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

with, as we see them coming from a long way off and have plenty of time to get ready for them.
    ‘This is too easy,’ Shane mutters as he rips another zombie’s brain from its skull then wipes his hand clean on the back of the dead creature’s shirt.
    ‘Don’t get cocky,’ I snap.
    ‘I’m not,’he says. ‘I’m worried. When you have things this easy, it usually means you’re going to run into all kinds of trouble later.’
    ‘Don’t be a pessimist,’ Carl grunts, but I know he’s thinking the same thing. We all are, except maybe Rage. He’s the sort of guy who always expects a smooth ride, since he figures the world was made for him in the first place.
    But despite our fears the big catastrophefails to materialise. We aren’t attacked by gangs. We never need to break formation or run. We don’t end up trapped in a building with no way out.
    In a weird way it’s an anti-climax. We were ready for fireworks, but we barely have to bloody our fists. Still, I guess that’s a good thing, if not for us, then definitely for Emma and Declan.
    We run into a minor problem in Hammersmith.There’s a flyover we want to pass under, but the shaded area is packed with zombies. A few catch sight of us and get to their feet. For a second it looks like we’re in trouble. But then they spot the hole in my chest and the green moss growing from the cuts on some of the others. The zombies lie down again, not bothering to shuffle forward to investigate more closely, never realising that thereare a couple of jokers in the pack.
    We find another way around, making use of side roads, and arrive at our destination as the midday sun is burning bright in the sky. The humans are holed up in a block of offices. We pause outside the entrance and stare at the building. It still feels like we’ve had it too easy. I half-expect Mr Dowling and his mutants to come abseiling down.
    Insteadwhat happens is something almost as surprising, but nowhere near as alarming. Declan speaks for the first time since I’ve known him.
    ‘Doggy.’
    All of us gawp at the normally silent boy. Emma’s face lights up and she hugs him, then starts to cry happily. Maybe she thought he would never speak again. But Declan ignores her tears. He’s looking at the road behind us and he points over hershoulder.
    ‘Doggy,’ he says again.
    ‘Bloody hell,’ Shane laughs. ‘He’s not wrong. Look.’
    We slipped under a rising entry barrier on our way into the yard surrounding the building. Now when I look back, I spot a large, hairy sheepdog standing on the other side.
    ‘Isn’t it beautiful,’ Ashtat coos as I do a stunned double take. She drops to her knees and makes a clicking noise with hertongue and teeth. ‘Here, doggy.’
    The dog ignores her. Its tail isn’t wagging. It’s staring at us.
    The sheepdog is white at the front, turning to grey further back. Its hair is dirty and matted with dried bloodstains. The others are enchanted by it, not having seen a live dog since before the zombies rose up and killed them all for their brains. They join Ashtat in calling and whistling,trying to get it to come closer.
    I’m less excited by the dog. In fact I’m seriously disturbed. When I was making my way to Timothy’s gallery after Rage had pushed me off the London Eye, I came across a dog just like this. It was resting in the road and ran off when I tried to get it to come. It had the same markings and stains as this one.
    Maybe the dog followed me and has been trailingme ever since, but I doubt it. I would surely have seen it before if it had made its home close to County Hall. So what other explanations are there? Is it coincidence that our paths have crossed again? Or perhaps it’s a different dog that just looks the same?
    I glance around, uneasy but not sure why. As Ashtat and the rest call to the dog and click their fingers, I suddenly shout at it,‘Get out of here, you ugly mutt!’

    The dog bolts and everyone glares at me.
    ‘What did you do