Infestation

by Timothy J. Bradley

  Joey crawled to the door and began trying to open it, but it had been locked when the proctor left. He kicked it a few times with no success.

  Someone shouted, “Get into the corners!”

  Andy felt his way along the walls, bumping into the other boys in the darkness.

  The heavy shaking continued for what felt an eternity, but in reality must have only been seconds. Alarming creaks and groans sounded from the walls and the floor. Andy was starting to feel sick from the erratic motion.

  The shaking subsided to a rolling motion that continued for several seconds, with an occasional tremor rippling through.

  “I think it’s stopping!” Andy said. The rolling stopped, and the room was still. The only thing moving was the dust, swirling around the frightened boys. He stood up slowly. “Is everyone okay?”

  Joey retorted, “Who died and made you king?”

  Reilly’s voice sounded from the dark. “Joey, I swear, if you don’t shut up, I’ll put your face through the freakin’ wall.”

  Pyro said, “Hey, they’ll have to check on us, right? They won’t just leave us out here, right?”

  “I don’t think we’ll be the first thing on their minds after that earthquake,” Hector said.

  As the dust settled, the boys sat with their backs against the walls, staring dully into the darkness.

  Andy was exhausted, but so full of adrenaline that he couldn’t think straight. All he could do was wait for someone to let them out.

  The sound of Joey hammering at the door woke Andy. “C’mon, let us out of here!” he yelled.

  Light from around the door frame lit the room well enough to see. Hours had passed since the earthquake, and no one had bothered to check on them. They were all getting hungry and thirsty. They had finished off the last of the water earlier, and needed more.

  Andy went to the door. Joey gave it one last kick, then moved aside.

  The door frame had been twisted by the quake. He took a look at the lock. It rattled when he pushed on the door.

  “Hey … hey, you guys! I think the lock’s broken. The door is just stuck. C’mere and help me.”

  Pyro and Hector joined him.

  “If we all hit it at once, maybe we can bust it out of the frame.”

  “Okay … one … two … three!”

  The three boys kicked the door. Joey laughed at them.

  “Again,” Andy said. Another kick. The door didn’t budge.

  “Again.”

  This time they heard a splintering crrack! from the door. The other boys hurried over to help. A few more kicks, and the door started to give.

  From across the room, Joey yelled, “Outta the way!” He ran at the door, throwing himself into it. The door splintered into two pieces, and Joey went sprawling into the short hallway outside the room.

  The boys piled out. Reilly said, “Let’s see what’s going on around here.” They started making their way to a fire exit door. The walls had large cracks running through them; ants crawled out of them, over the walls. Chips of plaster covered the floor. Dust swirled in the warm air.

  Reilly pushed open the fire exit door. No alarm sounded. The heat and light pounded down on them as they left the outbuilding and walked toward the main building. A hot breeze blew past them, raising dust. “Wow, it’s good to be out of that hotbox,” he said. He stopped dead when he saw the damage to the school. “Whoa. Look at that.”

  Most of the windows in the main building had been shattered. Some of the exterior walls were damaged, with deep cracks running through the cinder blocks. It looked like part of the roof had fallen in. Smoke and dust were billowing from within.

  “Geez, check this out!” Hector waved them over. There was a three- or four-inch-wide crack in the earth. The section they were standing on was several inches higher than the ground on the other side.

  “Holy smokes!” said Pyro. Andy whistled.

  They stepped across the crack and headed to the main building.

  The first door they reached was locked. So were the second and third. They pounded on the doors and shouted, but no one responded.

  “Electronic locks,” Andy said. “They must have been locked when the power went.”

  Shields said, “That’s stupid. Wouldn’t they have some, I dunno, generator or something that would start up in a power cut?”

  Andy shrugged. “That would make sense. Maybe something happened to it.”

  The closest windows were unbroken, and about eight feet off the ground.

  “If we could make it up to one of those windows, maybe we could break it and get in,” Andy said.

