tunnel made it really loud. It was all evil echoes. The howl frightened Ellis. She let go of me. She tried to run. It was like quick hopping. She started to cry.

This is stupid, I thought. Why did we do this? We should have stayed on the roof. It was safe up there.

Why did I have to survive? I could be a viro like all of them. That would be easier.

We kept running. My side got hurt. It was a stabbing pain.

'Stitch,' I said. 'I've got the stitch.'

'Keep going!' Ellis said. 'There must be something up ahead.'

'There is,' said a voice behind us. 'Up here on the left.'

Sooty

Two shadows ran past us. They disappeared. They were loud on the stones. Someone started climbing a metal ladder.

'Quick,' said the voice. 'Get up the ladder before they get here.'

We had to be quick. I pushed Ellis in front of me. She put her foot on the rung. She started to climb. It was very hard for her. Her ankle was bad. She couldn't stand on it. We weren't being quick.

'Too slow,' said the voice. 'She's climbing too slowly.'

The voice sounded worried. I had to make it quicker.

'I'm going to push you up, Ellis.'

I grabbed her good foot.

'Hang on!'

I pushed her up. It was hard. I looked up. There was shaft of light. I pushed hard. Ellis flew up the ladder.

It was my turn. I grabbed the ladder. I went foot over foot. I climbed as quick as I could. There was someone right behind me.

'Quicker,' they said. 'You've got to be quicker.'

The ladder led into a small space. I crawled to the side. A boy came up the ladder. He grabbed the metal hatch. It was slammed shut. Clang! The boy locked the hatch.

'That should hold them for a while,' he said.

His smile was sooty.

The strange kids led Ellis and me down a dimly lit corridor. We came to a large metal door. The boy pulled the door open and stepped through.

'After you,' said the girl.

I helped Ellis limped inside.

It was a small room. There were metal shelves on one wall. There was a steel sink in the corner and a first aid box. The girl opened the box and took out a roll of bandages. She pointed to a rusty chair.

'Sit down,' she said to Ellis. 'I'll take a look at your ankle.'

Ellis sat down.

I felt very tired. I sat on the floor. The boy gave me a bottle of water. I took a big swig.

'Who are you both,' said Ellis, 'and why were you following us?'

'I'm Abraham,' said the boy, 'but everyone calls me Abe.'

Abe pointed at the girl.

'My twin sister's name is Amber.'

'And I'm the eldest by three and a half minutes,' said Amber as she put a bandage on Ellis's ankle.

'We were on our way back here,' Amber continued, 'when we heard the two of you making enough noise to wake the already-awake dead.'

She laughed.

'This tunnel is a zombie-magnet. Had you gone much further you would never had got out. We were running to warn you.'

'And because there was another swarm right behind us,' laughed Abe.

Ellis looked puzzled.

'But how did you know that this place existed?' she asked.

'Our dad owned the construction company that was repairing this tunnel and he told about these rooms. He says they were built just in case anyone got trapped in the tunnel due to a train crash or something. They could make their way here and wait to be rescued.'

Abe was cheerful. He laughed again.

'Clearly no-one is coming to rescue us any time soon.'

Drive

Amber finished with Ellis's ankle and put the bandages away. Everyone was silent for a minute. Then I spoke.

'I am Jake. She is Ellis. We met on the roof of my local corner shop. My mum is missing. We are going to find Vinnie. He is hiding at St. Dunstan's School. We have been bumping into lots of viros.'

The twins nodded.

'Viros,' said Abe. 'That's a cool name.'

'We had no way of knowing who you were,' said Amber, 'so we followed you until we realized that we were being followed ourselves. That's when we started running.'

As we sat down, I said our adventures to Amber and Abe. I said about Mr. Bishop, Ellis on the roof and the soldiers in the trucks. I also said we saw a big fight happening somewhere far away.

'We saw that too,' said Abe, 'and were planning to head in that direction.'

Amber shook her head.

'It seemed like a great idea at the time but then we realized just how far it probably was and decided that we couldn't take the chance.'

'I know,' said Ellis. 'We thought about the same thing but the soldiers will likely shoot anyone who just walks up to them unannounced. If we had a vehicle then that would be another story.'

'But none of us can drive,' said Abe.

'Vinnie can,' replied Ellis. 'Well, at least he had started his driving lessons. I bet he could drive us to the soldiers.'

'He probably could,' said Amber, 'but we need to find him first.'

'Exactly,' said Ellis. 'What are we waiting for?'

Amber looked at Ellis's ankle.

'You won't get far with that ankle,' she said.

Everyone fell silent. I felt sad for Ellis. I knew she liked to do her own thing just like I did. I thought she would be very annoyed at being slower. I looked around the dirty room. There was a pile of orange traffic cones. Something was behind them. I moved the cones out the way.

'What about this?'

It was a rusty wheelbarrow.

I said to Ellis.

'We could push you. You wouldn't slow us down. You could fire your catapult.'

'Brilliant,' said Amber and Ellis together.

I carried on looking.

'We should find things to fight with.'

I grabbed a mop. I looked under the sink. There was a can of spray paint.

I handed Abe the dirty can.

'Spray this in a viro's face.'

I gave Amber the mop.

'You might fight with it.'

Amber grinned. She liked the mop.

Clumsy

We were ready. Abe said he would check the tunnel.

'Be careful,' said Ellis. She sounded nervous. Abe put his hand on her shoulder.

'I always am,' he said. 'I was in the Scouts for a while so I know how to track and move quietly. When we were younger our dad used to tell us stories about people who survived earthquakes and plane crashes and other disasters. He said he was teaching us what to do if we ever found ourselves in a similar situation.'

Abe looked at Amber.

'He could never have known that the world would turn out like this,' she said, 'but we owe it to him to practice what he preached.'

Abe nodded.

'Don't worry,' he smiled. 'I'll be back before you know it.'

We waited for Abe to come back. I felt worried. How would he manage? Everything was now so dangerous. There was trouble everywhere. I wasn't as brave as Abe.

Abe came back later. He looked happy.

'The main swarm seems to have passed by a while ago. I waited to see if there were any stragglers and apart from one lame-looking viro crawling after everyone else, there's no sign of any movement.'

Amber hugged her twin brother.

'Right,' she said. 'Let's get going. It will be easier to go back the way we all came and then head through the Ornamental Gardens.'

She looked at Ellis.

'There will probably be lots more viros on the way but the paths are all concrete and we can move faster than them so we should be ok.'

Amber and Abe were so calm. They were not panicking. I wondered how long they had been living like this. They made me feel clumsy and silly. I didn't want to get anything wrong.

It was easy to put the wheelbarrow into the tunnel. Ellis was very brave. She climbed into the wheelbarrow and loaded her catapult.

'Let's get going,' she said.

I pulled the handles up. It was very heavy. I thought I could do it. Amber walked in front. She was holding the mop like a warrior. Abe was behind us. He had the spray can ready.

The barrow bumped on the railway line as I pushed it. The barrow wobbled. I think it was hurting Ellis. She didn't say so. She smiled instead. I pushed harder.

We passed the viro with the broken leg. It looked like all the other teenagers who hung around the town. The bone was sticking out. Its face was covered in blood. I felt a bit sick. The viro crawled along. It looked really mean. It wanted to bite me. I felt sorry for it anyway. It looked confused.

What did it feel like to be one?

The viro hissed at me. I kept pushing.

I thought I saw something move up ahead. I didn't know. A giant viro jumped from the darkness. I was too slow to shout. It grabbed Amber.

The viro tried to bite Amber's face. Ellis fired her catapult. The stone hit its back. Nothing happened. Amber was fighting with all her might. I dropped the barrow and raced for Amber's mop. I grabbed it and charged forwards. I rammed the mop into the viro's head.

The viro looked up. Ellis fired again. She hit it on the head. The viro roared. It turned to get us. Amber crawled away. The viro tripped.

The viro was trying to stand up. I hit it again with the mop. The viro fell on its back. Abe sprayed red paint in its eyes. The viro wiped its eyes. It fell over, waving its arms and legs like an angry turtle. Amber stood up.

'We've got to keep going,' she said. 'We don't stand a chance if we try to fight. We're faster than them but they're much stronger.'

Sorry

I felt really sad. It was my fault. I should have shouted.

'Sorry, Amber,' I said. 'I saw something move but I froze.'

'Don't worry,' Amber said. 'It happens to all of us. This is all so weird that none of us know what to do.'

Abe agreed.

'We have a slight advantage,' he said, 'because the two of us have been alone for a while now.'

'What do you mean alone?' asked Ellis. 'Even before the outbreak?'

'Yes,' said Amber. 'Our parents were out of the country on business and we were being looked after by our neighbor but she got drunk and hit Abe one day and so we moved back into our own house without telling anyone. We assumed that it would only be for a few days until our parents came back but then all this happened and now they might never come back.'

Amber paused. No one said anything.

I looked at the three new friends I had found and felt happy. Things were nasty now but they were also nice. I started to speak. I couldn't stop.

'I'm glad that we met,' I said. 'It makes me happy.'

Ellis nodded.

'So am I. I was stuck on a roof with my family gone and not knowing what to do. First Jake, then you two, I'm really lucky.'

'I know what you both mean,' said Abe. 'It feels better for the two of us since we met you.'

Amber interrupted her brother. She sounded bossy.

'I hate to break up the party,' she said, 'but we have a viro-filled town to cross and very little time to do it. We'd better get going because once the morning comes everything is going to be twice as hard as it is now.'

'Fair enough, Sis,' smiled Abe.

He looked at the two of us.

'We can continue this love-in later.'

Ellis laughed at Abe's joke. I liked her laugh. I also liked Abe's joke. It made me blush. I turned away. I didn't want them to see my burning cheeks.

We left the railway line way behind us. It was much faster on the road. My arms hurt but I kept pushing. The wheels squeaked. It wasn't loud so I didn't worry. I liked the sound. It went on and on. It was like music to me.

I looked around. I had never seen blacker clouds hanging in the sky. They looked like a pen had exploded. The orange light from the streetlights wasn't very bright. The streets were empty. I guessed all the viros had gone in the tunnel. We had a lucky escape. We went past a row of shops. They were all dark apart from one. It was a pet shop. It was locked up. There were two fish tanks in the window. Small white lights made the water bright.

All the fish were dead in one tank. There were more dead fish in the other tank. But I saw one fish left. It was small and red. It was swimming around. When was it going to die? It could never escape.

Pond

We kept going until we got to the gardens. I knew they were built in 1872. It was meant to be a happy place to play with friends and family. People were supposed to like the pretty flowers and read their books on the benches. But I was running away from a bunch of zombies with three new friends.

I was very scared. All the viros in the world could be hiding in the bushes. They could eat us at any time. We ran towards a small bridge. I could hear moaning. I put down the barrow and looked over the side.

There was big duck pond. The moon was really light. The water was full of struggling viros. They wailed as they slipped and thrashed and struggled. The water wasn't deep but it was muddy. The viros couldn't get out. There was a horrible smell coming up from the pond.

It was sad to see. The viros looked lost. They would never get out. They were trapped. Just like the red fish.

It looked just like the end of some big bad battle from lots of years ago.

Suddenly Amber stood still

'Sssh!' She hissed.

We froze. Amber pointed at a flowerbed. It was covered with low bushes. Abe nodded to his sister. He started to crawl under the bushes. I felt very panicky. I put the wheelbarrow down. Ellis carefully climbed out. She hopped over to the flowerbed. She crawled after Abe. I followed. The mud was wet. Water soaked through the knees of my jeans. I lay next to Ellis.

I tried not to breathe too loud. I didn't want anyone to hear me. My tummy felt sick. I closed my mouth and tried to hold everything inside. Ellis could see I was scared. She held my hand. I felt a bit better. I opened my mouth to let the breath out.

There was a wide lawn that glowed in the moonlight. It had trees round the edge. There was an empty bandstand in the distance. It had a fancy roof that made it look like a cartoon castle. I remembered the pantomimes that Mum used to take me to every Christmas. This thinking made my head heavy.

I saw a thin line of light. It came from the trees. I saw two more. I held my breath again. Ellis gripped my hand. Three figures stepped out of the shadows. They stopped in the middle. They were soldiers. I could see the shape of their guns and gas masks. They were looking for something.

It's me, I thought. They're looking for me.

Crackle

We're saved. Mum must have sent them. She told them what I looked like. She gave them a photo. Had they been following me from the tunnel? I had to tell them where I was. They would make us safe. I went to move. I looked at Ellis.

'No,' she mouthed. She knew what I wanted to do.

I heard a crackle. One of the soldiers spoke.

'Negative, Fox Four. No sign. Proceeding to next check point.'

The soldier's voice was big in the dark.

You're too loud, I said in my head.

I looked at Abe. He smiled but was nervous. We waited and watched. The soldiers stood still. One took off their gas mask. It was a lady. She looked tired and angry. She might not be the one to speak to. But then I saw all the darkness behind the soldiers move. I saw heads and arms and teeth.

Viros.

The swarm rushed the soldiers. The lady couldn't get her mask back on. The soldiers all fired. The guns made the darkness flash. Everything slowed down. It was so loud. I covered my ears.

The soldier got her mask back on but three viros fell on top of her. Her friends kept firing but there was just so many. The soldier on the floor pulled a knife from her boot. She stabbed a viro in the head. She kicked another with her boots. The other one bit her leg. She screamed.

'Should we do something?' I whispered.

'Like what?' said Amber. 'Use the mop?'

I felt silly and stopped speaking.

One soldier was shooting while the other was trying to help the lady. She crawled away. Her friend shot the viros on her. She pulled a gun from her belt and fired as well.

The soldiers killed all the viros. Dead things were everywhere. I saw twisted faces and broken bodies. They were all shapes and sizes. Men, women and kids piled on top of each other. It was so sad to see.

My ears were ringing loud. I felt dizzy. My nose was full of gunpowder. My head was going to burst. It hurt so much. I couldn't stop shaking.

This was it, I thought. I couldn't stand anymore. We needed to do something. We couldn't be alone any more. I had to get help. We needed it. I crawled out from under the bush. Amber grabbed my ankle. I kicked her hand away. I stood up. I put my arms up. I started screaming.

'Don't shoot! Don't shoot me!'

The soldiers looked surprised. They pointed their guns at me. One of the soldiers came towards me. The soldier pointed his gun at my head. He made me kneel down. He saw the others hiding and made them come out as well. Amber looked really angry. Abe helped Ellis. She smiled.

Shoot

The soldier spoke. The gas mask made his voice sound weird.

'What are you doing here?' he growled. 'Give me one good reason why I shouldn't shoot the lot of you.'

My jaw rattled. I was scared. I spoke really fast.

'I'm not a zombie,' I said. 'I'm lost and I'm scared but I'm not a zombie.'

'I can see that,' the soldier said. 'But you can't be here. You must leave straightaway. There's another infestation moving into this sector.'

'But I've lost my mum,' I said.

I started to cry. My tears were really fat and wet. I was blubbering.

Amber stepped forward. She stood in front of the soldier. She sounded angry.

'What he means is that we are trying to get to St. Dunstan's so that we can find her brother'

Amber pointed at Ellis.

The soldier shook his head.

'You'll not get that far,' he said. 'The place is thick with them. You'll never get through.'

'But we've got to,' Ellis said. 'My brother's there and we've got to find him.'

The soldier looked around. He was expecting trouble. We were making too much noise. The soldier was firm.

'We can't stay here any longer,' he said.

The soldier turned back to his friends. They were pointing their guns at the darkness. I stood still. I didn't look at anybody. I knew Amber was staring at me. I guessed she was angry. She thought I was a baby. I thought Abe felt the same too. He was her twin sister. I closed my eyes. I wanted to speak. I wanted to say we would be safe with the soldiers. They had guns and radios. They might have more soldiers nearby. We only had red paint and a mop. What use was that stuff?

Ellis stood next to me. She touched my arm. She said, 'Well Done' to me with her mouth. She wasn't angry. Ellis understood. I felt a little bit better. But I wanted to get going. The gardens were very scary.

The bitten soldier couldn't walk. She tried to stand. It was painful for her. She groaned. Her friends looked around. Ellis had an idea.

'You can use the barrow,' she said.

One of the soldiers nodded. He wheeled the barrow to his friend. She cried out as she sat in it. One of the soldiers lifted the handles. The other came over to us. He was looking all around. It was making me nervous.

'There's an electricity sub-station on the north-east corner of these gardens,' he said. 'We set up base there yesterday. We'll head there now.'

He looked at the darkness.

'Let's get going,' he said. 'There's loads of those bloody things now. They're everywhere.'

Lucky

The sub-station was an ugly concrete hut. It had a high fence around it. There was a lamppost right outside. The light made everything look milky. I saw a path leading off into the darkness.

One of the soldiers unlocked a gate. We waited while he unlocked the metal front door.

'Hurry up,' he growled. 'Those things mustn't see us.'

We hurried through the door. The soldier locked it.

'I'll take first watch,' he said. 'Everyone get some rest. We're moving out at first light.'

It was a large concrete room. A table and metal chair sat in one corner. There was an electricity warning sign on the wall. The soldier saw me looking at the sign.

'Don't worry,' he said. 'This station was decommissioned years ago. There used to be a generator outside but it was stolen for scrap.'

The soldier helped the wounded lady lay down. He took off his gas mask. The soldier had an ordinary face. I thought his eyes looked kind. He looked at the lady's leg. He spoke to Abe.

