The thing that strikes me most about New Kirkham is how clean the place is. I’d almost forgotten what towns and cities looked like in the old days. No puke stains here from feeding zombies. No bloodstains either, or corpses and bones lying in the middle of the streets. They keep it spick and span, no rubbish, no rotten food, no weeds or wild flowers.
‘It’s designed to be as sterile as possible,’ Vinyl explains as we wind past locals who scurry out of our way, taking no chances. ‘We don’t want to attract insects, birds, squirrels, rats, anything that could carry the zombie gene into the compound.’
We pass some fields where they grow their own food. The farmers at work are dressed in beekeeper outfits, to protect them from flies or worms. I think it’s a touch excessive, but I understand their caution.
‘That’s where I got this from,’ Pearse says, tapping his own headgear. ‘I asked them if they had any spares. This was one they were going to throw out. It has some tears and rips that make it useless for them, but it’s perfect for me.’
We can see the walls again from here. Carl stops and studies them. He looks concerned. ‘You might want to recommend they build the walls higher,’ he says. ‘I could probably jump one of them if I had a clear run.’
‘And I could definitely climb it,’ Shane boasts, flexing his fingers. ‘My bones are like titanium. I could dig into that steel plating, no problem.’
‘Angels are different to normal zombies,’ Vinyl says. ‘You have more powers than them. Or maybe they have similar powers, but can’t realise their potential because of their inactive brains. Either way, I wouldn’t mention your advanced abilities too loudly, in case the locals decide you’re too dangerous for your own good.’
‘We’re trying to help,’ Shane growls.
‘They know but they fear you regardless.’ Vinyl sighs. ‘Anyway, the walls work with regular zombies and that’s all that matters. It’s not like we have to fear an attack from you lot, is it?’
‘Not unless we run out of brains in London,’ Rage purrs dangerously.
‘Don’t be greedy,’ Vinyl tuts. ‘We already send you the brains of people who die of natural causes. Burke told me that some other settlements do that too. You need compounds like ours. If we were all killed off, where would you get your brains from in the future?’
I spot a group of girls skipping and playing games. It seems so long ago since I was in their position. I never did much skipping on the streets, but I used to train in the local boxing gym when I was younger and I’d often test out the ropes there. I had swift feet according to my coach. Then I hit my teens and lost interest.
‘How many people live here?’ I ask.
‘Just under a thousand, give or take,’ Vinyl says.
‘And how many more do you reckon the compound can hold?’
He shrugs. ‘As long as we can keep ferrying in supplies from outside, we could easily treble our numbers. But if we ever got cut off from the outside world, fifteen hundred or thereabouts is probably the max.’
‘What would happen if there were three thousand here and you got penned in and couldn’t slip out any more?’
He grins humourlessly. ‘Last in, first out.’
‘Seriously?’
He nods. ‘It’s not like we’d throw the likes of Emma and Declan over the wall if that happened tomorrow. Chances are it would be a gradual process and we’d have time to adapt. But if the worst came to the worst, we’d let them leave through the tunnels, give them weapons and food, point them in the direction of the nearest army-run compound.’
‘What if they didn’t want to leave?’ Ashtat asks.
Vinyl shakes his head. ‘We have a good thing going. We run a civilised ship. But I’m not going to claim that it’s perfect, that we wouldn’t turn nasty if the situation changed and we found ourselves with our backs to the wall. This is a hard world. We can be hard too, if we need to be.’
We press on, Vinyl trying to lift the mood by telling us some more about the town’s recent history, the race they faced to build the walls, how they fended off the zombies while they were working.
We’re eyed bleakly by most of the people we pass. I don’t mind the uneasy looks, but I’m surprised when a gang of guys treat us with actual contempt. They jeer and spit, call Ashtat crude names, and lob racist insults Vinyl’s way. I bristle and turn to square up to them.
‘Leave it,’ Vinyl snaps.
‘The hell I will. I’m not letting them get away with that.’
‘If you tackle them, you’ll be shot dead before you can take three steps,’ he warns me.
I glance at the snipers who are shadowing us. Their faces are blank. ‘Are those creeps racists too?’ I sneer.
‘Some of them,’ Vinyl says as we move forward again. ‘Not all of the prejudices of the past have been left behind. You’d think people would have enough on their plate, worrying about zombies, but old hatreds die hard.’
‘Why do you let them stay?’ Ashtat asks, looking angrier than I’ve ever seen her.
‘We need them,’ Vinyl says glumly. ‘We can’t afford to be selective. Besides, there are more of them than you might think. We’ve heard claims on some radio stations that the zombie virus was the result of a terrorist attack. A lot of people were wary of foreigners in the first place. This has made them even warier.’
‘But you’re not a foreigner,’ I frown. ‘You’re London born and bred.’
‘Yeah, but I’m a different colour to most people here,’ Vinyl says softly. ‘That makes me a threat to those of a certain mindset. You should know that better than most, B.’
I stiffen, then sigh. ‘Yeah, you’re right. I’m just shocked that buggers like my dad are still going strong.’
‘Are you kidding?’ Vinyl snorts. ‘This is the perfect time for them. People are never more receptive to horror stories than when they’re already scared. Bigots have seized on the fears of the masses since time began and used them to their own advantage. Some things never change.’
We round a corner and Vinyl lowers his voice. ‘Apparently some compounds have been segregated. Whites live separately to others, or have driven out anyone who wasn’t to their liking. I’ve even heard wild tales that a branch of the KKK has formed in England, that its members are going round the country, imposing their order on compounds where their message of hate finds welcome ears.’
‘That can’t be true,’ Carl says. ‘The Ku Klux Klan were only in America. They never made it over here.’
‘Not for want of trying, I bet,’ Vinyl retorts. ‘Maybe it just wasn’t the right time for them before. Maybe this is what they’ve been waiting for.’ He grimaces. ‘I’m sure there’s no truth to the stories, that they’re being spread by idiots who want to scare people. Still, it’s a sign of how volatile things are that rumours like this are circulating.
‘The world crashed to its knees when the zombies ran riot. Assuming we can eliminate them, someone’s going to get the chance to build civilisation anew. Zealots are already putting their plans in place, trying to ensure they get to make the world the way they want it next time round.’
Rage smirks at Vinyl. ‘Sounds like it’s not just the zombies you need to worry about. You might have to start whiting up.’
‘Not in this life,’ Vinyl says hotly. ‘I’d rather die than play along with cowardly scum like them.’
‘Yeah,’ I say quietly, remembering that day in the school when I made my belated stand against my father. ‘I know how you feel.’
‘Good to have you on the team,’ Vinyl smiles, then puts the doom and gloom behind him and carries on with the tour, though it’s hard for him to be as cheerful as he was after that troubling conversation.