Drew started towards the door with Sue Ellen and Mater close on his heels. Tarynn grabbed Karley’s hand and smiled faintly. She clutched her bible in the other hand. Cookie followed closely behind with Billy and Beetle securing the end. Drew walked past Royal and shook his head. He knew that Royal and his goons were spoiled, rich kids but how could someone be so nonchalant about the world coming to an end?
Drew placed his hands slowly on the door knob and opened the door. He carefully stuck his head out the doorway peering into the wide hallway. Once the door was opened, Drew was instantly met with the smell of strong copper and body waste. The sight alone caused him to jerk his entire body back into the classroom. He closed his eyes and fell back onto the wall near the door. Drew brought his hands to his mouth like he was going to vomit.
“What is it?” Sue Ellen hissed.
“Drew?” Matter added quietly. Drew reopened his eyes.
“I don’t think we should go out there,” Drew wearily whispered. He felt as if his knees would buckle and give away at any minute.
“What do you mean?” Billy asked. “You should’ve seen what we just came through before y’all let us in. Besides, it cant be no worse than what’s about to bust through those windows in the next few minutes.”
Beetle addressed everyone in the group. “Listen, what you are going to see when we go out into the hallway is going to make any horror movie you’ve ever watched seem like a scary joke. I would advise everyone to stick close and keep moving if you want to live. That’s how we made it here in one piece.”
“Man, you know we had some soldier’s to fall,” Billy said shaking his head, reminiscent of his classmates who were bitten by the Eaters in route to safety.
“Yea….” Beetle quietly said.
Drew leaned over to look at the classroom windows, which now had cracks running madly all the way to the top. So many Eaters had congregated at the window that no view outside was visible but the bleak sky.
Fight or Flight.
“What’s taking you so long, Jacks? I know you are not scared of the boogeyman!” Royal shouted at Drew.
Royal also became nervous, as the moans grew louder at the window. Kaleb tightened the grip on his sharpened broom handle. He sneered as he glanced towards the darkening window.
Who is going to come out in this weather to rescue us? Drew thought. He figured if he could make it to the storm shelter then their chances for survival was great, especially after what he had just seen out in the hallway.
Drew swallowed hard. “I’m going first, right?”
No one said a word but nodded their heads.
Before Drew had a chance to lead the group out of the room, the outside window gave in from the weight of the Eaters. A breeze of air and rain accompanied by death filled the room. A loud excruciating scream overshadowed the monotone moans of the Eaters. A bite landed first on the side of Steven’s face, who was standing near the window, severing his ear.
“Agghhh! Plea—“
Drew witnessed Steven get eaten alive as the grip of death, pulled him in through the broken hole in the window. Some of the students who were congregated around Royal sprinted out of the door bypassing Drew and his group. An Eater fell into the classroom, on his head, to the floor with a loud thud. The Eater was unaffected by the fall and slowly resumed a stance with its tiny mangled arms placed forward as it shuffled towards its prey. The Eater looked to be no more than 11-years-old and probably a sixth grader. Drew could not tell if it was a male or female. There were so many bite marks on the child that the face was unrecognizable.
Drew took a deep breath and turned to run. The window shattered into tiny pieces from the weight of more Eaters. They shuffled forward and began to make their way into the classroom, grabbing students, snapping their jaws of doom. Drew dashed out into the hallway almost slipping on old and fresh blood that was spilled onto the marbled floor. His fall was cushioned as Billy and Beetle caught him before he fell to the floor. As the group of eight filtered out into the hall they were taken back at the horrific, gruesome sight.
An instant smell of copper and iron with the combination of human flesh and waste overwhelmed their nostrils. Blood spatters, various body parts, and human waste cluttered the hallway. Some of the students who had their legs chewed off and converted to Eaters slithered towards Drew and the group extending their mouths. Royal and the group that followed him sped past Drew and his group. Pandemonium and chaos was audible throughout the hallways.
No one had ever seen a sight this ghastly. Drew gripped his knife firmly and turned to his right to head towards the Fema Building Storm Shelter. Mater grabbed Drew’s arm. Her eyes were big with fright.
