Max Brallier - Last Kids on Earth and the Midnight Blade

First published in the United States of America by Viking,

an imprint of Penguin Random House LLC, 2015

This edition published in 2020

by Egmont Limited

2 Minster Court, London EC3R 7BB

Text copyright © 2019 Max Brallier

Illustrations copyright © 2019 Douglas Holgate

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

ISBN 978 0 7555 00048

eBook ISBN 978 0 7555 00055

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 Alyse.

For Daniels.

For Pupper.

For Everything.

– M. B.

For the “MPW Lads.”

Stay savage for all time.

– D. H.

CONTENTS

Cover

Title Page

Copyright First published in the United States of America by Viking, an imprint of Penguin Random House LLC, 2015 This edition published in 2020 by Egmont Limited 2 Minster Court, London EC3R 7BB Text copyright © 2019 Max Brallier Illustrations copyright © 2019 Douglas Holgate The moral rights of the author and illustrator have been asserted. ISBN 978 0 7555 00048 eBook ISBN 978 0 7555 00055 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 Alyse. For Daniels. For Pupper. For Everything. – M. B. For the “MPW Lads.” Stay savage for all time. – 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

chapter twenty-one

chapter twenty-two

chapter twenty-three

chapter twenty-four

chapter twenty-five

chapter twenty-six

chapter twenty-seven

Acknowledgements

Back series promotional page

Last Kids on Earth and the Skeleton Road

About the Author

chapter one

Well, it happened. After all that time, they got us.

The zombies bit us.

We turned. We transformed.

Look at us – twisted undead faces, slumping undead posture.

We’re zombies. Absolute zombies.

Quint: zombie. Dirk: zombie. June: total, big-time zombie.

Things are different now . . .

Our adventures are a little slower: less darting around, more shambling. And our appetites have changed: less grilled donuts, more flesh burgers.

Y’know what – let me catch you up. Fill you in. Explain HOWwe joined the ranks of the undead.

See, it’s been about a month since, uh, BIG STUFF HAPPENED. A month since we battled a new villain; a villain who was HUMAN. . .

This villain’s name is EVIE SNARK, and like me, she’s a super-mega-geek. But unlike me, she’s OUT OF HER EVER-LOVING MIND . . .

First, she stole my beloved Louisville Slicer, and I was like, nuh-uh, NOT OK.

Then, she caused Dirk to be bitten by a zombie!

It was all part of her big bad cosmic plan – she was going to perform this weirdo ritual and bring the Cosmic Terror, GHAZT, into our dimension.

See, Ghazt is “The General” and he has the ability to control zombies with his TAIL. . .

And that’s, like, bad.

But Quint, June and I swung in like the Three Compadres! We saved Dirk by feeding him an eyeball, lent to us by our monster buddy Warg. The eyeball had some kind of healing, anti-zombie elixir inside, and Dirk sucked down the contents glass of h gooey lemon (It was gross, yep.)

We got the Slicer back, too! But not before it connected with the monster dimension . .

And in the end, well – WE KINDA FAILED. Evie’s plan worked! Ghazt entered our dimension. But, because we interfered, things went a little sideways and Ghazt took the form of a RAT– a rat mixed with Evie’s action figure collection. So now he’s a half-plastic, half- rodent, zombie-controlling cosmic creep.

And they escaped! Evie and Ghazt: now at large, on the loose, concocting bad guy plans!

And that leads us to . . . this very morning.

And us, becoming zombies.

Me, Jack Sullivan – former Post-Apocalyptic Action Hero! Now, just a lousy Post-Apocalyptic ZOMBIE DUDE.

And June, Dirk and Quint. Also zombies. We’re just four, regular, normal zombies among hundreds. Things have taken a turn for the terrifying . . .

“Guys, being a zombie stinks !” June says. “Literally. It smells.”