Delete: Volume 3 (Shifter Series) by Kim Curran Read Free Book Online

Clausewitz. They all looked pretty well read. Where were my comic books and tatty SF novels?
    “I think it’s best if I go. Leave you alone,” Zac said.
    “No,” I said forcefully, surprising even myself. “I mean, stay a bit. Maybe you can help me remember.”
    “If you’re sure,” Zac shrugged, and then vaulted over a low grey sofa, landing lying down. He reached for a remote control and fired up an enormous TV fixed to the wall.
    It was tuned to a news channel, broadcasting a report about the British army’s latest victory in the Middle East. It showed footage of men and women wearing orange jumpsuits, bags over their heads and their arms tied behind their backs, being shepherded into waiting trucks by soldiers.
    “Prop,” Zac said, flicking over to another news channel. “More prop. Do you have any games?”
    “I have no idea. And what’s prop?”
    “Propaganda. All the channels are pumping it out 24/7, keeping everyone believing that the good guys are winning the fight.”
    “And are we?” I said, easing into an armchair.
    He glanced up from the screen and sucked his teeth. “That depends.”
    “On what?”
    “On who you think the good guys are.”
    “Are you saying we’re not?”
    “No!” Zac said, sitting up. “God, no.” He looked around, as if nervous that we were being listened to. “It’s only that it’s not as simple as all that.”
    “So tell me. From the start. Who are we fighting and why?”
    Zac sighed. And began.
     

CHAPTER FIVE
    “No one really knows what started it. There wasn’t a single incident, like a duke getting shot or someone invading Poland. If there was, we probably could have done something about it. It sort of grew and grew. And before we realised we were actually fighting a war, it was too late. Some people think it began with 9/11 and the way the West reacted with the air strikes on the Middle East. The Arab states were pretty miffed, as you can guess, and stopped all the oil flow to the west. After that, we were scrabbling around looking for alternative fuels. Fracking everywhere we could, destroying landscapes to get at the liquid oil deep in the earth. Which was what made the Green lot crazy. At the same time, Scotland voted to become independent and planned on whacking their oil prices up.”
    “That explains the flag,” I said, realising what was wrong with the flags I’d seen painted on the Rhino and the vehicles. “It’s missing the St Andrew’s Cross.”
    “Yeah, they stripped it off after Scotland devolved. Only, the British government overruled the Scottish vote and kind of invaded. As you can imagine, that didn’t go down well with the Scots. Or the Irish or the Welsh. Or pretty much anyone, really. And by that point, we were being attacked on all sides.”
    “What do you mean? We’re not only fighting one enemy?”
    “Not at the start,” Zac said, kicking his shoes off and putting his feet up on the arm of the sofa. “In the early days, it was like everyone was after us. Anarchists, Islamist groups, even the Communists got back in the trying-to-kill-us game. There were air raids and bomb strikes. Two hundred thousand people died in the first year. We’ve lost count since.”
    I shook my head. It was impossible to take this all in.
    Zac sniffed and carried on. “They say there was a nuke strike on Britain back in 2010, only some Shifter managed to avert it. Not sure if I believe it; more prop, if you ask me. But it did make Shifters popular with the great British public.”
    “They know about Shifters?”
    “Know about us? They love us! Especially you. Come on, Scott, don’t tell me you don’t remember your ad campaign.”
    “No. Way.”
    Zac burst out laughing. “It was hysterical. You, standing in a field somewhere, with the British flag flapping behind your head, looking all heroic. So cheesy. Anyway, it worked. People started to see us as symbols of defiance. If a bunch of kids could stand up to the enemy, so could they. And