Outbreak (6 page)

I sank to my knees. ‘I haven't attacked Michael! I haven't hurt anyone!'

‘Did something happen recently?'Mr Knight asked Sophie, ignoring me. ‘Did Michael do something to annoy Ben?' ‘No . . .' Sophie started to say. Then she stopped. A flicker of doubt crossed her face. ‘But that wasn't . . .'

I knew what she was thinking: the glitter in my locker.

‘Ben was angry at his brother, wasn't he?' pressed Mr Knight. ‘It's textbook stuff.
A zombie will try to hide their true nature but they can't do it forever. You see, Soph, they don't think like you and me. They can't use reason or logic; they just react to whatever is going on around them. If someone annoys them, they snap.'

‘That's not true!' I yelled. I was getting angrier and angrier. I rattled the bars. If only there was a way out!

‘Look at him,' added Mr Knight, dipping his head in my direction. ‘He's angry because he's inside the cage. He's angry because his secret's out. If I released him now, he'd probably attack me.'

I
felt
like attacking Mr Knight. Right then, I wanted to grab him and shake him, to tear off his limbs. But I knew that I wouldn't. Even if I could, I wouldn't.

I dropped my hands to my sides. I had to calm down.

Mr Knight chuckled. ‘They're cunning. He's realised that his best option right now is to look non-threatening.'

‘So . . . you aren't a writer?' asked Sophie in a small voice.

‘We work for an organisation called HAZMAT,' said Mrs Knight. She pointed to an insignia on her overalls. ‘Humans Against Zombies: Mobile Assault Team.'

‘Catchy,' I muttered under my breath.

‘I thought that meant something else,' said Sophie, staring at the badge.

‘Duffs have been conditioned to believe it means Hazardous Materials,' explained Mrs Knight. ‘That's how we keep people away from areas where we suspect an outbreak has occurred.'

‘Duffs?' Sophie asked, sounding even more confused.

‘Normal people,' said Mr Knight. ‘The ones who don't believe that zombies are real. If they Don't Understand the Frightening Facts, they're a D.U.F.F. We've got a whole department that works hard to make sure nobody believes in zombies.'

‘Why?' I asked the question this time. Why would they care if people knew? Why were zombies a secret?

For the first time since I'd been in the cage, Mr Knight swung round to answer me. ‘Because we don't want Duffs to panic. And we don't want the zombies to know we're coming for them.'

‘I thought you were a
nurse
, Mum.' Sophie sounded on the verge of tears.

‘Technically, I am,' said Mrs Knight, crouching down beside her and patting her gently on the arm. ‘But the reason I'm at the nursing home is because aged-care
facilities are one of the traditional hunting grounds of the zombie. I'm there to guard the elderly against attacks.' She turned to Mr Knight. ‘We should go. If Michael is out there somewhere . . . if he's recently been infected . . .'

‘What about Sophie?' asked Mr Knight.

‘This is the safest place for her.' Mrs Knight glanced across at me. ‘Ben can't get out and nobody knows the bunker exists. Nobody will find them here.'

Mr Knight looked doubtful.

‘She couldn't open the cage, even if she wanted to,' added Mrs Knight. She tapped at her neck and I could see a thin chain with a key dangling from it.

‘Stay here,' said Mr Knight to Sophie. ‘I don't want you above ground if Michael's been bitten. There's no zombie more out of control and likely to attack humans than
one that's just been infected. We'll be back as soon as we can.'

‘And stay away from the bars,' added Mrs Knight.

Mr Knight reached into the pocket of his apron and pulled out the weapon. ‘And if he tries to grab you, shoot him with this.'

‘Is that a gun?' Sophie looked horrified.

‘No, it's called a Zombie Blaster. It won't really hurt him. It'll just paralyse him for a few minutes.'

‘And don't worry about us, we've got another one,' added Mrs Knight, as they headed for the ladder.

‘Are you just going to leave him in the cage?' Sophie asked, quickly putting the Blaster down on the floor. ‘What's going to happen to him?'

