Gen Z Boxed Set

by Baileigh Higgins

  “Relax, it’s perfectly fine.”

  Chas doubted that, dangerous maybe knowing her friend, but what else was there to do? “Go ahead. I’m with you.”

  They left the building behind, and Vanessa led the way to the kitchens where a familiar figure waited for them in the shadows.

  “Dean?” Chas asked.

  “The one and only,” he announced with a broad grin.

  “What are we doing here?” Chas asked.

  “Watch,” Vanessa said as Dean jimmied the lock on the door with a hair clip and a screwdriver. It sprang open, and he slipped inside without saying a word.

  “What’s he doing?” Chas asked, grabbing Vanessa’s hand. “If they catch us stealing food, we’re dead.”

  “We’re not stealing food.”

  “Then what are we doing?”

  Dean reappeared in the doorway, holding up three bottles of coke. “Helping ourselves to Major Brown’s secret stash. He’ll never notice.”

  Chas gasped as her hand closed over the ice cold cool drink. “His stash? You mean he’s got stuff like this while the rest of us have to make do with plain water?”

  “Yup, and yup,” Dean said, his habitual grin falling away as he locked the door to the kitchen once more. “I stumbled across it the other day when I heard him and his nephew talking about it.”

  “What else has he got in there?” Chas asked.

  “He’s got plenty, trust me. Crates of cold drinks, canned fruit, and smoked ham. Packets of chips, candy, protein bars…even string cheese and beef jerky. Oh, and don’t forget the alcohol. Lots of premium alcohol,” Dean said. “That’s why he won’t even miss what we take.”

  “What an asshole,” Vanessa muttered. “Come on. Let’s go.”

  “Where to now?”

  “I’ll show you,” Vanessa said, leading the way along the building until they reached a fire escape. Up the ladder they went to the rooftop where Vanessa and Dean settled themselves on a ledge overlooking the entire camp.

  Chas sat down next to them, her lips forming a perfect circle as she gaped at the sight before her. It was beautiful up here. The night sky stretched over the plains into infinity, and a carpet of stars twinkled above them while the moon hung fat and full on the horizon.

  Around them lay the safe zone. A big open area that edged onto a cliff, the red rock rising sheer on one side and casting a deep shadow over half the camp. On top was a guard tower manned by snipers and a machine gun turret, and the only road to the top was heavily fortified.

  Along the other side of the camp was a winding river, the water deep and the current strong. It provided them with all their water, the liquid pumped into a filtration system housed inside a guarded warehouse.

  Solar panels covered every roof of every building to power the compound, the excess energy stored in rows of battery banks and augmented by a field of wind turbines erected by the government some years before.

  A giant concrete lot housed the National Guard’s vehicles, and an armory contained all their extra weapons and ammo. Warehouses filled with supplies stretched along one side while fuel containers filled with gasoline abutted the parking lot. They even had a well-equipped infirmary, and to hear Major Brown talk, this was the safest place to be in the entire state. Yet, he’s taking the best of the best for himself, doling out only the blandest of food to the soldiers and refugees under his care. What kind of man is he?

  A breeze stirred the hair in the nape of her neck, a welcome reprieve from the heat. She took a long swig of the coke, sighing with pure pleasure as the sugary bubbles hit the back of her throat and tickled all the way down to her stomach. Heaven. Pure heaven.

  “You guys come here a lot, don’t you?” she asked, noticing the way Vanessa and Dean seemed so comfortable on their perches.

  Vanessa shrugged, looking ashamed. “I’m sorry, Chas. We didn’t mean to exclude you, it’s just…you looked like you needed a bit of time to yourself.”

  “What do you mean?” Chas asked though she had an idea.

  “The whole hospital thing hit you pretty hard,” Vanessa replied. “I thought it best to let you be for a while.”

  Chas nodded. “Yeah, I’ve been feeling torn-up about the soldiers at the hospital dying for us. All because I told a lie. I mean, you heard Major Brown.”

  “Major Brown doesn’t deserve to be in charge of this camp,” Dean replied, his voice hard. “He cares nothing about the people here. Nothing.”

