Selena slowed the taxicab to a stop as they approached the outskirts of a small village. Dusk was falling but she was reluctant to draw attention to them by switching on the lights. She eyed the narrow street ahead nervously, the houses on either side blocking her view as the road curved sharply to the left. She was reluctant to take any unnecessary risks, but the last turn-off had been miles back and she'd hoped to find somewhere to stay for the night before dark.

Selena turned around to face her companions. Hannah was curled up on the floor of the cab under a blanket, her soft snores penetrating the eerie silence. Jim lay just as they'd left him. Unmoving. Selena wished he would snore like Hannah, make some small noise, his silent sleep made her nervous.

'Hannah,' she whispered. 'Hannah wake up.'

Hannah let out a small groan and fidgeted uncomfortably.

'Are we there?' She asked groggily.

Selena smiled ruefully. She didn't know where 'there' was, and though she'd somehow figured she'd know when she got there, after almost two hours of driving down country roads she was beginning to wonder what she'd expected to find.

'No, I just need you to be awake.'

Hannah tugged off the blanket, sat up, reached for the long plank of wood beside her and looked up at Selena.

'I'm awake.'

Selena smiled. 'Good, just kept alert and watch for any signs of movement.'

She glanced at Jim. 'Is he ok?'

Hannah reached over and put her hand on his chest. She turned back around, her eyes reflecting the anxiety in Selena's own. 'He's breathing.'

There was a short pause before Selena nodded resolutely and turned back to the wheel.

'Let's go.'

Everything was just as it should be. Lining either side of the cobbled street was a row of terrace stone houses, each with a brightly coloured front door opening straight onto the narrow pavement. Net curtains hung in most of the small windows, blocking the inside from intruding eyes, but through one Selena glimpsed flowery wallpaper and an old-fashioned wooden armchair as they slowly drove past.

There was no litter. No bottles of milk left standing on the painted doorsteps that stood gleaming and unscratched. No abandoned vehicles, no broken windows, and no bodies. Infected or not. In fact, there was nothing to indicate the infection had ever reached this pretty little village. Nothing to suggest that the infection had ever happened and that the residents of these homes weren't inside happily drinking tea and watching Coronation Street. That it hadn't all been a bad dream. Except it hadn't been a dream, and the eerie prickling sensation of the back of her neck told Selena that that there were no people inside the houses.

They reached the end of the street to find that the fifteen or so houses they had just passed were in fact the entirety of the tiny village. On their left was a small shop which the sign above the door revealed was 'Stella's Corner Store', and on their right was a stand-alone stone house. In front of them the road continued down the valley and disappeared into the hills.

Selena stopped the cab.

'We should stop here for the night,' she said, gesturing to the house on their right.

'This place is weird,' came the reply from the back. 'Its like nothing happened, but then why did everyone leave?'

Selena shrugged, pretending the village didn't give her the same peculiar feeling.

'It doesn't matter. It seems safe.'

She got out the cab and shut the door. She walked up to the front door of the house and gently turned the handle. It swung open silently. Before her was a steep wooden staircase, the top of it invisible in the dark. She pushed open the door to her left to reveal a pretty little sitting room with a large wood-burning fireplace, a thick rug and country-style settee and chair. A stone archway led to a small kitchen and dining area. A newspaper laid on the wooden table, dated from almost four weeks ago, its headline telling of rioting in all the major cities.

A large crash from above her made Selena jump. She looked to the ceiling.

'Hannah?' She called warily.

She grabbed a large ceramic bowl from the middle of the table and ran back through the room and up the stairs, her boots clunking heavily on the wooden steps. She squinted across the landing in the dark. One of the three doors leading off it stood ajar. Hannah was standing in the centre of the room. A small bed stood under the window that overlooked the rear garden, a teddy bear sat upright on its lilac blankets. The doors of a large oak wardrobe stood open, clothes spilling onto the floor from both it and the open drawers of the chest beside it.

'They left in a hurry.'

Selena looked at Hannah.

'Come on, we'll bring the stuff inside and get some rest. I'll need you to help me carry Jim.'

Selena threw away the empty tins of food and stacked their dirty plates and cutlery on the kitchen worktop, unsure why she was bothering to tidy up. She carefully negotiated her way through the dark living room and dragged her tired legs up the stairs.

A short grunt of pain came from the room at the far end of the landing. Striding quickly across she found Hannah sat on the bed next to where Jim lay, her hand pressed on his stomach.

'What are you doing?'

'It's not rigid.'

Selena looked at her bewildered.

Hannah looked up and met her eyes with an odd calmness.

'If he was bleeding inside his stomach it would go all stiff. I saw that on ER. And he felt it when I touched him. That means he's not in a coma right?'

Selena smiled gently. She walked over and sat beside Hannah. She put her arms around her and pulled her into a tight hug.

'He's going to be ok,' she said gently. 'We're all going to be ok.'

After a minute Selena pulled back. 'Now go and get some sleep.'

Hannah left the room, shutting the door behind her. Selena looked down at where Jim lay. She placed a hand on his stomach as Hannah had. He made a small noise and his face twitched slightly. Was Hannah right? God she hoped so. She wanted Jim to wake up and tell her what to do. Because what were their options? Search the cities for any uninfected people there might be out there, risking their lives in the process? Or find somewhere safe and wait? But wait for what?

Gently Selena laid down on the bed facing Jim. She stroked his soft cheek, his prickly jaw-line. She placed her hand on his bare chest and watched it slowly rise and fall. He had to be ok. They'd been through too much together for him to leave her now.

Brightness surrounded her, dispelling the remnants of a forgotten dream. She rubbed her eyes and opening them, found two large blue eyes before her, staring into her own.

'Morning sleepyhead.'