Zombie High Chronicles (Book 1)

by Amy Miles

  As I begin to mount the stairs, I turn back. All around me are scared kids, most of whom have never held a gun before in their life. To my surprise, I see that Ugly Face now stands off to the side giving an impromptu lesson in gun etiquette to Darby, Paislee, Teegan, and Bex. I am pretty sure that he is only doing it so he doesn’t end up with a bullet in his ass cheeks on accident when the poop hits the fan.

  “Go on without me,” I call up to Ember and walk over to Teegan. “What do you think you’re doing?”

  “Learning how to shoot.”

  “That’s not happening,” I yank her away and underestimate the extra weight she is carrying in the front and nearly end up with her on top of me. Pushing her upright, I begin pulling her away again but this time with a bit more care. “This is not your fight.”

  “Like hell, it’s not. Those monsters experimented on me, Roan. I deserve to take a couple of them down.”

  “And your baby? What does he deserve?” She opens her mouth to protest but slowly closes it again. “I’m not losing you over some blind idiotic need for revenge, Teegan. Learn when to walk away so that you can strike a deadly blow later.”

  “Is that some corny line from a movie?”

  “Nah. I just made that up, but it works, right?”

  Despite her obvious desire to hold on to her righteous anger, she caves and smiles. “Yeah, a little bit. Not exactly award winning but I’ll let it slide.”

  I give Flynn a nod where he is stationed at the front door and then climb the stairs with Teegan until we reach the third floor. I want her as far away from the danger as I can get her.

  Opening the supply closet I pass Teegan off to Kinsley. “Don’t let her out of your sight.”

  “What do I look like, a babysitter?” She pops a gum bubble and I’m reminded why she was one of the first I exiled up here.

  “No. You look like a prissy little witch with a stick shoved so far up her backside that it's coming out of your turned up nose, but what do I know?” I slam the door in her face.

  “Dude, how can you talk like that to her?” I turn at the sound of a voice behind me to see Lathan materialize from the shadows. “She’s the cutest girl her.”

  “Riiiight,” I drawl out, staring at his lovesick expression with a mixture of revulsion and empathy. “Look, that girl is way too much crazy for a guy like you. Let it go. Trust me, you’ll thank me later.”

  I could almost feel Kinsley's eye daggers from the other side of the door when I hear her cry of indignation followed by swearing that would make any sailor proud. I just shrug and head down the hall, pausing in the first doorway. “You good?”

  “Aw. Are you worried about me?” Ember glances up from where she sits perched on a window sill, cloaked in near darkness. She will lose that cover soon enough. The sky is growing bright much too quickly and soon we will all be exposed.

  “Not at all.” I step up beside her and look at the forces spread out across the lawn. A single RPG would bust a hole through our defenses but I don’t think they will risk it. Not with us sitting on top of a bomb of their own making. It’s amazing how it's the small things in life that come back to bite you in the ass. “Just making sure you don’t fall asleep and leave me hanging.”

  “You say the sweetest things. If I didn’t know better, Roan, I’d say you were flirting.”

  I scoff. “Trust me, when I flirt with you, you’ll know about it.”

  “Same here.” When I turn to look at her she lunges forward and seizes my face in her hands, planting a kiss on my lips. I splutter at first, taken off guard by her advance but quickly regain my composure when I realize that she tastes of honey and vanilla.

  I sink into the kiss and set down my rifle down on the ledge so that I can grab her by the waist and draw her in close. She is petite but toned and fits perfectly into my hands as I lift her up and press her back against the wall. As she wraps her legs around my hips and grinds against me I am pretty sure that I’d be willing to forget the army waiting outside our doors just for a few moments alone with her.

  A throat clears behind us and I break off the kiss to see Lathan standing awkwardly in the door. “Um, yeah, so Flynn gave the signal. Thought you ought to know.”

