by Sue Edge
With infinite slowness, her head tilted to the side and then, finally, rolled completely off her neck, remaining attached to the body by one remaining tendon.
Collapsing on the floor, I gulped in huge, sobbing breaths. I couldn’t quite believe I was still alive. The memory of how cocky I had been, just a short time ago, about dealing with one or two zombies made me cringe inside. It was a real wake-up call, and I was grateful to still be alive to appreciate it.
As I sat there shaking my head, some sixth sense made me look up. Mr. Jones, a gaping hole where his jaw should have been, lumbered towards me, hands reaching hungrily forward.
Throwing myself forward, I struggled to tug the parang out from under Mrs. Jones’ body. Grasping it tightly, I turned around to see legs looming beside me. Instinctively, I rolled sideways and jumped to my feet, heart pounding and parang held at the ready.
Emma’s father slowly turned to face me, and the reality of the situation hit me. A big man, Emma’s father towered over me by a good foot and a half. How the hell was I supposed to bring him down? I couldn’t reach to cut his head off. I glanced sideways, calculating my chances of just making a dash for it.
Too late. The huge zombie staggered forward, his long arms bringing him within reach in a second. I tried to duck under his arm but it closed around me and pulled me into a horrible caricature of an embrace. Frantically, I struggled to free myself but his superior strength, even in death, kept me pinned against his body as his teeth lowered to my neck. The parang struck futilely against his arm and shoulders but I just couldn’t get enough momentum to make a difference.
As I felt his teeth pressing on my neck, I closed my eyes in defeat. I’m sorry, babies. A second later, my eyes shot open as his teeth slid off. He can’t bite me without his lower jaw! The knowledge filled me with adrenaline. Swinging my legs up, I planted them against the bed’s side table and pushed backwards with all my strength.
As the zombie stumbled backwards, his grip weakened for a moment. I wrenched myself away. Then, taking a running leap, I launched myself on his unbalanced body and rode him down to the ground. Swinging the parang down with force, I buried it several inches deep in the skull.
The zombie blinked slowly. Shit! I pulled the stake out of my belt and plunged it through his eye. Or at least I tried to. In my frantic haste, I missed, bouncing off bone instead. The zombie’s arm shot up and grabbed my hand. Inexorably, he drew it towards his teeth. I didn’t know if he would have more luck this time but I knew I couldn’t take the chance. My suspicion that the zombie virus was transmitted through the zombie’s blood or saliva meant that even the smallest break in the skin could be fatal.
I struggled to pull my hand free but his grip was unbreakable. Twisting the stake, I managed to plant it against his upper jaw and momentarily halt the downwards journey of my hand. With my left hand, I wiggled the parang out of the skull with some difficulty. The zombie’s other arm reached up and knocked the stake out of the way. As he brought my hand to his teeth, I slammed the parang down on his arm with all my left-handed strength. Again. Again.
Finally, the arm fell away from the body and I suddenly had control of the stake again. This time, I quickly but carefully placed it against the eyeball. As the zombie started to raise his head, I positioned the heavy parang as a hammer above the stake and, with one massive swing, drove it right through the creature’s brain.
As the body stilled, I rolled off the body and lay on the floor for several long minutes.
Eventually, I dragged myself to my feet, feeling drained and numb. Passing the dressing table, I caught a glimpse of my bloodstained uniform. The up close and personal fights with Emma’s parents had resulted in an appearance more suited to an extra in a horror movie than to a nurse. I couldn’t face Emma as I was, not drenched in her parents’ blood.
A quick search through Mrs. Jones’ cupboard unearthed a worn grey tracksuit. After stripping off my disgusting uniform and changing, I checked my appearance in the mirror. The tracksuit was a bit loose but it would do. I rinsed the weapons, tucked the stake in my waistband and wrapped the parang in a towel. Taking a deep breath, I prepared to face Emma.
She was waiting by the ambulance. Her eyes skimmed over my change of outfit without expression but I saw her shoulders stiffen.
“So it’s over?” She asked softly. I nodded wordlessly.
