Gen Z Boxed Set

by Baileigh Higgins

  “I’m neither blind nor stupid,” Vivienne said. “Plus, I have my sources.”

  “Okay, Mom,” Chas said before retreating into the corner.

  “Thank you, Vivienne, for showing us the Major’s true colors,” Richard said, tugging Emily and Amelia behind him.

  “It was nothing, Richard,” Vivienne said before taking charge again. “I think it’s time we go back now. I’ll take Sarah to the infirmary, Lala. You get the kids fed and into bed. They have a long day ahead of them.”

  Chas groaned at the reminder but gave her mother a farewell kiss before trudging outside behind Lala. Vanessa likewise greeted her mother before following, and soon they were all standing outside their dorms.

  After a quick goodbye, Dean went inside, and Lala ushered the rest of them into the dorm room. “You two had better have a cold shower before bed. You smell of death and gasoline. When you’re done you can eat. I saved something for you even though you missed dinner.”

  “What about Dean?” Vanessa asked.

  “I’ll take care of him, now off you go,” Lala said, without her usual smile and kind manner.

  Chas hesitated before asking. “Lala, are you all right?”

  Lala stared at her for a second. “Do you have any idea how worried I was? How scared I was that I’d lost you too? It was a very selfish thing you did, no matter how brave.”

  Chas swallowed. “I’m sorry, Lala.”

  Lala sighed and waved her off. “Get cleaned up. You stink.”

  Vanessa giggled as they made their way to the bathroom. “Death and gasoline. The new perfume of the apocalypse.”

  Chas chuckled but soon sobered when she realized one thing. “You know what’s been bothering me?”

  “What?”

  “Who told them where we went?”

  Vanessa became serious. “What do you mean? Alvarez knew. They all knew.”

  “The soldiers on patrol, yes, but nobody here at camp knew where we were except…” Chas couldn’t say it.

  Vanessa stared at her. “She wouldn’t.”

  “Are you sure?” Chas asked, even though she hated the thought.

  “It was me. I told them,” a quiet voice from behind confirmed her worst fears, and she turned around to see Emily framed in the doorway.

  “Why?” Chas asked, the sense of betrayal burning through her body like acid.

  “I had to. You were going to get yourselves killed,” Emily said.

  “Don’t you think that should be our choice?” Vanessa asked. “Our decision to make?”

  Emily shook her head. “Not if you’re making the wrong decision.”

  “And you think deciding for us is better? Because you’re so much smarter than us, aren’t you Em?” Vanessa said in a sharp voice.

  “It’s not like that,” Emily said. “I had to tell. You can’t go out there, it’s too dangerous.”

  “Yeah, well, Emily. Thanks to you, we won’t be going anywhere at all from now on,” Chas said.

  “I’m sorry, but I did it for you.”

  “No, Emily. You did it for yourself. You think because you’re scared of everything, we should be too. Well, we’re not. I will get out of here, and I will find Grumps.”

  “Please, try to understand,” Emily said.

  Chas turned her back. “Just go away, Em. Leave us alone.”

  After a few seconds, Emily left, and it was just Vanessa and Chas again. It had been like that for a while now except that Dean had joined them, Chas realized. Once again, the pack was broken, this time for good perhaps.

  Chapter 13

  After their disastrous return to the base, life quickly settled into a new routine for Chas, Vanessa, and Dean. It was different from before in that it was even worse. A lot worse. From the moment she first opened her eyes in the morning to the time she closed them again to sleep at night, Chas was watched.

  Her every move was monitored by the many sets of eyes that were only too happy to make her life miserable. Vivienne, Lala, Amelia, Richard, Sarah, even June who previously did little but play poker with unsuspecting victims. Sergeant Brown was only too happy to help, as well. Even though his uncle the Major had sworn to leave Chas and her buddies alone, that didn’t mean he couldn’t get her back in other ways.

