Max Brallier - The Last Kids on Earth and the Nightmare King

First published in the United States of America by Viking, an imprint of Penguin Random House LLC, 2017

This edition published in 2019

By Egmont UK Limited

The Yellow Building, 1 Nicholas Road, London W11 4AN

Text copyright © 2017 Max Brallier

Illustrations copyright © 2017 Douglas Holgate

The moral rights of the author and illustrator have been asserted.

First e-book edition 2019

ISBN 978 1 4052 9511 6

Ebook ISBN 978 1 7803 1819 6

www.egmont.co.uk

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

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

Stay safe online. Any website addresses listed in this book are correct at the time of going to print. However, Egmont is not responsible for content hosted by third parties. Please be aware that online content can be subject to change and websites can contain content that is unsuitable for children. We advise that all children are supervised when using the internet.

For Chewy – always and forever ready for adventure. Catch you on the flip-flop, good buddy.

– M. B.

For Scott, Ainslie, and Reuben

– D. H.

Contents

Cover

Title Page

Copyright First published in the United States of America by Viking, an imprint of Penguin Random House LLC, 2017 This edition published in 2019 By Egmont UK Limited The Yellow Building, 1 Nicholas Road, London W11 4AN Text copyright © 2017 Max Brallier Illustrations copyright © 2017 Douglas Holgate The moral rights of the author and illustrator have been asserted. First e-book edition 2019 ISBN 978 1 4052 9511 6 Ebook ISBN 978 1 7803 1819 6 www.egmont.co.uk A CIP catalogue record for this title is available from the British Library All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the publisher. Stay safe online. Any website addresses listed in this book are correct at the time of going to print. However, Egmont is not responsible for content hosted by third parties. Please be aware that online content can be subject to change and websites can contain content that is unsuitable for children. We advise that all children are supervised when using the internet.

Dedication For Chewy – always and forever ready for adventure. Catch you on the flip-flop, good buddy. – M. B. For Scott, Ainslie, and Reuben – D. H.

Map of Wakefield

chapter one

chapter two

chapter three

chapter four

chapter five

chapter six

chapter seven

chapter eight

chapter nine

chapter ten

chapter eleven

chapter twelve

chapter thirteen

chapter fourteen

chapter fifteen

chapter sixteen

chapter seventeen

chapter eighteen

chapter nineteen

chapter twenty

Acknowledgments

About the Author

Back series promotional page

chapter one

Want to know what the most fantastically radical game ever is?

I can tell you.

It’s Real-Life Super Mario Kart.

And we’re playing it right now.

My best buddies – Quint, June, and Dirk – are racing through town in post-apocalyptic vehicles of awesomeness: souped-up bumper cars that we call BoomKarts.

Dirk built the BoomKarts, and Quint loaded ’em up with wicked vehicular combat coolness: paintball blasters, defensive marble spillers, spiked tyres, gas-powered slingshots – the works.

But me, Jack Sullivan? I don’t need a BoomKart because I race atop my awesome monster-dog, Rover.

There’s a reason for this game of Real-Life Super Mario Kart. I noticed that the energy and enthusiasm levels of my buddies were a little low. I mean, I was having trouble distinguishing them from the zombies . . .

So I was like, ‘WE NEED EXCITEMENT! And what’s more exciting than building an epic go-kart course with jumps, oil slicks, and a spinning speedway through creepy old man Aiken’s house?’

That’s one of the perks of life after the Monster Apocalypse – you can build giant Mario Kart-style tracks through your hometown.

Right now, June’s winning, and I must take her out! She’s claimed first place three races in a row! I yank my T-shirt cannon from Rover’s saddlebag and . . .

Direct hit! June’s kart slices around the corner, spins, then slams into the local fire station.

‘Don’t mess with the king!’ I shout. Rover woofs triumphantly as we stampede into first place. But I throw a glance behind me and see June’s BoomKart is all busted up.

Crud . The idea is to win, not to knock your buddies unconscious! I know a good amount about buddies, ’cause I have the best buddies, and I’m quite sure they don’t like being knocked out.

I tug on Rover’s reins and he turns. ‘June, you OK?’ I begin to call out, but then –

THWACK! The football knocks me clean out of Rover’s saddle. I fall onto the grass. Surprise football crossbow booms are the worst .

‘Your problem, Jack, is that you’re too nice ,’ June teases. ‘You don’t have that competitive spirit like me.’

She’s about to speed ahead when something INSANE happens.

And I don’t use the term ‘INSANE’ lightly, since pretty much everything that happens during the Monster Apocalypse could be classified as insane or, at the very minimum, pretty much bonkers bananas.

We hear a voice.

A human voice.

I can’t make out the words, but the voice is coming from inside the fire station. We’ve seen or heard zero other humans since the Monster Apocalypse began. So like I said, yeah, INSANE.