Zombie High Chronicles (Book 1) (16 page)

“You do also know that you sent Sammy up there a short while ago and he never came back.”

“Did I? How forgetful of me. I’m sure dear Roderick will manage just fine.”

I shoved through a set of doors, only to turn and lock them behind us. Austin and Darby have left them unlocked for ease of retreat but if I have to retreat I want to make darn sure that whatever is following me isn’t getting in easily.  

We weave down the darkened hallway, pausing occasionally to bring a few extra tables and chairs out into the hall to create a maze of debris just in case. Once the sun rose the hall was still only dimly lit so the obstacles would hopefully prove to benefit us.

“Yo, Austin!” I raise my hand on our approach. He already has his gun up and aimed at our chests when we come around the corner. That is good. He is on alert for an attack within as well. I looked all around. “Where’s Darby?”

“She said she had to use the girl’s room.” He jerks his head toward his right where the door to the girl’s locker room stands partially open.

“How long has she been gone?”

“A minute. Maybe two. I don’t exactly have a watch on.”

“Alright.” I lean back against the wall and give him a quick rundown of the plan. It isn’t a very lengthy one, or even well thought out, but it is something. Austin looks scared standing in the doorway. I imagine with Darby no longer around to keep him company the shadows outside have suddenly become rather spooky.

“If we are not back in five minutes, I want you to close this door and lock it.”

“But—”

“That’s an order,” I interrupt Austin’s protest. Of course, I know that none of these kids are soldiers or accustomed to taking orders like this but I need to know that I can trust him to follow through.

“Five minutes,” he nods.

“Cheetos is the only word that you need to hear to open this door. I don’t care what else you hear. Got it?”

Flynn shifts beside me and I know my over precautions with Austin are starting to get to him. I don’t blame him one bit. The moment we step outside those doors we are bullet bait at best and I fear something else might be far worse. If Ugly Face and Jacobson decide to turn on us we are about to be in a world of trouble.

I lightly punch Austin on the arm. “You got this.”

“Sure.” He nods with a smile. “I know that.”

As I pass Austin I hear Flynn say, “if you hear me yell chips, cookies, cake or candy bars open that door too, man!”

I grin at Flynn as we stick to the bush line, ducking low as we approach to get a lay of the land first. The buses have been moved and shoved between the double row of fencing, blocking much of our view of the neighborhood behind. For that I’m grateful. I don’t want to see what’s happening behind this courtyard until I’m safely back inside.

When we are within fifteen feet of Ugly Face, I can finally hear their conversation and it isn’t good.

“We just heard that they took down a whole squadron over in sector 10 in two minutes flat. Reports said there were bodies everywhere when the cavalry arrived with flame throwers,” one soldier says. The cigarette dangling from between his lips trembles as he sucks in another lung full of smoke.  

“What about the hospital? I heard they set the self-destruct on it, just like the research facility the other day. Must have been someone on the inside that knew the codes. No way would Iris have given the go ahead to cleanse it!” The man standing beside Ugly Face seems far more in control of his fear.

Iris?
I mouth to Flynn but he just shrugs. Seems like an odd name for a commanding officer.

“Man, I’m telling you, something ain’t right. Those Rotters outside the gates aren’t acting normal either. One of them looked right at me this morning and I swear it licked its lips. Freaked the hell out of me.”

I can’t see who spoke this time. Flynn nudges my shoulder and mouths
Rotters
but I shake my head. It must be another name for the Dead Heads.

“Look, I get that there’s some crazy shit going on around here,” Ugly Face finally speaks up and I perk my ears to listen, “but you all know that this school is the safest place for us. They’ve got guns, the bunker, and supplies. We can just hole up until this blows over.”

“But you said there were kids in there running things?” The nervous guy practically hops from foot to foot. If he does come inside I vow to make sure he is the last person to keep a gun.

“For now,” Jacobson said. “The kid may be a punk but he’s not stupid. He’s got it sealed up pretty good in there. I think we could last for a while.”

The soldier nearest him scratches at an overgrown beard. “It’s treason to leave our post, you know that, right? You’ve heard what Iris does to people like that? I don’t know about you but I’m just fine standing right here until those guys get back.”

Ugly Face lifts his hand toward the distance where the gunfire has become sporadic. “Do you really think there’s anyone left to charge you with it, Smalls?  That shit over there is real and it’s coming our way. So either you join us and live or stay out here and just be another voice screaming on the radio for help that ain’t coming.  It’s your choice.”

I glance at Flynn and exchange a surprised glance. Even I am impressed with Ugly Face’s speech. That tells me he knows exactly what we are facing and he’s not taking any chances.

