Journal of the Undead (Book 1): Littleville Uprising (13 page)

“No way!” Whitney cackled loudly while pointing at Emma.

A mixture of gasps and giggles reverberated through the gym following Whitney’s mocking. Emma fought the urge to run or just punch Whitney in the mouth and was thankful when Tiffany called for everyone’s attention.

The current cheerleaders and their coach were seated behind a folding table, each with notepads and pens at the ready.
It looks like a scene out of some lame teen chick flick
, Emma thought to herself.

Once the crowd had quieted, Tiffany explained how things would proceed.

“When I call your name, come forward and tell us a little about yourself. Then we’d like you to perform your favorite cheer. O-kaaay?”

As if being scrutinized by a panel of cheerleaders wasn’t bad enough, the entire football team had congregated in the doorway to watch. The first girl up was a lanky freshman wearing too much makeup. Her voice wavered nervously and when she forgot her words halfway through the cheer, the boys heckled her relentlessly. Bursting into tears, she ran out of the gym.

***

While Emma was waiting for her name to be called, Evan was outside looking for her. Determined to finally have his say, he had bolted out to the parking lot the second the final bell rang. If he stood in front of her car, she would
have
to hear him out. He checked his watch and decided he’d better go find her. Poking his head into the gym, he flagged down Matt.

“Do you have any idea where Emma is?”

Matt shrugged his shoulders and shook his head no. When Tiffany called out the next name, the boys stared in disbelief.

“Emma Wexley.”

Thinking there must have been a mistake; they both watched as Emma climbed down from the bleachers and approached the judges’ table.

“Um, Matt, what is she doing?” Never in his wildest dreams would he have imagined Emma trying out for the cheerleading team.

“I have no idea, but I’ll bet Jillian is behind it.”

“What the hell is she wearing?” Evan demanded. “Or should I say
not
wearing.”

Matt merely shrugged. He was too stunned to speak. Catcalls from the football team earned them a scathing glare from the cheer coach as Emma crossed the floor. Evan heard Tyler breathe “Wow” as he leered at her exposed flesh. A sly smile spread across Jake’s face as he looked her up and down. Her outfit didn’t leave much to the imagination.

“Give me a break!” Whitney huffed, unable to contain her outrage any longer.

Tiffany threw Whitney a warning look before giving Emma the thumbs up signal. Bolstered by Tiffany’s show of support, Emma was ready to begin.

“I don’t really have a favorite cheer. I mean, really, you could shave a monkey and teach it to chant. Isn’t that right, Whitney?”

Several “ooohs” and gasps responded to Emma’s taunt. A hushed “Oh no, she didn’t” was uttered from the crowd.

Beginning to regret her invitation, Tiffany glared at Emma and patiently said, “Then what are you planning to do for your audition?”

Emma hooked her iPod into the gym’s sound system as she muttered, “Hold on a sec.”

At Jillian’s recommendation, Emma was performing the provocative floor routine from her last year of gymnastics competition. That same routine heralded the end of Emma’s training after her father saw the performance. It was finally time to put it to good use.

Emma waved Tyler over and asked him to hit play when she gave him the signal. Practically drooling, he was quick to agree. On Emma’s command, her music blasted through the speakers. Knowing she was a bit rusty, Emma toned down the complexity of the tumbling passes. She did, however, leave all of the racy dance moves in the routine.

When the music stopped, the gymnasium was quiet enough to hear a pin drop. As Emma’s chest heaved from the exertion, she realized how lucky she was that there had been no wardrobe malfunctions. Then Tiffany burst into applause and most of the girls joined in.

Evan leaned over to Matt and whispered, “What was that?”

“That was
hot,
” Jake replied crudely. Then, just for spite, he added, “God, I love gymnasts. They’re so lumber.”

“That’s limber, you moron,” Evan spat back.

Laughter erupted from Jake’s pals but neither Matt nor Evan got the joke.

“No, I meant lumber, as in ready to be nailed.”

