by Grivante
“What...” she panted, “what are they?”
“They’re...” Judas’s forehead wrinkled. “I’m not sure how to say it, they’re...”
The crowd was close enough now, that she could make out the blood and gore covering their bodies. She let out a squeak and stepped back. “Why are Mr. Hotchkins’ pants down? And he’s all bloody at the waist.” She pointed at the dead principal, who was a dozen paces ahead of the rest and making his way straight for them. The growls and groans of the group were now audible.
“They’re zombies, kid,” Judas said. “There’s some kind of outbreak happening.”
“Zombies?” The kid’s face turned pale and she retreated into the computer lab.
“No!” Judas reached for her. “Don’t go that way. Come with me.”
The girl shook her head, backing further into the room. “No, no. I don’t wanna get eaten.” She fell to her knees and backed underneath a table.
Judas turned to see Jonah, who'd watched as the scene went from bad to worse, and now made his way there.
The computer lab consisted of four rows of ten, split down the middle by a small aisle. Computer desks and big office style computer chairs filled the room. The girl appeared to be the only occupant.
Jonah stepped in beside Judas and whispered in his ear. “Go talk to her. Find out her name. Try and get her to trust you so she’ll follow us and leave. I’ll see if I can buy us some time.”
Judas nodded. “You got it.” He walked over to the scared girl and squatted, reaching into his pocket and pulling out two hard mint candies. He unwrapped the first one and popped it in his mouth, then took a deep breath and gave the girl a smile. “I know you’re scared. I am too. My name’s Judas by the way. What’s yours?”
Behind them, the sounds of computer chairs rattling as they were moved and shoved through the open doorway drowned out the groans of the approaching dead.
“Muh, muh,” the girl panted, her body shaking as she stared toward the open door. “My name is Nantucket..., but they call me Nat the Nerd.”
Judas noticed the girl’s backpack next to her, books labeled Applied Physics, Advanced Computer Science and Robotics, among others, spilled out.
“Hi, Nat. It looks like you take some tough courses.” Judas pointed at the physics book. “I used to really enjoy science class.”
“Those are just ones I checked out from the library. They don’t teach those courses here.” The girl took in a deep breath and pushed the books back into her backpack.
“Where’s the rest of your classmates?”
Nat glanced up and out of the window, glimpsing Jonah shoving a chair into the hall. “They’re all in the bathroom.”
Judas glanced around the room, clenching his teeth against the hard candy. “Um, why are they in the bathroom? And where is it?”
She took a deep breath. “It’s past the science room. Our fish ‘Q’ died, and they went to flush him. I... I...” she stuttered again. “I stayed here, cause I was trying to finish the program I was writing.” She paused and her eyes got wider. “Did ‘Q’ come back from the dead?”
“Huh?” Judas broke the candy in half with his teeth. “What? No. Well, I don’t think so. That isn't how these things usually work. Here.” He held out his hand, offering the other candy in his open palm.
The girl looked at it, then at Judas. “I don’t know you.”
Judas’s mouth twitched. He waited a second and thought how Jonah might handle this situation. He considered tossing her over his shoulder but then thought what JJ might do instead. “Nat, you’re right. You don’t, and there’s not a lot of time right now. My name’s Judas, like I said, and that guy over there,” he indicated Jonah, who was grabbing more chairs from inside the computer lab and wheeling them out into the hallway, “is my brother Jonah. We’re The Zee Brothers, Zombie Exterminators.”
Nat gasped, her mouth falling open. “You’re zombie exterminators?”
“Yeah,” Judas nodded. “We were called to come investigate a sick kid. Only, by the time we got here, things were already out of hand.”
She moved her head and looked Judas over. “Where’re your weapons?”
Judas’s lips tightened, nostrils flaring and his hand closed over the candy as his nails dug into his palm. “They’re in the car. It’s a long story.”
Nat tugged on her braids and stared at Judas, something in her face changing. “And you came here to help us?”
“Yes.” Judas relaxed a little. “We’re trying.”