'Pass me that med kit over there and the penlight beside it.'

The soldier turned the torch on. He put it in his teeth. He put on a pair of plastic gloves. The lady grunted in pain.

'There's no point,' she said. 'I'm going to turn.'

The lady groaned. Her teeth were tight together. Her face was red. She was really sweaty. She kept shivering. Her leg must be really bad. It was horrible to see. I couldn't believe it had happened. She was a soldier. She had training. No one was safe.

The kind soldier shook his head. He spoke quietly. He sounded very nice.

'Not everyone does,' he said. 'You might be lucky.'

The wounded soldier couldn't smile. She shivered with pain. The soldier saw that we were all watching.

'This is going to take a while. Why don't you grab something to eat from that box by the table?'

Ellis sat on the chair. Amber sat on the floor. Abe and I went over to the box. He opened the lid. I grabbed some cereal bars. Abe held up two ready meals.

'Chili con carne or all-day breakfast?' he said.

'They come with a ration heater so you don't need a fire,' said the soldier. 'My 'favourite' is the chicken curry but I've had it four times this week already.'

He grimaced.

'I think I might stick with chocolate for now.'

I didn't want to heat up the food in case the viros smelled it. I ate two cereal bars and half a bar of chocolate. It was really strong. Abe wasn't worried. He heated up a breakfast for himself and a chili for his sister. Ellis had beef stew.

I liked sitting with the others. It felt better than outside. My head stopped spinning. I could see clearer than earlier. The battle was leaving my mind. I started to feel peaceful. It felt like an adventure. Everyone was quiet now. Sometimes the radio crackled. I liked the sound. It was gentle. I saw the hurt lady. Her eyes were closed. She was asleep. I felt the same.

Patrol

I woke up. All my friends were asleep. The grumpy soldier was sitting quietly. He looked at me.

'How are you doing?' he asked.

He sounded very kind. I was surprised. I thought he was mean.

'I'm impressed that you've stayed alive,' he said. 'Those things are vicious.'

I pointed at my sleeping friends.

'It was them,' I said. 'Ellis rescued me. Abe and Amber rescued us.'

I felt worried.

'I haven't helped much.'

The soldier shook his head.

'You were brave back there. That took real courage. I've shot so many of those things recently that I feel like a killing machine.'

The soldier laughed.

'The three of us got separated from the rest of our unit by a flash horde. Everyone else escaped on a convoy of trucks. We were forced to set up base here and then establish contact with any other units patrolling in the area. We were just out on our last patrol of the day when we bumped into you.'

'Ellis and me saw the trucks earlier on. They saved us from the viros.'

The soldier smiled.

'Viros,' he said. 'Is that what you call those things?'

I nodded.

'What are they?' I asked. 'What has happened?'

The soldier shrugged.

'No one knows. I've heard all sorts of stories about terrorist attacks, dirty bombs, death cults, radioactive waste, global warming and genetic warfare. All I know is that all the armed forces are on high alert and we were posted in this region.'

'Why here?' I asked.

'Dungeness,' replied the soldier. 'It's the nuclear power station further down the coast. Two brigades have been moved to protect sensitive resource sites and the power station is now our main base.'

The soldier sighed.

'The country is out of control. With each passing hour more and more people are being infected. There's no way back from this.'

'What happens when someone is infected?'

'It's hard to say. People either turn straight away, take a while to turn or don't turn at all. The virus is apparently some kind of pathogen that infects people and makes them crave warm blood. That's how it spreads.'

It sounded horrible. I shivered.

Casevac

The radio suddenly burst into life.

'Fox Two, this is Fox Four. Standby.'

The soldier lifted the handset to his mouth.

'Fox Four. Come In.'

The radio woke everyone up. Ellis rubbed her eyes.

'Roger Fox Two. Be advised multiple targets in your sector. Over.'

'Roger Fox Four. Request immediate casevac.'

'Say Again Fox Two.'

'Request immediate casevac. Plus four children.'

'Negative Fox Two. Repeat. Negative. Sector compromised.'

'Roger Fox Four. Fox Two Out.'

The soldier wasn't happy.

'You need to go,' he said. 'More of those things are coming.'

The other soldier came back from outside.

'It's getting mighty crowded out there. We need to move.'

The second soldier shook his head.

'We're not going anywhere. Our orders are to sit tight. Laura can't be moved and we can't leave her here.'

The first soldier nodded. He looked at us.

'You lot need to get out of here.'

'Can we help?' I asked.

Both soldiers shook their heads.

'You're brave kids,' the first soldier said, 'but this is no place for you right now. We'll hold the station while you get away.'

His friend nodded.

'The targets are approaching from the south so as long as you keep this place between yourselves and them you will be safe. Make your way to the power station if you can. It's thirty-odd miles from here but you'll be safe there.'

He went to go back outside.

'Take what supplies you think you can carry and get going. I'll cover your escape.'

I picked up a box of rations and put it in the barrow. Ellis limped over to the door. Amber followed her. They went out. I went to leave. The nice soldier spoke to me.

'I've got a son just like you,' he said. 'He's a great kid as well.'

My eyes started to cry.

'Good luck,' said the soldier. 'I hope you find your mum.'

Everyone else was waiting for me outside. It was getting light. The soldier opened the gate.

Explosions

'Hurry,' the soldier growled. 'They are just behind those trees.'

I looked where the soldier was pointing. There was a horrible howling coming from over there. The soldier didn't look worried.

'Follow that path,' he said. 'Don't stop until you hit the main road.'

He looked back at the trees. The howling was getting louder.

'Move it!'

I grabbed the handles of the barrow. Amber went first. Abe was last. We headed up the path. Two viros were in front of us. The soldier shot them both. They fell on the ground.

It was hard to run with the barrow. I tried my best. Ellis was watching for things to shoot with her catapult. Amber held her mop in both hands. We heard lots of shooting behind us. The viros must have got to the hut.

'Come on,' I shouted. 'We've got to go.'

I looked behind me. The hut was surrounded. The soldier was on the roof. He was firing everywhere. He was trapped.

'There's so many of them,' I screamed.

The soldier looked at us. He took something from his belt and threw it. There was a big explosion. I couldn't see him anymore.

I felt tired already. My arms really hurt. I shut my eyes to hide the pain. Ellis shouted something. I opened my eyes.

Amber was waving her mop at a viro. It was tall with angry shoulders and looked very strong. It was wearing a suit like those people who worked in banks, only this one was all ripped up.

Ellis fired her catapult. The stone bounced off its body.

'Hang on,' I shouted.

I charged at the viro. The barrow went really fast. It hit the viro's leg. There was a really loud crack. The viro wobbled. It fell down on the ground. It tried to stand up. It couldn't do it. It looked unhappy.

Abe ran up to me.

'Thanks,' he said. 'I couldn't get there in time.'

'No problem,' I said.

We started running again. There were big explosions behind us. There was also loud gunfire but it suddenly stopped. All I could hear was the howling. I knew the soldiers weren't alive any more. I felt very sad.

Orders

We kept running. It was horrible. I thought we would be attacked at any time. But we didn't meet another viro. Then we started to walk. We went on a bridge that crossed a river. Abe spoke to me.

'The gunfire must have attracted all the viros in the area.'

He shuddered.

'I hate to think what has happened to the soldiers.'

I shrugged.

'I think they are dead.'

Abe nodded.

'There's no way they got away. You heard the sound of those things. The station would have been overrun in no time.'

Neither of us said anything. I started to feel every guilty.

'Is it our fault?'

Ellis looked up at us.

'They were brave and professional. They were doing what they had been trained to do,' she said. 'They were following orders. You heard them say that evacuation wasn't possible. That was nothing to do with us.'

'Those soldiers saved our lives,' said Amber. 'The best way to repay them is to find your brother and then your mum and get ourselves to safety.'

We came towards a big roundabout. It was very open here. I felt like anyone could see us from anywhere.

'St. Dunstan's is second left and then about two miles down the ring road,' said Amber. 'It's just past the sports centre.'

She stopped.

'We've got to get off the road,' she said.

Another huge gang of viros was coming our way. They were all tight together. The viros looked like the wave from an angry sea. The light from the lampposts made everything look like a scary horror film.

'Quick, under the bridge,' said Amber. 'We'll try and get around them by following the river.'

We went down a slope. A footpath ran next to the river. It went under the bridge. We went that way. A wall of bushes blocked us from the road. The water was dark and loud. I didn't like it here. I stopped. Amber ran ahead. Abe followed her. Ellis looked at me.

'You're really brave, Jake,' she said. 'You've got me this far and you can get me the rest of the way.'

Ellis made me feel better.

I picked up the handles.

Office

I once went to a caravan park for a holiday. We only stayed two days. It rained really hard. The toilets were really dirty. The caravan was really small. Mum and me just felt really sad all the time. I had an ice cream from the shop but I didn't feel better.

Now, me, Ellis, Abe and Amber were hiding in the office of the caravan park. We were too frightened to turn on the light.

We had followed the path under the bridge. My arms really hurt but we got away from the horde. I got used to pushing the barrow. Ellis looked like she was asleep. I caught up with Amber.

'We need to stop,' I said. 'I can't keep going. My arms hurt.'

Amber pointed in front of us.

'The caravan park is just up there. We'll stop there?'

Abe joined us.

'We might get some more supplies,' he said.

'What about viros?' I asked. I didn't want to sound scared.

'There might be some,' replied Amber, 'but it's out the way and if it's only one or two then we should be alright.'

'Why are you two both so brave?' I asked. 'Have you done this stuff for a long time?'

Abe looked at Amber. She nodded.

'We have,' said Abe.

'We kind-of lied to you both back there,' said Amber. 'We weren't waiting for our mum and dad to come back from holiday because she murdered him four years ago and then killed herself. We've been living in a children's home ever since.'

'But it was horrible and the staff treated everyone really badly,' said Abe, 'so eventually we decided to run away. We've been on our own ever since.'

He laughed.

'I guess with everything else that's happening at the moment they've probably given up looking for us.'

I didn't know what to say.

'How have you survived on your own?'

I knew I sounded silly. I didn't care. I wanted to know the answer.

'We slept rough when we had to and stole when we could,' said Abe. 'I know it sounds bad but we only stole things that we were sure people wouldn't miss or worry about. We didn't want to hurt anyone.'

'We also begged,' said Amber.

She suddenly looked very sad.

'It's awkward and uncomfortable to begin with asking strangers for money but eventually you get used to it.'

I couldn't speak. This all just sounded crazy. First, it was Ellis and her zombie mum and dad. Now it was Amber and Abe living on the streets. My life was not like theirs. It was ordinary. It was quiet and simple. It had no adventure of any kind. That was what I liked. That was how I wanted my whole life to be.

It couldn't be now.

Now, everything was just crazy.

I didn't want this way.

Window

Amber said we should break the window and climb in.

'No-one will mind. There's no one around. In any case, with everything that's going on, the owners would definitely want us to be safe.'

She was probably right. It didn't feel good to be doing it. I never thought I would do things like this. I was a burglar. It was a crime. I worried about the police.

I was doing loads of new things now. Things I had never done before. It was the virus that made me do them. The virus had made everything bad. Did this mean I was doing bad things? I didn't know.

The caravan park looked deserted. Rows of white caravans stood side by side. They looked like miserable monuments. Abe wanted to raid them for supplies. Amber said that there were too many. It would take too long. Ellis agreed.

So, with Ellis, Amber and me standing guard, Abe broke the window with a brick. He put his arm in and opened the window. He climbed inside. The front door opened.

We were in a small kitchen. Me and Ellis looked for useful things. Amber and Abe explored the rest of the building. The cupboards were bare. Ellis found a jar of old coffee and two damp paper tubes of sugar. She wrinkled her nose.

'No one's going to want a cup of this,' she said. 'Even with the sugar.'

I found a rusty spoon. I thought it might be useful. I put it in my pocket. Abe came back to us.

'In here,' he whispered. 'We've found something.'

We followed Abe.

Amber was standing by a desk. She was listening to a telephone. She smiled.

'The line's still working,' she said. 'Perhaps we should call someone?'

'Who?' asked Ellis. 'My parents aren't my parents any more. You two don't have any.'

Ellis looked at me.

'That just leaves you, Jake, and you don't even know where your mum is.'

'I could try,' I said. 'Mum might be home now. She'll need to know where I am.'

Amber smiled and handed me the receiver.

'Here's your chance to find out.'

I took the phone. It was hard to remember my phone number. I felt strange.

What if Mum was at home?

What would I say to her?

I couldn't ask her to come and get us.

That would be far too dangerous.

I would tell her to stay there.

We could get back to her.

I started to dial.

The phone rang and rang. I hoped she answered. I needed to hear her voice. I wanted her to say that she would save me. The phone rang more. She had to answer.

She wasn't there. The answer phone spoke.

'Hi, we're not here right now but if you leave your name and number we promise we'll get back to you when we can.'

I loved my mum so much. Hearing her voice made me cry. She was my everything. I didn't know where she was.

I started to speak.

'Hi Mum,' I said. 'It's Jake. I'm scared. I hope you're alive. I miss you. I love you. I want to find you. Don't look for me because it is too dangerous. I have some new friends. They are helping me. We're going to find Ellis's brother and then find you.'

I stopped.

I kept crying. My tears were big and lonely. I didn't care who saw them. They fell some more.

Amber took the phone from my hand. Ellis hugged me. Amber smiled. Abe stood still. We didn't speak.

Rest

Finally, Abe said something.

'Look what I found,' he said. He had a small plastic bag.

'Here's a big bunch of keys. I bet they would let us into every single caravan on this site.'

Amber smiled at her brother.

'We haven't got time for all that. We should grab what we can and get going.'

'You're right,' said Abe, 'but we're exhausted. We have been running and fighting for hours and we need to rest.'

He looked around.

'This place is ideal.'

We all looked at Amber. She frowned.

'If we must,' she said. 'But we can't stay too long. We need to be back on the road in two hours.'

'We will, Sis,' said Abe. 'I promise.

I sat down in an office chair. I felt really tired. I ached all over.

Abe handed me a bottle of water. I took a big drink. I gave the bottle back. I swung my legs up onto the desk. The chair tilted backwards. I closed my eyes.

I woke up.

The room was dark. I had no idea how long I had been asleep. Ellis, Abe and Amber were gone. Where were they? The chair creaked as I stood up. The noise startled me. I went into the kitchen. Ellis was crouching by the door.

She was looking outside. I knelt down beside her. She put her finger on my lips. She shook her head. I nodded. Ellis pointed outside. I gasped.

Abe and Amber were on top of the nearest caravan. It looked like they were playing a game. Then I saw a bunch of viros. They were trying to get them. I had to help. I whispered in Ellis's ear.

'Meet me by the gate,' I said. 'I'm going to help.'

Ellis shook her head. It was too late. I stepped outside. The viros were looking at the twins. They didn't see me. There was an old bucket lying in the wet grass. I picked it up. I hit the bucket with my spoon.

Clang.

I hit it again.

Clang.

One of the viros turned around. I hit the bucket. Amber and Abe looked down. Another viro turned around. Then another.

I kept hitting the bucket. I started walking backwards.

Clang.

Clang.

The bucket rang like a rusty bell. All the viros followed me.

I beat out a marching rhythm. I knew Ellis was watching me. I felt really proud. I was a hero saving lives. I wasn't a baby crying on the telephone. I was big and strong.

I hit the bucket and started to march. My legs pumped up and down.

'Left. Right. Left. Right,' I shouted.

'Left. Right. Left. Right.'

I was the General. The viros were my soldiers.

'Left. Right. Left. Right. Quick march!'

The viros followed. I felt really good.

I fell over.

Wall

There was a scream. I opened my eyes. My head really hurt.

'Move, Jake! Move!'

'Get out of there!'

Ellis and Amber were shouting at me. Ellis fired her slingshot. Three viros were trying to get me. They looked like teenage boys. One still had a baseball cap. Another was wearing shiny tracksuit bottoms. The other one was naked.

A low wall was in the way. The first one tripped. So did the other two. They fell on each other. It was messy.

I tried to get up. I was slow. The viro with the baseball cap tried to grab me. It had really dirty hands. They were covered in mud and blood. One of its eyes was missing.

I scooted back on my bum. Someone ran past me. Abe sprayed paint in the viro's face. It squealed. The other two were getting nearer.

'Get the girls,' Abe shouted, 'and head for the gate.'

I stood up. I felt dizzy. I nearly fainted.

Abe grabbed me.

'We haven't got time for that!' he said.

Abe dragged me over to Ellis and Amber. A stone whizzed past us. It hit the painted viro on the nose. The viro fell over. Another stone bounced off its head. Abe looked at me.

'Can you run?' he asked.

'Yes,' I said.

Ellis climbed into the wheelbarrow. I looked at the viros. They were getting together. They looked hungry. They wanted to eat all of us. Amber pointed to the entrance.

'That way,' she said. 'Quickly!'

We rushed to the entrance. Ellis looked at me. I didn't look at her. I felt silly. I wanted to be a hero but it went wrong. I wanted to impress her. I wanted to be cool and amazing. But I fell over and looked stupid. I nearly got us killed.

Ellis groaned.

'Oh my God.'

A group of viros was stumbling through the gate.

'Follow the fence,' shouted Abe. 'We'll climb over further down.'

