Snatchers (Book 8): The Dead Don't Pray by Shaun Whittington Page B

keep yer goin' for a wee while." Pickle urged Celia and her parents to take a look what was in the plastic barrel. It was tins of food.
    The old couple had tears in their eyes when they thanked Bentley and Pickle. Both men wished the three of them good luck, and headed back to the truck.
    Rick Morgan wound down the passenger window and put his head through. "What's Lee gonna say?"
    Pickle and Bentley looked at one another and stood beside the passenger door where Rick was sitting. Pickle said, "We went over a bump and lost a barrel."
    Bentley laughed, "These country roads can be unpredictable."
    Rick shook his head. "I can't lie to Lee, and if Jimmy Mac finds out we gave a barrel full of food away to some old couple—"
    "Yer not going to say anything," Pickle interjected. "Because if yer do, we're gonna have a falling out. Understand?"
    Rick gulped and nodded, and put his head back inside the vehicle.
    Both Pickle and Bentley got into the vehicle and Pickle started the engine. Both men watched as the main door of Celia's house had shut, and they felt good about themselves that they had helped the three individuals.
    "After all the shit that's happened," said Pickle. "It's nice to see something positive for a change."
    "But how long will those three last?" Bentley queried.
    Pickle smiled. "The glass is always half-empty with yer, Drummle." Pickle took off the parking brake and drove away, heading back to Rugeley.

Chapter Twenty One
     
    Karen Bradley made the lonely walk towards the Lea Hall building. She smiled at a guard she didn't know, who was standing outside the entrance, and walked by the structure and looked to the bowling green and the large hut to her left. She stopped once she was yards from the changing rooms. She saw that Kirk Sheen was standing outside the door, and he greeted the attractive woman who he knew from Vince's camp.
    Sheen remarked, "Terrible morning."
    "You could say that." Karen smiled thinly.
    "Still, compared to what happened at the Spode Cottage..." Kirk continued no further with his sentence.
    "I know I'm asking a lot," Karen began, "but I wanted to go inside and say goodbye."
    Kirk looked uncomfortable. Karen was someone he didn't want to refuse, but Daniel had given him orders to make sure nobody went inside.
    "Look, Karen." Kirk looked embarrassed for what he was about to say. "They want it closed off until they remove the body. Something do to with infections and stuff."
    "Okay." Karen respected Kirk, and didn't blame him for not allowing her to enter. Thinking about it, even though she had no intension of touching the body, it did make sense.
    "I'm sorry, Karen." Kirk spoke with a quiver in his words. "I feel really bad."
    "It's okay," Karen appeased the uncomfortable-looking man. "It's not as if I was going to pray or something. I just wanted to say a few words. Stupid, isn't it?"
    "No, it's not."
    "One more thing." Karen glared at Kirk and added, "If you hear that the body is going to be taken to the Market Hall car park, I want you to come and get me as soon as possible.
    "I was told he's getting buried."
    "Just in case. Not everybody is happy about it."
    "You mean Jimmy Mac?" Kirk smiled; the admiration he had for this young woman was plain to see. "Him and his ... allies, shall we say, will have to get past me first. I'm sure nothing will happen like that."
    Karen nodded. Maybe she was being paranoid. She looked over across the field and saw an individual, a guard, walking by the wiry fence. She nodded over towards the man and asked Kirk, "How many are doing the perimeter?"
    "About three or four now." Kirk seemed unsure. "All armed."
    Karen nodded. "Good. Just a shame that it takes a disaster before action is taken. "
    "Isn't that always the case?"
    "That's true."
    Karen smiled at Kirk and said cheerio, and headed over the field, passing the large area where the farmers kept their animals. She had a word with the guard that was on perimeter duty, telling him exactly what she had told