27

“Glad to have been of service sir. And you have a good day too miss.” With that the old man went back to sorting out forms behind the counter.

Warily they headed back downstairs and out into the street, the cold and brightness again took them a moment to get used to.

“Strange old guy,” Amber remarked “you know what he meant about the information desk?”

“I think so,” Ghost replied “there used to be one in the mall. The questions are how do we get to it and how is it managing to stay open with all those zombies?”

“You want to go find out?” she raised an eyebrow.

He paused. “Well we could explore out here some more, but if there’s actual skilled people set up around here it’d be easier to know where they are. I don’t want to keep pushing our luck; some of them are bound to be more security conscious than he was and that could be rather painful for us if we’re not careful.”

Amber nodded. “So which way in?”

“Same options as last time really. It’s down the same end of the mall, just another few hundred yards further in. We can either cut through that shop,” he gestured across the street “or we can go back in the main entrance like we did last time.”

“What’s the shop like inside?”

“Bigger than that one, maybe twice the size. It was mainly food and clothes so there’s a lot less cover in most of it. It has connecting doors to the inside of the mall that are maybe twenty feet from the desk, assuming it hasn’t been moved.”

“I think I prefer that,” Amber said “after all that shop wasn’t too bad.”

Ghost nodded his agreement and they walked through the snow to the shop. It had big glass display windows seperated by two sets of doors, securely separated by several shutters. He looked closely at them. The ice covered dirt and moss had been there a long time. It looked like no-one was using this at the moment. Amber pressed her ear against the nearest shutter and yelped, the icy cold taking her by surprise. They looked around cautiously to see if anyone had taken any notice. The wind blew in several gusts, sending small spirals of frozen flakes dancing along the snow. But otherwise it remained quiet.

Ghost looked at the lock. Another automatic lock so it would have been securely fastened. But there were a lot of things that the weather could inflict on a lock; and between rusting and freezing it wouldn’t take much for a fragile mechanism to break in just the right way. He concentrated on the lock sifting through the realities and until he found the one where hitting the lock with the butt of his shotgun, just so, caused it to spill open. Together they went to work breaking off the ice that was keeping the shutter jammed shut. They took their time, preferring to do it quietly.


Next

26

They carefully walked up the stairs warily looking around and behind them as they went. At the top of the stairs the floor divided into two. To the right was what was left of the Department store. To the left was the Post Office.

“Ah, new customers. Do please come in,” a scratchy voice said. They walked around the corner and into the Post Office. Behind the counter was an old bespectacled man, with thin chaotic wisps of grey hair a strange counter-part to his otherwise neat appearance of a white shirt and a dark blue tie.

“Now what can I do for you both? I don’t believe I have any deliveries for you today.” There were a number of candles lit on his side of the counter. The bullet-proof glass was still very much intact.

There was a pause.

“Perhaps a leaflet would help?” the old man suggested pointing at a rack of leaflets. Judging by their covers they explained everything from how to apply for a passport, to the benefits of life insurance.

Ghost tensed slightly; it was one of those moments of confusion which made an excellent time to spring an ambush. Nothing happened. Amber wandered over to the leaflets and looked through them. Still nothing happened.

“It’s possible to post things from here?” Ghost asked. Sometimes you just had to go with a situation and see where it took you.

“Yes sir. This is a Post Office after all,” he replied with a note of pride.

“I had no idea they operated outside of the Conclaves,” Ghost mused.

“Oh you’d be surprised at how much goes on outside the Conclaves sir.”

“Such as…” Amber turned back to face the counter again.

“Ah well I’m not really the man to talk to about that miss. You want the information desk,” he replied helpfully.

They looked around but couldn’t see anything resembling a desk.

“And that would be…?” Ghost wondered where this was leading.

“Well in the shopping mall of course sir,” he replied “now is there anything I can get for you?”

“The shopping mall,” Ghost said softly to himself. He did remember there was an information desk that tried to tell you where all the various shops were situated, but generally only succeeded in confusing people. That couldn’t still be working could it; after all there was the rather significant matter of the horde of zombies that currently occupied the mall.

The old man was still smiling serenely so Ghost tried a different tact. “You sell stamps?”

The old man nodded, “There’s a price list among the leaflets sir.”

Amber picked one up and handed it to Ghost. He opened it and wasn’t surprised to see it reflected modern day economics. There were prices given for physical coins and notes, electronic money and a few specific items that were presumably of value to the old man. Ghost closed it and tucked it away in a pocket. He had both “real” money as he thought of it, and several accounts of electronic money under various aliases. And there were one or two of the items that he had too. But right now, he wanted to get out safely.

“That’s very helpful to know. Thank-you. Have a good day,” he nodded to Amber and started to head towards the stairs.



Next

25

Amber paused. They could investigate it now or they could see what the rest of the place looked like first.

At first she’d liked the idea of being outside, but now the cold was getting to her ears. She nodded towards the open shutters and unslung her shotgun. Ghost did the same and looked up at the windows. Nothing. Someone had bricked them up a long time ago. Ghost thought back and remembered what this place had been. It had been the victim of cutbacks. Local post offices had closed because they didn’t make enough profit. Nevermind they were important to the locals. And somehow some genius in the local government had come up with the idea of shutting down the actual Post Office and moving it to the upstairs of a department store.

They carefully moved over to the doors. They were mainly glass, designed to let shoppers see the books and chocolates in the front of the store. Looking through the doors he could see the shelves still had leftover magazines stacked on them. On the carpet, he could see a set of wet footprints leading inside. He examined the doors carefully looking for traps or alarms but after several minutes couldn’t find anything. He gently pushed against the door and it swung open easily. Too easily, someone was maintaining them. He waited a moment and then stepped in. Amber checked around behind them and then stepped in behind him. The daylight lit up quite a bit of the store. They could see the shelving going back and the now still escalator on the right leading up to the next floor and the Post Office.

Unlike the music shop, the shelves at the back of the store went all the way up to the ceiling, though they were empty.

“That’d make good cover,” Amber whispered.

Ghost nodded. The footprints lead past the escalator and to the stairs. He remembered this bureaucratic idea too. Someone had decided to remove down escalator entirely and add in a flight of stairs. They then tried to enforce that the stairs should only be used for going down. It hadn’t worked terribly well then and apparently still wasn’t working now.

“I can hear someone upstairs,” she kept her voice low “strange sounds too, metal, paper, not quite sure what it means.”

Ghost gestured at the empty shelves and together they moved through them, checking there was no-one hiding back there. Once they were satisfied they moved to the stairs. There was light up there, but it wasn’t the steady glow of electric lighting. It was flickering almost like

“Candles?” Amber looked at him questioningly.

He nodded. Stranger and stranger.


Next

24

Although the snow was deeper near the buildings, along the main path that lead from the park to what had been the pedestrianised zone, the snow was roughly a foot deep. In some ways this was good. There were no footprints and the top of it still had a frozen untouched crispness to it. No-one was wandering around at the moment. And it was much easier to walk in deeper snow than on ice ground – even if you feel over it wasn’t too bad. On the other hand, Ghost was very much aware that it was going to slow them down a lot and that could lead to all sorts of problems.

He looked at Amber. The tips of elven ears were already beginning to go red from the cold. Still there was a twinkle in her eyes at finally being outside again.

“Why does it always sound quieter after it snows?” Amber asked interrupting his thoughts.

“The snow helps muffle sounds so they seems softer and quieter,” he replied.

Carefully they walked past the Library. Although he deliberately looked straight ahead Ghost noticed curtains flickering in his peripheral vision. He kept walking. Sometimes you just had to trust that things would turn out ok.

This time things did and they reached the main parade of shops safely.

“We really need to come to some kind of arrangement with them,” Amber said.

Ghost nodded. “Yup, but for now, where do you want to go first?”

Amber looked up at him with a look of surprise. She was used to him planning out the best way forward. Ghost tried his best to look innocent and waited patiently for her answer.

“Left,” she decided.

