Zom-B Gladiator (10 page)

‘Fight or we’ll kill him,’ Justin says.

I shrug. ‘You want me to kill him anyway, so what’s the difference?’

‘If you fight
him, he stands a chance,’ Justin says. ‘And if he comes up short, at least he can die with honour.’

‘I couldn’t care less about honour,’ I sniff.

‘Do it,’ Justin yaps and Vicky fires three times in quick succession. The man’s head explodes and he slumps, truly dead now. The zombies around him snarl and dart at the hatch, angered by the attack and tempted by the scent of human brain. They slam into the glass but it barely quivers. Vicky shuts the hatch and moves to another—there are
several of them set in the panels in different areas.

‘Oh my God!’ I scream, covering my ears with my hands. ‘You did it! I didn’t think you’d really do it!’

‘We never bluff,’ The Prince drawls, smiling as if he’d just won a war.

‘Well, I don’t either,’ I jeer, lowering my hands and dropping the hysterical act. ‘You lot are mugs. What do you think I am, zombie Spartacus or something?
I don’t give a toss about these walking corpses. Shoot them, fry them, chop them up into pieces if you want. I don’t care.’

Justin frowns. ‘You won’t stand up to protect your own?’

‘They’re nothing to do with me,’ I tell him. ‘I don’t have anything in common with these brain-dead abominations. Hell, I’ve finished off plenty of them myself over the last few months.’

‘Interesting,’
Justin murmurs. ‘Then I suppose we’ll have to try a different tack. Daniel, will you go and fetch us one of your darlings?’

‘Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes!’ Dan-Dan crows. ‘I was hoping for this. But I want to be the one who does it if she forces our hand. They’re mine. I won’t let Vicky or any of the others cheat me out of my prize.’

‘Perish the thought,’ Justin says. ‘The honour will be
all yours.’

‘In that case, I’ll be back before you can blink.’ Dan-Dan shoots out of the room as if in a hurry to get to a party.

‘Is this really necessary?’ The Prince asks with a pained look.

‘Yes,’ Justin says.

‘It would have been so much simpler if you’d just fought when asked,’ The Prince admonishes me.

‘What’s happening?’ Coley asks Justin. ‘Where did Lord Wood go?’

‘To bring us something truly dreadful,’ Justin whispers, his eyes dark and sad, yet bright and excited at the same time.

Dan-Dan returns several minutes later and my heart sinks. Or would, if I had one.

He has a couple of kids with him, and both of them are alive.

‘These are my darlings,’ Dan-Dan coos, rubbing their heads and pointing them towards me. ‘Say hello, my dears.’

The children mumble a frightened hello. One is a boy, the other a girl. Neither is more than seven or eight years old. They’re dressed in sailor suits similar to Dan-Dan’s. The boy looks like he’s been crying. The girl’s eyes are dry but she’s clearly scared. Both are trembling.

‘What’s going on?’ Barnes asks sharply.

‘Surely you must have heard the rumours back in the day about the
child-killer Daniel Wood?’ Justin chuckles.

‘Children had a habit of meeting with an unfortunate end whenever Daniel came to town,’ Vicky trills. ‘He was such a naughty little boy.’

‘My darlings,’ Dan-Dan beams, hugging the children. ‘They keep me company. I have nightmares when I’m by myself. My playmates help me keep body and soul together.’

‘The trouble is, Daniel plays rough,’
Lady Jemima notes, smiling cynically.

‘He kills each child in the end, when he grows bored of them,’ Justin grunts.

‘Allegedly,’ Lord Luca beams. ‘Nothing was ever proven in a court of law. Why, he was never even prosecuted.’

Vicky Wedge winks at me. ‘The advantage of having an unholy amount of money, and associates like me in high places.’

‘You never told me any of this before,’
Barnes snaps.

‘Why should we?’ Justin yawns. ‘You’re hired help.’ He turns his attention to me. ‘Now, Becky Smith, you might not care about the dead, but what about the living? Will you fight or does Daniel have to start squeezing?’

Dan-Dan slides his arms up and locks them round the children’s throats. The girl begins to cry. Dan-Dan smiles darkly.

‘It’s always sad when I have to
bid a darling goodbye,’ he croaks. ‘I miss each and every one. I used to keep a list of their names, but it grew so long . . .’

‘You won’t do it,’ I say weakly.

‘As I already told you, we never bluff,’ The Prince murmurs but he sounds ashamed of his boast.

‘Stop,’ Barnes shouts. ‘This is sick. I won’t stand by and let you –’

‘You will do what you’re told!’ Vicky Wedge screeches
and aims her gun at him. Lord Luca, Lady Jemima and The Prince draw weapons too. Coley curses and darts behind Barnes.

‘Don’t shoot!’ Coley cries. ‘I’m on your side!’

Barnes stands firm, eyes filled with fury and contempt.

Justin gazes serenely at Barnes. ‘There’s no need for the guns,’ he says to the others. ‘Our man Barnes is smarter than that. He knows there are guards outside. They are armed and he is not. If he threatened us, they would execute him. The children too.’

