“
Our Father which art in
heaven, sweet Jesus… Hallowed be thy name
….”
A loud cry prompted Drew
to snap his head towards the back of the bus.
Mr. Harry!
He pushed through Sue
Ellen and Mater who were huddled together near Beetle and
Tarynn.
“
Why isn’t she driving?”
Mater yelled as another powerful hit rocked the bus. The students
yelled out in sheer terror as the
Eaters
swarmed the bus like flies on
garbage. Mrs. Bond threw pencils and paper at the small
Eater
whose head
perforated the school bus door. The undead girl, with the bottom
half of her face missing, rotated her neck in the glass causing it
to sever. Spurts of blood squirted into the air barely missing Mrs.
Bond. The
Eater
continued to clap its skeletal jaws together at the horrified
librarian.
“
Agh!” Mrs. Bond yelled as
she snatched the little fan off the dashboard and hurled it at the
small
Eater.
It
landed on the
Eater’s
forehead with a loud wham. The
Eater
seemed unaffected by the blow
and continued to growl at Mrs. Bond.
“
Where is Harry? We must
leave now!” Mrs. Bond yelled as more
Eaters
piled on top of the little
zombie whose head was stuck in the bus’s door.
“
Thy Kingdom come…. Thy
will be done as it is on this ruined earth
…” Tarynn continued.
Drew continued past Beetle and Tarynn. He
realized that Beetle was really sick. His frail, pale body
resembled a structure of bones. Drew knew that if it was not for
Beetle coming to their aide, he and the others would have surely
been one of the doomed by now.
“
We are headed to the
Fairgrounds Center buddy. Just got to get Mr. Harry,” Drew said to
Beetle, in passing, who slowly shook his head. “Something is not
right…” Drew mumbled.
“
You’re
right
,
something
is not
right
! We
are being attacked by a smaller version of dead baby zombies!” Sue
Ellen shouted. The whites of her big brown puppy eyes were placed
with red bulging lines. Mater rubbed Sue Ellen’s back to comfort
her as she tried to calm the rest of the students.
As Drew continued to
navigate his way to the back he stopped cold in his tracks when he
neared the emergency door. The first image he saw was the coach
backing up and speeding away in his white car. The sound of rubber
melted into the highways with a screech. The car headed towards the
direction of Highway 57, which was an alternate route to the
Fairgrounds Center. What shocked Drew to his core was the blood
curdling screams that erupted from Mr. Harry as the
Eaters
transcended upon
him. He fought the best he could swinging his fists with endless
blows at the tireless little monsters. They crawled upon him like
ants cover a mound that was brutally disturbed.
Bright red sprinkles
replaced the once clear drizzle that Hurricane Angel brought down.
The wind blew the blood in the air like sound waves. Mr. Harry’s
shirt became a fountain of red as his vital fluid ran down his face
from his torn scalp. Mr. Harry continued his screams like a rock
star, while the tiny
Eaters
tore at him with their razor sharp teeth. Bits
and pieces of flesh fell from the bus driver as what was left of
his body fell to the ground. The picture of the sweet older lady
flew up high in the hair before settling near Mr. Harry’s body. The
only thing left visible of the bus driver was the leg that was
still stuck in the hole. The traumatism caused Drew to stumble back
and fall into another student. He covered his mouth as he felt the
strong urge in his belly to give away its contents. Drew’s mouth
was very watery as he pushed past the other students, the tears
stinging his eyes.
Fight or Flight. Fight or Flight. Fight or
Flight.
FLIGHT!
Drew concluded.
“
GO! Mrs. Bond! GO! Mr.
Harry is dead!”
“
Oh my G—“
“
They got him! Go!
Please!”
Mrs. Bond pulled the rear
view mirror down and saw the army of
Eaters
taking down what was left of
Harry, the bus driver. She uttered a guttural cry and pressed the
pedal as far as it could go. The bus bolted forward causing all of
the students standing up to fall into the aisle. Drew crawled on
his hands and knees towards the frightened librarian as she flew
down the road.