Evan turned to confront Jake but Matt beat him there. He already had Jake by the throat and jacked up against the wall.

“That’s my sister, you …”

Before Matt could throw in an expletive, Coach Rollins pulled him away from Jake and ordered him to hit the showers and cool off.

“And Stone, what are you doing here? Beat it,” Coach barked.

Once the applause died down, Emma explained to the coach that her routine could be modified for the team if they wanted to use it for the upcoming competition. Tiffany’s eyes lit up as she pictured her squad finally beating the snobs at Plymouth-Whitemarsh.

“Girls, can I have your attention,” Tiffany shouted. “We appreciate everyone taking the time to come out. We found
one
new member of the team.

“Now please, for the second opening, if you don’t have the gymnastics training to do
that,”
she said, pointing to Emma, “then I’m going to have to ask you to leave.”

“Hold it!” Whitney shrieked. “There’s no way we can let her on this team.”

“In case you forgot, Whitney,
I’m
the captain of this team and I say she’s in!” Tiffany’s catty reply generated even more ‘
oooh
s
’
from the crowd.

“Well, it’s either her or me ‘cause there’s not a chance in hell that I’m gonna be on a team with her!”

“Fine! Turn in your uniform, pom-poms, and any other team equipment you have. You’re off the team,” Tiffany said coolly before looking back down at her clipboard.

Whitney desperately looked to their coach but she was already taking Emma’s measurements. As reality hit, her eyes began to fill with tears.

“Fine! C’mon, Jess, this team sucks anyway.”

“No way, Whitney, I’m not quitting the team. I like Emma. I’ve always liked Emma. It’s you who has the problem with her,” Jessica proclaimed as she glanced at Tiffany. She hoped she sounded sincere enough to be believed.

“You BITCH!” Whitney finally cracked. With tears gushing down her face she stormed out of the gym. As a closing rally cry, she shouted, “I hope you all rot in hell!”

Coach Rollins smiled.
Who needs a DVR when I’ve got cheerleading tryouts
?

***

It was late when Emma finally pulled into her driveway. Filled with a strange mixture of exhaustion and euphoria, she drifted through the front door but couldn’t help envisioning a little red man, complete with pointy tail and pitchfork, doing a dance of glee as if she had just sold her soul.

Matt was in his room, still puzzling over the day’s events. He considered the possibility that he had slipped into another dimension. Like Superman’s
Bizzaro World
, everything was opposite—black was white, up was down, and Emma was a cheerleader.
At least I won’t have to ride the bus tomorrow
, Matt thought as he drifted off to sleep.

***

Shambling through backyards and alleys, the flesh-eating monsters who had once been Travis Kepler, Scott Raines, and Marjorie Olson wandered on in search of their next meal. Knowing something wasn’t right about the trio, young children had the good sense to run, but adults did not. They chastised their young ones, using it as a lesson to teach better manners, but they fell into the ever-hungry clutches of the creatures their children had been wise enough to avoid.

No matter how many bodies they ravaged, the hunger for living flesh drove them onward. Their presence went largely unnoticed, even as they shuffled onto the pristinely manicured lawn of the cemetery where Jordan Bridges and Tanya Carmichael were paying respects to his grandmother.

“They’re coming to get you, Tah-ne-ya,” Jordan taunted his nervous girlfriend.

“You’re such an ass! You know that movie freaks me out. I try to do something nice by coming out here with you to put flowers on your grandmother’s grave and this is the thanks I get?”

“Hey, c’mon, Tanya. I was just trying to make you laugh because you seemed so upset. I’m sorry. I mean it. Forgive me?”

“Okay … I guess. But you’re still a jerk.”

“I know. That’s why you love me. Man, someone must have spread manure around here to fertilize the ground ‘cause it stinks out here, huh?”

Tanya placed the floral arrangement on the grave, anxious to get out of the cemetery as quickly as possible. “Can we go now?”

