Josh was surprised that Clatter had turned his back on them. Maybe we could jump him, he thought.
“He has weapons,” Scrawl whispered just loudly enough for Josh to hear him. Josh nodded to let him know he understood, even though part of him still wanted to knock Clatter down and hurt him.
“You know, Josh, I could use someone like you on my team,” Clatter said. He turned and paused. “My other team, I mean. I plan to introduce Z to the streets shortly. You’ve tried it. You know how popular it will be. The profit potential is extraordinary. Are you sure you won’t consider joining me?”
“I’ll never be like you,” said Josh.
“You wound me,” Clatter said, feigning sadness. “And here I thought I was such a role model to all of you.”
They walked for a few minutes and came to a stone archway covered by an old iron grate. Behind the grate was a small room cut into the rock, and Charlie and Firecracker were sitting on the floor, not looking at each other. When they heard noise in the tunnel, they glanced up. Josh saw expressions of hope flash across their faces but quickly disappear when they saw that Josh and Scrawl were with Clatter.
“I’ve brought you some company,” Clatter said as he removed one of the keys tied to his coat and inserted it into the ancient lock. The lock opened reluctantly, and Clatter pulled the grate open just far enough for Josh and Scrawl to go inside. He shut it behind them and locked it. “I’ll go make the arrangements,” he said. “I suggest you fill your friends in on what we’ve agreed to.”
As soon as Clatter disappeared, Charlie and Firecracker started talking at the same time.
“Where did you go, and what happened to your face?”
“Dude, what the hell are these people doing?”
“I didn’t mean to—”
“I was only trying to—”
“Quiet!” Josh said. “Just listen. We don’t have a lot of time.”
He explained to Firecracker and Charlie about the zombies and Z, and about the deal he’d made with Clatter.
“What do you mean we have to fight our way out?” asked Firecracker. “Like for real?”
“For real,” said Josh.
“This is insane,” Charlie said.
“Look around,” Scrawl told her. “This whole thing is insane.”
Charlie shook her head. “This isn’t happening,” she said. “It’s, I don’t know, a dream. Or a bad Z trip. I just have to wake up.” She started beating at herself with her hands.
Josh grabbed her and held her. She struggled for a moment, then slumped against him. He felt her shake as she sobbed.
“We can do this,” he whispered. “We’ve done it a thousand times.”
“Are you telling me you guys have been playing the game with real zombies?” Firecracker asked. “And real flamethrowers? And now we’re playing to get out of here alive?”
“Yeah,” Scrawl said. “That’s pretty much it.”
“That’s awesome,” Firecracker said.
“It’s not awesome!” Charlie yelled. “Don’t you get it? We have to kill people!”
Firecracker snorted. “We have to kill meatbags,” he said. “Big deal.”
“Some of those meatbags are our friends,” said Scrawl.
“Come on, man,” Firecracker said.
“What’s wrong with you?” Charlie said. She pulled away from Josh and shoved Firecracker against the wall.
“Hey!” he said.
“This isn’t a stupid game,” Charlie continued. “It never was. We just thought it was. Those meatbags you’re so hot to torch used to be like us.” She looked at Josh and Scrawl. “Some of them were us. And that slimeball out there has made a lot of money from people like you who think it’s a whole lot of fun.”
Firecracker put his hands up in defeat. “Don’t take it out on me,” he said. “I wouldn’t be here at all if you hadn’t told Freakula there that I was stalking you.” He looked at Josh. “Which I wasn’t. I was just worried about you.”
Josh nodded. “I know,” he said. “It’s okay. Right now we have to talk about our plan.”
“What field are we playing on?” Charlie asked.
Scrawl shook his head. “We don’t know,” he said. “But my guess is he’ll put us on Location Eleven.”
Charlie’s head whipped up. “Eleven?” she said.
Josh looked from her to Scrawl. “What’s eleven? I don’t remember that from the manual.”
“It’s not in the manual,” Scrawl said. “We’ve never played it before.”
“Where is it?” Josh asked.
Scrawl rubbed his nose. “Feverfew,” he said.
“The insane asylum?” said Firecracker. “That place on the cliffs? It’s been condemned for at least thirty years. It’s totally falling apart.”
“Exactly,” said Scrawl. “We haven’t used it before because it’s too dangerous for the Torchers. That’s why Clatter wants to use it as a field.”
“So the odds are against us,” Charlie said.
“Then we just have to play the best game we’ve ever played,” said Josh. He looked at each of them in turn. “We can do it. We just have to stick together.”
21
Clatter came for them half an hour later. Seamus and Finnegan were with him. The two of them behaved oddly, not looking at the four captives and rocking back and forth slightly on their feet.
They’re doped up on Z, Josh thought as Clatter unlocked the cell and told them to come out one by one. Josh went first. As he exited, Finnegan took his arm and placed a handcuff around his wrist. Josh tried to pull his hand back, but Finnegan gripped it tightly, then cuffed the other wrist also.
“Just a precaution,” Clatter said. “Nothing to worry about.”
“Five o’clock,” Josh reminded Clatter. “That’s when the message goes out and the cops come.”
“Oh, I think this will be over long before then,” Clatter said.
The three others joined Josh, all of them handcuffed. Clatter ordered them to follow Seamus, who led them in the opposite direction from the elevator. A hundred yards on, the tunnel opened up into a larger tunnel running perpendicular to the first one. A short flight of stone steps led down to a small landing past which a stream of dirty water flowed along sluggishly. An old wooden rowboat was tied to the platform with a rope.
“Couldn’t afford a hoverboat, huh?” Firecracker asked sarcastically.
Seamus pushed him roughly down the steps, with Finnegan urging the others along behind him. “We like it old school,” Seamus said, nodding at the boat. “Get in and shut up.”
Josh stepped in first. The boat rocked beneath him, and with his hands cuffed he couldn’t keep his balance. He fell sideways, hitting one of the boat’s bench seats with a painful thud. Seamus laughed, a dull chuckle that made Josh’s skin crawl. He’d always found the twins a little strange, but now they were totally creeping him out.
Charlie got in next and sat beside Josh. Firecracker and Scrawl followed, squeezing in next to them, then Finnegan and Clatter, who took the seat at the front. Seamus untied the rope tethering the boat to the platform and got in last, taking the middle bench and facing Josh. As the boat floated out into the stream, he took the ends of the two oars attached to the sides of the boat by heavy steel oarlocks and began to row.
The tunnel was lit by a string of electric lights that ran along the ceiling. The ancient bulbs were mostly dead, but a few still worked. As the boat floated along, Josh occasionally caught a glimpse of what was around them.
“This tunnel was once used by the old underground rail system,” Clatter announced from the front of the boat. “Like all the old tunnels, it flooded when Antarctica melted and the seas rose. But what was a tragedy for so many has been a boon for those of us who wish to conduct business unnoticed. The tunnels run nearly everywhere one might wish to go beneath the city.”