GABRIELLE LORD - Conspiracy 365

To James Scholast ic Austra l ia 345 Pa ci f ic H i g hway Li nd f ield NSW 2070 A n i mpr i nt of Scholast ic Austra l ia Pty Li m ited (A BN 11 000 614 577) PO Box 579 Gosford NSW 2250 w w w.scholast ic.com.au Pa r t of the Scholast ic Group Syd ney • Auck la nd • New York • Toronto • London • Mex ico City • New Del h i • Hon g Kon g • Buenos A i res • Puer to R ico Fi rst publ ished by Scholast ic Austra l ia i n 2010. Tex t copy r i g ht © Gabr iel le Lord, 2010. I l lustrat ions by Rebecca You n g. I l lustrat ions copy r i g ht © Scholast ic Austra l ia, 2010. Graph ics by Nicole Lea r y. Cover copy r i g ht © Scholast ic Austra l ia, 2010. Cover desi g n by Nata l ie Wi nter. Cover photog raphy: boy’s fa ce by Wendel l Lev i Teodoro (w w w.zeduce. org) © Scholast ic Austra l ia 2010; close-up of boy’s fa ce by M ichael Ba g na l l © Scholast ic Austra l ia 2010; ma n ju mpi n g © Chen gas/Corbis; person r u n n i n g © Mon key Busi ness I ma ges/Shutterstock; f i re © Ru i Ferrei ra/Shutterstock; ma n r u n n i n g © Radoslaw Korga/Shutterstock; cloister © Gr ischa Georg iew/Shutterstock; stone wa l l © Stephen Aa ron Rees/Shutterstock; smoke © Gershberg Yu r i/Shutterstock; cast le © Gabr iel le Lord, used w ith perm ission. I nterna l photog raphy: paper on pa ges 193, 192 a nd 168 © istockphoto.com/Tomasz Pietr yszek; a ged paper on pa ge 024 © istockphoto.com/M i ke Bent ley. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, storage in an information retrieval system, or other w ise, w ithout the pr ior w r itten perm ission of the publisher, unless specifi cally permitted under the Australian Copyright Act 1968 as amended.

Nat iona l Libra r y of Austra l ia Cata log u i n g-i n-Publ icat ion entr y: Lord, Gabr iel le, 1946Conspi ra cy 365: December / Gabr iel le Lord. ISBN 978-1-74169-324-9 ( pbk.) A823.3 Pr i nted by McPherson’s Pr i nt i n g Group, Ma r yborou g h, Victor ia. Scholast ic Aust ra l ia’s pol icy, i n associat ion w it h McPherson’s Pr i nt i n g Group, is to use papers t hat a re renewable a nd made ef f icient ly from wood g row n i n susta i nable forests, so as to m i n i m ise its env i ron menta l footpr i nt.

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BOOK TWELVE: DECEMBER

GABRIELLE LORD

DECEMBER revea l t hat she’d fou nd out Sl i go k i l led her pa rents by cutt i n g t he bra ke l i nes of t hei r ca r. She con fronted h i m, a lone, because I d id n’t ca l l her ba ck. I wasn’t t here for her.

1 DECEMBER

Now it’s too late.

31 days to go . . .

Car yard 12:00 am I cou ld n’t move, cou ld n’t spea k, a l most cou ld n’t breathe. Wi nter’s f i na l words echoed th rou g h the black, su ffocati n g space we were locked i n, l i ke a hau nti n g messa ge from the g rave. I held her slu mped body nex t to m i ne. Her w i ld ha i r fel l over my k nees a nd onto the f loor of the conta i ner. I tried to say her na me, but a l l that ca me out was a croa k i n g sou nd. She’d saved my l i fe so ma ny ti mes, a nd I had completely fa i led her. T he one ti me she’d needed m e I had i g nored her ca l ls u nt i l it wa s too late. She was gone. T he beauti fu l raven-ha i red stra n ger who’d saved me from d row n i n g i n a n oi l ta n k was now dead. I f I’d been there for her — ca l med her dow n a nd ta l ked sense i nto her —she wou ld never have confronted Sl igo. She wou ld have wa ited u nti l it was 239

CONSPIRACY 365 sa fe. I f I had a nswered just one of her ca l ls, she wou ld n’t be ly i n g cold a nd si lent i n my a rms. She wou ld sti l l be a l ive.

