As the shutter fully opened they saw that the loading bay was actually designed more like a car park. Presumably delivery vans dropped off good directly below the various stores. Several librarians pulled out torches and lanterns and switched them on. Ghost would have been happier letting Amber guide him with her elven vision, but he accepted it was impractical with this many people. Better to risk having light and go quickly and quietly. He noticed that the librarians had drawn their guns and rifles and were proceeding in a sort of alternating convoy. One group would advance, then pause and watch the area, while the other group would then advance past them and so on.
Amber looked at him and rolled her eyes. Whatever book the librarians had read clearly hadn’t explained the concepts of cover, concealment and rather importantly fields of fire. Ghost sincerely hoped they didn’t meet anyone down here as the likelihood of the Librarians shooting each other in their crossfire was becoming remarkably high. He nodded to Amber and they jogged on ahead of the two groups.
Even when they were ahead of the Librarians, Ghost still found that they were making the place feel remarkably eerie. Their lights bounced around and shone in random direction making the shadows dance around the scattered ramps and concrete support columns, while their footsteps echoed around the cavernous underground complex. He shivered and gripped the axe more tightly.
Amber on the other hand was noticing that there were in fact rather a lot of crates down here. Her acute vision easily pierced the gloom and she wondered what else might be down here and whether the Librarians would let her borrow that box? She grinned, confident that between them she and Ghost could get back in here again with or without the box.
Soon she found the right bay and indeed there were two large wooden crates. Resting there. She ran her finger over one of them, checking that the layer of dust had been undisturbed in a long time. They paused and waited for the Librarians to finish making their way over to them, at which point they spread out in a perfect semi circle, weapons and lights aiming into the surrounding darkness. The entrance which they had come in was now just a small rectangle of light in the distance.
“This is what you wanted?” Ghost asked.
Daniel shone a torch on the manifest that was still attached to the nearest crate. He brushed off the dust and then nodded to a monk carrying a crowbar who proceeded to methodically open the crates with the ease of someone who had done this many times before. As expected the crates were filled with books, still wrapped up in protective plastic. Cautiously, the other monks started taking them out with a mixture of care at handling the books and caution at trying to point their guns into the darkness at the same time.
Ghost quietly prayed to anyone who might be listening that no-one lurking in the darkness would chose this moment to attack. The monks would accidentally kill each other, him and Amber with remarkable efficiency. He gradually edged over, trying to get himself and Amber into a slightly safe place should things go wrong.
Next
Monday 31 January 2011
Friday 28 January 2011
36
“Not exactly,” Ghost replied “by the way do you have an axe I could borrow, maybe a fire axe, that kind of thing?”
Daniel nodded and walked them over to the Fire Axe that was hanging from a nearby wall. He took it down and gave it to Ghost.
Ghost looked the edge on the blade, tested the balance with few careful swings and nodded. “I want to do this quietly. Shotguns make a lot of noise. This is better as a starting point.”
He unrolled his plans on a nearby table “I believe there’s a loading dock here that we can get into. That does leave the problem that there’s no way Amber and I can possibly move crates of books on our own, let alone in all this snow.”
“You’ll need our help,” Daniel stated looking over the drawings.
“Yes. I was thinking weight of numbers. A large group so you can cart the books out in a number of sacks of whatever else you’ve got that would work?”
Daniel nodded “that sounds like the best idea.”
The monks returned with various books and newspapers carefully bookmarked. They looked through them and added a few small details to the drawings.
“Shall we go now then?” Ghost asked.
“You don’t want to wait until dark?” Daniel asked.
“No. From what you say these books have been left unattended for a long time now. That means that anyone who’s set up any security that overlaps the area has grown complacent. We get in, we get out ideally before they know, but failing that before they can react.” Ghost looked around “I know some of them have guns, do they know how to use them?”
“We have quite a good selection of books in both the Military and Sports sections, so we know a lot of theory. Mainly we’re good at hitting stationary or slow moving targets with rifles,” Daniel admitted.
“Fair enough,” Ghost replied, “I don’t want to have lots of shooting going on anyway.”
Daniel organized a few Librarians to stay behind and the rest gathered up guns, rifles and sacks plus a few other things. Ghost noticed that they remained in their robes rather than changing into something more practical.
The group headed out of the library, but this time instead of turning left and going down the main street, they continued forwards into the back alley behind the parade of shops. The snow was still deep and it was slow going. At the end of the alley they turned left and made there way along the service road. Neither Ghost nor Amber could detect any signs of being watched or that there was anyone else around.
As they followed the service road they passed by another of the Mall’s entrances. Through the glass doors they could see the zombies milling around aimlessly. They kept going.
