Storm of the Dead

by D. P. Sloan

  “Students,” the head began, “something bad is happening outside as we speak right now. What I need you all to do, including my fellow teachers is stay here, do not leave this area. If you have to leave this hall, to go to say the bathroom, then please inform a member of staff and please, please always go with another student – AT ALL TIMES!”

  Katy watched as her fellow students and the teachers started mumbling between themselves. She turned and nodded to the head teacher and then walked back to where her friends. As she sat back down, her friends started questioning what was going on. As she informed them what was happening elsewhere and what Gregg had told her, they turned a nice shade of white. Then a boy standing looking out the window shouted out loud, “EVERYBODY THE JANITOR IS OUTSIDE EATING A……EATING A……WHAT THE HELL IT’S, IT’S…….HE’S EATING SOMEONES LEG!”

  Everyone raced over to the window and glared out across the ground and watched as the school janitor crunched down on a severed leg, they all noticed the remains of what was left of a man lying at least a few feet away from the janitor. Then the janitor looked up at them, arched his head up towards the dark skies as the rain poured down over him, and through the windows they all heard an almighty screech, almost like he was calling out to someone. They all stepped away from the window.

  “Look!” yelled Kelly, a sixth-year student shouted as she pointed over to the school gates just past the janitor who was now swinging the severed leg back and forward while staring at them, blood and meat was dripping from his mouth as the rain continued to pour down and bounced off the ground.

  They all turned their attention to what Kelly was looking at, and that’s when they saw them.

  They shuffled through the school gates, a huge number of them, shuffling, stumbling and bumping into each other, moving closer and closer through the school grounds heading towards where the janitor stood, where he stood still glaring at them all.

  He then looked at the hoard of people heading his way, arched his head upwards to the sky and let out another loud screech then yet again turned his attention to the students in the school. They watched as the hoard of people began shuffling towards them, groaning and moaning as they continued walking over the school grounds, towards the building. There was at least thirty, maybe fifty of them. They weren’t humans anymore. All existence of the human form had disappeared from them, what stood out in those grounds were pure and simply dead and they were coming for the people in the school.

  They were trapped in the school, trapped like an animal in a zoo and possibly this was the best place for them.

  But then the other students began screaming.

  CHAPTER 10

  DECEMBER 9TH 2011

  “Oh, come on Charles you seriously want me to read out this story?” Rick Lincoln said sitting at the news desk in STV studios, Rick was a thirty-seven-year-old single man who lived in the new plush apartments in the city’s Partick area. “Seriously Charles come on Zombies – really!?! The undead?”

  “Look Rick,” Charles Robertson, the STV News producer began. Charles was three years older than Rick but knew the news business in and out and the reports that came in about the Southern General hospital being under attack from living people seeking human flesh was as he knew the best story out there at the moment. “Rick just read the God damn news, that’s your job okay?”

  “But Charles,” Rick began looking over the notes on the attack, “this is only bits of the story. We need to know the facts. We need to know why this is happening. I don’t believe in the living turning into flesh hungry fiends attacking other humans. There has to be a perfectly rational explanation.”

  “Rick, we don’t know all the details that’s why they call it breaking news and we as news reporters want to break the news first before BBC get in there and let’s not forget SKY, Hell they will be on it like a house on fire, sending up their expensive helicopter to see what’s going on. So yet again Rick, report the news that’s what I pay you for!”

  Rick put his hands up in a defence stance, “Okay, okay calm down I’m just saying I don’t believe in Zombies or what the social media are claiming.” He sat down at the anchor desk and shuffled his papers on the desk.

  “Listen Rick don’t believe everything you read on the internet,” Charles told him, “We go live in one minute.

  Rick nodded and the make-up assistant touched up his make-up before Charles signalled that they go live in twenty seconds. Rick cleared his throat and waited on the ten count. The cameraman signalled with his fingers that they were going live in five, four, three, two, and one.

  Rick sat upright, “Good evening. I am Rick Lincoln and here is your Scottish news tonight. An Eight-year-old boy commits suicide after being bullied at school for the past two years. Police say they are piecing together the details behind the tragic events which took place in Paisley last month. In other news an outbreak of extreme violence has happened at the Southern General Hospital in Glasgow. Reports are saying people are attacking other people and……and –“ Rick stopped and shook his head, “Charles I can’t read this I’m sorry!”

  Charles pushed the button to cancel the live feed and the screens went to a, ‘lost signal,’ screen. Charles raced onto the floor furious with his main anchor-man. “What the fuck Rick? It’s a simple thing to do. Read the fucking news, now that you’ve not, we are going to have every Tom, Dick and Harry up here getting an exclusive scoop on what’s happening!”

  “Look Charles,” Rick said standing up, “I’m simply not telling our viewers that people are eating people!”

  “Look that is just speculation at the moment,” Charles began, “Someone in the hospital phoned someone in their family to tell them what was happening. Hell, if you want to be an on the ground reporter and head into the hospital then I will gladly authorise it no questions asked or would you be happy sitting here in this nice comfy air-conditioned studio not worrying about the storm outside or the crazy people taken chunks out of other people. You decide!”

