Aftermath

the dead to hear him. “It’d probably be for the best.”
    He was about to talk to Lorna again but it was too late, she was already gone. He watched her disappear back in the direction from which they’d just come, and by the sounds of things she was opening both doors they’d come through too, clearing the way back out to the gift shop. She quickly returned to the chamber where the others 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