I pulled myself towards the now limp body on the floor. The stool had four long metal legs, the perfect height for tucking them perfectly under the benches in the lab. Rather then put this one back under the bench, I slammed one of the legs down in to the face of the zombie for good measure.
I realized I was panting when I pulled the crow bar out of the other zombie’s head. I was about to run over to Mary and Walter and tell them when had happened when I noticed something in the closet.
In the corner of the closet was a now destroyed trap and neuter cage, the kind of animal cage you use to catch feral cats or other small wildlife alive. The bars had been stretched though not completely ripped. There had been some poor animal in there, by the looks of it an opossum. It looked like it had been ripped through the small square holes piece by piece.
Looking back at the bodies of the zombies I saw that their hands were covered in gouges, broken in places, with large amounts of blood and animal fur caked on them.
I realized in horror that had been the reason they had been so quiet initially: they had something to keep them occupied. Someone had planted these two in there in a fashion that would lead to their likely ambush of whoever was inspecting the classrooms. This had been staged!
I turned to run and find Mary and Walter at the exact time that I heard a scream from across the hallway.
Chapter 63
I wish I was a sprinter. But I prefer distance. And endurance. Or at least that was how it had been before the zombie outbreak. I always felt like I could never pick up speed or run fast enough, though I could keep going forever. Most of the time that gave me an advantage for outrunning the zombies, but today I really wished I was quicker.
Running towards people that you want to save just makes that feeling ten thousand times worse.
I rushed towards the hallway, nearly falling when trying to maneuver the turn around the corner. The scene I feared most lay before me: Mary was on the ground down the hallway, a large zombie solidly attached to her neck as she feebly attempted to push it off. Another smaller zombie, probably a teenager when it had been turned, was chewing on her leg while she tried to pull away unsuccessfully.
Walter was a little further down the hallway, struggling with a third zombie. This one was large, previously male, and brutish. He had been able to hold the creature’s arms down at its sides to prevent it from reaching out and grabbing him, though he was unable to grab his gun from the holster on his hip because of that. And the zombie continued to lunge and snap at his face.
I hated to admit it, but in that moment my mind played triage. Even though Walter was further from me I rushed towards him, knowing that he was the only one I could really save. I passed Mary on my way, knowing it was very unlikely that the two attacking her would even notice me being they were already getting their desired meal.
I smashed what must have been over half of the top of the head away from the back of the head of Walter’s attacker and the shell of a body fell to the floor. Walter slumped against the wall and took the moment to grab his gun.
I beat him back to Mary and dispatched the two preoccupied zombies before Walter arrived and pushed their bodies aside, kneeling down next to Mary.
Tears welled up in his eyes and he squinted them shut as he placed the gun next to her. He rested her head in his lap, mumbling the words No and her name again and again.
Mary’s face was sheet white. A massive, jagged hole lay open in her throat. Blood sputtered up from her mouth and poured from her neck. The small bubbles I saw in the throat area meant that her trachea had been damaged in addition to all the vessels and nerves. If she had been a dog I would have recommended euthanasia. In people that wasn’t an option before the outbreak, but still would have been preferable. Instead they would have tried to piece her back together so that she could die on a ventilator from sepsis a week later.
I doubt she was aware of what was going on, but then she looked over at Walter. The look on her face was pure terror, followed by a brief wave of what must have been contentment, and a feeble attempt at a smile. It was amazing she could muster that, and reminded me of all the times I saw dog patients with catastrophic injuries coming through the door wagging their tail.
I picked up the gun Walter had set on the floor and came to the other side of Mary, holding the gun where she could see it.
“NO!” shouted Walter. He pushed my hand away and continued stroking Mary’s hair, leaning down so their foreheads touched.
I reached over and touched Walter’s hand.
“Walter, she’ll be dead in less than a couple minutes, and she’s suffering. She’s in pain. We can end that pain,” I said. I felt for him, I really did, but I was also angry that he was falling in to the same selfish needs that many pet owners and family members did when they couldn’t be brave enough to let someone die with dignity.
“Mary, I love you. More than you can imagine,” he whispered.
He pulled back and I noticed that Mary’s eyes had rolled back in her head. She no longer seemed conscious.
We both looked down and he lifted her head back to the floor.
“Do it,” he said, standing up and turning to face the other way.
I raised the gun towards her head and angled it to try to hit her brainstem, wondering if she might have already died. Then I pulled the trigger. It was necessary regardless, to try to keep her from reanimating.
Walter was still sobbing, now leaning against the wall of the hallway. He was looking away from Mary’s body as if he couldn’t bear to see it.
I walked up to him and placed a hand on his shoulder.
“Walter, we will always remember her. And I can’t imagine the pain you are going through right now. But those zombies were set up for us as a trap. We have to warn the others and get to Anthony,” I told him. He was trying to respond but just kept sobbing and choking on his own saliva.
“I’m going to take your gun and go try to warn Lance’s group since they have the radio, ok?”
