Aftermath

were waiting and snatched Caron’s torch. She took Michelle Bright’s corpse by the arm and gently led it up the slope into the other chamber. The dead girl walked slowly forward, then stopped. Lorna let go and pushed her forward again. She began to walk toward a dull patch of light in the distance where Lorna had left her torch, following an unsteady queue of other corpses which had already started to move. She left Caron’s torch on the ground too, hoping to help guide the dead along.

Following Lorna’s lead, Howard, Harte, and Kieran began to do the same, pushing lethargic bodies up toward the dull lights. They followed each other out of the caverns in a bizarre and surreal parade; a horrendously overdue funeral procession.

“Let’s get moving,” Michael said, pushing still more of the creatures away, ready to go deeper into the darkness.

“Wait,” Caron said, holding on to his arm. “What did you mean about perspective just now?”

“All those thousands of bodies outside this place,” he explained, continuing to watch the dead march. “We assumed all they wanted to do was attack.”

“That’s because they did. We all saw more than enough of that. Nasty, vicious things.”

“All I’m saying is, that might well be what they did do, but the real question is, why did they do it? Why did they constantly herd around us in massive numbers? We assumed it was because they saw us as a threat to them and they wanted us dead, but like I said, it’s all about perspective. Having seen what I’ve seen in here today, I think we might have been misreading the situation. They wanted our help, that’s why they wouldn’t leave us alone.”

“That’s preposterous,” she scoffed.

“Is it? I’m not sure. They wanted our help, but they couldn’t control themselves sufficiently to make that clear. We misread their actions as being all about anger and hate. Maybe they were just scared? I think they knew a lot more about who they were and what they’d become than we gave them credit for. I think they wanted our help, they just didn’t have any way of showing it.”

43

“What do you mean, you can’t find them?” Jas demanded. Ainsworth was standing in front of him, his face aching, his mouth dry with nerves, not knowing what else he was supposed to say.

“We’ve checked everywhere … all the caravans, all the rooms. We’ve been twice around the ruins. They’ve disappeared.”

“They can’t have. Look again.”

“But Jas, it’s pitch black, mate. We’ve blocked the gates. Let’s wait until morning. They’re probably hiding around that well Jackson was working on, or somewhere near the toilets. If we wait until the sun’s up we’ll have a better chance of—”

“Keep looking,” Jas ordered. Ainsworth just stared at him. What the fuck is wrong with you? He wanted to ask the question out loud but couldn’t. To his relief, Will Bayliss and Paul Field came running over. Hopefully they’d found something.

“Mel found a climbing rope,” Bayliss said, breathless.

“Where?”

“Hanging over the wall, over by the shit-pit.”

“So is that how they got out?”

“I doubt it. It’s too high.”

“Where the hell did they get a climbing rope from?”

“There was other stuff as well,” field continued. “Harnesses, belts, stuff like that.”

“So what are you saying?”

Field shrugged his shoulders. It was starting to make sense to Ainsworth.

“That’s not how they got out,” he said. “It’s how they got in. Someone must have come in over the wall, then tried to get them all together in one truck and get them out.”

“Those fuckers from the island? I thought they’d have long gone.”

“The helicopter was back earlier, don’t forget,” Bayliss said. “It must have been them.”

“With a little help,” Ainsworth said.

“Your girlfriend Lorna?” Jas sneered. Ainsworth didn’t bite.

“I was thinking more about your friend Harte.”

“Well, at least we know where they’ll be heading,” Jas continued. “They’ll be on their way to Chadwick. We can cut them off.”

“What’s the point?” Bayliss said.

“What?”

“Why bother?”

“Because they’ve got our supplies.”

“Then we’ll get more.”

“Are you fucking stupid? I thought he was the dumb one,” Jas said, pointing at Ainsworth, who stared back at him, doing all he could to stop his bottom lip from quivering. All he could think about was Lorna, and how empty and foolish he felt at having let her take advantage of him like that.

But the worst part of all, he thought sadly, is that I’d let it happen again in a heartbeat. I’d give anything to be close to her like that again. All the pain and the grief I’ve had since from Jas was worth it for that one kiss …

Melanie jogged over.

“Can’t find any of them,” she said. “They’ve all cleared out. Looks like Kieran’s gone too.”

“Bastard,” Jas yelled, kicking the ground with frustration. “That little shit has sold me out.”

“But if they didn’t get out over the wall,” Bayliss said, “and we know they didn’t all get out in the truck, then they must still be here.”

“Check the caravans again,” Jas ordered.

“What for? We’ve checked them already.”

“Just fucking do it!”

They grudgingly headed over to the caravans and split up, happy to put some distance between themselves and Jas. Ainsworth checked the caravan he’d been guarding once more, staring at the bed where Lorna had been lying and wishing he could turn the clock back so that none of this had happened. And not just tonight, either. He wanted to go further back … back to when he’d first arrived here. Maybe he’d have chosen his friends differently if he had his time again.

“Anything?” Jas said, standing in the doorway behind him.

“Nothing,” he replied dejectedly, trying to get back out. Jas was blocking the door, and Ainsworth was relieved when he moved on to the next caravan. He sat down on the step, held his head in his hands, and listened as J yelled at the others when they also reported back that they’d found nothing.

44

Michael led the others deeper into the cavernous spaces underground. After several minutes of slow, shuffling movement, all of those corpses which still had a degree of mobility had been herded back in the direction from which the living had just come, back toward the gift shop and the interior of the castle, leaving just those which could no longer move.

The progress of Michael and the rest of the small group was painfully slow, such was the level of decay which had suddenly begun to accumulate around them. The farther they traveled from the center of the castle, the fewer complete bodies they found. With each footstep Michael took, it seemed, so the condition of the dead around him was rapidly worsening. It was now like the mile or so of compacted decay he’d earlier had to walk through with Harry and Harte, although this was somehow worse because of the increasingly close confines and the complete absence of fresh air. Caron had vomited as a result of the inescapable stench. She’d seen more than her fair share