Josh and Scrawl followed him into the cell; then the door slid shut and the floor began to drop. It took a second for Josh to realize that they were in an elevator. It continued down for twenty or thirty seconds, then came to a halt. The doors opened and Clatter stepped out into a tunnel very much like the one through which Josh and Scrawl had entered the lab.
Josh was surprised that Clatter had turned his back on them. Maybe we could jump him, he thought.
“He has weapons,” Scrawl whispered just loudly enough for Josh to hear him. Josh nodded to let him know he understood, even though part of him still wanted to knock Clatter down and hurt him.
“You know, Josh, I could use someone like you on my team,” Clatter said. He turned and paused. “My other team, I mean. I plan to introduce Z to the streets shortly. You’ve tried it. You know how popular it will be. The profit potential is extraordinary. Are you sure you won’t consider joining me?”
“I’ll never be like you,” said Josh.
“You wound me,” Clatter said, feigning sadness. “And here I thought I was such a role model to all of you.”
They walked for a few minutes and came to a stone archway covered by an old iron grate. Behind the grate was a small room cut into the rock, and Charlie and Firecracker were sitting on the floor, not looking at each other. When they heard noise in the tunnel, they glanced up. Josh saw expressions of hope flash across their faces but quickly disappear when they saw that Josh and Scrawl were with Clatter.
“I’ve brought you some company,” Clatter said as he removed one of the keys tied to his coat and inserted it into the ancient lock. The lock opened reluctantly, and Clatter pulled the grate open just far enough for Josh and Scrawl to go inside. He shut it behind them and locked it. “I’ll go make the arrangements,” he said. “I suggest you fill your friends in on what we’ve agreed to.”
As soon as Clatter disappeared, Charlie and Firecracker started talking at the same time.
“Where did you go, and what happened to your face?”
“Dude, what the hell are these people doing?”
“I didn’t mean to—”
“I was only trying to—”
“Quiet!” Josh said. “Just listen. We don’t have a lot of time.”
He explained to Firecracker and Charlie about the zombies and Z, and about the deal he’d made with Clatter.
“What do you mean we have to fight our way out?” asked Firecracker. “Like for real?”
“For real,” said Josh.
“This is insane,” Charlie said.
“Look around,” Scrawl told her. “This whole thing is insane.”
Charlie shook her head. “This isn’t happening,” she said. “It’s, I don’t know, a dream. Or a bad Z trip. I just have to wake up.” She started beating at herself with her hands.
Josh grabbed her and held her. She struggled for a moment, then slumped against him. He felt her shake as she sobbed.
“We can do this,” he whispered. “We’ve done it a thousand times.”
“Are you telling me you guys have been playing the game with real zombies?” Firecracker asked. “And real flamethrowers? And now we’re playing to get out of here alive?”
“Yeah,” Scrawl said. “That’s pretty much it.”
“That’s awesome,” Firecracker said.
“It’s not awesome!” Charlie yelled. “Don’t you get it? We have to kill people!”
Firecracker snorted. “We have to kill meatbags,” he said. “Big deal.”
“Some of those meatbags are our friends,” said Scrawl.
“Come on, man,” Firecracker said.
“What’s wrong with you?” Charlie said. She pulled away from Josh and shoved Firecracker against the wall.
“Hey!” he said.
“This isn’t a stupid game,” Charlie continued. “It never was. We just thought it was. Those meatbags you’re so hot to torch used to be like us.” She looked at Josh and Scrawl. “Some of them were us. And that slimeball out there has made a lot of money from people like you who think it’s a whole lot of fun.”
Firecracker put his hands up in defeat. “Don’t take it out on me,” he said. “I wouldn’t be here at all if you hadn’t told Freakula there that I was stalking you.” He looked at Josh. “Which I wasn’t. I was just worried about you.”
Josh nodded. “I know,” he said. “It’s okay. Right now we have to talk about our plan.”
“What field are we playing on?” Charlie asked.
