Death's Little Angels (14 page)

They were all jammed packed standing up in
the bus aisle because there was no room to sit. Cookie and Billy
had managed their way to the back of the bus. Cookie leaned over a
seat slightly with Billy helping support most of her weight.

“
Do you think these
Eaters
are attacking the
entire town?” Sue Ellen asked.

“
Yes…. and the entire
state according to the internet. I just hope that out in the
country we will be more safe,” Drew replied.

“
Cookie doesn’t look
right,” Mater whispered to Drew and Sue Ellen.

The three looked back at Cookie and Billy.
Someone had apparently loaned their seat to Cookie. She slouched in
the stall with her head kicked back. A loud explosion caused the
bus to come to screeching halt.

“
Oh my God!! Lord please
HELP us!” Tarynn screamed.

The rescue helicopter had spun out of
control and crashed into several cars that had made it onto Highway
26. A big, bright orange flame shot up into the sky like a fire
hydrant under pressure. The light rain did not smother the blazing
high flame. The wind if anything seemed to make the flame grow
bigger. Everyone on the bus went into a frenzy as the bus driver
fiercely placed the gears into reverse.

Drew overheard Mr. Freeman
advise the bus driver to f
loor it
towards the back of the building where the car
riders loaded up.
The next thing Drew
knew, the bus driver was swerving around the first bus that had
wrecked and the car, with the twins, that had plowed down the
fence. The bus hurled over the speed bumps like they did not exist.
As the bus made its way towards the back of the school, Mr. Freeman
turned around to address everyone. He waved his hands several times
to get the occupants attention. The bus came to a silent still with
occasional sniffles and whimpering escaping from some of the
students.

“
We are going to take the
car rider route and exit at the back of the school. I need everyone
to remain calm. We still will make it to the Fairgrounds Center but
this time in about ten minutes! At that time, everyone will be safe
and have a chance to get to their parents or guardians.”

Drew studied Mr. Freeman’s expression. Mr.
Freeman’s mouth spoke the statement but his eyes told a different
story. Drew had become accustomed to adults lying to him all of his
life. His mother and then the father he never knew. All liars. Drew
realized that some of the students and teachers on the bus would
never see their loved ones again. He had already witnessed the
death of more than half of his classmates, not to mention the
teachers. Drew understood that Mr. Freeman was just as clueless and
lost just like every body else as to what was really going on. Drew
looked at the picture on the dashboard of the elderly woman. Her
smile and spirit calmed him. It gave Drew the strength that he
needed.

Looking out the windows, Hurricane Angel
seemed to be slacking up. The rain came in light spurts and the
wind died down. The bus went over the last speed bump and slowly
passed the choir hall, which was adjacent to the cafeteria. The bus
came to resting stop. The 13-inch fence was locked during the day
until school ended. Dr. Bradford would always come to unlock the
gates thirty minutes before the car riders were dismissed. No one
had unlocked the gates. The key was inside of the front office,
which meant that someone would have to go back into the school.

Drew’s mind was in a fog.
He suddenly realized that he was at the back of the school.
The cafeteria…
It was in
plain view. Drew gently moved Sue Ellen aside so that he could get
a clearer view of the cafeteria. He noticed that all of the windows
were broken.

“
What are you trying to
see?” Sue Ellen whispered. Her shiny brown hair had fallen by
single strands around her face from her previous messy ponytail.
She slowly followed Drew’s gaze.

“
Please don’t tell me what
I think that is!” Mater yelled.

Everybody on the bus stood up and leaned
towards the view of the cafeteria. Drew squeezed past Sue Ellen and
Mater to get towards the front of the bus. He tapped Mr. Freeman on
the back interrupting the intense conversation that the teacher was
having with the bus driver.

“
Remember? There are other
students in the cafeteria. Are we going to get them?” Drew
asked.

The bus driver shook his head. “We are
already at the limit on the bus. We can probably hold two more kids
and that’s pushing it!” The bus driver barked.

