Zombie High Chronicles (Book 1)

by Amy Miles

“Why should we?” Another soldier asks. “There’s a bunker here, right? Why don’t we just use it?”

  Mac rolls his eyes as I move toward his man. “And what happens if we let the school be breached and those things out there stick around for a while. Sure we can survive down there for a while. We have food, cots and supplies but eventually they will run out. Do you really want to come out of that bunker half-starved and weak to find a hoard of those things surrounding you?”

  “You’ve made a fair point, kid,” Mac says, stepping forward to shove his man back.

  “My name is Roan.”

  “Fair enough. What’s the plan, Roan?”

  “We have worked hard to lock this place down and I intend to use you to help fortify it. While we may not all be experienced we are desperate and that makes us useful. You stay out of our way and we will stay out of yours. Load up on ammo, grab a spare window and set up shop. The war is coming to us.”

  Mac looks at each of his men as a symphony of gunfire tears through the silence of the gymnasium and I glance toward Ember.

  “Those were ours!” She turns and runs back through the double doors.

  “Mac, are your men good on ammo?”

  “For now.”

  “Good. Then let’s go see what we are dealing with out there.”

  “Bunch of freakin’ druggies, if you ask me. Did you see their eyes?” I hear someone mutter from behind me as we take off running, following Ember back through the maze. I stop only to secure the doors behind us after everyone else makes it through.

  “You know those locks won’t be good enough,” Mac says as he jogs beside me.

  “I do. I just haven’t had the manpower to change it yet. That’s where you come in. Someone will have to team up to create a barricade on the gym doors but I can’t risk a single body yet until I know what we were up against. If it comes down to it we can blow the gym.”

  He gives me a look that I don’t have time to analyze as Ember hits the main door leading to the foyer and I follow right behind.

  “Bex, Vaughn, and Lathan get on that eastern wing and start blocking it off behind us. Flynn, run up and check on Roderick and the others. Make sure they are safe.” As I yell out orders, a flurry of activity begins. Soldiers immediately take up positions at each of the windows without needing to be told. Four head upstairs with Ember, sniper rifles at the ready. I want to be up there with her but I know I will be needed on the ground floor.

  The scrapping of desks and chairs grate on my already frayed nerves as I risk a glance outside. Through the windows of the buses that have been parked nose to end in the gap between the two fences, I can see movement. More of those things have arrived. I want to call them Dead Heads or even Lame Brains but the names no longer seem fitting. What is standing outside our doors, yanking on the fencing and growling like feral animals are nothing like the mindless creatures we have come to know and expect.

  “Any idea what caused them to be like that?” I call over to Mac. He has leaned over a stack of chairs and is using a pair of binoculars to look out.

  “My guess...a big mistake.”

  I shift my focus to look over at him and frown. “I guess we weren’t the only ones being lied to, were we?”

  “Nope. They only tell us what we need to know and apparently that,” he jabs his finger toward the window, “was a need to know basis.”

  I glance down at the radio tucked into my belt. “It’s too quiet out there.”

  Mac nods. “Went dead a while back. If no one is squawking they’ve got a good reason for it.”

  “Sure,” I raise my gun and look down the sights, “because they are all dead.”

  I don’t like how easily it is to say those words. There was a time that death didn’t seem so normal or quite so expected. Have we really become this callous in only three short months? Have we become that accustomed to the inevitability of it all that we just accept it with a mere shrug of the shoulders and move on?

  What if this time it isn’t that easy? What if death will no longer be slow and with a sort of peaceful grace as people lose themselves, but instead know that when we go it will be horrific and painful before we are turned into some snarling monster the likes of which are now capable of haunting my waking dreams to replace Susie Pellagrino.

  Something has changed the Dead Heads to make them both violent and alert. I’ve already seen the lady gunned down not two days ago as she stood at the gates watching the soldiers with obvious interest, but that is a far cry from what is staring me down from the other end of my scope.

  “If they come over that fence, shoot right between the eyes. It’s the only way to kill them,” I call out.

  “How does he know that?” a soldier calls from several feet away.

  Mac pulls back from his binoculars to look at me. “How do you know that?”

  “Because there are two more of those things stuffed in a supply closet upstairs. They attacked her earlier today.”

  Exchanging a glance with Ugly Face, Mac steps back and I am instantly replaced by my nemesis. Mac motions for me to step into a classroom with him and then shuts the door.

  “I need to know what you know so I can warn my men.”

  “All I know is that even when they are dead, they aren’t really.”

  “So like a zombie?”

  I laugh. “Well, you did see the new name for the school out front, right? Zombie High? Guess that joke came back to bite us.”

  Mac nods. “What else.”

  “There’s only one kill shot that I know works: go for the brain. My mom tried to warn me earlier…” the instant I mention her my legs go weak and I reach out for a table to steady me. “Sorry. It’s just that she’s still out there.”

  Mac claps me on the shoulder and holds me tight, forcing me to focus on him. “Focus, kid. You’ve got lives depending on you so it’s time to man up just like you did to me a while ago. What else do you know?”

  “Nothing. I mean I have my suspicions about what they’re doing with our blood and know some weird things were going on in that lab that blew up but I don’t know how or what those things are outside any more than you do.”

