The Saga Of Tom Stinson (Book 1): Summer School Zombocalypse (9 page)

The deadbolt clacked, and the door opened; the three of them piled in and slammed it shut. Tom pushed past Anidea and dragged the kitchen table over to the door. “Quick. Help me block the door.”

“
Wait!” Anidea waved her arms in the air. “You brought the zombies with you? What happened to sneaking? What were you thinking? You practically invited them.”

Tom picked up a chair and put it on top of the table. “The door opens inwards, we can block it.”

“
Quiet, my grandpa is upstairs, Tom,” Anidea said.

Tom pulled the fridge out from the wall. “Help me, Emmett.”

“
What’s he doing up there Anidea?”

Winston pulled aside the curtains over the kitchen sink. “They pushed the fence down.”

Anidea replied slowly. “He got bit, and he’s been in his room since. So what, is that important?”

“
Bit, as in like, bit bit?” Tom asked.

“
He was fighting with Mr. Rayner, our neighbor.” She wrapped a finger around one of her curls. “And was bit before he hit Mr. Rayner with the fire poker. See, his body is out on the front porch.”

They went to the door, but Mr. Rayner wasn’t there.

Anidea untwisted a curl from around her finger and snipped. “Well, he was there. You have to believe me. I’m not making it up. And if you don’t I’ll show you the fire poker my grandpa used to hit Mr. Rayner. I will, but we have to be quiet. I don’t want to disturb him. So. . . Shh, okay?”

“
You gotta listen to me,” Tom grabbed Anidea by the arms. “It’s very important that we know. He could be one of them.”

Anidea twisted and shook Tom off her. “Let go of me. He’s upstairs in his room. He’s not hurting anyone. Besides, we have to hide. The zombies out there will be here soon, thanks to you. Come on upstairs, we’ll be okay. I’ve got a great spot, but remember to be quite.”

Anidea ran upstairs.

They followed her to her room, and she shut her door. It was small and mostly pink. She sat on her bed with a bounce and picked up a hand mirror. “Okay, what do you have in your packs, I’m starving.”

Tom was shocked. “This is it? Your hiding spot is your bedroom? This is the dumbest hiding spot ever.”

“
I’ve been fine so far. See, I locked the door. It’s a super strong lock.”

“
Anidea,” Tom stared at her coldly. “You have no idea what’s going on out there, do you?”

“
I watched you from my window, ya know. I saw what happened to your gun. Better luck next time, right?”

Tom turned to the twins. She kept talking, talking to hear herself. Her mindless blabbering was another reason Tom didn’t like her. He fumed. “You need to be quiet so I can think.”

The floor creaked out in the hallway. Tom and the twins turned to the door.

“
Oh, don’t worry, that’s just my grandpa. He’ll help us. Anyway. It’s my room, so my rules.”

The door opened slowly. “Super strong, but you didn’t lock it!” Winston shrank away to the far side of the room. Her grandfather stood in the doorway.

Anidea’s grandfather wasn’t like the ones outside, he was worse. Only remnants of human existed. Writhing tendrils that bubbled and pulsed grew across his body.

Tom lunged forward and slammed the door shut.

Anidea shook her fists at Tom. “Don’t close that, you idiot. That’s my grandpa.”

Her grandpa pummeled and pushed on the door.

Tom struggled to keep it shut. “Winston, Emmett, help!”

Anidea grabbed the twins by the backs of their pants and tried to pull them away from the door. “Stop it now. Let my grandpa in.”

Emmett hit her hand hard, freeing himself. “That’s not your grandpa. He’s all zombie now.”

“
No he’s not,” Anidea said. “Tom knows him. Right Tom?”

“
It’s not your grandpa. It was, but not now,” Tom said.

“
Grandpa, you’re okay, tell them!” Anidea fought to get to the door.

She was so stubborn that Tom realized he would have to show her. It was the only way. A sudden smile crossed his face. “If you don’t believe me, I’ll let him in.”

Anidea’s voice shrank, and she stepped back. “Fine, that's right.”

He opened the door and stood behind it. Anidea’s grandfather burst into the room, and the twins dodged.

“
What are you doing?” Winston shrieked.

“
This is the worst plan ever,” added Emmett.

Tom stepped out from behind the door and side kicked Anidea’s grandfather out of the way. Then he grabbed the twins by their arms and pulled them out of the room, leaving Anidea to face her grandfather alone.

