School is Out

Rolling out of bed Joe Plowman groaned. He would not be late. Pulling on his school uniform and thanking the God of foresight he had ironed the stuff the day before he took off for school only five minutes behind schedule, admittedly breakfast was eaten on the go with no regard for its nutritious content. The morning was cold and windy already, a normal day in England in August. Joe didn't have the chance for a ride, so took a stroll down the 'scenic route'. Walking gave him time to think.

First and foremost his mind was the trouble in America...and China, and mainland Europe. Something was going on and the details were sketchy. What everyone knew for certain was that all incoming flights to England had been canceled, any attempts at landing were, reportedly, being shot down by the Royal Air Force. Last night the news had run a report that the troubles had reached London. The sickness, as it was called, had infected a area of slums just off the main underground station. The police were containing it, only just barely, according to the news.

Walking the one and a half kilometers to his school was no hardship for Joe, he was in running shape, if he had to be, so a short walk was easy. His frame was sinewy, not a lot of extra meat on it, at one hundred seventy eight centimeters tall he was of average height. In terms of complexion he was a classic red head, with pale hair bordering on brown, a freckled face and dark green eyes. Ahead there was another man shambling along the path, an old guy, in shorts, with white socks pulled up to his knees and black shoes that were not athletic. His light white shirt was soaked with sweat and he was puffing along oblivious to Joe's approach.

Ah, the man had some sort of music player on, Joe smiled as the old guy did a little half dance and then turned down the next path back into the suburban sprawl of houses. Approaching the school he passed a fenced yard with a dog, normally the little thing was quiet as a lark, not today though, it was at the far corner of the fence yapping back towards the house. Joe looked, to make sure nothing was wrong, but could not see anything out of sorts. Shrugging he continued his walk to the school. Behind him a face appeared at the back door to the house, a pasty, white face, with opaque eyes that tracked the young man along the path. The door was struck, once, twice, three times, the last cracked the lowest frame of glass. Slowly the things face oriented on that frame and it pulled back its arm again.

Arriving at school, early as usual, he headed towards the front of the school, where he could 'loiter' waiting for his girlfriend to show up. His form tutor was on bus duty, making sure nothing untoward happened in the drop off zone and to keep the beloved young adults, like Joe, from loitering. Joe waved at Miss Glenn, who waved back as he went to his usual waiting place. Miss Katie Glenn was one of the younger teachers at Springwell, she got on well with the students and tended to be more relaxed about things, such as loitering. She wore her sandy blond hair straight and shoulder length, just long enough to tie back out of the way when she needed to. At one hundred sixty eight centimeters and fifty nine kilograms (give or take) she could have passed for a student herself.

“Checking in Joe?”, she asked sociably, as his form tutor Joe had to register with her each morning when school started.

“Yes Miss Glenn.”

“Done then. You hear any news?”

“London is burning.”, Joe answered seriously.

“Really? I hadn't heard.”, she answered just as dead pan.

“I heard they have martial law, shooting people, about ready to call up the cadets to help enforce order.”

“Oh, well we know it is a desperate thing, don't we? Looks like you will be getting some long awaited action with your .22 rifle, eh?”

“Ouch.” Joe replied as the woman poked fun at him. He was in the Cadets, and in the middle of training for the navy; Go figure that one.

“No, really did you hear anything? I was out all night, trying not to think of it.”

“News from America is...not good, rumors of nuclear detonations along both coasts, after the one in mid America in that one city, Denver?”, Joe shrugged his shoulders, “Also something happened in Mexico City, something very big. China is just as bad, from what I understand. Australia, Canada, New Zealand, South Africa, are all still reporting the sickness as usual. The Afrikaners are, allegedly using force to hold the infected back. London really is having problems, it was not reported as such, but what they didn't say gave more away than they intended. I watched it late last night. Thought about calling off today sick.”

No buses had arrived yet and the few children being dropped off by parents were properly dressed, so Miss Glenn just just waved them on and continued talking with Joe. “Makes you wonder what we will do if everything goes to hell, doesn't it?”

“Yes, it does. Oh all ports are closed, aircraft will be shot down, the chunnels are closed to the mainland.”

Miss Glenn arched her eyebrow, “Really?”

“Yes, really. You hadn't heard?”

“No.”, she confessed, shaking her head. “Where will our food come from?” Miss Glenn frowned, “I suppose the sickness is short lived and things will get back on track. I doubt we will go through rationing like my grandparents always complain about.”

Joe nodded his head, “Nothing like that will happen. Well here's Amy.”

“Ah, so you are off then? Just like that.”

“Well I will see you in class and I caught you up on the news, right?”

“Yeah, fair enough. Off with you then.”

A young woman hopped out of a sedan driven by an older man. Joe approached them and said, “Good morning Amy!”

“Good morning Joe. You charming the teacher again?”, said the petite young woman. At fifteen, she was the same age as Joe and of a similar build to Miss Glenn. Where as Miss Glenn tended towards the tanned look, Amy was a pale one, her hair was more brown than blond and her skin was a healthy light pink from the cold. She immediately transferred her bag of books to Joe, who slung them over his shoulder while she turned and told her father good bye. The man waved at Joe amicably then drove off on his way to work.

“Any news?” Amy asked him.

Joe laughed.

“What?”

“Just a common question this morning. You really didn't hear anything?”

Together they walked into the LRC passing Miss Glenn, who smiled as they went by.

The school library was where most of the students gathered before class, there was a vendor there who sold coffee, tea and various snacks to the students, all subsidizes and at reasonable cost. Joe and Amy headed towards the working crew to get a coffee and tea respectively.

“How can you drink that swill?” Amy asked Joe about the coffee, which he drank black with tons of sugar.

“I thought we were off this subject?”

“Yeah, fine, just don't breath on me.”

“Like I would. You have Derbyshire for science today, right?”

“Ugh! Don't remind me!” Amy said.

“Could be worse you could have been with Russ or Richards, then you would have reason to complain!”

“I can complain regardless right?”

“Of course, it is your right as a student to bitch about your instructors!”

“So what news did you hear?”

“America, the mainland, all of it, I would guess.”

“Tell me! My mom wouldn't turn on the television today, told me not to worry about that stuff.”

“Well Washington is out of communication. Just, gone, most of the east coast is not responding, there are some military movements going on, but no one will respond to our queries. They were rather tight lipped about things.”

“America, gone? It is not possible, they have to be doing something...and what of Europe?”

“No changes, they did block everyone from coming over, not even citizens can get back now.”

“What?”, Amy asked, “How can they do that?”

“It is an emergency. Look that is not all, London is burning. Part of it anyway, they were filming it from the air and showing riots in the migrant suburbs.”

“Ghettos, you mean.”

Joe did not feel like getting into the whole migrant living conditions debate again, especially right now, so he nodded and went on, “As you say, the government stopped the underground today, ordered everyone except essential personnel to stay home.”

“So why are we here? Shouldn't we be tucked safely at home too?”

“You would think. We are too far out, no use denying us another day of GCSE induced torture, think of what we would miss were we not here!”, Joe feigned a shudder, as if the thought were not bearable.

“Morning Joe! You hear? The whole country is out of school, but us.”, said another young man joining their group. He was a little taller than Joe and of a more robust build, his blonde hair was well groomed and cut just above the collar. He was wearing the same as everyone else, a white shirt with a black tie and black trousers, his shoes were leather and he carried a black book bag.

“Morning Carl. I don't think we are the only ones attending school today. I heard it was just London that was called off.”, said Joe.

Carl shrugged his shoulders and sat down, “You finished with that?”, he said indicating Joe's coffee.

“No, get your own!”

“Just checking. They turned a bus away out front. Teachers said they had called us off, we are to go home. Anyone here will stay until the buses get back.”

“What?” asked Amy.

“What if we walked?”, asked Joe.