  Ember grins over my shoulder and shoos Lathan away then she sucks my lower lip into her mouth only to bite down on it before releasing her grasp on me. “This isn’t over. When we live through this, I expect you to come find me.”

  She pushes out of my arms and turns away, dismissing me as if she hasn’t just lit a freakin’ fire in my pants and left me to fend for myself.

  Sure, like I’ll be able to focus now!

  I grab my gun and what few shreds of my dignity remain and head for my post three classrooms down, knowing that I will never live that kiss, or my reaction to it, down. While I go through the motions of checking my scope for the third time, I try not to think about the dead body in the supply closet at the other end of the room. In time, we will have to dispose of Tompkins but for now stashing him was the easiest form of disposal.

  The instant my thoughts return to Ember I know I was right about her. She is sinfully and deliciously dangerous and I loved every minute of it.

  “You ready?” She shouts from down the hall.

  “I was born ready. Just try to keep up.”

  I don’t hear her retort because I open fire. Soldiers below run for cover for not before I take four out in a row, downing them with shots to their backs as they flee. A barrage of bullets ping off of the metal hulls of the armored vehicles as Ember and I work to herd the soldiers into two groups, located in front of the very windows our teen soldiers man down below.

  Within seconds, the calm of the morning becomes a wild and chaotic scene as return fire lights up the courtyard. Bits of brick and mortar fill the air as high powered machine guns tear at the school building. From somewhere below I can hear Ugly Face shouting orders and Flynn relaying them to his side of the school.

  That’s when I see something in the distance and feel my skin go cold. “Ember?”

  “I see it. What do you think it is?”

  “Whatever it is, it doesn’t look good!”

  Within seconds of my statement, a building directly ahead of me explodes in a dome of brilliant white light. The blast rattles the windows and sends the soldiers below diving for the ground. The heat soon follows and I can feel it pushing through the window in front of me. I turn away as the cloud of smoke rises into the air and flames eat away at the remains.

  The radio propped up on the windowsill beside me crackles to life. “Sanitation of alpha lab ineffective. Containment breach in Quadrant 7 is not contained. I repeat. The containment breach in quadrant—” the man speaking breaks off with a shrill scream and only static follows.

  I lower my gun and stare at the receiver. In the final moments of darkness, I stand and stare at the flickers of gunfire in the distance around the fire. Hundreds of flashes of light appear and disappear in rapid succession. Brilliant strobe lights burst to life around the compound and sirens begin to blare.

  This is a full-scale emergency.

  Ember startles me when she appears at my shoulder as the last bullet flies through the air and slams into a lower window, shattering it. I hear a scream of pain from below and then silence.

  “I’m scared,” she whispers as we watch the soldiers below us scrambling to return to their vehicles. Whatever it is happening on the other end of the base has been deemed far more important than taking back the school and that means one thing: we are at risk of being overrun.

  Through the shattered window before me, I withdraw the barrel of my rifle and listen.

  “Can you hear them screaming?” Ember presses in close to my side.

  I nod and slide my arm around her waist. “There’s nothing we can do for them.”

  “But your mom and our families are out there!”

  A lump forms in my throat as I force myself to look away. Did my mom know this was coming? Was she somehow a part
of it? I suspected when she arrived this morning that she had been promoted to working in the main lab. Who else would they trust to grant full access to the fallout shelter under the pretense of keeping things normal? She knew things, had seen things and tried to warn me. Yes, I do think she knew this breach was coming but I would never believe for a second that she initiated it.

  “What Quadrant did they say?”

  I step away from the window and settle my rifle against my shoulder as I head for the door. “It’s the hospital.”

  “Oh, Roan, that’s where your mom works, right? I’m so sorry.” She rushes to catch up with me as I pause to check on Lathan and warn him to keep everyone away from the windows and then head downstairs.

