by M. Evans
The Orphans
By M. Evans
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Dedicated to my wife and children always ready to put up with one of my crazy ideas. Always supportive of my writing, I love you all.
With special thanks to Diane Evans, Chris & Amber Taylor and the awesome administrators at All Things Zombie Facebook Jeff Clare and Danielle Pascale for putting the final touches on The Orphans.
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Edited by Todd A. Burnett
© 2014 Mike Evans, All Rights Reserved
Prologue
Dying words are common and final words can be advice, sympathy, love, apologies, or regrets. The most popular is trying to reconcile with a never believed in God. In some realties, though, the end isn't always the end.
It's only the dark beginning.
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Day +1460: May 28th, 2021. World Population 1,985,110,986. Four years since X-74 unleashed on American soil
The teens were lined up in prone position across the edge of the roof, stationed on top of the abandoned government building in Virginia. Everyone had a job to do: the trusted were in charge of picking off the Turned, while newbies were handling clips and refilling them as quickly as they could. The bullets were flying out of the rifles and dancing on the ground.
In another time on another day, these teens would have been nodding off in a class somewhere, worried about if a girl liked them or if they would be asked to the prom.
Pulling triggers as fast as they could, in their sights was a group of day-ones they could tell weren't freshly turned. They had worn clothes and sunken cheek bones--even the signs of frostbite which, being close to nightfall, were hard to see. They still had the hunger for flesh as bad as the day they had turned.
The ground was covered with bodies. The heads looked like bombs had gone off in them, and the marksmen were aiming only for the skull. The Turned were trying to get through the wreckage. They weren't trying to take the building--they only wanted to eat every living person then move on to find more.
The leader of the group, showed no emotion or excitement, he merely selected another target. His shot exploded the creature's head, going in the back and blowing apart the chin. The girl beside him tapped him on the shoulder and shouted above the noise. "Shaun, you've been at it for hours. You need to take a break. There are plenty of people here willing and able!"
Shaun never took his eyes off his prey, sighting them through his scope. "There's plenty of room for them to slide in, Ellie. Go tell someone else to take a break!"
Ellie looked down at the row of teens. She watched through the blasts as the Turned were falling at an unbelievable rate which gave her the lightest shred of hope. "You need a break or you won't be any good when we really need you!"
A group of Turned were clumsily climbing up the side of the wall. Shaun, who had seen thousands upon thousands of these things, had never seen them do this. He reached and grabbed Ellie's arm, pulling her to the edge. He pointed and argued. "Look they're learning! They're climbing and they've never done anything like that before. Hell, the only reason they get through doors is eventually they figure out to rip them off! We're going to need to clear the Turned on the ground so we can make it to a different spot."
Shaun waited for one to jump to a new ledge, grabbing hard. He drew his backup gun, a twelve-gauge shotgun, and blew its face off. Only its skull and the skin peeled back from the sides remained. Its bloody tongue hung out as its body spun, scraping and bouncing off the brick on the way down.
Ellie watched, realizing she couldn't change his mind. "Can't you trust me to keep the wall safe?"
Shaun laughed. "Remember--you have to earn trust."
Ellie kicked him in the leg. "You don't trust me!? Are you effing kidding me!? And you can't kill them all yourself, Shaun. It's impossible! You need help...! We need help!"
Shaun fired one more shot, rolled to his back, and looked up at Ellie. The sun was setting over her shoulder, and his eyes couldn't feel more tired. "Of course I do", he chuckled. "You've been with me longer than X-74's been exposed, but can you point out anyone who's been here a year ... hell, even six months!?"
He pushed up off the ground. "You...! You...!", he shouted, pointing at a couple of the newbies. He slung his rifle over his shoulder and carried his shotgun. "You two sit on my spot! If it moves, you kill it! Nothing gets close--do you understand me!?"
They nodded assent and quickly took his place. Shaun heard them talking and shook his head, he didn't care what people thought he just wanted a moments worth of peace and quiet. Even when it was quiet he was tortured with the echoes of growling, screaming people in pain and gun blasts.
He went into the building and found an office. He stripped off his gear and stretched out on a couch of little comfort. Thinking back to how it had all started, he brought out an old journal and a pen. It was as simple as standing up for a girl and setting the fate of the world on fire.
Chapter 1
Day -216: October 26th, 2016. World Population 7,324,473,285
The bell for class was chiming as it echoed through the halls of the thirty-year-old brick school. The building still had the original bells from when the teenagers' parents had attended, but like most things in life when push came to shove the modern day computer had won. The chiming meant one thing--the students had three minutes to get to class. If not then they would be participants of the Raccoon Valley High after school detention club. It was guaranteed to be filled with the young minds of varying social groups like the slackers, stoners, and skaters.
Watching over the school, and clearly able to be heard, was Mr. Peterson the Principal. Still trying to hang on to what little hair he had left, what was left was highly polished. He wore his best brown slacks and checkered brown suit coat to match the mannequin at the department store he bought it from. To help with kids getting where they needed to be, he thought screaming at the top of his lungs would help.
