Lanherne Chronicles (Prequel): To Escape the Dead Read Online Free PDF Page B

appeared from the darkness of the grounds. With the creaking of its large wheels, the horse drawn cart came to a stop as close to the wall as whoever was driving could manage to get.
    ‘Phil,’ someone hissed below him. ‘Need a lift?’
    Pulling his legs back onto the roof, Phil peered over the edge to see the smiling face of Cam looking up at him through the cart’s open roof hatch some five metres below him.
    ‘What took you?’ Phil whispered down, smiling, never so relieved to see Cam and the cart being pulled by Snow, one of their trusty old mares.
    Cam had been a television journalist for the BBC before the world descended in blood and madness. He had spent those first few weeks reporting the fall of Man one battle against the Dead at a time until there was simply no electricity and more importantly, no one left to watch him.
    ‘Hang on...’ said Cam, waving before disappearing into the shadows of the cart.
    Phil knew what he was doing, Cam was checking through the spy holes in the cart wooden walls for any sign of the Dead so that he didn’t expose himself to milky eyes searching for living flesh to consume. With thankfully nothing but empty darkness in sight Cam reappeared and began to climb up through the roof hatch with a length of rope over his shoulder.
    ‘Over to Charlie,’ whispered Phil, knowing it would be easier for the others to get down to the cart if they could skip getting to the corner of the roof entirely.
    With a nod, Cam took a moment to take aim and tried to toss the rope up to Tom and Charlie waiting by the hole. On the third attempt Tom managed to grab hold of the rope as it flew towards him and once he had taken up the slack, he returned to the shadows of the loft space to tie it off on one of the sturdier looking ceiling beams.   
    ‘Carmella, we’ll get you down first…’ Began Charlie, pulling the other end of the length of rope up into the loft space. ‘Vincenzo, tie it round her so we can lower her down.’
    ‘Si, Charlie,’ said Vincenzo, taking the rope and passing under his wife’s arms.
    Once the rope was securely tied about Carmella, with Vincenzo’s help she slowly made her way over to the gaping hole in the roof, stepping carefully from one ceiling beam to the next while the Dead raged below them.
    ‘Ready?’ asked Tom, trying to give the scared woman a reassuring smile. ‘Don’t worry, the other end of the rope’s tied off… we won’t let you fall. OK.’
    With a not very convincing nod, Carmella stepped out onto the roof and began to lower herself to the edge.
    ‘ Non ti preoccupare, tu sarai al sicuro, ’ Vincenzo whispered, reaching out to give Carmella’s hand a final squeeze as she wriggled her legs over the edge of the guttering.
    Charlie knew the man was telling his wife not to worry and as Tom and Vincenzo took the strain, Charlie wrapped the rope around his arm to control her descent. It didn’t take long for Carmella’s feet to finally touch down on the roof of the cart and while Cam released her from the rope she briefly waved reassuringly up at Vincenzo and Charlie before disappearing through the roof hatch.
    With Carmella now safely hidden by the walls of the cart, the others began to abseil down the rope to join her. Vincenzo had gone next, followed by Paul, Tyrone and then David, while Phil rather than bother to make his way back from the corner of the roof had decided to climb down the drain pipe after all.
    It had all gone smoothly and without incident until Tom had lowered himself over the edge with Anne clinging tightly to his back. With her arms tight about his neck and her legs wrapped about his waist, Anne’s frightened gaze fixed on her sister above her. Tom was still a few metres from the roof of the cart when Charlie suddenly yanked sharply on the rope, warning him of danger. Immediately Tom froze, knowing there was only one danger worth halting their descent for. Slowly moving his head to one side, Tom soon found the cause