“Dad?” Her voice sounded hopeless but I knew she had to ask. I shook my head. She closed her eyes and turned away. I looked at her helplessly and hoped that she could forgive me one day. Maybe she would always see her parents’ murderer whenever she looked at me.
Roy interrupted the moment. “We should go. If it’s reached here, we’re not safe.”
Emma swung around, her blue eyes hard and determined. “We have to pick up Lucas first.” Lucas was her younger brother, the last sibling still living at home. She also had two sisters but one was working in Brisbane and the other was at uni in Townsville. Lucas was pretty much the baby of the family at fifteen and coddled by all of them.
I saw Roy roll his eyes in frustration but, for once, he held his tongue.
“Of course.” I agreed. “We’re only a few minutes away. He’s bound to be okay, Emma.”
She nodded and climbed into the car. As I clambered in after her, she reached over to touch my arm. When I looked at her, surprised, she said, simply, “Thank you.”
6
The school looked peaceful and inviting, sprawled over a couple of acres of lush greenness. So did their home, the unwanted thought popped into my head. The mid-morning break bell must have just gone as the high school kids could be seen eating and strolling in groups around the school. The realisation that it wasn’t even noon stunned me like a bucket of cold water in the face.
“Can I come, mum?” Michele piped up from behind.
I snorted, “Not a hope in hell.”
I looked hard at Roy. “You keep the car ready to go and you keep these kids safe, Roy, or you’d better pray the zombies get to you first.”
He blinked and then grinned widely. “You got it, Lady KillBill!” I scowled at him but didn’t deign to respond.
“What do we do first?” I asked Emma as we crossed the car park, my weapons discreetly tucked away under my loose sweatshirt. I had offered the parang to Emma, reluctant to part with my trusty stake, but she had refused it. Maybe the thought of the part it might have played in her parents’ death was too much for her. “Do we go to the office and warn the school or go straight to his classroom? Do you even know what class he is in?”
“I guess we could cover both options.” She answered slowly, thinking aloud. “How about you tackle the principal and I’ll find Lucas. We’ll meet you back in the office.”
I sighed. Great. “Let’s hope the principal had an open mind and is prepared to put his students’ safety above his scepticism. But make it quick, okay? We don’t know how far ahead of the zombies we are.”
Emma nodded and headed left while I pulled open the office door. Two minutes later, I was talking to the principal, a smartly dressed fortyish woman with sleek brown hair, who introduced herself as Principal Davies. She listened to my edited version of the truth with an ever-increasing frown.
“Let me get this right. You’re saying that we’ve possibly got a crowd of infected and highly dangerous patients headed our way. And the reason we haven’t received any warning from authorities is - according to you - because they are overwhelmed? Is that correct?”
I nodded vigorously. “I know I must sound like a lunatic but, Mrs. Lynch, if I’m telling the truth, you have a chance to save a school full of children. If I’m not, all you risk by listening to me is some egg on the face.”
“And my career, credibility and the parents’ trust.” She added drily.
I held my peace, and resisted the urge to tap my foot impatiently, as she sat in deep thought. Coming to a decision, Mrs. Lynch reached for the phone. As she dialed, she answered my unspoken question. “I have a frien
d in the State Emergency Services. I’m sure she’ll have some answers.”
I crossed my fingers but, as I expected, the phone rang out. The principal slowly returned the phone to its stand.
I sighed, my heart sinking. “She would have confirmed my story, I assure you.”
The dark-haired woman glanced distractedly at me as her fingers tapping on her table, obviously wrestling with her thoughts.
“Actually, the fact that she is too busy dealing with an emergency to answer her mobile, lends some credence to your incredible story.” She answered slowly.
I leant forward eagerly. “Then, please, move your students to the most secure location in your school. Trust me, you’ll know within a couple of hours whether this is a hoax or not. When the crisis is over, you can contact the parents.”
Coming to a decision, Principle Davies stood up. “I will institute a lockdown. All the students and staff will lock themselves in their classrooms until further notice.”
As I stood up to protest that those measures might not be enough, Emma stormed in. “The teacher is refusing to let Lucas leave without my parents’ permission!”
