Death's Little Angels (16 page)

“
Everybody rock to the
right! Go back towards the right side of the bus!” The bus driver
hollered.

Drew and Mrs. Bond assisted the students in
going towards the right side of the bus. The moved worked as the
bucket of bolts moved forward slowly and landed back down on all
tires.

“
Please guide us, Lord!
Help us!” Tarynn yelled as she stood in a seat near
Beetle.

A sigh of relief crossed
the bus driver’s face once he thought that he had made it free. The
view of the trailer park came into clear view once the bus made it
almost past the train. The sight of mayhem and disorder, which was
taking place in the trailer park up ahead, frightened everyone on
the bus including the bus driver. A group of
Eaters
that looked to be no more
than two to four years old inflicted sheer death and pain amongst
those they encountered. They were faster and more monstrous than
the
Eaters
that
Drew and the others had previously seen.

The
Eater’s
legs moved like a Rooster’s
legs, spurring savagely at its prey. They attacked and crawled all
over their victims like spiders overwhelming them with tiny bite
marks. Drew saw clearly that once the younger batch of
Eaters
finished with
their victims, there was barely anything left that was
recognizable. Just a heap of mauled flesh.

“
What in the world
are
those
?” Sue
Ellen gasped.

“
Demons not zombies!”
Tarynn shouted back. “Those are definitely the
Angels of Death!”

“
This only keeps getting
worse!” Mater said. Her eyes watered again.

“
Just when I thought we
had it good by outrunning those things. The internet didn’t mention
those!” Drew exclaimed.

The students on the bus
began shouting and yelling out at the horrific scene displaying in
front of them. A young father, who appeared to be in his late
twenties, was one of the families trying to escape the slaughter
that was being inflicted by the younger
Eaters.
He carried his son in arms
who appeared to be around the age of four. The young man had made
it to the entrance of the trailer park, his face covered with fear.
The father had a backpack that dangled from his arms as he
desperately tried to flag down passerby’s in their cars. The cars
hurriedly fled out of the trailer park ignoring the cries from the
father and his scared son.

“
For the love of Jesus!
Please HELP us!” The distressed father cried as he continued to run
with all of his strength.

A car bailing out of the
trailer park, clipped the young father by the leg causing him to
fly mid air with his child. The poor unfortunate soul landed on his
neck while the little boy fell on his back in a patch of wilted
grass. No movement arose from the young man’s body. The little boy
cried as he reached towards his daddy. Drew covered his eyes when
he saw the
Eaters
hungrily pounce upon the little boy.

What kind of Eaters are
those?
Drew wondered.

This breed of zombies was smaller and
deadlier. Drew watched as the group of tiny bodies continued to
reap havoc upon anything in their path. This smaller version of
zombies did not leave any leftovers from its prey. It usually ate
them down to the bone unless another live victim caught their
attention. Drew shuddered. He knew they were all going to be home
free once the bus squeezed past the train. But then the bus
stopped….

Oh Drew Jacks, Jacks, Jacks

All dressed in black, black, black

With tiny hands, hands, hands

Clawing at his back, back, back

“
I did it! I did it! Yea!
I—“

The bus driver stop mid sentence as the
yellow clunker came to an abrupt standstill. The left back tire
made a grinding sound signifying it was stuck in the muddiness of
the ditch.

“
Why aren’t we moving?
What’s wrong?” Mrs. Bond cried. Her eyes darted back and forth
nervously.

“
We are stuck! Can’t move
her!” The bus driver shouted back. He switched the gears putting
the bus into reverse but to no avail. The old man quickly threw the
gears to drive and floored the accelerator. The bus rocked back and
forth but would not break free from the earth’s grip. The smell of
burnt rubber escaped from underneath the tires and filled Drew’s
nostrils. The disgruntled bus driver finally gave up after minutes
of fighting with the trench. He put the gears in neutral with the
brake on and left the bus engine roaring.

“
We have a problem,” the
bus driver said as he stood up to face the occupants.

