Caught Dead (Bite Risk) - Softcover

Buch 2 von 2: Bite Risk

Wills, S.J.

 
9781665938044: Caught Dead (Bite Risk)
Softcover
ISBN 10: 1665938048 ISBN 13: 9781665938044
Verlag: S&S Books for Young Readers, 2024

Inhaltsangabe

In this thrilling sequel to the middle grade adventure Bite Risk, Sel and his friends face something even bigger, stronger, and deadlier than Rippers when a new foe rises with the moon on Howl Night.

When you’ve already helped cause the end of the world, what’s left to be afraid of? Plenty.

After Sel Archer and his friends uncovered a conspiracy that turned the whole world upside down, people are struggling to live with the fact that almost all its adult population turn into Rippers once a month, and Sel is struggling with his newfound celebrity and the fact that Elena and Pedro have moved away from Tremorglade.

But bigger problems soon arise when Rippers start getting attacked on Howl Nights, turning up the following day, human but badly injured, with no idea how they were hurt. Rumors of a foul, unkillable beast begin to stir…someone or something is plotting to control the Rippers once and for all.

Can they stop what’s happening before all of Tremorglade is under the power of something unrelenting, unstoppable, and possibly…undead?

Die Inhaltsangabe kann sich auf eine andere Ausgabe dieses Titels beziehen.

Über die Autorin bzw. den Autor

S.J. Wills grew up in Chelmsford, Essex, where her parents let her choose any books she wanted from the library, no matter what. She has worked as a freelance copyeditor since 2003, alongside rediscovering her childhood love: writing her own stories. She lives in Kent with her writer husband, two sons, and a large, bouncing poodle.

Auszug. © Genehmigter Nachdruck. Alle Rechte vorbehalten.

Chapter 1: Sel CHAPTER 1 Sel
When you’ve already helped cause the end of the world, what’s left to be afraid of?

I’ll tell you. Forgetting to take your strictly-homewear-only socks off for Howl night.

I’ve just spent my entire night as a Ripper—the only time when, let’s face it, I actually look kind of good—prancing around town wearing tiny booties adorned with cartoon puppies. If any of the kids saw me and got their phones out last night, I’m toast.

The socks are ruined, of course, the elastic worn out by being stretched around my oversized furry ankles. Now they hang loose and limp on my cold human toes. I shake them off, cringing.

It’s not enough to bring me down, though. Nothing will, for a while. Returning after a Howl night these days is like stumbling off the best roller coaster in the world; woozy and breathless but exhilarated. Ready to take on anything.

I first Turned in November, just a couple of months after we broke out of Tremorglade, and it was a complete surprise because I hadn’t had my blood tested for a while. The first time it happened, I thought I’d just blacked out. Then I saw my clothes all torn up next to me, and realized it was dawn. Probably brought on by all the stress.

So last night was only my fifth time, but it feels completely natural, like I’ve been doing it for years. Ingrid Turned a month before I did—a fact she mentions a lot more than necessary. It’s just how she is. You don’t get to be Tremorglade tae kwan do champion without being a little bit competitive.

I’m meant to be doing a live stream with her early this morning—we started doing them shortly after the world changed, because it was obvious people were hungry for information.

But I’ve got a few minutes before I need to move. Downstairs, there’s the sound of drawers opening and cutlery clinking—Mum getting herself a coffee. It took a few months to persuade her she didn’t need to go in the cage anymore, and she still insists on locking herself in her room on Howl nights. Everyone adjusts at their own pace, and it’s taking her a bit longer to get over the worry that she might get up to something “too wild,” whatever that means.

At least she doesn’t try to make me stay in. That ship has sailed and she knows it.

Sunlight slices across from the crack in the curtains and warms my chest. I smile to myself; it’s peaceful.

The end of the world didn’t turn out all that bad.

There’s nothing left to be afraid of, right?

