“You don’t look fine,” Sue Ellen added.
“Well missy! I don’t think you would be fine if an Eater zombie scalped you alive! Now would you!” Cookie blasted. “The blood is coming from where my tracks were ripped out idiots!”
Cookie took her place up front by Mr. Freeman. Sue Ellen and Mater looked at Drew with curiosity. He shrugged it off and took his stance behind Mr. Freeman as well. Drew turned around to get a glimpse of Royal and his goons one last time. There were some students who seemed as if they wanted to leave as well but did not move. Royal raised his hand and saluted Drew.
“Follow my lead. Remember…. Run quick and run quiet!” Mr. Freeman demanded.
Tarynn spoke swiftly but with assertion. “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you will be with me….”
Mr. Freeman signaled the go by nodding his head. He bolted through the door leading the students through the courtyard in the howling rain. The wind fought against the group as they scurried along briskly along the sidewalk shielding their face from the brutal force of the weather. Everything else that followed became a blur.
No humans towards the back of the school were seen alive. A couple of mummified corpses were piled up ahead near the door that led to the front office, where the buses were located. Teachers…. Drew figured. It looked as if they were trying to make it into the building before they died.
Drew heard a low cry at the edge of the building before reaching the door. The cry sounded weak but was overshadowed by hoarse gurgling moans. Drew stopped and noticed a group of Eaters huddled over another child feasting away over the last bit of life the student had left.
“Keep moving! Don’t stop!” Mr. Freeman yelled over the mad, raging winds.
The teacher’s loud, booming voice alerted one of the Eaters, whose neck snapped up quickly to see that there was more than enough food to go around. The Eater, who looked to be no more than twelve-years-old, jerked up unsteadily from its now doomed soul. The Eater reminded Drew of how his mother would walk whenever she came home in the wee hours of the morning intoxicated. The Eater limped along lazily with its entire leg nearly eaten through. It waved it arms out towards Drew like it was trying to flag someone down.
Drew glanced back towards the cafeteria and noticed that an army of Eaters had congregated at the windows and door. It looked like the entire seventh grade had flocked to the den of sheep.
Drew felt a strong jerk, which pulled him within the confinements of the hallway and out of the harsh weather. The Eater, who was after Drew, tripped onto the side walk and fell into the door. Drew jumped back and continued running towards the double doors that led to freedom. The horrid moans and screams that he heard at the beginning of the school day got louder as he got closer to the gym.
The gym and office were up ahead on the right and a second hallway adjacent from the office led to the eighth grade hall. The sweat trickled down Drew’s forehead and into his eyes causing them to burn badly. As Drew neared the gym, the gurgling moans were deafening accompanied by a loud thumping sound at the door. Thick congealed blood pooled at the edges of the gym door. Drew dared not think what could have gone on behind the closed doors of the gym.
Before making it to the office, Drew observed a teacher lying in the hallway being devoured by three Eaters. The teacher’s muscles caused the body to wriggle as the Eaters hungrily savored their meal. Drew brought his hand up to his mouth to fight the nausea that easily made its way up into the back of his throat. He continued on walking quickly and stopped before passing the front office, which looked like a butcher room. Small bloody hand prints were plastered all over the window. Splatters of blood were everywhere. Papers were scattered on top of the desk and stuck to the floor by clotted blood. Chairs were overturned. The phone was dangling over the counter still swinging slightly.
The ghastly sight brought tears to Drew’s eyes. Not to long ago, he was in that same office being suspended from the baseball team by the coach and principal. He jumped back when he saw a figure slither out of the Assistant Principal’s office and directly into the wall. Drew could not tell who it was. It was horribly disfigured and an Eater. From the looks of the zombie before it died, it appeared like several Eaters might have attacked it. The entire face had been chewed off. All of the Eater’s limbs were missing but one arm, which was severed to the bone and looked as if it would detach in any minute. The Eater raised what was left of its head and opened its mouth. No sound escaped its severely wounded throat. Drew trembled as he squeezed his eyes shut praying this was all a dream. A popping sound went off. It sounded like a firecracker.
