Anna and the Apocalypse
Page 17
Anna looked up into her father’s eyes and saw herself reflected. This whole time, her only plan was to find him. And now she was lost.
“I don’t know what to do,” she confessed through a river of tears.
“Yes, you do. You always do,” Tony corrected. He swept her hair out of her face and dried her eyes with his thumbs. “God, Anna. If only your mum could see you now.”
As they stared at each other—Anna trying hard to find some semblance of strength, and Tony feeling nothing but love and pride—one of the barricaded exits burst open. Nick stood in the doorway, baseball bat in hand, absolutely drenched in blood. He looked at Anna and smiled before registering the expression on her face. The tears in her eyes. The wound on Tony’s leg.
“I can’t say I’m crazy about your boyfriend,” Tony commented, giving Nick his patented warning look. It might be the end of the world, but he was still the father of a teenage girl.
“He’s not my boyfriend,” Anna said, laughing at the absurdity of it all. Nick was alive, her father was dying, they’d just fed the assistant principal to a bunch of zombies, and here she was, talking about her love life.
“Oh, well, there’s some good news,” Tony replied before hissing with pain. His leg began to burn. “You need to go. Now.”
“But I don’t want to,” Anna said in a small, girlish voice.
“Love.” He grabbed her hand and looked at his daughter with imploring eyes. “For once in your life, don’t argue with me.”
“Savage said something about Julie not turning…” she muttered, looking down at the floor. “Do—do you want me to … help?”
“No, don’t,” Nick said, his face pleading, having lived through exactly what she was implying and not wanting the same for Anna.
“He’s right,” Tony agreed. He might not be able to save her from this reality, but he could spare her of that memory. “I’m so proud of you, Anna Elizabeth Shepherd.” He continued, giving her one last squeeze, savoring the moment. “Now, bugger off. You’ve got places to go.”
His face tightened with pain and Anna watched as the color started to drain from his face. Gently, Nick pulled on her arm. They needed to be somewhere else, and fast.
“Merry Christmas, Dad,” she whispered with a smile. Her last gift to him.
“Merry Christmas, Anna,” he replied, nodding to Nick before taking one last look at his girl.
With Nick guiding the way, Anna stumbled out of the hall, leaving the chaos and her father behind, blinded by the flood of tears that streamed down her cheeks.
On the stage, Tony watched her go. His brave, bold, clever only child. Her mother’s double. He slumped backward, finally crying out with pain when he was certain she was out of earshot. The last thing he needed was for her to come back and see him like this. Silently, he pulled his phone out of his pocket and pressed the home button. A photo of himself, Liz, and Anna shone brightly in the gloom. Anna’s mother, the love of his life.
“I’ll be with you soon, love,” he whispered as he closed his eyes.
* * *
Outside the school was even more terrifying than Anna remembered. She limped out into the parking lot at Nick’s side as the sky began to shift from night into day.
It was Christmas morning and they needed a miracle.
“Have you seen Steph?” she asked, testing her weight on her injured knee. It didn’t feel great but she could stand. Nick shook his head, mute.
“Chris? Lisa?”
“I’m sorry,” he said, shaking his head, unable to vocalize what he’d seen in the staff room. He gripped his bloody baseball bat tightly.
Anna understood, but filed the news away to deal with later. There would be time to grieve for John, for Julie, for Chris and Lisa, and her dad, and everyone. But for now, they still had to fight. She followed Nick’s gaze and raised her candy cane. There were more of them. Of course there were more of them. Zombies lined up behind the school fence, pouring through the gaps one at a time. Others appeared behind them, spilling out of the building and filling the lot around them.
“Oh, Nick,” she sighed, pressing her back against his as they turned in slow circles, trying to watch every angle.
“It’s just a couple of zombies,” he replied. “What’s new?”
Anna looked up, the sound of banging coming from the door they had just closed behind them. As if the current situation wasn’t bad enough, it burst open and every zombie teacher, parent, and student joined the mass of undead bodies that surrounded them.
“There’s still hope,” Anna said, grim determination in her voice.
“Whatever you say,” Nick said, readying himself for the fight. “All I know is, if I’m going down, I’m taking as many of these fuckers with me as possible.”
The first wave of zombies attacked.
Back-to-back, they fought with every ounce of strength in their bodies. When Nick fell, she picked him up, when Anna stumbled, he had her back. Anna panted, twirling her candy cane in her hands as the zombies regrouped.
Nick yelled as he tripped over a headless zombie, landing hard on his arm. She looked over and saw him cradling the injury, panic in his blue eyes. With a leap and a cry, Anna plunged the end of her candy cane into the zombie bearing down on Nick, dropping it to the floor.
“Are you bitten?” she asked, the two of them taking a moment to catch their breath.
Nick shook his head. “But they’re going to keep coming.”
Anna nodded. He was right, they were. Nick tried to rise to his feet, but there was nothing left in him. His legs wouldn’t do what his brain demanded. Instead, he dropped any remaining hope as yet more zombies appeared on the horizon, illuminated by the coming dawn.
“I’m sorry,” he said, completely defeated as he sat on the ground, unable to stand. Anna stood over him and looked down with a tired smile.
“Yeah,” she said, still not quite ready to give up.
The zombies were circling, dragging it out, making her wait, when she felt something cold on the tip of her nose. It was snowing. Chris was getting his white Christmas after all. Anna tilted her face skyward, smiling as the snowflakes began to fall faster, clinging to her eyebrows and eyelashes. She thought of John, her best friend in the world. She thought of Chris and Lisa and Steph and how brave people could be when it really mattered. She thought of her mom, missing her with all her heart, but so pleased she’d never had to live through this nightmare, and she thought of her dad. Her brilliant, wonderful, loving dad. She’d lost so much, had given so much, and now she was done. The candy cane slipped out of her fingers and rattled on the concrete as she fell to the ground, leaning against Nick.
