The Saga Of Tom Stinson (Book 1): Summer School Zombocalypse (6 page)

Tom led the twins out through the back door and across the yard to his tree house. It was a little more than twelve feet up. A ladder rested against the platform, and there was a basket with a pulley and winch hanging over the side. He climbed up.

Emmett stood at the bottom of the ladder. “This is your big idea? That tree house will fall apart if we get in it.”

“
It’s this or be eaten. Now climb!”

The ladder was slippery from the rain and shook from having both twins on it at the same time. Inside, the treehouse was worn and dirty from use like many of the things in Tom’s life. Rain dripped through the loose boards of the roof and blew in through the window.

The carpet squashed as they crawled in and the pungent odor of salty cheese mold and damp wool stung their noses. The years of tracked-in dirt had turned to mud and stained the knees of their pants. Tom strained to pull the ladder up and twins tried to help. The end of the ladder thumped into the wall that faced the garage and knocked a board loose, allowing more rain to come in.

“
Be careful,” Tom said. “This is an old tree house. We have to angle the ladder to get it in.”

“
I can’t pull if you block my elbows,” Winston said. “You’re not making it easy for us to help you.”

“
I didn’t ask for your help,” Tom retorted. “This is a dumb plan, remember?”

“
The ladder is too heavy,” Emmett said.

“
What’s wrong with you two? I’ve got it. Go sit down.”

With the ladder safely up, Tom collapsed on the floor. His arms ached as badly as his legs, and the cuts on his hands burned.

“
You took out that zombie,” Winston said.

“
What was I supposed to do?”

“
He’s actually saying thank you,” Emmett said. “You’re supposed to reply; You’re welcome.”

“
Are we going to be safe up here,” Winston asked.

Tom took the water bottle from his pack and drank deeply. Between gulps he said, “We have to rest. My dad will be home soon. Hide until he gets here.”

“
What about the Rocky Road?” Winston asked.

“
He’s not coming,” Emmett said.

“
Emmett, that’s not a nice thing to say,” Winston said. “You don’t know that.”

“
I do,” he replied.

Tom threw his water bottle at Emmett.

Winston stepped between Tom and Emmett. “He means that we were lucky to make it here, and it isn’t going to be easy for your dad to get home.”

Tom’s brow crossed. He handed the tub of Rocky Road to Winston. “He’s coming. I know he is.”

Gunfire filled the air from his neighbor's house. Tom ducked down, held his finger over his mouth, and motioned the twins to stay still and be quiet. Doppler screams of his neighbors came and went as they tried to flee. The trash cans at the side of his house clattered down the driveway, and shuffling footsteps came toward the tree house. Tom could feel the zombie’s presence through the floorboards, it stood below, wheezing loudly.

They twins hugged the center of the tree house, keeping as quiet as possible for a change. Tom held his breath and squeezed his eyes shut, hoping that it would go away.

The smell of the wet carpet tickled his nose. A sneeze started to come. “No,” Emmett mouthed.

Tom squeezed his nose. His chest heaved and his ears pulled forward, snot squirted between his fingers and down onto his chin.

Winston smiled and winced.

Then Tom’s wish came true, the zombie growled and moved away. Through a hole in the tree house wall they watched it jerk down the driveway like a marionette. The constant low rumble of cars from the nearby freeway was gone; even the birds were silent, and only the sound of the rain remained.

Tom didn’t want to check the yard for fear there was another zombie, but he needed to be sure. Working up the courage, he lifted his head up just high enough to see out of the tree house window. His yard was empty.

Relieved, he held onto the pulley’s support beam and leaned out over the yard. First he scanned the yard in the places that he couldn’t see from the window, then into the neighboring yards. It was all clear as far as he could tell.

Smoke rose from somewhere down the street, clouding his view. How many fires would there be? He hoped that the wind would keep the smoke away.

Winston moved to the window. “What’d ya see out there?”

Tom motioned Winston to stop. “Keep down. The yard’s clear but I don’t know for sure.”