Fight or Flight… Fight or Flight….
Drew opened his eyes. It was real. Too real. His school and everything around it was in shambles. He started for the double doors that led out of the school. Everybody had already made it out and would be waiting on him. He gripped his knife tightly. Help was right outside the doors all he had to do was open them. No more nightmares. He would be seeing his Mee-maw. Life would be the same. A smile grew on his face as he left the bad dream behind him.
Drew pushed opened the doors that led out to the front school yard, which faced the main highway, like he was making a grand entrance. He stopped dead in his tracks. The smile that once graced his face disappeared. It was not the weather that hindered him nor Sue Ellen or Mater along with the others who were frozen solid in their tracks. It was the sight of time that stood still. The chaos that had interrupted inside of the school building had nothing on what was happening before their very own eyes. Pandemonium and havoc was literally occurring right in front of their school yard. Drew’s nightmare had become a reality. The entire city of Wiggins was falling and it was dropping fast.
Chapter 8
Hush little Zombie don’t eat a hand
Mommas going to buy you an arm instead
And if that arm does not bleed
Mommas going to give you a brain to eat
It was feast or famine. The front schoolyard resembled World War III. The rain had lightened up to the point of a drizzle and the wind eased to a soft swirl. Hurricane Angel did not hide the fact that zombies had come to claim the small rural town of Wiggins. The last of the buses were boarding and ready for take off but the main road, Highway 26, was congested and backed up. People were trying to frantically get home, find their loved ones, or leave town. Highway 26 was the main street that ran in front of the school and was the lifeline of the town.
Cars and trucks were scattered across the school yard, not paying attention to designated parking spaces as desperate parents searched for their children. Drew observed some students running from the west side of the building accompanied by their dads or moms who madly dashed for their cars.
A loud crash startled the group as two cars slammed into one another head on right in front of their very own eyes. A cloud of glass from the impact twinkled down like a shower of falling stars. Drew focused in and noticed that one of the vehicles, a white truck, was carrying high school students. The other automobile, a blue mini-van, had a body eject from the windshield only to land on the hood of the white truck. The accident victim was a child who appeared to be no more than six-years-old. Drew realized from the looks of the crash, the child had to have been killed on impact.
“May his soul rest in peace…” Tarynn said from behind Drew.
The hairs on the back of Drew’s neck stood straight up. The prickly sensation was not from Tarynn’s hot, moist breath but from what happened next at the scene of the accident. The six-year-old accident victim, who lay on the hood of the white truck, suddenly raised up and plunged forward head first into the windshield of the white truck. Screams were heard inside of the truck as the driver tried to restart the vehicle. The engine was badly damaged and would not turn over. The passenger in the truck tried desperately to get out but the door was caved in due to the collision.
The child, apparently an Eater, rammed the windshield headfirst with ama
zing force until the glass barrier finally gave in. It slithered into the opening and began violently attacking the occupants that were sealed in the truck. The truck swayed back and forth like a mad wave as the Eater had its way. Blood sprayed on the passenger window causing Drew and the others to jump back and gasp. After a few minutes or so the movement and muted screams stopped in the truck.
The driver in the mini-van, apparently the Eater’s mother, staggered out of the wreckage holding her wounded neck. Her skin was blackened like an overdone tan. The woman’s appearance resembled that of a mummy. The lady was in distress. She held out her free hand waving for help before she could make it to the embankment. A speeding police car, out of nowhere, plowed her down. The officer’s car never stopped or slowed. It zoomed past the wreckage and turned off onto a side road.
Eaters were staggering from all over. Some of the zombies came from the cars, a few trickled out from the school, and others from nearby houses.
Three buses were left boarding in the parking lot. The first bus was filled to the brim with children shouting out pleas for help and for their parents. A loud, piercing cry was heard over the swirling wind on the first bus. The unnerving pain that accompanied the cries from that first bus brought chills to Drew’s soul. The students yelled to the top of their lungs. Mayhem and madness broke out on the first bus with sheer terror filling the air. The occupants were seen pushing and shoving as they tried to make their way off the yellow clunker. An older student, who was covered in blood, made it to the front of the bus and opened the doors. Before the student had a chance to make it off the bus, mangled bloody hands pulled him back into the darkness. Suddenly out of nowhere, the first bus took off blindly towards the street and crashed into a tree.