‘This is wrong,’ Barnes
snarls. ‘You can’t use innocent children this way.’

‘Of course we can,’ Justin snorts. ‘We make the laws. We can do anything we want.’

‘If it’s any comfort to you, they’re orphans,’ Lady Jemima says. ‘We have them delivered from camps. We only pick those who have no one to worry about them. We’re not complete monsters.’

‘You always did have a soft heart, my lovely,’ Justin murmurs
and turns his back on the glaring but impotent Barnes. ‘We’re waiting for your answer, Becky.’

‘He’s going to kill them in the end anyway,’ I say softly.

‘Probably,’ Justin nods. ‘But there’s always a chance that he will take pity on these two. Or they might escape.’

‘Oh, they never escape,’ Dan-Dan whispers.

‘There are others,’ Lord Luca says.

‘Fourteen or fifteen the last
time I checked,’ Vicky purrs.

‘If you don’t please us, he’ll kill this pair and fetch replacements,’ The Prince adds glumly.

‘He can be very petulant when he doesn’t get his way,’ Lady Jemima concludes.

Both children are trying to tear free of Dan-Dan’s grip. They’re old enough to know what’s going on. Dan-Dan is sweating with delight, his muscles bulging. I think he wants me to
defy him, so that he can kill openly, like a disgusting, spoilt brat who wants to show off his latest vile habit.

‘If I do this,’ I say hollowly, ‘I want to see the children every day, the whole group, so I can be sure that he hasn’t killed any of them.’

‘Hold on a minute,’ Dan-Dan yaps. ‘You’re in no position to make demands.’

‘Yes she is,’ Justin overrides him. ‘Agreed.’

‘No!’
Dan-Dan howls. ‘They’re mine. I’ll do what I want with them.’

‘Not under
my
watch,’ Justin says, features darken-ing.‘This isn’t a democracy. The girl is something new, something different. If you have to stop killing for a few weeks or months, to entice her to play ball, so be it. You’re not going to spoil things for the rest of us.’

‘Luca . . .’ Dan-Dan whines, looking to his brother
for support.

Lord Luca shrugs. ‘I’m with Justin this time. I’m bored of the same old pathetic show, humans failing miserably every time we stick them in with the undead. I crave savage duels, heated action, true drama. If the girl has a reason to battle on – if she’s fighting for others, not just herself – it will be all the more interesting.’

‘You can have your darlings eventually,’
Vicky says soothingly. ‘We’re not taking them away from you forever. You just need to be patient.’

‘Oh, very well,’ Dan-Dan pouts, releasing the children and pushing them aside. ‘But I won’t forget this. The next time one of you asks for a favour, don’t expect me to jump.’

The Prince gathers the children from Dan-Dan and escorts them to the door, where he passes them to a guard who takes
them back to their quarters.

‘You can leave as well if you wish,’ Justin says to Barnes. ‘I won’t make you watch if it offends you. This was meant to be a reward for services rendered, not a punishment.’

Barnes studies the businessman, stares at the open doorway, then looks back at me and shrugs. ‘I was only worried about the kids. Now that we’ve dealt with that issue, I’m keen to
stick around.’

‘Excellent,’ Justin beams. ‘Becky, can you agitate them by yourself or do you need some help?’

‘I’ve got it,’ I mutter, flexing my fingers and preparing for battle.

I let my gaze linger on the undead men and woman for a moment, then stare glumly at the teenage boy. They’re all standing with their backs to me, trying to gouge through the glass, unaware of the threat
behind them. It would be easy to step up and drive my hands through their skulls, kill them all before they could react. But that wouldn’t satisfy the bloodthirsty members of the Board. They want action and excitement, and it’s my job to deliver that for them.

‘Mum would be proud,’ I snort. ‘She always wanted me to go into showbiz.’ Then, to cheers of encouragement from the inhuman humans,
I sweep forward and attack.

I grab the collars of the men’s shirts and haul them away from the glass. I kick the boy in the chest and send him sprawling. I slap the woman’s face.

The zombies snarl and regroup. They stare at me, sniffing the air. They know I’m undead, so they’re not sure
why I’ve assaulted them. Zombies don’t turn on one another. They find the peaceful unity in death that is so rare in life.

‘Come on,’ I growl, crooking my fingers at them. ‘I’m not as dead as I look.’

They hiss and move closer, then stall and stare again. They can tell I’m not the same as them – no regular zombie can talk – but I’m more like them than the humans. They’re reluctant
to strike, seeing me as one of their own.

‘Don’t just stand there,’ Dan-Dan calls, banging his fist on the glass. ‘Make them angry.’

I give him the finger, then dart forward. I kick the boy in the chest again and scratch the cheek of the nearest man. He instinctively throws a fist at me. I block it and punch him hard in the stomach.

The woman in the chef’s outfit grabs my head and
shakes it, pulling me away from the men. The boy leaps at me, growling like a dog. I kick him between the legs. Because he’s naked, I have a clear shot. Every guy on the other side of the glass gasps and cringes. Then they cheer and clap.