The Bitter End Read Online Free Page B

as if he was afraid it would burn him. When nothing happened he picked it up.
    "It's heavy," he said. He didn't speak loudly but, with no other sounds around, she could easily hear him.
    He put the gun in his bag without checking to see if it was loaded. As far as she knew he didn't even know how. She just hoped that if the time ever came they would be able to work out how to fire the thing. He picked up more guns, gaining confidence each time he dropped one in the bag, making a loud clack. After just a few minutes he had a bag full of handguns, machine guns and rifles. It was not yet mid-day.
    "We should get back to the boat," she said when he walked back to them.
    "Don't you want to do some shopping?" he said.
    Her heart lifted but she pushed it back down. That wasn't what they were here for and they couldn't afford to waste time. They needed to get back on the river and to as wide a stretch as possible. "We don't have time."
    "Come on," he said, already walking. "It's on the way back and we need stuff for the kitchen. The kids need clothes as well."
    She followed him. Ben tried to walk ahead to be with his father, no doubt drawn by the exotic treasure he had in his bag, but she kept a tight hold on his arm.
    "Don't you want anything?"
    She did want things. She wanted a nice dress and some pretty shoes. But that wasn't the world they lived in anymore. "Maybe some more boots," she said. "And some trousers."
    They walked back along the narrow alleyway which still smelled faintly of piss. They walked past the entrance to John Lewis and back across the bridge to the Oracle. She thought he was going to suggest they split up. She wouldn't have let it happen but the fact that he didn't even suggest it worried her. Did he think there was something in the shopping centre that could get them?
    He dropped the heavy bag of guns on the floor at the bottom of the escalator. "Where first?" he said.
    It would have been easy to imagine they were back in the old world. A Saturday morning spent walking around the shops followed by lunch in a nice pub and then the drive home. But she wouldn't let herself be drawn into that fantasy. This was a dangerous world. She couldn't afford to relax.
    They walked up the escalator to the top floor of the Oracle. A 1950s style diner was empty but still smelled of hamburgers. A cart selling cheap mobile phone accessories had been pushed out of its usual spot into the middle of the floor.
    "I didn't realise they'd closed The Gap," she said. The space stood empty, even the fixtures and fittings had been removed. It was a meaningless comment to make.
    Dennis didn't respond. They continued walking towards Debenhams.
    All of the shops were dark and she suddenly found herself wondering where the creatures went when the sun came up. In the old stories they went back to their graves and slept in their coffins. Some of the old stuff was true but this seemed unlikely. For one thing that would make them vulnerable and, as the last six months had proved, there was nothing weak about them.
    Somewhere dark then - like a shopping centre - where they could hide from the sun but defend themselves if needed. She forced herself to look away from the dark shops and dragged the kids behind her as she ran to catch up with Dennis.
    In Debenhams they picked up clothes in bundles and shoved them into plastic bags that they found behind the tills. Hannah couldn’t resist a slinky red strapless dress and matching shoes but she shoved it deep down in the bag underneath the more practical combat trousers and boots.
    Downstairs they got cooking pans and tins of Calor gas for when the boat ran out. The floor was under a few inches of water which ruined anything on the bottom shelves but they still found everything they needed, and more. As they were leaving Hannah saw a display of soft toys and on impulse shoved a couple of them into her bag.
    Outside it had started to rain. They ran towards the boat, their feet splashing in the water.