Beth watched people walking around, most of them were in military uniform. It had been years since she had seen so many unfamiliar faces. Until then she hadn’t appreciated how many people lived in the compound.

  When she tried to start walking again, she felt dizziness like vertigo. She stepped away from the wall, and the huge room seemed to spin around her. She felt as if she was falling into a vast empty blackness.

  Beth tried to turn back to the wall but it was no longer within reach. She’d walked further than she thought. There were people everywhere she looked, and they were all looking back at her.

  People stopped and muttered to one another. They pointed at her.

  ‘Don’t look at me!’ she tried to say but the only sound that came out was a frail gasp.

  She started to fall. At first, she wasn’t aware of it, but then people were coming towards her. Beth reached out for them like a drowning woman reaching for land.

  Unknown hands slipped through her fingers and then there was nothing. She saw the ground but didn’t feel it. The world turned to darkness and then there was nothing.

  There were voices. At first she couldn’t hear what they said, but when she stopped trying to focus, they became clear.

  It isn’t safe here.

  The end is coming.

  When they sky turns red the compound will burn.

  Let her rest.

  The end draws near, but rest will soon be at hand.

  A great challenge will present itself first.

  The gender of the voices wasn’t clear, but they sounded close.

  Beth tried to speak: ‘Hello? Hello is someone there.’

  Let her rest, she has a great struggle ahead.

  But not here.

  No. She cannot stay here.

  ‘Can you hear me?’ Beth said. ‘Hello, can you hear me?’

  ‘Beth?’

  This time, she recognised the voice. It had a weight and depth to it that the others had lacked.

  ‘Is she awake?’ Russell said. ‘Can she hear me?’

  ‘She should be able to hear you,’ said another voice, unfamiliar and unemotional, but different to the others.

  ‘Beth it’s me, it’s Russell.’

  She tried to reply but couldn’t.

  ‘If you can hear me squeeze my hand,’ he said.

  Beth realised that she could feel his hand in hers. She directed her fingers to move.

  ‘She did it,’ Russell said, his voice full of excitement. ‘She squeezed my hand.’

  ‘That’s good,’ the other voice said. ‘Keep talking to her.’

  ‘Beth, I don’t know how much you remember about what happened. You were in the Atrium, and you blacked out. You hit your head.’

  She squeezed his hand again, it seemed to be the only form of communication she was capable of.

  ‘You’re not badly hurt,’ he said. ‘But you’ve been unconscious for more than three hours.’

  Three hours, it seemed impossible that so much time could have passed.

  ‘You’re in the hospital,’ Russell said.

  There’s something he’s not telling her, one of the voices said.

  He’s keeping something back, another agreed.

  ‘You’re going to be okay,’ Russell said. ‘But...’ His voice trailed off and another spoke over him. Beth couldn’t make sense of the muffled words.

  See! said one of the voices.

  I told you! said another.

  Beth strained to make out what they were saying. She tried to open her eyes so she could see them.

  ‘There’s nothing to worry about,’ Russell said. ‘You just concentrate on getting better. I’ll be back to see you soon.’

  She was aware of him leaving and then she was all alone. Even the voices seemed to have left. She lay still in the darkness and an untold amount of time passed.

  Beth opened her eyes. She was in a room that she didn’t recognise, looking up at a white panelled ceiling. There was a constant, steady beeping sound that became quicker when she considered the possibility that it might have something to do with her.

  ‘Beth?’

  Colette appeared above her, looking down with concern. Beth tried to smile, to reassure her, but all she could manage was to blink.

  ‘We were so worried about you,’ Colette said.

  Beth felt Colette take her hand. Whereas earlier (how much earlier?) she had been able to squeeze Russell’s back, now she didn’t have the strength.

  ‘What happened?’ Colette said.

  ‘I don’t know,’ Beth said. She felt weak and confused. She wasn’t sure what Colette was talking about.