Rocky Road dripped through the floorboards. It was probably going to be the last that he would see for a while. He picked up the container and tipped it back, dripping the last few tastes onto his tongue.

“
Hey,” Winston protested. “That was ours.”

Tom shook the Rocky Road container showing them that it was empty. “We’re going to be here awhile, you’d better get yourself comfortable.”

Standing up, Emmett zipped up his pack and slung it over his shoulder. “We want to go home. You promised.”

Without answering Emmett, Tom stared down into the yard, pulling his collar tight to stop the chill of the rain.
What if the sun set, and his dad didn’t come home?. What was he going to do? What if his dad was dead?

“
Tom?” Emmett said.

Tom trembled, and his arms stiffened.

“
Tom, are you listening?”

“
I know I promised you, Emmett, but don’t you think we have a bigger problem right now? It’s going to be dark soon. We need to get ready for the night. My dad keeps the camping gear in the garage. I’ll go down and get it and tie the stuff to the pulley rope. I need you guys to pull it up, and keep an eye out for zombies. I don’t want one of those things creeping up on me.”

The twins nodded in agreement. Tom lowered the ladder to the ground and descended with his back to the rungs, glancing down the driveway with each step. He remembered how he used to be scared of going into the garage alone.

On the ground he moved to the garage’s side door, but it was locked. “Crap,” Tom said under his breath. How could he forget, the keys were in the house.

“
What’s wrong?” Winston called down.

Tom picked up a brick and broke the window. “No keys. I got it.”

“
I thought we had to be quiet.”

Tom shot Emmett a sharp look and reached through to unlock the door, while being careful not to cut himself. His dad didn’t go in the garage much except to keep returnables; he called it his mini savings plan. Bags of cans and stacks of bundled newspapers were piled everywhere.

The camping gear was in the back corner covered in cobwebs. Tom pulled recyclables out of the way to get to it. Picking up the first of the storage containers, he tossed it out of the door toward the ladder and returned for another.

The garage darkened as something filled the doorway. Shivers ran down Tom’s spine, his back shot straight. He turned slowly, not wanting to see what he knew was there. It blocked the door, and there was no way out. Cans crunched under his feet as he reeled backwards across the garage. He groped in the dim light for something to defend himself with. His back hit the far wall. The thick wooden handle of a shovel came to his hand, and he raised it like a spear.

At the same time the zombie lunged at him, he charged. He thrust and jabbed the shovel at the zombie. He hit his mark, and the blade sunk deep into the zombie’s chest. He screamed in defiance, “No!”

The force from the impact stopped him cold, and he found himself pushed back across the garage through the clutter. The shovel acted as a wedge when it hit the wall, holding the zombie back.

Tom twisted the shovel, and black blood oozed out around it to pool on the floor. The zombie reached out, grabbed hold of his shirt, and pulled. It slid down the shaft, moving itself closer to him with the crack of snapping cartilage and bone. Tom gasped and knew that he wasn’t strong enough to fight it.

The zombie brushed his face with its fingertips, and he braced his foot against its torso, pushing with all his strength. It was no good; his leg folded under its weight, and the zombie slid closer. He couldn’t let it get him. He had to live to find his dad.
Fight!
echoed in his head as he pushed as hard as he could.

Tom bobbed and weaved his head to avoid being grabbed. The zombie caught hold of his ear and pulled. He couldn’t do it; he wasn’t strong enough. If he couldn’t overpower the zombie by strength, he needed to be faster.

Holding tightly onto the shovel, he twisted his body, ducked underneath, and stepped to the side. He pulled as hard as he could on the handle, freeing it from being wedged against the wall and using the shovel like a leash. He led the zombie around in a quick half circle. The zombie lost its balance and crashed into the wall. Regaining its balance, the zombie pushed out from the wall and marched Tom backwards. The only thing between them was the shovel, and that was shortening quickly. Tom glanced over his shoulder at the door, wanting to run, but if he let go, what would happen?

