Year of the Zombie (Book 8): Scratch by David Moody Read Free Book Online Page A

side of the border. Those trapped alongside the infection
had two options – stay put and wait for help, or drive to one of the
decontamination checkpoints and get the hell out of Dodge. As frustrating as it
was, Jody thought the sensible option was to wait.
    She was just about
managing to keep her emotions in check when Ben kicked off. He was a smart kid,
but prone to losing his temper when things didn’t go his way. And this morning,
they hadn’t. It was a load of noise over nothing – an argument over a
game controller and who was watching which TV – but all six of them were
involved. Jody tried to pacify Ben, then Gary criticised the way she was speaking
to him, then Charlie told Gary he was out of order, then Gary told Charlie to
butt out, then Jenny told Gary not to be mean, then Ben screamed at Holly
because while they’d all been arguing she’d started watching a DVD on the TV he
wanted... and so it continued.
    It didn’t matter who
started the argument or what it was about, the focus inevitably shifted to Gary
and Jody. ‘I need to get out of here,’ Jody said in frustration.
    ‘Probably for the best
if you go,’ Gary agreed.
    ‘Is that a good idea?’
Charlie asked.
    ‘I can’t stay here.’
    ‘You can. We’ve already
had this conversation.’
    ‘No, I can’t. I can’t
stay here with him .’
    ‘Best news I’ve heard
all morning,’ Gary muttered.
    ‘I’m on fumes, though,’
Jody said, turning her back on her ex and speaking directly to Charlie.
    ‘Not a problem,’ Gary
answered, quick as a flash. ‘Charlie’s car’s in the garage. Fill your car from
hers.’
    ‘Or just take my car,’
Charlie suggested.
    ‘Even better,’ Gary
said.
    ‘I’m not planning on
going anywhere for a long time. The keys are hanging up in the kitchen.’
    ‘You’re sure?’
    ‘Positive.’
    ‘Cool. Okay. Thanks.
I’ll get all our stuff together and we’ll be out of your way.’
    Gary’s expression
changed and he manoeuvred himself back into the centre of the conversation.
‘Wait, wait, wait... what do you mean, we ?’
    Surely that was obvious?
    ‘What do you think I
mean? Me and the kids.’
    ‘You think I’m going to
let you take my kids out into that madness outside?’
    Another trick question?
    ‘Yes, that’s exactly
what I think. It’s not really up to you, is it?’
    ‘Not happening.’
    ‘What?’
    ‘You heard me. Christ,
I’m not happy about you looking after them as it is. Especially not now with
all this shit going on.’
    ‘Well the judge was
happier with me looking after them than you, remember?’
    Charlie sensed the
tension rising rapidly. She’d felt less uncomfortable when the infected had
attacked the back of the house yesterday afternoon. She ushered the kids out of
the room. ‘Come on, you three, let’s go get you some breakfast sorted.’
    ‘Things have changed...’
Gary started to say before Jody cut across him.
    ‘The judge ruled that
the kids stay with me. He said you couldn’t give them the stability or care
that I could, remember?’
    ‘That was before all
this shit kicked off.’
    ‘What, you think we can
forget about the law because the outside world has turned into a horror movie?
You think you’re somehow better equipped to cope now?’
    ‘I didn’t say that. The
judge made his decision based on the information he had at the time. I’ll
admit, I wasn’t in a good place back then.’
    ‘And you think we should
reassess now because we’re all in a bad place?’
    ‘I’ve turned things
around, Jody, and we both know it. I’m with Charlie, we’ve got this place...’
    ‘ She’s got this
place. It’s her house, not yours.’
    ‘Yeah, well I’d be able
to buy into it if all my money wasn’t still tied up in our old house. If you
got off your arse and bought me out then—’
    ‘If I got off my arse?!’
she screamed at him, incensed. ‘You total shit. I can’t go to work and you know
it. I’ve got the kids to look after.’
    ‘There