THE longest chapter yet. I hope it doesn't disappoint.
Umm... I don't own Alex Rider. AH would have to be bat shit crazy to do this to his MC.
Oh... Some suggestions:
Dead Snow, Dawn of the Dead, Day of the Dead and Land of the Dead, just for starters
Mrs. Jones had said a month, Alex chanted to himself. A month. A whole bloody month. Of course it was too good to be true.
He hurried down the street. The hammer thumped on his leg. Three weeks ago he never would have thought it would come to this. A shadow moved, and he flinched. I just need to get to the store…
Alex had gone right back to school, a doctor's note clutched tightly in his hand. The front desk worker hadn't even looked up as he walked in. He dropped the note on the desk. She grunted. He went back to class.
It was hard to focus. His mind kept wandering. Ms. Graett ignored him. She must have figured it was no use. It was a Friday after all.
Alex moved to his last class, typing. It was really a glorified free period. Held in the library, it was hailed as the mother of all slackers. Tom flopped down next to Alex on the couch.
"Where did you go?"
Alex looked at the ceiling, feeling his neck stretch. "To the doctor's."
"Really?" Tom sounded surprised. It was almost funny.
Alex looked at the light. He was sure it was burning his eyes. Right now he couldn't care less. He blinked and black spots danced in front of his vision.
Tom waived his hand in front of Alex's face. "That's not good for you, mate."
Now it was Alex's turn. "Really?"
"Yah. It burns your eyes and stuff." Tom paused. "What did you go to the doctor's for?"
"My appendix."
"Oh."
They sat on couch, silent. There was a periodic tapping of computer keys, but some students were holed up on chairs, listening on iPods or pretending to do homework. Most were sleeping.
Alex looked up in annoyance as a student at one on the nearer consoles began to bang frantically on his keyboard. The student looked frantic. He pressed some more keys. The printer began to spit out papers. Alex watched in amusement as the student used all the papers. It looked like he was making fliers. The student grabbed the stack and tried to make post haste out of the library. Ms. Goldbloom stopped him. There was nothing golden or youthful about her. Reaching for the two hundred mark, she was more infamous for her smell rather than anything else.
"What are you doing?" Her dry voice caused one of the students to look briefly up from their nap. They quickly dropped their head again.
"I'm…I'm…" He stammered. Tom stood up and walked over. Alex remained on the couch. He would wait, and watch.
Tom causally threw his arm around the boy's shoulders. "Nick and I were going to put up flyers for the chess club."
Ms. Goldbloom glared. "And who is in this chess club?" she hissed. Her loud voice echoed over the still room. Everyone looked up. She had not had her breakfast, and this make her cranky. Alex was sure that wouldn't change when… Alex abruptly stopped that thought. It wasn't funny. Nothing was funny anymore.
He looked over at the three. Alex felt for Nick. Nick in all probability didn't know Tom all that well. And it was no fun to stand too close to Ms. Goldbloom.
Tom shrugged, milking teenager for all he was worth. "Nick, me, some mates on the rugby team." He paused, as if thinking. "Some girls from football. Oh, and Alex."
Ms. Goldbloom looked around. She didn't spot Alex sitting not a meter from her. She leaned towards the boys.
"That Alex boy is bad news. You'd best stay away from him." She tapped her nose and shuffled to a dark corner, and began sorting some books.
Tom still had his arm around Nick. He steered him towards where Alex was sitting. Tom stopped in front of Alex as if presenting the Queen.
"Nick this is Alex. Alex Rider."
Alex gave a bemused wave. Nick blinked.
Tom hurried on. "Alex, this is Nick."
Nick blinked again, and shuffled his papers. "My name isn't Nick."
Tom froze. He looked at Nick closely. "Are you sure?"
"Yes I'm sure!" Nick snapped.
If it wasn't so strange, Alex would be laughing.
"Then what's your name?" Tom sounded a peeved.
"Dan. My name is Dan Rogers."
"Nice to meet you Dan." Tom warmly shook his hand.
Alex watched. Dan ripped is hand away. One of the papers flittered to the floor.
He heard Tom and Dan bickering, but ignored them.
His eyes were riveted to the page. How had the information gotten out? Was it MI5? Or some SAS solider got a few at a pub a blabbed? No, it wasn't even three.
