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"Why?" Owl Man asks, but by the way he smiles, I know he's one step ahead of the rest of us. He's sussed what's going on, even if everybody else is in the dark. | Zom-B Clans - Darren Shan | 0.881876 | 7.1 |
"I can make her come quietly," the guy in the hood promises. | Zom-B Clans - Darren Shan | 0.882729 | 7.1 |
"Dream on, racist," I snort. | Zom-B Clans - Darren Shan | 0.883582 | 7.1 |
"I _can_ ," he swears to Dan-Dan. "Just give me a moment. She'll do what I tell her." | Zom-B Clans - Darren Shan | 0.884435 | 7.1 |
"Not in a million years," I huff, but I'm not as sure as I was. If this is one of Dr. Oystein's spies, maybe he has a plan to get me out of here. I'm ready to die today, but it'll be hard to ignore the temptation of rescue if it's dangled in front of me. | Zom-B Clans - Darren Shan | 0.885288 | 7.1 |
"Oh, go on then," Dan-Dan scowls. "But if he fails, I'll have him flogged and rolled in vinegar." | Zom-B Clans - Darren Shan | 0.886994 | 7.1 |
"Becky," Hood Guy mutters, turning back to face me. "You need to stop, calm down and listen to me." | Zom-B Clans - Darren Shan | 0.887846 | 7.1 |
"Why the hell should I?" I growl. | Zom-B Clans - Darren Shan | 0.888699 | 7.1 |
"Don't argue," the man snaps. "Just do what I bloody tell you." | Zom-B Clans - Darren Shan | 0.889552 | 7.1 |
_"Why?"_ I hiss, taking a step closer to him, shooting evil looks. | Zom-B Clans - Darren Shan | 0.890405 | 7.1 |
"Because..." He groans, then fiddles with his hood and pulls it off. "Because of this," he says with a thin, worried smile as my eyes widen with shock. | Zom-B Clans - Darren Shan | 0.891258 | 7.1 |
I stare at him in silence, everybody else looking on uncertainly, wondering what the big deal is. | Zom-B Clans - Darren Shan | 0.892111 | 7.1 |
"Well?" the man says, laughing shakily. "Aren't you going to say anything?" | Zom-B Clans - Darren Shan | 0.892964 | 7.1 |
I can only think of one response to that question. One word echoes through my brain, which has become a furious whirlwind of images, memories and emotions. So, in a small, scared voice, I whisper it, hesitantly, as if it's the first word I've ever spoken. Which, many years ago, when I was a baby, it probably was. | Zom-B Clans - Darren Shan | 0.893817 | 7.1 |
_To be continued..._ | Zom-B Clans - Darren Shan | 0.896375 | 7.1 |
and join our communities at: | Zom-B Clans - Darren Shan | 0.898934 | 7.1 |
The guy who handcuffs me is wearing gloves so thick that you could safely handle radioactive material with them. Even so, he sweats buckets until the cuffs snap shut and he's able to withdraw. He knows I'm undead and one tiny scratch from me is all it would take to end his life. | Zom-B Clans - Darren Shan | 0.938166 | 7.1 |
Meek as a lamb, I let myself be led inside the converted Power Station. I'm in total shock. I've thought about Dad and Mum often since I recovered my senses, wondered what happened to them, if they got out of London, if they were alive or dead. For Mum's sake, I'd hoped they'd made it to a compound or one of the zombie-free islands. But secretly I thought they were both goners. | Zom-B Clans - Darren Shan | 0.939019 | 7.1 |
Now Dad has popped up out of nowhere, in the middle of my enemies, to save me from what would have otherwise been certain death. I don't know how to react, whether to feel grateful or hateful. | Zom-B Clans - Darren Shan | 0.939872 | 7.1 |
Things were always weird between us. I loved him so much. He was clever and funny, thoughtful and protective, in some ways a perfect father. He provided for me and Mum, fought for us when he had to, gave us all that he could. When he heard about the zombies, his first instinct was to rescue me. He risked his life for mine. | Zom-B Clans - Darren Shan | 0.940725 | 7.1 |
At the same time he was a racist bully. He beat Mum and me regularly, usually for no good reason. He told me to hate anyone of a different color or creed. He tried to turn me into a mirror image of him, a creature of bigotry and loathing. | Zom-B Clans - Darren Shan | 0.941578 | 7.1 |