Tom stood in the doorway and said, “Does he look alright to you? He’s like what’s out there to me.”

Her grandpa got up and went after her.

She screamed bloody murder.

Tom realized his plan to convince Anidea that her grandfather was a zombie wasn’t the best. Even though it felt good to act on his emotions in a
ha ha, take that
kind of way. He couldn’t just leave her to die. No matter how much he loathed her.

He took two big steps and kicked her grandfather again, knocking him back away from her. “Does he look okay to you?”

“
Tom,” Winston said, “what do we do?”

“
Stay back.”

Anidea stepped back into her nightstand and knocked her lamp over. “No!” she cried.

Tom kicked her grandfather once again, sending him staggering into the window. His arms flailed, shattering the glass. “He’s not bleeding, those gashes across his arms are bubbling goo. Do people ooze black puss?”

She pressed her body tightly against the wall, almost sinking into it. “No.”

Anidea’s zombie grandfather lunged for her again, and Tom kicked him again, back into the window. “Do people have spaghetti faces?”

She clenched her hands together, wanting Tom to stop. “No.”

One last time, Tom kicked her grandfather, sending him right out of the window.

She moved to the smashed window and stood still in absolute astonishment, staring down at her grandpa.

Winston grabbed Tom by the arm, and Tom turned violently, knocking him down to the floor. “What?” he yelled.

Winston pulled on Tom’s arm, “They’re in the house, downstairs.”

Snapping out of his rage, Tom ran to the stairs, hands grasped the banister poles the zombies were ascending. He returned to Anidea, “Are there any weapons in the house?”

She didn’t answer him, she was still transfixed by her grandfather.

“
Are there?” Tom demanded.

She turned, some how relieved, and without looking at Tom she said, “Oh, he’s okay. He’s getting up.”

“
Anidea, are there any weapons in the house?”

She nodded.

“
Show me, now!”

Anidea led them to her grandpa’s room, it smelled of death. The bed was crusted black and brown with dried blood. She pointed to the closet, “He keeps his gun in there.”

Tom opened the door, and her creepy cat jumped out with a loud hiss, startling him.

Digging into the closet, Tom pushed past the tightly packed clothes and found a safe in the back on the floor. He turned the safe's door handle, it wasn’t locked. Anidea told him to hurry, the zombies were coming up the stairs. In the dark of the closet, he reached into the safe feeling for the gun.

It was on the top shelf next to a small box. He picked up the box and shook it. Bullets. He stuffed the box into his pocket and picked up the gun before he crawled backwards out of the closet into the light of the room.

“
Is this going to be like the shotgun,” Emmett said.

“
Have you ever fired a pistol before?” Anidea grabbed for the gun. “You need to let me do it.”

Tom had never fired a pistol before, he didn’t even know if it was loaded. All he knew about pistols was that you weren’t supposed to keep firearms loaded in your home, and if you ever found one, you shouldn’t touch it; tell an adult. He checked the safety, it was right next to the trigger, and he clicked it off. To his surprise, the magazine ejected out the bottom of the gun. He learned that on this gun the lever wasn’t the safety. Picking up the magazine and seeing that it was full he inserted it into the gun.

Anidea lost control of her bladder, a zombie stood in the doorway. “Don’t let me die.”

Tom aimed and squeezed the trigger. The gun didn’t fire, and the zombie latched on to Anidea, pulling her in for a bite. Winston and Emmett hammered on the zombie's arms, trying to free her.

He had fallen for the old movie trick. This time he pressed the right lever, turning the safety off. Striding up to the zombie he put the pistol to its head and pulled the trigger. A spray of purple and green spattered against the wall. Everyone’s ears rang, and the zombie fell back and slid to the floor convulsing.

“
Let’s go,” Tom said.

Anidea grimaced and wiped zombie goo from her face. In the hall, Tom rounded the banister and kicked the zombie at the top of the stairs, sending it tumbling down and crashing into the others that were behind it. The zombies lay in a pile at the bottom.

They clambered down the stairs and jumped over the fallen zombies.

Anidea grabbed her backpack off the coat rack and closed the door as they rushed out. She called to Tom, “Where are we going?”

“
Follow me,” Tom ordered and led them down the street away from Anidea’s house. “I don’t know, and I don’t care where we go. We need a safe place.”

“
Don’t run so fast, Tom,” Emmett said.

