Zombie High

by Shawn Kass

  Jumping back, you ignore what will surely become a bruise on your forearm and pull out another two-byfour. Lining up your shot a bit better this time, you swing again and are rewarded with the zombie’s head tilting to the side and his body crashing into one of the school’s glass display cases. Almost ready to congratulate yourself, you watch as the creature begins to sit back up and uses the wall to get back on its feet. When it is fully standing once more, you notice that its head is positioned at an unnatural angle and a huge flap of skin is hanging off from the point where you made contact, revealing a cracked skull. Not wanting to give him any more time to recover, you pull the new two-by-four once more to your shoulder and aiming for the crack in its exposed skull, strike with a devastating blow.

  The thing stops its advance in mid-step and falls to the floor, leaving you to balance yourself against the twoby-four and attempt to fill your lungs with some much needed air. You know that there are still some zombies in the nurse’s office, and you’re going to have to take care of them in a minute, but for now, you just want a second to relax. Unfortunately, as you begin to replenish your oxygen, your brain receives a signal that your arm is itching. Reaching down, almost unaware, you go to scratch at the spot when your fingers touch something thick and wet.

  Lifting your forearm up, you see the problem. You have a nasty pair of scratches in the meat of your forearm. Somehow, you have cut yourself. Replaying everything through your mind, you simultaneously realize that this is the same spot the board hit you as you spot the other reason for the itching. In the middle of the wound you notice two large splinters stuck in your skin. Using your fingernails like tweezers, you attempt to pull them out, first one and then the other, each just over an inch long. The process takes you a minute, but once they’re both out, you see that your little one-on-one with the exprincipal will be the thing that haunts you for the rest of your short life.

  At the end of both splinters appears to be a dark black substance like tar. Hoping that it might just be some leftover resin or something from the tree which they made the boards from, you use your shirt to wipe away the blood around the wound. That’s when you finally see the black necrotic veins in your arm which are swiftly carrying the zombie virus into your body.

  Shocked by the turn of events, from champion to victim in just moments, you fail to notice that two of the zombies from the nurse’s office are now out in the hall with you, and they are eyeing you up as their next tasty meal.

  The End

  Go to Science Labs with Weapon

  Figuring that you had better luck acquiring weapons on your own by going to the shop class, you put your mind to the next task, getting hold of a first aid kit. The nurse’s office would be sure to have one. The girl upstairs was right about that, but from here that seems like quite a distance away. On top of that, you keep thinking about the multitude of zombie movies you’ve watched and books you’ve read and most of them point to the hospitals and medical care centers as ground zero for an outbreak. The reason for this is twofold. First, when people initially get sick, they often seek out a doctor or nurse to give them something to cure them or at least help with the symptoms. The second reason is that there are already ill people there, many of whom are hooked up to machines, and are therefore easy prey. Considering this, you try to come up with an alternative place away from the nurse’s office that will have what you need. That’s when it hits you, the shared science lab has a first aid kit.

  The science lab, located just two halls away, is actually a shared space sitting between Mr. Tibbs’ classroom and Mr. Ray’s. The science lab is used for experiments ranging from physics to chemistry and is also the place where the dissections occur, be it a set of pig’s lungs, a sheep’s brain, or even a whole animal like a frog or a cat. Every year people repeat the same jokes when it’s dissection time, especially for the cats which actually stay in use for about two weeks. The first things students learn in each of those classes, however, is what to do in case of an emergency. It’s part of the whole safety first speech which includes always wearing your goggles and apron, and if there is a chemical spill or a splash, where the shower is as well as the location of the first aid kit.

  With that in mind, you grip your two-by-four a bit tighter and head out, making your way down the hall. The coast seems clear as you approach the intersection, and you know that the science labs are to the left, but something stops you. It might be that things seem too quiet, or that your ears picked up on something your conscious mind didn’t notice, but you pause at the intersection and wait for a few seconds.

  Just as you’re about to dismiss the ominous feeling and move on, you hear a door bang open from the gym and the sound of footsteps running heavily in your direction. Figuring that you haven’t seen any zombies running yet, you make the assumption that this must be another student or a staff member coming. Unsure, however, you tuck yourself in as close as you can to the wall and wait to see what happens.

  It only takes a couple of seconds, and you spot a girl in one of the lower grades, either ninth or tenth - you can’t quite remember, running full tilt past you up the hall to your right. As she does so, she doesn’t seem to notice you, but you read the back of her sweatshirt and identify her by her last name, Bagdonas. In a time like this, what with the zombies everywhere, you can only think of one reason she would be running like that, and hiding around a corner probably isn’t going to be enough to keep you from being bitten.

  Peeking around the corner just to see what you’re dealing with you find a horde of the undead shambling your way. Your choices are simple, either run to the right and help Bagdonas, or turn around and find someplace to hide between here and the shop class.

