Zom-B Angels (12 page)

‘Oh, now even I’ve got to applaud that one,’ Rage booms, clapping loudly. He’s been forced to a standstill close to where I land. ‘How about we do this as a
team?’ he bellows, offering me his hand.

‘Get stuffed,’ I snap, and look for another small zombie that I can use as a springboard.

This time, as I’m hurling myself into the air, one of the reviveds catches hold of my left foot and hauls me to the floor. A cluster of them press in around me, fingers clawing at my face,
trying to rip my head open, to get to the juicy brain which they think is the source of the smell.

‘No!’ I scream, pushing them back and struggling to my feet. I look around desperately, hoping that Master Zhang will help. But he just stands there, gazing at me, challenging me
with his expression to figure my own way out of this mess.

Rage is moving forward again. He’s snapped an arm off one of the zombies and is using it as a club, lashing out at anyone within range. Many of the zombies who get knocked back by him
shake their heads, then refocus on me, figuring I offer easier pickings. A huge crowd of them starts to close in around me.

‘Sod this,’ I pant, knowing my number’s up if I don’t act swiftly.

Wriggling free of the rucksack, I rip it open and start throwing slivers of brain around, as if it was some weird kind of confetti. When the zombies spot the grey chunks, they go wild, but now
they’re concentrating on the bits of brain, trying to catch them as I toss them about, emptying the rucksack as quickly as I can.

When the rucksack is clean, I let it drop and fall still, letting the zombies see that I’m not trying to escape, that I have no need to run, that I’m the same as them.

A few of the reviveds sniff me suspiciously, growling like dogs, but then they leave me be and tear the remains of the rucksack to shreds, trying to squeeze out any last morsels of brain that
might be hidden in the folds.

I look up at Master Zhang, shamefully, as the zombies part around me, but he’s following Rage, no longer interested in me. I think about heading back to County Hall, or maybe just slipping
away completely, figuring that’s the end of my career as an Angel. But I want to see what happens to Rage. I’m hoping he’ll brick it like I did and cast his rucksack aside.

But Rage is like a wrecking ball. The zombies slow him down, but they can’t stop him. He slaps them back with the arm, punches and kicks them when the arm is no longer any good, sticks his
head down and forces his way forward, refusing to accept defeat. I almost cheer on the rampaging brute, but then I recall how he killed Dr Cerveris and deserted the rest of the zom heads, and I
hold my tongue.

He finally makes it to the end of the concourse and squeezes through the exit. As soon as he’s out, he tears off the rucksack and lobs it back inside the station. The reviveds scurry after
it, quickly losing interest in him, as they lost it in me.

‘Now
that
was fun,’ Rage grins as we join him outside. He wipes blood – not his own – from his face. ‘I guess some of us have what it takes, Becky, and
some of us don’t.’

‘Bite me,’ I snarl, then cast a miserable look at Master Zhang. ‘I guess this means I’ve had it.’

‘Not at all,’ he says, surprising both of us.

‘What are you talking about?’ Rage snaps. ‘She failed.’

‘No,’ Zhang says. ‘The test is designed to measure one’s bravery, ingenuity and strength, but also one’s level of common sense. Almost no novice Angel has made it
all the way across the concourse. In fact you are only the third, and the other two made it with cunning and speed, not sheer muscle power.’

‘Sweet!’ Rage beams, thrilled with himself.

‘So . . . I didn’t fail?’ I frown.

‘No. You showed that you were willing to face adversity, and you handled yourself well. In fact you made it further than most. But just as importantly, when you realised you could go no
further, you were sensible enough to rid yourself of the beacon which was attracting the reviveds. Those who fail are those who break too early with fear, or those who lack the wit to throw away
the rucksack.’

‘Then I did better than Rage, in a way,’ I joke.

‘In your dreams,’ Rage grunts.

‘There is no better or worse in my eyes,’ Master Zhang says. ‘You both passed. That is the end of the matter.’

With that, he heads back to County Hall, but circles round the rear of the station this time, rather than return through the concourse. Rage slides up beside me as we trail our mentor. He points
to himself and says, ‘One of three.’ Then he points to me and says, ‘One of
who cares
?’

