Thirteen Roses Book Two: After: A Paranormal Zombie Saga by Michael Cairns

right, I shouldn't have done that and thank you for saving me. Again. But I can't do it. I don't know how to do this without going mad.'
    She wiped, flushed and pulled her trousers up. She washed her hands again, just for good measure, and watched as he took his hands away and tried not to look at any part of her except the face.  
    'It's just peeing, it's alright.'
    'Uh, yeah, right.'
    She strolled past him, shaking her head. One minute he's all 'everyone's dead and what's the point', the next he's freaking out about seeing her on the toilet. What did he think was gonna happen if one of them got injured?  
    She went into the lounge and sat on the sofa, staring at the black TV screen. 'I don't know if there is a way. I mean, I don't know how to do it, either. One day at a time, I guess. But you can do it. You just have to decide to do it.'
    'Yeah, just like that, r—'
    'Exactly.' She interrupted, hearing the doubt in his voice. 'Just like that. Why not?'
    'It's not, it's just…' He sighed and threw his hands up. 'It's just not that simple.'  
    'It can be. Look, first things first, we need to see whether anyone else is alive.'
    'That's what I'm talking about. How are we supposed to do that?'
    There was silence for a moment while she tried to work out an answer that didn't sound hopeless, and another thump came at the front door. They both jumped and smiled sheepishly at one another.  
    'If you were alive. I mean, if you survived the fog, where would you go?'
    Ed cocked his head to one side. 'I'd go to Harrods.'
    She laughed and enjoyed the strange sensation. 'I wouldn't. I'd want to know what happened. I do want to know what happened. I'd go to the centre of things, where it started.'
    'Where's that?'
    'The guy on the news said the Houses of Parliament, right? So we go there.'
    'But we're in Shadwell, it's miles away.'
    'It's not that far. Can you drive?'
    'Drive? Krystal, I'm fourteen, of course I can't drive, can you?'
    'Nah. I know the theory, though. I could probably work it out.'
    'Probably?'
    'We can just walk if you like. It's a nice day.'
    He gave her a look and disappeared into the kitchen. He emerged moments later dangling a set of car keys from his finger. It had a Ford fob on it and she peered out the front window at the Ford Focus parked on the street. Between it and them were three zombies, two on the garden path and one loitering outside the gate.  
    She scooped up her bag and took a breath. 'We get past them, we get in the car and lock it and we're safe, right?'
    He shrugged. 'We aren't safe anywhere. Remember, I'm not doing this because I think we've got a chance. I just don't want to die alone.'
    'That's fine. So long as you remember I don't want to die at all, so no standing there looking like a numpty if they attack us, right?'
    He nodded, cheeks reddening. She headed into the kitchen and emerged with the knife block. She tipped them out onto the carpet and chose three, shoving two into her belt and clutching the third in her right hand. Ed stared at them as though they were poisonous, but eventually he picked up the bread knife and brandished it before him.  
    'Ready?'
    He nodded and swallowed, and she gave him her brightest smile. Then she cracked open the front door, checked she had the keys in her pocket, and stepped out into the sunlight.  

Luke - Tuesday: 2 Days to Plague Day

    Finding the gem had been easy. The church didn't know what it had in many of its treasures and kept them carelessly in view. Stealing it had involved a certain level of damage to certain people, but as each and every bit of hurt would lead straight back to the Father, he found it hard to feel bad.  
    Alex couldn't make a cure. Luke wasn't surprised, not if he was honest with himself. He would have been a week ago, before the meeting with Kali. But she'd opened a whole bunch of doors he'd kept closed for far too long, and he was beginning to understand the hidden depths to what was happening.
    It was a conspiracy. The