DECEMBER ‘She’s breath i n g?’ I repeated. As I spoke, I felt Wi nter sti r. I loosened my hold on her a nd a second later

A nu mbi n g sensation took over me as I rocked back a nd for th w ith her body i n my a rms. ‘Ca l!’

her body conv u lsed i nto l i fe. She sta r ted str u gg l i n g, g roa n i n g, tr y i n g to pu l l away from me. ‘Wi nter!’ I g ripped her shou lders, crazy w ith

Gri ff was elbow i n g me i n the ribs—h is ha nds were sti l l bou nd beh i nd h is back. ‘Ca l, let go of her!’

rel ief. ‘Wi nter? A re you OK?’ I asked, tr y i n g hopelessly to keep my voice steady. ‘It’s me! Ca l!’ I added, ha l f lau g h i n g, ha l f cr y i n g.

I shook h im off. He was the last person I wanted to ta l k to rig ht now, but he kept persisti n g. ‘Let her go!’ he shouted, shov i n g me w ith h is shou lder.

‘Let me go!’ she screeched, squ i rm i n g w ith pa n ic. ‘Get you r ha nds off me!’ ‘It’s me!’ I sa id a ga i n. ‘You’re OK, you’re w ith me!’

I sw u n g my a rm out a nd pushed h i m away. ‘I

‘Hu h?’ she sa id, sou nd i n g dazed, as I helped

don’t wa nt to let her go!’ I shouted back at h i m,

her sit up. ‘W hat’s happened? W here a m I? Ca l,

tea rs now sti n g i n g my eyes. ‘I won’t let her go!’

is that you?’

‘You have to, Ca l.’

‘Yes, I’m here!’ I squeezed both of her ha nds,

‘I don’t have to do a ny th i n g! Wi nter was my friend! She was—’

a nd tried to move her towa rds some moon l ig ht that was creepi n g i n th rou g h a r usty crack i n

‘She’s breat h i n g, Ca l,’ Gr i f f spoke over me

the conta i ner.

a s he stead ied h i msel f. ‘I swea r. T hat’s a l l I’m

‘W here have you been?’ she mu rmu red.

tr y i n g to tel l you. Listen.’

‘I’m so sorr y I d id n’t ca l l you back,’ I sa id, my

I ig nored h i m. I d id n’t wa nt to hea r h is voice right now.

g u i lt g ush i n g out. ‘I’m sorr y I wasn’t there for you when you ra n g. I just —,’ I stopped, not k now-

‘Winter’s breathing,’ he said, urgently kneeling closer to her. ‘Listen to me! Here, help me sit her up.’ H is words f i na l ly penetrated the black ness of my thou g hts.

i n g how to ex pla i n mysel f. ‘I ca n’t bel ieve th is; I thou g ht you were dead a second a go!’ ‘Give her some a i r, Ca l,’ su g gested Gri ff. He was awkwa rd ly tr y i n g to r ub Wi nter’s a rm to

238

237

CONSPIRACY 365 help wa rm her up. ‘She doesn’t need to hea r you r apolog ies rig ht now.’

DECEMBER ‘We’re i n the ca r ya rd,’ I ex pla i ned. ‘Gri ff a nd I ca me look i n g for you, but Zombie T wo a nd Br u no

‘W ho’s that?’ asked Wi nter, squ i nti n g i nto the da rk ness of the conta i ner. ‘You’re i n here w ith me a nd Gri ff K i rby,’ I ex pla i ned.

cau g ht us. Nex t th i n g we k new, they’d locked us i n th is conta i ner. You were a l ready i n here.’ ‘We’re i n a shipping conta i ner?’ ‘Yep,’ sa id Gri ff. ‘On the back of a tr uck.’

‘You a nd Gr iff ?’ she sa id slowly, bew i ldered a nd fea rfu l. ‘W hat a re you ta l k i n g about? W hy? W here a re we?’

‘A re they goi n g to ta ke us somewhere? How w i l l we get out?’ They were questions we couldn’t answer. Winter

‘We’re a l l i n the sa me boat,’ sa id Gri ff. ‘Or shou ld I say container?’ ‘Conta i ner? Ca l, what is he ta l k i n g about?’

conti nued fu mbl i n g her way a rou nd the wa l ls. She was noth i n g but a fa i nt, wobbly si l houette i n the da rk ness.

Wi nter tried to get up, but toppled rig ht over.