“That’s really brave.” She sniffed back a snotty tear. “I feel safer knowing you’re a professional.”
Judas chuckled and smiled. “Some days I feel like an amateur, but I’m glad you think we’re brave. Now, can you come with me and we can get you out of here?” He held out his free hand.
Nat smiled back. “Sure.” She paused for a second. “Can I still have that candy?”
Part VII - Musical Chairs
Office chairs and zombies filled the hallway like litter.
Jonah rushed into the room to see Judas and the girl getting up from under the desk.
“Help me grab these chairs. They’re slowing them down and creating a bottleneck.”
“You got it!” Judas said, grabbing the chair nearest him. “C’mon Nat, can you give us a hand?”
The girl’s eyes widened at that and Judas tossed her the candy from his hand. “Sure,” she smiled. “I’ll help!”
Judas and Nantucket grabbed chairs from around the room and sent them flying across the carpet to the door. Jonah took them and flung them into the tiled hallway. Within moments, they had the room empty of chairs.
Judas walked to the entrance and looked out. The zombies stood bunched in a cluster on the other side of the vending machines and behind the tangle of chairs. It made an excellent barricade, with some chairs tipped over and the crowd of undead pushing against them causing them to move as one connected mass.
Jonah held them in place by shoving against the chairs with his full weight. However, a few of the dead were crawling through the mess and one was making his way along the wall on the farside.
“Help me push them to the side and pin that one to the wall!” Jonah shouted at his brother.
Judas looked at the tangle of chairs and zombies. Seeing three of them crowded next to the side near the vending machines he said, “If we move them that way, these three will get through.”
Jonah bit his lip. “We need to figure something out!” He looked at the vending machines, saw a giant sharpened pencil in the display window, and a light went on in his head. He reached for his wallet, pulled it out and tossed it to Judas. “Here, it’s like the Mystery Box, buy some of those pencils. We can use them to take a few out as they make their way around.”
Judas smiled. “Great idea, Jonah!” He opened his brother’s wallet and pulled out two dollar bills. “Um, Jonah, you’ve only got two bucks.”
“Crap, how much are the pencils?”
“Two dollars.”
The lone zombie, a tall thin man with half of his neck ripped out and blood staining his blue cardigan sweater, rounded the barricades corner and ambled toward Jonah. “Buy it!”
Jonah looked at the zombie, then at Judas and the girl. “What’s your name?”
The girl pressed up against the wall, backpack in one hand, answered in a shaking voice. “My name’s Nantucket.”
Judas got the first dollar fed into the machine but the second one, an old wrinkly bill, kept getting spat back out. He tried flattening it by rubbing it against the corner of the vending machine.
“Nantucket, I need your help,” Jonah said, turning his attention back to the approaching corpse. “I need you to come hold these chairs. Keep pushing them back and keep them,” he indicated the throng of dead milling about on the other side of the chairs, “from getting at us.”
“I... I,” the girl stuttered and stayed frozen.
The cardigan-wearing zombie dove for Jonah, who gave th
e mass of chairs a hard shove and stepped out of the zombie’s reach. It stumbled passed him and he grabbed the smaller form by the biceps and held him in place.
“Judas!” Jonah shouted
“I’m trying, bro!” He held up the wrinkly bill and fed it into the machine again.
It went all the way in and for a moment looked as if it would be accepted. The machine whirred for an impossibly long instant, before spitting it back out, this time with one corner bent.
Judas cursed, removed the dollar, straightened it and fed it in again. The machine whirred for the briefest of moments and the bill disappeared. The little digital window read $2.00 and Judas shouted. “Woohoo!” He pressed button A2 and turned to Jonah. “We’re gonna need more money if we want any more weapons from this box.”
Sweat dripped from Jonah’s forehead as he wrestled to keep the zombie in front of him pinned.
The ‘thunk’ of delivery sounded from the vending machine. “Almost, Jonah!” Judas yelled as he bent and twisted his arm to get inside the plastic tray. He pulled the pencil out, prepared to rush to Jonah’s aid, then stopped. “Uh, Jonah, we got a problem. Evidently, that one is only for display. We’re gonna need a Pack-a-Punch!”