Ghost nodded. There wasn’t really a wrong answer at this point, especially if they just wanted to scout out the local area. Now he started thinking. This part of was fairly straightforward. Shops on either side and a wide pavement running through them. The shops all had two or three floors and he knew that some of them had floors below street level too. Which meant an awful lot of windows that people could shoot at them from.

Metal shutters had been pulled down over the storefronts. Ghost was confident that he could get past them without too much trouble. For now he was interested in seeing if any of them had been disturbed.

People had left fairly suddenly as the local economy crashed, but most had left with the optimism that it was just a temporary thing and so they’d carefully locked up behind them, expecting to come back. But years passed and still no-one returned.

They carried on trudging through the snow. Ghost held out his hand to pause Amber. One of the shutters had been lifted. Looking at the snow by them, Ghost guessed it had been opened earlier in the day.

He nodded at it and looked questioningly at her.


Next

23

“This is wonderful!” Amber exclaimed.

It occurred to Ghost that having her very own Dressing Room was a dream come true for Amber, not to mention all the dresses and costumes that were scattered around the place. It normally made very little sense to wear fancy dresses; for a start shotguns and whips didn’t accessorize terribly well. But in the safety of the theatre she could wear whatever she wanted. There had been one or two disasters with make-up; it had been in scarce supply for most of Amber’s life and so she wasn’t to sure about the finer points. Some of Harlequins were gradually explaining it to her. In a way she was a reminder of innocence as she wandered around the theatre dressed to the nines and cheerfully cracking her whip, and that was something they all needed in this world.

Silver had been right about the snow. It came in howling winds rapidly piling up several feet high outside the theatre. Thick curtains kept the cold out and somehow the Harlequins had managed to get a supply of electricity that kept the whole place lovely and warm. Silver stayed in her Park. Ghost let her know she was welcome to shelter with them, but for her own reasons she preferred to stay where she was, though she often visited.

After a week of snow and being indoors, Amber was beginning to feel a bit cooped up.

“Please, it’ll be fun,” she looked at Ghost with her best puppy eyes.

“You might be abusing the term ‘fun’ I think,” he replied. He knew at this point it was useless. They were going to go. Still he felt he should at least give the pretense of thinking about it.

She pouted. “You know if we’re going to stay here more it makes sense to explore the surroundings and with all the snow and ice now’s the perfect time as no-one else will be looking around.”

It was, he had to admit, a good argument. “Alright, but in daylight, ok?”

The happy look on her face was answer enough.

“We’re going to need some warmer clothing though,” he reflected.

They spent some time looking through the costumes for warmer clothing, balancing keeping warm with freedom of movement, until finally they were happy with their choices.

The next morning came and went before Ghost woke up. If he was going to go out in the cold and the snow he was going to do it after a good night’s sleep and that preferably meant getting up in the afternoon.

As they walked out of the tunnel connecting back to the Park they were surprised at how bright it was outside. There was a thick layer of snow everywhere, but the clouds had gone for now, causing the sunlight to reflect brightly off everything. They shielded their eyes as they gradually got accustomed to it. Taking their time they trudged through the snow and out of the Park.



Next

22

There was a rustle as Silver emerged from the nearby tress carrying fresh tea. Ghost recognized she was being polite. Silver only ever made a sound in nature when she chose to.

“Kayta was most impressed,” Silver began as she handed them the cups “you’ve made a lot of progress apparently.”

Amber actually blushed slightly at the praise, much to Ghost surprise. “Well she is, um, awesome”. The blush actually appeared to be travelling up to the tips of her elven ears.

“And I’ve got somewhere for you to practice that’s rather bigger than our spare room,” Ghost smiled. He shivered slightly. “Is it me or is it getting colder?”

Silver nodded. “I’ve been hearing jumbled reports of cold weather. People are actually talking about heavy snow.” She looked around at the trees, many of which were still covered in their autumn finery.

Ghost looked worried. In his poem the Waste Land, T S Eliot wrote that April was the cruelest month. It had turned out he was wrong. When you lived in actual Waste Lands, the winter months were far crueler. Snow and ice were silent killers and even if you survived, trying to keep warm when wrapped up in fraying clothes while the chilling wind howled around you was not at all pleasant. Travel quickly became a nightmare too. He was remarkably glad of the theatre. It would be much warmer and sheltered than their place at the graveyard.

“How soon ‘till it gets here?” he asked.

“Hard to say. Could be a few days,” she replied.

Thoughts raced through his head. If they were going to stay here they’d need provisions and that meant going back to the graveyard.

“The theatre comes with a supply of food,” Silver said as if reading his thoughts. “You won’t be able to host banquets, but there’s no need to worry about restocking the cupboards either.”

There was another look of delight on Amber’s face.

“Thank-you,” Ghost replied sincerely. He considered his options. They could simply stay put and ride out the weather. That was a tempting option. They could go back to the school and investigate that further, but if they got caught in heavy snow, things could go badly wrong. There didn’t seem to be any apparent rush, so maybe it was better to wait until after the snow. It occurred to him he should probably discuss this with Amber. It was an old habit though. He liked to gather his thoughts first to the point where he had a clear idea of where to go, but not quite to the point where he’d absolutely made up his mind. Flexibility was definitely a survival trait these days. He looked over at Amber and realised that between the promise of unlimited food, good shelter and a place to practice with her new whip, there was no real need to convince her. “C’mon on then,” he nodded to Amber.

“I’ll leave you two to it,” Silver said. “I need to make some preparations of my own. You know where to find me.” Gathering up the cups she quickly vanished back into the trees.


Next

21

The week passed peacefully. Amber was rather secretive about her progress, but seemed to be permanently delighted whenever Ghost saw her, so that was good. He used the time to get familiar with the feel of the theatre. It was strange how different places had their own distinctive feeling. If you could take away the bricks and mortar, there was still something left. Genus loci, they used to call it, the spirit of the place. Gradually he got to know his way around. The Harlequins kept themselves to themselves and he was happy to leave it like that for the time being.

On reflection he’d decided not to run just yet, though mentally he now had one eye on the door. Wherever he went, sooner or later he’d get embroiled in larger matters. It was just the way of the world at the moment. At least he trusted the Guardians he knew. And maybe if he could just survive long enough, the world would change again to a place where he could be left in peace. Maybe. In the meantime he needed resources to help him survive.

As he sat watching the sun set in the park, Amber came bounding up to him clutching something proudly.

“Look what I got!” she held out a whip for his inspection.

This was nothing like the practice version they’d made. This was a weapon made by someone who knew what they were doing. These days too many people went for fancy designs; jewels, dragons, gold leaf and the such-like. Sure they looked pretty, but they tended to cause all sorts of problems just when you really didn’t want them too. Pieces snapped off, or got caught, or just plain slipped out of your grasp. By contrast this whip didn’t stand out. It wasn’t pure black, more a mottled black and dark brown, almost like a snake. No sharp edges to cause problems and the wrapping on the handle looked like it was easy to grip. Ghost suspected it was perfectly balanced too.

“Cool,” he replied.

“Want to see what I can do with it?” her eyes gleamed.

Ghost knew it wasn’t a question. Well at least there was a fair amount of room around them. He nodded.

Although he didn’t really know much about whips, even he could tell that Amber had improved a lot. No doubt the weapon she had was helping, but still her movements were much more fluid and tightly controlled. The whip seemed to be going pretty much where she wanted it to, rather than her previous style of it getting there eventually after having exhausted all other possible avenues.


Next

20

There was something about the smell of freshly dug earth that Ghost found comforting. He’d never been able to figure out why exactly. One of the mysteries of the human mind. There was no lighting in the tunnel, but daylight illuminated the beginning of it. They followed it for a few hundred feet and it turned sharply. Now he could see the end of the tunnel lit up by artificial light, presumably from the theatre itself. The tunnel itself was still dark for another hundred yards, but he’d gotten the feel of the floor by now and continued walking confidently with Silver.

They emerged in what looked like one of the changing rooms for actors. Although Ghost had been to the theatre before, he’d never been backstage. Silver gestured around with her arm like an estate agent showing off a new property. It wasn’t the tidiest of rooms. Old jars of make-up lay around and there was dust on the mirrors, not to mention a certain amount of fresh earth that had been tracked into the carpet.

