Zombie High

by Shawn Kass

  Angling the cart just a little more to the left, you wait for him to approach so that you can stay safely back from the group. As he approaches, he shoulders another zombie, and it turns to notice you as well. The two zombies advance on you, their mouths open ready for the bite of your flesh that will hopefully quench their insatiable hunger, and you find that you are already adjusting your cart again, this time a little to the right, to ensure that the rod makes contact with both of them.

  In the last second before they lean forward, you push the cart out as far as your arms will reach. The rod makes contact with both of the creatures almost simultaneously, and you are pleased to watch as they both react much like the one at Mr. Ray’s door.

  Whether it’s the sound of their brethren falling or the smell of cooked flesh, the ten closest zombies all turn and look at you as if you are the last piece of cake at a birthday party they all showed up late to. A little freaked, you try to retreat, only to find one of the zombies who just fell somehow got his arm under your cart, and it’s stuck behind your wheel. You yank on it a few times, but the heavy cart with its tiny wheels doesn’t want to roll over the obstacle. Looking back up, you see the original ten are now being joined by several more. Clearly the little commotion you’ve caused hasn’t gone unnoticed.

  In a desperate move, you yank hard on the cart putting everything you’ve got into it and feel it rise up over the zombie’s appendage. Then, almost as if it were in slow motion, you watch as the cart pulls away from your grip and tips sideways, spilling the batteries out onto the floor in a jumbled heap with most of the wires becoming detached in the process.

  You have no time to pick things up and even if you did, you’re not sure how they all go back in and are supposed to be connected together. Giving up on the entire cart, you leave it there and turn to run. That’s when you notice the two zombies who actually were late to the party, Justin and Lindsay.

  In your haste to retreat, you end up running directly into them, and they welcome you with open arms and open mouths. By the time you realize your mistake, your face is already buried in the fabric of her shirt while he bends down to bite into your neck. The other zombies don’t seem to mind that they weren’t the first ones to eat, and they all lean down, following you to the floor, to begin tearing into you.

  Apparently, in terms of the undead, you serve about twelve.

  The End

  Find Food Elsewhere

  Looking at the size of the horde in the cafeteria, you honestly wouldn’t want to go in there if they were just people, but that fact that they are all flesh eating zombies has you already backing up your cart and heading away. The cafeteria isn’t the only place where you can get food.

  Turning left at the next hall, you begin to make your way up the front hall, intent on circling around the cafeteria to where the vending machines are. Usually there are plenty of snack items in there from chips and gum to Twizzlers and fruit chew things. Come to think of it, you realize that’s a better idea all around because at least those things taste good, and there is fruit juice in the little squishy things so that should be enough to help you and whoever keep from getting scurvy. If not there are always Pop Tarts, and while the cherry flavored ones ought to be burned and have their factory hit by a nuclear bomb for tasting so bad, the other usual flavors like blueberry and whatnot aren’t half bad.

  Thinking about nuclear weapons, you wonder how long it will be until the military tries using those to wipe out the zombies. Considering the books, movies, and TV shows, it is their typical move at some point, even though everyone who’s ever written about them agree that nuclear weapons do little to nothing against the zombies outside the immediate blast radius. It just seems like when the apocalypse comes, the military tries to respond with brute force, and those things are about as big a bang as they can make. Hopefully, someone other than the military generals are in charge still.

  Approaching the next corner, clearing your head of the random thoughts of destruction by other living people, you refocus on the task at hand. Staying close to the left wall, you lean out to the right to try to see around the corner and find that the coast looks pretty clear. There appears to be something on the floor here, but whatever it came from looks like it either crawled away or was dragged off by someone. Turning the corner, you begin to head up the hall, wheeling your cart around the mess.

  As you pass the largest spot, you hear something or someone breathing nearby. You quickly turn around to see if one of the monstrous walking dead are trying to sneak up behind you but find nothing there. The sound on the other hand, seems to be coming from close by. Holding really still, you try to identify its source and realize that it’s coming from the locker you just passed. In a quiet whisper you say, “Hello.”

  If you want to check out the locker, turn to page …….. 180 If you ignore it and head for the food, turn to page ….. 184

  Check Out the Locker

  Stepping over to the locker cautiously, you whisper, “Hello, is there someone in there?”

  There is no reply, but you notice the breathing in the locker also stops. Whoever it is in there must be trying to hide.

  Trying once again, you say, “Whoever’s in there, it’s okay. I’m not infected. I’m not a zombie. Why don’t you come out, and we can go get some food?”

  The breathing inside the locker remains quiet, but after a moment, you hear what sounds like the person’s stomach growling. Whoever it is must be hungry. Not knowing what else to say, you wait a moment or two longer before you hear the telltale exhalation of someone who’s been holding their breath.

  Addressing the locker once more, you say, “Look, this is stupid, I’m out here talking to a door. Come out, and we can go to Mr. Ray’s room together. There are a bunch of people in there, and Mr. Ray is working on making some weapons for us.” Then gesturing to the cart, as if the person inside can see you through the metal locker door, you say, “He built this cart here which electrocutes any zombies that touch it. The guy’s got a bunch of other stuff, too.”

