As I step away from Max, I need to get away. The girl is gone and…

My foot bumps into something.

“Bitsy, don’t move,” Colin says with one hand outstretched as if wanting to catch me. He is too far away though.

Whatever I have hit is soft but firm and it seems to be moving. I let out a small whimper. Max looks to his right and I follow his gaze. Another pile of sheets is moving. Max meets my eyes and he looks panicked. He nudges Colin and he points. We all start to look around. Everywhere there is movement.

The thing I am near moves and I feel something try to grasp my ankle through the sheets. It is hindered by the cloth. Involuntarily I let out a yelp and jump forward. The creature under the sheet screams. It is a horrifyingly loud sound that reminds me…

The sheets move and I take a step back, bumping into a bed behind me. Briefly it wobbles and then falls. The noise echoes around the front of the hospital. More sheets are moving.

I watch, horrified. Then reason asserts itself and I step forward. Colin stops me with a hand.

“Don’t.”

I push him away. “They might be hurt.”

Max shakes his head. “They were never meant to get hurt. Two outcomes, you live or you die.”

“Well, they did get hurt,” I say, moving toward the nearest sheet. Why are they not uncovering themselves?

I reach down, noticing that this sheet is stained brown with blood. There appears to be a handprint on the middle of it, as though someone had used the body to push themselves up, or they had shoved the body away from them. Oddly there is no other blood, not on the ground. Grasping…

“Here,” Colin hands me a handkerchief. A real one. It is slightly rumpled but clean. I mumble a thank you and dab at my eyes.

“I wasn’t expecting this,” Max says.

I agree, although I think it is an odd way to say it.

“We have to go down,” I say. It is more of a statement rather than a question. I am trying to talk myself into being brave, but both of the guys nod. It is me who takes the first step though.

The road is clear until you get to the aftermath, I am guessing that the police had kept it clear. It is a guess though as there are no police cars or any sign of cars. It is as if everyone ran out of here at once, taking every available vehicle. I can’t think what that would mean… What were they running from and do…

“It’s so quiet,” I say and wince at how loud my voice is.

Colin nods and Max is walking too far head to acknowledge that I’ve said anything.

“What do you think has happened?”

I know that I am talking just to break the silence but I have to. You see it is so alien. When was the last time I heard nothing? In my everyday life there is always something going on, something humming or buzzing. In the background there are voices or cars. Even when I go to my grandmother’s place there are cars on the small road, punctuating the sound of the electricity. Maybe I have a radio on or perhaps the TV, but something is always there. Now there is nothing.

I mean, it isn’t just the electricity and gadgets that are missing, but the people. Even the birds are silent. Except for the large black…