The Dead (Higson novel)
Encyclopedia
The Dead is a post-apocalyptic
young adult horror
novel written by Charlie Higson
. The book takes place a year before the events in The Enemy
. It was published by Puffin Books
in the UK on 16 September 2010. The third novel in the series, titled The Fear, was published on 15 September 2011.
.
After escaping from an adult siege of their school, Jack and Ed rescue the French teacher's daughter, Frederique, and attempt to contact several boys inside a church. Alarmed that there is no reply from inside the church, they break in and find that the boys hiding inside are unconscious from carbon monoxide
poisoning
. They manage to revive them. Matthew, a boy who has possibly suffered brain damage from the carbon monoxide, believes himself to be the messenger of the Lamb of God
and believes that he must go to St Paul's Cathedral
in London. The group splits, with Matt and his "acolytes", including Jack, attempting to go to London, and the rest deciding go deeper into the countryside.
The group heading for the countryside are attacked by older, infected teenagers shortly after parting from the rest. They are saved by the timely arrival of a motor coach driven by an adult named Greg Thorne. He is a butcher who claims that he is immune to the disease. With his young son Liam, Greg has acquired a bus and is collecting children to transport them all to London. Several other children are on the bus. Greg turns the bus around to find Jack, Matthew, and the Lamb of God believers, who are all still journeying towards London.
Greg explains that, before the epidemic, he was staying with a farmer and his family, but he had had to kill a father and the older children, and indirectly remarks that he had to kill a crazy child because of the loss of his family and is seen to be eating dried meat. The bus halts for the night. Greg realizes that he has become infected and can no longer protect Liam, whom Greg strangles in his sleep.
The next morning, Greg is inexplicably wearing Liam's glasses. Jack and Ed confront Greg about Liam's death. The bus is assaulted by several adults, and the group escapes from the bus and make it to the Imperial War Museum
in south London.
The kids clash with the leader of the museum group, Jordan, who refuses to let them stay in the museum, but he compromises and lets them stay as long as they collect food for themselves. A group sets off, and they explore until they find a Tesco
truck with a partially decomposed corpse inside. Whilst they are attempting to get the truck to run, Frederique comes under attack by several adults. They fight off the adults and are surprised to find that she is unharmed. The group manage to drive the truck back to the museum while Jack, Ed, and another boy, Bam, set off to find Jack's home, where he has been planning to go since the beginning of the infection.
Meanwhile, Matt's religion has gained believers in the museum. They rename the religion Agnus Dei, Latin for "Lamb of God". Matt foretells that the Lamb will look like a boy and will have a shadow that is another boy, who must be sacrificed. Meanwhile, Frederique attacks Froggie, biting into his arm. She reveals that she is sixteen years old and has been infected the entire time, with her diseases taking longer to infect her. She is locked in a storeroom by several of the kids.
Jack, Ed, and Bam make their way to the Oval Cricket Ground. Outside the cricket ground are ambulances, army trucks, and skips filled with dead bodies. The boys explore, finding and keeping several weapons. The entire stadium is full of diseased corpses that were going to be burned, but the soldiers were themselves infected or killed before they had a chance. The boys are then pursed by adults through the stadium. Jack has a sub-machine gun he found from a dead soldier and, whilst trying to fend off an adult, he shoots a propane tank, causing it to explode and causing an avalanche of bodies. Jack and Bam are buried underneath the bodies and debris. Bam mistakes Jack for an adult and shoots him with a shotgun. Jack is badly wounded but able to stand. Ed finds them, and the three boys leave, continuing their search for Jack's house. They continue towards Jack's home but are ambushed by adults in the street. The three boys manage to kill all the attacking adults, but Greg appears, now fully infected, and kills Bam with a meat cleaver. He then slashes Jack's chest open and cuts the side of Ed's face from forehead to chin. Greg is about to finish off Ed, but Greg flees when Ed mentions Liam.
Ed drags a dying Jack to his home and tries to heal his friend's wounds. However, Jack is too far gone, and Ed takes Jack to his bedroom and spends the night with him. In the morning, Jack has died from his wounds. Ed cremates his friend's body and leaves, headed back to the museum.
Soon Ed is ambushed again by adults. He is rescued by David King, Pod, and their group. They all travel to the museum. David warns Ed that a fire is spreading northward, towards the museum and that they should move.
