Free Undead at Heart by Calum Kerr

incredulous at his mirth as she had been. She
guessed this was what adrenaline come-down felt like.
    “A
whole range!”
    “A continent !”
    The others were
gathering around them now, watching them laugh. Some joined in and some just
looked baffled or a little hurt, but Nicola couldn’t stop. She laughed hard, on
the verge of tears, on the verge of screaming, until she was suddenly brought
back to herself, and back to sanity, by a small warm hand pressing into hers.
    She looked down into
Alyssa’s now calm blue eyes. “ It’s okay, Mummy.
Everything will be okay.”
    Nicola felt a laugh
threaten at the very serious way her daughter was talking to her, but fought it
back. It was enough. Her daughter was okay. The band of strangers who were
looking to her for salvation were okay. She would be
okay.
    For the first time
since emerging from the forest she looked around properly and saw, on the
horizon, the top of a silo. Where there’s a silo, there’s a farm, she reasoned,
and decided that should be their destination. If nothing else these people
needed the security of walls and a roof. She couldn’t guarantee that a farm
would provide much more, but she could at least try and give them that.
    Couldn’t be any
worse than the last place , she thought, and felt another giggle threaten. She straightened her
face and turned to the re-assembled group. She waited till they were looking at
her, then she turned and pointed to the horizon. She tried to think of stirring
words to give them hope, but nothing came. So, in the end, she simply said,
“Let’s try there,” and set off, walking slowly enough for everyone to keep up,
half-leading and half-led by her daughter.

Seventeen
     
     
    Sam watched Tony and
waited for him to speak. He was frozen, his mouth slightly open, and she could
see his eyes moving round the room, trying to find the words. Maybe, if she had
been a more shallow person, she would have found this
disappointing. She would have seen that he wasn’t the strong man that she had
thought he was. But none of this crossed her mind. She was touched by his
humanity, by his sensitive nature, and so she decided to come to his aid.
    “Well, I don’t know
the answer to your argument,” she stepped forward, feeling self-conscious as
all the eyes in the room turned to look at her, “but I could certainly do with
a drink, even if it is from a bottle. And why don’t I buy one for Bert. In
fact, why don’t I buy one for everyone?”
    She stepped up to the
bar and placed her order of a vodka and diet coke, and the others started to
follow suit, the argument utterly wiped away by a beautiful young woman buying
a round for the them all. She glanced over and saw that Tony had regained a
little of his composure, and had moved to the back of the group, waiting his
turn to place his order. She smiled at him and he gave a weak smile in return.
    “She’s right,” he
said.
    “Whoever’s buying is
always right, lad. Don’t you know that?” Bert interrupted with a laugh.
    Tony gave him a flash
of his teeth then continued. “She’s right. We all need a drink. I have a hell
of a tale to tell you, and a little alcohol will just make it easier to hear.”
    He left them hanging
at the end of his sentence and ordered a double Glenfiddich. Sam smiled more
broadly at him, though he wasn’t looking at her. She knew he just needed a
moment, a guiding hand, and was glad she had been able to help him.
    A few minutes later,
with everyone gathered around, glasses in hand, Tony started to tell the tale.
He had lifted himself up to sit on a table, to get a little height over the
rest who had each drawn up a chair. Sam perched on a stool by the side of his
table, looking up at him from time to time and occasionally nodding and meeting
the audience’s eyes to confirm the truth of what he was saying.
    He told them about the
helicopter crashing and the truck flying onto the road. She was impressed with
his description of how he’d