He laughs and moves on before I can reply, leaving me to scowl angrily at his back with a mixture of hatred, jealousy and grudging respect.

Master Zhang leads Rage and me back to the room in County Hall where I was training earlier. He says that since he has both of us with him, he will train with the pair of us
for the rest of the session.

I get excited when I hear that. After passing our Waterloo-based test, I assume that we’re ready to move on, that he’ll start teaching us complicated moves. But it’s business
as usual, the only change being that he now takes turns to throw us to the floor. I’m pleased to see that Rage is treated the same way I am, but disappointed that Master Zhang isn’t
taking us a few stages further forward.

We’ve been back about an hour when the door opens and Dr Oystein steps into the room. He’s not alone. Ashtat, Carl, Shane and Jakob are with him, as well as a man I recognise but
didn’t expect to see here.

‘Mr Burke?’ I gasp.

‘Hello again, B,’ my ex-teacher says, as our training draws to a halt. ‘We seem to keep meeting in the strangest of places, don’t we?’

As I gawp at my old teacher, I recall what Reilly said about seeing someone he knew with a pack of Angels after he’d deserted the army following the riots in the underground complex, and
it starts to make sense.

Billy Burke had worked in the complex with Reilly, but he’d never seemed to fit in with the soldiers and scientists. Of them all, only he truly cared about the welfare of the zom heads.
That was why they’d recruited him, to help them with the sometimes rebellious teenagers.

I should have figured this out before. Having severed his ties with the army, Reilly wouldn’t have wanted to approach any of his old crew. Burke was different. Reilly wouldn’t have
considered him the same as the others. He’d have felt he could trust the compassionate counsellor.

‘Josh told me he’d released you,’ Burke says as I stand, staring at him silently. ‘I was hoping you’d find your way here. That’s why I passed on your
description to Dr Oystein.’

I frown. ‘
You
told the doc about me?’

‘Yes,’ Dr Oystein answers. ‘That is how I knew your name when you first came here, and some of your background.’

I scratch my ear. ‘I thought Reilly spotted me on the cameras and told you.’

The doctor shakes his head. ‘No. It was Billy.’

‘Well . . . thanks . . . I guess,’ I mutter, lowering my hand.

‘It is good to see you again, B,’ Dr Oystein says. ‘You have settled in nicely, I hear.’

‘I’m doing all right,’ I sniff.

‘Zhang,’ Dr Oystein says, bowing towards our mentor.

Master Zhang bows in return.

‘How did our pair of fledgling Angels fare with their test earlier?’ Dr Oystein asks.

‘They passed,’ Zhang says simply, giving us no more credit than that.

‘I told you they would,’ Burke smiles. ‘They’re a rare pair, those two.’

‘Some of us are rarer than others,’ Rage says, cocking an eyebrow at me.

‘Why don’t you shut up for once?’ I snarl.

‘Who’s gonna make me?’ Rage growls, squaring up to me.

‘I would rather you did not fight,’ Dr Oystein says quietly, and Rage immediately goes all sheepish and shuffles his feet.

‘Sorry,’ he mutters.

‘Oh, isn’t he a good boy,’ I coo, then spit with contempt, which isn’t easy with my dry mouth. ‘Don’t trust him, Dr Oystein. He’s only buttering you up
to make you like him, the same way he did with Dr Cerveris.’

‘Why should I?’ Rage counters. ‘Dr Oystein hasn’t tried to cage me up like those other buggers did. I’m free to leave whenever I please.’

‘And you will,’ I snort. ‘When it suits you. And you’ll probably kill a few of us along the way, just for the hell of it.’

Rage shrugs and turns to Dr Oystein. ‘I told you, when I saw her in the lab, that she’d have nothing good to say about me.’

‘Yes, you did,’ the doctor nods. ‘And B has warned us to be wary of you. I have chosen to ignore both of your opinions, so please save your bickering for another time. You are
going to be room-mates, so you will have plenty of –’

‘You’re not sticking him in with us!’ I shout.

