Greg returned to the clinic about a half hour later. He immediately noticed that Hector was very still. He moved to him immediately. He recognized that Hector had passed away. Hector’s eyes were still opened and his face was frozen in agony. Greg sighed in frustration. He pulled Hector’s eyes closed then covered his body with a sheet. Greg moved to his desk, sat in his chair, and put his head on the desk. He was torn by the realization that he had to tell the others to dig another grave. He didn’t notice that the sheet covering Hector’s body started to move. He was unaware when Hector’s corpse sat up. He didn’t hear the approach of the monster that Hector had become until it was too late. Greg turned in his chair and raised his arms in defense as the zombie lunged for him. The zombie was undeterred by Greg’s meager attempt to ward it off. It came down on top of him, knocking Greg and his chair over backwards. The zombie crawled on top of him and tore into his face. The flesh from Greg’s cheek ripped free as the zombie pulled its head back. It came in again for more, this time tearing into Greg’s throat. Greg lost the ability to fight as his life blood poured out from his throat. Greg died while the zombie continued to feast.
***
They had just finished digging the graves on the football field. Jerry and Alex were gently lowering Kyle’s body into the first grave. They laid him inside and climbed out of the grave. Roy and Chris were about to do the same with Patty, but were distracted by a guttural sound. One of the women that was gathered around the graves screamed as Kyle’s corpse stood up in the grave. They had dug the graves pretty deep, so the zombie was struggling to get out. Alex fell back on his hands, horrified by the sight of his brother’s animated corpse. Jerry reacted first. He grabbed the closest shovel.
“I’m sorry this happened to you Kyle.” He said. Then he delivered a blow to the zombie’s head with the blade of the shovel. The strike split the thing’s head and it fell dead, once again, into the grave. Angie moved to Alex and put her arms around his shoulders. Jerry looked to Alex and felt sorry that he had to deal with the zombie in front of him. Alex watched his brother die for the second time.
“I’m sorry Alex.” Jerry told him. “There was no choice. He turned.”
“How?” Alex cried out. “How did he turn. It’s not possible. He wasn’t bitten.”
“I don’t know.” Jerry responded. “But that was not Kyle anymore.”
Before they could discuss the strange turn of events any further, Patty’s corpse animated as well. Roy was standing right next to her body. It went for his leg before anyone noticed what was happing. Roy’s bone crunched as the zombie bit into his ankle. He screamed in pain. He pulled his sidearm and started shooting wildly towards the zombie. His aim was off and several of the bullets hit the ground around the zombie. He kept firing, hitting the zombie in the torso, then the trigger clicked after he expended his last round. Chris pulled Roy away from it. The zombie crawled towards its retreating meal. Jerry brought it down immediately with the same shovel that felled the other zombie.
“Get him to Doc, now!” Jerry commanded.
Chris and one of the other adult teachers that was there led Roy towards the school so that his wound could be treated. Jerry rolled Patty’s corpse into the unoccupied grave, then started shoveling dirt on top of her. Derek took the cue and started filling in Kyle’s grave too. Alex was holding onto Angie and continued to weep. The residents of the school that witnessed Kyle and Patty turn into zombies were badly shaken, they started migrating back to the school. Jerry and Derrek continued to bury their dead friends while Angie tried desperately to calm Alex. They were all completely unaware that the shots fired had attracted new zombies, from all directions.
***
A few people had stayed inside the school when everyone else went out to witness the burial of Patty and Kyle. A couple of teenagers and a family had remained in the cafeteria. They thought the others were returning when the double doors of the cafeteria swung inward. It took a few moments before one of the teenagers recognized the danger. The girl screamed when she saw the zombie come inside the cafeteria. It was Hector, or what used to be Hector. It had moved on from Greg’s corpse, looking for a fresh kill. It reacted to the scream and moved towards the teenaged girl instantly. The girl was frozen by fear and didn’t retreat. The two boys that were sitting near her ran towards the kitchen. The family was sitting closest to the door, but the girl’s scream had distracted the zombie, and it moved right past them. Once it passed, they darted for the exit.
