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.


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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.”

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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.

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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.


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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.

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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.

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