“And the army, then you’ll bring them back to life…” Powick encouraged gently.
Arnold walked over to one of the creatures laid out on the steel table. He lifted up its arm and let it fall back down; it banged stiffly off the cold metal. Then he grabbed its head and turned it roughly left and right.
“You haven’t fitted this thing with its transmitter and control chip yet?”
“No, it’s a fresh one,” Powick answered, nodding to the bars on the floor, “but it won’t take long. I’m ready to attach the frame and chip, patch it up a bit, charge it and then it’ll join the others. But imagine, Arnold, when these creatures can think for themselves, when they won’t need their frames or a chip, when they’re truly alive. They will be indebted to us, their re-creators – and with this army behind us, we can achieve anything together.”
Arnold lifted up the body’s arm again and wriggled it around in the air, making mock scary-zombie sounds. “Nobody will laugh at me then.”
“Of course they won’t, Arnold. I saw your genius from the start. When others fell away, even Iris, I was there. The universe has seen it too, otherwise you would never have been granted this rarest of opportunities. Together we’ll see this through. Real greatness rises from our most difficult challenges. What was once your weakness will become your strength!”
“You’re right, Priscilla…of course. I am great!” Arnold smiled.
Powick sighed as though relieved. “So your machine will be ready? We must get it into position for your grand entrance, Arnold.”
“Yes, as planned, just before sunrise.” He nodded. “Have you arranged everything your end? Will the Watchers know how to control those creatures when we march in? I don’t want any zombies going rogue on us! Are my sons briefed? There won’t be any problems with that boy, will there? He’s proving a little difficult lately. I have my doubts…”
“Doubts?” Powick swallowed.
“That you took the right twin… He doesn’t appear to have the desired demeanour. At times I think he’s weak.”
The nurse looked away, pausing before she answered.
“Everything’s prepared,” she stated. “Trust me. Tom will do what he’s destined to – he’ll do what he’s told. The Watchers are primed too.” She pulled a small black box from her pocket and waved it around. “They each have one of these already – that was sorted weeks ago, the same time Tom briefed your sons on our final plans. The zombies will listen to them now.”
Boy shifted uneasily.
“Good.” Arnold nodded before marching to the door. He stopped suddenly, looking back round. “Oh, and Priscilla…”
“Yes,” she said, her smile full of expectation.
“Your stitching is growing sloppy!” He nodded to one of the laid-out bodies. “That one could do with more work.”
The nurse’s face fell. And without another word, Arnold Archer left the room.
Powick stomped over to the zombie indicated, picking up a small pink teddy that rested on the table beside the monster.
“Arnold loves me, I know he does! We’re always hardest on those we love most,” she snivelled, pulling at one of the bear’s arms. “I know it’s painful, you poor thing, but I just need a small patch of your fur. Imagine all the help you’re giving Mammy right now.”
The nurse yanked the arm from the teddy. Setting down the dismembered limb, she grabbed a bandage. Then, with great care, she wound the white material round and round the bear until the newly opened hole in its shoulder was fully covered. Next she took a small brown bottle from a metal shelf beside her and syringed liquid from it onto the bear’s stitched snout.
“You called for me?” Tom poked his head in the door, breaking her concentration.
Powick looked up and snarled. “Yes, I cleared a table for that girl Violet and when I went to get her from my room she was gone. You’d better find that excuse for a human child before she causes any more trouble. And do not tell Arnold! Take some of the zombies and scour the place. I want her disposed of once and for all!”
Tom nodded and disappeared as Powick picked up a long sharp needle and began to thread it.
“Would you lot ever shut up!” she roared at the zombies clanking their chains in the courtyard.
Slamming the needle onto a steel-topped counter, Nurse Powick stormed out of the door.
“We have to get out of here now, before Powick comes back. We need to tell everyone in Town. They’re going to release the Archers and the Watchers – and that whole zombie army!” Boy said jumping, from the cupboard and racing to the door.
Violet was behind him when he peered out onto the courtyard.
“But the keys, the scientists…” Violet grabbed his elbow as he was about to move.
“There’s no time, we have to go before she comes back. We’ll figure another way out!”
The pair slipped from the room, keeping to the edge of the courtyard while the zombies still twitched and strained against their straps. Ducking low, they snuck in behind an old stone drinking trough.
Nurse Powick, in her brown-stained white apron, stood at the top of the courtyard just in front of the main entrance. She clapped her hands twice and all the zombies turned immediately to look at her.
“Shut up,” the tall woman barked, “I am trying to work!”
A sudden silence fell on the courtyard. Each zombie dropped its head and stared at the ground. Violet shivered as Powick marched back through her frozen army; the only sound the nurse’s feet clobbering the cobblestones.
Violet and Boy crouched down as the woman passed their hiding place and headed back into her room. The door slammed, echoing round the walls.
“Did you find the keys?” someone hissed.
Violet jumped.
She turned to see the same thin, wrinkled arm waving through the iron-barred window behind them.
“No,” she whispered, sneaking over, “but we’re going to get help…somehow!”