At the museum, Ed confronts the infected Frederique, who attempts to attack him. She escaped from captivity by gnawing through her own thumb to get out of the handcuffs. He defeats her and manages to banish her to the streets rather than killing her. He holds council with David and Jordan, and they decide to move to North London. Jordan decides to stay in the museum with several others.
Ed and David lead their kids in the Tesco truck and attempt to cross north across the River Thames, fleeing the rapidly spreading fire. Every other kid in South London is also trying to cross the river, and they all struggle to do so due to a commotion between kids further up the bridge. But a huge wave of adults come up behind the kids from the south, and Ed and several other fighters hang back to fend off the infected to protect the other kids. Frederique reappears and attacks Aleisha, injuring her, and Ed shoots Frederique with a pistol. Ed is helped by another boy named Kyle, and, although the fighters initially seem to be overwhelmed, they are rescued by Jordan and his crew, who had been forced to abandon the museum by adults and the fire.
They realize that they must flee, but the way back to the bridge is blocked by a horde of adults. The kids manage to take control of a sightseeing cruise boat moored in the river. They pilot it downstream towards the Tower of London, but Matt hijacks the boat in an attempt to reach St Paul's. He accidentally crashes the boat into the bridge, and it splits in half, causing a number of kids to drown, including Aleisha. Matt and the survivors of his acolytes are last seen disappearing under a bridge, standing on the top of half of the ruined boat.
Jordan, Ed, Kyle, and the survivors find lifeboats and make it to the river's north bank. They make their way to the Tower of London
and enter it by climbing the drainpipes. Inside they find a group of about thirty kids already inhabiting the castle. Frustrated at the leadership of the current leader, Jordan takes control, with Ed as his right-hand man. Of the original group from the bus, only Ed and Courtney remain. The others are either dead, missing, or still with the Tesco truck.
Greg finds himself in Trafalgar Square
, where he has lost his shirt. He puts on a St George t-shirt from a souvenir stand and decides to get revenge on those who he holds responsible for Liam's death.
One year later, Ed, Kyle, and Jordan are guarding the Tower of London. Small Sam and The Kid arrive. The Tower group are shocked to see that Same and The Kid resemble the Lamb and the Goat as portrayed on the Angus Dei banner.
Apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction
Apocalyptic fiction is a sub-genre of science fiction that is concerned with the end of civilization due to a potentially existential catastrophe such as nuclear warfare, pandemic, extraterrestrial attack, impact event, cybernetic revolt, technological singularity, dysgenics, supernatural...
young adult horror
Horror fiction
Horror fiction also Horror fantasy is a philosophy of literature, which is intended to, or has the capacity to frighten its readers, inducing feelings of horror and terror. It creates an eerie atmosphere. Horror can be either supernatural or non-supernatural...
novel written by Charlie Higson
Charlie Higson
Charles Murray Higson , more commonly known as Charlie Higson - also Switch - is an English actor, comedian, author and former singer...
. The book takes place a year before the events in The Enemy
The Enemy (Higson novel)
The Enemy is a post-apocalyptic young adult horror novel written by Charlie Higson. The book takes place in London after a worldwide sickness has infected adults turning them into something akin to zombies. It was published by Puffin Books in the UK on 3 September 2009 and by Disney-Hyperion in the...
. It was published by Puffin Books
Puffin Books
Puffin Books is the children's imprint of British publishers Penguin Books. Since the 1960s it has been the largest publisher of children's books in the UK and much of the English-speaking world.-Early history:...
in the UK on 16 September 2010. The third novel in the series, titled The Fear, was published on 15 September 2011.
Plot summary
The Dead begins a year before the events in The Enemy and two weeks after a worldwide sickness has infected all adults, turning them into zombies. Two fourteen-year-old boys called Jack and Ed are trapped with a group of other schoolboys in the Rowhurst boarding school, in a remote village, a few miles from LondonLondon
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
.