  If you choose to help Bagdonas, turn to page ……… 209 If you choose to run and hide, turn to page .……… 278

  Help the Bagdonas Girl

  Standing up, you begin to run after the Bagdonas girl, unable to recall what her first name is, but also putting that a bit lower on your priority list for the time being, considering what’s coming. You don’t know if she’s hurt or if she even knows where she’s going, but what you do know is that if you don’t run, the horde will just as easily settle for you as they would have her. Zombies are notorious for being the least choosy eaters when it comes to their next meal. Essentially, if it has a pulse and they can catch it, it’s on the menu.

  Up ahead, you see the Bagdonas girl run past a door, and as she does so, she yells something you can’t quite make out. Clearly, her intent was to call out to someone, but you have a feeling she wasn’t talking to you because it didn’t sound like words of encouragement. What is sounded like was a warning or a signal of some sort. For half a second, as your feet continue slapping the tile beneath you and the horde of the undead continue their relentless pursuit, you worry about the potential that she set you up somehow. One of the most popular things that happens in zombie books, TV shows, and movies, is that people usually turn on each other as if allowing their own morals to go out the window just because their perception of the world went to hell. That’s when you see the door she signaled to begin to open.

  In the next three seconds, everything around you seems to happen in slow motion, and you don’t have any other explanation for it other than pure adrenaline and perhaps a bit of divine intervention. As the door opens, you see that its placard reads ‘Band Room’ and three students step out. The first one, Chris V. is holding a guitar, the next Ryan is gripping a pair of drumsticks, and the last student, a guy named Matt Smith, no relation to the actor from the popular BBC TV show Dr. Who, is carrying a broomstick. The girl, Bagdonas, just beyond the room has stopped her running and is now leaning down to pick up a pair of cymbals. Apparently, they must have raided the music room for their weapons. Either that, or they were putting together a band, and figured no matter how bad they played at least now they couldn’t be told they were so bad they would wake the dead, as many older folks used to claim when they heard the next generation’s music.
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  It occurs to you that they might beat you with their instruments, but then you realize that the plan was clearly intended for the girl to lure the zombies to them where they would be able to dispatch them together. This is made more evident by the fact that Chris, the one with the guitar, is signaling you to hurry up. Pushing with even more effort, you manage to cross their defensive line just as the Bagdonas girl steps up next to Ryan.

  It takes you a second to slow to a stop, and a second or two longer before you have a chance to turn around and join them with one of your two-by-fours in hand, but by then the zombies are only a few feet away, and you leave the pleasantries and thank yous for later while you focus on the fight at hand. From your best estimate there seems to be just under a dozen of the creatures in all, and while you suspect this is a larger number than the group around you was initially planning for, what with their choice of weapons being instruments and not something a bit deadlier, you give the four of them credit for holding the line and sticking to it.

  Since you have the makeshift weapon with the longest reach and the zombie in the lead is closer to you than any of the others, you end up making first contact. From there, the battle gets violent and bloody as zombies are literally beaten down, impaled, and beheaded. You honestly didn’t get a chance to see what each of them do because you are too preoccupied with your own defense, but you know Chris used his guitar to great effect as he did his best impersonation of Kurt Cobain from Nirvana or Nikki Sixx, the bassist of Mötley Crüe, both of whom were famous for smashing guitars at the end of concerts. Ryan, as you would find out later, had far more than just the two drumsticks you saw him with and used them to impale downed zombies through the eyes who were either stunned or simply knocked down. Likewise, the Bagdonas girl used the cymbals she picked up to behead zombies by repeatedly striking them in the neck with the edge of the metal cymbals. The only other one with a musical instrument, other than yourself, was Matt Smith who decidedly beat the heads of several zombies as if they were piñatas and he was a ten year old Mexican boy desperate to fulfil a sweet tooth craving. Unfortunately, like the ten year old described, his strikes were weak and never enough to break up the goody jars, in this case the zombie’s heads, on the first, second, or even third strikes. He was consequently brought down by a group of four of them when he was cornered and found that he lacked the maneuverability needed to swing the broomstick. His unintentional self-sacrifice, however, did serve as the tipping point in the battle which secured the side of the living with the decided win, because as the four on him were preoccupied with Matt’s tasty flesh, you and the remaining people left standing were able to come up behind them and destroy them all one by one.

  After the fight, Matt asks, “Is there any chance I might not…” trailing off before putting into words the rest of his impossible question.

  Looking to each of the others, you find the eyes of each of them just before they give you a small shake of the head confirming what you already know. Answering, you say, “We can try to make you comfortable, but we can’t stay.”

  Shaking his head, even while blood pools up around his body from the multiple bite wounds, Matt says, “No,” and swallows hard. “Just go before I…”

  Nodding, you say, “All right,” and thank him for helping to save your life. Standing up, you look to the rest of them and say, “I know of a place we can go, but the people inside won’t let us in unless we bring supplies. It’s up to you, but I need to get a first aid kit and some food. Do you want to come?”

  The three students look at each other for a second and then, with a shrug, agree that it’ll be better to stick with you than go out alone. Whether it’s because you seem to at least have a plan and they don’t, or because you’re the only one left with any decent weapons which include the two remaining two-by-fours on your back and the tools in your pockets, they leave it to you to decide where to go.

