checked the rest of the complex, not finding anything untoward. I let Mark kill a zombie wandering the street. He moved in quickly, brushed aside the outstretched arms, and planted the crowbar in the back of its head. It went down without a sound, and he gave it another whack just to be sure. I knew we couldn’t knock them unconscious, as some people claimed, but it never hurt to double check.
We decided to check out a recreation center before heading back to the school. We had secured a good piece of the area, and were going to wrap it up with the center.
I approached the glass front doors and tested one. It was open, surprisingly, and we stepped inside. Skylights lit the dim interior, and we could see the first floor clearly; the offices and back rooms looked empty. A sign read ‘Courts’ and pointed down a big flight of stairs. Mark and I approached and listened for activity. We heard nothing and stepped down the rubberized stairs into the darkness of the basement. The skylights’ illumination could only reach so far, and it got darker the deeper we went. I flicked on my flashlight and Mark did the same. At the bottom of the stairs we went right and checked the offices and bathrooms. We could see signs of activity but nothing looked recent.
We went towards the courts and froze at the doorway. There were about a hundred cots covering the gym floor and several aid stations set up around the gym’s perimeter. What spooked us was the copious amounts of blood splatter that covered the cots, the walls, and the floor. Bits of meat were scattered here and there, and under one cot I saw a severed hand. The gym had a huge canvas opaque curtain that separated it into two areas. I turned my flashlight off and Mark did the same.
We heard a shuffling sound. It sounded like it came from the other side of the curtain. I moved along the wall towards the side opening, my footsteps silenced by the rubber floor of the gym. I reached the doorway while Mark checked the aid stations for first aid supplies.
Peering around the corner, I looked into the darkness and didn’t see a thing. I clicked on my flashlight and illuminated about a hundred zombies covering half the floor. The sudden illumination caused the zombies to turn around and they immediately began a chorus of moans that echoed off the walls of the gym. As one, they started for me.
I didn’t hesitate, turning on my heel and running like hell for the stairs, Mark only a step behind. The zombies poured from the gym, clamoring for our blood. Mark and I bolted up the stairs and paused to throw the couches and chairs we had passed in the lounge down to the first landing to try to slow them down.
“Jesus, what the hell happened here?” Mark yelled as we levered a couch over the edge.
“I don’t know, but I imagine they set up a treatment center, not knowing what the virus did, then the first infected killed the rest and the workers too.” I said as I tossed my end. We threw another chair then ran into the offices to grab desks. We threw the first one down the stairs just as the first zombies were trying to climb over the furniture pile. The desk flattened one, and effectively blocked others momentarily. We grabbed two more desks and threw them down as well.
I motioned Mark to go and we ran out the front door. I looked over the parking lot and spotted the maintenance shed. Running to the shed, I pulled on the door and found it locked. Mark attacked it with the crowbar and we broke the door open. I flung the door open and looked around before grabbing two cans of gasoline stored there and ran back to the building. We checked inside and saw the zombies hadn’t made it past our barrier yet. We went to the stairs and poured gasoline down on the barricade and the zombies groaned again when they saw us. Mark emptied his can and I emptied mine. I threw the can down and bounced it off the head of a female crawling over one of the desks. I dug into my backpack for my matches, and lit the whole package. I stepped back and tossed the flaming brand down the stairs.
Thankfully, Mark and I were not at the top of the stairs when the gas went up. The building shook with the whoosh of the lighting gas and the skylight above the stairs shattered from the explosion. Mark and I fell back and headed towards the entrance. One zombie managed to reach the top of the stairs, and a flaming figure limped towards us for about twenty feet before succumbing to the flames and falling to the floor, setting fire to the carpeting. Mark and I left the building, and headed back to the school. The center burning brightly, with flames shooting out of the skylight. With luck, the blaze would consume the zombies for good. If not, we were going to have to search around for a few ‘extra crispy’ Z’s that had managed to escape.
3
When we got back to the school Sarah was waiting for me with Jake. She wrinkled her nose, and I explained to her and Jake what had happened. Sarah shook her head and handed me Jake after I had stripped my gear off.
“Got a surprise for you.” She headed into the hallway.
I followed with Jake, who was pulling at my collar and cooing.
Sarah stopped at a classroom and peeked in. She stepped aside and motioned me in. I went in puzzled, then went into defense mode as something grabbed me from behind. I held Jake out with one hand, slammed my elbow back and spun around, hoping to dislodge whatever had me.
I heard a “Whoof!” as my elbow connected and then a “Whoa!” as my spin tossed the person off of me into a cluster of desks. I put Jake down and stepped in front of him as the other person climbed painfully to his feet. Jake sat down and waved his hands, excited as he recognized the newcomer. Sarah covered her smile with her hand as Nate stood up and rubbed his ribs.
“Nice shot, John. Good to see you too.”
I relaxed. “Nate!” I went over and wrapped the big man in a bear hug. Nate groaned as I squeezed his sore ribs. “Oops Sorry about that. Can’t be too careful.”
Nate shrugged it off. “My fault. I should know better than to mess with someone who just came in from the outside. Your nerves are still on overload.”
I nodded. “No kidding. You should have seen what Mark and I found at the recreation center.” I filled Nate in on the details and Sarah just shook her head and put an arm around my waist. Nate noticed her but said nothing. I finished, pointing to the burning building out the north window. “That glow? That’s mine. The good news is the building is isolated so no others will go up. The bad news is the building could have been useful.”
Nate shrugged. “At least you dealt with it. Some people would have stayed and fought.”
I hoisted Jake and rubbed his belly with my head, getting a giggle out of him. “I didn’t have enough ammo.” I said. “I only brought enough for about half of them.” Jake leaned towards Nate and he took him from me, giving Jake a big kiss on the cheek and smiling at him. Jake grinned and grabbed Nate’s collar, burying is head in his friend’s shoulder. Nate gave Jake a hug and was silent for a little while. I didn’t say anything, knowing how Nate felt about Jake. A lot of people loved Jakey, and I began to realize he represented the future, something to hope for. If Jake was ever lost, that hope would be gone, and people would have nothing to live for. I know I wouldn’t, Sarah not withstanding.
After a minute, Jake leaned again, this time towards Sarah. She took him and said, “Dinnertime,” as she left the room. Sarah knew Nate and I needed to catch up, and to plan our next move. I winked at her as she left and she flashed me a quick grin. I looked back to see Nate looking at me.
“What?” I said, starting to feel defensive.
Nate smiled at me. “Nothing. I was just thinking it was about time you two got together.”
“Why does everyone say that? Was it that obvious?”
Nate laughed. “You might not have been obvious, but she sure was. You were her pick from the first and I don’t know what happened out here, but a lot of people are rooting for you two. I’m glad in this messed up world, someone has found a little happiness.”
I thought about it. “Thanks, man. I kind of needed to hear that.” I talked about the trip I had taken to my house and how I broke away from that old life, leaving my wedding band behind.
Nate nodded. “Good for you. At least you got the chance.”
“So, getting back to the situation at hand, how are we set up?” I asked, changing the subject. I sat in a chair and pulled a table close. Nate pulled up another chair and dumped the contents of a small bag on the table, It contained some maps and lists of names, as well as a candy bar and juice box. Nate shrugged as he put the last two items back.