Scrawl shook his head. “We don’t know,” he said. “But my guess is he’ll put us on Location Eleven.”
Charlie’s head whipped up. “Eleven?” she said.
Josh looked from her to Scrawl. “What’s eleven? I don’t remember that from the manual.”
“It’s not in the manual,” Scrawl said. “We’ve never played it before.”
“Where is it?” Josh asked.
Scrawl rubbed his nose. “Feverfew,” he said.
“The insane asylum?” said Firecracker. “That place on the cliffs? It’s been condemned for at least thirty years. It’s totally falling apart.”
“Exactly,” said Scrawl. “We haven’t used it before because it’s too dangerous for the Torchers. That’s why Clatter wants to use it as a field.”
“So the odds are against us,” Charlie said.
“Then we just have to play the best game we’ve ever played,” said Josh. He looked at each of them in turn. “We can do it. We just have to stick together.”
21
Clatter came for them half an hour later. Seamus and Finnegan were with him. The two of them behaved oddly, not looking at the four captives and rocking back and forth slightly on their feet.
They’re doped up on Z, Josh thought as Clatter unlocked the cell and told them to come out one by one. Josh went first. As he exited, Finnegan took his arm and placed a handcuff around his wrist. Josh tried to pull his hand back, but Finnegan gripped it tightly, then cuffed the other wrist also.
“Just a precaution,” Clatter said. “Nothing to worry about.”
“Five o’clock,” Josh reminded Clatter. “That’s when the message goes out and the cops come.”
“Oh, I think this will be over long before then,” Clatter said.
The three others joined Josh, all of them handcuffed. Clatter ordered them to follow Seamus, who led them in the opposite direction from the elevator. A hundred yards on, the tunnel opened up into a larger tunnel running perpendicular to the first one. A short flight of stone steps led down to a small landing past which a stream of dirty water flowed along sluggishly. An old wooden rowboat was tied to the platform with a rope.
“Couldn’t afford a hoverboat, huh?” Firecracker asked sarcastically.
Seamus pushed him roughly down the steps, with Finnegan urging the others along behind him. “We like it old school,” Seamus said, nodding at the boat. “Get in and shut up.”
Josh stepped in first. The boat rocked beneath him, and with his hands cuffed he couldn’t keep his balance. He fell sideways, hitting one of the boat’s bench seats with a painful thud. Seamus laughed, a dull chuckle that made Josh’s skin crawl. He’d always found the twins a little strange, but now they were totally creeping him out.
Charlie got in next and sat beside Josh. Firecracker and Scrawl followed, squeezing in next to them, then Finnegan and Clatter, who took the seat at the front. Seamus untied the rope tethering the boat to the platform and got in last, taking the middle bench and facing Josh. As the boat floated out into the stream, he took the ends of the two oars attached to the sides of the boat by heavy steel oarlocks and began to row.
The tunnel was lit by a string of electric lights that ran along the ceiling. The ancient bulbs were mostly dead, but a few still worked. As the boat floated along, Josh occasionally caught a glimpse of what was around them.
“This tunnel was once used by the old underground rail system,” Clatter announced from the front of the boat. “Like all the old tunnels,
it flooded when Antarctica melted and the seas rose. But what was a tragedy for so many has been a boon for those of us who wish to conduct business unnoticed. The tunnels run nearly everywhere one might wish to go beneath the city.”
Clatter continued to talk, but Josh tuned him out. He didn’t care what Clatter had to say, but remained focused on what lay ahead. Without knowing the layout of where they would be playing, the team of Torchers couldn’t form a real plan. But Scrawl had seen some basic maps of Feverfew, and assuming that that’s where they were going, had used a piece of broken stone to sketch out a rough idea of what it might look like inside on the floor of the cell.
Seamus made several turns, moving into various tunnels until Josh’s sense of direction was completely lost. Sometimes they flowed with the water, and sometimes Seamus had to struggle against it. They passed half a dozen platforms similar to the one from which they’d launched the rowboat, and Josh wondered what part of the city each one led to.