  If you go after the first aid kit, turn to page …………….. 214 If you go to the cafeteria for food, turn to page ……..… 350

  First Aid with Band Kids

  The Bagdonas girl asks, “Do you think if we get the first aid kit, then there might be something we can do for Matt?”

  Shrugging your shoulders you say, “I don’t know. I hope so. The others in the teachers’ lounge upstairs said I needed to bring them one if I wanted in, so I can only assume that they thought there was something in there that might help.”

  “Well, then, I agree,” says Bagdonas. “Let’s go get one.”

  Pointing back the way she came, you say, “The closest one I know of is back that way in the science lab. Did you happen to see anything down there that we’ll need to avoid?”

  “The science lab doors were closed, but both the science classrooms were open. That’s where I found most of these guys,” says Bagdonas gesturing to the twice dead individuals at your feet.

  Thinking about it for a second, you figure that since the first aid kit is located in the lab and not in the classroom, then the odds are pretty good that it hasn’t been used, and if, as she said, all of the zombies from there chased her to this point, then the coast should be clear for them to go in to grab it. With that reasoning, you say, “All right, then let’s get in there, grab it, and get out. If you see any more of them, however, you better have one of these to defend yourself with,” and with that you pass out the extra two-by-fours you’ve been carrying on your back and a pair of screwdrivers to Ryan.

  With everyone tooled up, you head back towards the science lab quickly and carefully, trying to use hand signals you’ve seen in movies and video games every time you approach an open doorway or intersection. When you get to the science wing, you personally check out the two rooms, Mr. Tibbs’ on one end and Mr. Ray’s on the other, only to find them deserted and a mess of broken equipment and signs of a fire left behind. Returning to the hall, you tell the others what you saw in a low whisper and then suggest that you knock on the door to the lab which sits between the two rooms, before simply attempting to open it and walk in. Your reasoning that if anyone did survive that they would most likely be held up in there and be a little jumpy after such events is more than enough to convince the others of your plan.

  Leaving the others as lookouts, you step up to the door and knock softly on the wood. From inside, you hear several sounds, but it’s not until you knock again that you hear someone answer, “Who’s there?”

  Keeping your voice low, you tell them who you are as well as the fact that you have three other students with you, and that you would like to come in. After a moment, you hear the sound of something scraping across the floor, and then the door opens to reveal Mr. Ray along with a few other students. Looking you up and down, and then turning his eyes to the rest of your party, he asks, “Have any of you been bitten?”

  You assure him them each of you is unharmed, but add that one of your party was taken down up the hall and bitten. Upon hearing this, he quickly ushers you all in and closes the door behind you. Looking around, you notice that he has several workstations set up around the room, and each one of them seems to have a different focus as they each have different equipment laid out on the tables. Unsure of what he’s doing in here, you turn to ask him but stop when you see him set down what looks like a gun of some sort and push a heavy cabinet into place blocking the door.

  Tempted to tell him you weren’t planning on staying, and you only came for the first aid kit which is clearly hanging on the wall next to the emergency showers, you also consider talking to him about all of this stuff he has and whether or not he has an extra one of those gun type things which you can use when you go back out there. Looks like you have some choices to make.

  Want to find out what he knows, turn to page ………… 219 Leave immediately with first aid kit, turn to page ……. 346

  Crawl to the House

  With your leg hurting the way it is, you don’t want to risk hopping around on one foot and wind up falling on your face. Reluctantly, you decide tha
t crawling over to the house will be a better decision if only because it’s safer. As you position yourself to be on your hands and knees and begin crawling you find that you are still putting too much pressure on your knee which somehow got twisted in the fall. Your best bet, you realize, is going to be doing some sort of low crawl, army style thing, and drag your legs behind you. The whole thing seems utterly ridiculous, and at some point you hope that you’ll be able to look back at all of this and laugh, but right now between the pain and the very real threat of zombies, you’re willing to do just about anything to get somewhere safe and call for help.

  Coming up along the side of the house, you finally reach the corner and spot what you’ve been looking for, the back door. You know your uniform is full of grass stains from your efforts, but at this point having your mom yell at you would almost be a welcome change considering how the rest of the day has gone. Reaching forward, you continue to crawl your way around to the back door, pulling your lower body forward inch by inch.

  When you’re just a few feet away from the back door, your bad leg hits a rock, and you cry out from the pain. Your whole leg feels like it’s on fire, and the throbbing is almost unbearable. That’s when someone steps out from the house. With your eyes watering and full of tears from the latest injury and your clothes and hands a mess the way they are, it’s almost understandable how the old man without his glasses on could mistake you for a zombie. It’s too bad about his hearing aid, though. If he hadn’t lost it last week, he might have heard you ask to use the phone right before he fired his shotgun at you.

  The End

  Talk to Mr. Ray About Zombies

  Setting aside your concerns about the various items at the different workstations around the room and the first aid kit for just a moment, you ask, “Mr. Ray, do you know what’s going on?”