The loading bay was protected by thick steel shutters. Ghost paused. He hadn’t quite figured out how to get past them yet. One of the monks reached into a backpack and pulled out a small metal box with a plastic card attached. He inserted the card into the security card reader and waited. The shutters began to rise.
Daniel smiled, “It’s amazing what we have books on.”
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Daniel nodded and walked them over to the Fire Axe that was hanging from a nearby wall. He took it down and gave it to Ghost.
Ghost looked the edge on the blade, tested the balance with few careful swings and nodded. “I want to do this quietly. Shotguns make a lot of noise. This is better as a starting point.”
He unrolled his plans on a nearby table “I believe there’s a loading dock here that we can get into. That does leave the problem that there’s no way Amber and I can possibly move crates of books on our own, let alone in all this snow.”
“You’ll need our help,” Daniel stated looking over the drawings.
“Yes. I was thinking weight of numbers. A large group so you can cart the books out in a number of sacks of whatever else you’ve got that would work?”
Daniel nodded “that sounds like the best idea.”
The monks returned with various books and newspapers carefully bookmarked. They looked through them and added a few small details to the drawings.
“Shall we go now then?” Ghost asked.
“You don’t want to wait until dark?” Daniel asked.
“No. From what you say these books have been left unattended for a long time now. That means that anyone who’s set up any security that overlaps the area has grown complacent. We get in, we get out ideally before they know, but failing that before they can react.” Ghost looked around “I know some of them have guns, do they know how to use them?”
“We have quite a good selection of books in both the Military and Sports sections, so we know a lot of theory. Mainly we’re good at hitting stationary or slow moving targets with rifles,” Daniel admitted.
“Fair enough,” Ghost replied, “I don’t want to have lots of shooting going on anyway.”
Daniel organized a few Librarians to stay behind and the rest gathered up guns, rifles and sacks plus a few other things. Ghost noticed that they remained in their robes rather than changing into something more practical.
The group headed out of the library, but this time instead of turning left and going down the main street, they continued forwards into the back alley behind the parade of shops. The snow was still deep and it was slow going. At the end of the alley they turned left and made there way along the service road. Neither Ghost nor Amber could detect any signs of being watched or that there was anyone else around.
As they followed the service road they passed by another of the Mall’s entrances. Through the glass doors they could see the zombies milling around aimlessly. They kept going.
The loading bay was protected by thick steel shutters. Ghost paused. He hadn’t quite figured out how to get past them yet. One of the monks reached into a backpack and pulled out a small metal box with a plastic card attached. He inserted the card into the security card reader and waited. The shutters began to rise.
Daniel smiled, “It’s amazing what we have books on.”
Next
Wednesday 26 January 2011
35
The next morning Ghost got up and looked at the snow. It was still too deep for them to travel far. He decided to draw up some plans for getting the books back. After a while Amber wandered into the lobby where he was working, with some tea and a sandwich. She knew from experience he tended to forget about things like eating when he was thinking.
“So what have you got?” she asked.
He looked up and took the tea gratefully. “Well the books didn’t just appear in the store, especially in crates. There has to be a back entrance for deliveries. And as people don’t want to have to move crates of books any real distance, it’s got to be accessible by road. I’m guessing some heavy machinery and possibly a lift are involved.
She grinned “So we could just sneak in the back way, get the crates and sneak out again without having to deal with zombies and so forth?”
“In theory”, he replied taking a sip of his tea. “We’ve no way of knowing if any zombies have wandered back there, if anyone else is there or have set traps, alarms etc.”
She nodded “sounds like a good option though. Do we take the Librarians with us, or do we scout it out first?”
“I’ve been wondering about that myself. Although scouting seems like a good idea, I think in this case all it does is increase the risk that someone sees us. I’d rather keep the window that we do this in as small as possible. I really don’t want to scout it, tip someone off, and then have them waiting in ambush for us when we come back.” He paused. “Still on the bright side I’ve looked at the list of Vendors and there’s no-one anywhere near the bookshop so that improves the odds a bit.”
“Do you want to go now?” she asked.
He picked up the sandwich with a smile and replied “lunch first.”
She nodded and looked over the plans he’d drawn. They were a combination of how he remembered the place and the layout in the leaflet.
When lunch was finished, they got ready, rolled up the plans and headed over to the Library. This time a robed aesthetic opened the door for them as they approached and let them make their own way upstairs.
“Well I must say that was much quicker than I had expected,” Daniel said with a smile in his voice.
Ghost smiled. “I have a plan, but I was wondering, do you have anything here about either the Mall or the shops near the Book Shop. Articles, maps, photos, that kind of thing. The more information we have at the outset, the better.”
“Good to see such thinking,” Daniel replied. He beckoned to several of the monks and gave them quick precise directions of the information Ghost had asked for and where best to find it. He noticed that they weren’t particularly heavily armed “you’re not favouring an all guns blazing approach then?”