“We gotta get Marley, remember?”
“I don’t think…. Maybe Marley got out,” Drew said in a panic.
“Please, Drew. Marley is all I have,” Mater’s eyes filled with tears as she bit her bottom lip.
Drew remembered his promise and turned to his left to go towards the Cafeteria, where Marley’s sixth grade hall was located. Deep down he had a feeling that Marley’s hall did not fair well at all. Drew began jogging through the hallway looking for Eaters to jump out at any moment.
The group led by Drew, passed by some classrooms that were empty only to be replaced by overturned desks and papers. The papers were soaked with blood and scattered all over the class. Commotion and screams, accompanied by moans, were heard coming from near the cafeteria. Marley’s class was at the end of the hallway and the cafeteria sat right outside of the double doors. Mater sped past Drew once they neared Marley’s class.
“Wait! Slowwww down!” Drew demanded.
Mater ignored Drew’s pleas and sprinted straight towards the door. Sue Ellen followed closely behind Drew. They both hoped to find Marley in her class but it was too quiet on the sixth grade hall. Mater flung the door open and her mouth fell ajar. The classroom setting looked like a battle field. The walls were red and body parts were scattered about. A dark, mummified body was sprawled near a cabinet. It looked like the person was trying to get away but with no success. The ossified remains resembled that of Mrs. Westwood and Mrs. Kissing. Drew figured the body to be that of a teacher or another adult who worked at the school.
Slurping and smacking sounds were heard nearby. Drew brought his fingers to his lips and then to his ears as if to tell the group to listen out for where the sounds were coming from. Everybody was on alert as they tightened their grip on their makeshift weapons.
Drew noticed something of Marley’s by her desk. Her lime green backpack. Drew remembered the last time that he seen Marley, he had teased her about the pitcher of limeade that she carried on her back. That fluorescent color was now replaced with a deep dark burgundy stain. Old blood, Drew figured. Mater sadly bent down to pick up Marley’s backpack.
“Mater, we need to go. Marley isn’t here,” Drew whispered. He knew it was time to depart.
Everybody stood congregated behind Mater as she began to weep softly. Sue Ellen and Cookie quietly comforted Mater by giving her hugs. Karley stayed closer to Drew. She was terrified and wanted to remain alive. Karley was the only one that she knew of so far to survive out of her class and she wanted to keep it that way. As Drew moved closer to Mater a movement behind the desk caught his eye. He walked closer to the desk where the slurping sounds grew louder.
“Geez-us!” Drew shrieked as he jumped back like a kangaroo.
“What is it?” Mater asked through tear soaked eyes.
Drew shook his head and slowly backed up. He did not want to believe what he was seeing. The little girl that he treated like a sister literally all of his life, raised up from her grub. Half of her braids had been yanked from her scalp. Her clothes were torn and ragged. It looked like she had engaged in a tug war in which she had lost. She gazed up at him through unseeing eyes with congealed blood pouring from her mouth. Pieces of her classmate’s flesh fell from the clenches of her jaws. The gaping laceration was visible on the backside of her neck. Th
e wound gave away secret that she must have been attacked from behind. An undying craving for human meat fueled the rabid look on her face. Before Drew had a chance to warn the others, Marley pounced towards him.
Chapter 6
The itsy bitsy zombie made its way into our town
Here comes Drew Jacks falling onto the ground
The itsy bitsy zombie will feast upon your head
Here comes Drew Jacks, watch out for the living dead
Mayhem broke out amongst the group. Marley lunged at Drew but his agility save him as he dodged the clutches of the Eater’s gruesome hands. Instead, the death grip landed on Karley who immediately started screaming and fought off the amazingly strong Eater.
“Get her off me!” Karley yelled as she tried to sling Marley a loose.
Drew went to stab Marley in the back of the head but had a change of heart and tried to grab her from behind. However, the grip that Marley had on Karley was inhumanly strong. Each time Marley would attempt to take a bite out of Karley’s face, Karley would lean back and plead for her life. The two toppled over on the desks and Karley lost her grip.
