Vinnie hugged his sister.
‘Don’t worry, Sis. We’re together forever now.’
Kevin and Tim looked at us.
‘We’ll be right back,’ Tim said.
Kevin turned to Mr. Smith.
‘Don’t worry, Sir,’ he said. ‘We’ll get you to the coach in one piece.’
Mr. Smith was messing about. He was pretending to play cricket.
‘Mr. Smith!’ bellowed the headmaster. ‘Stop prancing around and get on with what you have to do. Those things will be here in no time.’
Ivan stopped. He saw we were all watching him.
‘Yes, Headmaster,’ he said. ‘I’m leaving now.’
Maniac
We went to the top of the tower block. We watched Vinnie, Kevin and Tim take Mr. Smith to the car park. The coach was massive. Mr. Smith looked like a shy monkey. He was all hunched over. How could he drive that thing? Vinnie looked confident. He was like Ellis. Tim and Kevin were behind them.
‘Will they be alright?’ I asked.
‘Of course they will,’ replied Ellis. ‘Vinnie will make sure that Mr. Smith gets to the coach.’
Amber looked concerned. She shook her head.
‘I’m not sure that Mr. Smith is really up to this challenge,’ she said.
‘He can’t fail,’ I said. ‘Why would they send him if he can’t do it.’
‘They had to,’ said Amber. ‘He knows how to drive the coach.’
‘In any case,’ continued Abe,’ it would be very hard to say ‘No’ to that headmaster. He’s a total maniac.’
Vinnie stopped suddenly. He pulled his bow. Tim and Kevin did the same. Mr. Smith ducked. He looked like he was sitting down. A viro walked around the corner. It looked like an old man. It wobbled towards them. Another viro turned up. It was a heavy one. It was wearing overalls. It was covered in mud.
Another one appeared. It looked like a young girl. The three boys fired their bows. The old viro and the young girl fell over. The heavy one kept moving.
Mr. Smith stood up. He lifted up his bat. The viro was too close. No one could shoot now. Mr. Smith whacked the viro over the head. It roared and put up its two hands. Mr. Smith hit it again. The viro fell over. Mr. Smith didn’t know what to do. Tim spoke to him. He pulled him away. Vinnie shot the viro in the head.
‘That was close,’ whistled Abe. ‘Perhaps he’s not such a liability after all.’
‘Wait and see,’ replied Amber. ‘Wait and see.’
They reached the coach. Mr. Smith climbed inside. Vinnie followed. Tim and Kevin waited. The coach went out the car park. It went up the hill. It disappeared from view. Tim and Kevin turned around.
‘What was that all about?’ we heard the headmaster ask as we came downstairs.
‘Just a couple of strays,’ said Tim. ‘There doesn’t seem to be any more out in front at the moment.’
Tim turned to Ellis.
‘Don’t worry, Ellis,’ he said. ‘Vinnie will be fine.’
‘I know,’ said Ellis. ‘I’m not worried at all.’
‘Well done, everyone,’ said Dr. Thompson. ‘Now let’s get on with the next part of the plan.’
Army
We had to wait to see if Mr. Smith could do it. We went back to the top of the tower block. It gave us a better view of the cricket pitch. It took ages. We were all quiet. Baxter was asleep.
The cricket pitch had a high red brick wall around it. I could see what the headmaster wanted to do. If they could park the coach in front of the gate the viros would be stuck. They wouldn’t be able to get past it. We would be safe. I saw the first of the viros coming around the corner.
They always looked so sad. They were really dirty. They had angry faces. I could see what used to be men and women, boys and girls. They were all ages. They were tripping along like ragged soldiers in a cartoon army.
‘They’d better hurry up,’ I said. I felt very nervous. ‘We’re running out of time.’
‘Don’t worry,’ said Ellis. ‘Vinnie won’t let us down.’
‘I’m not worried about him,’ said Amber. ‘It’s that stupid sports teacher who bothers me.’
Amber looked at me.
‘I thought you were being a right clown back at the caravan park but you’re nothing compared to him.’