A loud engine that sounded like a jet roared over the school lawn. Drew pulled his eyes off of the horrific sight and looked up to see that it was his grandmother. She bypassed the line of cars as the big hefty monster truck, also known as Big Thunder, plowed down everything in sight. Mee-maw slowly rode the lawn sticking her head out the window looking for her grandson. When she spotted him, she waved her hand wildly.
“Drew? Drew!”
“Mee-maw!” Drew ran to greet his grandmother but Mr. Freeman held him back.
“That’s my grandmother!” Drew shouted at Mr. Freeman.
Drew’s grandmother pulled up near the entrance of the school. At this point, any teacher would have had a heart attack for someone driving on the school’s lawn but it seemed as if everybody was oblivious to any rules. Mee-maw jumped out of the truck with one leap. She looked like a solider going to combat. She was dressed in camouflage with a clip attached to her waist belt. Black combat boots were laced up all the way to her calves. A black bandana held her smoky white hair together, which was pulled together neatly in a bun. Drew’s Mee-maw had always said during a many of bedtime stories that she would live to see the world end and when that day came she would be ready. Now here they were.
“I have Grace in the back seat,” Mee-maw pointed out. Grace’s red face was wet with tears. She wept loudly as she held her arms out for Drew from the backseat. “I got to get Maryann. Haven’t heard too much good news from the elementary school. Ole Strawberry, she pointed to the 357 Magnum that lay in the dashboard, will keep us safe. You get on that bus that’s leaving here and I will meet you at the Fairgrounds Center.”
“No, Mee-maw! I want to go with you!” Drew pleaded.
“Listen, Drew! Now, listen. I need to know that you are safe! Just in case…One of us has to get to safety. Stay away from the hospital and clinics. Go straight to the Fairgrounds. The Guard is there. The time has come where we must fight to survive! Now go!”
Mee-maw hopped into her truck and pumped her fist before soaring through the lawn into the parking lot with ease. The red Big Thunder was very intimidating to a lot of drivers and pedestrians even during a time such as the zombie take over. Drew watched as his grandmother cut into the traffic easily on Highway 26 like a knife slicing butter. He felt at ease knowing that she, the rock, was pulling the family together one by one and everyone would be okay.
“You heard the lady! Everybody move now! Run to bus 50!” Mr. Freeman yelled.
Billy used his track skills and sprinted out into the light drizzle without delay. An Eater that was slithering on the ground grabbed Billy’s ankle causing him to fall. Drew ran up and stomped the Eater’s head allowing Billy to break free.
“Thanks man, that was a close one,” Billy said out of breath as he rose to his feet with Drew’s assistance. The twinkle of rain flowed down his dark skin and puddle around his eyes.
“Did it bite you?” Drew asked.
Billy inspected his body quickly. “Nah, man I am okay. Lets go!”
Billy caught up with others where Mr. Freeman was impatiently waiting at the entrance of the bus. Drew looked back to notice that Cookie’s run had slowed to a trot. She leaned over and touched her knees in an attempt to recollect herself. Drew rapidly ran back to assist Cookie.
“C’mon Cookie! They are going to leave us, if we don’t hurry!”
Drew grabbed Cookie’s arm to pull her along and noticed that her skin was blazing hot. Her flesh was so heated that the Vaseline had melted right off.
“I… am… trying… not…in…shape….” was all that Cookie could manage to say.
In between the mad dash towards the bus, a car that had been parked on the school lawn came out of nowhere and nearly missed Drew and Cookie. Drew pushed Cookie out of the uncontrollable car’s way, which caused them both to fall tumbling over each other. Drew rose up from the ground to notice that the car had crashed into another parked car. Inside the crashed car were double car seats. Babies…. In a small town like Wiggins, everyone knew everyone.
