Death's Little Angels

by Sylver Belle Garcia

  “Absolutely brilliant, my number one man!” Royal clapped as he walked towards Kaleb. The two hugged.

  “I didn’t know you made it, man. Didn’t see you in here,” Kaleb said patting Royal on the shoulder.

  “Oh, yeah. I was busy trying to secure the room. Near the window. Catch my drift?” Royal snobbishly said.

  “The only place you were trying secure was your corner over there behind the girls, Royal,” Drew said narrowing his eyes.

  Kaleb stepped closer to Drew clenching his stick. Drew slowly eased his hand into his pocket where his knife was. He knew that Kaleb never liked him or anybody really for that fact but Drew was ready for whatever…. Whether it be humans or zombie Eaters. Royal rubbed his hands over his spiky hair. He moved over to Kaleb and whispered something in his ear. He patted Kaleb’s shoulder who then stood down.

  “We need to appoint a leader. Someone to lead us out of here and I think everybody would agree that I am well suited,” Royal boasted.

  “Are you freaking kidding me? The wimp who hid behind the girls?” Sue Ellen snapped.

  “You are a loser who was scared of getting your pretty hands dirty. Look, how you left your own friend to die, man.” Drew pointed to Lakely’s corpse. A black gel substance slowly pooled on the floor from underneath Lakely’s body.

  “Nah, he was too busy hiding in the corner like a wus,” Sue Ellen bitterly said.

  “Be careful Sue Ellen…. I know your dirty little secret. The only thing you are worthy of doing is shining my shoes,” Royal dangerously said.

  Royal turned his nose up at Drew. “From the last time I checked Drew you and your raggedy, lice infested sisters were too busy standing in the welfare line because your alcoholic mother was too busy bar hopping.”

  Drew lost it. He rushed towards Royal knocking him over. The two tussled on the floor like pro-wrestlers. Drew definitely had the best of Royal as he pinned the football player down on the floor by the neck. Sue Ellen yelled at the two to stop fighting. Billy ran up from behind and pulled Drew off of Royal. Drew snatched away from Billy, and squinted his eyes at Royal.

  “What is wrong with you two?” Sue Ellen shrieked. “The world is coming to an end outside and y’all are fighting like two heathen’s!”

  “You keep my family’s name out of your mouth! My mom may not be perfect but she is still my mother!” Drew shouted pointing at Royal.

  “Stop it! Please, Drew. You are better than him,” Mater whispered.

  Drew took a step back and a breather. It was outburst like this that had cost him a spot on the baseball team this year.

  “The point is, we need to think about getting out of this classroom and soon. Not my family,” Drew said catching his breath. “Once those Eaters catch wind that we are in here. It’s over. We’re dog food.”

  “Don’t look like dogs will be eating us….” Sue Ellen mumbled.

  “What’s your plan?” Beetle asked peering through his loose fitting glasses as he ran his tongue over his braces. A small amount of spittle flew out. He looked to see if anyone was looking as he quickly wiped his mouth. He was cautious not to upset Drew any further.

  “To go home,” Drew responded.

  “I’ve ran down those halls. It’s not going to be easy,” Beetle wearily said.

  “We have no choice. We stay here. We all die. No one will even know that we are back here. I say keep running until we get to somewhere that doesn’t have dead people trying to eat us,” Drew assured.

  “You mean a safe haven?” Beetle asked.

  “Exactly. I was thinking the storm shelter. It’s fenced in. It also has computers, phones, a television, and food. Pretty much everything we will need until our parents come for us. Plus we would be safe once Hurricane Angel hits. We don’t stand a chance either way in this classroom. Not against the Eaters or the hurricane.” Drew looked around the room for support.

  “You don’t have parents and your mom won’t come for you,” Royal barked, “I say enjoy the free time while we can.”

  Drew ignored Royal. “Listen, everybody. Time is running out. You decide.”

  Royal turned his nose up at Drew. “You will get everybody killed! You saw what those things are doing to us out there!”

