21

"So … Coral. I am sorry, I automatically assumed she was yours" Andy said to Leo as they walked the outer edge of the camp together "Not the colour you understand… I mean …you all came in and all I heard was Leo's kids."

"She was standing in the middle of the street crying. Her face covered in tears and snot and blood. At first I thought she might be turned but then she held out her arms and … well. We considered looking for her family for like… a millisecond then we kept moving. She was wet through her night diaper… still in her PJs and in bad shape. We all agree she must have run on the first night, maybe her mum or dad took her in their arms… fell somewhere in the street or placed her somewhere to hide her like behind a dumpster thinking she would come back but… well. We know the folly in thinking we can go back anywhere."

"Yeah. Poor little bugger. Still in night-time pull-ups?"

"Yeah. I think she is about three? No way to be sure, she doesn't talk that well, still baby talk and a few words here and there. I have enough nappies for another couple of weeks then… if we don't find more I guess it's a crash course in bedwetting one oh one." Leo grimaced.

"Me brother and me had plastic sheeting under our sheets. Hated it. Made us not want to pee the bed because it made the entire bed wet, nowhere else to go but to run everywhere we laid. Gross. Weird, the things you remember" Andy shook his head at the memory.

"You have a brother?"

"Had. Motorbike took him out when he was crossing the road on the way to school. He was…ah… ten? Me eight. He was holding my hand. If we had been a little faster it would have been me. I was whinging and dragging my feet. If I had dragged more it may have missed him. Me mam took a long time to get over that. She never said that she blamed me but… sometimes she looked at me like… 'why you' ya know? The Heddlu were so kind about it all, that's when I decided to become one when I grew up" Andy smiled as he added "And because Toto always said I would need a gun or something with my puny muscles if I kept picking fights."

"Toto?"

"My friend. We were three along from one other on the estate. Two little tossers. Right little pricks we were, sealing, letting down car tires… setting fire to shit. Yeah. The good old days" Andy sighed wistfully as Leo laughed.

"And you became Heddlu!"

"Yeah. See, most of them knew me. Uniform didn't matter. I could talk to them, warn them too. A lot of weird texts messages about me cat I never owned I can tell you, a lot of raids thwarted and they never knew it was me on the inside" Andy roared with mirth, as did Leo then they both slowed their walk as they sported something in the distance.

"Shit. Three? Is it three?"

"Four, one is crouched low behind the others. Christ, coming fast" Leo turned to run for the others, shouting for them to get packed up and move out, Meaters coming.

Andy stood his ground, the shotgun in his hands snapped shut and his stance sure as he took aim at the lead one, determined to do his duty if it came to it. It took several minutes that seems sooo much longer and the Meaters were now from a few miles away to maybe half a mile and closing fast.

"Panda!"

Andy dropped the muzzle and swung, running for the SUV that roared up for him to clamber into and they took off, the bikes moving ahead with Leo on the one Andy usually had. Andy grinned at the kids who all looked at him with wide eyes.

"Right. My turn. great, I thought I would never get a chance to be in here with you. Ya know… you all look like you are experts at Eye Spy but I have to warn you… I am the master!" Andy declared settling back. "Right. I spy with my little eye something beginning with….S"

"Seat?" a Little voice asked.

"Nope."

"Sky?"

"Awwwww, come on. That's not fair. Let me at least pretend to win a bit" Andy wailed "Damn it. OK. Hard now. I spy with my little eye something beginning with….S"

"Seat" the little voice repeated itself with more determination.

Andy turned to look at the little boy and said softly "Georgie. You're killing me dude."

The kids all giggled as Andy flopped back and wailed that they were picking on him now.

Behind them the Meaters reached the camp and started sniffing around the embers of the fire, the discarded dog bowl with a few scraps in it and the familiar smell of humans. Mickey sat on the bike watching them for a few moments, then turned to follow the others now assured that these things wrre not following them, confused by the scents left behind.

He wondered if they would ever be deep enough into the wilds to be rid of them.