Gap

There was a gap between the fence and a row of caravans. We ran down this way. I kept running and running. I wasn't properly looking. I just wanted to get away.

Ellis shouted something. I didn't hear. The handles twisted out my hands. The wheelbarrow tipped sideways. Ellis fell out. So did everything else.

I had crashed into a gas cylinder.

Ellis stood up. She limped away. I tried to get all the things on the floor. They were everywhere. I didn't know where to begin.

'Leave them!' Amber shouted. 'It's too late for that now.'

She was angry with me.

'Up there,' shouted Abe.

He pointed at the toilet block.

'If we can climb up there we can jump over the fence.'

He looked behind us at the viros.

'We've got to get over the fence.

The toilet block had a low concrete wall. There was a row of black plastic bins behind it. Abe hopped onto the wall. He stretched up and pulled himself onto the roof. He leaned back over.

'Here,' he said. 'One a time.'

We helped Ellis up onto the roof. Amber was next. Then me. It was really hard. I thought something was going to grab my legs.

The gap between the roof and the fence was long. There was a small bunch of trees and long grass on the other side. It looked soft enough to land on. I watched the viros groaning towards us. I look at everyone. We all nodded.

Ellis started to run. She limped badly but jumped. She screamed when she landed. Amber went next. She started to run. She made the jump. Abe pointed at me. I shook my head.

'You next,' I said. 'If anything happens, please look after Ellis.'

'Nothing's going to happen,' he said.

Abe made the jump look easy.

I looked down at the viros. It was all my fault. I kept getting it wrong. The guys needed a better friend than me. They would have less problems.

I thought about Mum. What if she was already infected? I would never find her if she was. There was too many of these things now. But what if I became a viro too? That might make it easier to find her. I wouldn't have to keep hiding. I could move around more easily.

What was it like to be attacked by them? How much would it hurt? How many times would they bite me? Would it hurt all the time or only to begin with? Abe was waving. He didn't know why I was waiting.

The viros were right underneath me.

I could just step off and land on top of them.

Angry

'You bloody idiot,' whispered Amber.

We were hiding in the trees. The viros were by the fence. I didn't think they could see us. I stayed low.

'You could have got us all killed!'

I blushed really bad. Amber was right. I was an idiot. I was trying to impress Ellis. I couldn't tell Amber that.

'Hang on,' whispered Abe. 'We were the ones on the roof of the caravan. Jake was trying to rescue us.'

Amber snorted.

'We were doing fine,' she said, 'until Mr. Marching Band here decided to do his circus thing.'

Amber jabbed me with her arm. She was very angry.

'Don't you ever do anything ever again like that,' she hissed.

'I won't,' I whispered. 'I promise.'

I wished that I had jumped into the viros. We had lost everything now. We had no food and no water. I felt so bad.

Abe saw that Ellis was missing.

'Where's Ellis?' he said.

'Don't tell me she didn't make it?' hissed Amber.

She hit me again.

'If she's waking up dead somewhere because of your tomfoolery then I hope she puts you at the top of her fresh-meat-to-eat list.'

'Hey!' said Abe. 'Don't be so mean, Amber. Jake feels bad enough already without you making him responsible for everything.'

'But he is responsible for everything!'

Abe put his hand on my shoulder.

'I'm sure that I saw Ellis clear the fence. She must be around somewhere.'

We found Ellis leaning against a tree. She was unconscious. Her ankle was all bent. It didn't look good. She must have crawled here until she fainted.

Things were just getting worse. Amber looked at me and started to speak. There was fire in her eyes. Abe put his hand to her mouth.

'Not now, Sis,' he whispered. 'Not now.'

Abe looked at me.

'Jake, I need you to try and find something to use as a splint. Ellis's ankle looks broken to me.'

She?

I crawled away. I looked over to the fence. There was a single viro leaning against it. Its head was titled to one side. I thought it had seen me. I froze. The viro didn't move. I waited. The viro hadn't seen me. I looked at it.

It had once been a teenage girl. It still had a ponytail. It looked like all the girls l saw at bus stops. They used to make me nervous. I always worried they would laugh about me. I liked to look at them. I like to think about their families and friends. They excited me as well.

The viro's face was angry. It had a bulging neck. Its eyes were bloodshot and dangerous.

The viro licked its ruined, bloodstained lips.

Was it thinking about all the people it had eaten?

I wanted to say 'she' but I didn't know. Were they still 'he' and 'she?' They were still alive but they weren't still alive. They weren't human any more. Or were they? There were more of them than there was of us.

That would then make me the odd one out.

Again.

As always.

I found a thick stick. I crawled back to the others.

Ellis was awake again. She was sweaty and crying. I couldn't bear to look. I grabbed her hand. She tried to smile. I started to cry. Amber was trying to help. Ellis groaned with the pain. Amber looked at us.

'We've got to get Ellis out of here. It won't take long for those things to find us and then we're done for.'

Amber looked at Ellis.

'We're going to have to try and get you up.'

Ellis nodded.

Amber looked at Abe and me.

'You two need to get her arms and I'll hold her legs.'

Amber spoke quietly to Ellis.

'We're going to be careful but this is really going to hurt.'

Ellis gritted her teeth.

'I know,' she said.

Over

I lifted Ellis under her armpit. So did Abe. Amber held her legs. Ellis howled with pain.

It was very hard. Ellis was really heavy. Each step we took made her hurt more. She tried to keep quiet but couldn't. The rest of us looked at each other. This was really bad. We got as far as the ring road. It was hard work. It took ages.

It was morning now. We could see. The road went off into the distance. It cut a line between muddy fields and wooden fences. I knew that the outsides of towns always looked this lonely. The sky was gloomy grey with heavy clouds. Wet marshland led off towards the sea. There was a freezing wind that blew in our faces. I felt shivery.

Everything was really slow. Ellis had stopped crying. She wasn't awake. I struggled not to drop her. My back burned with every step. Abe was exhausted.

Then we gave up.

'I can't go any further,' Amber said. 'I've got nothing left.'

She sounded so disappointed.

'I thought we'd be able to do this but I think it's all over.'

She steered us to the side of the road. The grass looked soft.

'Let's put Ellis down here and see if we can catch our breath.'

We put Ellis down. I sat down next to her. Amber sat on the other side. Abe stood on the road. He was looking around.

'There must be somewhere we can hide,' he said.

He looked at us.

'Can we get going soon?' he said. 'I can't stand standing still.'

'This is it, Abe,' said Amber. 'Ellis is far too heavy for us to manage and we can't just leave her behind.'

'I'm not saying that,' Abe said. 'No way.'

He looked back towards the horizon.

'Perhaps there's a barn near here where we can rest.'

'We've got nothing left,' said his sister. 'We've lost everything.'

Amber looked at me.

'I'm sorry, Jake,' she said. 'I'm sorry about earlier.'

She laughed.

'I know you didn't plan to make any of this happen. You're really brave and loyal but I just got angry when it all went wrong.'

I looked up. I couldn't work out what Amber was saying.

'Have you stopped being angry?' I asked.

'I have,' replied Amber. 'I didn't mean to be so mean.'

She touched my arm.

'We really like you, Jake. Don't we Abe?'

'Absolutely,' he said. 'You know we do.'

Abe's voice trailed off.

'Don't look now,' he said.

Amber and I stood up.

A massive swarm was splashing across the marshlands. There were hundreds of them. I could smell them on the wind. It was revolting. They were getting near to us.

'Where did they come from?' I asked. 'Where are they going?'

'From everywhere,' said Abe. 'To everywhere.'

'They must have some kind of memory of their life before,' suggested Amber. 'That's what's making them head for the nearest town.'

I was frozen with fear. I couldn't stop watching the viros. They looked like a giant cartoon blob of angry, hungry dead people all twitching and slipping and trampling. Some of the viros looked like they were dancing.

All of them looked like they were hungry.

Driver

The first viros were so near now. I heard a car engine. There was a green Land Rover. It was driving towards us. I started waving my arms.

'Help!' I shouted. 'Please help!'

Abe and Amber copied me.

'Help!' they shouted. 'Please help!'

The Land Rover swerved and hit a viro. It went flying. The Land Rover drove away.

'It didn't stop!' I screamed.

The Land Rover carried on down the road.

We're dead, I thought.

A thin-looking viro was near me now. There was blood all over its face. It was covered in stinking mud. Its feet were all ripped. It squelched as it moved.

I threw a stone at it. I missed. The viro stepped closer. I closed my eyes. I waited to be bitten. I heard the screech of brakes. I opened my eyes as the Land Rover ran over the viro. The window opened.

'Get in,' said the woman inside. 'Quick, before they get here.'

Amber opened the door. Abe and me shoved Ellis in. We jumped in after her. We landed on top of each other. Amber hopped in and slammed the door shut.

'Is there anyone else?' asked the driver.

'Just us,' I replied.

'Thank goodness,' she said, looking in her rearview mirror, 'because we can't go back that way. Those things are blocking the whole road.'

The Land Rover raced back past the caravan park. Amber climbed into the front passenger seat. I tried to make Ellis more comfortable.

'Is she ok?' asked the lady.

'We don't know,' said Abe. 'I think she's broken her ankle.'

'Don't worry,' the driver said. 'I'm a nurse. I'll take a look when we get home.'

'Where's home?' said Amber.

'The Sussex Hotel. We'll be safe there.'

I knew the Sussex Hotel. It was a massive place on the other side of town. Me and Mum went past it once on the bus.

'What the hell were you kids doing out there? It's not safe anymore with all those things about.'

'We're looking for my mum,' I said, 'and Ellis's brother.'

'Well, you're not going to find them like this,' she replied. 'You're just going get yourselves eaten.'

The Land Rover slowed down.

'When we get home, I'll fix your friend's ankle and make us all something to eat. You must be starving.'

Rachel

The lady's long blond hair was in a bun. She looked pretty. I thought she was the same age as my mum. She seemed very nice. I thought I might be safe now. I looked at Abe. He looked relaxed.

'I'm Amber,' said Amber. 'That's Jake, Abe and Ellis.'

'Who are you?' Amber continued. 'Where were you going when you drove past us?'

'I'm Rachel,' the lady said. 'I was trying to get back home but had to take a detour due to a huge crowd of those things. I nearly didn't stop when I first saw you. I thought you might be robbers but then I wondered how I would feel if my children were stranded on the roadside and about to be eaten.'

Rachel shuddered.

'Family is everything to me so I turned around to get you before those things could.'

'Viros,' I blurted out. 'We call those things viros. Virus. Viro. Viros. Do you get it?'

Rachel laughed. I liked the sound of her laughter.

'Then I shall too,' she said.

Rachel stopped the Land Rover outside the hotel. She looked around. She pointed her keys at the hotel. A big metal door opened. Rachel drove through the door. We went underground. The door closed behind us. Rachel stopped the car. She checked the mirror and got out.

'Right. Let's get your friend upstairs.'

I climbed out with Abe. Amber and Rachel helped us get Ellis out. We carefully carried Ellis to a door. Rachel opened it with a key. We stepped inside. It was a lift. The lift started to go up. I looked at myself in the mirror. I looked crazy.

I used to gel my hair. I liked it looking good. Now it looked all dirty and flat. My clothes were dirty too. My jeans had mud on them. The knee was ripped. My nice new high tops were scratched. I looked at Amber and Abe. They looked as crazy as me. Rachel smiled.

'It's funny the shock we get when we see ourselves sometimes, isn't it?' she said.

I nodded.

'Don't worry; I've got plenty of hot water and a washing machine. We'll soon have you looking brand-new again.'

'Will Ellis be brand-new?' I asked.

Rachel nodded.

'I have everything we need upstairs.'

Cozy

The lift stopped. We stepped out. It was a dark hallway. Rachel turned the light on. Everything looked orange.

'Let's put Ellis in here,' Rachel said, opening a door. She turned on the light. The room was a bedroom. We put Ellis on the bed. The curtains were pulled shut. Rachel turned on a lamp on the bedside table. It made Ellis look cozy. I thought Rachel was going to read her a bedtime story. Rachel looked at us.

'There's a bathroom down the hall,' she said, 'if anyone wants to have a bath. There's plenty of hot water.'

Rachel went to a chest of drawers. She took out a big first aid box.

'While you're doing that I'll take a look at Ellis's ankle. '

She shooed us out of the bedroom.

'I'll call you if I need you,' Rachel said.

I didn't know what to say. No one did. I thought we were going to die back there. Now we were safe. The flat was warm and dry. Rachel was kind. She was helping Ellis. I was going to have a bath. It nearly felt normal. It was crazy.

Amber opened the bathroom door.

'I'll go first,' she said. 'My hair really needs a wash so I may be some time.

I kicked my shoes off. Abe copied me. We found a large front room. Two sofas looked really comfy. There was a big low table. The television was also big. Long dark curtains reached the ground. There was a kitchen behind us. It had a breakfast bar. I saw a fridge. I nudged Abe.

'This is just mad,' I said.

'I wonder why the curtains are still drawn?' said Abe.

'To make sure that no one knows we're here,' said Rachel walking in behind us. She smiled.

'I meant to say that I have plenty of spare clothes for everyone, courtesy of my many nephews and nieces.'

She pointed back down the corridor.

'There's another bedroom right down the end and in there you will find a large chest of drawers. Help yourselves to anything that you fancy. Once you are bathed and changed, leave your clothes in a pile by the fridge and I'll put them in the washing machine.'

Rachel headed back to Ellis.

'When I'm finished with your friend I'll make us all some food.'

Bath

It felt amazing in the bath. I lay back. The warm soapy water came up to my chin. I liked the feeling. No viros could get me here. I hoped we were safe.

I thought about Mum.

Was she ok?

Was she scared?

Was she looking for me?

Was she?

Was she...?

I tried not to think the frightening thing. That thought scared me the most. I couldn't do that. I wouldn't let those things inside my head.

I thought about Ellis instead.

It was my fault that she got hurt. I was showing off. It went really wrong. I wanted her to like me. I wanted her to see me like a hero. I didn't want to be a baby any more. I thought I could rescue the twins and that would make Ellis like me.

I really liked Ellis. She was strong and brave and funny and clever. She made me feel happy and sad together. I had new feelings because of her. I was growing up inside.

I brushed my hair in the mirror.

How did they all see me now? I know she said she wasn't but I still thought Amber was angry with me. I had lost everything we owned. That wasn't very good. She had said it was my fault.

If I had lots of friends then it wouldn't matter. I could speak to other people. Amber could cool down. We might be friends again later. But I didn't have lots of friends. I only had Ellis, Abe and Amber. I needed Amber to be my friend. I needed all of them. I couldn't survive alone.

Abe was nice. He was cool and funny and calm. He was also crazy. I guess he couldn't stop himself exploring the caravans. Amber had to help him. She wanted to protect him.

But why was no one angry with him for being so silly? He shouldn't have been on the roof. I didn't need to rescue him. We didn't have to run away. But he was on the roof. I tried to help. Then we had to run away. That's why we lost everything. And Ellis hurt her ankle more.

Everything was muddled in my head.

Pasta

When I came out the bathroom I saw Abe, Amber and Rachel sitting at the dining table. Something smelled really nice.

'There you are, Jake,' said Rachel. 'Take a seat and I'll get you some food. I've made meatballs and spaghetti.'

Abe and Amber smiled. I felt better.

'I was starving,' said Abe with his mouth full. 'This is my second helping.'

'You were born greedy,' laughed Amber.

She looked at me.

'How are you feeling, Jake?'

'Alright, I think,' I replied. 'I'm worried about Mum. I really don't what's going on. I do feel much cleaner.'

'You certainly scrub up well,' said Rachel.

She put a bowl of pasta in front of me.

'Milk or water?'

'Milk, please,' I said.

The pasta was amazing. I kept eating. My plate was empty. Rachel gave me some more. I ate it all.

'You sure were hungry,' she said.

I blushed.

'My mum is good at making pasta...'

I stopped.

Rachel sat down.

'I know you're worried about her,' she said. 'Abe and Amber told me everything. You've all been so brave.'

Amber put her knife and fork down.

'Rachel says that the emergency services are trying to do all they can. If your mum was still at the hospital then there's a good chance that she's been evacuated.'

'How will we know?' I asked.

'We won't,' said Rachel. 'At least not at the moment but we have to hope that she is safe.'

'What about Vinnie?' I continued. 'Ellis has to find him.'

'Hopefully he's safe as well,' replied Rachel. 'And in any case, Ellis isn't going anywhere for a little while. Her ankle isn't broken but it is badly sprained. I've strapped it up and given her something for the pain. She's sleeping now but when she wakes up you can all go and see her.'

Rachel stood up and started to clear the table. I looked at her.

'What about you, Rachel?' I said. 'You seem so normal.'

She smiled again.

'I'm a trained nurse, Jake. It wouldn't be much good if I panicked every time something terrible happened. There wouldn't be a patient safe in their sickbed anywhere.'

Lucky

Ellis woke up later. We went to see how she was. She was sitting up. She looked much happier. Abe and Amber sat on the bed. I stood by the door. I felt really shy.

'How are you feeling?' asked Amber.

'Much better,' said Ellis. 'My ankle is still really sore but at least it's not broken.'

'You'll be back on your feet in no time,' laughed Abe. 'There'll be no more wheelbarrows for you.'

Ellis looked at me.

'How about you, Jake?' she said.

'You look much well better...'

