Snatchers (Book 3): The Dead Don't Cry by Shaun Whittington Page A

hand to mouth.
    Johnny got to the top of the stairs and went into the bathroom. He tried the cold tap of the sink and raised a scowl as nothing came out. He took a damp flannel that was sitting on the side; he then washed his hands and face with a bar of soap and the wet flannel, lowered his head on the ceramic and began to cry.
    From the bottom of the stairs, Jack called out, "Johnny."
    The thin, bald man, who was nearly at the age of fifty, composed himself and called down the stairs, "What is it?"
    "We're gonna need to block this front door off and some of the windows, if we want to sleep easy tonight."
    Johnny took a look in the mirror. He looked hideous. He looked hideous anyway; some people had remarked over the years, since he had lost his hair, that he looked like one of the cannibals in Wes Craven's, The Hills Have Eyes. He may have looked scary to some folk, but he was one of the biggest cowards on the planet.
    How on earth was he going to last more than a week in this world? He couldn't rely on Jack to carry him; and even if that was the plan, Johnny had a strong notion that if you were slowing Jack Slade down, he would eventually leave you to fend for yourself.
    Jack's voice was heard once again. This time it was a lot louder, angrier, and made Johnny jump. "Johnny, hurry the hell up!"
    "I'll be right down," Johnny finally answered.

Chapter Sixteen
     
    June 25th
     
    Jade Greatrix and Paul Parker had managed seven hours of broken sleep between them, and were both feeling the effects of dehydration. Jade had drank a few gulps of stream water the evening before and had contracted diarrhoea, but she was unsure whether it was down to the water she had drank, or it was her nerves that were causing her bowels to be so upset. Maybe a mixture of the two.
    Paul had splashed his face by the nearby stream, but refused to drink it, despite that his body was aching to have water. He stood to his feet and stretched his body. Jade looked at him and was concerned for him. They were both tired and thirsty, and Paul seemed to have given up. He was such a different character to the one she had first met in the sports centre.
    Back at the sports centre, he was strong and confident, and despite the fact he was a man that was missing his family, she did find him attractive. Maybe that's what it was! It wasn't just the tiredness and the dehydration that was making him feel so down; he was more than likely pining for his wife and daughter, she thought.
    "You okay?" Jade glared at Paul for some kind of answer. Talking hadn't been his strong point of late.
    He shook his head. "This is hopeless. Living in this," he opened out his arms and looked around the woods, "is hopeless. I've made a decision."
    "Oh?"
    Paul's shoulders rose up as he took a deep breath in. "I'm going home."
    "But what about those things? I thought they were all around your village."
    "I don't care anymore!" he snarled. "When I woke up on that morning, my family were gone and my house was swarming with the things. I had no choice but to run. Now, who knows?"
    "If you go back to your village, there could be hundreds of the things."
    "True. But what if they're not there? What if there's no one left, and the Lurkers have moved on somewhere else? That means my house is lying vacant. I have more of a chance finding my family being back at the house. Since I left for the village hall, I seemed to be moving further and further away from where I used to live, which probably means further away from Jocelyn and Hannah. I need to go back; if we ever get to a stage where it becomes safe to walk outside again, the family home is where they'll go."
    "Okay." Jade sounded dejected with Paul's determination, but she knew that she could hardly stand in the way of a man wanting to find his family.
    "And I want you to come back with me," said Paul.
    "Really?"
    "Really."
    Jade released a smile; her face was full of so much relief and happiness that she began to cry. She was convinced that