‘I was the captain of my own army,’ I replied. I felt okay to tease Amber. ‘The wall wasn’t my fault.’
‘Here it is,’ shouted Abe. ‘Here comes the coach.’
The coach was going fast. It bashed into a bunch of viros. They went flying. Some of them got stuck under the coach. It stopped moving. The engine made a horrible sound.
‘Oh my God,’ hissed Abe. ‘There are hundreds of them.’
There were hundreds of them. They looked like football crowds on television. I was terrified. The coach couldn’t move. The viros were near it now. They were going to surround it. I couldn’t look away. Ellis grabbed my arm.
‘It’s Vinnie!’ she shouted. ‘Vinnie is driving the coach.’
Ellis was right. Vinnie was driving. He looked really scared.
‘Come on, Vinnie,’ Ellis shouted. ‘Come on!’
She looked at us.
‘We’ve got to help him,’ she said. ‘He needs us.’
It looked bad. I didn’t know how to help. How could we fight all those things? Ellis ran downstairs. We did as well.
We got downstairs. Eve and the headmaster were looking out the window.
‘It’s Vinnie,’ shouted Ellis. ‘Vinnie is driving the coach.’
‘Is he?’ said the headmaster. ‘Then that moron Ivan must have perished.’
‘We’ve got to help him,’ said Ellis.
Ellis ran out outside and we followed.
Tim and Kevin were at the top of the steps. They were firing through the gate. Ellis went up the stairs. I heard the coach engine roar. It was going again. Tim and Kevin jumped out the way. The coach stopped by the gate. The brakes hissed. I heard the door open. The viros howled.
Swollen
Vinnie was on top of the coach. He climbed the fence. He jumped down on our side.
‘Let’s get out of here,’ he said. His clothes were torn. His lip was swollen. We went back inside. Tim and Kevin stayed behind. Dr. Thompson was waiting in the dining hall.
‘What the hell happened out there, Vinnie,’ he asked. ‘Where’s that damn idiot Ivan?’
‘He didn’t make it, Sir,’ said Vinnie. ‘He got caught by the swarm.’
Vinnie shuddered.
‘They fell upon him like dogs on a cornered fox.’
Vinnie shook his head.
‘There was nothing I could do.’
‘I’m sure you did the best you could,’ said the headmaster gruffly. ‘How did you end up driving the coach?’
Vinnie sat down. Ellis gave him a glass of water.
‘You’re lip looks sore,’ she said. ‘Are you ok?’
‘Of course he’s ok, child,’ said the headmaster.
He was angry again.
‘Now step back and let me hear what happened.’
Ellis did what he said. Eve smiled at her. Vinnie put the water down.
‘There’s far more of them than we thought,’ he said. ‘I’ve never seen so many.’
Vinnie ran his fingers through his hair.
‘Everything seemed to be fine as we headed up the hill but it wasn’t long before we hit the back end of the horde. Mr. Smith wanted to turn back but I told him that we had to keep going. The coach is a heavy old thing and by keeping the speed up we were able to carve a path through the crowds. The sound of the coach hitting those things was horrible.’
Vinnie looked very upset.
‘We got to the top of the road and turned right onto the lane. The crowd was even thicker now and Mr. Smith started to panic. He was shouting about things not being cricket and that he should be safely having tea in the pavilion, not out here facing the new ball. He wasn’t making much sense. I told him to keep driving.’
I ran back to the coach. The crowd was starting to surge again and so I jumped into the driver’s seat and assuming that Mr. Smith was hiding at the back, I closed the door and somehow got the thing moving again. We moved forwards through the gate and that was when I saw him.’
Vinnie waited to speak again.
‘Now, I don’t know if he was being brave or foolish but I saw Mr. Smith in full cricket gear surrounded by the horde. He was swinging his bat and for a split second it looked like he might be making some progress but the horde just fell upon him like a mighty wave and he disappeared beneath them.
Vinnie shuddered. It sounded so horrible. I didn’t want to see what he saw. Vinnie looked back at the headmaster.