“Please don’t leave us here,” a woman cried. “Arnold Archer is a madman! Who knows what he’ll make us do!”
“He doesn’t want us to do anything, Teresa, I’ve told you that already!” someone else grunted from inside the same cell. “He just wants to show us he was right all along!”
“There’s more of you?” Violet whispered, grabbing the bars and pulling herself up onto her tippy toes to squint into the darkness.
Joseph Bohr, looking a lot older than his picture in the Tribune , stepped aside to reveal four shadowed figures behind him.
“Yes, there’s five of us,” Dr Bohr replied.
Boy yanked her sleeve.
“We have to go now, Violet!” he insisted.
She shook him off. “Are you all the missing scientists?” Violet questioned. “I knew you were involved somehow!”
“We’re not involved!” Bohr darted forward so she could see his kind brown eyes. “Not even slightly involved in this fiasco.”
“But why are you here?”
Joseph shook his head. “Some of us believe Archer wants to prove a point. He always said he would. I used to get threatening letters from him, we all did. They stopped when he disappeared, after Iris and the family left him. I presumed he’d given up on his obsessions with raising the dead, decided to go quietly into the night with whatever dignity remained. I never expected after all this time he’d follow through. Stubborn old mule!”
“Do you mean Iris Archer?” Violet asked.
“Yes, Iris had the misfortune of marrying young Arnold. Although none of us would have expected things to turn out quite as they did. He went mad, you see, and tried to attack their youngest son. He seemed convinced that the family was cursed because of that boy’s birth. It was tragic really and of course Iris had to get away…”
“Nurse Powick mentioned a curse too. Is it about the Divided Soul?” Boy stopped trying to force Violet away and hauled himself up to join the conversation.
Bohr gasped and stepped back.
“You’re t
he boy who took me, the one who’s helping them!”
“No, that’s Boy’s twin, Tom, he has blue eyes. Boy’s are nearly black,” Violet corrected.
“The curse…” Boy said urgently, prompting the man to continue.
Bohr eyed Boy suspiciously before speaking again. “Yes, the Divided Soul, that’s what he called it. Arnold said his son had brought bad luck on his research, something to do with his different-coloured eyes. He blamed him for the scientific community turning their back on his latest work. Of course, it wasn’t his son’s fault at all. He was just a toddler. Arnold had invented a machine to bring back the dead – that was the reason he fell from grace. The Death something, I think he called it…”
“The DeathDefier?” Violet prompted.
“Precisely! Yes, the DeathDefier! I remember Arnold had a dog called Arnold – he’d named it after himself, that’s the type of man he is. Anyway, the poor thing died. And shortly after, Arnold called us all into Hegel’s main lecture theatre to reveal his latest work. We had no idea what was going on until we saw the body of Arnold the dog strapped up to this monstrous machine called the DeathDefier. Arnold, the man of course, told us he was about to raise his beloved pet from the dead. Well, you can only imagine our reactions. Iris was there too and she turned a ghastly shade of green, as did many of us. Anyway, he pressed the button, the machine shook and nothing happened. I think the poor dog may have belched once which was rather impressive, though it was probably just trapped wind.”
“So what happened to Arnold?” Boy asked, now fully engrossed.
“We buried him!”
“The man?” Violet gasped, all sorts of ideas running through her head.
“Heavens no! The chocolate retriever! Arnold, the man, was disgraced. His downfall had been coming. He’d been dabbling with death for a while, and it wasn’t winning him any friends. His research papers were being rejected and he was losing funding fast. He had really started to descend into madness. He began to blame William for everything. He even approached me one day with a book of faerie tales and showed me some pages on the Divided Soul. He asked my opinion on the facts behind the folklore. I was horrified when I read that the only way to break the curse was to kill the bearer, meaning his son William…”
Violet looked at Boy.
“Of course I told him then it was all madness,” the doctor continued, “but I never actually thought he believed any of it. I mocked him, trying to make light of it – all in good jest, you see – but it appears he was a little more obsessed with such things than I realized. After his DeathDefier failed, he tried to attack William. I felt utter guilt. I mean, I knew what the article said, but I never believed Arnold could do such a thing. Then poor Iris disappeared with her young family – she had no other choice. She was never heard from again. A terrible tragedy really but…”
The man stopped suddenly, his face changed. “Your twin, that other boy, he’s coming! Quickly. Hide!”
Violet and Boy ducked down and sprinted back behind the trough. The pair stayed completely still as Tom passed by. He stopped outside Powick’s workshop door and knocked. Violet watched as he shuffled his feet nervously.
“Come in,” the woman called.
Tom pushed open the door and disappeared inside. After a few moments, there was a loud shriek and Powick stormed out into the yard.
“I’m surrounded by fools,” she cried, flinging her apron onto the ground in a fury.
The zombies didn’t flinch.
Tom stepped out gingerly into the yard, his head bowed. Powick grabbed his chin and yanked it upwards so she was glaring down into his pale face.
Violet quivered; she could feel tears welling behind her eyes. She wanted to reach out and grab Boy’s brother. Who was there to help Tom when he needed it?
