Secret of Mars

by Eric Johnson

  “I wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for her,” Tom said quietly.

  Emmett pleaded, “You’re not like her.”

  “Please!” Winston begged.

  Run

  There was no time to think. The creatures were coming. His hesitation had already killed the class. What right did the teacher have making him responsible. The teacher never gave him a choice. Nobody puts a kid in charge during a disaster. The principal didn’t want to listen. Now, he was the one in charge, and these lives were in his hands. They were dead already, but how far could they get? “I don’t want to be responsible if you die. Stay close, we are going to the bike racks. Then you are on your own. It’ll be easy-peasy from there.”

  It didn’t take more than three steps for Tom to realize running across the schoolyard was a mistake. The creatures came after them immediately. They turned back to the playground, away from the bike racks. Wood chips kicked up as they ran.

  “This way.” Tom led them up the steps to the top of the play structure and spun around looking for a safe way to go. From the top he saw a way to get out of the school yard. Creatures pounded up the blue stairs after them.

  “We’re trapped.” Winston panicked. “We’ll never make it!”

  Tom launched himself down the slide to get away. Infected seventh graders, the class from across the hall, appeared from under the structure at the bottom of the slide. Then Winston and Emmett stacked up behind him, their hair radiated out from the static. Tom kicked the closest creature, knocking him into the others.

  Behind him at the top of the play structure, the creatures jammed the metal archway of the slide. They vaulted down head first after him, following him to the right.

  “Move!”

  Their feet pounded across the basketball court, and they hit the fence. A clear path, a direction, Tom needed something, anything.

  Tom picked up a badminton racket that lay on the ground just as an infected parent with a big green visitor sticker came at them along the fence. Turning left, they ran past the tetherball poles. Emmett and Winston were failing to keep up. Tom swung the tether ball around as they ran past, it bounced off the creature’s head, causing her to stagger.

  “Not back into the school!” Emmett said.

  “This isn’t the debate club. Don’t slow down.”

  A tentacle-sprouting teacher stepped out from behind the gym equipment shed and dove for them, his arms flailing. Tom kicked a basketball at him. The teacher tripped on it and stumbled to the ground.

  The janitor oozed mustardy pus from a split in his head, but was still holding his broom as he charged after them from the other direction. Squeezed between the teacher, the janitor and the green sticker lady they were pushed into the lunch area. They hopped up onto the first lunch table and ran across the rows, jumping from table to table. They made it across the lunch area. Purple, green, and scaly, the smelly hot lunch lady moved toward them, knocking the lunch cart over. Coleslaw and steaming baked beans spilled across the ground. She slipped and fell, giving them time to run past.

  Only twenty feet away, the school doors were the closest thing available to put a barrier between them and the creatures. It wasn’t the safest place, but it was better than being out in the open.

  “Through the school. It’s the fastest way.”

  The doors slammed open and their class burst out of the school. Tom, Emmett, and Winston skidded to a stop on the gravel of the school yard. He drew Emmett and Winston in. “Stay close.”

  The creatures converged on them. Tom’s gym class shortcut between the bushes was to the left. The only way to get to it was to fight. He charged forward, bowling into the creatures at the front of the pack and knocking them down. He kicked the other creatures back and swung the badminton racket like a club, batting hands away as they moved toward the bushes. The short cut was clear.

  Lost lunches and juice boxes crunched under their feet; thorns cut and tore at their arms as they ran. Keeping low, the hedges shielded them from the sight of all but their pursuers. Behind them, the creatures tripped over each other as they tried to get into the narrow passageway. They emerged from the hedges on the same side of the school as his classroom. Smoke from the plane hung in the air and hoses crisscrossed the yard. Past the plane wreckage and the science unit, the bike racks lay around the corner.

  A group of students emerged from the smoke, running at full speed with creatures on their tail. Their wheezing, inhaling and rapid exhaling sounded like a steam train. Their faces were red and their clothes were torn. One kid has lost a shoe.

  “Hey, over here!” Winston yelled.

