State of Decay (Omnibus (Parts 1-4)) (20 page)

S
ome things never change. The
sense of apprehension that used to plague me every time I went to school certainly hadn’t. Okay, so maybe it wasn’t apprehension for quite the same reasons like—who was dating who, what my friends would think of my new hairstyle, or wondering if Lisa Kasey was pregnant or had just gained a lot of weight, but there was some major stress involved in breaking into a high school. Most of it having to do with the fact that we had no idea what lay on the other side of the barbed wire fence we were cutting into. Was the school completely deserted? Was there a mob of undead waiting for us, or had another group already thought of what I did and were just inside the school? I could have led us straight into an ambush. I adjusted my grip on my knife and wiped a droplet of sweat from my forehead as I fought off a few straggler zombies with Jude as we waited for everyone to get through the fence.

“Maybe this isn’t such a good idea,” I muttered darkly as I ducked through the fence opening.

“It was a good idea, Mel. It’ll be alright,” Ghost said with a wink. I smiled back, but I still couldn’t help but feel out of sorts. Nothing had really gone right since we’d started this mission and that was never a good sign of things to come. We made our way across the front of the campus and to the front doors of the school without running into a single zombie. So far, so good. The doors were locked tight. We didn’t want to use our guns if we didn’t have. No reason to draw unnecessary attention to ourselves.

“Find another way in? Maybe break out a window?” I asked with a shrug. Jude smiled at me and stepped away from the doors, motioning for Ghost to come over.

“It’s all you. Ghost.” Jude patted Ghost on the back as he approached the locked double doors. Ghost took out a tiny pack from one of his large pants pockets and pulled out a few tools. Not two minutes later, the lock popped and Ghost stood up and held the door open with a flourish. I wondered, as I grinned over at him, how many times Ghost’s special abilities had come in handy over the past two years.

“I vaguely recall spending my teen years trying to sneak
out
of school,” Ghost said with a shake of his head as we all entered the hallway. I turned quickly, my knife coming up in defense as the sound of approaching footsteps alerted the group that we were not alone.

“Relax. It’s just us,” Manuel said, his hands up and a smirk on his face. I lowered my knife and relaxed a fraction, as did everyone else in our group.
Ghost clapped Manuel on the back and they did some manly fist bump action.

“How did it go? Everyone okay? Jude asked. Manuel lifted the long duffle back off of his back and motioned to two others in his group. All three of them were carrying large, bulging duffle bags. Looked like their pharmacy run had been successful. “Good. Let’s all move quietly and find the cafeteria,” Jude said seriously. “The quicker the better.” We moved through the eerily empty hallways with only the sound of our shoes echoing around us. I tried not to look at the bulletin boards, the award cabinet, and the depressingly empty classrooms as we passed. But the fact that a place which was once so full of life and promise, a place that once held so many teenagers with dreams and aspirations for their future, was now sitting abandoned like a ghost town wasn’t lost on any of us.

We made a right turn down a hallway and saw what we had been searching for directly in front of us. A sign over the double doors read “Cafeteria”. A door to the right of the cafeteria entrance led out into an open courtyard where tables and chairs sat, inviting kids to sit outside and enjoy their lunch in the fresh air. My heart felt pained by the reminder that I had been one of those teens sitting outside eating lunch with my friends, the majority of whom were probably dead now, just months before the outbreak. It felt like it had been a lifetime ago.

“Melody?” Jude was staring at me as I stood there with my thoughts in places they had no business being.

“I’m good,” I said quietly as I approached the rest of the group with a sad smile. After Ghost worked his magic once again we all entered the cafeteria and made our way to the back, where supplies would have been kept. Ghost and three other guys decided to scout out the room and other doors that led into the cafeteria to make sure the room was as secure as possible. When Jude opened the back room, he let out a whistle. I followed behind him and Z as they entered the storage room. I couldn’t stop grinning like a fool. Jude and Z shone their flashlights on the shelves that lined the rather large room. I spotted huge cans of peas, carrots, fruit cocktail and tons of other vegetables all stacked in neatly organized sections.

“Holy Shit,” Z muttered. I walked over to where he stood as he was rubbed his hand along a can like he’d found the holy-grail. “Pulled pork,” he whispered lovingly—a man entranced. I laughed out loud. Thirty minutes later, after everyone had oohed and
ahhed over the storage room, the school had been well scouted, and everyone had sat for a few minutes to rest, I was itching to be on the move again.

“Now, how are we going to get all of this out of here?” I asked. I was sitting with Jude, Z, and Manuel in the main room of the cafeteria. After a moment, Jude answered.

“We need to find a truck.” I nodded. Right. Find a decent sized truck with a decent amount of fuel.

“Bus.”

I turned to face Ghost as he strode across the room.

