Scarlet Memories (Book 1) (9 page)

He was doing all that he could to instill hope into their hearts. They all really needed it now.

‘How about we start unpacking and setting up for the night.’

Jeremy knew that he would need to keep them as busy as he possibly could. A wandering mind could do so much damage.

‘How about we put four people to a classroom?’ He asked.

They all began to make their way to the empty classrooms with their bags and supplies. Jeremy walked over to Jerry.

‘How about we work on getting the alarm turned off. We need the electricity on if we want to keep that food.’ He said wiping his brow with his sleeve.

‘And beat this heat.’ They couldn’t possibly survive without fresh air the way things were going.

They both made their way to the electrical room. It was far away from the front of the building. It was a miracle that Jerry had found it so fast at first. If he hadn’t they would be toast right now. Everything seemed to have timed out perfectly. They pushed open the door. Jerry walked in and immediately flashed a light onto the left side of the wall. Jeremy could see many electrical panels postioned along the wall. He could also see breaker boxes that were locked with a simple piece of wire.

‘Ok, I need to find a label that says Alarm. It might be somewhere near the Fire Alarm or Emergency alert systems. Look for any of those..’ Jerry said.

Jeremy was already busy looking for these red flags. He searched all along the wall. His eyes passed over many labels. He nearly gave up hope when his eyes spotted a label,’ALARMS’ it read.’

‘Bingo!’ Jeremy cried.

He grabbed Jerry’s shoulder and pulled him over to the wall where the alarms were. Jeremy moved out of the way for him.

‘Now, you can handle this right?’ He asked Jerry.

‘Of course. This should be pretty simple.’ Jerry shifted his gaze back to the wall where the alarm label was situated.

‘Ok, well I am going to leave you to it then. I have a few things that I need to take care of first. I am going to see if I can’t find another way in or out of here for the other group when they arrive.’ Jeremy grabbed his phone and pointed it in Jerry’s general direction. He was able to see his face and what he was doing.

‘Go ahead. I’ll see you soon.’ Jerry told him. His voice seemed very distracted.

‘Alright.’ He said.

Jeremy turned on his heel and headed back to the front of the school. He would have to wait until the lights came back on to even think about searching for another exit or entrance. They were losing light fast. Jeremy decided to ovesee the others unpacking and making themselves comfortable. He passed what looked like a Home Economics class. The people in there were going through some of the projects. Some of them was holding up blankets and pillows that students had made through out the school year. That would come in handy for the rest of the group. No one knew that this whole thing would be happening. So, it wasn’t like they had packed blankets and essentials to be comfortable. But, having blankets and pillows would be nice to have.

Suddenly, the lights flickered on. The brightness hurt the groups eyes. So, they covered them with their hands to shield them. Jeremy clapped his hands together in celebration. And soon the entire school full of outsiders, were clapping along with him. It seemed Jerry also found the breaker box for the A/C. It was already feeling cooler. But, would take several hours to balance out the entire perameter of the school. They were off to a great start.

Now, Jeremy could make his way to the top of the stairs to the upper levels. He would be able to make a lookout station for the others. And also, for any intruders that may make their way onto the schools property. He climbed the stairs. They led him to a few more classrooms and bathrooms. Nothing too major. As he neared one of the windows, Jeremy was able to see the horde down below at the front doors. There were so many of them. Had to be atleast seventy to a hundred. It was definitely an impressive amount. And scary at that too.

Some of the undead were making their way to the back of the school. Jeremy wondered what they could possibly be going for back there. As far as he could see, there weren’t any more ground level doors that they could smash open. He made the decision to take a few guys and check out the ground floors to make sure there wasn’t a way for the undead to infiltrate the school. Jeremy made his way back downstairs and gathered a few people. They began checking the bottom floors, going through each room double checking everything. After checking every room and closet, Jeremy was satisfied that they were safe. Maybe there was another building out back with other people in it. That was something they could do nothing about right now.

Jeremy set up a crew near the entrance. They all had their make-shift weapons at the ready. Each one looked prepaired for anything. Jeremy wanted to make sure that the glass would hold. So far, there hasn’t been a problem with it.
It must be made of bullet proof glass.
He thought. It was time to check on the others. Everyone that was left not guarding the front door, was basically ready to settle down into the classrooms. They were more like regular citizens. They had no wish to take up arms against the undead. They just wanted to be protected. Which was understandable in Jeremey’s eyes. But, he knew that one day they may have to take care of themselves. Even if that means fighting against the undead. It could be even worse than that… It could come down to family and friends. They would have to cross that road when it came. No one wanted to have to do the things that this world was calling for now. But, it seems it brought out the best in people. Forcing them to be something they never thought possible.

