Tancredi flushed red as a demon spirit possessed him. He blew the space door, set the engine to full and pushed forward all at the same time.

‘Five, four…’

The pod detached from the mother ship.

‘Three, two…’

‘Go! Go! Go!’ shrieked Tancredi, punching the emergency drive.

‘One…’

There was a bang, a flash, then a million stars sped by in slow motion.

VI
The Battle Of The Living Dead

As injuries were often sustained in emergency evacuations, the escape pod was programmed to carry its passengers to the nearest world with medical facilities. It analysed the options and found a suitable planet. The pod came to rest with a gentle shudder on the summit of a verdant knoll in bright sunlight.

The control panel showed Tancredi he had landed on Sanitalis, a health planet devoted to the well-being of mankind. His heartbeat was beginning to slow following his brush with death. He felt braver. He had saved Tamany and piloted the craft from the exploding ship without so much as a single tap of his nose. Although he knew the journey ahead would be long, he felt he’d survived a rite of passage. He was also cheered to have landed on Sanitalis. After the nihilism of Earth and the horrors of the Invincible, here at last was a civilisation based on the far-sighted philosophies of care and compassion.

Tamany was similarly in a better mood. He might have been responsible for the destruction of the ship, but his pin had saved their lives. His pride in this achievement soothed his remorse over the fate of the Invincible. Tancredi dreaded bringing up the subject of his parents, but was amazed by Tamany’s response.

The child admitted to being sad, he was sorry for their loss, but it would be difficult to miss them. He explained in a calm voice that he’d noticed there were all sorts of parents, from the terrific to the terrible. Since his had been at the latter end of the scale, he found it difficult to show the grief expected of him.

After a lifetime spent amongst fools, Tancredi was astonished to have found a kindred spirit in the form of a seven-year-old child.

It was a beautiful day. Birdsong filled the air. The adventurers surveyed the green countryside, stretching for miles in every direction. Tancredi splayed himself out on the warm grass, let out a deep breath and closed his eyes. He felt the warmth of the sunshine wash his face. Maybe life wasn’t so bad after all. He was about to fall asleep when he heard the sound of hoarse voices. He stood up to investigate, and was shocked by what he saw.

Gathered at the foot of the hill was an army of the sick in medical robes, swathed in blood-soaked bandages. They walked with a rolling limp, some dragging mangled legs in their wake. Deformed heads sat atop numerous humps, bumps and other disfigurements, and they carried scalpels, saws and medical blades of different sorts.