Jonah turned and looked at his brother, who held a large pencil like they’d seen in the display window, only it wasn’t sharpened. Jonah’s eyes widened as he took in the situation. They were running out of options. “Get ready to run, we’re gonna have to fall back.”
“Wait,” Nat said. “There’s a sharpener in the computer lab.” She held out her hand to Judas.
Judas grinned. “Perfect!” He handed Nat the pencil. “Get it as sharp as you can, quick!” He turned back to his brother and rushed to help him. Together they grabbed 'blue cardigan' by the back of his sweater and tossed him over the barricade to where the other hungering dead were massed. He made it most of the way, before landing with a smash, scattering some of the chairs and creating a ruckus amongst the zombies.
“Here, hold the chairs Judas!”
Jonah stepped back, tracking another of the zombies that was making its way around the far side, and grabbed his flip phone from his back pocket. He opened it and held down the number one button until speed dial kicked in.
“Who you calling, Jonah?”
“JJ! We’re gonna need back-up!”
Part VIII - Dirty Laundry
“Hi, you’ve reached JJ! I’m out doing something I probably shouldn’t be right now. Leave me a message and if I’m not in jail, I’ll get back to you!” The message broke into giggles, then she added, “Life’s short, live a little!”
“JJ, this is Jonah. We could use some help. By the time we got here things were… out of control. Our tools got left in the car and we’re kinda scrambling here!”
“Tell her I said hi,” Judas’s voice interrupted the message.
“Dammit Judas, not now. Oh, and JJ, please stop by the garage and grab the box labeled ‘gas masks’ from Judas’s room, I think we’re gonna need them.” There was a pause and then, “Hurry up with that pencil!”
The screen on JJ’s phone, which sat on the dash of her car outside of Xanadu’s groomers, flashed ‘1 New Message From Mr. Z.”
JJ stood at the counter inside ‘Fluffy Puppies’, breathing in Xanadu’s freshly shampooed scent, and admiring the red and black of the new Arizona Diamondback’s bandana wrapped around his neck. “The brothers are gonna love that!” She clipped a small white tag, marked with the word, ‘iDog’ on his collar and adjusted it so that his diamond-plated name tag was visible and smiled.
Rose, the groomer, turned her head to the side and leaned forward, smiling. “Brothers? What exactly have you been up to, JJ?”
JJ’s cheeks flushed crimson. She opened her mouth to speak but stopped herself by biting her lip.
Rose’s smile widened. “What is it JJ? I’m just like a hairdresser, you can tell me anything! Spill it!” She waited a moment, then coaxed some more, “C’mon.”
“I’m kinda dating these two guys.” JJ’s grin was as wide as could be as she shrugged her shoulders and waited for Rose’s reaction.
“You’re dating brothers?” Rose’s eyes popped open and her voice jumped an octave.
JJ’s head nodded, face beaming. “Mhm.”
“Oh my god! JJ Hembrook! I can’t believe you.” Rose giggled. “Do they know?”
JJ started to answer, then Rose’s mouth fell open and she blurted out the real question she wanted the answer to. “Are you sleeping with them?”
Looking down and shaking her head, JJ stroked Xanadu’s fur. “Yes, they know.” She twisted Xanadu’s hair in her fingers, “and no... not yet.”
Rose leaned halfway across the counter, her grin so wide it hurt. “Are you going to?” and before JJ could respond, “which one?” Her hand flew up, covering her mouth. “Oh my God, I’m so sorry. I can’t help myself!” She laughed and shook her head, then looked up, waiting.
JJ giggled back. “I don’t know, maybe both.”
“Oh, you little slut!” Rose burst out and doubled over laughing.
Their faces were bright red as they tried to catch their breath between fits of giggles. Xanadu sat on the counter between them, his head lowered.
“What are they like? Are they cute?”
“They are both rugged and handsome. Jonah’s the older one, he’s more serious, confident, in-charge, he always has a plan. Judas is,” she paused, a funny smile forming on her face. “I don’t know, he’s just fun, easy going, a little silly. He makes me laugh and he tries so hard it’s adorable.”