"People! Everyone knows where to go, and when to be there! You'd best get there quickly unless you want to join me after school! It's not the first day of the school year!" He turned his attention to his particular targets. "Mr. Walker! Mr. Taylor! Can I expect you to be joining me for obstruction of school policy!? Ms. Lopez! Mr. Daniels! Did you know PDA is one of my favorite things to send people to detention for!?"
Shaun ducked underneath the Principal's flailing arms. At only five-foot-one, his short frame didn't take too much ducking and diving to do so. He offset his stature with a muscular build which was courtesy of his wrestling coach, Mr. Armstrong. Shaun had every intention to be a state wrestler in a few years. This was a great trade considering the freedom he enjoyed so much during the off season, like the ability to eat however much food whenever he wanted to. He hiked up his backpack over his Raccoon Valley Wrestling Squad hoody, and hitched up his somewhat baggy tan cargo pants. He looked around until he saw Ellie, the girl of his dreams. Her beautiful, slightly maturing body wasn't the only thing that made Shaun drool--her almond-shaped hazel eyes
and her perfectly sculpted face surrounded by her dark curly hair got him tingling inside as well. Shaun would have rather died than let her know any of these thoughts existed. He admired her from afar until his view was blocked by a sneering Lucas Bunning.
Lucas was a standard freshman football jock--an oversized boy with lots of zits and greasy black hair. He walked like he was God's gift to 13½-year-old teenage girls, but after scowling at Shaun, he stopped in front of Ellie. He and his friends had her circled in front of a group of lockers. Shaun, walking in this direction, was close enough to hear the much larger junior varsity lineman say. "So, Ellie, you think that maybe you and I could go out sometime?" Ellie was clearly uncomfortable by the way she shrunk back. He hit his friends, laughing out loud, enticing his equally companions to follow suit.
Shaun came right behind him tapping on his shoulder and when he turned around, Shaun felt knocked down a step because the jock had to look down. Shaun puffed up his chest anyway and asked. "Ellie, you okay?"
Ellie smiled, glad of an escape route. "Oh, just peachy. Can I walk to class with you, Shaun?"
Shaun nodded and held out his hand to help her through the group of dumbasses. When he turned his back, he felt momentum like an amusement park spin ride. However, this ride was held by his backpack and he swung around in the air and slammed into the lockers face first. Shaun was able to catch some of the force impact by putting his hands up. The ass clowns were all laughing behind him, and Ellie screamed. "Shaun, are you okay!?"
Shaun turned around, wiping a drop of blood from a small cut on his forehead. His insides boiled watching the boys laughing at his expense. Ellie was worried that maybe he had broken his face on the locker. Shaun paused for a second letting his backpack slide off his shoulder and gripped the nylon strap in one hand. He spun in a quick circle holding tight to the heavy bag filled with books. It connected hard with Lucas' gut. The fat teen exhaled air and tried to gasp it back in while dropping to his knee. Shaun dropped the bag walking towards Lucas with a fist raised when one of his friends gripped Shaun's hood pulling him back off balance. Shaun quickly righted himself and stepped back with the boy turning, and used his weight to do a hip throw that his coach had shown him. The boy flew into the air and slammed down with a heavy thud on the cheap white tiled floor.
A crowd had started to gather not caring about being late. A fight during school was priceless and could not with a clear conscious be missed. The fear that they might miss bloodshed was too great a threat for any teenager.
Lucas, not about to be outdone but still fighting to catch his breath, pushed himself up off the ground and headed straight for Shaun. As he closed the distance, a small pink tennis shoe delivered a devastating kick to his privates. He shrank to his knees dry heaving.
Shaun smiled and shook his head at Ellie, loving her that much more. She had a rocking body and fought for him--what else could he ask for in a girl?
Ellie caught his gaze, shrugged and gave a playful smile. As he picked up his backpack, she held a pretend skirt to the side, and did a curtsy for her knight. She then grabbed him by the arm to start the short walk to class.
"You know you're insane, right?" she began. "I could have gotten out of that by myself. It's a junior high ... what were they going to do?"
Shaun shrugged returning his backpack on his shoulder. "I'll consider this your way of saying 'thank you'," he replied. Then, trying to be witty. "Don't jump my bones or anything! Mr. Peterson hates PDA in the hallway!"
A large firm hand landed on Shaun's shoulder. "Guess what else is against school policy Mr. Fox!" He put his other hand on the back of Ellie's backpack and continued. "And Ms. Randall, apparently you wish to attend detention today?"
Ellie who could care less about the man remarked. "Mr. Peterson, you know that Ms. Randall is my mother. My name's Ellie."
Mr. Peterson laughed amusing only himself. "Well, don't worry Ellie. I'll make sure I check the school computer and give Ms. Randall," he emphasized the Ms.. "a call so she can come and pick you up after you spend the day at in-school detention. Don't worry, Shaun. You'll be there, too, and Dr. Fox will be getting the same call."
Shaun pointed at the boys. "They started it! Isn't harassment against school policy?"
