The Last Days of Salton Academy

by Jennifer Brozek

  “Maybe. I hope so.” Maya looked at the dark water, reflecting the faint early morning light. “And I hope there’s nothing, you know, floating in it. I don’t smell anything but still.”

  “Ew. You think of the nastiest things.” Pria threw her long ponytail over her shoulder. “You’d better hope there’s nothing in that.”

  #

  Nancy surveyed the sick foursome in Toni’s room with something akin to resignation. Three months without a serious illness had been a godsend. Now, as Julie and Sophia helped set up the twin bed mattresses on the floor for those who did not officially live in this room, Nancy examined each of her patients. Fever, nausea, sweats, headache, and body aches. All classic signs of the flu. It might be a bad cold but those don’t usually come with nausea and vomiting. Then again, it could be a hangover from the size of the empty rum bottle. Things were going to get a lot worse if diarrhea hit, especially with a busted water pipe.

  As each student was tucked into bed, Nancy considered moving the lot of them over to Hadfield Hall. It, after a quick inspection by Shin, still had water and sound water pipes. As it was, Shin was spending his morning with John and Ken wrapping water pipes and turning off water to the buildings they weren’t using.

  “Gloves in the trash. Keep the face masks and use hand sanitizer as soon as you’re clear. You two are on watch duty for the day if one of them needs to use the restroom. You’ll have to escort them down to the honey pots.” Nancy flapped a hand at the girls, wishing Athena were here as she swallowed her grief anew. Athena would’ve jumped to deal with this. “Figure out the schedule yourselves and rope John and Ken into it for the evening.”

  The girls nodded and took off. Nancy heard Julie ask as they headed down the hallway, “Where’s the nearest comfy chair we can move?”

  She turned back to her charges. “You four are in a pickle. I’m not going to scold you for anything you did but I will tell you that you’re in for one hell of crappy week or two if this really is the flu instead of a heavy duty cold. If you need to throw up, use the buckets, for heaven’s sake!” Nancy frowned at the weak choir of acknowledgment. “Julie or Sophia will be outside. I’ll give you more medicine in four hours. Until then you are not to get out of bed.”

  “Don’t worry, Nurse K,” Toni mumbled. “I don’t wanna go anywhere.” The rest mumbled or grunted agreement.

  Nancy shook her head as she left the dorm room, closing the door behind her.

  #

  Within twelve hours Lee and Melissa were both sick—sweating, headache, and nausea. There was no doubt Melissa was infected as well. Whether it was through her mouth, her nose, or her eyes, some of the zombie’s blood had penetrated her body and done its damage.

  Joe, Heather, Nicholas, and Rachel huddled together as far away from the infected pair as they could. Ostensibly it was to give the couple privacy to say goodbye to each other and to make peace with God. In truth, it was the fear of being infected as much as for the privacy.

  “What are we going to do?” Rachel’s voice was small and broken.

  “What we need to do.” Joe took a breath. “And what they need to do. Lee will take care of Melissa, and then take care of himself. I’m going to be the one to make sure it sticks.”

  “It? You mean murder, right?” Though still soft, her voice had a note of hysteria in it.

  Joe gave Nicholas a hard look.

  Nicholas pulled Rachel closer and murmured in her ear, “It’s not murder. They’re already dead. They probably don’t have even another day in them. The virus, the infection, whatever the hell it is, it works fast. This has to happen.”

  Rachel buried her face in Nicholas’ shoulder, her whole body shaking hard against his.

  Lee raised his voice, rough with fatigue and pain. “We’re ready.”

  Heather swallowed hard. “I’m going to check upstairs. See if the zombies are still there or if they have wandered off.”

  Joe squeezed her hand and let her go. He sat there for a moment before he stood and walked over to Lee and Melissa. They were sitting on the floor as far away from the stairs and the door as they could get. Lee had his back against the wall with Melissa between his legs, curled up against his chest. She didn’t look up as Joe approached. Lee did. He gave Joe a wan smile. “This is it. I don’t want to wait too much longer. I want to make sure I can control the pistol.”

