Free I Dream of Zombies (Book 2): Haven by Vickie Johnstone Page B

replied. “I’ve always been an atheist, although recent events have made me wonder how anyone can believe in a God that lets something like this happen.”
    “So you’ll have no complaints then?” he asked rhetorically as the machine gun emptied its gifts on the dead that crept between the headstones of the once living. Row upon row of the ghastly figures collapsed, decorating the graves and green grass with splatters of deep red and splinters of bone. Marla cringed as the word desecration entered her head and she shook it away. Behind them the other Panther was firing rounds down Church Road. The roar of the guns must have wakened the rest of the creatures, she guessed. Unexpectedly, the door of the abbey opened and a white cloth waved in the air.
    “I’m getting out,” said Caballero. “Tommy, stay put. Marla, come with me.”
    She nodded and followed the commander out of the vehicle and towards the entrance of the building. Nick remained inside the Panther, clapping and giggling to himself. The guy had lost it, Marla figured, wondering how he had managed to keep himself alive all this time.
    “We’re here to take any survivors to a safe facility, run by the government and guarded by the army,” announced Caballero in a loud voice. “Do you want to come with us?”
    The door opened wider and a man stepped out, dressed in black with a white collar. “I am Reverend Matthew,” he stated. “Can you take all of us?”
    “How many are you?” asked Caballero.
    “One hundred and eighty six.”
    Caballero whistled. “That many? Okay, we can take one hundred on the bus, but it will be a squeeze. We will have to come back for the others tomorrow. Can you organise your people? We need to keep guard out here.”
    “You are shooting them?”
    “We have no choice.”
    The reverend muttered something and nodded. While Tommy and the soldiers in the other Panther continued to pick off any dead that appeared in the street, Sylvia, Robert and Marla entered the church. As they walked in, the dry, stifling heat hit them. Marla coughed slightly and glanced at Sylvia, who looked concerned. The place was full of people sitting huddled together. Young and old, male and female looked up. All at once they rose and a clamour of voices filled the air as the group looked at one another in confusion or excitement; it was difficult to tell.
    “Reverend, can you ask them to be silent?” asked Caballero. “We are surrounded by the undead out there.”
    The man nodded and raised his arms in the air. “Please be quiet. It is not safe outside. These people have come here from a safe government facility to find survivors. Today they can take most of us, not all, but they will come back tomorrow. Please form an orderly queue down the centre of the church. There is no need to panic or rush. Just gather your belongings and make a line. Everyone will be taken – no one will be abandoned here alone, you have my word. You’ll all be saved.”
    The congregation fell silent and calmly did as Matthew instructed. Marla smiled, amazed by his power to control a difficult situation. Moving alongside him, she whispered, “How did you do that?”
    He smiled back and brought his hands together in front of him. “We have been united in prayer here for many years. I know most of my flock. Some are strangers, but I welcomed them. All are equal in God’s eyes. They trust me.”
    When the people were assembled, Sylvia and Marla began to lead them outside to the waiting double-decker bus. One by one, they climbed inside and found a seat. Marla wondered when they had last bathed or eaten a proper meal. She imagined the facilities inside the church to be basic. How many times had they been forced to brave the outside world to find food? They would have to do it no more.
    “Thanks, Miss,” said a small, fair-haired boy clinging on to his mother’s hand.
    Marla grinned at him. “You’re welcome,” she replied, watching as his parent helped him with