  “Yeah, Chas. The only reason he went off at you is because he thought he was getting a promotion for saving the Senator’s daughter,” Vanessa added.

  “I know that guys, but Justin and a lot of the other soldiers died because they went in there that night,” Chas said, the weight of her guilt constricting her throat until it felt like she couldn’t breathe.

  This was what she’d been struggling with over the past month. This feeling like she deserved everything Major Brown dished out. It didn’t matter what anyone said. People were dead because of her.

  “Chas, just remember one thing. If you hadn’t lied that night, the soldiers would’ve left, yes. They’d be safe, and so would we, but what about your mom? What about all the patients waiting for rescue?”

  Chas was silent as she thought about losing her mother. What would it feel like? She couldn’t even imagine. It was hard enough not knowing whether her grandfather was still alive. She wasn’t the only one that missed Grumps either. Many a night she lay listening to Lala cry into her pillow when she thought everyone was asleep.

  She shrugged. “I guess you’re right, Vanessa. I just wish my heart would realize it too and stop hurting so much.”

  “Mmm, I wish my heart would listen to me so I can stop caring about this big lump over here,” Vanessa said, punching Dean on the shoulder.

  “Hey,” he cried, affecting a wounded look, but he was interrupted by the loud blaring of sirens along the fence line.

  Immediately, spotlights lit up the perimeter, and soldiers scrambled from all over the base to get to the action. Chas froze, her fingers tightening around the bottle of coke until she thought it would shatter.

  Her gaze was fixed to a spot where tiny figures swarmed like ants, their jerky movements causing her to shudder with the terror it awoke within her. They stormed the fence, pushing against it as they sought a way through or over, not caring when they got trampled or shot.

  Zombies.

  Chapter 2

  Chas scrambled toward the edge of the roof on her hands and knees, not caring when pieces of rock and concrete cut into her skin. Her entire attention was fixed on the dark mass of infected people lined up at the fence. The spotlights did a great job of illuminating the zombies, and their faces were clearly visible in the artificial light. Even at this distance, she could make out the blood on their clothes and mouths. Suddenly, she was taken back to that night on the hospital’s roof, waiting for the worst to happen. The vision hit with force, and reality faded away.

  ***

  The door exploded out of its frame, the hinges splitting apart like wet tissue paper. The steel flap bent to the side, and zombies pushed through the opening, clawing their way through with little regard for each other.

  People screamed, and Chas gasped with horror. “No.”

  She was echoed by Vanessa and Dean, and instinctively, the three huddled together.

  Alvarez opened fire, clipping the first infected with a perfect headshot. The man sagged in the middle of the opening, blocking his fellow brethren as they tried to push around him. More shots were fired, and for a time, it seemed like the soldiers had the upper hand, blocking the half-open door with corpses and making it impossible for the rest to get through.

  It wasn’t meant to last.

  Like worms wriggling up from the dank earth after a heavy rain, the infected kept coming until the door broke free completely, splitting the lock and falling to the ground with a thunderous crash.

  ***

  Vanessa shook Chas by the should
er, ripping her free from the memory that had her in it’s grip. She sucked in a breath to clear her head and blinked at her surroundings. The sirens were still blaring, and she looked back at the fence, realizing only seconds had passed since she faded out.

  “There’s so many of them,” Vanessa cried, appearing next to her at the edge of the roof.

  “Too many,” Chas replied with a shudder, wincing when her friend’s grip tightened to the point of bruising. “Can the soldiers even hold them back?”

  “They’ll hold,” Dean replied with a grim look. “They’ve been preparing for such an attack from the beginning.”

  Chas shot him a look, wondering how he knew that. Ever since they’d arrived here, she’d done nothing but exist, living from day to day like a robot. She slept, she ate, she did her chores, she attended school, she avoided Major Brown. That was it, mostly.

  What’s wrong with me? she wondered. Did the hospital thing hit me so hard that I couldn’t see anything else around me?

