Chapter 6

The Plan

"You have got to be kidding me." Daisy stated flatly.

"'Fraid not. But, hey, most of these are easy enough to get..." Tim scanned through the list he had copied out of 'Malevolent Sugar'. "Pumpkin juice, conkers..."

"It was more the excrement of vampire bats that was concerning me, Tim."

"We'll find a way, we have to." Tim stared into the middle distance as he pondered the problem. "Where can we possibly... London Zoo!" He exclaimed triumphantly. "I bet they can sort us out with the heads of chickens too! And most probably the web of a black widow spider, if we ask nicely."

"Are you insane? What are we going to say we need this stuff for?"

"I don't know, make something up, you're the writer!"

"Fine! I'll go to the zoo. What are you going to do?" Tim was already reaching for his coat.

"I'll get the other things, the conkers and stuff. Oh and you'd better get double of everything, you know, just in case we make a mistake mixing the potion."

"Right." Daisy nodded, contemplating the task ahead. Tim's coat went on. "Wait, let me just get this straight in my head. So if we make up the potion correctly for the spell..." Tim nodded encouragingly at her, backing towards the door. "And we get there at, what was it? Three...?"

"Three forty-eight."

"Three forty-eight in the morning on Halloween night..." Tim was still nodding, still trying to leave.

"And we do the spell..."

"Yep."

"Then Mike'll be ok?"

He stopped at the door, winced and avoided eye contact.

"Not exactly."

"What else then?" She asked guardedly.

"Well, for the spell to work, he has to stand at a specific point. And he has to drink the potion before we do the spell."

Oh, ok." There was a pause. "How are we going to do that?"

Tim gulped, glanced at the basket of biscuits. "We need someone on the inside."

"But we don't ha..." Daisy trailed off as she followed his eye line. "Tim, No! Please tell me you're not thinking what I think you're thinking!"

"Dais, they've got him chained up! He's their slave! Fuck knows what they're doing to him and I can't stand the thought of them... hurting him. If I eat the biscuits, I can help him."

"No!" Daisy cried, feeling tears pricking her eyes. The thought of what he planned to do was so horrific it made her feel nauseous.

"It's the only way! We have to get Mike in the right place at the right time, and besides that, he needs me. I have to go in there."

"But... will you be ok?" Daisy managed to croak.

"I'll be fine. Mike and I won't be true zombies because we aren't dead, just cursed. That's why the reversal spell will work on us."

"But... this spell is for saving one zombie, will it even work for two of you?"

"I think so."

"You think so?"

"Yes, if we hold onto each other, it should see us as one entity."

"Hang on, this is why you asked me to get double the amount of the potion ingredients isn't it?"

Tim nodded guiltily.

"I reckon we should probably drink a full dose each to be on the safe side."

"But... it's just a book! What if it doesn't work, Tim?" Daisy was terrified she might never see him again, that he might never be the same again.

"It'll work. There's nothing Adam Shadowchild doesn't know about zombies."

"I hope so." Daisy's voice was barely a whisper, her face screwed up from the effort of trying not to cry in front of Tim. The fact that he was willing to sacrifice himself to help his best friend only made her more hopelessly in love with him. There, she had finally admitted it to herself. She was in love with Tim Bisley. Arrogant, self-absorbed Tim Bisley, who wasn't self-absorbed at all. Her assessment of his character flaws had been hugely inaccurate. She had never realised he was so loyal, that he could be so brave, or that he was capable of the kind of selfless heroism her romantic tendencies craved in a man. She felt the sting of a single tear escaping her eye. Tim stepped up close and tentatively touched her cheek, intercepting the teardrop with his palm.

"Don't cry, Dais. Everything'll be alright, I promise." His other hand went up to her temple, brushed back a strand of her hair and came to rest on her shoulder, his fingertips just grazing the side of her neck. Goosebumps shuddered over her body as fear and love and lust all collided inside her simultaneously. She was suddenly aware of how infrequently he touched her, and never quite like this before. He was so irresistibly close, and holy crap he was so attractive, and HOLY CRAP he was looking at her like he wanted to kiss her as much as she wanted him to. Daisy stopped her breath in her throat as Tim leaned in, his lips were heading for hers, his hand sliding round to the back of her neck. She shut her eyes, deafened by the pulse crashing in her ears. Nothing happened. The next thing she felt was Tim pressing a lingering, but chaste, kiss to her forehead. Her eyes snapped open in time to catch a tantalising close up of his lips and his facial hair as he pulled away. She watched in utter panic, and what seemed like slow motion, as his hands slipped from her face and he stepped backwards. The moment was receding fast, draining down the plughole of passing time. Tim was giving her a little reassuring smile. He was speaking to her. She had no idea what he was saying.

"...with enough time to cook up the potion. Are you alright, Dais? Can you do this for me?" She managed to nod in response. "Right. Synchronise watches."

"What?"

"You know, put our watches to the exact same time. It's what me and Mi..." Tim stopped and swallowed hard. "It's what me and Mike used to do. It was a TA thing he showed me." He finished quietly. Listening properly to him now, Daisy nodded again, and pushed her own feelings aside, aware of how much Mike's predicament was hurting Tim.

"Of course. Synchronise watches." She agreed solemnly. She moved next to him, lifted his hand to read the watch on his wrist and altered her own slightly to match. "You know, we can do this, Tim. We'll get him back." She gave his hand a reassuring squeeze. He curled his fingers around hers and returned the gesture, then looked up with renewed resolve.

"Right, let's do this. You get the animal stuff, I'll get the other stuff. Meet back here at nineteen hundred hours and we'll make the potion." Daisy looked confused. "Seven pm." Tim clarified.

"Ah, right. Ok"

Daisy reluctantly dropped his hand and pulled on her coat.

"Listen, if you get back here first, lock yourself in and don't open the door to anyone except me, ok?"

"Ok." She agreed.

"Thank you, Dais. I couldn't do this without you."

She gave him as much of a smile as she could muster, and headed out of the door.