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They glanced around at their new accommodations.“Looks like we’ll be living in tents for the time being,” said Marge.

“Oh, goodie,” said Mrs. Samson. “I love camping. It’s so exciting. You never know who might drop by your tent in the middle of the night.” And she set off in the direction of the nearest tent to check it out.

“Well, at least someone is enjoying herself,” said Chase with a smile.

[Êàðòèíêà: img_3]

Father Reilly had decided to head into town to spread his message of love and hope. The only problem was that there was no one there to receive it. The streets were all empty for some reason, and the shops closed up. But then suddenly a man dressed as a soldier walked up to him and he smiled. This man looked like he could use benediction.

“Blessings to you, my son,” he said warmly. “The answer is prayer. Pray and ask forgiveness for your sins and all will be well. And you’ll see that the Lord’s Benediction will wash over you like a warm bath and his love will heal you and save you from harm.”

The soldier, who was a young man, didn’t appear to be very responsive to the lessons Father Reilly tried to impart. On the contrary, he was eyeing him a little suspiciously, and barked, “Not one step further, sir. Stay right there.”

“Brotherly love is what we all share, son,” said Father Reilly. “Brotherly love. It’s the gift that keeps on giving. Let me wrap you in the Lord’s embrace and share his message.”

“Sir, I’m warning you,” said the soldier. “Not one step closer.”

“I just want to give you a hug,” said the priest, holding out his arms and stepping up to the young man. “Let’s celebrate His love and hug it out. Share that brotherly love.”

But instead of brotherly love, the soldier pointed a weapon at him. There was a short puffing sound and when Father Reilly looked down at his abdomen, he saw that some kind of dart had been fired at him, and it was now stuck in his belly.

Almost immediately he started feeling weak-kneed, and then he was falling to the ground. The pavement rose up with surprising speed and smacked him in the face.

Oh, not again, he thought, as his eyes closed. And then he was lost to the world.

[Êàðòèíêà: img_3]

Alec, who’d decided to return indoors and wait out this annoying zombie invasion, had been reading his morning paper, his feet up on his coffee table, and was thinking that a man could get used to this kind of life. Maybe the Mayor had done him a good turn when she’d suspended him and told him to go home and stay there for the time being.

He’d worked his entire adult life in the service of Hampton Cove, until Hampton Cove had spat him out over some unsubstantiated piece of gossip. So maybe he should take the hint and officially announce his retirement?

He could even move south, and start a new life down in Florida. Though he doubted whether his pension would stretch as far as that.

Then again, he could open a camping site down there and rent to snowbirds.

And he’d just decided to take a nap when there was a loud knock on his front door.

“Not again,” he muttered, figuring it was those annoying neighborhood kids again, or some old harridan come to call him names.

So he decided to pretend he wasn’t home. After all, they couldn’t look in through his window as he’d replaced it with a piece of chipboard. When he heard a noise at the back, and saw someone trying to glance in through the window, he quickly ducked down.

After a while he figured the coast was clear, so he closed his eyes and went to sleep. After the night he’d had, he deserved a nice little nap. And soon he was dozing peacefully.

Chapter 30

You may or may not be aware of this, but cats have a great fondness for taking extended naps. In fact when we have nothing to do, we simply curl up into a ball and nap away to our heart’s content, which is what I’d been doing since my friends had escaped. I was awakened now by the sound of a click, and when I glanced over I saw that my cage had been opened. I didn’t waste time, therefore, to push it open further, and taste some of that sweet and delicious freedom I’d beenmissing.

Oddly enough mine was the only cage that had malfunctioned in this way, for the other pets were all still confined to their cages, most of them having followed my example and taking a nap.

I decided that somehow Dooley and my friends had managed to free me—perhaps they’d discovered the control room from where our cages were being monitored, and had pushed the right button corresponding with my particular cell and had released me.

I was certainly grateful, though I now wondered where I had to go to find the elusive exit to this place.

I decided to follow in my friends’ pawsteps, and headed for that big bay door I’d seen them open with their feline pyramid. Clever bit of thinking, I’d thought at the time, and even though I was all by myself, and it’s hard to form a feline pyramid by your lonesome, I figured I’d think of something.