‘Please, B, there is no need to raise your voice.’

‘But –’

‘Please,’ Dr Oystein says again. The fact that he sounds as if he is actually asking, rather than issuing an order, slows me in my tracks. I grumble something beneath my breath but
otherwise hold my tongue.

Carl and the others are watching our exchange with interest, eyeing up Rage.

‘This is Michael Jarman,’ Dr Oystein says to them. ‘But he prefers –’

‘
Michael Jarman?
’ I laugh.

‘You didn’t think I was christened Rage, did you?’ he says.

‘I brought you here to meet him, because Rage will be sharing your room if nobody has any objections,’ Dr Oystein continues, then smiles fleetingly at me. ‘With the noted
exception of Miss Smith.’

‘If he moves in, I’m moving out,’ I say stiffly.

Dr Oystein sighs. ‘That would be regrettable. I let everyone decide where they want to room once they have adjusted to life here, but I prefer to assign places to begin with. If you choose
not to respect my decision, I will take that as a sign that you do not trust my judgement.’

‘No, it’s not that . . . I mean I don’t . . .’ I growl with frustration. ‘He’s a killer. He betrayed me and the other zom heads.’

‘I know.’

‘But you want to stick him in with me anyway?’

‘Yes.’

Dr Oystein’s expression never alters.

‘Fine,’ I grunt. ‘Whatever.’

‘Thank you,’ he says and seeks the approval of the others. They shrug, knowing nothing about Rage or my beef with him. ‘In that case, thank you for your time, and feel free to
return to your usual duties. B and Rage, would you please accompany Mr Burke and myself on a short walk? There are certain matters I wish to discuss with the pair of you.’

‘Sure,’ I say, shooting Rage an evil look. He only smirks in return.

We file out, Dr Oystein and Burke in front, Rage and me a few steps behind, keeping as far apart from one another as we can.

We wind our way through the corridors of County Hall, Dr Oystein taking his time. Burke looks back at me. ‘I was so relieved when Josh said that he’d spared
you.’

‘Yeah, well, I was the only one he did spare,’ I say bitterly, recalling how he torched the other zom heads.

Burke looks contrite. ‘If I’d been there, I would have tried to stop him.’

‘Really?’ I challenge him. ‘You seemed to be fine with what he was doing the rest of the time.’

My old teacher sighs heavily. ‘I’m sorry for all of the deception and lies. They thought I was on their side. They knew I didn’t approve of everything they were doing, but they
had no idea I was in league with Dr Oystein. I had to play ball or they might have become suspicious.’

‘You were a spy?’ I frown.

‘Yes.’

‘I do not trust the military,’ Dr Oystein says without pausing or turning. ‘They wish to restore order to the world, which is my wish too, but they want to do so on their own
terms. We must be wary of them. They include me in some of their plans and experiments, since they respect my specialist knowledge of the undead, but I like to keep track of all that I am excluded
from too. Billy agreed to act as my inside man, as he had already earned their trust before our paths crossed.’

‘You mean you were working for the army before you met Dr Oystein?’

Burke nods.

‘Not especially loyal, are you?’ I snort.

‘I’m loyal to those I deem deserving of loyalty,’ he says sharply.

Silence falls again. We exit the building on to the riverbank. I think for a second that Dr Oystein plans to take us bowling, but then I see that he’s heading for the aquarium. ‘Was
the story about you convincing Josh and the others to feed me and keep me revitalised the truth?’ I ask Burke.

‘Yes,’ he says.

‘Thanks,’ I mutter.

‘No need. You would have done the same for me.’ I raise an eyebrow and Burke chuckles wryly. ‘Well, I like to tell myself that you would.’

We share a quick grin, then we’re stepping off the path into the dim, silent world of the aquarium. I came here in the past, but not since I rocked up at County Hall as a zombie. I
hadn’t even thought about this place. Fish have been among the last things on my mind recently.

I find, to my surprise, that most of the tanks are still in working order, teeming with underwater life as they were before.

‘Do zombies eat fish brains?’ I ask.