  The sound of the person’s breathing continues, but he/she doesn’t give you any other response. Waiting for another couple of seconds you try to decide if you should just open the door yourself or move on.

  If you open the locker, turn to page ………………... 182 If you continue after food, turn to page ………………… 184

  Opening the Locker

  Fed up with the situation and nervous about staying in one spot for too long, you decide to open the locker and see who it is. Reaching for the locker handle, you have no idea who it could be, but you feel pretty confident that a zombie wouldn’t try to hold its breath in order to avoid detection.

  In the next moment two things happen almost simultaneously. You lift the handle on the locker allowing the door to swing open, and you find a sophomore girl inside who looks both terrified and angry. Somewhere in the back of your head, the name Katlyn pops up, and you prepare to say something to her, but before you can find the words, she launches herself at you and shoves you out of the way. Clearly, she didn’t want to be found, and she’s both scared that zombies might be around as well as upset that her hiding place has been compromised.

  As she explodes out, shoving you with her arms as well as the force of her body, you manage to fall backwards right into the metal rod on the cart. Each battery carries six cells inside it, each of which holds about 2.1 volts making each of the six batteries worth roughly 12.6 volts of electricity. Chained together the way they are, you have 75.6 volts running through your body. The voltage, however, isn’t the only part that you need to be worried about, it’s the current which is measured in amps. Whereas a low amount of current can prove to be fatal to people, Mr. Ray’s device is able to push out over a hundred amps, and in the last agonizing second of your life, you seem to feel each and every one of them as they race through your body burning you up from the inside.

  As your body slumps to the floor, and your spirit floats out of your body, you s
ee the girl stop as she looks back. You know that she knows you’re down, and you think that maybe she’ll get you some help so you can return to your body. She seems to take a long moment to decide, and all the while you continue to float up, heading further and further from your body. Finally, she returns to where your body lies, and your hopes soar as you think she is going to perform CPR. Unfortunately, that’s when she grabs the cart and repositions it in front of the lockers as a wall of defense before climbing back in to her hiding spot and closing the door.

  The End

  Get Back to Your Quest

  Receiving no response from whoever is in the locker, you figure that they must not want to be bothered, and you don’t want to be out here when the zombies come. Grabbing your cart, you swing it around and head for the back hall. When you reach the intersection, you carefully look around the corner again, but you only find the familiar lit up logo of the drink machine and the glass display window of the snack machine at the other end of the hall. Satisfied, you turn your cart and head down.

  When you get there, you notice that the machines, while on, have both been pulled away from the wall a bit. Stepping around, you find Jake sitting on the floor drawing in his notebook. Noticing that the light has changed or hearing you, he looks up and says, “Oh, hey. How’s it going?”

  Tilting your head, you see that the drawing he’s doing is of a horrific scene depicting people eating one another, and you know that it looks too real to have simply come from his imagination. Asking the important question first, you answer his question with one of your own, “Have you been bitten?”

  Shaking his head vigorously, Jake says, “No. I’ve been hiding back here for a while. There were a bunch that passed by a bit ago, but none of them saw me.”

  Judging that he was speaking to you and seemed not to have any injuries, you give him the benefit of the doubt and say, “I’m here to gather some supplies, and then I’m headed back to Mr. Ray’s room where a bunch of us are holding out for the time being. You’re welcome to join me if you want.”

  Jake thinks about it for a second, and then says, “It sounds good, but how do you know you can make it back safely?”

  “Mr. Ray built a few weapons. He let me use this one to get out here,” you answer, pointing around to the front of the machine to where the cart stands.

  Curious, Jake stands up and pokes his head around the side of the machine so that he can see this

  contraption. Looking back to you, clearly unimpressed, he asks, “What’s it do?”

  Pointing at the different components as you speak, you say, “Well, he rigged up these batteries here so that they send an electrical current out through this metal piece. I don’t know exactly how much juice it’s putting out, but so far, whatever it touches drops dead. Real dead, not this walking around moaning and trying to eat people dead.”

  “Sounds good,” begins Jake, “but what if they come up from behind you.”

  “I’ll spin the cart around then,” you answer, before adding, “or I’ll go faster. The zombies really can’t go too fast.”

  Nodding, Jake says, “It might work. I just don’t know. Things are pretty safe here, and it’s a risk to head to Mr. Ray’s room from here.”

  “Well, the offer is open if you want. I know he’s got some other cool stuff, and I’m sure he’s building more as we speak.”

  “More carts? How many batteries does he have?”

  “No, not more carts. He’s got all kinds of stuff in his lab. He’s like a mad scientist in there who has just been given free rein to build whatever he wants in order to save lives.”

  “Like what?” asks Jake, even more curious now.

  “Well, I know he’s got a ton of chemicals, and he’s been mixing up a couple of cocktails that will melt through just about anything. Then he’s got these brains, I guess they’re animal brains, but you’re supposed to throw them, and the zombies will go after them like a fat kid on a cupcake. He even has the advanced students in the room helping him come up with more stuff. They pretty much already figured out how this thing started, so I’m sure it will only be a matter of time before he finds a cure.”