I didn't want to grow up like my dad, but I never stood up to him. I chuckled at his insulting jokes. I read the hate lit that he stacked our bookshelves with. I pretended to share his twisted beliefs. Over time, the act became reality and, to my shame and horror, I began behaving like him. I think, given a few more years, I might have turned into a daughter he could have been truly proud of. | Zom-B Clans - Darren Shan | 0.942431 | 7.1 |
Vinyl used to warn me about the dangers of putting on an act. He was my best mate, but we had to keep our friendship secret or my dad would have hit the roof. Vinyl often urged me to take a stand. But I couldn't. I was too afraid. | Zom-B Clans - Darren Shan | 0.943284 | 7.1 |
I look around for the first time as I'm hustled through a series of rooms in the massive building. Most are loaded with supplies—food, drink, weapons. No beds. I guess the sleeping quarters are located on the upper levels. | Zom-B Clans - Darren Shan | 0.944136 | 7.1 |
All of the external windows are bricked up. Through the internal windows I can see into a courtyard. Glimpses of cages and hundreds of blacks, Arabs and Asians huddled together miserably, soldiers and hooded Klanners keeping watch over their prisoners. | Zom-B Clans - Darren Shan | 0.944989 | 7.1 |
My dad's marching beside me. He looks at me every so often and smiles. His fingers twitch and I know he wants to reach out and hug me, or at least stroke my hair. But then he clocks the hole in my chest where my heart should be, green moss growing thickly around it, and he reminds himself that he can never touch me again. | Zom-B Clans - Darren Shan | 0.945842 | 7.1 |
Dan-Dan is on my other side. He's beaming like a child at Christmas. He keeps shaking his head and giggling. He wanted to bring me in, torture me, experiment on me and treat me to a long, slow, drawn-out death. Owl Man wouldn't play ball. When I begged him to let me die with dignity rather than be taken into custody, he insisted on a swift execution. | Zom-B Clans - Darren Shan | 0.946695 | 7.1 |
Dad's unexpected appearance changed all that. I surrendered instead of fighting to the death. I think Owl Man saw that as a chance to save me. For some bizarre reason, he doesn't want me dead. But Dan-Dan does and, as far as that filthy child-killer is concerned, he has me where he wants me, under his wing, at his mercy, ripe for the plucking. | Zom-B Clans - Darren Shan | 0.947548 | 7.1 |
I can't see Owl Man, but I can hear the clatter of his dog's paws on the floor behind me, so I'm guessing he's back there with Sakarias, his mutant hound. I'm betting Rage is with him, but I don't want to think about that backstabbing bastard, so I deliberately tune him out of my thoughts. | Zom-B Clans - Darren Shan | 0.948401 | 7.1 |
We enter the courtyard and I squint against the sunlight—if there was a roof over this place before, it's been removed, leaving the yard open to the elements. I left my hat and glasses outside. I didn't think I'd need them anymore when I took them off. Now I wish I'd paused to pick them up. The light is blinding for a zombie like me. | Zom-B Clans - Darren Shan | 0.949254 | 7.1 |
"Are you uncomfortable, poor little dead girl," Dan-Dan simpers. "Would you like me to fetch a hat for you, or call Coley and borrow a pair of his oh-so-trendy shades?" | Zom-B Clans - Darren Shan | 0.950107 | 7.1 |
"All I want you to do, fat man," I growl, "is stick your head up your arse and eat yourself from the inside out." | Zom-B Clans - Darren Shan | 0.950959 | 7.1 |
"What a delightfully horrible thing to say," Dan-Dan cries, clapping his hands in admiration. "You raised a real beast, Tom." | Zom-B Clans - Darren Shan | 0.951812 | 7.1 |
"Todd," Dad corrects him quietly. He winces at having to speak back. He was always subdued around powerful people. | Zom-B Clans - Darren Shan | 0.952665 | 7.1 |
I was expecting a stench from the cages, but the air is thick with the smell of disinfectant. I spot teams of cleaners scrubbing down the ground around the prisoners. Then I remember that humans can't afford to leave a mess. Waste attracts flies and other insects, which can spread the zombie gene. | Zom-B Clans - Darren Shan | 0.953518 | 7.1 |
The people in the cages don't pay much attention to me, but the soldiers and Klanners are fascinated. They follow my every footstep. Some call out insults, but most just watch warily. | Zom-B Clans - Darren Shan | 0.954371 | 7.1 |