Silver lead him out to the corridor and towards the stage. It was a strange feeling being back here. One of those places you weren’t supposed to be for most people, and yet conversely for the people who worked there, a perfectly natural (albeit usually somewhat stressful) place to be.

Ghost took in the surroundings. Faded notes were still pinned to the walls. “You mentioned custodians?” he prompted.

“Ah, yes. The Harlequins.” She led him up a flight of stairs to the back of the stage. There were wires hanging down seemingly randomly, various props left from productions of the past loosely piled up together. She nodded to the stage itself. A troupe of men and women were silently practicing acrobatics. Not “dodging incoming weaponry” or “swinging out of zombie infested buildings” acrobatics. What they were doing was very much an art form. They wore brightly coloured clothes and their faces were hidden behind ornate masks. They as one, no matter what position they were in, they turned and tumbled once towards him, each ending in a graceful bow, before returning to what they had been doing.

Silver lead him down the side of the stage and through the auditorium. Some of the Harlequins were merrily using the seats as part of their practice, nimbly leaping and balancing on them.

“Harlequins?” Ghost asked. “Think of them as modern day ninja, but focused on information rather than violence. With the right invitations they can perform almost anywhere. They’re masters of disguise and as they’re careful not to let anyone see anything recognizable, or even be sure how many of them there are, with the right clothes it’s easy for them to slip unnoticed into the audience. Perfect if you want to get information in or out of a place. It’s pretty easy for them to include codes into their performances too. They’re the epitome of hiding in plain sight.” She smiled proudly.

Ghost paused to let this sink in. Another very generous gift.

“Of course you probably don’t have any real use for them at the moment,” she paused to watch his reaction, but might as well have tried to decipher the feelings of a cloud “but in the long term…”

Ghost kept his face calm and nodded, but inside he was considering running far, far, away. He was getting well out of his depth here. He knew Silver had long term plans – she had to, being a Guardian. But that meant she was playing in a game with some very serious people. The image of giants crushing ants underfoot entered his mind again.

“And of course lots of space for Amber to practice in,” she finished with a grin.

Ghost smiled. “And more excuses for us to visit and drink your tea.”

“Well that wouldn’t hurt either,” she nudged his shoulder with the side of her face. “C’mon I’ll show you the rest of this place.”

Next

19

Ghost groaned. Ever since Amber had seen that blasted film she had been fascinated with whips. Granted they had the potential to be useful in a world where bullets were in short supply and buildings were often falling apart. The problem was they were a lot harder to use than they looked. And much harder than it looked on film. They’d finally compromised on a sort of safe version that she practiced with in what had once been a spare room and currently looked like ghouls had taken up residence. His main concern was simply that she didn’t take out her own eye by accident.

“Kayta,” Silver said with a triumphant smile.

The look of dismay on Ghost’s face was promptly explained for one of disbelief. Kayta was pretty much an Urban Legend. As such he didn’t know how much was true and how much was the result of people “improving” the stories with each telling. Still, even allowing for that her skills with a whip were impressive. If she would spend even an hour with Amber there might be hope.

“A week.” Silver grinned. It was rare to see Ghost’s mind spin and she savoured the moment.

“A week?!” Getting Kayta here at all would have required some major favours to be called in. An hour’s lesson with her was like gold dust. Probably even more valuable he reflected, as unlike some weapon masters she didn’t normally teach. But a week? Suddenly he was very glad the cd was in Silver’s possession and not his responsibility any more.

“I have something for you too,” Silver continued to smile.

“More?” Ghost took a large drink of his tea.

“You know the old theatre between the Library and here?”

Ghost nodded. He’d been there a few times when he was younger.

“It’s yours.”

For the second time Ghost’s mind span. “Mine?”

“I know you, always having multiple places to run to when you need them. There’s a tunnel from here to there so you can move back and forward undetected. There’s also plenty of space there for Amber to practice, assuming you tell her about it of course. Everyone thinks it’s empty and what with the Librarians, wandering zombies and me, no-one’s interested in taking it. It does however come with custodians so you don’t need to worry about defending it.”

Ghost managed to salvage enough of his wits not to look in the direction of the cd and gently took a deep breath. Things were changing. He knew from experience that it was dangerous being around when giants fought. Often they didn’t notice the ants scampering around underfoot, and crushed them without a second thought.

“Thank-you,” he said with a smile of his own.

Silver put her arm around his and led him towards the tunnel.

Next

18

There was the sharp sound of gunfire behind them from the Library. But nothing struck them. Silver appeared in front of them and looked relieved.

“Nothing to worry about,” she smiled “just the Librarians cleaning up the mess of zombies you just made. Come and have some tea, it’ll calm your nerves.”

Tea sounded like a good idea to Ghost. He really hated the after-effects on adrenaline and how long it took for the effect to wear off leaving him to feel his normal calm self again. Amber was slightly flushed from the running and the aldrenaline made it impossible for her to sit still.

The tea helped though. Ghost wasn’t entirely sure what was in it, but he trusted Silver.and it made him feel much better. It would probably calm Amber down too, he mused, if she would actually get around to drinking it instead of pacing all over the place.

“So, did you get it?” Silver asked gently.

Amber patted her left pocket. There was a look of quiet panic in her eyes as she found it was empty. As she started to frantically search her pockets, Ghost stood up in one fluid motion and without so much as spilling his tea and calmly reached towards her. “Calm down” he said softly. The air around her coat blurred slightly as he reached into one of the pockets and snapped back into focus as he pulled out the cd. He smiled.

Amber breathed a sigh of relief and went back to pacing.

He handed to over to Silver. She opened it and carefully removed the cd. Then she paused.

“It’s very important it’s not been scratched at any point” she said softly.

Ghost nodded. The cd blurred for a moment and then looked normal again. Silver turned it over and examined the back of it with a smile. Carefully she put it back in its case.

“So do you two have any more plans for today?” she asked brightly.

“Well I think Amber’s planning on wearing her own little path into your ground,” Ghost teased “but otherwise, no.”

A few seconds later he saw Amber‘s distracted look replaced with a more pointed look in his direction as she realized what he’d said.

“Well in that case I have something a little more productive for you to do, if you want?” she smiled mischievously at Amber.

Amber tilted her head to one side questioning, a sending her hair tumbling down over her shoulder. Silver nodded up towards the where the children’s playground had once been and tried to look innocent. With a shrug, Amber headed off towards it knowing she was perfectly safe there. Ghost went to follow, but Silver shook her head.

“Just her. For you I have to apologize, kinda.”

Ghost knew that look. “What have you done?” he asked quietly dreading the answer.

“Well I hear she’s been rather interested in whips as of late…”

Next

17

“So much for plans,” Ghost reflected.

He handed his shotgun to Amber and started rummaging through his rucksack. She started to reload. The rucksack shifted slightly out of focus as Ghost looked for a reality where he’d decided that that no-one with any sense ever went anywhere without a forty foot length of rope. He found it and pulled the rope out. Fortunately he’d already tied off one end into a lasso – after all it was pretty likely if he needed rope that he’d need to tie it to something.

“Time for running away,” he declared.

Still howling, the zombies started to slowly surge towards them en masse.

Ghost turned towards the back of the shop and started running towards it. Amber handed him his shotgun as they ran. Looking closely at the rusting beams that made up the windows, he levelled it at a particularly worn area and fired twice, gouging a section out of it.

“Take out the window,” he said and looped the end of the rope over the remaining metal section.

Trying not to think about the baying horde behind her, Amber fired her two shots into the glass. Spiderwebs formed through it but it didn't break. They both reloaded. It was a difficult balance to strike. Adrenaline made fine motor control actions like loading a shotgun remarkably difficult. Go too fast and it was impossible. On the other hand they didn't have a great deal of time either.

The zombies reached the end of their aisle. Amber fired again at the window, whilst Ghost discharged his shots into the knees of the closest zombies. They fell forward, but continued clawing and crawling towards them. Fortunately the zombies behind them promptly tripped over them and for a moment there was a large pile of bodies and limbs chaotically thrashing around. Amber swore. The glass still hadn't given way. Ghost handed her the rope.