The students whooped and hollered as the big
yellow bus sailed through the air. Mrs. Bond ran through a stop
sign narrowly missing a van. The van full of people swerved and hit
a ditch. The bus trailed on by the wrecked van as if it was never
there. Mrs. Bond carried on with her mission uninterrupted fueled
by shock, the unknowing, and fear. The librarian continued on the
slick wet roads on a mission to make it to Highway 26. The rain had
stopped but the wind carried on swirling debris and swaying the bus
as it fought hard against it. Along the way, businesses were being
looted and folks were getting robbed. People desperately ran in out
of the stores with emergency supplies, water, and can goods in
their arms. The look on their faces was intent on survival at all
costs. Drew was in awe that these events were happening right here
in his small town. He could not imagine what must have been
occurring in larger metropolitan cities such as Los Angeles or New
York.
As Mrs. Bond neared the road that led to
Highway 26, sirens blasted and more gunshots sounded. She decided
to take a detour and turned the bus so sharply that it almost
flipped over. Drew stood next to Mrs. Bond and held his weight
between to the two front seats.
“
Where are we going?” Drew
asked. His heart was pumping and his adrenaline was
high.
“
Shortcut, honey,” Mrs.
Bond quickly said as she veered onto the nearby packed Highway
49.
Drew turned and looked south of Highway 49,
which was the four-lane highway that led to the Gulf Coast of
Mississippi. Vehicles were filling the highway as far back as he
could see.
“
It must be really
happening everywhere,” Drew said out of astonishment. Mrs. Bond
slowly shook her head in agreement with her eyes opened widely and
mouth ajar. It looked as if she were still in shock.
“
Mrs. Bond!” Tarynn
yelled. “Beetle is not looking too good back here!”
“
Beetle is sick. He needs
his medicine,” Drew blabbered to Mrs. Bond. He did not know why he
mentioned this to her. The poor woman looked like she had dealt
with all she could take.
“
Tell him to hold on,”
Mrs. Bond said with a flat affect, “we are almost
there.”
Mrs. Bond finally made it to the exit to
where she could turn onto Highway 26 again. She sharply veered onto
the exit without so much as a signal. It seemed as if no one was
following the rules of the road anymore. When the bus finally made
it to Highway 26 the surrounding area, including businesses,
resembled a disaster zone. Blazing fires reached the sky and
various people scattered like clueless insects. The highway was
jammed pack with automobiles honking their horns and the passengers
shouting obscenities due to a four-car collision that was blocking
the intersection. A middle-aged lady was holding her baby, crying
loudly, and surveying the damage. Three adults were arguing amongst
each other at the scene. A teenage boy was sitting down on the
ground holding his injured head near his battered pick-up truck. An
older woman, who reminded Drew of his Mee-maw, was holding up a
cell phone in the air trying to get service.
The bus came to a stand still as Mrs. Bond
contemplated what to do. There was only one way to get to the
Fairgrounds. Mrs. Bond thought out loudly that she would ride the
median until she could drive around the accident. Drew noticed
further down the highway, where the Fairgrounds Center was located,
that it was not as chaotic.
One more step closer to my
Mee-maw and sisters
, Drew thought. Drew’s
grandmother’s house was not too far from the Fairgrounds Center. He
had been praying all along that his Mee-maw was able to get to
Stoney Central Elementary in time and pick up Maryann
safely.
“
Everybody hold on!” Mrs.
Bond shouted as she floored it onto the median.
The bus hopped through the plush green grass
and onto the highway with the back end of the yellow clunker
knocking into the wreckage that blocked the intersection. Drew held
himself between the two seats to keep from falling again. He
glanced back towards the smashup and saw the lady, from the
accident, with a baby running behind the bus. With the baby on one
hip, she raised her free hand and waved it in an effort to flag the
bus down.