  Emmett pulled him back. “We can’t help them.”

  The trio bolted to the bike racks, but found themselves cut off, there were too many monsters to avoid. A group of half-turned teachers and rescue workers horse-shoed them, drooling and gnashing their pus covered fangs, tentacles lashing from their faces. Tom held his arms out to protect Winston and Emmett. They knew what was going to happen; they had seen.

  Gunfire thundered from behind, and heads exploded around them, Tom ducked and pulled Emmett and Winston down for cover as the bodies started to fall.

  The girl who had held Tom’s hand approached. “Tom!” she yelled in a haunting cry.

  “You’re alive!” he said not knowing if he should be relieved or fearful that she had gone mad.

  She held the gun up. “I found this. I saved you.”

  “Look out!”

  Before anyone could act the creatures were on them, dog piling the girl and whipping their arms at Emmett. Shots rang out as she fell.

  A kid yelled from the science unit held the door open. “Here. Over here. Hurry!”

  Tom, Winston and Emmett rushed through the door, crashing on the floor, out of breath, and gasping for air.

  The kid jammed a metal rod through the door push bar and moved back. The creatures crashed against it like a rogue wave and the trailer shuddered from the impact. “I hope that holds,” he said.

  The door flexed as the creatures tried to get in, nails scratching like dogs wanting to come in from the cold.

  “My name's Ray.” The kid helped Tom to his feet. “Did you see what happened to that girl?”

  “She died.”

  “We can stay here until they go away,” Emmett said.

  “They’re not going away and they’ll get in.” Tom put his hand on the door gently, then clawed at the air. “They tore our classroom door off. We won’t be safe for long; that door will give soon. We have to go.”

  Ray checked his phone. “No bars. I can’t even get on the school’s internet. We don’t know which way to run. What if it’s like this everywhere?

  Emmett stepped in close to Tom. “How are you going to get us home?”

  “I’m not. Once you get away from the school it’ll be easy. I’m going home. That’s where my dad will be, then we are getting out of town.”

  Winston motioned to a filing cabinet blocking the emergency exit. “This door looks is moving too.”

  “I have lots of guns at my house,” Ray said. “We need to stick together.”

  “Your house?” Tom told him. “I’m not going and you don’t want to stick with me.”

  “He has guns,” Winston said excitedly. “We need lot of guns to defend ourselves.”

  “Where do you live?” Tom asked.

  “By the fire station.”

  “I vote we go to his place,” Winston interjected.

  “Don’t be stupid,” Emmett said.

  Tom pushed Emmett and Winston aside. “This isn’t civics. We’re not voting. Guns aren’t a good idea if we have to go across town to get them. You’re on your own if you go with him. Anyway, we need a plan to get out of here first.”

  Emmett and Winston argued while Tom and Ray stood on chairs peering through the small windows high on the trailer. Seeing from the science unit gave Tom a new perspective. “I can’t believe we made it through all of that. If we can distract them to this side o
f the trailer. We can run out the fire door and get to the bike racks.”

  “Out the door and then what?” Ray asked. He jumped down and went to the teacher’s desk, picking up a fire extinguisher with wires and a small box duct taped to it. “We run for home and if there’s any trouble I use this.”

  It was no time for joking. The world was a smoky, loud, and stifling place, and somewhere Tom had stumbled off the path of reality. “A fire extinguisher, what good is that?”

  “Not just any fire extinguisher,” Ray said proudly. “My grandpa was in Iraq. He showed me how to make an IED.”

  Winston broke free from the arguing with Emmett. “A bomb? Let me see.”

  “Watch it. You don’t want to set this off in here.”

  “Control yourself, Winston.”

  The pounding on the building stopped. Tom got back on the chair to see what had happened. By the flagpole a group of parents moved toward the main entrance. They wore suits, yoga pants and bathrobes. They had come for their kids. The ninth graders were descending on them. Tom’s stomach knotted. It was sickening, they were about to be torn apart. “This is our chance.”

  “But the…” Emmett protested.

