‘Sun’s going down,’ said Jester. ‘It’ll be dinner soon. We need to go and get ready.’
‘You and I,’ said David, straightening up, ‘will have to work really hard tonight. We have to be as charming as we can. Butter these stupid new arrivals up. We should dig out some of that wine as well, get them drunk. We have to persuade them to stay at least until you come back. I’ll give you a week.’
Jester laughed. ‘You’ve got a devious mind, David,’ he said as the two of them went back inside.
‘I’ve got the mind of a leader, Jester. And that’s what the children of London need, a powerful, decisive, ruthless and clever leader.’
Yeah, thought Jester, powerful, decisive, ruthless, clever and more than a little bit nuts.
17
If only David and Jester had been standing at the back of the building at that moment and not the front, they would have seen DogNut and the boat crew slipping out of the palace and hurrying across the terrace towards the gardens.
They darted across the small patch of surviving lawn, between the vegetable beds and into the trees, heading for the spot in the north-east corner of the garden where the secret way in and out was.
In the end DogNut had had to force Andy to show him exactly where the spot on the wall was and how to get over. Poor Andy hadn’t wanted to say at first, but DogNut had threatened him, said he’d tell David everything, and Andy had cracked.
The boat crew ran as fast as they could through the trees until they hit the wall, then followed it round, looking for the old compost bin that marked the way out. The only one of them who was missing was Al. He’d chosen to stay here with his sister, Maria.
It was Maria who had told them that David had been lying to them. She’d talked to DogNut and Courtney in one of the staterooms as she got a long table ready for supper, their conversation masked by the clatter and bang of plates and cutlery.
‘He knows exactly where Brooke is. Has done for ages. And he’s been trying to cause problems for her ever since. He’s even talked of attacking her base, apparently, he hates her so much.’
Maria knew all this because her boyfriend, Pod, was one of David’s generals, and he told her stuff he shouldn’t to try to impress her.
‘So where is she based then?’ DogNut had asked.
‘She’s in the Natural History Museum with a load of other kids. They’ve got a good set-up there as far as I can tell, though they’ve got a problem finding enough food.’
‘Is that far from here then, the Natural History Museum?’
‘Not sure. A couple of miles, I think. I’ll get someone to draw you a map …’
They reached the compost bin and DogNut pulled a scrap of paper from his pocket. The map was pretty basic, little more than a straight line linking the palace with the museum, with a few crude markers along the way.
Two miles. Half an hour maybe, if they were quick. It had been a long and tiring day, but they were all anxious to get going again. There was a feeling that if they didn’t get away now they might never leave, and the thought that they might find Brooke on their first day out, and be with her by nightfall, gave DogNut a powerful urge to keep moving.
But night was coming fast.
Marco stood on the old compost bin and Felix scrambled up on to his shoulders so that he could reach the barbed wire, being careful not to impale himself on Marco’s spiked helmet.
Just as Andy had said, the wire had been cut at one of the supports and then loosely fixed back in place. It only took Felix a few minutes to untangle it and push it to one side, then he pulled himself up using the steel spikes on the bar that ran along the top of the wall as hand holds. This section of spikes had been blunted and jammed in place so that they didn’t turn, but it was still tricky getting over them and dropping down on to the roof of the van that had been parked on the pavement on the other side.
One by one they made it, though, until only DogNut, Finn and Jessica were left. As DogNut made ready to help Jessica up, she put a hand on his arm.
‘I don’t want to go.’
‘What? You’re joking. Why?’
‘I don’t know that my friends are with Brooke and that. They could be anywhere.’
‘But they’re not here, Jessica.’
‘No, I know … Only, I’m scared, Doggo. Being chased by them sickos today, fighting them off, it freaked me out. I ain’t used to this. I ain’t never properly left the Tower before, not since we first arrived. I can’t deal with what might be out there. I can’t handle it. I only really left the Tower cos I was pissed off with Brendan.’
‘We should stick together, Jess.’