I blushed. My words came out wrong. I didn't know what to do. I shrugged. Ellis nodded. I felt a big blush fill my whole face.

Ellis changed the subject.

'Rachel seems really nice. I think we've had a lucky escape.'

'She found us just in the nick of time,' said Amber. 'I hate to think what would have happened if she hadn't driven past.'

I stood still while they chatted. I didn't know what to say. It was my fault we ended up on the side of that road. Rachel did save us from the viros. She also saved them from my silliness. I felt really sad inside. No one noticed.

'She makes the most amazing pasta,' continued Abe. 'I had three helpings.'

'You should have seen him, Ellis,' said Amber. 'It was hard to see where the pasta ended and Abe began.'

Abe punched his sister on the arm.

'I was starving,' he said. 'I'm a growing boy and need all the energy I can get.'

Ellis looked at me again. She wanted me to say something.

'What about you, Jake? Did you get enough to eat?'

'I did,' I said.

I was awkward.

'I didn't eat as much as him but I had enough.'

I liked Ellis asking me questions. I liked her looking at me. I didn't like answering them.

'No one could eat as much as Abe,' said Amber. 'He's the biggest pig I've ever met.'

'Enough, already,' said Rachel.

She came into the room carrying a tray.

'Ellis needs to eat something and she won't be able to do that if you lot are getting in her way. Why don't you go and wait in the other room? I'll call you when Ellis is done.'

'See you later, Ellis,' said Abe. 'Eat up and get some rest.'

'We'll come back soon,' said Amber.

They both got off the bed and let Rachel put the tray down.

Ellis smiled at me.

'Thanks for coming to see me, Jake. I'm really glad to see you.'

I didn't say anything. I waved and stumbled out of the room. I felt like had clumsy bones holding me together. I didn't know how to think. It was all really mad. My mum was missing. I was safe. Rachel was kind. The twins were funny. Ellis was friendly. I liked her. Did she like me?

I had to be a better man now. I needed to stop worrying about everything. I wanted to do the right things. I had to grow up now. I didn't want to be a little boy. I was going to be stronger. I wanted to say the things I needed to say.

The world was black now. It was a dirty dangerous place. Weak people were going to get eaten. I didn't want to be weak. I didn't want to be eaten.

I felt different when I said these things to myself. I wanted to make my mum proud. I wanted to be able to tell her how good I had been. She didn't want to hear silly stories. That stuff with the caravans made me feel stupid. No one would like me if I were always like that.

From now on, I said in my head. No more silly.

Shouting

I went to bed early. I was exhausted. It was great to be under a duvet. I had my head on a pillow. I felt the same as I used to. It was almost like my own bed.

I thought about Mum. I wanted her to be safe. I hoped so. Rachel might be right. Mum might be evacuated. She might be waiting for me. She might be waiting to hug me. I was going to ask Rachel to help me speak to someone. She might have a phone number. I wanted to find out.

I could ask about Vinnie as well. I wanted good news for Ellis. She deserved some. I could see she was worried. It would be good to make her feel better inside.

I felt better. I closed my eyes.

'Jake,' whispered a voice in my ear. 'Jake, wake up.'

It was Abe.

'Rachel has gone out and there's louds of noise downstairs.'

I sat up.

'What?'

'I heard shouting and doors being slammed.'

Abe sounded concerned.

'I think Rachel might be in trouble.'

I got dressed. Abe and Amber were in the hall. Abe had a torch.

'What about Ellis?' I said. 'Should we stay with her?'

'Perhaps,' said Amber, 'but Rachel might be in trouble.'

Amber pressed the button. The lift arrived. Abe and Amber stepped inside.

'Come on,' said Amber. 'Ellis will be fine for a while.'

I hesitated.

'Come on, Jake,' Abe said. 'She'll be fine.'

I stepped into the lift. Amber pressed a button. The lift went down. It stopped with a bump. We stepped out. It was a dark corridor. We stood still.

'Down here,' Abe whispered.

We went slowly. The floor was a bit squeaky. I thought we were too loud with our feet. We stopped at every door.

Nothing.

Nothing.

Squeak. Squeak.

Stop.

Listen.

Nothing.

I felt knotty inside.

Abe pointed at the door just ahead of us. He touched his ear with his hand.

Listen, I said in my head.

We stopped just behind him.

I listened.

Something was banging behind the door. Abe tested the handle. Amber tapped his shoulder. Abe opened the door. He went in. Amber did as well. I followed them. I didn't close the door just in case.

We were in a small corridor. The noise was coming from behind a closed door in front of us. We followed Abe.

The thumping was louder now.

'Oh no you don't!' Rachel shouted. 'Please don't, darling.'

Abe opened the door.

Rachel was standing in a bedroom trying to keep a door closed. She saw us.

'Please, help me close this door. I can't let them out. They'll be killed for sure.'

Me and Abe grabbed the door handle.

'Push then pull,' Abe shouted. 'It's the only way.'

Rachel pushed the door inwards. We pulled it closed. Abe locked the door. Someone started kicking it. Rachel fell on the bed. She was crying.

Angry

I had never seen anyone cry like Rachel. Her tears were big and wet. They bubbled up from her belly. She cried into her hands. I thought she would eat her fingers with her snotty, dribbling mouth. I couldn't stand it. I looked somewhere else instead.

We were in a boring bedroom. Rachel was on a thin bed. It had no sheets or pillows. There was no more furniture. A big window by the bed was broken open. Cold wind blew inside. I looked at Abe. He shrugged. Abe looked at Amber. Amber put her hand on Rachel's shoulder. Someone kept kicking the door.

'What's the matter, Rachel?' asked Amber. 'Who's behind the door?'

Rachel didn't reply. It was awkward.

'Who's behind the door, Rachel?' Amber asked.

Rachel looked up.

'My babies,' she said. 'My poor little babies.'

'I don't understand,' said Amber.

'How could you understand?' hissed Rachel. 'How could any of you?'

She was angry. I was worried. Me and Abe stepped back. Amber didn't.

'It's ok, Rachel' she said. 'You can tell us.'

'Tell you what?' said Rachel. 'What could I possibly tell you?'

She stared hard at Amber. Amber returned her stare.

Rachel stood up.

'You need to leave straightaway,' she said. 'You need to get out of here and forget all about me and my babies.'

Rachel put her lips to the door and whispered.

'Mummy's here, my poor little things. I'm not going anywhere.'

This was not nice. I was sorry for Rachel. She was broken. Amber sat next to Rachel. Rachel didn't push her away. Amber put her arms around Rachel. She started to cry again.

'I woke up yesterday morning and my two girls were gone from their beds,' she said.

'I heard a noise down here and found my husband with them. He had been infected and had infected them in turn. I pushed him out the window and locked my girls in this bathroom. I thought they would be safe here while I went to look for help.

I drove around but couldn't find anyone who knew what to do. I nearly lost my car a couple of times when people tried to steal it so I decided to stop looking for people to ask. I just drove around. That's when I saw you all and I wasn't really thinking but I stopped and brought you home because I'm a mother and you looked like you needed looking after.'

Rachel stood up.

'You do need looking after, don't you?'

Rachel had stopped crying. She sounded different now. More darker.

'You'll let me look after you, won't you?'

Rachel grabbed Amber by the hair. She pointed a long knife at Amber's neck.

'I brought this knife down so that I could help my babies sleep but neither of them were tired yet.'

Rachel looked at us.

I'm here to help if anyone else is feeling sleepy.'

Rachel smiled. It didn't look nice.

'Now, why don't we all go back upstairs and I can carry on looking after you.'

No one moved. Rachel waved the knife.

'Move,' she said.

Her voice was real evil.

Rachel watched us walk backwards. She kept the knife at Amber's neck.

'Don't hurt her, Rachel,' pleaded Abe. 'Please don't hurt her.'

'Don't worry,' Rachel replied. 'I'm not going to hurt anyone. You're my new family. No one is going to take you away from me.'

She waved the knife.

'Be a good boy and call the lift, please. We're all going back to bed.'
Family

Rachel made us go into Ellis's room. Ellis was sitting up. She looked worried.

'What's happening?' she said.

Rachel made us sit on the bed. She smiled at Ellis.

'Don't worry, Ellis, nothing is happening. We all got a little bit overexcited downstairs so I thought we could do with some quiet time.'

Rachel turned to us. The knife glowed in the light.

'You all need to think about what I said a moment ago. Don't worry about anybody else, I'm taking care of you now.'

Rachel closed the door.

'We're going to be one big happy family.'

The door slammed. Rachel locked it.

No one spoke. We were too frightened. We waited. Rachel might bring her knife back. Ellis spoke in the end.

'What happened?' she asked. 'I heard the lift. It woke me up.'

'Rachel has two young children locked in a bathroom downstairs,' said Amber. 'They're viros now. She was going to kill them with that big knife.'

'Viros?' said Ellis.

'Infected by their dad,' said Amber. 'Rachel pushed him out of the window because he had bitten their children. Rachel locked them in the bathroom while she looked for help. That was how she found us.'

'She says that we're her new family,' said Abe.

'Rachel is very angry,' I said. 'Is she mad?'

'Yes,' said Amber. 'Normal people don't push their husband out of a window and then try and kill their children with a knife, do they?'

'But nothing's normal,' I said. 'Normal has gone away.'

Ellis touched my arm.

'It's okay, Jake,' she said. 'It's all going to be okay.'

'Is it?' said Amber. 'We're locked in this room with a crazy lady outside with a knife saying we're her new family. How is that going to be okay?'

'We're going to wait for her to calm down,' said Ellis, 'and then we're going to talk her. Surely, we'll be able to get her to understand?'

'I'm not so sure,' replied Amber. 'I'm really not so sure.'

Amber looked at the three of us.

'She was going to kill her own children with a kitchen knife.'

'They're infected,' I said. 'She said she wanted to help them.'

I felt shaky. What happened if I saw Mum was a viro? What would I do? Would I kill her with a knife? Could I do that?

'What if those kids downstairs aren't hers?' said Amber. 'Then what?'

Amber pointed at the door.

'Don't forget, she found us on the street. She brought us home. She's locked us in a room. We're just like those kids downstairs. Maybe this is what she does? She drives around, collecting kids, brings them home and then kills them. What about all those clothes she has in those drawers? Where did they come from?'

'She can't' I said. 'She can't...'

Amber interrupted.

'Can't what?' she said. 'Can't do what she's doing? She's already done it.'

Amber was getting angry now.

'What if the only thing she can't do is let us leave?'

Abe went over to the window.

'If she won't let us leave then we'll simply escape.'

Abe looked at his sister.

'Just like we did before.'

Amber looked back at her brother.

'Maybe, Abe, but last time we slipped out a back gate when no one was looking. We didn't get out a sixth story window and climb down the side of a hotel in the middle of the night.'
Bed

There was nothing to do. We waited. I tried to rest. Amber and Abe were on the floor. He found a blanket and some pillows in the wardrobe. Abe gave me the blanket. I gave it Amber.

'You have it,' I said. 'I'm fine.'

'If you're sure,' she replied. 'Thanks, Jake.'

Amber lay down. Abe got down next to her. They huddled under the blanket and fell asleep. They looked peaceful. It was like they were on a sleepover. They didn't look in danger from a lady with a knife.

There was no room for me on the floor. I leaned against the door. I would know if Rachel came through the door. Ellis was watching me.

'What are you doing, Jake?' she asked. 'There's plenty of room on the bed.'

'No thank you,' I said. 'I slept earlier. I'll stand guard.'

'I think we'll hear her unlock the door,' said Ellis.

She pointed at the end of the bed.

'There's enough room for you.'

I felt my blush again. This time it was super-red.

'I'll stay here. I don't want to sit on your ankle.'

'Whatever you like, Jake,' Ellis laughed. 'But if you change your mind you know what to do.'

I nodded. Ellis closed her eyes.

I watched Ellis as she slept. I really wanted to sit next to her. I did. But I couldn't. I felt confused. It was hard wanting to do something but not want to do something. Running away from viros was easier than this.

Mum would really like Ellis. She liked me making new friends.

'You're such a nice boy, Jake,' she always said. 'People are really lucky to have you as a friend.'

I think she was right. It was hard to know how people felt about me. I knew I was different. That was easy. Most people were different to me. We cancelled each other out.

We were new in this town. We had only been here for one month. I didn't know many people yet. I spent most time home with Mum. I felt safe and happy there.

I felt unsafe and unhappy here.

I was locked in a bedroom. A lady outside had a knife. She wanted to kill her kids. She pushed her husband out a window. She wanted us to be her new family.

I wanted to sit next to Ellis but I couldn't.

I'm pretty sure that Amber hated me. Abe probably did as well. They were right. All I did was get things wrong.

Happy

I was half-asleep when the door unlocked. The sound made me jump. Rachel opened the door. She had the knife in her hand. I backed off. Abe and Amber got up.

'Morning everyone,' Rachel said. 'I hope you all got some rest?'

'What's happening, Rachel?' asked Amber. 'Why are you still holding that knife?'

Rachel looked down and shrugged.

'This is my version of the naughty step,' she replied with a smile. 'Now, who wants some breakfast?'

I really wanted to eat. I didn't want Rachel holding that knife.

'Please put the knife away?' I said.

Rachel nodded.

'Okay, sweetheart,' she said. 'If you all swear to behave.'

'We will,' I said. 'We do.'

'Speak for yourself,' snorted Amber.

'That's not nice, Amber dear,' said Rachel. 'There's no need to be rude. Jake is only trying to help.'

'I'm not being rude to Jake,' said Amber. 'I'm letting you know how unhappy I am with this whole happy family thing.'

'But we are a happy family,' said Rachel. 'And we're going to stay a happy family for the rest of our lives.'

'We're just worried,' said Ellis. 'We don't really know you and though you saved our lives we're still not sure what to think.'

'Not sure about what?' replied Rachel. 'That you are alive because of me? That you are safe because of me? That your ankle is getting better because of me?'

Rachel struggled to stay nice. Her lips went tight and thin. She looked at us. She looked at the knife.

'I'm really not sure what you're all not sure about.'

She turned to leave.

'Perhaps you need a bit more time to think about things?'

Rachel left. We heard her lock the door.

'Well, that could have gone better,' said Abe. 'That could have gone a whole lot better.'

He looked at his sister.

'You're going to get us all killed.'

Amber flushed.

'You mean like he's been doing ever since we met them?' she said pointing at me. 'I'm trying to keep us all alive!'

I said nothing. Amber was right. Abe saw that I was blushing.

'Well, not like this you won't,' said Abe. 'Besides, Jake and Ellis are now like brother and sister to us.'

'To you, maybe,' said Amber. 'I've already got one brother and he's making a complete fool of himself.'

'Guys,' said Ellis. 'This really isn't helping.'

Amber and Abe stopped arguing.

'Jake saved my life,' Ellis continued. 'He helped me like he has helped the two of you so lay off him!'

Ellis sounded really firm.

'This isn't the time to be arguing and blaming each other. We need to get out of here.'

She sighed.

'I know that Rachel rescued us and took care of my ankle but I don't think she is thinking straight. The awful stuff that has happened to her family has really upset her.'

'We should pretend...' I started.

My voice went wobbly. I looked down.

'Go on, Jake,' Ellis said. 'We should pretend what?'

'We should pretend we're happy and try to escape.'

I looked up.

'Rachel has to sleep. She can't always watch.'

'I suppose not,' said Amber. 'But we're not waiting forever before we try and escape.'

'Of course not,' said Ellis.

She smiled at me.

'Good thinking, Jake.'

I felt a little better.

Pancakes

Rachel opened the door later. We were much more friendly. Even Amber smiled. Rachel was cheerful.

'Sorry about earlier,' she said. 'I didn't mean to lose my temper.'

'We're sorry too,' said Ellis. 'We didn't mean to sound ungrateful.'

'I know you didn't, sweetie,' Rachel replied. 'It's just that I want us all to be so happy that sometimes it makes me feel very tense.'

Rachel smiled.

'Perhaps I should stop trying too hard.'

'We know you mean well,' Ellis continued. 'We know you want what's best for us.'

'I do, Ellis. I want what's best for all of us.'

Rachel looked at me.

'Are you hungry, Jake? I've made a pile of pancakes and there's plenty of maple syrup.'

'I don't like maple syrup,' said Abe. 'Do you have chocolate spread?'

Rachel breathed deeply. I thought she was going to get angry.

'I'm sure we can find something, Abe,' she said. 'Now, let's go and eat.'

Rachel stepped back into the hallway.

'After you,' she said and pointed towards the kitchen.

We left the bedroom. Rachel waited for Ellis.

'Come on, Ellis,' she said. 'You can probably put some weight on your foot if you're careful.'

The pancakes were delicious. I had five big ones, covered in butter and syrup. Abe got his chocolate spread. Ellis was feeling better. She had loads as well.

Amber didn't eat. She tried to get Rachel to ask her why. Rachel wanted to ask but didn't. I worried this would go bad again. I caught Ellis's eye and nodded at Amber. Ellis nodded.

'Thank you for the pancakes, Rachel,' said Ellis. 'I was starving.'

'That's alright, Ellis,' Rachel said. 'I'm glad you're feeling better.'

'Much better, Rachel. Thank you very much.'

I looked at Amber. She was ready to cause trouble. I was getting nervous.

'Thanks for helping Ellis,' I said. 'I'm glad you fixed her ankle.'

