Gregor got to work on the angels lying on his tables. He methodically cut away flesh, sawing and slicing and filling bucket after bucket with lumps of rotten gore.
'You get the best jobs,' said Hook, lifting two huge buckets of grey meat at once.
Gregor just grunted.
Stella was lifting Jared onto her shoulders. 'I'm gonna take Mr Jenks somewhere more comfortable,' she said.
'You mean a rolled up mat on the floor?' said Hook. 'He'd be better where he is.'
'Let's just say I wouldn't want Gregor's tools to slip and accidently fall on him.' She smiled as she said it.
'We can't feed everyone,' Gregor growled, his head bent towards his gruesome task. Sweat covered his forehead and, on the rare occasions he glanced up from his work, it shone in the late afternoon sunlight.
Hook lugged his load down the east corridor.
'Remember to check nothing's around before you tip that out,' said Stella.
'Uh huh,' the big man called over his shoulder.
Stella moved north and into the gift shop, converted now to a bedroom of sorts. She had filled the shelves with books scavenged on her various trips into the city. Other than that, there was a sleeping mat and a chair. Patterned throws hung at the windows and the door, which she closed, plunging the room into a gloomy shade. Not much, but it was the closest thing she had to a private space.
She didn't know why she brought Jared in here; if he was awake, he certainly wouldn't be welcome. She sighed as she laid him down on her mat. 'Sleep well, Mr Jenks.' She settled in the chair and grabbed a book from the shelves and clicked on a reading lamp. 'The Road' by Cormac McCarthy. 'A little bit of non-fiction,' she said to herself, and settled to read.
Stella jerked awake. Someone was standing over her. She lashed out with her fist, connecting with someone's jaw. The figure yelped and fell over. Stella was up, out of the chair and standing over him in an instant, ready to press her attack.
Jared covered his head with his arms. 'I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry,' he said.
Stella stopped, reached her hand down to him. 'It's okay,' she said, with never a thought of an apology. 'I should warn you, I don't like to be woken up. If you ever need to do it again, you should do it from a distance.'
Jared reached for her hand and allowed himself to be pulled smoothly to his feet. His jaw was already red and starting to swell. 'Noted,' he said.
Stella stared at him.
He flinched again.
'Don't be nervous. You're not in danger here,' said Stella.
'We're in danger everywhere,' said Jared.
Stella nodded. 'You must be hungry.' She looked at his drawn face, his sunken eyes. 'Breakfast.'
She led him from the gift shop back to the rotunda, where Gregor and Hook were already up and eating.
'Morning, JJ,' said Hook. He saw the blossoming bruise on Jared's face. 'Rough night?' He winked at Stella, who ignored him.
Gregor glared at Jared. Both he and Hook ate from bowls, spooning what looked and smelled like baked beans into their mouths.
'Sit here,' said Stella, pointing to a stool on the outside of the ringed desk. She walked into the middle and met him on the other side of the black wood. 'We have just what a starving man needs.' She placed a tin of baked beans and sausages in front of Jared.
YOU ARE READING
Stella the Zombie Killer
HorrorStella is three years into the apocalypse and there are too many zombies to kill. Three years since the crash; three years since she was the Cynosure, champion of the Games and the most famous person in the world; three years of living with Hook and...
