“We don’t know that yet.”
“But it seems plausible, doesn’t it? The vomited blood must carry the virus with it. If that is swallowed, or gets into the bloodstream, that would cause the infection.”
“Possibly.” David nodded. “It’s more than likely, yes. But we can’t confirm that yet.”
“But that doesn’t matter. At the end of the day, David, this newspaper you are working on is propaganda. It is propaganda against V and her cult, whether you want to call it that or not. It is raising awareness to the truth, but to do that we need to be honest, and we also need to extend the truth when it is possible to do so.”
“So what are you saying, Zach?”
“I’m saying I want to help you with an article that exposes the truth behind the different kinds of the dead. If you know any more than the vomiting and biting kind, then chuck them in there, too. And I want us to mention William, to remember him, and to say how he turned.”
David exhaled. “If you think that is wise.”
“Of course I think it’s wise,” Zach said. “V needs to take The Union seriously. She will do that if she sees we are learning her creations, and we are picking up on what others may be missing. A lot of people don’t live to tell the tale of the different kinds of the dead, and a lot of people don’t have the platform we have. This is our chance to really get something huge out there.”
David agreed. “I’ll start work on it tomorrow.” He jotted a few notes down in the notepad next to him. “Anything else?”
Zach thought for a moment. “Do you know any other possible types?”
“I know people carry the virus. Either they are born with the right blood types to carry the virus, or they have been injected and are unleashed on the world just waiting for something to trigger that thing they carry.”
“And what triggers it?”
“Sometimes an allergic reaction, sometimes drugs,” David said. “And of course, the bite from the dead.”
“We’ll write that in. Anything else?”
David nodded. “We believe that some zombies only come out by night, and if they are exposed to light, and I mean bright artificial lighting, they burn up.”
“Interesting!” Zach gasped. “Have you seen this happen?”
“No, but they catch fire. So if you’ve ever seen the dead alight, it may have been because they were exposed to artificial light that was bright enough to affect them.”
“I wonder why that is.”
“We don’t know,” David replied. “Though the scientists in Amsterdam are finding it out.”
“Great. I think we really need to expose this for what it is.”
“Zach, I know what I’m doing.”
Zach looked worried that he had offended. “I know! I know! But I just wanted to help out where I can. I just can’t sleep. This is all so worrying.”
David nodded. “It’s tough, and it is only going to get worse. But you have to keep the faith, in all of us. It may look like nothing is going on, but trust me when I say it is.”
Zach smiled. “I trust you.”
“Good. Now, do you mind leaving me? You disrupted my flow.”
Zach excused himself and walked out into the hallway. It was dimly lit with red lamps, casting distorted shadows from statues of animals on the white walls. Zach looked through the window in the hallway, and out over the treetops. He was looking up at the winding road when headlights began to weave their way around the corner. Zach gasped, ducking down peered over the ledge.
A government car drove slowly down the curving slopes. Inside were two orange Blitzers. They were checking out every entrance they came to, trying to analyse if anybody had been in lately.
“David,” Zach whispered. “They’re here.”
David huffed from his room, and Zach heard him walk into the hallway. He peered through the window, over Zach’s shoulder. “They drive past all the time, Zach. There’s no need to be worried.”
Though David looked tense. The car came to a near halt at their gate, before breezing slowly by and out of sight.
“They suspect I’m here,” David said. “I’m sure of it. I wonder if somebody has tipped them off.”
“Surely they would rush in here if they knew?”
David nodded slowly. “Yeah, maybe you’re right.”
David left Zach in the hallway. Zach stared out at the night sky, the untouched darkness, and tried to calm his shaking nerves.
* * *
Cedric drove the government car up the lanes of Cannes. He prayed he would not pass anybody, especially Blitzers going on their hourly patrols.
He had fought his way out of the government clutches. He had been captured, but had managed to break free of his restraints in the back of the van he had been thrown in.
Once the doors had been opened, he disarmed one and shot them both. Sensing he was alone, he had stolen the van they had caught him in, and drove straight to Cannes, where he hoped David Herald would be, if their plans had gone well.
Cedric hoped they had succeeded in saving Connor. He hoped they had got out of the government headquarters undetected and safe. He hoped there had been no casualties.
He looked at the red mark on his wrist and pulled a face. The pain was throbbing, but he knew he needed to get to David before V did. He knew they didn’t have much time.
Cedric had escaped again, and he knew that if he were caught his life would not be spared. He had betrayed V and escaped her twice. It was something he was proud of, but equally ashamed of, too.
Cedric came to a stop outside David’s house and pulled up the handbrake. He climbed out of the car and placed his finger to the reader. The gates began to open. He hurried back to the car and climbed in, starting it and rolling it forwards. He left the car parked in the middle of the drive, where he knew it couldn’t be seen, and headed to the door.
It opened. David knew instantly that something was wrong.
“V found us. We don’t have anywhere safe anymore,” Cedric said. “We need to get out of here, as soon as possible.”
Chapter Forty
Winter sat opposite Cedric, staring at the marks on his wrists. “But how do we get out of here? This is the only safe place we’ve got. We can’t go anywhere else.”