The slight panic ate it's was up from his stomach and roared into his head. It's heading wasn't hard to miss. Zombies are coming! It looked like some shoddily make convention poster, except words from Jack's speech jumped out at him.
[Zombies] dry out and burn like leaves. Their hearing is slightly less than that of ours. The big danger: smell. They can sniff out exactly where you are. The only thing that throws them off is rotting meat, but it has to be putrid. . The best thing about blades is they don't need reloading. Machete, ax, and hatchet are common.
It was like being punched in the gut. Someone, for whatever reason had leaked. This was major. Alex felt Tom looking at him. Tom picked up a page and read. Dan didn't stop them. Tom's mouth pulled up into a grin.
"Right!" He laughed.
Alex just looked at him, and the smile slid off his face…
The store was a Tesco, and looked empty. Alex was thankful. He hadn't had to kill one yet. Sure he had seen them, from a distance. And had quickly left. A hammer wasn't much good, not matter what Jack said. She had left early that morning, and Alex refused to stay home. Their supplies were dwindling low, and it was better safe than sorry. Alex kept away from the automatic doors. No need to alert anything. He stepped through the gaping hole where the window used to be. Boots crunched on glass.
The glass had been broken inwards, and the jagged edges were covered with…Alex looked away in disgust.
He hurried down the aisles, hammer thumping continuously on his leg. It was starting to get annoying. Jack had taken the machete. Alex didn't think it was fair, but there was little he could say. He had barely made it out of the house anyway. Jack didn't know he had left, so he had to hurry. The refrigerators hummed softly. A bag of dog food had been ripped open. It spilled over the floor. Alex stepped over it. His foot crunched on one. He froze. Hurrying now, he grabbed bread and meat, shoving them into his bag. He was reaching for Rocky Road, Jack's favorite ice cream, when he saw a door move. He set the ice cream back down and pulled out his hammer. He crept toward the Employees Only door. The door had a handle. Alex slowly turned it. He began to push it in, but stopped. He had no idea what was behind it. Know your enemy. It was a phrase Jack drilled into him every day. Know them. Alex let go of the handle, and the door swung in on its own. He took a step back waiting. Shifting from foot to foot, boots squeaking on the tile floor. The refrigerators hummed. A faucet dripped somewhere. Alex waited.
Then he charged, slamming his shoulder into the door. It smashed open. Alex was in the room, and he looked wildly around for a moment. Then something hit him in the face. It was wet, and stung like a thousand needles. His eyes burned. Alex screamed. He thought his face was smelting. Acid? What good would acid do?
People were shouting, and Alex felt his eyes being forced open. They hurt. Alex blinked, but fingers held them. His eyes began to water. Something was poured into them. It hurt worse.
A voice spoke. "We need to get him to shut up."
Alex bucked defiantly on the hands holding him down. There was a brief rush if air and Alex felt something heavy connect with his head. It hurt! Alex yelled. The thing hit him again. He blacked out.
The flyers went up quickly. They covered the school, were no one took them seriously. Fluttering on poles and on shop windows, they mocked Alex. He knew the truth. They were the truth. Mrs. Jones issued a report to BBC. The report was run three days later. Then panic struck. Alex was sitting in English class again. Mr. Beckett tapped his fingers on his desk. He glared around the class.
"Everyone move your desk out of the way."
There were some grumbles.
"Now!" he snapped. He was clearly in a mood.
Alex stood and moved his desk to the side of the room. His classmates followed suit. It was "discussion time" usually reserved for discussing the book the class had just completed. Alex knew what this one was about.
Mr. Beckett looked down at them, seated on the floor. He seemed to find personal offence in their being there. Other schools in the area had shut down.
"What do you think of the recent developments?"
People shifted, but no one spoke. The report had been honest, in Alex's opinion. It hadn't said 'zombies' outright, but the signs were had to ignore. Warning signs included shambling gait, moaning, text book markers. Yet everyone shied away from the word. As if it was somehow impolite.
"Anyone?" Mr. Beckett crossed his arms. "If you don't start talking, I will call on you."
The students froze. Tom put up his hand. Alex held his breath.
"Well…sir…the development is…zombies."
Some students laughed a little. A girl started whispering to her friend. Mr. Beckett nodded.
"You're right."