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“So what have you got?” she asked.
He looked up and took the tea gratefully. “Well the books didn’t just appear in the store, especially in crates. There has to be a back entrance for deliveries. And as people don’t want to have to move crates of books any real distance, it’s got to be accessible by road. I’m guessing some heavy machinery and possibly a lift are involved.
She grinned “So we could just sneak in the back way, get the crates and sneak out again without having to deal with zombies and so forth?”
“In theory”, he replied taking a sip of his tea. “We’ve no way of knowing if any zombies have wandered back there, if anyone else is there or have set traps, alarms etc.”
She nodded “sounds like a good option though. Do we take the Librarians with us, or do we scout it out first?”
“I’ve been wondering about that myself. Although scouting seems like a good idea, I think in this case all it does is increase the risk that someone sees us. I’d rather keep the window that we do this in as small as possible. I really don’t want to scout it, tip someone off, and then have them waiting in ambush for us when we come back.” He paused. “Still on the bright side I’ve looked at the list of Vendors and there’s no-one anywhere near the bookshop so that improves the odds a bit.”
“Do you want to go now?” she asked.
He picked up the sandwich with a smile and replied “lunch first.”
She nodded and looked over the plans he’d drawn. They were a combination of how he remembered the place and the layout in the leaflet.
When lunch was finished, they got ready, rolled up the plans and headed over to the Library. This time a robed aesthetic opened the door for them as they approached and let them make their own way upstairs.
“Well I must say that was much quicker than I had expected,” Daniel said with a smile in his voice.
Ghost smiled. “I have a plan, but I was wondering, do you have anything here about either the Mall or the shops near the Book Shop. Articles, maps, photos, that kind of thing. The more information we have at the outset, the better.”
“Good to see such thinking,” Daniel replied. He beckoned to several of the monks and gave them quick precise directions of the information Ghost had asked for and where best to find it. He noticed that they weren’t particularly heavily armed “you’re not favouring an all guns blazing approach then?”
Next
Monday 24 January 2011
34
“Books?” Amber asked.
“Well more crates,” he replied and then when she arched a delicate eyebrow continued “of books.”
“Well obviously we can’t move crates of books,” Ghost replied, “but you know that and you wouldn’t have asked unless you had something in mind?”
“Quite true, very perceptive of you. We have devised a way to keep the zombies tranquil in the short term. Long enough for a group of us to get in, get the books and get out. We have some very effective equipment for moving crates around. But as precious as those books are, I won’t risk lives for them. And unfortunately that blame fool has a way of setting of the zombies.”
“The Necromancer?” Ghost asked.
“Ah, yes. You’ve met him?”
“Yes and if he’s still alive, I don’t think he’ll think too kindly towards us.”
“I take it your first meeting with him didn’t go quite as well as this one? Yes that’s to be expected. We were hoping to remove him from the equation; or more precisely that you could remove him from it.”
Ghost paused. He’d accepted that sometimes killing was necessary but he never set out to deliberately do it. And as much as possible he tried to keep Amber from going down a path that he knew led to a very dark place.
“He’s the Guardian there?” Ghost asked. That would be another big problem, he could have some formidable resources available.
Daniel laughed. “Him? No, not hardly. But the Guardian of that place has a rather, shall way say neutral point of view, so she lets him remain.”
“We’re not assassins,” Ghost said simply.
“Well you don’t necessarily have to kill him. But as long as he’s alive, he knows how to make those drugs and sadly he won’t have much trouble finding somewhere else to set up.” Daniel saw the fire in Ambers eyes. “Aye, lass I know the feeling. ‘Tis a terrible thing to destroy a person’s mind and he’s destroyed far too many.” He looked back at Ghost “still if you could either subdue him for a while, or at least destroy that staff of his, that would be enough for our needs.”
“How soon would you need this done?” Ghost asked.
“Well obviously the sooner the better, but as I say I’d rather it was done properly and carefully so if there’s preparations you need to make first, I understand.”
Ghost nodded and offered his hand “Well, it was a pleasure to meet you. We’d best be going.”
“Of course, of course,” Daniel replied, warmly shaking both Ghost’s hand then Amber’s.
Ghost and Amber turned and walked back down the stairs and headed back to the Park.
When they were safely back in the Park, Amber asked “So what do you think?”
“Well, if we’re going to keep walking past their front door I’d rather they saw us in a friendly light,” Ghost reflected “but right now I want to get back to the school again. I’ve had enough excitement for one day though. Let’s get warm and have some food and rest. We can head off tomorrow.”
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“Well more crates,” he replied and then when she arched a delicate eyebrow continued “of books.”