Mr. Freeman shook his head and wiped the
sweat from his brow. Drew could not decipher whether Mr. Freeman’s
wet shirt was from the rain or perspiration. Mr. Freeman slowly
opened the side door to the bus and for a moment looked like he
contemplated not going.

“
Wait right here. We have
some students in the cafeteria. If I do not come back in five
minutes… You break through that fence and get out of here,” Mr.
Freeman directed to the bus driver. The bus driver nodded his head
through a clenched jaw and stared straight ahead.

“
I’m coming with you,”
Drew said.

“
Stay here
son.”

“
But—“

“
I need someone to watch
over the bus until I get back. I am leaving you in charge, Drew.”
Mr. Freeman patted Drew’s shoulder and before heading out the door
repeated back to the bus driver, “five minutes…”

“
Be careful, Freeman!” One
of the female teachers shouted at Mr. Freeman. Drew recognized her
as the seventh grade science teacher.

The science teacher, librarian, and students
quietly watched as Mr. Freeman hightailed it across the parking lot
towards the cafeteria. His trot came to a prowl as he crouched down
near the door of the cafeteria. Once Mr. Freeman disappeared into
the darkness of the door, everyone let out a huge sigh.

Mater yanked on Drew’s shirt pulling him
back towards both her and Sue Ellen. Mater’s eyes were still red
from her recent loss of Marley.

“
The windows are broken.
Do you think….” Mater trailed off as she glanced back towards the
cafeteria.

“
I don’t know, Mater. It
doesn’t look good,” Drew responded, “I don’t think Mr. Freeman
should have went by himself.”

Drew faced the back of the bus. Everyone had
the look of fear and desperation on their faces. It was evident in
their body language as well. Some students wept while other’s
prayed. He saw Beetle and Tarynn standing together. Tarynn had grew
tired and rested her head on Beetle’s shoulder. They both were
leaning backwards on the seat. Billy had his back turned to Cookie
who was slouching in the seat right beside him. She appeared to be
asleep. Strings of saliva fell from her mouth. Drew edged closer to
Sue Ellen and Mater who were currently monitoring the
cafeteria.

“
Good thing about all of
this is, Beetle was able to get some sugar pills from the nurse’s
office on our way to the bus,” Mater said.

“
Yea, you must mean
glucose tablets?” Sue Ellen corrected Mater. “Yea, I say good for
Beetle because he was beginning to look a hot tamale mess,” she
cracked. “Not to mention he was already thrown together as it
is.”

“
I think Steven might have
bitten Cookie,” Drew whispered ignoring Sue Ellen’s comment. Sue
Ellen and Mater broke their transfixed stares and huddled closer to
Drew in the aisle.

“
We didn’t see any bite
marks remember?” Sue Ellen responded.

“
If Steven got Cookie,
wouldn’t she be bleeding or turned into one of those
Eater
things by now?”
Mater half whispered.

“
She was bleeding…. In her
head. Maybe when Steven bit down, he made contact with her scalp,”
Drew said. He glanced back and forth between Sue Ellen and Mater.
Sue Ellen frowned.

“
Drew, if somebody ripped
chunks of my hair out, I would be bleeding too. Doesn’t mean that
she is an
Eater.”
Sue Ellen slowly turned her neck to look at Cookie. She
turned back around to face Drew and Mater. “Maybe—“

A piercing scream, that rippled Drew’s
spine, erupted from the back of the bus. It was the most terror
stricken scream that Drew had ever heard since the outbreak had
occurred. Cookie was no longer sitting in her seat. Her teeth were
lodged into the back of Billy Duncan’s neck.

Deaths little angels sitting in a tree

E- A- T- I- N- G

First come the pain

Second the ripping apart

Third before you know it, they will eat out
your heart…..