She glared at the principal. “And they’re too dead to give their permission, I’m afraid!”
The principal flinched slightly. “I’m sorry, but our procedures are designed to protect our students. We can’t let just anyone come in and take our students away, even -” She glanced sideways at me. “in special circumstances. He’ll be safe here.”
Clasping Emma’s arm firmly, I backed out of the office. “I understand. Thanks for your time, Principal Davies.”
As Emma opened her mouth to protest, I practically pushed her down the corridor ahead of me. Stumbling onto the grass outside, she glowered at me. “What the hell, Lori…?”
“Sorry, Emma, but she wasn’t going to budge and we just don’t have the time to waste, trying to change her mind. At least she is willing to do a lockdown. That’s something! Come on, lead the way to Lucas’ classroom.”
Emma hastened ahead. “What’s the plan, Lori?”
“We grab him, we get out.” Not much of a plan, I know.
****
Three doors down from Lucas’ classroom, the lockdown siren started up. At least I assumed that was what it was, as the sound of Darth Vader’s theme blared through the loudspeakers. The sound of doors banging shut and louvers closing echoed down the corridor. Without a word, we sprinted forward.
Seeing the classroom door about to close, I launched myself at it, sending it slamming backwards against the wall. I caught a glimpse of a startled older woman stumbling backwards as I staggered into the room. Emma surged past as I struggled to regain my footing. “Lucas!”
“Hey, Emma.” A lanky boy with tousled dark hair stood up, bewilderment on his face. His teacher quickly moved to stand in front of him protectively. A dark haired woman in her thirties, she glared at Emma.
“Lucas isn’t going anywhere, as I told you before.”
I looked over at Emma. Her face hardened with resolve as she ignored the teacher and focused on her brother. “Lucas, we need to go. Now.”
Blue eyes cloudy with confusion, he glanced from Emma to his teacher. “What’s going on, Em?”
“I’ll explain it to you later, Lucas. Right now, we need to get out of here.” Eyes holding his, she held her hand out.
For a moment, we stood in a frozen tableau before a fascinated audience of students. It was broken by Lucas’ sudden dart around his teacher. “Lucas Wall!”
As the woman ran forward to intercept him, I pulled the parang out from under my sweatshirt and waved it threateningly. She gasped and stopped in her tracks. Guilt flooded me as the colour drained from her face and fearful gasps echoed around the room.
“Sorry.” I said firmly, pushing down the wave of emotion. “This is not up for discussion. The boy is coming with us. We’ll keep him safe, I promise you.”
Emma smiled with relief as she grasped her tall, younger brother’s hand. Wide-eyed and stunned, he allowed her to pull him out of the room. Backing out slowly, eyes on the furious and scared teacher, I reached out and pulled the door shut. Almost immediately, I felt the classroom door start to open.
“Stay inside!” I yelled angrily. “Or, by God, you’ll lose a hand!” The door stayed shut.
As I turned around, there was a cry of outrage. Principal Davies was hurrying along the walkway with a couple of men beside her. “What do you think you are doing? I cannot allow students to leave the premises.”
Exchanging a glance with Emma, I grabbed Lucas’ sleeve and pulled him into a run. This was no time for a reasonable discussion.
“Are you guys crazy? Do you know how much trouble we’re going to be in?! What the hell’s so important?!” Lucas cried as he ran beside us.
I screeched to a stop as we reached the end of the walkway.
“That.” I said tightly, pointing past him.
“What the hell is that?” Lucas said, trying hard not to sound freaked out. He and Emma were staring in horrified fascination at the mass of bodies heading across the oval towards the school. There must have been over a hundred bloodied figures staggering across the green. Young and old, they all had a single goal. Eating us.
“Zombies.” I murmured, tearing my eyes away from the sight of a dead girl in her bloodstained uniform. So young. So inhuman.
“Zombies?” Lucas blinked and then started, as his eyes, so much like Emma’s, finally registered what they were really seeing. “Oh, shit.”
“Don’t swear.” Emma murmured automatically, her eyes glued to the mob only minutes away.
