Safety Lost (Killing the Dead Book 3) by Richard Murray Read Free Book Online

people to a refugee centre because the motorways were becoming blocked.” Candice said, “Anyone who hadn’t already tried to get out by road went to the train station. Dumb fucks that they were, they probably lasted about five minutes when the undead got there.”
    I nodded and continued driving as silence fell once more. A look in the rear-view mirror showed me that Emma was fast asleep in the backseat. I kept glancing at Candice as she stared out of the window at the dark moors. She made me uneasy and I told myself that I would have to get rid of her as soon as possible.
    “Turn left here” Candice said as we approached a junction. “This road will take us all the way to Burnley and just before we get there we can turn off and go around the town.”
    “How long?”
    “It’s about five miles and should be clear all the way.”
    “Ok well if we see anywhere to spend the night, that will probably be a good idea.” I said with a look at the speedometer. I was barely travelling at more than a crawl as I daren’t put the headlights on and could only just keep us on the road in the darkness.
    Candice looked over at me and nodded once before turning away with what I thought was a sneer. She evidently didn’t think much of me.
    The clock set into the dashboard said it was almost midnight when I pulled into the side of the road.
    “What are you doing?” Candice demanded.
    “Getting some sleep.”
    “I thought you wanted to find a house somewhere? Why are you stopping in the middle of the road?”
    “It’s dark and starting to rain” I said with a gesture at the small drops of water that were appearing on the windscreen.
    “Is it safe?” she asked.
    “We are in the middle of nowhere, we will be fine.” I said and lay back closing my eyes.
    I waited and counted out the minutes in my head. When I had reached ten minutes I opened my eyes and looked across at Candice. She had turned on her side, her bag held securely in her lap with her arms tight around it.
    When I was sure that she was really sleeping I closed my eyes and tried to get some rest myself.
     

Chapter 7
    “I need to pee” Emma said as she shook me awake. I blinked against the low light that coming through the car windows. A look towards Candice showed that she wasn’t yet awake and I saw no threats from outside the car.
    I unlocked the doors and removed the keys from the ignition, placing them securely in my pocket before getting out of the car and letting Emma out. I looked around the area and found nothing but windblown grass and the occasional wind-farm in the distance.
    Emma’s hand slipped into mine and I looked down at her in surprise. She looked scared and it occurred to me that while she hadn’t been in tears since the service station, she hadn’t mentioned her sister of parents either. I wondered if that was a sign of shock before putting the thought aside as something to ask Lily.
    Since she showed no inclination to release her hold despite one attempt to pull my hand away, I gave up and led her to the side of the road and the crumbling remains of a stone wall.
    “You can go behind there” I said and pointed.
    “Is it safe?”
    “It certainly looks that way” I said and when her expression didn’t change I added, “Yes it is safe and I will stand guard for you. Ok?”
    Emma nodded and released my hand long enough to scamper behind the wall. I had no interest in watching her pee so politely turned my back and studied the horizon. It would be easy to consider the world was fine in this place.
    The cold wind was definitely not appreciated but the moors had an almost desolate appearance that I found immensely peaceful. The light rain that had fallen throughout the night had passed along and though dark clouds filled the sky they were not releasing their stored rain water.
    “I’m done” Emma said as she came around the wall and took a firm grip on my hand. I resisted the urge to roll my eyes and led the way back to the car. She