I'm led across the courtyard and into the structure on the opposite side. I glance up at the famous chimneys before I pass into the gloom. They're an impressive sight. I wonder if this is the last time I'll ever see them. | Zom-B Clans - Darren Shan | 0.955224 | 7.1 |
Then we're marching through another series of rooms. The walls here have been reinforced with metal sheets bolted into place. The doors are thick steel. We stop at one that is locked and a soldier hurries to open it. He steps out of the way and nods for me to enter. | Zom-B Clans - Darren Shan | 0.956077 | 7.1 |
"Wait a minute," somebody calls out before I step in, and a figure from my past comes strolling towards me. | Zom-B Clans - Darren Shan | 0.95693 | 7.1 |
"Josh Massoglia," I sneer. "Why am I not surprised?" | Zom-B Clans - Darren Shan | 0.957783 | 7.1 |
Josh is smiling. The soldier looks as handsome and well-groomed as he did back in the underground complex, where he was the boss along with a scientist called Dr. Cerveris. His charms were always lost on me–I never had much time for pretty boys–but Cathy, a fellow zom head, used to go weak at the knees whenever he walked into a room, and I think most girls would be the same. | Zom-B Clans - Darren Shan | 0.958635 | 7.1 |
"It's been a long time, Becky," he greets me. | Zom-B Clans - Darren Shan | 0.959488 | 7.1 |
"Not long enough," I grunt. | Zom-B Clans - Darren Shan | 0.960341 | 7.1 |
"As charming as ever," he grins, coming to a stop a meter from me. He's dressed in his army uniform and is clean-shaven, reeking of what was no doubt an expensive cologne back when money meant something. He looks over my head and his face darkens. I guess he's spotted Rage. | Zom-B Clans - Darren Shan | 0.961194 | 7.1 |
"No need to say anything," Rage says brightly. "I can tell you're overwhelmed to see me again." | Zom-B Clans - Darren Shan | 0.962047 | 7.1 |
"That was a strange scene outside," Josh murmurs distastefully. "It takes a special breed of person to turn on his own without even a flicker of guilt." | Zom-B Clans - Darren Shan | 0.9629 | 7.1 |
"What can I say?" Rage laughs. "I was born blessed." | Zom-B Clans - Darren Shan | 0.963753 | 7.1 |
Josh's eyes are hard, but he leaves it there and returns his attention to me. He studies my wrists, cuffed behind my back. "I can have those removed if you promise to behave." | Zom-B Clans - Darren Shan | 0.964606 | 7.1 |
"Like hell you will," Dan-Dan barks. "She'd go for us in the blink of an eye." | Zom-B Clans - Darren Shan | 0.965458 | 7.1 |
"Not me," I say sweetly. "I'm a good girl, I am." Then I gnash my teeth at Josh and make a growling noise. | Zom-B Clans - Darren Shan | 0.966311 | 7.1 |
Josh shrugs. "Have it your way. I just wanted to help." | Zom-B Clans - Darren Shan | 0.967164 | 7.1 |
"You don't have to do anything for me," I tell him, stepping into the room and facing the door, waiting for it to slam shut. "I don't need creature comforts. Just a coffin when Dan-Dan's done with me." | Zom-B Clans - Darren Shan | 0.968017 | 7.1 |
"Oh, I don't think that will be necessary," Dan-Dan purrs as the door starts to swing closed. "There won't be enough left to warrant a coffin by the time I'm finished." He blows me a kiss. "Sweet dreams, my darling." | Zom-B Clans - Darren Shan | 0.96887 | 7.1 |
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is coincidental. | Zom-B Clans - Darren Shan | 0.986354 | 7.1 |
Cover © 2014 Hachette Book Group, Inc. | Zom-B Clans - Darren Shan | 0.989765 | 7.1 |
All rights reserved. In accordance with the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, the scanning, uploading, and electronic sharing of any part of this book without the permission of the publisher is unlawful piracy and theft of the author's intellectual property. If you would like to use material from the book (other than for review purposes), prior written permission must be obtained by contacting the publisher at permissions@hbgusa.com. Thank you for your support of the author's rights. | Zom-B Clans - Darren Shan | 0.990618 | 7.1 |
Little, Brown and Company is a division of Hachette Book Group, Inc. | Zom-B Clans - Darren Shan | 0.994883 | 7.1 |
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The publisher is not responsible for websites (or their content) that are not owned by the publisher. | Zom-B Clans - Darren Shan | 0.996588 | 7.1 |