Again Carl shrugged, “Don't know. Didn't ask. I think you have to walk back through the sickness infested streets Joe. Sorry. I will lay a flower on your grave every year, promise.”

“You're lying!” said Amy.

Carl raised his hand and put it over his heart, “I swear I am not. Go see for yourself, really.”

Another couple of their friends approached them, Ash and Hannah. Ash was a young man with short, brown, spiky hair and the attitude to match. Hannah had her shoulder length dyed black hair pulled back in a short pony tail and wore a smile on her small face, “You hear? We are to be sent home!”, she said by way of 'good morning'.

“When?” asked Amy.

Carl snorted, “Her you'll believe? Figures, girls always stick together on everything.”

“And boys don't right?” Amy asked.

“Point.” said Ash.

“Mr Goddard said they are calling parents and turning the buses around now over the megaphone, didn't you hear? We should all be home within the hour. I think the military is moving in.”

Several of them looked at Hannah and said, “What?!”

She flushed, “Yeah, well I saw some camouflaged trucks and jeeps as we passed coming in. They looked military”

“Really, who?”, asked Joe, “Did you see which units they were?”

“Uh, no, we went by really fast. They looked like soldiers on them, like, with the helmets and everything.” said Hannah.

“Well that narrows it down, doesn't it Joe?”, said Carl.

“Shut it Carl! I didn't hear you asking Ash, he could've seen it too.” said Amy.

They turned to look as Ash, who mumbled, “I got on after, I didn't see anything.”

“Eh, no problem Hannah, like it matters anyway, right?”, said Joe.

Across the hall, Ash saw the students inside rushing over to the windows looking out onto the street.

“I wonder what is going on there?”, he asked.

“One way to find out, lets go see!”, standing and picking up his coffee Joe headed for the windows, the rest of his friends came with him.

As they approached they heard the other students murmuring about soldiers and Carl said, “Ah the cavalry has arrived! We are saved and perhaps Joe will make it home safely after all.”

Pushing their way to the front they could see the military vehicles, a trio of Land Rover Wolfs had pulled up to the front of the school, troops were getting out of the back and taking up position near the street. All of the soldier's had full bergins and chest riggs, all were carrying rifles and they were pointing the rifles at people before they spoke to them. Out of the last Wolf two men and a woman dressed in medical gear could be seen, talking to the students close by, and then to Miss Glenn.

Joe was just going to suggest they all head outside, when the Head Teacher, Steven Goddard called out from the mega phone on the yard “Everyone please back away from the windows. We will be sending you home as soon as the buses return or as your parents arrive. Please do not go outside.”

The student reluctantly backed away from the windows, then rushed forward again against the Head's wishes when gunfire rang out. Joe, closer to the window than most, still could not see what the soldier's were firing at.

The five man squad had their rifles pointed down the street out of view of the students. Joe thought the gunfire was over, then jumped slightly as the soldiers fired again. Finally the squad leader yelled for them to cease fire and sent two of his riflemen forward to investigate whatever it was that they had shot at. Miss Glenn was telling the students outside, in a calm, but loud voice to move into the building.

Other teachers moved out into the bus bay to facilitate the movement and Joe found himself holding a door open as the students from outside rushed in. Looking up he caught Carl's eye, the other young man was holding the other door open and making reassuring, if comical comments to the students as they hurried into the building.

Goddard pushed his way to the bus bay through the rushing pupils and started urging the stragglers to come inside, by this time only a handful and Miss Glenn were still out along the road, looking at whatever it was the soldiers were firing at.

“Miss Glenn? Miss Glenn can you please get the students in here?” Goddard called.

Miss Glenn looked up and nodded, she spread her arms out from her body, like a mother goose herding her goslings and urged the students inside. Once there she was bombarded with questions about what she had seen, however Joe kept his eyes on the soldiers, who continued to fire piecemeal.

“What?” asked Carl, seeing Joe looking at the Riflemen.

“They are not utilising any cover. See?” Joe pointed out a couple of men in front of the trucks. “That means the sickness is here, if there were armed men out there ours would be so much meat. Its bad form really, even if the enemy has no cover.”

“Maybe they want mobility?” said Carl.

Mister Goddard stepped outside to talk with the soldier who was issuing orders, a sergeant, he looked down the street and his face went white. The two men exchanged a few brief words. The Head Teacher quickly came back inside and told Joe and Carl to shut the doors. Goddard looked through the small crowd of student until his eyes came to rest on the school caretaker.

“Garry?” Steve called out, “Can you lock these?” The caretaker nodded and proceeded forward with a large set of keys to lock the doors. "and Katie, keep everyone together and do a register of everyone, even the staff. We need to know who is here and who isn't; as fast as humanly possible."

“Everyone! Everyone listen to me please!” the Head Teacher called, “We have to move back, well away from the doors and windows, up to the second floor please, and stay in the classrooms that adjoin other ones, we have to go now. Go quickly, but do not panic, stay orderly and we will be fine.”

Some of the students protested, but they moved while voicing their concerns, in mere moments the room was almost clear with Joe and Carl at the end of the pack, followed by the caretaker, Miss Glenn and Mister Goddard.

“Carl, Joe, a moment please?”

The two young men turned and stopped. “I want to say thank you for getting the doors open, that was clear thinking. We might be holed up here for a few hours until the authorities arrive and I have need of a couple of clear headed young men to assist me. Garry can you bring these two with you to the P.E. Block and bring back anything we might use to defend ourselves?”

“Near the car park, do we have time?”, Garry asked.

“Try not to be visible to the road or lines, and don't carry too much. The sergeant is going to try and lead the mob away, however I will not be responsible for having all of the students stuck on the second floor with no way to defend themselves if any of the infected get in. You need to go quickly, right?”

“Come on then lads, lets see what we can find.”

Joe and Carl followed, realizing there was small difference between 'quick thinking' and 'beast of burden'.

“What then? Footballs? Hockey sticks? Tennis rackets? Weapons!? We spend more than half the time trying to keep the kids from destroying the school, we don't have any weapons...” Garry was talking to himself, but both Carl and Joe could hear his mutterings clearly.

The three rushed through the open space between the buildings, when Joe glanced over at the military he took a misstep and tumbled into Carl, who righted him and set him moving again. Garry glanced back and barked out, “Don't stop! Just follow me, no time for sight seeing.”

They made it into the building, which was unlocked and started for the equipment locker, along the way Joe asked, “Garry, are the other doors to the school unlocked?” The doors typically were not locked when Joe arrived in the morning.

“Eh? Yes, I suppose we will have to see to that too. One thing at a time right?”

“Yes sir.”

The trio went into the store room and looked at the equipment. Garry glanced at the young men and then at the racks of hockey sticks. “How many can you carry?”

Carl shrugged and said, “Dunno, load me up Joe, will ya?”

Carl held out his arms and Joe proceeded to pile hockey sticks into them until he was staggering under the weight.

“Nah, you can't do that, he'll drop half of them along the way. Stop.” said Garry. Both of them looked at the caretaker, who said, “Set 'em down. I know just the thing... wait here a sec. Or even better; Joe is it?” Joe nodded, “You come with me, Carl right? You pile this stuff up outside the door, out of the way.”

Joe followed Garry away from the locker and around the corner of the L shaped room, where it was stocked with the tennis and badminton equipment. He saw what Garry was after immediately, a large plastic box holding the school's broken tennis nets. The box had a rolling base and a handle. It was not meant to be used outside, however they could roll it along the asphalt and concrete easily enough.

“Lets dump it towards the back.” said Garry taking one side. Joe moved to the other and together they tilted it and threw the nets out to the back of the small room.

They wheeled the container to the other side of the room and over to Carl who had moved every hockey stick out of the locker. He was busy pulling tennis rackets off the wall where they were hanging and dumped the first load into the bin when they rolled it over to him. The spent a couple minutes loading the hockey sticks into the bin and looking over the locker for any other useful items.

