by Bryan Mosier
“Yeah, why?”
“Well, I was just thinking, why wasn’t she here with the other cheerleaders?”
Thinking about the notion of what debauchery might have been taking place in the boy’slocker room Alex can only rationalize“She probably was just too good of a person to do…whatever they were doing in there.”
“Hmm, I guess so” is the only reply that Darla can give to his rationale.
Walking out the front main entrance of the school, the group finds a short, yellow school bus parked with the engine idling and the lights on, illuminating the now dark reception area in front of the school. “Seriously? This is the best you could find?” asks Bryan.
“Hey man, don’t knock it‘til you try it. I rode the short bus all fourteen years I was in school?” says Larry. “Besides, look right here.” He adds as he points to a panel next to the bi-folding door at the front of the bus. Painted on the side of the bus is a small cartoon character of a bunny rabbitwith the words“Randy Rabbit” artfully painted in a childlike scrawl alongside. “Huh…Huh? Get it? Randy? Rabbit? You know cause rabbits area always….” Oh we get it” interrupts Alex before Larry can get any more explicit with his sophomoric explanation. Looking at Darla Alex offers an apologetic look and smiles when she returns the gesture with a look of appreciation. “C’mon guys we need to get going. Remember, we got a mission to finish?” commands Bryan as he steps up onto the first of the three short steps of the bus.
Filing onto the bus each member of the group takes a seat. Darla and Alex take the front seats next to Suzie-Steve who has mannedthe driver’s seat. Leaning in to talk to Suzie-Steve“You know how to get to Donna’s house?” asks Alex.. “Oh hell yeah. I could get there blindfolded?” As Suzie-Steve jerks the rust covered floor mounted gear shift into first gear while simultaneously releasing the clutch pedal, the bus lurches forward hard and comes to an abrupt halt, the engine now quiet. “Okay, let’s try that again” says Suzie-Steve, trying to conceal the embarrassment from her voice. Turning the key in the ignition the engine roars to life once again and this time, with more care and with a little more precise hand-foot coordination the bus begins to move forward in a much gentler manner. “Okay, now I think I got the hangof this?” says Suzie-Steve as she manages to shift from first to second gear without any serious interruption in momentum.
As the bus moves down the paved two-lane road away from the school, swaying from left to right to avoid the occasional stranded vehicle or lurching into the air after connecting with the odd corpse unfortunate enough to stumble into its path, Alex looks out the window, watching the world pass by. Looking at the orange reflectors on the guard rails racing by in a blur of light Alex thinks back on the whirlwind of events that have led him to this place. Looking up from the speeding images just outside the bus window Alex looks further out, seeing only silhouetted shapes slowly drifting by and again his thoughts turn inward. “What are we gonna do?” he thinks to himself. “What happens tomorrow? Or the next day…or week? What are we gonna do when winter comes…oh shit…winter is coming, no more Game of Thrones. Damn I hate the zombie apocalypse” he whispers to himself, quietly hoping that the aging author of his favorite book and boob ladentelevision series hasn’t himself ended up as just another stumble bum out in the world looking for a brain to chew on.
Feeling the hairs standing up on the back of his neck, Alex gets the feeling that someone is watching him. Turning to look at Darla their eyes lock for a brief moment before she turns away to herself look out the window. Feeling the muscles of his stomach tighten in a knot, surprised and somewhat impressed with himself that he has any abdominal muscles to begin with, Alex slides over to the edge of the drab green faux leather bench seat. Turning his body so that his legs fill the narrow aisle separating the two rows of seatsthat run the entire length of the diminutive bus, Alex leans forward and whispers to Darla“What are you thinking?”
Still looking down at her lap, her legs cramped into the small space obviously designed for smaller children whose short little bodies don’t require much leg room, she just shakes her head and says“I…I don’t know.”
Confused, Alex reaches his hand out and, pausing for a moment as doubt tries to infiltrate his brain, takes her hand in his. “It’s all gonna be okay. We got this”
Finally looking up into his eyes, Alex can see the tears starting to well up in Darla’s eyes as the reality of the situation starts to overwhelm her.