Using the zombie’s own force against it Tom spun it around again and let go of the shovel. The zombie fell backwards into the broken window frame of the door. A shard of glass pierced the back of its skull, and it collapsed to its knees. With its arms raised out toward Tom, it twitched and then fell to the floor motionless.

Tom braced his hands on the wall to hold himself up as he tried to catch his breath. He couldn’t take his eyes off the zombie for fear that it wasn’t dead. Up in the tree house, the twins hung over the edge trying to see, only the sounds of struggle reached them. Now it was silent, and Winston called down, “Tom?”

When Tom didn’t reply, his silence caused the twins to panic. He listened to them argue as he caught his breath.

“
Why didn’t you do what I told you, Winston?” Emmett accused his brother.

“
You didn’t watch.”

“
It’s your fault, Winston.”

“
We’re screwed now, Emmett. We don’t even know how to get home from here.”

“
That’s not what we should be worrying about, we can figure it out.”

“
Is he dead?”

“
Not dead. A zombie. His stupid plan included getting killed, and turned into a zombie.”

“
Tom?” Winston called again.

Tom stepped out of the garage, blood ran from a cut on the side of his head, and his shirt was torn. He signaled the twins he was okay with his middle finger. “Didn’t you see that zombie? Pull this box up now. You should have warned me sooner. By not keeping watch like I asked, you almost got me killed. Get down here and bring up the rest of the stuff. I’ll keep watch.”

Winston stepped out onto the ladder. “Sorry Tom.”

“
If you followed directions you wouldn’t have to be.”

“
Emmett threw trash at me.”

Tom pulled a pair of binoculars from the first box to see if the fight attracted more zombies.

The twins came back and pulled the boxes up. A bit calmer Tom said, “We had a plan, and you guys didn’t follow it. We can’t take any chances. When I say watch out for me, I mean it. If something happens to me, what’s gonna happen to you? There’s still more stuff down there that we can use, but it’s getting late and I don’t want to be down there when it’s dark.”

Night fell and a pale moon was their only light. Pain rippled through Tom’s arms and legs; all the bones in his neck and back were twisted from the strains of the day. He tossed and turned trying to get comfortable in his sleeping bag, but the pain and flashbacks of the day's horrors conspired to keep him awake.

After the day’s rain, the mosquitoes came out. They were going to be covered with bites by the morning, and it was too hot to hide in his sleeping bag. The twins were snoring, and he gave up on trying to sleep. He couldn’t believe that they were able to sleep.

During the night jets raced over head, green lights flashed across the sky, and in the distance there was a deep boom that caused the treehouse to shake. He stared out into the darkness at the silhouettes of the trees on the night sky. Then he saw the stars, noticing how clear they were without city lights. “
Where are you, Dad
?”

Birds announced the dawn as the stars faded. Tom was still exhausted and didn’t know if he slept at all. Rubbing his eyes, he stood up and stretched. He was hungrier than he could remember being. He stuffed a food bar into his mouth in three bites.

The yard was empty and he lay back down to try to sleep.
Shut up birds
, he thought and bunched up the backpack under his head. He missed his mattress. Through half raised eyelids Tom looked at the twins. If he couldn’t sleep, neither would they. He kicked their feet to rouse them. “Get up now. We have a lot of things to do.”

Winston batted at Tom’s foot, and Emmett pulled the sleeping bag over his head. “Hey!”

He pulled their sleeping bags away. They sat up. “We want our parents.”

“
I want my dad too,” Tom rubbed his arms and poked at the cuts on his hands, “but we have to be ready to take care of ourselves. Our best chance is to get the things we need to stay safe and wait here. That’s our plan.”

“
It’s not going to work,” Emmett wiped the crust from his eyes and ran his hand through his hair. “We had a deal.”

“
Home,” the twins said in unison.

Tom handed them bottles of water from his pack. “Do you know how creepy it is when you both speak at the same time?” The twins drank, staring at him. He could feel their eyes on his back as he unpacked the camping gear. He did a double take over his shoulder and stared back at them. “You have to help.”

“
It’s really simple,” Emmett said. “You said you would get us home. So do it.”