  ‘That’s enough now,’ said a strangers voice from the back of the room. Beth strained to see who was talking but couldn’t see anyone until the old woman appeared beside Colette. She was wearing a nurse uniform. ‘She needs to rest now.’

  ‘But she just woke up!’ Colette said.

  ‘It’s okay Coll,’ Beth said and found the strength to squeeze her friend’s hand at last. ‘We’ll talk later.’

  Colette nodded, let go of Beth’s hand and walked to the door. ‘I’ll be right outside if you need anything,’ she said.

  ‘You don’t have to—‘

  ‘I’ll be right outside,’ Colette said and then she was gone.

  ‘You need to get some rest,’ the nurse said. When she smiled, Beth could see that he was missing three top front teeth. ‘The doctor will be in to see you soon.’

  Beth managed to nod, but she could already feel herself drifting back to the dark place. She struggled to hold on, there was a question she needed to ask before she went: ‘Where’s Dawn?’

  It might have been her imagination but the nurse seemed to hesitate before she answered. ‘It’s time to rest,’ she said and then she turned and left the room.

  Beth tried to stay awake to consider what the nurse had said, but she was still weak. She couldn’t keep her eyes open. A moment later she was gone.

  Dawn wasn’t there the next time she woke up either. Russell and Colette sat by her bed and the moment she opened her eyes they grabbed her hands.

  She felt stronger now and smiled at them each in turn, but she had something else on her mind. It had plagued her dreams and she woke convinced that they were keeping the truth from her.

  ‘Where’s Dawn?’ she said.

  Colette squeezed her right hand but it wasn’t a comforting gesture.

  ‘I don’t want you to worry,’ Russell said.

  ‘Just tell me,’ Beth said.

  Russell looked at Colette as if he was deferring to her.

  ‘Tell me!’ Beth said, she practically screamed.

  Russell sighed. ‘We don’t know.’

  For a moment she was speechless.

  ‘There’s something else,’ Colette said.

  Russell shot her an was unmistakably hostile glance.

  ‘Toby’s dead,’ Colette finished.

  Beth’s mouth opened and closed, but her brain seemed unwilling to provide it with anything to say. Perhaps this was the confusion that the nurse had been worried about.

  ‘Who’s Toby?’ she said. She couldn’t picture his face but, she realised, there must be some relevance if they were telling her.

  ‘He’s one of the lads from the convoy,’ Russell said. ‘Very friendly with your Dawn.’

  She shook her head. Why was he telling her this?

  ‘A little bit too friendly,’ he added.

  ‘What are you trying to say?’ Beth said. She thought she knew, but she couldn’t trust the logic of her own thoughts.

  ‘Maybe it’s just a coincidence,’ Russell said.

  ‘What is?’ Beth said.

  ‘My lad turning up dead and your sister going missing. They may not be related.’

  ‘But you think they are?’

  He replied with a nod, and it was all Beth needed.

  ‘I think you should leave,’ Beth said.

  ‘Beth…’ Colette said but didn’t appear to have anything to follow it up with.

  ‘Come on Colette,’ Russell said. He slid his chair back, and it scraped across the floor. He stood up. ‘She needs to rest.’

  Colette looked at her, a deep sense of something in her expression, which Beth couldn’t understand, or didn’t want to. She watched them both turn towards the door.

  ‘You’re wrong,’ she said.

  They stopped. She could see Colette shaking as if she was crying but there was no sound.

  ‘Dawn wouldn’t kill someone.’

  ‘I hope you’re right,’ Russell said. He didn’t turn around to look at her. He held the door open and let Colette out first. The door fell closed behind them and then she was alone again.

  Beth tried to stay in bed but she couldn’t relax. It was unsurprising, really, she told herself. Dawn was missing and she was probably the only one in the compound who didn’t think her sister was a murderer.

  The clothes that she’d left her room in were neatly folded on a chair in the corner. She removed the paper thin gown they had put her in (why? had there been tests?) and quickly got dressed. Then she went to the door, and she was sure that it would be locked. But the handle turned, and the door opened.

