“Velma?” Lucy said.
She didn’t respond.
“Velma look at his feet,” Lucy said.
She looked down and saw that he wasn’t making any footprints in the snow. “I don’t understand.”
“Please Ms Beck,” the man said. “There isn’t much time.”
In the end she didn’t feel as if she had a choice. After a moment of hesitation Velma started to follow the man and a moment after that, the rest of the group followed her.
* * * * *
He led them through the ruins of London. Half fallen buildings, others that had burned down to empty shells. There were few things left standing, fewer still that were the way she remembered from her previous visits to the city. She had expected it all to change, but not like this. She had expected there to be zombies but, apart from a distant background moan, they might not have existed at all.
The man resisted all of her attempts to catch up with him to talk. He kept a constant pace and she had no choice other than to follow him.
Two hours after the sun had set they reached the river. There were dark shapes bobbing up and down on the open water and the whisper of voices. Velma tried to see what was out there, but she couldn’t.
“This way please,” the man said, calling her away from the bridge.
She continued after him and they walked in silence for another thirty minutes before stopping outside an unremarkable building.
“Where are we?” Velma said.
The man didn’t turn answer.
Velma took a step towards him, meaning to repeat the question, but before she could the man vanished.
One moment he was standing there and the next he was flickering like a faulty light bulb. A moment after that he was gone completely.
She took a step back and hit something warm and solid. For a moment, she thought she was going to scream. Then she felt his strong hands on her arms, holding her in place.
“What the hell?” Sam said.
The only reply Velma could make was a shake of her head.
* * * * *
The door swung open but she didn’t go in. The shock of seeing the man vanish was difficult to overcome and she wasn’t sure that she wanted to know what was on the other side. Sam let go of her and she heard him take out his gun.
“I’ll go,” he said, stepping towards the door.
“You’ll all come,” said the man, his voice coming from a small speaker imbedded in the wall above the door.
On the other side of the door a staircase led down into the earth, encased in concrete and metal, she recognised its purpose at once. There had been rumours, but she had never given them credit, a secret military base beneath the city, but who did it contain?
At the bottom of the stairs there was another door. When she reached it she heard clicks and thuds as a series of locks were opened and then the door swung out towards her. Inside it was dark and she felt hesitant to go through, but this was what she had come to London to find.
* * * * *
Velma sat in a small room away from the rest of her team. There was a large observation mirror, a table and two chairs. The man’s voice had instructed them on what to do and where to go. So far she hadn’t seen a single person.
The door that she had come in through opened. A man dressed in a neatly pressed uniform came in but paid no attention to her. He stood in the corner of the room at attention.
She heard slow footsteps approaching and nearly fell out of her seat when the next person arrived. Velma stood to attention.
“Your majesty,” she said.
The old woman offered her a gentle smile. She was wearing in a purple dress with a flower on the lapel. “Please sit down,” she said.
Velma had only every seen the Queen on television, and even then, not very often. If she had given her any thought at all, she would have assumed she’d been killed. There had been more than one attack on the palace during the initial outbreak.
She sat down and the Queen sat down in front of her. Her face was still and she appeared calm, which was more than Velma could say for herself. She had faced zombies and betrayal, but she had rarely felt as uncomfortable as she did now.
“I’m sure you’d like to have a wash and change your clothes,” the Queen said. “And you will do, all in good time. First I need to explain some things to you.”
Velma nodded but couldn’t bring herself to speak.
The guard continued to stand to attention in the corner while the Queen spoke and Velma listened. It wasn’t a long discussion but it was an informative one. By the time it was over Velma knew what had happened and what was going to be required of her.
The Queen left without giving her the opportunity to ask questions, although Velma suspected that she wouldn’t have been able to get the words out even if she’d been allowed. The guard followed her majesty and left the door open for Velma. She was free then, but at what cost?
* * * * *
END OF BOOK THREE
The story continues in ZOMBIE APOCALYPSE BOOK FOUR: GROUND ZERO
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Tales of the Apocalypse
Table of Contents
Title Page
Free Book Front
Copyright
Table of Contents
Chapter ONE
Chapter TWO
Chapter THREE
Chapter FOUR
Chapter FIVE
Chapter SIX
Chapter SEVEN
Chapter EIGHT
Chapter NINE
Chapter TEN
Chapter ELEVEN
Chapter TWELVE
Chapter THIRTEEN
Chapter FOURTEEN
Chapter FIFTEEN
Chapter SIXTEEN
Chapter SEVENTEEN
Chapter EIGHTEEN
Chapter NINETEEN
Free Book Back
About the Author
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Zombie Apocalypse (Book 3): Absolute Zero Page 20
