The Dead of Night Read Online Free PDF Page B

a fire detection system that could be triggered by smoke, and that it would still be working. It wasn't a very big gamble: pretty much a certainty. And the staff had reacted as we hoped they would. They hurried to the site of the alarm. And they left doors open everywhere.

    We didn't have much time. Out of the corner of my eve I saw Fi and Chris moving quickly to the door into the main wards. Lee and I had the old people's wing as our target, in the long section of the T-shaped building. Only one person had come from there, a soldier, and he or she had flung the door shut, but so hard that it bounced open again.
    I set off, half a stride ahead of Lee. I was hoping we could sneak across the car park, not being noticed, but once we entered that great bare black desert I realised our only chance was speed. I put my head down and sprinted, hoping the footsteps behind me were Lee's. The night air was cold on my face, but colder was the chill down my neck and back; the fear of the ripping bullets. I got to the door puffing, gasping, and grateful to be alive.
    Time was so short. All I could do was stick my head through the door and look to left and right. The old wooden corridor was empty of people so in I went, trusting to Lee to follow me. He did, so closely that I could feel his breath around my ears.
    Although the corridor was empty you could sense that the building was full of people. I don't know what it is: the little sounds maybe, the creaks, the shuffling noises. Or maybe it's the smell of human bodies and breath, or the warmth that fills the place, the close
humid warmth that heaters and fireplaces can never generate. So I knew right away that there were people everywhere, behind all the closed doors along the corridor. I made an instant decision to turn right, not for any reason in particular; I just did it, walking quickly along, trying to decide which door to go through, wishing for X-ray vision. We passed a small kitchen with an open door. It was empty and in darkness. The next room was labelled B7. No light showed under the door. I stopped, looked around at Lee, and indicated the door by raising my eyebrows and pointing to it. He shrugged and nodded. I took a deep breath, hunched my shoulders, squeezed the handle tight, turned it and opened the door.

    Inside all was dark. Not only were the lights off but the curtains were drawn too. Yet again I knew it was full of people. It seemed such a small room, but so full of people. There was a lot of heavy breathing, some slow and deep, some quavery and long. I stood there, trying to get used to the darkness, not knowing whether to risk speaking or not. But Lee tapped me on the shoulder and I followed him back into the corridor.
    "This is bloody risky," he said. He was sweating heavily. We heard a noise down the corridor and turned quickly towards it. The door from the car park was being opened again. Suddenly we had no choice. We made a dash for the nearest door, which was B8. I tried to open the door as quietly as possible, but there wasn't much time for subtlety. We fell into the room together, making a fair bit of noise. Lee shut the door quickly behind us as a voice asked aggressively, "Who is it?"
    I felt such relief that she spoke in English. It was a woman's voice, someone quite voung, twenty-five or thirty maybe.

    "We're looking for a friend," I said quickly.
    This was the first conversation I'd had with an adult since the invasion.
    "Who are you?" she asked again.
    I hesitated, and finally answered honestly. "I don't know if it's safe to say."
    There was a pause, then in a voice quivering with astonishment she said, "Do you mean you aren't prisoners?"
    "That's right."
    "Well bloody hell. I didn't think there was anyone left."
    "Are we safe in here?" Lee asked.
    "How many of you are there?"
    "Only two," I said.
    "Well, you're probably safe till morning. Sorry I growled at you when you came in, but you never know round here. Sometimes attack's the best method of