"Yeah, me too." Anita stretched and yawned. "I'm done."
They decided the small vestry was the safest place to rest. They dragged some cushions from the pews into the room and, combined with some thick tablecloths salvaged from the wardrobe, made a surprisingly comfy bed on the floor. They pushed the desk against the door that led into the church for added peace of mind.
Some letters fluttered from the desk as they were moving it. Lisa read the address at the top of one of the pages as she picked them up.
"We're in St Giles' Church, Bubbenhall," she told Anita.
"Jesus, where's that?"
"We haven't really come very far. It's just another small village near Coventry."
"Let's hope it's not like Wolston then," Anita whinged.
Before they settled down, they washed at the sink and drank more water.
"I look as bad as I feel. Worse in fact." Lisa complained as she dried her face on the hand towel, examining herself in the mirror. She was a mess. Her hair was out of control. Wild auburn curls framed her pale, drawn face. Dark circles surrounded her bloodshot eyes. Her hands were red and scratched, the nails thick with dirt. Her clothes were splattered with grime and gore.
With their shoes on and the gun close at hand, they lay down, side by side, covering themselves with a tablecloth for comfort, rather than for warmth. Although she was exhausted, Lisa couldn't get off to sleep. She lay on her back and stared at the ceiling, the events of the past couple of days and a fog of unanswered questions swirling in her mind. Should they have stayed at the farm? Should they have headed away from the city like everyone else? Would she ever get home? Was Neil alright? Had he made it? Was he waiting for her?
Anita was already snoring softly. Lisa turned over onto her side and tried to slow her mind … tried to make it go blank … to stop the stream of questions. But then memories of the past few days began to come in. The awful face of the boy in the green hoodie coming at her on the train, the tiny kicking feet in the red car, the mob of infected in Wolston moving menacingly towards them. They became mixed up with daydreams. Neil's smiling face looking at her from the passenger seat of the X-Trail. Neil in a green hoodie, opening the front door of their home, grinning at her as he took her hand and pulled her inside.
She must have drifted off. It was completely dark when they were both awoken by a banging at the outside door. Lisa was up and awake instantly, groping for the shotgun in the dark and stumbling and tripping over the nest of cushions. She could make out Anita's silhouette as the girl slowly sat up, rubbing her eyes, confused.
"Shh! Someone's outside," Lisa whispered.
A wavering light shone into the room from the small window and a man's voice called out softly. "Are you in there?"
Lisa went over to the window. She paused before replying as assertively as she could.
"Yes, who are you?"
"I live nearby. I want to help."
"Why? How did you know we were here?"
"Just let me in, quickly! Please! It's not safe out here. Then I'll explain."
Lisa looked questioningly at Anita who shrugged.
"Please!" The man sounded frightened.
Anita got up and unbolted the door. She pushed it partly open and stood back as a tall, bulky, male form, pushed past her into the room. He closed the door and turned to face them. In the dark, all Lisa could see of his features was a crescent of perfect white teeth.
"Well, hello, Ladies. I'm Richard. Gosh, I'm not ashamed to say I was a tad nervous out there. It's bloody creepy."
"Hello." Anita sounded suspicious.
Lisa remembered she was holding the gun and raised it, so it was pointing towards his abdomen.
He took a step back. "I'm sorry. Let me explain. Look, we saw you this afternoon, at the back of our house, on the CCTV. We knew you had to come out onto the lane through the churchyard. It's the only way you could have gone. But you never appeared. We guessed you might be in here. Well, my wife did. We just wanted to make sure you were ok. To help if we could. Two women … on their own … out there." He gestured towards the closed door.
Still fuddled by sleep, Lisa and Anita just looked at him with something akin to wonder.
He continued. "By the time it got dark we were really worried. Charlie - that's my wife - insisted that I come out to look for you. I saw the vestry window was broken and … well, here I am."
Lisa lowered the gun. "Gosh, I don't know what to say. Thank you. I …we …" She didn't know where to start.
"Look!" Richard said. "It's only a short walk to our gates. Let's just get out of here and into the house. We can have a proper talk then."
Lisa looked at Anita.
The girl shrugged again. "Why not?"
Half relieved and half bemused, they left the safety of the vestry and followed Richard, guided by the swaying torchlight. He was right. It was incredibly creepy picking their way between the gravestones in the dark. The main gates to the church opened onto a small lane. Richard headed straight for an illuminated intercom on the wall ahead. He pushed the button and it crackled.
An echoing voice spoke from somewhere inside. "Is that you Richard? Did you find them?"
"Yes, it's me, and, yes, I did. You were right, as always."
"Oh! Thank God."
The intercom went off and there was a low grinding