Nex t, she sta r ted ba n g i n g, l i ke she was testi n g

‘T hey must have d r u g ged you,’ sa id Gri ff,

the wa l ls for a wea k spot or a potentia l open-

helpi n g her stra ig hten up, ‘a nd you’re sti l l feel-

i n g. Before lon g, Gri ff—whose ha nds were f i na l ly

i n g the effects of it. I saw them d ra g g i n g you

free —joi ned her.

i nto the black Suba r u. You yel led out to me,’ he rem i nded her, as I worked on u nw rappi n g the tape a rou nd h is w rists. ‘You told me I had to go a nd get Ca l.’

‘Help!’ Gri ff shouted as he thu mped on the wa l ls. ‘Let us out!’ T he meta l shuddered, send i n g reverberations a rou nd us.

‘Yea h,’ she mu rmu red. ‘From the beach.’ ‘T hat’s rig ht,’ I sa id. ‘You told Gri ff he’d f i nd me at the beach.’

‘Help!’ they both ca l led out, repeated ly, each cr y more desperate tha n the last. ‘Help!’ It was getti n g louder a nd louder —Gri ff a nd

‘A nd I d id f i nd h i m,’ added Gri ff, ‘but by the

Wi nter weren’t letti n g up. Now they were both

ti me we got back to the spot where you’d been

throw i ng themselves at the wa l ls, l i ke they were

shoved i nto the Suba r u, a l l that was lef t beh i nd

desperately tr y i n g to crack the conta i ner open.

were you r th i n gs, scattered a l l over the road.’

T he noise was th robbi n g l i ke a g ia nt gon g i n my

Winter began g roping a rou nd in the da rk ness. 236

head. 235

CONSPIRACY 365

DECEMBER

I covered my ears—I couldn’t take it any longer.

‘My head was tel l i n g me the ti me wasn’t

‘Stop!’ I screeched over the top of them. ‘Stop

rig ht —it was tel l i n g me it wou ld be stupid to con-

it! Ba n g i n g on the wa l ls isn’t goi n g to get us

front h i m. But my hea r t cou ld n’t wa it. I k new

out of here! Wou ld you both just ca l m dow n a nd

he’d forged my dad’s sig natu re on the w i l l, a nd I

th i n k about th is? T here’s nobody out there, a nd

had the ev idence to prove it. I’d a lso fou nd ou r

anybody that could be out there wants us to stay

ca r i n h is ca r ya rd—more proof of fou lplay.’

trapped i n here! You’re wasti n g you r ti me!’ Wi nter a nd Gri ff slu mped onto the meta l f loor. Si lence retu rned to the conta i ner. I sta red i nto the black ness, hopelessly wonderi n g how we were goi n g to get out.

I shuddered at the thou g ht of her faci n g up to Sl igo. ‘A nd you fou nd a d raw i n g or someth i n g?’ I asked, tr y i n g to reca l l what she’d sa id i n her voicema i l messa ges ea rl ier. ‘Remember when we f i rst went sea rch i n g together, I told you I was look i n g for a l ittle some-

1:05 am

th i n g ex tra on the upholster y i n the back?’

Fi na l ly, Wi nter broke the si lence. ‘Ca l, when I d id n’t hea r back from you I just lost it. I wa nted to ta l k to you so bad. I had the big gest news,

‘Yea h,’ I sa id, ‘you mea n the d raw i n g of a bi rd or someth i n g?’ ‘A swa l low. W hen I was about n i ne, I got i nto

ever, a nd no-one to sha re it w ith.’

a ton ne of trouble a f ter a lon g d rive up the coast

My stomach tw isted w ith g u i lt.

. . . I was bored a nd d rew a sma l l bi rd on the

‘It was l i ke ever y th i n g i nside me was boi l i n g

back seat of the ca r. As soon as I spotted ou r

over,’ she conti nued, sou nd i n g i ncreasi n g ly a g i-

gold BM W i n the ya rd, I crawled i nto the w reck

tated, ‘a nd I cou ld n’t cool dow n. At f i rst I was so

a nd located the d raw i n g, scrawled onto the seat

rel ieved to have fou nd the tr uth, but then fu r y

fabric, just where I’d lef t it. It was faded, but it

took over! I a lways knew he k i l led my pa rents!

was there. T hat was ou r ca r, a l l rig ht.’

