"Of course, I didn't, but we have the advantage. We can think and move fast. They can't do either. And we're learning all the time about what they can and can't do. About how to … kill them … if we have to."
"Head! It's gotta be the head," Anita muttered.
"You see! And besides, they seem to be kind of dormant when there's no-one about. If we're really quiet and careful, they might not even see us! We just need to be careful, Nita … quiet and careful."
"Stealth and speed."
"Yeah, stealth and speed." Lisa leaned across the coffee table and put her hand on Anita's knee. "We can do it, Nita. I know we can."
Anita nodded. "But we're gonna need to be better prepared. We can't just walk out there …" She pointed at the window. "like this!" She pointed back at Lisa's dress and leggings. "We need better gear, protective stuff, and better … weapons. I'm not being funny, but a kitchen knife and a poker aren't gonna cut it!"
Lisa nodded. "Agreed. And I've thought of that, too. We could do with backpacks to carry water and stuff."
"Food! We'll need food." Anita looked at the empty biscuit wrapper.
"Yeah! Look, over here." Lisa got up and went over to the window. She pointed at a long, low building, across a field on the other side of the canal. "It's a Garden Centre. I know it. It's on the edge of Knowle. We should be able to get a lot of what we need there."
Anita walked over to the window.
"Looks like that's our first port of call then." She hesitated and took a deep breath. "This is gonna be hard, Lisa. Really hard. We're gonna have to be strong. Dig deep."
"I once read something about how, if you choose who you want to be and choose to adopt the mindset of that person, it can help you become them. It's all about self-belief and self-fulfilling prophecies and all that. It's hard to explain."
"So, what are you saying, exactly?"
Lisa turned to face her. "I think I'm saying that, if we choose in our minds to be survivors, we can do it. We can make it happen. We can survive."
"Well, we've done it so far, so in a way we are already."
"Already what?"
"Survivors." Anita grinned at her. "We are survivors, Lisa."
Lisa nodded. "We are. We are survivors."
When they left the cottage just after 2pm, it was raining. The clouds that had been building earlier, were now thick and heavy and the sky was a solid dark grey. The gloom felt more in keeping with the death and destruction all around them than the blue skies and bright sunshine of the past couple of days. Lisa was wearing the one waterproof jacket they'd managed to salvage from the cottage. Anita had fashioned herself a rustling, temporary cape from a black bin bag.
They crossed the canal via one of the locks and, keeping as low as possible, scurried quickly across the field. They approached the garden centre from the rear, heading quickly for the cover of a long poly-tunnel that lay between them and the main building. Breathing heavily, they sheltered behind the structure as they recovered and listened for signs that anyone else was around. The rain was heavier now, pattering on the plastic of the poly-tunnel and making it hard to hear anything else.
They nodded at each other and edged towards the entrance of the tunnel, slipping inside. At the far end, a hunched figure in a green overall lifted its head and looked towards them. Both women reacted instantly. Before it could make a sound, they charged. Anita went low and hit it in the chest with her shoulder. The speed and impact of the blow knocked it onto its back. Lisa threw herself on top of it and plunged her carving knife into its eye socket. It went limp.
She stood up and straddled the body, pulling the knife out and holding it ready to strike again if it moved. It didn't. She wiped the knife on its overalls.
Anita stared at her, open-mouthed. "Jesus, I'm loving our new survivor mindset thing!"
Lisa took her inhaler out of her pocket and shook it. She looked at it before putting it back without taking a puff. She took a long slow breath.
"You ok?" Anita asked.
"It's nearly finished. I need to save it."
"What happens if it runs out?"
I don't know. It's never happened. But I don't think it'll be great. Anyway, I'm ok for now. Let's keep moving."
The big yard was laid out in a network of wooden structures laden with displays of potted plants and garden ornaments. They moved gradually closer to the building, crouching low and moving from the cover of one structure to another until they could see a set of double doors. One of the doors was open but a few feet away a couple of infected lingered by a large wheelie bin. Another green overall clad male infected was accompanied by a small female in a green polo shirt and black utility trousers. The sorry pair were facing the bin, heads down, dripping wet and barely moving.
"They're too close. We'll never make it." Anita whispered.
Lisa was looking at a small greenhouse a few metres beyond the doorway. She pointed at the chunky gravel beneath their feet. "We need to distract them. Draw them away."
"Nice!" Anita nodded and began to pick out a selection of larger, heavier stones.
Her first throw fell short. However, the mere click of stone on stone stimulated a response. Both infected instantly raised their heads and turned towards the sound but didn't move.
The second throw was better and clattered against the glass but didn't break it.
The female started to
