It was eerie even now to see a town deserted.

Part of them still expected to see someone walk round the corner.

A woman with a pram, a man with a dog.

No one came.

By the looks of things, no one was ever going to come.

They smashed their way into a few of the houses. They had been cleared of food goods and most useful things – by the occupants, presumably, since there were no signs of someone breaking in before them – but the water was still running and there were clothes in some of the bedrooms still.

"People lived here," she said, pulling a red dress from an oak wardrobe.

"You'd look terrible in that," he replied.