‘No, DogNut, I made up my mind. I ain’t going.’ She gripped his arm tighter. ‘If you hear anything, though, if you find them, you’ll tell them I’m here?’
‘Yeah. Course. It’s all right, babes, I get it.’
‘And maybe someone here might know something if I ask around, and then that Jester guy might go out and –’
‘That is a stupid name,’ said DogNut. ‘How can anyone go around being called Jester?’
Jessica laughed. ‘But you’re called DogNut!’
‘DogNut is a cool name.’ DogNut kissed Jessica and hopped up on to the bin. He didn’t want to waste any more time. If David realized they were gone, he might come after them and try to stop them.
‘Spin them some crap, Jess, won’t you?’ he called down to Jessica as he helped Finn up on to the compost bin. ‘Throw them off of our scent.’
‘I will. And Doggo …?’
‘What?’
‘Be careful, won’t you?’
‘Nah. I ain’t never been careful. See ya!’
DogNut made a stirrup with his hands and hoisted Finn up so that he could use his good hand to grab a spike. With DogNut pushing from below and Finn pulling he was soon up and Marco and Felix helped him over and down the other side. Then DogNut quickly scrambled up the wall, made sure Finn was clear and dropped down on to the top of the van. He helped Felix fix the wire back in place and then he stood up there a moment longer, looking at the outside world.
The sun was dipping below the tops of the buildings to the west, making it some time between seven and eight o’clock. It was a chilly evening. It had been a cloudless day so the heat was draining away fast. Summer was coming, and as far as DogNut was concerned it couldn’t come fast enough.
A dog chased a rat across the road.
There was still just enough light left to see that it was a different world out here compared to the palace gardens. The streets were strewn with rubbish. Weeds grew in the cracks between paving slabs. Cars sat where they’d been abandoned. DogNut remembered how shocked everyone had been at how quickly the petrol had run out once people started getting ill. And now London was a ghost town.
It was a harsh jolt back to reality. Being in the palace had been like staying in an enchanted secret sanctuary. Like the boring bits in The Lord of the Rings when the fellowship stayed with the elves. DogNut smiled, picturing David with pointy ears and silly long hair.
Elrond.
He slithered down off the van. They were at the roundabout by Hyde Park Corner. In the middle of it was a white triumphal arch with a statue on the top of some kind of giant angel standing in a chariot waving some flowers about.
A chariot would be useful right now.
‘This way,’ he said, hurrying over the road towards the arch. They cut across the roundabout, heading for the north-west corner. They were all breathing heavily, their hearts pounding against their ribs. It had been hard enough on their nerves just trying to get away from David, but at least with him the worst they had to fear was an argument and maybe a scrap.
Out here it was different. The darkening sky, splashed red in the west, made them all fearful. It took them back to caveman days when humans must have been terrified of what lurked in the dark. Now, when the sun went down, every kid in London had learnt not to go out on the streets, learnt to be scared again.
For a start there we
re no streetlights. The dark really was the dark, in a way it hadn’t been in London since the blackouts of the Second World War. The main thing, though, was that the sickos came out at night. On the whole they shunned the sunlight. Bolder ones, healthier ones like the gym bunnies, braved it, but most of them, the least human, the most diseased, stayed hidden until it was safe for them to crawl out of their hiding-places and roam the streets looking for food.
Any kids who hadn’t found somewhere safe for the night were prey. Over the last year most kids had joined together into larger groups and found their way into easily fortified camps like the palace, or the Tower, but there were still smaller groups living scattered in the houses, preferring to look after themselves. And they were more vulnerable.
No one knew how many sickos were still alive. But you could hear them at night, gangs of them on the prowl. Even in the daylight you had to be careful that you didn’t disturb a nest of them. They were everywhere – in cellars, in the underground tube tunnels, in the sewers, anywhere dark. They didn’t need light. They hunted by smell. DogNut knew that he and his friends would have to keep moving or risk attracting the bolder sickos who would be emerging from their lairs now that the sun was disappearing.
‘Keep to the middle of the road!’ he called out as they jogged along. ‘And stick together.’
