Dead Outside (Book 1) (24 page)

“Didn’t
you yell at me one time for starting a fire with gas?” Nick asked half
sarcastically.

“Yeah
I did,” I said as I set the can down far enough away from the pile so it
wouldn’t catch when we lit the fire. I grabbed my bow that was lying on the
ground and used a match to light a cloth wrapped arrow head, “But how else are
we going to burn a pile of soggy corpses?”

Nick
had a big grin on his face, “I get to do it for the next pile.”

“Get
your own bow,” I laughed and then fired. It hurt my side to do both of those,
but the pile exploded in a brilliant fireball which made it worth it.

Nick
must have seen me wince after firing, because he said, “Maybe you should go
take a break, I can get the rest of this.”

“You
sure?” I asked mostly to be polite. I really did just want to lie down and
relax for a bit.

“Yeah
I got this,” he started walking over toward Roxie where the rest of the corpses
were laying.

It
didn’t take me long to get to the stairwell and then up the stairs. I took off
my blood stained clothes and threw them in a biohazard can we had been using
for a laundry basket. Roxie thought it was appropriate.

I
washed up and put on some fresh clothes so I didn’t get anything dirty. Roxie
would be furious if I got brain matter on the couch.

I
thought about going to my bed but I would just fall asleep, so I opted for the
couch in the living room. As I was about to sit down I saw my hat sitting on
the table. Sarah must have used a hair dryer to dry it off or something because
it was warm. I put it on so it would block the sun from getting in my eyes and
I laid down.

I
couldn’t have been lying there long, but it felt like time was flying by. I
must have fallen asleep for a few minutes, but all of the sudden I was thrown
from the couch. Everything in the room jumped almost a foot and a deafening
roar echoed through my ears.

My
adrenaline pumping as I scrambled to my feet. I ran to the door facing the road
in front of the school, but I didn’t see anything that appeared to be damaged.
I ran back through our room and onto the balcony overlooking the courtyard.

I
could see a large orange fireball pluming from where the two buses were
blocking the walkway between the cafeteria and the main building. If the
explosion blew away the buses it would leave a gaping hole for the thousands of
undead outside to walk right in.

Nick
and Roxie were in the middle of the courtyard on the ground, the explosion must
have knocked them off their feet.

“Where’s
Sarah!?” I yelled as loud as I could to them when I couldn’t see her from the
balcony.

I
didn’t wait for a reply, I grabbed my rifle that was by the door and started
running for the stairwell. Just when I stepped out of the bottom of the
stairwell another explosion knocked me from my feet. It must have been close
because my ears were ringing.

“Oh
god…” A chill ran down my spine, I could see fire and debris coming from the
north side of the school where we had a bus parked. I got back up and kept
running.

Nick
and Roxie ran up to me, Nick had blood coming from his scalp, but it wasn’t
bad.

“Sam
we don’t have the ammo to kill them all, what do we do?” Roxie asked
frantically, aiming her rifle at the flaming hoard approaching us.

“I
have to find Sarah, where is she?” I ignored Roxie’s question. All I cared
about was finding Sarah.

“She
was on the north side by the bus picking up debris,” Nick said solemnly. “She
was there when the first explosion went off.”

I
turned around without saying anything and started walking toward the bus that
was now fully engulfed in flame.

I
felt a hand grab my arm from behind. I didn’t have to look to know it was Nick,
but I did. I looked him in the eyes, He saw the determination and fear in my
eyes, and I saw the sympathy and grief in his. The moment we locked eyes
couldn’t have lasted more then a few seconds, but he knew from the look on my
face that I wasn’t going to take no for an answer.

“Sam
she’s gone,” Roxie cried. “They’re coming in we have to get out of here!”

“No!”
I yelled so loud my voice went hoarse. “She can’t be gone!” I kept walking
toward the burning bus.

“Sam
come on, we have to get to the truck in the garage!” Roxie followed me as I
continued to walk toward the flaming bus. “It still has food in it, we can make
it, but we have to go now!”

I
had to squint to see something moving on the other side of the bus through the
windows. It wasn’t the undead, it was a dump truck, and it was driving north on
the dirt road leading away from the school. My heart started racing. Someone
blew up the buses on purpose, someone must have taken Sarah. My mind started
racing even faster then my heart, thinking of who it could be, and then it hit
me. I never saw Rodger die.

“Get
to the truck in the garage.” I turned and said to Roxie and Nick. “I’ll take my
truck and meet you.”

“Where!?”
Roxie asked frantically as Nick grabbed her and pulled her toward the garage.

“Our
old house,” I yelled. “I have something I need to do first.”

“What!?”
Roxie pulled her arm from Nick’s grip. “No, you’re coming with us!”