“Bus?” Jude asked. Ghost nodded and looked over at me.

“According to our maps and the info we have, there should be a parking lot between here and the elementary school … probably half a mile further into the city. They keep the buses for all the surrounding schools there.” Jude rubbed his chin. “They would be filled with gas and we could fill the entire bus with supplies and still have room for everyone to sit.” Ghost glanced at me quickly before turning back to Jude. Jude narrowed his eyes.

“What’s the catch?” he asked. Ghost didn’t flinch beneath his stare.

“Looks like our luck has run out … I scouted out back, around the school and from this block over, the undead are swarming the streets. It would be dangerous.” Jude started to shake his head. “It might be our best bet … it seems the zombies are moving in huge packs, like some kind of
herd
.” I shuffled on my feet and stared uncomprehendingly at Ghost. Herd?

“They are moving in groups? That’s nothing different than what we’ve dealt with before …” Ghost rubbed a hand over his dark, shaved head.

“No, not this time. They are kind of moving across the city in a
wave
, like a flock of birds would.” His eyes met mine and then he clenched his jaw and caught Jude’s stare once again. “That wave is already headed this way.” I glanced out the windows and realized how late it was. The undead were making their way across the city and they were moving in our direction. No way we’d be able to get back out of town before they arrived … not without leaving behind all the supplies we’d found. Another question popped into my confused mind.

“If they’re moving in waves during the day, maybe by morning they’ll have moved past us or back the way they came?” I stated. Ghost nodded.

“That’s what I’m thinking, but who knows? I’ve never seen them move together quite so in sync. And when they do blow through, will they be able to get onto the school property or are we relatively safe here?” he asked.

“And there’s still the problem of needing a way to get out of here with all of these supplies, so no matter what, we need some wheels,” Jude interjected. Ghost nodded. He’d already figured that. Jude sighed loudly. “What do you need?” he asked Ghost. Ghost’s lips tightened into a thin line.

“I’ll need two volunteers to come with me and I’ll need … Melody.”

“Why?” Jude asked after a pregnant pause.

“You and Manuel will need to stay here with the others and organize all the supplies so we can load them when we get back … and you’ll need Manuel to help if the herd comes through and the shit hits the fan while we’re gone.” Jude’s eyes were on me as Ghost spoke. “Melody has the most experience besides the three of us in the group. She’s fast, smart, and deadly with a weapon. She’s the only person I know can handle her shit under pressure beside you and Manuel. I need her backing me up.” My mouth dropped open quite unattractively when Ghost finished talking. I never realized Ghost thought so highly of me. I shut my mouth and glanced over at Jude to see how he was taking it. He was staring at the ground, his jaw clenched so hard, I’m sure he’d have a head ache later on.

“Alright, so Melody?” Jude looked at me questioningly. I nodded. I was in. “Let’s see who else is crazy enough to volunteer. Jude broke the news to the rest of the group and told them our plan. Manuel and the majority of the group began organizing all of the supplies for easy and quick loading and then went to make contingency plans, just in case the shit did indeed hit the fan while we were gone. Z and a short guy with shaggy brown hair named Nate joined Ghost and me to go out into the city to find a bus and bring it back to the group.

O
ur small group headed to
the back of the school. We only had a few hours of daylight left and we definitely didn’t want to get stuck out in the middle of an unknown city at night. Jude walked silently beside me as we approached the gate in the back of the school. I glanced over at him several times as we walked.

“Be smart. Don’t take any unnecessary risks,” he said softly. I smiled. Life
was
a risk, but I understood what he was saying.
Come back to me safely
.

“Will do, Sir.” I snapped a salute and he smiled.
Lord, please, please let me come back to him
, I willed out into the universe for good measure. I ran to catch up with the guys. Ghost turned to look back at Jude and tsked beneath his breath. I raised a brow at him.

“What?” I snapped. He rubbed his hand over his chin like he was thinking.

“I don’t know, I guess I just figure if I was leaving behind the one thing that meant most to me in the entire world, I’d leave them with a little more than a nod and a
see ya later
,” he said with a shrug. I stared at him. His eyes were smiling at me, but he was a hundred percent serious and I knew he was right. What the hell was I thinking? None of us were promised a tomorrow. I turned on my heel and ran back to Jude. His eyes were wide in question, but when I launched myself into his arms, he didn’t hesitate.

Jude jerked me off of my feet and his mouth immediately found mine. His lips weren’t gentle, they weren’t patient. He seared me with his kiss, his lips claimed me as his own. And I did the same in return. I broke away breathless and stared up into his face.

“I love you Jude Harrison. I will love you as long as I live and even after I’m gone, I will still be yours.” Jude bent down and placed one more lingering kiss on my still-tingling lips.