  Royal turned to face his peers. “Listen, y’all. We make our stand here until someone comes for us. We don’t know what’s going on outside those doors. We have Kaleb here with the stick. That will protect us. You saw how he took care of Lakely and Josefina. I say we stay here until help arrives or if nobody agrees then we go to the cafeteria. While there have us a little fun with no rules while the world ends. I vote and say lets go out with a bang!”

  Half of the students cheered and moved towards Royal. The others stirred amongst each other and discussed options.

  “Okay, we can at least make it to the cafeteria. There is plenty of food there. We can do our own thing until the police and our parents get here,” Royal tried to rationalize.

  “There is food in the storm shelter and it’s safer. Dr. Breland mentioned the cafeteria being in bad shape earlier,” Drew warned.

  “The principal is dead,” Royal dryly said.

  “I am so with you sweetie,” Ashley, the captain of the cheerleading squad, beamed as she snuggled up to Royal. “After this is all over, I am going to make sure daddy pays for us both a nice manicure and pedicure at the casino spa.” Ashley plastered kisses all over Royal’s cheek before walking near Mrs. Westwood’s body. She wanted to retrieve the cell phone to see for herself if it was dead.

  “It will never be over,” Tarynn mumbled. She had her bible open reading scriptures.

  “Do you have anything else better to do, Ashley besides think about yourself?” Sue Ellen asked. “The end of times are here and all of you morons are thinking about yourselves.”

  “I’m not thinking of myself reject,” Ashley snobbishly said, “I’ve invited Royal as well.”

  “Dookey breath,” Sue Ellen whispered as she rolled her eyes. Mater giggled lightly.

  “What are we going to do without a cell phone? I can’t believe I lost mine on the way over here,” Ashley pouted as she stood near Mrs. Westwood’s body. She dropped Mrs. Westwood’s phone on the floor right besides the deceased teacher’s head.

  A rattle, accompanied by the gurgling moans near the classroom window, startled Drew. A group of five Eaters congregated at the window and began ramming into the panel. Drew closed his eyes and reopened them. The tortuous sounds of the Eaters literally gave him goose bumps. He swallowed hard as he glanced at Sue Ellen, the girl who had his heart, and Mater the girl whose heart he could not give. Drew wanted to protect them both. He brought his attention to the center of the class.

  “Hey, y’all can do what you want but I’m outta here. There will be more of them coming and you’re all like cow’s waiting to be butchered if you stay in this room,” Drew said as he turned to leave.

  “Wait, we are coming,” Sue Ellen said as she grabbed Mater’s hand.

  Mater softly touched Drew’s shoulder. “Drew, all I ask is that we stop on the sixth grade hall and look for Marley. I can’t leave without my baby sister,” she said with tear filled eyes.

  “Consider it done. We all stick together no matter what,” Drew said. Marley was also like Drew’s little sister. She often came over and played with his sisters. He did not plan on leaving her behind.

  “Not leaving me here,” Beetle said taking his glasses off to clean them.

  “Aye, man…. I’m rollin with you too. Hopefully y’all can keep up,” Billy Duncan nervously said as he looked around the classroom. He already had recruiters scouting him in the eighth grade for college scholarships in track and field.

  “Hey brutha man, you are going to leave us hanging like that?” Royal gave Billy a look of why are you betraying us. He considered Billy an elite member of their clique even though he was a track star and not on the football team.

  “Look dog, you are not my brother and right now after what I just
seen…. It’s all about surviving until I can get home to my momma and brother. That’s all I am focused on right now point blank.” Billy hit his chest.

  Royal narrowed his eyes.

  “Let him go,” Kaleb whispered to Royal, “We don’t need him anyway.”

  “The good Lord, moves me to come with you,” Tarynn said clenching her bible firmly to her side. She walked up to Drew and the others.

  “Count me in. I ain’t stayin here with these rich folks,” Cookie said as she slowly moved towards Drew. She casted a nervous glance at Josefina’s stilled body sprawled over the desk. Moments earlier they were ready to fight each other.

  “We aren’t going to do anything to you, girl,” Kaleb said with a sneer.