  We take the stairs three at a time. Somehow Ember stays up with me as we throw ourselves around each bend and attack the next set of stairs until we reached the bottom floor where silence reigns. I can see a couple of students sitting off to the corner nursing injuries. Two of the teachers are lying on the floor of the gun cage when we pass by but I didn’t have time to care.

  “Flynn!”

  “Yeah, I’m here.” He turns away from the front door and holds out his hand to me. I took it and nod. “That was crazy, right? I mean that building just imploded.”

  “I know.” I try not to think about whether my mom was there when it happened. Judging by the screams, I almost hope that she was so that she wasn’t left to suffer. “What’s happening with the guys outside?”

  “They turned tail and ran, man,” Vaughn shouts and several other students join in cheering. Ember shoots me a glance and I know she is just as on edge as I was. I grab hold of Flynn and move him further away.

  “Did you hear the radio call?”

  “Nah, it was chaos down here, man. All shouting and crying. I didn’t hear a thing.”

  I glance down at the lifeless radio in my hand. “That building was sanitized.”

  “Wait,” he grabs onto my hand. “You’re saying that was done on purpose.”

  I nod. “And the last thing we heard was that the breach was not contained.”

  “Oh, shit.” He slumps back against the wall and runs his hands through his sweaty hair. “So all of that shooting and the soldiers leaving...they are still fighting, aren’t they?”

  “Yeah, and it doesn’t look good. Whatever it is out there, it’s bigger than anything we’ve faced. Ember and I saw hundreds of guns firing out there, Flynn. What if,” I swallow hard, “What if these are the things that got Tompkins and that other guy?”

  Flynn goes pale. “We can’t let them get in!”

  “My thoughts exactly. How secure are we?”

  Scratching his head, Flynn begins to slowly shake his head. “We’re good, I mean decent enough to last a bit, but if we’re up against something like Tompkins I don’t know, man. That thing was super strong, right? Like it could tumble over that tower of chairs and tables by itself?”

  I nod, feeling my stomach flip flop again.

  Flynn blows out a breath. “Well, then I think we are officially screwed. That’s how we are doing.”

  “Ok, then we make sure they don’t get in.”

  “How?”

  I kick at the wall and feel only a small amount of relief from the pain growing in my chest when I stub my toe hard. “We barricade from the outside as well.”

  12

  PLAYING NICE WITH THE ENEMY ISN’T SO NICE...

  With a whistle I grab Jacobson and Clockman’s attention and usher them into a room down the hall.

  “You both up to speed on what’s going on outside?”

  Jacobson looks to Clockman. “We know that something made those soldiers bugger off and the only thing that would do that is a full-scale attack.”

  “Exactly.” I take a step toward them and Ugly Face bristles. “You two have any idea what it was they were holding in that hospital?”

  “People,” Jacobson says but Ugly Face looks away.

  I shift and walk straight up to where he has sunk down on the edge of a desk. “Something you want to tell me, Clockman?”

  “Nope.”

  “Are you sure? Because from what I’ve heard the sanitization of that lab didn’t work. Seems like the breach wasn’t contained and from the view upstairs there’s a whole lot of your buddies out there dying.”

  A muscle along his jaw twitches. “It was above my pay grade.”

  “But people talk, right? I mean, you look like the sort who could bribe a bit of information out of someone when he wants to.”

  When Ugly Face shrugs, I lean in close enough to properly breach his personal space. “You don’t like me, and believe me when I say that the feeling is mutual but I think we both can agree that whatever it is they were playing with in that lab is not something we want getting in here, right?”

  Clockman nods. “That doesn't mean I plan on taking orders from a punk like you. Maybe I’d rather take my chances on the outside.”

  “Screw that. I’d rather take my chances out there.”

  “Be my guest.” I hold up my hand toward the direction of the blockade at the front door. “Just know that when they come, and they are coming, I’ll be the one putting a bullet through your brain when you try to get back inside.”

  Clockman’s face shifts through several colors before settling on a pallid white.

  “Now that I’ve made myself clear, why don’t we work together as partners before they get here?”