Take himself for example. Jeremy was already changing. And this apocalyptic world had just begun. It goes without saying that he definitely has taken this situation by the horns. He had already lead a large group to saftey. And now they would be loyal to him, for saving their lives. This was something that he would not take lightly. Life was something precious beyond measure. And he would protect theirs as long as he could.

As Jeremy made his way up the stair case to check on the civilians, he thought of what life could be like here at the school. If they could make it work it could turn into something positive. They could actually  prosper here. For as long as was needed.
If help arrived
Jeremy thought. He rounded the landing of the staircase and walked up to the first classroom doorway.

‘Did you guys find enough bedding supplies downstairs in the Home Economics classroom?’ Jeremy asked a young girl named Missy. She was standing in the middle of the room laying down blankets for people to sleep on.

‘Yes, I think so. I’m getting the rooms ready for everyone to get some much needed rest.’ Missy clutched at the corners of a blanket she was holding. She threw it out in front of her and held it as it fell down onto the ground. One by one she arranged make-shift beddings for the group. The classroom’s light slowly began to exstiguish. What was recently a loud room with a lot of chatter, was now as quiet as a mouse. Everyone was exhausted. And even though they could still hear the undead scratching at the building, they were confident in the fact that it’s sturdy walls would hold. It was a very impressive building indeed. What a find.

Jeremy decided that he would get some shut eye while everyone else was asleep. He would go back to the pricipals office and go to sleep there. After all, he was entiteled to it… Wasn’t he? If anyone questioned that, they could take it up with him. He was confident in the fact that many of the others would agree to his placement as head ‘honcho.’ For now at least, he could rest. It had been a long day. Jeremy laid his blanket down. He grabbed his bag and laid it down for a pillow. Jeremy slowly laid his body down onto the floor. He laid his head onto the bag and closed his eyes. He could only think of the good things to come of this place. And he would be apart of that. Possibly at the center of it all. Jeremy drifted off to sleep. The sounds of the undead outside were still noticeable. But, it seemed that the group was able to tune them out. Everyone accept the watchmen at the glass doors

on the ground level, were asleep.

Chapter Six: Meeting up

  ‘I hope that you’re a good driver because there are a lot of them this time. And we can’t afford to let more than a few make it to the car.’ Jason said. He had a matter of fact tune to his voice. He wasn’t taking to Sam very well. He didn’t appreciate her stunt with the music.

‘I’ve got this Jason.’ Sam said.

She smiled at Ian and put the car in drive as she pressed her foot to the gas pedal. She took one more glance behind her and to both of her sides. Her best option was to circle around the parking lot and hope that the undead followed her. That would free up the exit for their escape. And hopefully, she didn’t take their intelliagence for granted. They didn’t really know much about them after all. Some of them seemed slower than the others. Some were faster. The best that they could tell, the older undead were slower. Newly turned bodies were faster. The condition of the corpse skin could tell a lot. Unluckily for them, it seemed that more than half of the undead out there were newly turned. So, it wouldn’t take them long to catch up with their car.

Sam floored the gas pedal. The teams  reared back into their seats as the car lurched forward, Sam manoeurved around  trash cans, luggage and miscellanious items strown across the parking lot. By the sign of the trash and items on the ground, many of the undead were turned fairly quickly. Sam circled the parking lot. Most of the undead followed along close behind her car. The  rest followed suit. They were slow but, persistent.

Ian watched as Sam pushed passed the slower mob and made it out of the parking lot. The entire car cheered as they flew passed a stop sign stationed at the end of the street. There would be no need for those anymore. Ian felt his stress level slowly calm. His nerves were shot after this. But, they had made it out of a bad situation. So, he couldn’t be more happier to be meeting back up with Jeremy. Dark had already settled in outside. Sam tuned her headlights on to be able to see. She placed the setting to high in order to see more of her surroundings.

It didn’t take them too long to reach the school. The good news was that her lights had hit the building in time enough to see the giant horde fumbeling around the school.

‘They must have followed them here from the wreck!’ Ian whispered. He had Sam kill the lights and the engine. He didn’t want the undead to notice them. They would be sitting ducks if they were caught in this car. There would be no escape.

‘What are we going to do?’ Susan asked, the fear had set back into her voice.

‘I don’t know. But, whatever we do, we need to make sure that they don’t notice us.’ Ian proposed immediately.

‘Maybe we can sneak passed them into the school. But, in order to do that..’ Ian started. Jason jumped in to finish his sentence.

‘We’d have to get their attention.’ He said, unzipping his bag next him. Jason pulled out several mag flashlights. They were all high powered and easily seen from a distance.

‘That’ll work!’ Ian and Sam both cried in unison. He smiled back at her.