I swallowed and shook myself. “Let’s go.” I couldn’t believe how quickly this … plague …was spreading. Were my babies still safe? Was Michele safe in the car?
We raced back down the pathway towards the school entrance and the furious Principal.
“I wish I’d gone to gym more often.” Emma gasped as she ran beside me. It was a sentiment I echoed. Lucas, on the other hand, loped easily behind us.
Seeing me waving the parang wildly, the male teachers moved out of the way quickly. The principal bravely stepped forward, arms held out. “I can’t let you take him off campus.”
Keeping Emma and Lucas behind me, I moved slowly around the principal, weapon forward. “Sorry. You don’t like it, take it up with them.” I jerked my thumb behind me.
Principal Davies glanced down the walkway. Her eyes widened as she saw the first of the bloodied creatures enter the school grounds. “That’s not possible…”
“Oh, it is.” I said grimly. “Now if you’ll excuse me…”
Numbly, she made no further attempts to stop us as we started running again.
As we passed through the lunch area, Lucas veered to the side. Opening my mouth to yell at him, I saw him disappear into the open sports shed and emerge with three wooden cricket bats. The boy can think on his feet. As he glanced at me, I smiled and nodded my approval.
Bursting through the entranceway onto the front lawns, I could see the copse of trees some fifty feet away, blocking my view of the ambulance. Relief flooded my body. The zombies hadn’t beaten us here.
“Watch out!” Lucas yelled as he pointed to our left. Oh no no. Pouring through the trees on our left were more zombies. Spoke too soon. I did a quick estimate of the distance to the car. It was going to be close.
“Run!” I screamed. With every last bit of reserved energy in my body, I sprinted for the road and the safety of the car, Lucas and Emma close behind. All the time, I was acutely aware of the wall of bodies closing in on my left.
We burst through the trees to the road and the ambulance waiting on the other side. Except it wasn’t.
We stopped, stunned, for precious seconds as we looked at the space that the vehicle had occupied.
“Come on.” Lucas tugged my arm until I moved forward again. He led us across the street and down into the gully that ran the length of the road. Silently we raced towards a storm drain. I fe
lt numb. Where had Roy gone with the children? Why had he abandoned us? Were the kids in danger?
When we arrived at the storm drain, Lucas grabbed the grate covering it and with a jerk, removed it. The sound brought me back to the present. As far as I knew, the kids were safe. Us, on the other hand…
“Looks like you’ve done this before.” Emma murmured suspiciously to her brother.
He glanced at us as he stepped aside with the grate. “Nah. Everyone knows it’s where the smokers hang out.”
The lumbering sounds of heavy feet at the top of the gully told us we were out of time. I clambered into the drain with Emma and we pressed our backs against the curved wall as Lucas climbed in. Quietly, he pulled the grate back into position.
We held our breath as bodies began stumbling and falling into the gully. Thump! One fell so close to us that I could see every detail of the raw wound that marred the side of his head. The young adult male pushed himself to his knees and then linked his fingers through the grate to pull himself up. I tensed, sending up an urgent prayer to the gods above for the grate to stay in place. Emma clutched my hand convulsively.
As he stood up, his face pressed against the grate. It was dark in the drain but I had no idea if it was dark enough to hide us from the monster. I stopped breathing as his dark, cold eyes seemingly looking straight at me. For a long minute, he pressed against the grate before, finally, moving away.
I slowly released the breath I had been holding. Emma loosened her grip on my hand but I was so terrified of attracting attention that I daren’t even turn my head to look at her.
More and more zombies gathered in the gulch. Soon it was so thick with bodies that they stood shoulder to shoulder-men, women, the elderly and the students. The air filled with the sound of their moans.
We sat there, unmoving, for an interminable time. At least it felt like forever, although it turned out to be only about thirty minutes. The creatures milled, no doubt trying to locate the warm human bodies they knew were here somewhere. I breathed as shallowly as I could, petrified that they would hear me. Sometimes they wandered right up to the grate, appearing to be peering inside. Any second, I expected them to realise we were here and drag us out. Each time one came near, my heart hammered so violently against my chest, I feared that it was audible.