  Worst of all, every day was the same. She’d get up at six, shower and dress, have breakfast at seven, then go to school until one. After that, she had to report to her mom at the infirmary and start her clean-up shift. This lasted until six in the evening after which she was allowed a quick wash, and man did she need it after the stuff she’d had to do all day. This was followed by dinner at seven and bed at eight. The dorm door was now locked at night, and she was escorted everywhere she went. To top it off, she wasn’t allowed to spend time alone with either Vanessa or Dean, and Emily was no longer to be trusted.

  The sole exception to this awful routine was Sundays, but that didn’t mean they were much better. After breakfast, she got to sit through a two-hour sermon on the evils of man, followed by lunch under the trees. This was the one time she was allowed to talk to her friends and only under supervision.

  On this particular Sunday, Chas was feeling utterly defeated. All her determination and spunk had been drained out of her after two weeks of this new life. Not even the deep shadow of the trees or the cool breeze could revive her. Vanessa and Dean weren’t faring any better either. They were both pale and listless, picking at their sandwiches with little enthusiasm.

  Chas knew exactly how they felt. She took a sip of her water before returning to her previous hobby: tearing her food into little bits and feeding it to the ants.

  “So, any news, guys?” Dean asked in a forced attempt at cheer.

  Vanessa shot him an empty look. “Yeah, Mrs. Roberts has a new cyst that needs to be drained on Tuesday, and I get to help clean up afterward.”

  Dean shuddered, and Chas swallowed hard as nausea threatened to expel the one bite of the sandwich that she’d managed to eat. They all knew Mrs. Roberts and the various bodily ailments she suffered from, all of which were just plain nasty.

  “I’m on bedpan duty tomorrow,” Chas said, her voice as numb as her brain.

  “Laundry for me,” Dean said, his shoulders slumping once more.

  Silence fell as each of them searched for something meaningful or fun to say, but came up short. Chas considered apologizing to Vanessa and Dean again for getting them into this mess. She’d done so many times over the past two weeks, but it didn’t make her feel any better. Not when she saw them suffering every day for a dumb idea she’d had. What’s the point, though? It won’t make a difference. I’ve already said it a thousand times.

  Chas put another crumb of bread on the grass, watching as an ant struggled to lift it by itself before toddling off with its prize.

  Vivienne looked at Chas and frowned. “Aren’t you eating, Chas?”

  “Nope,” Chas said, her lips popping on the p.

  “Why not? Aren’t you hungry?”

  “Not particularly,” Chas said, tossing another crumb to the ants.

  “Well, you should try to eat. You’re so thin already, you’re practically wasting away,” Vivienne admonished.

  “Whatever.”

  “Don’t sass me, young lady,” Vivienne said in a warning tone.

  Ordinarily, that would have had Chas’ heart beating fast as her tongue stumbled across a speedy apology and a tumbling explanation. Today, she couldn’t muster the energy to care and shot her mother a dull look. “Sorry.”

  She turned her back on Vivienne and stared into the distance, her mind drifting on the currents as she sought to escape her current situation. She was distracted when a figure blocked her view, and she blinked up at the face bent over her.

  “Julia, it’s you,” Chas exclaimed, surprise filling her. She hadn’t seen any sign of the private since the day they’d snuck out of the base. “Where have you been?”

  “I’ve been terribly busy, sweetie, but I’m back now.” After
greeting the others, including Lala and Vivienne, Julia settled down on the grass next to Chas. She folded her arms around her knees, resting her chin on top. “I’ve got some free time this week. Would you like to do something with me?”

  “I can’t, I’ve got chores to do,” Chas said.

  “Chores?” Julia asked. “All the time?”

  Chas nodded, her eyes downcast. She was afraid if she looked into Julia’s sympathetic gaze, she’d start to cry.

  “Don’t you have any off time at all?” Julia asked, her voice kinder than anything Chas had heard in a while.

  It caused a lump to form in her throat, and her voice was hoarse when she answered. “No, not while I’m being punished for sneaking out.”

  Julia’s face became serious. “I see. That’s too bad.”

  She sat with them a little while longer, tempting half-smiles from their lips with jokes and anecdotes from the army. It was nice to have her there, and Chas appreciated the effort she made to try and cheer them up.

  Finally, Julia got up and dusted herself off with her hands. “I have to go now, but it was nice seeing you again, Chas.”