Sheer panic broke out on the bus. A frenzied
rush of bodies came towards the front slamming Drew, Sue Ellen, and
Mater towards the entrance of the bus. Drew fell backwards down the
stairs and had his back pinned up against the door. Sue Ellen and
Mater were smashed into him as more frightened students made their
way towards the front in a frenzied effort to get away from
Cookie’s jaws of death. Beetle grabbed Tarynn’s hand and tried to
dash into one of the seats. He managed to push Tarynn into the seat
as the herd of bodies knocked Beetle over and trampled him. Some of
the children climbed over seats and other students as others tried
to get out of the window. Ear deafening screams continued to filled
the tiny cramped space.

“
I can’t breathe!” Drew
shouted. “I can’t breathe!”

“
Let me off of here!” Were
the desperate pleas of the students. “Helppppp!”

The bus driver stood up and tried to push
back the herd of distraught bodies.

“
Push…the….lever!!” Drew
managed to say.

Mater reached towards the lever to release
it before an elbow caught her square in the eye.

“
Ouch!” Mater shrieked as
she grabbed her eye.

“
Agh!” Drew muffled as he
pushed back up on the stacked bodies that were smothering
him.

He felt beating on the outside of the bus
door but could not turn around to see who or what it was.
Dizziness…. Drew felt his head spinning. Between the cracks of the
bodies that continued to shove against him, Drew found a way to see
the picture of the woman displayed on the dashboard. The shape of
the face changed into that of his Mee-maw. She smiled at him,
encouraging him to hold on and that help was on the way. Drew
closed his eyes.

A few seconds later, a
loud
CRACK
and
glass shattering
sounded at the back of
the bus.
The alarm buzzed signaling the
emergency door at the back had been opened. Drew heard shouts and
cries throughout the bus as it rocked unsteadily with the swaying
wind. After a few tussles and loud smacking sounds the turmoil came
to a low. The bus seemed lighter as the alarm became silent and the
back door slammed shut. The load of bodies that were piled up
against Drew began to lighten as he heard a familiar
voice.

“
Everybody get to your
seats, NOW!” The gruffly voice said.

Mr. Freeman! He made
it!
Drew thought as he tried to conserve
his breathing and not suffocate. Drew’s face was red as red as a
tomato. His lungs were hot and tight as he felt the relief of
weight being lifted off of his chest.

“
Breathe slowly, son.
That’s it. You are going to be just fine,” Mr. Freeman said as
slowly made his way towards Drew. His appearance was disheveled
like he had been through the battle of his life. His big chest
caved in greatly once he exhaled.

“
Thank you, Mr. Freeman,”
Sue Ellen and Mater whimpered together as they gasped for air. Mr.
Freeman pulled the girls back to the aisle and gave Drew a
hand.

The bus driver pulled himself together after
being mashed into the steering wheel. He grappled for his cell
phone shaking and tried to dial a number. With no success, he
dropped his head in his hands and wept silently.

“
Come on, son,” Mr.
Freeman weakly said. He was sweating profusely. The teacher had a
grave look on his face. He pulled Drew up with one lift.

“
You saved my life, Mr.
Freeman sir. Thank you,” Drew said trying to catch his
wind.

Mr. Freeman nodded his head and tussled
Drew’s hair. Tears filled the teachers eyes as the sweat continued
to poor from his weeping skin. Mr. Freeman pushed Drew aside as he
turned to face the discombobulated students that cried softly on
the bus.

“
You are safe right now,”
Mr. Freeman raised his hands in a non-threatening calming manner.
“You are all safe.”

“
We need some help over
here!” Tarynn yelled. She tried to assist Beetle up.

Mr. Freeman accompanied by Drew, rushed to
Beetle and Tarynn’s aid.

“
Hey Beetle…. Are you
okay, man?” Drew faintly asked.

Drew realized Beetle was in worse shape than
he had imagined.

Beetle’s frail, trampled body lay across the
seat. His bony bird like chest was visible as it heaved deeply in
and out. Tarynn began to fan Beetle. His skin seeped perspiration,
which flowed down his body like a fountain.

“
I don’t feel too good….”
Beetle breathed heavily. He weakly faced Drew and the others. The
black frame glasses, that was broken, dangled from the corner of
his face. The brackets on his braces were broken.

“
Use your medicine, man!”
Drew instructed.