Dark Sky

20 - A Place in the Woods

Chapter Twenty

They figured they were pretty safe here. The place was secluded and surrounded on all sides by dense woods. The trees on the outskirts were either destroyed or stripped of life, but as they had ventured deeper in, the trees had survived. Leila didn't know for how long they would survive in the nuclear darkness, but for now they offered a view that was the most normal they had seen since the apocalypse began.

They had found a country house, the most intact building they had seen yet and better still it was abandoned. It's good condition was probably owed to it location, having been offered reasonable protection from the surrounding trees. Apart from a bit of damage to the roof the place was immaculate, even the glass in the windows had survived. From inside it was easy to forget what had happened to the world.

Leila, Floyd and the other villagers from Thrayston had arrived here by land rover after visiting the farmhouse she had been abducted from.

It was not the vehicle that Ryan had originally acquired for the group. The first one had been stolen by Carlton shortly after he had retrieved it and everyone could only guess as to why Carlton had done that. Floyd suspected it was just in spite and a desire to see them fail. It didn't matter anyhow, they had found a much better vehicle for the terrain the world presented them with now.

The Land Rover had made short work of getting them to the farmhouse where Leila wanted to retrieve Joe's body and give him a proper burial.

She had been shocked when they arrived to find him gone.

At first she got excited, thinking that he had actually survived the attack. But then Floyd had pointed out that his body had more likely been taken by wild animals that had lost their natural source of food.

The thought had troubled her deeply and had upset her for the rest of the journey to this new location. After all the kindness Joe had shown her in the short time she had known him, that was a pretty horrible way to leave this world. At least he was already gone when the animals took him.

It was little comfort though.

She had to admit this new location was perfect. Almost untouched by the bombs, she wondered why it's owners had chosen to abandon it for a world of uncertainty. It didn't matter much though, the house was perfect for the six of them. There was enough food and water here to see them through for about a week before having to make supply runs.

There would only be five of them soon anyway.

Carol had been bed bound for the last day and a half as radiation poisoning consumed her body. At last check Floyd guessed she only had hours left to live, another casualty of the bombs.

Leila had been shocked at the pain the woman was suffering and there was nothing they could do to relieve it. She had fallen silent a few hours ago no longer conscious and probably never would be again. The end drawing ever nearer to the woman.

The rest of the group sat silently in the kitchen as they waited for the news from Floyd that she had passed.

"We should have ended it for her hours ago," Sophie mumbled with her head in her hands. "Not let her suffer like that."

"And who would have done it?" Ryan protested, "I wouldn't want that on my conscience."

"Yet you don't mind living knowing we let that happen to her." Sophie scowled.

"Would you have done it?" Ryan snapped back.

"If I had been allowed to," Sophie admitted solemnly.

"That's good to know." Ryan frowned in disgust.

"I'd want someone to do it for me if I ever got that way," Sophie told the room.