“V knows we’ve escaped Paris,” Cedric explained. “She found our street, and she captured those that were still there. I don’t know where they are.”
Zach was pale. “Violet?”
“I don’t know where she is, Zach. They caught us and took us separately. I broke out, when I had a chance, but I don’t know if anybody else was that lucky.”
Winter shook her head, unable to comprehend what had happened. Not only were her parents somewhere under V’s regime, but now so were Violet, Missy, Caroline and Heidi. She glanced at Connor. How was it that they had managed to save one of their own, and lose so many others? It seemed fate was playing with them.
“We all should have gone.” Lara shook her head. “I should have let them come with me.”
“You can’t be serious,” Cedric said. “This is nobody’s fault.” Cedric looked at David. “I do think, though, that we were sold out by our betrayer.”
“Any idea who that is yet?”
“No.” Cedric ran his hands through his hair. He seemed tired. “But I know there is no way those Blitzers got in through our defences without any help. They were undetected until it was too late. Until they followed me in to the house.”
“Why were you there?” Zach asked.
“Well, David knew you were going out…” Cedric began.
“We already know this,” Winter said. “You made him follow us.”
“Okay. Well, Ruby went over, apparently oblivious to you guys going, because she was shocked when she found only half of you there.”
“Why was Ruby there?” Zach asked.
“Violet’s birthday. She wanted to celebrate, but when she found out you were gone, she rang me to tell me what had happened. I came to the house to try and tell
her it was okay…she didn’t know you were doing anything tonight, clearly. But the Blitzers had been waiting for me, and followed me in. I was almost killed on the fucking doorstep.”
“We need to go back to Paris,” Zach said. “We have to find Violet.”
“There are other things at stake, Zach,” Cedric said. “We can’t just walk back into Paris after our escape. V will have already been tipped off who she hasn’t managed to catch. That includes all of you. And when she finds out you got into her establishment and saved a prisoner, well, she’s going to be very angry indeed. If you weren’t on her hit list before this, you’re definitely on it now.”
“I don’t care,” Zach said. He looked at Winter. “Do you?”
“Of course not, but I’m not keen on risking our lives at the moment, Zach, without a full plan.”
“We barely had a plan when we saved Connor.”
“But we had enough of one,”
“Plus, I was your guidance,” David said, somewhat smugly. “I knew you could do it, but I had to be there to ensure nothing went wrong.”
“I don’t remember you shooting down the Blitzers,” Lara commented.
Cedric shook his head. “You’ve missed the point, clearly. You escaped tonight because V wasn’t expecting the attack.”
“What’s that got to do with anything?”
“That the two people who didn’t know about your ambush are the two people who we now believe are the possible traitors.”
Winter looked around at blank faces, hoping for an answer. “I don’t follow. You’re saying we only saved Connor tonight because nobody told her what was going to happen?”
Cedric nodded. “I’m saying exactly that. We didn’t tell Ruby or Maria about the attempt to save Connor. So now I believe that it is one of those who are betraying us.”
There was silence. Even David seemed surprised. He voiced it. “Ruby?”
“She didn’t know Connor was being saved, and so there were no extra security on tonight, which is why it was easy to gun them down and get Connor out of there. Yes, you’re capable of it, but if V knew it was coming, you wouldn’t be here now. Plus, when Ruby found out, she rang me in a panic. If she were on our side, at least, this is my thinking, she wouldn’t have minded so bad that government headquarters were being infiltrated. But that call she made to me was…was completely full of fear. She thought she had failed.”
“She’s working for V?”
“I believe she is,” Cedric said. “I believe Ruby is feeding back our plans to V, and that’s why we got caught tonight, because Ruby told them where they could get in and when.”
Winter was dumbfounded. She couldn’t believe Ruby, a ditsy girl who hadn’t contributed much to The Union, was actually betraying them all along.
“And your proof?”
“None yet. She was captured and taken into the back of a van, but that may have all been for show.”
“Well, if she was caught, then surely she is innocent,” Lara said.
“Maybe,” Cedric said. “But we need to keep this arrangement here a secret. David, have you told Maria or Ruby about this place?”
“No,” David said. “Nobody knows but everyone in this room. We keep this secret.”
“Good. Then we should be safe for a little bit longer, but V will know we’re no longer in Paris. It won’t be long before she starts exploring further. Besides, V has eyes everywhere.”
“So we just sit here and wait?” Winter asked. “Wait for somebody to come in and shoot us all?”
“That isn’t going to happen,” David said.
“I won’t let it,” Cedric added.
Cedric sat down on one of the oddly designed chairs. He took out an envelope from his back pocket and tossed it from hand to hand for a little while.
“What’s in there?” Zach finally asked.
“Invitations,” Cedric said, staring at the envelope as if urging it to talk. “Invitations from V herself.”
Winter was confused. “What do you mean?”
Cedric split the envelope apart, revealing what looked like a wad of tickets inside. “They’re all addressed to each of us individually. Another way we know we’re being betrayed. They were left on the doorstep of the house when I arrived earlier, before it all went wrong. She’s left these for us, so we know about it.”
