The Living Dead Boy (5 page)

“Put away all your books and notes.  We’re starting the test,” his teacher, Mrs. Adkins ordered.

With groans, the class began to tuck away their belongings.  Josh shoved his backpack under his chair and as he raised his head, he saw Troy staring out the window.  Turning around, he saw Mr. Johnson walking toward the edge of the school yard.

“What is he doing?” Troy wondered
aloud.

The same staggering figure Josh had seen before stumbled out of a copse of trees and held out a hand toward Mr. Johnson.

The blinds were drawn abruptly shut.

“Pay attention to your test, Mr. Rondell,” Mrs. Adkins said in a firm voice as she let go of the drawstring.  She was short, pudgy, and had very short dark hair shot through with gray.  She slapped the test down onto his desk and walked on.  She continued to close all the blinds as she handed out the tests.  “No more distractions, people. Concentrate on your test.”

The room grew dimmer as the florescent lights buzzed and shimmered over their heads.

Fear gnawing at his stomach, Josh looked down at his test.  He couldn’t make sense of the figures on the page and he felt a terrible anticipation growing inside of him.  It took him a few seconds to realize what he was waiting for.

He was waiting for screams.

Chapter 7

Thirty minutes later, Josh stared at his partially filled out test.  None of it was making sense to him and he was writing down random numbers.  An F seemed imminent, but he couldn’t concentrate.  The image of that lone figure kept playing over and over again in his mind.

The loudspeaker in the corner of the room suddenly buzzed to life, crackling and whining just a bit before Mr. Johnson’s voice pushed through the static.

“This is not a test, ladies and gentleman.  I need all of you to stand up and line up at your classroom doors this very moment.  School is now closing and you will be leaving on the school buses.  Even if your parents regularly pick you up, you must get on a bus.  All the buses will be going to the same location and your parents will be notified.”

Mrs. Adkins pointed at the door as the other kids slowly got to their feet. She snapped her fingers at Arturo to hurry him up.  Josh quickly grabbed his backpack.

“What is going on?”  a girl asked as she lined up.

“Shush,” Mrs. Adkins answered.

“What is going on?” Troy whispered to Josh.

“I think it’s zombies,” Josh answered in a low voice.

For once Troy didn’t roll his eyes.  He had seen the strange figure in the trees, too.

“Nerds,” one of the other kids hissed, shoving them from behind.

“You are to exit the front doors of the school in a fast, orderly fashion.  Get immediately onto the first bus you see.  Keep moving as fast as you can.”  Mr. Johnson continued as Josh realized how much he sounded out of breath.  “Just keep moving no matter what you see.”

“What does that mean?” Troy’s eyes widened.  “That doesn’t sound good.”

“Troy, keep it shut and line up,” Mrs. Adkins ordered.

Despite the stern set of Mrs. Adkins jaw, Josh saw fear flicker in her eyes.  She pushed the door open and motioned her class out into the already packed hallway.  The younger classes had the kids walking with their hands on the shoulders of the person in front of them, while the lines of the older students soon disintegrated into a mob.

The teachers were motioning frantically to each other as they herded their classes toward the front of the school. Straining to see over the tops of the kids’ heads, Josh looked around for his mom, who was subbing in the lower grades.

The screams began at the back of the crowd and spread like wildfire.  Immediately, all the children began pushing toward the two sets of double doors at the front of the school.  Some of the younger students began to sob in fear and the crush of bodies increased around Josh. He could barely move.

“What is going on, dude?”  Roger grabbed hold of Josh’s shirt, trying to keep close to him and Troy.

“We saw a zombie,” Troy answered. “A real zombie.”

“No way!”

“Way,” Josh answered, trying to maneuver through the crowd.

The screaming was growing louder and it was hard to tell if it was from fear or something far worse.  The tidal wave of children was chaotic with younger children being tossed into lockers as the older kids pushed ahead.  Teachers shouted out orders that no one listened to as panic gripped the children.  Over all the chaos, Mr. Johnson’s voice continued to give directions over the loudspeaker that everyone disregarded.

For a brief moment, Josh caught sight of his mom far ahead of him.  Lynette was near the door, waving at him. Then there were more screams behind him and a giant surge from behind pushed him forward.

“Stop pushing!  Stop pushing!”

Josh felt someone’s elbow dig painfully into his ribs as another kid stepped on his feet.

