do you think?’ Vinyl asks as we return to the gate.
‘It’s cool,’ I grin.
‘It needs a few tweaks,’ Ashtat mutters, still angry about the racists.
‘It’s a dump,’ Rage says. ‘But asdumps go, it’s OK.’
‘Do you need us to send you anything when we get back?’ I ask Vinyl.
‘Nah,’ he says. ‘We’re good. But thanks for the offer.’
‘When will we see you again?’
He shrugs. ‘Maybe when you have more survivors to deliver. Dr Oystein usually sends Pearse and Conall to fetch me. If you ask, maybe he’ll send you with them.’
‘I’ll do that. I want to catch up more, hangout, see what you get up to here.’
‘I don’t know if I can promise that,’ Vinyl says regretfully. ‘Most of the others don’t like it when you guys outstay your welcome—not that it was much of a welcome to begin with. And I can’t really hop over the wall and go for a stroll with you, can I?’
Vinyl guides us to a ladder and tells us to climb up one by one. He comes last, keeping an eye onthe posse with the guns, making sure nobody steps out of line. Some of them look like we’ve insulted them by not giving them an excuse to shoot. If there was no witness to take our side, they might be tempted to fire at us and claim it was self-defence.
It’s a frightening view from the platform at the top of the ladder. We’re looking out over a sea of zombies. They gibber at us wildly, unableto tell from this distance that we’re the same as them, thinking we’re the living come to gawp.
‘Imagine waking up to that every morning,’ Vinyl sniffs. ‘It’s even worse at night. Thousands more come when the sun goes down.’
‘Have you thought about moving to an island?’ I ask.
‘We considered it. But most of the islands within easy reach of the coast have been taken over already,and they’re very careful about who they let in. Besides, I’m not convinced they’re secure. The dead don’t need air, so they can walk along the bottom of the sea. They haven’t figured that out yet, but I reckon it’s only a matter of time. One of these days they’ll realise there are juicy pickings beyond the shoreline and go in search of them. Those settlements will topple like dominoes when thathappens, because they haven’t counted on an underwater invasion.’
‘You should warn them,’ Ashtat says.
‘We already tried, with the few we were able to make contact with. They laughed at us. They’ve grown soft. They aren’t faced with a daily struggle the way we are. They thought we were scaremongering.’
There’s a gloomy silence. Then Shane shakes his head. ‘So how do we get down?Is there a ladder or a rope?’
‘Jump,’ Vinyl replies.
Shane starts to smile.
‘I’m serious,’ Vinyl says. ‘The zombies would scale a ladder or rope. Your legs can take the impact. You’re made of tough stuff.’
‘But what if one of us breaks an ankle or something?’ Shane protests.
‘You’ve got the Groove Tubes, haven’t you?’
‘Yeah, but it’s a long bloody walk back to London ona busted ankle.’
‘Then my advice would be to land carefully.’
‘It’s OK,’ Pearse laughs, clapping Shane’s back. ‘We’re not that high up. Conall and I do this all the time. It’s fun.’
To demonstrate, he steps forward, unclips a length of barbed wire, slips between two spikes and steps off into thin air. He drops silently and lands on a pack of zombies. They collapse beneath him andhowl indignantly.
‘Do they ever attack?’ I ask Conall.
‘Not if you just lie there and do nothing,’ he says. ‘They get irritable if you land on them like Pearse did, but they calm down when they realise you’re undead. They never strike their own unless provoked.’
Conall follows Pearse’s example and the rest leap off after him, one at a time, Shane under protest, muttering darkly tohimself.
I wait till last, then smile at Vinyl. ‘Sorry again about your mum and dad. I liked them, especially old man Vinyl and his
‘It’s cool,’ I grin.
‘It needs a few tweaks,’ Ashtat mutters, still angry about the racists.
‘It’s a dump,’ Rage says. ‘But asdumps go, it’s OK.’
‘Do you need us to send you anything when we get back?’ I ask Vinyl.
‘Nah,’ he says. ‘We’re good. But thanks for the offer.’
‘When will we see you again?’
He shrugs. ‘Maybe when you have more survivors to deliver. Dr Oystein usually sends Pearse and Conall to fetch me. If you ask, maybe he’ll send you with them.’
‘I’ll do that. I want to catch up more, hangout, see what you get up to here.’
‘I don’t know if I can promise that,’ Vinyl says regretfully. ‘Most of the others don’t like it when you guys outstay your welcome—not that it was much of a welcome to begin with. And I can’t really hop over the wall and go for a stroll with you, can I?’
Vinyl guides us to a ladder and tells us to climb up one by one. He comes last, keeping an eye onthe posse with the guns, making sure nobody steps out of line. Some of them look like we’ve insulted them by not giving them an excuse to shoot. If there was no witness to take our side, they might be tempted to fire at us and claim it was self-defence.
It’s a frightening view from the platform at the top of the ladder. We’re looking out over a sea of zombies. They gibber at us wildly, unableto tell from this distance that we’re the same as them, thinking we’re the living come to gawp.
‘Imagine waking up to that every morning,’ Vinyl sniffs. ‘It’s even worse at night. Thousands more come when the sun goes down.’
‘Have you thought about moving to an island?’ I ask.
‘We considered it. But most of the islands within easy reach of the coast have been taken over already,and they’re very careful about who they let in. Besides, I’m not convinced they’re secure. The dead don’t need air, so they can walk along the bottom of the sea. They haven’t figured that out yet, but I reckon it’s only a matter of time. One of these days they’ll realise there are juicy pickings beyond the shoreline and go in search of them. Those settlements will topple like dominoes when thathappens, because they haven’t counted on an underwater invasion.’
‘You should warn them,’ Ashtat says.
‘We already tried, with the few we were able to make contact with. They laughed at us. They’ve grown soft. They aren’t faced with a daily struggle the way we are. They thought we were scaremongering.’
There’s a gloomy silence. Then Shane shakes his head. ‘So how do we get down?Is there a ladder or a rope?’
‘Jump,’ Vinyl replies.
Shane starts to smile.
‘I’m serious,’ Vinyl says. ‘The zombies would scale a ladder or rope. Your legs can take the impact. You’re made of tough stuff.’
‘But what if one of us breaks an ankle or something?’ Shane protests.
‘You’ve got the Groove Tubes, haven’t you?’
‘Yeah, but it’s a long bloody walk back to London ona busted ankle.’
‘Then my advice would be to land carefully.’
‘It’s OK,’ Pearse laughs, clapping Shane’s back. ‘We’re not that high up. Conall and I do this all the time. It’s fun.’
To demonstrate, he steps forward, unclips a length of barbed wire, slips between two spikes and steps off into thin air. He drops silently and lands on a pack of zombies. They collapse beneath him andhowl indignantly.
‘Do they ever attack?’ I ask Conall.
‘Not if you just lie there and do nothing,’ he says. ‘They get irritable if you land on them like Pearse did, but they calm down when they realise you’re undead. They never strike their own unless provoked.’
Conall follows Pearse’s example and the rest leap off after him, one at a time, Shane under protest, muttering darkly tohimself.
I wait till last, then smile at Vinyl. ‘Sorry again about your mum and dad. I liked them, especially old man Vinyl and his
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