Zom-B Gladiator by Darren Shan

in front of me, grinning bleakly.
    ‘I know you haven’t forgotten me,’ he says quietly in his American accent. ‘You’re in trouble and I won’t pretend you’re not. But I’m not figuring on killing you. If you play ball, you might get out of this alive. Now, do you want me to take out that gag?’
    I nod sharply.
    ‘If you try to biteme, I’ll execute you,’ he says, showing me a hunting knife. ‘I’ll dig this straight into your brain at the first snap of your teeth.’
    I glare at Barnes as he reaches out and removes the gag, but slide my head backwards as soon as my mouth is free, away from his gloved fingers, to signal to him that I’m not going to strike. Barnes didn’t bother with gloves the first time I met him, but Iguess he’s racked up the stakes a level and is getting much closer to zombies now. If you’re gonna get hands-on with one of us, you need to be more cautious.
    ‘How did you find me?’ I snarl.
    ‘I’ve been staking out Leicester Square and the area around it for several weeks,’ he says. ‘I guessed you – or those like you – would swing through sooner or later. The Square might have fallenfrom grace, but it’s still the heart of the city.

    ‘I’ve seen you before,’ he continues. ‘A few times. But you were always part of a group. I didn’t want to target you when you were with company. Too complicated. Always easier to pick off a stray.
    ‘Actually I wasn’t after you specifically,’ he adds. ‘Any one of you would have done. But I had a feeling it would be you. The universe works strangely that way. I don’t believe in destiny,but coincidence is a far more complex beast than most people give it credit for.’
    ‘God bless coincidence,’ the driver laughs. ‘I’m glad you didn’t let me kill her all those months ago.’
    ‘Coley?’ I growl. Barnes’s hunting partner wanted to shoot me when our paths first crossed. Barnes wouldn’t let him. Rather, he said he’d let Coley shoot me, but that he’d disable him in return and leavehim for the zombies as punishment.
    ‘Guess you didn’t think you’d be seeing me again,’ Coley snickers.
    ‘Not this side of Hell,’ I snarl. ‘I hoped a zombie would have ripped you apart by now.’
    ‘Not this fleet-footed fox,’ Coley boasts.
    ‘I’m surprised you’re still together,’ I mutter. ‘I thought you’d have gone your separate ways after what happened, Barnes threatening to shoot offyour kneecaps and all.’
    ‘Nothing more than a minor quarrel,’ Coley says, glancing over his shoulder to show me his grin. He’s sporting fancy designer glasses, the same as before. His straw-coloured hair is a bit longer. Both men are wearing army fatigues.
    ‘A lovers’ tiff?’ I murmur, smiling back at Coley as best I can from my awkward position.
    Coley’s face darkens. ‘I say we cutout her tongue.’
    Barnes chuckles. ‘Not yet. Our lords and ladies might want her to sing for them first.’
    ‘What’s going on?’ I ask.
    ‘You’ll find out soon,’ Barnes tells me.
    ‘You won’t like it when you do,’ Coley cackles and takes a bend sharply, tyres squealing. Barnes almost topples on to me.
    ‘Careful!’ he barks.
    ‘Don’t worry,’ Coley says. ‘I’m in total control of thisbaby.’ We hit a bump and Barnes is jolted into the air. Again he has to steady himself before he falls within range of my infectious teeth.
    ‘I won’t warn you again,’ Barnes says.
    ‘You’re no fun,’ Coley pouts but slows to a more reasonable speed.
    Barnes scowls at the back of his partner’s head, then leans in close to me. ‘If it’s any consolation,’ he whispers so that only I can hear,‘I hate having to do this. It won’t mean much to you, I know, but for what it’s worth, I’m sorry.’
    And the sad look he flashes me is far more worrying than any threat he might have made.

We drive for what feels like twenty or thirty minutes. It involves a lot of zigzagging around crashed or abandoned