More screams and another push knocked Josh off balance.  He felt Arturo and Troy grab for him, but he fell into the lockers, sliding downward.  A couple of 4
th
graders crashed into him sending him to the floor. Trying to get his hands under his body to push upwards, Josh began to panic. His backpack was wedged under the lockers, making it hard for him to get up.  Sneakers, boots, and flats all stampeded past him as the panic swelled.  The screams were nonstop and terror gripped Josh as he thought about what might be causing the terror.

What if the zombies were in the building?

“C’mon,” a voice grunted as hands gripped his arm, tugging him upward.

He finally managed to get his knees under him and pushed  with his hands.  Corina held onto his arm, looking at him worriedly.

“I got knocked down,” he said, sounding painfully stupid and obvious.  “Everyone went crazy.”

“The boys in my class started growling and grabbing kids,” she answered, dragging him along with her.  “It freaked everyone out and the morons think it’s funny.”

The hall was nearly empty as the crowd moved onto the school’s front lawn.  Josh and Corina hurried behind the remains of the throng as the older boys jostled each other, laughing.

Josh adjusted his backpack and tried to catch his breath. He could feel fear coursing through his veins, making his heart beat faster and his breath come in short breaths.

“I thought something was behind us,” he said finally, feeling foolish.

“It was just them being stupid,” Corina said angrily. She let go of his arm, but stayed at his side.

Taking another deep breath, Josh let his shoulders relax. His imagination was running away with him. Something else had to be going on.  It couldn’t be zombies, could it?

Josh looked over his shoulder toward the doors at the far end of the main hall that opened to the courtyard and cafeteria.  His breath caught in his throat as he saw the dark shape of a person pressed up against the glass inset in the door.  It was pounding on the window with one hand.

“Corina,” he gasped.

She turned, looked down the hall, and then back at him. “What?”

“I think...”

“It’s not a zombie, Josh.  It’s probably one of the stupid kids goofing off.”  She looked cross, but uneasy.

Now that the hall was almost empty, they could hear the steady banging echoing down the corridor. Another shape appeared at the other door.  It, too, began to bang on the door.

“Let’s get out of here,” she said, her voice suddenly sounding afraid.

Corina grabbed Josh’s hand and together they ran toward the front doors.  As they passed the front office, Josh caught sight of Mr. Johnson in the main office near the P.A. System.  His shirt was covered in blood and Miss Thomas was trying to bandage his shoulder and arm.  Roger and Troy’s dad, Mr. Inmon,  was also in the office, talking quickly on the phone.  He was a slight man with thin brown hair and a small mustache and as he talked, his hand shook.  Mr. Inmon noticed Josh and urgently motioned him toward the door.

“Get out there, Josh!  Get on the bus!”

Corina shoved the door open to the outside world and they were temporarily blinded by the afternoon sun.  As Josh’s eyes adjusted, he took in the chaos enveloping the school parking lot as the screams, shouts, and honking horns deafened him.

“This is bad,” Corina said.

“Yeah,” Josh answered. “Really, really bad.”

Chapter 8

Teachers and students were clustered near the bus lane. The dingy yellow buses were lined up in a long line next to the curb, engines rumbling.  Coaches and teachers frantically pushed kids up into the buses as sirens sounded from the direction of the highway. Some of the younger children cried while the older kids joked and shoved each other around.  Over the loudspeaker, Mr. Johnson’s voice continued to breathlessly order everyone onto the buses.

The cars and trucks pulling up to the school at terrifying speeds caused the most commotion and panic.  Parents slammed on their brakes, leaped out of their vehicles, and plunged into the crowd of children, screaming out their offspring’s name.

“What is going on?”  Corina exclaimed as two trucks almost crashed as they pulled into the bus lane at the same time, blocking a bus that was trying to depart.

“People are freaking out, that’s what!”  Josh looked around desperately for his mom.  “We need to get out of here before it gets worse.  Before Mr. Johnson becomes a zombie!”

“There are no such things as-”

A bus roared over the curb, edging around the trucks blocking it as several parents beat on the side of it, screaming for their kids.  Teachers pushed the students back from the departing bus as more cars poured into the school complex.  People drove up onto the lawn, disregarding the parking lot or bus lane and ran toward the children.  Josh watched several parents shove other kids aside to grab their own.  As people panicked, the situation grew increasingly dangerous.

Troy, Roger and Arturo ran up to Josh, Sam trailing behind.  The bigger boy was huffing and puffing, fear etched on his face.