After escaping from an adult siege of their school, Jack and Ed rescue the French teacher's daughter, Frederique, and attempt to contact several boys inside a church. Alarmed that there is no reply from inside the church, they break in and find that the boys hiding inside are unconscious from carbon monoxide
Carbon monoxide
Carbon monoxide , also called carbonous oxide, is a colorless, odorless, and tasteless gas that is slightly lighter than air. It is highly toxic to humans and animals in higher quantities, although it is also produced in normal animal metabolism in low quantities, and is thought to have some normal...
poisoning
Poisoning
Poisoning may refer to:* Biological toxicity, see toxin and poison.* Catalyst poisoning.* Nuclear poison.* Poisoning, a classification in Cantonese food.* Route poisoning, a computer network concept.* Secondary poisoning...
. They manage to revive them. Matthew, a boy who has possibly suffered brain damage from the carbon monoxide, believes himself to be the messenger of the Lamb of God
Lamb of God
The title Lamb of God appears in the Gospel of John, with the exclamation of John the Baptist: "Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world" in John 1:29 when he sees Jesus....
and believes that he must go to St Paul's Cathedral
St Paul's Cathedral
St Paul's Cathedral, London, is a Church of England cathedral and seat of the Bishop of London. Its dedication to Paul the Apostle dates back to the original church on this site, founded in AD 604. St Paul's sits at the top of Ludgate Hill, the highest point in the City of London, and is the mother...
in London. The group splits, with Matt and his "acolytes", including Jack, attempting to go to London, and the rest deciding go deeper into the countryside.
The group heading for the countryside are attacked by older, infected teenagers shortly after parting from the rest. They are saved by the timely arrival of a motor coach driven by an adult named Greg Thorne. He is a butcher who claims that he is immune to the disease. With his young son Liam, Greg has acquired a bus and is collecting children to transport them all to London. Several other children are on the bus. Greg turns the bus around to find Jack, Matthew, and the Lamb of God believers, who are all still journeying towards London.
Greg explains that, before the epidemic, he was staying with a farmer and his family, but he had had to kill a father and the older children, and indirectly remarks that he had to kill a crazy child because of the loss of his family and is seen to be eating dried meat. The bus halts for the night. Greg realizes that he has become infected and can no longer protect Liam, whom Greg strangles in his sleep.
The next morning, Greg is inexplicably wearing Liam's glasses. Jack and Ed confront Greg about Liam's death. The bus is assaulted by several adults, and the group escapes from the bus and make it to the Imperial War Museum
Imperial War Museum
Imperial War Museum is a British national museum organisation with branches at five locations in England, three of which are in London. The museum was founded during the First World War in 1917 and intended as a record of the war effort and sacrifice of Britain and her Empire...
in south London.
The kids clash with the leader of the museum group, Jordan, who refuses to let them stay in the museum, but he compromises and lets them stay as long as they collect food for themselves. A group sets off, and they explore until they find a Tesco
Tesco
Tesco plc is a global grocery and general merchandise retailer headquartered in Cheshunt, United Kingdom. It is the third-largest retailer in the world measured by revenues and the second-largest measured by profits...
truck with a partially decomposed corpse inside. Whilst they are attempting to get the truck to run, Frederique comes under attack by several adults. They fight off the adults and are surprised to find that she is unharmed. The group manage to drive the truck back to the museum while Jack, Ed, and another boy, Bam, set off to find Jack's home, where he has been planning to go since the beginning of the infection.
Meanwhile, Matt's religion has gained believers in the museum. They rename the religion Agnus Dei, Latin for "Lamb of God". Matt foretells that the Lamb will look like a boy and will have a shadow that is another boy, who must be sacrificed. Meanwhile, Frederique attacks Froggie, biting into his arm. She reveals that she is sixteen years old and has been infected the entire time, with her diseases taking longer to infect her. She is locked in a storeroom by several of the kids.
Jack, Ed, and Bam make their way to the Oval Cricket Ground. Outside the cricket ground are ambulances, army trucks, and skips filled with dead bodies. The boys explore, finding and keeping several weapons. The entire stadium is full of diseased corpses that were going to be burned, but the soldiers were themselves infected or killed before they had a chance. The boys are then pursed by adults through the stadium. Jack has a sub-machine gun he found from a dead soldier and, whilst trying to fend off an adult, he shoots a propane tank, causing it to explode and causing an avalanche of bodies. Jack and Bam are buried underneath the bodies and debris. Bam mistakes Jack for an adult and shoots him with a shotgun. Jack is badly wounded but able to stand. Ed finds them, and the three boys leave, continuing their search for Jack's house. They continue towards Jack's home but are ambushed by adults in the street. The three boys manage to kill all the attacking adults, but Greg appears, now fully infected, and kills Bam with a meat cleaver. He then slashes Jack's chest open and cuts the side of Ed's face from forehead to chin. Greg is about to finish off Ed, but Greg flees when Ed mentions Liam.
