loved safe she would do what was necessary.
‘ Right let’s get this party started,’ Charlie said, as he slung the rucksack back over his shoulder.
‘ I have to go on watch soon,’ Mohammed said, as he stood up. ‘Take care, my brother,’ and he pulled Imran in a heartfelt hug.
Macho bravado wasn ’t part of this new world anymore. If someone you loved could walk out of the door and never come back, you let them know you cared about them.
‘ Don’t let him do anything stupid, Liz.’
‘ Can’t promise anything with this one,’ she replied, a sad smile on her face ‘and you’ll keep an eye out for Anne and Alice while we’re gone?’
S he didn’t want to say anything about Adrian being a potential problem. Mohammed might take it too far and there was no point making trouble based on just a feeling.
‘ Of course,’ he said, pulling Liz into an equally heart warming embrace, ‘and you take care too, little sister.’
Picking up his own bow and quiver of arrows, Mohammed went to leave the room. As h e passed Charlie he gave a quick salute, which Charlie returned with a nod and a wink. He knew the convent would be safe in Mohammed’s hands while they were gone. Charlie was proud of what both of the brothers had become. They had grown from angry, unruly boys into well trained, fine young men he would be happy to have watch his back.
As Liz watched Mohammed leave , she hoped more unattached women would soon find their way to Lanherne. He deserved to find someone and feel the happiness she herself had discovered in Imran’s embrace. But it seemed wherever they went the men greatly out numbered the woman. In a few of the rougher settlements, Charlie had found there were no women at all. Of course to Liz these were nothing more than living men waiting to die, one by one behind their protective walls. These men seeking nothing beyond their own immediate safety, had nothing really to build a life for. A community that had no hope in the future could not grow and was ultimately fated to die.
With no more details f or the trip to sort out, the three of them made their way down to the stable. On the way Liz made a quick pit stop in her room to collect her sword and a few of her favourite knives. As she strapped one of the sheathed blades to her ankle, she wondered if this was to be the last time she would see the small room she shared with Anne. Living at the Convent had by no means been an easy ride but it had been the closest thing to a home she and Anne had had in many years. She would be sad not to see what the Convent could become in the years to come. As Charlie called for her to hurry up, Liz shook herself free of her brief melancholy. Taking one last look at the room, she closed the door and jogged down the hall to catch up with the other two.
****
By the time Liz had caught up with Charlie and Imran they were just stepping into the garden. Liz looked up. The clear blue sky that had promised a warm pleasant day had turned to a cloudy grey, trapping the gathering heat. She could already feel it was going to be a close and muggy day and didn’t relish being trapped in the cart for the next few hours. Its box covering may protect from the dead milky eyes seeing them but it would also make the journey just that bit more uncomfortable. As they walked to the stable, Lars was just re-adjusting the blinkers on Delilah, one of the Convent’s mares. The Dead may not see the horse as something to eat but you could not expect the animals to remain unaffected by the walking corpses that wandered into their path. Delilah was a strong reliable mare. She had been out amongst the Dead many times and had learnt not to associate the smell of decay with danger. So in her case the blinkers were more of a precaution than a necessity. Liz gave Delilah’s grey speckled flanks a friendly pat as she walked round to the back of the cart.
‘ And as you’re the only one with any real small weapons training I want you to
‘ Right let’s get this party started,’ Charlie said, as he slung the rucksack back over his shoulder.
‘ I have to go on watch soon,’ Mohammed said, as he stood up. ‘Take care, my brother,’ and he pulled Imran in a heartfelt hug.
Macho bravado wasn ’t part of this new world anymore. If someone you loved could walk out of the door and never come back, you let them know you cared about them.
‘ Don’t let him do anything stupid, Liz.’
‘ Can’t promise anything with this one,’ she replied, a sad smile on her face ‘and you’ll keep an eye out for Anne and Alice while we’re gone?’
S he didn’t want to say anything about Adrian being a potential problem. Mohammed might take it too far and there was no point making trouble based on just a feeling.
‘ Of course,’ he said, pulling Liz into an equally heart warming embrace, ‘and you take care too, little sister.’
Picking up his own bow and quiver of arrows, Mohammed went to leave the room. As h e passed Charlie he gave a quick salute, which Charlie returned with a nod and a wink. He knew the convent would be safe in Mohammed’s hands while they were gone. Charlie was proud of what both of the brothers had become. They had grown from angry, unruly boys into well trained, fine young men he would be happy to have watch his back.
As Liz watched Mohammed leave , she hoped more unattached women would soon find their way to Lanherne. He deserved to find someone and feel the happiness she herself had discovered in Imran’s embrace. But it seemed wherever they went the men greatly out numbered the woman. In a few of the rougher settlements, Charlie had found there were no women at all. Of course to Liz these were nothing more than living men waiting to die, one by one behind their protective walls. These men seeking nothing beyond their own immediate safety, had nothing really to build a life for. A community that had no hope in the future could not grow and was ultimately fated to die.
With no more details f or the trip to sort out, the three of them made their way down to the stable. On the way Liz made a quick pit stop in her room to collect her sword and a few of her favourite knives. As she strapped one of the sheathed blades to her ankle, she wondered if this was to be the last time she would see the small room she shared with Anne. Living at the Convent had by no means been an easy ride but it had been the closest thing to a home she and Anne had had in many years. She would be sad not to see what the Convent could become in the years to come. As Charlie called for her to hurry up, Liz shook herself free of her brief melancholy. Taking one last look at the room, she closed the door and jogged down the hall to catch up with the other two.
****
By the time Liz had caught up with Charlie and Imran they were just stepping into the garden. Liz looked up. The clear blue sky that had promised a warm pleasant day had turned to a cloudy grey, trapping the gathering heat. She could already feel it was going to be a close and muggy day and didn’t relish being trapped in the cart for the next few hours. Its box covering may protect from the dead milky eyes seeing them but it would also make the journey just that bit more uncomfortable. As they walked to the stable, Lars was just re-adjusting the blinkers on Delilah, one of the Convent’s mares. The Dead may not see the horse as something to eat but you could not expect the animals to remain unaffected by the walking corpses that wandered into their path. Delilah was a strong reliable mare. She had been out amongst the Dead many times and had learnt not to associate the smell of decay with danger. So in her case the blinkers were more of a precaution than a necessity. Liz gave Delilah’s grey speckled flanks a friendly pat as she walked round to the back of the cart.
‘ And as you’re the only one with any real small weapons training I want you to
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