“You worry too much,” he smiled and tipped up a CD rack placing it at an angle over them, the top leaning against the stubborn window as they crouched down. They heard the crunching sounds of the zombies continued forwards over the two on the floor. Amber could smell the stench as the ones at the front began to attack the rack. However the rest continued to surge forwards pressing them into the rack. There was an ominous sound as the window finally shattered under their combined weight. As the rack collapsed on top of them, Ghost wrapped his free arm around her waist and leapt out of the window.

They arced briefly through the air and stopped momentarily a few feet above the ground. The sudden stop jerked the rope out of Amber's hands and they fell to the pavement.

“Move!” Still holding onto her, Ghost half-helped, half-dragged her to her feet and started running. Behind them the rack fell out of the remains of the window smashing to pieces on the ground, followed by an avalanche of zombies. The first ones were almost instantly killed by the fall, but gradually their corpses started to form a cushion for the ones that followed.

“And now the running Silver mentioned.” He checked she was on her feet and then they were running. They tore down what had once been the High Street, slowing as much as they dared as they passed the Library and then dashed into what they hoped was the safety of the Park.


Next

16

Ghost held his hands one on top of the other. The area above them blurred in a roughly sword-like shape and he cut through the zombie with it. For a moment, it doubled over. Ghost used it as an impromptu step from which to leap over the rack to Amber. They both noticed that the zombies were inexorably beginning to gather around the still twitching body.

“There can't be a good sign,” Amber muttered.
“It is however, clearing out the rest of the shop quite well,” Ghost mused. “may as well take advantage of it while it lasts.”

They headed over to the Alternative section, which was indeed much smaller and contained only a lone akinny zombie in a disturbingly short skirt staring fixedly at something in its hands.

“Okay the ‘A’s are over here so we want to be…” her voice trailed off “you've got to be kidding me.”

Ghost followed her line of sight to the zombie. “There?” he asked.

“Where else?” she replied.

The zombie showed no signs of moving away.

“You cover me, and I'll reach over and try and find it.” Amber said handing him the two shotguns. Ghost levelled them at the zombie, being careful to keep an eye on the rest of the shop. Carefully Amber reached over the dividing rack, shuffling herself forward on stomach until she could reach.

“It's not here either,” Amber said as she finished searching through the CDs for the second time. As she slowly she started to pull herself back she saw what was in its hands. “Oh great, it's got it.”

By this time almost only a few zombies hadn't joined the crowd. For a moment, Ghost found himself wondering what you called a group of zombies? A hoarde, maybe. Strange the things the mind focuses on.

“I don't think this is going to go well,” he said softly.

“Plans?” she asked hopefully.

“On three, grab the CD and keep your head down. One, two,” the zombie turned to stare at him. Amber grabbed the CD and ducked. The zombie’s reverie disintegrated into anger as synapses blazed a broken symphony through its mind and it became to howl its outrage. “Three,” both shotguns fired point-blank into its face. Its arms continued to reach out for a moment. Amber rolled to her left wriggling herself off the rack. It fell forward crashing into the cds sending them spilling everywhere.

Amber got to her feet and Ghost calmly handed her back her shotgun as she slipped the CD into one of the inner pockets of her jacket.

“So far so…” she was interrupted by another howl which was swiftly taken up by the entire hoard of zombies. Outside the shop she could hear it spreading through the Mall like wildfire.



Next

15

The music shop was more or less intact. Fortunately the wall of the shop that formed the end of the Mall had kept to the stained glass motif and even with the dirt and muck that had built up over the years, sunlight still managed to light up the store quite well. Zombies wandered seemingly aimlessly between the rows of CDs. This time though, it was easier to slip past them, moving through the empty rows and occasionally backtracking when they randomly changed direction.

“Does it come under ‘E’ or ‘S’ ?” Amber asked softly. “Probably ‘S’,” Ghost replied. After checking that there was a clear area around him for the moment he glanced through some of the CDs and nodded. “They’re organised by surname. This is the ‘H’ section.” As an afterthought he added “I hope she’s under popular music. I really don't want to have to search through all the categories looking for her.”

Amber nodded. “This is ‘F’ so I think we need to be over there.”

They both started to weave their way over to the right section. Amber reached it first. Ghost raised his shotgun to give her cover and carefully judged the timing and movements of the nearby zombies.

“Ok, now,” he said.

She quickly started searching through the CDs. “Great, it's not where it should be,” she muttered and silently cursed whoever hadn’t taken the time to put it back in exactly the right place. She moved to the beginning of the section and started flipping through the CDs.

As she neared the end, she heard Ghost curse. As she turned, she saw both a tall, lanky zombie approaching her and Ghost vaulting over one rack. He leapt up onto the rack that separated them and jumped off it bringing the butt of his shotgun down on its head with a sickening crunch. It fell backwards to the carpetted floor twitching and convulsing, black, sticky ichor spreading in a pool around it. He pointed his shotgun at it but didn't fire.

Amber looked carefully around, but so far their actions continued to go unnoticed. Quickly she rifled through the remaining CDs.
“It’s not here,” she said and headed back to the beginning of the section and started checking again.

“Oh great,” Ghost replied. “Summers Day. What do you think, jazz, blues, alternative?”

“All of the above?” She'd reached the end of the section again. “Which one’s nearest?”

Ghost tried to remember the layout but it has been a long time since he’d been here last. “I think Alternative was just over there. At least it's a much smaller section.”

A redheaded zombie that was probably female wandered over to them, and despite having two shotguns directed at its head, was apparently fascinated with the pool of black ichor. Slowly they backed away from it, as another zombie, this one dressed in a heavily stained business suit started to walk down the other end of the aisle blocking them in. Amber looked questioningly at Ghost and waited patiently for him to sort through different realities.

He handed her his shotgun and then cupped his hands together for her to step into, boosting her up and over the rack in a graceful leap. Then he froze in place. The zombie walked calmly up to him, staring through him into the distance. It tried to keep walking, gently bumping into him repeatedly, its fetid breath in his face. Ten seconds passed by, twenty, thirty; Amber looked around anxiously. Forty seconds.

“Ghost,” there was a warning note in her voice “more are coming towards you.”


Next

14

Science had created a bewildering array of drugs, but in doing so people became less and less concerned with the long-term effects. No one was quite sure exactly which cocktail of chemicals “Zombies” had come about from. Whatever it was, they’d stopped caring about the real world.

As Ghost and Amber moved further into the mall, they could see zombies everywhere. There were hundreds, maybe even thousands standing or shuffling while they gazed; some into space, others were transfixed by anything from a crack running through a wall to overfull litter bins. This was where the decisions got harder. In theory, they could walk straight past the zombies without disturbing them from whatever world they were seeing. Unfortunately sometimes the synapses in the zombies’ brains convulsed sending them into uncontrolled rages. Listening carefully, in the distance Amber could hear what sounded like something heavy and wet being repeatedly smashed against a wall. She tried not to imagine what it was.

Ghost nodded to the stairs that lay several hundred yards along the corridor to the right. Slowly and calmly they began to make their way towards it. The one benefit was that the zombies didn't pay any attention to them, even when they pointed their shotguns directly at their heads. They didn't have nearly enough ammunition to deal with all of them, but the trick lay in stopping them as quickly as possible before they disturbed any other zombies. It was a lot like fighting a fire in a dry forest. Stamp on the first beginning ember quickly enough and you were safe. But let it get fanned by the wind…

Amber kept her back towards Ghost as much as possible allowing them to see a wider area. Ghost was able to slip between realities aiming at different zombies and choosing different paths between them, but Amber just had to hope each time she edged past another one that it would remain docile. They were about half way to the stairs when one of the zombies turned towards her and slowly reached out for her. She placed her shotgun under its chin, brushing aside a lock of matted hair, but instead of attacking it merely grasped her coat and stared at it vacantly with washed out blue eyes. Ghost heard her sudden sharp inbreath and he spun gracefully, levelling his shotgun at the rear of its head, being careful to keep Amber out of his line of fire.