  “Heather’s making sure the coast is clear. Then we’ll go upstairs and wait.” Joe cleared his throat. “You should use my 9mm. It’s the quietest of the pistols we have and packs a punch.” He rubbed his mouth while he said this, feeling like a heel for wanting to keep the noise to a minimum.

  “Good idea.”

  Heather moved quietly back down the stairs to the halfway point. “Pretty clear. We’re probably going to have to deal with one or two as we leave but they’ve mostly wandered off again. Uh, and it’s snowed. Like, for real.” She gave Joe a pleading look before she turned and fled back upstairs.

  Joe ignored the news about the snow and read the look for what it was: a request for him to get her stuff and not make her go back down into the dark. “Okay everyone. Get your things and the supplies we found. We’re heading to the bunker shortly.” He watched as Nicholas and Rachel gathered their things, taking the bulk of the supplies and leaving Heather’s for him. Once they were gone Joe gathered up the rest of the stuff, blinking away the burning tears that flooded his eyes.

  He gave up the pretense of stoicism as he returned to Lee and Melissa, tears flowing down his face. He tried to speak and failed.

  Lee offered him his hand. “It’s been a good run. You’ll get them to safety. I know you will.”

  Joe gripped Lee’s hand tight. “I will. I promise.” Then he pressed his 9mm pistol into Lee’s hand. “Safety’s off.”

  The two of them stared at each other for a long moment, then Lee nodded. Joe nodded back. He turned to the stairs, wiping at his face. He didn’t look back.

  Lee held the semi-automatic down by his side as he petted Melissa’s hair with his injured arm. When the wound in the arm had stopped hurting and the general aches started he knew deep in his bones he was done. Melissa looked up at him, then kissed him like the dying woman she was, and murmured, “I love you” to his lips.

  “I love you, Mel. I really do. More than life itself.” He squeezed her tight, raised the weapon, waited for her to close her eyes, and pulled the trigger.

  Joe continued to wipe at his face as he closed the basement door. He joined the other three in the living room. They were clustered together in the center, holding each other. Joe joined them, bowing his head to press against theirs as they all mourned their loss.

  The first shot, while not loud, was like a hammer to the heart. They jerked as one. The second shot came shortly after. Then the third. They continued to hold each other, silent except for their tears.

  Finally, Joe raised his head. “Nicholas, Rachel…scout the windows downstairs. Heather, upstairs. I got one last thing to do.” His face was still wet but his eyes were dry and gritty as he hardened his heart and his mind to do what needed doing. He had a promise to keep.

  #

  Caleb ducked into the temporary Bonny Hall room that Ron and Jeff shared. “You seen Steve? I don’t think he came back after you guys pulled watch.”

  “He didn’t?” Ron sat on his bed with his back to the wall. He watched the snow drifting down in big, fat flakes. Next to him was the book he’d taken. “Perhaps he needed some alone time to think on his sins.”

  Caleb stiffened, then closed the door to the room. “What do you mean? What sins?” His voice lowered, his lip curled in anger. “If you’re talking about how me and Steve are—”

  “I couldn’t give two shits about who’s fucking who,” Ron interrupted.

  “Then what sins are you talking about?”

  “The same sin I think you’re suffering from.”

  Caleb paused, the hair on the back of h
is neck rising in fear. “I don’t understand. What’s happened to Steve?”

  Ron turned from the window and gazed impassively at Caleb. “His lack of faith in Jeff and Jeff’s plan to make sure we all survive the winter.”

  “If you’ve hurt him—”

  Ron was off the bed, across the room, and had slammed Caleb up against the door before he realized what was happening. Caleb felt the cold metal of Ron’s knife against the side of his throat as the taller boy leaned his weight on the arm pressing against Caleb’s chest.

  “You’ll what? I could kill you six ways from Sunday before you raised a hand against me. Shit, you don’t even have a weapon on you, knowing there are zombies inside the walls. You’ll do nothing.”

  For a moment Caleb couldn’t breathe. He stared into Ron’s eyes and saw the madness he and Steve had always suspected lurking there. “My bat is in my room.” Then he shoved Ron away from him…or tried to. Ron pressed harder, forcing air from his lungs. “Stop,” Caleb’s demand came out as a wheeze.

