Free Zom-B City by Darren Shan Page B

meddling in our affairs, only the Shnax.’
    ‘Who told you about these aliens? Did you read about them in a magazine? See a show on TV?’
    ‘They contacted me directly,’ she sniffs. ‘They spoke to me in dreams to begin with. Later I learnt to put myself into a trance and speak with them that way.’
    ‘So you hear voices,’ I murmur.
    ‘Go ahead,’ she snaps, her smile vanishing. ‘Laugh at me. You won’t be the first. But I told people this would happen. Nobody believed me until it was too late. Now that the worst has come to pass, people are starting to see that I was right. These are the first of my disciples, but they will not be the last. When we emerge from these haunted streets, alive and untouched, more will flock to our side. The survivors will see that I am the mouthpiece of the Shnax, and the world will finally offer us the respect which we are due.’
    Sister Clare turns to the others and cries, ‘Out of the darkness of the skies came the Shnax!’
    ‘Out of the darkness!’ they respond, heads bobbing, fingers twitching.
    The fanatics carry on, wandering aimlessly. I think about abandoning them – I should be heading west, not wasting my time on these maniacs – but I’ll feel bad if I leave them without at least trying to make them see sense.
    ‘You can’t really believe that aliens will save you from the zombies,’ I challenge them.
    ‘How else are we protected?’ Sister Clare retorts smugly, waving a hand at the buildings around us. ‘These are the homes of the damned, populated by the lost and vicious hordes, yet no monster comes out to attack us.’
    ‘You’ve been lucky,’ I argue. ‘Sunlight hurts zombies. They rest up in the daytime. If you’re still here when night falls . . .’ I draw a finger across my throat.
    Sister Clare scowls at me. ‘You know nothing of these matters, child of the lost. Leave us be.’
    ‘I know that you’re mad,’ I snap. ‘And I know you don’t truly believe what you’re preaching. You’d put your lives fully on the line if you did.’
    ‘What are you talking about?’ Sister Clare asks, drawing to a halt.
    ‘It’s brave of you to come here,’ I drawl, smiling tightly at the men and women in the robes. ‘But you’d have come when it was dark if you wanted to prove beyond doubt that you were under heavenly protection. Or you’d go into one of these buildings, packed with the living dead, stand in the middle of them and chant away to your heart’s content. But you don’t because you know deep down that you’d be eaten alive.’
    I flash my sharp teeth at them. Sister Clare’s face reddens and she opens her mouth to have a go at me. But then one of the men says, ‘The girl speaks the truth.’
    Sister Clare’s eyes fill with rage. ‘You doubt me, Sean?’ she shrieks.
    ‘No,’ the man called Sean says without lowering his gaze. ‘I believe. But we must face our enemy. If the Shnax are looking down on us kindly, as I’m sure they are, we can walk through the ranks of the undead and the whole world will know that what we say is true. Otherwise people will sneer at us, as she has, and claim it was merely good fortune that we passed through these streets unharmed.’
    Sister Clare licks her lips nervously. I catch a glimpse of uncertainty in her expression. Part of her knows this is madness.
    ‘I can lead you back to your boat,’ I say softly. ‘You can return to wherever you were hiding before. You’ll die if you go on.’
    She stares at me for a long moment. Then she spits in my face. As I pull back, shocked, she faces her followers. ‘The demon wants to lure us back to our boat and send us on our way. She is afraid of us, afraid of the Shnax.’
    The other men and women start jeering and spitting at me. My temper flares and I flex my fingers, ready to rip them to pieces. I take a step forward, snarling. I think, if Sister Clare stepped away, I’d go for her. But she doesn’t retreat. Instead she takes a step towards me,