“Dude, it’s zombies,” Troy exclaimed, breathing heavily. “I heard one of the teachers telling Coach Ray that there was an accident on the highway and those crazed people were attacking the police and the ambulance guys.  It’s less than a mile from here, dude.”

“They’re not real zombies.  They’re infected,” Roger corrected his brother.

“Totally
28 Days Later
, not
Night of the Living Dead
,” Arturo agreed.

“They’ll kill us just the same,” Troy answered grimly.

They all fell silent, then Corina took a deep breath and shouted, “What is going on?”

“Crazy people coming to kill us!” Sam yelled at her. “Aren’t you listening?  Are you retarded?”

“Shut up, Sam! Don’t yell at her!”  Josh turned quickly to Corina, his heart racing in his chest.  He could see the fear and confusion in her eyes and knew she could see the same emotions in his own gaze. “Look, something is going down so we need to stick together.  The adults aren’t going to understand until it is too late.”

“Yeah, just like in the movies,” Troy agreed.

“Parents never listen in the movies,” Josh grimly continued. “And they’re not going to listen in real life.”

“You don’t know that,” Corina said shortly.  “You’re not making sense!  None of this is making sense!”

Another bus pulled out as cars honked and a father ran along the side of it shouting for the bus driver to stop.  Short, hard pops, which sounded like fireworks, began to go off somewhere nearby.

“That’s gunfire,” Josh exclaimed.

“Get to the bus!  Get to the bus!”  Mrs. Adkins rushed over and grabbed Sam’s hand.  “Hurry up, boys!  Stop dawdling!”

“C’mon,” Josh ordered his small group of Zombie Hunters and they marched toward the nearest bus. “We’ll get to the community center then plan from there. We gotta get out of here before the zombies arrive.”

Two sheriff cars roared past the school toward the highway, lights flashing and sirens howling.  Across the street, the high school parking lot was emptying as cars drove over the curbs and lawn to pull onto the roadway.

“Josh! Josh!” his mother’s voice cried out.

“Mom!”

Lynette rushed up to him, her face drained of color beneath her mussed hair.  She hugged him, and he could feel her heart racing in her chest.

“Are you okay?”

“I’m fine!  What is going on, Mom?”

“There is something going down on the highway. We all need to get to the community center.  We’ll be safe there.”

“Rescue centers are never safe,” Troy said sorrowfully. “It always goes wrong there.”

“Yeah,” his brother agreed.

“Well, that is where you boys need to go!”  Lynette said shortly.  “All of you need to get on that bus.”

“Mom, I want to go with you!”

“Josh, I need you to get on that bus.  I have to go get Drake at daycare.  I’ll meet you at the community center.”

“Mom, is what they say true?  Are those crazy people here?”

The expression on his mom’s face was almost as terrifying as the screams and gunshots in the distance. She nodded, her lips pressed together.  “Get on the bus, Josh.  I want to know you’re safe. I heard the National Guard is on its way to the community center.” As she talked, his mom pulled him toward the next bus being loaded, his friends in their wake.

“Mom, I want to go with you!”

“No, Josh.  I need you safe.  Do you understand?  I will get Drake and join you.  Please, just go!”  Lynette kissed his cheek, hugging him again. “I need to know you’re safe.”

“Mom, please let me go with you!”  Josh held onto her as tight as he could, but she pried his arms from around her.

“I’ll see you soon!  I love you!  Get on the bus!”  She darted back into the crowd, running toward the parking lot.

For once no one uttered a word about his mom being hot and Josh was grateful.  Corina placed her hand on his shoulder, a reassuring gesture, and Josh appreciated it. They were getting closer to the bus as the line advanced and his heart beat fiercely in his chest with anticipation.  Sweat trickled from his hairline, getting in his eyes.  He could hear Sam wheezing behind him as Arturo told him to shut up. Troy and Roger were quiet, their expressions tense.

“Maybe we should go see if Dad is coming,” Roger said after a few seconds.

“He was on the phone. I think he was calling the army or something,” Troy answered.  His face was etched with fear. “He said for us to get on the bus.”

“I think I want to go be with Dad,” Roger answered, his voice sounding higher in pitch than usual.

“We just need to get to the community center and our folks will meet us there,” Josh assured them.  He didn’t want to tell them about Mr. Johnson probably being infected and that their father was in danger.  He considered running back inside to warn the adults, but he already knew they weren’t going to listen to him.