“
You got to be kidding
me…” Drew mumbled.

The bus driver took a deep breath. “Looks
like we are not going anywhere.” He let out a big sigh.

“
I wanna go home!” A male
student whined. His red hair was limp from excess heat given off by
over crowded bodies.

“
We
all
want to go home! So shut your
face!” Olivia barked. It was her first time speaking out. Sue Ellen
slyly grinned at Olivia. She looked like a matted dog with her hair
plastered to her skin and face.

Mrs. Bond raised her hand to calm the
feuding duo. “Guys, please…. Arguing is not going to help the
situation right now.” The librarian faced the bus driver. She
apprehensively glanced out the window.

“
Harry, what are we going
to do? We can’t stay here! Or…. Or try to make a run for it! The
Children….” Mrs. Bond’s head fell into her hands. The headache that
she felt coming on was overwhelming. A soft touch of warmth brought
ease to the librarian’s spirit.

“
We can run. I will help
you with the little ones and…. With this.” Drew held up his knife.
The glossy shine was gone and replaced with tarnished rust. Flakes
of crusted blood fell to the aisle. His soft blue eyes gave away
the secret he tried to conceal. Fear…

“
I will get us out of this
jam,” Harry, the bus driver, said.

“
Who?” Mrs. Bond
asked.

“
Me….”

Harry blinked his wrinkled eyes. He rubbed
the picture of the pretty, elderly lady that gracefully decorated
his dashboard. The woman he had known and loved with all of his
heart for fifty plus years. The lady who bore him five healthy,
hardworking children. The lady on the picture was Harry’s backbone,
his strength. And now…. There was a possibility that he might never
see her again. He rubbed the picture once more and snatched it off
the dash startling Drew.

Noooo!
Drew pleaded silently.
Don’t take
her away!

Harry placed the picture in the pocket of
his shirt.

“
Harry….” Mrs. Bond’s
uttered a guttural cry. “Please… Please, don’t go out there!
Especially with those little critters running free!”

“
Demons,” Tarynn softly
muttered.

“
For heavens sake,
Harry!
Think
of
your wife and your family. Look at what those monsters did to that
poor baby!” Mrs. Bond cried pointing towards the trailer
park.

Harry studied the students on the bus. He
looked at Drew and smiled brightly. It was the only smile that Drew
had seen second to him touching the picture of his wife.

“
Mrs. Bond, I have
grandchildren these kids here age. And I owe it to them and my wife
to get them home safely, even if it means sacrificing my
life.”

Harry gently pushed past the students, in
the aisle, and took hold of Ms. Bond’s hand. His touch reserved
her. His gaze pierced her soul.

“
I need you to pull it
together, Mrs. Bond. I am going to walk outside and give the bus a
push. It will only take a minute. I will be right back.”

“
You…You… Can’t!” Mrs.
Bond shook her head.

Harry spoke slowly,
enunciating each word carefully. “
You.
Are going to sit. Behind. The.
Steering wheel…”

“
No!”

“
If you don’t help me,
Sammie Bond….” Harry looked outside the bus window at the
pandemonium that continued to occur. It was only a matter of time
before the
Eaters
recognized the live bait on the bus. “We will
all
die….”

Drew watched the interaction between the two
adults. For some odd reason he had hoped that Mrs. Bond would put
up a fight.

Fight or
Flight
, Drew silently thought. I guess we
are going to
Fight
. Drew walked up and grabbed Mrs. Bond’s trembling hands. She
slowly blinked back the tears from her watery eyes.

“
I got your back, Mrs.
Bond,” Drew reassured her with a half smile.

Mrs. Bond nodded her head
and followed Harry to the driver’s seat. Harry went over with Mrs.
Bond how to shift the gears. She gave it a go with much success
being that it was an automatic transmission. Harry turned to look
over the seats at the frightened students. He rubbed his chest
where the pocket held the wonderful treasure of his life. Drew
peered out the window, towards the trailer park, to see if he saw
the group of deadly
Eaters.