“What are we doing? We don’t know what is waiting for us at Donna’s house. She said there was a bunch of zombies but we don’t know how many. It could be a couple dozen or a couple hundred.” Hearing the panic in her voice Alex grips her hand tighter and, moving over into the seat next to herputs his arm around her. “Should we turn around and go back to the hardware store?” asks Alex, knowing full well what her answer will be.
“I just keep thinking about Melody and Carla and…and even Helga. I can’t let anything happen to them” she says as the tears roll down her cheeks.
“Nothing is going to happen to them. I promise. But we can’t leave that girl alone in that house. She won’t make it on her own. And if we can help, well, shouldn’t we. What kind of people would we be if we let the zombies get her? What kind of world will this be if we act like that?”
Her cheeks a bright shade of crimson from both the embarrassment of feeling ashamed for second guessing their mission and from the tears from her worrying about her family, Darla leans in and lays her head on Alex’s shoulder. In a quiet whisper, so low that Alex could barely hear her words, Darla admits“I...I don’t want to lose you either.” Not knowing what to say he sits there, taking in the moment. Feeling the softness of her hair against his cheek with its sweet smell of shampoo and the softness of her skin in his hand, thinking how small and fragile her hand feels in his, Alex begins to feel overwhelmed. With a rush of emotions flowing over him, Alex feels his own face flush with a warm sensation as the blood fills the capillaries of his cheeks. Flustered, Alex manages to choke out a stuttered whisper“You…you don’t need to…to…worry about that. I’m not going anywhere.”
“What do you think that’s all about” asks Bryan.
“Not sure” comes Carla’s response.
Seeing the tenderness in their posture and body language, Carla knows full well the emotions that both Alex and Darla are feeling at the moment because she is feeling them herself. Only hers are jumbled with a tinge of jealousy as she looks to Bryan, frustration at his obliviousness to her growing feelings for him evident in her eyes. Feeling the heat of her gaze piercing through his brain, the only response Bryan can manage is a simple, unknowing“What?” Shaking her head and turning to look the other way Carla lets out anirritated“Men!”
Turning in his seat to talk to Justin, Bryan’s jaw drops as his eyes burn into his brain an image that he knows in that instant will torment his mind for all time. With Justin pressed hard against the back seat of the bus, Helga pressing her face hard into his has him locked into a slobbering, tongue filled caress. “Oh I think I’m gonna be sick” Bryan chokesas he turns back in his seat, trying desperately to think about anything else other than what he just saw“…bouncing here and there and everywhere….What you talkinabout Mr. D….Pink Power Ranger, rawrrrrr” and with that the multitude of fantasies he had as a pubescent teenager about the karate kicking action heroine of his favorite cheesy after school television program come roaring back. “Damn it!” he mutters to his self as the fantasy fades, unsuccessful in his attempt to focus on anything other than the slurping sounds coming from the seat behind him.
Turning onto the paved drive into the upscale gated community Suzie-Steve brings the mini-bus to a halt as the glow of the headlights illuminates the large wrought iron gates, now hanging slack on broken hinges. Just beyond a winding road twists and turns up the hill through the manicured roadway fading into darkness as the light from the bus’sheadlights fall off, giving way to the blackness of the night. “Well, this is the place”
says Suzie-Steve.
“Looks like somebody was trying to get out of here in a hurry” says Bryan pointing to the twisted bars of the gates their metal frames mangled and deformed.
“No” says Alex. “Look, they’re mashed inwards. Somebody wasn’t trying to get out. They wanted to get in.”
As silence falls over the group with the reality of the situation starting to weigh heavy on them they are jolted back into reality by the sound of gears grinding together as Suzie-Steve tries to engage the clutch once more. Finally managing to find the right gear, the bus lurches forward, throwing everyone backward into their seats.“We ain’t gonna get nothin done just sittinhere.” says Suzie-Steve“Let’s get up there and get this over with.” As the bus rolls forward, twisting and turning up the long incline of the main thoroughfare Alex leans forward, watching the headlights for any sign of movement. Passing one ancillary driveway after another, each leading off to one high priced, upscale home now left dark and abandoned, Alex can feel his resolve start to wane. Feeling a single bead of cold sweat trickle down the back of his neck he unconsciously starts to bounce his knee rapidly in a nervous fit. Biting the corner of his lip Alex is startled when he suddenly feels a hand touch his knee. Looking over to Darla and feeling a calmness come over him, Alex turns to Suzie-Steve and asks“Which one of these houses is Donna’s?”