“Not yet … Look, those people over there.” Jordan pointed just a few yards away then wrapped his arms around Tanya. “They’re coming to get you Tah-ne-ya.”

“That’s it! I’m going to sit in the car. You suck!”

Tanya stormed off, leaving Jordan by the gravesite. While he paid his respects, she was texting her best friend to complain about his juvenile behavior.

“Sorry, Mom-Mom, I know you’ve always said cemeteries were a place for reverence and respect but I couldn’t help it. You would have liked Tanya a lot. She keeps me in line, well, she tries to anyway. She …”

Jordan’s sentence was cut short as a pair of hands clamped around his windpipe and squeezed. At first he assumed it was Tanya, but the burly hands were too broad and forceful to be hers. He tried to shout, but he couldn’t even breathe. Panic rapidly pumped oxygen-depleted blood through his system, leaving him dizzy. His body screamed out for air yet not a sound could escape his lips.

Jordan could feel something brush against the side of his face and then the agonizing pain hit as his ear was ripped from his head. Then another set of teeth tore the flesh from his shoulder and still another from the back of his neck. Though he tried to fight off the onslaught, he was left flailing in hopes of catching Tanya’s attention.

“Oh, ha-ha, Jordan,” Tanya muttered as she watched what she assumed was a staged attack. It wasn’t until she saw the creatures tear into his abdomen and pull out organs that she realized it wasn’t a joke. Terrified, she started the car and sped off.

***

The next morning, Evan was inspired with a new plan as he drove to the Wexley home. Trying to speak with Emma at school had been impossible, but the testosterone-exuding freaks thwarting him would not be at her house. As an added bonus, he would have Matt in his corner to help smooth the way. With a new sense of purpose, he walked to the Wexleys’ front door.

Jillian heard Evan’s car pull into the driveway and she had no intentions of letting him charm her new puppet away. Before he could knock, the door flew open and he was greeted by Jillian’s harsh glare.

“Evan, is there something I can do for you this morning?”

Completely caught off guard, Evan had not anticipated Jillian’s intervention.

“Um, I’m giving Matt a ride to school,” Evan replied, though from the inflection in his voice it sounded more like a question than an answer.

“Maybe I can’t prevent Matt from seeing his so-called friends, but I
can
forbid you from coming into this house. I will not have you upsetting Emma like that again … ever.”

“But, I …”

“Evan, I’m trying to be polite, but if I have to I will call your parents and explain to them
exactly
why I don’t want you anywhere near my home.”

Accepting defeat, Evan got back into his car and waited for Matt.
Mom has enough to worry about without Jillian’s drama
, he reasoned with himself.

Meanwhile, Emma was standing in front of her mirror. The reflection was staring back at her with horror. She had never realized how short the uniform skirt was until now. She suspected that Jake wouldn’t mind but that Evan might …

She was right. The moment Evan saw her he stormed over to her locker and glared contemptuously.

“I didn’t know Halloween came early this year, but congratulations, that is a truly horrifying costume. Did Jillian get you a makeover or a lobotomy?”

Emma had made a vow never to speak to Evan again, but his goading was wearing at her resolve. Appearing out of nowhere, Jake and his crew came to Emma’s aid. Furious, he pushed Evan into the lockers.

“You’re really starting to piss me off. Come near her again and I’m gonna kick your ass.”

Emma was frightened. While other girls may have found Jake’s assertion to be romantic, she didn’t like the thought of violence; especially on her account.

***

Later, as Evan sat in class, he thought about how Emma must have felt. Racked with guilt, he knew he needed to apologize to Emma. Not just for being so insensitive, but for everything. Between the next few classes, Evan moved covertly through the halls, hoping to catch Emma alone. Seizing his opportunity, he crept up behind her and lightly tapped her on the shoulder. Startled, Emma turned around and found herself face to face with the one person she’d sworn to avoid. He was so close she could barely breathe. Evan reached out, gently cupping her face in his hands, and lifted her chin so their eyes met.