Anno Zombus Year 1 (Book 1): January Read Online Free Page B

bolted to intercept them.
     
 
     
What had happened was that somehow, despite missing the entire lower half of its torso, a Dead head-shoulders-and-one-arm trailing giblets over a reasonable distance had latched its teeth into the poor lad's calf muscle.  The Dead already had an arrow through its head by now, it was no threat, but the kid was still wailing.  Christ he looked young there.  Lying in the mud and slime, bleeding from what seemed only a tiny bite, barely even a scratch.  He looked up at me as I raised The Bommyknocker.  From behind came a call to stop.  It was Apocalypse Girl.
     
 
     
“How bad is it?”  She asked me, rushing up from behind.  She examined the wound carefully.  The Kid looked up at me hopefully.  “Looks like you got lucky, this is hardly bleeding at all.”  The Kid bleated that it hurt.  He sounded at least a quarter of his real age.  She looked up at me.  “Get him back to the barn.  Hopefully what happened to Valet might not happen if we disinfect it in time.”  Junior and I grabbed him, and together the four of us rushed back to the barn.  The Twin elected to stay behind and make sure we get some clay sorted out.
     
 
     
noon
     
We got The Kid back to the barn in minutes.  Apocalypse Girl rushed ahead to open the door for us, and call out for help.  Kindly Lady hobbled out, wondering what the ruckus was.  She blanched when she saw The Kid's leg, but she hurried us inside, into her own room that she shared with Fat Dealer.  “Put him on the bed.”  She ordered us, as Apocalypse Girl rushed off to gather the supplies we had picked up at the chemist.
     
 
     
Kindly Lady began prodding the wound, eliciting a scream of agony from The Kid, and Apocalypse Girl ran back in.  Kindly Lady ordered Junior and I out as she and Apocalypse Girl began cleaning the bite wound.  As the door closed, The Kid bleated one last time as Apocalypse Girl applied some iodine to the injury, then he lost consciousness.
     
 
     
mid-afternoon
     
Junior and I were practicing with our bows as Fat Dealer came barrelling down from the road in his Ute  As he pulled up, Archer went over to explain the situation with The Kid.  Apocalypse Girl came out to practice with us after they went inside, a grim expression on Fat Dealer's wide bearded face.  She told me that The Kid seemed ok for now.  The wound was clean and bandaged, and he had been fed a handful of antibiotics the moment he had awakened.  The clay-gatherers returned while we practiced, with their guards.  The Twin stopped a moment to speak with Apocalypse Girl and I.
     
 
     
“Those fucking idiots should know not to watch the girls collecting the clay now, and keep their eyes on the perimeter...”  She said.  “They are meant to be guards after all.”  She then picked up a spare bow and began firing arrows one after another directly into the bullseye.  There were ten grouped around the center of the target in a tight ring before she realised that everybody had stopped and was staring at her.  At that moment the arrow she had knocked, ready to loose, went flying off into the distance.  Then she focused once again, shutting out all distractions, and sent her remaining seven arrows directly into the middle of the target.  Their tips were touching.  The crowd watching burst into spontaneous applause, whooping and cheering.  Most of us were lucky to hit the target itself more than seven out of ten arrows, though Apocalypse Girl and I were improving swiftly.
     
 
     
evening
     
Around the dinner circle, Kindly Lady gave us the news of The Kid's condition.  He was stable, for now, a little feverish, and the infection was minimal, but he had an appetite, so one of his fellow guards brought food into him, and kept him company for the evening.  After a while he came out, looking relieved, spoke briefly with Fat Dealer, who handed him something, and then ducked back into The Kid's room.
     
 
     
Some other