“That is about it then, unless you want to fill it up with balls?” Carl said smiling.

“No, no keep the balls out of it.” said Garry, “They won't be any use anyway.”

Joe laughed quietly at the double entendre and said, “Nothing else? The things only half full.”

“No balls then? How about building equipment? Do you have the keys for the construction site Garry?” asked Carl.

“I knew you would be the troublesome idiot.” Garry muttered, “Why the hell would I have the keys? Hello, you need to use your brains here. You have a point, we could get through the mesh and break the door to the shed down. In fact I bet the crew left their tools in there, there might be something useful, so lets go. Lets get the bin outside and leave it, we'll carry the stuff from the construction site to here, on account of there is no point on lugging the bin over the rough ground.”

The three exited the building wheeling the tub through the automatic doors, then Garry paused and said, “Wait.” He stopped and seemed to be considering something, then said, “Carl, you pull this to the main building, yell for them to help once you get inside. I will take Joe with me to the site.” He pulled out his key chain and patiently unwound a ring of keys from it, holding one up he presented it to Carl, “This one is a master key, it locks and unlocks most of the doors, if it doesn't work try the others, but try this one first, see how it is scraped up on one side?” Carl nodded, “Okay then push this in, then start locking the doors start with the ones on the east side of the main school entrance. And for God's sake don't skip any! Just take your time and make sure they are all locked. When we get in, we will drop off the tools and start locking on the West side of the entrance, beginning with the Drama block. Just cut off the mains in the office to lock this block and come out of the fire escape. Got it?” Carl nodded, his face a shade paler than before. “And keep a hockey stick for yourself, you know, just in case.” They saw Carl off and then Garry said, “C'mon Joe.”

Together the two of them ran through the parking lot to the building site sheds, scraping through the panels of mesh with no problem. The shed door was secured shut from the outside with a large rusty padlock and Garry swore loudly when he caught sight of it.

“Garry.”

“What?”

“Listen.”

“What? I don't hear anything.”

“Me either. No gunfire. The troops pulled out.”

“Aw hell, we'd best be moving then. Keep a look out behind me then!”

As Garry kicked at the shed door and it gave a little around the rusty padlock. While Garry was fighting with the door Joe caught sight of movement on the old railway line he walked to school on just this morning. It was the old man Joe had seen earlier, he was still wearing his soaked white shirt and headphones, now Joe got a look at him from the front. The man was staggering a bit, walking unevenly in a manner that Joe had thought earlier was due to his age. From the front the man's shirt was soaked, not in sweat, but in blood, it made a narrow line straight down his chest to his groin, and spilled down his left leg, almost to his white sock. Surely it hadn't been that way before? Joe tried to remember, but could not. Garry managed to knock a hold in the shed door, leaving the padlock hanging on a piece of wood and allowing him to open the shed. The old man made a bee line straight for Joe, crashing through the undergrowth and then tumbling down the steep slope. Garry jumped at the noise and took a step back to have a look.

“That has to be one of them then. He moves slow enough don't he? C'mon, there isn't much here, lets take it and go. And when I say look out for me, I mean actually SAY something when you see something!”

Joe looked over the small tables and workbenches and saw that Garry was right, there were a few tools there, mostly second hand quality, worn but functional. “Here.” said Garry, thrusting a hammer into Joe's hand, “Take this.” The caretaker picked through the tools grabbing another hammer, this one a sledge, then handed Joe two saws, one was rough for trimming lumber, the other was a hack saw. Joe looked over and spotted a wheelbarrow up against the wall.

“Let's use that Garry.” he said gesturing with his hammer to the wheelbarrow.

“What for? We only have two handfuls of stuff.”

“No, we can take more, what are those pipes for? And we can take those stakes too.”

Garry looked at the stuff leaning against the shed walls, as if seeing it for the first time, “Right then, the stake aren't sturdy, the piping might be too heavy but look there” he said pointing into a corner Joe couldn't clearly see, “They have some of the supports for the concrete when they get round to build it, lengths of rebar a meter and a half long. Lets get as much of that as we can take.”

The two pulled the wheelbarrow out and tossed their equipment into it, Garry tossed in a battered power grinder and the rest of the blades for the hacksaw too. Joe almost said something, as it seemed pointless to take the blades or the saw, but Garry stopped him, “For the rebar, we can make each into two pieces, a hefty club, right? And the other, use it to cut the curved ends off the hockey sticks, to give them a point. Not so stupid now am I?”

Joe looked down, “I never said you were, I loaded them didn't I?”

“Ah, I saw you wondering. No matter, lets just go. Young Carl has to have half the doors locked by now and your other friend out there has some companions now.”

Joe looked and the old man had made his way halfway over the fence from the other side. Behind him there was another man, younger with a dog leash around one wrist, the leash ended in furry brown ball about twice the diameter of a football about 3 meters behind him on the path. The dog was not alive, every step the black haired man took was held back by the dead weight of his former pet. The walker had on a crimson shirt, blue shorts and running shoes. There were also two women behind him and gaining rapidly. With a start Joe recognized one of the younger women, she was another student at school.

“That is...that is Emma out there Garry.”

Garry took one look at the young women and said, “Not anymore lad. Lets go.” He closed the door on the shed, and put the padlock gingerly into place in the hole he had made. “it is a about the best I can do at least the next person won't have to knock it off.”, he said to Joe's look of inquiry.

Joe continued to cast glances at the girl who had been Emma, she was faster than the others, much faster. Emma had followed the old man's lead and while he was leaning over the mesh fence, holding it more or less down, she had tumbled into the construction site. The young woman was making her way toward them at a brisk walking pace.

“Joe it is not her. We are going to have to put her off. She is going to catch us.” Garry selected a a length of rebar from where it was balanced on top of the wheelbarrow and turned to face the oncoming Emma.

The girl was dressed in a pink robe, over a white sleeping pajama. Joe saw with disgust that her right ear was missing from under her medium length blond hair and that her arm on the same side had been mauled badly. The girl was on the fit side and when she got close she put on a burst of speed. Joe hadn't even thought to select a weapon from the wheelbarrow. Garry stepped out onto the grass around the main site to confront Emma first.

“Now back off lass, keep your distance!” he warned. She didn't slow, but rushed right towards Garry, who crouched down, putting the point of the rebar on her chest and planting the other in the ground, like some sort of spear man of ancient times.

The effect was instantaneous and not at all gratifying. The momentum carried her forward and impaled her on the rebar, the other end sunk into the loam beneath the grass. Garry rolled clear, escaping Emma's clumsy, groping hands, leaving the rebar as he went. The thin metal spike bent slowly upwards as the girl continued forward, her progress eventually halted as the bar slid through her upwards at a steep angle. Emma tried to step sideways, her foot did not step over the rebar, it caught on the top of it hard enough to peel the skin off and the girl fell. Garry regained his feet and shouted, “Go! Go, push the damn barrow boy!”

Joe lifted it and made a mad dash to the edge of the mesh, Garry stepped forward and pulled it to one side enough to allow the wheelbarrow clearance. Joe pushed it quickly through the parking lot to the school, with Garry on his heels. Together they made it into the building, Garry turned and locked the door. He made a waving gesture with his hand and wheezed, “Wheel it over to the Beach and have Steve start bringing it up. Keep one piece of the metal and the hack saw and cut one of these in half. Then come find me with both pieces, in case I need it. Got it?”

Joe nodded and set off past the science rooms.

When Joe pushed the wheelbarrow past the math classroom to the stairs he saw that Mr. Goddard already had a handful of students, including Amy and Ash hauling up the sports equipment, along with several staff members. He nodded at Joe and said, “Everything all right?”

Joe nodded.

“Good help us get this to the second level, I want to bring up the bin and wheelbarrow as well.”

“Sir, Garry said to cut one of these” Joe indicated the rebar, “in half and meet back up with him to help lock the door. He didn't keep anything to defend himself with!" Joe added as an afterthought"And in light of our current situation, do you mind if I called you Steve, Sir?”