“
Yeah, Tom,” Anidea said. “If you paid attention, you could see the zombies are slow. We just can’t get cornered.”

“
Thank rotting flesh and rigor mortis,” Emmett said.

Tom zigzagged down the street ahead of Anidea and the twins, moving from car to car. He pulled on door handles, hoping to find one unlocked.

“
Don’t waste your time with the cars,” Anidea said.

“
A car will get us away faster than on foot. Winston, Emmett, search the bumpers and wheel wells for keys, Anidea, get the glove boxes and check under the floor mats.”

“
People just don’t leave keys in their cars,” Anidea said.

“
We can’t run forever,” Emmett said as he ran his hand along a wheel well.

“
Yes, they do,” Tom said.

Emmett screeched and pulled his hand out from inside a wheel well, blood running down it. “You said you didn't want to drive again.”

“
I don’t,” Tom replied. “But I don’t want to run more.”

At the end of the block Tom found an unlocked car with the keys in the ignition. He got in, slid the seat as far forward as it would go and pumped the brakes. They seemed to work. He turned the key and revved the engine. “This one. Get in,” he ordered.

Emmett and Winston squeezed past Tom into the back seat and buckled in. Anidea ran around to the passenger’s side and got in.

Tom gripped the steering wheel and stared into the rear view mirror. A furrow ran across his forehead and he frowned.

Anidea wrinkled her nose. “Aren’t we going?”

Tom turned to Anidea and then to the twins. A level of seriousness that they had not seen before came across his face. He knew what they were going to do. “We’re going to my Dad’s work to find him. We’ll be safe there.”

He shifted the car into drive and pulled away.

“
We’re what?” Anidea said, “I thought we were going to drive out of town to somewhere safe, with people.”

A desperate shout came from up the street. “Wait,” Anidea said.

“
Who’s that?” Emmett said.

Someone waved his arms in the air. Tom stopped the car and checked in the rear view mirror to see how close their pursuers were.

“
That’s Jerrell Jules,” Anidea said.

“
He looks like he has been through hell,” Winston said.

Jerrell begged as he ran up to the driver’s side window,

“
Please, please take me with you.”

Tom stopped and rolled down the window.

“
Hey Tommy, I knew you would make it.”

“
I should leave you here,” Tom scowled. “This one. Get in, we’re going downtown.”

“
You’re driving too slow,” Anidea snapped at Tom. “Go faster!”

“
Does it make you feel impatient and uneasy?” Tom didn't take his eyes off the road. “Zombies are slow, remember?”

She poked him in the ribs with one finger as she tried to get something on the radio with her other. “You sounded so cool when you said,
This one, get in
, and NOW you’re driving like an old lady.”

“
Shh,” Tom said. He didn’t want to talk to her; he knew if he did she wouldn’t shut up.

Anidea crossed her arms and stared at Tom. “Well? Aren’t you going to say anything.”

He took a quick glance at her and let up on the accelerator pedal. The twins and Jerrell chattered in the back.

“
You hid in your dog house?” Winston asked.

“
Yeah,” Jerrell replied, “three days. None of those things came in my backyard. I was lucky. I think I have fleas now though.”

“
Didn’t you have summer school?”

Jerrell shrugged. “Tom knows, we skipped to go to the river. We saw the plane fly crazy, and we went to see. When we got back to school everyone was fighting. It was insane. The police started shooting people. I ran home and hid.”

“
You had it easy,” Emmett said. “We were in the school.”

Winston barked and laughed, “You smell like dog.”

“
The weird thing is,” Jerrell said, “at night there were green lights in the sky zipping around. There were jets shooting at them too, but they disappeared in a green flash. Poof! Nothing. Crazy huh?”

“
What are you talking about? Don’t be stupid,” Emmett said. “We didn’t see or hear any of that.”

“
I dunno, I’m just telling you what I saw,” Jerrell said.

Anidea turned the radio’s volume all the way up. “Shut up and listen.”

“
What, to static?” Jerrel asked. “Turn that down, Frizz.”

Winston reached out and flicked one of her curls with his finger. “You need to learn to be nice.”

Anidea’s hand flew up and swatted Winston’s hand as she turned and yelled, “Don’t, or so help me, I’ll feed you to the zombies.”

The twins giggled and stared at the back of her head. Jerrell could see her face in the reflection of the rear view mirror. “Don’t be a spaz, Frizzball.”

The twins covered their mouths and laughed deeply.

Tom sped the car up.

