Zom-B Mission by Darren Shan Read Free Book Online Page A

hismother’s skirt.
    ‘If you want to retreat, tell us and we’ll take you,’ Carl says patiently. ‘But if you’re going to change your mind, now’s the time. We can slip back without any hassle. Nobody can predict how many of the buggers might be lying in wait for us further on.’
    Emma hesitates, torn between hope and fear. Nobody says anything. It’s not our job to persuade her one way or theother, merely to help her however we can.
    ‘OK,’ she finally croaks. ‘We’ll go on.’
    ‘Great,’ Shane beams. ‘You know it makes sense.’
    We advance, holding our formation around the shivering humans. As I said to Emma, it should be safe in the park, but we don’t take chances. A zombie could have carved a niche for itself in one of the trees, or dug a hole in the soil and be lying coveredby twigs and leaves, or be resting at the bottom of the shallow lake with its mouth closed and its nose pinched shut. We stay alert, taking nothing for granted, each one of us all too aware that in this world of the living dead a single mistake can be the end of you.

TEN
    We hike through St James’s Park, skirt Buckingham Palace and enter Green Park. That links up with Hyde Park, and soon we’re strolling along as if on a fun day out. We stick to the middle of the park, so we have a clear view in all directions.
    We relax our guard slightly and Emma lets Declan run around, chasing after him, playing games. But we don’t let either of them slip toofar away, wary of hidden threats.
    The grass has grown wild since the downfall of mankind. Old scraps of rubbish blow across it. Weeds snake through the bones of human carcasses. But this is still a soothing place. In these green stretches it’s possible to imagine that the apocalypse never happened. If I use my imagination, it could be a quiet Sunday morning, early, before any joggers ortourists are about. I might be on my way home from an all-night party, Mum and Dad waiting for me, angry but concerned, school on Monday, boring but reassuring, all my friends to catch up with.
    I shake my head and frown. There’s no use thinking that way. The world’s gone to hell and the only way to deal with it is to accept it for what it is. No point trying to live in the past. That’sfor saps.
    We eventually run out of park and pause to prepare for the next stretch. It’s a fairly straight, wide road most of the way to Hammersmith. On paper it’s a doddle. In the flesh it looks a lot less straightforward.
    ‘What about a car?’ Emma asks, spotting one stranded in the road nearby.
    ‘The noise would draw attention,’ Carl tells her.
    ‘But we could move faster than thezombies, couldn’t we?’ she persists.
    ‘Yes,’ Carl says, ‘but they could attack from the side or throw themselves in the way and make us crash. Then we’d be trapped and they’d just have to swarm round the car and force their way in.’
    ‘It will be fine,’ Ashtat reassures Emma. ‘You survived on the streets for months, and that was without our help.’
    ‘But I didn’t move about this much,’Emma says. ‘I only travelled short distances any time I left my base. And I kept to the shadows. We’ll be in full view of any watching zombies out here.’
    ‘That’s the best place to be,’ I chuckle, pointing at the hole in my chest. ‘When they see this, and some of our other wounds, they’ll know we’re undead. Seeing us in the mix, they’ll assume we’re all zombies. I mean, everyone knows thatzombies and the living don’t get along, right?’
    Emma licks her lips nervously. ‘If you’re sure . . .’
    ‘We are,’ Rage grunts and we move out of the park and on to the road.
    Things go more smoothly than we anticipated. We’re attacked several times, but by individuals or small groups. And they only cause us any difficulties if they’re hiding behind cars and leap out at us suddenly aswe approach. The rest – the ones lounging in buildings on either side of the road – are easy to deal