Flesh of the Zombie Read Online Free PDF

drain!”
    Fool Spectre raised a hand to silence them. “Where
are
Brain Drain?”
    The landlord sucked hard on his cigar. “They’ve set off on a neverending tour,” he said, his voice echoing through the speaker system so no one could fail to hear his words. “To the Underlands …”
    At the mention of this, a shocked hush fell across the crowd, then the zombies began to lurch forward, pressing against the stage. Sir Otto remained unmoved by the moans and growls around him.
    “If you freaks ever want to see Brain Drain again,” he roared, pointing directly at Luke, “bring me
that
werewolf!

Two huge zombies pinned Luke’s now human arms firmly behind his back as he was lifted onto the stage to face Sir Otto. Resus, Cleo and Tee were bundled up to stand with their friend.
    “What do you want?” growled Luke.
    “I would have thought that was obvious,” sneered Sir Otto. “I’ll take
Skipstone’s Tales of Scream Street
, for a start, then there are the relics …”
    Luke glared through the cloud of cigar smoke into the landlord’s greedy eyes. Sir Otto would use the combined power of the founding fathers’ relics to make the lives of Scream Street’s residents as miserable as possible.
    “And what if I decide not to give them to you?” asked Luke.
    “Then I toss you to this angry mob, and they take out their disappointment at the end of Deadstock on you,” smiled Sir Otto. “Once the zombies have finished plundering your corpses, I’ll help myself to Skipstone’s book anyway.”
    Luke glanced down at the furious zombies pressing against the front of the stage. One of them had a broken neck, its top vertebra jutting through a gash at the back of its head. It hissed angrily.
    Luke fixed his eyes on Sir Otto. “I don’t think you’ve got the
backbone.”
    Resus’s eyes widened. “Er, Luke …” he said. “What are you doing?”
    “He’s
spine
less,” replied Luke. “Whatever he takes, we’ll get it
back.”
    “Luke!” hissed Resus. “What are you …?”
    “Make no
bones
about it,” added Luke, asslowly and as clearly as he could. “He’ll get it in the
neck.”
    “What are you talking about?” demanded Resus.
    Cleo squealed in frustration. “Keep up!” she shouted. Reaching down, she grabbed the hissing zombie’s exposed white backbone and pulled. With a sickening squelch, the monster’s spine slid out of its body. There was a
pfft!
and the zombie crumpled to the ground.
    Swinging the spine round, Cleo caught Sir Otto full in the face. The landlord’s cigar was thrust into his mouth, burning the tender skin at the back of his throat. He scrabbled around, gesturing wildly for someone to slap his back.
    Meanwhile, the zombies holding Luke were distracted long enough for him to wriggle out of their grasp. He ran to the back of the stage, pushing over a wall of speakers to allow himself, Cleo, Resus and Tee to jump safely to the ground. The audience swarmed over the stage after them.
    “What now?” asked Resus as the four of them ran from the charging zombies.
    “The only thing we can do,” said Luke. “We go to the Underlands!”

    Resus lifted the metal grille a few centimetres and peered out cautiously. A full-scale zombie riot was in progress. Luke, Resus, Cleo and Tee had managed to outrun the creatures, ducking into a drain at the back of Sneer Hall. The furious monsters, unable to find the people they considered responsible for the disappearance of Brain Drain, had turned their frustrations on Scream Street itself.
    They lurched along the streets, smashing windows, uprooting lampposts and demolishing fences. The terrified residents hastily barricaded themselves into their homes.
    Resus dropped the drain cover and slumped back into the hole. “You know we’re going to get the blame for this,” he said.
    “But it was Sneer’s fault,” said Cleo. “He’s the one who wrote that stupid song and fired the band off to who knows where!”
    Resus grinned wryly. “Talk