“Well obviously we can’t move crates of books,” Ghost replied, “but you know that and you wouldn’t have asked unless you had something in mind?”
“Quite true, very perceptive of you. We have devised a way to keep the zombies tranquil in the short term. Long enough for a group of us to get in, get the books and get out. We have some very effective equipment for moving crates around. But as precious as those books are, I won’t risk lives for them. And unfortunately that blame fool has a way of setting of the zombies.”
“The Necromancer?” Ghost asked.
“Ah, yes. You’ve met him?”
“Yes and if he’s still alive, I don’t think he’ll think too kindly towards us.”
“I take it your first meeting with him didn’t go quite as well as this one? Yes that’s to be expected. We were hoping to remove him from the equation; or more precisely that you could remove him from it.”
Ghost paused. He’d accepted that sometimes killing was necessary but he never set out to deliberately do it. And as much as possible he tried to keep Amber from going down a path that he knew led to a very dark place.
“He’s the Guardian there?” Ghost asked. That would be another big problem, he could have some formidable resources available.
Daniel laughed. “Him? No, not hardly. But the Guardian of that place has a rather, shall way say neutral point of view, so she lets him remain.”
“We’re not assassins,” Ghost said simply.
“Well you don’t necessarily have to kill him. But as long as he’s alive, he knows how to make those drugs and sadly he won’t have much trouble finding somewhere else to set up.” Daniel saw the fire in Ambers eyes. “Aye, lass I know the feeling. ‘Tis a terrible thing to destroy a person’s mind and he’s destroyed far too many.” He looked back at Ghost “still if you could either subdue him for a while, or at least destroy that staff of his, that would be enough for our needs.”
“How soon would you need this done?” Ghost asked.
“Well obviously the sooner the better, but as I say I’d rather it was done properly and carefully so if there’s preparations you need to make first, I understand.”
Ghost nodded and offered his hand “Well, it was a pleasure to meet you. We’d best be going.”
“Of course, of course,” Daniel replied, warmly shaking both Ghost’s hand then Amber’s.
Ghost and Amber turned and walked back down the stairs and headed back to the Park.
When they were safely back in the Park, Amber asked “So what do you think?”
“Well, if we’re going to keep walking past their front door I’d rather they saw us in a friendly light,” Ghost reflected “but right now I want to get back to the school again. I’ve had enough excitement for one day though. Let’s get warm and have some food and rest. We can head off tomorrow.”
Next
Thursday 20 January 2011
33
Amber nodded. Warmth and food seemed very appealing right now and she was curious what was on the leaflet they’d just got. They headed back towards the Park. As they turned into the final pathway, they noticed a figure standing outside the Library. It was wearing brown, heavy monastic robes and had the cowl pulled up over its head. Ghost considered the practicalities of taking another way to a different entrance to the Park. The figure beckoned them and then headed into the Library.
Amber looked at Ghost “Or maybe not.”
Silver hadn’t really mentioned the Librarians much to Ghost and he hadn’t pried. Now he was beginning to regret that decision. They prized knowledge and had guns. He wasn’t convinced it was the best mix, though if they were going to be neighbours he supposed some kind of meeting was inevitable. He slung his shotgun over his shoulder and followed the monk in. Amber trusted his instincts and did the same.
They stamped on the doormat, dislodging as much snow as they could so as not to track it inside. It was an unusual design for a library. There was a small foyer and then you immediately had to go upstairs to get to the Library itself. Ghost noticed that the electric lights were working. It made sense, if you prized books, the last thing you wanted was fire. The figure continued walking up the stairs and they followed him. At the top of the stairs Ghost saw that the Librarians hadn’t made many changes to the place. It had one main level and then a second level that was missing a centre, allowing easy visibility between the two. More figures wandered around the place dong whatever it is that Librarians actually do. The figure that had been leading them turned and headed off towards a row of shelves.
“Greetings and well met,” they turned to face a smiling man. He defied the stereotype of a librarian and instead seemed more like the type who in a few years time would make an excellent Santa. He held out his hand.
Ghost shook it warmly and noticed that it was a firm grip without any of that macho nonsense that irritated him. Amber shook his hand too.
“I’m Daniel and you are both most welcome here, though I must say you have been busy.”
Ghost shrugged and smiled “I’m Ghost,”
“And I’m Amber.”
“Excellent. Now we’ve all been introduced, a good start don’t you think? Tell me, what do you think of the shopping mall?” he looked at them intently.
“Well the zombies are a bit of an issue,” Ghost began
“True, true.” Daniel replied. “Still how would you feel about going in there and getting a few things for us. Well I say a few things…”
Ghost noticed that several of the monks seemed to have drifted over to working nearby, though whether they were just listening to the conversation or acting as protection he wasn’t sure. Their robes were sufficiently loose that they could easily hide a multitude of sins.