“Ah, good, then we will handle this.” As he said this he picked up a piece of the thin metal piping and held it sideways over the side of the wheelbarrow. Joe took the hack saw and cut where he instructed, it took a couple of minutes, which seemed an eternity to him, but when the job was done he had two pieces of metal that were surprisingly even in length.

“I've always been good at that, odd talent, isn't it? Finding the middle of things. Now head off to Garry, let out a yell if you need help, and yes you can call me that. Ash? Here, come help me cut another couple of these before we move any further and Amy, when you get that load up bring down some others. I want to check the school for anyone else.”

Joe nodded and raced back to where he thought Garry should be, he found the man a door further than expected and called out as he approached.

“Good Joe, I was hoping you would show up. We have a bit of a situation out there.”

“What is it?”, asked Joe peering out the glass, then pulling back, “Those aren't all...”

“I am afraid so.”

The road outside the main entrance was filling with a horde of people, all stumbling along slowly, most stuck to the street outside the school, just passing by, but a dozen or so were approaching the doors.

“The south end is all locked up, or should be, only a door or two left really so it will...oh fuck!”

Joe, who had been looking at Garry's face while he spoke turned back to the door, he saw a mid sized sedan pull through the crowd of people, being careful not to bump into any of them. The car stopped at the curb and the woman inside, on her cell phone just sat at the curb idling.

Joe watched for a moment, before saying in disbelief, “She doesn't even notice.”

“Of all the...you are right. Oh, wait they have her attention now.” The undead quickly mobbed the car, most were on the far side, and Joe and Garry saw the woman look up in annoyance from her phone conversation as the first man pounded on her window. Joe saw her roll the window down and yell at him, the zombie, a short portly gentleman reached his arm through and grabbed the woman's arm, the one holding her cell phone.

The woman let out a scream and pulled her arm back, dropping the phone into the car with her and hitting the power window to seal the car at the same time. The man did not let go of her and his arm was caught in the window. Two other zombies, both youngsters, reached through the window and started grabbing her as well.

“We have to do something!” Joe yelled at Garry, thrusting a piece of the rebar at him.

Garry shook his head then nodded and said, “Yeah, I guess there isn't anyone else. I suppose I couldn't live with myself to just stand by and watch. Let me unlock this.” He indicated the door. “When we go, try to brain them. That girl didn't seem to mind the poking, right?”

Joe nodded nervously and went out the door, behind him Gary paused a moment to unlock it so they could get back in, if they saved the woman, as an afterthought he tossed his key ring on the floor inside the building.

Joe made his way towards the car, as he came upon a slower moving zombie he slammed it in the back of its head with a fast, two handed blow. The thing dropped like a sack of flour and didn't move again. Joe managed to knock two more of the creatures down before anyone on this side of the car noticed him. Unfortunately the mob on the other side of the vehicle was facing his direction and saw him coming the whole time. Seeing Joe made them all start coming towards him off the street, inside the car the woman had won her battle to get her arm back, but could not roll her window up. With a loud cracking sound the side window shattered and the zombies were able to grab for the woman with greater ease, she screamed and flailed ineffectively at their hands, trying to back away towards the passenger side of the vehicle. She had not released her seat belt and it held her in place. The mob was not able to get a grasp on her to pull her out, then one of the younger ones who had been able to get their arm into the vehicle ducked down and stuck his head and torso inside. Joe reached the other side of the car at the same time and jerked the car door ineffectively, it was locked. He pounded on it and shouted for the woman to open the door, she either didn't hear Joe or was to busy fighting off her attacker, she did not unlock the door. The window next to Joe shattered inwards as Garry's rebar struck it. He wasted no time reaching in and unlocking it and Joe heaved it open a moment later. The woman was fending off her young attacker with her hands, they had been cut or bitten for there was blood splattering everywhere inside the vehicle.

“Get her belt Joe, quickly, they are coming 'round the vehicle at us!” Joe leaned in precariously close to the zombie and unbuckled the woman's safety harness. Garry, somehow squeezing in beside Joe at the same time grabbed the woman's shirt by the shoulders and hauled her backwards out of the passenger door. She lost one of her red shoes in the process and Joe was knocked backwards out onto the sidewalk, losing his grasp on the rebar club as he fell onto his behind. Garry righted the woman and shoved her towards the school door, yelling at her to run, then reached down and pulled Joe up by his upper arm. Neither of them had a weapon, nor did they stop to retrieve them as a mob of the undead swarmed around the front and rear of the vehicle at them.

The woman was sobbing hysterically and limping along between the bodies Joe and Garry had left between them and the school. Both men caught up to her in moments and slammed against the school door. Joe was surprised to see Carl inside, face pale, looking out at them. He shoved the door open and ushered them inside then slammed it shut. Joe kept a hand on it to hold it closed while Carl locked it with his master key.

“That was a close call, wasn't it?”, Carl asked.

The woman was hysterical, she ran off further into the building, not stopping at the door. After a moment they heard a teacher, voice raised trying to calm her down.

“A bit too close, if you ask me.” said Garry.

“You're cut!” Joe said, pointing at him.

Garry raised his hands, both were bleeding, “About as bad as you, your arm is worse, I think.”

Joe glanced down and noticed for the first time that he was bleeding from a gash in his arm, it was about three centimeters long and bleeding profusely. He clamped his hand over the wound to stanch the blood flow.

“C'mon then Carl, lets get the young hero upstairs.”

“Doesn't Steve have some medical supplies, bandages and stuff in the office?”

“Probably. First lets get us out of this hallway, the office and Mister Goddard are the same direction and I think us being here is attracting them.” he pointed out the door to the zombies packing the sidewalk, “The door will hold, I think, but lets not be around to find out, eh?”

The two brought Joe to the base of the maths stairway, where Steve had the woman sitting on the stairs, another student rushed up with a couple boxes of medical supplies. After a moment Amy returned with a double handful of paper towels. Steve examined the woman's hands and toweled them off as best he could. The bandages were inadequate for the job and he sent Amy after some adhesive tape.

Glancing at Joe, Steve said, “Sit down Joe, here put this on the wound. Were you...?” He handed Joe a wad of towels and Joe did as he said.

“No, not bit, I think I cut myself on the glass of the car window. I didn't even know I brushed up against any. Garry broke it even. I don't know how I was cut.”

Turning to the caretaker Steve asked, “You okay?”

“Not bitten, if you mean that. I will go wash up in the wc and bring young Joe with me and get him cleaned up too, if thats alright with you, sir.”

“Okay, good.” A high piercing scream interrupted Garry, the four men turned to see a female student at the top of the stairs screaming down at the wounded woman.

“Mum! Oh God! Oh God! Mum!” and the girl threw herself down the stairs at a reckless pace, almost falling. Steve reached out and caught her before she could go completely to the ground.

“Careful!”, he cautioned, lifting her up, he glanced over at Garry and motioned with his eyes for him and Carl to take Joe out of the area.

Carl gave Joe a hand up and the three headed towards a nearby bathroom. “Carl, why don't you cut a couple more sections of piping, we lost ours and I don't want to be wandering around without weapons.”

“Okay, I will cut some up, at the stairs right?”

“Yeah, ask Mr Derham or Mr Walker, they should have some cut, but may have brought it upstairs already.”

Joe let himself be guided into the bathroom, where Garry did a competent job of cleaning both of them up.

“Have you done this before?” Joe asked.

“This? Don't be stupid. No. I have cleaned up a few scrapes and such, and had first aid, like most of the staff. Training is all. Aren't you in Cadets?”

Joe nodded.

“So you've been trained too, right? You don't dress your own wounds, not unless you have to.”

Joe laughed, “You just did!”

“Well, maybe.” Garry conceded, “You okay?”

“Yeah, I think I am, it isn't that bad is it?”

