Читать книгу Clash of the Worlds - Ned Vizzini - Страница 30

Cordelia quickly hugged Eleanor, shielding her eyes. Brendan’s body lay in the middle of Jagger’s tongue.

How could this have happened? Cordelia let her face fall into Eleanor’s shoulder; she was too shocked to even cry. Cordelia thought she might never be able to move again. But then the sound of a low groan caused her to lift her head quickly.

Brendan’s head rolled as if coming out of a very deep sleep. He slowly climbed to his feet to resume the search for a snack. He was much more interested in finding something to munch on.

“What?” Cordelia said.

She had just seen her only brother shot with enough force to stop an elephant, and now he was walking around like everything was fine.

“I told you! Zombies can only be stopped if their brains are destroyed,” Eleanor explained. “You should put down Pride and Prejudice and read The Zombie Survival Guide sometime!”

The two sisters wanted to run and hug their brother, but didn’t since it was likely that he would take a bite out of their faces if they tried.

Suddenly, Fat Jagger rocked violently to the right, sending the three Walkers sprawling once again. Every bullet, missile and rocket impact could be felt inside Jagger’s mouth and a gust of hot air rushed out of his lungs each time he winced in pain.

“I don’t think Jagger can last much longer,” Cordelia said, almost in tears. “We need to get to Kristoff House!”

They held on as Fat Jagger moaned in pain, which only made Eleanor sob more. Through her tears, she spotted Brendan fighting to keep his balance on the increasingly uneasy surface. Eleanor quickly bent down and unlaced her left shoe.

“Cordelia, I need a distraction,” she said as she began working on her right shoelace. “Get Brendan’s attention!”

Cordelia stood up and took a deep breath; her last encounter with Brendan hadn’t gone so well.

“Hey, Dawn of the Dork!” Cordelia yelled as she walked towards her zombified brother.

Brendan cocked his head in Cordelia’s direction. He shuffled towards what he hoped would be his next meal, stopping to groan after each uneasy step – until suddenly his legs wouldn’t move any more. He groaned again before toppling over, a shoelace tied around his ankles.

“Nice one, Nell!” Cordelia said.

Eleanor grabbed Brendan’s arms and tied his wrists together with her other shoelace, careful to avoid his snapping jaws. Even with the future of her family on the line, Eleanor’s confidence surged through her. It felt good to know that she could actually help save her siblings – especially with a plan that was all her own.

Once Brendan was tied up, the two girls dragged him to the back of Fat Jagger’s mouth and nestled him under the colossus’s gigantic tongue for safety. Eleanor almost giggled at the image of zombie Brendan tucked under a giant’s tongue like a pig in a blanket. But the reality of the situation quickly erased her smile.

“I hope your plan works once we get to Kristoff House, Eleanor, whatever it is,” Cordelia said. “There are three lives on the line now.”

“Who’s the third?” Eleanor asked.

“Me,” Cordelia said, holding up her wounded hand, already feeling a little woozy from the zombification process. “Brendan bit me. If my calculations are correct … I should start turning into a zombie in about twelve minutes.”