Zombie High (29 page)

You quickly find one of the guys you used to hang
out with back in middle school and lean over to ask, “Hey,
Jeff, you know what’s really going on here?”

Looking over, Jeff’s face contorts for a second as if
he forgot that you were in this class with him, and he says,
“Oh, hey, I…uh…no. I heard Mr. Tibbs got attacked or
something downstairs, but I was coming up from the gym,
so I didn’t see anything.” Then looking around, he spots
the girl he’s looking for and says, “You should ask Sarah.
She said she was there.” Turning, Jeff whispers loudly,
“Hey, Sarah, what happened down there?”

“Well, I was downstairs coming from Mr. Park’s
geometry class, and a crowd was all around the front
door. My friend Jessica and I tried to squeeze our way in,
but that’s when the principal showed up and told
everyone to go to class. From what I heard though, Mr.
Tibbs went ape on some old guy after the geezer bit him
or something.”

Inserting himself into the conversation, Ben says, “I
was in Mr. Tibbs’ room first hour. That guy is awesome!”
“Well, if you were there, what did you see?” asks
Jeff.
“Okay, so like, Mr. Tibbs went out to the hall like he
always does when the bell rings, and we all got our books
and stuff and started to head out, too. Anyway, some old
guy came up to the doors and started knocking. From
there, I’m not sure, I was in a hurry to get here on time,
but I heard he opened the door, and the guy started trying
to eat him or something. Mr. Tibbs defended himself, and
…,” but the rest of Ben’s words are cut off by Miss
Millstone.
“Excuse me,” says Miss Millstone loudly from her
stool in the front of the room. “This is a lockdown. You all
shouldn’t be talking back there,” completely ignoring the
fact that for as much as they were having a whispered
conversation if there was someone out there looking for
them, she just announced herself to at least half the
school.
Ducking down sheepishly, Ben says, “Sorry, Miss
Millstone,” before he leans back and rests his head
against the wall saying, “She has no idea what an ‘inside’
voice is.”
Realizing that none of them seem to know anything
substantial, you figure that they aren’t about to make the
connection you’ve been putting together. Why would
they? Most of them probably don’t sit around watching
as many horror movies as you. Unsure of who will believe
you at this point, you keep your theory to yourself, the
theory that these old people are zombies, and without
anyone else around that actually saw them, there’s no
way any of them will believe you. Just then, you hear a
thud at the door.
Normally in a lockdown, no one is supposed to be
in the hall, so this is more than a little unusual. Standing
up from her stool, Miss Millstone walks over to the door
and waits. A moment after she gets close to it, there are
two more thumps on the door. To someone not listening
for it, it might sound like someone knocking, but you
could swear the thumps sound a little too squishy and a
little too wet, almost as if someone bumped into the door
with their face.

If you open the window and jump, turn to page ………. 37
If you crawl further back and hide, turn to page ………. 51
If you want to wait and sneak out, turn to page ………. 53

Hearing someone yelling is never a good sign. It
usually means that either they have been hurt, which in
this case means it will both take away from your mission
and possibly put you at more risk, or it means that they
are in the midst of violence, which in this case means that
there are zombies that way. Neither of those options
sounds very appealing to you, so since they haven’t seen
you and you haven’t seen them, you might as well adopt
the ‘live to fight another day’ mentality and change
directions. Besides, it’s just as likely that there will be
weapons you can either use or make in the shop class now
that you really think about it.

Turning around, you quickly retrace your steps
while your mind starts coming up with more reasons why
this is the better strategy. Admittedly, you feel a little like
a coward, but you’re alive, and being a living coward is
better in your book than a dead hero. The shop class, as
you recall, has more than just a few misplaced baseball
bats and worn out hockey sticks. It has tools, wood, nails,
and more things that can really do some serious damage.

At the next intersection you turn and quickly head
for the other end of the school. On the way, you pass by
the Registrar’s Office and see the closed blinds quickly
slap against the glass window of the door. Stopping, you
whisper, “Miss Gail, are you there?” You know that she’s
been around the school for something like thirty years,
and despite being almost retirement age, you know that
she’s a survivor, someone you’d happily have with you in
this mess. After a minute of receiving no answer, you
return to your quest, heading for the shop class, hoping
that if Miss Gail is in her office that she is okay in there,
but unwilling to try to break your way in. Knowing her as
you do, you figure she probably already has a plan and is
just biding her time before she goes for safety.

Turning left at the end of the hall, you find the
double doors leading into the shop class. The doors have
crash bars on both sides and a double hinge allowing you
to easily push your way through from either side in case
you’re carrying supplies or a finished project and don’t
have a free hand. Entering, you find every tool and
machine you can think of for cutting, shaping, and
finishing wood. Band saws, table saws, sanders, wood
lathes, and more are positioned around the room at
different work stations, and a workbench runs along the
far wall with hammers, screwdrivers, and various power
tools all hanging off a pegboard, each with their own
outline drawn in black Sharpie.

