Tunnels 06 - Terminal

and running together, they were the only two people alive in that once-bustling department store, now filled with nothing more than the dreams of the dead inhabitants of the metropolis.
    On the landing at the top of the first flight of stairs, they paused to take stock of what they could see around them, still chuckling.
    ‘Clothes up there,’ Will said, surveying the mannequins, many of which had been knocked over by looters. ‘Want a new dress?’
    ‘Not on this trip,’ Elliott replied, as she tried to decipher the guide to the various levels on the wall. ‘Essentials only. Some new sheets and towels would be a good start.’
    ‘That’s boring,’ Will muttered under his breath, but nevertheless followed after Elliott as she climbed the stairs to the third floor.
    ‘This looks promising,’ the girl announced.
    ‘Yes. ’Ome furnishings,’ Will said in a voice which wasn’t far off how he remembered his Auntie Jean’s.
    They began to explore the different aisles, wandering pastsuites of sofas and armchairs, all in matching fabrics and arranged around tables on which were vases of very wilted flowers.
    Elliott noticed that in one of the far corners of the floor numerous Persian rugs had been stacked in piles, or hung from the walls like some sort of Eastern bazaar.
    ‘Pillows,’ Will said, pointing to another area. ‘I think we need to be over there.’
    As Elliott turned to see where he was indicating, her gaze settled on a display of dining-room furniture.
    ‘Will,’ she warned him in a voice that was barely a whisper, bringing her weapon to her shoulder.
    They edged towards the figures sitting very upright around a dust-covered table. There were four of them, dressed in sand-coloured combats, their long rifles cradled in their laps. And in front of each of them were delicate teacups of fine bone china.
    ‘Limiters,’ Elliott said.
    ‘ Dead Limiters,’ Will added, scarcely able to bring himself to look at their faces, on which their scarred skin had dried out and was drawn so tight that more than ever it resembled ancient, spalled ivory. ‘Why, of all places , would they come here to die?’ Will asked.
    Elliott shrugged. ‘Maybe they were on patrol when the virus got a grip? They were just caught out?’
    ‘Yes, but look at them,’ Will said. ‘A Limiter tea party? That’s pretty weird, isn’t it?’
    Even in the final minutes of their lives they had been perfectly controlled, choosing somewhere to take their last breaths together, drinking from teacups as they shared some water from a canteen. Their eyes were shut, and outwardly at leastthere was little sign that they been touched by the flies. Perhaps the insects were as unenthusiastic as Will was right then to venture too close.
    ‘We should snaffle their rifles and any spare ammo,’ Elliott suggested, already peering at their belt kit with interest.
    ‘Leave it for another time,’ Will suggested. ‘It’s not as if they’re going anywhere, is it?’
    But Elliott wasn’t deterred in the slightest as she went to the first of the Limiters and began to rummage through his pockets. ‘Don’t be such a wuss, Will,’ she said.

    ‘This footage was taken by a former member of D Squadron who lives just outside the town,’ Parry said, as he turned to the flickering images being projected on the flaking white paint of the wall beside him. With its vaulted roof, the dark cellar was packed with soldiers from 22 Special Air Service Regiment. ‘It’s the first film we’ve managed to get hold of showing the Armagi in action.’
    Parry stood to the side so the assembled audience could see the scene clearly, of the outskirts of a town. ‘This took place in Kent at the weekend. First we have fires breaking out around the perimeter,’ Parry said, as the camera panned wildly from one flaming building to the next. ‘They were most likely set by an advance party of Limiters to flush people out of the buildings and corral them in the centre of town … ready for the second phase.’ There were several seconds when the camera continued to track the fires as they burnt.
    ‘What are we looking for now?’ someone asked.
    ‘Watch the airspace above the town,’ Parry replied.
    The cameraman had been a little slow to notice what wasgoing on. But you really had to look for it, as not only was it dusk and the light dwindling, but the multiple objects streaking down into the middle of the town weren’t easy to spot. The winged forms were