  Joey sneered, “Unless you’re gonna grow a couple feet, it’s too freakin’ high.”

  Andy said, “Hector, Pyro: You guys go back into that building we were held in, and see if you can find something we can use to reach that window. Maybe there are some file cabinets, or boxes, or something like that we can stack up.” They nodded and hurried back to the outbuilding.

  “Who’s got a good throwing arm?” Andy asked, picking up a rock from the ground.

  Joey grabbed the rock from Andy and flung it toward the window. The rock bounced off the wall, several feet short.

  “You throw like a girl,” Reilly said. He picked up a rock and threw it. It cracked the window. “Shields, you’re the pitcher here.”

  “Yup, Major League someday,” Shields said as he picked up a rock. The thin, lanky boy wound up and let it fly. The rock crashed through the window. The boys stood there, expecting someone inside the building to start screaming.

  Nothing.

  The fire door to the outbuilding slammed open. Pyro and Hector were dragging an empty filing cabinet between them. Hector waved and yelled, “Hey, look what we found!”

  Reilly stepped close to Andy. “That’s good. We have to get inside and get some water.” He jogged over to help with the metal cabinet. Andy realized with a start that Reilly and the other boys were actually listening to him, treating him with the respect given to a leader. It felt good.

  The cabinet stood within a couple of feet of the window ledge. One by one, the boys carefully climbed on top of the filing cabinet and hauled themselves through the open window. As Andy reached the top of the cabinet, he heard something. He stopped climbing for a moment.

  “Anyone hear that?” he asked.

  Hector, climbing in front of Andy, listened. “You mean that … buzzing sound?”

  “Yeah. What is it?”

  The sound was a chirping buzz, coming from all around.

  “Whatever it is, I don’t like it,” Hector said. He and Andy climbed in through the window.

  The main complex had lost power as well. Cracks crisscrossed the walls. The boys made their way slowly through the darkened halls of the school.

  Pyro’s voice quavered. “Where is everybody? What’s all over the floor? What, did the toilets overflow in here?”

  “Something’s all over the walls, too,” Shields said. He wiped his hands on his pants after Pyro’s remark about the toilets.

  “And what is that smell?” Reilly exclaimed. “It’s like something died in here. Yikes.”

  “Hold on a second,” Andy said. He checked in one of the offices off the corridor they were in. He could see papers scattered all over the floor. He opened the desk drawers and rooted around a bit. “Aha!” A small penlight was in a tray filled with pens and pencils. He clicked it on and panned it around the room.

  “Oh, no …”

  He stumbled back out to the hallway, shining the penlight around.

  “It’s … it’s blood!”

  Blood was smeared along the walls and spattered on the floor. It was everywhere, as if it had gushed and sprayed from the many cracks in the walls.

  “Hey, this is a joke, right?” Joey said, his voice cracking. “Where is everybody? What happened here? Where is everyone?” Andy studied Joey for a moment. A few hours ago, he had feared the bigger boy, but now, the bully was almost paralyzed by shock, whimpering
in fear.

  A sharp chittering sound echoed faintly through the hall.

  The boys continued searching the building. The phones were dead, electricity was off, and if there was a backup generator, it wasn’t working. They had found several flashlights, but no people. The blood splattered through the halls was the only indication that anyone had been there.

  There was bottled water in the cafeteria, along with food in the large refrigerators, which would only keep for a short time. The boys ransacked the food, and no one spoke for the next half hour as they ate and drank so much water that they could feel it sloshing around in their stomachs.

  Andy poked around the cafeteria and found additional cases of bottled water and cans of food. They wouldn’t starve for a while, anyway.

  “It’s hot in here,” Shields said. “We better find somewhere to cool off.”

  Andy nodded. “You’re right about that.” He got to his feet and went to one of the exits to the dining hall. He absently pulled open one of the double doors as he replied to Shields. “I don’t know where we can go …” He trailed off, brushing something from his chest that tickled. He turned to see what it was.