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Amber looked at Ghost “Or maybe not.”
Silver hadn’t really mentioned the Librarians much to Ghost and he hadn’t pried. Now he was beginning to regret that decision. They prized knowledge and had guns. He wasn’t convinced it was the best mix, though if they were going to be neighbours he supposed some kind of meeting was inevitable. He slung his shotgun over his shoulder and followed the monk in. Amber trusted his instincts and did the same.
They stamped on the doormat, dislodging as much snow as they could so as not to track it inside. It was an unusual design for a library. There was a small foyer and then you immediately had to go upstairs to get to the Library itself. Ghost noticed that the electric lights were working. It made sense, if you prized books, the last thing you wanted was fire. The figure continued walking up the stairs and they followed him. At the top of the stairs Ghost saw that the Librarians hadn’t made many changes to the place. It had one main level and then a second level that was missing a centre, allowing easy visibility between the two. More figures wandered around the place dong whatever it is that Librarians actually do. The figure that had been leading them turned and headed off towards a row of shelves.
“Greetings and well met,” they turned to face a smiling man. He defied the stereotype of a librarian and instead seemed more like the type who in a few years time would make an excellent Santa. He held out his hand.
Ghost shook it warmly and noticed that it was a firm grip without any of that macho nonsense that irritated him. Amber shook his hand too.
“I’m Daniel and you are both most welcome here, though I must say you have been busy.”
Ghost shrugged and smiled “I’m Ghost,”
“And I’m Amber.”
“Excellent. Now we’ve all been introduced, a good start don’t you think? Tell me, what do you think of the shopping mall?” he looked at them intently.
“Well the zombies are a bit of an issue,” Ghost began
“True, true.” Daniel replied. “Still how would you feel about going in there and getting a few things for us. Well I say a few things…”
Ghost noticed that several of the monks seemed to have drifted over to working nearby, though whether they were just listening to the conversation or acting as protection he wasn’t sure. Their robes were sufficiently loose that they could easily hide a multitude of sins.
Next
Tuesday 18 January 2011
32
It was hard to hear much over the sound of the horn baying and the zombies fighting and so Ghost was taken slightly by surprise as he saw zombies from inside the store heading towards him. He hadn’t expected them to close on them that fast. Amber shook her head trying to clear it as Ghost fired his shotgun into the nearest zombie’s knees, its momentum sending it crashing face first into the floor. Now wasn’t the time for subtlety.
Amber climbed up onto the shelving getting a better field of fire. She aimed for the heads of two zombies, hit one and blew most of the shoulder off the second. Ghost fired at the second one, finishing it off. He could see more zombies coming down the escalators. This was not going well. There was one more zombie immediately ahead of him and he didn’t’ have enough time to reload. He shifted his grip of the shotgun, getting ready to use it as a melee weapon. The zombie lunged towards him, but as it did so Amber’s whip wrapped around its neck snapping it’s head back as she pulled. Ghost bought the shotgun sharply up under its chin, smashing bone and cartilage to pieces. A second strike to its face stilled its movement and blood and gore began dribbling down its face. With a flick of her wrist, Amber released the whip and readied it again.
Ghost risked a look behind them. The rioting zombies were beginning to spill into the back of the tore, but so far they didn’t seem to have any specific direction. The three zombies approaching them from the front of the store were another matter.
“The mannequins!” Ghost shouted to her.
Amber’s whip snaked out again, catching a mannequin by the head. She pulled sharply and the head came off and flew across the room. She tried again, this time aiming for the torso. She pulled and it fell forward into the path of the zombies who immediately began tearing it apart.
“Great let’s go,” Ghost said. They ran towards the front of the store, knocking over mannequins behind them. The distraction worked well; in their rage the zombies just attacked any thing that looked reasonably human, especially if it was moving. Ghost and Amber dashed outside, closed the door and pulled down the shutters.
They could see a trail in the snow that the hunched figure had left. It continued along the street and didn’t seem to have come back.
“Want to head back?” Ghost asked.
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Amber climbed up onto the shelving getting a better field of fire. She aimed for the heads of two zombies, hit one and blew most of the shoulder off the second. Ghost fired at the second one, finishing it off. He could see more zombies coming down the escalators. This was not going well. There was one more zombie immediately ahead of him and he didn’t’ have enough time to reload. He shifted his grip of the shotgun, getting ready to use it as a melee weapon. The zombie lunged towards him, but as it did so Amber’s whip wrapped around its neck snapping it’s head back as she pulled. Ghost bought the shotgun sharply up under its chin, smashing bone and cartilage to pieces. A second strike to its face stilled its movement and blood and gore began dribbling down its face. With a flick of her wrist, Amber released the whip and readied it again.