“Ah, well, it is pretty deep, keep pressure on it for awhile and you should be fine. We'll find Amy and see if she found some tape we could use to hold it in place. You are right handed?”

Joe nodded.

“Good then you have your good arm to use then.”

Carl burst into the bathroom, carrying some of the piping he had cut. “Steve wants us to check the first floor again, make sure none of them got in. Every room. Except you Joe, he said you could sit out on account of your arm. If you want.”

“No I'm in, it isn't that bad, Garry said so, right?”

The man nodded slowly, “Lets get some tape on it first.”

“Oh Amy has a roll of the masking tape from the art room, Steve put it around Mrs Henderson's hands, bound them all up. Sue found some hydrogen peroxide with the first aid supplies, so he cleaned her up with that first. I think she will be okay.”

They followed Carl back to the stairs and Garry bound paper towels to Joe's arm with the masking tape, then used several of the smaller adhesive band aids to bind up several of the smaller wounds on his hands.

Steve came back down the stairs as he was finishing up. “Done already?”

“No we haven't started yet, we had to get fixed up first.” Garry told him.

“Oh we better get moving. I would say split up, but I think we better go as a team. I left some of the staff and Ash in charge of hauling desks out of the classrooms to make barricades at the tops of the stairs as a secondary defense. And they can get out on to the roof if they have to.”

“That was good thinking, sir.” said Carl, handing over one of the extra pieces of pipe to Steve.

“This is only temporary, we just have to hold on long enough until the military gets back. One of the sergeants lives on my street, we get on well, he said they are coming back, but they had to get more ammunition for their guns. They were not expecting to actually have to fire their guns and had not brought very much with them.”

The group walked towards the front of the school, trying to stay close to the windows edge so that whatever was out there would not see them. What they could see was not good, the mob of zombies, which had been more or less following the street, had shifted course when Garry and Joe rescued Mrs. Henderson from her car, now the lot was teeming with them, some were right up against the windows and others were gathered around the front doors, as if they knew where to go to gain entrance. Their arms and hands were not working efficiently, they could not grasp the hands of the doors, nor lift objects to smash in the windows. At least none had so far, Joe hoped that would remain the case.

Joe and Garry took one side of the corridor, checking doors and classrooms as they went, while Steve and Carl were on the other. A steady thumping was coming from the front of the building, where the zombies seemed to have gathered around the doors. The parking entrance was no quieter, when they got around to that section of the school they noted the door was cracked. It was a type of safety glass, more durable than normal, but the crack widened under the blows of the mob. Steve and Carl had gone to check the science rooms nearby and pronounce them 'cleared', while Garry and Joe peered around the doorway to watch the door.

“How is it holding?”, asked Steve. At the same moment a great cracking noise sounded from the front of the building. Followed a moment later by a low moaning drone.

The men looked around at each other, all thinking the same thing; the front doors have been breached.

“That is how it's holding!”, stated Garry, when the back door was slammed by a stout middle aged woman, her hand went through the glass and the top pane popped out in its entirety. Her hand now looked like it was carrying a police riot shield.

“Fuck. Retreat to the stairs boys!” Garry said.

The four of them ran quickly back to the stairwell, sure enough the zombies were through the front doors, some had almost pushed through the Beach.

Steve clubbed one gingerly, saying “Back off mate!”

Garry scoffed at the Head teacher's efforts, “Not like that Steve, you have to show them you are serious.” He moved forward to another zombie, a student by the look of her and slammed her head full force with his pipe. The student went down and did not get up.

“Easy for you, I know this one!” Steve replied.

“A close friend then?”, asked Garry.

“No, a bit of an ass actually.”

“Well have at him then! Think of the children!”

Steve's second blow left the zombie on the floor. For a short while the group beat the zombies coming in, all too quickly they grew tired and the press of the relentless mob forced them back up the stairs. Turning they fled as one back to the top. To their dismay the hallway was not filled with a pile of desks.

“Here! What is going on? This was supposed to be a barricade!” said Steve.

Ash hurried out, “The teachers were getting the children calmed down and controlled first. I am going as fast as I can.” Perhaps twenty desks were in the hallway, they were not strung across it, but just shoved out into the corridor.

“Where is everyone?” asked Joe.

"In the back classroom, near the window we had the bars cut away from to get out of.” The stairwell had a set of double doors that opened inwards and could be closed and locked. Joe saw that someone had put a table near the door to make as a barrier.

“Lets get what we have lined up across. Carl you and I will gather furniture, Garry you and Joe line it up.” said Steve.

As Joe was pushing the last desk into place across the corridor he saw the first zombie approaching the top of the stairs. Steve pulled up behind him, placing a desk on top of one of the others. “This is too slow and they can push it over too easily. Dump them.”

“Dump them?” Joe asked.

“Like this. Help me push!” Steve, with Joe's help pushed the four desks there down the stairs. The nearest zombie stumbled and fell, rolling back over and downward the stairwell head first. “Just bring the desks out and toss them down into their way, eventually it will be packed and we will be safe. Garry picked his desk up and tossed it down, hitting another zombie with it.

“That is the spirit!” Steve said heartily. “Carl, Ash and I will provide ammunition, you just toss them down.”

Steve yelled for another teacher and told him to get the students working on bringing more desks out. The teacher, Miss Ball, also brought out an armful of pipes, “I've been helping the boys cut these, we all have them, these are extra right now. You want everything? Supplies? Computers?”

“Yes! Thanks for the piping, but we need this stuff now, oh and post someone to watch the roof edges, I don't want to be surprised if we have to fall back.

“Should we go on to the roof? With the younger children?” asked Miss Ball.

“Yes. Do it, and keep them out of our way. How is Henderson?” Steve called as she walked away.

“She'll live. Scared out of her wits though.”, She called over her shoulder.

Moments later Amy and Miss Glenn's voice came out of the furthest class room, ordering the younger students out and on to the roof. Some of the students, were audibly crying, others were were silent, Steven paused in his furniture gathering, walked into the room and picked several of them out, boys and girls both and set them to gathering books and other school debris to fling down the stairs.

“Mist...Steve!”, Joe yelled, “They are still coming!”

Steve came over with a filing cabinet drawer and saw that the mob was making its way up the stairs, where they were knocked off their feet, they crawled, ever so slowly they were gaining ground.

“Faster then, faster!”, Steve said, and the staff and students redoubled their efforts. They held them off that way for a time, then they had to arm themselves and start smashing the zombies as they came in. One boy, who Joe didn't recognize right off, was a bit too slow and when he hit one zombie another grabbed his wrist and pulled him down the stairs, making a leap for the boy's feet, Joe missed by a centimeter and the boy was simply gone. His screaming stopped much faster than Joe would have thought. A moment later another, older girl pushed Joe out of the way when a zombie reached for him and she too, was pulled to her doom down the stairs.

“Lucky mate.” Carl commented, pulling Joe back a step out of the way. Another boy stepped forward and Joe took a rest with Carl. Once out of the immediate action he could see they could not hold.

Steve, also taking a moment, looked into Joe's face and nodded, “We have to go. I will hold on the left, you lads get in line on the right and slowly give away, backward on my signal.”

The classroom doorway was on the left of the corridor the zombies were advancing through. Steve's course of action would keep them fighting, and if the inside person held strong the outside of the line could give ground slowly and make it to the other stairway up. Joe and Carl nodded and joined Ash, jerking a couple of junior students out and telling them to run to the escape route.

Carl clubbed on old lady with blue hair and told Ash, “When Steve signals, we give way and get up the stairs to third floor, right?”

Ash responded by smashing a hand that grabbed Carl by the front of his shirt. Pulling back a bit, Carl said, “Thanks, owe you one.”

On the other side of Ash was Garry and opposite of him was Steve, it was the five of them working in close formation keeping the zombies at bay.

