The Undead Day Twenty by RR Haywood Read Free Book Online Page A

house.
    ‘Sam? Pea? You want a bread roll with jam?’ Howie calls out. ‘Is Dave’s mum with you?’
    ‘At the van with Paula and Marcy,’ Pea says, ‘and er…only if there’s enough for you first.’
    ‘She is not my mother.’
    ‘Got loads,’ Cookey shouts from the house.
    ‘Howie…Nick…come here,’ Paula calls out.
    ‘Me?’ Nick asks, ‘why me?’
    ‘Something needs burning down,’ Blowers mutters.
    ‘Funny,’ Nick says, walking past Maddox, ‘prick…’
    ‘Nick,’ Maddox nods politely.
    ‘What?’ Howie asks, reaching the van with Nick and seeing Meredith’s arse and tail poking out the side opening.
    ‘Meredith,’ Marcy says, motioning towards the dog.
    Howie and Nick go forward, exchanging what the fuck glances before seeing Meredith sniffing every child within the van. Not just sniffing but examining, assessing, inhaling deeply and whining while doing it with a keening noise that comes from her throat.
    ‘She won’t hurt you,’ Paula says again to the children inside. ‘She loves children…’
    ‘And penises,’ Nick whispers as Howie snorts a laugh.
    ‘Nick,’ Marcy laughs, hitting him on the arm.
    ‘She’s going nuts,’ Paula says, ‘look at her…think she can smell him?’
    ‘Dunno, have you asked her?’ Howie asks, getting a look in return.
    ‘Why am I here again?’ Nick asks, worried that his bread roll with jam will get eaten.
    ‘She’s your dog,’ Paula says.
    ‘She’s not my dog,’ Nick replies then looks at Marcy, ‘she’s not my dog.’
    ‘Nick, think she can smell something?’ Howie asks, watching Meredith closely.
    ‘I don’t know, Boss. She’s not my dog…er…yes, yes she can…may I?’ He goes closer, watching Meredith and the way she moves from hand to hand. Pushing her nose to open fingers to smell palms. She stops at the smallest child, a little Indian girl who grins widely at the dog and starts rubbing her head. Meredith keens more, her nose moving over every inch of the girl.
    ‘Are you sure it was Paco Maguire?’ Paula asks the same question again, getting nods coming back.
    ‘Bread rolls,’ Clarence says, walking into the group with his hands holding several jam filled weirdly shaped lumps of bread.
    ‘Cheers,’ Howie says, taking one.
    ‘Want one,’ the little Indian girl says on sight of the rolls.
    ‘Amna,’ Subi says, ‘that is rude.’
    ‘She can have mine,’ Howie says, offering the roll to the little girl who beams with delight.
    ‘Here, honey,’ Paula says, offering her roll to Subi. ‘Go on, we’ve got plenty.’
    ‘Why is she sniffing that girl the most?’ Marcy asks, offering her roll to the children.
    ‘Dunno,’ Nick says, thinking hard. ‘Did Paco carry you? Did he carry this girl?’ He asks the older children who nod.
    ‘No way,’ Howie says. ‘Paco?’
    ‘Hey,’ Paula says, crouching at the side of the van. ‘Did Paco have any injuries anywhere?’
    Subi nods, her hand lifting to touch the base of her neck. ‘Here.’
    ‘He couldn’t speak,’ Rajesh says.
    ‘He did speak, Raj,’ Subi says. ‘He said dog and girl and Heather…’
    ‘Howie, want to get everyone ready?’ Paula says softly. ‘I’ll find out the rest.’
    ‘Yep.’
    ‘Save me a roll,’ she adds.
    ‘And me,’ Marcy says.
    ‘Yep,’ Howie calls out, rushing back with Nick and Clarence.
    ‘She killed him,’ Clarence says. ‘We were there. We saw it.’
    ‘Maybe she didn’t,’ Nick says.
    ‘What’s going on?’ Blowers asks, eating a bread roll with jam.
    ‘Get ready to go…Paula’s finding out the rest but it’s looking likely.’
    ‘No way,’ Blowers says, shaking his head.
    ‘Is Maddox having a bread roll with jam?’ Cookey shouts, ‘cos I’ll shit in it if he is…’
    ‘I’m fine, thank you,’ Maddox says, holding his impassive expression.
    Chaos erupts. An explosion of activity of many people moving through a house while finding socks, boots, clean tops and eating jam filled bread rolls.