You and Me against the World: The Creepers Saga Book 1 (15 page)

There’s no such thing as a bad plan

By early Tuesday evening, the problems outnumbered the successes. Thorn caught up with Devin and Nick at the gym’s main entrance. They both looked stressed, and Thorn hated to add to it, but the health of the elderly was of great concern.

“How’s it going, Doc?”

“Not good, gentlemen.”

Devin and Nick looked at one another with expressions of “What else is new?”

“What’s the problem?” Devin asked.

“The elderly are in really bad shape, worse from the stress and poor diet. Without the proper accommodations, I don’t think they will fare well on the bus. It’s going to complicate their already-poor health and might be dangerous for them.”

“More dangerous than staying here?” Nick sounded edgy, which was out of character.

Things must be bad
, Thorn thought.

“Do you have any other options?” Devin asked, ignoring his friend.

“A second bus.”

Nick laughed.

“Lee County was a huge school district. You can’t tell me we have the only damn bus in the area,” Thorn argued.

“No, probably not, and the one we have is not going far.”

“What?”

“Webster found a bigger problem than second gear. There’s a hole in the transmission pan. Without a replacement, we’re gonna need to refill the thing every twenty miles or so,” Devin told him.

“Damn. So we go out tonight and find two buses and bring them back.”

“That’s the second problem.” Nick added.

“Isn’t there a bus depot right up the street?”

“There is, but the front entrance is a three-bus pileup. It’s why we haven’t replaced our bus. We’d need a very large tow truck that we haven’t found yet to move that mess.”

“Well, we need to find one. If we can keep the sick folks comfortable and prone, it might work out. If not, I’m afraid we’ll be stopping often to bury them.”

Devin nodded and said to Nick, “It may be easier than trying to fix that mess Webster has out there.”

Webster walked in; his hands were red, and Thorn’s first thought was that he had injured himself. On closer inspection, he saw it was red transmission fluid.

“That bus is good for a few miles, but we need a new one,” Webster said.

“Yep,” Devin agreed, “that seems to be the plan. Let’s get everyone together and figure this shit out.”

In the cafeteria, the faces showed a mix of frustration and exhaustion. It was obvious that each was having their own issues.

“Okay,” Devin said in a loud voice, “we need to get some updates and work out some of these problems.”

“Transportation is the big concern right now,” Webster started, but Devin held up his hand to stop him.

“I know, but let’s start with some of the smaller stuff first. Caroline, how does the supply situation look?”

“Well, there’s no way to carry everything we need, so I’m focused on food and water, but we’ll need to stop along the way to replenish the supplies.”

“Susan, how about the medical supplies?”

“Based on the current illnesses and the medicine we’ll need, such as antibiotics, I think we can carry a ninety-day supply.”

“It’s too much,” Nick said. “We have to conserve space for other things too.”

“I understand that,” Susan countered, “but some of these medicines won’t be easily found on the road, and we can’t risk running out.”

Devin thought for a moment.

“Susan, reduce it to forty-five days.”

Susan looked to Thorn, but he just nodded his agreement.

“Austin, Ann, how’s the transportation?”

“Assuming we have the bus worked out, we have enough room with the three SUVs. We’ll divide the supplies evenly, so in case we lose one SUV, we have backups in the other vehicles.”

“Brandon, Brad, how about the route planning?”

“Still working it out. We don’t know what your dad suggested, so we are taking our best guess at population avoidance.”

“Okay, so it doesn’t sound that bad.”

Before he could finish, everyone began talking at once. Clearly, there were issues with storage, the amount of ammunition to take compared to water, who would drive, and what other things were needed that someone took off the list.

“Hold on, hold on,” Devin yelled. “Okay, I get it, it’s not perfect. Here’s the deal. Let’s get everything we want or need to take in the back hallway. From there, we can pack and see how much room we have and what we have to sacrifice. The real problem is finding two buses. Dr. Thorn will explain.”

“As you are all aware, the older folks are very ill. Placing them on a bus with the children will create real problems. First, most of them need to lie down, as they can’t hold themselves up. Second, a bus full of kids is not a very peaceful environment. Beyond that, the close proximity will be bad for both the elderly and the children. I don’t need to remind you of the incontinence problems that exist or the other less than pleasant attributes of their particular ailments. The bottom line is the environment won’t be healthy for the children or the sick.”

“So we need a second bus,” Devin said, and Webster nodded.

“Yes, and maybe a third,” Webster added. “The one we have is in rough shape.”

“We need a small group to go recon a wrecker that can clear the pileup from the bus terminal. Then we need Webster to find the best models, drive them back here, and pull most of the seats from one so people can lie down,” Devin said.

“The second bus will solve some of our storage problems,” Caroline added.

“Yep,” Adam said, “and makes us a big yellow beacon for every Creeper from here to Wyoming.”

The group nodded. A second bus meant they would move even slower and have the additional challenge of protecting two vehicles.

“Hey, we have a problem at the gate!” One of the triplets yelled from the cafeteria doorway. “Come on, quick,” he called and then ran toward the exit as the group followed.

Sweet gravy, we’re going rogue

The triplets, Josh, John, and Joseph, stood in the dark, about fifteen feet from the fence.