“Nick,”
I looked at my best friend, for as far as I knew was the last time. “Take my
sister and get the hell out of here.”

He
looked at me for a moment, awestruck at what was happening, but didn’t hesitate
another moment longer, he picked up Roxie and threw her over his shoulder.

I
turned and ran toward the stairwell. I could hear Roxie’s cries, yelling for me
to go with them, but I didn’t look back. That dump truck only had one place to
go, the dirt road they were on lead to the highway, and it wasn’t built for
off-roading like my truck was, so their head start wouldn’t matter.

I
grabbed all the guns and ammo I could and threw them in one of the empty duffel
bags, along with my bow and all my remaining arrows. There was a ton of food
still on the shelves, but I had no time. I dumped as much as I could into
another bag and zipped it up.

By
the time I opened the door and stepped out, the hordes of undead from both
sides of the school filled up almost half the courtyard. The ones that had been
engulfed in flames from the explosions were now on the ground, littering the
ground with corpse candles. I ran for the stairwell as fast as I could.

My
truck was still parked near the stairwell, but the zombies from the north had
already reached it. I dropped the bags and pulled out the .357 magnum I got
from Jerry months ago. I blew holes in the heads of the closest few, but there
were so many. I picked up the bags and threw them into the bed of the truck. I
opened the passenger door to get it, but one of them managed to stick its arms
in before I could shut the door.

I
kicked it a few times, but it wouldn’t give up. I aimed the .357 and blew a
whole through its left eye. I kicked it again to push its body out, but it was
a lost cause, two more were reaching in the passenger door.

I
hopped over to the driver’s side of the cab and fired up the engine. One of
them grabbed my right arm as I shifted it into drive.

“Better
hang on assholes!” I yelled as I slammed on the gas pedal.

The
truck peeled out, but the one holding onto my arm wouldn’t give up. I punched
it in the face, but it didn’t do anything. The .357 was on the floor out of
reach. Its jaws were close to biting my bicep.

I
reached for the seat belt and buckled myself in, and then slammed on the
brakes. Its body lurched forward, slamming into the dashboard. I lifted my foot
up and put the heel of my boot on its shoulder and kicked him out of the door.

I
hit the gas pedal again and the inertia swung the passenger door shut. There
had to be hundreds of them in the courtyard now, I couldn’t even drive around
them they were so dense. I drove through the still burning wreckage of the bus
on the north side of the school.

Whether
it was Rodger or some other asshole didn’t matter. Whoever did this was going to
pay.

Chapter Twenty-Four: Payback

6:00
PM, December 13

The
dirt road was more like a river of mud after the storm. I felt my truck
hydroplane a couple times, but I wouldn’t let off the gas, not until I caught
up. There was a set of tire tracks left by the dump truck I was following, it
wasn’t too far ahead. It only had a few minutes head start on me.

Sarah
was in that dump truck. Whoever it was, they took her. My heart was still
racing, I was breathing so hard it was almost to the point of hyperventilation.
My ribs still hurt, but I was ignoring it. Sarah was probably in worse shape
than me now. I had no idea how close she was to that second explosion, for all
I knew she was dying.

The
sun was setting. Light was fading fast. I didn’t turn on my headlights though.
I didn’t want them to see me coming. There were a few bodies, but except for
this trail the terrain was basically swamp, the undead wouldn’t get far without
getting stuck.

I
saw a flash of red in the distance. It had to be break lights. They must have
slowed down to avoid something in the road. It disappeared behind some trees.

I
pulled up to the spot where they turned. A fallen tree was blocking the main
path. The tire tracks followed a worn down trail, most likely an old four
wheeler path to avoid the tree. The tail lights were a hundred yards ahead of
me. I could see their headlights were on now.

The
dump truck made another turn. When I got there I saw that the dump truck was
now driving through a field.

“Where
are you going Rodger?” I thought out loud, following it slowly through the tall
grass of the field.

It
made another turn once it reached the tree line on the other side of the field.
I followed slowly so I wouldn’t be seen, but it was getting dark, and hard to
see without my lights on. Luckily my eyes were adjusting to the gradual loss of
light about as fast as it was getting darker.

When
I reached the tree line I made the same turn as the dump truck. When I turned
the corner I saw the dump truck pulling into a gated fence.

I
hit my breaks as soon as I saw the dump truck go through the gate. It stopped
once the gate closed, and then the tail lights went out. I opened the bag
filled with guns and ammo.

I
had a hunting rifle, my shotgun, two 9mm handguns, a .45 handgun, and my bow.
Somebody had to close that gate when the truck pulled in, that meant there were
at least two people behind that fence. Knowing Rodger, there would be a few
more people inside.

“I
got him with the bow last time,” I thought out loud, “might as well use it
again, only this time with better aim.”

