The Ladder

Zombies. That's how Craig described his parents' friends when they had fallen ill. Once they had gone through the violent stage of the illness, they just slowed down. The man tied to the bed lay there doing nothing. The other woman would just stand in her room, swaying a little otherwise remaining motionless, only moving when some noise disturbed her.

Films and fantasy always depict the zombie as some dead thing risen from the grave, or infected by the bite of another. These, thinking Craig's analogy through, are more like the Voodo idea of Zombie. I just don't see anybody controlling them though. The Infected, Ghoul, or Zombie, it doesn't matter. They are still in our way.

We don't have the fuel to just drive around looking for a ladder. A building site would be the best bet, and there was some construction work going on a couple of roads before my sister's one. Get out, get ladder, get back, lash it to the roof-rack (thankfully Craig's parents car had one fitted), and be off before the car is surrounded by Infected. The rest of the plan is still sound; lure the Infected away, rush up ladder and onto roof. Bring ladder behind us, or toss to ground if being used by Infected. Get inside roof space and then we can relax.

Have realised that this might be a great opportunity to stock up. We can go through the entire terrace and dig holes through the ceiling to see if there are any Infected in the rooms below. Any houses that are clear can be looted.

Did I really write that? There might be people still alive in there. Who knows what the authorities will do once things return to normal. Will this be overlooked as an act of survival? Our need is all right now. Right, time to put this away, get Craig to concentrate instead of staring out of the window, and find that damned ladder.