Purification

Bigginford we’re going to have to get pretty close to the centre of Rowley.’
    ‘What does pretty close mean?’ Armitage demanded.
    ‘Like I said, it’s going to be about balancing safety with risk. If we bypass Rowley then you’re right, we’ll probably avoid a whole load of potential trouble spots. The problem is, we’ll also end up adding a hell of a lot of distance and time onto the length of the journey. Obviously we’ll be in a better position to make a final decision when we’re nearer to getting there, but personally my opinion is that we’ll be better off following this route. I’d rather take a chance and take the quicker option than risk running out of fuel because we’ve driven further than we needed to. We could end up stuck out in the middle of nowhere.’
    ‘I don’t like it,’ Baxter complained.
    ‘No-one likes any of this,’ Cooper sighed, ‘so let’s just see how the land lies when we get there, okay? Chances are no-one’s been anywhere near Rowley for weeks. Most of the bodies will probably have drifted away. We’ve probably got as much chance finding them in the middle of a field than finding them waiting in the cities.’
    ‘Suppose.’
    Guest seized on a momentary lull in the conversation to start talking again.
    ‘Cooper’s right, Rowley might be a problem, but once we’re through it should pretty much be plain sailing until we get to the airfield.’
    ‘Plain sailing?’ Armitage grunted. ‘Bloody hell, nothing’s been plain sailing for months now.’
    ‘Did Lawrence tell you much about the airfield?’ Baxter asked.
    ‘He said it was a private airfield,’ Cooper replied. ‘He said it was pretty small with one runway and a few buildings. There’s supposed to be a fence running all the way around to keep trespassers and plane-spotters out.’
    ‘Does it keep bodies out though?’ he mumbled.
    ‘At the moment,’ Cooper answered.
    ‘What do you mean by that?’
    ‘Chances are they’ve got the same kind of problems we had at the base and back in the city.’
    ‘Such
    as?’
    ‘By now I expect they’ve been surrounded by hundreds of bodies. Probably thousands of them.’
    Sitting anxiously and waiting to leave, the sudden strength and resilience which the survivors had somehow managed to build up during the last few hours had now all but disappeared.
    Their sudden flight from the military base yesterday had been a terrifying and directionless descent into the night.
    Since stopping at the warehouse, however, and now that they had made contact with Lawrence and Chase, their situation seemed to have steadily improved. With many bodies appearing to have been drawn towards the underground bunker over recent days and weeks leaving the surrounding area relatively clear, and with the airborne survivors unexpectedly presenting the group with a possible escape route from their nightmare, their fortunes seemed to have changed for the better. Crammed into their vehicles again, though, and faced with the prospect of lurching headlong into the unknown once more, every last person - ex-military and civilian alike - felt sick to the stomach with nerves.
    Cooper, Donna and Armitage started their engines and slowly moved towards the exit. Once all three drivers had given a signal to each other confirming they were ready to leave, Michael undid the latch and let the tall gate swing silently open. No longer restrained, noxious cadavers immediately began to lurch and spill towards him, crisscrossing in front of him on unsteady feet. He sprinted the short distance to the back of the personnel carrier, pushing several of them aside, climbed into the vehicle and slammed the door shut. Cooper began to move slowly forward, leading the convoy back out into the dead world.

16
    A welcome combination of good fortune and sensible planning allowed the three vehicles to reach the first section of motorway less than half an hour after leaving the desolate industrial estate. It was almost half-past ten when they joined the main road, and the earlier bright morning sun had long since been swallowed up and hidden by impenetrable dark cloud. A light mist had descended, bringing with it dull gloom and a fine, persistent rain.
    Peter Guest, acting as Cooper’s navigator, had again become withdrawn and quiet, reverting to his more familiar demeanour and losing the sudden confidence, energy and interest he had somehow managed to previously find. No-one was surprised. Cooper had anticipated