Oh no that is Crystal’s mom….
Crystal had lived in the trailer park that was two miles from Drew’s house. She was not well known in school but would tutor Drew in Math during break sessions. Crystal’s mother was a single parent who worked two jobs just to make ends meet. Crystal was the only child for ten years until her mother came home with a set of twins. The twins had just turned one and they were in the car. Drew felt the bile rise in the back of his throat once he realized what was occurring in the car at that very moment. The twins… Crystal’s mother… Crystal. Someone had turned into an Eater and began attacking every one. The car seats began to move and shake violently. Drew turned his head as he witnessed blood spewing everywhere and horrid screams rising from within side of the vehicle.
Fight or Flight… Fight or Flight.
Drew sprang to his feet quickly and pulled Cookie with him. He pushed Cookie in front of Mr. Freeman so that she could board the bus first. Mr. Freeman’s face was beet red as he pulled everyone in and slammed the door closed with the lever. The bus was full like an overstuffed tick. There were students, a female science teacher, and the librarian that crowded the walkway and overfilled the seats. The science teacher and librarian were trying to calm the students down as they continued to whine and scream out for help and their parents. Drew remembered that the science teacher had just announced that she was engaged to get married and would be moving away to Georgia next year. The bus driver was a plump elderly man who was as white as ghost.
“We are not going to make it on that highway. It’s a death trap,” the elderly bus driver gasped. A picture of an older lady, in her early sixties, graced his dashboard. Drew figured the lady to be his wife. She seemed like the woman who enjoyed baking during the holidays or volunteering in the soup kitchen during a time of need. The picture of the woman gave Drew a feeling of serenity. It reminded him of his Mee-maw.
The bus driver looked to Mr. Freeman for advice. His arms shook as he firmly gripped the big steering wheel. Beads of sweat the size of dimes formed on his chubby round face and neck. Quick thinking of the bus driver on the second bus pulled them out of the doomed clutches of Stoney Central Middle School. The second bus took off towards the entrance of Highway
26. It veered off into the oncoming lane to avoid the wreckage that had just occurred, which blocked the escape route to the Fairgrounds Center. The second bus had made it. Finally, somebody makes it to safety. Drew breathed a sigh relief. He prayed that his Mee-maw would be there at the center waiting for him with his sisters. The rescue helicopter from the local hospital swooned over ahead in route to some unknown emergency.
“That must be the helicopter we heard earlier,” Drew mentioned to Sue Ellen and Mater.
They were all jammed packed standing up in the bus aisle because there was no room to sit. Cookie and Billy had managed their way to the back of the bus. Cookie leaned over a seat slightly with Billy helping support most of her weight.
“Do you think these Eaters are attacking the entire town?” Sue Ellen asked.
“Yes…. and the entire state according to the internet. I just hope that out in the country we will be more safe,” Drew replied.
“Cookie doesn’t look right,” Mater whispered to Drew and Sue Ellen.
The three looked back at Cookie and Billy. Someone had apparently loaned their seat to Cookie. She slouched in the stall with her head kicked back. A loud explosion caused the bus to come to screeching halt.
“Oh my God!! Lord please HELP us!” Tarynn screamed.
The rescue helicopter had spun out of control and crashed into several cars that had made it onto Highway 26. A big, bright orange flame shot up into the sky like a fire hydrant under pressure. The light rain did not smother the blazing high flame. The wind if anything seemed to make the flame grow bigger. Everyone on the bus went into a frenzy as the bus driver fiercely placed the gears into reverse.
Drew overheard Mr. Freeman advise the bus driver to floor it towards the back of the building where the car riders loaded up. The next thing Drew knew, the bus driver was swerving around the first bus that had wrecked and the car, with the twins, that had plowed down the fence. The bus hurled over the speed bumps like they did not exist. As the bus made its way towards the back of the school, Mr. Freeman turned around to address everyone. He waved his hands several times to get the occupants attention. The bus came to a silent still with occasional sniffles and whimpering escaping from some of the students.
Death's Little Angels Page 9
