Warnings: Story contains- violence, death, mild horror, sex (male/male) and bad language. If any of this is likely to offend you, it's your choice as to whether or not you read on.


Down among the dead men

Chapter 1

The anomaly re-opening was cause for celebration; the team had been trapped for four months. Four months, twelve days and fifteen and a half hours, give or take a few minutes. Becker had been working it out only that morning. They had survived on what little they had with them and on what they could catch, but at least there was nothing trying to catch them. There were few predators, and the ones they'd seen seemed to work out pretty fast that they were lower on the food chain than humans with weapons.

"Let's move, people!" Becker called out. "We don't know how long it'll stay open for."

There was a scramble to collect everything up so as not to leave anything behind that could corrupt the timelines, quickly stuffing it all into backpacks.

"First thing I'm doing when we get back is having a shower," Luke said as he followed Dev through the anomaly. "Then, a cup of tea and a bacon butty with brown sauce on. I've been dreaming about bacon butties."

Becker nodded. After four months of eating seeds and campfire-cooked reptile and rodent, a decent meal would be heaven. So would a hot shower, he thought. And fresh clothes.

Matt flashed a suggestive smile at Becker. "I'm just looking forward to a comfy bed. Just think, no more twigs poking you in inappropriate places."

"That will be a relief," Becker agreed. "Your place or mine?"

"Yours. The bed's bigger," Matt said. "Come on; let's go home."

x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x

"I don't get it," Matt said. "There should be a whole team waiting for us. The detector must have gone off so where are they?"

"I don't know, but I'd like to get back to the ARC as soon as possible," Becker said.

He took his phone out of his pocket and switched it on. He had kept it turned off for the past four months, preserving the battery until they got back, just in case, and now he was glad that he had. Unfortunately, all he got was dead line. Becker redialled, again getting nothing. The ARC's emergency line was manned twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, yet there was no one answering.

"Okay, something's wrong," he said, putting the phone away again, glancing around at the others. "We need transport."

Maybe there was a vehicle they could borrow at the farm, he thought, leading them across the field. When they got closer, however, Becker paused.

Something wasn't right there, either.

He pulled the pistol out of his backpack and checked the ammunition clip. Four rounds left. It would have to do. Beside him, Dev and Luke did the same, Matt's gun already in his hand even though there was nothing to arm themselves against. The feel of the weapon in Becker's hands made him feel better, made the eerie silence that little bit less threatening. He would have felt even better if he'd had more ammunition, the rest having been used to hunt for food over the past four months after the batteries in the EMD's went flat, but at least it was something.

"What the hell happened?" Luke asked, his voice almost a whisper.

Matt looked around. This was definitely their time, the same place they had left all those months earlier, except that the farm now appeared to be abandoned, the door rattling in the wind and the curtains flapping at open windows. A few chickens pecked and scratched around in the yard, unconcerned, horses were still in their paddock though their hay had long since run out, the grass eaten away almost completely down to bare earth.

The large barn at the end of the yard had been blockaded with all of the farm vehicles, from tractors to pick-up trucks, backed against the doors. The low windows had been barricaded shut with planks nailed securely over them. Someone had written across the door in red spray paint, Do not open. Dead inside.

"Becks, I think we should leave," Matt said, still eyeing the door. "Now. I really have a bad feeling about this place."

Becker nodded. "You're right, and we will. We should check and make sure there's no one still here first. We don't know what happened; they could need help."

There were times when Matt cursed Becker for his do-the-right-thing attitude, and this was one of them. Still, there was no way he was letting Becker go wandering about alone.

They were approaching the orchard at the back of the farmhouse, leaving Luke and Dev to try and get them some transportation when they heard the screech of tyres and an old Land Rover came sliding to a halt before them on the dirt road. The back door was pushed open as Dev leaned out of the open window.

"Get in the car!"

Becker frowned at Dev, about to protest, but before he could speak Dev cut him off.

"Just get in the fucking car NOW! We have to go."

But Becker and Matt were looking at something behind the Land Rover, near to the barn. A man, stumbling slightly as he walked, heading right for them. Becker started toward him, calling to him, asking if he was alright but Matt grabbed the back of his jacket.

"Maybe should do as Dev says," he said quietly. "Please, Becks."

It was the please that did it and Becker stopped. As they got into the car, the man got closer and Becker caught a good look at him.