‘Ok, Sam keep the lights out. We will pull up as close to the school as we can. Then, we will turn on the lights and wait to see if they signal.’ Ian looked around the crew and made sure they agreed with him. They seemed to be alright with the plan. Sam turned the dash lights out and Jason passed out a light each to everyone in the car. She slowly drove down the drive of the school. There were a few stragglers walking around in the woods on both sides of the road. But, they seemed to be preoccupied with other things to notice the car creeping by. Ian motioned for Sam to stop and she did. She killed the car immediately so that the red brake lights wouldn’t come on. So far, they still weren’t noticed.

Jeremy awoke suddenly from his deep sleep. His back was sore from sleeping on the hard floor of his office. He twisted his arms around to his side and popped his back. That seemed to help a little and Jeremy got up. He had been dreaming about a new era. One where he took care of the group. He was surprised that he even dreamt about current events. It usually takes him months to have a dream related to the present. He knew that he felt very strongly about this school. And felt he could lead them to saftey. Jeremy was proud of himself for making it this far.

He wiped his brow. He must have been sweating in his sleep. Slipping his shoes back on, Jeremy decided that he would take a look downstairs to make sure the guys were doing alright watching the front doors. He opened his office door and headed down the stairs. As he passed a window of the second floor, Jeremy noticed a giant ball of light out side. He rushed down the stairs to the first floor.

‘Move all of this stuff! Now!’ Jeremy yelled at the crew guarding the door.

They looked at him surprised at his tone and paused. They weren’t sure what to do. Of course they were worried about the undead getting in.

‘I need Jerry!’ He yelled.

‘I’m here boss!’ Jerry hollered from an upstairs classroom.

‘Alright, come on! I said move that furniture!’ Jeremy’s blood was boiling. He expected them to do what he said, without having to ask twice.

‘Ian’s group is back!’ He cried.

Finally, they snapped into action and started clearing the doors. Some of the undead had already begun making their way towards the car beaming with light. \

Sam clutched her bag tightly to her side. She was following Ian in the dark as best she could. It was difficult to see and she was nervous about the undead wondering about. She didn’t want to encounter one of those things head on. Especially in the dark.

‘Ok, everybody get over here. We will wait for them to signal us to come to the door. I can already see that they are moving around in there.’ Ian whispered.

He was referring to the lights coming on in the upstairs classrooms. Most of the light was blocked out with paper and boards on the windows. But, a little was able to seep out. Ian and the group were hiding behind a few vehicles that were parked in the parking lot of the school. From what Ian could tell, it was vehicles from Jeremy’s group. So, he knew for sure that they had made it now. That was a comforting thought. They had each been through a lot already. And It was nice to see something had worked out in their favor. Soon, the group started to see bits of light shining through the front door’s glass. They had removed the baricade and would be opening the door soon to let them in.
Thank god Jason had those flash lights.
Ian thought. They never would have made it with out them. The doors to the school flung open. Ian and the others checked for any nearby undead.

Most of the undead had made its way to the lit up vehicle. There were only a few still around the school. Ian motioned for the group to follow him. They followed suit and soon they were close to the doors. Ian turned around to check on his crew. Everyone had made it safely across the lawn. Ian pushed forward and moved into the open doors. He was greeted by Jeremy and a few of the other crew members from the movie.

Ian watched as one by one the crew stepped into the school. Sam walked in, followed by Jaime and Susan. Spencer jumped in quickly and fell to the ground.

‘There back. Some of them got into the car and realized it was a fluke and saw us coming in!’ Spencer cried. His eyes were wide with fear.

Ian ran to the door and saw that Eddy and Jason were still outside. They were trapped behind a car. They had been running from an undead and had no where else to go. It looked like one of them made it inside one of the vehicles. It was Jeremy’s van. He knew for a fact that he had left the keys in it. He always did. It was an old habit that would never die. Ian watched as the van rushed up to the glass doors. The driver backed up and pulled in with the back of the van towards the doors. The van had two sides of doors that would open. The driver quickly jumped from the front of the van to the back. Jason pops through the doors swiftly. He slammed them shut and ran into the school.

‘Eddy didn’t make it! Go! Go!’ Jason yelled. He was throwing his arms around. The crew inside quickly locked the glass doors behind him. Jason fell to the ground gasping for air. His eyes were filled with tears. Ian ran up to Jason and sat him up.

‘What happened out there?’ Ian questioned him. He held Jason by the shoulders.

‘I… saw a few of them coming for us...’ Jason started with bated breath; barely able to speak.