  Ron leaned in close, almost nose to nose with Caleb. He smiled a fierce, savage grin. “Leaving your weapon behind was your second mistake. Your first was challenging me. Do it again and I’ll kill you.” He let Caleb go and backed up two steps. “I swear it. You live by my will alone. Now, maybe you want to go think on your sins so you don’t end up like Steve. Jeff doesn’t need either of you.”

  Caleb stared at Ron and realized he meant what he said…and that he must’ve murdered Steve during their watch shift. Caleb opened the door and backed out without taking his eyes off of Ron and his savage grin that begged for Caleb to attack.

  Instead, Caleb closed the door quietly and turned away, trying to figure out what to do next. It was possible that Steve wasn’t dead. Maybe he’d just had a bad night in Ron’s company and chose to return to Hadfield. Maybe. Caleb hoped it was so but didn’t believe it for a minute. Either way he needed to check.

  #

  “This is the worst thing I’ve ever had to do,” Maya declared as she soaked the mop in the flood water and rung it out the bucket.

  Pria mirrored her action with her own mop and bucket. “No kidding. You’d think that the rest would help but no, use the honey pot and run.”

  “Aaron and them are sick.”

  “Jeff is getting food ready for lunch.”

  “Sophia and Julie are watching the sick people.” Maya stopped and stretched. “Everyone’s too busy to help. Of course.” She picked up rolled the bucket down the up hall to the one room with the drain. Silently she snarled at the crappy construction of putting a drain at the top of a sloped foundation. If it were at the bottom they wouldn’t be cleaning up this mess. Then again the architects probably didn’t plan to put the laundry room at the top of a slope or to have a slope at all. At least they had a drain in the laundry room in anticipation of broken washers. Maya poured out the water, watching it swirl away, thankful there was nothing more than water and a little dirt in it.

  “And where is Mrs. Hood, anyway? Or Professor Leeds?” Pria paused and made a face at Maya. “You don’t think they’re together. Do you?”

  Shin cut off any answer Maya might have made as he entered the basement. Maya returned to the flooded area to stand next to her sister. The two of them waited for Shin to approach. He looked around and nodded. “You do good work. No one else is helping you?”

  Pria shook her head. “Aaron, Toni, Rose, and Shane are sick. Sophia and Julie are watching them. Jeff is cooking. John and Ken were off with you.” She paused. “I think Caleb, Steve, and Ron are all patrolling for zombies.”

  Shin considered this. “I sent John and Ken to assist Jeff with lunch. Nurse Krenshaw is keeping an eye on the sick ones, most likely.” He glanced away, then looked each sister in the eye. “My apologies. I cannot stay and help you. I need to find Mrs. Hood.”

  The sisters looked at each other. “And Professor Leeds?” Pria asked.

  He hesitated then gave her a single nod. “And Professor Leeds.”

  Maya spoke up. “They didn’t run away together…did they?”

  “No.” Shin shook his head. “I don’t believe so. Nevertheless, I must find them. I’ve already given Hadfield and the Admin building a look. Now I go to search the grounds, the sheds, and the other outlying buildings. It is possible they are out there, in the fire watchtower, or the foundation of the astronomy tower. If I don’t find them… Tomorrow I will be more thorough in my building-to-building search.” He gazed at the dark water. “Take a break to eat lunch. It’s important to clean this up before it freezes or molds but your health is more important.”

  “Yes, Shin.” The sisters said at the same time, then grinned at each other.

  Shin cracked a smile, then turned and left the basement.

  The two of them watched him go. Maya’s gaze lasted longer on the closed door as she asked, “You get the feeling that he was hiding something?”

  Pria, already back at work, shrugged. “Yes. But, of the faculty, I trust him second only to Mrs. Hood.”

  Maya turned back to her work without a word, wondering what had had happened to Mrs. Hood and Professor Leeds.

  #

  Jeff patrolled the Commons inside and out. This was his domain. From the no longer functioning walk-in freezer to the half-full pantry to the industrial kitchen and the dining hall, the Commons belonged to him. After locking the back entrance to the kitchen and ensuring there was only one way in and out through the front he got to work on lunch. Less people did mean less food to prepare.