“
We made it through the night safely. That’s got to be a good sign,” Tom told them.

“
No, it’s not. It just means that we were lucky,” Emmett argued.

“
I’m hungry. Where’s my breakfast?” Winston asked plaintively. “My mom always has breakfast ready for us.”

“
Do I look like your mom?” Tom rolled his eyes and tossed a food bar across. “Here. Breakfast.”

Winston frowned.

“
Something else wrong, Winston?”

“
It’s not organic. I can’t eat it.”

Tom growled, “The candy you ate at the U-Mart wasn’t organic.”

“
I thought I was going to die.”

“
You might just be about to,” Tom said coldly.

“
Do I need to tell you how to get us home?” Emmett said.

“
I don’t want to risk it,” Tom said. “You guys can’t follow direction. You couldn’t even watch my back.”

“
You don’t want to fail again like you did with your class. Are we the last chance to make you feel better? Is that it?”

“
I couldn’t leave you, that’s all,” Tom said.

“
You want to keep us here, don’t you!”

“
Emmett, you’re doing it again.” Winston chewed.

“
You feel guilty,” Emmett said. “Here we are and what are you doing? Nothing. You’re afraid of failing. And it's stopping you from keeping your promise.”

“
Don’t be stupid, we are safe here at the moment,” Tom insisted. “All you wanted to do yesterday was stay wherever you thought we were safe.

“
You said your dad was going to be here, but he isn’t,” Emmett said. “We made it to your house, where you promised to take us home from. It’s our turn now.”

Tom knelt down, faced the twins and tapped his finger on the floor of the tree house. “Do you guys need a reminder? Those things out there, they move fast. What happens if we get cornered and mutilated? Do I have your attention? Don’t answer. If that happens, we are dead, and that doesn’t get you home. Does it?”

“
Home.” They said again with their arms crossed and heads turned away, more determined than ever.

“
No,” Tom said firmly. “We can’t risk it until we know what we are dealing with better.”

“
No?” Winston’s voice listed like a sinking ship, his chin twisted and trembled, his face turned beet red. He cried and put his head on Emmett’s shoulder.

“
He’s the youngest,” Emmett said, and also began to cry.

Winston lifted his head from Emmett’s shoulder. His eyes were puffy, and his cheeks were wet with tears. “We’ll never hug her again,” he pressed his face back into Emmett’s shoulder. “Aren’t you worried about your mom?”

Tom’s shoulders slumped forward, a pain burned in the hollow of his stomach, and he could feel tears welling up in his eyes too. “I don’t even know where she is. She disappeared when I was eight. I can hardly remember what she looks like some days. So don’t think I don’t know what you’re feeling. Tell me where you live, and I’ll take you. But I need your help first.”

Winston’s head popped up from Emmett’s shoulder. He smiled, “Really?”

Emmett turned to Tom, “We live on Morton in the middle of the block.”

Backing away a step, Tom squinted in the morning sun and gazed down on the twins. “That’s seven blocks away. It might as well be all the way to the Mars. Do you understand what we are up against? It’s the end of the world out there.”

“
Take your neighbor’s car,” Emmett said. “It’s right there, we could get the keys, and you could drive us home.”

“
It would be faster,” Tom said, “but there’s no way we’re doing that, not again. We would have to go into their house and find the keys. I don’t want to risk it. What if they are home, and what if they are zombies? And what if we can’t find the keys? What then?”

Swinging his arms like a baseball bat Winston said, “You can fight them with your skateboard. It worked before.”

Tom frowned.

“
What about bikes?” Winston shrugged.

“
I have three choices to think about; bad, crazy, and insane,” Tom said. “Help me. Emmett, you keep watch. Winston, you help me gather the last of the gear from the garage and the house.”

Hauling the supplies up into the tree house didn’t as take long as he thought it would. From the position of the sun, he thought that it was almost noon. That left plenty of time to get to the twins’ house and back to the tree house if they needed to before dark. They put their packs on. “Let’s go.”