There was none of the loud moaning and ferocious growling from earlier, just an occasional low groan or snuffle. Their bodies were in various states of terrible destruction. Bloodied and torn. Gaping wounds and tattered flesh. Their skin was the same grey-green colour as the boy's. They all had the same cloudy, unfocused eyes.
Lisa and Anita looked at each other. No words were needed to communicate their fear, revulsion and confusion. Anita indicated towards the other carriage and Lisa nodded. Moving slowly, they crossed to the other closed door and looked inside. The scene was the same. A throng of wretched, ruined souls, ambling about amidst the detritus of a frenzied, violent attack.
They went to the open door and stood for a moment, breathing in the fresh air. They were in the countryside. The train was high on an embankment, and they could see for a good distance. Across a recently harvested field (so similar to the one on the toilet wall that Lisa thought again that she might be dreaming) was another field and, beyond that, a cluster of farm buildings.
The view from the open door on the other side was similar - endless rolling fields dotted with occasional clusters of trees and small groups of buildings.
"That farm looks closest." Anita pointed to the first farm. "It's only a couple of miles away. Let's go." She prepared to jump down from the train.
Lisa grabbed her sleeve. "Hang on! What are you doing? What about Brian and the … others?"
"What others?"
"The ones that were outside."
"Gone. So?"
"But they could be out there."
"Can you see them? Even if they are, we can outrun them. Easy."
"We might be able to, but what about him?" Lisa nodded back towards the toilet.
"What about him?"
"We can't just leave him."
"Why not? He'll slow us down."
"Anita. Come on. Please."
The girl rolled her eyes. "Ok, but he's got to come with us. We can't stay here."
Brian looked at them expectantly, as they slipped back into the toilet. Lisa described what they had seen and told him that that they were going to leave. Head for the farm. Where they could get help.
"Is it safe?" Brian asked.
"I don't know." Lisa was honest.
"Then why not stay here until help arrives?" Brian whined.
Anita's impatience was building. "It's not coming. That's the point. We don't have a choice. We need to go. Now."
"Brian." Lisa tried to reassure him. "If anyone was coming, they would be here by now. Don't you think?"
"Well … " he glanced towards the door.
"It's going to be dark soon," Lisa continued. She checked her watch. "It's almost seven already. I'm sure you don't want to be here in the dark. I know I don't. The farm is only a couple of miles away. We can be there in half an hour."
"Less if we run," Anita added.
"I'm just not sure … " Brian shook his head.
"Look, I know you're scared. I'm scared. We're all scared. But it's the right thing to do. The safest thing to do." Lisa pleaded with him. "This train is full of … of … them. We have to get away."
Brian sighed deeply. "Ok, ok. You're determined to go, and I can't stay here on my own. What choice do I have?"
"Good man!" Anita took his arm and guided him toward the door.
"Let's do this!" Anita jumped down from the train. She looked from side to side. "It's fine. Come down."
Lisa dropped down beside her and squatted as she looked around. Apart from a few bloodstains on the ground and some bloody footprints leading down the embankment, Anita was right. It was fine. It was more than fine. It was a massive relief to be off the train. Conscious of the relatively insubstantial glass doors that contained the occupants of the carriages behind them, and the likelihood that every other carriage on the train contained a similar threat, again, she fought the impulse to sprint down the embankment and across the fields as fast as she could. Instead, she waited patiently as Brian stiffly eased himself down beside them. He was trembling.
Anita was not as patient. She was striding away from the train. "Let's go."
Lisa looked at the expanse of open space between them and the farm. "Before we go …" she started.
"Oh, for God's sake." Anita rolled her eyes again.
"It's going to be a long walk and, once we leave the cover of the train, we'll be very … exposed," Lisa said.
"Come on. Let's get out of here. We're wasting time."
"No really, we're so close to the driver's cab. Why don't we check it for anything … useful? For … protection." Lisa couldn't bring herself to say the word weapon, but that was what she was thinking. That conjured up some implications and mental images that she wasn't quite ready to embrace.
Anita looked at the farm, then along the carriage towards the front of the train. It was close.
"Yeah, yeah. Good call. Maybe I'd feel better with something solid in my hand. There might even be a phone or something in there."
Brian pressed the palms of his hands together with his forefingers touching his lips in a praying gesture.
"It's ok. We won't be long." Lisa rubbed his arm.
"You can keep watch," Anita winked.
Lisa led the way as the women moved silently along the side of the train. Brian cowered close to the open doorway, glancing anxiously from side to side.
"Hurry up, please," he called after them.
About two-thirds of the way along the carriage was another open door. It was