They headed west, towards Knightsbridge and the blood-red sky that hung above it. This had been one of the most expensive areas of London, with tall old buildings and expensive shops. Now all derelict.
They passed a super-modern Jaguar car showroom. The building that rose above it looked like a Lego building, all pointy roofs and tall chimneys and fancy walls made of rows of red and cream bricks. Other buildings had turrets and towers, or pillars across the front. Now and then they passed a new one, all glass and steel.
God, thought Courtney, London just went on forever, so many houses, offices, shops, banks, restaurants, so many people. What had happened to them all?
As if in answer to her question, she heard a howl and the kids staggered to a halt, looking around uncertainly, trying to see where the sound had come from. Courtney edged closer to DogNut, gripping her spear tighter.
‘We need to keep moving,’ said DogNut. ‘It’s getting darker every second.’
‘Maybe we should go back,’ said little Olivia.
‘No way,’ said DogNut. ‘We carry on. We always knew it wouldn’t be easy. We can’t go running back to Mummy every time we hear a noise.’
‘I’m scared,’ said Olivia. ‘Let’s please go back. I liked it at the palace.’
‘You want to find your brother, Paul, though, don’t you, love?’ said DogNut, and Olivia nodded tightly. ‘Then we need to push on.’
‘Besides, that sound could have come from anywhere,’ said Courtney, trying to be helpful. ‘It could have come from behind us.’
She instantly knew it had been a mistake to say anything because Olivia grew even more fearful. She started to shake and sob. Courtney didn’t want her to freeze and put them all in danger. She grabbed her hand.
‘It’s all right. We’ll be all right. It’s not far.’
Olivia nodded again, biting back tears.
They carried on. Moving slower than before, not wanting to rush into danger, listening, looking, smelling the air for the telltale sour, rotten odour of sickos. There was so much filth on the streets, though, it was hard to pick out any one particular smell.
They heard another howl. It sounded more distant than before.
‘See,’ said Courtney, squeezing Olivia’s hand. ‘It’s going away, whatever it was.’
‘Was it a sicko?’
‘Could have been a cat or fox or anything.’
‘I wish we’d waited until the morning.’
‘We’ll be all right. We’ll find your brother, OK?’
Olivia’s eyes went wide. ‘What if he’s dead?’
Courtney sighed. ‘Can’t you think of something nice? Don’t think of bad things all the time.’
‘I can’t help it.’
Courtney was beginning to regret holding on to Olivia’s hand. She was stuck with her now and the little girl was being a real downer. All she was doing was making her more scared and depressed. Everyone probably felt the same way as Olivia, and it really didn’t help spelling it out. She was about to say something to the little girl when there was a crash from the side-street they were passing.
‘What was that?’
‘Probably nothing.’
It wasn’t nothing, though – it was three sickos, who, a moment later, stumbled into the road, carrying an unidentifiable dead thing. They were all three mothers; two of them very tall and skinny, the third much older, bent over, bald, her belly hanging down to her knees. The sickos were as surprised to see the kids as the kids were to see them. They stopped, eyes goggling.
‘Run!’ wailed Olivia.
‘No,’ said DogNut firmly. ‘We ain’t running. If they want an argument, we’ll give them one.’
As he said it, he tugged his sword from its scabbard, and Felix and Marco formed up on either side of him, weapons at the ready. Courtney let go of Olivia and joined them, trying to appear braver than she felt. Finn took charge of the little girl and kept behind the others, cursing his useless, swollen arm in its sling. The slightest touch sent daggers of hot pain all the way up to his shoulder. In the last couple of days it had become a lot worse. He couldn’t hold anything – in fact, could hardly move the arm at all, and his fingers had become fat and puffy. He also felt slightly feverish, which frightened him.
Stupid thing was, it hadn’t even happened in a battle – he’d slipped on some wet steps at the Tower and gashed himself on a piece of jagged stone.
‘Come on then,’ said DogNut, waving his sword at the mothers. ‘You want some? Come and get it then. What are you waiting for?’