I
put the 9mm handgun in a holster on my belt. I still had five arrows left for
my compound bow. I clipped the quiver of arrows to the other side of my belt
and grabbed the bow, whoever was outside wouldn’t hear me coming, they were
about to get an arrow through the neck.

The
sun was completely below the horizon now. I could barely see the ground beneath
my feet. The only reason I knew I was on the trail was because I was walking
through the tire tracks left by the dump truck.

Every
once in a while I saw a light about the spot where I saw the dump truck go
through the gate. Someone must have been patrolling with a flashlight.

I
was about thirty yards from the gate when I stopped. I could see the man
patrolling, he seemed to be walking around the entirety of the building. I
couldn’t see the whole building. It was some kind of warehouse or large barn.

His
flashlight made me worry. I scooped some mud up from the ground and wiped it on
my face and hands, covering anything that might reflect light. It couldn’t help
but remind me of a scene from the movie
Predator
.

I
waited for the man to walk behind the building before I moved again. I got to
the edge of the tree line, which was about ten yards from the fence, and
waited. The guard came from the other side of the building like clockwork. I
drew my bow as he walked in front of me.

He
was walking past me, and I had him in my sights when I thought back to the many
hunting trips I’d made over the years. Whenever a deer was moving too fast to
get a shot I’d make a noise to get it to stop and look. I made a quick whistle,
which got the patrolling man’s attention almost instantly.

I
fired.

The
arrow went through the man’s throat. He collapsed, clutching the wound, unable
to call out because of the blood pouring into his windpipe. I sprinted to the
gate which only had a chain wrapped around it with no lock. I pulled the chain
and snuck inside.

I
grabbed the body of the patrolling man and dragged him back into the forest.
When I walked back through the gate I put the chain back on.

The
dump truck was parked close to the building, near a door. I got close to check
inside the truck. There was a little blood on the arm rest of the passenger
seat. I closed the door quietly then walked over to the door of the building.

I
pulled a second arrow from my quiver and walked up to the door. I didn’t see
any light coming from inside, so I turned the handle.

It
was some kind of lobby. I could see some light coming from under a set of
double doors on the other side of the room. There wasn’t anybody inside this
particular room that I could tell, but I still walked as quietly as I could.

I
could hear voices on the other side of the double doors. There were some
frosted windows in the doors, but I couldn’t make out any details on the other
side.

The
voices on the other side got quiet and I could hear approaching footsteps. I
took a few more steps back and drew my arrow back, aiming at the double doors.

A
man walked through the door holding a rifle. He was looking my direction, but
hadn’t noticed me yet, most likely because the room was so dark compared to the
one he just came from.

I
waited for the double doors to close again before I fired the arrow. I hit him
in the chest, close to the heart. He dropped his rifle before he fell, which
made a lot more noise then I wanted to make.

Whoever
else was on the other side of the doors must have heard because he burst
through. I drew another arrow as fast as I could, but I didn’t have time to aim
as well as I should have. I fired an arrow, but it hit him in the shoulder.

He
fired his handgun up at the ceiling as he fell over screaming from the pain of
the arrow hitting him. The guy was making a lot of noise screaming in agony so
I ran up and kicked his head as hard as I could to knock him out.

After
drawing another arrow I ran into a corner waiting for someone else to come
through the double doors. I waited for almost ten minutes, but I didn’t hear
any voices or footsteps.

I
carefully walked toward the doors and pushed them in slowly. It was a large
room with a couple of chairs. I noticed another chair with someone sitting in
it. Before I could get a better look I felt a sharp pain in the back of my
head.

Everything
went black.

?:??
December 13

My
head was throbbing, my ears were ringing, and my eyelids were heavy. When I
opened them it took me a while to realize where I was. I tried to look around,
but it was too dark to make anything out. The events of the last few hours
flashed before my eyes. I remembered the explosions, Sarah disappearing, the
dump truck, killing the men outside the building, and then finally getting
knocked out as I walked through the doors.

I
saw a silhouette approach from the darkness, but before I could make out any
details a fist clocked me on the right side of my head, knocking my hat clean
off.

Blood
trickled down my forehead. I moved my arm to wipe it, but both my hands were
bound together behind my back. I took a couple of deep breaths and looked up,
“How’d you live Rodger? I figured you’d bleed out before we made it out your
front door.” I barely felt my jaw moving as I spoke, he must have hit me a few
times while I was unconscious.

Before
I could get a good look at him he walked around behind me. I took the
opportunity to get a better look at my surroundings. It was definitely the room
I was knocked out in. I was missing something, there was something I was
focusing on before I was knocked out, but I couldn’t remember.

