chapter tenLesley Timms couldn’t believe the events of the past hour. He couldn’t believe the events since the bus really, but what had happened after the storage place—that was complete fucking insanity. That Strauss guy was supposed to be the one with all the brains, wasn’t he? Posh education and all that, while the rest of them had to rough it in ordinary schools... And they didn’t come any rougher than Gegley Comp, Timms’ old stomping ground. You learned how to stick up for yourself there or ended up with your head woven into the carpet. All those fucking colleges and universities obviously didn’t teach you any common sense, though, did they? Not as far as he could see—because Strauss had almost got them killed several times since those freaks out there started coming back to life. Not back to life. They weren’t dead—the Doc had been at great pains to emphasise that when Timms wouldn’t go near them. Wouldn’t help carry that boy

    chapter twelvePrivate Jackson Monks thought things couldn’t get any worse. His luck had kept him alive so far out here, but now the sleepers were on their way to the hospital, and to top everything off Strauss’ assistant Bridget had gone bonzo in the original Sleeper’s room. She’d knocked Timms out and stolen his gun, using it wildly and catching poor Coleman in the crossfire. She’d tried to kill Suzanne Parris for reasons he could only guess at. The way Strauss had held the woman’s hand, some connection there he wasn’t privy to. He’d said he was being led here, so maybe... It was in the realms of fantasy, though Jackson had never been adverse to a bit of that in his life; his love of the imaginative genres taking him out of himself, and also providing common ground between him and Strauss, to his surprise. Now the Doc was coming down with the sickness, after being slashed by Bridget. She’d gone to the window and though Monks had ru

    chapter fourteenThey’d witnessed Baker’s crash from around the corner. Just as they’d reached the bottom of the lift and scoped out the lobby area, which was teeming with animated Sleepers, they’d seen the sergeant break cover. He’d made his way down the east side of the hospital, but still had to cross this patch to get to the ambulance bay. That’s when he’d run into trouble.Their descent hadn’t exactly been uneventful either, Andrew could testify to that. Halfway down the shaft they spotted a figure above, standing and looking down at them... yet not really looking, because how could you look when your eyes were healed over? He’d begun following them anyway. At first they’d thought it was the Sleepers who’d broken through the locked double-doors, but then Jackson recognised his comrade hanging there—mask gone now, re-animated by the virus that was all around them. ‘Shit: Coleman.’ His voice echoed up the shaft and seemed to urge the ma

    chapter sixteenThe ambulance had almost made it. Radford didn’t quite know what happened. It hadn’t been the Sleepers at the barrier attacking, or the ones chasing the ambulance, though they were pouring over it now. Must have been inside, because whoever had been driving was pulling some crazy stunts. Radford had just stood there and watched it brake, then roll over once to land on its side.He was well aware of what happened after that, however—though he didn’t truly believe it. Dr Strauss, emerging from the vehicle, battered but still alive, carrying a woman Radford hadn’t seen before. He didn’t quite understand the significance of this, nor why the Sleepers near them were backing off. A few minutes later, another figure staggered from the wreckage. It was the black soldier, Jackson, who’d been fighting with... Timms, yes he was there too! Neither of them had their masks on, but seemed okay, if a little dazed and confused; helpi

    epilogueSuzy woke with a jerk from the dream. Her mum was calling her anyway. ‘Get up, sleepyhead. I’ve been shouting you for quarter of an hour.’‘Whaa...?’ said Suzy, still groggy from the deep sleep. She rubbed her eyes. ‘It’s Sunday, remember? Come and have breakfast, then you’ve really got to start getting ready. We want to be leaving by ten.’That’s right, she’d been looking forward to today the whole week! Sunday. Dad’s day off. He was an important person, her dad; mum too, come to think of it. She was the mayoress to his mayor. Suzanne didn’t understand exactly what that entailed, but she knew they ran the town. That they were trying to build it up, expand it, put it on the map. One day, her dad often told her, she’d be just as important—if not more so. Suzy thought about telling her mother about the dream, about how she’d been all grown up but asleep, and how there had been this strange disease that sent eve