Ghost risked a look behind them. The rioting zombies were beginning to spill into the back of the tore, but so far they didn’t seem to have any specific direction. The three zombies approaching them from the front of the store were another matter.
“The mannequins!” Ghost shouted to her.
Amber’s whip snaked out again, catching a mannequin by the head. She pulled sharply and the head came off and flew across the room. She tried again, this time aiming for the torso. She pulled and it fell forward into the path of the zombies who immediately began tearing it apart.
“Great let’s go,” Ghost said. They ran towards the front of the store, knocking over mannequins behind them. The distraction worked well; in their rage the zombies just attacked any thing that looked reasonably human, especially if it was moving. Ghost and Amber dashed outside, closed the door and pulled down the shutters.
They could see a trail in the snow that the hunched figure had left. It continued along the street and didn’t seem to have come back.
“Want to head back?” Ghost asked.
Next
Friday 14 January 2011
31
“You did this to them?!” Amber retorted.
Mentally Ghost swore. At this stage he’d prefer to leave in peace and come back later with a better plan. Talking was always dangerous. To often it gave the other person time to do something you really didn’t want them to. And experience told him Amber was about to do something he’d really rather she didn’t.
“But of course,” the self-styled Necromancer replied. The zombies continued to wander around him.
As Amber raised her shotgun, he took a step back, letting the zombies step between them, blocking her shot.
“Oh well, that’s done it,” Ghost muttered to himself, “time to think outside of the box.” The Necromancer’s moves were too polished, too practiced and that meant there was more coming that wasn’t going to go well for them. Ghost raised his shotgun, but aimed over the man’s head at the ceiling and fired twice. Several chunks of masonry fell down. Ghost couldn’t quite tell what they hit, but he heard some particularly unhealthy sounds. Amber copied him, bringing down even more debris. They ran back to the shop entrance and took cover, reloading as quickly as they could.
“We should go up there and finish him off!” she insisted.
There was a sound from the upper gallery of a horn blowing. Only it had been distorted. It was odd to think of a sound as being evil, but this came close. It resonated throughout the mall.
“Oh dear,” Ghost said simply.
As they watched, all of the zombies reacted to the sound. The faraway look vanished from their eyes and was replaced by an animalistic look of pure rage. Ghost reached into one of his pockets and took out two grenades. They were hard to come by these days. Replacing them would mean visiting one of the Conclaves and getting out again unnoticed. On the other hand they weren’t going to be much use to him if he was dead.
“Close your eyes and put you hands over your ears,” he warned her. When she had he threw one grenade to the left and one to the right. He closed his eyes and covered his ears. Even with those precautions through his closed eyes lids he saw the flash of light and the stunning bang rocked him for a moment. He grabbed Amber who was more dazed, her enhanced senses having made her more vulnerable to the effects, and helped her to her feet. He then ran back into the shop. The grenades had the effect he’d hoped for. The zombies’ senses were dulled enough that the grenades wouldn’t knock them out, but they caused them considerable confusion and confused rage tended to be directed to whatever was closest. Fortunately that was no longer them. He made one last look in Cindy’s direction and saw her rolling her eyes, but otherwise seeming perfectly calm in the midst of utter chaos as waves of zombies crashed into each other and their surroundings.
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Mentally Ghost swore. At this stage he’d prefer to leave in peace and come back later with a better plan. Talking was always dangerous. To often it gave the other person time to do something you really didn’t want them to. And experience told him Amber was about to do something he’d really rather she didn’t.
“But of course,” the self-styled Necromancer replied. The zombies continued to wander around him.
As Amber raised her shotgun, he took a step back, letting the zombies step between them, blocking her shot.
“Oh well, that’s done it,” Ghost muttered to himself, “time to think outside of the box.” The Necromancer’s moves were too polished, too practiced and that meant there was more coming that wasn’t going to go well for them. Ghost raised his shotgun, but aimed over the man’s head at the ceiling and fired twice. Several chunks of masonry fell down. Ghost couldn’t quite tell what they hit, but he heard some particularly unhealthy sounds. Amber copied him, bringing down even more debris. They ran back to the shop entrance and took cover, reloading as quickly as they could.
“We should go up there and finish him off!” she insisted.
There was a sound from the upper gallery of a horn blowing. Only it had been distorted. It was odd to think of a sound as being evil, but this came close. It resonated throughout the mall.
“Oh dear,” Ghost said simply.
As they watched, all of the zombies reacted to the sound. The faraway look vanished from their eyes and was replaced by an animalistic look of pure rage. Ghost reached into one of his pockets and took out two grenades. They were hard to come by these days. Replacing them would mean visiting one of the Conclaves and getting out again unnoticed. On the other hand they weren’t going to be much use to him if he was dead.
