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first body I'd found.
The steel shutters had been prised upwards and then forced back
down but something had got between the concrete floor and the door.
There was blood all over the place and the remains of a dog with
mangled front paws lay off to one side.
    I tried the shutters but they weren't for budging. Then I
heard something on the other side and I stopped breathing to hear
it better. It was like a scurrying sound, like rats on a hard
floor, but it was coming closer, getting louder and I took a step
back, raised my pistol and took a deep breath. Then the shutters
suddenly shook as something huge slammed into them from the other
side. I heard snarling and barking, then the sounds multiplied and
I realised with both horror and joy that the dogs were trapped
inside the railway station and unable to get out.
    I ran round the side and found a window to peak in through,
looking all over for a sign that the last treasure hunter might
have survived. I peered into the gloom, seeing the six dogs behind
the shutters trying to get at me. Then I looked towards the ticket
booth and noticed an odd shape near the desk. Then I realised that
it was the upper body of my last man, his legs a few feet away and
wedged in between the supports of a steel bench. His pack was near
his head but I had no intentions of going after it.
    The dog with the mangled paws must have managed to get under
the shutters before it slammed down on him, crushing his chest.
This had given the others the gap they needed to get in and have
their feast but the dog had managed to free himself, allowing the
shutters to close and trap the others inside. I realised how lucky
I'd been. If it hadn't been for this turn of events I might have
been dog kibble by now.
    I returned to the other two bodies and did a quick search of
their pockets, turning up two wallets and the maps they'd brought
with them plus a number of other useful things. In their packs were
meals-ready-to-eat, chocolate bars, tools and plenty of climbing
equipment. I planned to take it all for myself but when I came to
Rebecca's pack I stopped before I'd even opened the zip. It felt
like I was betraying someone, like I was guilty of something and so
I simply put it with the others, unopened.
    The recovery of their bodies would have been much more
difficult if it hadn't been for the shopping trolley I found down
the alley where the second boy had died. I loaded it with the
corpses first, then built up a pile of packs and loot on top. It
looked macabre in the reflections from the perspex safety windows
of the shops but it was highly practical. I wanted to get them back
to the 'Rover as quickly as possible because the odds of there
being more dogs drawn to the noise was rising as I heard the
shutters rattling even from where I was. I also wondered how much
damage they could take before they made a gap big enough to get
through.
    I wheeled the trolley down the pavements, trying my best to
counter the broken wheel it had which caused it to drift sideways
as I pushed. I was leaving a trail of blood that was dripping
between the mesh bottom and it left bright pink spots as I went. I
felt like a fool, like a bone collector of old in a Jester's
costume. What part of my life had gone wrong to reach the point
where I was pushing a trolley of dead kids down a road whilst
trying to escape a band of savage hounds?
    It took a while but I managed to get to the 'Rover and I was
panting from the effort. I opened the back and shuffled the body of
Rebecca along to make room for the others. Then I sat the packs on
top of them before closing the door. I kicked the trolley away and
got into the cab, eager to put something solid between me and the
ever-present threat of the dogs.
    I sat there sucking air into my lungs and taking swigs from
my bottle as the night came in. I'd been out too long and I was
eager to get back home, to carry on getting the poly-tunnels ready
for the spring, to find one of the roaming cows and kill it