Dawn of the Zombie Knights (20 page)

Pete smiled and shook his head.

‘No,' he said firmly. ‘You can be mine.'

Smithers looked a little shocked and then he threw back his head and laughed. He patted Pete on the shoulder and they turned their attention to their King.

King Rayon was standing, surveying his town, as he had done in Pete's vision. Only this time it was different. This time they had won. There were no more zombie knights.

xcept for Sir Vyvor.

The one remaining knight of the Order of Black Knights stood alone. He looked up and saw that the King, Pete and Larson had approached and now stood in front of him. Behind them the townsfolk were starting to emerge from their homes, and doctors and healers were tending to the wounded knights. Sir Vyvor was ready for the worst.

‘I apologise,' he said. ‘I apologise for the actions of my order. I accept thy punishment. I am prepared to die.'

The King nodded, thinking.

‘You showed the values of a true knight today. What is your name?'

‘Sir Vyvor, Your Majesty.'

‘You are that indeed, and who am I to go against it? You shall not die today. You are a fine knight and an honour to all knights before and after you.'

Sir Vyvor bowed low in thanks.

‘Your Majesty.'

The King continued.

‘Why is it you rode with these knights? What was your purpose?'

Sir Vyvor recounted the reason for the Black Knights' search for the Wilderene Flower. He told of his own reasons for wanting the flower, that he would do as Arlyle Motain had planned. The King listened.

‘It seems, Sir Vyvor, that your motives are genuine. It seems that you wish for the flower to remain safe from evil. It is for this reason, with the permission of the flower's current owner, that I wish for you to return the flower to the Great Oak as is your destiny.'

‘Well,' Pete said, ‘I had thought I would take it to Bandragon …'

King Rayon turned, eyebrows raised.

‘But of course,' Pete continued, quickly rethinking things, ‘of course, you showed valour and skill and were great and all of that. You should take it. Please. I want you to have it.'

‘Very well then,' King Rayon announced. ‘You shall return the flower to the oak, and you shall guard it henceforth.'

He handed the Wilderene Flower to Sir Vyvor, who took it very carefully. He looked at it and breathed in its scent deeply. After he did so, his black armour turned the purest white, and suddenly he no longer looked like a zombie. He had been returned to his original state, strong and proud, whole once more. He was also surrounded by eleven other knights on horseback, honourable white zombie knights, pure of heart.

‘We shall honour this agreement,' Sir Vyvor said proudly. ‘These knights and I doth be a new order. An ageless order of knights dedicated to protecting the Wilderene Flower.'

He glanced at Pete.

‘I know thee. I have seen thee fight twice now. Thou doth fight with honour and bravery, young one. Thou also did not wish to keep the flower for thyself, for thine own gains. Thus, it doth seem thou should be rewarded in some way. Oftentimes, those created by the flower's creator doth receive a little extra.'

With that he breathed in deeply from the flower once again, before smiling at Pete.

‘That wish was for thee, young knight. It shall come to fruition in time.'

Pete nodded. He had no idea what a zombie knight could possibly wish for him. Sir Vyvor wrapped the Wilderene Flower in the towel Sir Plyer had given him the previous week. He was going to miss Sir Plyer. That guy was very handy when it came to getting things. Sir Vyvor mounted his zombie horse, assembled his order, and they rode off. Their mission to protect the Wilderene Flower had begun.

ing Rayon had recovered from his wounds, as had the other surviving knights.
(Well, most had recovered. Two had been bitten but had survived, meaning they had been infected and had turned into zombies themselves. Those two had been, well, killed. But the others were much better now, thankyou very much.)

Training had recommenced for the young knights. Those who had lost their mentors were still allowed to train, which meant some of the knights trained three or more young squires.

Pete McGee also trained in the castle. His training with Sir Mountable held him in good stead, but still he learnt new skills and continued to grow stronger. His friendship with Larson Smithers also grew. Although Smithers was a year ahead, he and Pete often trained together in extra sessions. Smithers had proven himself a valuable ally on the battlefield, and now that his teasing and bullying days seemed to be behind him, he was actually a kind of nice guy.

This pleased Pete immensely. Smithers was on his side now, a different person and a good friend.

After finishing training for the week, Pete rode Lightning home. His mum was waiting out the front when he got there, as were Marloynne and Ashlyn.

‘What's going on?' Pete asked, wondering why they were all waiting out there for him. Mrs McGee smiled.

‘Can you just confirm something for us?' she asked. ‘We're pretty confident, but you're the one who will know for sure.'

Pete shrugged.

‘Sure, but this is pretty weird, you know.'

The others laughed and walked around the back of the house to the vegetable patch. Pete couldn't believe his eyes. There, between the lettuce and the zucchini, was a little weed-like flower growing through the surface. There were thorns on the dark green stalk, and the flower was a dull yellow. Pete ran over and knelt by the flower, staring at it.

Suddenly it clicked.

This was Sir Vyvor's wish. He had wished Pete another Wilderene Flower. Holy cow, this was amazing! Pete vowed, then and there, that as soon as the flower was fully grown he would deliver it to Mortone and the healers of Bandragon. They would be the ones to gain the most out of it. Besides, that would give him an excuse to go and see Molloy and Tahnee again.

Sir Pete McGee glanced over at his noble steed, Lightning. The horse pranced around, snorting out hot air as he did so. Pete laughed. They were a great team. He looked at his family, who were watching him, and smiled. He couldn't believe how lucky he was.

So that's it. Another great, well, I suppose it was a journey in the sense that Pete went on a journey of self-discovery, but it wasn't a journey where he went to all different places or anything.

Actually, I think we can call it a great
adventure
, because anything to do with zombies is great, and when they're trying to kill you and all other stuff is happening, that's an adventure. So a great adventure it was. And now it is finished.

So until you read the book again, or hear my voice on the big screen in the movie version, be good, dream big, and always take the chance to show the world just how great you can be.

Pete McGee: Dawn of the Zombie Nights

Adam Wallace

Published by JoJo Publishing

First published 2012

‘Yarra's Edge'

2203/80 Lorimer Street

Docklands VIC 3008

Australia

Email:
[email protected]
or visit
www.jojopublishing.com

© Adam Wallace

All rights reserved. No part of this printed or video publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electrical, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise) without the prior written permission of the publisher and copyright owner.

JoJo Publishing

Editor: Mandy Naylor

Designer / typesetter: Chameleon Print Design

National Library of Australia Cataloguing-in-Publication entry