  He thinks it over for a moment before he releases me. “So what’s your plan then, kid?”

  “Same as it has been. We fortify this place for now. If we can find a way to sneak out we will send a group in search for survivors, but only if it’s safe to do so. If those things storm the school we need to be prepared to blow this joint and fall back to the bunker. If there’s nothing left standing those things might move off and leave us alone. It’s a long shot but it might work.”

  “Seems logical enough. You rigged the explosives yet?”

  “Nope. I’ve been too busy washing my hair,” I snap. “What do I look like? A bomb expert?”

  “There’s the fire I saw earlier,” he grins. “I’ll get my men on that.”

  “Good.” I work to slow my breathing. “We will work in shifts, rotating every four hours. We need men posted on the upper floors as lookouts with sniper rifles and others rigging explosives on the exits that we can’t cover well enough.”

  “I like the way you think. And your mom?”

  I force myself to take a moment to compartmentalize my fears for her safety before I respond. “Somehow she knew what she was getting herself into when she left. She did it to give us a chance and as much as I’d love to go charging out there to find her, I’m here, for better or worse.”

  The older man grins then spits some chew onto the floor. I notice for the first time a lump in his lower lip, mostly hidden by the bulk of his beard. “Sounds like we will make a fine team. I’ll get some men on moving your crew into the bunker.”

  “Thanks,” I call after he turns to leave.

  “Don’t think that this makes us friends, though.” He calls over his shoulder and heads into the hallway.

  Sinking back against the wall of tables stacked high against the windows, I allow myself a moment to think about my parent
s. My dad is miles away, probably still locked up safely in the underbelly of the CDC. My mom is who knows where and most likely dead or on her way to being dead. Never before have I felt so alone.

  “Hey, Roan?” I look up to see Flynn standing in the doorway. His eyes are wide and his fingers tremble at his sides where his arms hang limp. “I think you need to come see this.”

  Rubbing at my eyes, I stifle a groan and head into the hall. How many hours has it been since I slept? Too many to count for sure. I’ve definitely missed a few meals along the way too and I know that I will regret that later.

  “What’s up?” I ask.

  Four people turn to look at me when I approach but no one speaks. Their eyes are wide with fright as they slowly turn back toward the windows. I rush forward and poke my head between the legs of a chair and fall still.

  They are gone. Not a single Dead Head stands at the fence, though chunks of flesh remained in several places.

  “Where did they go?” Bex calls. Contrary to her usual tough exterior she looks like a mess with the gothic style black shadow around her eyes smudged down her cheeks and her pale skin nearly translucent in the daylight streaming through the windows.

  “They don’t like light,” I whisper.

  “Come again,” Mac says, stepping back from his conversation with two soldiers to listen.

  “I noticed it when one of your men turned on the flood lights over that big rig outside. The Dead Heads cowered back when it hit them. I guess the sun doesn’t make them too happy either.”

  “Great. Just great. Everyone loves it when creepy monsters only come out at night, when it’s hard to see and scary at all get out,” Flynn grumbles to himself.

  “What the hell—” I cut him off as I see movement off to my right. Craning to look around the chairs, I watch as a lone man appears at the perimeter fence. He walked with his fingers running along the metal, his head tilted down to watch where he walks.

  As I glance to the foreground nearest the bushes I saw puddles of blood and gore. Something got to the soldier who foolishly remained outside. Did they get too close to the fence or had the Dead Heads learned how to climb?

  I don’t see any evidence of smeared blood on the buses that stands between the fences. “What happened to your men?”

  Mac swallows and I notice how pale his skin has grown behind his beard. “That’s the other reason your friend called you. She came out of nowhere and jumped them from behind.”

  “She? I didn’t realize you had a female soldier with your group.”

  I turn to look at where he is pointing and see a body sprawled near the bushes. A torn torso lies beside it. Squinting to see, it almost looks like the body is twitching. I reach out to grab Mac’s binoculars to get a better look but Flynn grabs hold of my arm to stop me. “Don’t.”

  “Why not?”

  He hangs his head. “It’s Darby.”

  “What? How is that even possible? She was standing guard with Austin.”

  I glance over to find Austin sitting against the back wall with his knees to his chest and his head hung low as he sobs. “He doesn’t know how she got out. She went to the bathroom before we left and he never saw her again after that. He says he went looking for her but when he checked the bathroom she was gone. He had only barely got back to his post at the door when we arrived and rushed in.”

  “But that’s impossible. We checked the gym and found nothing. There couldn’t be another one of those things in the school.”

  “Obviously, there was,” Flynn whispers and drops his head.

  Mac steps up and clears his throat. “I’m sure sorry for your loss but we’ve got bigger issues to deal with.”

  “Like what?” Austin asks, lifting his head high enough for everyone to see his tears.

  “Like how she managed to get out when that room was locked down. You’ve got a hole somewhere and if she was smart enough to get out, she’s smart enough to lead something back in.”

  I fall back against the wall and close my eyes. I’ve lost one of my own to carelessness. Austin was right. I should never have sent anyone with him. My fear for his safety put someone else in danger. From now on I can’t risk trusting the word of other people. If I want to know that a space is cleared I am going to have to do it myself.