“Now what?” she hissed at him. There was a reasonable chance the other zombies wouldn't react to the sound of shotgun fire but she really wanted better odds than that. Ghost blurred, his shotgun fired and then reality snapped back into focus. The now mostly headless zombie dropped to its knees and collapsed in a heap on the stone floor. There was no reaction around them. Amber led out her breath and they continued towards the stairs. She was really beginning to hate zombies. As they got further into the Mall it became increasingly crowded with them. Soon they were brushing against them with almost every step. She tried not to breaqth - hygiene was not cleary not important to zombies.The stairs at least appeared to be empty. Amber breathed an audible sigh of relief when they reached them.

“Are you sure this is a good idea?” she asked.

“Good is such a relative term,” he replied with a smile. “On the bright side I think the shop we want is that one over there.” He gestured to a shop on the next floor which was at the front of the Mall.

They ascended the stairs and looked around. Presumably because of the difficulty in climbing stairs or finding another way up, there were considerably less zombies on this level. Those that were here seemed to be more interested in their surroundings. At a restaurant zombies sat patiently at tables. In the bookshop, they stared at books, though Amber noticed that many of the books were in fact upside down or closed.

Cautiously they made their way forwards towards the shop, ever watchful for any hint of rage in the dulled eyes.


Next

13

Rising, they thanked her for the tea and headed towards the library. Ghost knew what the park had once looked like and took a moment to compare in his mind’s eye what it had once been with what it had become. They soon reached the exit Silver had spoken of. This was the first tricky part. The library had its own community and Guardian. People had been surprised at how little value things that they took for granted had. Knowledge, however, had a way of keeping its value. These days knowing how to start a fire or mend a jacket could mean the difference between life and death.

Slowly, being careful to make no sudden movements, they made as wide a berth of the library entrance as they could. They both knew that running back past it to the park would be problematic at best. For now though, it was best to deal with the immediate problems. The shopping mall was directly in front of them, with only 40 feet of pedestrianised zone between them. There were a number of ways in, one of which was almost directly in front of them. That particular shop would lead them through to the inside of the mall. Although it was the fastest route, Ghost shook his head. Too many unknowns, including, in particular, the possibility of the structure collapsing on them.

That still left a number of possible entrances to choose from. Ghost nodded to his right and they started walking down the street. Although the shops had been deserted for years, they hadn't been looted. The combination of the dangers of coming here and then having to find someone who was willing to pay for what amounted to so much junk meant that it was mainly time that had taken its toll on the shops. Even the pavement was still fairly easy to walk along or, Ghost reflected, to run along.

It only took them a minute’s brisk walk around the building to reach the main entrance. It had been designed like a giant stained-glass window and, although rust stained, the supports and glass still seemed to be intact. Cautiously they entered one of the doors and closed it gently behind them. There were no alarms to worry about here. On the other hand, the slow shuffling noise that echoed through the mall told them that the rumours were true.

Next

12

Around mid morning they rose. There were different times to do different things. When it came to visiting Silver, it seemed that she was up all hours of day and night anyway so they could go pretty much when they chose… As they walked, keeping to the roads which were in a reasonable state of repair, Amber commented that the world seemed safer in the daylight. Ghost gave her a half-smile, it was a dangerous illusion but he wasn’t about to dampen her spirits. Many people were instinctively more trusting during the day than in the middle of the night. But it was all a matter of context; those who learnt this didn't trust any stranger they met on the road, no matter what.

Silver had claimed an old park. There had been a great number of people who’d disputed her claim. And yet somehow she managed to retain her place there. As they got nearer, Ghost and Amber saw increasing signs of vegetation and wildlife. Nature was slowly taking back what had been taken from her. Despite the feeling of being watched they passed through the old southern gates and made their way to the lake in the centre of the park. Squirrels chattered at them, whilst ducks paraded proudly around. Silver was waiting patiently for them under an old oak tree, it's gnarled and twisted limbs in stark contrast to her figure. Ghost pretended that he hadn't seen Amber arch her back slightly and take a deep breath filling her chest.

“And I suppose this is what passes for morning for you two?” Silver’s singsong voice teased.

“Morning? What is this morning of which you speak?” Ghost smiled back.

“Ah it is a beautiful sight, maybe someday you'll witness it,” Silver grinned.

“I saw the night, I saw the sun come up. I see it's still up. What more is there?” Ghost’s eyes shone playfully.

Amber coughed.

“Here have some tea. It'll help ease that irritating cough,” Silver said innocently and handed them both a cup of hot, fresh herbal tea and then started to sip her own. “There’s honey if you'd care for some.”

They both helped themselves; honey was not the easiest of things to come by. They quietly enjoyed their tea and watched swans chasing each other around the lake.

“So, there’s a small matter I was hoping you would help me with,” Silver began.

Ghost smiled. One of Silver’s better qualities was that she simply spoke her mind. He nodded to her to go on.

“I need something recovered from that decaying wreck of a shopping mall. A CD to be precise. It's called ‘Summers Day’ and was recorded by Elise Stevens.”

“A CD? Does anyone still have anything that will play those any more?” Amber asked, surprised.

“Fortunately between pack rats and technomancers, it looks like something might be accomplished. To be honest, my eyes glazed over when it was explained to me in mind numbing detail. But it's very important so I endured the trivialities.” Silver absentmindedly stroked the grass with her hand.

“I don't recognise the name,” Ghost reflected “but then that doesn't surprise me. When I was younger the racks were always filled with CDs by people I’d never heard of. Is there anything else we should know?”

Silver stared at him intently for a moment “I'm sure there’s a great many things you should know,” then the stare broke into smiles “but nothing specific to this. You can however, leave the park by the library. That’ll put you in almost spitting distance. And don't worry whether anyone sees you leave or return. In fact, once you've got the CD, feel free to run straight back. As soon as you cross back into my park you’ll be safe.”

It was an unusual offer, both Ghost and Amber recognised this, so the CD was either very important or Silver wasn't planning on having it here for very long. Still, no one liked inviting trouble back home. This CD must mean a lot to her.

Next

11

Ghost and Amber left quietly and headed towards the graveyard. There was no point in trying to take on the whole world. Quite simply, it was rather too big. Instead safety came from understanding how the various alliances and ebbed and flowed. Ghost had a number of residences. It was safe here for now, but it was always a good idea to have other places to run to. The graveyard worked remarkably well. Superstition was as old as humanity, deeply embedded no matter how much some protested. Fortunately, even in a world of ghouls and “undead”, the actual dead still rested peacefully.

Despite the hardship and desolation, the graveyard, like the rest of the area near the church had a feeling of peace to it. True, the grass grew a little longer than it should, but somehow it never seemed to get out of control. Flowers mysteriously found their way here too. Amber suspected Gideon, but she had never seen him here. The pair entered the small house that had been set aside for gravediggers many years ago. They never bothered to lock the door. This was simply a place to rest and think. People respected each other here. For many of them respect was one of the few things they had left. Food, water and shelter would always be provided to those in need. No one would break into someone else's home. “So do you want to go now or later?” Ghost asked.

Amber flopped onto the couch sending small puffs of dust spiraling into the air.

“Sleep is good,” she purred, rolling over and closing her eyes, not even bothering to get out of her clothes. Ghost nodded. He headed back outside to stare at the stars. He had always liked looking up at the vast night sky. It made him feel better to see something so much bigger than he could truly comprehend. He walked silently through the graves sorting out his thoughts. Finally when the sun began to rise, he headed back inside and, as Amber had taken the couch, he headed upstairs to the comfortable and slightly less dusty bed.

Next

10

In theory, the people who lived here should have had very short life spans. They had so little to protect them. Fortunately for them, there were still a few people who took it upon themselves to keep these places safe. The companies didn't come here, and the undead wouldn't stray this far from their territory. Few people actually chose to be here and those that did quickly found themselves under the rules of the self appointed guardians. The different Guardians took approaches as an individual as themselves. In some places you were left in no doubt as to who the Guardian was. Here however, the Guardian, whoever it was, kept a much lower profile.

