The Enemy (2009)

The Enemy is a post-apocalyptic young adult horror novel written by Charlie Higson. The book takes place in London, United Kingdom, after a worldwide sickness has infected adults, turning them into something akin to voracious, cannibalistic zombies. Puffin Books released The Enemy in the UK on 3 September 2009, Disney Hyperion in the US on 11 May 2010.

The Enemy is the first book in a planned series of seven. Puffin Books released the second novel in the series, titled The Dead, on 16 September 2010; the third novel, titled The Fear, on 15 September 2011; the fourth novel, The Sacrifice, on the 20 September 2012; the fifth novel, The Fallen, on 12 September 2013; the sixth novel, The Hunted, on 4 September 2014; and the final book, The End, on 10 November 2015. Disney Hyperion released Higson's short story companion book in the series, titled Geeks vs. Zombies, on 5 June 2012; it portrays an exclusive scene from The Fear, set on World Book Day.

Summary

Original, British publication

In Holloway, North London, one year after a mystery disease has turned anyone over fourteen and fifteen into cannibalistic, zombie-like creatures, the surviving children have formed a number of groups to better survive and combat the threat. A group in a local Waitrose supermarket, led by a boy named Arran and his second-in-command, a girl named Maxie, grows increasingly frustrated as children are kidnapped and killed by infected adults, who are becoming smarter. A scavenger party, composed of Arran, a short-fused fighter named Achilleus, a slingshot marksman named Ollie, and best friends Freak and Deke, becomes trapped by infected adults while exploring a building. During the ensuing fight, Deke is killed when his lung is punctured by a shard of glass, and Arran is bitten by a zombie he believes to be his mother. The bite sickens him, and the group barely escapes. Achilleus blames Deke's death on Freak (as it was his idea to search the building), sending Freak into depression.

Later that night, they save a boy named Jester from a large pack of zombies, prompting him to invite the group to his home, Buckingham Palace, which he claims is safe. The majority of the group likes the idea and set off to the palace through Camden, along with another group of kids from a nearby Morrisons supermarket, led by Blue and his second-in-command Whitney. A loner named Callum stays behind on his own, afraid to leave the confines of his base.

Meanwhile, Small Sam, a young boy who was kidnapped earlier by adults (leading the rest of the Waitrose group to believe he is dead), awakens in a zombie nesting ground at Emirates Stadium. He escapes the stadium by setting it on fire, along the way encountering a father wearing a Saint George T-shirt, who is in control of the rest of the stadium zombies. Sam flees to Waitrose, where Callum explains that the other children left for Buckingham Palace. He is unable to catch up with them, eventually heading down into the London Underground where he is swarmed by a group of zombies. He is saved by an apparently uninfected man named Nick, who takes him to the carriage which he and his also-uninfected wife Rachel are using as a home. Due to exhaustion, Sam eventually falls asleep.

As they are making their way to the palace, the Waitrose and Morrisons children (now called the Holloway kids after the road both shops were on) are met by a large army of zombies, led by the Saint George zombie Sam saw earlier. In the resulting fight, Arran and Maxie discover they are attracted to each other, a secret they both kept for fear of the other person not feeling the same way. The Holloway children eventually force the zombie army into a retreat, but Arran's bite causes him to go insane and chase after them. He is mistaken for a zombie by a girl named Sophie (leader of a group of archers) and she shoots him in the chest with a bow and arrow. Despite her attempts to save him, Arran eventually dies in Maxie's arms.

Meanwhile, Sam wakes up inside a different carriage, chained to the wall with a group of other children. Nick enters and reveals that although he and Rachel are apparently not infected, they are still cannibals, and intent on eating Sam. When he leaves, another small child (who simply refers to himself as "The Kid") enters the carriage via a window and helps Sam escape, along with another girl named Rhiannon (the rest believe Nick wants to help them and stay behind to be devoured). They are chased by Nick through the Underground, during which Rhiannon is shot, until they end up outside and Nick corners Sam underneath a carriage. Just as he is about to kill Sam, the sun comes out, and Nick (who is revealed to be infected along with Rachel) rapidly accelerates in infection due to the amount of time he has spent in the Underground. He eventually swells and bursts, which kills him instantly. Sam and the Kid escape into the streets, developing a friendship in the process.

Whilst the Holloway children continue on to the palace, Maxie, now the leader of the Waitrose group, develops a hatred for Sophie (who has decided to join them along with her group), blaming her for Arran's death. She struggles under the pressure of having responsibility for every kid in her group. Blue attempts to help her before the group is ambushed by a pack of infected chimpanzees that have escaped a nearby zoo. They kill many small children, as well as Maxie's newly appointed right-hand man Josh, devastating her. They also encounter a small group of kids being attacked by extremely strong zombies, and fail to save all but one of them, an unnamed girl who is bandaged and taken along with them.