The older mother drew her blistered lips back, exposing toothless gums, and hissed at the kids, then waddled forward, her companions joining her in a clumsy charge.
‘Don’t look, Olivia,’ Finn said kindly, covering the girl’s eyes. ‘Turn away.’
The fight lasted less than a minute. The kids laid into the adults with a ferociousness born out of stress and tension. The three sickos went down fast and stayed down, bleeding into the gutter.
The kids cleaned their weapons and carried on, almost hysterical from their victory and the sudden flood of relief. They were laughing as they walked, talking over each other in a mad, excited jumble as they recalled the events of the fight.
‘Did you see the look on the old bat’s face when I twatted her on the side of the head …?’
‘I thought my spear was gonna get stuck! I forgot to twist it …’
‘You got to be well careful with a sword and all, better to slash with it than to stick the point in …’
‘How did they ever think they could win?’
‘They ain’t had to deal with kids like us before. Only the wimps from round here. We’re Jordan Hordern’s soldiers; we’re trained, we’re the elite …’
‘We’re kings of the streets!’
‘Hey, look at that,’ said Courtney, and they all stopped walking.
They had come to a fancy pinkish-brown building with a big dome on the top. Tatty flags hung along the front above a row of ragged green awnings.
‘Ain’t that Harrods?’
‘Yeah.’ Felix whistled. ‘You wanna go shopping?’
‘I went in there once,’ said Courtney. ‘It was mad. The poshest place I ever been, even posher than Buckingham Palace. You could buy anything you wanted in the whole world, even a helicopter, probably, and you should have seen the food they had in there. Mental. All the staff, like, looked at me like I didn’t belong, though.’
‘You could go in there now,’ said Marco. ‘Own it.’
‘I could, couldn’t I?’
‘Except it’s probably full of sickos,’ said Felix.
‘Yeah, thanks for pointing that out, o
r I might have forgotten,’ said Courtney grumpily. ‘I might have, like, gone in there with my credit card on a shopping frenzy. I was having a nice memory, yeah? A nice dream. And you spoilt it, man.’
‘Yeah, Felix, you’re so dumb sometimes,’ said Marco.
‘Oh, right, and you ain’t?’ Felix gave Marco a pitying look.
‘Yeah,’ said Marco. ‘Compared to you I’m like triple A star.’
‘Compared to me you are just like a piece of snot dangling off some manky mother’s nose,’ said Felix.
‘Yeah?’ Marco made a dismissive gesture. ‘Compared to me you are the pants some father’s been wearing for, like, a year, and he ain’t never wiped his arse in all that time.’
‘Why don’t you two hush your gums,’ said Courtney. ‘You are, like, year four kids sometimes. Year three.’
Four floors above them a mother was sniffing the air, watching from one of the Harrods windows. She was moaning quietly, her tongue slobbering against the grimy glass. She was so hungry. She was imagining the taste of the children. Imagining sinking her teeth into their soft flesh. The blood in her mouth. The feel of the meat as she chewed it …
But they were too far away. She couldn’t get there in time. This was one meal she would never eat. Because others were already there. She could see them, moving towards the children from every direction.
Lots of them.
A tear ran down her cheek, between the blisters and the holes where the disease had eaten into her face.
So hungry.
‘You keep out of this, Courtney.’ Felix was almost shouting. ‘This is between me and Marco.’
‘No, it ain’t!’ Courtney looked like she couldn’t believe what she was hearing. ‘This is between me and you.’
‘Shut it you lot,’ said DogNut. ‘We’ve got to keep moving.’
‘Pick your own argument, Courtney,’ said Marco, ignoring him.
‘I thought you was on my side!’
‘I ain’t on nobody’s side.’
‘You are just as bad as Felix.’
‘Jesus, Courtney, get off my case –’
Suddenly there was a yelp from Finn. Something had snatched hold of his sling, and he lashed out instinctively with his right elbow. The pain jarred his whole body and he thought he was going to be sick.
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