“Aghhhhh!!!” Karley yelled as Marley sunk her infected teeth deep into her shoulder.
Drew pulled his knife and went to stab Marley in the back of the head but Mater tackled him pushing him away.
“You can’t kill MY sister!” Mater shouted plunging into Drew.
“She is already dead, Mater!” Drew yelled back. He tried to subdue his friend by restraining her wrist but Mater fought back trying to get to her sister, Marley.
Karley’s screams went on as Marley continued to devour her. Everybody stood dumbfounded, to afraid to move.
“Somebody, HELP her!” Drew shouted as he pushed Mater into Sue Ellen. He pointed at Sue Ellen. “Please, hold her.”
Sue Ellen and Cookie wrestled Mater to the desk as she shouted insults to let her go. Drew rushed up to Marley and tried to stick her in the head with his knife but missed and sliced into the side of her face. Marley seemed unaffected by the cut. She pulled back from Karley’s shoulder bringing a chunk of skin with her. Marley licked her lips and swiped at Drew wildly with her hands causing him to fall backwards into a desk nearby. As Drew struggled to bring himself to his feet, Billy and Beetle rushed towards Marley and began attacking her with their scissors.
“Die! Die! Please Die!” Billy hollered as he continued to overwhelm the undead Eater’s body with razor sharp blows.
Marley finally came to a still, with a few jerks in her legs being evident. Drew slowly pulled himself together. He glanced over at Mater who was now crying hysterically. Mater ran to her sister’s lifeless body, which was plastered with tiny puncture wounds and cradled it.
“MARLEY!! Please come back, Marley!” Mater cried.
Sue Ellen brought her hands to her face to wipe away the tears that softly fell. Everybody loved Mater’s younger sister Marley. She was the girl who was mostly likely to succeed in life even though both her and Mater’s father was never present in their lives. Marley had hopes of some day to become Mississippi’s first female Governor but those dreams would never come true. Drew ran his fingers through his hair. He thought of his sisters as he glanced down at Mater and Marley. He began to panic. He felt his chest get tight. He had to get to them. The sorrow in Mater’s voice as she spoke of reminiscent times with her sister hurt him to the core. Now, Mater was alone and he would be too if he did not get home soon.
Fight or Flight.
Human voices were heard. It sounded as if they were running. Drew could not decipher if it was teachers or students.
“Mater….” Drew began. “We really need to go.”
Mater flashed a look that could melt steel at Drew. Her eyes were blood shot red.
“You go! I am staying here with my sister. She needs me!”
“She is…” Drew stopped.
Everybody but Sue Ellen and Tarynn gathered behind Drew. He turned away from the site of Marley’s body and noticed Karley lying on the floor. She shivered as she began to suffocate on the blood that quickly filled her lungs. Tarynn stood crouched over Karley reciting a prayer. Drew walked over and kneeled over Karley.
“Do you think you can walk if I help you up?”
Karley closed her eyes and then reopened them. She opened her mouth to say something but no words escaped. With her mouth slightly open, she managed mumble two words.
“Leave….Me…”
Karley closed her eyes and all body movement stopped.
“We better get out of here,” Drew said as he jumped to his feet and backed up slowly. “C’mon guys let’s move.”
“Did I stutter?” Mater spat. “I am not leaving Marley!”
Drew felt bad for his best friend. Mater whimpered softly. She cradled her sister’s body in her arms and rocked back and forth like a baby. The sounds of aircraft zoomed overhead. Everybody gazed up into the ceiling.
“I think that is a helicopter up there.” Beetle pointed up towards the ceiling with his crimson stained scissors grasped firmly in his hand.
“Maybe, they are here to evacuate the school,” Cookie said.
“In the middle of a hurricane?” Billy asked breathing rapidly. He walked to the door and surveyed the hallway.
“I think this thing is much bigger than a hurricane,” Beetle responded as he followed Billy to help keep watch.