  There was something standing outside the door.

  It was some kind of creature, about chest high to Andy. It was about the size of a lion, with a triangular head. Large, glittering eyes regarded him emotionlessly. Spiky antennae were touching Andy’s shirt, arm, and face.

  He screamed and pushed the door shut, slamming it on one of the thing’s antennae. A short piece of it fell inside the room and twitched on the floor.

  From across the room, Shields said, “Geez, Greenwood, what is wrong with you?”

  “Get over here! Help me keep the doors closed … Something’s out there!” Andy yelled desperately.

  Hector and Pyro ran over. “What? What is it?” Pyro asked as Andy held the double doors shut.

  An antenna snaked under the door, touching the floor, then Andy’s foot. Andy yelped and pulled his foot out of the way.

  The creature rammed against the doors. Andy held them closed. The doors bulged inward as the creature hit the door again. Andy was almost knocked off his feet. “Don’t just stand there — help me!” he barked.

  Shields and Reilly ran up, holding some mops and brooms. They ran them through the door handles. Reilly pulled Andy back. The creature threw itself at the doors a few more times and then stopped.

  An earsplitting buzz sounded. The boys blocked their ears. After a few seconds it ceased.

  A splintering, crackling sound came through the door. Andy could see the shadow of the thing moving under the doorway. He put his palm against the wood and felt it vibrating.

  “I think it’s chewing through the door,” Andy said, backing away. “We have to find somewhere to hide, ’cause it’s gonna get through.”

  “Hey, I know where we can go!” Hector said.

  Pyro’s eyes widened. “No way. Absolutely NOT!” he said.

  The trip to Pyro and Andy’s room took some time. They were able to climb onto a desk and break through the ceiling panels. Using the crawl space over the ceiling, the boys carefully made their way across the complex to their rooms. They could hear things moving around the hallways. When they reached the corridor near Pyro’s room, they slid a ceiling panel aside to climb down. Hector spotted something on the floor.

  “Hey, what’s that?” He crossed the corridor. Andy and Pyro jumped down and nervously kept watch. Hector stooped to pick up the object.

  Pyro directed the flashlight beam onto the thing he held.

  It was the back half of a sneaker, with ripped edges. It was stained with dried blood. Hector yelped and dropped it.

  “Ronnie. This was Ronnie Simon’s. See where he drew some stuff on it?” Hector said. There was what looked like a guitar and some lettering on the shoe.

  “Did you know him?” Andy asked. He couldn’t see Hector’s expression in the dark hallway, but he noticed his slumped shoulders and his bowed head.

  Hector pushed his glasses up. “Yeah. He really liked to draw. A lot of the guys took over his chores if he drew stuff on their sneakers.” He shook his head. “What happened to everyone?”

  There were sounds out in the hall. They could hear the buzzing of those things coming closer.

  From the ceiling, Reilly said, “C’mon. We’d better keep moving.” The boys on the floor climbed back over the ceiling and continued their slow trek.

  After making sure the hallway was clear, Pyro dropped down to the floor. He opened the door to his room and climbed up onto the top bunk and removed the broken ceiling panel to get access to the crawl space in the ceiling. The other boys joined him in his room.

  “Shut the door, and everyone follow me once we’re up over the ceiling. We need to figure out what to do, without that thing getting us. Let’s go,” Pyro said.

  He turned to the others. “Do me a favor, and don’t touch anything.”

  DON’T GO BY YOURSELF, GET ONE OF your grad students to go with you. Good advice from his girlfriend that he had ignored … again. She may not get to say “I told you so” this time, Gerry Medford thought. He had protested, claiming that this might be one of the last times he could get away alone before they were married. Now, this could be one of the last things he got to do, ever.

