Outbreak The Zombie Apocalypse (UK Edition) by Craig Jones

About what happened. If you feel it would be any help.’
    ‘I did need help. You weren’t here.’
    ‘Fine’, he said, stepping in closer to me. ‘But a time will come when you will need someone. I’ve seen it before.’ 
    He handed me a card with a hand written phone number on the back. 
    I shrugged, opened the door and called for everyone to come into the lounge. I didn’t offer Mitchell a seat. Nick was the last to arrive and took his place in the same spot Danny had sat in when he had last been in this room. 
    ‘Is this everyone?’ asked the Captain.
    ‘No,’ replied Nick. ‘My wife, Jenny, she’s going to stay upstairs with the children. They’ve seen and heard enough.’
    ‘I understand, sir. And some of what I have to say is a little sensitive. You will of course bring her up to speed?’
    Nick nodded.
    ‘At this point in time, we know that two hundred and seventy two residents of Usk itself have lost their lives. If our figures are correct, that’s over ten per cent of the town. From what I have ascertained, Usk is a tight-knit community. Someone you know, possibly someone you know well or even a family member, may have perished. Not all of those people were killed because of the epidemic, not all of them became infected. There have been a number of automotive accidents, several domestic incidents and I am sorry to report, a few suicides. A lot of people left. Most who stayed locked themselves in basements, in lofts, anywhere that they knew to be a secure and safe hiding place.’
    My thoughts returned to Missus Pound. She had surely been safe before she decided to be a hero.
    ‘On a bigger scale, it is estimated that there have been around one million casualties across Wales, Scotland and England. The exact figure will of course be determined over the coming weeks and, together with our international partners, we were able to ensure, completely, that the epidemic has not spread outside of Britain.’
    He paused. He must have realised that this was a huge amount of information to take in over such a short period of time. 
    ‘Usk and the surrounding areas, as far as Cardiff, Newport, Swansea, have been officially declared safe zones. In fact, there are very few areas left that have not seen the eradication of the infected population. For the record, killing them was our only choice. In the time since the first victims came to our attention, our scientists have found nothing to indicate a cure.’
    ‘So what caused this?’ Nick shouted as he stood, his Scouse accent more noticeable than ever before, his hands out in front of him, grasping for an answer.
    ‘That we do not know yet,’ the Captain replied, looking uncomfortable.
    I sighed loudly, exasperated.
    Nick sat down, hands now shaking rather than gesticulating.
    Claire spoke next.
    ‘And when can we go home?’ 
    Her family was in Chepstow and she had managed to get in touch with them. They were unharmed. Her mobile phone had been lost somewhere along the way but the house phone had been reinstated the day after the Army had arrived; its failure had had nothing to do with the zombies but had simply been a local fault that the troops had taken care of.
    ‘Well, that is the reason I am here. You can all go home. From today. We have checked your personal details and none of you live in a danger zone, so yes, you can go home. I will be arranging transport for each of you.’
    He stepped around the room, briefly shaking hands with everyone.
    ‘Good morning to you all.’ He saluted and was gone.
    *                            *                              *
    Many people came and went over the next two days, but not a single one of them raised any questions about why Danny and I had been the only ones who had broken the curfew. I wondered if many people across the country had taken risks for others, and from what I was able to pick up on, it seemed that the answer was not many. I could only assume that Mitchell