The room seemed to have stopped moving. The girl's whisper could suddenly be heard loud and clear.
"I'm really scared. My brother went…" she looked up, guilty. A blush ran up her cheeks.
Mr. Beckett turned to her.
"Do you want to finish that thought?"
The girl shook her head.
"Is your brother missing."
The girl looked down and shook her head again.
Mr. Beckett tapped his foot. "Don't lie to me. Is your brother missing?"
"Yes." It came out in a whimper…
There was whimpering not far from Alex now. He tried to open his eyes, and he found he could. His relief quickly turned into panic as he found he could not see. A cloth was wrapped his face. Ales reached up to rip it off. Hands grabbed his wrists. Alex stopped moving.
"You didn't have to smash my head in," he growled.
"Sorry. We thought you were…one of those." A voice said.
"Acid wouldn't have stopped it anyhow. It was a stupid idea."
"It was a stupid idea." The Voice agreed.
"Where am I?" Direct questions wouldn't kill anyone. Well, they might kill him…
"A safe place." The voice tried to sound comforting.
Alex tried to sit up. Hands held him down. "Where? Are we still in London?"
The voice laughed. "No! It's not safe. We're somewhere near Kent."
"Kent?" Alex felt sick. Jack was going to be beyond worry… "How along have I been out?"
He knew the answer might be bad. Alex steeled himself.
"Almost three days."
Alex was going to be sick. He shifted sideways and threw up all over the floor. Hands caught him as he almost fell off…the bed?
He was in a bed, in Kent, trapped, blind, and Jack thought he was dead. She would be blaming herself. The hands pushed him back on the bed. Alex let them.
He felt weak. He ran a hand across his mouth. "Who are you?" He rasped.
There was no answer. The person had left the room, most likely to clean up. Alex swung is legs to the side of the bed. The lack of sight made everything harder. He pushed his hands up, sliding inch by inch to the floor.
"No!"
The voice cried too late, and Alex pushed his feet into his vomit. He gagged and stumbled forward. Hands caught him, but they were different hands. Alex jerked back and landed on his butt. It hurt, a lot. Alex yelled.
"Stop being a baby." The Voice said. It sounded amused. Alex glared, but then remembered they wouldn't see his eyes. He huffed instead.
The strange hand ruffled his hair. Alex slapped it away. He heard sounds of scrubbing. The voice was cleaning up. Alex felt guilty.
The strange hand's owner said something, but all Alex caught was zavoot. It was Russian for name. Alex scrambled for something to say.
He finally came up with something. He hoped it wasn't offensive.
"Men-ya zavoot Alex."
The scrubbing stopped.
"You speak Russian?" The voice asked.
Alex shook his head. "Only a little."
The strange voice spoke. Alex realized it was male, and the voice that had comforted him was female.
The woman translated. "You need to keep the bandages on for the rest of the day, then we'll check them."
Alex resisted the urge to rub his eyes. "What exactly did I get hit with?"
There was a pregnant pause.
"I don't know."
Alex nodded. "Okay. I'm sorry about…" he gestured towards the spot he thought the woman was standing by, "but I'm a bit hungry now."
"It's fine." She responded. The man's hands helped Alex to his feet. Alex stumbled forwards, not sure where he was headed. There was a flight of stairs that he almost fell down. It was beyond embarrassing. Then he heard the moaning.
"Shit."
Alex was shaken gently. He took the hint. Shut up.
He was half dragged towards an unknown destination. His feet slid along the floor. There was another flight of stairs, and the damp air pressed down.
He heard the sounds of a large number of people. He shrank away.
There were soft clicks, and Alex saw a flash of light through the bindings. People had pulled out lights. Then the muttering voices started.
"It's the kid that got acid to the face."
"Poor bloke."
"Don't stare, Jimmy. It's not polite."
"I wonder how messed up his eyes are? Do you think they'll be hanging out?"
Alex was sacred and jumpy. This was a bad combination. He twisted his face towards the last person who had spoken. He took a few steps forward.
"My ears work just fine." He retorted.
There were a few laughs. Alex shook his head. He started to back away. An unfamiliar hand grabbed his arm. Alex lashed out, but his hand caught nothing but air. The laughter grew louder. Alex rotated his arm, and then bit down, hard. He heard a gasp to his right. So the person hold him was behind. Alex kicked back, and was rewarded with an oof and the sound of someone hitting the ground. He was only allowed a second of satisfaction when the beating started.