  He didn’t think he could run much farther. Dehydration from the heat was taking its toll. There was one, maybe two of those things behind him. Gerry didn’t want to find out what they would do if they caught him. He wasn’t even sure what they were. As he ran, the scientist part of his brain kicked in and tried to analyze the glimpses he’d had of the things. They weren’t any kind of coyote or big cat; their proportions were all wrong. They looked about the size of a lion, but were whipcord thin. And they were fast, too. If he didn’t find some way to shake them, they’d be close enough to pounce in thirty seconds.

  As he crested a rocky slope, he saw the group of school buildings just a quarter mile away, and a high chain-link fence about a hundred yards from him. The fence was topped by barbed wire. Like that would stop him.

  His lungs burned. His legs were getting heavy. He was slowing down.

  Something sharp poked his back. He yelped and put on a burst of speed.

  He leaped halfway up the height of the fence and climbed madly. Something heavy rammed into the fence behind him, almost knocking him off. As he reached the top of the fence, he could feel the barbed wire slicing into his hands, but he made it over and jumped down to the ground.

  One of the creatures was climbing up the fence, but a second was using its jaws to cut through the fence wire.

  What are these things? Gerry wondered. His eyeglasses were smudged with dirt and sweat. He struggled to his feet, and began running toward the school.

  Thank goodness, he thought. He could call for help from there.

  He looked back at the fence. The creature that had climbed over had dropped to the ground inside the fence and was loping toward him. The other was just about done cutting a hole in the fence. He could hear that peculiar buzzing sound that they made.

  The first door he reached was locked. He pounded it a few times, then went along the building looking for an alternate way in.

  The next two doors were also locked.

  “HEY! LET ME IN!” he screamed.

  A voice from overhead said, “Go around! Go around!”

  Gerry looked up and saw a figure on the roof of the building, motioning for him to go around to the other side. He started running again. Behind him, the thing was getting close. Through his smudged glasses, he could see its huge mandibles snapping as it ran toward him.

  He turned a corner and saw a battered filing cabinet set up next to a window on the side of the building. He climbed onto the cabinet, almost knocking it over.

  The voice from the roof said “Close your eyes!”

  Gerry stopped climbing, and shut his eyes. The thing was only a couple of steps behind him.

  Something whistled pa
st his head. BANG! He heard shattering glass and felt pieces of something jab into his back and arms. BANG! BANG!

  “Okay, get inside!” the voice said.

  He rapidly pulled himself in over the windowsill. He glanced back outside at the thing that had been chasing him. It was dead, apparently. He was unable to identify the creature, which was baffling. He was a biologist, and had seen bizarre creatures from all around the world, but he’d never seen anything like the carcass lying just outside.

  Suddenly, a wave of dizziness washed over him. He leaned against the wall, and sank weakly to the floor.

  Andy, Hector, and Pyro pounded down the stairs from the roof. Andy eased the door to the second floor open a crack. The hallway was clear. The three boys quietly jogged to the window that they had directed the man to use to climb in.

  Finally, Andy thought, someone who’ll know what to do.

  The boys rounded a corner, and saw him lying on the floor, chest heaving. They ran over. Pyro actually knelt down and grabbed hold of Gerry’s grubby sleeve. He brushed a couple of black ants off the man’s shirt.

  Gerry grabbed a water bottle out of Pyro’s hand and drank the whole thing in one long gulp. He dropped the bottle on the ground. Suddenly, he got a crazed look in his eyes and started retching. He had slugged the water down too quickly, and his stomach was letting him know it wasn’t happy. After a few seconds, the water seemed like it would stay put.

  “I have to thank you guys, you saved my life. Those things were right on me. Where’s Maxwell, or Albertson?” He looked around, noticing for the first time that he was surrounded by kids. “Where are the teachers?”

  Shields shook his head silently. None of the others spoke.

  “Oh. Well, just take me to whoever’s in charge here. I have to get some help. Those things out there are dangerous,” Gerry said.

  “Dude, you’re supposed to help us! You’re Mr. Bug Man or whatever, right?” Joey cried.