The Survivors Club - Chapter 3

Title: The Survivors Club

Genre: Teen horror

Rating: R (for graphic violence, gore, language)

Story Type: Novel - complete

Word count: (chapter) 2,215 - (novel) 60,328

Summary:  Five teens come together to survive when a zombie apocalypse breaks out and forces them to depend on one another.  Through their travels we learn that, in extreme situations, some people become better than they thought, some become worse, and some just don't change, at all.
Author's Note: This is part of a complete manuscript.

Chapter 3

             

There were so many bodies on the floor when Jessica shoved the big, metal door open.  Weren’t zombies supposed to get up, quickly?  Guess you can’t count on the movies and books to keep you alive, Jessica thought.  She slid out of the door and pressed herself up against the wall.  She didn’t bother to look at it first.  If there was blood on it, oh well. 

            

 Tamara was the next one out.  Her eyes focused on the bodies that sat propped up on the bleachers.  A cluster of three bodies were dead center, on the third row.  That was her usual spot for games and pep rallies, right in the center, so she could see and be seen.  Their faces had been torn away, and Tamara couldn’t tell if she knew them or not.  What she did know, however, was that the three people had known one another.  Even in death, they had held on tightly to each other, holding on to the only thing they had left.

             

Eli was the next one out of the room and he barely managed to stay on his feet.  He saw the bodies, the blood, the guts, and instinct told him to run.  He turned to the left, tried to take off, then skidded to a halt before stepping on a dead arm.  His arms flailed wildly and his legs did a dance.  One hand hit the ground, but he pushed himself up quick.  He was able to stay on his feet, and that was good.  He didn’t think he could make it if he fell. He’d run back into the storage room and say the hell with everyone else.

             

Collin was the last one out and the door slammed with a loud, echoing thud as it fell shut behind him.  One look and all the beer he’d drunk in the cornfield came out and splashed on a body two feet away.  His face was red, and he was ashamed.  He was tough, he knew how to handle himself.  Hadn’t he run down a ton of those things on the way back into town?  Apparently, his stomach was weaker when he was right up on them.

            

 “It reeks in here,” Eli grunted.  He put a hand to his nose and tried to hold his breath. Bad idea, since holding his breath meant taking in a big gulp of air.  Bile rose in his throat and he forced it back down.  He wasn’t going to toss his cookies like Collin.  At least once, he was going to prove that he was better than somebody, even if that somebody was just a jock.

            

 “Are they gonna get back up?”  Tamara’s voice was soft, barely audible.  “They get back up, right?  That’s the point of zombies.”

            

 “I don’t know,” Jessica said.  She noticed that Collin didn’t volunteer to answer any questions.  He’d been put in his place by his girlfriend.  He wasn’t feeling particularly manly.  Jessica didn’t care, and was actually glad not to hear his voice.  “I thought they got up, but…”

            

 “Maybe…”  Eli was tentative to put in his two cents.  When he said what was obvious, common sense, they either ignored him or gave him shit for it.  Really, what was a better idea than staying put until help came?  Whatever.  If they didn’t listen to him, then, who was to say that they’d listen to him, now? 

            

 “Yeah?”  Jessica looked at him, waiting with less than patience.  They were still huddled near the door, each close enough to someone else that they could grab each other and book it back inside their safe zone if one of those things got up. 

            

 “Maybe it’s not as quick as in the movies,” Eli said with a shrug.  “Or, maybe the ones here are too damaged to get back up.  I mean, if we’re looking at just reanimation, there needs to be something left to reanimate.”

             

“I hate to say it,” Tamara said, “but he’s got a point.”  She squared her shoulders, steeled her spine, then walked to the nearest corpse.  She knelt beside the body and looked down.  “This one doesn’t have any brains,” she said, then pointed to her right, “and that one’s in two pieces.”

            

 “Maybe the ones that could get up have already gone,” Eli said.  “We’ve been in that room for hours.  No telling what went on while we were in there.”

             

“There are empty spots.”  All eyes turned to Collin, but he didn’t elaborate.  They let their eyes roam the floor and saw that he was right.  There were spots where bodies had definitely laid at one time.  In those spots, there were guts and there was blood, and even piles of feces and puddles of urine, but there were no bodies.  Some of them had gotten up and gone to find more food.

            

Jessica nodded and said, “Yeah, you’re right, and that’s just why we need to get moving.  Lissa’s got a good twenty minutes on us, maybe more.  She could already be outside by now, or she could have run into whatever has already gotten up and started looking for a snack.  So, let’s go.”

            

Jessica took the first steps, and Tamara the second.  With the boys trailing, the quartet picked their way through the death-littered gym.  Tamara and Collin’s tennis shoes squeaked after stepping through blood puddles.  Eli’s boots made hard thumps when he brought his feet down.  Jessica’s feet were coated in blood and she wanted to puke.

            

There were more bodies when they reached the hallway, and more empty spots.  Jessica was on alert, just in case those risen zombies were lying in wait.  She wished she’d have found a flashlight.  Their only light came from the school’s emergency lights, and those flickered as they walked through the hallway. 

             

Tamara moved forward until she walked evenly with Jessica.  She was popular.  She was a leader.  She should be out in front, right?  Okay, so maybe she wasn’t that strong, but the least she could do was walk side-by-side with the one of their group who had the fortitude to take it upon herself to be a leader.

             

“We used to be really good friends, didn’t we?”  Tamara clutched a broken broomstick as tightly as her sweaty hands would allow.  “What happened?”

