Free Mass Extinction Event: The Complete Third Series (Days 46 to 53) by Amy Cross Page A

in the cities, but right now it looks as if no-one had time to loot. It's pretty messed-up, but I think I'd feel better if the shops had been trashed. In some weird kind of way, that would be more normal.
    "Rats," George says suddenly.
    I look over at a nearby intersection just in time to spot something scurrying down into the subway. I've seen rats before, back at home, but never anything so huge, and I can't help but shudder at the thought of encountering something like that. At some point, a rat might become big enough that it feels ready to take on a human.
    "Did you see it?" he continues, turning to me. "That was one big-ass rat. Goddammit, I reckon he was the size of a small dog. I wouldn't like to have to deal with one of those things."
    "So animals weren't affected by this thing," I reply. "Just humans."
    "Humans are animals," he points out. "It's almost like whatever happened, it was designed to hit us and only us. Can't say I'm surprised. We acted like we were the dominant species, but now the real dominant species has taken a right old swing at us."
    "What are you talking about?" I ask, starting to get a little tired of George's roundabout way with words.
    "Bugs. Bacteria. Do you know how many bacteria you've got living in the average human body? Millions, and all different types. They're the ones who are really in charge of this planet." He pauses. "Them and dolphins."
    I open my mouth to ask about the dolphins, but at the last moment I decide not to bother.
    "This is the revenge of bacteria," he mutters. "That's what it is. It's all our chickens coming home to roost at once."
    "I don't like this," I reply, glancing over my shoulder to make sure that the road behind us is clear. Turning to look out the front, I watch the smoke for a moment. "It's probably just a random fire. It's probably rats or something, chewing through wires."
    "There's no electricity. They can chew all they want, but they won't set fire to nothing."
    "But it's probably not people!"
    "It almost certainly is people!" He pauses, clearly exasperated. "I told you already, if you wanna turn back, that's fine. No-one's forcing you to come with me. I'll walk from here if you're scared."
    I keep my foot on the pedal, and even though I'm desperate to get the hell out of here, I figure that we might as well keep going. After all, I've got nowhere else to be, and there's always a chance - no matter how faint - that we'll come across signs of a recovery. When this mess first started, more than a month ago, I kept trying to come up with some kind of plan. These days, it's more like I'm living from moment to moment, never knowing what the hell is going to come at me next.
    "Stop!" George says suddenly, reaching over and grabbing the wheel.
    I slam my foot on the brake pedal, and the truck comes to a lurching halt.
    "Did you see it?" he asks, his voice suddenly lowered to a conspiratorial hush.
    "What?" I ask, starting to feel as if I'd rather be exploring the city alone... or not at all. "Another rat?"
    "Only if rats can walk upright," he replies. "Did you really not see her? She was right up by that next corner, on the right."
    We sit in silence for a moment. I don't see anything, but George seems convinced, and in some strange way I feel as if the silence is getting louder all around us, until finally I can't take it any longer.
    "We're getting out of here," I say, pushing him away and hitting the gas pedal as I try to turn the truck around. I've tried not to panic, but suddenly I figure that panicking might actually be a damn good idea.
    "It was a normal person!" he shouts, trying to wrestle control of the wheel from me.
    "Those things aren't normal!"
    "I saw its face! It was a girl!"
    "Then you can get out and go say hi!" I shout back at him, trying to push him away as the truck mounts the sidewalk and knocks on old trashcan out of the way. "I'm not going any further, not if there are things walking about!"
    "It was a girl!" he says again. "As soon as