  Tom put his hand over Emmett’s mouth. “Now!”

  “We’ll never make it,” he muffled as Tom pushed him to the door.

  “Get over it,” Winston said. “We have a bomb.”

  Ray pushed the filing cabinet over. It crashed loudly on the floor, but the door wouldn’t open. “It’s locked.”

  Tom stepped in to help, slamming his shoulder up against the door. “It’s not locked. Something is blocking it.”

  A moan came from the other side of the door. They backed away, apprehensive of what was on the other side. It didn’t sound like a creature. They looked at each other and silently agreed. Together they pushed harder.

  The door gave way a few inches and this time a moan came from the other side. Miles lay on the ground. He clenched his teeth and pushed himself to the side.

  Stepping out, Tom saw that Miles’ leg was bent at a right angle in the wrong direction. Tom offered a hand up. “Let me help you.”

  “Wait. Wait. I’m stuck here, son. My leg’s busted bad.” Miles said, and handed Tom his wallet. “I’m not going anywhere, so don’t worry about me. Just give this to my wife. It has a ticket in it. I was going to tell her when I got home. Make sure she gets it, she’ll know what to do. And tell her I love her. I’ll be alright”

  Tom motioned for Winston and Emmett to help him pick Miles up. “We can’t leave him. Help me get him inside.”

  Miles hollered, “Don’t move me, get out of here and do what I told you.”

  “Sorry.”

  They rounded the corner of the science unit and ran for the bike racks. An ear-piercing howl spiked fear down their spines. The ninth graders and parents charged. The science room kid stopped. He pulled out a lighter and flicked it.

  Sparks from the flint sparkled in the gloom of the cloudy day. The kid’s hands trembled so much he could barely hold his lighter. “Forget about it, run,” Tom yelled.

  The fuse lit, but it was too late. Infected ninth-graders and parents swarmed over the science class kid. He held tightly onto the bomb as he was dragged down.

  A pulse of smoke rose around the kid. Tom shielded Emmett and Winston. His eyes winced closed from the flash. The concussion from the bomb was like a kick to the whole body. White smoke filled the air and Tom could barely see. Little bits of debris peppered his back and moistened the nape of his neck. They ran through the drifting cloud to the bike racks. Tom pulled his bike and the chain went taunt. His hands went to his pockets searching for the key. “Crap.”

  Nuts Give Us a Rash

  Out on the street the world had gone mad. It just wasn’t at his school, it was everywhere. They stood on the edge of the school grounds, not believing their eyes. The people who hadn’t gone to work ran frantically from their houses to their cars, cramming them with their worldly possessions. People raced past left and right. Behind them the creatures were spreading out into the town. Tom hesitated. “Which way? Which way?”

  “Whatever way you want,” Emmett said. “We're going home. This is ‘bye. That was our deal.”

  Winston patted Tom on the shoulder. “Thanks for getting us out of the school.”

  “I can’t do this alone. It’s bigger than I thought. I got you this far, help me like I helped you.”

  “Not so easy-peasy after all.” Emmett jammed his finger at Tom. “Get ready Winston, we’re going to have to run.”

  Tom stepped in front of them. “You can’t leave.”

  “That’s what you said.” Emmett was derisive. “Easy-peasy”

  “Where do you live?”

  “Morton street.”

  “My house is closer. Mine first, then I’ll get you home.”

  The roar of an engine turned their heads. Down the street a car hopped the curb as it swerved around a woman running with a baby, flattened a sign, and crashed right before them. Boxes and coolers strapped to the roof tumbled across down street. Tom ran to help. If he helped maybe he could get a ride. A car was the quickest way home.

  The door popped open and the driver staggered out. He held his head, blood washed down his face. He didn’t appear infected, Tom waved his arms to get the driver’s attention and pleaded. “Help us. Help us.”

  The driver’s eyes were wide with confusion. “My wife, please, she’s hurt. Help me carry her to the hospital.”