  “You too, Private Paige,” Chas responded with a smile.

  “Oh, I thought we were friends?” Julia asked.

  Chas nodded. “We are…Julia.”

  “That’s more like it.”

  Julia walked past the adults but paused before she got very far. She looked at Lala and Vivienne for a few seconds as if thinking something through. At last, she spoke, asking a question. “Not that it’s any of my business, but I take it Chas and her friends are still being punished?”

  Vivienne nodded. “Yes, they are.”

  Julia hesitated again, clearly afraid to voice her thoughts. Lala intervened, asking in a warm tone. “Is there something bothering you, hun?”

  “Actually, yes.”

  “What is it? Speak up, we won’t bite,” Lala said.

  “I just wanted to say that I’ve never seen a bunch of kids so broken before.” Julia looked at Chas, Vanessa, and Dean, letting her gaze hover over each. “There’s a difference between punishing someone for a wrongdoing and breaking their spirits. Courage is a rare commodity now. It should be nurtured, not crushed, ma’am.”

  Throwing both Vivienne and Lala a quick nod, Julia marched away at a fast clip, avoiding their outraged cries. Chas watched Julia depart until she could no longer see her, admiration for the private’s courage filling her breast. For a moment, Chas remembered what it felt like to be brave and selfless, to ignore your fears and push past them. The taste of true freedom.

  But the sensation passed quickly, and reality set in. She wasn’t likely to experience that feeling again for a long time. After lunch, as they walked back to the dorms, Chas became aware of Lala’s intense gaze studying her in minute detail. She tried to ignore it at first until it became too obvious. “Is something wrong, Lala?”

  “That’s what I was about to ask you,” Lala replied. “How are you, Chas. Really?”

  “I’m fine.”

  “No, you’re not. Talk to me. We used to talk all the time,” Lala pressed.

  A flash of anger filled Chas, and the words burst free from her lips before she could help herself. “What do you want from me, Lala? Aren’t I being punished enough already? Do you expect me to walk around with a smile on my face too now?”

  Hurt filled Lala’s eyes. “I don’t want to punish you, hun, but what you kids did was wrong.”

  “For the hundredth time, I’m not a kid anymore. I haven’t been one for a long time, and I’m sick and tired of being treated like a baby. It’s the end of the world, Lala. Things have changed. I’ve changed. I’m not your little girl anymore.”

  Chas’ chest heaved with emotion as the words tumbled from her lips, not caring that everyone was looking at her with shocked expressions. Everyone but Vanessa and Dean who came to stand on either side of her, lending their support.

  “What do you want then, Chas?” Vivienne asked, moving closer. “You can’t expect us to simply let you waltz out of those gates knowing what’s out there.”

  “Train us. Teach us how to fight, how to look after ourselves. Teach us how to survive,” Chas said. “The only thing outside those fences is death, and books won’t help us live a minute longer than it takes for the zombies to eat us.”

  “You can’t skip school, young lady,” Richard said. “That’s simply not an option. The only thing that separates us from the zombies is our intelligence.”

  “That’s fine, Mr. Barnett, but instead of crushing the life from us with soul-sucking chores, at least let us train after school. We’ll still help out and do our share, but give us something to live for,” Vanessa said, adding her voice to Chas’.

  “Yeah, because right now, we don’t have much going for us,” Dean said.

  “Who’s going to train you?” Lala asked. “I don’t think Major Brown will allow it.”

  “He doesn’t have to. Julia will, and she’s not under his command,” Chas said.

  Lala looked at Vivienne who nodded. “All right. I’ll speak to Julia about training you, but I think it would be best if we kept this to ourselves.”

  With some reluctance, Richard and Amelia agreed, though it didn’t look like they’d let Emily train with them. It didn’t matter. As much as Chas missed Emily’s friendship, her friend’s betrayal still stung, and she looked forward to training with Julia more. For the first time in two weeks, Chas had a spring in her step.