Ghost and Amber relaxed slightly. This was one of the safer places for them to be right now, at least as much as any place was. Steadily they made their way to the church. It wasn't that old by church standards, only 100 years or so. It had been built by the local people brick by brick. Ghost had grown up around here and had always found it a comforting place. Amber on the other hand, really didn't like churches, they made her uneasy. There was something different about this place though. For some reason she felt safe here. She suspected part of the reason for this was standing over by the statue tending to the flowers. Gideon calmly looked up as they approached him. It was hard to tell his age. He was one of those people who somehow managed to contain a spark of childlike glee within an old soul. Many people were either religious or spiritual. For Gideon there was no contradiction between the two. No one was entirely sure what he did. He seemed to spend all his time here. Cleaning, tidying, tending the garden; he was almost a part of the place.

Gideon turned to face them and smiled. “It went well?” he asked.

Ghost nodded. “There were ghouls, but not too many. If there is anything else there it kept quiet.”

Gideon’s green eyes twinkled “Sounds like a good beginning. When are you planning on going back?”

Ghost paused, “Well I’ll have to think about it for a bit. There's still quite a lot of that place to explore. And of course things might change in the meantime. For now, I was planning on catching some sleep.”

“Of course,” Gideon replied “though when you are rested, Silver sent a message asking to see you.”

Next

9

They saw shadows twitch in the corner of their vision, but they ignored them. Instead they maintained the air that walking along broken, twisted streets in the middle of the night was perfectly natural to them. Amber heard them first.

The excited, fast, almost nonsensical, jabbering speech patterns that usually meant one thing. It wasn't long until they came into view. E-boys. Back in the day they’d have been known as adrenaline junkies, always searching for the next thrill. Like everything else they needed to find ways to adapt to the new world. Rather than relying on drugs to keep adrenaline flowing through their systems they had found alternative routes. Some, like the ghouls and elves, had physically changed their bodies so that adrenaline coursed through their veins. Rake thin but strong, fast and wiry to better allow them to do whatever crazy thing struck them at the time. They healed faster too, which was just as well as they were continually being injured. Others went with a more technological route. Medical science has experimented with ways to transplant materials into humans who were disabled or seriously injured. As computers and microtechnology spiraled to greater and greater heights the research was noticed by the military. Rather than trying to merely help injured people, they looked at ways of augmenting and even replacing body parts. Perfectly healthy limbs and organs were substituted for “better” artificial ones. Many E-boys came from wealthy backgrounds and so had “acquired” the technology one way or another. There were still problems with these replacements though. The newer the technology, the less it had been tested and the human body was not designed to deal with that much adrenaline. Gradually they burnt out from within. However, given the risks they regularly took in search of the next thrill, they had shorter than average life expectancies anyway.

Ghost and Amber came to a gentle stop. The E-Boys jittered their way over to them. It was a marked contrast. Ghost and Amber were calm and still. The E-Boys were in constant motion unable to pause even for a moment.

“Funnight tobeout thislate,” one of them remarked.

“Ah, you know, just out admiring the stars. You can see them so much better out here away from the conclave lights,” Amber smiled.

One of them rolled his deep brown eyes. “H,h,h,haven't youseen anythingmore interestingthanthat tonight?” He looked pointedly at her shotgun.

“Well, there were some interesting looking things about half a mile that way,” she gestured behind her with the tip of her shotgun “but we gave them a wide berth, they didn’t seem like the star-gazing kind, if you know what I mean?”

That got their attention. E-boys were unpredictable but the one thing they could all be relied upon was for their insatiable interest in fairly suicidal experiences. The trick to dealing with them was to distract them with something far more interesting as quickly as possible. They did not deal well with boredom. The idea of “things” too scary for two obviously competent people to want to deal with was like a flame to moths for them. Excitedly, the group ran off into the night in the direction Amber had pointed.

Ghost and Amber waited for a minute, gazing up at the stars in case any of them should happen to look back. Then they calmly continued to walk. Slowly but surely, the condition of the roads began to improve. Though no one would admit it, there was a buffer zone of sorts between the wastelands and the enclave. It seemed to have formed naturally, neither wanting to be near the other. The poor lived here. They had enough to get by and water and electricity mysteriously kept finding its way to them despite the attempts of the companies to prevent it. Some believed those in the enclave sponsored the essentials to keep the riff-raff away from them, but it might just have been a vicious rumor.

Next

8

The school (or the remains of it) was, understandably, not in a good area. The police didn't come here. In fact few people who had a choice came here. Those that did were often tired of living even if they didn't admit it to themselves. And so they came here to die, either literally, or in other less pleasant ways, like becoming ghouls or similar. You wouldn't find human gangs here. It was simply too dangerous. You need to a fortress to be able to hold back the continuous assaults. And even if you could somehow manage that, doing so would attract attention of the kind of creatures you wouldn't be able to stand up to for long. Fortunately, the world had not quite gone to hell yet. So although areas such as this existed, usually within a few miles you could find civilisation. Indeed the contrast was surprising.

Ghost and Amber ambled along what had once been roads. The markings were faded, but the tarmac was still in good enough condition that it was comfortable to walk on. It had the added advantage that anyone else travelling would be clearly seen, and that was something most people didn't want to risk. Amber’s shotgun rested easily against her shoulder. Although she was walking with her normal, elven grace and making no overt effort to be stealthy, she was remarkably quiet. Ghost too, was as silent as his name.

It was eerie to walk down these roads again. He remembered running along them after buses and then as he got older driving down them in his first car. He remembered the laughter and conversations of everything from girls to the meaning of life. The phone box where Stewart had dialed random free-phone numbers and then tried, rather unsuccessfully, breathing heavily at the first rather bored woman who answered; and the incident when Claire had made it abundantly clear that if Mike tried to look up her skirt one more time she would take great pleasure in knocking him unconscious.

At one time, houses had lined these roads with immaculate gardens, carefully tended by house-proud owners. Times have changed and what had once been an affluent area plunged into negative equity. People who thought they were set up for life and the world shifted. Down became up, left became right, and suddenly all the guarantees they’d built their lives on vanished overnight. A few managed to find a place in the New World, retreating back to the safety of the enclaves. Most didn't make it. There were no natural animals here anymore. Weeds and overgrowth were reclaiming the land. The trees had somehow managed to continue to grow over the years, their roots now digging deep into pavements and building foundations, slowly but inexorably destroying the constructions around them. Not even birds flew overhead.


Next

7

Suddenly they heard growls made by mangled vocal chords as three ghouls leapt from a second story roof. Amber had time to fire her shotgun at one and rolled off to one side. Ghost held his hands one on top of the other. The area above them blurred in a roughly sword-like shape and he cut through the other two ghouls with it. The human body is a strange thing. Twinges and headaches happen seemingly at random. Moments of dizziness, pulled muscles and aching lower backs. Ghost’s sword affected those realities and pulled them into existence. The ghouls' bodies went into spasm; as they hit the ground, ankles twisted and broke, spines were wrenched and their heads struck the ground which such force that their necks shattered. Amber reloaded and fired her shotgun into each of the bodies. You couldn’t be too careful when it came to ghouls.

They looked around, half expecting another attack.

Silence.

There comes a point when you realise that continuing to wait is useless.

Together they started to walk again. The reached the pathway they’d come through earlier. The Assembly Hall to their right was remarkably big. Ghost paused, reached into his longcoat and pulled out his own shotgun. As they walked through the pathway he blurred slightly, randomly aiming in various directions. Nothing stirred. Eventually they crossed the courtyard and reached the gates.

As they closed the gate behind them, they felt a degree of safety. Ghouls were like animals, they stayed in their own territory. Once you left it, they might snarl at you and but they wouldn’t follow; probably.

Where to park the car had been a difficult choice. Had they parked in the school car park they would now be in the van and away. But it would have meant leaving their only vehicle venerable while they were exploring. So now they walked and headed away from the school.

