more. ‘Fuck.’
Then I left him and ran, following the ghostly light of Melissa.
CHAPTER SIX
I WAS SO busy watching out for the zombies advancing around the edge of the complex that I nearly ran straight into the arms of one stumbling out of the shadow of a hexagonal building.
This one was a woman, dressed in what might have once been sweats or a tracksuit, but which were now stained and torn. It was in an advanced state of decay, and something was dripping from its outstretched hand as it reached for me.
I stopped in time and changed course, and the swiping hand missed me. As I caught up with Melissa, I snapped at her: ‘I thought you saw everything.’
‘More or less,’ she replied, unfazed. ‘But I still need to be looking at it. I can’t concentrate on everything at once. Now shut up and climb.’
I was never that good at PE or gym class or whatever you want to call it, and saw with some alarm that I was expected to scramble up onto the roof of a low, prefabricated building.
‘There must be a better way in than this,’ I said.
‘This is the quickest way off the ground,’ Melissa replied. ‘You won’t get far if you don’t get up high, and I can guide you from here.’
‘Shit, okay. Watch my back.’
There were windows sort of level with my head, but the roof must have been ten, twelve feet off the ground. I looked around for a ladder or a bin or something to help.
Low moans were getting closer. Even with Melissa as lookout I would be in trouble if I was surrounded, or at this rate when I was surrounded.
I put my hands on the bottom window ledge, braced my feet and tried to scramble up. It didn’t work—I felt a little tension between the soles of my shoes and the panels that made up the wall, but it didn’t last; the panels were too smooth and slippery to climb up. My arms ached and I let go quickly.
I dropped to the ground and stepped back. I didn’t need to turn around to see the zombies were close, I could smell them.
No time to puke, I could do that later.
One last try, and if that didn’t work I would do a runner and try elsewhere, sod Melissa’s special route or whatever it was.
I ran at the wall and did a kind of running, jumping scramble up, the toes of my trainers just scraping against the wall but giving me a little boost upwards.
I grabbed on to the top of the window frame, which was precariously slippery. My arms screamed at me straight away, my elbows feeling like they were about to dislocate—I couldn’t hold myself like this for long.
Looking back, I could see four or five zombies closing in, including the gloopy female that just missed me.
Not today, madam.
I scrambled blindly until my feet found purchase on the window ledge, then boosted myself up, clinging for one brief second to the top of the window frame with only one hand.
For a moment I was slipping, both losing my one-handed grip and my footing, about to fall backwards straight into the loving arms of the zombies below.
Then my free hand caught the much more solid handhold that was the gutter running around the roof, and I hauled myself upwards, switching my other hand to grab it, moving my feet to the narrow top of the window frame.
I almost slipped again, my toes failing to find purchase, but I caught the frame just long enough to push the top half of my body onto the rooftop, from which I scrabbled and slithered on further, legs kicking air and the gravel on the roof scraping my face as I desperately writhed forward.
When I’d made it up, I lay there face-down, panting, aching.
‘Wow,’ Melissa said, standing over me, immaculate in undeath. ‘It’s great to see a real ninja at work.’
‘I’d like to see you try that,’ I said, rolling on to my back.
‘I just did,’ she replied. ‘I can’t fly, you know.’
‘Yes, but you don’t breathe either. Which can’t be nice, but... but in this case it’s a bit of an advantage.’
For some reason, she smiled. And I
Then I left him and ran, following the ghostly light of Melissa.
CHAPTER SIX
I WAS SO busy watching out for the zombies advancing around the edge of the complex that I nearly ran straight into the arms of one stumbling out of the shadow of a hexagonal building.
This one was a woman, dressed in what might have once been sweats or a tracksuit, but which were now stained and torn. It was in an advanced state of decay, and something was dripping from its outstretched hand as it reached for me.
I stopped in time and changed course, and the swiping hand missed me. As I caught up with Melissa, I snapped at her: ‘I thought you saw everything.’
‘More or less,’ she replied, unfazed. ‘But I still need to be looking at it. I can’t concentrate on everything at once. Now shut up and climb.’
I was never that good at PE or gym class or whatever you want to call it, and saw with some alarm that I was expected to scramble up onto the roof of a low, prefabricated building.
‘There must be a better way in than this,’ I said.
‘This is the quickest way off the ground,’ Melissa replied. ‘You won’t get far if you don’t get up high, and I can guide you from here.’
‘Shit, okay. Watch my back.’
There were windows sort of level with my head, but the roof must have been ten, twelve feet off the ground. I looked around for a ladder or a bin or something to help.
Low moans were getting closer. Even with Melissa as lookout I would be in trouble if I was surrounded, or at this rate when I was surrounded.
I put my hands on the bottom window ledge, braced my feet and tried to scramble up. It didn’t work—I felt a little tension between the soles of my shoes and the panels that made up the wall, but it didn’t last; the panels were too smooth and slippery to climb up. My arms ached and I let go quickly.
I dropped to the ground and stepped back. I didn’t need to turn around to see the zombies were close, I could smell them.
No time to puke, I could do that later.
One last try, and if that didn’t work I would do a runner and try elsewhere, sod Melissa’s special route or whatever it was.
I ran at the wall and did a kind of running, jumping scramble up, the toes of my trainers just scraping against the wall but giving me a little boost upwards.
I grabbed on to the top of the window frame, which was precariously slippery. My arms screamed at me straight away, my elbows feeling like they were about to dislocate—I couldn’t hold myself like this for long.
Looking back, I could see four or five zombies closing in, including the gloopy female that just missed me.
Not today, madam.
I scrambled blindly until my feet found purchase on the window ledge, then boosted myself up, clinging for one brief second to the top of the window frame with only one hand.
For a moment I was slipping, both losing my one-handed grip and my footing, about to fall backwards straight into the loving arms of the zombies below.
Then my free hand caught the much more solid handhold that was the gutter running around the roof, and I hauled myself upwards, switching my other hand to grab it, moving my feet to the narrow top of the window frame.
I almost slipped again, my toes failing to find purchase, but I caught the frame just long enough to push the top half of my body onto the rooftop, from which I scrabbled and slithered on further, legs kicking air and the gravel on the roof scraping my face as I desperately writhed forward.
When I’d made it up, I lay there face-down, panting, aching.
‘Wow,’ Melissa said, standing over me, immaculate in undeath. ‘It’s great to see a real ninja at work.’
‘I’d like to see you try that,’ I said, rolling on to my back.
‘I just did,’ she replied. ‘I can’t fly, you know.’
‘Yes, but you don’t breathe either. Which can’t be nice, but... but in this case it’s a bit of an advantage.’
For some reason, she smiled. And I
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