I a lways k new it wasn’t just a n accident, a nd

A sliver of moonlight fell through a crack and

finally I’d found the proof. That lying murderer!’

across Wi nter’s face as she held her w rist up to

she screa med, k ick i n g her boot i nto the wa l l.

look at her bi rd tattoo. No wonder it mea nt so

‘Hey,’ I sa id, sof tly, tr y i n g to ca l m her dow n

much to her. Her ha nd abr uptly fel l back to her lap w ith

a ga i n. 234

233

CONSPIRACY 365

DECEMBER

a slappi n g sou nd. ‘So nex t I checked the bra ke

th i n g I’ve ever done. He wasn’t ta k i n g me seri-

l i nes,’ she sa id. ‘T hose bra ke l i nes weren’t worn

ously, so I showed h i m the proof I had—photos

dow n l i ke the pol ice repor ted—they’d been cut.

I’d ta ken on my mobi le phone —’ Wi nter stopped

Clea n cuts—the sor t made by sha rp pl iers. T hat

ta l k i n g abr uptly. ‘My phone!’ she screeched. ‘Do

ca r crash was no accident. It had noth i n g to do

you have it?’

w ith the weather. It was—’

‘Batter y’s dead,’ Gri ff a nswered qu ick ly. ‘I

‘—murder,’ I wh ispered.

just checked it a second a go . . . I ca n’t bel ieve I

‘Somehow, a f ter t he crash, he must have

don’t have my phone on me.’

swapped veh icles, repla ci n g my pa rents’ ca r w it h

‘My phone!’ I shouted, practica l ly th row i n g

a not her one of t he sa me ma ke a nd model t hat

my ba g off my back a nd fu mbl i n g over the f loor

did have wor n bra kes. So t he pol ice a ccident

for it.

repor t d id n’t l ie —it just descr ibed some ot her w reck.’

As soon as I picked it up I tried to sw it ch it on, but it too was dead. I’d forgotten to ha n g it

‘He must have broken i nto the secu re pol ice ca r ya rd to do that,’ I sa id. ‘Or pa id someone to do it for h i m.’

up a f ter hea ri n g Wi nter’s voicema i l messa ges, so the batter y had completely d ra i ned. ‘No good?’ asked Wi nter, hopefu l ly.

‘Sl igo has h is tentacles ever y where,’ she sa id.

‘Nup.’

‘He’s proven he’s capable of any thing. Like I was

Gri ff swore.

saying, I cha rged over to h is house a nd i nto h is

Fr ustrated, I shoved ever y th i n g back i nto my

study, i n a f it of fu r y. He was sitti n g beh i nd h is desk, d ri n k i n g from some fa ncy, gold-ri m med, g lass tu mbler. I sta r ted yel l i n g at h i m, accus-

ba g. ‘So how d id Sl igo react to the photos?’ I asked Wi nter.

i n g h i m of forger y a nd sabota ge. He den ied it, of

‘He looked at them, just to hu mou r me at f i rst,

cou rse. He br ushed me off a nd told me to get out

but once he rea l ised what I had fou nd, h is pomp-

a nd stop bei n g a d ra ma queen.’

ous g ri n d isappea red. He pu ffed up l i ke a g reat

‘You shou ld have gone stra ig ht to the pol ice,’ I sa id.

big toad, pu rple w ith ra ge. He cr ushed the g lass tu mbler he was clut ch i n g, w ith h is bare f ist. I

‘I rea l ise that now. It’s probably the du mbest 232

was so sca red, I thou g ht I was dead. He ca me at 231

CONSPIRACY 365

DECEMBER

me w ith h is eyes bu lg i n g a nd f ists ra ised a nd I

sha rds of broken g lass from h is desk i n the bi n

snat ched my phone away from h i m a nd backed

a nd pou red h i msel f a nother d ri n k. He offered me

off, th i n k i n g he was about to g rab me a nd w ri n g

a ju ice, a nd I ner vously sipped on it as I paced

my neck!’

the room.’

Wi nter paused a nd let out a n ex hausted breath.

‘Did he say a ny th i n g else about the Ormond Si n g u la rity?’

‘T hen he cha n ged,’ she conti nued. ‘As qu ick ly as he’d blow n up, he ca l med dow n. He sta r ted

‘T he Ormond Si n g u la rity?’ Gri ff was mutteri n g to h i msel f, clea rly con fused.

