Charlie Higson - The Dead (Enemy, Book 2)

PUFFIN BOOKS

Charlie Higson is a well-known writer of screenplays and novels, and is the author of the phenomenally successful Young Bond series. He is also a performer and co-creator of The Fast Show, Swiss Toni and Bellamys People . Charlie is a big fan of horror films and is hoping to give a great many young people sleepless nights with this series.

Books by Charlie Higson

Young Bond series

SILVERFIN

BLOOD FEVER

DOUBLE OR DIE

HURRICANE GOLD

BY ROYAL COMMAND

DANGER SOCIETY: THE YOUNG BOND

DOSSIER

SILVERFIN: THE GRAPHIC NOVEL

THE ENEMY

THE DEAD

PUFFIN

PUFFIN BOOKS

Published by the Penguin Group

Penguin Books Ltd, 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL , England

Penguin Group (USA) Inc., 375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014, USA

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Penguin Books Ltd, Registered Offices: 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL , England

puffinbooks.com

First published 2010

Copyright Charlie Higson, 2010

The moral right of the author has been asserted

All rights reserved

Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise), without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book

A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

ISBN: 978-0-141-96556-7

For Alex

I have a lot of help from some wonderful people in researching parts of this series, but I would especially like to thank:

I would thoroughly recommend a visit to any of these fine institutions, whether you want to check out the locations from the books or whether you are interested in English history and culture.

When the video is posted on YouTube its an instant hit. Within days everyones talking about it.

Have you seen the Scared Kid video?

Its really freaky.

At first I thought it was a joke, but it looks so real.

Its definitely fake, but its still scary.

I cant watch it. Its too frightening.

Who is he? Do you know who he is? Whos the Scared Kid?

Nobody knows

Maybe its a clever trailer for a new horror film? Maybe its a viral ad for something. A new car or a chocolate bar? Or just maybe its real

Theres something about it. Something about the kid. No ten-year-old is that good an actor. And if someones playing a trick on him they are really sick and theyve done way too good a job. Who would do that? Who would deliberately scare a young kid that much? And why has nobody come forward to explain it all?

Even after everything that happens, when the whole world changes forever, when everyone knows that the video wasnt a hoax, but the start of something terrible, people will remember the Scared Kid. His poor frightened little face.

Its like the last thing everyone saw before the lights went out.

He sits there at his computer talking into a web cam. Its clear hes been crying for ages, his eyes are red raw, his face streaked with tears. Hes shaking uncontrollably and his teeth are actually chattering. You can hear them. It would be funny if it wasnt so weird. He can hardly get his words out. They tumble over each other.

I dont know what to what to do I dont know theyve killed Danny and Eve they killed Danny and Eve Danny and and Eve and Eve and and theyre outside now I can see them I can see them outside there are three mothers and a father

Thats the freakiest bit, the bit that sticks in peoples minds, that he calls them mothers and fathers.

They came to the house and they killed they killed Danny and Eve theres blood omigod omigod theres blood three mothers and a father theyve killed Danny and Eve make them go away please make them go away

Then he picks up the web cam and turns it to point out of the window. It veers all over, lights smearing the screen. Now you can see the street. Its night-time. The pictures awful but you can just see these four people under the street lights three mothers and a father three women and a man, and near to them what looks like a dead body. The body of a child.

Theres something not right about the people. They dont look like actors. The way theyre standing. And when one of them looks up at the camera its the most awful thing a dead-eyed look, like an animal. Are they actors? The pictures so bad its hard to tell.

Then the Scared Kids voice again.

Can you see them? Theyve gone crazy three mothers and a father theyve been trying to get back in into the house but Danny and Eve theyre dead theyre dead and I dont know where my mum and dad are theres nobody else here theyve all gone its only me

The camera moves again. You can hear crashing and smashing in the background. Shouting. Now the kids back at his desk, staring into the lens, like hes staring into the grave. Even more terrified than before. Shaking. Shaking.

Im going to post the video Danny showed me how they killed him three mothers and a father I have to do it quickly I dont know whats happening I dont think anyone will help me I think Im going to die like like

And thats the end of it.

Some other kids do impressions of him, and post them. Theres a remix of the kid done to a death metal soundtrack. But the thing is the video is scary because it seems so real. People watch it over and over, trying to understand it. And when adults start dying, when it becomes clear that some terrible new disease is striking everybody over the age of fourteen, the Scared Kid begins to look like some kind of prophet.

Within a very short time Scared Kid becomes the most watched YouTube clip ever. After a month its taken down. Theres a message saying its been removed. The day after that the whole YouTube site is taken down without any explanation.

And the day after that the Internet stops working.