  “They?” Jacobson steps closer. “What’s he talking about?”

  “Ain’t nothing for you to be worrying about, Jacobson. Just keep your head down and your finger on that trigger. This kid here seems to have a plan and I think we should listen to it.” Clockman looks as if he’s swallowed a bad tasting pill without water when he says it.

  “But I thought you said—”

  “Forget what I said, ok? We’re doing this now.”

  I watch the interaction in silence. Once Clockman seems to have Jacobson under control I make my play.

  “There are a few soldiers that have remained behind, I assume to man the post. Did you see any of them out there that might be willing to switch sides in exchange for shelter?”

  Ugly Face scowls but nods. “Yeah, I know a few but only when I had good reason to.”

  “And do you feel that they have a good reason now?”

  Clockman spits to the side. “I reckon it's the best reason I’ve ever given them.”

  “Good,” I turn and walk toward the exit, pausing in the doorway for them to join me, “then let’s go roll out the welcoming mat and do a bit of barricading while we are at it.”

  Austin greets us in the hall, limping on his bad leg but I’m relieved to see that he’s at least wrapped a bandage around it. I know that Flynn has filled him on by the look of panic lingering in his eyes but he keeps himself together and I admire him for that. His sister is out there, most likely dead or dying but he’s finding a way to be here, in the present with me. I guess he and I can relate to that struggle.

  “The only way out now is through the rear doors in the gym. The lock was broken and we’ve only managed to put a chain on it for now. It is our weakest point but perhaps it will go unnoticed until we have a chance to correct that.”

  Clockman scratches at the stubble on his cheek. “That won't be good enough. We will need to create a proper barricade once we get back inside if there’s time.”

  Jacobson shifts beside him as Austin and I exchange a glance. We are at least three miles from the hospital explosion. Best case scenario is that we have an hour, or a little less before they get here if the soldiers can slow them down and they don't make any detours. From what we saw of Tompkins upstairs, these things move fast and are strong. I would place my bet on the fact that we have far less than an hour.

  “Head down that corridor and meet me at the double doors. I’ll be there in just a moment.” I say and then pull Austin aside. “I don’t want you near that door in case anything happens, not with your leg
like that.”

  “Who else are you going to get that’s crazy enough to stand at the door?”

  I look around me and see only fear looking back at me. Austin is right, even if the others don't fully know what’s happening, I can’t ask someone who has no clue about the threat bearing down on us to take his place. They wouldn’t react properly unless they had someone there to warn them.

  “I’d feel a lot better about you having someone else with you.”

  “Who do you have in mind?”

  I glance all around and see several people working to reload guns and others bandaging up the injured students. One girl catches my eye. “Darby seems eager to help. Why not let her be there to close the door in case you need help?”

  “Darby? Really? Have you heard the way she talks?”

  I snicker. “Well, yeah she’s a bit of a chipmunk but she would at least keep you company.”

  “Or drive me batty.”

  “That too,” I laugh.

  “Fine, but just make sure you get your ass back through that door in plenty of time so I can hobble my lame butt back to safety without asking her for help. Deal?”

  I smile. “You’re alright, Austin.”

  “I keep telling people that but do they ever believe me?”

  Stretching out my hand, I seize his wrist and press my spare .45 caliber into his palm. “Don’t turn your back on those two and do not go outside those doors.”

  “Right.” He nods and tests the weight of the gun. I can tell that he is not comfortable holding the weapon. Taking it back, I show him where the safety is and how to make sure there is a round in the chamber.

  “And Austin, if you see anything unusual out there, put a bullet through its forehead and lock the door.”

  “Trust me, I’ll shoot first and then ask forgiveness later if anyone tries to get through that door without you!”

  I watch from between a stack of chairs at the front entrance as Ugly Face and Jacobson walk out from around the side of the building with their hands in the air. The soldiers are instantly on alert at their approach.