XVII - Paige
Paige
took a few more tentative steps along the path of the torch beam and watched as
her and Charlie's shadows stretched out before them to merge with the darkness
beyond. She looked back over her
shoulder at Josh and watched him anxiously as he began walking towards and then
past her, swinging the torch to and fro to scan the car park.
"So,
should we try heading into town?"
He asked after stopping a few metres ahead of them in the middle of the
parking area.
"The
University's nearer." Paige
replied.
"There
won't be anyone there to help us this late except useless old lecturers. I think we should head for the police
station," Henry said as he stepped shakily up beside her.
"But
that's miles away! We'd be better
heading to the college chapel, we could barrage the doors if anything
followed."
"Now
is not the time for horror clichés. We
head to the police station, report everything that has happened and let them
sort it out." His hands were
shaking as he spoke. If he was
attempting to appear calm it wasn't working and Paige wondered why he seemed
the most frightened of the four of them.
"The
old man has a point." Josh
conceded. "There's not going to be
anyone at the university qualified to deal with this."
"And
just who would be qualified? A
doctor? A Psychiatrist?"
He
hung his head for a second before looking up, more determined. "I don't know, but whatever this is I'd
feel safer heading into the city where there should be more people."
"We
should be surrounded by people here!
This is hardly the suburbs, but it's as quiet as the country. What makes you think the city centre is
going to be any different?"
"Hope. Because if it isn't then whose to say
there's any end to this nightmare?"
"Well
I'm not sure I want to know. If we head
to the chapel we can ride this thing out.
I just don't think anywhere else is safe."
"Will
you two listen to yourselves?"
Henry interrupted. "Of
course there'll bloody well be people in the city centre, it's a bloody city. This isn't some nightmare or dream, there's
a perfectly rational explanation and I'm sure the police will find out what
that is!"
"We
have to try." Josh added. "And if we get there and you still want
to find a sanctuary, we'll be surrounded by churches then."
Paige
shook her head, but she knew she had already lost. Something strange had just happened. She had been overruled by men.
She wasn't used to letting men have their own way, and yet here she
seemed to be faced with no choice.
"Fine,”
she said at last, "but we better get moving right away."
End of Part One
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