‘I thought..Eddy was..behind me..But, then.. I looked back and…he was gone! They pulled him.. apart right.. in front of me…’ Jason trailed off. He was now sobbing into his hands. You could see the tears falling out of his palms. Ian patted him on the back, trying to calm him down a bit more. Silence followed the scene that had just played out. No one wanted to be the first to speak. It’s never easy losing someone you know. Especially, losing them to a flesh-thirsty undead. They rip you to shreds with dull teeth. At what point do you actually die from being eaten alive? It’s a horrid thought to think.

The morale of the group had dropped dropped significantly. You could look around the entire first floor of the school and never see someone looking another person in the eye. They were all lost in their own thoughts and emotions. If help was coming, they needed it fast. They couldn’t bare to lose another of their group. It was bad enough that they were in togther now; they knew him from before. He worked with them. It was terrible the way he went. And if they could take it back they would.

Ian stood up shaking. He had lost another comrade.
Would he be losing his friends like this everyday now?
It seemed like nothing could protect them from the undead. They were like viruses in the air. They always found a weakness or crack to squeeze through. It was unnerving. There could never be a moment left unguarded. And Ian wasn’t sure if his nerves could take it. Sure, he had done great so far. But, he had paid the price of losing close friends. He wouldn’t be the same again.

Jeremy walked over to Ian and embraced him tightly. He felt Ian hug him back underneath his arms.

‘I was worried you wouldn’t come back. It got dark…’ Jeremy said to Ian letting him go.

‘Man, you wouldn’t believe what we had to go through and the things we saw. These things are dangerious. We can’t let them get in. They are smarter than we….’ Jeremy stopped him mid sentence.

‘Shhhh… Wait man. How about you get some rest. Your nerves are shot. You’re dirty. Go wash up and then we can talk. Take a minute.’ Jeremy chimmed. He pointed to the front door.

‘You don’t have to worry about them coming in this school. It’s fortified and look…. We already have our furniture in front of the door. It’s bullet proof glass.’ Jeremy sounded off, proud of himself. Ian thought he felt a change had happened in Jeremy. He wasn’t his normal self. He was being much more assertive.

‘Alright.’ Ian said.

He put a hand to his face and felt the oil and dust that had built up. He smeared it onto his finger and took a look. It was chalky black.

‘Ok, the bathrooms are up stairs. I’m not opening the  locker-room showers until we have made sure of our water situation.’

‘Ok.’ Ian said.

He marched towards the staircase. He moved around the onlookers of the scene. Most of them moved out of the way for him. But, the rest were shocked at the site of Ian’s group. He gave one last look to the double glass front doors and headed up the stairs.

Sam walked over to Jeremy and held her hand out.

‘Hi I’m Sam. You must be Ian’s friend?’ She asked clutching his hand lightly and shaking it. Jeremy smiled at her, welcoming her hand shake. He looked her over without being noticed. She was a good looking girl. She also seemed sweet. And that was a good combination in his book.

‘Nice to meet you. We are glad to have you.’ Jeremy told her through a rather toothy smile.

‘Missy upstairs,’ He pointed up at the second level.

‘She can set you up with some wash rags to clean your self up.’ Jeremy said it loud enough for the other half of Ian’s group to hear. They began to head up the stairs after Ian. They wanted to wash off the days events. It wasn’t something that they wanted to remember. And cleaning up would atleast make them feel better.

Sam smiled back at him and nodded her head. She was very greatful for his kindness. He was allowing her to stay in this place. Regardless of who she was. She wouldn’t be alive if it wasn’t for Ian. She couldn’t be luckier in finding the two of them. Her eyes left his gaze and wandered to the staircase.

‘Thanks again for the help.’ She said reaching her eyes across the room. Sam wanted them all to know she was speaking to them. She would make sure to offer her help where ever it was needed here. Upstairs she was shown where to go to freshen up. She walked to the restroom door and gently pressed onto it with her body. Inside was warm. The lights were out. But, the crew had placed a few candles they had gotten from the various classrooms in between the stalls and on the sink for lighting. There was enough light for Sam to read the graffiti that some of the kids from the school had written inside the stalls. Some of the quotes were extremely rotten. Which made Sam try to remember if this was an elementary school or intermediate. She couldn’t believe this would be the work of anything less than an intermediate school. If she was wrong, Sam thought. That would mean kids were learning things they shouldn’t too quick and too young. She found a bucket that had fresh water in it. Sam assumed that Missy, the girl upstairs who had been helping everyone with provisions, had placed the bucket of water here for her. Sam dipped her rag into the bucket of water and wrung it out. But, she left enough water in the rag to clean herself thouroughly. She wanted to get Mrs. Shapiro’s scent off of herself. The smell of the infectious odor coming from her body was still in Sam’s nostrils.