"He's hurt…"

Dev put the Land Rover in reverse and floored the accelerator, heading straight for the man, ignoring Becker's shouts for him to stop. They missed the man by inches but as they went past, Becker saw his face close up.

His face was sunken, like a starving man, his cheekbones prominent and his eyes dark-circled. All around his mouth and down the front of his torn, grubby shirt was dark and stained with red. When he opened his mouth, his lips and teeth had the same read staining, only brighter, fresher. He reached out with grubby hands as they passed him, a strange groaning sound coming from him.

"Was that… blood?" Matt asked in horror.

Dev nodded. "He was in the barn. The floor was littered with feathers and blood; I think it was a chicken at one point. When we took the Land Rover, he came out, went for us. I gave him a shot with the EMD but when I looked back minutes later he was up and coming at us again."

They all heaved a sigh of relief as they pulled out of the farm grounds and onto the road.

"I hate leaving him like that," Becker said, looking back.

"When we get back we can send help," Matt said.

In the meantime, they had to get back to the ARC. The uneasy feeling still hadn't left him and he wanted to get back as soon as possible. It was only about an hour's drive back to the ARC but that wasn't taking into account the amount of detours they were having to take. They had only gone a few miles when they found the road blocked by an accident. Three cars and a van littered the road with various degrees of damage to them. The van and one of the cars had been burned out completely, another of the cars upside down, balanced on its roof.

Dev pulled the Land Rover in to the side of the road and got out, the others following. He cautiously put a hand on the van's side panel.

"Cold. This has been here for days at least." He walked around the side of the van, and stopped in his tracks. "Oh God…"

The others were at his side in seconds, weapons in hand again, but there was nothing to shoot. Whatever had happened, it had happened a while ago. The woman was youngish, from what was left, with blonde hair now matted and stiff with dried blood. But that wasn't the part that had Becker trying to force down the instinct to run for the bushes and puke. His only consolation was that the other three looked just as green.

"It looks like she's been ripped apart by some kind of animal," Matt said, a hand over his nose as he leaned closer to look. Suddenly he stood back upright and took a couple of steps back. "Those aren't animal teeth-marks."

"And she wasn't just torn apart," Dev observed from the other side of the body. "There's quite a lot missing."

Matt turned and headed back to the Land Rover. "I don't think I want to know."

This time, when Luke suggested that they leave, no one objected, getting into the Land Rover in silence. Becker glanced across at Matt, sitting beside him in the back seats and looking more shaken than Becker had ever seen him, and reached out a hand to grasp his hand.

They took the side roads, keeping away from the main roads in the hope of avoiding any more blocks after having to go around two more abandoned, broken down cars. So far they hadn't seen another moving vehicle or person, the surrounding countryside silent and still.

"We have a problem," Dev pointed out about thirty minutes later. "We need petrol, and soon."

Becker leaned up over the front seat and looked at the fuel gauge.

"We're only about twenty miles from the ARC but we won't make it on what's left," he said. "Head into town; we can fill up there."

"Have you forgotten that we're also driving a stolen car?"

Becker hadn't, but he was eager to get back to the ARC. If they ran into problems, he'd think of something.

"Well, we need fuel. Besides, there's something really wrong here," Matt pointed out. "I think a stolen car is the least of our worries."

Becker agreed and Dev drove them into town. The outlying streets were deserted for the first few minutes, but then a woman wandered into sight. She was at the far end of the road, but even from here they could see that she had the same shuffling, stumbling gait as the man at the farm. Slowing, Dev continued toward her with the intention of going straight past but then others appeared. More people began to move toward them and as they got closer they saw their faces, saw the ragged, blood-stained clothes. Some were in street clothes, others in hospital gowns and nightclothes.

"Turn around," Becker told him. "Before they block us in."

Behind them, one or two people began to shuffle toward them out of gardens and alleyways. One man's face was a mess of rotted flesh, jaw and teeth half-exposed as he moved with surprising speed and made a grab for the Land Rover. Blood encrusted fists banged at the window, his moans and growls becoming louder, attracting the others. Within moments the Land Rover was surrounded, hands pounding on the sides.

"If the doors aren't locked, now would be a good time to do it," Dev pointed out, flinching as the window on the passenger side shattered, showering Luke with glass.

Hands reached in, grabbing for him as Luke ducked back out of reach.

