“Fuck knows what’s in there,” Thomas said. “I’m not going in.”
“If you stand out here they’re going to spot you and make our leaving very unpleasant,” Billy said. “Besides, there may be stuff in here we can use.”
He turned and followed Colin into the school building.
***
“Did you hear that?!” Karen asked.
She had perked up like a gofer at the sound.
“A car horn. So what?” Shan replied.
“I’m going to take a look,” Karen said excitedly.
“What’s the point?” Shan asked.
“Other people. It might be a rescue.”
“No one’s coming to rescue us and we don’t want other people,” Shan said sternly. “They’ll find Miss Alvarez.”
“What if they do find Miss Alvarez?” Karen said in a sarcastic tone. “She was one of them, after all.”
“You’ll be in as much shit as me,” Shan countered.
“How do you work that one out?” Karen asked.
“Sure, Miss Alvarez was an accident. People might believe you. But if they find out about what happened up the Wreks…”
“That was you,” Karen said.
“And you did nothing,” Shan replied. “You’re just as responsible as me. You helped every step of the way.”
“Fuck you!” Karen shouted.
She walked out of the nurse’s room.
“Where are you going?” Shan asked.
“Up to the library to get the best view of what’s happening out there,” Karen said, marching off.
Reluctantly, Shan followed.
As Karen opened the door to the library, the smell hit her. It was the smell of books. A week ago it was one of the most stomach-churning smells imaginable. Now her imagination was stretched somewhat.
She ran over to the north-facing long corner window and looked out onto the school’s concourse. She looked towards the school gates, but there was nothing there, not even the three creatures at the fence. Walking over to the other window on the south side, she could no longer see the gate or the entrance road that led to the car park. Instead she could see the houses that bordered the school and the fence that marked the strip of waste ground she and Shan had used to access the school. A little further round from there, she could see the main road that led to the school.
The door to the library opened and Karen gasped in fright.
“Jumpy,” Shan said as she entered.
“Shan, look at this.” Karen waved her friend over to the window.
“Some dick honking his horn?” Shan asked.
“No,” Karen said, staring out of the window.
“Oh,” Shan said.
The gate to the school was wide open.
Shan turned away and started walking back to the stairs.
Karen followed her.
“Shan, aren’t you worried?” Karen asked.
“What’s it matter?” Shan said. “We’re safe in here.”
A voice rolled up the stairwell: “Jenny!”
“Shit—someone’s inside,” Karen said.
“Quick! Hide!” Shan said, ducking back into the library.
“Why?”
“Cause we killed Jenny,” Shan said. “Jenny is Miss Alvarez.”
Karen was about to correct her use of the word ‘we’, but then thought better of it.
“We tell them we found her that way or that she was one of those things,” Karen reasoned.
“No!” Shan said harshly. “We avoid them altogether. You and me—no one else.”
“But what about them?” Karen asked, pointing out the window at the figures shambling to the school gates.
***
Colin called out, “Jenny?!”
“In here!” Billy shouted.
Colin went running through the refectory and in through the open kitchen door.
There were empty packets of food and dirty utensils and crockery all over the place.
Thomas came up behind Colin and looked over the scene.
“Someone’s been cooking in here,” he said, stating the obvious.
Colin whipped round and ran from the kitchen.
“Jenny!” he shouted with renewed vigour.
“Where are you going?” Billy asked as Thomas turned.
“I was going to help him look. Sooner he finds her the quicker we leave,” Thomas said.
Billy shook his head and opened up a storeroom door.
Even though the only illumination in the kitchen came from a pair of grubby skylights, Thomas could see the dry store was full of food: bags of flour, canned goods, drums of cooking oil, powdered milk and eggs, dehydrated fruit and vegetables.
“There’s a year’s worth of food in there, at least,” Thomas said aghast.
“Maybe not a year, but it beats the tits off that camping gear,” Billy said. “Right. Sleeves up. Let’s get this stuff loaded. Grab the keys to the bus off Colin before he strays too far, will you?”
Thomas nodded and chased after Colin.
“Hey, Tom!” Billy shouted after him.
“It’s Thomas!” came the reply.
Billy ignored the correction. "Find out where the home economics department is! There will be food up there, too!”
Chapter 12
Trade Up
“What’s for lunch?” Mo asked as he entered the canteen.
Immediately he saw Sharon and John sitting together and at their usual position. The two cleaners were sitting in front of the TV, smoking.
“Um, we have a couple of those oat bars left,” John said.
“Shouldn’t you be keeping an eye out for the guys returning?” Sharon asked.
“I am,” Mo said in protest. “I only came in to get a drink and something to eat.”
Sharon nodded her head, but didn’t verbally acknowledge him.
“An oat bar is fine,” Mo said to John.
John stood up and plodded over to one of the cupboards.
“Anything new on the TV?” Mo asked.
“No. Just static and test cards,” Sharon said.
“Static?”
“Well, blank channels not broadcasting anything.”