“Alright, back now!” said Steve. Joe and Carl stepped back, the zombies followed slowly, Ash gave away slight less quickly. Then Steve yelled, a zombie had his leg, one he had clubbed but not killed, just as he was going to be pulled down the stairs Garry tackled him and both ended up on the doorway to the classroom leading out of the school. The zombies seemed to surge forward then, pressing Ash back to Carl and Joe and cutting the young men off from their escape completely. Garry untangled himself from Steve and turned to start beating his way towards the boys, but the zombies were too thick.

“We'll hold them off and get through the bars on these windows!” Joe yelled.

“No!” said Steve, coming to his feet unsteadily, he favored one leg, nonetheless he was trying to move forward to the boys, one hand on the wall, the other holding a pipe.

“No choice Steve, there are too many!” said Joe as he moved back with Ash and Carl. By now it was too late, a score of zombies had made their way between them. Garry turned and fled with Steve, supporting him as they went. They disappeared, leaving the trio dead tired, facing an ever growing mob of hungry flesh eaters.

The young men backed towards a classroom, choosing another that overlooked the roof.

“Carl, go see if you can get through the bars so we can get to the rooftop!”, Joe said.

“Sure Joe, I will stay and fight zombies with you, thanks for asking.”, said Ash.

“Well I didn't think you would mind too much. You seem to have an aptitude for it.”

“I do like to live, yes. Anything Carl?”, Ash called.

“Gimme a minute mate, you think maybe some teacher sawed through one or something easy like that? Oh, the others are out on the top now, not sure how long they will hold, there is no where to run.” Carl said back to the two holding the doorway.

Ash and Joe continued to try and hold outside the doorway to the classroom, not wanting to fall back to the flimsy door, as they both suspected it would not hold under an assault by the mob.

“You notice something?”, Ash asked.

“What?”

“We are drawing them off, they are not even breaking the door down, just coming after us.”

“And this is a good thing?”, asked Joe.

“Well the heroes in any story do stuff like this, right? So we know we are doing the right thing.”

“Nice fucking logic there, I thought you wanted to live? Seems to me we can't hold here much longer.”

“Well, usually heroes live, right?”

“Guys, you see the grinder anywhere?” asked Carl.

Carl was referring to the hand held electric grinder Joe and Garry had gotten from the work shed next door.

“I brought it up when Steve told me to. Not sure where it got off too.” Carl said, “Do you see it anywhere?”

Joe and Ash looked and saw a bit of the pile, of bars and tools on the floor in the hallway. Joe spotted the cord from the grinder on the floor among all the zombie feet.

“It is out here, but back behind the zombies.” Joe said.

Carl rejoined them, “Well I need it, unless you think getting through the bars with a hacksaw blade will work?”

“I dunno Carl...” Ash began, but Carl jumped forward bashing zombies left and right with his pipe.=

“C'mon Ash!” he called.

“Fuck!” Joe yelled leaping after his friend and clubbing zombies down as he went after the grinder, “It's on the other side of the hall idiot!”

“Understood.”, Carl shifted direction and ducked under a heavy weight zombie, leaving Ash to clobber him. Bending down Carl came up with the plug on the end of the cord and started back to the doorway. A zombie grabbed his leg, then a second one got to him and pulled his arm back, leaning in to bite at him.

“No!” shouted Joe, throwing his pipe at the zombie, the thing whirled around in mid air and the end of it stuck in the zombies eye. It dropped and as it went landed on the arm of the one holding Carl's leg, stripping the grip off and leaving him free. Carl lunged forward dragging the cord behind him and pressing his pipe into Joe's hand as he went by him.

“Thanks Joe. Take this, while I grind.” Carl said. He reeled the grinder cord up and pulled the tool through the zombie legs, then gathered it up and went into the classroom.

“Of all the luck....” Ash began, “That was brilliant. You could not have done that better if you had planned it.

“Luck is War's mistress Ash. Carl! We can't hold them much longer!”

“I know, I know, I was just there, I am not even plugged in yet.”

“Well hurry!”

Ash and Carl clubbed a few more zombies until they heard the grinder start.

“We gotta fall back Joe.”

“I know, I know, but the door is not going to hold them long.”

“You first.” Ash said.

Joe retreated behind Ash and then slammed the door when the other man backed in. He was able to latch the door and lock it, not that it did much good, a half second after the door was shut the window glass was shattered out by undead hands trying to get in. Ash put his weight against the bottom of the door, holding it in place, however it was creaking ominously.

“Get anything to put in the doorway!” Ash said.

Joe grabbed some of the chairs and threw them towards the doorway. Ash had ducked down out of reach of the zombie hands coming in through the window. One of the arms, a pallid gray thing, had cut itself to the bone, spraying a black ichor onto the young man. Joe looked for something more substantial, seeing the instructors desk he went around to the opposite side and started pushing it towards the door.

“Yes, that will work Joe!” said Ash. When Joe approached the doorway Ash jumped up onto the top of it and then quickly slid over it to help push it soundly against the door. The wooden door barely held and one zombie was squirming its way through the window of the door like a worm burrowing through rotten fruit. It took no notice of the flesh being sliced off its body by the glass fragments still attached to the door. When the things hands landed on the desk Ash casually leaned forward and clubbed the life out of it.

“Well that one's body makes a good plug, right?” He asked Joe, who nodded.

“Got one!” Carl yelled from across the room.

Joe started piling the chairs he had slid over onto the desktop. Ash went deeper into the room and slid chairs across the floor to Joe, who kept putting them in a pile in front of the door.

“What are you doing Carl?” asked Ash.

“Trying to bend this one up so we can get under it.”

“Why not just cut it off?”

“Too easy, if I did that the zombies could get right in, right? If I just bend it we could bend it back and they won't get through. See?”

“Oh, right good idea. Someone out there is coming over.” Ash said, pointing to outside on the roof.

“It's Garry!” Carl said.

Joe continued to pile chairs up in front of the door, Ash went over to help try and pull the bar out enough to allow them to escape. Garry joined the young men and from outside he stood next to the bars and started pressing the cut bar in with the side of his foot, the three of them bent it enough so that they could pass. Carl scrambled through first and yelled at one of the smaller children to bring him a long pipe, if any were left. One of the boys, it looked like a year seven, started over right away with a long pipe.

Ash got through the bars next, barely squeezing through, he might not have made it except for Garry and Carl pulling on his arms. Joe was the last one through, and he made sure to pass the grinder through the window first, leaving it plugged in, just in case, the cord was long enough to give the hand tool about a meter of cord outside the building.

“Any plugs on the roof Garry?” Joe asked.

“How would I know?” Garry answered.

“I will leave it plugged in then. No one in the room yet. What are you doing Carl?”

Carl had taken the long pipe from the younger boy and set one end on the low wall of the roof, so the pipe formed the long side of a triangle. “I am going to put a bend in this and then we can weave it through the bars to keep the zombies from getting in.”

“Will that work?” Joe asked as Carl jumped up on the pipe with both feet. The pipe flexed and Carl's feet shot out from under him, tumbling him to the ground, where he let out a pained yell.

“Shit!” he said grabbing his ankle while the others had a bit of a laugh. They stopped laughing when Carl's hand came away bloody from his ankle.

“I think I hurt it bad Joe!”

“Oh shit Carl!” said Joe rushing in, the group gathered around and pulled up Carl's pants enough to see his bloody right foot, the black sock was dripping blood and when Joe applied light pressure Carl screamed again.

“I would have sat on the damned thing myself or maybe used one foot.” said Garry, leaning in to take Carl by the shoulders. “One of you lot get his feet, lets take him over there, they still have the medical kit.”

Joe picked up Carl's feet, making sure to grab the right one above the injury. This let it hang loosely, which didn't seem to make Carl any happier.

“It is okay lad, you will be fine, just a few more feet.” said Garry, “You two!” he said to Ash and the other boy, “See if you can get that pipe he bent around the bars to help hold them closed.”