Rachel laughed. We were so polite. I didn't want her to get angry again. She stood right next to me.

'I don't really know what you crazy guys were doing out there on your own but I'm pretty sure you're all better off in here with me.'

She pointed at the window.

'It's much safer here than it is out there.'

Amber snorted. Abe kicked her under the table.

'We were in lots of trouble when you found us,' said Abe. 'I thought we were going to die.'

'You were,' said Rachel, ignoring Amber. 'If I hadn't come along when I did none of you would be here now.'

She shivered.

'You would all be dead.'

Rachel paused. She was thinking of the right words.

'I hope we're all feeling better now we've eaten?'

I nodded. Ellis did too. Amber smiled at Rachel. She didn't mean it. Abe kicked his sister again. Rachel took the empty plates. She looked very happy.

'I have a good feeling about our new life together.'

Rachel put the plates in the sink. I saw the knife in the back of her jeans.

Photograph

After breakfast, we sat on the sofas. No one said anything. It was very weird. Rachel washed the dishes. She was singing. She sounded happy.

I wasn't happy. I didn't like all of this. I didn't know what to do. A sad lady with a knife had taken us hostage.

When things at home got weird I went to my room. Mum always understood. It was always good.

Now was different. Everything was bad.

Abe looked at me. He shrugged. I looked at Amber. She was still angry. I knew why she was. I didn't want another fight with Rachel. I didn't like it when Rachel was angry. Ellis felt the strangeness. She spoke.

'Tell us about yourself, Rachel,' Ellis said. 'We'd love to know more about you.'

Rachel stopped washing up. She dried her hands. She came into the lounge. She looked so friendly. I was still confused.

'What would you like to know?' asked Rachel.

'Is that you in that picture?' asked Ellis. She pointed at a photograph on the mantelpiece.

I hadn't noticed it before. Four girls were holding hockey sticks.

'Yes,' replied Rachel. 'I was captain of the Under 14s hockey team at school.'

Rachel closed her eyes.

'I loved sports when I was at school.'

She laughed.

'I think I've still got all my hockey stuff somewhere in the flat.'

'Where were you born?' said Ellis.

'Not far from here but I've worked in London since I left school. When my mum and dad retired I came back to take over the hotel.'

'What did you do in London?'

'I was an A and E nurse.'

'A and E?' asked Abe. 'What's that?'

'Accident and Emergency,' replied Rachel, with a little laugh. 'Very handy for now, I guess.'

Rachel leaned on the sink.

'The hotel is not open to the public and up until recently was full of rich, elderly guests who wanted to live the rest of their lives by the sea. However, three months ago, the roof was damaged by a storm and we had to move everyone out.'

Rachel shrugged.

'But what with one thing and another, I am still waiting for the workmen to get back to me with a revised quote. Once the repairs are complete, we'll be back in business.'

'But...' started Amber.

Ellis put her hand on Amber's arm. Amber stopped.

Ellis looked at Rachel.

'What was it like living and working in London?'

'Fabulous,' beamed Rachel. 'It was the most wonderful time in my life. I learned so much and made so many great friends. That was also how I met my...'

Rachel didn't finish the sentence.

Ellis carried on.

'Your guests must have loved living in this hotel. I bet they were really happy here.'

'You must have had some really interesting ones,' said Abe.

'You mean like old Mrs. Darley?' said Rachel.

'Old Mrs. who?' I said.

'Old Mrs. Darley was our longest staying guest. She lived in the two rooms at the front of the third floor for twenty-seven years.'

Rachel laughed at the memory.

'Dolores Darley came from Clonmel, County Tipperary and had taught English in Nigeria for many years. I have no idea how she ended up with us but she was a lovely white-haired old lady who sat in her chair all day looking out the window. She kept everyone entertained with the adventures of her crazy family in Ireland.'

Rachel looked at us.

'Don't you worry,' she said. 'Her family could never be as crazy as mine.'

I knew that Rachel meant us.

Insane

The rest of the day was long. No one said anything. There was nothing to do. Rachel tried to get us to talk. It didn't work.

I felt trapped. I hated being in this flat. I hated being with a stranger who thought we were her kids. It was like waiting for a bomb to burst.

After dinner, Rachel said we might not be well.

'You could probably do with an early night,' she said.

Rachel locked us in the bedroom. I felt really glad. We waited for her to go away.

'I can't do much more of this,' said Amber. 'This is totally insane.'

'You mean Rachel is insane?' said Abe.

'That as well,' replied Amber.

She looked at Ellis and me.

'We've got to get the hell out of here.'

'Yes,' I said, 'but how? Rachel is always watching.'

I was unhappy. I didn't care if anyone knew.

'Could we get Rachel to take us somewhere in her car?' said Ellis. 'Perhaps we could convince her to drive to Dungeness. We could say something about the soldiers knowing about the infection.'

I nodded.

'Let's do it.'

Amber didn't know.

'Rachel is probably mad enough to believe us about the army medics but she wouldn't be mad enough to risk losing us to the authorities. It'll never happen.'

'We must try,' I said.

My voice was all upset.

'I can't stand another day like now. I can't.'

Abe put his arm round my shoulder.

'Amber's right, you know,' he said. 'Rachel is so convinced that we're her family now that she's not going to do anything to risk losing us.'

Ellis sat the other side of me.

'We all hate this, Jake,' she said. 'We're going to get through this.'

Ellis smiled at me.

'Perhaps we should get some rest now. You never know when we're going to get another chance.'

I didn't hear the door being unlocked. Rachel was suddenly in the room. Her voice was low and creepy.

'They're gone now, my darlings,' she whispered. 'I've got rid of them all. It's only us now.'

Rachel was covered in blood. The knife was as well. Rachel leaned her head to one side.

'I've been thinking about the world,' she said, 'and I've decided there's no hope for any of us. The world is broken now and can never be repaired.'

Rachel laughed.

'Why would any responsible parent let their beautiful children live in such a terrible place? I love you all far too much to let you suffer any longer. I'm going to help you get to a safer place.'

'Are you letting us go, Rachel?' said Amber. 'Are you really going to let us all leave?'

'I'm going to make sure that none of you are ever frightened again,' she replied. 'You'll never be lonely or hungry. No one will hurt you ever again.'

Rachel was crying.

'I'm your mother,' she said through her tears, 'and I will protect you from this wicked world. You are everything to me and I will always love you.'

Rachel was not going to let us go.

'Why?' I said. 'You're not Mum. She's still alive. I have to speak to her.'

Rachel laughed.

'She's dead, Jake,' she said, 'and you're about to join her.'

Hit

Rachel grabbed my hood.

Ellis screamed.

Amber stepped towards Rachel.

'Get your crazy hands off him,' she shouted. 'Leave us alone.'

Rachel pulled me tighter. I could smell the blood in my nose. I tried to get away. Rachel put the knife to my throat. I couldn't breathe properly. Amber took another step.

'Stay where you are, you evil little bitch,' Rachel shrieked. 'Once I'm done with Jake, you're next.'

'No way!' shouted Amber.

Amber's arm came up to the side of Rachel's head. I heard a loud crash. Rachel let go of my hood. She put her hand to her head. Amber stepped forward. She hit Rachel again with the hockey stick. Rachel fell to her knees. Amber hit her again. Rachel fell backwards. She banged her head.

I was shocked. We all were. It felt like a mad dream. Amber spoke to us.

'Quick,' she said. 'Get something to tie her up with. Hurry before she wakes up.'

I looked at Rachel. She was sleeping. We all put her on the bed. Abe tied her up with rope. Amber put a pillowcase over her head. Abe took the keys from Rachel's pocket. We locked her in the bedroom. Amber blocked a chair against the door.

'You can never be too careful,' she said.

'We better hurry,' said Ellis. 'Let's get out of here before Rachel wakes up. I know she's tied up but she's dangerous.'

Ellis looked at me.

'Jake, you're covered in blood. You better get changed.'

I ran to the bedroom. I found more clothes. The others were looking for food in the kitchen.

'We need to be out of here in five minutes,' Amber said.

I put my high tops on. I found my hoodie. Rachel had washed it. It smelled lovely. It made me think of Mum.

'I hope you're still out there somewhere,' I whispered into the fabric.

'Jake,' shouted Amber. 'Hurry up, we're leaving!'

'Coming,' I said. I put my Mum thoughts back in the special hole in my heart.

Abe called the lift. Ellis looked at me.

'That's better, Jake,' she said. 'You look almost human again.'

'Thanks,' I grinned.

I spoke to Amber.

'Thanks, Amber. I owe you.'

'No problem, Jake,' she said.

I didn't know if she was angry with me.

'I had just woken up. She was too quick.'

The lift arrived. Amber stepped in. She didn't answer me. We all followed. Abe pressed the button for the basement.

'We don't need to stop anywhere else,' he said. 'I would hate to think what we might find.'

Amber looked at us.

'We got lucky with Rachel.'

She put her hand on my shoulder.

'We might not get so lucky next time.'

I nodded. My blush was spreading again. Ellis squeezed my hand. I felt better and worse together.

Rucksack

The lift stopped with a bump. The door opened. I thought we would be jumped by angry viros. The basement was empty. It was quiet. The overhead lights hurt my eyes. The big door was still closed. Rachel's car was in front of us.

Abe unlocked the car. He climbed inside. I got excited. I thought he knew how to drive. Amber smiled.

'I know what you're thinking,' she said, 'but we can't risk trying to drive the Land Rover. Imagine if we tried to get away from a swarm of viros and the engine stalled. We'd be doomed.'

She laughed.

'In any case, Abe wouldn't be able to reach the pedals, his legs are far too short.'

'Oh no they're not,' said Abe as he climbed out the car holding something. 'My legs are average for my height.

'But your height is not average for your legs!' replied Amber.

We all laughed. It felt really good.

Abe handed the dirty rucksack he was holding to Ellis.

'I knew we had put it somewhere,' he said.

Ellis pulled out her slingshot.

'That's better,' she said. 'Thanks, Abe.'

Ellis looked at all of us.

'I realize that I've been a bit of a burden since we have been together but my ankle is much better now and...'

'You have been nothing of the kind,' Amber interrupted. 'Me and Abe are glad to have met you, aren't we, Abe?'

'We are,' said Abe.

Amber looked at me. I thought she was going to be mean.

'That goes for you too, Jake,' she said. 'I know I was angry with you earlier and I'm sorry. I was angry with myself and took it out on you.'

'Okay, Amber,' I said. 'You should be angry with me.'

'Not really,' she replied. 'You're sweet and kind and loyal and the sort of friend that anyone would want.'

The blush swallowed my face all over. I didn't speak. All these things were too much for me. People happy with me. People angry with me. Mum told me growing up was hard. She was right.

'You'll work it out, Jake,' she had said. 'It will take you a while but you'll get there.'

It wasn't easy any more. Now I had to do real work to understand people. I looked at my friends. Did they feel the same as me? Did we all have to do the same work?

The Mum thought made my head hurt. I couldn't breathe. Abe changed my mind.

'I bet,' he said, 'that one of these keys opens that door over there.'

He pointed to a metal door. I hadn't seen it before.

'I wonder what's behind it?'

Abe went over to the door. He chose a key from the ring. He put it in the lock.

'You'd better stand back,' he said. 'Just in case.'

I stepped back.

'Open the door on the count of three,' Amber said.

'One.'

'Two.'

'Three.'

Abe unlocked the door. He pulled it open. I was scared again. Nothing happened. It was a big cupboard. I saw some bicycles.

'Yes!' hissed Abe. 'Now we're talking!'

He punched the air.

'No way!' I said. 'I love bikes.'

It was still dark. We got out the hotel and pedaled up the hill. There was a big field at the top where the circus stopped. No one was around. There was no noise. I knew we had to go a long way to get to the school.

Abe had said that we should go find the army base.

'Vinnie will probably be in the safe hands of the soldiers now,' he said. 'Perhaps we don't need to go all the way to the school anymore.'

Ellis didn't want to.

'Maybe, Abe, but what if he's still there? What if he's hurt and needs our help?'

Amber agreed.

'She's right, Abe. We can't assume anything anymore.'

Amber looked at me.

'The same goes for your mum, Jake. We've got to know for sure.'

I nodded.

Abe sighed.

'I know, I know,' he said. 'Just sometimes I wish we didn't always have to do things the hard way.'

'But we're good at doing things,' I said. 'Even when we get them wrong.'

I thought Amber would interrupt. She stayed quiet. I spoke again.

'We're survivors,' I said. 'Other kids would be dead by now. We're not. We stayed alive.'

They all watched me speak. It felt really good. I felt taller when I spoke.

'We're a gang now. We won't stop.'

'We are,' said Abe.

He clapped. No one else did. Abe stopped. Amber nodded. Ellis smiled at me.

'Like brother and sister,' she said.

I knew she was being nice to me but I didn't like her saying I was her brother.

Roundabout

It was exciting being out on the streets like this. My bike was a big one. It had more gears than normal. I pedaled nicely. It made me feel really good about myself.

We got to the top of the hill. We slowed down. There was the kids adventure centre near the road. There was a playground next to it. The playground had a fence around it. We cycled past. There were some viros in the playground.

A small viro got wrapped in the swing. It tried to escape but got more wrapped. A big viro fell on the roundabout. The roundabout started moving. The viro started to howl.

A thin viro was wearing a baseball cap. It tried to get on the roundabout. Another viro had a ripped tracksuit. It got on the roundabout as well. The roundabout went faster. The big viro stood up. It fell off. It got trapped underneath. The roundabout stopped. All the viros howled.

They looked like an unhappy family.

It was sad.

I didn't watch again.

We cycled along a main road. It was getting lighter. The sun was trying to wake up. I felt really brave but I didn't tell anyone. I pretended that I was a knight or a cowboy. My bike was my horse. I was on my way to kill a dragon. I would rescue a princess. I would catch the robbers. I needed a suit of armour. A sword. A gun.

I was behind the others. They were cycling further up. I saw them stop. There was a big double decker bus. It was parked wrong. The front had hit a tree. The door was open. There was a dead man in the driving seat. I caught up with them.

'What's wrong?' I asked.

'There's someone screaming upstairs,' said Abe. 'I heard them as we cycled past.'

'We should do something,' said Amber. 'They sound in real trouble.'

I heard the screaming. It sounded terrible. The noise would attract viros. I didn't like it.

'What about danger?' I said. 'We need to keep going.'

'Jake's right,' said Ellis. 'It might be a trap.'

Abe got on the bus.

'I'm going to take a look,' he said.

I looked around. The world was empty for the moment. I climbed off my bike.

'Wait, Abe. I'll come too.'

Norman

I stepped past the bus driver. His head was messy. It had been hit on the steering wheel. His face was dark blue. It was puffy. Abe crept up the stairs. He was crouching. I did the same. The screaming got louder. Abe took a look.

'Help me,' said a voice. 'Please help me.'

There was an old man. He was lying between the seats. There was no one else around. He was screaming.

Abe knelt next to him. The old man grabbed his arm.

'You've got to help me,' he said. 'Please, I'm in agony.'

'What happened?' asked Abe.

'The bus crashed and I fell off the seat,' said the old man. 'Everyone else ran away. They left me here. That was three days ago.'

The old man looked very worried. Three days was a long time. I didn't know what to do.

'Can you move?' asked Abe.

'If I could do you think I'd be lying here?'

The man was angry. That's why he was rude.

'Sorry,' he said. 'I didn't mean to snap.'

'I'm Jake,' I said. 'What's your name?'

'Norman,' said the man. 'Norman Hargreaves.'

'Do you have any family anywhere we can look for?' said Abe.

The old man shook his head.

'Cancer took my Irene two years ago. She died the day after our fiftieth wedding anniversary. My two sons live in America. We haven't spoken in months.'

Norman's pain was really big. He groaned out loud.

'No one knows I'm here,' he said. 'Only you two.'

Abe took a deep breath.

'I don't know what to do, Norman. We can't move you and there's no one to call for help.'

'Well, you can't leave me here,' Norman said. 'There must be something you can do?'

Abe didn't reply. I wanted to speak. I thought it would help.

'We're headed to a school.' I said. 'There might be someone there who could help?'

'That's a good idea,' said Norman. 'You get to the school and then send someone to come and help me.'

'Jake,' said Abe. 'We can't be...'

He stopped talking.

Amber and Ellis were standing at the top of the stairs. They sneaked over to us.

'There's a viro downstairs,' Ellis said. 'It must have heard all the noise. We waited until we thought it had gone and came up to you.'

'The trouble is,' said Amber. 'It hasn't gone.'

We heard the viro sniffing the driver.

Trapped

We stayed quiet. The viro was stamping around. It sounded like it had heavy boots. It was clumsy. It kept banging into the seats. We stayed very still. Abe stayed with Norman. I closed my eyes.

It might not find us, I thought. It might not find us.

The viro was still banging around. It made loud snuffling noises.

It might not find us.

It might not find us.

Ellis held her breath. Amber had her eyes closed. She was listening.

It might not find us.

It might not find us.

It might not find us.

The viro started to wail. The noise was awful. It made Norman jump. He screamed as he moved.

'Sssh!' hissed Amber.

The viro stopped wailing. I held my breath.

It might not find us.

It might not find us.

It might not find us.

The viro started up the stairs.

'Oh no!' gulped Abe. 'We're trapped.'