"Get this bloody thing moving!" he snapped, aiming his gun into the crowd and firing. The bullet hit the woman in the chest and she staggered back, falling to the ground but not for long. It was only a few seconds before she was stumbling back to her feet. He fired again, selecting targets carefully, mindful that he was almost out of ammunition.

Taking advantage of this, Dev put the Land Rover into reverse, going straight through their attackers. Becker turned away from the window, unable to watch as the people, and they were still people no matter what it looked like, were struck by the vehicle and run down. The crowd chased them, gaining in numbers until the ones at the back seemed to decide that it was too much trouble and gave up. Once they had, the others slowed too.

"Okay, no more towns," Dev announced. He made a tyre-screeching u-turn, taking them quickly away from the chaos. "What now? We still need fuel."

Becker had a quick rummage about in the assorted junk in the back of the Land Rover and came up with a dirty piece of tubing and a jerry-can.

"Take us back to those last abandoned cars," he said. "We can siphon off whatever they've got left."

"And what if someone else thought of that before us?"

"Who? I haven't seen anyone else who doesn't look like…" Becker paused. "Like them."

They all thought about that for a moment, about the implications of that statement as they went back to the last cars they had passed.

"What if there is no one left?" Dev asked as they got out and carefully checked the area to make sure that they were alone. "The others at the ARC might be just like them, whatever they are. We could just be walking back into the lion's den, going back there."

Matt glared at Dev. "Even so, we've got to find out."

Leaving him to keep watch with Luke, Matt went to crouch beside Becker. The other man had the filler cap open and was feeding the tube into the petrol tank. Sucking hard on the other end of the tube, he put it into the jerry-can when the petrol began to come through, coughing and spitting the taste from his mouth.

"I'm just going to have a look around," he told Matt. "I won't be a minute."

Matt frowned, watching as he hurried away to one of the other cars. Moments later, he reappeared, went to the Land Rover and dug around in the back.

"What are you doing?"

Becker held up a long screwdriver. "Getting this," he replied before going back to the car. Matt took the hose out of the petrol tank and went to pour what they'd collected into the Land Rover before following Becker. The other man had popped the door open on the car and a shotgun was laid on the bonnet. Becker was looking through the glove compartments and the assorted rubbish in the foot wells.

"It was in the car," he explained when he got out again a few moments later. "I thought that since the guns are almost empty it might be useful. No shells, though."

They went back to the Land Rover, taking the back roads once more as they made for the ARC. Becker wasn't sure if he actually wanted to get there or not, almost dreading what they might find. What if there was no one else? They could be the only four people unaffected by whatever had happened.

Forty-five minutes later, they reached the outskirts of the city. They would have to go in as there was no other way to reach the ARC, but they wouldn't make it in a car. The noise from the engine seemed to attract the people, and they couldn't let themselves get surrounded again. Next time, they might not be able to get away so easily.

"We should go on foot from here," Becker suggested. "As long as we keep out of their way, we should be able to get past."

Loading up with whatever they could find as weapons, the four of them began to walk. There were a few people about, wandering, not paying them much attention as they hurried by as quietly as they could. They kept close to the buildings, hoping not to be noticed, and it worked for a while. Then, one man turned and looked right at them. His head cocked to the side, his pace hastening as he made for them, his increasing groans drawing the others in too. Turning, they set off back into the alley but their way was blocked by a man sitting, leaning, against one of the large metal bins. As they approached, he stumbled to his feet, the rat he had been eating still in his hand, blood-smeared mouth opening in a snarl.

"Not that way," Dev told them, putting out a hand to stop Luke. "This is ridiculous! They're everywhere."

"It's just two more streets," Matt said; he could see the top of the ARC building from here but they wouldn't last for two more streets without being caught, not now. He glanced around, looking for options, and smiled. "Becks; look up."

Becker did, frowning for a moment before he nodded. "Dev, Luke- this way."

x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x

The fire escape took them to the roof of the building, away from the chaos in the street below. From there it was only a matter of crossing the gaps between buildings, a short run that they could make before any of the afflicted people noticed they were there, and then climbing up the next fire escape. The people didn't seem inclined to even try and follow them up the steps, meaning that it was fairly safe.

"Well, there it is," Becker said, looking at the familiar structure that was so close yet so far away.