Mr. Peterson shook his head. "You know, some people know when to be quiet. Didn't your mother teach you to be seen and not heard?"
Shaun's ears got bright red and he defiantly looked the Principal in the eyes. "You mean my mother who died of cancer when I was four? Sorry but she didn't have time to knock that one off the list, so please excuse my horrible manners, sir!"
Mr. Peterson knew some battles were better left alone and that he had dived into waters he dare not tread. "That's more than enough out of you, Mr. Fox!" He pointed to the boys getting to their feet. "What do you three have to say for yourselves!? Mr. Bunning, is it really that difficult to just walk to class and stay out of trouble!?"
Lucas held his bulging sore stomach and shrugged at the Principal. "Sir I can't help it if the ladies won't leave me alone." He smiled at Ellie. "I told her I wasn't interested and then the two of them tried to beat up me and my friends!"
Mr. Peterson crossed his arms looking at the three of them, and focused on the white varsity letters on their jackets. "Just make sure we don't have any more of these problems! We can't afford to lose games because you three are in detention! Now stay off my radar and get to class, is that clear!?"
He marched Shaun and Ellie through the halls, preaching about morals and how as young men and women the two of them should be striving to grow as people. He spoke to Shaun about how someone on the wrestling team who was a direct representative of the school should treat others with more respect. He led them to the in-school detention room which was an office with six desks. He left them there to think about what they had done, which neither felt in any way bad about, and instructed them to write a thousand words about respect. An paper which, over their dead bodies, would never be written.
Ellie stretched back in her chair looking around. "Look," she purred. "you hang with me, Shaun, and you're going to go places in life."
Shaun smirked at her. "Oh, yeah I'm going places alright. Like the morgue in about four hours when Dr. Fox gets called away from work and royally kicks my ass. How are things going to go with your mom?"
"Oh there's definitely a grounding coming my way, and I'll lose my cell until my mom realizes she can't ever get a hold of me and gives it back. It could be worse, right?"
Shaun had a visual of himself on a mortuary table with a tag dangling from his big toe. "How, per se, could it be worse?"
"Now that is easy! One of those guys could have kissed me ... or kicked the crap out of you!"
Shaun nodded. "Yeah, or one of them could be in here, too." After a brief thought, he continued hopefully. "I know Mr. Peterson's going to give us Saturday school. We could ride in together, hit up Casey's for donuts in the morning...? Maybe we'll get lucky and have the place to ourselves!"
"Well, I guess that wouldn't really be much different than being home by ourselves all day except for having the freedom to leave if we chose to. It's not like our parents would be there. The mighty corporation would have a meltdown if their employees tried to enjoy a full weekend," she joked.
Shaun nodded thinking about his dad and how infrequently he was home. "Hey, think of the valuable skills we're learning like self-reliance, cooking, and making sure we go to bed before three in the morning. Kids who have their parents' attention don't learn those things. It's a shame really."
Ellie punched him lightly in the shoulder. "Hey, your dad does things with you! What about your annual hunting trips?"
Shaun sighed. "Nothing says 'I love you' like teaching your son to walk into the woods, kill an innocent animal and then cut the meat off its dead carcass.... I think if my mom was still around maybe he wouldn't feel quite so compelled to try to save the world. I'm pretty sure that's why he works trying to design drugs. I think he's got some delus
ional hang up that he could be the one person in the world to cure cancer. He feels guilty about not being there for me and mom."
Ellie nodded slowly and let out a big breath. "Dude, you just went from deer hunting, to cutting apart venison, to your father's career and then to your mother dying ... that's an impressive progression! At least you have a reason for your mother to be gone. My dad's been gone for years and it's only because my mom says he couldn't keep his lips off his favorite guy."
Shaun shivered a little at the thought of two men kissing. "Ellie, you never told me that your dad was gay!"
Ellie laughed. "Oh, he couldn't keep his mouth off of Jack Daniels bottles! He loved the ladies so much he couldn't stay home ... or, for that matter, stay faithful to my mom. It's why my mom went back to school and to work at E&T Corp."
The door opened and Mr. Peterson leaned in. He looked disappointed, shaking his head at the two. "You do know that if you'd like to actually write the essay it will require the use of a pen and a piece of paper, right?"
Ellie smacked her forehead. "Crap! I totally forgot about that, Mr. Peterson! Thank you! You see, this is really our pre-planning stage, we want to make sure we write the absolute best essays we can for you."
Mr. Peterson nodded. "I can't wait to fill your mother in on how delightfully witty her daughter is, Ms. Randall. I hope neither of you have plans because you'll be spending Saturday together with a few of your fellow classmates here."
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At three-o'clock, the school secretary accompanied them to the main detention hall with the other kids. The seventh graders looked like they were on the verge of crying. It was somewhat like a scared-straight program since all in attendance in Adel between the grades of seven to twelve had to share one school and one detention room. It was in no way a hundred percent effective method but it did tend to keep the kids who weren't sure what path they felt they should take going down the straight and narrow.