Finally they traversed a very long tunnel where the water flowed more quickly. It’s going out to the ocean, Josh thought. This is where it empties out. We must be somewhere near the cliffs; Scrawl was right.
Seamus muscled the boat to yet another landing, and Finnegan jumped out, tying the rope to a ring set into the stone. Seamus was next, and he and Finnegan helped Clatter out of the boat. No one helped Josh and his friends, who got off as best they could.
They were marched up a series of stone stairs. These were much steeper and longer than the ones they’d come down, and Josh was breathing heavily when they reached the top. His skin was soaked with sweat, and his shirt clung to him in the clammy, cold air.
They walked through a doorway and found themselves in a dimly lit basement. Tall filing cabinets lined the rust-stained walls. The drawers on many of them were open, and sheets of paper spilled out like entrails. Josh noticed that several of the papers had small black-and-white photographs stapled to them. Those are patient records, he noted grimly.
They came to a set of doors. Clatter pulled a handle that protruded from the wall, and machinery in the walls ground to life. The doors opened, revealing an elevator large enough to accommodate them all. As it lurched upward, the elevator shook with the strain.
Josh watched the buttons on the elevator’s control panel light up as they passed each floor. At 4 it shuddered to a stop, and the doors opened.
“Watch your step,” Clatter said as he got out with a strange jumping motion. Then Josh noticed that the elevator had stopped a good six inches below the level of the floor outside. The floor itself seemed to sag, as if the ancient building had given up.
“This is where the game will begin,” Clatter said. He nodded at Finnegan, who produced a key and proceeded to unlock the handcuffs. Josh massaged his wrists, which had been rubbed raw by the metal. He noticed the others doing the same.
“The rules are very simple,” Clatter continued. “There are twelve zombies. Find and kill them all within two hours and you go free.”
“We didn’t agree on a time limit,” Josh objected.
“My customers don’t have all night,” said Clatter. “And neither do you.”
“But this place is huge,” Charlie said. “There’s no way we can cover it in two hours. You know that.”
Clatter nodded. “You may well be right,” he admitted. “But as you yourself said,” he added, looking at Josh, “you are the best Torchers I have.”
Josh pushed down the urge to rush Clatter.
“Of course, if you do not complete the task …” Clatter left the sentence unfinished. They all knew what would happen.
“We’ll become zombies,” Firecracker said. “Yeah, we get it.”
Clatter looked at Firecracker with an expression of amusement. “For someone who has never played the game outside of his bedroom, you’re remarkably confident,” he said.
Firecracker returned the stare. “We’re all good at something,” he said slowly. “I’m sure one day you’ll figure out what your something is.”
Josh enjoyed watching the look on Clatter’s face change. Firecracker had landed a direct hit. You might not be the brightest guy, he thought, but I’m glad you’re on my team.
“Your torches are through that door over there,” Clatter said, his tone decidedly less friendly. “I’m afraid we forgot to pick up communicators for you. You’ll have to stay in contact the old-fashioned way. You must remain here while we return to the control center. Do not enter the room until you hear the command to begin.” He removed a watch from one of his pockets. “Who’s going to be the team captain?”
Scrawl nodded at Josh. “I guess I am,” Josh told Clatter.
Clatter handed him the watch. “When the game begins, this will start to count down the time remaining,” he said. “As usual, there are cameras throughout the building. Your progress will be followed with much anticipation.”
Clatter, Finnegan, and Seamus returned to the elevator. As the doors began to close, Clatter looked at Josh and smiled. “Good luck,” he said. The sound of his laughter followed the elevator as it descended.
“No communicators,” Scrawl said. “Great. He wants us to yell so the z’s hear us.”
“How are we going to find a dozen zombies in this place?” Charlie added. “We could spend an hour on each floor.”
“We’ll have to break up,” said Firecracker. “Each of us take a floor or something.”
“No,” Josh told him as he put the watch on his wrist. “That’s what Clatter wants us to do.” He spoke quietly, knowing that if Clatter had put cameras in, then he had undoubtedly installed microphones as well. “Remember what we agreed on—we stick together. All of us get out of here or none of us do.”