Alex had no idea how hard it was to fight blind. He only landed every third blow, and most didn't hit their intended mark. The frustration was growing to a dangerous level when someone grabbed his shirt collar and jerked him back.
There were groans all around.
"Leon, we were having a bit of fun!"
The man who had dragged Alex into the basement pulled him backwards. Now Alex had a name to go with a face.
Hands pressed down on his shoulders, and he was forced to sit.
"What?" he snapped. "I was just…"
Leon's hand clamped over his mouth. A door slammed above him. The women was still up there, getting food for him. It she got hurt because of him. There was the patter of feet coming close to the basement. The room seemed to tense.
"All clear!" Alex recognized the woman's voice. He let out a sigh of relief.
Leon patted his head. Alex blushed, embarrassed. It was worse when he tried to walk up the stairs. He tripped twice.
The mocking voice, the person he had bit, called, "Someone has two left feet?"
Alex held back a retort. It was no use replying. He'd just have to wait until the bandages came off. The floor changed from carpet to tile, and Alex's stocking feet slid crazily. Leon helped Alex into a chair. Alex heard people scraping their own seats out. Alex was sure Leon sat to his right. He looked to the left, where he could hear soft breathing. People were chattering, as if this was a group over for dinner.
He stuck out a hand. "Hello. I'm Alex."
The talking stopped. The person next to him breathed slower, as if that would make them disappear. Alex dropped his hand and snorted.
"I can hear you breathing." Alex shrugged. "So there's no use pretending you're not there."
The breathing became louder. Whoever was sitting next to him was becoming scared.
Alex held up his hands. "Look, I'm not going to hurt you. I can't even see. "
The person sucked in their breath and held it. Alex gave up. It was getting ridiculous.
"Fine. I'll leave you alone."
Alex looked away from the person and felt for the table. He began to rub his hand across it in claiming circles.
He stared hard at the table, trying to see through his wrappings.
"How do you do it?"
The voice came from in front of him. Alex assumed they were sitting across the table.
Alex looked up. "How do I do what?"
There was a pause. Alex assumed the person shrugged.
The person spoke slowly. "Well…you know…look at people…"
"What?" Alex was confused. How could he look at people if he couldn't see?
The person shifted, but didn't answer.
"Can I have your name?" Alex asked.
"What?" the person sounded shocked.
"What. Is. Your. Name?" Alex knew it sounded mean, but he didn't want to scare the person. Alex kept his head pointed in the direction he thought the person was in. he was ignoring everyone else now.
"My name is Hannah."
"Hello Hannah." Alex replied sarcastically. "My name is Alex."
Hannah didn't reply. Alex cocked his head. He could here whispering.
Alex cleared his throat. "Usually people say 'hello' back."
"Hello, Alex." Hannah's voice was very small.
Alex leaned forward. He opened his mouth, but was cut off by a shriek. His head snapped automatically in the direction of the noise and he lunched to his feet. Alex's chair crashed to the ground. He heard the sound of running feet. Alex threw out his arm and stopped the person from entering the room.
"What's going on?" the person asked.
Alex recognized it as the woman who had helped him, Leon's friend.
"I don't know." Alex began o scan the room.
"Then what…"
Alex cut her off. "Shut up."
He took a few steps forward, checking the ground. He swung his head, moving quickly towards where he had heard the shriek. Alex lunged. His arms wrapped around someone's chest, and he pulled them to the ground. Alex kneed them between the legs. He quickly straddled them and grabbed their jaw. His other hand held their hair in his other hand. Then he pulled his arm back… and Leon grabbed his wrist. Alex was pulled to his feet.
"Get off me!" He struggled on the grip.
Leon spoke quickly, and the woman translated.
"We do not hurt our own."
Alex stopped pulling away. "Fine." He sighed, and dropped his head. He wasn't planning anything. He felt stupid and weak and childlike. And he had over reacted.
Leon dropped his hands. Alex took a few steps towards the person he had jumped.
Alex wasn't sure where they were. So he looked straight ahead. "I'm sorry."
The woman was next to him guiding him to his seat. The breather quickly moved away.
As the woman pulled her hand away, Alex grabbed it. "I don't know your name."
