The Fear

...the smell that came out of the lorry was disgusting. Sour and rotten. 'Jesus, who's died?" he said. 'About four-fifth's of the population of the world' said Justin. 'Very funny

If we make our own history, if we tell stories that bring us together, we'll be stronger. It'll give us something to believe in. The sickos can't do that – they're no better than animals – but we can. Every battle we win we have to tell the story over and over, so that we can win more battles. People love stories. They've told stories since even before they could write. Myths and legends, stories of heroes and villains, gods and monsters. Real things happened, the story got told and then the stories became legends. That's what we've got to do – tell our own heroic stories.

The brighter the sunlight, the worse it affects them," said Einstein. "So we got to pay more attention to the weather forecast," said DogNut. "Cloudy with a chance of zombies.

He’s my brother. He’s the one we’re going to find.’ ‘Right.’ ‘We had a cousin who was disabled. He was always getting bullied and Paul was always sticking up for him.’ ‘He sounds like a nice guy, your brother,’ said Marco kindly. ‘He sounds like a dick,’ Felix murmured under his breath. Marco tried not to laugh. Luckily Olivia hadn’t heard him. ‘He’s brilliant,’ said Olivia. ‘When my mum and dad died he looked after me.’ ‘We’ll find him,’ said Marco. ‘The dick,’ Felix added, slightly too loudly, and Marco snorted.

They would catch her. They would make sure she was all right. That’s what grown-ups did. They looked after you. They—

Yeah?’ Alfie yelled, his voice high-pitched and hysterical. ‘You hear that? That’s me! Alfie Walker. Yeah? And I’m cleverer than you dumb bitches! You stupid ugly farts. Yeah, knock on the door all you like – you ain’t coming in. And, if you do, I’ll split you with my knife. I’ll rip your rotten guts out. I’ll kick your brains up

Are you by yourself, darling? I can’t bear the thought of you dying alone. No, mum, I’m with my friend. I’m with Courtney... Courtney... He called out her name. ‘Courtney,’ he said. ‘I’m sorry...’ But Courtney was already dead.

And don't go whining to God about it. It was pretty clear that there was no God up there, no kindly old gent looking down, keeping score in a notebook. You did good, you did bad, it didn't make any difference, did it? This one's going to heaven, this one's going to hell, this one's going to Disneyland. No. God wouldn't have let any of this shit happen. If you were going to believe in anything, then believe in the devil. He was much more real than God. Up there causing mischief. Laughing at the chaos he'd created.

It ain’t going to happen, babes, ‘said Dognut. ‘I know what you’re thinking, but we ain’t gonna be overwhelmed. We can do this. ‘No, we can’t.’ ‘Yes, we can.’ Dognut kissed her fiercely, the briefest of kisses, and then he raised his sword above his head. ‘Let’s do this. You and me, girl, let’s take it to the,! Dog nut and Courtney against the world!

It ain’t going to happen, babes, ‘said Dognut. ‘I know what you’re thinking, but we ain’t gonna be overwhelmed. We can do this. ‘No, we can’t.’ ‘Yes, we can.’ Dognut kissed her fiercely, the briefest of kisses, and then he raised his sword above his head. ‘Let’s do this. You and me, girl, let’s take it to them! Dognut and Courtney against the world!

Get off! Get off me, ‘Felix sobbed, sounding like a little kid. Marco kicked at the sickos, slashing with his knife. It was no good, though— there were just too many of them — and he himself toppled over, landing on his friend and smothering him. ‘It’s all right Felix, ‘he said. ‘I’m with you. It’s all right. You’re not alone. ‘He felt for Felix’s hand held it tight, as more gym bunnies blocked out the light, swamping them.

Courtney!’ he shouted, but didn’t know if she could hear him. Where was she? ‘Courtney!’ There. He forced his way over to her and pulled the sickos from her back. She was bleeding from small cuts all over her, and her right arm was red from shoulder to fingertips, but she was still battling with her knife. DogNut took hold of her and started to drag her away, ignoring the sickos that grabbed at him from all sides. All his energy was ebbing away. He wasn’t sure how much longer he could keep this up. ‘Come on, Courtney,’ he said. ‘Don’t give up. You and me, girl. You and me.’ ‘You and me, Dog,’ said Courtney. ‘Love you, girl...’ ‘Love you, too...