“I’m in.” A man with a ruddy face says and steps toward the inside of the circle. “I didn’t sign up for this. I figured I’d get shipped off to some tropical island where I’d be sipping beer and watching the natives sunbathe after my shifts when boot camp ended. Instead, I got landed here three months after graduation and have been stepped on ever since. I’m game to run the shots for a while.”

I hear a few more mutterings of agreement and have just motioned for Flynn to head back toward the gym door when the soldiers fall quiet. “Did you hear that?”

Craning my neck, I look all around for the sound, unable to place it until it comes a second time. “Shit!  Run, Flynn!”

Grabbing him by the back of his shirt, I yank him to his feet and dash toward the edge of the building as another rattling of the chain link fence comes. Then another. And another.

“Jacobson, move your asses,” I yell back over my shoulder.

By the time we reach the end of the building I can hear the soldiers firing into the early morning light. The eastern horizon now glows a deep soothing lavender, which feels at odds with the sight behind me.

One of the soldiers has raced to a jeep that faces the outer fence and fights to crank over the engine. The row of lights seated on top flares to life and my heart stops. Standing in a heaving line on the other side of the outer fence is at least ten men and women. A couple wears camouflage and visible bite wounds. Another wears a lab jacket and enough gore down her front to make her look like a gruesome version of a slip and slide.

Their eyes were all white and unblinking, streaked with red just like the soldier Ember took out that attacked me on the third floor. Their fingers curl around the fence, yanking at the barrier as they open their mouths and gnash their teeth.

Just before Flynn shoves me around the corner I see something unusual.

“Move, Roan!”

“Wait! Did you see that?”

“What? The messed up Dead Heads who are way more alive than they should be?”  Breath pants out of him as we skirt the end of the gym and race full out for the closed gym doors.

Flynn bangs on the door the instant we arrive. “Let me in, Austin.”

“What’s the password?”

“Are you freakin’ kidding me right now?” He wheezes, gripping his side.

“Cheetos,” I yell at him and wave my arm to the soldiers hot on our tails. “Over here.”

I can hear the rattling of metal and pray that it is Austin fumbling with the chain instead of the perimeter fence falling. The instant the door opens I shove Flynn inside and step back to let the soldiers through. I count fifteen before Ugly Face and Jacobson arrive.

“There are three more,” I say, looking behind them. I can hear gunfire around the front of the building but can’t tell if it is ours or theirs.”

“They stayed behind,” Jacobson pants.

“You let them?”

“Look, kid, if they want to save the world and get killed in the process then that’s on them. I ain’t nobody’s mama.” Ugly Face shoves by me.

“What’s going on?” Austin’s face appears in the doorway. I can see far more definition of his features than I had only moments before. The sun is rising fast.

“You really don’t want to know.” I cast one last look behind me then close the door and engage the lock. I let the chain swing back into place and step back to look at it. “I think we’re going to need a bigger chain.

13

The beginning of the end...

The interior of the gym feels gloomy and heavy laden with fear when I turn to face the group of soldiers standing behind me. Flynn and Austin stand rigid, facing off with men of varying ages. Some look battle hardened while others look too young to even qualify for boot camp.  

“Is this the pup calling the shots?” a gruff man with a full beard and tattoos lining his knuckles steps forward. He looks like a redneck biker dude and I am pretty sure I don’t want to mess with him.

“No. I’m the guy who just saved your ass so how about we stow the “I’m older than you so I should be in charge,” crap for now, huh? You’re here only because I allowed you to be. If you can’t agree to those terms I’ll show you back outside with no hard feelings and you can find your own way. Otherwise, I could sure use your help securing this place so those things out there don’t find a way in.”

The man stares me down for a moment before a slow smile spreads across his face. He steps forward and holds out a hand. “The name is Mac. Any kid that can grab his balls and talk back to me like that is fine by me, but we will have that chat later about leadership roles.”

“Looking forward to it,” I growl and take his hand in a hard grip.

“These are my boys. Most of them are good shots but a few of them can get a little trigger happy, truth be told.”

“You know your men better than I do, Mac. Place them where you think is best and we can coordinate together with my men.”

“Men,” a man to my left scoffs. “You’re nothing but a pack of scared kids.”

Flynn starts to protest but I hold out a hand to stop him and smiles as I point toward the man’s chest. He looks down and flinches when he spies the red laser pointed directly at his heart. Flynn whips around and sees Ember standing in the doorway with her rifle ready for action.

“That’s Ember. She doesn’t like being called scared or a kid for that matter and I can guarantee you that she can drop three of you before you blink.”

“You’re bluffing!”

The soldier cries out when a bullet pierces the fabric of his shirt, cleanly removing the numbers from his arm.  “Alright, I get it. You’re good. Ease up off the trigger little lady and we’ll go about our business.”