“What’s going on?” Devin asked.

“This,” one of the boys said, and he turned on his flashlight and shined it at the fence.

“Oh my God,” Caroline whispered.

Connor stood on the other side of the fence. His face was burned from the black bile, and a flap of skin hung from his cheek. His eyes were cloudy blue, and his mouth held open in a hungry silent growl.

“Connor?” Devin called.

“Not anymore,” Thorn whispered.

“What is he doing here?” Nick asked.

“Hey, aren’t one of you supposed to be in the lighthouse?” Brandon asked the triplets.

“Yes, but I wanted to come see.”

“Get your ass up there, and be ready to turn on those lights,” Brandon said in a harsh whisper. “Where are Brittney and Vanessa?”

“They’re inside on hall duty.”

“Tell them to get to the main gym and keep their eyes open for trouble.”

The kid ran back to the school.

“Give me that flashlight real quick,” Devin said and took it from one of the boys. “I want a closer look.”

Thorn grabbed his arm. “Let’s be careful. Remember the bile.”

Some of the group moved forward, Thorn among them. The light didn’t seem to bother the Connor Creeper, as he just stood and glared. As they drew closer, he made a soft growling sound that grew louder with each step they took toward him.

“Connor, do you understand me?” Devin asked.

Connor responded by taking hold of the fence and shaking it. He screamed, and the group fell back a step.

“We need to fuckin’ kill that thing,” Austin said.

“I agree,” Adam said as Austin unshouldered his rifle.

“I’ll do it,” Devin said and took the gun from his brother. “He was my friend.”

Devin took a few steps closer and Connor’s agitation grew. He shook the fence harder and hissed at Devin. Devin raised the gun and prepared to shoot. The Connor thing screamed, did an awkward back flip, and then scurried into a hole in the ground.

“He knew,” Devin said in amazement. “He knew I was gonna kill him.”

“Holy shit,” someone said.

“Lighthouse, light it up out here.”

The bright arc lights came on and bathed the parking lot and grass perimeter in bluish glow. Beyond the fence were over fifty mounds.

“We’re in trouble here,” Brandon said.

“Okay, new plan, we need to get out tonight and fast,” Thorn said.

“I agree, Doc. Everyone grab a weapon, and let’s pack up. You two,” Devin said to the remaining triplets, “watch those mounds until we get back here, and call if there is any movement.”

The boys nodded, but the fear was evident on their faces.

As the group ran back to the school, Devin called out instructions.

“Webster, the bus?”

“I’ll get together what I can.”

“Nick, Ann, and Austin, get weapons, and get back out here to watch the fence. Brandon, Adam, and Brad, take two SUVs to the back entrance and work with Caroline and Susan to pack up as much as we can. Goldie, make sure nothing sneaks in the back hallways. When the bus is ready, we start loading the kids and the elderly.”

The group split into their teams and went to work.

Devin and Thorn watched Webster pour the last can of transmission fluid.

“She’s as ready as she’s gonna be.”

Devin keyed his walkie-talkie.

“Adam, how’s it going?”

“We’re good back here. Supplies for the SUVs are loaded, but we’ve got a ton more.”

“Okay, the bus is ready. Come drive it around back and load it up.”

“Roger.”

“I think we’re good,” Devin said, and then everything went to hell.

Austin, Nick, and Annie stood a few feet from the fence and watched the mounds for movement. Two of the three triplets still stood back fifteen feet. The pavement rippled beneath the boys’ feet and then pitched one of them toward the fence. The other dropped into the ground up to his chest and screamed.

The Creepers had tunneled under the fence. They dug their way through to the surface. A thirty-foot-long line of pavement collapsed into the ground. A four-foot-wide trough cut Austin, Nick, and Annie off from a quick retreat. The Creepers emerged from the ground as the three turned from the fence. The second triplet panicked and ran toward the school. He tried to jump over the trough, but a hand came up and grabbed his leg. He fell half in and half out of the hole, and then they dragged him under. Austin and Nick fired on the Creepers, and Annie unsheathed her twin blades and waded into the advancing horde.

“Webster, get the bus—,” Devin began, but before he could finish, Webster ran toward the trough with pistol in hand. He jumped the ravine and rolled onto the pavement, coming up quickly to fire at the Creepers.

“Adam, we’ve got a breach,” Devin yelled into the walkie-talkie. “Get this bus loaded.”

Devin unshouldered his shotgun and ran to help his friends.

Thorn stood, uncertain. Help the group out here, or help with the evacuation. In a few seconds, he saw that the majority of the Creepers were attacking the group pinned between the trough and the fence. The infected might have gained a new intelligence, but their drive to feed still outweighed their other functions. Thorn ran toward the trough. He wondered if he ran from his last chance for survival.

Adam and Brandon reached the bus and stared in disbelief at the scene before them. Beyond the trough, their friends stood in a broken line, fighting the Creepers. The horde came up from the ground in overwhelming numbers, and it was clear the group could not hold them back for long.

“We’ve got to help,” Adam said and took a step forward, but Brandon grabbed his arm.

“Not yet. We have to load this bus or all this is for nothing. Come on, we’ll go quick and then come back.”

“They’re gonna die out there. Those are our best friends.”