“She lives all the way at the top of the hill” comes the reply as Suzie-Steve spins the steering wheel hard to the right to guide the little bus through a sharp curve. “We’re almost there.”
Rolling around the last bend of the driveway the large two story house comes into view. Silhouetted against the night sky brightened by the glow of a full moon, the house, even in the posh neighborhood was, at one time, undoubtedly the envy of all the neighbors, now feels ominous and foreboding, its large, dark shape dominating the hilltop. Off to the right side of the roundabout oval driveway stands a huge detached garage its three large white painted metal bay doors visible in the glow of the moonlight. At first the group thinks that maybe things won’t be so bad but turning into the driveway of Donna’s house all hope for an easy end to their journey fades away in an instant as the headlights of the bus illuminates the largefront yard of the home. Filling the landscape, a sea of stumbling figures amble back and forth, seemingly lost with no direction. Bringing the bus to a halt once again, Suzie-Steve is the first to verbalize what everyone else is thinking“Mother Puss BUCKET!.”
“How…how many do you think….” asks Bryan
“I don’t know…a hundred…maybe two” suggests Suzie-Steve leaning her face closer to the glass to try to see further into the darkness so as to get a better estimate of the numbers they are facing.
Looking at the figures meandering in and out of the glow of the headlights they can clearly see that these people were not all residents of this once posh upper class neighborhood. With their muddy work boots, faded denim jeans and off the rack clothing, these were once just average people. Not the wealthy suburban aristocratsthat would have called this community home. “They must’ve thought the gates and walls would’ve been safe” says Darla. “They came here…to be safe…and they ended up like…like this.”
Suddenly,“Dude! Turn of the lights!” commands Alex in a whispered yell.
Looking ahead Suzie-Steve can see the reason for Alex’s alarm. Turning slowly one wandering figure after another takes notice of the light and sets its glowing red gaze towardsthe bus. “Oh shit!” says Suzie-Steve, chiding herself for not thinking about it sooner. Turning off the lights the entire world falls back into blackness. Looking out the window the vast emptiness of the night is slowly filled with a menacing red glow as more and more undead eyes turn towards the little yellow bus.
“Um” says Bryan, the nervousness in his voice clear in the still of the darkness,“do you think they noticed us?”
“Don’t know” says Alex.
Looking to Alex for leadership,“Well what are we gonna do?” asks Bryan, a sense of nervous frustration starting to take hold.
“I don’t know!” comes the strained response.
“Why don’t we just unleash the redhead rampage on‘em?” suggests Brandon.
“What?”
“The girls. They kicked butt back at the school. I mean, they could take‘em. Right?”
Trying not to let the fear show, Darla’s voice trembles from out of the darkness at the front of the bus“That was a couple dozen…. thisis a whole lot more. I don’t…” she starts but her thought is interrupted.
“We’re not sending them out there!” says Alex, the finality of the decision clearly evident in his tone.
“What then?” asks Bryan.
Standing in the narrow aisle of the bus, Alex leans forward and whispers into Suzie-Steve’s ear,“What do yathink? Ramming speed?”
Lost in the darkness, a knowing smile comes across Suzie-Steve’s face as she replies“No, no, no…we gonna have to go all LUDICROUS on these dead ass mutha fucka’s. Hang on to your shit y’all. It’s about to get real up in this be-yatchright now.”
Chapter 31
“Y’allready for this” asks Suzy-Steve as she presses the gas pedal hard to the floor causing the engine to rev louder. Not hearing any protests, she flips the little red dashboard switch and the headlights once again glare to life, penetrating the darkness.