I looked around. There was nowhere to hide. Ellis and Amber were climbing over seats. Abe was still crouched next to Norman. I tried to think. I knew about buses.

'Emergency exit,' I said. 'Open the emergency exit.'

Ellis nodded. She found the exit.

'I can't open it,' she said. 'The handle's too stiff.'

Amber tried to help.

'It's stuck,' she said. 'The handle won't budge.'

The viro stood at the top of the stairs. It was enormous. Its hands were wide. Its eyes were really red. It looked at me.

'Help, Jake,' Ellis said.

I climbed over the seats. I nearly banged my head.

'Mind out,' I said to Ellis and Amber. 'Let me try.'

The viro stood still. It looked unsure. It couldn't choose who to eat first.

Abe stayed with Norman. The old man looked at him.

'There's no point,' he said. 'Go and help your friends. I'll keep him occupied.'

Norman started to crawl towards the viro. He screamed as he moved. The pain was terrible. The viro watched Norman. It still didn't move.

Abe ran to me. I hit the handle with my foot. It moved a bit.

'Do it again,' said Abe. 'Do it again.'

I kicked the handle again. It moved some more.

Ellis screamed. I turned around. The viro was standing over Norman. It was dribbling. Norman shouted up at it.

'Eat me,' he screamed. 'Eat me, you evil beast.'

'Hurry, Jake,' shouted Amber.

I kicked the handle again.

One more kick.

The door opened.

'Come on,' said Abe. 'Lower yourselves down and get the bikes.'

Ellis went first. She climbed out. She dropped to the floor. I worried about her ankle.

I looked at the viro. It was kneeling next to Norman.

'What are you waiting for?' he screamed.

The viro was nodding its head. I thought it could understand.

I climbed out the exit. I dropped to the road. It was high. I didn't hurt myself. I looked up. Abe climbed out. He jumped down.

Norman screamed. The viro howled. It was all over. We grabbed our bikes. I was frightened. It was hard to pedal.

'Let's go,' Amber said. 'Before that thing comes downstairs.'

'Poor Norman,' I said to Abe. 'I wanted to help.'

'I know, Jake,' he said, 'but we couldn't.'

I tried to understand what happened. I didn't like the world any more.

'At least he isn't screaming now,' I said.

'That's something,' Abe said.

We kept pedaling. Neither of us spoke.

Bark

Ellis said there was a small road. It was at the back of the school. Next to somewhere called Beulah Woods. She said we should ride as far as we can down the lane. Then we would walk.

I didn't want to do this. The woods sounded dangerous.

'Can we go another way?' I said. 'Any other way.'

Ellis shook her head.

'Sorry, Jake, this is the only way.'

'In any case,' Amber said. 'It will be easier to slip in through the back than simply walking up to the front gates. We have no idea who or what is there.'

Amber looked at Ellis.

'Sorry, Ellis, but you know what I mean.'

'No problem, Amber,' said Ellis. 'The only way we are going to survive is if we fear the worst and then work backwards from there.'

There were loads of nice tiny houses. They were all neat in rows along the road. I saw lots of cars parked outside. It was quiet. There was no movement anywhere.

I imagined everyone was asleep inside. Each house had a happy family. They were dreaming about nice things like holidays. The world was nicer to them.

I saw a thin orange cat. It was ripping a black rubbish bag. It was licking chicken bones. Then it saw us. The cat ran under a silver car.

A dog barked.

A lovely Alsatian dog was locked in the car. It barked really loud. I thought the noise would make all the viros everywhere attack us. I stopped pedaling. The others stopped by me. Amber pulled my arm.

'We'd better get going, Jake. That dog is barking so loud that it will attract every viro within a five-mile radius.'

'It's stuck,' I said. 'I have to help.'

I loved dogs. I hoped to get one for my birthday. I always wanted a dog. I needed a best friend.

'But what can we do?' asked Amber. 'We've got to keep moving. We haven't got time to rescue the dog.'

The dog barked louder. I thought it knew what Amber said.

'Come on, Jake,' she said. 'Let's get out of here.'

Amber turned away. I didn't move.

'No,' I said. 'I'm not leaving. The dog might die.'

I looked at Ellis.

'Hold my bike, please. I'm going to help.'

Ellis looked worried but did what I asked anyway. There was a rock garden in front of the house. It was next to a fence. The dog barked more.

'Hurry, Jake,' said Ellis. 'We need to get out of here.'

'I am,' I said.

Alarm

There was wooden gate in front of the car. It was next to the house. I looked at the rock garden. I needed something heavy. The gate made a noise.

'The gate,' said Abe. 'There's something behind the gate.'

The gate was weak. It began to break. I chose a big stone. It was heavy. I used both hands. I went to the car. The dog looked at me. It kept barking. The gate broke again. A hand came through it.

'Get back, boy,' I said to the dog. 'Get out the way.'

I threw the stone at the window. It didn't break. I picked the stone up. I threw the stone harder.

The window broke. It was a loud noise. The car alarm was much louder. Ellis screamed. She pointed behind me. An old viro had got through the gate. I leaned in through the window. I didn't want to cut myself. I unlocked the door. I pulled it open.

'Come on, boy,' I said. 'Let's get you out of here.'

I stepped back. The dog jumped out the car. Something grabbed my hood. I pulled away. The viro didn't let go. The car door stopped it getting closer but only for now. Ellis jumped off her bike. She grabbed stones from the rock garden. She loaded her slingshot. She didn't fire.

'I can't get a clear shot, Jake,' she shouted. 'Your head is in the way.'

The viro had really bad breath. It wouldn't let go. Ellis walked around the car. She wanted to shoot.

'Can you slip your hoodie off, Jake?' she shouted.

I tried to slip my arms out. It was really hard. The viro kept pulling. I got tangled.

'What are you doing, Jake?' hissed Amber. 'You've got to get out of there.'

Ellis fired a stone. It whistled by my head.

'Careful,' I screamed. 'Don't hit me.'

'Sorry,' said Ellis. 'I'm really sorry.'

She reloaded.

The viro pushed towards me. The car door started to close. The viro wouldn't let go. I was trapped. The viro groaned. Ellis had hit it with a stone. The viro didn't let go.

I pushed my back against the door. It didn't help. The door kept closing. The car alarm kept ringing. It was too loud. My head hurt. I couldn't think.

'Help.' I said. 'I'm stuck.'

I was panicking. I felt sick. I lost my breath. I was dizzy. My eyes weren't clear.

I looked up. Abe was leaning against the door. He tried to stop it closing. The viro went to grab him. Another stone hit it in the eye. I stopped moving. Abe grabbed me. He pulled me hard. My arms came out my hoodie. We both fell backwards.

We were in a muddle on the floor. The viro pushed the door closed. It went for us. I shut my eyes. I thought I was going to die.

I heard the dog growl.

I looked.

The dog was standing in front of the viro. It was growling really hard. The viro didn't move.

We stood up. The dog kept growling. The viro stood still. Ellis hit it with another stone. The viro's head was bleeding. We walked backwards. I picked up my bike.

'Ellis,' I shouted. 'We're going.'

'Coming,' she said. She hit the viro with another stone. It fell backwards. Ellis hobbled back to her bike.

The viro watched us escape. It looked unhappy. It wanted to eat us but couldn't. I felt sad for the viro. It didn't know why it was like that. They must all feel the same now.

I patted the dog's head. There was a nametag attached to its collar.

'Come on, Baxter,' I said. 'You can come with us.'

Me

Baxter was a good dog. It ran with us when we cycled. Baxter was well trained. He stayed near.

The car alarm was still ringing behind us. Amber was happy.

'Hopefully,' she said, 'every viro around here will head towards the car alarm and leave the streets empty enough for us to get to St. Dunstan's without any further bother.'

Amber cycled ahead. Ellis rode alongside me.

'We used to have a dog just like him,' she said. 'You're a crazy, reckless kid, Jake, but I'm glad you managed to rescue Baxter.'

'Me too,' I said. 'Thanks for firing stones. You're really good.'

'It was an old one,' Ellis replied. 'We were lucky back there but please don't keep putting yourself in danger, Jake.'

Ellis paused.

'I... we... need you to be okay.'

Ellis smiled. I looked at her lovely lips. Her face made me feel good inside. I wanted to speak. I tried to smile. I wanted to be cool. I wanted to be someone else.

I couldn't.

I was me.

We stopped at the top of the lane. There was a metal barrier. It was locked. The lane looked dark. I thought there was danger there.

We're walking from here,' said Amber. She looked in front of us.

'It looks really muddy so we'll have to be careful.'

Ellis pointed at something.

'This lane is part of the school's cross-country circuit,' she said. 'Halfway down on the right-hand side there's a stile that leads to the top of the football pitches.'

Ellis smiled as she remembered something.

'Vinnie's class had to do cross-country running last year and he was so exhausted by the time he reached the stile that two of his friends had to help him over. They got him halfway over and then dropped him on his head.'

Ellis stopped talking. The thought of her brother made her feel bad. I wanted to say something good to her.

'We'll find Vinnie,' I said. 'We will.'

We pushed our bikes. The path was muddy. It was hard. A spiky fence stretched alongside the lane. Lots of grass went downhill behind the fence. The grass stopped at some bushes. I could see water. There was something moving down there. It was moving a lot. I thought it was more of those things. I thought they were coming to get us. I took my mind away. I looked back at the lane.

Two older boys were there. I hadn't seen them before.

'Where do you think you lot are going?' asked a tall boy. He was wearing a school uniform. He had a bow. He pointed it at us.

'We've been following you since you set off that car alarm,' said the other one. He was bigger. His hair was red. He had a pimpled face. He had a bow as well.

'You'll wind up dead if you keep doing stupid things like that.'

Ellis stepped forward.

'Tim! Kevin!' she said. 'Put those bows down before someone gets hurt.'

'Ellis!' said Tim. He was the tall boy.

'Vinnie was hoping you were still alive. He's been worried sick.'

'Is he?' started Ellis.

'He's alive and well and as annoying as ever,' said Kevin.

He looked back down the lane.

'Let's get out of here before those creatures get bored with the car alarm and come looking for us.'

Arrow

We followed Tim. He walked carefully. Kevin was behind us. I was happy to be with the boys. They were clever and sensible. Ellis walked with Tim. I felt weird. I wanted to be like Tim. I wanted to look like him. I wanted to walk next to Ellis. I felt sad about myself. I had to think about other things.

Would we be safe again? I had felt unsafe a lot now. I wanted to feel better. Maybe Mum was with Vinnie? Perhaps she knew where we were going? She might be waiting? I thought I might be silly about this. How would she know what we have done? Who could tell her where we were going? She could be dead. She could be wandering around with all those other things.

The soldiers might have killed her. She could have followed us into the tunnel. She might be one of those in the pond. Did she bite the soldier? My head ached with nasty feelings.

Baxter started growling.

Tim stopped. Nobody said anything. Tim crouched and pointed his bow. I couldn't see where he was firing. I held my breath. Tim waited some more. He fired. Tim looked. He started moving.

'Let's get going,' he said. 'There'll be more where that one came from.'

I saw the viro that Tim had shot. It had once been someone's dad or uncle. Not anymore. It was just dead now. A yellow arrow stuck out its eye.

'Isn't that a waste of an arrow?' asked Ellis. 'Shouldn't you be recycling it?'

'We should,' said Tim, 'but we can't run the risk of infection.'

I scrambled over the stile. We lifted our bikes over as well. We stood at the top of the fields. They were massive. I saw lots of rugby pitches and football pitches. Two dead viros were in the back of the nearest goal. I saw two more arrows.

'We ran into them on the way up here earlier,' said Kevin. 'They're fine from a distance in the daylight, especially when you have one of these,' he said as he patted his longbow.

'How come you have these bows and arrows?' asked Abe.

'We're both on the school's archery team,' Kevin replied. 'Before all this happened, me and Tim and a few others used to represent the school in tournaments all over the south east.'

He smiled.

'I guess that was all good practice for what has happened now.'

'Can you teach us?' asked Abe. 'I'd love to be able to kill a viro with one of those.'

'Kill a what?' asked Kevin.

'A viro,' said Abe. 'That's what we call these things.'

Kevin laughed.

'Maybe some time, I might, but for now we need to get back to the school. That car alarm has stirred up a real hornet's nest. We've been spotting groups of your so-called viros everywhere.'

Tim came alongside.

'Small groups are manageable,' he said, patting his bow. 'The problems start when small groups get together and form bigger ones.'

'We know,' said Amber. 'We met three soldiers back in the ornamental gardens who got separated from their unit.'

She grimaced.

'One of the them was bitten and they then got overrun by a swarm while helping us escape.'

'Me and Ellis saw another two gangs,' I said. 'Soldiers in lorries killed them with machine guns.'

Kevin whistled.

'Wow!' he said. 'You've had some excitement and no mistake.'

We walked but didn't speak anymore. The fields were really muddy. The sun was shining. We walked past a small group of trees. There was a cricket pitch. It had a high fence. There was a gate in the middle of the fence. I tried to remember what it was like before all this happened. I couldn't.

Vinnie

Tim and Kevin stopped. Tim unlocked the gate. Kevin kept watch. We went down concrete steps. We walked through two bicycle sheds. I saw a road going past the big building. The end was blocked with cars.

The school was old. It had a tower block. There was another building attached to the tower block. Tim locked the gate behind us.

Someone came running towards us. It was a tall boy with spiky, black hair. Ellis dropped her bike.

'Vinnie,' she said with tears in her eyes. 'I missed you so much.'

'Me too, Sis,' said Vinnie as he hugged her tight. 'I thought that you were gone forever.'

He hugged her tighter.

'Mum and Dad?'

Ellis shook her head and began to cry harder.

'Come on,' said Tim. 'Let's get you lot inside.'

Later on, we were sitting in the dining room. Baxter was licking water from a dish. A big man in a brown suit and fancy brown shoes sat next to us.

'My name is Dr. Roger Thompson and I'm the Headmaster of St. Dunstan's.'

He was really sweaty.

'Frankly, I'm amazed that you foolish children weren't eaten a long time ago by those things. Whatever were you thinking?'

'We were thinking about surviving,' said Amber. 'And we think we were doing very well.'

'Hmmph,' said Dr. Thompson. 'Surviving, you say; but for how much longer?'

'As long as it takes to find Jake's mum,' said Abe.

Dr. Thompson looked at me.

'Where is your mother?' he asked.

'At the hospital. She didn't come home.'

'Then that's it, I'm afraid,' said the headmaster. 'Contact with the hospital was lost yesterday afternoon. Those creatures have most likely overrun it. There will be no-one left alive now.'

'You don't know,' I stammered. 'Mum is really strong. She is still alive.'

'I'm sorry but I really don't care too much about your mother at the moment,' replied Dr. Thompson. 'We've got far too much to do here without worrying about anyone anywhere else.'

I stood up. I was going to cry. I wanted to hide. No one should see me like this. I walked away. I went up some stairs. I opened a door. I closed the door. I sat down at a desk. It was dark.

My tears came from right inside.

Who was that man? Why did he speak that way? He didn't know Mum. He didn't know how good she was at things. The man's words made me upset. He made me feel all on my own. Without Mum I was alone. I didn't like alone. I needed love and protection. I wasn't meant to be alone.

I got angry with Mum. Why did she go to work? Why did she leave me alone? I hit the desk again and again. My hands really hurt. I didn't like me angry. I felt upset for saying it was Mum's fault. It wasn't her fault.

I knew she would find me if she could. She would really try hard. She would find me. She wouldn't ignore me.

No way.
Idiot

The door opened. It was Ellis and Baxter.

'He was wondering where you had gone so we thought we'd come looking for you.'

Ellis sat down. Baxter lay down.

'That headmaster is a real idiot,' she said. 'He's mean and rude and doesn't know what he's talking about.'

'She's alive,' I said. 'Mum is alive. I'm going to find her.'

'I know you will,' said Ellis. 'And we're going to help you.'

She patted Baxter on the head.

'Aren't we, boy?'

Ellis walked over to the window.

'The world is now so weird and so crazy,' she said, 'that I don't know how anyone can possibly survive out there but we have and if we can then so can other people.'

I looked out the window. The school was on a hill. The town looked big far away. I didn't see the hospital.

'Come on,' Ellis said. 'I heard them talking about cooking some dinner. Let's go and see what they're making.'

Amber and Abe were sitting down. They were with Vinnie and Tim. They were eating roast chicken and potatoes with gravy. It smelled nice. I was starving. Vinnie gave two covered plates to me and Ellis.

'We saved you some,' he said and smiled.

I started eating. Ellis did the same.

'Try not to worry about old Thompson,' Vinnie said to me. 'He isn't really as bad as he makes out.'

'He's just worried,' said Tim. 'One minute he was the headmaster of a sleepy school in a tiny town and the next minute he found himself in charge of protecting it from a zombie menace. The only good thing is that this all happened during the holidays.'

'We've been lucky so far,' said Vinnie. 'Apart from the occasional skirmish, we haven't had to fight off too many of those things but Abe and Amber told us about the swarms you've seen.'

Vinnie put down his knife and fork.

'If one of those hits us,' he said, 'we probably won't survive.'

'We're doing what we can,' said Tim, 'but it isn't possible to do much more than send out the odd patrol. That's how we found you.'

Tim looked around.

'We have three bows and a dwindling supply of arrows. We're no real match for anything.'

'It would help if we knew what had happened,' said Vinnie.