“The rescue centers aren’t safe!”  Roger exclaimed.

“Calm down, Rog!” Troy shouted at his brother.

“You calm down!”

“Dude, I’m chill!”

“I want dad!”

“Both of you chill out!” Josh ordered.

He was surprised when they both lapsed into silence. Sam chewed on his bottom lip, breathing through his nose, sounding like a beached whale. Corina kept tugging on her ponytails, obviously nervous.  Josh wanted to comfort her, but didn’t know how.

Another bus departed, the crowd thinning out. Parents continued to arrive, desperate to find their children.

“Where is my girl?”  a man shouted at Mrs. Adkins.

“She already left on the bus,” she answered.  “She’s going to the community center.”

“You have no right to remove my child from the school without my permission!” the man screamed into Mrs. Adkins’ face.

Josh finally reached the bus and climbed onto the first step.  He glanced nervously at the man confronting Mrs. Adkins.  He didn’t look infected, just angry.

“Hurry up, son,” the driver said, motioning down the aisle.

“We need to evacuate the school!  We had no choice!” Mrs. Adkins answered heatedly.  “We’re doing our-”

There was a loud slap of skin against skin, then sharp cry as the students gasped.

“He hit her!” Corina cried out.  “He hit her!”  She dropped out of line, rushing back to help Mrs. Adkins.

“No, Corina,” Josh shouted after her, trying to turn back.

“Keep moving!  Keep moving!”  the bus driver ordered, catching his arm and pushing him back up the steps.  “Don’t slow down the line!”

Josh reluctantly shuffled into the aisle; Roger and Troy close behind him.  The seats were filling up quickly. Crushed together, some of the children sobbed while others looked too scared to do anything but stare out at the mayhem.  Reaching the back of the bus, the three boys squeezed into one of the remaining seats. Looking out the window, Josh strained to see if he could spot his mom’s car out in the parking lot.  It was packed. The cars of teachers and parents maneuvered around each other as they were trying to leave.

“I think we should go check on Dad,” Roger said in a soft voice to his brother.

“If Dad wants us, he’ll come get us.  Just like all the other parents,” Troy answered shortly.

Arturo and Sam slid into the seat behind them.  It was obvious that Sam had decided to stay close to them.  He chewed on his bottom lip while Arturo looked annoyed to be saddled with him.

Josh strained to see toward the front of the bus, hoping to see Corina.  He wished she hadn’t turned back to help Mrs. Adkins.

“If you can’t find a seat, just stand up!  Hold onto the back of the seats!”  The bus driver was pushing kids down the aisle to cries of protest.

“You’re gonna smash us to death!” Sam shouted.

“Shut up, freak!”  Arturo snapped.  He shoved his black hair out of his face as he leaned toward Josh. “Dude, we should have gone with your mom.”

“She’s getting Drake. She told us to get on the bus,” Josh answered.  His hand was trembling as he placed it on the back of the seat in front of him.  He felt sick with fear and he looked out the window again, trying to spot his mom’s car.

“Whoa, Mrs. Adkins got hit hard,” Troy said in awe.

Their teacher stumbled onto the bus, holding her hand over one eye, blood trickling out of the corner of her mouth. The bus driver made some of the kids stand so she could sit down. Corina was nowhere to be seen.  Josh’s heart beat a little harder as fear gripped him.  He returned his gaze to the parking lot, praying softly.

“Please, God...please, God...please, God...”

Finally,  Josh caught sight of his mom’s old blue Chevy in line to get out of the parking lot.  He could barely make out her figure inside the car, the sun glinting off her hair.  He wanted to crawl out the window and run to her.  Fear had a brutal grip on him, and he just wanted to feel her arms around him.

The sound of a motorcycle cut through the noise as Brad roared up to the bus.  “Corina!  Corina!”

Screams erupted again outside, but this time, they sounded different.  It was more than fear that tinged the shrieks.  A bus roared past, nearly clipping Brad on his bike.  Cars began to honk desperately.

“Oh, my God,” Arturo exclaimed.

All the kids in the bus turned around at once.

A pack of bloody, mutilated people had come around the side of the school moving relentlessly toward the children and adults still loading onto the last school bus.  All had faces smeared with blood.  One of them appeared to be carrying a dismembered leg.

“Zombies!” a kid shouted, then everyone on the bus began crying or shrieking.