The zombies staggered forward. The finality of their menacing roar and gnashing teeth inching ever closer. And then, not far away, a car horn honked. And honked again. Anna and Nick looked up in unison to see Steph’s car appear around the corner.
Honking the horn as she tore through the crowds, Steph mowed down swathes of zombies to get to her friends.
The car skidded to a stop next to Anna and Nick, and the window rolled down. “The roads were a little blocked, so I had to go around,” she explained unnecessarily. “Get in!”
Anna yanked at Nick as they scrambled to their feet and tugged on the door handles.
“Open the bloody doors!” Nick yelled as the fallen zombies clawed at their legs.
Steph frowned. “Sorry.”
She pressed a button and the door flew open. Nick and Anna jumped inside. Anna reached for the handle and yanked the door shut as Steph tore off out of the parking lot, knocking down zombies like bowling pins as she went. She looked back over her shoulder as they zoomed out of the school driveway and out onto the street. She wiped away the only tears she had left in her, took a deep breath, and closed her eyes.
“Boom! Saved your life,” Steph said trying to lighten things up. “Although I hate to think what they’ve done to my paintwork. D’you think my insurance will cover it? Or is zombie invasion co
nsidered an act of God?”
Anna couldn’t help but manage an exhausted half smile as Nick grabbed his seat belt and fastened it over his bloody clothes, his baseball bat rolling around in the footwell. She pushed herself up onto her knees and watched as the school got smaller and smaller through the back window.
“So,” Steph said, glancing down at the fuel gauge. Full tank for the win. “Where to?”
Nick immediately opened his mouth to answer and then paused. He had no idea. Instead, he looked over at Anna as she turned around and rested her head back, finally allowing herself to relax. They’d lost so much, she realized, staring up at the soft beige roof of the car. Their families, their friends, their futures, but they still had one another. She looked at Nick and then at Steph and then out the window as Little Haven disappeared and the open road beckoned.
“I don’t know,” Anna said, leaning forward between the seats to turn on the car radio and give Steph a determined look. “But we’ll figure it out. Together.”
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
You think taking the perfect selfie is hard? Try writing a book! It takes a village, and I am so incredibly blessed and grateful to have an amazing village that contributed to making the Anna and the Apocalypse novel a reality. Starting with the huh-mazing Lindsey Kelk, who was my mentor, editing conscience, and friend. I simply adore you. Erin Stein and I started our journey in 2010 when we partnered on the very first Monster High book—and it is so good to be reunited—thank you, thank you, thank you for all your support. I cannot wait until you, Lindsey, and I are in the same place at the same time to have a celebration.
This book would never have happened had it not been for Alan McDonald, a scholar of words and a supreme magician when it comes to knowing how to put them together. Your and Ryan McHenry’s masterful work on writing the Anna and the Apocalypse screenplay was the best guiding light that anyone could hope for, and I am forever grateful for your amazing words, many of which are included herein, since why mess with perfection? My boys Roddy Hart and Tommy Reilly, who are the two most talented composers in the world and kindly allowed me to include “The Fish Wrap” and “It’s that Time of Year” lyrics in the book. A shout-out to Blazing Griffin’s Catriona Ewen, contract ninja, and Peter van der Watt for their support. Thank you to my story guides and historians, Naysun Alae-Carew, Nic Crum, and Gillian Christie, there is so much more to come.
I also need to express the impact the talented film actors had on this story. Each one perfectly bringing to life their character so well that it was impossible to write this without them in my head. Ella Hunt, Malcolm Cumming, Sarah Swire, Marli Siu, Christopher Leveaux, and Ben Wiggins, you are a wonderful, crazy family now and I am so looking forward to watching your stars rise high in the heavens. The brilliant Paul Kaye and magnanimous Mark Benton, you are simply … the … best.
Finally, thank you to director John McPhail, and all the rest of his cast and crew that brought the screenplay to life on film, and are what gave shape to the story in these pages.
I can’t wait for what’s next!
—Barry Waldo
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
Katharine Turner is a British writer who lives in Los Angeles, California. She loves reading books, watching movies, the otters at The Los Angeles Zoo, piña coladas and getting caught in the rain. She is the co-author of Anna and the Apocalypse. You can sign up for email updates here.
Barry Waldo started telling stories at a young age in rural Arkansas. He went from his first job at Showbiz Pizza Place to getting an MBA at The University of Chicago Booth School. After working at Disney, he led a team crafting the story for Mattel’s Monster High and worked with Little, Brown Books for Young Readers to launch the bestselling Monster High book series by Lisi Harrison. He’s also worked with Shana and Ahmet Zappa to create the world of Star Darlings, and with will.i.am of the Black Eyed Peas.When Barry found himself on a rainy train ride from London to Scotland, listening to a young Scottish gent explain how he was developing a zombie Christmas musical, Anna and the Apocalypse was born. Barry lives in Scotland with his husband. You can sign up for email updates here.
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CONTENTS
Title Page
Copyright Notice
Dedication
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Acknowledgments
About the Authors
Copyright
A part of Macmillan Publishing Group, LLC
175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010
fiercereads.com
Copyright © 2018 by Blazing Griffin. Based on a screenplay by Alan McDonald and Ryan McHenry.
All rights reserved.
Touch not this wee book if you be a thief, or fall out may all yer teeth.
Tear it, harm it with mal intent, among the undead will you torment.
Boil yer hide and rot yer brain, a numpty bampot forever shall you remain.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available.
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Book design by Elynn Cohen
Imprint logo designed by Amanda Spielman
First Imprint edition, 2018
eBook edition, October 2018
eISBN 9781250318817