Run by Gabby Tye Page A

group of about 20 adults coming down the street towards our house. They are about 10 houses away. I recognise their strange shambling, shuffling way of moving.
    â€œIt’s them,” I say simply. “The weird adults we saw.”
    â€œYou mean the Eaters?” a little boy next to me asks.
    The Eaters? Yes, that’s a good word for them.
    â€œYes, the Eaters,” I say.
    â€œThey look funny,” Brion says.
    Dyanne is the first to react. She starts giving instructions and I am suddenly glad for her bossiness.
    â€œEveryone, grab your packs! We have to go now! We have to run!”
    Everyone rushes around madly, and I take one last look outside. The Eaters are making weird grunting noises and crashing through everything in their path. Most of them are stumbling forward blindly, mindlessly. There are a few that look more alert, who turn their heads from side to side.
    I see one woman Eater fall, but none of them bothers to try to help her up. They just walk over her. She screeches in pain. One of the Eaters turns back and starts towards her. He bends over and reaches for her hand. He takes a bite. More follow suit and the screams of the woman Eater get louder. I turn away and shoo the younger kids away from the window. I shudder.
    They are getting closer and closer. We hear a dull thud coming from the front door. We all run down the stairs and through the kitchen. We spill out the back door into the garden at the back of the house.
    â€œThey are coming!” one of the younger girls screams.
    The pounding on the front door gets louder. The strange grunting takes on an urgent quality. A chill runs down my spine. I am terrified. More kids scream.
    â€œWhat do we do now?” I grab Jae’s arm in panic.
    â€œWe need to get out of here,” Jae says.
    Jae and Kyl run to a small metal gate in the wall surrounding the garden. It leads out to a storm drain running along the back of all the houses on this street. There is a narrow ledge along the drain. We can escape from there!
    Brion runs to help them, but the metal gate is jammed. It won’t even budge.
    Kyl tries to push the gate open but it is wedged firmly in its place. I hear a loud thud and a crash. The front door has fallen. Jae and I hit the gate with Kyl.
    â€œOver. We need to go over the wall,” Brion says.
    I look around at the frightened faces. There are 15 of us. How will we get over in time? The wall is so tall, over two metres high. What are we going to do?
    â€œThe sofa!” I yell. “Drag the sofa here!”
    Jae and Kyl drag the sofa over to the wall. Standing on the back of the sofa, Kyl easily reaches the top of the wall. He clambers up and sits astride the top of the wall. Jae is pushing the little kids up to Kyl, who grabs them by their arms and hauls them over. They all look terrified, but they’re being so brave.
    I hear a shriek. “They’re coming!”
    We are not going to be able to get all the kids over the wall in time. Brion and I pound harder against the gate in the wall but to no avail. The grunting noises are getting nearer. They are definitely in the house.
    I turn to look back and see that the door leading out to the backyard is open. I see a whole group of Eaters swarm into the kitchen. Dyanne and Brion stand guard over the younger kids, getting ready to defend them.
    I run back towards the house. I grab the door handle and slam the door shut. It seems a silly and futile gesture, seeing as the door locks from the inside. I pull back the door with every ounce of strength I can muster.
    Dyanne runs to help me. I feel a tug on the other side and the door starts to open.
    â€œHurry up!” Dyanne shouts to Kyl and Jae. “We can’t keep this up much longer!”
    The door opens a crack and a hand worms its way into the gap. It is blistered, bloody and totally disgusting. The hand grips the door, yanking and pulling.
    â€œWhat do we do?!” I gasp at