Kapitel 27: CHIMES OF DOOM [2]
Here's the corrected version with spelling fixes:
'Don't you think you're overreacting?' Xian Mei said.
Purna glared at her. 'Oh, you think? You want me to drive into a heavy population center which we've been led to believe is swarming with the infected, and you honestly can't understand why I regard that action as a mite foolhardy?'
'People are in trouble,' said Jin.
Purna closed her eyes briefly. 'If you say that one more time, I may punch you unconscious.'
Calmly Xian Mei said, 'Moresby church is less than a mile from here. And it's on a hill above the city. We can get there without having to go down into the streets at all.'
'And you think those bells won't have attracted the infected from miles around?' Purna said.
Sam shrugged. 'We can't say for sure that sound really registers with them. I mean, the TV in that old lady's house didn't seem to attract them.'
'Apart from the fact that the old woman had been gutted,' Purna pointed out.
'Which means one of them got in, sure. But maybe they got a sixth sense for fresh blood or a beating heart.'
'Why don't we vote on it?' Jin suggested and raised a hand. 'I vote we check it out.'
'Me too,' said Sam. When Purna shook her head in disgust, he added, 'If people are in trouble, I can't just ignore it. Maybe that makes me a dumb fuck, but at least I'll die with a clear conscience.'
'I vote we check it out too,' said Xian Mei, and pulled an apologetic face. 'Sorry, Purna.'
Purna sighed but said, 'I want it on record that I think this is a crazy idea – but I suppose I'll abide by the majority decision.' Putting the truck into gear, she asked, 'So how do I get to this damn church?'
The bells grew louder as they approached, and Sam couldn't help but think of a line from an old song, something about chimes of doom. Following Xian Mei's instructions, they took a right onto what seemed little more than a leafy track through a patch of jungle that rose steadily uphill, the road so pitted and uneven that Purna had to slow the van to a crawl at times.
'No chance of a quick getaway here,' she remarked tartly.
No one said anything, and a few minutes later, the road opened out into a dusty clearing dominated on the far side by a pair of imposing black iron gates. Slowing to a halt, Purna said, 'So what now?'
Xian Mei looked momentarily hesitant. 'Now we get out and walk, I guess.'
Purna looked at her. 'Are you kidding me?'
'It's only a few hundred meters through the graveyard. Look, you can see the spire of the church from here.'
She leaned forward in her seat, pointing upwards. The others leaned forward too. At the top of the windscreen, rising above the trees beyond the gates, they could just make out a dark spire topped by a crucifix standing out starkly against the pale dawn sky.
'A few hundred meters,' Purna repeated heavily. Beyond the gates were gravel walkways divided by occasional flights of wooden steps. On a regular Sunday, worshippers ascending the hill would no doubt feel they were plodding towards heaven, but right now it looked like nothing more than a potentially lethal obstacle course. 'Isn't there an access road we can use? What about deliveries?'
Jin shook her head. 'Anything the church needs is carried up from here. They've always managed before now.'
'Before now, they didn't have the undead to contend with,' Purna remarked.
Sam unclipped his seatbelt. 'Come on, let's get this thing done.'
Because Purna had handled one before, and because the other three felt secretly guilty at involving her in a situation of potential and unnecessary danger, it was decided that the Australian girl would carry the shotgun. Sam and Xian Mei had a flare pistol and a machete each, and after a couple of minutes of heated debate, Jin was persuaded to carry a crowbar to – if need be – 'defend herself with'.
Despite the presence of dozens of sun-bleached grave markers straggling uphill and leaning every which way, the route up to Moresby church was more like a tropical garden than a typical graveyard.
In fact, there were several routes to choose from, each one winding through clumps of palm trees and thick vegetation.
The sun had burst over the horizon now and was creeping steadily higher in the sky, the insects and birds launching gustily into their dawn chorus as the day grew brighter and hotter. Purna looked around warily, remarking that everyone should be extra vigilant, as the sound of insects, birds, and bells would almost certainly be enough to mask the approach of the infected.
She had barely finished speaking when a zombie erupted out of the bushes about eight meters ahead of them, blocking their path.
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I will be making some chapters smaller, unfortunately. since my laptop is breaking down, so will be using my phone more often.
Wöchentlicher Energiestatus
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Stein