Zom-B Gladiator Read Online Free PDF Page A

too,’ Burke says sadly.
    ‘I’m sure you have. But I’ve only seen terrible things since I regained my mind. I’ve found death everywhere I’ve turned, or death has found me. I’m not saying I’m a jinx—I don’t think I’m that important. But this is death’s world now and I’ve run into the Grim Reaper every time I’ve turned a corner or pausedfor breath. Well, not actual breath, obviously, but you get the picture.’
    I meet Burke’s gaze at last. ‘Pretty much everyone I’ve known and cared about has died or been taken from me. I’m sick of it. I don’t want to endure the pain again. The Angels will be killed, I’m sure of it. Dr Oystein will get ambushed by Mr Dowling and his mutants. You’ll be turned or slaughtered. It will all gotits up somewhere along the line.
    ‘I don’t want to feel anything when that happens. I don’t want to lose friends or loved ones. I want to be able to get on with things and find somewhere else to hole up until death swings by again. I’d rather be a loner than feel lonely.’
    Burke’s eyes fill with pity. ‘B . . .’ he croaks.
    ‘Don’t,’ I stop him. ‘You came for answers and I’ve giventhem to you. Now leave me alone. It’s all I ask of you. It’s all I ask of anyone.’
    Then I pick up the book, open it and stare at the words until Burke gets up and silently slips away, leaving me by myself. Not the way I like it really. Just the way it has to be if I’m not going to go crazy and lose myself to grief and madness in this harsh, unforgiving abattoir of a world.

Getting ready to head out on another scouting mission. I was hoping Master Zhang would give us something meatier to deal with, but no, it’s just another sweep of the area, this time around Covent Garden. There are lots of streets set back from the market, crammedwith flats. We’ve been through there before, but repetition is nothing new.
    We don’t take any weapons when we head out, but we dress in heavy clothes and gloves to protect our skin from the sun. We also slap on loads of suntan lotion. Our clothes have been individually prepared for us, holes cut away to reveal our wounds and the wisps of green moss which signify to other zombies that we’reundead like them.
    I study the hole in my chest as I twist my jacket round. I’ve got so used to it that I can’t really remember what it was like before. I hated being one tit short of a full set to begin with. Now I couldn’t give a toss.
    ‘I have said it before but I will say it again,’ someone murmurs behind me. ‘You are a most remarkable example of a zombie, Becky Smith.’
    I turn,smiling, to face Dr Oystein. The doc never changes much. He favours a light grey suit, neatly ironed white shirt and a snazzy tie. His thin brown hair is shot through with grey streaks and carefully combed. His deep brown eyes are as calm and warm as always.
    ‘I bet you say that to all the girls,’ I chuckle.
    ‘Only you,’ he vows, then reaches out to adjust my coat around the hole wheremy heart used to be. ‘There. Perfect.’ He cocks his head to examine my face.
    ‘Burke told you what I said, didn’t he?’ I pout.
    ‘Of course. If it is any help, I understand. You are not the first to stand alone, to avoid the complications of company. I went through such a spell myself. It lasted several years. I figured, if I could train myself to feel nothing for anyone, I could neverbe hurt again, the way I was hurt when my family was so savagely taken from me.’
    ‘How’d you get on with that?’ I ask.
    ‘Fine,’ he says. ‘I found it surprisingly easy to sever all emotional ties and distance myself from those I worked with.’
    ‘Then why did you start caring again?’ I frown.
    ‘Instinct compels many reviveds to stay with those they knew in life,’ Dr Oystein replies. ‘ButI do not think they truly care about those people. They have lost their souls, so they have no reason to give a damn. After a time, I realised I was behaving the