“I told you to find her and you couldn’t even do that! Now we’ll have to improvise. After all this planning, you let a stupid thing like this happen! Were you born useless? I’ll have to explain this to Arnold!”
She paused for a minute, breathing deeply, as though steadying her thoughts.
“Take a small party now, twenty of my creatures. Go fast. Hopefully the maze will have slowed that girl down and you’ll beat her to Town before she has time to warn anyone. Free George and Edward tonight – it’s earlier than planned but now we have no choice – then release the Watchers. Tell them what’s happened! I want everyone in Town pulled from their beds and moved into No-Man’s-Land so they can’t create any trouble, then the walls must be guarded so no one can escape and raise the alarm.”
“What about the machine and the—”
“No questions, Tom! I’ll come later and we can get things ready for the big day! I should have you…” The woman raised her fist as if to smack him.
Tom cowered. Powick laughed then turned and charged to the top of the castle courtyard, facing her zombies.
“Ready yourselves, my creatures!” she roared.
The zombies snapped to attention, staring at Powick. Violet shivered.
Powick glared at Boy’s brother. “Release the first twenty!”
Violet gripped Boy’s arm as Tom raced along the first two lines of bodies. He unplugged their metal spines from their batteries and pressed a small black button on their ankle cuffs to open them.
“Creatures, grab your torches at the gate and light them as you leave. I want the Townsfolk petrified when they see you! Put fear into everyone you meet, just like we practised. Show me, darlings!” Powick roared.
The zombies snarled and stamped their feet, clawing the air. Those still chained strained forwards, the veins on their heads and necks popping out like purple rivers.
“My dwellers of the night,” Powick boomed, her voice now echoing around them, “your time has come. Help us achieve our greatness and I will give you a town to call home!”
“Not our Town?” Violet trembled, squeezing Boy’s arm even harder.
“Make them weep when they see you! Show your fury, show your rage!”
The monsters roared and the sound crashed off the walls and windows, rocking the castle. Violet cupped her ears and tears raced down her cheeks as Powick drove her army into a frenzy.
On her orders, Hugo heaved open the large door of the castle and stepped aside.
“I am your mother,” Powick cried, “now make me proud!”
The dead army threw back their heads and screeched into the night. Their wild eyes popped in twisted faces and saliva flew from their snarling and blackened lips. The ground vibrated as hundreds of bare, maggot-ridden feet stomped the cobblestones.
The first two lines moved swiftly into formation, collecting their carved wooden torches from a pile at the gate. Setting them aflame as they passed outside, they followed Tom Archer on their journey towards Town.
The creatures that remained behind struggled against their restraints, eager to join in. Powick cried out for silence and clapped her hands. Every head dropped and once more the courtyard fell into a sudden and eerie quiet.
Violet felt sick, as the world began to spin.
“You okay?” Boy asked, shaking her shoulders. “You’ve gone white!”
She nodded, grabbing the trough to steady herself.
Powick was inspecting the pile of torches at the top of the courtyard. The remaining zombies were quiet, staring blankly at the ground. The castle gate was open.
“We have to go, Boy! We might still be able to get home before them!” Violet panted, pointing at the arch. “We could distract Powick and sneak…”
Suddenly a loud bang echoed off the walls. Violet jumped, her nerves still rattled.
“Would anyone mind telling me what is going on?” a voice boomed.
Violet and Boy peered round the edge of the trough.
Arnold Archer stood facing Powick and the entrance gate, his back to the courtyard. The nurse, who moments before had been terrifying, now cowered a little in his presence.
“I can explain, Arnold…” she said, walking up to
the man.
“Some of the zombies are gone. You’ve split the army, Priscilla. Explain that.” He sounded furious.
“It’s Violet Brown.” The nurse stuttered now. “I-I didn’t want to alarm you, but she’s been sneaking about the place. I had captured her but somehow she got away. I was afraid she’d gone back to warn everyone. Tom is leading a small crew in tonight. They’ll release the Watchers and secure Town just a little earlier than planned. We won’t be far behind, we just need to pack your machine and bring the scientists.”
“But I wanted to lead the whole army in myself. I wanted to see her face when…”
“Whose face…? Iris? I knew it!” Powick sounded prickly.
“What do you mean, you knew it? Yes, of course I want Iris to see me lead the army in.” Arnold was flustered. “You know what she did to me, Priscilla, how she destroyed my career by insisting on protecting that son of hers. If she’d just allowed me to kill William, I would never have fallen from grace – and then, to add insult to injury, she tried to murder me! Why wouldn’t I want to watch Iris suffer as I take her perfect life and home away, just like she did so callously to me…”
“But…but you said you’d chosen this town as my gift after all of this was over, and that it had nothing to do with Iris. I created this army for us, Arnold, so we could secure the perfect place to live out our days together, basking in your glory after we’d proven your genius, after you’d gotten redemption. A place where we could build on everything we’ve created so far. With our army, Arnold, we could be so very powerful – imagine all the things we could do…”
The Battle for Perfect Page 9