He
walked back around from behind me slowly. I turned my head to look at him and
saw he was wearing a ski mask. I looked down at his hands, he wasn’t holding
anything. I started to glance back up when he stopped directly in front of me.

“What’s
the matter Rodger?” I groaned from the pain in my jaw. “Too busy chewing on a
dick to talk?”

He
kicked the chair, knocking me backwards. My head hit the floor, filling my
vision with stars.

“Who
is this Rodger you won’t shut up about?” he taunted. “Boyfriend?”

The
stars were fading slowly. I tried to focus on his face but he was still wearing
a ski mask. “Sorry,” I groaned, it wasn’t Rodger’s voice, but I couldn’t place
it, “thought you were someone else.”

“Oh,”
he let out a slight chuckle. “Forgot I was wearing this.” He pulled off the ski
mask, revealing a familiar face. It took me a minute to place it, but a long
scar running diagonally across his face gave it away. “And I have to admit,
using the bow was pretty fucking clever. I expected you to come in guns
blazing.”

It
wasn’t Rodger. It was the guy from the warehouse, the leader of those assholes.
I couldn’t for the life of me remember his name, but I knew his face. “Sorry
again,” I took a deep breath, trying to ignore the pain my body was in. “Having
a little trouble putting a name to the scar, I mean face.”

He
grimaced at my sarcasm and grabbed me by my shoulders to pull the chair back up
onto its legs. “Wade Tab. You left me to die a few months ago.”

“No
shit? Well Tabby, long time no see.” I taunted him, “I see that cut healed
nicely, really accents the hideousness that is the rest of your…” He punched me
in the gut so hard I almost threw up. I spit on what I hoped were his shoes and
smiled, “You still hit like a little girl.”

He
hit me again in the face, “You still can’t see when you’re in a hopeless
situation.”

I
felt blood trickling down my face where he hit me. “If I remember correctly, I
got out of the last one easily enough.”

“You
thought you were so clever leaving me in that burning warehouse surrounded by
the ghouls.” He started to monologue, “But you didn’t know that I saw your
little map you had in your backpack with the star on it that said, Sarah.”

He
did have my backpack for a while before I got back up to his office to take it
back, the asshole must have remembered where it was. “So you came all this way
to say hello? That was sweet of you.”

He
grew an irritating smirk across his face, “Well I figured, you burned my home
down, I should burn yours. I’ve been watching your little school for almost a
month now, waiting for the perfect opportunity.”

I
could feel my heart facing in anger, but I wouldn’t give in to his taunts. “You
should have come rang the doorbell,” I said a little more angrily then I wanted
to, “and we could have had this out like men.”

He
was clearly frustrated that I wasn’t breaking down, but I wouldn’t give him
that satisfaction. In the corner of my right eye I saw another figure seated in
a chair across the room and it hit me. That was what I saw right before I was
knocked out. I squinted to try to make out any other details, but Wade hit me,
throwing my head in the other direction.

“I
brought something that belongs to you.” He walked away for a moment to get
something off of a table to my left. I took the opportunity to kick my legs,
but they were bound to the front chair legs. “You left your machete behind when
you left me to die. You cut me with it, so I think I’ll return the favor.”

I
looked over at the figure in the chair while Wade wasn’t looking. Her long
curly hair was draped over her shoulders. Her head was lying on her right
shoulder. Her chest was moving up and down weakly. I sighed in relief, at least
she was still alive. Wade came back from the table wielding my old machete. I kicked
my feet again, not wanting to give up.

The
sound of ripping duct tape echoed through the room, and Wade’s eyes widened
with surprise, stalling him enough for me to kick him hard in the shins.

He
stumbled backward cursing.

I
used my now freed foot to pull the tape off my other ankle. He regained his
footing too late. I stood up awkwardly with my arms still tied behind the back
of the chair. He charged at me, so I swung the chair around and hit him in the
side of the knee with one of the chair legs.

He
yelped in pain and collapsed. I slid myself free from the chair, and sat down
on the ground to bring my bound arms up and over my legs to be in front of me
rather then behind.

By
the time I stood back up, Wade had also staggered back to his feet, though he
was leaning to his left, keeping the weight off the knee I hit.

He
swung the machete wildly at me. He was furious that I’d gotten out of his
revenge trap seemingly with ease, though I could still hardly believe I’d made
it this far myself.

I
grabbed the chair and used it to block the machete, and push him back.
Unfortunately, he managed to get a good swing on my right shoulder, cutting me
deep. But then he had nothing blocking his center mass.

I
kicked him in the knee, and he lost his grip on the machete which fell to the
ground. I swung the chair into him, knocking him to the floor a few feet away.

My
hands were still tied together, so I picked up the machete to cut the tape, but
as soon as the tape was cut he kicked my legs out from under me and I fell onto
the chair smashing it apart.