“Oh, you did not just call her a little lady,” Flynn snickers. A second later another bullet goes straight through the spare fabric on the man’s cap and he stumbles back.

“As I was saying, we aren’t all unskilled kids here. We managed to take down a few of your friends before the breach happened. We are hunkered in and plan on fighting it out.”

“Why should we?”  Another soldier asks. “There’s a bunker here, right? Why don’t we just use it?”

Mac rolls his eyes as I move toward his man. “And what happens if we let the school be breached and those things out there stick around for a while. Sure we can survive down there for a while. We have food, cots and supplies but eventually they will run out. Do you really want to come out of that bunker half-starved and weak to find a hoard of those things surrounding you?”

“You’ve made a fair point, kid,” Mac says, stepping forward to shove his man back.

“My name is Roan.”

“Fair enough. What’s the plan, Roan?”

“We have worked hard to lock this place down and I intend to use you to help fortify it. While we may not all be experienced we are desperate and that makes us useful. You stay out of our way and we will stay out of yours. Load up on ammo, grab a spare window and set up shop. The war is coming to us.”

Mac looks at each of his men as a symphony of gunfire tears through the silence of the gymnasium and I glance toward Ember.

“Those were ours!” She turns and runs back through the double doors.

“Mac, are your men good on ammo?”

“For now.”

“Good. Then let’s go see what we are dealing with out there.”

“Bunch of freakin’ druggies, if you ask me. Did you see their eyes?” I hear someone mutter from behind me as we take off running, following Ember back through the maze. I stop only to secure the doors behind us after everyone else makes it through.

“You know those locks won’t be good enough,” Mac says as he jogs beside me.

“I do. I just haven’t had the manpower to change it yet. That’s where you come in. Someone will have to team up to create a barricade on the gym doors but I can’t risk a single body yet until I know what we were up against. If it comes down to it we can blow the gym.”

He gives me a look that I don’t have time to analyze as Ember hits the main door leading to the foyer and I follow right behind.

“Bex, Vaughn, and Lathan get on that eastern wing and start blocking it off behind us. Flynn, run up and check on Roderick and the others. Make sure they are safe.”  As I yell out orders, a flurry of activity begins. Soldiers immediately take up positions at each of the windows without needing to be told. Four head upstairs with Ember, sniper rifles at the ready. I want to be up there with her but I know I will be needed on the ground floor.

The scrapping of desks and chairs grate on my already frayed nerves as I risk a glance outside. Through the windows of the buses that have been parked nose to end in the gap between the two fences, I can see movement. More of those things have arrived. I want to call them Dead Heads or even Lame Brains but the names no longer seem fitting. What is standing outside our doors, yanking on the fencing and growling like feral animals are nothing like the mindless creatures we have come to know and expect.

“Any idea what caused them to be like that?” I call over to Mac. He has leaned over a stack of chairs and is using a pair of binoculars to look out.

“My guess...a big mistake.”

I shift my focus to look over at him and frown. “I guess we weren’t the only ones being lied to, were we?”

“Nope. They only tell us what we need to know and apparently that,” he jabs his finger toward the window, “was a need to know basis.”

I glance down at the radio tucked into my belt. “It’s too quiet out there.”

Mac nods. “Went dead a while back. If no one is squawking they’ve got a good reason for it.”

“Sure,” I raise my gun and look down the sights, “because they are all dead.”

I don’t like how easily it is to say those words. There was a time that death didn’t seem so normal or quite so expected. Have we really become this callous in only three short months? Have we become that accustomed to the inevitability of it all that we just accept it with a mere shrug of the shoulders and move on?

What if this time it isn’t that easy? What if death will no longer be slow and with a sort of peaceful grace as people lose themselves, but instead know that when we go it will be horrific and painful before we are turned into some snarling monster the likes of which are now capable of haunting my waking dreams to replace Susie Pellagrino.

Something has changed the Dead Heads to make them both violent and alert. I’ve already seen the lady gunned down not two days ago as she stood at the gates watching the soldiers with obvious interest, but that is a far cry from what is staring me down from the other end of my scope.

“If they come over that fence, shoot right between the eyes. It’s the only way to kill them,” I call out.

“How does he know that?” a soldier calls from several feet away.

Mac pulls back from his binoculars to look at me. “How do you know that?”

“Because there are two more of those things stuffed in a supply closet upstairs. They attacked her earlier today.”

Exchanging a glance with Ugly Face, Mac steps back and I am instantly replaced by my nemesis. Mac motions for me to step into a classroom with him and then shuts the door.

“I need to know what you know so I can warn my men.”

