Back From The Dead

Gordon made a face.

Scott laughed.

Dave gestured toward the house. “We should probably shower up if we’re going to that party.”

“You’re right,” Scott said. He turned to Gordon and Steve. “You guys going to Susan Zimmerman’s party?”

“Yeah,” Gordon said. They began walking slowly toward the house. “When are your folks getting home?”

“Dad’s gone all weekend, Mom gets back tomorrow.” Once again, Scott’s parents were on another whirlwind business trip. He wondered when Scott ever saw his parents. Probably never. Only time Scott would be able to see them was when he got his MBA and joined whatever corporation they worked at; he’d be able to catch up with them in board meetings.

“So we have time, then.”

“Time to get another homeless person? Hell yeah.”

Gordon almost said, I didn’t mean that. He was catching a certain vibe from Scott, a feeling that told him he was being tested. That if he said the wrong thing, that if he made a suggestion of dissent, he would be diminishing himself in Scott’s eyes. He was also getting the feeling that Scott was growing a trifle paranoid. Gordon wouldn’t dream of telling anybody about what was going on, not in a million years. He was involved too deeply now. It had been his idea to turn the first guy into a zombie. If he had the opportunity to simply leave and not come back, he would. But he couldn’t. If he could just stick with it, find a way to somehow convince Scott and the others to not only stop the path they were heading down and maybe find a way to dispose of the two zombies permanently, that would be the best for things all around.

The only thing was, Scott wouldn’t hear of it. Gordon was sure of this implicitly. And if he even suggested it he’d be deemed a traitor.

“Think we can pull that off soon?” Gordon asked, choosing his words carefully. “If your mom’s coming home tomorrow, I don’t want her to suspect anything.”

“She won’t,” Scott said, warming up to the idea. A light breeze rustled the trees overhead and the sun felt warm on his back. “We can get somebody tonight.”

“Tonight?” All three boys asked this. They stopped walking, looking at Scott in confusion. Scott stopped, turned around. “You serious?” Steve asked.

“Well, yeah. Why?”

“We’re going to Susan’s party,” Dave said. “Remember that? Susan’s party, going into the inner city to kidnap a homeless guy, two different things. Both activities tens of miles apart.”

Gordon felt nervous but he wasn’t going to tip his hand to the others. He was already thinking of an alternate activity he could get involved in tonight. Anything to avoid the spur-of-the-moment spree of snagging another homeless person and dragging him out to Zuck’s woods tonight so quickly. The last time they’d done that was a complete disaster. Things had worked out fine in the end, but there had been so many opportunities for things to go wrong. There could have been somebody in the woods when the boys arrived with the body. Of course once they’d arrived they had set about burying him, then they’d sat around and talked, eventually falling asleep in the early hours of the morning. Gordon had slept in fits and starts and was awake when the new zombie started clawing its way out of the ground. He’d watched with a sense of numb detachment, hardly believing it was working. He’d woken the other guys up, and they’d secured the zombie pretty quickly and gotten him back into the SUV without any trouble. But still…

…somebody could have come along at any time. Everything had been done so haphazardly.

There was no question about it. Gordon didn’t want to continue on this path. He wanted to stop. He was freaked out that the spell they’d tried the first time actually worked! He was also disturbed by the fact that this didn’t seem to bother the other guys, especially Scott. They behaved as if it was no big deal.

And they were supposed to be church-going Christians.

“So we’re not going to stay long?” Dave asked.

“We’ll play it by ear,” Scott said. He grinned. Then he headed toward the house. “Let’s clean this nasty shit off us!”

Gordon glanced at Steve and Dave, who shrugged. Steve and Dave seemed resigned to just follow Scott anywhere he chose to lead them, even if it was over a cliff. Gordon shrugged too, wanting to voice his opposition but at the same time afraid to. Then, they followed Scott into the house.

And the sense of dread that was beginning to settle in Gordon’s belly became even heavier as it became evident what Scott was insinuating. They weren’t going into the city to get another homeless person after all. That grin told Gordon all he needed to know.

They were going to lure one of the party-goers back to the house and feed him, or her, to the zombies.

* * *

Tim Gaines wasn’t expecting to attend Susan Zimmerman’s party, but attend it he did.

It had been George’s idea to show up. They had just exited the movie theater and were talking about what they’d just seen when George brought the idea up. “It’s still early. Want to check out Susan’s party?”

“Sure!” Al said.

Tim shrugged. “I guess. Think it’s okay?”

“Why not? Matt said he might be there and I think he was going to bring Chelsea.” He winked at Tim. “Don’t play dumb with me, Tim. I saw how you and Chelsea were checking each other out before we got booted out of school.”

Tim rolled his eyes. “Yeah, right. We’re just friends.”

“Of course you are. Friends that want to be alone so they can suck face.”

Tim didn’t say anything and tried not to look too embarrassed. He’d been mildly attracted to Chelsea since the beginning of this last semester and tried not to let it be known. That obviously had not worked, and it was also obvious that Chelsea felt the same way, which was even more of a shock to Tim’s system. Girls had never liked him, mostly because of the bullshit rumors that had been spread by Heather Watkins and Emily Wynfield back in the seventh grade, but Chelsea was different. She hung out with their crew. She was as much a loner and outcast as he was.

They headed over to Susan Zimmerman’s home, which was on the other side of town. Unlike Tim and his friends, Susan wasn’t a social outcast, but then she wasn’t part of the social elite of Spring Valley High, either. Tim classified Susan as neutral in the whole thing. She was pleasant enough, and she often talked to him in class, but that was about it.

Susan lived with her parents and two younger brothers in a large two story McMansion on Sixth Street. When they arrived there were already twenty kids crowded in the basement rec room swilling punch and soft drinks. Susan’s mom, Cindy, was playing chaperone. She was standing by the refreshment table talking to Lisa Harman and Danielle Allegeny. Panic at the Disco was playing on the stereo. A group of kids Tim recognized from school were playing foosball. Other kids were huddled in groups of three or four, talking.

When they walked into the rec room several kids glanced their way. A few eyebrows rose in surprise, as if to exclaim oh my! The freaks are here! George grinned slightly. Tim was under the impression George was enjoying his new found status as a social outcast. In a perfect world George would have been among the social elite of the student body, with his good looks and athletic build. Instead, he’d chosen to not only be friends with Tim, he was actually enjoying being an outcast!

George nodded at several people as they entered and Tim did the same. With George and Al at his side he was filled with a sudden burst of confidence. Nothing could happen to them here. His friends had his back. He nodded greetings at several kids he knew, some of whom looked away. Others nodded back at them, kids Tim recognized as being neutral to the whole drama he’d experienced the past few years.

As they approached the refreshment table, Al nudged him gently. “Scott and his buddies at ten o’clock.”

Tim nodded. He was looking for Matt and Chelsea. They were nowhere to be seen.

Somebody said, “It’s Count Gaines and his followers.” A nervous laugh followed. Tim ignored them and smiled at Danielle as she greeted them warmly. George and Al made small talk with Danielle and her friends while he stood by and took subtle glances around the room, taking stock of who was there.

The source of the Count Gaines comment made itself known a moment later. Dave Bruce and Steve Downing. They were standing five feet away, hanging out with Scott Bradfield and Gordon Smith and another guy Tim