“Strange man, that Brown. But one hell of a soldier. He saved my ass back there...”
Emily could see the skinny man struggle for a moment, then clench his jaw as he steeled himself. “Anyway, I didn’t really know them very well. Garcia will be hurting though. He went way back with Peters.”
Collins grimaced slightly, his hand shooting to his gut. Emily pretended not to see.
They were both silent for a moment before Collins spoke up again.
“Huh. Isn’t this all a bag of dicks. ... Um. ... I mean, this is all fucked up.” He continued. Emily nodded again.
“Yes. It is. A big old bag of dicks.” She held out a hand to Collins. “Thanks.”
He shook her hand and smiled for only the second time since they had met. It made Emily think of the first time.
The first time was shortly after they had been introduced. Four days ago, now.
There had been a call for volunteers six days ago. They needed people with military background and drivers. Emily was both of those, so she volunteered. Her new gig as a bus driver for city transit had been cut short by the apocalypse anyway.
In short order she was officially recruited into the 6th brigade of the 95th Infantry division of the United States Army Reserves. Five days ago, she arrived at the safe zone to report for duty. Her skillsets were quickly assessed, and she was subsequently handed the keys to a school bus and assigned to a unit.
She remembered that she had been assigned to bus #2658. She walked around trying to locate the bus for a while. There must have been close to fifty busses in the lot across from the safe zone. She finally found the bus and met her new squad – and Collins.
Only a couple of the other guys had been in that squad. Durant and Brown. Peters, Garcia and Moyers came later, as soldiers got reassigned. Eventually the mix of soldiers from various units, national guardsmen, reserves, and the newly drafted Emily grouped together into the squad they had today.
Collins was a bold young man, maybe because he wasn’t the best-looking guy. Emily remembered walking up to the sergeant of that squad.
Murphy. That was his name. I think. ... Fuck. Why can’t I remember? It was only a few days ago! Emily berated herself.
“Private Hill reporting for duty, sir.” Murphy just nodded and asked if she was the driver. Collins had sauntered over to get a closer look.
“Aye sir.”
“Hey soldier. Nice accent you got there. You must be from... No wait, let me guess; New Jersey?” He had said, flashing his most winning smile. The joke fell somewhat flat. That didn’t deter Collins though. He proceeded to attempt all kinds of small talk over the next 24 hours as he tried to work his charm on Emily. He failed. But Emily did have to admit that he had a nice smile.
By the next day they had had their first run-in with undead. All romantic notions went out the window after that.
Emily snapped back to the present. She turned away from Collins and walked towards the school. She noted the big sign above the entrance:
Renaissance School for Gifted Children.
‘The Ren’ was written in even larger letters underneath.
A slightly bemused look flashed across Emily’s face as she walked up to the front portal and looked down from the sign into the interior of the school.
A few years ago, she had walked out of a school just like this.
No. Exactly like this! Except in good ol’ England of course.
Emily had walked out of one life, to start another. Now her journey, from boot camp, to a tour of duty, to learning to stand on her own two feet, to failing to stand on her own two feet, to calling in a favor, which landed her a job driving a bus here in America.
Oh, and to the world going balls up less than three weeks later.
To this.
To stand at the doorway of a school that looked eerily similar to Houndsworth College of Excellence.
Huh... How about that for coming full circle. She thought to herself as she passed the threshold.
Chapter Three
Jack
The Renaissance School for Gifted Children had a familiar layout. Offices on the right as you walk in, and a lunchroom to the left. A hall leading to some stairs straight ahead and a hall behind the office presumably leading to some classrooms or offices, and the gym at the end of that hall.
This lunchroom was a bit different though. The front half of it contained about fifteen tables with benches, set up in a semi-circular arrangement. A small, low stage was located against what would be the front wall, with another semi circle of benches facing it. It was handily located as a focal point. The back half of the lunchroom contained some buffet counters, with the kitchen located at the very back.
Everybody had been asked to take a seat, including Jack. He had taken his seat and was watching the entryway to the cafeteria in anticipation. Jack started looking around when there was still no movement after a couple of minutes. The bus ride had been so surreal that he hardly paid attention to the other passengers. He got a better look, now that they all were assembled in the lunchroom.
At his table sat his dad and mom, and their friends from down the street – the Millers.
John and Melissa Miller both had a military background, and their quiet confidence and sure actions had helped Jack and his parents keep their cool. John’s prosthetic, which consisted of a wrist and a hand with fully articulated fingers was really cool. State-of-the-art stuff.
The Collins family was huddled together at the next table. Jack recognized their son from High School. He thought the kid’s name was Evan or Ethan or something. Popular kid. Played football and basketball. Jack