As the zombie approached the girl, she fell out of her chair and back pedaled like a crab, trying to get away from it. She could have easily outdistanced the thing if she was in her right mind, but she was too scared to think straight. The zombie reached her just as her back collided with the wall behind her. It came down on top of her and hungrily attacked. The zombie dug into her abdomen, ripping flesh with its fingernails, until it ripped her open. The girl screamed in agony as the zombie began to feast on her exposed intestines. Her screams died away as death took her. The two teen boys watched in horror as their friend was slowly devoured in front of their eyes. They were so horrified that it didn’t occur to them to run to the exit while the monster was busy eating. Instead, the two teens retreated into the kitchen.
***
Chris and the other teacher helped Roy through the door of the school and down the hall towards the clinic. Halfway down the hallway, Roy lost consciousness. The two men helping him just pulled him onward, dragging his feet across the hallway floor. A trail of Roy’s blood followed them all the way. When they reached the door to the clinic, Chris held Roy upright while the other man moved to open the door. He pulled the door open and held it with his foot as he turned to help Chris move Roy inside. As soon as he turned, Greg’s mutilated corpse attacked him from behind. The zombie grabbed the man’s shoulders and bit into the back of his neck. The man fell over frontwards from the weight of the unexpected attack and the zombie came down with him. It released the man’s neck and bit down again, this time into the back of his skull. The man died almost instantly after the second attack.
Chris fell back with Roy from the surprise attack. He quickly regained his footing and dragged Roy down the hallway, away from the zombie. He reached the stairs that led to the basement. He grabbed one of Roy’s arms, bent down, and pulled Roy’s unconscious form over his shoulder and grabbed his leg with his free arm. He carried Roy all the way down the stairs, like a fireman rescuing someone from a burning building, and headed to the boiler room. He put Roy down in the bedding that Victor used when he was alive. He moved to Victor’s corpse and quickly dragged it outside the door, fearing that it might come back to life as well, then closed the door. Victor’s knife was still lying on the floor next to where he fell, so Chris grabbed it up and moved next to his friend and listened for any approaching threats.
***
Karen and Grace were in the room they shared with the others. Angie had left Sam with them when she went out to join the others. They heard the gunshots coming from outside. They heard a girl’s scream from somewhere down the hallway. Karen pulled Sam close to her and wrapped her arms around him. Grace shot up and closed the door to their room. She turned the lock and rejoined Karen and Sam on the floor.
“What’s going on?” Grace asked Karen.
“I don’t know.” Karen said. “We should wait here until we know it is safe.”
“I want my mommy.” Sam cried.
“Don’t worry honey.” Karen told him. “Your mom will come soon, with your grandpa.” She tried hard to believe her own words. She rocked Sam back and forth, trying to comfort him.
***
Jerry and Derek finished their work with the graves. Angie helped Alex to his feet and they prepared to move back towards the high school. Everyone else had already left.
“Look.” Derek told the others and pointed towards the rear entrance of the school.
They all watched as a group of zombies came around the side of the building and overwhelmed the
last two people that were trying to get inside. They went down fast and the zombies piled on top of them. The closest person, just inside the entrance to the school, screamed in terror and pulled the door shut. The four friends noticed more zombies walking towards the school. They jumped when one of the guards on top of the school fired off a shot. It was followed by more shots as the two guards were firing at zombies approaching from the north and south of the school. Jerry looked away and back towards the west end of the football field. More creatures were approaching from that direction as well. He looked to the parking lot to their south. More zombies were weaving through the cars, coming in their general direction.
“We have to move.” Jerry told the others.
“Where?” Derek asked. “They are coming in from everywhere. The door to the school is blocked. We have nowhere to run.”
“Sam is inside.” Angie cried.
“We will figure out how to get to him.” Jerry tried to assure her.
