“We have to find them,” I say, still unable to tear my eyes from the sight of the bodies. I am breathing through my mouth. I have to. This close to the doors I can smell them. It is a coppery sweet smell but over the top is the sharp corrupt smell of death. I once drove past an abattoir when I was visiting a rural village in Wales. The smell had been unlike anything I had experienced before and this reminds me of it. I am going to have to move or throw up. My stomach rolls and I realise that even if I move I might throw up. The guys are already behind me, far enough away to lessen the smell. I just have to make sure though.

I distance myself mentally. I’m not looking for a body, just a pair of shoes smaller than the others. I…

“Are you sure this is a good idea?” I ask as we jog deeper into the warehouse-like room.

“No,” Max says.

“Great,” I say, but under my breath. I don’t know these guys. In fact I am astonished that I’m not a complete wreck, crying in the corner. But I have found something and that is the will to live. I really want to get out of here. Although with that thought comes anxiety. If it is this bad in the airport then what is it like out there? I wonder if my little house is all right. Forget the house… What about my brother?

Not that I can check on him. He emigrated to Australia and now we only contact each other via skype…

“What about computers?” I ask.

Colin looks back with a curious expression.

“Can’t we use the computers to see what’s going on?”

Max shakes his…

Outside the door I can hear footsteps. A group run past and then some follow slowly. I hear a radio crackle.

“Say again?”

“Sir, they are not here.”

“Damn.” The voice that says this is vaguely familiar but I can’t place it. The doors are solid so I can’t see who it is.

“What about in there?” I know he is looking at the door I am sitting against.

“Locked.”

“Have you checked them all?”

“They are alarmed.”

Colin smiles and Max joins him. What’s so funny? I think we are about to die and they are grinning like Cheshire cats. I ask the question with my eyes, but they just shake their heads.

“Try sector six.” That voice is so familiar.

Footsteps lead away from the room. Colin comes over and whispers in my ear. “We are going to have to move in a minute. Before they work it…

The soldiers are fanning out across the terminal and walking this way. All ten clutch their guns as if they are safety blankets.

“Well, I guess they are going to shoot us if they see us?” Max says.

“How do you figure that?” I ask.

“The way they are holding the guns.”

I frown. I don’t think it matters how they carry the guns, but they do look intimidating. And they aren’t calling out to us. As I watch, one holds a hand out, fist closed. All the men stop. One comes from the back and walks to the soldier who has called the halt. They both look at the floor and then right at me.

“Oh shit,” I say, ducking down. “Did they see me?”

Before either can answer I hear a voice boom out. “We saw you. Come out with your hands held away from your body and…