  “You see those?” Dean asked, pointing at the guard towers that dotted the fence line. “Inside each of them is a gun turret controlled by a remote. Alvarez had them installed at the beginning, and each of them can do the job of ten soldiers.”

  Sure enough, even as Dean spoke the towers sprang to life, coughing out bullets by the thousands. It cut through the zombie ranks like hot lead, and the infected fell one by one until none were left except for a few that still twitched, too badly injured to move.

  Chas gaped at the spectacle. “What else have I not noticed?”

  “A lot,” Vanessa said, “but right now, we’d better get back before we’re missed.”

  Chas ran after her friends as they got off the roof, cutting through the milling guards and soldiers until they reached the dorms. Everyone stood outside wearing frightened looks, and Lala gasped with relief when she spotted Chas.

  “Where have you been, hun? I’ve been worried sick,” she said, grabbing Chas by the shoulder.

  “I’m fine, Lala. When the alarms went off, I just had see what was going on so I ran outside,” Chas said, feeling ashamed about the lie. She never lied to Lala, but this time, she had no choice. Her grandmother would not approve of their midnight shenanigans.

  Vanessa and Dean agreed with Chas, saying they’d also wanted to see what was happening.

  “And?” Sarah, Vanessa’s foster mother asked. “What did you see?”

  “Zombies. Lots of them. They attacked the fence but the soldiers fought them off,” Vanessa replied.

  “So we’re safe?”

  “Yup, the zombies are gone. Or dead,” Vanessa said.

  Sarah sighed, a hand fluttering over her breast. “What a relief. I think I need to lie down. This has all been too much for me.”

  “Let me help you,” Vanessa offered, concern etched on her face. During the month they’d spent in the safe zone, Sarah had not adjusted well to camp life. Delicate and highly-strung, she struggled to cope with physical labor and soon fell ill, contracting a debilitating bout of the flu. Even now, she looked pale, and fine beads of sweat pearled on her skin.

  “I think she should go to the infirmary, Lala. Maybe Mom can help her,” Chas said as she watched her friend lead Sarah back to the dorm.

  “Good idea, hun. We’ll walk with her later on. That way you’ll get to spend some time with your mother too. You must miss her.”

  Chas shrugged. “I do.”

  “But?” Lala added, her eyes shrewd as they studied Chas’ face.

  “Would it be awful if I said I miss Grumps more?”

  “Not awful, hun. Just human,” Lala said. “It doesn’t mean you don’t love her anymore.”

  “No, of course not. I love Mom, but we always seem to end up fighting.”

  “That’s because you’re so alike. Both as stubborn as mules.” Lala shook her head. “Why don’t you try agreeing with her for once next time you see her?”

  Chas forced a smile. “I’ll try.”

  “You do that. All she wants is for you to be safe, don’t you know that?”

  “Then why is she never here? I miss her, and I need her,” Chas cried.

  “Chasity, look at me. You don’t need anyone. You’re smart and brave, a real leader even if they treat you like a kid. We both know that you and you’re friends are more than just children. You’ve already proven that.”

  Chas nodded. “Thanks Lala.”

  “Now let’s get back inside,” Lala said. “It’s far too early to be up yet.”

  “Amen to that,” another lady called June said. She too was a refugee like them and newly widowed. Not one for talking much, she kept to herself and played a mean hand of poker.

  Everybody headed back into the dorms, and Chas huddled up in her bed, wondering what the day would bring. Sleep was out of the question, and with restless energy, she awaited the day.

  At six, she was up, jumping into a hot shower and getting dressed.

  At seven, she was seated at a table with Lala, Vanessa, Dean, and Emily, as well as Emily’s parents. Sarah had elected to stay in bed.

  After an unappetizing breakfast of oatmeal and black coffee, Chas was just about to leave with her grandmother to escort Sarah to the infirmary when Major Brown intervened.

  “Good morning, Mrs. Ensign.”

  Lala inclined her head. “Good day to you too, Sir.”

  “I was wondering if our young friends here would be willing to help out at the fence today,” he said with a benign smile.

  “Doing what?” Lala asked with a suspicious frown.

  “Nothing serious. A few minor repairs to the fence, that sort of thing. We could really use the help.”

