vehicles, which slows us down. A few zombies hurl themselves at the vehicle every now and then, but they bounce off and are easily left behind.Coley swerves on other occasions to deliberately mow down zombies that are in his path. He whoops every time he hits one, sometimes pausing to reverse over them, trying to squash their heads.
Barnes sighs and purses his lips with disapproval, but says nothing, letting Coley have his grisly fun.
The van finally draws to a halt and Coley kills the engine. Having checked the mirrors tomake sure the area is clear of the living dead, he hops out, trots round to the back and opens the doors. ‘Here, kitty, kitty,’ he purrs and reaches in for me. He grabs my feet and starts to pull me out.
‘Wait until I gag her,’ Barnes says.
‘Don’t,’ I ask him as he leans towards me. ‘I won’t bite, I swear.’
‘I believe you but I can’t take any chances,’ he says. ‘It won’t be for long,just until we can set you down.’
Barnes puts the gag back in place and secures it. Then he nods at Coley, who happily hauls me out of the van. I land on the ground with a thump. Coley kicks me while I’m down, hard in the ribs.
‘Not such a tough girl now, are you?’ he spits.
‘There’s no need for that,’ Barnes says wearily, climbing out of the van and shutting the doors.
‘Don’ttell me you’re going to shoot me just for kicking her,’ Coley giggles.
Barnes frowns. ‘Some days I wonder why I keep you around.’
‘Because I’m good at what I do,’ Coley says smugly, kicking me again. ‘It’s the same reason I put up with your righteous crap. We work well together. We need each other, much as it might pain either of us to admit it.’
Barnes cracks his knuckles and castsan eye over me. ‘You take the legs,’ he says. ‘I’ll take the upper body.’
‘You sure?’ Coley asks.
‘Yeah. You’d keep dropping her on her head otherwise.’
Coley laughs with delight then picks up my legs. Barnes slips his hands under my shoulders and lifts. They juggle me around until they’re comfortable, then start ahead. They’re both strong men and they might as well be carrying asmall dog for all the effort it takes them. Even so, I’m guessing they won’t want to carry me too far – they’re vulnerable with me in their hands, easy prey if zombies attack – and I’m proved right a minute later when they pass by the cool glass building of City Hall, head down to the bank of the Thames and take a left.
HMS Belfast is docked ahead of us. I came this way when I first trekkedacross from the east. There were people on the deck of the famous old cruiser, armed to the teeth. They shot at me before I could ask any questions, scared me off, made it clear they didn’t welcome strangers. They’re still up there and look to be just as heavily armed. But they don’t fire at Barnes and Coley. It seems like they’re expecting us.
The hunters carry me up the gangway. Theydon’t say anything. Once onboard, they lay me down and take a step back. The people with the rifles press closer. There are at least a dozen of them, more spread across the deck. They look like soldiers although they’re dressed in suits. They don’t smile, just stare at me with distaste.
‘Is this one of the speaking zombies?’ a man in a suit and wearing shades like Coley’s asks.
‘Yeah,’Barnes replies.
‘You finally came good and caught one,’ the man sniffs.
‘I swore that I would.’
‘Took you long enough.’
Barnes smiles tightly. ‘If you thought you could do better, you should have said so. I’d have been happy to spend my days lounging around here and let you go scour the streets instead.’
The man in the suit scowls. ‘Think you’re hot stuff, don’t you, Barnes?’
Barnes shrugs. ‘I’m just a guy who gets the job done. Now, are the lords and ladies of the Boardready to accept their delivery?’
‘Wait here,’ the man says. ‘I’ll go check.’
There’s a short
Barnes sighs and purses his lips with disapproval, but says nothing, letting Coley have his grisly fun.
The van finally draws to a halt and Coley kills the engine. Having checked the mirrors tomake sure the area is clear of the living dead, he hops out, trots round to the back and opens the doors. ‘Here, kitty, kitty,’ he purrs and reaches in for me. He grabs my feet and starts to pull me out.
‘Wait until I gag her,’ Barnes says.
‘Don’t,’ I ask him as he leans towards me. ‘I won’t bite, I swear.’
‘I believe you but I can’t take any chances,’ he says. ‘It won’t be for long,just until we can set you down.’
Barnes puts the gag back in place and secures it. Then he nods at Coley, who happily hauls me out of the van. I land on the ground with a thump. Coley kicks me while I’m down, hard in the ribs.
‘Not such a tough girl now, are you?’ he spits.
‘There’s no need for that,’ Barnes says wearily, climbing out of the van and shutting the doors.
‘Don’ttell me you’re going to shoot me just for kicking her,’ Coley giggles.
Barnes frowns. ‘Some days I wonder why I keep you around.’
‘Because I’m good at what I do,’ Coley says smugly, kicking me again. ‘It’s the same reason I put up with your righteous crap. We work well together. We need each other, much as it might pain either of us to admit it.’
Barnes cracks his knuckles and castsan eye over me. ‘You take the legs,’ he says. ‘I’ll take the upper body.’
‘You sure?’ Coley asks.
‘Yeah. You’d keep dropping her on her head otherwise.’
Coley laughs with delight then picks up my legs. Barnes slips his hands under my shoulders and lifts. They juggle me around until they’re comfortable, then start ahead. They’re both strong men and they might as well be carrying asmall dog for all the effort it takes them. Even so, I’m guessing they won’t want to carry me too far – they’re vulnerable with me in their hands, easy prey if zombies attack – and I’m proved right a minute later when they pass by the cool glass building of City Hall, head down to the bank of the Thames and take a left.
HMS Belfast is docked ahead of us. I came this way when I first trekkedacross from the east. There were people on the deck of the famous old cruiser, armed to the teeth. They shot at me before I could ask any questions, scared me off, made it clear they didn’t welcome strangers. They’re still up there and look to be just as heavily armed. But they don’t fire at Barnes and Coley. It seems like they’re expecting us.
The hunters carry me up the gangway. Theydon’t say anything. Once onboard, they lay me down and take a step back. The people with the rifles press closer. There are at least a dozen of them, more spread across the deck. They look like soldiers although they’re dressed in suits. They don’t smile, just stare at me with distaste.
‘Is this one of the speaking zombies?’ a man in a suit and wearing shades like Coley’s asks.
‘Yeah,’Barnes replies.
‘You finally came good and caught one,’ the man sniffs.
‘I swore that I would.’
‘Took you long enough.’
Barnes smiles tightly. ‘If you thought you could do better, you should have said so. I’d have been happy to spend my days lounging around here and let you go scour the streets instead.’
The man in the suit scowls. ‘Think you’re hot stuff, don’t you, Barnes?’
Barnes shrugs. ‘I’m just a guy who gets the job done. Now, are the lords and ladies of the Boardready to accept their delivery?’
‘Wait here,’ the man says. ‘I’ll go check.’
There’s a short
Similar Books