  Eyes wide, Jake says, “All right, that sounds pretty good. So what do you need out here?”

  Looking to the machines, you try to crack a joke and say, “Brain food.”

  Either not finding it funny, or simply too deep in thought about the stuff Mr. Ray might have, Jake says, “Huh?”

  Pointing to the machines once again, you say, “Food and drinks. If we’re going to hold out until we’re rescued, we’re going to need some.”

  “Oh yeah, that makes sense.” Then looking at the machine, he asks, “Did you bring enough money for everything?”

  Realizing you only have the five quarters in your pocket which your mother left on the table for you this morning, you say, “No, damn it. I should have thought of that.”

  Slapping you on the shoulder, Jake says, “No problem. I’ll just tip the machine over, and we can loot what we want out of it when the glass breaks.”

  Thinking it over as your morals tell you that this would be wrong, you realize in the midst of the apocalypse grabbing some food to feed others isn’t really what the whole ‘Thou shalt not steal’ commandment was written for. That’s when you look at the other machine and say, “I don’t suppose you have an equally good idea for the drinks? I don’t think this tipping this thing over is going to help much.”

  Reaching down to the bottom of the machine, Jake shoves his hand in the back of it behind a metal plate and then says, “Drinks are on me,” before he pulls something and out pops a Brisk Ice Tea.

  “How did you do that?”

  Standing up with a bottled water in his hands, Jake says, “I’ve been behind that machine for over an hour. You didn’t think I’ve just been hiding back there drawing pictures the whole time, did you?”

  Taking control of the situation once again, you say, “Excellent, well, let’s fill up the cart. Drinks first, because they’re heavy, and then we’ll load up on the chips, candy, and other stuff.”

  Leaning back down, Jake says, “Cool, what should I start with?”

  “Water, then the tea, and then anything else we can fit.”

  A few minutes later, the two of you have the first machine emptied, and Jake says, “That’s it.”

  “Okay, now for the snacks.”

  “All right, just give me a second,” says Jake as he squeezes further back behind the machines. Once in position, Jake climbs up the back of the snack machine and then uses his feet to push off the wall and tip the thing over. It only takes a few seconds before it’s on its way, and in the last second before it hits, you realize your mistake. It’s true you needed the snacks, and you knew you would have to break the glass to get them, but the sound of the machine hitting the ground is almost deafening, and it echoes down the empty hall behind you.

  Looking up, you meet Jake’s eyes, and say, “That was a lot louder than I thought it would be. Come on, we’re going to have to be quick about this.”

  Leaping over, Jake helps you tip the machine on its side, and the two of you begin ripping out the sugary and salty snacks by the handful, not even looking at what they are as you go. After about twenty seconds, you hear the distinctive sound of the first zombie moan, and say, “Okay, that’s it. Let’s go.”

  Looking at the machine, Jake asks, “There’s still more. Are you sure?”

  “Yeah, it’s not worth it,” you say. “Come on.”

  Together, the two of you get behind the cart and begin to push. It’s a bit harder now with the added weight of the food and drinks, but with Jake’s help, it gets rolling quickly enough. The two of you make it down the hall and to the turn before you see your first obstacle. Apparently, the snack machine noise did a good job of attracting company because you have three zombies staggering your way.

  Lining up the cart with the first of them, you say, “Let’s take them down one at a time.”

 
“Okay,” says Jake, and then when you have the cart in position and are ready to advance to meet the first of them, he announces, “Ramming speed,” and takes off, pushing the cart in front of him.

  Before you have a chance to call him back, Jake has impaled the zombie on the metal rod. You want to tell him that there was no need to do that, but correcting him now is pointless. Instead, you watch as the zombie’s body convulses up against the cart, and smoke begins to come out of him. You try to keep an eye on the other two, waiting for this one to fall down like the last zombie did, but it continues to stand there. That’s when you realize that the creature can’t fall. It’s hooked on the metal rod and needs to have it pulled out before it can drop. The only problem is, you know you can’t touch the zombie or else you’ll be electrocuted, too.

  As the seconds tick by and the other two zombies get closer, Jake asks, “What do we do?” but his question goes without answer as the impaled zombie slumps sideways spilling some of the food from the top of the cart before his legs give out, and he slides off the end of the rod.

  Turning the cart towards the next closest zombie, you begin to walk it forward while Jake bends down to start collecting the spilled food. When the metal rod makes contact, however, nothing happens. You back up the cart and then try again, but the metal rod just pokes it in the belly for a second time and rather than hearing a Pillsbury Dough Boy’s laugh, you get a disgusting grunt and moan from the monster.

  Keeping the cart between you and the creature, you call over to Jake and say, “Something’s not right. I think it’s broken.”

  “What?” asks Jake whose arms are already full of snacks. “I thought you said this thing would get us back to Mr. Ray’s.”

  “It was supposed to, but then again, we were just supposed to make contact with the zombies and let them drop, not impale them. It’s possible that thing stayed on the rod too long, and it drained the juice.”