The group started moving towards the school.
***
The people that made it into the school were running through the halls screaming. One of the men approached the door to the room where Karen, Grace, and Sam were hiding. He banged on the door in desperation, but Karen told Grace not to open the door. After a few more knocks he moved on to find another place to hide.
“What the hell is happening out there?” Grace asked.
“Something bad.” Karen said. “We need to keep Sam safe. Stay quiet and do not open that door unless you recognize the voice outside to be Angie or Jerry.”
Sam was crying, but Karen did her best to soothe him and keep him quiet.
***
Chris was squatting next to Roy with the knife in his hand, never taking his eyes off the door to the boiler room. He was so scared that he never thought to try and stop the bleeding from Roy’s ankle. The zombie bite had severed his tibial artery, he bled out right there on the floor. Chris didn’t even realize that his friend was dead. Roy’s corpse started to stir. Chris heard him moving and thought he had regained consciousness.
“It’s okay Roy, just stay still.” Chris said without ever looking down.
The zombie rolled to its stomach and reached for Chris. Chris yelled when he recognized the threat and jumped to the side. The thing crawled forward, pursuing Chris. Chris was about to strike the thing, with the knife he still held, when the lights went out. The generator outside must have run out of fuel. It was pitch black inside the boiler room. Chris could hear the thing growling and scuffling across the floor, but couldn’t see a thing. He backed up slowly until he hit the wall. He moved to a corner and slid down, trying to remain still and quiet. Perhaps the thing couldn’t see in the dark either.
***
Jerry, Derek, Angie, and Alex made their way towards the school. There were three zombies still feasting on their victims in front of the door to the school. As they approached the monsters, Jerry and Derek moved in front of Angie and Alex and brandished their shovels like clubs. Jerry went in first and took a wide swing at one of the crouching zombies. The blade of the shovel connected and was buried half way into the zombie’s skull. Derek attacked another of the creatures with a downward chop. The shovel came down on top of the zombie’s head and split its skull. The third zombie was up then and was moving towards Jerry, but he was ready to fend it off with his shovel. He didn’t have time to bring the weapon back for a swing, so he shoved the blade forward into the thing’s abdomen and pushed it backwards until it was pinned against the wall, next to the door. Derek came to Jerry’s aid and struck the zombie in the head to finish it off.
More zombies were approaching from every direction and they were getting dangerously close to the four friends. Jerry pulled the door open quickly, then urged his companions to get inside. After everyone was safely inside, Jerry and Derek pulled the door shut, right before the closest approaching zombie reached them. Jerry shoved the handle of his shovel through the door handle and wedged it against the door frame to secure the entrance. The group headed straight for their room to get to Sam. They saw a trail of blood on the floor as they proceeded up the hallway.
They reached the room where Angie had left Sam and banged on the door.
“Karen, let us in!” Angie screamed.
A few seconds passed before Grace opened the door and let them in. Angie sprinted to Sam and grabbed him up in her arms.
“Wait here and lock the door.” Jerry told Angie. “We are going to look for the others.”
Jerry, Derek, and Alex stepped back into the hallway and headed for the armory. They didn’t encounter anyone on the way, but the blood trail led further down the hall towards the clinic. The three companions armed themselves quickly, then met back in the hall.
“I’m going to go find Chris and Roy.” Jerry told the other two men. “You guys go check the cafeteria and find everyone else.” He figured all the other survivors would have gathered there.
“Got it.” Derek said. He slapped Alex on the shoulder and the two men ran back the way they had come from.
Jerry followed the blood trail and came to the grizzly scene, right in front of the door to the clinic. He recognized the zombie as Greg. It was still feasting on the man it brought down earlier. Jerry almost retched when he noticed the other man had also turned into a zombie and was trying to move while the other zombie continued to devour it. Jerry fired his pistol into the back of the zombie’s skull and fired again into the zombie on the floor. He stepped over the corpses and looked inside the clinic. Hector was gone. He didn’t see any sign of Chris or Roy, but when he stepped back into the hallway, noticed the blood trail continued. He followed it to the stairs and down into the basement. The power had gone off at some point and it was dark. He pulled a lighter out of his pocket and used it as a torch.
