Read Snatchers (Book 3): The Dead Don't Cry for Free Online

they were about to enter.
    The vehicle pulled up alongside the group and they were greeted by a middle-aged couple. A man popped his head out of the window and said, "Don't go to Rugeley Town."
    Paul Parker asked, "Why not?"
    Beside the middle-aged man sat a woman about the same age. Both individuals were very heavy and the woman added, "It's mental in there. Houses are on fire, people are beating up one another for food, and those...monsters are everywhere."
    "A lot of people are leaving now," the man continued. "It's alright the radios telling us to stay barricaded in our houses, but why? There's no one coming to help us and we haven't eaten properly in two days," he patted his large belly, "believe it or not."
    Pickle went into his rucksack and pulled out a few mars bars. They were a bit melted, but still edible. "Yer can have these if yer give us a ride somewhere. I've got some water as well."
    "It's okay." The man's eyes were full of kindness. "We have a few things in the back for when we're really desperate, but we'll give you a lift anyway. You seem like nice people. Where do you wanna go?"
    "Well, now the town is out o' bounds, we have no idea." Pickle looked at his group then turned back to the driver of the truck. "Where are you two going?"
    "We're not entirely sure." The man then gaped over to his wife; they both smiled and held hands briefly. "We really want to go to Skelmersdale, to see our only son."
    "That's miles away," Karen spoke, the negativity in her tone almost diluting the excitement of the couple's dream.
    "I know." The man nodded, and even his face suggested that Skelmersdale would be a risky mission that could end in abject failure, costing their lives. "Our son's there. He said that his village is safe and has been cordoned off by the villagers themselves. If we arrive, he promises that they'll take us in."
    "Well," Pickle began. "At least yer got hope. We've been runnin' round in circles for the last couple o' weeks and still have no idea where to go and what to do."
    The woman said, "We just want to go somewhere where it's safe, where there's some kind of order. We heard about a place in Armitage, but we want to be with our son."
    The man added sadly, "In our street, bandits broke into the end house, looted the place and then set fire to it. "
    Karen shook her head in exasperation. "Why would people do that? What's the point in that?"
    The man looked down at his chest, sadly. He was appalled the way some individuals were behaving after just weeks of this mess. "There is no point."
    "Anyway." Pickle clapped his hands together and looked at his three companions, then back to the male driver of the truck. "We appreciate the lift." Pickle then urged his three friends to jump in the back of the truck. He was surprised that the back of the pick-up truck was reasonably empty. There wasn't much food; there was a few bottles of juice and carrier bags of tins, and that was it. There were no clothing or anything else.
    Once the group were in the back, Pickle told everyone to sit down in case there was a danger of falling out.
    Karen was initially unsure of going back to her hometown, but now felt a little disappointed that she was only a quarter of mile away from Rugeley, and now it appeared that she was definitely not going back. It would have been interesting to see how the old place had managed to cope over the last couple of weeks. She then thought about her old house. If she somehow got back into her own place, if the street was safe enough, there was still the problem of removing the fiend that was once her fiancée, Gary. If he was still trapped in the house, it would have been an awful sight to see how he had decomposed over the few weeks that had passed, and the smell...
    Maybe it was just as well that Rugeley was now a no-go area. Wasn't all populated areas? It was only a town of thousands and she wondered how the likes of Cardiff, Edinburgh, Birmingham and London were coping with this nightmare. It