I didn’t wait for a response. Instead I turned and ran.
Chapter 64
Lance’s group seemed to be faring just fine. So far no booby traps full of zombies were present in their technology classrooms. I explained to them what had happened to us and Lance got on the radio to tell the group.
I was terrified what response would come, or lack of response. I had this vague feeling in the back of my mind that this was a set up by Anthony and company. It could have always been a group from outside, but there must have been a reason for Anthony’s weird behavior and quick agreement to our plan.
I felt relief wash over me briefly when Travis answered on the radio.
Travis said that he and Vince said they would be right in to help Walter, and to retrieve Mary’s body.
Anthony’s group was currently in the basement and with the nature of walkie-talkie radios we had to wait to hear from them. There was a long pause.
“Anthony? You guys there?” asked Lance again.
After what seemed like minutes but was more likely seconds there was a response.
“Here! We need help down here! Some sort of trap!” came his reply.
“Anthony? What’s going on down there?” asked Lance.
For the first time Raquel spoke up, her face pale and the corners of her head shimmering with sweat.
“Who can help them? Can you go help them Diana?” she asked shakily.
“We’ll help. Here, take this and tell Vince what’s going on so they can follow in as back up,” said Lance, handing Raquel the radio.
“Diana, Ricky and I can go down to the basement and try to help them,” he continued.
The three of us rushed towards the elevator. Part of me wanted to wait for Travis, but every second might count in saving Daniel from whatever he and Anthony’s crew were facing downstairs.
When we reached the elevator and pressed the down button Lance turned to me.
“Can I borrow your gun? Figure you’d be better with your c
row bar,” he asked, his face now showing signs of fear that he had been trying to mask from the others. I nodded and handed him Walter’s gun while I pulled my crow bar out and cocked it like a baseball bat. We jumped on to the elevator the moment the doors opened and I glanced over to see Ricky nervously holding an ax. He and Lance seemed to be exchanging glances. I knew Ricky rarely went out on missions, so this was probably all new for him. He was soaked in sweat and trembling.
The elevator started its decent, which being only one floor would probably not take long. It felt like the bottom of my guts had fallen on to the bottom of the elevator, traveling faster than its decent. I wanted to puke but was too amped up on adrenalin to let that happen.
The elevator dinged and the old doors slowly opened. I tensed my muscles and squatted lightly in to a position for optimal swinging.
The view that opened up before us was not what I had been expecting: it was dark and empty. No movement or noise came through the doors in front of us. I had no idea if that was because things were under control, or if everyone had been killed in the minutes it took us to get there.
I stepped forward cautiously and peeked around the wall to my left. Nothing was there.
Taking a couple more steps forward I could feel that Lance and Ricky were falling in to step at my flanks.
My eyes adjusted to the lack of light and I could see that all to the left back down the hallway we had traveled above were various compartments in the basement separated by metal cages. Inside each seemed to be various palates of supplies for the schools. The first one we went past looked like it was full of extra desks and stools like the ones in the biology lab.
I heard the distant sound of one of the metal cages shaking, but it was probably at the end of the hall.
While some might have responded by running faster, I paused in reaction to the noise, waiting for a zombie or survivor to stumble our way. I started forward again after a few seconds passed and this didn’t happen.
Another couple steps and I heard the soft click of a gun cocking right behind my head. I closed my eyes. Horror and anger washed over me in equal quantities. I realized what was happening, restraining my desire to turn and swing full force with my crow bar.
“I’m sorry Diana,” came Lance’s voice.
I slowly turned to face him.
He and Ricky were still behind me, though now they were holding their weapons at the ready towards me.
Lance looked sad, and Ricky still looked petrified.
“Put the crowbar down,” Lance instructed.
“Why?” I asked, though did exactly that.
“You were too much of a risk. You, Travis, and Daniel. I mean, it was either join your side and risk getting killed by Anthony, or join his and get the extra perks of added food and supplies,” he said with a shrug.
“That’s right blondie. I am in charge here, and you three were just too much of a threat to that,” said another cold voice from behind me.
I turned back to see Anthony coming up from the end of the hall. Daniel was in front of him, restrained with duct tape over his mouth and his arms tied behind his back. From behind Anthony came the rest of his goons. And amongst them was another face that I was surprised I remembered.
“Yup, that’s her,” said the new man. A man with spiky hair and a ragged goatee.
“I thought so. Diana, you might not know this, but about a week back you killed my buddies. They’re my crew that the school doesn’t know about, my buddies from the prison where I worked. I made some great friends after sneaking in drugs and other essentials to the inmates. I’d been waiting for the right time to let them in to our situation at the school after having earned everyone’s trust there, figuring it had to be good timing to allow a bunch of convicts in. But then you and your bitch friend come along and murder them. Then you have the nerve to come along and try to plot against me while I have the home advantage. Well today I am going to get my revenge and my fair share. Meanwhile rest assured, no one is going to come to save you. I’ve got everyone on my side. Except Walter, Mary and your crew. It’s amazing what some promise of extra goods as well as unlimited access to their type of humans can get you,” Anthony smiled maliciously during his lecture.