'Some soldiers told us it was a virus or a bomb,' I said.

'Yeah,' said Tim. 'We heard something similar but no one knows for sure.'

Kevin ran into the dining room.

'Trouble,' he said. 'A huge horde is approaching from the top of the lane.'

Vinnie and Tim stood up.

'We're on our way,' said Tim.

Vinnie looked at Ellis. He sounded concerned.

'Don't get separated,' he said. 'I'm not losing you again.'

Calm

Dr. Thompson spread a large piece of paper on the table. We all stood around him. He said it was a plan of the school.

'The horde is coming from this direction,' he said. 'They are moving slowly and will likely take a while to get here but once they do the fences are probably not going to hold them.'

'What are we going to do?' asked a worried-looking man wearing a tracksuit. 'We're no match for these things.'

'Maybe we are and maybe we're not, Mr. Smith,' replied the headmaster, 'but I would prefer us to stay calm all the same.'

'Calm?' replied Mr. Smith. 'How can we stay calm? You saw what one of those things did to poor Mrs. Quinn.'

'We all did,' said the headmaster. 'If it hadn't been for the calm, decisive actions of Vinnie, Tim and Kevin, everything could have been a whole lot worse.'

Dr. Thompson looked hard at Mr. Smith.

'We all need to set an example here, Ivan. Now pull yourself together.'

'Perhaps we should evacuate the school, Headmaster?' Ivan said. 'We could make a break for it while the horde is held up by the fences.'

'But where would we go, Mr. Smith? At least here we have walls and fences, even if they are in danger of being breached. We might not find another place like this.'

'There is an army base at Dungeness,' Abe said. 'The soldiers told us about it. They said we should try and get there.'

'Have you any idea how far that is from here?' Dr. Thompson said. 'We could never get there on foot.'

'I was only trying to help,' said Abe.

'Well, don't,' replied the headmaster. 'We'll handle this.'

The man was very rude. Abe looked upset. Amber wanted to speak. Tim shook his head. Amber looked upset. An older lady coughed.

'Perhaps I might be of assistance here, Headmaster?' she said. 'I think I have an idea.'

Dr. Thompson looked up from the plan.

'Well, let's hear it, Mrs. Stone,' he said. 'We don't have all day.'

Mrs. Stone ignored the headmaster's rudeness.

'The movement of these hordes reminds me of the way that animals migrate.'

Mrs. Stone paused, waiting for the headmaster to interrupt.

'If we can find some way of blocking their movement we might be able to herd them in a different direction. It would be like placing a log in a stream to divert the flow.'

'Yes, yes, Mrs. Stone,' replied the headmaster. 'But where will we find a log big enough to block the flow of this particular stream?'

Mrs. Stone smiled.

'The school coach,' she replied. 'We can park the coach against the vulnerable part of the fence and stop the horde from breaking through.'

The headmaster put his finger on the blueprint.

'You mean right here, Mrs. Stone?'

The Headmaster smiled.

'Yes. I think that might work.'

'Of course it will, Headmaster,' replied Mrs. Stone. 'One of us needs to go and get the coach, drive it around to the top of the playing fields, unlock the access gate and head back down towards the school. Once on the cricket pitch, all they then have to do is manoeuvre it into position and the entrance to the school will be blocked.'

Mrs. Stone looked very happy.

'Brilliant!' cried the headmaster. 'All we need now is someone to drive the coach.'

He looked at Mr. Smith.

'Ivan, you've taken school teams to away matches in the coach before. You can be the one to block the entrance.'

'I'd rather not, Headmaster,' Ivan replied.

Gate

We all could hear the men arguing in the kitchen.

'I won't do it, Headmaster. I simply won't do it.'

'But you will, Mr. Smith. You are the only person who can drive the coach.'

'It's pretty much like driving a car and I bet half the teenagers out there are having driving lessons.'

'Don't be so absurd, Mr. Smith,' said the Headmaster. 'It will have to be you, I'm afraid.'

The two men came back. We all pretended we were busy.

'That's settled then,' declared the headmaster. 'We don't have a moment to lose.'

He looked around.

'Tim, Kevin, and Vinnie, I need one of you to go with Mr. Smith and unlock the gate. The other two can act as escorts to help everyone get to the coach. Its only outside in the car park but just to be on the safe side.'

Vinnie nodded.

'I'll go,' he said. 'Give me the key and I can jump out to unlock the gate when we get there.'

Tim and Kevin stood up and looked at Mr. Smith.

'Ready when you are, Sir,' said Kevin.

Mr. Smith didn't look up.

'If we have to,' is all he said.

The headmaster spoke to us all.

'I don't have to tell you how dangerous the situation we find ourselves in is. You know what the world is now and what is waiting for us out there.'

Dr. Thompson stood up straight.

'This is my school and has been for the last thirty-seven years. I have spent my entire career battling councils, cuts, committees and now cadavers. I wasn't beaten then and I won't be beaten now.'

'He's crazy,' whispered Abe. 'Plum crazy.'

'What do you want us to do?' asked Amber.

The headmaster looked at Amber. He looked annoyed.

'Not get in the way,' he replied.

I stepped forward.

'You must be nice,' I said. 'You must stop being rude.'

The headmaster laughed.

'Nice? Rude? You foolish, damaged child. What would you know?'

Ellis got angry.

'How dare you say Jake is foolish and damaged?' she said. 'How dare you? Jake is brave and kind and loyal and strong...'

The headmaster cut across her.

'I don't have time for this,' he said.

He looked at Vinnie.

'I'll be in my office. Let me know when Mr. Smith is ready.'

Eve

We were all upset. Mrs. Stone saw it. We all sat down next to her.

'We haven't been properly introduced,' she said. 'My name is Eve and I used to teach geography here.'

She laughed.

'I say 'used to' because obviously nobody needs any more geography lessons from me.'

I liked Eve. She was kind and gentle.

'You must be Jake,' she said. 'I hear that you have been very brave.'

My blush made my cheeks sting.

'He has looked after us all,' said Ellis. 'Jake saved our lives in the Ornamental Gardens.'

'He nearly lost them as well in the caravan park,' laughed Amber. I knew she was joking.

'Seriously,' she continued, 'Jake has been there for us all from the start.'

'We all have,' I said. 'I'm not special. I'm lucky to have these friends.'

'He also rescued Baxter,' said Abe. 'Jake's a real hero.'

Eve held my hand.

'Pay no mind to the headmaster,' Eve said. 'Roger is a strange and difficult man but he only wants the best for everyone, even if he finds it impossible to show it.'

Eve's hand felt warm. She felt a bit like Mum. A small tear arrived in my eye. I coughed.

'He's mean,' I said. 'Mean and nasty.'

Eve nodded.

'I know,' she said. 'But if it makes you feel any better he's mean to everyone.'

'I guess.'

I didn't know.

Eve looked at all of us.

'You kids shouldn't be suffering like this, no one should. It breaks my heart to think of you all alone out there trying to survive and witnessing such terrible things.'

She looked upset.

'Everyone is suffering, including you,' said Amber, 'but we all have two choices; we try or we die.'

Amber put her arm around Ellis.

'We're going to keep trying,' she said, 'because we sure ain't dying!'

'No way,' said Ellis.

I felt really proud of everyone.

Really.

Proud.

Batting

Eve smiled again.

'I guess we should be taking survival lessons from all of you,' she said. 'Your parents would be very proud.'

'My Mum is very proud,' I said. 'She's out there. I'm going to find her.'

'I hope so,' said Eve. 'I really hope so.'

Just then Ivan Smith appeared. He was wearing cricket pads on his legs and a helmet. He had a cricket bat under his arm. Dr. Thompson came out of his office.

'What the hell are you wearing, Mr. Smith?' he asked. 'You'll never drive the bloody coach like that!'

'I've got to get there first,' replied the sports teacher. He knocked the bat against his pads.

'I've represented both school and county, Headmaster. It will be just like opening the batting in a championship match.'

'It will be like nothing of the kind, Mr. Smith,' the headmaster retorted. 'Nothing of the bloody kind.'

He put his hands on his hips.

'Now listen here, Ivan,' he said. 'We are depending on you and we have no time for any tomfoolery. You get this done and you get it done properly or don't you come back to my school.'

The headmaster turned to the boys.

'This is the key,' he said to Vinnie. 'Take care and good luck.'

Vinnie was not panicking. I wanted to be like him. I didn't want to be like me. Ellis hugged him.

'Take care,' she said. 'I lost you once, I'm not going to lose you again.'

Vinnie hugged his sister.

'Don't worry, Sis. We're together forever now.'

Kevin and Tim looked at us.

'We'll be right back,' Tim said.

Kevin turned to Mr. Smith.

'Don't worry, Sir,' he said. 'We'll get you to the coach in one piece.'

Mr. Smith was messing about. He was pretending to play cricket.

'Mr. Smith!' bellowed the headmaster. 'Stop prancing around and get on with what you have to do. Those things will be here in no time.'

Ivan stopped. He saw we were all watching him.

'Yes, Headmaster,' he said. 'I'm leaving now.'

Maniac

We went to the top of the tower block. We watched Vinnie, Kevin and Tim take Mr. Smith to the car park. The coach was massive. Mr. Smith looked like a shy monkey. He was all hunched over. How could he drive that thing? Vinnie looked confident. He was like Ellis. Tim and Kevin were behind them.

'Will they be alright?' I asked.

'Of course they will,' replied Ellis. 'Vinnie will make sure that Mr. Smith gets to the coach.'

Amber looked concerned. She shook her head.

'I'm not sure that Mr. Smith is really up to this challenge,' she said.

'He can't fail,' I said. 'Why would they send him if he can't do it.'

'They had to,' said Amber. 'He knows how to drive the coach.'

'In any case,' continued Abe,' it would be very hard to say 'No' to that headmaster. He's a total maniac.'

Vinnie stopped suddenly. He pulled his bow. Tim and Kevin did the same. Mr. Smith ducked. He looked like he was sitting down. A viro walked around the corner. It looked like an old man. It wobbled towards them. Another viro turned up. It was a heavy one. It was wearing overalls. It was covered in mud.

Another one appeared. It looked like a young girl. The three boys fired their bows. The old viro and the young girl fell over. The heavy one kept moving.

Mr. Smith stood up. He lifted up his bat. The viro was too close. No one could shoot now. Mr. Smith whacked the viro over the head. It roared and put up its two hands. Mr. Smith hit it again. The viro fell over. Mr. Smith didn't know what to do. Tim spoke to him. He pulled him away. Vinnie shot the viro in the head.

'That was close,' whistled Abe. 'Perhaps he's not such a liability after all.'

'Wait and see,' replied Amber. 'Wait and see.'

They reached the coach. Mr. Smith climbed inside. Vinnie followed. Tim and Kevin waited. The coach went out the car park. It went up the hill. It disappeared from view

'What was that all about?' we heard the headmaster ask as we came downstairs.

'Just a couple of strays,' said Tim. 'There doesn't seem to be any more out in front at the moment.'

Tim turned to Ellis.

'Don't worry, Ellis,' he said. 'Vinnie will be fine.'

'I know,' said Ellis. 'I'm not worried at all.'

'Well done, everyone,' said Dr. Thompson. 'Now let's get on with the next part of the plan.'

Army

We had to wait to see if Mr. Smith could do it. We went back to the top of the tower block. It gave us a better view of the cricket pitch. It took ages. We were all quiet. Baxter was asleep.

The cricket pitch had a high red brick wall around it. I could see what the headmaster wanted to do. If they could park the coach in front of the gate the viros would be stuck. They wouldn't be able to get past it. We would be safe. I saw the first of the viros coming around the corner.

They always looked so sad. They were really dirty. They had angry faces. I could see what used to be men and women, boys and girls. They were all ages. They were tripping along like ragged soldiers in a cartoon army.

'They'd better hurry up,' I said. I felt very nervous. 'We're running out of time.'

'Don't worry,' said Ellis. 'Vinnie won't let us down.'

'I'm not worried about him,' said Amber. 'It's that stupid sports teacher who bothers me.'

Amber looked at me.

'I thought you were being a right clown back at the caravan park but you're nothing compared to him.'

'I was the captain of my own army,' I replied. I felt okay to tease Amber. 'The wall wasn't my fault.'

'Here it is,' shouted Abe. 'Here comes the coach.'

The coach was going fast. It bashed into a bunch of viros. They went flying. Some of them got stuck under the coach. It stopped moving. The engine made a horrible sound.

'Oh my God,' hissed Abe. 'There are hundreds of them.'

There were hundreds of them. They looked like football crowds on television. I was terrified. The coach couldn't move. The viros were near it now. They were going to surround it. I couldn't look away. Ellis grabbed my arm.

'It's Vinnie!' she shouted. 'Vinnie is driving the coach.'

Ellis was right. Vinnie was driving. He looked really scared.

'Come on, Vinnie,' Ellis shouted. 'Come on!'

She looked at us.

'We've got to help him,' she said. 'He needs us.'

It looked bad. I didn't know how to help. How could we fight all those things? Ellis ran downstairs. We did as well.

We got downstairs. Eve and the headmaster were looking out the window.

'It's Vinnie,' shouted Ellis. 'Vinnie is driving the coach.'

'Is he?' said the headmaster. 'Then that moron Ivan must have perished.'

'We've got to help him,' said Ellis.

Ellis ran out outside and we followed.

Tim and Kevin were at the top of the steps. They were firing through the gate. Ellis went up the stairs. I heard the coach engine roar. It was going again. Tim and Kevin jumped out the way. The coach stopped by the gate. The brakes hissed. I heard the door open. The viros howled.

Swollen

Vinnie was on top of the coach. He climbed the fence. He jumped down on our side.

'Let's get out of here,' he said. His clothes were torn. His lip was swollen. We went back inside. Tim and Kevin stayed behind. Dr. Thompson was waiting in the dining hall.

'What the hell happened out there, Vinnie,' he asked. 'Where's that damn idiot Ivan?'

'He didn't make it, Sir,' said Vinnie. 'He got caught by the swarm.'

Vinnie shuddered.

'They fell upon him like dogs on a cornered fox.'

Vinnie shook his head.

'There was nothing I could do.'

'I'm sure you did the best you could,' said the headmaster gruffly. 'How did you end up driving the coach?'

Vinnie sat down. Ellis gave him a glass of water.

'You're lip looks sore,' she said. 'Are you ok?'

'Of course he's ok, child,' said the headmaster.

He was angry again.

'Now step back and let me hear what happened.'

Ellis did what he said. Eve smiled at her. Vinnie put the water down.

'There's far more of them than we thought,' he said. 'I've never seen so many.'

Vinnie ran his fingers through his hair.

'Everything seemed to be fine as we headed up the hill but it wasn't long before we hit the back end of the horde. Mr. Smith wanted to turn back but I told him that we had to keep going. The coach is a heavy old thing and by keeping the speed up we were able to carve a path through the crowds. The sound of the coach hitting those things was horrible.'

Vinnie looked very upset.

'We got to the top of the road and turned right onto the lane. The crowd was even thicker now and Mr. Smith started to panic. He was shouting about things not being cricket and that he should be safely having tea in the pavilion, not out here facing the new ball. He wasn't making much sense. I told him to keep driving.'

'We arrived at the gate and I told Mr. Smith to keep the engine running while I opened it. I shot three of them through the open door and made a dash for the gate. I got the thing unlocked but when I turned around Mr. Smith wasn't behind the wheel. At first, I thought he had leaned down to pick something up.

I ran back to the coach. The crowd was starting to surge again and so I jumped into the driver's seat and assuming that Mr. Smith was hiding at the back, I closed the door and somehow got the thing moving again. We moved forwards through the gate and that was when I saw him.'

Vinnie waited to speak again.

'Now, I don't know if he was being brave or foolish but I saw Mr. Smith in full cricket gear surrounded by the horde. He was swinging his bat and for a split second it looked like he might be making some progress but the horde just fell upon him like a mighty wave and he disappeared beneath them.

Vinnie shuddered. It sounded so horrible. I didn't want to see what he saw. Vinnie looked back at the headmaster.

'I knew that I had to keep going so I ploughed on down the fields. As I came around the copse, I hit another crowd and that was when the coach got stuck with a group of those things beneath its wheels. I kept my foot down and eventually I managed to get through. I slammed the brakes on as I got to the fence and smashed my face against the steering wheel. I felt dizzy but still got the door open and managed to climb onto the roof of the coach.'

Vinnie stopped talking. His story made all of us feel really horrible inside.

Startle

The headmaster spoke first.

'That blithering idiot! I knew he couldn't be trusted.'

Dr. Thompson turned to Vinnie.

'We owe you our lives, young man,' he said with as much grace as he could manage. 'Without your bravery and quick thinking, we would all be about to die.'

Vinnie looked at the headmaster.

'We still might be,' he said. 'The swarm is bigger than anything I have ever seen before. It is as if the whole town has decided to march upon the school.'

'Now, now,' said the headmaster looking around. 'Let's not startle the horses.'

He looked at us.

'Don't just stand there staring, children. Go and get yourselves together. We need to be ready for whatever happens next.'

'And what will that be, Headmaster?' asked Eve. 'What are we all getting ready for?'

'Good question, Mrs. Stone.'

The headmaster stood up straight.

'I'm not going to mince my words, people. The coach will only hold the horde for so long before they manage to break down the fence. Once that goes, they will be on us before we know it.'

