They wandered around the side to the barn door. Miss Greene pushed it open as they stood there peering into the poor light.
“Alright. Everyone in,” she ordered after a moment. “Jacob, check the place out. Aaron, here.” She handed Aaron the knife. “Go with him.”
“Wait, hold on just a god damn minute. Two thirteen-year-old kids get weapons, but someone in his last year of sixth form doesn’t get anything? After I saved your asses?”
“Not now,” Miss Greene said, shaking her head. “Let’s make sure it’s safe, then we can discuss this.”
Lawro snorted and stormed inside. To say Bucky wasn’t afraid would be a lie. He followed the sword’s tip inside the barn. The structure itself appeared like a barn and workshop hybrid. A rusty old tractor sat neglected in the first half of the structure. Past it existed a workshop full of tools and appliances. Lawro would have no problem finding a weapon here if he wanted one. Above the workshop, another floor could be reached by a ladder running up to its level on the left hand side. Bucky couldn’t see what was up there, though, as it was hidden by more wooden walls and partitions.
“Empty down here,” he said, checking the last nook of the barn. Lawro ascended the ladder, unarmed. If anyone was hiding up there, he’d be an easy target. After a moment or so of rumbling and banging, he emerged from the ladder and began his descent.
“Nothing up here, just storage. Suitcases, chairs, that kind of thing.”
“Okay, let’s barricade the door,” their teacher ordered. Funny, Bucky thought to himself as Miss Greene barked out her orders. She was never this confident, not even in school.
Lawro grabbed a bike chain that rested on a pushbike next to the ladder. The key still sat in the lock. He made his way across to the barn door, threaded it through the metal handles as tight as he could make it before engaging the lock.
“Will that hold?” Miss Greene asked.
“It’ll do for now.”
“This is it, then,” Johnny said, peering around at their surroundings. “Home for the night.”
“It could be worse,” Aaron replied.
But the night would get worse. Much worse.
Bucky’s doubts would be justified.
Three
Distant thunder rumbled across the vast open countryside. In the last of the daylight, Bucky studied the open fields for any sign of movement. Their encounters with the infected had been minimal since their incident with the clowns.
He shuffled on the small wooden stool he’d found on the barn’s upper level and peered out of a simple glass window that looked out across the openness. In a day, he’d turned from average geek to sword wielding badass. The people he’d killed sat uncomfortably with him, but the justification became apparent the more he thought about the new world they found themselves in. It was kill or be killed. Allies were going to be tough to find. All he could do was hope they’d make it to the safe zone at the football stadium. At least he’d be able to think things through in a safe environment and decide what they should do next.
Aaron ascended the ladder and sat on the floor next to him.
“Anything?” he asked.
Bucky shook his head. “Not much. We have a whole bunch of black clouds approaching us, but nothing else.”
They sat in silence for awhile as Bucky peered into the openness.
“You got family back home?” Aaron enquired.
Bucky looked down from the window a moment. “Yes,” he replied, remembering them all.
“Who you got?”
Bucky hesitated a moment. “There’s my mum, my dad and my dog.”
“No brothers or sisters?” Aaron enquired.
“No. I have a few cousins down in Bournemouth, and an aunty and uncle, but that’s it.”
“You’re an only child? I never knew.”
Bucky turned to him. “Why would you? You’re in the year above me.” Aaron shrugged. Bucky turned his gaze back through the window. “How about you? Do you have any family to get back to?”
“Yeah, Mum, Dad and a brother at university. God, I can hear my parents now, fretting over him, trying to get in contact and make sure he’s okay.”
“I’m sure they’d be worried about you, too.”
Aaron shook his head. “Nope. Well, I don’t think so, anyway. Not as much as him, at least. He’s always been an achiever. Me? I’m the lost cause. I remember going to a party once and my dad introduced us to a load of people. When he came to introduce me, he told them my name and they all replied with, ‘this is him? Well, don’t worry, every family has one.’”
“Harsh.” Lightning crackled across the sky. Thunder rumbled in the distance a moment or so afterward. “You’re quite popular at school, though,” Bucky added. He wanted to avoid the melancholy direction the conversation was heading in.
“Yes, I seem to have the gift with other kids,” Aaron replied.
“Maybe. I always thought you were a dick, though.”
Aaron smiled. “Really?”
“Yup. Remember the time you triggered the fire alarm at school during winter and we all got evacuated to the tennis courts without our coats on?”
Aaron chuckled. “How did you know that was me?”
“It’s school. Word gets around. You’re something of a legend at Berrington Heights.”
“It’s because I don’t care. Everyone loves that I just do shit and accept the consequences. I’m gonna fail school. I know it. My parents know it, so what the hell? It’s about having fun while I’m there. My brother can carry our family’s good name. And you know what? I don’t even care if they’re all dead. They’ve done nothing for me. Every time I asked for help they turned a blind eye. Every time I tried to do something and just needed that little push they turned away from me. I hope they’re all dead, and that right now they’re rotting in hell.”
“They must have encouraged you somehow? I mean, look, you’re all kitted out in cricket whites. You always brought your own bat, helmet, gloves and shin guards to practice and for