“Glad to hear it, Mel. I plan on loving you for a lifetime, so make sure you come back to me.” I nodded, removed myself from his arms, and ran back to the group waiting at the fence with huge grins on each of their faces.

“Now that’s what I’m talkin’ about,” Ghost laughed. My face flamed.

“Shut it. Let’s go and get this over with.” I was still grinning like a fool when we dipped through the opening in the gate. Our fight began immediately. We had to take down over a dozen zombies--rapid-fire—just to get away from the school. I ran with the group, pausing only to slide my blade through the emaciated neck of one zombie and then to stab through the bashed-in skull of another. I refused to look back at the high school. We’d see each other again soon enough. We had to.

Avoiding the undead this time around was not an easy task. For one thing, they seemed more aware and more active since the sun was going down, for another, their numbers seemed to have tripled since we’d gone into the school. Zombies flooded the streets, sidewalks, and most of the buildings. There really was no “safe” zone as we moved quickly through the city. We ducked behind cars, took out dozens of zombies, and tried to do it all while making as little noise as possible. If the zombies were acting herd-like, then I didn’t want to find out what a stampede of undead was capable of. I shuddered at the thought.

The only thing in our favor as we moved further into the city was that the zombies
were
moving
slower than normal. I hadn’t been going crazy back at the base. For some reason the undead were not moving as quickly as they had been before. Ghost moved rapidly, driving his long, sword through the skull of a female zombie before swinging it in an arc and splitting a large and extremely bloated zombie with dark gray skin from scalp to navel. The zombie exploded, its bowels splashing onto his pants and boots. I sighed inwardly.
Lucky
. Ghost’s eyes were wide though, probably wondering how it was possible that so much rotten pulp could have fit inside of just one undead man. I’d wondered the exact same thing the day before when I was unceremoniously showered in zombie entrails.

We all kept moving, knowing time was of the essence. We were within a block of the school bus parking lot and fighting our way towards it with our backs to busted-out store fronts, when the zombie population seemed to thicken right before our eyes. Each of us were downing two or three zombies
at a time, but not making much forward progress. Ghost fell in beside me, panting.

“Let’s cut through that building and come up to the fence line from behind.” I glanced over at the store, which miraculously looked to have its front window intact and nodded. I got Z’s and Nate’s attention and pointed to where we were going to head. Z bobbed his head and took down another zombie before sprinting with Nate. I cleared the front of the store right behind Z and turned to make sure no zombies were closing in our group as Nate and Ghost made their way the last few feet to the store. As soon as they cleared the front door, I locked the door and leaned against it long enough to catch my breath. I wiped my hands on my jeans and pointed my knife toward the back of the store.

“We have to keep moving, the sun’s about to set and then we will be fucked for real,” I said between breaths. Ghost nodded and we all moved through the store, our breathing heavy and our hearts hammering. In retrospect, I should have remembered the barista from that Starbucks back in Midtown two years before. If I had, what happened next might have been avoided. We pushed open a door and entered the back room of the store we’d taken a short cut through. Z stopped.

“Oh my god! Do you realize what store we’re in?” he asked, his eyes bugged out in shock. I glanced around the room. In all honesty, I hadn’t even noticed what it was when we ducked into the store. “We’re in a freaking Dunkin Donuts,” he groaned. I slapped the back of his head and shook my own. This kid was serious about his food. “Look over there.” He pointed across the room at what looked like very dirty and old deep fryers. “They
made their own donuts right here in the store too,” he muttered in awe. Just then, I heard the banging on the front glass of the store. It had begun to grow louder and more frenzied. The zombies were getting riled up.

“Sorry, can’t stay and reminisce about the good ‘ole days,” I said as I began marching toward the back door. Nate and Ghost moved as well, but Z held back. I turned just as Z squatted and put a hand out to pet a large bag of donut mix and icing on a lower shelf.

“Too bad we can’t take a few …” His voice was cut off by a guttural cry of pain as a zombie that none of us had realized was in the room launched itself through the shelf from the other side and landed on top of a stunned Z. I cried out in terror as the zombie bit into Z’s throat, ripping flesh with its teeth and tearing into an artery. Blood sprayed up in an arc across the room as Ghost jerked the zombie off of Z and decapitated it. I ran over to Z and landed on my knees beside him. Blood pooled all around him. His eyes were wide and blood trickled from his mouth as his throat constricted several times. His last few breaths came out in quick pants—wet gurgles as he laid there in a dirty storeroom floor and died. Ghost laid a hand on my shoulder a minute or two later. I wiped away the tears I hadn’t realized I’d cried and stood unsteadily.

“I’m ready. Let’s go,” I said stiffly. I turned away as Ghost did what he had to in order to make sure Z would never become one of the walking dead.