  “Isn’t it dangerous?” Emily’s mother asked, pulling her daughter closer.

  “Not at all,” Major Brown said. “They will never leave the safety of the camp, and I, personally, will ensure their safety.”

  “I don’t know,” Emily’s mother said. “The last time you needed their help, you had them up on the roof of the cafeteria cleaning gutters, and without any safety harnesses I might add!”

  Emily’s mother looked outraged at the mere thought, her lips compressed into a fine line. Her husband looked angry as well, his presence at his wife’s side a sign of his staunch support. They were nothing if not overprotective of their only daughter.

  For a moment, Chas dared to hope that the Barnetts would foil Major Brown’s plan, whatever it was, but once again, she underestimated him.

  “Mrs. Barnett, may I call you Amelia?” Major Brown asked.

  She sputtered. “I guess so.”

  “The roof incident was a horrible oversight on my part. A dreadful miscommunication. The children were never supposed to clean leaves from the gutters. Rather, they were assigned to rake leaves from the school’s playground. I do apologize, and I assure you, nothing like that will ever happen again.”

  “Well,” Amelia Barnett said, looking from him to Emily. “If you really need the help…but only if you promise to look after her. Er, I mean them. The children.”

  “Of course. I promise you all that they will be in good hands and back in time for dinner,” Major Brown said. “In fact, if they do a good job, I’ll even reward them for their hard work. How does ice cream sound after supper?”

  Neither Chas, Vanessa, Dean, or Emily cheered. They all knew what awaited them. An afternoon of pure hell. The adults were mollified by Major Brown’s assurances, though, and left to attend to their own chores after brief goodbyes.

  “I’ll see you later, Chas. If there’s still enough time, we can visit your mother, otherwise we’ll see her tomorrow at church,” Lala said.

  “All right, Lala. Bye,” Chas said, struggling to hold back the tears that threatened to burst free.

  As she turned to face a smirking Major Brown, she knew she had to swallow her weakness. She couldn’t allow him to see her on the verge of crying. It was the sort of thing he reveled in, and she refused to grant him that pleasure.

  Vanes
sa lifted her head and in true style asked, “So what do you really have in store for us?”

  Major Brown grinned. “I’m glad you asked. Clean-up duty.”

  “Cleaning?” Vanessa asked. “Cleaning what?”

  “Corpses,” Major Brown said. “Today, you’ll be clearing away the bodies of the infected people who attacked us this morning.”

  Emily gasped. “But that’s dangerous. What about protective clothing?”

  “Of course, you’ll be given the proper equipment. I’m not a monster,” he replied.

  “But you are a liar,” Chas interjected.

  Major Brown’s smile turned ugly. “A case of the kettle calling the pot black, don’t you think?”

  “You still lied to Emily’s parents and Chas’ grandmother,” Vanessa pointed out.

  “Right, and you are welcome to tell them the truth if you want. Just remember one thing. I’m in charge here, and if I decide to kick you and your families out, who can stop me?” He shrugged and turned on his heels to leave. “You wouldn’t last five minutes out there.”

  Chas stared after his retreating back, her mind a whirling mixture of rage, humiliation, guilt, and misery. “When will it ever stop?”

  Vanessa shook her head. “I don’t know, Chas, but we’re gonna have to come up with something or that man will be the death of us all.”

  Dean sighed. “Come on, guys. Let’s report to the fence. The sooner we get this over with, the sooner we can relax.”

  Chapter 3

  Chas walked toward the fence with slow steps, her feet dragging at the thought of what was to come. Overhead, the sun rose steadily, a gigantic yellow ball that promised to rain down fire later that day. Already it was hot, the air thick and humid.

  At the main gates, Sergeant Brown, Major Brown’s young nephew, waited for them with a fat smile on his pudgy face. He tossed each of them a paper mask and a set of gloves. “Here’s your protective clothing, and over there are wheelbarrows, stretchers, shovels, and plastic bags.”

  “You call this protective clothing?” Emily asked with disdain. “We could get infected handling zombies with only this to wear.”