None of the neighbouring buildings shared roof access, and even if they could get to the roof, the fire doors couldn't be opened from the outside. They would have to get to the doors and that meant a stretch of open ground - the street and the car park - and more chance of being caught. Matt went to the opposite end of the roof, Becker followed and looked over the edge. It seemed that most of the people down below hadn't followed, losing them when they traversed the rooftops. There was a slight commotion among those in the street as a cat emerged from a broken window and tried to make a run for it across the street. Before the grubby, scruffy animal made it to the opposite building, one of the people grabbed it by the tail. The cat let out a screeching yowl and Matt looked away. The poor thing was alive when they started tearing it apart, fighting over it. He could hear its cries for another few seconds before it fell silent, leaving only the frenzied growls and groans of the people as they feasted on the raw flesh. Of all the things he'd seen so far, that sight had his hands shaking. He felt one of Becker's hands cover his, the other man looking as shaken as he felt and he knew that they were both thinking the same thing: if they got caught, was that what would happen to them?

"We don't tell the others about this," he said. "Not until we've got to safety."

Becker nodded, giving Matt's hand one last squeeze before forcing a blank expression and turning back to the others.

"It's as clear as it's going to get," he told them. "The ARC is on a separate power source so the door codes should still work, so should these." He held up his arm, the biometric security tag still around his wrist. "Ready?"

"As I'll ever be," Dev grumbled, but he followed as Matt and Becker began to climb down the fire escape ladder.

They moved as quietly and quickly as they could but once they reached open ground that was no longer possible.

The first people noticed them halfway across the car park, moving with surprising speed, jaws snapping hungrily. More and more began to join them, emerging from back alleys and buildings to join the fray.

"Keep up," Becker shouted to Luke and Dev, bringing up the rear. "Matt, get that bloody door open!"

"I'm trying!" Matt shouted back, swiping his wrist over the electronic lock again. "It's not working!" He glanced back, saw the hoard almost on their heels. This was it; there was nowhere left to run to.

x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x

The first hand reached for them as Matt typed the code into the keypad next to the door. Then the others were on them, grabbing at them even as Dev, Luke and Becker fended them off with their makeshift weapons. It didn't seem to make any difference.

"Aim for their heads!" a voice called from a window up above them, as a quick succession of gunshots rang out. The people nearest to them dropped to the ground, unmoving.

Becker looked around as the door behind them suddenly opened and a man came out. He had a pistol in his hands and a deadly aim, firing into the crowd even as other shots from above took out more of their attackers.

"We can't hold them back for long. Get inside."

The four hurried through the door, their saviour following, and only then did they get a good look at him.

"Lester?"

"Becker. Finally decided to join us I see."

Lester looked them over quickly as Abby secured the door behind them, the weapon still in his hand.

"Are you all alright?"

Glancing around at the other three, Becker saw them all nod their heads. He watched as Lester checked the clip in the pistol and refilled it from a storage box near the door before slamming it back into place. His usually suit-clad boss was dressed in the black combat trousers and boots that he and his men wore, only Lester still had his blue and white striped shirt on. Becker half expected to see a tie as well.

"Come on, the others will be waiting for you," Lester said, leading them toward the stairs. "Connor saw you across the street but before he could get word to you, to find you a clear path, you had already left the rooftop."

Becker felt a wave of relief. "Connor's here too? He's okay?"

"He was one of those covering you from upstairs," Lester told them, leading them all up to the second level offices.

The moment they walked through the door, a whirlwind dressed in yellow and orange leapt first on Matt, then on Becker. Becker picked Jess up, hugged her, and set her down on her feet again, as Abby came in behind them. Mark Andrews, Becker's second in command, came hurrying into the room with Connor, rifles on leather straps over their shoulders.

"We saw the anomaly on the detector but we had no way to warn you," Jess said, still beaming as she hugged Luke and Dev as well. "I am so glad to see you all!"

Becker greeted Connor and Mark in much the same way before Connor made his way to Lester's side. "Likewise," he said. "We weren't sure what we'd find when we got back here." He looked around at the small group of people gathered in the office. "Is this everyone who's left?"

"This is all of us," Connor told him. "At least, all of us who managed to make it back to the ARC. When the virus struck and things started getting crazy outside, we thought that the ARC would be the safest place and so we gathered here."

"Just five people?" Dev asked in disbelief.

"There were six of us," Lester said quietly. "Philip Burton."