Scrawl nodded. “Josh is right,” he said. “We have to do this as a team.”
“All right,” said Firecracker. “Then what’s our plan?”
“This place is basically a big square,” said Scrawl. “Four corridors around a central open area that used to be a garden. It’s where the patients went to go outside without being able to escape. I say we do a basic sweep pattern. Start at one corner, go around until we come back to it, then go to the next level. The place was designed so that the stairs alternate position. On floors two and four they’re in the southeast corner. On three they’re in the northwest. They did that so that nobody could have a straight shot out of here if they ran. We can use the stairs as a starting position.”
“Are we all okay with that?” Josh asked.
Charlie and Firecracker nodded.
“I know I said we would all stick together,” Josh continued. “But if we all stay on the same floor, maybe it’s okay if we sweep in teams of two. That way we can cover the floor twice as quickly. Whichever team gets to the stairs first waits for the other. We’ve got half an hour for each floor. If the second team doesn’t show up by the time thirty minutes is up, the first team—”
“Goes to the next floor,” Firecracker interrupted him.
“No,” said Josh. “They go find the other team. Remember, we’re all getting out of here. Now, does anyone else have a watch?”
“I do,” Firecracker said.
“Then you go with Scrawl,” Josh told him. “Charlie will come with me. We’ll alternate partners on each floor.”
“Why?” Firecracker asked.
“So we don’t get too comfortable,” Charlie explained. “It keeps us fresh.”
“All right,” said Josh. “Now we wait for the signal.”
It came five minutes later, just as Josh thought he wouldn’t be able to stand the suspense any longer. A screeching sound filled the hallway, followed by Clatter’s voice. It was tinny and faint, and Josh had to strain to hear it.
“Time begins now,” Clatter said simply, and the air went dead.
“Go!” Josh called out, and ran for the doors.
He burst through them into a small room. Two beds were against the wall, their metal frames rusted and the stained mattresses on them bursting o
pen. Four torches lay on one of the beds.
“Could these be any older?” Scrawl asked as he picked one up and slung it over his shoulder.
“Another advantage for the other team,” Josh joked grimly. He turned his flamethrower and checked the fuel level. It was at half of what it should be.
“Do you know how to use that?” Scrawl asked Firecracker, who was looking at his torch.
“I’m not sure,” said Firecracker. “Where do the arrows go again?”
Despite himself, Josh laughed. He’d missed his friend’s careless sense of humor. He suspected Firecracker wouldn’t be joking once he saw his first zombie up close, but for now his attitude helped ease the tension, at least a little bit.
“Ready?” Josh asked.
“Ready,” Charlie said as the other two nodded.
“Let’s go find us some zombies,” said Josh.
22
The first zombie was waiting for them right outside the door. Because they weren’t expecting one so soon, none of them were prepared for it. Charlie, who went first, walked right into it. The zombie, a huge man in a coverall with HOWARD stitched over the pocket, wrapped his arms around her and immediately went for her neck. Charlie didn’t even have time to scream.
Scrawl, following behind her, butted the zombie in the face with his torch, causing him to fall back a step or two. It was enough for Charlie to slip out of his grasp, and with a fierce yell she kicked the zombie squarely in the stomach. It doubled over, and she delivered a roundhouse kick to its shoulder. A moment later the zombie was in flames as Scrawl torched it.
“Come on!” Charlie shouted, waving Josh and Firecracker out of the room.
They skirted around the zombie. Josh saw Firecracker stop and stare at the man, who was on all fours crawling slowly toward them. Firecracker wore a confused expression as if he couldn’t believe what he was seeing was real. For a moment he even started to go back toward the zombie.
“Firecracker!” Josh yelled. “Move!”
Firecracker tore himself away from the site of the flaming zombie, and the four of them moved down the hallway. “It was alive,” Firecracker said as they went. “It had a name. He had a name.”
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