Zom-B Angels by Darren Shan Read Free Book Online

still easier to browse in places where they aren’t packed in like
sardines.
    I choose several pairs of black jeans, a variety of dark T-shirts, a few jumpers and a couple of jackets. New sunglasses too, and a baseball cap with a skull design that I spot in a window, for
those days when I don’t feel like the Australian hat which has served me well so far.

    When it comes to shoes, the twins have a neat little device which screws into the material, making holes for the bones sticking out of my toes to jut through. They measure my feet and bore the
holes with all the care of professional cobblers.
    ‘I like it,’ I grunt, admiring my new trainers.
    ‘Dr Oystein invented that years ago,’ Cian tells me, pocketing the gadget. ‘He’s like one of those crazy inventors you read about in comics.’
    ‘Only not actually crazy,’ Awnya adds.
    ‘I don’t know about –’ I start to say, but a rapping sound on the shop window stops me.
    We all instantly drop to our knees. There’s another rap, a loud, clattering sound, but I can’t see anyone.
    ‘Do you think it’s a revived?’ I whisper.
    ‘I don’t know,’ Cian says.
    ‘I hope so,’ Awnya croaks.
    There’s a long silence. I look around for another way out. Then there are two more raps on the glass. I spot a hand, low down and to the left, close to the open door. Another two raps.
Then a series of short raps.
    I roll my eyes and stand. ‘Very funny,’ I shout.
    ‘Careful, B,’ Awnya moans. ‘We don’t know who it is.’
    ‘But we know they have lousy taste in movies,’ I snort. ‘I recognise those raps. They’re the theme tune from
Jaws
.’
    ‘And what’s wrong with that?’ a girl challenges me, stepping into view outside. ‘
Jaws
is a classic.’
    ‘The hell it is,’ I reply. ‘A boring old film with lousy special effects, and hardly anyone gets killed.’
    ‘You don’t know what you’re talking about,’ the girl says, stepping into the shop. Four teenage boys appear and follow her in. The girl smiles at the twins. ‘Hey,
guys, sorry if we frightened you.’
    ‘We weren’t frightened,’ Cian says with a dismissive shake of his head, as if the very idea is offensive to him. ‘We were excited. Thought we were going to see some
action at last.’
    ‘This is Ingrid,’ Awnya introduces the girl. ‘She’s one of us.’
    ‘I figured as much.’ I cast an eye over the tall, blonde, athletic-looking girl. She’s dressed in leathers, a bit like those the zom heads used to wear when they were
tormenting reviveds.
    ‘You must be B,’ Ingrid says.
    ‘Word travels fast,’ I smile.
    ‘Not that fast,’ Ingrid says. ‘You were in a Groove Tube for almost a month.’
    My smile vanishes.
    ‘What are you doing over here?’ Cian asks. ‘Are you on a mission?’
    ‘Yeah,’ Ingrid says.
    ‘What sort of a mission?’ I ask.
    ‘The usual,’ she shrugs. ‘Looking for survivors. Searching for brains. Keeping an eye out for Mr Dowling or any other intruders.’
    ‘We do this a lot,’ one of the boys says. ‘Not the most interesting of jobs, but it gets us out of County Hall.’
    ‘Sounds like fun,’ I lie, eager to see what they get up to. ‘Can I come with you?’
    ‘Absolutely not,’ Ingrid says. ‘You haven’t been cleared for action by Master Zhang.’
    ‘Aw, go on, Ingrid,’ Cian pleads. ‘If it’s a normal mission, where’s the harm? We can tag along too. We won’t tell.’
    ‘I don’t know,’ Ingrid says. ‘This is serious business. If anything happened to you . . .’
    ‘It won’t,’ Awnya says, as keen as her brother to get involved.
    Ingrid checks with the rest of her pack. ‘What do you guys think?’
    They shrug. ‘Doesn’t matter to us,’ one of them says.
    ‘Three mugs to throw to Mr Dowling and his mutants if they turn up,’ another guy smiles. ‘Might buy us enough time to slip away.’
    ‘Bite me,’ I snap, and they all laugh.
    ‘OK,’ Ingrid decides. ‘You can keep us company for a