"What happened to him?"

"He panicked," Connor told them. "He tried to run, to leave the safety of the ARC, but they caught him."

"We saw a cat in the street," Becker began with a glance toward Matt. "They got hold of it, tore it apart while it was still alive." He hadn't liked Philip but he wouldn't wish that on his worst enemy. "Tell me that didn't happen to him."

Connor shook his head. "It didn't," he said. He didn't volunteer any more explanation, just turned and left the room.

"Have you had contact with anyone outside the ARC?" Dev asked.

Abby smiled. "There is a group of thirty-five people holed up in Thames House and there are rumours of other survivors but it's hard to reach them. The only reason we can get hold of Thames House is because we've both got the emergency communications systems. We don't know how many people are still out there," she said. "The last thing we heard before the news channels stopped broadcasting was that the whole of the UK had been infected. There were outbreaks reported all over Europe and America."

Leaving Abby and Lester to tell them, Becker and Matt followed Connor. The found him sitting on the roof, leaned against one of the ventilation ducts with the rifle propped up beside him.

"Connor?" Becker sat down, Matt next to him. "Mind if we join you?"

Connor just shrugged his shoulders. "Sorry I left."

For a while, they sat in silence, just looking out over the edge of the roof, at the buildings on the skyline. When you couldn't see the street below, couldn't see the people, it was almost possible to believe that nothing had changed. Except that there were less birds flying about, none of the usual traffic noise. Even the air smelled different from the lack of exhaust fumes. Now there was a trace of something else, the sickly scent of rotting meat that the breeze brought up here caught every so often.

"I shot him," Connor said eventually. "Philip. I saw them catch him. We tried to stop him leaving but he wouldn't listen. I couldn't let him turn into one of them, or watch him get ripped apart, so I put a bullet through his head." He looked up at them then. "I've never killed anyone before. The Dead, that's different. That's survival. Philip was alive; I killed him."

"You did what you had to," Matt assured him.

"That's what James told me too," Connor said.

"What did you mean, couldn't let him turn into one of them?" Becker asked, frowning.

Connor looked confused for a moment. "That's how it transmits- Oh, you don't know, do you? It spreads through blood or saliva, if they bite or scratch you. It was a virus; some people thought it was being developed for research in a lab in London and it got released, evolving as it infected anyone who came into contact with it. It spread so fast that there was nothing anyone could do to stop it."

"But surely if it was developed in a lab, then there should have been an antidote or a vaccine?"

"We don't know. If there was an antidote, even if it did start in the lab, then no one had time to use it."

"But those people back there weren't just infected," Matt pointed out.

"No," Connor continued. "It starts with a fever which kills the person first and then it, for want of a better word, reanimates them."

Becker wasn't sure if it was worse now that he knew. He couldn't help thinking about people he'd known, his friends and family, people he'd served with in the military. What had happened to all of them? Were they mindless, flesh-eating dead things now? Had any of them survived?

x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x

That night Becker got into the makeshift bed in what had once been Lester's office. The others had already turned in, leaving a couple of people on guard even though Lester assured them that the Dead weren't able to get into the ARC. Any pretence they'd had about their relationship, professionalism in the workplace and all that, was now abandoned as he got into bed beside Matt, wanting something normal and familiar to hold onto at the moment.

"Doesn't seem real, does it?" Matt asked. "We leave and it's all normal and the next time we step through the anomaly, everything's gone to hell."

"I'm still waiting to wake up," Becker agreed. "I still can't really believe it."

"You know, it wasn't supposed to be like this," Matt told him. "This didn't happen before but something changed. The future's changed."

"What do you mean?"

"Doesn't matter," Matt told him. "I don't want to think about it any more; I just want to forget about it all for a while. Make love to me, Becks."

Becker glanced up at the wall of glass around the office, aware that they were on display for anyone who walked past, but then Matt was kissing the side of his neck and it didn't matter so much. Not that anyone would care; they had more to worry about than what he and Matt were up to.

They took their time, letting the warmth and love between them chase away the demons that the day had brought. At last they were sated, lying together in that silent office as the world fell apart around them. Becker pressed a kiss to Matt's forehead as the other man settled beside him, falling asleep. Closing his eyes, Becker tried to do the same. If tomorrow was anything like today had been, they would need to be rested for it.

x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x

The following day, Becker checked through the armoury, taking an inventory. There were still racks of EMD's but as they didn't have much of an effect on the Dead, they had been ignored. They were useful for slowing the Dead down but only for a very short time, Connor told them. What had been used were the live-ammunition weapons- pistols, rifles, shotguns.