‘I knew that I had to keep going so I ploughed on down the fields. As I came around the copse, I hit another crowd and that was when the coach got stuck with a group of those things beneath its wheels. I kept my foot down and eventually I managed to get through. I slammed the brakes on as I got to the fence and smashed my face against the steering wheel. I felt dizzy but still got the door open and managed to climb onto the roof of the coach.’
Vinnie stopped talking. His story made all of us feel really horrible inside.
Startle
The headmaster spoke first.
‘That blithering idiot! I knew he couldn’t be trusted.’
Dr. Thompson turned to Vinnie.
‘We owe you our lives, young man,’ he said with as much grace as he could manage. ‘Without your bravery and quick thinking, we would all be about to die.’
Vinnie looked at the headmaster.
‘We still might be,’ he said. ‘The swarm is bigger than anything I have ever seen before. It is as if the whole town has decided to march upon the school.’
‘Now, now,’ said the headmaster looking around. ‘Let’s not startle the horses.’
He looked at us.
‘Don’t just stand there staring, children. Go and get yourselves together. We need to be ready for whatever happens next.’
‘And what will that be, Headmaster?’ asked Eve. ‘What are we all getting ready for?’
‘Good question, Mrs. Stone.’
The headmaster stood up straight.
‘I’m not going to mince my words, people. The coach will only hold the horde for so long before they manage to break down the fence. Once that goes, they will be on us before we know it.’
Dr. Thompson coughed.
‘I am determined to lay down my life for this school. It has been part of my family for too many years for me to walk away now. I understand that not everyone shares my heritage so we need to make plans for evacuation.’
He looked at Eve.
‘Mrs. Stone, I need you to gather these children together and prepare to make good your escape. Tim, Vinnie and Kevin, you will go with them.’
The headmaster went into his office.
Eve looked petrified.
‘Don’t worry,’ I said. ‘We only have to stick together.’
Mrs. Stone smiled. She didn’t look like she believed me.
‘I hope you’re right, Jake. I really hope you’re right.’
Tim ran back inside.
‘You’ve got to see this,’ he said. ‘Come quickly.’
We all ran outside. The coach was rocking. The fence was bulging.
‘There must be hundreds of them all pushing against the coach,’ said Vinnie. ‘We haven’t got a moment to lose.’
Chains
It was easy to find our things. Eve wasn’t bothered but I knew we should get our bikes.
‘They’re so handy,’ said Abe. ‘We can scout ahead and everything.’
He stopped.
‘Surely, this school has a bike shed? There must be loads of bikes chained up, enough for everyone.’
Mrs. Stone smiled.
‘Good thinking, Abe,’ she said. ‘The headmaster has a set of bolt cutters in his study. We can use them to cut through any chains we might encounter.’
‘I’ll go,’ said Vinnie. ‘Tim, Kevin, give me a hand.’
Mrs. Stone turned to us.
‘While they’re getting the bikes, we need to gather some food and water from the kitchen. We won’t be able to carry much but we should grab what we can.’
The headmaster came out of his office again. He wasn’t wearing his suit. He was wearing a grey-blue uniform. He had shiny black boots. There was a hat on his head. He had a sword hanging from his belt. He saluted.
‘I’m a Flight Lieutenant in the Reserve Air Force and head of the school cadets,’ he said. ‘It felt appropriate for making a last stand.’
Mrs. Stone smiled.
‘You look absolutely splendid, Headmaster,’ she said. ‘A credit to the uniform.’
Eve was really kind. I thought the headmaster was going to smile. He nearly did but stopped himself.
‘Thank you, Mrs. Stone,’ he replied and saluted. ‘You had best all be on your way.’
‘Very good, Headmaster,’ she replied and walked towards him.
The headmaster thought Eve was going to shake his hand. But she hugged him. He didn’t know what to do. He stood all stiff until she finished.
‘Take care of yourself, Roger,’ she said. ‘You’ll be forever in my heart.’