Ed drags a dying Jack to his home and tries to heal his friend's wounds. However, Jack is too far gone, and Ed takes Jack to his bedroom and spends the night with him. In the morning, Jack has died from his wounds. Ed cremates his friend's body and leaves, headed back to the museum.
Soon Ed is ambushed again by adults. He is rescued by David King, Pod, and their group. They all travel to the museum. David warns Ed that a fire is spreading northward, towards the museum and that they should move.
At the museum, Ed confronts the infected Frederique, who attempts to attack him. She escaped from captivity by gnawing through her own thumb to get out of the handcuffs. He defeats her and manages to banish her to the streets rather than killing her. He holds council with David and Jordan, and they decide to move to North London. Jordan decides to stay in the museum with several others.
Ed and David lead their kids in the Tesco truck and attempt to cross north across the River Thames, fleeing the rapidly spreading fire. Every other kid in South London is also trying to cross the river, and they all struggle to do so due to a commotion between kids further up the bridge. But a huge wave of adults come up behind the kids from the south, and Ed and several other fighters hang back to fend off the infected to protect the other kids. Frederique reappears and attacks Aleisha, injuring her, and Ed shoots Frederique with a pistol. Ed is helped by another boy named Kyle, and, although the fighters initially seem to be overwhelmed, they are rescued by Jordan and his crew, who had been forced to abandon the museum by adults and the fire.
They realize that they must flee, but the way back to the bridge is blocked by a horde of adults. The kids manage to take control of a sightseeing cruise boat moored in the river. They pilot it downstream towards the Tower of London, but Matt hijacks the boat in an attempt to reach St Paul's. He accidentally crashes the boat into the bridge, and it splits in half, causing a number of kids to drown, including Aleisha. Matt and the survivors of his acolytes are last seen disappearing under a bridge, standing on the top of half of the ruined boat.
Jordan, Ed, Kyle, and the survivors find lifeboats and make it to the river's north bank. They make their way to the Tower of London
Tower of London
Her Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress, more commonly known as the Tower of London, is a historic castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London, England. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, separated from the eastern edge of the City of London by the open space...
and enter it by climbing the drainpipes. Inside they find a group of about thirty kids already inhabiting the castle. Frustrated at the leadership of the current leader, Jordan takes control, with Ed as his right-hand man. Of the original group from the bus, only Ed and Courtney remain. The others are either dead, missing, or still with the Tesco truck.
Greg finds himself in Trafalgar Square
Trafalgar Square
Trafalgar Square is a public space and tourist attraction in central London, England, United Kingdom. At its centre is Nelson's Column, which is guarded by four lion statues at its base. There are a number of statues and sculptures in the square, with one plinth displaying changing pieces of...
, where he has lost his shirt. He puts on a St George t-shirt from a souvenir stand and decides to get revenge on those who he holds responsible for Liam's death.
One year later, Ed, Kyle, and Jordan are guarding the Tower of London. Small Sam and The Kid arrive. The Tower group are shocked to see that Same and The Kid resemble the Lamb and the Goat as portrayed on the Angus Dei banner.
Characters
- Aleisha - A girl student on Greg Thorne's coach, best friends with Brooke and Courtney. Aleisha drowns after being bitten and left behind when the sinking cruise boat.
- Archie Bishop - A member of "The Lamb" religion formed by Matthew. At the end of the novel, his fate is unknown.
- Arthur - Wiki's best friend. Arthur is nicknamed "Jibber-Jabber" because he talks constantly.
- Bam - A student from from Rowhurst. Bam is a strong, powerful, enthusiastic rugby player, much respected by everyone because he is the best fighter of the group. He is killed in a fight with Greg Thorne, who attacks him from behind with a meat cleaver.
- Brooke - A girl student on Greg Thorne's coach, best friends with Aleisha and Courtney. Brooke becomes emotionally close to Ed Carter.