My live stream is going better than I hoped. My online following has been building slowly over the handful of videos I’ve made over the last few months, but this is on a whole new level. There are a hundred thousand people watching right now, and the number’s shooting up by the minute. More will watch it later. As the corpus pilori virus has zoomed around the world putting the fun into full moons, so has my face telling everyone hey, don’t worry: sprouting fur, fangs, and claws once a month isn’t such a big deal. Chill. Don’t overreact. Put down that weapon and pick up a banana—Rippers love them and they’re full of vitamins for glossy coats and healthy teeth.

It’s important. While Tremorglade is not so different from how it’s always been—with a few exceptions—things out there in the rest of the world are kind of dicey at the moment. Sequest totally lied to us about how bad things were—most of the deadly weather and diseases and roaming gangs they scared us with never existed… until now. It turns out that a lot of people panic when they hear there’s an “unstoppable werewolf plague” on the way. And when people panic, stuff gets messed up.

It’s not “societal collapse” like some of the TV news presenters kept warning about in the early weeks, before they realized they weren’t going to need to hide in bunkers, emerging only to battle to the death over tins of beans. It’s just… a period of adjustment. To be fair, we’ve had twenty-five years to get used to the idea. The whole world Turning in a matter of months has blown a lot of minds. My videos are helping everyone adjust, whether they Rip out on a full moon like most people, or they don’t—because they’re a kid, or they’re Immutable, which means they’re immune and don’t Turn.

Today, I’ve promised to show viewers where it all started, and remind them of the truth about what happened. Because there are a lot of rumors and lies flying around, about who’s responsible for Rippers, and about how dangerous they—we—really are. I’m here to set the record straight.

Ingrid’s behind the camera, refusing to have her face on screen because “people on the internet are creepy.” Elena would have been all over it, but she’s not here.

“We’re coming to you from inside Shady Oaks, the local hangout for luxury senior living,” I tell the viewers. We’re filming in Harold’s old room. The whole place is locked up, empty, but it was easy to get in. Tremorglade has never had much crime, so isn’t built to protect against it.

Eddie sniffs around at the armchair where he used to curl up at Harold’s feet and snaffle biscuit crumbs. I wonder if dogs feel nostalgia? He’s mine now, and at home I let him on the sofa, on my lap, and sometimes he gets a bit of cheese, so hopefully he feels like he’s better off now.

“This is where Elena and Harold and I used to play cards, all the while he was experimenting on us and the rest of Tremorglade for his company, Sequest. Across the corridor was Dora’s room.”

Ingrid swings the camera around slowly to get it all in, as I talk about the experiments Harold designed and carried out, and mention that Dora tried to protect us from him, in her own way.

They’re both dead, now. I’m sad about Dora. I’d only just started getting to know her. But at least she lived long enough to see Tremorglade free, and it wasn’t a bad way to go—she died of old age, on a Howl night toward the end of last year. Just lay down where Shady Oaks’ grounds meet the edge of the forest, on a soft carpet of snow under the full moon, and never woke up. When dawn came, her body stayed Ripper. She was buried under the trees, in accordance with the instructions in her will. I think she knew she was dying, and went out there to do it in peace, under the glittering stars.

Also, I can’t prove it, but I have a feeling she ate Harold.

Not the night she died, I mean. She must have done it that same night me and Ingrid and Elena escaped from Tremorglade. Dora was out of her cage—ironically, he let her out—and at that time Sequest was still blasting the town with infrasound, driving all the Rippers berserk, so she’d have been deadly. I was worried Harold had escaped but, a couple of months back, investigators found his remains in the forest. They reckon he was killed around the time of the Rippocalypse. According to the experts, given the distribution and condition of the remains, it was either a frenzied Ripper attack, or he spontaneously exploded. On balance, probably the former.

If it was Dora that got him, she would have Returned the following morning, put her dentures back in,...

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Verlag
S&S Books for Young Readers
Erscheinungsdatum
2024
Sprache
Englisch
ISBN 10 
1665938048
ISBN 13 
9781665938044
Einband
Taschenbuch
Anzahl der Seiten
320
Kontakt zum Hersteller
Nicht verfügbar
Verantwortliche Person
Simon and Schuster Netherlands BV
info@simonandschuster.nl

Herculesplein 96
Utrecht
3584 AA
Niederlande

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Softcover