lau g h i n g l i ke he sudden ly thou g ht it was h i la r i-

‘Sl igo kept rav i n g on about how he needed

ous. He sa id I was as sma r t as he was—maybe

to crack it so that he cou ld d isplay the Ormond

even sma r ter —a nd that I shou ld cha n nel my

Jewel a rou nd my neck at the ba l l a nd ma ke h is

ta lent a nd become a pa r tner i n h is busi ness. He

na me as a g reat med ieva l ist a nd a ntiqua ria n. I

prom ised to g ive me the money ow i n g to me as

cou ld be h is “equa l pa r tner”. He sa id the enti re

lon g as I kept my mouth shut, a nd as lon g as I sat

world wou ld be at our feet. I was pretend i n g to be

beside h i m at h is New Yea r’s Eve ba l l l i ke a per-

i mpressed but the whole ti me I was pla n n i n g how

fect pri ncess. He a lso sa id he was on the verge of

to get out. I excused mysel f to go to the bath room,

ma k i n g a whole lot more money.’

then I bolted. I was on my way to the police station

‘A whole lot more?’ I asked, i nsta ntly pa n icki n g about h i m u n ravel l i n g the DMO before us.

when I sta r ted to feel rea l ly wei rd—a l l wea k a nd f loppy. Ever y sou nd a rou nd me was fad i n g a nd

‘He sa id he “had to” reach the Ormond Si n g u-

my v ision was goi n g blu rr y. I sat dow n on some

la rity before the end of December,’ she ex pla i ned,

steps, th i n k i n g it must have been the heat. T hen

con f i rm i n g my fea rs. ‘By that ti me I’d rea l ised

I remembered the fr u it ju ice —Sl igo had put some-

how much da n ger I was i n, but I was a l l a lone.

th i n g i n it! Nex t th i n g I k now, Br u no’s d ra g g i n g

No-one k new where I was. I d id n’t have backup.’

me off the street i nto the ca r. I k icked as ha rd as

Her words h it me ha rd. ‘I decided to play a lon g, pretend i n g that I was

I cou ld, but I cou ld n’t stop h i m!’ ‘T hat’s when I saw you,’ sa id Gri ff.

seriously consideri n g h is offer. I wa l ked a rou nd

‘Sl igo made a f i na l phone ca l l to you r mobi le,’

as i f I was deep i n thou g ht wh i le he th rew the

I sa id. ‘He d id n’t rea l ise I’d picked it up from the

230

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CONSPIRACY 365

DECEMBER

road. He sa id enou g h for me to g uess you’d been

Wi nter shouted, excited ly. She ju mped to her feet

ta ken to the ca r ya rd. W hen we got here a nd I

a nd awkwa rd ly hu g ged me.

saw the conta i ner, I was pretty su re you’d be i n it. T hen Br u no a nd Zombie T wo spr u n g us—’ ‘A nd locked us i n here w ith you,’ Gri ff f i nished for me, feel i n g a rou nd the conta i ner a ga i n. ‘We’re a l l up to speed now, so how about we focus on getti n g out of here?’ Griff’s suggestion was met w ith stif ling silence. Clea rly, none of us had a ny good ideas.

‘I have a d istress beacon stowed i n my shoe,’ I ex pla i ned to Gri ff. ‘My mate Boges gave it to me, for use i n a n emergency!’ ‘A nd you’ve on ly just thou g ht of it now?’ he sa id i n fr ustrated d isbel ief. ‘I’d a l most forgotten a l l about it, but who cares?! It mea ns we’re getti n g out of here!’ I sat back dow n a nd w renched my shoe off.

Outside the conta i ner a nd beyond the deser ted

‘Once he rea l ises we’re m issi n g, he’l l check the

ca r ya rd, the sou nds of d ista nt tra ff ic hu m med

track i n g prog ra m to see i f we’ve activated the

a l most i naud ibly.

beacon. T hen he ca n fol low the sig na l to th is

Gri ff spoke a ga i n. ‘We’re better off tr y i n g to

conta i ner.’

escape now, wh i le we at least k now where we a re.

‘But what about the pol ice?’ asked Wi nter.

I f th is tr uck moves us, we cou ld end up stacked

‘T hey’re wat ch i n g h i m. W hat i f they fol low h i m

l i ke bricks i n concrete on a conta i ner sh ip i n the

here?’

m idd le of the ocea n. We’d d ie there, for su re.’ ‘I’m sca red,’ wh ispered Wi nter.

‘Boges

will

be

v i g i la nt.

He

k nows

how

i mpor t a nt ou r freedom is. But let’s not wor r y about t hat r i g ht now, I have to get t h is bea con

1:29 am

a ct ivated.’

I stood up and started pacing the leng th of the

With sha k ing fingers, I pu l led up the inner

dark space of the container. If only there was

sole from my sneaker and started to rip away the

something I could do. If only I could find some way

tape. I located the beacon and pressed the tiny

to connect with the outside world. With Boges or—

sw itch.