"We have been using them sparingly," Lester told him. "But eventually, we're going to run out of ammunition. Every time we have to leave the ARC, we have to use more."

"We have no choice. Every few days we have to make a food run," Mark added. "And then there are times we need to rescue idiots who get themselves trapped outside…"

Becker smiled. "Something that we can't thank you enough for."

"The point is that sooner or later we are going to be left defenceless," Mark continued. "At the moment, we have weapons, power, water, but what happens when those things run out? We need some kind of a contingency plan."

Lester nodded. "Actually, Connor and I were discussing this last night," he said. "And he made a suggestion. What if we went through one of the anomalies? There are still some open, albeit locked, that we know lead to hospitable environments."

"But it's not just the environment, is it?" Mark pointed out. "There are numerous hazards- creatures, poisonous vegetation. We would have to start from scratch- we wouldn't even have shelter or defences."

"Believe me, I made much the same argument," Lester said. "But, as Connor pointed out, Helen Cutter managed it for eight years."

Becker could see Connor's logic in the idea; after all, they had lasted four months through the anomaly, surviving quite well. The thing that worried him was the amount of people. Four of them had survived, as had Helen on her own, but there were people here who weren't used to travelling through the anomalies.

It also brought forth one more concern.

"What happens if one of the Dead wander through one before we get there?"

Lester shook his head. "I don't know. It might not have any effect on that world at all as animals don't seem to be infected by the virus. I shall have to ask Connor," he joked. "He does seem to be the expert on the Living Dead from all of those horror movies he loved so much."

They left the armoury, walking back toward the others. Mark veered off to go and see Abby who was currently checking on the menagerie leaving just the two of them.

"How is Connor?" Becker asked. "He told us about Philip, what he'd done. He was really shaken up about it."

"Why don't you ask Connor?"

Becker smiled. "I already have, and I'm still worried about him. Forgive me for saying, Lester, but you seem to be spending a lot of time with him. I thought you might know."

For a moment, he didn't think Lester would answer, the other man walking along in silence. Then, he stopped.

"He saw them take Philip, heard his screams as they attacked him, and he did what needed to be done," Lester said. "He stays with me most nights and so I see how many nightmares he has about it. He is getting better; he's sleeping more now."

"Sometimes it just needs someone there to chase away the nightmare."

"A round about way of asking what you really want to know, Becker?" Lester teased. "I care about him, always did, but there was always the issue of my being his superior to contend with. Now, well, that no longer matters."

Becker smiled. "I wasn't asking in order to judge you. I'm just glad that he has someone, and you too. I'm not sure how I would have avoided going crazy stuck though that anomaly if I hadn't had Matt to lean on every once in a while," he said, before adding, "although don't tell him I said that."

Lester laughed. "Your secret is safe with me."

x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x

That evening, when they were all together, Mark broached the subject of leaving the ARC. Following their conversation earlier, Becker had already discussed it with Matt and he knew that Mark and Lester had spoken to Jess and Abby. He knew that some of them were scared of venturing outside, those who hadn't been out on food runs and such, but what he hadn't counted on was Abby's reaction.

"No way. We can't leave." She looked around at the others in disbelief. "If we go, the creatures in the menagerie won't survive. They'll die of starvation if we aren't here to feed them, and if the Dead get in here they'll kill them."

"Abby, we can't stay here for much longer," Lester pointed out. "I understand how attached you are to those animals, but the truth is that supplies are running out here."

"So we collect more," she said. "I'll start going out to look for them too."

Lester shook his head. "That isn't what I meant. If we are going to make a move, we need to go before what we do have in terms of fuel, weapons and food are gone. We stand a better chance if we have sufficient supplies."

"I won't just leave them here to die."

Seeing that he wasn't going to get anywhere with Abby, Lester turned to the others.

"Jess? What are your thoughts?"

"I don't know… what about everyone else who's left? The ones in Thames House," she said. "There could be others too, others we haven't managed to contact yet. And what if Danny comes back? He'll be here all alone."

She was right, Becker thought as he listened to her. They would just be leaving behind everyone who was left. Maybe there was something they could do about that, though.