“Why’s the power still on?”
“I asked Thomas to leave it on just in case we need it, like operating the loading bay shutters.”
“Okay,” Mo said. “Only isn’t that a waste of power?”
“It is,” Sharon replied sharply. “But since none of us know how to work the generator, I felt it was prudent.”
“Okay,” Mo said softly, not wishing to upset Sharon further.
The door to the canteen opened and Melissa walked in, the dog trotting along beside her. She held a games console that had been borrowed from one of the forced-open drawers. It was an old, chunky thing, but it was the only entertainment the child had.
“Are there any more batteries for this?” Melissa asked.
“Yeah, sure, there are some in the stationery cupboard upstairs,” Sharon said.
John passed the breakfast bar to Mo and Mo gave a grateful nod.
“Sharon, should we be using the batteries to power that?” Mo asked.
“What is this, Mo?” Sharon asked.
“What is what?” Mo asked.
“First the power, now the batteries? Why are you trying to undermine me?”
Mo looked around at the other people in the room. John was standing shoulder to shoulder with Sharon and the two cleaners had picked up on the tension in Sharon’s voice and were watching the altercation.
“I didn’t mean anything by it,” Mo said. “I only mean is it wise to use the batteries on a games console? Might we need them for the torches?”
“Why are you picking at me?!” Sharon barked. “Are you trying to make me look bad in front of everybody?”
“No, that came out wrong,” Mo said.
“That’s what it sounds like.”
Mo shrugged. “No, that’s not it at all.”
; “Don’t even try it,” Sharon said. “Believe me, you don’t want to make an enemy of me.”
“You’re blowing this out of proportion,” Mo protested.
Sharon ignored him and walked past.
“Let’s get you some fresh batteries, sweetie,” she said, placing a gentle hold round the girl and ushering her from the canteen.
“What just happened?” Mo asked, confounded.
“Aren’t you supposed to be watching out for the guys returning?” John said, obviously siding with his boss.
“Yeah, yeah. I am,” Mo said.
He turned and exited the canteen.
As he entered the hallway he could see Sharon and Melissa heading up the stairs to the first floor office. Mo didn’t want to be anywhere near Sharon after her blow-up, so he decided he’d take the elevator to the fourth floor purely so he could avoid her.
As he entered the lobby there was an increase in the banging and moaning. The black mass of dead bodies pressed against the windows writhed and pulsated like a sea monster wrapped around the building. The creatures outside seemed so malevolent to Mo that they even sucked the light out the room.
He pressed the button to call the elevator. There was a soft ping and the door immediately sprung open.
Mo didn’t enter the lift straight away. He walked over to the office entrance and examined the glass.
As he drew closer, the ruckus from the other side grew more frenzied.
One of the panes had a half a dozen pit marks in it with frosted glass craters. There were a few stress cracks zigzagging away from the impact points. The damage had been done by one of Billy’s wayward shotgun blasts.
Mo ran his hand over the glazing. It felt smooth. The damage only affected the outside layer of glass.
“Need to keep an eye on you,” Mo said.
The throng held at bay on the other side of the glass were growling and moaning feverously, jostling with each other to get closer to their prey.
Mo stood up and a shudder squirmed down his spine. The windows were packed with dead faces staring at him, futilely grasping at him, their jaws already working up and down as if they had already started to devour him.
If the crack got worse the whole window could cave in, letting the zombies flood into the building. If that happened, the survivors could block off the stairwells and remain safe on the first floor, but they would lose their access to the ground floor. The loading bay and the plant room would be inaccessible.
Mo decided that if Thomas and the rest weren’t back by nightfall, they would need to switch off the generator and block the stairwells as a precaution.
He walked back over to the lift. He stepped inside and hit the button for the third floor. He placed a hand in his pocket and felt the small round stone in there.
***
No sooner had she exited the elevator than the doors clunked shut and the carriage started its downward journey. Liz stood at the fourth floor door, strangely paralysed by the noise of the descending elevator. She stood with her outstretched hand on the door, frozen at the precise moment before she should have started to push. Someone had called the lift. Liz didn’t know why this disturbed her. She had no reason to fear discovery. All she was doing was visiting her son. Her dead son.
The watch that was so fastidiously maintained all day Monday and through the night to Tuesday morning had melted away. No one came up to the fourth floor now unless it was to climb the short steps up onto the roof. Maybe Mo came up here and checked in on her boy when he did his rounds. Liz didn’t know for sure.
Behind her she heard the hard twang of the lift pulley come to a sharp stop.
She took her hand off the door and took in a deep breath. She stood up, straightened and smoothed a crease from her dress with a flat handed swipe. Again she placed her hand on the door and was about to push it open when from behind her the elevator started up again.
Liz took her hand from the door and covered her face with her palms. She could feel herself panting behind the mask of her cupped hands.
