Read ZOM-B 11 for Free Online Page B

supposed to comfort me?’ I snap.
    Holy Moly nods sweetly. ‘
yes.
’
    I suppress a grimace. ‘I know you mean well, but I’d rather be by myself right now. Will you leave me, like you were going to a while ago?’
    ‘
if that’s what you want . . .
’ Holy Moly says uncertainly, worried about me now.
    ‘It is,’ I say firmly. ‘You guided me to safety. You’re a good boy . . . or girl . . . or whatever the hell you are. I’ll be fine on my own.’
    ‘
ok mummy
,’ Holy Moly says and sets off across the bridge, moving with its characteristic eerie smoothness and speed.
    ‘Wait!’ I call the baby back. ‘Where are you going?’
    ‘
there
,’ Holy Moly says, pointing at County Hall. ‘
i want to be with the others. they look like they’re having fun.
’
    ‘I’m sure they are,’ I say bitterly, finding it hard not to hate the baby right now. ‘But will you do me a favour?’
    ‘
of course
,’ it squeals, excited to be of service.
    ‘Will you go the other way?’ I ask. ‘Back underground, to wait for the rest of them in Daddy’s den?’
    Holy Moly stares at me, its pale forehead wrinkling. ‘
but i’ll miss the fighting mummy.
’
    ‘That’s not a bad thing,’ I tell it. ‘I don’t want you to fight.’
    ‘
why not?
’
    I pause, wondering how to explain the difference between good and evil. In the end I decide it’s a hopeless task, that I’d only confuse the poor thing if I began lecturing it.
    ‘I’m worried you might get hurt,’ I say instead.
    The baby giggles. ‘
silly mummy.
’
    ‘Silly as they come.’ I smile stiffly. ‘But please, do this for me. I’ll be happy if I know you’re safe.’
    ‘
ok mummy
,’ Holy Moly sighs, and sets off in the other direction, back the way we came. The baby stops at the lift door and stares solemnly at the button. Turns and looks at
me. ‘
can i use the stairs instead of the small room? i didn’t like the small room mummy.
’
    I nod. ‘The stairs will be fine.’
    ‘
thank you mummy
,’ Holy Moly says, trotting to the top step.
    ‘Wait.’ I stop the baby again. It looks back questioningly. I’m tired and I don’t want to think about the future, but I must. I know that Dr Oystein would want me to
fight on, even when all else seems lost. There’s not much I can do by myself to thwart the forces of wickedness and madness, but maybe I can throw a spanner in the works, or at least cause
them a few sleepless nights.
    ‘Come here,’ I call to Holy Moly, crouching down and leaning back against the bars which support the railing that runs across the bridge. ‘I want to make my last will and
testament, and I’d like you to be my executor.’
    ‘
i don’t understand mummy
,’ Holy Moly says.
    ‘I know,’ I laugh softly. ‘But it won’t take me long to explain . . .’

EIGHT
    I rest on the bridge after Holy Moly has slipped away, listening to the roars, screams and crackle of flames in the near distance. The mutants have started fires inside County Hall, hell-bent on
burning the place to the ground. I don’t think they stand a hope of doing that, but they can certainly gut a lot of it if they carry on as they’ve begun.
    As I’m gathering myself for my final push, I think about Dr Oystein and the Angels, Ciara and Reilly, Master Zhang. Are any of them alive? Did some of them make it out before the net closed? If so, how many will survive the next few challenging weeks, robbed of their base and support?
    I could easily stay where I am and brood, but since I don’t want to be discovered by a stray mutant or baby, I crawl to the lift (in my state, the stairs would be too much of a challenge)
and return to ground level.
    I limp along beside the river, heading east simply because that’s the most direct route out of here. I stick close to the buildings on my left, hugging the shadows, making sure no one on
the South Bank can spot me.
    I want to feel worse than I do, have a nervous breakdown, beat the pavement with my