“Close your eyes and put you hands over your ears,” he warned her. When she had he threw one grenade to the left and one to the right. He closed his eyes and covered his ears. Even with those precautions through his closed eyes lids he saw the flash of light and the stunning bang rocked him for a moment. He grabbed Amber who was more dazed, her enhanced senses having made her more vulnerable to the effects, and helped her to her feet. He then ran back into the shop. The grenades had the effect he’d hoped for. The zombies’ senses were dulled enough that the grenades wouldn’t knock them out, but they caused them considerable confusion and confused rage tended to be directed to whatever was closest. Fortunately that was no longer them. He made one last look in Cindy’s direction and saw her rolling her eyes, but otherwise seeming perfectly calm in the midst of utter chaos as waves of zombies crashed into each other and their surroundings.
Next
Tuesday 11 January 2011
30
“Certainly, did you have something specific in mind?” she handed him a leaflet.
Ghost remembered the original leaflet; it had been designed by someone who had felt the need to use every possible gizmo in their graphics programme, and felt that this would surely make up for the fact that it was completely useless at conveying any actual information. He opened it and glanced at it before putting it in a pocket. It seemed that they’d got a better designer this time. There weren’t too many names in listed, certainly nothing like the hundreds of store names there had been in the past. But right now wasn’t the time to split his concentration. A zombie brushed passed him, but carried on down the corridor.
It was darker than it should have been. Amber looked up and saw that the glass roof had a thick layer of snow covering it. She shivered and stepped out of the way of another aimless zombie.
“No, just curious. Thanks,” he replied.
“Well there are a number of excellent services available here. In fact if you’d like to advertise your own, we charge very reasonable rates,” Cindy smiled pleasantly at him.
It was at then that Ghost noticed that none of the zombies ever touched the information desk. Even though they seemed to move in a random Brownian motion, somehow they never quite seemed to bump into or even take an interest in it. However given that one had bumped into him, that rather unfortunately meant that whatever was protecting Cindy wasn’t protecting them.
“Good to know, thanks” he turned to face Amber then saw the look of concern on her face. He followed her gaze up to the gallery on the next floor.
A man dressed in black stood there, leaning nonchalantly against the railing. He was completely bald making it hard to judge his age, though Ghost felt he was probably younger than he looked, maybe only in his late 20s. Blood red whirls were tattooed across his face and he held an ornate staff that seemed to have been topped with the remains of some unfortunate animal. Zombies wandered around behind him, but like the desk, they didn’t touch him.
“Welcome to my humble kingdom,” he declared in an accent that sounded like someone thought a Russian accent should sound like.
Ghost instinctively started looking for the tell-tale bulges of concealed weapons. He could see various pouches and bone jewelry, but nothing that looked like an actual weapon.
“I am the Necromancer!”
There was a pause, evidently he was expecting a reaction.
Amber looked at him blankly.
Ghost however, remembered that word. “Master of the Undead? That kind of thing?”
The man smiled a rictus grin. Ghost quietly wondered if he practiced it in a mirror.
“Ah, excellent. So nice to meet learned folk. So have you come to join my,” he swept his hand “minions?”
“Why would we want to? How would we? Why?” Amber replied.
“Ah, I see not quite so eloquent after all. Nevermind. People who come here are tired of living. It is a rather complicated and stressful business after all, is it not? And so I cure them of their condition. Consider me a philanthropist, helping the needy,” the grin remained.
Next
Ghost remembered the original leaflet; it had been designed by someone who had felt the need to use every possible gizmo in their graphics programme, and felt that this would surely make up for the fact that it was completely useless at conveying any actual information. He opened it and glanced at it before putting it in a pocket. It seemed that they’d got a better designer this time. There weren’t too many names in listed, certainly nothing like the hundreds of store names there had been in the past. But right now wasn’t the time to split his concentration. A zombie brushed passed him, but carried on down the corridor.
It was darker than it should have been. Amber looked up and saw that the glass roof had a thick layer of snow covering it. She shivered and stepped out of the way of another aimless zombie.
“No, just curious. Thanks,” he replied.
“Well there are a number of excellent services available here. In fact if you’d like to advertise your own, we charge very reasonable rates,” Cindy smiled pleasantly at him.
It was at then that Ghost noticed that none of the zombies ever touched the information desk. Even though they seemed to move in a random Brownian motion, somehow they never quite seemed to bump into or even take an interest in it. However given that one had bumped into him, that rather unfortunately meant that whatever was protecting Cindy wasn’t protecting them.
“Good to know, thanks” he turned to face Amber then saw the look of concern on her face. He followed her gaze up to the gallery on the next floor.
