The Dead

‘I think about them mad days in south London sometimes,’ said DogNut, ‘and it all seems like a dream, or a film I watched once a long time ago.’

‘I know what you mean,’ said Ed.

‘Do you ever wonder what happened to the others?’

‘Used to,’ said Ed. ‘Not so much any more. Hardly remember them, to tell you the truth.’

‘You must remember them?’ said DogNut. ‘They was your mates.’

‘All my close friends died,’ said Ed quietly. ‘Malik, Bam, Jack …’

‘What was the nerd called, who drove the lorry?’

‘Justin,’ said Ed. ‘Couldn’t forget him. And there was little Wiki and his mate, Jibber-jabber. Then there was, God, what was he called?’

‘Who?’

‘Guy who was always reading? Chris Marker! That’s it, and Kwanele.’

‘Which one was Kwanele?’ DogNut asked.

‘Guy who was always really well dressed.’

‘Oh, yeah. The Zulu dude. See, you do remember!’

‘Yeah. Just needed to jog my brain.’

‘What was he called, the religious nut?’ DogNut asked.

‘Mad Matt,’ said Ed quietly. ‘Good riddance to him, I say. It was his fault the boat sank and Aleisha drowned. He could have killed us all. But the others. I hope they made it all right. They had all that food on the lorry, and that weird kid, David, watching out for them, so I guess they’re probably holed up somewhere like us.’

‘Don’t you never think about Brooke?’ DogNut asked.

‘Oh, yeah, Brooke.’ Ed blew out his breath noisily through his nose. ‘Think about her now and then, I guess.’

‘I think about her all the time, man,’ said DogNut. ‘I mean, back in the day, I knew I was waiting my turn. She was hot on you –’

‘Until I got this,’ Ed interrupted, putting a hand to the jagged scar that pulled his face out of shape.

‘Is that why you ain’t interested in her?’ DogNut asked.

‘What d’you mean?’

‘You think she won’t like you no more?’

‘I don’t really care,’ said Ed.

‘Don’t you want to find out what happened to her?’

‘I’ve not really thought about it, to tell you the truth, DogNut. There’s been too much going on, just trying to stay alive. Yeah, I mean, obviously now and then I do wonder.’

‘I do more than wonder,’ said DogNut. ‘She had her problems, but she was tough, man, and I like that in a girl. She’s the sort of gyaldem you need in times like this. Plus, she was choong, bruv, bare choong.’

‘What’re you saying, DogNut?’ Ed asked. ‘You want to go and look for her?’

‘We should be finding out what other kids are up to out there, man,’ said DogNut. ‘We can’t just sit behind these walls and pray that the world’s go

‘But you’re captain of the Pathfinders.’

‘Yeah, so I should be exploring! I’ll clear it with the general. He won’t have no beef with me. Things is quiet here. I’ve talked to some of the other kids, and a few of them want to come along. They got split up from brothers and sisters and best mates. Courtney, too, she misses Brooke.’

‘Well, good luck to you, mate,’ said Ed.

‘Reason I’m telling you, Ed,’ said DogNut, ‘I thought you might want to come with us.’

Ed turned away and looked back at the castle grounds. Kids everywhere busy. Safe. It was like a little town.

‘This is my home, DogNut,’ he said. ‘These are my people now.’

In the days after DogNut left Ed thought about their conversation. He hadn’t told the whole truth to DogNut. His friends were still with him more than he’d let on. He had bad dreams most nights in which Jack was still alive. He’d come at him out of the darkness, his wine-coloured birthmark splashed down one side of his face. He always looked sad and angry, and always asked Ed why he’d abandoned him and left him for dead, and then Ed would see boils on Jack’s skin and realize he had the disease, and he’d wake up gasping for breath.

All the kids were plagued by nightmares. It was understandable really, but there also seemed to be something strange about this part of town. This was the edge of the old City of London, the historic heart of the capital since Roman times. It was easy to believe that there was some ancient magic living deep in the stones here. The kids never went into the City itself, what had been the financial district before the collapse, an area of offices and skyscrapers and old, old churches. They’d made it a no-go zone. Not only was there little food to be found in those concrete and glass canyons, there was also a creepy, unsettling atmosphere and the sickos who lived there were dangerous and unpredictable.

One rainy evening Ed and Kyle were out guarding a works party who were securing the gates at the Tower Hill underground station. The kids had been meaning to seal the place up for some time. The dark tu

It had been an unsettling day. There had been some sort of disturbance in the no-go zone. Sickos were on the move. They usually kept well away from the Tower, they knew it was dangerous for them there, but today the normal rhythm had been upset and scouting Pathfinders reported seeing gangs of them as near as Aldgate and Fenchurch Street.

‘I’m go

‘All right,’ said Ed, ‘but be careful.’

Kyle gri

Ed felt his face, ru

He heard footsteps and the jangle of metal and saw a group of kids coming through the underpass that ran under the main road next to the Tower. Jordan Hordern was at their head. He was wearing a breastplate and helmet that looked slightly incongruous with his battered old spectacles. The four boys with him all carried halberds.

‘Weird night,’ he said when he saw Ed.

‘You can feel it too?’ Ed asked.

‘Yeah,’ said Jordan. ‘Everyone’s on edge. Maybe there’s a thunderstorm coming. What’re you doing out here, anyway?’

‘Finally getting round to sealing off the station. The way things are, we wanted to try and get it all done today. The guys are just finishing.’

‘You should bring them in,’ said Jordan. ‘Whether they’re finished or not. It’s not go

‘They should be packing up now.’

They walked over to the station gates where, sure enough, the works party were putting their tools away. Jordan and his team helped them by priming the wind-up torches that they carried and aiming the beams at the tool bags.

Just as they were all ready to go Kyle came back, looking concerned.

‘You need to come and look at this,’ he said quietly.

‘What is it?’ Jordan asked.

‘See for yourself.’

Jordan told the others to stay out of sight and he and Ed and two of his guards followed Kyle back the way he had come. Keeping close together they walked past an old bit of Roman wall and along the side of an ugly modern grey brick building that offered them some cover, moving quickly and silently. When they got to the end of the office block, Kyle stopped and nodded towards the road. Ed crept forward to the corner and cautiously peered round.