“What is it?”
Cedric took one ticket out. Winter saw colourful fireworks, in mid explosion, printed on the paper. ‘New Year’s Party’ was written in gold, holographic writing.
“She’s throwing a New Year’s Party at The Louvre. She’s invited us.”
Zach took one of the tickets and looked at them. “But…I don’t get it.”
“Well, neither did I, until I read this.” Cedric looked in the envelope again, and took out a cream piece of paper. He cleared his throat. “It says, ‘You are officially invited to the New Year’s Eve Masquerade Ball, hosted by V. Whilst the people supporting the new world order celebrate the new year, and the work I have achieved, I invite The Union for talks. Together, we can overcome our differences, and work side by side for a harmonious and achievable future. Whilst we cannot see eye to eye on every issue, after talking to me you will be assured that your safety is of the most vital importance. This is my peace offering. Accept, and we will achieve the new world order.’”
“She’s frightened,” Winter said.
Cedric nodded slowly. “I wondered the same thing. It’s a legit invitation. It has the stamps of her government and all of that. But I’m worried it’s a trap.”
“We’re not going to go, are we?” Lara asked. “Surely not?”
Cedric sighed. “We’ve been invited.”
Lara laughed. “That’s ridiculous. This isn’t a primary school party, Cedric. This is what could be a trap. You’ve said it yourself.”
“This is an opportunity to trick her, and get in to government headquarters and find out the information we need to know. We’ve been trying, for too long, to hack her computer system, but it is near impossible. We’ve barely scratched the surface. There, we will be able to sneak away and find the labs, find documents on the experiments, and if she knows of the immune. We can find out so much if we go there together.”
“But she wants to talk to us,” Winter pointed out. “We can’t talk to her and get exploring.”
“She will be busy,” Cedric said. “We will arrive, and whilst we wait to meet with her, we will explore.”
“We’ve barely escaped the first time,” Zach said.
“If we escaped before, we can certainly do it again.”
“It’s a trap,” Lara stated.
“It’s an opportunity.”
Lara stood up, her eyes wide with anger. “I don’t agree to walking in to what can only be described as the lions’ den. You’ve come in here, Cedric, and told us that Caroline, Violet, Missy and possibly Ruby have been captured and could very well be killed. You’ve also come in here and told us that Ruby could be betraying us, and that any second Blitzers could storm in here and shoot us all dead. Now you’re saying, oh, if that doesn’t happen, we have to go to a New Year’s party, to explore The Louvre! I’m not keen on going in and risking our lives, and giving her the opportunity to kill us all. I’ve lost friends to her hands already. Miranda, being one of them. I don’t want that to happen to anybody else.”
Cedric stood too, only he was calm. “I know what it must feel like. I know what you’re thinking. But I will not let her get us all in one room together. If she has invited us all, then we will all go, but we will all split up and explore. She won’t kill any of us. We get the information we need, and we get out. We’re not going there for a meeting or to seek peace. We’re going there to gain the truth, and further The Union’s advancement. Don’t you want to be a part of that?”
Lara sighed. She looked defeated. “I just don’t want to lose anybody else.”
“We’ll go prepared. We’ll have weapons. We’ll plan it out and we’ll keep it saf
e. You forget I used to work there, so I roughly know where to go. I’ll know how to get to the labs. I can also get hold of the blue prints, so we can properly plan this. We’ll plan it here. We’ll stay off the radar, and then we’ll get in. Nobody will die.”
“You can’t guarantee that.”
“I’m promising you, we will be safe.”
Winter took one of the tickets and looked at it. She could see both the benefits and the cons to accepting the invitation. She was in no hurry to come to an agreement and gain peace from V. She knew that wasn’t going to happen. The signs told her it was a trap, but if they could truly gain valuable information then it would be worth it.
Winter spoke. “I want to go.”
Eyes turned to her.
“Yes,” Cedric said.
“I want to go because I need to find my mum and dad. I need to know.”
Cedric nodded. “Then we will go to save your parents.”
“Your parents.” Lara sighed, resigning to the idea.
Chapter Forty-One
Violet traced her nimble fingers over the bones in the wall, wondering how much of this was real and how much was theatre. She had heard about the catacombs before, when her past had been made of a different will to survive. She never thought she would get to visit the place, let alone be locked in.
The Martyr had disappeared, and that unnerved her. How could somebody be dead, yet live and talk and think? If she got out of here, she would need to tell The Union. They needed to know about this new breed of the dead. Then again, she knew revealing a Martyr to her meant she wasn’t getting out of this place alive.
She could hear something. It was a scratching sound, coming from the distance. Though to her left or to her right, she didn’t know. The sound was ominous, telling her she wasn’t alone. But who she was with concerned her.
She knew there was the Martyr, but she had no idea if he was the only one. Maybe there were two, or a whole army. V’s creations were certainly expanding, albeit secretly. Or maybe it was the dead. If the dead were here, she may as well commit suicide. She had nowhere to hide and no way to defend herself. Then there was the possibility of another survivor. Someone she may be able to team up with and escape this graveyard.
Winter Smith (Book 2): The Secrets of France Page 24