Free Zom-B Gladiator by Darren Shan

Coley says, then lets me have it. I collapse in a spasming heap. Stars fill my head again. The agony is even worse than the first time and seems to last longer.
    As I start to recover, I realise that my hands and legs are free. Coley and Barnes removed the cuffs and withdrew from the room while my senses were swimming. They’re on the other side ofthe glass now, with the guys and gals of the Board. No guards in sight.
    ‘This used to be the dining hall,’ Dan-Dan tells me. He’s pawing the glass, like a puppy waiting for a treat. ‘The Wardroom was reserved for the officers. This was for the common crew. I prefer the informal atmosphere here. How about you?’
    I try to tell him where he can stuff his informal atmosphere , but my mouthisn’t working properly yet. All that comes out is a low mumbling noise.
    ‘You haven’t broken her, have you?’ Dan-Dan snaps at Barnes and Coley. ‘If you have, we’ll kill her and send you straight out to find another one for us. I want a fully functional, talking zombie. I won’t settle for second best.’
    ‘She’ll be fine in a minute or two,’ Barnes assures him.
    ‘She’d better be,’ Dan-Dangrowls. ‘Poor thing. Did they hurt you, little girl? Don’t worry, Dan-Dan will make the pain go away. I’d kiss you better if I could. Dan-Dan loves his clever zombie, yes he does.’
    ‘Heaven save us from simpletons,’ Lady Jemima sighs. ‘Maybe we should throw Daniel in there with her.’
    ‘Careful,’ Lord Luca snarls. ‘That’s my brother you’re talking about.’
    ‘I was only joking,’ Lady Jemimasays quickly. ‘I adore him really.’
    As the would-be rulers of the world snipe at one another, the door to my side of the room opens and two guards step in and move to either side. They train their guns on me and tell me to take a few steps back. When I’ve retreated, a zombie is hustled in by another guard. There’s a collar around the zombie’s neck, attached to a stiff lead, giving the guardplenty of space.
    Yet another guard enters, with a second captive zombie, followed by three more. Then one last guard comes in. This guy’s holding a taser like Coley’s. He gives each zombie a quick burst. As they fall to the floor and writhe, their handlers set them free and slip out of the room. The pair with guns are the last to leave and they slam shut the door after themselves. Whilethe zombies on the floor recover, I study them cautiously. Three men, a woman and a teenage boy. The men are muscular and dressed in normal clothes. The woman is wearing a chef’s outfit. The boy is naked.
    ‘I chose that one,’ Dan-Dan sniggers. ‘Nudity is so pleasing to the eye, isn’t it, especially in one so young and pure?’
    ‘You’re a degenerate,’ Lord Luca laughs.
    ‘Not at all,’Dan-Dan tuts. ‘I simply like to appreciate the human form in all its natural glory.’
    ‘An interesting mix,’ Justin murmurs, then calls out to me. ‘As the street-smart young woman that you appear to be, I’m sure you’ve already sussed the state of play. We want you to fight to the death. We’ve been pitting living slaves against zombies for months now, but they’ve struggled to stage an engagingfight. It seems the true gladiatorial spirit died out among the human masses long ago. But we’re sure you’ll serve up a decent show.’
    I slide my jaw from side to side and wriggle my tongue about to make sure I can speak again. Then I shoot Justin the finger. ‘Get stuffed, grandad.’
    Justin shakes his head bitterly. ‘Why do the youth of today have to make it so hard on themselves? Vicky,would you lend me your assistance?’
    ‘My pleasure.’ She moves to a small hatch which I hadn’t noticed before. It’s covered with a glass rectangle. She slides it open and draws a gun from a holster behind her back, kneels and aims at one of the male zombies.
    ‘Fight or we’ll kill him,’ Justin says.
    I shrug. ‘You want me to kill him anyway, so what’s the