  “Wonder where you learned to use weapons like that stick from? Hmm…. let me guess you’re a sicko!” Cookie snapped at Kaleb.

  “Hey, Hey… just ignore him. We are about to leave anyway,” Drew quickly said. He turned to look at the rest of the students. “Anybody else?”

  Karley slowly walked towards Drew and the small group.

  “I am coming,” she meekly said. Karley pushed back a thin strand of hair behind her ears and continued to look down.

  Royal and Kaleb busted out into laughter. Steven joined in shaking his head.

  “Good luck bean pole! Don’t fly away in the wind out there,” Royal said beside himself with laughter as he watched Karley walk towards Drew.

  More Eaters congregated at the window and started beating on it with partial limbs, mangle heads, or whatever they had remaining of their body. Some of the Eaters did not have hands or arms and use their heads like hammers to beat against the windowpane. It amazed Drew to see that these Eaters were his former classmates and peers. He felt he could have been in that position, not knowing the day Hurricane Angel was projected to hit the Gulf Coast that his school would be riddled with flesh eating zombies. He knew that his sisters and Mee-maw would be safe because of the basement his Paw-paw built years before he died as an escape route from hurricanes and tornadoes. He silently thanked the Lord for letting him survive so far.

  Drew huddled the group of students together who decided to make that fateful run with him to the west end of the school. He frowned at Royal and was glad to be leaving out of the company of him and his goons. Drew realized their chances were slim to none and knew there was a possibility that most of them would not make it. He looked at the classroom window, which was now filled with thirty plus Eaters and figured he would die trying. Then the windowpane cracked….

  Chapter 5

  Drew Jacks ran down the hall

  Drew Jacks had a devastating fall

  All of the students and all of their friends

  With one bite said the world has met its end

  Drew shot a grave look towards the classroom windows. The Eaters knew they were in there. It was only a matter of minutes before the windows would cave in from death’s hunger. Drew noticed Royal and Kaleb congregating with the rest of the students who decided to follow them. Steven leaned into the window and antagonized the Eaters fascinated by their hoarse moaning and missing limbs.

  “Hey look!” Steven cried, “There is Perry Hamilton! Missing an arm eh, Perry?”

  Drew recalled that Perry Hamilton use to bully Steven a lot at lunch. He would often take Steven’s lunch tray and any extra money that he had on him at the time.

  “Gimme five!” Steven held out his hand to Perry who was obviously missing both hands.

  Steven laughed hysterically pointing at Perry who unknowingly joined the other Eaters at the window as they extended their gory jaws. The moans grew louder and sounded like an out of tune chorus. Drew motioned for everyone who decided to follow him to gather around.

  “We are going to need weapons, in order to defend ourselves. But I don’t want Kaleb and Royal’s bunch to know and then they try to take them from us,” Drew whispered. “I have my pocket knife but do any of y’all have ideas? Hurry though.” Drew glanced back at the window nervously. The color of the window was slowly changing from the clear coloring to black. The Eaters covered the window like ants do with dropped food.

  “First, I suggest to the girls if you have long hair to either put it up in a ponytail or braid it,” Sue Ellen suggested. “We all see what happened to Josefina over there.” Mater rapidly stuffed her French braid inside her shirt while Tarynn immediately started to twist her waist length hair.

  “We need a broom stick like what they have over there and then I can sharpen it with my knife,” Drew said looking at Kaleb’s man made weapon.

  “I’ll be on the look out for one when we sprint. I mean leave,” Billy suggested. Drew nodded his head in agreement.

  “Come on Beetle, man. I know you have to have some ideas in that huge brain of yours. What can we use to protect ourselves?” Drew quietly pleaded.

  Beetle walked over to the teacher’s desk. He slowly shook his head as he saw Mrs. Westwood’s purse, reminiscent of the times he had with her in Math class. He rummaged through the desk for a couple of minutes until he found what he was looking for. Two pair of scissors and two paperweights. Beetle smiled as he carefully brought the items to the huddled group.

  “Whatcha going to do with that, Beetle?” Drew frowned in disapproval. “I mean the scissors are good. Great thinking but paperweights? C’mon man. What are we going to do with those? Throw them?”