“
I want you to go to the
back and watch for my signal,” Harry directed at Drew, “I am going
to wave my hand. When I do that, I want you to shout to Mrs. Bond
to give her some gas. Understood?”

“
Yes sir,” Drew replied as
he began to make his way towards the back of the bus.

In navigating his way back, he noticed
Beetle sleeping soundly in the corner. His head rested up against
the window. Small beads of perspiration decorated his forehead, his
glasses rested on the bridge of his nose. Drew reached out to wake
Beetle; his skin was cool and clammy. His friend Beetle was very
sick.

“
Man are you
alright?”

Beetle sleepily opened his eyes, “No, not
really. I think my blood sugar is dropping. If I don’t get my
glucose tabs soon….” He closed eyes and dozed off again.

“
We are going to get
there, I promise man,” Drew reassured his friend. He continued to
make his way further down the aisle until he made to the back of
the bus. Drew sat nervously awaiting Harry’s orders.

“
You kids grab a hold to
something,” Harry turned to look at Mrs. Bond, “Close this door as
quick as you can. I will be back in a few minutes.”

Harry took a deep breath, quickly scanned
the area, and patted the door. Mrs. Bond pushed the lever causing
the door to make a squeaking sound. As soon as the bus driver hit
the ground he quickly but quietly made his way around the back
after scanning the trailer park.

“
Do you see those
little
Eaters
anywhere?” Sue Ellen gulped. Her big caramel colored eyes
blinked consistently melting Drew’s heart even during a crisis such
as this.

“
Nah, don’t see them
anywhere,” Drew responded. He took a quick glimpse at the trailer
park, then the surrounding area that was not blocked by the
train.

“
I just want to get to my
mom and get out of here as fast as we can. She is all I have left
now,” Mater softly spoke. She too kept watch out on the bus. Every
shout, cry, or popping sound made her instantly twitch.

“
You have me, Mater,” Sue
Ellen smiled.

“
Thanks, Sue Ellen,” Mater
replied. She tried to smile but her lips trembled. Mater did not
know if it was from her fear or exhaustion.

“
Don’t see the bus driver
anywhere,” Drew said as he crooned his neck over the heads of four
students cramped into the back seat. He went to the left side of
the bus to see if he could find Harry.

“
Do you think he is?”
Mater asked.

“
How many times are you
going to say that, Mater?” Sue Ellen asked
wholeheartedly.

“
We would have heard those
growling sounds by now,” Drew said.

“
I hear growling sounds,”
Mater responded.

“
That is in the lumber
yard up front,” Drew pointed.

“
That doesn’t sound like a
lumber yard to me,” Sue Ellen added.

“
Agh!”

“
What was that?” Sue Ellen
was in a panic. Her eyes skipped from side to side.

“
I don’t know,” Drew
breathed heavily. He ran back to the right corner of the bus and
saw the top of Harry’s fuzzy white head. “Mr. Harry!”

“
Stuck!” Harry managed to
muffle. The top of his head was visible as he leaned
down.

Drew dashed through the aisle and headed
towards the front of the bus.

“
Where are you going?”
Mrs. Bond asked. Her eyes were wide with fear.

“
Mr. Harry.... Needs some
help!”

Mrs. Bond nervously looked into the rear
view mirror. She licked her lips.

“
Please! I gotta help him
before those
Eater
things come back!”

Mrs. Bond quickly nodded
her head and pushed the lever with brute force flinging the door
open. Drew dashed down the steps and before sprinting to the other
side made sure the coast was clear. The smell of sulfuric smoke
filled his nares and the once pristine rainy air. He noticed up
head, approximately 1000 feet near the stop sign, a man get out of
a medium size silver Dodge Charger. Drew saw that the car was not
on fire
. Where is that smoke coming
from?
He wondered. He brought his
attention back to the Dodge Charger. The faces of two elementary
girls were stuck to the back window. The man was frustrated and
began kicking the car tire. Drew watched as the guy hurriedly went
into the trunk.