Somebody was standing outside the window!
No. Not somebody. Something.
The naked legs were a sickly pale color. She could see the shins, knees, and bottom half of the thighs of the zombie, which was standing almost against the school wall. It was eerie.
Shelley got out of her cot very slowly and signalled for Claire to do the same. The legs at the window did not move. As silently as possible, the two made their way to the classroom door, opened it, and stepped out into the hall. Both women let out their breaths.
“That’s a...”
“I know. We have to warn the others. But we have to be quiet.” Shelley whispered.
Claire nodded. The two women split up to wake the others. Shelley had just gotten to Ern and Nancy’s door when the next door down the hall opened. It was Keith. He instantly seemed to recognize that something was wrong. Shelley met him halfway and signalled that they needed to go upstairs, quietly. Keith nodded and went back to collect Bill.
Within five minutes the group had collected and made their way to the second floor. It took another couple of minutes to get the upstairs folks alerted. Everybody congregated in the hallway and Shelley explained what she’d seen.
Track suit girl was the first to speak up. “How did that thing get into the school grounds?”
Craig nodded. “I’m going to take a look.”
John stepped up to Craig before he could take a step though. He held his hand up. “Let’s see if we can spot it from up here. It will be less likely to spot us.” Craig nodded.
“Let me show you where we saw it standing.” Shelley added.
Craig nodded again. “Ok. The rest of you hang tight for a minute.”
A minute later, they crept up to the window directly above where Shelley had seen the zombie. Looking down, they could just make out a naked figure, standing about a foot away from the wall of the school. The zombie had its face pointed slightly down and to the left – as if trying to listen or concentrate. Shelley’s eyes widened when she realized that it would have likely seen them if the zombie had been looking to the right instead of to the left.
Just then a noise from somewhere distracted it. With a swift jerk, it turned its head to look over its shoulder. With another jerk, it rotated its body and started walking towards where it had heard the noise. It moved with a stiff gait, with its knees bent slightly. It’s upper torso in a slight crouch, with its shoulders hunched forward. It reminded Shelley of how a primate would move. It moved off towards the parking lot. As Shelley tracked its movement, she saw something else.
“Look” She pointed. Craig and John saw it instantly. John shook his head in disgust. Craig motioned, and they made their way to the back of the room, where the rest had gathered.
“It has moved off a-ways.” Craig told the group. “As for how it got in. The gate was left open.”
Track suit girl was first to respond. “You have got to be fucking kidding me.”
Shelley heard Nancy exhale sharply. She clearly disapproved of the use of foul language. Shelley could see the old lady bite her lip instead of saying something.
Joe’s reaction was to point at Bill.
“You should go out there and take care of it! You’re the army! Go grab your gun and shoot the damn thing!”
“What about the noise? You want to attract more of these things?” Emily asked angrily.
John walked back to the window and scanned for the zombie. His eyes narrowed. He looked for another moment and cursed as he turned back to the crowd. “Guys, I don’t see it anymore...”
Several people came over to look out the window. After a few moments, Ethan pointed. “I think I see something on the other side of that container. I just caught a glimpse of something white!”
“Let’s stay out of sight for now.” John said and gestured for people to get back.
People had moved to the back of the room, some standing against the far wall, while others took their places in available chairs. Shelley could sense the nervous energy. Ern had lowered himself into a chair and spoke up first. “Ok folks, we need a plan.”
Bill Moyers, who had hardly uttered a word since their arrival at the school, was the first to speak. “We’ve got other problems beside that zombie.”
He fidgeted with his sling and looked uncomfortable as the rest of the group looked over at him. Shelley watched the young soldier struggle for a moment, until he met Craig’s eyes. Craig smiled and gave him an encouraging nod. Bill licked his lips and continued. “Our perimeter is compromised with that open gate. We should go close it. Also, this building is not secure enough. The windows... they are double pane but won’t be able to stand up to any real assault.” His voice tapered off as if he had run out of conviction and energy.
Craig responded first. “You’re right. Thank you, Bill.”
Shelley was thinking back to Craig’s drawings of the school. There was something he had written down that was important. She racked her brain. Then it came to her.
“I know! The shutters! The windows have those storm shutters.” Several group members walked to the window to investigate. Sure enough, the windows were equipped with aluminium hurricane shutters. Craig smacked his forehead. “Of course! Ah, why didn’t I think about that?!”
“Do we have them on all floors?” Joe Collins asked.
“We got storm shutters on all lower level and main level windows as well. The only ones that don’t have shutters are the ones in the gym, but those are over twenty feet up.” Craig confirmed.
Ern had inspected the one in the media room and asked for everybody’s attention.
“The storm shutters are electric, but you can also lower them manually. There is a box along the bottom. In the box is