  “Fine. Let’s deal with the facts. Darby went to the bathroom and never came back. Austin obviously didn’t see any foul play or he would have alerted us so she was attacked somewhere else. I need a team assembled and armed. We have a hole to fill and possibly a Dead Head to take down. Any volunteers?”

  “No need for that, Roan.” Mac steps forward. With a snap of his fingers, four men appear. “We’ll handle that. You take care of your man over there. Guilt over the loss of an innocent can wreak havoc on a man’s mind.”

  “Thank you, Mac.”

  As his men moved off, I turn to Flynn. “She can’t have been bitten more than an hour ago, probably less. That means she turned, or whatever it's called, fast. We need to get a better understand of how this is happening.”

  “It’s the bite mark, obviously.” I look up to see Roderick sitting on the stairwell.

  “You’re supposed to be keeping an eye on everyone upstairs.

  “And I have but Sammy is playing the dutiful nurse so I felt that my keen intellect might come in handy. Apparently, I was correct in my assumption. The bite marks are new, correct? That makes it easy to theorize this is the site of transference.”

  “Ok,” I turn to face him. “Why would they be afraid of the light?”

  Roderick thinks for a moment, tapping his finger to his lip. “Perhaps it is not fear at all but a natural reaction. A nocturnal animal forced into daylight would be blinded by the brilliance of the sun. Perhaps it is nothing more than an evolutionary advancement that has caused them to rely on the night.”

  “Well, ain’t that just great,” Clockman says, resting his gun against his hip. “Killer things with a hankering for human meat who have built in night vision. Nothing to worry about there, huh?”

  Flynn starts to bite back but I stop him. “No, maybe Clockman and Roderick are right? What if these things rely on the night to see?”

  “So what?” Austin says, using the wall to help him to his feet.

  Several of the people around me slowly begin to draw closer as I think aloud. “What are those lights out there powered by, Mac?”

  “Most solar power but they can be rigged to run off electricity if needs be.”

  “And do you have someone in your crew capable of that?”

  “Sure,” he nods and points to a man. “Smalls is about the best handyman I know. He’s pretty good with just about anything you throw at him. Why?”

  “I think we need to use this downtime to prepare. Find every reflective surface you can find and pile it up here.” I turn and look at the people around me, finally feeling as if I have a plan. “We’re going to light proof this place.”

  “What about Darby?” I look up to see that Ember has come down from her post above.

  “Are we sure that she has turned?” I look to Flynn.

  “Darby was eating that dude’s stomach, Roan. She’s gone.”

  With a heavy sigh, I look up to Ember and nod. “Take her out.”

  I feel empty inside when Ember turns to follow the command to kill Darby for the second time. It’s my fault. I was in charge. I should have been more thorough. One look at Austin reveals that he has shouldered the guilt but I know where it truly rests.

  “Let’s get moving people. We only have so many hours of daylight until they return.”

  People scramble to get to work as I walk through the commotion, numb to it all. Never before have I felt the overwhelming weight of leadership. I was a fool to think that I could keep these people safe. I knew there would be casualties but not because of carelessness. My focus should have been sharper and my emotions kept in better check.

  If we are going to make it through the night I am going to have to step up a
nd make the hard decisions.

  “Roan?”

  I turn to see Mac standing at the front door with his binoculars raised. “You need to come and see this.”

  “Ember will take care of Darby and securing the gym takes priority.”

  “No.” He pulls back to look at me. “I think this does.”

  I know by the tone of his voice that whatever this is, it’s enough to make this badass of a man worry.

  Hurrying to his side, I lean over his shoulder to where he points out a man standing on top of a school bus, between the fences. I have no idea how he got up there and no one else seems to have noticed his presence but I recognize him as the one who was walking along the fence, trailing his fingers over the metal. “It’s only one of them, Mac. Ember can take him out from upstairs—”

  That’s when the Dead Head turns and looks toward the building. His eyes are not like the others, lacking in the red streaks that we have seen before. His eyes are pure white, wide and unblinking. His skin is pallid and flaking in places. There is a wide chunk of flesh missing from his cheek and stretching across his nose. His left foot is turned inward and bent at an awkward angle as he shifts closer to the fence.

  He lifts his nose to the air and sniffs then his head jerks around to look straight at me.

  I cry out and stumble back from the window. Mac catches me just before my knees give out and Flynn is instantly at my side as the Dead Heads steps forward. Filthy, blood-soaked fingers curl around the fence as he locks his gaze on me.

  “Roan? You ok, man?” Flynn slaps my cheek.

  A wave of nausea wells up within me and I fight to stuff it back down. “I know him.”

  “Yeah, I figure we will all see someone we know eventually. I guess that’s part of it,” Mac says but I cut him off.

  “No.” I look up at both of them without really seeing them. “You don’t understand. That thing out that is my dad. I think he tracked me here.”

  Looking up into the faces of the people around me, I know that when night comes my dad will return and with him an army of our friends, families and the soldiers who were sworn to protect us. I don’t know how we will make it through the night, but I’m not going down without a fight!