Free Outbreak by C.M. Gray Page B

enough. How would she survive if she was a full zombie? How would we survive her ?
    â€˜Lock her up first.’ Mr Knight interrupted my thoughts.
    â€˜I’m not going to . . .’ I began angrily. But then I realised he meant Nurse Nellie, not Sophie.
    I nodded and dragged the comatose nurse to an empty bed, looping the chain that linked her handcuffs around one of the legs. It wouldn’t hold her for long, but it would buy us a bit of time when she woke up.

    â€˜We’ll come back with shackles and a muzzle,’ added Mr Knight. ‘Then we’ll call for backup. We still have to catch the other one.’
    I stopped in my tracks. ‘The other one?’
    â€˜There’s another zombie,’ said Michael, matter-of-factly.
    Mr Knight nodded seriously. ‘We knew there was a Lurker somewhere around Seabrook. And we were right. Nurse Nellie’s just the second-in-command — the lackey.’
    â€˜You didn’t know?’ Michael must’ve noticed my stunned expression. ‘Well, you won’t believe who it is, little bro. It’s—’
    Suddenly, there was a sound from outside the door: a latch turning. Instantly I knew we were locked in the ward. I gazed in horror at the doors. Who was out there? Who had locked us in?
    The little window in the centre of one of the doors slid open and a face appeared.
    I gasped in shock. Seriously? It couldn’t be! This was the other zombie?!

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    â€˜Mr Bill!’ I breathed. ‘But you were . . . we . . .’
    â€˜Well done, Ben!’ Mr Bill’s voice echoed around the room. ‘Thanks to you and Sophie, I’m free again.’

    â€˜What?’ I gazed at Sophie’s motionless form in horror. We’d been tricked!
    â€˜It was a bit inconvenient when Slender pounced on me,’ added Mr Bill. ‘Of course I could have defeated him easily, but when I tried to bite him, I discovered he was wearing some sort of armour. It was coated in poison and the moment mytongue touched it, I couldn’t move. A new invention from HAZMAT, I assume? Well, that was an irritating surprise. Without it, he wouldn’t have stood a chance. But my state of shock gave him an edge, and he managed to shove me into one of those little cells.’
    So that was why Slender had tried to make me bite him! He’d been trying to poison me too! ‘ You’re the Lurker?’ My mind boggled.
    â€˜That’s what HAZMAT calls me. To others I’m known as the Master. And to everyone else, well, quite simply, I’m their worst nightmare.’ He smiled and for the first time I noticed his teeth. They were big and yellow and chipped. I shuddered when I thought about what — or who — they must’ve bitten.
    â€˜I’m old. Much older than the others. So when you and Sophie wandered into my clutches, I realised my best chance was to use stealth instead of strength. I’ve lived for so long, you see,’ he sighed heavily. Then his tone changed. ‘But why am I telling you this? Soon you will all be dead, or perhaps, if you are lucky, undead.’
    â€˜Open the door!’ I shouted.
    The headmaster gave a little smile. ‘Why would I do that? No, it’s much wiser to leave you safely locked away. Soon Sophie will wake up. She will be very, very hungry. And when that happens, nothing will protect you. Together, Sophie and Nurse Nellie will defeat you, Ben, and kill the remaining humans.’
    â€˜Why are you doing this?’ yelled Mum. ‘I thought you were the headmaster. Who are you really?!’
    â€˜Who am I?’ The headmaster chuckled. ‘Believe it or not, you already know my real name. I’m William Seabrook.’
    Everyone gasped. I was stunned too. Could he really be the lost scientist, the brave man we’d heard about only earlier that day?
    The headmaster continued, ‘All those years ago when I entered the tunnels with the other scientists,