The woman gently detached his fingers. "I'm Anna." Then she left.
Alex sat at the table, being pinned by angry stares. Then a man next to Hannah spoke.
"Are you okay?"
Alex nodded tightly. "I'm fine."
The man spoke again. "That was beyond impressive. I mean, in the cellar, I thought it was dumb luck, but now… you were good. I mean…the way you took down Jeff…no one's ever got one up on him…and you can't even see!"
Alex shrugged.
"I'm Darren, by the way."
Alex nodded.
The silence was quickly broken by Anna's voice. "Food's here."
Alex heard a plate or bowl being placed in front of him, and Anna put a hunk of bread in his hand.
"Thanks." He whispered. Anna patted his shoulder and left.
Leon spoke, and Alex listen carefully. Leon repeated himself a few times. Then Alex got what Leon was saying. It was soup. And the spoon was on the right side. Alex slid his right hand forward, and fumbled with his spoon. It took him a few tries to get it in his bowl, and even longer to bring anything to his mouth. The soup kept sliding off. But Alex soon got the hang of it. When the soup was done Alex ate his bread. It was garlic bread, and odd combination with meat soup. But it was food none the less.
Hannah spoke up. "So, Alex…"
Alex looked up from his bread. He heard her mutter "So creepy…" but she soon spoke up. "Where are you from?"
Alex swallowed. "Well, Hannah, when a mummy and a daddy love each other very much…" he let his voice trail off.
Hannah didn't respond. Alex leaned forward slightly. "Hannah…" He tried again. "Hannah…That was a joke."
All he got in response was a sniff. The person to his left spoke. "I thought it was funny."
Alex looked at them. "Oh, so you can talk."
"Of course I can!"
Alex huffed. "You didn't respond when I spoke to you earlier."
"Why would I?"
Alex glared, and had to once again remind himself that no one could see. "Common courtesy?"
"It's had to talk to a blind kid who can look right at you."
Alex crossed his arms. "I'm not blind. I just took a bucket of acid to the face."
The table quieted again. Alex just wasn't the best conversationalist tonight. He resisted the urge to rub his face.
"Sorry. I'm not in my best from right now."
"It's fine!" Hannah piped up. There were some mummers in agreement.
Alex shoved more bread into his mouth. A scream split the quiet, and Alex almost chocked. He shoved himself up from the table and ran towards the noise. Despite stumbling a few times, he was in front. Anna suddenly slammed into him, sobbing.
"It's at the door! It's at the door!"
Alex pushed her to the side. He wasn't being rational. He was in no condition to fight. He couldn't see, and I he got bit…
There was a soft moan. Alex turned his head. A soft breeze rushed past his face. Muffled footfalls came towards him. Alex tensed. He was scrabbling for something to do. Then he chose the most forward action. Alex ran forward and jumped.
Alex heard Darren yell, but ignored it. His fingers wrapped around the thing's throat. A second later Alex realized he didn't know how many there were. He'd just have to hope for the best. Alex pulled it inside and pushed it in front of him. It hit a wall with a dull thump. Alex squeezed tighter. A scrabbling hands clutched his forearm. It was the same move the stranger had tired in the basement. But now Alex reacted much differently. He twisted to the side and slammed his arm into the thing's elbow. He was rewarded with a dry crack. Then he pulled up until the shoulder dislocated. With a heave, Alex was behind the thing. From there it was a simple matter to grab the forehead and beak it's neck. Alex heard it land with a thump. He staggered forward and shut the door. His shaking hands slid the dead bolt home.
He turned towards where he thought Anna was. He could hear her high pitched, gasping breaths.
Alex stepped forward. "Anna? Are you alright?"
Darren answered. "She's not bloody alright? She almost got bitten! Then you show up and practically tear it apart before you finally get rid of it!"
Another voice joined in. "You brought it inside! What were you thinking!"
The screaming continued. Alex finally threw up his hands.
"I'm sorry! I'm so so sorry!" The sarcasm stopped the yelling cold. "If you haven't noticed, I can't see. And that complicates killing the undead a bit."
Alex crossed his arms. "Anna."
"Yes?"
Alex gestured to his eyes. "Can I take the damned thing off now?"
Anna talked to Leon for a moment. There was a pause. Alex assumed she nodded. He ripped the bindings off.