Dr. Thompson coughed.

'I am determined to lay down my life for this school. It has been part of my family for too many years for me to walk away now. I understand that not everyone shares my heritage so we need to make plans for evacuation.'

He looked at Eve.

'Mrs. Stone, I need you to gather these children together and prepare to make good your escape. Tim, Vinnie and Kevin, you will go with them.'

The headmaster went into his office.

Eve looked petrified.

'Don't worry,' I said. 'We only have to stick together.'

Mrs. Stone smiled. She didn't look like she believed me.

'I hope you're right, Jake. I really hope you're right.'

Tim ran back inside.

'You've got to see this,' he said. 'Come quickly.'

We all ran outside. The coach was rocking. The fence was bulging.

'There must be hundreds of them all pushing against the coach,' said Vinnie. 'We haven't got a moment to lose.'

Chains

It was easy to find our things. Eve wasn't bothered but I knew we should get our bikes.

'They're so handy,' said Abe. 'We can scout ahead and everything.'

He stopped.

'Surely, this school has a bike shed? There must be loads of bikes chained up, enough for everyone.'

Mrs. Stone smiled.

'Good thinking, Abe,' she said. 'The headmaster has a set of bolt cutters in his study. We can use them to cut through any chains we might encounter.'

'I'll go,' said Vinnie. 'Tim, Kevin, give me a hand.'

Mrs. Stone turned to us.

'While they're getting the bikes, we need to gather some food and water from the kitchen. We won't be able to carry much but we should grab what we can.'

The headmaster came out of his office again. He wasn't wearing his suit. He was wearing a grey-blue uniform. He had shiny black boots. There was a hat on his head. He had a sword hanging from his belt. He saluted.

'I'm a Flight Lieutenant in the Reserve Air Force and head of the school cadets,' he said. 'It felt appropriate for making a last stand.'

Mrs. Stone smiled.

'You look absolutely splendid, Headmaster,' she said. 'A credit to the uniform.'

Eve was really kind. I thought the headmaster was going to smile. He nearly did but stopped himself.

'Thank you, Mrs. Stone,' he replied and saluted. 'You had best all be on your way.'

'Very good, Headmaster,' she replied and walked towards him.

The headmaster thought Eve was going to shake his hand. But she hugged him. He didn't know what to do. He stood all stiff until she finished.

'Take care of yourself, Roger,' she said. 'You'll be forever in my heart.'

'Thank you, Mrs.... Eve,' he stammered.

I think he wished he was a different person when Eve spoke to him like this. But he wasn't. He didn't know what to do. He was all stiff like always.

'Come along, everyone,' he said. 'You need to get going.'

He made a shooing motion with his hands.

'I want you long gone before they get here.'

'But why don't you come with us, Headmaster?' asked Vinnie. 'Your skills and experience would really help us survive.'

'You'll be fine, my boy,' said the headmaster. 'You have already shown remarkable leadership qualities. I trust you to lead everyone to safety.'

'Thank you, Headmaster,' said Vinnie. 'I won't let you down.'

We went outside. The viros were really loud. Baxter started growling.

'Mind out,' shouted Tim.

Something whooshed past my ear. An old viro fell over. Another one followed. Kevin killed it. It had been a teenage boy. I stared at it. Kevin looked at me. It felt like he knew my thoughts.

'They aren't anybody any more, Jake,' he said. 'They're not loved ones or people we know. They are just them and we need to stop them from killing us.'

'Come on,' said Vinnie. 'We had better get moving.'

The noise was really loud. It was terrible. It sounded like the world was breaking. The fence was nearly broken.

'That won't hold much longer,' said Tim.

Vinnie led us to the car park. We didn't speak. Ellis and Abe looked scared. Amber was concentrating. She was frightened as well. Baxter kept growling. Eve looked at me.

'Please tell him to be quiet,' she said. 'He's making me very nervous.'

We all stopped walking.

'Oh no,' said Vinnie.

We looked where he looked.

The car park was full of viros.

Shotgun

There was hundreds of them. They snarled and raged. They wobbled towards us.

'This swarm must have come up from the other end of town,' said Vinnie. 'There's no way through.'

'What are we going to do?' asked Ellis. She sounded scared.

'We're going back inside,' Vinnie replied.

We knew we were trapped. I thought we were going to die.

We piled all the furniture we could find against the door. We found four tables and twenty-four chairs.

Dr. Thompson came out of his office. He had a shotgun under his arm.

'Glad you could join me,' he said. 'The more the merrier.'

Vinnie smiled.

'Do you have a plan, Headmaster?' he asked.

'Indeed, I do, my boy,' he replied. 'I want everybody to make their way to the top floor of the tower block and as they do they should block every stairwell with all the furniture they can find from the classrooms.'

'What about you, Headmaster?' asked Vinnie. 'Are you coming with us?'

'I most certainly am not,' the headmaster replied. 'Someone has to be here to greet our guests when they arrive.'

He patted the shotgun. He didn't sound worried.

'Hurry up, everyone. They'll be here in a minute.'

'This way,' said Tim. We went up the stairs. We blocked the stairs with all the furniture from the classrooms.

We did the same thing on the second and third floor. We dropped the chairs over the railings. This helped block everything. We did the same on the other floors. Tim and Kevin found a couple of tall cupboards that they added to the barricades.

I got sweaty lifting chairs and throwing them. Abe was next to me.

'Will this work?' I asked.

'I have no idea,' he said, 'but at least we're not down there with that madman. If we stay up here and keep really quiet then perhaps the viros won't find us.'

'Fat chance,' said Amber as she pushed a desk over the edge. 'We are probably only delaying the inevitable but Abe is right; we are better off here than down there with him. He would get us all killed.'

'He really is crazy,' I said. 'How long will he be alive?'

Weird

It was weird sitting in the dark classroom. I was scared with those things down below looking to eat us. I think we all felt the same.

Amber and Abe were sitting close together. Ellis and Vinnie were standing by the window. He had his arms around her. I hoped she felt a little bit better. Tim and Kevin were sitting by the door with their bows. Baxter had lain down by my feet. We all waited quietly.

Eve paced backwards and forwards. She muttered to herself. She made me think of Rachel. I got worried again.

'Eve,' I said. 'Are you okay?'

She stopped muttering.

'I never should have left him alone, Jake. Roger needs me.'

Eve kept moving.

'I think that I should go back down to be with him. He needs me by his side.'

'You need to stay here with us,' whispered Tim. 'It isn't safe down there.'

'But he's all alone.'

'He is but that was his choice. He didn't want to leave the school.'

'Is that because he's crazy?' asked Amber. 'He seemed dead set on staying downstairs.'

Eve started to cry. Amber looked really sorry that she had opened her mouth. Vinnie helped Eve sit in a chair. Her tears were really big. They made me cry as well. It was all so wrong now. All I could think of was darkness. We were waiting to die. I didn't say it. I did think it.

Finally, Eve stopped crying. She pulled a handkerchief from her sleeve and gently blew her nose. She looked up.

'Sorry, Jake, I didn't mean to upset you.'

'That's alright,' I said as bravely as I could. 'It happens quite a lot.'

'That's a good thing,' said Eve. 'Crying is a sign of strength not weakness so don't ever let anyone make you feel bad about your emotions.'

'I won't,' I said.

Eve blew her nose again. She put the handkerchief back in her sleeve.

'You're probably wondering why I am so upset about the headmaster.'

Everyone nodded.

'Well,' continued Eve. 'To you he's just an eccentric old school teacher who can be very rude and very bossy. But I know a different Roger Thompson and what is happening now breaks my heart.'

She looked like she was going to cry again.

'Behind his gruff exterior is a very sad and lonely man who is facing the facts of his own mortality.'

'What do you mean, Miss?' asked Tim.

'What I mean, Tim, is that Roger has recently been diagnosed with a stage four tumour on his right lung and only has a matter of days left to live.'

Hopes

We heard the first shots fired. The shotgun boomed up the stairs. The noise made Eve jump.

'Roger needs me,' she said. 'I have to go to him.'

She headed towards the stairwell.

'I need to clear a path back down the stairs.'

Tim and Kevin raced to stop her.

'You can't,' said Tim. 'You can't go back down there.'

'You'll be killed and those things will then come and kill us as well,' said Kevin. 'You really need to stay here with us, Miss.'

'But, I can't stay here,' said Eve. 'Whatever was I thinking?'

She got very upset.

'Perhaps if I just move a couple of desks out the way I might be able to get back downstairs without the whole thing collapsing.'

'No way, Miss,' said Vinnie. 'You do that and we're all dead.'

'We're all dead, anyway,' Eve replied. 'Why wait?'

'We can't give up our hopes,' I said. I didn't sound confident.

'Hopes?' said Eve. 'What hopes? We're trapped on the fifth floor of a school tower block surrounded by bloodthirsty creatures intent on eating every single one of us. How can we hope for anything now apart from a quick death?'

'We've been in worse situations,' said Amber, 'and managed to survive.'

'But that was then,' said Eve. 'What about now?'

'If we stay quiet and don't go back downstairs the viros will eventually move on elsewhere,' Amber replied. 'Wasn't it you who said that they moved like a herd of migrating animals? Well, eventually they'll migrate somewhere else.'

'But that could be weeks, you silly girl,' said Eve. 'We can't survive up here for that long.'

Amber flushed. Abe put his hand on her arm and shook his head.

'Don't Sis,' he said.

Abe turned to Eve.

'Look,' he said. 'We get that you're upset but you really need to stop taking it out on us. We were surviving just fine before we met you and that's the way it's going to stay. We don't need your help but we do need you to keep quiet and not let the viros know where we are.'

Eve's nostrils flared.

'You little monster,' she said to Abe.

She jabbed her finger at us.

'Roger was right; you are all silly little children who have no right to be involved in the affairs of adults.'

Eve turned to the boys.

'I know Roger was very fond of you three but unless you help me get back downstairs I will have no choice but to see you in a similar way to how I now see these little degenerates.'

Vinnie stepped forward. He was angry.

'You are completely out of order, Miss. How dare you speak about my sister and her friends in that way? You should be ashamed of yourself.'

Vinnie turned to Tim and Kevin.

'Lads, help Miss Stone find somewhere to sit down in one of the classrooms. I think she needs a rest.'

Tim and Kevin stepped towards Eve. She shrugged.

'If that's how you want to play it,' she said. 'That's fine with me.'

She walked into the nearest classroom.

Magical

Tim and Kevin guarded Eve. They had to stop her from going back down the stairs. We sat in the corridor. The howl from the viros came up the stairs. It was unbelievable. I shivered. Ellis put her arm round me.

'We'll be all right, Jake. I know we will.'

I nodded. I didn't speak. I didn't want to cry again.

Vinnie sat down on the other side.

'She's right, you know,' he said.

He smiled at Ellis.

'My little sister is always right.'

'I've never been known to be wrong,' said Ellis.

She laughed. It was magical music to me. I felt flutters in my tummy. I was awkward. Abe and Amber sat down opposite us.

'Sounds noisy down there,' said Abe. 'Maybe they'll get confused and head off somewhere else.'

'Maybe,' said Amber. 'Perhaps one of us should check?'

Vinnie shook his head.

'Nobody is doing any checking,' he said. 'We're going to sit tight here and wait it out.'

He scratched his head.

'I reckon the swarm will get bored soon enough and then whatever impulse is driving them on will lead them somewhere else.'

'Here's hoping,' said Abe. 'I could really do with not having to keep hiding somewhere...'

Abe was interrupted by a crash. It was from Eve's classroom. Tim and Kevin opened the door and rushed inside. We followed.

Eve had smashed a window. She was standing on the ledge. Tim and Kevin were slowly moving towards her.

'Stay where you are,' she hissed. 'Nobody come any closer.'

Tim and Kevin stopped.

'What are you doing, Miss?' asked Vinnie.

'Since you won't let me go down the stairs, I'm going to climb down the drainpipe and find out what has happened to Roger.'

'That's crazy,' said Vinnie. 'You'll never make it.'

Eve scoffed.

'You don't think so? Just watch me.'

'Please come back inside, Miss,' said Tim. He moved ever so slightly towards her.

'Freeze, Tim. I said no one was to move.'

'Please, Eve,' I said. 'It's really dangerous for you like that.'

'You're a sweet boy, Jake, but you don't really know what you're talking about.'

'I do,' I said. 'I really do.'

Eve leaned over to grab hold of the drainpipe. She was going to fall. I could see that she was. Eve kicked off her shoes and stretched out. She grabbed the pipe with both hands. Eve was badly balanced. She moved her legs. She leaned on the pipe. I heard a crack and a scream. The pipe fell off the wall. We all heard the thud as Eve hit the ground.

Eyes

I rushed to the window. Eve had landed right in the middle of a large group of confused-looking viros. Her legs were bent in different directions. There was blood was oozing from her head. I waited to see whether she would be able to get up.

The viros stood looking at Eve as well. What were they waiting for? Then they fell hard on her like angry rain. They ripped and shredded. The viros pushed and shoved as they fought to take their turn.

It was awful. I looked away. I saw a wide viro standing at the back of the crowd. It couldn't get through. It stopped. It looked like it didn't know what to do. All the other viros were after Eve. The wide viro suddenly looked up. Our eyes met. I stood paralyzed as the viro held me in its gaze. It was like some kind of horrific connection was being made. I don't know why but I smiled.

What did the viro see when it saw me?

Was I nothing more than its next meal?

The wide viro looked back at crowd. It looked at me again. It headed back inside.

'They know we're up here,' I said to the others.

Tim rushed back to the stairwell.

'They're making their way up the stairs,' he said.

We heard the swarm forcing its way through the barricades. I edged closer and looked down. All I could see was a dangerous darkness. Baxter stood beside me. He started to growl.

'They'll be through those chairs and desks in no time,' said Vinnie.

'What are we going to do?' asked Abe. He was frightened.

Tim looked at Kevin.

'Kevin and I will stand guard here and shoot anything that we can hit. We might be able to block the stairs with bodies. The rest of you had better look for a way out of here.'

'But how?' I said. 'We're already up here. There is nowhere higher.'

I looked back towards the broken window.

'We can't climb down.'

I panicked.

'We're trapped.'

I didn't care what I said. I didn't. They could all call me a baby. Who cared? We were going to die.

Amber came back to join us.

'Follow me,' she said. 'I think I've found something.'

She showed us a small trapdoor in the ceiling.

'It must lead to the roof,' she said. 'I spotted it earlier but didn't think much about it until now.'

Ladder

The trapdoor had a small brass handle. Amber looked at Vinnie.

'Put me up on your shoulders. I'll open the door.'

The door opened. A metal ladder appeared. Amber pulled the ladder down. There was no way a viro could get up there. Amber started climbing.

'I had better check what's up here,' she said. She disappeared. I watched and waited. She came back down.

'There's a narrow walkway at the top that leads to another ladder attached to the wall. This ladder leads to another door and then out onto the roof.'

'Well done, Amber,' said Vinnie.

He looked at the rest of us.

'Gather your stuff together and let's get going.'

Tim and Kevin were firing their bows. They cheered every time they hit something. It sounded like great fun. Kevin grinned.

'You'd better get going,' he said. 'They're already on the third floor. Nothing's going to stop them now.'

'What about you,' I shouted. 'What are you going to do?'

'You guys head up the ladder. Once you're all up we'll join you.'

The ladder was wobbly. It made a creaky sound. Ellis went up through the trapdoor. Abe went next. Amber followed. Vinnie picked up Baxter.

'I'm going to push Baxter up through the hole,' he said. 'We can't leave him here.'

Vinnie pushed the dog up through the hole. He wiped his brow.

'That's one heavy dog,' he said.

It was my turn. I started to climb. Someone shouted. I turned to see Tim and Kevin. They were stopping the desks from falling.

'Hurry,' said Vinnie. 'We've run out of time.'

I climbed as quick as I could. Vinnie was behind me. Everything was happening really fast now.

'Help me! No!' someone shouted. The voice turned into a scream.

Vinnie got to the top of the ladder. I looked back down. Tim was standing there. He put his foot on the ladder.

'Come on, Tim,' I said. 'Get up here.'

Tim looked up at me. He shrugged. The viros were next to him. They were trying to grab him. Tim grabbed the ladder. He pushed it up.

'Be lucky, guys,' he said.

Tim closed his eyes. The viros got him.

Vinnie closed the trapdoor.

Roof

I stepped out on to the roof. The sky was black. It was heavy rain. This was it. The end.

Everyone was soaked. My brave friends looked helpless. Abe and Amber hugged each other. They looked like tiny children. Vinnie had his arms round Ellis. She had her head on his chest. She was crying.

Baxter was next to me. He whimpered.

Nobody said anything.

A low concrete wall was on the edge of the roof. I carefully looked over. Loads of viros moved below me. They crowded together. They howled. I remembered Mr. Bishop.

One morning he told me that the headlines were really bad. He said about grown men crying. I didn't know what he meant. The story was about football.

'Nearly apocalyptic, I'm afraid, Jake,' he said.

'Apocalyptic,' I said. 'What does that mean?'

'It'll be the end of the world if they're relegated.'

It looked like the end of the world now.

I felt a hand on my shoulder. It was Ellis.

'Don't worry,' she said. She pointed at the viros.

'Those things will never find us up here.'

'I know,' I said.

I didn't sound like me.

'No one ever will.'