‘Thank you, Mrs. … Eve,’ he stammered.
I think he wished he was a different person when Eve spoke to him like this. But he wasn’t. He didn’t know what to do. He was all stiff like always.
‘Come along, everyone,’ he said. ‘You need to get going.’
He made a shooing motion with his hands.
‘I want you long gone before they get here.’
‘But why don’t you come with us, Headmaster?’ asked Vinnie. ‘Your skills and experience would really help us survive.’
‘You’ll be fine, my boy,’ said the headmaster. ‘You have already shown remarkable leadership qualities. I trust you to lead everyone to safety.’
‘Thank you, Headmaster,’ said Vinnie. ‘I won’t let you down.’
We went outside. The viros were really loud. Baxter started growling.
‘Mind out,’ shouted Tim.
Something whooshed past my ear. An old viro fell over. Another one followed. Kevin killed it. It had been a teenage boy. I stared at it. Kevin looked at me. It felt like he knew my thoughts.
‘They aren’t anybody any more, Jake,’ he said. ‘They’re not loved ones or people we know. They are just them and we need to stop them from killing us.’
‘Come on,’ said Vinnie. ‘We had better get moving.’
The noise was really loud. It was terrible. It sounded like the world was breaking. The fence was nearly broken.
‘That won’t hold much longer,’ said Tim.
Vinnie led us to the car park. We didn’t speak. Ellis and Abe looked scared. Amber was concentrating. She was frightened as well. Baxter kept growling. Eve looked at me.
‘Please tell him to be quiet,’ she said. ‘He’s making me very nervous.’
We all stopped walking.
‘Oh no,’ said Vinnie.
We looked where he looked.
The car park was full of viros.
Shotgun
There was hundreds of them. They snarled and raged. They wobbled towards us.
‘This swarm must have come up from the other end of town,’ said Vinnie. ‘There’s no way through.’
‘What are we going to do?’ asked Ellis. She sounded scared.
‘We’re going back inside,’ Vinnie replied.
We knew we were trapped. I thought we were going to die.
We piled all the furniture we could find against the door. We found four tables and twenty-four c
hairs.
Dr. Thompson came out of his office. He had a shotgun under his arm.
‘Glad you could join me,’ he said. ‘The more the merrier.’
Vinnie smiled.
‘Do you have a plan, Headmaster?’ he asked.
‘Indeed, I do, my boy,’ he replied. ‘I want everybody to make their way to the top floor of the tower block and as they do they should block every stairwell with all the furniture they can find from the classrooms.’
‘What about you, Headmaster?’ asked Vinnie. ‘Are you coming with us?’
‘I most certainly am not,’ the headmaster replied. ‘Someone has to be here to greet our guests when they arrive.’
He patted the shotgun. He didn’t sound worried.
‘Hurry up, everyone. They’ll be here in a minute.’
‘This way,’ said Tim. We went up the stairs. We blocked the stairs with all the furniture from the classrooms.
We did the same thing on the second and third floor. We dropped the chairs over the railings. This helped block everything. We did the same on the other floors. Tim and Kevin found a couple of tall cupboards that they added to the barricades.
I got sweaty lifting chairs and throwing them. Abe was next to me.
‘Will this work?’ I asked.
‘I have no idea,’ he said, ‘but at least we’re not down there with that madman. If we stay up here and keep really quiet then perhaps the viros won’t find us.’
‘Fat chance,’ said Amber as she pushed a desk over the edge. ‘We are probably only delaying the inevitable but Abe is right; we are better off here than down there with him. He would get us all killed.’
‘He really is crazy,’ I said. ‘How long will he be alive?’
Weird
It was weird sitting in the dark classroom. I was scared with those things down below looking to eat us. I think we all felt the same.
Amber and Abe were sitting close together. Ellis and Vinnie were standing by the window. He had his arms around her. I hoped she felt a little bit better. Tim and Kevin were sitting by the door with their bows. Baxter had lain down by my feet. We all waited quietly.
Viro Book One Page 10