“All I know is that even when they are dead, they aren’t really.”

“So like a zombie?”

I laugh. “Well, you did see the new name for the school out front, right? Zombie High? Guess that joke came back to bite us.”

Mac nods. “What else.”

“There’s only one kill shot that I know works: go for the brain. My mom tried to warn me earlier…” the instant I mention her my legs go weak and I reach out for a table to steady me. “Sorry. It’s just that she’s still out there.”

Mac claps me on the shoulder and holds me tight, forcing me to focus on him. “Focus, kid. You’ve got lives depending on you so it’s time to man up just like you did to me a while ago. What else do you know?”

“Nothing. I mean I have my suspicions about what they’re doing with our blood and know some weird things were going on in that lab that blew up but I don’t know how or what those things are outside any more than you do.”

He thinks it over for a moment before he releases me. “So what’s your plan then, kid?”

“Same as it has been. We fortify this place for now. If we can find a way to sneak out we will send a group in search for survivors, but only if it’s safe to do so. If those things storm the school we need to be prepared to blow this joint and fall back to the bunker. If there’s nothing left standing those things might move off and leave us alone. It’s a long shot but it might work.”

“Seems logical enough. You rigged the explosives yet?”

“Nope. I’ve been too busy washing my hair,” I snap. “What do I look like? A bomb expert?”

“There’s the fire I saw earlier,” he grins. “I’ll get my men on that.”

“Good.” I work to slow my breathing. “We will work in shifts, rotating every four hours.  We need men posted on the upper floors as lookouts with sniper rifles and others rigging explosives on the exits that we can’t cover well enough.”

“I like the way you think.  And your mom?”

I force myself to take a moment to compartmentalize my fears for her safety before I respond. “Somehow she knew what she was getting herself into when she left. She did it to give us a chance and as much as I’d love to go charging out there to find her, I’m here, for better or worse.”

The older man grins then spits some chew onto the floor. I notice for the first time a lump in his lower lip, mostly hidden by the bulk of his beard. “Sounds like we will make a fine team. I’ll get some men on moving your crew into the bunker.”

“Thanks,” I call after he turns to leave.

“Don’t think that this makes us friends, though.”  He calls over his shoulder and heads into the hallway.

Sinking back against the wall of tables stacked high against the windows, I allow myself a moment to think about my parents. My dad is miles away, probably still locked up safely in the underbelly of the CDC. My mom is who knows where and most likely dead or on her way to being dead. Never before have I felt so alone.

“Hey, Roan?” I look up to see Flynn standing in the doorway. His eyes are wide and his fingers tremble at his sides where his arms hang limp. “I think you need to come see this.”

Rubbing at my eyes, I stifle a groan and head into the hall. How many hours has it been since I slept? Too many to count for sure. I’ve definitely missed a few meals along the way too and I know that I will regret that later.

“What’s up?” I ask.

Four people turn to look at me when I approach but no one speaks. Their eyes are wide with fright as they slowly turn back toward the windows. I rush forward and poke my head between the legs of a chair and fall still.

They are gone. Not a single Dead Head stands at the fence, though chunks of flesh remained in several places.

“Where did they go?” Bex calls. Contrary to her usual tough exterior she looks like a mess with the gothic style black shadow around her eyes smudged down her cheeks and her pale skin nearly translucent in the daylight streaming through the windows.

“They don’t like light,” I whisper.

“Come again,” Mac says, stepping back from his conversation with two soldiers to listen.

“I noticed it when one of your men turned on the flood lights over that big rig outside. The Dead Heads cowered back when it hit them. I guess the sun doesn’t make them too happy either.”

“Great. Just great. Everyone loves it when creepy monsters only come out at night, when it’s hard to see and scary at all get out,” Flynn grumbles to himself.

“What the hell—” I cut him off as I see movement off to my right. Craning to look around the chairs, I watch as a lone man appears at the perimeter fence. He walked with his fingers running along the metal, his head tilted down to watch where he walks.

As I glance to the foreground nearest the bushes I saw puddles of blood and gore. Something got to the soldier who foolishly remained outside. Did they get too close to the fence or had the Dead Heads learned how to climb?

I don’t see any evidence of smeared blood on the buses that stands between the fences. “What happened to your men?”

Mac swallows and I notice how pale his skin has grown behind his beard. “That’s the other reason your friend called you. She came out of nowhere and jumped them from behind.”

“She? I didn’t realize you had a female soldier with your group.”

I turn to look at where he is pointing and see a body sprawled near the bushes. A torn torso lies beside it. Squinting to see, it almost looks like the body is twitching. I reach out to grab Mac’s binoculars to get a better look but Flynn grabs hold of my arm to stop me. “Don’t.”