  Outside there was a corridor, drawn curtains that hid other beds, but no sounds to make her think they were occupied. Beth walked slowly, not yet trusting her legs to keep her upright. Around a corner, she found a reception desk that wasn’t being used.

  It looked just like any hospital ward that she had been in before the zombies. There were pictures on the walls, thank you cards and posters advising people to wash their hands to prevent the spread of infection. But there weren’t any people.

  Beth looked both ways along the corridor. Right led to more beds, left to a set of double doors. She walked past the reception desk and turned left. The doors couldn’t have been more than a hundred metres in front of her, and likely fewer than fifty, but it felt like a marathon. She had to stop three times before she reached them.

  ‘Can I help you?’ said a cold voice from behind.

  Beth froze.

  ‘You shouldn’t be out of bed. You aren’t well.’

  She turned, slowly, and relaxed a little when she saw the nurse coming towards her.

  ‘You need to rest,’ the nurse said.

  ‘I’m fine,’ Beth said. ‘I need to go.’

  Without asking permission the nurse put a hand on her forehead.

  ‘You’ve still got a temperature.’

  Beth pushed the nurse away, but didn’t have the strength to push her far.

  ‘I’m trying to help you,’ the nurse said.

  ‘I don’t need help,’ Beth said. ‘I have to find my sister.’

  ‘Ah yes, your sister.’

  Beth turned away from the nurse and continued towards the door, expecting at any moment to feel the nurses hand on her arm, but she didn’t. She pushed open the doors and left the ward.

  The ward was on the fifth floor of the building and, of course, the lift didn’t work. Beth held the handrail firmly and made her way down the stairs.

  The journey was exhausting. She had to keep stopping to catch her breath and, on the second floor, she had to sit to rest her legs for a while. But it wasn’t wasted time.

  She had to assume that people had been looking for Dawn, but that they hadn’t been able to find her. They had the advantage of knowing the compound better than Beth did, but she knew her sister and they didn’t.

  Eventually, she reached the ground floor and pushed open another door. She found herself nearly overwhelmed by the number of people who were walking back and forth. Many of them were dressed in lab coats and carrying notebooks. None of them looked at her as she slipped in amongst them.

  To her right there were more people, desks and office furniture. Most of the people were walking in that direction so it was a matter of a heartbeat to decide that she should be going the other way.

  She kept close to the wall, reaching out to touch it from time to time, like a child learning to walk. She stopped to let other people past, but no one seemed to recognise her and no one tried to stop her.

  When she reached the final set of doors, she was out of breath and her legs ached, but she was determined not to stop again. She was too close now and soon she would be back with Dawn, and they could decide what they were going to do next. No matter what her sister had done, it seemed clear that they couldn’t stay here. However hard life outside of the compound had been, at least they would be free.

  The sun was shining and the sky was a clear, crisp blue, but Beth shivered as a bitter wind went through her. She hadn’t dressed for outside and her thin t-shirt left her arms exposed.

  If they had looked for Dawn already, then they would have gone to the most obvious places: the caravans in the convoy, her room, Beth’s room, the building where they had found Toby. But they hadn’t found her because they didn’t know her like Beth did.

  Beth walked towards the nearest building. She pushed the doors, but they were locked. The building was a squat concrete block with dark windows on all sides.

  Huddling against the door, Beth rubbed her arms and tried to warm up. She began to think that the nurse had been right. She was exhausted. She stifled a yawn and resisted the urge to slide to the floor and close her eyes.

  In the distance she could hear engines and what she thought was probably people talking. She could see the walls that surrounded the compound and kept the people within safe. They had never seemed more daunting and scary. Even if she managed to find Dawn, she thought, would they really be able to escape?

  She might have given up then and gone back to the hospital but, before she could make that decision, she heard a cow mooing. It was distant and she might have been wrong, but then she heard it again.