Anidea fumed and pounded her fist on the dashboard. “Stop laughing. How can you laugh? There has to be something on the radio, don’t you care? Don’t you wonder why there’s nothing on?”

The twins and Jerrell quieted, and they listened to the crackle of static on the radio. “Try AM,” Emmett said.

“
You’re so stupid. Only old people listen to AM.” Her eyes darted from the radio to Tom. She hoped that he would say something. “I’m an observer locked in a cage of monkeys.”

Finally, Tom glanced over at her and gave an,
it’s going to be alright look.

“
Well?” she asked, but he only smiled back at her, and that made her more infuriated. “You must feel safe in the car. Does moving somehow make you feel safe? The idea of just speeding away from one danger into another isn’t comforting.”

Jerrel, Emmett, and Winston howled with laughter in the back; they stuck out their lower lips and mocked her with hand puppets.

“
They’re blowing off steam,” Tom smirked.

“
And somehow you seem happy,” Anidea turned off the radio and stared out of the window. “How can you be happy? You’re not funny, or strong, or romantic. You’re just that dumb boy from down the block.”

“
It’s an adventure, isn’t it?”

On the sidewalk were pieces of people’s lives, everything imaginable and unimaginable. What would she have cared, even if she had time? “Where does your dad work?” she asked.

“
The hardware store.”

“
You speak finally. Tom Stinson, I need you to tell me what we are doing.”

Tom wound the car through the leftovers of people’s struggles. “I don’t need to talk about every detail. We’re almost there.”

Arriving at the hardware store he saw that the security roller gates were down, and it instantly gave him some hope that his dad could be alright. He stopped the car in the middle of the street and got out.

He ran to the gate and pounded on it, calling out for his dad. He tried to see into the store, but it was too dark. Chills ran up his spine,
what if his dad wasn’t there?
He got back in the car. “It’s all locked up. We’ll go around to the back.”

Jerrell held up his Hallotron Game Portal. “I need batteries.”

Tom came to a stop at the rear entrance. The door to his dad’s work hung from broken hinges. He stared past it for a long moment into the darkness beyond the door frame, then turned the engine off. “Get out of the car. Let’s go.”

Shaking her head Anidea said, “It’s dark in there. I’m not going.”

Tom waved his hand in a wide arc. “Stay out here if you like. With the zombies.”

“
We’re staying,” the twins said, remembering what happened in Tom’s garage.

“
Let’s go,” Tom said again.

Jerrell smiled and put his arm around the twins. “Yeah, you go, Tommy. We’ll wait here.”

Tom opened the door and folded the driver’s seat forward. “You don’t get to vote Jerrell, none of you do. No way. You guys have to come and watch my back. Get out now.”

They got out reluctantly. Anidea asked if they should bring their packs, hers was heavy. Tom glared at her. “Bring everything.”

“
What? My piggy bank is heavy. We’ll need money right?” Anidea said.

They stood in the doorway. Tom held back the hope that his dad might be there. Unlike at his house he wasn’t going to just rush in. He listened for a moment; it was quiet. Then he went in, disappearing into the darkness of the tightly packed aisles.

Anidea, Jerrell, and the twins stood at the door.

“
Tom?” Anidea called. When he didn’t reply, she said, “He’s dead, let’s get out of town. I’ll drive.”

Out of the darkness he returned with an armful of flashlights and handed them out. “We are going to go upstairs to the office,” he said.

Click click. Anidea pressed the power button. “I thought you were dead. These don’t have batteries?” she scolded him. “You forgot the batteries.”

“
Use your piggy bank to buy some,” Jerrell snorted.

“
The batteries are up front. Let’s go,” Tom said, and led them down a narrow aisle, leaving the safety of the light outside.

The store was darkest in the middle and their eyes adjusted to the dim light. The floors were littered with boxes from the shelves and the packaging crunched under their feet.

“
We’re making way too much noise,” Emmett said.

“
If we make noise, so will the zombies,” Tom retorted.

“
That’s good, right?” Anidea asked him, nervously.

“
I can’t see anything,” Jerrell said.

“
Shh,” Anidea hushed him, “We need to listen.”

“
Hey, hatchets!” Winston grinned and held one up so it glimmered in the faint light.

“
Shh,” Anidea shushed again.

“
I’ve got one too,” said Emmett.

“
Damn it,” Anidea cursed under her breath and stomped on Winston’s foot, “your stupidity is going to get us all killed. You’re not thinking about my feelings. I’m scared.”