"What kind of transmitting equipment do we have here?" he asked. "We could relay this location, tell anyone still alive to come here. From what I've seen so far, the Dead can't understand what we tell them so we could just broadcast it and only the survivors would come."

Connor was nodding even before he finished speaking. "There's an emergency broadcasting system in Thames House so if we can get hold of them they can do it, and we have some pretty good gear here too. It might need a few tweaks to make it work…"

"Jess, could you help him?"

The young woman nodded, looking relieved to have something that she could help with at last, and the pair began to discus how best to do what they wanted to.

"So, we need to find an anomaly that's still open but locked, where the environment on the other side is something we can survive in," Mark said.

Dev looked around at the others. "What about the one near the farmhouse? We were there for months without too many run-ins with the local wildlife."

"If it is still open, however, it isn't locked. Some of the Dead could have wandered through."

"Excuse me!" Abby folded her arms across her chest, glaring at them. "Were you not listening before? I won't just leave these creatures behind as Zombie food!"

Connor and Jess stopped talking. "Could you please not call them that?" he said, looking uncomfortable. "Not the Z word."

"Abby, we're just talking about it," Lester pointed out. "We haven't decided anything for definite, but we need to at least look at the options." He looked to Jess and Connor. "You two, keep working on a broadcasting system. If nothing else, it would be useful for contacting other survivors. Evacuation through an anomaly is a final resort and if anyone has any other ideas then we can discuss them."

x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x

The food run was less eventful than Becker had imagined. He and Matt went along with Mark and Lester on the once-familiar route, only now it was like running a gauntlet, avoiding being seen or caught. They could take a vehicle, but the Dead were attracted to the sound of an engine and so they went on foot. They were all armed, even Lester, though from what Becker had seen so far, Lester could more than adequately handle the gun. Mark and Lester had done this numerous times, making the trip to the supermarket on the outskirts of town. They had already cleared the building of dead staff members and those walkers who had found their way inside, before sealing off the entrances, all except one. This one had a staff exit and Mark had stolen the key from the office the first time they had come and so, once inside with the door locked again, they could relax.

"Load up with whatever you can carry," Lester instructed, taking the black hold-all from his shoulder and starting to stack tins of food inside. "Don't make it too heavy, just in case we have to move fast."

Matt and Becker nodded, both taking out torches and making their way through the dark shop to another aisle and loading up their bags. Ten minutes later they locked the door behind them and headed back outside. Guns at the ready, they moved silently between the abandoned cars in the car park, avoiding anything that showed signs of movement, and escaped back into the side streets. The streets were quieter, offering more places to hide should they need it, but they didn't. Mark and Lester had made this trip enough times that they knew where most of the Dead seemed to gather, drifting toward certain areas though Becker was sure they didn't know why. They reached the ARC a short time later, going in through a back door that Connor and Dev had been keeping watch over to make sure that their path was clear.

"I wish we'd thought of that door when we got here," Matt said, thinking of their foolish attempts to get into the front of the building, with a hoard of Dead things closing in.

Becker put his bag down next to the others as Jess began going through them curiously. Her face lit up as she looked in Matt's bag and she pulled out three huge bars of chocolate.

"I could kiss you!" she said, giving him a hug. "Those two won't ever bring treats back; they say it's a waste."

Matt laughed as she clutched the chocolate tight to her chest. "You do know you have to share those, don't you?"

"Aww, can't I just keep one?" she begged.

"No," Matt told her. "But you can have this instead." He held out a bar of her favourite white chocolate truffle.

Lester watched as she hugged Matt again, planting a kiss on his cheek. "Don't expect that every time," he told her. As she hurried off with her prize, he smiled. "Not exactly what we went for, but it's nice to see her smiling. I think Jess has been more scared than the rest of us. After all, we're used to the unusual and unexpected, but she isn't."

The unloaded the food into the staff room's kitchen area, the room they had been using for their meals each day. Lester had them all eating meals together at set times, in the hope that it would bring a little normality to the situation. He and Becker were just opening the first cans when Abby came rushing in, her eyes wide with fear.

"What's wrong?" Becker demanded, dropping what he was doing. The look on her face scared him; she looked as though she had seen a ghost.

"It's Luke," she said, her voice quaking slightly. "I think you ought to come with me."

-To be continued…