  With a heave, Beth pushed herself away from the squat little building and started to walk again. There was nothing to support her now, and she felt unsteady as she stumbled over her feet, but she kept going. No matter how long it took, she thought, she would find the animals and that was where she would find her sister.

  The farmyard was disappointing. There was a wooden barn that looked like something out of a nativity scene. Dry and blackened hay was strewn across the floor and the animals cowered together against a fence that didn’t look like it would be capable of holding them back if they decided to make a break for it.

  She walked along the fence and a cow watched her with incurious eyes. The animals were still alive, which suggested there was someone looking after them, but it clearly wasn’t a full-time job. The barn was open on one side, but there still appeared to be plenty of places to hide. It was easy to imagine her sister behind one of the mouldy hay bales but, if she was there, she was still hiding.

  There was a gate near the barn. Beth opened it and walked in amongst the animals. They shifted to look at her but didn’t come any closer. Either they had recently been fed or they had learned to fear the humans that usually walked amongst them. Beth ignored the creatures, they weren’t what she had come to see.

  The barn was two stories tall and as dilapidated as the animals. Red paint peeled off the exposed sides, and it creaked in the wind. She walked towards the ladder that was standing in the middle.

  ‘Dawn?’ she said softly. ‘Dawn it’s me. It’s Beth.’

  There was no reply, but the barn didn’t feel empty.

  At the top of the ladder, she stopped and looked around. There were plenty of places that her sister could be hiding.

  ‘Dawn are you here?’ she said.

  No reply.

  She walked towards the nearest bale of hay, but Dawn wasn’t there. She sat down. The walking had taken its toll on her and she needed to rest. If Dawn wasn’t there, she thought, then perhaps she would just lay down and rest her eyes for a moment or two.

  A shuffling sound at the other end of the barn caught her attention and she turned towards it. She could see movement in the dark recesses of the barn but could not tell who was there.

  ‘Dawn is that you?’ she said.

  A shape emerged, dark and malformed.

  ‘I’m not mad at you,’ Beth said. ‘Whatever you did, it doesn’t matter to me.’

  The shape came closer, grew bigger and more clear. After a few more steps she could see that it was Dawn, and she knew, in that moment, that she really had killed Toby.

  Dawn appeared from the shadows and came towards her without speaking. Beth stood up and opened her arms to her sister. She was crying, and Beth held her. Neither of them said a word.

  Dawn cried for at least ten minutes. She cried with her face buried against Beth’s chest, her whole body convulsing as if she was having a fit. Beth did her best to calm her sister, stroking her hair and making comforting sounds, but she was keenly aware that it wasn’t working.

  Eventually, Dawn calmed down enough to speak. ‘I didn’t want to do it,’ she said.

  ‘It’s okay,’ Beth said. ‘It’s going to be okay Dawn.’

  Dawn shook her head, and Beth thought that she was going to lose control again but, instead, she wiped her eyes and sat down on the bale of hay.

  Beth sat down beside her and took her hands.

  ‘Do you want to tell me what happened?’ she said.

  ‘It’s my fault,’ Dawn said. She tried to pull her hands away, but Beth wouldn’t let go.

  ‘Tell me what happened.’

  Dawn sniffed, and Beth let her have a hand back to wipe her eyes.

  ‘It’s going to be okay,’ Beth said. ‘We’ll get out of here.’

  Dawn nodded. The idea of leaving the compound seemed to make her feel better.

  ‘Can you tell me what happened?’ Beth said.

  ‘He wanted to…’ she trailed off, as if she found it too difficult to talk, but Beth needed to know what had happened.

  ‘I want to help Dawn, but I need to know what happened first.’

  Dawn nodded. ‘When we were in the convoy he kissed me.’

  Beth listened and forced herself to remain silent while Dawn told her how Toby had groomed her and forced her to have sex. They had called that rape once, but there were no longer courts or prisons to pass judgement over people. By the time Dawn had finished she was crying again and Beth wasn’t far from doing the same.

 

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