- Chris Marker - A boy who never stops reading, and believes he sees ghosts. He appears to be Schizophrenia, as he mentions therapy and "doctors" from earlier in his life.
- Courtney - A girl student on Greg Thorne's coach, best friends with Aleisha and Brooke. Courtney travels with Ed to the Tower of London.
- David King - A posh boy from a private school in Surrey. He rescues Ed and escorts the Rowhurst students across London with his own group.
- DogNut - a boy in the Imperial War Museum group. DogNut is ratty and wiry and deeply respects Jordan Hordern, for whom he appears to serve as second-in-command.
- Ed Carter - A popular boy from Rowhurst. He is left with a facial scar after being attacked by Greg Thorne with a meat cleaver.
- Frederique Morel - A French girl whom the Rowhurst students find as they escape their school. Frederique develops a romantic connection with Jack, but this is never fully established because she becomes infected due to her mature age. The Rowhurst students expel her from the Imperial War Museum, and later she reappears at the battle on the bridge and bites Aleisha. Immediately after this, she regains control of herself long enough to let Ed shoot and kill her.
- Froggie - Zohra's brother. The two cute little siblings enjoy chatting with Arthur, Justin, and Wiki. Froggie is bitten by Frederique Morel, but he is fine afterward.
- Greg Thorne - Father of Liam Thorne, later calling himself "Saint George". Greg is an adult who claims he is immune to the disease. He is driving a coach bringing Aleisha, Brooke, and Courtney back to England after the disease breaks out on their school trip to France. South of London, he picks up the Rowhurst students and Frederique Morel. Later he becomes infected, puts on a shirt decorated with a St. George crossSt George's CrossSt George's Cross is a red cross on a white background used as a symbolic reference to Saint George. The red cross on white was associated with St George from medieval times....
, and becomes a leader for infected adults. - Jack - A student from Rowhurst. Jack is Ed's best friend and dies from a gunshot wound.
- Johnno - One of the Rowhurst rugby players who is killed during the ambush at the Fez.
- Jordan Hordern - The leader of the Imperial War Museum group. Jordan is very interested in war and strategy, and he takes control when his group arrives at the Tower of London.
- Justin - The last of the three nerds. He is put in charge of driving the Tesco truck.
- The Kid - A nine-year-old boy who is suspected of being "The Goat", which is the companion of "The Lamb" in the religion formed by Matthew.
- Kwanele Nkosi - A fashion-obsessed African student from Rowhurst. Kwanele is cowardly and unwilling to help out with anything for fear of ruining his clothes. Ed Carter is greatly annoyed by this behaviour.
- Kyle - A boy whom Ed meets during the battle on the bridge. He joins Ed trek through London and serves as his right-hand-man in the Tower of London.
- Liam Thorne - Son of Greg Thorne. When Greg realizes that he is not immune from the disease and, because he has become infected, he cannot care for Liam, he strangles Liam. Greg then carries Liam's body wherever he goes, until it drops from a bridge.
- Malik - A Muslim friend of Ed Carter. Malik is presumed dead after adults kidnap him in an industrial park.
- Matthew - A boy from the church. Suffering carbon monoxide poisoningCarbon monoxide poisoningCarbon monoxide poisoning occurs after enough inhalation of carbon monoxide . Carbon monoxide is a toxic gas, but, being colorless, odorless, tasteless, and initially non-irritating, it is very difficult for people to detect...
and the emotional trauma from the disease epidemic, Matthew forms a religion about a boy known as "The Lamb" who make things right. He hijacks the sightseeing boat but crashes it, then floats downriver on its remains. At the end of the novel, his fate is unknown. - Piers - A student from from Rowhurst. Piers is one of the Rugby players and a friend of Bam. He is injured early in the novel and dies when Kwanele Nkosi and Ed Carter leave him at the bus.
- Pod - A boy who serves as head of security for David King.
- Saint George - See Greg Thorne.
- Small Sam - A nine-year-old boy who appears at the Tower of London at the end of the novel. For a short while, he is thought to be "The Lamb", the supposed deity in the religion formed by Matthew.
- Wiki - A small boy who seems to know everything.
- Zohra - Froggie's brother. The two cute little siblings enjoy chatting with Arthur, Justin, and Wiki.