  Over the driver’s shoulder through the passenger window Tom the woman slumped over the seat, her head twisted in an unnatural way. He stepped back; she was beyond help, but he couldn’t look away. The woman moaned, “Honey?”

  The man collapsed onto his back, his skin turning ashen as Winston and Emmett caught up. They stopped short at seeing the man on the ground.

  “Help me get her out,” Tom said, pulling on her arms.

  Winston screamed. “He’s turning!”

  Tom opened the door to help, but another car barreled down the street heading right toward them, silent except for the bucking of its wheels on the uneven pavement. The sight broke Tom’s tunnel vision. It was moving faster than he had ever seen a car go on a city street. This was crazy. His legs acted like springs and he tackled Emmett and Winston, knocking them to the ground. “Look out!”

  He couldn’t believe his eyes. The car didn’t slow. It hit the driver, scraping him off the ground and sandwiching him against his own car. It was unbelievable. It was too much.

  They ran, racing along the street playing a real-life game of toilet tag. From corner to corner, car to car, the madness was at every turn. They were forced to turn back several times to avoid being caught by the ever-growing groups of creatures. Crouching against a car to rest, they gasped to catch their breath.

  Tom’s entire body jittered. “I can’t keep this up. I know a place where we can rest. We need to get to the U-Mart.”

  “Our house is the other way,” Emmett said. “We can’t go back!”

  “We have to,” Tom insisted. “It’s in the wrong direction for me too, but we need a safe place to rest.”

  The twins looked over the car hood, back the way they came. Winston choked, “Not through all that again.”

  “I promised I would get you home, and I keep my promises, but you’ll be on your own if you don’t follow me. Take your chances with me or not.”

  They stared at him.

  “Well?” he demanded.

  They nodded, choosing to go with him. Taking several deep breaths, they readied themselves, then dashed for the U-Mart. Half a block seemed like a mile.

  At the U-Mart, cars were abandoned at the pumps with doors and trunks left open. Nozzles hung from gas tanks. It was a sign of how fast everything had happened.

  Tom pulled on the station’s door. It was locked. He fell back. His hands rose to the side of his head, his eyes widened. He was unable to speak. Failure ratcheted his gut and took what little stre
ngth he had left from his aching legs.

  “We should have stayed at school,” Emmett screamed.

  The clouds broke open shining a stream of sunlight down on the U-Mart. Tom shielded his eyes and peered in. The lights were out and he couldn’t see any movement. He pounded on the door. “Someone has to be here. Hey, let us in!”

  Winston and Emmett whimpered loudly as the creatures approached. There was nowhere to run.

  Tom turned to face the oncoming horde and prepared himself. From the other side of the glass door someone spoke. “Remember me?”

  Tom faced the man. “Let us in.” Then he recognized the jogger he had narrowly missed with his bike. “You can’t do this.”

  “Yes, I can,” he laughed. “How does it feel to be seconds away from death. Scared?”

  Tom turned back. The creatures were almost on them. He held on to Winston and Emmett, hoping their end would be quick.

  The door opened and hands shot out, pulling them in by their shirt collars. The attendant punched the security gate button and locked the door. A thick metal mesh gate rolled down over the doors and windows just as their pursuers slammed into the building. Faces mashed up against the gate and hands tore at it.

  They stared dumbfounded.

  The store smelled of burnt popcorn, gasoline and sweat. A butterfly of spilled coffee stained the floor. A purse left on the counter at the cash register sat next to a backpack full of books. The attendant shouted. “Get to the back of the store.”

  They were frozen.

  The attendant’s eyes bugged out of his head when they didn’t move. He rushed them with his arms held out, scooping them into the back room. He slammed the door shut and locked it. “Don’t make any noise.”

  Tom stared blankly at the store room wall. He tried to sort it all out in his head. Everything had happened so fast. He needed to tell the attendant what had happened, to talk it out. He could barely control himself. “The plane crashed and then the pilot got out. And my class died.”

  The attendant held his hand up, silencing Tom. “You have to be quiet, or you go back out there. If they hear us, they will come in.”