  Rick shot his hands up again into the air in a defensive mode, “Okay, okay. Jesus Christ look I’ll go for a fag break then go back on and do the news okay?”

  Charles nodded, “Well hurry up. You’ve got five minutes.”

  Rick nodded before hurrying through the studio door and down the elevator to the ground floor. He grabbed an umbrella from the stand marked, ‘For Staff Use Only,’ before heading out and around the building to the smokers’ shelter.

  He stood in the shelter alone, guessing to himself that no one was willing to come out in the storm. He also kept questioning why the powers at be would even open the STV studios in this weather. But then he shook the stupid question away, the bosses don’t care about their employees. He took another drag from his cigarette before exhaling the smoke into the cold wet stormy afternoon. The storm brought dark clouds that made 2pm look like 2am. He finished his cigarette and was about to head back into the building, when he heard what sounded like a scraping noise, like metal against concrete. Rick put up the umbrella and stepped out into the rain. He looked to his left and then to his right, bewildered with the noise, he looked again to his left and then to his right and that’s when he saw it. From the shadows stepped a man scraping a shovel along the ground, Rick stopped in his tracks staring at the man. He looked a mess, his clothes were dirty, his hair long and matted and with a beard to match. He let out a long low groan while lifting his head to look at Rick.

  “Are you okay mate?” Rick asked stepping forward a bit.

  The man cocked his head to the left and muttered only one word which was dragged out for a while, “Fooooooooooooooooodddddddd.”

  “You hungry mate?” Rick began, “listen, look come with me indoors I’ll get you a sandwich and a drink from the canteen. You got to get out of this weather.”

  Rick walked forward reaching out a hand to the man, a homeless man Rick thought. The man groaned aloud again before following Rick as he entered through the staff only door again. As they began to
climb the stairs, Rick turned to talk to the man, but as he turned, the man lurched at him and bit into his forearm, tearing a chunk out of it. Rick screamed out in pain and in defence, raised his other hand and punched the man directly in the face. The man groaned and fell back down the stairs landing at the bottom of them. Rick looked at his arm and then covered the gaping hole caused by the man biting him. Blood spurted and poured in little rivers which dripped off his arm. He looked down the stairs to the man and watched as he sat up and looked up at him. The man opened his mouth and began chewing the meat he tore out of Ricks forearm. Rick shivered, turned and began running up the stairs.

  He burst into the studio floor screaming for help. The studio floor staff and Charles turned around looking at him. He made his way over to his boss.

  “What the Hell happened?” Charles asked looking at his colleague.

  Rick sat down on a chair and showed Charles the wound, “A man I think he was homeless he, he……he bit me. He, he…..he took a chunk out of my arm. He’s downstairs chewing on the meat from my arm!”

  Charles backed away and so did the floor staff that overheard him.

  “Why did he bite me Charles?” Rick asked.

  Charles put his hands in front of him, “Rick just, just stay there – we, we will get you help.”

  He backed away one step at a time and then turned around; he looked at all the floor staff before quickly telling them all to leave the studio.

  Rick stood up, “Where are you going Charles?”

  “Rick just stay there please,” Charles reassured, “I’m going to get help.”

  Rick screamed in pain and held his gut.

  He bent over clutching his arm and stomach. The pain made him feel as though he was on fire. He then looked up at his boss, his eyes more dead than alive now. Then came the snarl, it started as a low growl then came a roar. Almost as though he was calling out for someone or something.

  Charles backed away, turned and began quickly walking towards the staff only stairs, then remembered what Rick had said, so he decided against the stairs opting for the fire escape where the rest of studio crew headed. He looked back towards Rick and saw him stand up and start contorting his body, and then he began walking (stumbling) like a drunk towards Charles. Charles turned and ran to the fire escape, he opened the door and ran through it, taking two stairs at a time as he made his way downstairs to the ground floor. Above him he heard the studio door opening and then heard grunts and groans and screams. They were coming down the stairs.

  Charles looked through the small round glass window on the exit door and saw the rain still bounce off the ground. He took a deep breath and opened up the fire escape door and ran out into the rain.

  He stopped short as he saw the rest of his studio crew all standing still in the middle of the STV grounds, the rain pounding hard down on them. Then they turned and stared at him, they all let out an almighty groan, screaming, ‘foooooooddddddd,’ Charles gulped, thought it through for a second – should he run away or head back into the building. There was no doubt in his mind that his studio crew had changed into what Rick had become.

  He didn’t make a decision; instead he just turned and ran back towards the building, back towards the fire escape door. He thought if he got back to the building, he could make his way around the building towards his car out front.

  He got to the fire escape door, and that’s when all Hell broke loose. His colleague Rick and the other man that attacked Rick burst through the door.

  Charles jumped with a fright, turned and saw the rest of his crew close in on him. They formed a tight circle around him and then they tore at his flesh, ripping shreds of skin off of him.