Ash picked up the pipe and went back to the window. The younger boy looked in and let out a gasp, looking Ash saw that there were zombies on the floor of the classroom. They were getting through the window despite the pile of debris in front of it. Turning the pipe Ash thought he saw what Carl had been trying to do. He turned the bottom 'u' of the pipe inwards, trying to hook it under the protruding end of the cut bar. The bar was bent too far, or the pipe not enough.

“You see what we need to do?” Ash asked the younger boy.

“I think so, get this pipe under that bar, like a lock, so they can't pull it open.”

“Yeah, I need to grab the pipe and pull it a little back into place, when I get it so far you have to rotate the pipe to catch it, got it?”

“Yeah, but what about them?” the boy said pointing to the zombies who were getting up inside the room.

“We work fast.” said Ash grabbing the bar with both hands and pulling it back. “What is your name?”

“Seth. You?”

“Ash.”

“Pull Ash! Pull harder!” Ash put his feet on the wall outside the window and put his back into the pull, the pipe was not bent very far. He had to get the bar almost back to where it was before they had cut it then Seth was finally able to rotate the pipe around to hold it in place.

“That should hold them, right?” Ash said.

Seth nodded and they both backed off from the window as the first zombie reached it. The zombie could not get out to them, it reached through the window at them and then made a hissing noise, causing both of them to jump backwards.

“Scary.” said Seth, blushing a bit at his own fright.

“Yeah. Lets go back to the others.” Ash said clapping the other boy on the shoulders.

The two joined the main group of refugees on the roof, altogether there were about forty people stranded on the roof, including three wounded, Steve, Carl and Mrs Henderson. Of the three of them Henderson was the most mobile and Carl was probably the most seriously hurt.

Joe stood looking at the street in front of the school. He saw two large school buses pull up, out of one men in uniform started pouring out, they formed a double line across the street and slowly started working their way towards the school, shooting all the undead who got in their way, along their flanks were men in civilian clothing taking shots at zombies that came around the edges of the front line. The buses moved slowly down the middle of the street behind the soldiers. Joe recognized some of the people in civilian clothing as cadets, as were the runners, who were ferrying ammunition from the lead bus to the men walking in front.

“The soldier's are back. They brought an empty bus. And it looks like a platoon of soldiers and some cadets, with them.” Joe called back to Steve and Carl, who were not near the edge of the building watching the procession.

The younger students were sitting on the edge of the flat roof near the wall, peeping over the top to watch the soldiers, one of them silently tugged on Joe's sleeve and pointed back to the barred windows of the classrooms. The window which Joe, Carl and Ash had come through was fine, though the classroom beyond was full of zombies, it was the other schoolroom that was the concern now. When Steve and Garry had made their retreat they had not done more than close the door to the classroom. Whomever had cut the window bar in the room most of the students escaped from had cut it completely out, leaving a gap which could not be jury-rigged shut they way Carl had. There were zombies in that classroom now too, they had broken the door down and one was already climbing through the window where the bar was missing.

“Uh-oh. Garry!” Joe shouted, the older man was busy waving his arms trying to get the attention of the troops on the ground.

Looking over at Joe, Garry turned with the younger man pointed back at the building.

“Shit.”, was all he said, backing up from the edge and stepping towards the threat.

“Ash, Carl, Joe, Derham, Walker! Stop waving and pick up your pipes, they are getting onto the roof!”

At this pronouncement, Mrs. Henderson let out a warbling cry of anguish, which set off several of the younger children. Miss Glenn gave Garry a hard glance as she moved from Carl to try and calm the children down.

“I am out Garry, I can't walk.” said Carl.

Garry nodded, “Anybody too hurt or tied stay back near Steve and Carl, that is where the second line will be. “ the older man looked around the roof and pointed to one corner nearest the street, “You kids! Stop your crying and move to that corner, so if we have to fall back we are not all strung out over hell and back.”

“Just go Garry! I will get us moved.” Miss Glenn said to the caretaker.

Joe was already moving alongside Ash towards the zombies moving onto the roof from the class room.

“I am spent, I can hardly lift my arms.” Joe said as they moved up to the middle aged man with black hair. He had on a suit of some sort, low quality like a typical wage slave would wear. His undershirt was white stained red and black near his belt line. A ragged hole punctured the man's abdomen, sliced through his jacket, shirt and flesh, as he ambled forward it gaped exposing white, rope-like intestines.

“God that is disgusting.” said Ash pointing it out with a grin to Joe. “I am sure you will only be tired until you have to defend yourself.” He stepped forward and swung at the zombie's head. The zombie at the last possible second, dropped to his knees and brought an arm up to fend off the blow with one hand. With it's other hand it lashed out and dealt Ash a solid hit to the face.

“What the fuck?” Ash mumbled through bloody lips as the thing hit him again in the throat. Joe stood there stunned as if he had been hit as well, then leaped to the defense of his friend.

Swinging the pipe around like a cricket bat he forced the zombie to stop hitting Ash and block this second attack with his punching arm.

Ash staggered backwards, his pipe falling from his hands as he brought them to his bloody nose and mouth. Bent over he moved back towards Mister Derham and Mister Walker, who came towards them at a run. Garry was behind everyone half carrying Steve towards the roof corner, with Miss Glenn's help. He glanced back, saw Ash stumbling around bleeding and lowered Steve to the ground. A moment later he was moving quickly to the combat.

The zombie turned to look at Joe, standing it eyed the young man. Joe, in turn re-evaluated the undead thing standing in front of him, it was not like the others, it moved faster, it was cunning.

While formulating a thought on what to do next the zombie took the initiative and lashed out with a foot at Joe's feet, attempting to sweep him to the ground. Joe jumped sideways and almost lost his balance before righting himself. Mister Derham charged the zombie and was soundly rebuffed by a straight arm hit which knocked him onto his butt, his pipe did not go with him and instead stopped and seemingly hovered in the air for just a second before the zombie's hand snatched it and swung it around at Joe's head. Joe ducked down and did not attempt to intercept the swinging pipe with his own, this caused the zombie's arm to swing around and for the barest of moments he left an opening.

Joe thought quickly, he might not be able to match the zombie for strength or durability, but he could match his speed...and was, perhaps, just a bit faster. Changing tactics Joe decided to try to get in smaller, weaker blows that would hit his opponent, rather than trying for a decisive combat ending punch that the zombie seemed quite capable of blocking. Therefore when the opening came he did not take time to get a full swing in, but simply poked the zombie in the head with the end of his pipe. The 'poke' was still hard, about that given with a foil or spear and it rocked the zombies head back. Instead of bringing his head back up, the thing rolled backwards with the blow, turning sideways and lashing out with his feet as he went. Joe was too low to the ground for the kicks to hit him and he followed up quickly to keep the advantage of having his opponent react to him, instead of the other way around.

Mister Walker had come up by this time and he eyed the zombie warily, Mister Derham was regaining his feet, but had no weapon, looking about he spied Ash's pipe on the ground. Garry had come upon Ash and sent him back to Steve and Carl, saying, “Get back in it when you get your breath back, and bring more of the piping up.”

The zombie ended up in a disadvantaged position on his hands and knees after the back flip. It still clutched the pipe in one hand, but could not bring it up to block the blows Joe rained down upon it. It could still move however, and Joe was have hitting it's back and shoulders, he could not get a blow in to the thing's head. The blows Joe was raining down were fast and distracting, he was trying to buy time for his allies to come up and finish the thing off. Mister Walker stepped up as the blows continued and when the zombie scuttled off crab like to get against the building, he swung at it.

Joe realized the thing had been deceiving him again when it brought it's own pipe up and shoved it into Mister Walker's stomach.