‘T he d istress beacon!’ I shouted. ‘T he what?’ sa id Gri ff. ‘T he m icro d istress beacon Boges gave you!’ 228

It d id n’t ma ke a sou nd, but I had to bel ieve it was work i n g. I f Boges d id n’t activate h is track i n g system 227

CONSPIRACY 365

DECEMBER

before th is conta i ner was picked up a nd sh ipped

hudd led for hou rs a nd hou rs, a n x iously wa iti n g

out, I d id n’t l i ke to th i n k what m ig ht happen to

i n the da rk ness of the conta i ner. A l l of us wou ld

us. Gri ff was rig ht —we needed to get out before

ju mp at the sl ig htest sou nd, hopi n g it was Boges,

they moved us.

com i n g to ou r rescue, wh i le fea ri n g it was Br u no,

Now we had to play the wa iti n g ga me.

Zombie T wo or Sl igo, back a ga i n to remove us. But no-one had come.

9:01 am

Eventua l ly, Wi nter a nd Gri ff fel l qu iet a nd I

‘W ho’s that?’ h issed Wi nter, g rabbi n g my a rm

cou ld hea r Wi nter’s steady breath i n g beside me.

sudden ly.

T he a i r i nside the conta i ner was getti n g th icker

I froze a nd l istened ca refu l ly. I cou ld hea r footsteps and the murmur of a voice approaching.

a nd th icker. I cou ld n’t fa l l asleep —I was tormented w ith

‘Do you th i n k it’s Boges?’ Gri ff wh ispered.

horrible thou ghts. W hat i f Boges d id n’t th in k to

‘Sh h,’ I sa id, stra i n i n g to hea r whether the

check up on h is track i n g prog ra m? W hat i f the

voice outside was fa m i l ia r or not.

th ree of us were lef t here to d ie —from th i rst a nd

As it beca me louder, I recog n ised who it was.

sta r vation—w ithout a nyone but the people who

It wasn’t Boges.

put us here ever k now i n g? W hat d id Sl igo plan

It was Zombie T wo.

on doing w ith us tomorrow morning? I didn’t wa nt

‘I n the conta i ner,’ he sa id, loud enou g h for the

to stick a rou nd a nd f i nd out.

th ree of us to hea r. ‘We both come back tomorrow morn i n g to remove.’

T he way I’d felt when I’d held Wi nter i n my a rms ea rl ier, th i n k i n g she was dead, wou ld n’t

We a l l shuddered as h is voice moved away.

leave my m i nd either. I needed the cha nce to

Finally we heard a car driving off and hoped that

ma ke a lot up to her. She’d been th rou g h so much

meant Zombie Two had left again.

a nd she’d been so brave. A nd now, just when she

‘You r friend had better get here before they

had the ev idence she needed to get Sl igo rig ht out of her l i fe forever, a nd cla i m what was rig ht-

do,’ wa rned Gri ff.

fu l ly hers, she was trapped.

8:15 pm

Gu i lty. I felt so g u i lty.

T he day blended i nto the n ig ht as the th ree of us

Because of me, Boges had been picked up a nd

226

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CONSPIRACY 365

DECEMBER

questioned by the pol ice. For a l l I k new, they cou ld have a rrested h i m by now. Because of me, h is futu re was u ncer ta i n. On top of that, I’d on ly just rea l ised that I’d forgotten h is bi r thday.

2 DECEMBER 30 days to go . . .

8:26 am ‘Hey,’ said Griff, shak ing me. I must have finally dozed of f to sleep. ‘T here’s someone out side! They’re here! That big g uy’s come back like he said he would!’ I sat up, a ler t. He wa s r i g ht —I cou ld hea r footsteps. ‘Ca n’t you hea r it? Wi nter, wa ke up!’ Gri ff shouted. ‘T hey’re here!’ ‘Sh h!’ I h issed. ‘I f it is Sl igo we don’t wa nt h i m k now i n g we’re a l l sti l l a l ive!’ T hat

qu ietened

h i m.

He

crouched

dow n

si lently. ‘Someone’s here?’ Wi nter asked i n a low voice, on ly just wa k i n g up. ‘Sou nds l i ke it,’ I wh ispered. ‘Zombie T wo sa id they’d be back i n the morn i n g, so i f it’s them, then the m i nute the doors a re opened we a l l need to cha rge out as fast a nd as ha rd as we ca n. It’s ou r on ly hope. I f we a l l cha rge together, one of 224

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