  Three faculty and fourteen students, four of whom were so ill that Nurse Krenshaw requested that he figure out a way to make broth for them. She didn’t ask how he would do it. She just knew that he would figure it out. Jeff felt the warmth of being needed and depended upon.

  Seventeen people. Jeff looked at his list of supplies and worried his bottom lip. They might make it through the winter with only seventeen to feed. With the snow he was certain the supply run team wouldn’t make it back, or wouldn’t make it back with the listed supplies. As Jeff dug into the walk-in pantry, looking for what he needed in order to make lunch, a thought came to him.

  Four people on the supply run. Four people sick. As it stood, the pantry could feed the seventeen of them through the winter. There’d be some rationing and some creative cooking but they would survive. Jeff felt the pulsing of the panic that had gripped him off and on for the last week lessen. The fear of starvation and watching those he actually cared about dying around him.

  But only if it were no more than seventeen. The supply team might make it back. Might. And he owed Lee for what he did to him without warning. Jeff worried his bottom lip more, then decided. Four for four. It was more than a fair exchange. Lee, Joe, Melissa, and Nicholas were worth more and worked harder than the sick ones. Jeff nodded to himself, decided.

  He returned to the kitchen, already warmer with the wood stove aflame, and searched through the cleaning supplies stored in neat rows on the rack above the sink. To the far right were the poisons: ant, roach, and rat. Rat poison would be a perfect addition to the broth. It would only kill only those four students because the broth was only for them.

  Jeff turned around and suppressed a jump as he saw Ron standing there. He hadn’t heard his friend come in. “Hey.” He continued over to the woodstove where he had five cups of water and powdered broth cooking.

  “Interesting spice.”

  “Isn’t it?”

  Ron licked his lips with a quick flick of his tongue. “Who’s it for?”

  Jeff glanced at Ron out of the corner of his eye and was pleased to see admiration and adoration in his friend’s face. “The sick ones. Four of them. Four people on the supply run. We have enough to feed only seventeen.”

  Ron looked up and left as he calculated. “Fair enough.” He paused, then added. “Caleb’s gonna come see you.”

  “Why?”

  “Because he thinks I killed Steve.”<
br />
  Jeff gave Ron a sharp look. “Did you?”

  “Yes.” Ron shrugged. “He was going to deny you when the supply run came back. Deny you like Peter denied Jesus. I thought he should think on the error of his ways.”

  “Don’t think he’ll be thinking on anything if he’s dead.” Jeff kept his voice light with an effort. Inside he was quaking. Ron had killed again and one of their friends this time. He’d liked Steve. They both had, he thought.

  “And he won’t be denying anyone now.” Ron moved closer. “What’s for lunch?”

  Jeff didn’t know what to make of Ron’s murder-happy descent. But as long as Ron was murdering for him he’d deal with it. “Lunch is a pack of nuts, a pack of crackers, and a selection of apocalypse burritos.” An apocalypse burrito was canned meat, like tuna or chicken, served in a tortilla.

  “I get spam.” Ron smiled and suddenly, he was the childhood friend Jeff had always known.

  “All right.” Jeff relaxed and smirked. “Your wish, my command.

  Thirteen

  “Yeah, this looks like something a wealthy, paranoid prepper would create for the apocalypse.” Heather shivered in the cold. They had been surprised by the two inches of snow that covered the ground when they’d left Lee and Melissa behind. “Too bad for them they went hunting.”

  “Good for us,” Joe said, rubbing his hands. “Nicholas, Rachel, I’m going to need you to boost me up. Just to look over the wall to see what I can see.” The two of them moved over to him and offered Joe their clasped hands as footholds, allowing him a good look at the empty yard with its pristine snow cover and, more importantly, that the top of the stone wall was covered with imbedded chunks of sharp glass. “Lemme down.”

  “Zombies?” Rachel brushed her hands clean of mud and muck. She kept her voice low, despite the fact that the cold seemed to have slowed the zombies down.

  “Not that I could see. Problem though. Glass shards on top of the wall. We need something to cover it so we can get over the wall without cutting ourselves.”