“Fuck!” Joe cried, all fatigue gone now, “Die!” He swung his pipe around as if going for the thing's head, but it was a feint and when the zombie pulled back and flipped around like a gymnast again to get out of Joe's way, he was ready for it, his pipe actually went lower than he had telegraphed and he smashed one of the things ankles as it kicked at him. This was no weak hit meant for distraction it was a solid blow intended to break bones, and it did. The zombie howled, the first time it made a sound, as it continued to spin. He landed on his feet, without his pipe, which was still suck in Walker's belly. Taking a quick step towards Joe it made the mistake of lunging forward with it's good foot. The broken ankle could not support the weight and collapsed. Joe's fast blow was blocked easily enough by one of the thing's arms, but the combined collapse of the ankle and the force of the blow flung the thing over backwards. Somehow it twisted in mid air and ended up on it's stomach, intestines oozed out of it briefly, touching the roof for a moment before being drawn back inside.

“Part cat, that one.” Garry said reaching Joe's side.

“Dangerous too.”, said Joe watching the thing scramble along the outside edge of the barred windows on it's hands and knees.

“No weapons now though, and we killed plenty of other ones too, not like Walker and Derham. Practically veterans now, we are.”

“What him!” Joe yelled a bit too late, the zombie had been edging back towards the window he, Carl and Ash had come through. It reached the pipe holding the window bar in place and gave it a solid jerk, surprisingly the pipe did not come right out of the window. Instead it bend sideways with the mass of the zombie man behind it. Inside the zombies watched attentively, then began pawing at the pipe and barred window.

Joe took a step forward and swung at the zombie while it was distracted, hitting it in the upper arm with a loud crunch, it let out a horrid scream and whirled away on it's broken ankle...right into Garry who slammed it against the head, dropping it to the ground. The zombie rolled away from Joe's follow up blow and into Garry's legs. Garry didn't strike at it, instead he poked his pipe into its neck.

“Finish him Joe!”

Joe lined up a shot and swung down, the zombie used his good arm to grab Garry's ankle and pulled the two of them together, just dodging the shot.

“For fuck's sake Joe! Hit him!” Garry shouted as he kicked backwards and fell away from the zombie.

Joe brought his pipe down on the thing's back as it rolled onto it's stomach, it was trying to climb on top of Garry. Several fast blows and Joe had blackish blood coating the end of his pipe. The zombie was on top of Garry now and trying to bite him in the stomach. Garry had retained his pipe and had it pulled back to slam into the zombie's head. As the things head when down to bite, Garry swung his pipe, Joe's blow followed a split second later. The zombie went limp, but Joe rained three more blows down upon it until Garry's voice dryly stopped him.

“I think you got him Joe. You can stop beating him now.”

“Did he bite you? Did he bite you!?” asked Joe, pulling the zombie off of Garry. Joe hadn't had a particular relationship with the older man before today, now they were comrades in arms.

“I think I dodged that bullet. Help me up so we can look, eh?”

Joe gave Garry a hand to pull himself up with and then watched as he pulled up his shirt to reveal a redden circle of unbroken skin.

Garry let out a low whistle, “Well that was a damn sight closer than I wanted to come.”

They were interrupted by yelling from the students on the rooftop. Looking back they saw that a half dozen zombies had climbed through the other window and were heading towards them, more zombies were making the climb now.

“It never ends.” Joe muttered quietly.

Garry clapped him on the back and laughed, “You should try working for a living young master! Lets go.”

They stopped to gather up Mister Walker, who was moving feebly and making a low groaning noise. Bending over Garry said, “Alright Walker, if you lived this long you will make it. You have to help, another push to get you to safety, okay?”

The children were screaming as the second line of defense engaged the zombies coming towards them. Even Miss Glenn had picked up a pipe and was swinging it at the shambling dead coming towards her.

“Joe, you better see what you can do about those coming through the window. I will get Walker back and help them finish those ones off. Hold them at the window until we get there.”

Joe nodded and wondered where to start. The zombies crawling out of the window were heading straight towards the children, ignoring the three of them who had gone to one side in the fighting. Leaping back into the action was not as hard as Joe thought, he clubbed one young zombie from the side, then another, before they even knew he was there. Having cleared that space in the slow line he gave his attention over to smashing those coming in through the window. One by one he was able to smash them down, they all tended to crawl through head first. Thankfully there were not any other unusually fast zombies around to make Joe's task any harder.

Behind him he heard Garry yelling in the usual manner and risking a glance back he made sure none of the other zombies between him and the group of living had turned back to attack him. These were the slow stupid zombies and none had turned back to him.

“Joe!”, Garry shouted at him, “Tie this off!”

A climbing rope with a knot and carabiner on the end landed to the side of him. It was military issue, Joe recognized it from his training with the Cadets. He wasted no time looping it around two of the metal window bars a few feet over from him.

“Got it! Tell them it is secured.” At least Joe hoped it was, there was no telling if the bars would hold or be pulled off, however the roof did not have many places to tie a rope to, so he had to make due with what was available.

He stepped back to his window and started bashing heads as the rope pulled taunt.

“I am coming up behind you Joe!”, called Ash.

A moment later the other young man was there with him and things suddenly became much easier with the two of them holding the window.

Looking back Joe saw the other zombies had all been dispatched and he saw a helmet crest the edge of the roof. A soldier soon followed.

“Joe, we are not done here yet.” warned Ash, “Stay focused for a few more minutes.”

Turning Joe caught a glimpse of the other window out of the corner of his eye; a zombie was worming through the window.

“Christ!”, he cursed and pointed the problem out to Ash.

“Go!” Ash said and Joe set off to protect that window, he was five steps away when a shot rang out and the top of the zombie's head caved in. Three soldiers were jogging across the roof at Joe rifles held to their shoulders.

They made it to this window and fired several volleys, not clearing the room, but thinning out the zombies inside it appreciably. Joe recognized one of the soldiers, who nodded back at him. The three then started towards the other window, leaving the man who had nodded to Joe behind. Joe lowered his pipe and sank to the rooftop, fatigue washing over him. Sitting down he watched his vision tunnel towards blackness and for a moment he thought he might actually faint.

“I am Tom, mate. I recognize you.”, said the soldier holding his hand out to Joe.

“Joe Plowman, Cadet. I have seen you around too.”

“Get up Joe, take a drink.” said Tom, handing a canteen over to him. Joe took a swig and his mouth burned. He sputtered and his eyes grew wide.

“I figured you needed more for your spirits than water.” said Tom, taking the canteen from Joe's hand. “Here take a food bar, you are probably beat and need the calories.” He pressed a foil wrapped bar into Joe's hand. Joe was hungry, he tore the wrapper off and devoured the bar while Tom fired at any zombies coming close to the window.

“You did a good job here then?”

“I think so. We lost a couple of people and some are hurt, Mister Walker is the worst. Most of us made it.”

“That is good Joe. That is really good. I think you are going to be okay now. Ready for the military?”

“I still have a couple years, really, I am only sixteen.”

Tom laughed, “You poor sod! You didn't hear? Mandatory draft for all cadets, regardless of age. And all able bodied men and women for the duration of the crisis. Did you think this was happening only in England? The world is gone Joe. England has it good as near as we can tell, only a 'light' infection.”

“So, what do I do?”

“Just follow directions, we'll get you down and out of here to a safe place, then probably slap a gun into your hands and send you out after more survivors. No zombies in the countryside so far, at least not far in.”

Joe looked back to the other window, where Ash was eating and drinking from a canteen, his friend looked up at the same time and the two of them shared a look, then a small smile for being alive. At the corner of the roof other soldiers were setting up ropes and harnesses to get the students down.

Joe stood up and walked towards the roof edge then looked out at the city, wondering what path his life was going to follow now. Amy came over to stand beside him putting her arm around his waist. Ash came up to Joe's other side, no one said a word, they all just stared. Soon they were joined by everyone not helping get the wounded off the building, they were not staring the smoke plumes in town, they were staring out at the future.

..home..   

This section was last updated on 24 DEC 2009

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