bus, thought we were heading toward safety. Going to get the police. All we seemed to do was draw them to us. Eventually there were dozens of them chasing the bus. Every time we thought we'd lost them, more would appear. They ran in front of us, threw themselves under the wheels..."
He trailed off.
"We've seen the same thing," Michael said. "They are drawn to noise. They...hunt by sound. Travelling in a car, well, it hasn't worked for us."
Darren nodded.
"Smart to travel by boat," he said. "I wonder what happened to the people out there who were on boats when this started. Are there ferries out there? Battleships? Holiday cruises full of people wondering what happened? Or just boats full of insane killers, floating around aimlessly."
He shrugged.
"I don't suppose it matters. Unless one of them appears in the harbour. Anyway, as I was saying, we took the bus. We ran. And then, all of a sudden, they stopped chasing us. They just fell back. It was like some forcefield had been thrown around us."
John broke the man's story with a sigh.
"So now it's forcefields . And zombies. I don't believe any of it. What is it then? God? Extra-terrestrials?"
"I said like a forcefield," Darren said, and his tone lowered, revealing just a hint of menace. "Because I don't know how else to describe it. But I do know it's got nothing to do with aliens, and I don't think God is involved either."
He stared at John.
"The girl you saw? The one tied up in the market outside?"
John's eyes narrowed.
"It's her. "
*
"Do you think there will be other kids here?"
Gwyneth smiled. Pete had been asking questions ever since Michael, John and Rachel had left the tower. She liked the boy's spirit, but she could also see the damage in his eyes. When the others were around, particularly John, the way Pete clammed up was noticeable.
Gwyneth did not like to think about the horrors the two children had been exposed to, or to dwell on how young minds might be affected by the violence that soaked the world now. Of course, the TV news had been full of dire warnings that children were becoming desensitized to murder and mayhem. Video games and movies and the internet were supposedly creating a generation of monsters.
She hadn't paid much attention to the news, other than to cluck at it disapprovingly at times. Every day was a relentless barrage of information that seemed designed to terrify everybody, and parents especially. If it wasn't paedophiles and gangs, it was videogames. As it turned out, the television had been completely oblivious to the coming apocalypse. The generation of monsters had nothing to do with children hooked on cartoon aggression. The real monsters were the generations that went before them, the ones old enough to own the news stations, and to wilfully ignore the real dangers that grew in the shadows.
"Do you think this place has a dungeon ?" Pete said in breathless excitement.
"Of course it does," Claire said. "It's a castle isn't it? It even has a moat. There's bound to be a dungeon."
Claire looked at Gwyneth for affirmation.
"I've no idea," Gwyneth said with a smile. "But it could have. It's certainly old enough. But that's just the river, not a moat. A moat would surround the whole castle. Moats are man-made."
Pete's face lit up, and for a moment he looked ready to burst with excitement.
"Can we go see it? The dungeon? And the battlements?"
Gwyneth frowned.
Michael had asked her to watch the children, but he hadn't said anything about keeping them locked up in the tower until he returned.
She glanced around the room. It was barren and featureless, just a circle of cold stone and steps leading upward. It was no wonder the children were getting restless.
"I don't know if that's a good idea, sweetheart," she said. "We should probably wait until the others return before we start exploring the place. It might not be safe for us out there. If Claire's dad comes back and finds her gone, he'll worry himself to death,
He trailed off.
"We've seen the same thing," Michael said. "They are drawn to noise. They...hunt by sound. Travelling in a car, well, it hasn't worked for us."
Darren nodded.
"Smart to travel by boat," he said. "I wonder what happened to the people out there who were on boats when this started. Are there ferries out there? Battleships? Holiday cruises full of people wondering what happened? Or just boats full of insane killers, floating around aimlessly."
He shrugged.
"I don't suppose it matters. Unless one of them appears in the harbour. Anyway, as I was saying, we took the bus. We ran. And then, all of a sudden, they stopped chasing us. They just fell back. It was like some forcefield had been thrown around us."
John broke the man's story with a sigh.
"So now it's forcefields . And zombies. I don't believe any of it. What is it then? God? Extra-terrestrials?"
"I said like a forcefield," Darren said, and his tone lowered, revealing just a hint of menace. "Because I don't know how else to describe it. But I do know it's got nothing to do with aliens, and I don't think God is involved either."
He stared at John.
"The girl you saw? The one tied up in the market outside?"
John's eyes narrowed.
"It's her. "
*
"Do you think there will be other kids here?"
Gwyneth smiled. Pete had been asking questions ever since Michael, John and Rachel had left the tower. She liked the boy's spirit, but she could also see the damage in his eyes. When the others were around, particularly John, the way Pete clammed up was noticeable.
Gwyneth did not like to think about the horrors the two children had been exposed to, or to dwell on how young minds might be affected by the violence that soaked the world now. Of course, the TV news had been full of dire warnings that children were becoming desensitized to murder and mayhem. Video games and movies and the internet were supposedly creating a generation of monsters.
She hadn't paid much attention to the news, other than to cluck at it disapprovingly at times. Every day was a relentless barrage of information that seemed designed to terrify everybody, and parents especially. If it wasn't paedophiles and gangs, it was videogames. As it turned out, the television had been completely oblivious to the coming apocalypse. The generation of monsters had nothing to do with children hooked on cartoon aggression. The real monsters were the generations that went before them, the ones old enough to own the news stations, and to wilfully ignore the real dangers that grew in the shadows.
"Do you think this place has a dungeon ?" Pete said in breathless excitement.
"Of course it does," Claire said. "It's a castle isn't it? It even has a moat. There's bound to be a dungeon."
Claire looked at Gwyneth for affirmation.
"I've no idea," Gwyneth said with a smile. "But it could have. It's certainly old enough. But that's just the river, not a moat. A moat would surround the whole castle. Moats are man-made."
Pete's face lit up, and for a moment he looked ready to burst with excitement.
"Can we go see it? The dungeon? And the battlements?"
Gwyneth frowned.
Michael had asked her to watch the children, but he hadn't said anything about keeping them locked up in the tower until he returned.
She glanced around the room. It was barren and featureless, just a circle of cold stone and steps leading upward. It was no wonder the children were getting restless.
"I don't know if that's a good idea, sweetheart," she said. "We should probably wait until the others return before we start exploring the place. It might not be safe for us out there. If Claire's dad comes back and finds her gone, he'll worry himself to death,
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