There were a lot of different strategies on the best way to travel through dangerous areas. Some people maintained that stealth was the best solution, others preferred to travel as fast as possible. In this case, Ghost and Amber agreed that the best way was calmly and confidently. People talked about predator and prey, but the truth was more complicated than that. Only the predators at the very top of the food chain were really predators. Everyone else was someone else's predator or someone else's prey. Each choice you made about who was going to be your next “victim” had to be made with the awareness of the possible repercussions to you. Get hurt too badly by an “easy” target and you dropped down the ladder, becoming potential prey; and some predators sneaky enough to wait for those opportunities to get revenge for past injuries. So, basically, it doesn’t matter how high you are on the food chain if you are only passing through, as long as you look confident enough to make the predators take enough pause for you to pass by.

Next

6

“Well?” she asked, starting to get nervous at how long this was taking.

Ghost let out a long sigh, leaned back in the chair and closed his eyes.

He never ceased to amaze her with his ability to relax no matter the situation. It was as if at some point his mind had just seen enough and decided it wasn’t having any more, like a surgeon who was no longer bothered by blood or a gravedigger who’d gotten used to corpses.

“Well, we’re still alive; that’s definitely a good thing.” He opened his eyes and smiled gently at her.

“And…”

“I doubt there was only one ghoul in here. But it does seem like no-one’s interested in this place. I don’t know if we could hold it against anyone who was determined, but for the time being we could use it. We’d need to clear out the ghouls I think.”

“You think?” Amber reflected that sometimes Ghost thought so far outside the box that the box may as well not even be there.

“They act as a deterrent to other people and they camouflage our being here. But no, you’re right, it’s too dangerous, Best be rid of them.” Ghost rose from the chair soundlessly and whispered “Let’s get out of here nice and safely”.

She nodded her agreement.

Unfortunately that still left the question of “How?”. They could break down the security window, but that would take time and create a lot of noise. There was door that led to the secretary’s office, but that was pretty cramped. Or they could go back the way they came.

“Secretary’s office,” Ghost said after a pause. He’d thought this through before-hand and nothing seemed to be different to what he’d expected. Amber nodded and listened carefully at the door, but heard nothing.

The door unlocked easily from their side. Ghost blurred and walked in whilst staying in the room with Amber. The Ghost next to Amber vanished when the one in the Secretary’s room was happy he was safe. From there the door to the outside opened easily. In theory at this point, they could probably just run and shoot anything that tried to stop them. For most people the corridor outside the Secretary’s office had been meaningless. It was somewhere you passed through to get to somewhere else. From class to class or from the canteen to the playground. For Ghost it had been a place to think. To see what happened in the in-between. He was surprised how strong his memories of this place were. Calmly, they walked out across it.

Next

5

Amber and Ghost headed back into the Physics Room and into the corridor. The rooms were dangerous, giving ghouls too big an advantage. The corridor wasn't great, but it was better and Ghost knew where they should to go next.

Apart from a shotgun, Ghost didn’t carry any weapons exactly. He wore a long coat with a lot of interesting pockets and carried a rucksack slung over one shoulder. While Amber carefully checked all her equipment before they set off, he was equally careful not to check his. It was like those times you can’t remember if you locked the car and you have to actually check it to see. By not knowing what he had brought with him, he could adjust reality whenever he needed so that what he wanted was what he’d packed. He also had a knack of focusing reality into a weapon.

They continued down the corridor until it came to a fork and turned left. There were the fire extinguishers that people invariably set off on the last day of term. They passed more science labs and then the maths rooms. They turned left. The next part was tricky. They didn’t need to go too far along the corridor, but it would be easy for them to be trapped in from both ends now. In which case their only way out would be through the classrooms and if they had ghouls in them it would be a problem.

Amber took a deep breath and let it out slowly. They walked along until they reached the specific door. It was different to all the rest and much better secured. In fact now that she looked at it, she felt it was like someone had taken the room from somewhere else. She looked at Ghost. He shook his head; this door was self-locking; there were no other realities to choose from. She put the shotgun against the lock and fired. The door swung open from the blast. She raised the shotgun to fire a second shot at anything that had decided to be there that night.

In the music room the rioting ghouls looked up and paused. That shotgun blast had been much closer...

The room was dark. Security windows blocked out the moonlight. She listened carefully but could only hear her heart beating in her ears. Well at least there were no ghouls rushing them yet. Ghost concentrated then reached into a pocket pulling out a torch. Careful to point it into the room, he turned it on. The room appeared to be empty.

He’d only been here once before. The feeling that the room really belonged somewhere else struck him too. The desk the Headmaster would sit behind, a few comfortable chairs, a scattering of pictures on oak shelves and a few bottles of alcohol. This wasn’t a place for students. It wasn’t even a place for teachers. It was somewhere, separate.

He sat down in the chair behind the desk. It felt strange. It was one of those things, like meeting your teachers later in life and still calling them “Sir” or “Mr Rogers” rather than Jack. Amber perched on the desk, still covering the room with her shotgun.

Next

4

The world had become more black and white. As Governments created phenomenal debts and Global Companies accrued significant assets, the world started to change. Some tried to make the world better; others didn’t care if it burned as long as they got their share. Religions too became more polarized. There were those who cared for the sick and the poor and there were those who set people on fire. Somehow they all managed to do it under the ever-widening umbrella of religion. Being independent and free-thinking didn’t cut it in the big wide world anymore. Sooner or later you had to choose a side. Apathy was off the agenda too. There were too many people with too much power. You found who you wanted to be with or they found you. Ghost still wasn't entirely clear whether he had found Gideon or Gideon had found him. But for now at least they were on the same side. Unfortunately, Ghost wasn't entirely sure whose side Gideon was on. As was his nature, Ghost had decided to wait patiently and see, but acknowledged that whilst Gideon was helping him he was an asset.

Amber re-loaded the shotgun.

Ghouls would have heard the blast. Whether they’d attack was another matter.

She looked at Ghost and tilted her head slightly “Stay or go?”

That was the question. They couldn’t handle a large pack of ghouls. But then ghouls didn’t tend to be organized. Given that they didn’t already have dozens pouring into the room and none could be seen out of the windows, Ghost was thought it was likely that there weren’t that many here. But then Ghost knew better than to trust in what was likely.

The question people normally asked Ghost was "If you can manipulate the present why don’t you win the lottery?!”. His usual answer was the most obvious; because he wasn’t the only person who walked Schrodinger’s Way. If all that did tried to influence the numbers they would just ended up pulling against each other as they would all be choosing different numbers. Now, if they all agreed on the numbers that would be different! But in order to agree they would have to be able to identify one another; that could mean serious repercussions.

“Stay.”

They moved into the next room. Bottles of chemicals were everywhere. The labels had deteriorated over time, but still there were possibilities.

On the far side of the school, in what had been the music room, a pack of ghouls paused as they heard the shotgun fire. The room was in pieces. Ghouls didn't just destroy things, they then destroyed the remains and the remains of the remains, until the room made even most sloppy teenager look positively organised by comparison. Ghouls took no pleasure or joy in anything; they destroyed because it was their nature. Anger literally flowed through their veins clouding their vision with hatred and fury. Yet for some reason they were drawn to the instruments. Flutes were smashed against drums, symbols were thrown across the room. The cacophony of broken instruments was mindless, but they never tired of it. For now the shotgun noise didn't interest them; it was far away and they were too caught up what they were doing.

Ghouls didn't prey on each other; there were no weak ghouls. The change strengthened tendons and sinew but atrophied muscles, such that the weightlifter and the geek were indistinguishable afterwards. Their paralysing touch didn't affect other ghouls either. No one was quite sure why, and it wasn't particularly safe to ask. The most common theory was that the changes to the body and brain made them immune. Elves were also immune to the effect; however again no one was quite sure why. The only thing that was said with any conviction by rather annoyed elves was that it was not because their brains had atrophied; indeed if anything, they claimed it was because their brains had evolved beyond human limitations. Naturally humans weren't convinced.


Next

3

Ghost and Amber took their time. Their primary escape route was still clear and they had several others planned. If necessary, sheer firepower would get them out of here. But once they entered the buildings things would change and not for the better. Amber knew that the noise meant something was here and anything making what was fast becoming a racket was not something she wanted to meet at night.

Ghost concentrated for a moment on the door and found the reality where it had been left unlocked. He opened the door and went in, Amber followed him.

