Skulduggery Pleasant: Until the End by Derek Landy

Author:Derek Landy [Landy, Derek]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HarperCollinsPublishers
Published: 2022-03-24T17:00:00+00:00

This was it. This was the speech he’d be remembered for. These next few minutes would be his legacy.

“We’re live in five,” said the guy with the headset, “four, three,” then he held up two fingers, then one and then pointed, and the red light on the top of the camera came on.

“My fellow Americans,” said Flanery, “my fellows humans, I speak to you today on a matter of grave importance. This is a day that will go down in history as the most important day in human existence. A day when we, humanity, stand up against the terrors that threaten us, and begin to fight back.

“We have seen, in the last few weeks, devastation on an unprecedented, unimaginable scale around the world. We have witnessed the emergence of previously unknown animals of astonishing size and the chaos and destruction they are leaving in their wake. While they stand there, motives unknown, we have seen other animals attack and kill people in our cities and towns, on our farms and ranches, in our trailer parks and apartment complexes … Nowhere is safe from what many people are calling monsters.”

Flanery paused for dramatic effect. He’d gone off-script slightly there, but he thought it added a common touch that the speech was otherwise lacking. His team had advised him not to use the word monster – they said it would cause panic in the populace – and he’d agreed, but right now, with all the lights and the camera and the fact that the world was watching, he’d realised that he’d look stupid if he didn’t call them what they were. He’d also been advised not to use the phrase “nowhere is safe”, but he figured the only way that people were going to be reassured is if they were first fully aware of the dangers that were facing them.

“I have mobilised the full might of the American military to battle these monsters, and we have already seen incredible victories across our wonderful strong nation.”

Another slight deviation from the script that wasn’t strictly true, but his advisors had told him that a victory was possible and probably even inevitable, so he doubted he’d ever have to walk back those words.

“We have also seen a secondary threat emerge,” he continued, really getting into the sombre mood now, really selling it with the grim jutting of his jaw. “Men and women, demonstrating abilities one could only call magic, have been shown in footage broadcast on social media and news networks, appearing to battle these monsters. It seems that whatever war they are fighting has spilled out of the shadows, and the casualties are people like you and me. These wizards and witches are the enemy. They may look like us, but they are not us. If you see one, call the police immediately. Do not engage, and do not try to be a hero. Barricade yourself in your home and don’t come out until they have left the area.”

Flanery shook his head as if he was thinking of all the lives senselessly lost.

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