On the side of the room closest to the door you
came in, you see shelves of scrap wood ranging from twoby-fours to plywood. The only question is, what are you
going to do with it all?

Making your decision, you say, “Mr. Ray, I’m sorry,
but I told some people that I’d be back. I think they’re
counting on me to get them some supplies. I’m going to
have to go.”

“I really don’t think that’s a good idea,” begins Mr.
Ray. “By this point, my conservative estimates suggest
that over eighty-seven percent of the school has been
converted, and in case you haven’t looked outside
recently, there seem to be more of them arriving every
few minutes.”

Looking out the window for the first time since this
morning, you notice that he’s right. It appears as if
someone hung a sign on St. Mary’s High School that says
FREE BUFFET
in zombie language because there have to
be at least a hundred or more out there just milling
around. Convincing yourself as well as the others, you
say, “It’ll be all right. I’m not going outside, and the ones
here in the school seem to be mostly locked up inside the
classrooms. I’ve been out there all morning, and I haven’t
gotten bit.”

“That could just be your stupid good luck,” begins
Bagdonas. “Who’s to say that if you step out there right
now there won’t be another dozen or so waiting?”

“It’s a chance I’m willing to take. I told them I’d
come back,” you say, and then add, “You don’t have to
come if you don’t want to. You can stay here with Mr.
Ray.”

“Oh, trust me, I was planning on it. Mr. Ray has
supplies here, and Mr. Castle is on his way. I’ll be a lot
safer with the two of them than out there with you.”

Slightly hurt by this, considering you just helped
save her life a little while ago, you say, “That’s all right,”
and then turn to Chris and Ryan to ask, “How about you?
You don’t have to, but…,” and leave the rest of your
sentence unspoken.

Ryan and Chris both look at each other and then to
you before Chris says, “We’re real grateful you helped us
back there, but I think we have to stay here. Strength in
numbers and all.” Then almost as an afterthought, he
adds, “I’m sure when Mr. Castle comes, and we all leave,
we can swing by and get those other people.”

You take a minute to consider the fact that you will
be going out on your own and try to weigh it against the
idea of waiting and having others with you. It’s a hard
choice, but you decide…

With weapons in hand, you put your thoughts to
the next task. Considering that you haven’t eaten since
that pitiful excuse for a breakfast your mother gave you,
you’re more than happy to make food your next priority.
The girl upstairs in the teachers’ lounge recommended
that you go to the cafeteria for food, and sure, she has a
point, but you managed to acquire weapons on your own
by going to the shop class instead of the gym, so you
might have some alternative options. You know that the
lunch your mom set out for you is still sitting in your
locker, but you also recognize that it’s not going to be
enough to feed multiple people, and certainly not enough
if you are forced to hole up for any amount of time and
wait for a rescue.

Putting your mind to the next task of figuring out
where you can get some food, you figure that the next
best option besides the cafeteria is to go to the vending
machines in the back hallway. 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
characters dying when they go out of their way for stuff.
Perhaps going to the cafeteria won’t be so bad. It’s only a
couple of hallways away.

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 cafeteria is to the right, 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.

Knowing that there probably isn’t anything you can
do for Matt, not even if you did get to a first aid kit, you
decide that you’re still hungry and you probably won’t do
anyone much good if you don’t get some food in you
soon. You also figure that while you have everyone with
you, it will be easier to carry a bunch of food back, and
there can still be at least one person who is a dedicated
fighter in case you come across any unfriendliness. For
those reasons, you decide that heading to the cafeteria
next seems like the best idea.

Telling the rest of the group your plan, they seem a
bit reluctant, and Ryan even mentions that the first aid kit
might come in handy if anyone gets hurt by something
other than one of the infected, but without any better
options on where to go, they end up following you to the
cafeteria. Along the way, you find evidence that someone
else has been roaming the halls as well because there are
a couple of bodies lying on the ground here and there
which you did not put down, and each of them looks to
have had their heads bashed in with some sort of blunt
instrument. As you pass the bodies, you catch a look on
the others’ faces and say, “It’s better that we know
someone else is out here with us. Otherwise, we would
have to deal with these things ourselves.”

Talking as you are, you walk directly into the
intersection where you would normally turn to go to the
cafeteria as if you are on autopilot. You would have kept
going if it wasn’t for the fact that Bagdonas grabs your
arm and points out the mess of zombies in the cafeteria.
Backing away slowly, the four of you regroup at the corner
of the intersection and try to assess what you might be up
against. As it turns out, counting the creatures is too
difficult both because there are so many of them and
because they all keep moving around. Pulling back, you
turn to look at the rest of the group, prepared to tell them
that the vending machines in the back hall will probably
be a better place to get food when you notice instead of
there being three people behind you, now there are six.