Free Outbreak by C.M. Gray Page A

faded and were replaced with quiet sobs.
    â€˜Don’t worry,’ said Nurse Nellie happily, ‘Nurse Nellie will look after her! Now, who’s next?’ She glanced around until her eyes rested on Michael.
    â€˜Help! Please help me!’ yelled Michael, struggling against the ropes that bound him to the hospital bed.
    Nurse Nellie picked up another syringe filled with the same blue liquid. ‘The moment I saw you fiddling around the lockers, Icould see how weak you were! But don’t worry, I’m going to help you get stronger!’
    â€˜Help!’ squealed Michael. ‘Anybody! Help!’
    â€˜I’m trying,’ I groaned, pushing myself up. I staggered to my feet.
    Nurse Nellie flicked the syringe briskly.
    â€˜So that’s why you told me Mr Bill wanted to see me?’ Michael babbled, his eyes on the hypodermic needle. ‘And then you freaked me out with your weird zombie eyes.’
    â€˜I just needed to get you somewhere dark enough to activate my
     infrared vision. From the top of the stairs, a glimpse of my red eyes was enough to
     make you faint. Then it was easy to drag you through the door and into a cell.’ She
     advanced toward him, holding the syringe like a dagger.

    Here comes the buzzy bee!
    â€˜Somebody! Please help!’ Michael’s voice was weirdly high-pitched. Something about the way he said it didn’t make sense. Why did he say ‘somebody’? Was he talking to me? He turned to me and nodded. I noticed that the rope binding one of his hands seemed loose.
    â€˜Anybody! Help!’
    Suddenly I understood. Adrenaline flooded my limbs.
    I glanced at Nurse Nellie. Had she noticed? But she was closing in on Michael with the syringe in one hand and the Zombie Blaster in the other.
    Michael waited until she was just beside his bed. Then he wrenched his hand free and threw a cloud of glitter in her face. As the shining specks flew into her eyes, I leapt at her.
    She screamed as I grabbed the Zombie Blaster. I let the momentum of my jump take me sideways and I rolled away then sprang back to my feet. Moving as fast as I could, I spun around and pulled the trigger.

    A cloud of red light enveloped Nurse Nellie. She screamed again and collapsed to the ground, clawing at her face. After a few seconds, she lay still.
    There was stunned silence.
    â€˜Put these on her!’ Mr Knight wriggled sideways and a pair of handcuffs fell out of his apron pocket.
    I grabbed them and snapped them around Nurse Nellie’s wrists. On one side, the metal was embossed with the words:
    HAZMAT issue – built to shred the undead!
    â€˜Is Sophie OK?’ asked Mrs Knight, turning her tear-stained face to me.
    I didn’t answer. Sophie didn’t look OK. Her face was very pale. Her fingers were opening and closing even though they grasped nothing. I started undoing the straps that held her to the bed.

    â€˜Is she . . . is she safe?’ Mrs Knight sobbed a little. ‘Shouldn’t we check if she’s a zombie before we untie her?’
    â€˜She is a zombie,’ I said. The ropes were fiddly, so I finally stopped trying to undo them and instead gave the rope a sharp tug. It broke like strand of cotton. ‘But I am not leaving her tied up.’
    Everyone watched in silent amazement as I moved around the room, snapping the ropes that bound them to their beds. I wondered what they were thinking. Were they scared of Sophie? Were they scared of me ?
    When I’d freed them, Sophie’s parents rushed over to where she lay.
    â€˜You should probably move away from her,’ I told them. ‘She isn’t tied down anymore.’
    They nodded and joined my family, huddled against one wall.
    â€˜Soph! Are you alright?’
    I felt weird with everyone watching us. But worse than that, I felt worried. What if she wasn’t alright? What if she was completely dead? Or completely undead? I was only a half zombie and that was bad