He moved down the basement hallway, past the locker rooms, and right to the boiler room door. The door was closed, but he could see that the blood trail continued under it. Jerry opened the door slowly and used his lighter to see inside.
“Chris? Roy?” Jerry called out in a whisper.
“I’m here.” Chris answered.
Jerry moved towards the sound of Chris’ voice with the lighter held out in front of him. The light revealed Chris, he was sitting next to Roy’s corpse. There was a knife suck in Roy’s skull.
“He turned.” Chris told Jerry.
“Let’s get out of here.” Jerry told Chris.
***
Alex and Derek were already back at the room, with Angie and the others, when Jerry and Chris joined them. Derek told Jerry that they found Hector in the cafeteria, and that he had turned. Jerry wasn’t surprised, he had figured as much from the scene back at the clinic. They had put him down as well as another zombie that was inside. They found a couple of teenaged boys hiding in the kitchen, and the rest of the survivors they found hiding in the school auditorium. One of the residents had told them they went to the cafeteria first, but saw the zombie and ran out of there immediately. They did the right thing and stayed together and ended up hiding inside the large auditorium.
The group left the room together and moved towards the back door. They saw several zombies through the window of the door, still eagerly trying to get inside. The group moved together up to the roof. The two guards were still there, but had ran out of ammo some time ago and were simply watching over the sides of the roof. Angie moved to the north side with Sam in her arms and looked over. She gasped when she saw the hordes of zombies gathering around the school. Jerry and the other men moved all around the roof, the zombies were coming from all directions. There were hundreds of them.
“We are surrounded.” Angie said as Jerry and the others joined her on the north side of the roof. They all watched in horror as more and more monsters flowed toward the school.
“We’re trapped here.” Derek added.
“We are safe inside the school.” Jerry told them all. “We have food and water, we can survive until we figure something o
ut. We are together. We will survive this.”
CHAPTER 37
Samir led them through the gate and into the courtyard. The courtyard was small and the entrance to the bottom floor of his home was just ahead. It was standard practice for Afghan families, living inside larger cities, to use the bottom floor of their houses for livestock and the upper floor, or floors, for housing their families. Samir moved them forward, right up to the front door. He took a deep breath, then pulled the door open. He looked inside. It was dark inside, but the light coming from the outside provided enough visibility for him to recognize that there was no one inside. The stairs that ascended into the rest of the house was at the back-left corner of the large room. He moved in slowly and scanned around the room one more time. Once he felt confident that the room was clear, he moved towards the stairs.
The floor was littered with straw and the room smelled of animal waste, and death. Samir tripped and almost fell to the ground. John was right behind him when he stumbled and looked down to see what had tripped him up. It was hard to tell exactly, because the room was dark, but as he drew closer, he realized that is was a dead animal. It looked like a goat. He pulled out a flashlight, from his belt, and shined it on the corpse. The animal had been devoured. Its midsection was all but gone, but pieces of its entrails were still lying on the ground next to the carcass. Samir shouted when he saw the grizzly scene.
“Allah be merciful.” He said. Then he turned and ran up the stairs alone.
“Samir, wait!” John tried to stop him with a harsh whisper.
It was no use, Samir was already up the stairs. The others resumed their tactical formation and John led the way up the stairs. They reached the next level and saw no sign of Samir. There was a bit more light on this floor, due to the windows. The room they were in now appeared to be a common room. There was a large throw rug in the middle of the floor and various pieces of furniture facing a dusty television. There were pictures hanging on the walls and two doors, on opposite sides of a couch, that were covered with door curtains to separate the common room from the rest of the house.
A World Apart (Part 1): 8,000 Miles Page 24