  Chapter 14

  Much to Chas’ surprise, her mother kept her word and spoke to Julia. Julia, in turn, spoke to Alvarez, and Alvarez roped in the old team: Williams, Sanchez, Smith, Davis, and Johnson. They all agreed to help and picked an old warehouse on the edge of the base, ensuring it was too far away to warrant a casual visit by either Major Brown or his lazy nephew.

  Together, they turned it into a training facility, clearing a space in the middle with a mat for hand to hand combat, and setting up a couple of chairs with a blackboard for lessons in tactics and weaponry. It could all be cleared away within seconds, leaving behind nothing in case the lookout spotted unwelcome company, and an exit at the back provided a quick getaway.

  Around the open space in the middle, the soldiers arranged the shelves and stored supplies into a maze that would be used to teach the teens how to clear a building of infected. Alvarez somehow managed to secure a load of paintball guns and gear for them to use during such an exercise, and he also dipped into the armory for a selection of weapons that wouldn’t be missed. These were locked away in a steel trunk for the time being, and he added to it whenever he could.

  Outside, a rough obstacle course was set up, hidden from prying eyes by the rusting hulks of broken-down trucks. The course itself wasn’t obvious, disguised by strategically placed junk such as old drums, sheets of metal, wooden pallets and the like, but it would do the job.

  By Wednesday, training was set to commence, but not in the way Chas had envisioned. After school, she was about to grab her stuff and run to the warehouse when Richard Barnett stopped them. “Hold your horses. You’re not quite done here yet.”

  “But, aren’t we supposed to start training today?” Chas asked.

  “Of course. Right now, starting with an hour of physical training, as per Private Paige’s orders,” he said with a smug smile.

  “Physical training?” Chas asked, her mind scrambling to keep up.

  “You can’t train if you’re unfit, can you? I’m here to whip those lazy butts into shape,” Richard Barnett said with far too much glee for comfort. “You can start by jogging around the schoolyard until I tell you to stop.”

  Chas groaned, as did Vanessa and Dean. This was not what they’d had in mind when they envisioned combat training. They packed their bags and slouched outside, eyeing the hot sun above their heads. Much to their surprise, Mr. Barnett turned to his daughter and said, “You too, Emily.”

  Emily’s mouth dropped open. “I’m training too, Dad?�
��

  “Yes, your mother and I discussed it, and we decided it would be good for you,” he said. “From now on, you can all call me Coach.”

  Ignoring any further objections, he clapped his hands. “Start running.”

  “What if Major Brown sees us?” Chas asked. “Won’t he wonder what we’re doing?”

  “I’ll tell him it’s part of your punishment. Now run!”

  Chas and the others broke into a jog, doing several circuits before Coach shouted, “Faster. Run faster. My grandma can do better than that, for goodness sake.”

  They duly sped up and did a few more rounds before Emily collapsed to the grass, heaving for breath. “Dad, I can’t do anymore.”

  Her father pursed his lips. “When you’re training, it’s Coach, not Dad, and you can do more unless you want extra homework.”

  She gasped, “Really?”

  Coach snapped his fingers. “Move, Emily.”

  She scrambled to her feet amidst snickers from the rest, her face the color of beetroot. She fell in behind them, and once more, they jogged around the yard with their new coach spurring them on.

  Finally, when they were utterly exhausted, he had them do jumping jacks, burpees, sit-ups, push-ups, and squats. By the time an hour had passed, Emily had puked, Chas had nearly passed out, and Vanessa looked ready to murder someone with her bare hands. Only Dean looked happy, his broad smile stretching from ear to ear.

  Their new coach allowed them to rest for ten minutes, passing out bottles of water and wet towels before they were allowed to leave. As they walked toward the training center using the back alleys Julia had shown them, Chas said. “My legs feel like jelly.”

  “So does mine,” Vanessa agreed. “Everything hurts.”

  “Chin up, guys. They’ve got a point. We need to be fit if we want to train,” Dean said. “This is what soldiers do.”

  “I guess so,” Chas said, thinking back to all the army movies she’d watched in the past. It hadn’t looked so bad on the screen. Now she wondered.

  “I never asked to be a soldier,” Emily mumbled, though the rest ignored her flat. She elected to stay in the background after that, not saying another word.