“Okay, let’s keep tightly together and get to the bus parking lot as quickly as possible. Nate and I both nodded. We came out of the store in a whirlwind of blades and good thing we did. Zombies—tons of them—stood between us and a line of buses not a hundred yards away. It was evident to me right away that we were fucked. No way around it. No way to sugarcoat it. We were going to die. And that pissed me off. I had promised Jude that I’d come back to him, dammit. I fought for all that I was worth, but the moment Nate took out his gun, I knew there was no hope. His shots rang out in the city, drawing the attention of every zombie in the immediate area. 

“What the fuck?” Ghost bellowed out. “Melody!” He shouted at me, drawing my attention to him just as a zombie sunk its teeth into his arm. I screamed in rage and ran my knife through the zombie in front of me, skewering it through an eye and heedless of the putrid juices that splattered my shirt. I ran toward Ghost, fighting off four … five … six undead before I reached him. He was still swinging his sword, his eyes blazing. He wasn’t going down without a fight. When his eyes met mine, they were sorrowful. I think another small piece of my soul died in that moment. I heard a cry of agony come from behind me, but I didn’t have the time or the strength to turn and see what was happening to Nate. When his high pitched scream pierced my skull and then … nothing, I knew it was only Ghost and I left.

“Melody!” Ghost bellowed as he kept fighting. I glanced up and saw him pointing his finger in the direction of the parking lot. I sliced my knife across the face of a short zombie and looked to where he was pointing. A small opening. Not much of one, but it was a spark of hope. We both redoubled our efforts and moved in unison toward the break in bodies. As soon as I made it there, I began running, assured Ghost was right behind me, that he was going to make it. I ran in between buses, banging and pushing on the doors of a few, looking for one that was open. Surely one of them had to be open. I only stopped when a zombie stumbled into my path and only long enough to drive my knife into its skull and then keep moving.

When I got halfway down the line of buses, I banged on another door, feeling like it was all quite hopeless. When the door gave beneath my pounding and I fell onto the stairs of the bus, I pulled myself off of the steps with a gasp and ran up onto the empty bus. I moved quickly to the third seat and slammed a window down before pulling my gun off of my back and propping it up on the window seal. My hands were shaking by the time I spotted Ghost and started popping off the zombies that were hot on his tail. When he saw me in the window he ran for all that he was worth until he reached the bus, slamming the door shut behind him. My shots never slowed as I thinned the crowd of zombies that were closing in around the side of the bus.

“At this rate, I’ll run out of bullets without even making a dent in their numbers,” I shouted over the cacophony. Ghost was sitting in the driver’s seat, staring at the zombies as they banged their fists and gnashed their teeth on the bus door. “Ghost?” His eyes met mine and he smiled.

“I’m dead, Melody Carter,” he said calmly. I shook my head and slammed the window up into place.

“No. There has to be something we can do …” I began. Ghost chuckled beneath his breath and smiled at me sadly.

“Not this time, beautiful girl,” he answered matter-of-factly. Tears ran down my face unashamedly. No. This couldn’t be how things were supposed to be. I walked over to the first seat on the bus, close to Ghost, and sat down heavily.

The force of the zombie’s bodies against the bus rocked it a bit. Holy hell. As long as they knew we were in here, they wouldn’t quit. Even if we started the bus, we wouldn’t be able to run over this many. We would never be able to get out of this mess. I closed my eyes and sunk back into my seat. Jude’s face flashed across my mind and I felt my heart tear in half. I heard Ghost ripping something and my eyes sprung open. He had ripped the hem of his shirt off. I walked over to him and took the fabric from him, wrapping it around the huge, bleeding wound on his upper arm. I took a bottle of water out of my pack, ignoring the frantic zombies on the other side of the glass door and handed it to Ghost. He took it and downed a small swig before handing it back to me.

“Put that back in your pack. You’re going to need it,” he said gently. I did what he said even though I had no idea what he was talking about. He turned to the steering wheel of the bus and pulled his small pack out of his pocket and began working on the panel beneath the steering wheel.

“What are you doing?” I asked. “We won’t be able to move … not with this many zombies surrounding us. We’re going to die here.”

“You’re right, Melody. One of us will die tonight, but not both of us,” he said through a grunt of pain as he jerked a large piece of metal off from beneath the steering wheel.

“What do you mean, Ghost?” I asked through gritted teeth. “If you think for one second I’m going to leave you here, you got another thing coming,” I shouted. Ghost didn’t even turn to me, but I could hear the smile in his voice as he yanked a bunch of wires out of the front of the bus.

“Oh no, you won’t be leaving,” he answered. “I’ll be leaving and taking a bunch of these undead bastards with me,” he said like we were discussing whose turn it was to take out the garbage.