             

Jessica shrugged.  “I guess we just drifted apart, went different ways.”  The air pump was heavy in her hands, and she knew that was because she was tired.  A good idea would have been to sleep instead of sitting and listening to the sounds outside of their hideout, and an even better idea than listening to the silence after the carnage.

             

“You thought I became flaky,” Tamara said.  She laughed at the look on Jessica’s face.  “Don’t deny it.  I know a lot of people think I went flaky, but honestly, you gotta pretend if you wanna be popular, and I wanted to be popular.”

             

“Why?”

             

Tamara sighed.  “I wanted to do good things, and let’s face it, it’s easier to do good things when you’re popular.”

             

“You have a point there.”

            

 Both girls were silent as they looked behind them.  Yup, the guys were still back there, though they were quiet, cautious, and walked a lot slower.  They didn’t want to be out there.  Eli was perfectly happy waiting for someone to save him, right up until he was going to be left behind.  He was more afraid of being alone than he was of being out with the zombies.  He still didn’t want to have anything to do with this suicide mission, as he saw it.  Collin just didn’t want to get dumped in front of people where he couldn’t turn it around and say he’d been the one to do the dumping.

             

“I don’t let them make fun of people,” Tamara said.  Jessica looked at her with a raised eyebrow and she shrugged.  “My circle isn’t allowed to pick on people.”

             

“Why?”

             

“Because that doesn’t make you more popular.  I mean, if you’re popular and people like you, it should be on your own merits.  I don’t need to put people down to make myself feel better.”  Tamara shrugged.  “I’m just sayin’.  I can’t do anything about the people who don’t care about my popularity, but I can stop the people around me from doing something.”

             

It was a noble gesture, and it made Jessica think more of Tamara, but all the same, she wasn’t stopping things completely.  Jessica threw a glance over her shoulder, her eyes landing on Collin.  “They still do it, though.”

             

“I know,” Tamara said with a sigh, “but they don’t do it when I’m around.  That sounds so stupid, doesn’t it?  I mean, I know they do these things, and I still keep them around me.  I guess I just think I can change them, eventually.”

             

“You can’t change people,” Jessica told her, “you can only bring out what’s inside of them.”

             

“Is that what you’re doing with Lissa?”

            

 Jessica nodded.  “I know she’s got a strong woman in her, she just didn’t know anyone before me that helped to bring that out.  When you don’t have to stand up for yourself, you don’t really do it.”  Jessica had found the truth in that in her very own home, and she saw what it did to a person.  If she could help it, she was going to make sure that Lissa never took the crap that Jessica saw on a daily basis.  Lissa was going to have a backbone.

             

“Except you stand up for her, too.”

            

 “Not anymore,” Jessica said softly.  Isn’t that why she was back here, trying to find her friend, and Lissa was out there on her own?  Something she’d done had worked.  Lissa had found her courage, and she was out there, trying to be the one to save them all, the one to get help.

             

Twisting through the hallways, Jessica felt as if she’d never been inside the school before, even though she had spent the past three years pushing her way through these hallways five days a week, nine months out of the year.  The flickering lights gave a strobe light effect, and the stench of death made the air thick.  Jessica felt like she was wading through hot pudding in a badly lit disco.

             

The quartet saw the doors ahead of them and broke into a run.  The light was just beyond them, right there waiting for them.  The glass doors had always felt like freedom at the end of the school day, especially on the last day of school, but they were so much more than that, now.  Those doors were life.  There may have been more death when they stepped outside, but at least it was open.  At least there was room to move.  At least it was fresh air.

             

Eli hit the doors first and his hands went straight for the bar.  He pushed… and the door didn’t open.  “No!  Damn it, no!”  He went to each door, pushing on each, and nothing.  The doors were locked!  He slapped his hands against the door.  “Let me out of here!”

            

 Jessica started to point out that Eli was the biggest supporter of staying inside, but was cut off as she heard a shriek that was all too familiar.  “Lissa!”  She spun around and took off running, her slick bare feet sliding, making it hard for her to stay on her feet or run fast enough.  “She didn’t make it out!”

            

Jessica heard footfalls behind her, and while part of her was glad they were coming with her, she didn’t really care all that much.  She had to get to Lissa.  The screaming was loud and frightening, but Jessica wanted Lissa to scream.  She couldn’t find her if she stopped.  Lissa didn’t know they were looking for her.

             

“Lissa!” Jessica screamed.  “Lissa, I’m coming!  Keep screaming!”  She ran, and as the screams grew louder, she ran faster.

             

“Lissa, we’re coming!”  Jessica afforded herself a quick surprised glance to the side.  Tamara was right there with her, panting and holding her broomstick angled at her shoulder, ready to strike at whatever was out there waiting for them.  “We’re coming!” Tamara shouted again.  “Just hold on!”

            

The two girls rounded a corner, and came to a slippery and startled stop.  The floor was slick with blood, and if either of them ran any further, shoes or not, they would fall.  If they fell and hurt themselves, they would be no help to Lissa.

            

The blood looked fresh and Jessica shook her head.  “Oh, God.  No.”  Was that Lissa’s blood?  Was she too late?  “What if—“  She gulped hard.  “Those are drag marks,” she said, pointing a shaking hand to the streaks in the flood of blood.

“It’s not her blood,” Tamara said, but she wasn’t so sure.  The blood did look pretty fresh, and she couldn’t be sure when was the last time she heard—

            

Lissa screamed, and to Jessica’s ears, the shriek was the most wonderful thing she had ever heard.  She looked at Tamara, and the blonde nodded.  Jessica looked back down the hallway.  She took in a deep breath and set her foot in the puddle of blood.

             

“Hold on,” Jessica shouted.  “Hold on, Lissa!  I’m coming!”