  He screamed and screamed but no one came it was simply the end of his life, of his body. They ripped and tore and bit into his skin and muscle, blood sprayed everywhere. They reached up to his face and with their now dead fingers they forced them into his eye sockets, scooping out his eye balls and forcefully shovelling them into their mouths, the eye balls made a popping noise as they bit down on them, the eye juice flowing down over their lips. The man was dead now as they ripped his jaw clean off and munched on the meat around it then came the organs inside, they dug their nails into his stomach and ripped open it causing blood to flow as they reached in and pulled out all the organs. Then came the clawing and digging into his mouth – they dug into his mouth ripping his tongue completely out, chewed on it and swallowed it, the others turned to his skull and could smell the brains but couldn’t get to them. They thought for a bit and one looked about and found a rock, they grabbed a hold of it and started smashing his skull in, bone and head meat spilled around his skull as they dove in and ate his brains.

  As soon as the STV workers were finished they stood up and shuffled their way down the road to their left and into the BBC studio grounds.

  CHAPTER 11

  DECEMBER 9TH 2011 – NIGHT #1

  The screams from the students echoed through the assembly hall for some time before the teachers told us to be silent and stay away from the windows. The dead were still outside but this time at the windows, banging, scratching, and clawing at the windows trying to get in. They all hoped the chairs, desks and anything that was literally not tied down, that was now up at the windows would hold off the group of people outside.

  The groans and cries for food echoed around them all.

  *

  They all sat in the assembly hall, huddled together like rabbits in a burrow. The teachers were the ones doing the majority of work, boarding up doors and windows where necessary. The students helped when they needed to help. But hearing those groans and cries of the dead outside made not only Katy’s skin crawl and her body shiver but also the others in the hall as well.

  They knew from reports and stories online and the TV in the staff room that people were going mad, medical experts stated the wind had spread what they believe some sort of airborne virus. Well it was a theory as no one came forward and officially stated that. Other students listened to their radios on their phones when one pupil shouted to keep the noise down.

  ‘This just in, Glasgow city seems to be under attack…..reports coming in from the Southern General hospital, Govan, Partick, Clydebank and Balloch and also Drumchapel. We have been having reports in that people are eating people, yes listeners – people are attacking and eating people. All emergency services are at full capacity dealing with this outbreak. If you are trying to phone emergency services please note that all lines are busy and they are dealing with each emergency as they come in.’

  Mumbling between all the students and teachers began. Katy turned and stared out the windows, windows that they started putting things up at. Anything that wasn’t nailed down was going up at the windows to stop the, the things from getting in. These were things, things in human bodies and they craved flesh, craved food and the students and teachers were their food.

  “Right students remember and stay well back from the windows and if you are at all leaving this assembly hall, then please tell a teacher and please always go in twos,” Mrs Fraser shouted out from on top of the stage. Everyone turned and nodded and then went back to listening and watching the phones.

  Katy’s mobile phone then began ringing playing the American Horror Story theme. Everyone stopped and stared at her, she gave an awkward smile, mouthing the word, ‘sorry,’ it was Gregg. She walked over to the far away corner away from everyone to talk to Gregg.

  “Hi babes hope you are okay?” Katy asked.

  “Its mental honey,” Gregg began, “I’ve been watching out the windows, watching as people are being chased down by other people before mauling them to death. Tearing at their bodies and eating them. I just don’t know what to make of it all!”

  “It’s some sort of virus,” Katy told him, “Well that’s what the experts are thinking. The people that are attacking and eating other people are dead!”

  “Dead?” Gregg began, “dead like zombie dead?”

  “Yip like R
esident Evil zombie dead!” Katy answered, shifting the phone to her other ear. “Something about the wind and rain causing the problem they say.”

  “The rain?” Gregg questioned, “now that you say that, my mum was soaked right through and within a matter of minutes she changed into, into one of those things. Shit we were out in the rain! What if we end up like that lot?”

  “We had our jackets on and hoods up,” Katy reassured him. “In fact, every part of our skin was covered; it seems to only affect people wearing next to nothing. I mean like no jackets, no gloves, and no hoods you know what I mean?”

  “Yeah, I get it now,” Gregg began, “my mum only had her t-shirt on so the rain clung to her skin. This is nuts. What the hell is happening here?”

  “I don’t know babe,” Katy replied, “I just don’t know. Anyway, please stay safe.”

  “Don’t worry honey,” Gregg answered, “I don’t plan on going out there anytime soon. I want to be there with you but right now it’s best that I stay here.”

  “I want you here too babe,” Katy replied. She loved this guy very much, “but it is best you stay where you are because you are safe there. Out there is not safe but hopefully it’ll be safe soon. I love you babe.”

  “I love you too honey,” Gregg replied before hanging up.

  She replaced her phone back in her pocket and headed back over to her mates.

  “Is Gregg okay?” Lee-Ann asked.

  Lee-Ann was her best friend from primary school and was always there for her, like she was there for her. With her long hazelnut coloured hair and brown eyes, she was the envy of most of the girls in her year and owned the place when she stepped into the room. She was friends with everyone and more like a sister to Katy than a friend.

  Katy sat down next to her, “Yeah. He’s holed up in his house. He says it’s crazy out there. He watched people attack and eat another human being, then chased him! But he got away.”