Mr Knight glanced back. ‘We'll take him to a secure medical facility. He won't be
treated badly. Zombies are highly valued by our scientists, since it's almost impossible to take them alive. Or rather, undead.' He gave a little laugh as he swung himself up onto the ladder. ‘Your mother and I might even get a promotion, thanks to him.'

I was so angry that I glanced around the cell for something to throw at him. But there was nothing.

‘Your whole life is a lie!' I yelled instead. ‘Is Knight even your real name?'

Mr Knight had already vanished but his head appeared again through the hole. ‘Well, it's not our
original
name. But we thought it was suitable. Even though we don't fight dragons, we save people from monsters like you.'

And then they were gone. The trapdoor slammed shut and everything was silent.

For a long time, we didn't say anything.

Sophie sat with her head buried in her hands. I wondered what she was thinking. I tried to imagine how I'd feel if everything I believed about my family turned out to be fake. Not even her name was real.

‘I can't believe it,' she said suddenly. ‘I just can't believe it.'

I didn't know what to say. ‘It's true, Soph, it must be.'

‘You aren't a killer. You didn't attack Michael!' Then she added in a small voice, ‘Did you?'

‘No,' I sighed. ‘I didn't attack my brother. But everything else they said was true. We know zombies exist. And we know I'm not the only one.'

We fell silent again.

After a while she added, ‘Do you think Michael has been attacked by this . . . Lurker?'

‘I don't know.' The only other zombie I'd met so far had tried to kill me. There hadn't been a chance to find out if she was the Lurker or not. ‘I did hear someone called the Master mentioned.'

‘Maybe the Master
is
the Lurker,' said Sophie. ‘If we tell Mum and Dad that, maybe they'll be able to track him down. Maybe they'll let you go.'

I sighed. She just didn't get it. ‘They aren't going to let me go, Sophie.'

‘How do you know? They might let you work for HAZMAT! You could be an undercover agent and help them catch zombies. It's the perfect job for you!'

‘I
am
what they're hunting! Why would they let me go?'

‘It's the Lurker they want, not you,' said Sophie stubbornly.

‘Your dad said that bringing me in would mean a promotion. You'll probably move somewhere really nice and live in a big house.'

‘I don't care about that.'

‘You might get a pool. And servants.'

I knew I was being mean. It wasn't Sophie's fault that her parents were secret agents on a mission to capture zombies. It wasn't her fault that I
was
a zombie.

I glanced over. She was brushing something off her cheeks and I knew I'd made my best friend cry. ‘I'm not letting you out,' she whispered.

The silence was broken only by Sophie's occasional sniffs. After a while, I lost track of how long we'd been there. I wasn't wearing a watch and no daylight filtered in anywhere, but I got hungrier and hungrier so I guessed it was close to lunchtime. In a while, it would be three o'clock. Mum would expect us home from school. But if Michael had been attacked by the Lurker and I was stuck in here, then neither of us would arrive.

I wondered what Mum would do. Would she call the school? The police? She would worry, I knew that much. But perhaps Michael would never resurface, and I was headed for a secret laboratory, so it was possible neither of us would
ever
come home. Mum would be left waiting, day in, day out . . .

Suddenly my own cheeks were wet.

‘So zombies cry too,' said Sophie softly.

The weird thing was that I didn't know why I was crying. At first I thought it was for Mum. But then I started to remember all the stress and worry
I'd
felt ever since I'd become a zombie and suddenly
rivers
of tears were running down my cheeks.

I tried not to sob. I mean, that's just embarrassing. But then I thought about Michael when I'd surprised him while he was hiding under the desk playing
Princess
Sparkle
. And a great big sob swelled in my throat, because I knew that if my brother was chased by a zombie, he'd be terrified.

Don't get me wrong, I was OK with Mum yelling at Michael. And I was kinda happy when he got grounded. But getting attacked by a Lurker? Not cool.

Thinking about that made my tears turn icy. I wiped my face. Suddenly I felt angry: I hadn't asked to become a zombie. And I hadn't asked for my brother to be kidnapped. I hadn't asked for any of this!
My life had been hijacked and I was being dragged along for the ride!

I closed my eyes for a few seconds then opened them again. Well, that was going to change. I was taking charge. Starting right now.