Sue Ellen witnessed the incident with the
lady and the baby as well. She shrugged her shoulders and shook her
head as a deep depression hit her. Her usually neat ponytail was
rugged and torn as it fell messily at her shoulders. The stress of
the dead children rising began to chip away at Sue Ellen’s brute
personality. She laid her head down on Mater’s shoulder and they
continued to comfort each other as they stood in the aisle. No one
knew what their fate would be.
The bus began to jerk and sputter as if it
was about to cut off at any moment. Drew eyes searched everywhere
for the problem and then his eyeballs flew to the gauge. Dead
empty.
“
We are almost out of
gas,” Mrs. Bond quietly spoke.
“
This can’t be happening,”
Drew mumbled.
“
What is going on up
there?” Sue Ellen asked her eyes the size of quarters.
“
You will see,” Drew shot
back.
The bus stopped in the middle of the
highway. They were 200 feet from the Fairgrounds Center and near
the gas station. Mrs. Bond hysterically hit at the steering wheel
before slowly getting up. She calmly held her hands up to get the
attention of the students.
“
The bus has ran out of
gas.” The onset of commotion began amongst the students. She waved
her hands wildly. “Shhh, Shhh. It is okay. We are not that far from
the Fairgrounds. We can walk. But first we have a young man that
needs medical attention—“
“
Wait! He is trying to say
something,” Tarynn put her ear to Beetle’s mouth as he whispered
something to her. “Juice? He needs juice!”
Drew glanced over at the
gas station. It seemed deserted. A car or two would occasionally
pull in and gas up. That was unusual for this particular gas
station. Being near two major highways, the gas station was always
jammed packed with customers. A few vehicles would occasionally
turn down the road where the Fairgrounds Center was located.
Does this side of town know what is going on, on
the other end?
Drew wondered.
Mrs. Bond squeezed her way to the back
towards Beetle.
“
Can you walk
honey?”
Beetle lazily shook his head no. His skin
was as white as a piece of paper. He was clammy and cold to the
touch. Beetle began to breathe deeply. His bird chest caved in and
out savoring each breath.
“
I need volunteers to run
to that gas station over there,” Mrs. Bond pointed, “ I don’t have
my purse. Tell the cashier we are having an emergency on the bus.
Low blood sugar and a child needs juice.”
No one moved or uttered a word.
Drew stepped forward and raised his hand. “I
will go.”
“
Thanks, Drew,” Mrs. Bond
said.
Mater stepped next to Drew followed by Sue
Ellen. Drew looked at Tarynn. She was the last of their original
group including Beetle.
“
Coming?” Drew
asked.
“
Going to stay here with
Beetle,” Tarynn gently replied.
“
Alright, just close the
lever behind us when we get off. We will be back in just a few,”
Drew directed.
Tarynn moved up and
quickly closed the door behind Drew and the girls. He turned around
to see Tarynn’s eyes closed and moving her lips. She was giving
them her blessings. The winds had died down and the gray sky
hovered over the small town. The roads were slick from the downpour
of heavy rain that had graced the town earlier. Drew, Sue Ellen,
and Mater skipped over a ditch and walked to the gas station
swiftly but carefully. Drew had already pulled his knife from his
pocket and had it clenched tightly in his hand.
I need by baseball bat
, Drew
thought.
That is what I would feel more
comfortable with.
“
I am so scared,” Sue
Ellen bit her lip. “I just want to see my dad and little brother.
They are all I have. I really do hope they are at the Fairgrounds
Center.”
Drew knew that Sue Ellen’s mother had passed
away from cancer four years ago when they were in the fourth grade.
It was a devastating blow to Sue Ellen who had to manage the grief
on her own due to her father’s major depression.
“
All of our parents, well
some of our parents, or grandparents should be there. I am quite
sure everything will be better in the morning once they figure out
what’s causing this mess,” Drew said as they continued to walk.
Deep down he knew that things were not okay and the small town of
Wiggins would never be the same.