They chatted a bit more, laughing and smiling, then it was time to pay the bill and go.
“Ok, now that I’ve shared all my dirty laundry, let me take Xanadu outside and see if I can get him to poop so I can pay my bill.”
“That sure is some dog!” Rose scratched the top of Xanadu’s head, and he rose like a cat to greet the thrusting fingers. “Make sure and get messy again soon Xanadu, so you can come back and I can hear what your dirty little momma is up to next.”
Outside, JJ set Xanadu on the grass next to her Charger. “Ok boy, do your business.” She reached in and grabbed her cigarettes and phone off the dash. Her perma-smile grew wider as she saw the missed call and message from Jonah. She lit her cigarette, pulled a small black plastic baggy from her pocket and turned to watch her fur baby.
Xanadu piddled a little here and a little there as he wandered around the small patch of grass smelling the scents of his wolf brothers. Finally, finding the right spot, he squatted and pushed out a tiny black nugget, shook his hiney, and trotted off sniffing at the air.
JJ pulled the little black bag over her hand and scooped up the sparkling doggie doo. She tied the bag off and held her phone up to her ear, pressing play on the voicemail.
Xanadu wandered around the grassy patch following new scents, then stopped short, head raising, a low growl in his throat.
Across the street from the parking lot, a white van sat parked next to the curb. There were no windows on it and the only markings were a faded and obscured symbol inside a circle near the back. In the driver’s window, the face of a large man with short blonde hair in a military cut eyed JJ.
Xanadu opened his mouth to bark when JJ swooped him up, wrapping her arm around his waist.
“C’mon boy, we gotta go!”
She hopped in the car, tossed Xanadu on the passenger seat, opened the over-crowded glove box and threw the little black baggy inside. “I’ll deal with that later.”
The Charger peeled out of the parking lot and shot down the road.
The man in the van watched her go.
“Why’d you tell her to get the gas masks, Jonah?”
“That green tint to the zombie’s skin… especially the young ones they called about getting sick first. We’ve seen that before and this started somewhere, we’ve got to find the source of it.”
“Gotcha,” Judas nodded. “How could it be, though? We torched that place when
we left. It should’ve all been destroyed.”
“I don’t know, Judas. It’s a large corporation. Dr. Nitsau could’ve had other facilities where the gas was stored.”
“Here!” Nat appeared out of the computer lab with the jumbo pencil sharpened to a fine point. “Will this work?”
Judas pushed against the mass of chairs and grinned. “Yeah Nat, that’s perfect. Give it to my brother!”
Jonah stood near the far side of the chair barricade, toying with the tall skinny zombie. He’d been pushing a chair into it, keeping it back while they waited. So far, their impromptu obstruction had worked rather well.
Nat took the tiniest of steps as she watched Jonah and the zombie, making her way to him. “Here you go, Mr. Jonah.” She held up the pencil.
The tall skinny zombie growled as Jonah removed one hand from the chair and grabbed the pencil. “Thanks, kid!” Jonah shoved the chair out of the way and used the lumbering corpse’s momentum to knock it to the ground. He climbed on its back, grabbed it by the hair and rammed the sharpened pencil through its tympanic membrane.
The body went slack beneath him. He pulled the pencil out part way, saw a green ooze around it and pushed it back in. The gooey liquid continued to drip out from around the punctured ear. He reached down and pulled out the man’s wallet, saw there were bills in it, and handed it to Nat. “Here, give this to Judas.”
Nat took the wallet and stared at the pencil protruding from the dead man’s head. “That’s awesome!”
Jonah stood up, looking at the girl, and crinkling his brow. “He was human only a few minutes ago.” He looked the girl in the eyes. “We only do this because it’s kill or be killed. To stop this from getting out of control.”
Nantucket blinked, eyes watering. “Sorry, Mr. Jonah. I’ve never seen anything like that before. They’re scary, but to see you do that, to know they can be stopped, it takes the scary away.”
