Dishevelled, Lawro nodded. “Yes. Sir.”
Peterson turned to Michael. “Can you?”
“Yes sir.”
“Wait, you’re not seriously considering this?” Miss Greene asked, folding her arms.
Peterson turned to her. “What other choice do we have? Do you want to stay here on the off chance that someone will wander past and rescue us?”
Miss Greene sighed and looked away.
“Here, you can take these.” Stewart, the old shop manager handed Peterson a bunch of keys. “They belong to my delivery van across the road. That should be plenty big enough to hold you all. It was modified before we purchased it. There’s no separation between the seats and the space in the back. You can all get inside through the passenger door without having to open the rear doors.”
Peterson looked to the keys. “It’s a start, but we’re going to have to find a way to distract the people outside so that we can get into the van.”
“Bucky can do it!”
“What!” Bucky snapped, turning to Johnny.
“Yeah, Bucky knows all about the zombie apocalypse and stuff.”
“Johnny, I don’t think we’re dealing with zombies out there,” Miss Greene replied.
“Bullshit, Miss Greene. You saw what happened. They were ripping blood and shit and spit and ass out of everyone and eating it. They’re zombies.”
Peterson rubbed his chin. “Maybe they’re not zombies as such, but they’re displaying similar traits. Some were sprinting. Some were screaming. Anyway, I fail to see how Bucky can help?”
Johnny walked to his friend and slapped him across the back. “This man here is ranked in the world’s top twenty at a zombie video game. He’s famous amongst gamers.”
Miss Greene sighed. “Is that it? Is that how he can help us?”
Johnny hugged Bucky close. “Look at it this way. He has played thousands of hours surviving a zombie apocalypse and become so great at it that a section of the world’s population holds him in high regard. They even turn to him for help and advice. I’m telling you, you want to have a leader during the end of days, this is your man.”
“Johnny,” Peterson began, “I don’t think it’s adequate to compare video games to real life. That’s the problem with your generation.”
Johnny shrugged. “Okay, but at least listen to him. I bet he has a load of ideas you could use to get out to the van. Go on, tell them what you would have done if you were in charge, Bucky.”
“Me?” he replied, shocked that he was even being entered into the conversation.
“Yes, tell them.”
Bucky turned to Peterson. After a moment of staring him out, the physical education teacher lifted his eyebrows, encouraging him to speak.
“Well…” Bucky paused a moment, recalling everything he’d learnt from video games and George A Ramero movies. “If you’re asking me, I guess the first thing I’d do would be to take some of these tools and fashion some weapons. Second, I’d have returned behind this door to the storeroom area and barricaded it up. Lowering the shutters is great and will buy us some time until help can arrive, but, like you said, you need a distraction. I’d be up there now figuring a way to do that. Everyone seems to think fireworks are the best way to draw a zombie’s attention, and it’s also believed that fire repels a so-called zombie from an area. Now, we don’t have fireworks that I can see…”
“There’s a few upstairs. We have some left over from last year’s bonfire night,” Craig, the younger shop assistant and Stewart’s son, added.
“Great, then we get one, let it off and see if it causes the distraction. I noticed we have some white spirit around here. Let’s make a Molotov, throw it outside and see if they avoid it.”
“But you’re going to hit people,” Miss Greene replied. “It’ll be murder.”
“The hell it will,” Lawro said. “You saw what happened out there. There’s no such thing as murder, not any more. I killed two men getting here. Aaron killed one. Mr Peterson did one, too. Even Lacey. If we hadn’t taken them down, it’d be us out there now, shredded up and taking residence inside someone’s bowels. It isn’t murder, Miss Greene, it’s survival.”
Miss Greene turned to Mr Peterson. Mr Peterson, in turn, turned back to Bucky.
“Jacob Jackson, you are the most uninspired student I’ve ever had the pleasure of teaching physical education, but today I’m glad you did naff all and spend time playing on your Xbox. I’d never have considered these hairball ideas you just concocted. Let’s get the materials to make a Molotov cocktail and the fireworks. Is there a ladder out back?”
“Yes,” Stewart replied. “The back room is secured by the metal shutters, too. We have no problems taking it upstairs.”
“Okay everyone, upstairs, let’s get this started.”
One
The store room had been nothing like Bucky imagined. In fact, it was just an empty living room with a table, chair and television that appeared more as a staff room than anything else. The only stock it held were a few boxes of weed killer and some plastic tubing. The backroom downstairs where Craig found the ladders seemed better stocked than this.
To the left stood two doors. The first led to a pokey, tiled bathroom that glared white from the overuse of its colour throughout the room. Next to it a kitchen existed, just as small, but able to hold a sink, kettle and fridge without concern.
Everyone peered out through the bay windows except for Michael, who sat before the television watching the news. Miss Greene had administered basic first aid from the shop’s supplies to the injury he’d suffered during the accident. The cut he’d received on his neck wasn’t so deep but would need medical assistance as soon as they could reach it.
Bucky watched as the shambling mass of people wandered aimlessly within the street below. Many bore the blood of themselves or others, earned during the carnage which befell them just a few days ago. Car alarms still blipped out there at times, flames still burned, and