A man dressed in black stood there, leaning nonchalantly against the railing. He was completely bald making it hard to judge his age, though Ghost felt he was probably younger than he looked, maybe only in his late 20s. Blood red whirls were tattooed across his face and he held an ornate staff that seemed to have been topped with the remains of some unfortunate animal. Zombies wandered around behind him, but like the desk, they didn’t touch him.
“Welcome to my humble kingdom,” he declared in an accent that sounded like someone thought a Russian accent should sound like.
Ghost instinctively started looking for the tell-tale bulges of concealed weapons. He could see various pouches and bone jewelry, but nothing that looked like an actual weapon.
“I am the Necromancer!”
There was a pause, evidently he was expecting a reaction.
Amber looked at him blankly.
Ghost however, remembered that word. “Master of the Undead? That kind of thing?”
The man smiled a rictus grin. Ghost quietly wondered if he practiced it in a mirror.
“Ah, excellent. So nice to meet learned folk. So have you come to join my,” he swept his hand “minions?”
“Why would we want to? How would we? Why?” Amber replied.
“Ah, I see not quite so eloquent after all. Nevermind. People who come here are tired of living. It is a rather complicated and stressful business after all, is it not? And so I cure them of their condition. Consider me a philanthropist, helping the needy,” the grin remained.
Next
Friday 7 January 2011
29
Two minutes passed and a small figure shuffled past the windows. It was difficult to tell exactly what it was. It was about 5 feet tall, but it was so hunched over it could have been much taller. Tattered black rags were wrapped around it making it impossible to distinguish any detail or even if it was male or female. Seemingly oblivious to its surrounding, the figure carried on until it passed out of their sight. Once she was confident it wasn’t coming back, Amber looked at Ghost and shrugged. He shook his head. Whatever that had been, he didn’t know anything about it. They turned their attention back to the inside of the store.
Daylight from outside was enough to illuminate up the front of the store. The mall itself had a glass roof and so daylight spilled through that illuminating the back of the store. That left a rather dark, shadowy middle, at least from ghost’s perspective. To Amber’s keen elven eyes it was all as bright as day. Cautiously they moved between the rows of shelving. Amber pointed over to a shadowy corner, where she could see a zombie staring aimlessly at cobwebs on the wall. They continued, carefully navigating around several other zombies who all, at least for now seemed caught up in their own worlds.
When they reached the back of the store, they peeked carefully out of the doors and saw that there was indeed someone at the information desk. There was also a rather large number of zombies milling around. Ghost was tempted to leave Amber where she was and go on his own, but that risked them getting separated, so with a nod they exited the store and walked over to the desk. Behind it was a fairly young attendant. She had long blonde hair tied back in a pony-tail. She wore the uniform of the shopping mall, even down to the plastic badge that with “Cindy” written on it next to the motif of several trees. She smiled as they approached.
“Good afternoon. How can I be of service?”
Amber began to wonder if she was still asleep and just having some weird kind of dream. Who in their right mind would man a information desk surrounded by zombies in a disused mall? Her right hand drifted to the handle of her whip.
“I was told that you could tell me about various people who offer services in this area?” Ghost replied smoothly. He wasn’t sure what the deal was, but something was keeping Cindy safe; he hoped it extended to them too.
Next
Daylight from outside was enough to illuminate up the front of the store. The mall itself had a glass roof and so daylight spilled through that illuminating the back of the store. That left a rather dark, shadowy middle, at least from ghost’s perspective. To Amber’s keen elven eyes it was all as bright as day. Cautiously they moved between the rows of shelving. Amber pointed over to a shadowy corner, where she could see a zombie staring aimlessly at cobwebs on the wall. They continued, carefully navigating around several other zombies who all, at least for now seemed caught up in their own worlds.
When they reached the back of the store, they peeked carefully out of the doors and saw that there was indeed someone at the information desk. There was also a rather large number of zombies milling around. Ghost was tempted to leave Amber where she was and go on his own, but that risked them getting separated, so with a nod they exited the store and walked over to the desk. Behind it was a fairly young attendant. She had long blonde hair tied back in a pony-tail. She wore the uniform of the shopping mall, even down to the plastic badge that with “Cindy” written on it next to the motif of several trees. She smiled as they approached.
“Good afternoon. How can I be of service?”
Amber began to wonder if she was still asleep and just having some weird kind of dream. Who in their right mind would man a information desk surrounded by zombies in a disused mall? Her right hand drifted to the handle of her whip.
“I was told that you could tell me about various people who offer services in this area?” Ghost replied smoothly. He wasn’t sure what the deal was, but something was keeping Cindy safe; he hoped it extended to them too.
Next
Tuesday 4 January 2011
28
“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
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
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