What was the point? In that office, tied down like a wild animal, was her son—her dead son. He didn’t acknowledge her presence, didn’t smile when he saw her. He was in that meeting room struggling perpetually against his bonds, but it wasn’t him. There was no pulse, no heartbeat—nothing of the young boy she once loved.
What was the point of torturing herself? Why go in there and be reminded of the creature her beautiful young boy had become?
The noise of the elevator grew louder as it drew nearer.
Liz pulled her now wet hands away from her face. She turned and quickly made her way through the door to the roof, wiping the tears from her eyes as she ran.
She didn’t want to see her beautiful boy feral and corrupted by whatever poison had consumed him. Likewise, she didn’t want anyone to see her so distraught, so vulnerable, so grief stricken.
***
“Why are you leaving it there?” Thomas asked, looking at the mountain of food by the doorway.
“Cause I don’t want those things outside to see us and start bawling,” Billy said.
Thomas took a quick look out the door.
“Don't do that!” Billy said, pulling him back.
“There’s none out there,” Thomas said.
“It only takes one to spot you and it calls in a horde of the fuckers,” Billy said. “Did you get the keys?”
Thomas held up a single ignition key and wiggled it.
“Good,” Billy said. “Now it only needs one of us to gut the kitchen of supplies, but there might be other useful stuff in here.”
“Like what?” Thomas asked. “Chalk?”
Billy shook his head. “When were you at school? It’s all smart boards and shit now.”
“So what are we looking for?” Thomas asked.
“I don’t know for sure. I mean there’s probably food in the Home Ec department. First aid kits. Just stuff.”
Thomas looked at him blankly.
“Okay, you get the food from the kitchen ready for loading. I’ll take a look around,” Billy said.
“No chance,” Thomas retorted. “You’re just looking for an opportunity to skive off.”
“Fuck you.”
“No, you can stay here and help load the stuff up, then we’ll both go looking,” Thomas said.
Billy rubbed his eyes to dispel the fatigue he suddenly felt.
“Fine. We’ll do it your way,” he said.
***
Colin opened the door to Jenny’s classroom. He’d hoped to see her sitting there at her desk, with a tower of term papers on one side and mug of coffee on the other.
But the classroom was empty.
“Staff room,” Colin said to himself. He closed the door.
He realised he wasn’t calling out her name anymore; something was holding him back. His heart soared when he had seen her car in the parking lot. A fantasy had leapt to mind: he and Jenny thrown together by this awful catastrophe. He would be the only familiar presence in this terrifying new world and Jenny would latch herself to him. The normal controls of the world were gone and the two of them would likewise throw off all control and intertwine—passionate lovers at last.
Colin walked into the abandoned staff room. Unlike the rest of the school there was something here that caught his attention: the faint smell of coffee. He walked up to the coffee machine. It was one of the expensive ones that made real coffee rather than the instant vending machines back at the office block.
He placed his hand on the side of it and was disappointed to find it cold.
He pulled his hand away, dejected that his hunch hadn’t paid off. As he did a dark brown drip fell onto the catch tray underneath.
Quickly he pulled out the cartridge and examined the grinds. They were damp. Someone had made coffee. Maybe not in the past few hours, but far more recently than last Friday when the school closed for the holidays.
Invigorated by this finding, he searched more closely for clues. In
the sink he found a rinsed-out mug. He pulled it out and held it up to the light. Around the rim was a lip print. A faint wrinkled pattern left by lip-gloss or some such product.
“She was here, she had to be,” Colin said to himself.
He put the mug down and raced out of the staff room. As he raced from the room he ran straight into a girl.
Karen screamed and was knocked off her feet.
“Run!” Shan screamed, sprinting off down the corridor.
“Ow!” Colin grunted, landing badly.
“Karen!” Shan shouted from some way down the corridor.
“Karen?” Colin said.
“Mr. Lee?!” Karen blurted in surprise.
“Shan?” Colin said, looking up the corridor. He got to his feet. “Shanquel?”
Karen was still lying on the ground, looking terrified.
Colin held his hand out. Karen just lay there, her eyes wide in terror.
“I’m not going to hurt you, Karen,” Colin promised. “How long have you pair been here?”
Karen glanced back down the corridor, but Shan was long gone.
“Are you two okay? It’s... well, it’s a mess out there. What about your parents?”
“They’re dead,” Karen said.
She slapped Colin’s hand out of the way and stood up by herself.
“I’m sorry to hear that, Karen,” Colin said. “Look, I’m here with a group of people. There’s a few of us holding up in an office block not far from here. You’ll be safe with us there.”
“We were safe enough here until you came,” Karen said.
“We’re not going to hurt you.”
“What about those randoms outside?” Karen asked.
“We’ll keep you safe from them. I promise.”
“Bullshit. Why’d you lead them here then?”
“What? We didn’t lead them here,” Colin said.
“Oh, yeah? Come and see.” Karen nodded to the stairwell.
“What do you mean?”
“I’ll show you,” Karen said and trotted off towards the stairs.
Demise of the Living Page 17