“
Ouch, don’t,” Winston said.

“
Nothings here!” Jerrell said to Anidea, “shush yourself.”

Tom pointed. “There, batteries, and then we can get food and drinks”

Winston pushed past Anidea, stepping on her foot, and tore open a pack of batteries. Then he shone his light around the store.

At the counter they emptied candy jars, snack bars, and power drinks into their packs. “These are warm.” Winston opened a power drink.

“
It’s not so bad I can’t drink one, see?” Emmett said and chugged it down in one go.

“
Those are gross,” Anidea said. “And you’re gross. Now will you
please
be quiet.”

Tom put his hand on Anidea’s shoulder to calm her and got everyone’s attention. He put his finger to his mouth, shushing all of them without making a sound. The stairs that led to the office were behind the registers. “This way.”

Emmett burped up red froth. “I feel sick.”

“
Told you,” Anidea said.

The old wooden stairs creaked as they went up. The twins were in the rear and walked up backwards with their hatchets ready. Tom topped the stairs and looked down the hall with his light. There was a new plywood wall about halfway down the hallway. He ran up to the wall and pounded, “Dad? You in there?”

“
Tom?” a surprised but desperate voice replied. It was his dad’s co-worker Eddie that responded.

Tom pushed on the wall to get in. “Eddie, where’s Dad?”

“
Isn’t he with you? Hold on. I’ll let you in,” Eddie said, over the whir of a screw gun and the tinkling of screws hitting the floor.

The panel pulled back, and Eddie appeared from the dark. “Get in here quick.”

He was shocked to see the twins, Jerrell, and Anidea with Tom. He had so many questions, but none of them were important. All Tom wanted to know was where his dad was, but Eddie kept on talking, and he couldn’t get a word in.

Interrupting adults was something he didn’t like to do. They always got mad or ignored you when you had something important to say. But this was serious and he had learned that you have to do it yourself and not be afraid of what might happen sometimes. “Eddie! Dude, where’s my dad?” Tom asked desperately.

“
He went to your school to get you,” Eddie replied, “but that was three days ago. I thought he was coming back for me. Here, never mind that right now. While I was sealing myself up in here I remembered that your dad and I always talked about if the crap hit the fan. He put this kit together, said it was for earthquakes and tornadoes or a terrorist attack. In all of the craziness he had completely forgotten about it. Heck, I did too, until just now. He’s worried about you.”

Eddie dragged a large crate out of a closet. Written on it in big red letters was,
Don’t open till Doomsday
.

They opened the crate. Tom shone his light in, revealing a first aid kit, heavy gloves, emergency shelter and sleeping gear.

“
Everything that you need for a disaster,” Eddie said.

Tom pulled out a tent and the first aid kit. “Thanks Dad.” He put the first aid kit into his pack and dug into the survival kit to see what else was in it.

“
I wish he was here too,” Eddie said, resting a hand on Tom’s shoulder

Winston held his arms up to get everyone’s attention.

“
What’s that? listen.”

“
What?” Jerrell asked.

“
No, quiet. Listen,” Tom said. “A dog. It’s close.”

“
I haven’t heard a sound out there in days,” Eddie said.

“
We better have a look.” He led the way down the stairs and opened the front door. They stepped into the entryway and peered out through the security gate slats. They could see the dog several doors down in the middle of the street. It was barking at something loudly.

Anidea strained against the security gate to see around the corner of the entryway. “What’s it barking at? I can’t see anything,” she said.

“
There,” Emmett whispered, almost holding his breath. “A couple of them.”

Eddie gasped and took a couple of steps back from the gate unconsciously. “I haven’t seen them this close. What’s wrong with those poor people. What are they?”

“
Aliens did it,” Jerrell said, “I saw them.”

“
Aliens? I don’t quite understand what you’re saying. That makes no sense.”

“
I’m not even going to pretend that you aren’t this dumb,” Anidea pointed. “Hel-lo? Danger there. Quiet. Okay?”

“
The dog’s acting like he’s playing with the zombies. See how he’s darting in close and jumping out of the way,” Emmett said.

“
It’s cute how he spins round and stretches his paws out, then growls,” Anidea said. “That dog's even dumber than you.”

“
No, it looks like he’s leading them somewhere.”

From behind, the crunch of packaging cut through the silence of the store. Jolted, they all turned.