Drew reached his hand out gently towards Mater. Mater looked away and stared back down at her sister. She delicately moved the braids out of Marley’s battered face. Sue Ellen leaned over and whispered into Mater’s ear, she then slowly but delicately touched Mater’s face. Drew watched as the two silently communicated and Mater finally gave in, getting up. Mater placed her hand in Drew’s and began to cry once more as she got up. Drew pulled Mater close and they hugged. Sue Ellen walked up to the two and wrapped her arms around them as they all comforted Mater’s breakdown.
“Guys….Guys…. GUYS!” Beetle’s said with fear. “We have company!”
Drew broke away from the group hug and sprang into action. He ran to the door followed by Sue Ellen and Mater. At least twenty Eaters, that was 500 feet away, shuffled their way towards the classroom. Drew glanced towards his left and noticed more Eaters coming but that group was at a longer distance away. No adults infiltrated the group only children.
Drew noticed that the Eaters were from all different backgrounds and grade levels. But all of them had one thing in common bite wounds. Bite marks were everywhere. No part of the human body was immune. Most of the Eaters sniffed up in the air like they smelled their favorite morsel. Some of the Eaters shuffled, a few without legs slithered, others stumbled falling into each other but they continued coming towards their intended target. THEM.
Drew popped back into the classroom quickly. He pulled Beetle and Billy back in with him.
“The only way out of here is the cafeteria.”
Billy’s eyes bugged. “Man, are you serious? Didn’t Dr. Bradford tell us not to go into the cafeteria? That is where all this mess started.”
“We don’t really have a choice,” Drew said pulling his knife. He pointed at the door. “Those Eater things are coming from both directions. Our only chance is to head two doors down to the left and sprint towards the cafeteria. Everybody has their weapons and we are greased down. They won’t be able to grab a hold of us.”
“He is right,” Beetle said. “We all stick together and watch from all sides. Besides, if we don’t make it out of here and soon, I am going to get really sick.”
Drew looked questioningly at Beetle.
“I’ll explain later. I will be needing my medicine soon,” Beetle said glancing down at his watch.
“Okay, Beetle. We will get you out of here,” Drew said.
Drew motioned to Cookie and Tarynn. “Since you two don’t have weapons, y’all try to stay inside the group. Sue Ellen… you stay on my right, Billy you on my left. And Beetle, you and Mater secure the back.”
Everybody
nodded their heads and assumed the positions. Mater, being at the back of the group, took one last glimpse of her sister Marley sprawled at an uncanny angle on the floor. Before the group had a chance to leave, Mater quickly reached through Tarynn and Cookie and nudged Drew. Beetle gasped at what Mater saw and back up into Cookie who fell into Drew.
“What is it?” Drew asked. He was ready to bolt out of the door.
He did not have to wonder for long, for the loud hoarse moans from Karley startled them all. Her thin blond hair was trapped into the gaping gash of her shoulder. Karley’s once pale skin was as dark as the gray stormy sky outside. Black tiny lines were evident as they quickly ran throughout her body like a road map. Karley wildly opened and closed her jaws. She pushed into the desks as she stumbled to get up. She uncontrollably lunged at the group falling onto more desks that blocked her way. When Karley looked up, her fixed eyes seeped blood that looked like grape jelly.
Drew dashed out into the hallway, before Karley could attack them. They were immediately met with the dead Eater’s groans as they made their way to the double doors that led to the cafeteria. The group of Eaters to the right had scuffled their way closer than Drew had estimated.
If we had stayed in there another minute…. Drew thought as they ran.
The cafeteria was not enclosed in the school building. It sat outside the sixth grade hall, which was not that far from the choir or Fema evacuation building. Drew looked out the tiny slits of the double doors before opening them. The rain fell at a steady rate from the angry skies. He quickly scanned the area and saw that the cafeteria sat nestled in its usual corner. It was like reaching the top of Mount Everest. They had to make to the cafeteria. It would be their safe haven until they could figure out what else to do. The Eaters would be closing in on them at any minute.
“What are we waiting on?” Beetle half whispered from the back of the group. “They are getting closer!”
“Had to make sure none of em’ were out front before we made a run for it,” Drew muttered from the front. “It’s going to be hard to see out in the rain.” Drew looked towards the back of the group. The looks on everybody’s face were the same. Fear.
Death's Little Angels Page 7