  “Not exactly,” Beetle sneakily smiled. “These my friends are going to be our way out of here. We all know what the scissors can be used for but the paperweights…”

  Beetle placed the items on the floor as he bent down and removed his socks then shoes. After putting his shoes back on, he took the paperweights and placed one in each of the socks. He grasped both items holding up them up for his comrades to see.

  “Sock-a-bats!” Beetle exclaimed peering through his shiny glasses.

  “Shhh!” Mater hissed.

  “You can sling them like a bat. Guaranteed to put a dent in those Eater’s noggins. Forget about finding a broom or a mop.” Beetle looked back and forth between Drew, Mater, and Sue Ellen. “What do you guys think? Cool huh?”

  Drew took one of the homemade Sock-a-bats and studied it quickly. “Beetle, you are going to be the next multi-billionaire someday, when we get out of this.”

  “I also figured we might need some sort of lubricant, oil… Grease even,” Beetle said. All eyes fell on Cookie.

  “Oh uh huh! Why everybody looking over here when Beetle said grease?” Cookie shrieked.

  “I was thinking of grease, Cookie, because the Eaters would have a hard time of grabbing us if we were slippery,” Beetle added.

  The crew grew silent as Cookie abruptly left the group. She walked over to where her desk was and where the others were clustered together like grapes. Drew gawked at Beetle. We need all the people we could get. Great going Beetle, Drew thought.

  “Alright. Looks like Cookie is going with the others. Whenever we get out into the hallway we will move quietly and fast. Our destination is the storm shelter and to not alert the Eaters at all cost.” Drew turned to look at everyone. “Agreed?”

  Everyone shook their heads in agreement.

  “The good thing is the Eaters move slow kind of like they are uncoordinated. However, they are deadly in groups and once they get a hold of you, it’s best to pray someone else is around to help you out if you are surrounded,” Beetle said.

  “Who wants a Sock-a-bat and the scissors? We only have two each.” Drew held up the make shift weapons.

  Sue Ellen and Mater took the Sock-a-bats. Beetle and Billy took the scissors. The group, led by Drew, started for the door. He turned around not really wanting to find out what was beyond it.

  “You are the leader. Go,” Sue Ellen pushed at Drew. Drew turned around and frowned at Sue Ellen. “Will you stop already?”

  “How about we say a silent prayer for about thirty seconds?” Tarynn asked with her lips quivering. The group nodded their heads and prayed.


  “Hey! Look what I have,” Cookie happily said walking back towards the group. She held a big jar of Vaseline in her hands.

  “Prayer works,” Drew mumbled as he watched Cookie approach the group.

  “Um… Cookie why do you have that?” Mater asked wearily.

  “Girl, you didn’t know? I was supposed to fight Jose—“ Cookie stopped as she looked at Josefina’s lifeless body sprawled across the desk. “I mean Vaseline is good for when you get in fights. It makes you slippery so the other person can’t grab you.” Cookie slumped her head and dropped her shoulders.

  Drew touched Cookie. “Well, at least this Vaseline will be put to some use for a good purpose… and that is to stay alive.”

  Drew passed the Vaseline around as they all smothered themselves like they were lathering up with soap. Karley immediately put up her hands waving off the application of Vaseline. She hid behind Sue Ellen as the group continued to apply the lubricant. Some of the students led by Royal looked on while others laughed at the sight of Drew and his friends soaking themselves in oil.

  “We all stick together no matter what, right?” Drew said making eye contact with each of them. They all nodded their heads in unison.

  Definitely, we are stronger in numbers,” Beetle added.

  “Please don’t forget Marley, Drew. We have to stop on the sixth grade hall on our way to the storm shelter,” Mater whimpered. She blinked her big brown soft eyes.

  “I won’t forget, Marley…” Drew promised. He thought of his own sisters and hoped that he would be reunited with them soon. “Anybody else besides Mater have someone we need to search for? I don’t want anyone left out.” No one spoke up but it seemed as if each kid swallowed lumps in their throat that struggled to go down.