Carefully they walked down the corridor to the old Physics Classroom. The door was slightly ajar. Ghost walked in calmly, the moonlight spilled through the windows lighting the room well enough for him to see. For Amber's elven eyes it may as well be daylight. She closed the classroom door behind her and nestled into the corner, covering the room. Ghost walked slowly between the desks, running his hand absently along the scarred wood. He remembered the time Claire and Nicole had set one desk on fire and a faint smile danced across his face. And here if you looked closely you could see where David had patiently burned his name into the wood with a magnifying glass. It was strange how schools always felt slightly too small when you went back to them. He opened a few of the cupboards looking for anything of value. People didn’t use real money so much anymore. You could live your whole life and never handle a coin or a note; for most money had become digital and abstract, noughts and ones.

He turned towards the back of the class where the door to the lab technicians’ room was. As he did so he looked at the blackboard. It was one of the last blackboards. Hundreds of thousands of words and numbers had been written and rubbed out on it.

Memories were strange things. They shaped who you were; gave you strength or scars. Yet memories weren’t fixed. Sometimes you remembered things differently from the way they happened. Sometimes you didn’t know the whole story; the act you regretted may well have caused something wonderful you never knew about. For now though, Ghost was following Gideon’s advice. He was finding the place where his memories were strongest.

As Ghost moved toward the door, it sprang open. Something that had once been human jumped out and lunged at him. He blurred slightly and then wasn’t there as Amber’s shotgun fired into the creature’s back. It convulsed and then lay still. Ghost re-appeared next to Amber, choosing the reality where he’d walked back to her rather to the door. They walked over to the corpse. Amber put the shotgun to its head and pulled the trigger again.

“Ghouls,” she said simply.

If you weren’t unhinged before you became a ghoul, you certainly were afterwards. Whatever happened to a ghoul’s brain left cunning and anger but not much else. People didn’t talk about killing ghouls. You put them down. Trying to reason with them was like trying to reason with a rabid dog. The mutation they possessed transformed their muscles and tendons, making them incredibly fast and resilient. To make matters worse, their touch scrambled the synapses. It was like banging your elbow and feeling your arm go numb. A ghoul would attack you as fast as possible; the part of its brain that should register pain had atrophied away, it just wanted to keep hitting you until you couldn’t move. What they did then didn’t bear thinking about.

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2

He looked at the buildings around him. Languages and Woodwork. Not really his thing. He’d had classes here of course, but Gideon had told him to start where his memories were strongest. He looked at the school hall to his left. Assemblies, Drama, exams. They just blurred together. He nodded to Amber and carefully started to walk along the pathway to the next set of buildings.

This was where things got dangerous.

The school looked deserted, but he knew better than to trust appearances. To Amber’s sensitive ears the noise she had barely been able to hear was beginning to get louder. It still didn't make sense to her, it sounded faintly musical in a really, really bad way. She thought about mentioning it to Ghost, but he had a far away look that warned her to keep as still and quiet as possible. She would mention it later, if they survived that long.

The science block was on the right. Memories came flooding back… As a child he’d been forever asking “Why?” and was so dissatisfied with the answers he’d developed frown lines in his teens. As he got older he understood more and more the approach of adults’ “lies to children”. Teachers would say things that sounded right and then use long, confusing explanations if questioned, but if you had time and thought about what they said you knew that something wasn’t right. It was ironic; science tried to explain everything in concrete terms and yet, when it came down to it, it revealed nothing. Science was all just theories; and those were disproved on a fairly regular basis. At one stage it had become so bad that some scientists even started to treat the “truth” as “what reasonable people think”; or to be more precise, what they thought.

Different people approached science in different ways; Ghost followed Schrodinger’s Way. Statisticians had tried to predict the future using mathematics, but for all their equations you never really knew what would happen until it happened. Science was transforming. In the 20th century it had been beaten to sterility by scientists, chaining it with formulas and strapping it with logic. But something had changed. For those who looked for it there was an art and poetry within science. Some people called it magic. Some weren’t sure.

People were sensitive enough about the boundaries between the sciences; was biology more chemistry or physics? Pointless hours were spent debating these inconsequential questions. Why was it so important to humans to put things in boxes, that’s what Ghost wanted to know. Try and tell a scientist that astrophysics was in fact an art form or that there was a musicality to molecular biology – that’d really heat-up the debate!

Ghost accepted that there were no fixed boundaries and he used this to his advantage. He could push against reality like it was a piece of elastic, feeling the different possibilities, temporarily entering alternate realities, finding the one he wanted and then let it snap back to become, well, real. Few shared Ghost’s skill, and of those that did there were even fewer who were as sensitive to the repercussions of what they did.

New levels of scientific discovery were being found all the time. The previously held taboos of human experimentation and tampering with the laws of nature were now more of a faux pas that were tolerated and ignored. Mutations, although random, had been the focus of some people’s efforts. Some had combined their experiments on people and animals with their ability to use Schrodinger’s Way, using it to affect the mutations. Largely they’d been influenced by folklore and myth. Amber’s made her look like an elf, with almond-shaped eyes and elongated, pointy ears, but there were other, less pretty outcomes. Why did people agree to be turned into monsters? Who knew? But they did. Much as society tended to turn a blind eye to gangs’ “turf” as long as they stayed there, so it was with monsters and the depraved ‘scientists’ who created them. 

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1

It’s a strange thing to go back to your old school, Amber thought. Most people only do it at re-unions, dressed up and out to impress. Not too many turn up in the dead of night armed with a shotgun.

Ghost walked up to the steel gates. It seemed to Amber that the area around him became slightly out of focus for a moment before snapping back to normal. The padlock fell open easily in his hand, even though a moment before it had been securely locked. No matter how often Amber saw him do it, it still seemed eerie, hence her nickname for him, “Ghost”. She’d done it so long now, she never called him anything else.

He pushed the gates open and thankfully they didn’t creak; who knew what attention that would attract?

Amber looked at the barbed wire and spikes around the top of the gate and the surrounding fences. They had been put there, she had been told, to “protect the children”. Hah! At school the things you needed protection from lay inside the gates. Those gates had been fortified to make sure you couldn’t get out!

Just ahead lay the first security cameras. Again the area blurred for a moment. When Amber looked again the cameras were covered in cobwebs; apparently someone had decided it wasn’t worth maintaining them. She carefully swept the courtyard with her shotgun. It was quiet, too quiet. Amber brushed her hair back over the tip of one delicate ear, listening to the night. There were different kinds of silence, but even at night there were often sounds that were supposed to be there. She listened more carefully. In the background there was something, but it didn't make sense. Just discordant noise. Even so, everything seemed to be alright. She doubted it would last.

As they crept through the gates Amber looked more closely at the windows of the decaying school buildings. They had all been smashed; although strangely it looked like they had been broken from both inside and out. That was not a good sign. The gloom inside the rooms could too easily conceal things she really didn't want to meet tonight. They wanted to be in and out, smooth as silk, that would be good. She smiled bitterly to herself; somehow she didn't think they'd be that lucky. But then she had the shotgun for a reason. And of course there was Ghost.

The school had started off much smaller than it was now. Over time more buildings had been built until gradually it felt more and more claustrophobic. Shadows engulfed large concrete walls and obscured the small pathways that ran between them. Ghost stood silently in the courtyard. They’d spent several weeks studying this place from a distance. It seemed that no-one was interested in it at the moment and that suited him fine. He still wasn't entirely sure what he was doing here. Gideon gave new depths of the word “enigmatic” but so far his advice seemed to have been productive, if you looked at it sideways with hindsight and one eye closed whilst hanging upside-down, preferably drunk.

There were a lot of ways this could go wrong, too many unknowns, too many possibilities. Everyone had their own way of dealing with life. Ghost was patient. Some people would have rushed in guns blazing, and he accepted there were times when that was the best way forward. But given the choice, he preferred to think through what could happen and then adapt to what did happen as calmly as possible. Of course it helped that he could shift the odds in his favour. But to do that he needed to consider how the smallest change could cause the greatest benefit; unfortunately, these days, he often needed to do that whilst somebody was trying very hard to kill him.

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