quickly taking over the questioning. “You said something about a hotel?”
“That’s right. Over in Bromwell. We found more people there.”
“How many more?”
Another endless pause. Jackson rocked back in his chair as he waited for Driver to answer. He was having trouble remembering. Christ , Jackson thought , we’ve all been through a lot, but this is like getting blood out of a stone .
“Five,” he answered, finally. “And a dog.”
“So that’s thirteen of you altogether.”
“And a dog,” Kieran added sarcastically. Jackson shot him a withering glance.
“So where are they all?”
“Don’t know for sure about all of them,” Driver replied. “Things were getting bad, same as they always do. I knew the situation was most likely about to go shit-shaped, so I shut myself away in one of the rooms. Kept my distance from the rest of them.”
“You hid?”
“If you like. You could say that. Thing is, sometimes it’s better just to keep yourself to yourself, don’t you think?”
That comment caught Jackson off-guard momentarily. He happened to agree.
“Okay, cut to the chase,” he said, his patience wearing thin. “Just tell us what happened. What happened to all the others?”
“I’m not entirely sure. They’d been keeping the bodies out of the way for a while, distracting them with music.”
“Smart move.”
“But you probably know what it’s been like. The bloody things started to get smarter and were working out what was what. Someone lost their nerve and screwed up and properly let the cat out of the bag, and the whole place was surrounded.”
“So you just did a runner?” Kieran interrupted. He couldn’t help himself.
“What else wasI supposed to do? It didn’t take a genius to work out what was going to happen next. All the escape routes were blocked. If I hadn’t gone, no one would have got away.”
“So you were just looking out for yourself,” Kieran sneered. “Fuck the rest of them.”
“No, it wasn’t like that. I swear, I was planning to go back. I still am.”
“Like hell.”
“Go easy,” Jackson warned. “Give the guy a break.”
“You’d have done the same,” Driver continued, sounding close to tears. “If I’d have stopped there with them, we’d have all been buggered. I thought I’d leave it a few days, maybe a couple of weeks, then try and get back and get them out. I know how it looks, but I swear I was going back.”
The awkward conversation faltered. Although neither Kieran nor Jackson said as much, they both remained unsure about this strange little man.
“So let me see if I’ve got this straight,” Jackson said. “Back at this hotel, there are potentially as many as twelve people stranded?”
“That’s right.”
“And this is in Bromwell.”
“Yep.”
“I know the place. It’s not too far from here.”
The other people in the room had been eavesdropping.
“Come on, Jackson,” Bob protested, “we agreed. Surely you’re not suggesting we should leave here and—”
“That’s exactly what I’m suggesting,” Jackson said, cutting across him. “We said we’d help other folks if we came across them. I’m not saying we should go today or tomorrow or even next week, but as soon as possible we should do all we can to try and reach those people. We can’t afford not to. You know as well as I do, numbers are important now.”
“Well I think it’s a risk too far,” Bob grumbled.
“Bob Hawkins,” Sue Preston sighed. “Sometimes getting out of bed in the morning is a risk too far for you.”
A few laughs punctuated the silence. Driver enjoyed the banter and soaked up the relaxed atmosphere. It had been a long time since he’d seen people getting on with each other like this. He watched Sue as she leaned against the window and sipped her drink.
“For what it’s worth,” she said to him, “I think Jackson’s right. We should try and help your friends. You’ll not find a better place than this, lover.
“That’s right. Over in Bromwell. We found more people there.”
“How many more?”
Another endless pause. Jackson rocked back in his chair as he waited for Driver to answer. He was having trouble remembering. Christ , Jackson thought , we’ve all been through a lot, but this is like getting blood out of a stone .
“Five,” he answered, finally. “And a dog.”
“So that’s thirteen of you altogether.”
“And a dog,” Kieran added sarcastically. Jackson shot him a withering glance.
“So where are they all?”
“Don’t know for sure about all of them,” Driver replied. “Things were getting bad, same as they always do. I knew the situation was most likely about to go shit-shaped, so I shut myself away in one of the rooms. Kept my distance from the rest of them.”
“You hid?”
“If you like. You could say that. Thing is, sometimes it’s better just to keep yourself to yourself, don’t you think?”
That comment caught Jackson off-guard momentarily. He happened to agree.
“Okay, cut to the chase,” he said, his patience wearing thin. “Just tell us what happened. What happened to all the others?”
“I’m not entirely sure. They’d been keeping the bodies out of the way for a while, distracting them with music.”
“Smart move.”
“But you probably know what it’s been like. The bloody things started to get smarter and were working out what was what. Someone lost their nerve and screwed up and properly let the cat out of the bag, and the whole place was surrounded.”
“So you just did a runner?” Kieran interrupted. He couldn’t help himself.
“What else wasI supposed to do? It didn’t take a genius to work out what was going to happen next. All the escape routes were blocked. If I hadn’t gone, no one would have got away.”
“So you were just looking out for yourself,” Kieran sneered. “Fuck the rest of them.”
“No, it wasn’t like that. I swear, I was planning to go back. I still am.”
“Like hell.”
“Go easy,” Jackson warned. “Give the guy a break.”
“You’d have done the same,” Driver continued, sounding close to tears. “If I’d have stopped there with them, we’d have all been buggered. I thought I’d leave it a few days, maybe a couple of weeks, then try and get back and get them out. I know how it looks, but I swear I was going back.”
The awkward conversation faltered. Although neither Kieran nor Jackson said as much, they both remained unsure about this strange little man.
“So let me see if I’ve got this straight,” Jackson said. “Back at this hotel, there are potentially as many as twelve people stranded?”
“That’s right.”
“And this is in Bromwell.”
“Yep.”
“I know the place. It’s not too far from here.”
The other people in the room had been eavesdropping.
“Come on, Jackson,” Bob protested, “we agreed. Surely you’re not suggesting we should leave here and—”
“That’s exactly what I’m suggesting,” Jackson said, cutting across him. “We said we’d help other folks if we came across them. I’m not saying we should go today or tomorrow or even next week, but as soon as possible we should do all we can to try and reach those people. We can’t afford not to. You know as well as I do, numbers are important now.”
“Well I think it’s a risk too far,” Bob grumbled.
“Bob Hawkins,” Sue Preston sighed. “Sometimes getting out of bed in the morning is a risk too far for you.”
A few laughs punctuated the silence. Driver enjoyed the banter and soaked up the relaxed atmosphere. It had been a long time since he’d seen people getting on with each other like this. He watched Sue as she leaned against the window and sipped her drink.
“For what it’s worth,” she said to him, “I think Jackson’s right. We should try and help your friends. You’ll not find a better place than this, lover.
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