“And Vince is taking care of Travis as we speak. We’ll be having dog meat for dinner tonight. Plus it sounds like my booby trap took care of Mary. Without her Walter will probably break, or at least be an easy target. Just for fun too, I’m going to let Danny boy here watch me and my boys implement part of my revenge,” Anthony concluded.
I was surprised I was still standing while his words echoed in my head. It felt like my legs had been cut out from beneath me. That man next to Anthony had been the one I had seen fleeing the house the morning of Tracy’s attempted rape. The Anthony they had all been talking about had been this Anthony.
I realized with a sad, defeated feeling that I was going to die. And it wouldn’t be a quick death. The people I cared about would also die. And the worst news was that River would not only die, but would be eaten by these barbaric monsters, monsters that were a thousand times worse than any zombie.
The least I could do was try to make it as painful and unenjoyable for them as I could. That’s what I planned to do.
Chapter 65
I let my eyes roll back in to my head and felt the blackness envelope me. Something kept hitting my cheek, an irritating sensation like a fly or other bug flitting around there. I tried to block it out. Then it shook me, and I thought that’s strange, when did bugs get so strong?
My eyelids flickered open and I let reality come flooding back in.
“Nice try blondie, but there’s no passing out allowed,” sneered Anthony’s face.
“We’re not even close to done. We haven’t even reached the main course!” he continued.
He appeared blurred in my vision. I had a strong urge to spit in his face, but then remembered that my mouth was gagged.
I tried unsuccessfully not to think about the pain raging throughout my body. I felt warmth and wetness on my legs. They had used a packaging blade to cut my clothes off and did not take any care to avoid cutting the skin on my legs in the process. They had done the same with my sweatshirt.
My face, neck, and right arm throbbed with pain. My left arm felt strangely numb and tingled intermittently.
They had strapped me to the wall by handcuffs at all extremities, my arms up and above me, my legs spread apart below me.
I had tried to put up a fight, but it just involved them being more rough while they restrained me to the chain link wall behind me. I had never had a dislocated joint before, but I was 99% sure my left shoulder was dislocated.
On a good note, I could no longer feel pain there. On a bad note, that probably meant that I had some form of nerve damage.
I closed my eyes and tried to not think about the pain.
More slaps on my face forced me to open my eyes.
“Uh-uh sweetheart. Now is the fun part, and I want you and your Danny boy to watch. Marcus! Why don’t you be on eye duty and make sure she stays awake for this,” Anthony was saying all this as he ripped my underwear off. Marcus came up next to my face and I realized he was going to hold my eyes open if I didn’t leave them open. I turned and looked in to his face, staring with hatred and wonder over the fact that he was helping them. He stared back, unmoved.
“You’re not going to get any sympathy from Marcus. Marcus might not enjoy blondes as much as I do, but he loves his women young. Real young. Probably why he became a teacher, gets him easy access to his type. With you and your crew out of the way people will turn a blind eye to Marcus getting some young t-and-a here and there,” Anthony explained.
A smile crossed Marcus’ face, and just like that I could no longer look at him. I turned my head back towards Anthony, but settled on a spot on the wall behind him instead of Anthony himself. Looking over Anthony’s shoulders, he started to unbuckle his pants. I ended up locking eyes with Daniel who was still restrained and
being held against the wall by the man with the goatee. His eyes looked horrified and he tried to look away, but the man with the goatee forced his face back towards mine.
Trying to spare Daniel the shame, I looked over to his left at the wall. There was a flyer there about someone’s missing cat. I stared at the picture of the cat with all my might and tried to block this moment from my memory.
Part 13: United
“The weakness of men is the façade of strength, the strength of women is the façade of weakness.”
– Warren Farrell
Chapter 66
“Shit. Grab the gurney! We need to get in there to help them!” shouted Travis to Vince. Travis ran to his car to get the medical kit.
Travis reached in to the Subaru and grabbed the backpack full of medical equipment. He rushed around to help Vince with the gurney, but found Vince standing there with his gun at the ready, pointed straight at Travis’ face.
Travis looked behind him, wondering if a zombie was wandering up from behind and that was why Vince was holding the gun at him. But there was no such thing when he looked around and then looked back at Vince.
“What’s going on Vince?” he asked calmly, setting the med kit down.
“It’s all part of the plan Travis. You’ll see,” he said. “Now turn around and put your hands behind your back.”
Travis did so, and his mind started racing. What should he do? What could he do? Could he kick Vince from behind and overpower him?
He heard Vince approaching him and thought that this might be his only moment. In the split second that he was about to make his move, Vince slammed his head in to the side of the car, and Travis crumpled to the ground.
Chapter 67
A horrific pain was throbbing through Travis’ head. His eyes were closed and he thought of sleep, hoping the pain would diminish. It did not. Then he remembered what had been happening before the pain, and snapped his eyes open.
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