Purification

defenceless against the comparative might of the military. All the dead had were numbers. Jennens knew they had nothing to lose.
    ‘Do it,’ he commanded.
    ‘Can’t see,’ complained Baxter, edging closer to the soldiers charged with protecting the hanger entrance. ‘Can’t see a bloody thing.’
    ‘Stay back, Jack,’ Michael warned.
    A sudden familiar noise from behind the small group of survivors startled them momentarily. Cooper span around to see that the decontamination chamber doors were opening again.
    ‘Shit,’ he cursed as a second ragged column of nervous soldiers appeared from the depths of the base. There seemed to be almost twice as many of them this time.
    ‘What’s all this about?’ asked Heath anxiously.
    ‘My guess,’ Cooper answered as he watched more than a hundred troops file past, ‘is that they’ve decided to try and clear them away. This is the showdown we’ve been promised.’
    As they emerged from the shadows into the light of the hanger the soldiers increased their speed, breaking into a gentle jog for a few paces before accelerating and sprinting out into the semi-darkness with weapons held high, ready for battle. The light outside was deteriorating rapidly. The survivors stared anxiously into the gloom as the guards at the front entrance parted to allow the re-enforcements through.
    ‘This isn’t good,’ Baxter whined, feeling his stomach churn and twist with nerves. ‘This is not at all good.’
    As the fighting outside increased in ferocity and volume, the small group of survivors again herded towards their transports. Michael climbed into the motorhome and found it already crowded with frightened people, each of them clutching the few personal belongings they’d managed to grab hold of in the sudden confusion. In the front seats Donna had taken his usual position behind the wheel.
    Emma was sitting next to her.
    ‘You two okay?’ he asked, leaning into the front cabin.
    ‘Just great,’ Donna answered through teeth clenched together with nervous anticipation. She gripped the steering wheel tightly in readiness should they suddenly need to move. Emma looked up and flashed him a momentary smile.
    ‘We’re okay,’ she said quietly. ‘Are you going to…?’
    ‘I’m going back to the others,’ he said quickly. ‘There are enough people in here already. Listen, Donna, if anything happens you just put your foot down on the fucking accelerator and get out of here.’
    ‘Be careful,’ Emma pleaded. ‘Look, why can’t you stay…?’ she began to say but he had already gone.
    There was clearly no more room in the motorhome -
    because of its more comfortable and open design many of the survivors had gravitated towards it rather than shutting themselves away in the insides of the more secure but claustrophobic prison truck. Michael found, however, that the prison truck (with Steve Armitage ready as ever behind the wheel) was also virtually full. Cooper called him over to the police van.
    ‘There are only a couple in the back here,’ he said, gesturing over his shoulder towards the back of the van.
    ‘Just make sure that either you or I get behind the wheel if we need to make a move, okay?’
    ‘Okay.’
    Breathless and red faced, Bernard Heath appeared from around the back of the van.
    ‘I’ve done a quick count of heads,’ he wheezed. ‘I think everyone’s accounted for.’
    Cooper nodded and then stood and watched and waited.
    Outside the base a wide swathe of land had been cleared.
    The majority of the soldiers and machines had now been formed into long attacking lines, ready to sweep out across the land from the bunker entrance and destroy more of the bodies. Now that the jeeps had been positioned over all but one of the vents, the main objective of the excursion had been achieved. What was happening now was largely unplanned but still relatively well coordinated. From positions just behind the advancing troops heavy artillery fired over their heads and out into the distance, relentlessly pounding the land and cutting deep into the shadowy crowds, destroying countless scores of bodies. All around momentary bursts of brilliant yellow, orange and white light pierced the monochrome gloom and, like camera flashes, illuminated the grotesque hordes for a fraction of a second at a time. Deafening explosions shook the ground and rumbled through the early evening air. The troops moved steadily forward away from the entrance to the base.
    Progress