“SHIT!” yells Suzie-Steve as she looks through the glass windshield of the bus to see that they are now completely surrounded by the walking undead, a sea of blank rotting faces staring into the nothingness that now, in the glow of the headlights, find something to grab their attention.
“Hold on!” yells Suzie-Steve again as she presses the clutch pedal to the floor and slams the gearshift into first gear. Standing on the gas while releasing the clutch at the same time she manages to get the large dual axel tires to momentarily squeal on the damp pavement of the driveway. Plowing forward into the mass of undead zombies the bus lurches up and down as one zombie after another falls under the massive weight of the bus as it screams through the crowd. Yanking the steering wheel back and forth trying to maintain some control over the bus as it lurches this way and that Suzie-Steve tries to keep the bus on the paved surface of the driveway but in the darkness of the night and the confusion of the moment it becomes too much for her to handle. Feeling the back tires of the bus drop off of the pavement onto the soft grass of the yard she gives the steering wheel another hard turn to the left. Overcorrecting for the turn, the bus lurches sideways, its momentum sending the passengers flying to the right side of the bus. Already top heavy and tilting perilously the added weight and momentum of the flying bodies inside prove too much for the tiny buses suspension and Suzie-Steve’s prolific driving abilities to manage. Feeling the bus starting to turn over Alex manages to yell“HOLD ON!” just as the bus comes crashing down on its side. With fiery sparks flying through the night air as the bus skids forward on the damp pavement of the driveway the metal frame of the little bus plows into the crowd of zombies sending the undead scattering.
Finally coming to a rest, the bus, its headlights shattered from the collision, falls into complete darkness that is immediately followed by an unnerving silence as the engine sputters for a brief moment and then stalls completely. The only sounds that can be heard are the low groaning moans of the undead just outside. Separated by only a perilously thin sheet of metal and glass, the bus has now become a lone island in a sea of flesh eating monsters. “Is everybody…is everybody okay?” comes Alex’s voice out of the darkness, soon to be followed by a roll call of sorts as each member of the group acknowledges that they are still alive. Digging into his bag Brandon brings out his flash light. “Shit! Shit! Shit!” exclaims Suzie-Steve as she stumbles to her feet, trying to make sense of the bus’ new orientation.“I’m sorry you guys. I tried…” she starts but Alex interrupts“It’s not your fault. You did the best you could. Let’s just figure out how to get out of here now, alright?” Nodding in agreement Alex takes the flas
hlight from Brandon and shines it through the cracked windshield of the bus. As he peers into the darkness Darla can see his shoulders slacken as his head drops just a little. “What is it?” she asks.
“It…it looks like we’re still too far from the house.” comes the reply, the sound of defeat clearly evident in his voice. “It’stoo far and there’s just too many of them”.
“Not this way” yells Bryan. “Look, we can get to the garage”
Climbing over seats Alex rushes to the back of the bus and shines the flashlight through the window of the rear emergency exit. “He’s right. We can make it. Grab what you can and get ready. We gottahurry.”
“Hold on a second” starts Carla“We don’t even know if we can get in there. What if it’slocked?”
“What’s the other option? We can’t stay here” argues Bryan.
Looking to Darla for guidance, Carla asks“What do you think?”
Trying to instill confidence in her sister, Darla straightens herself up as she slings her bag over her shoulder“C’mon. Let’s get out of here.”
“Um, guys. I..um…got a little bit of a problem here” says Larry.
Looking back through the overturned bus, Suzie-Steve’s heart drops as she realizes what the problem is. Larry, with his ample girth, is lodged in between two support rails that normally would keep the seats firmly attached to the floor of the bus. “The rails must have bent when the bus flipped over. I can’t get my leg out. I’m stuck. Leave it the fat guy, huh.” says Larry, trying to make light of the situation to cover up the obvious fear in his voice. Climbing over the seats to get to Larry, Suzie-Steve grabs him by his shoulders and starts to pull. “C’mon you fat fuck, get your big ass up. We gottaget out of here.”
“I can’t. I’m stuck” comes the strained reply as Suzie-Steve continues to pull with no success.