CHAPTER 6: WAR
I was loaded into the back of the truck while the Jocks got their stuff together. They were really going to attack the Nerds and there was nothing that I could do. They tied me up and threatened to kill me if I so much as tried to escape from the truck. "Okay, so do we have everything ready for the assault?" Ted asks as his army of Jocks got ready. "We got the Spud cannon attached on the truck", Luis states. "We just have to take care of their Spud Cannon and once we ram the truck into the gates, then there's no way that they'll survive".
"Ted, you can't do this. What would killing the Nerds solve?" I tried to reason with him. "Shut up, Hopkins. It has to be done. It's dog-eat-dog and those punks should be wiped off the face of the planet", he says. "You have completely lost it", I stated. "You don't want to just kill the Nerds for the Observatory. You want to hunt them down for sport. And what will happen after you kill the Nerds? You going to hunt down my group as well for the hell of it?" Ted slowly turned to face me and from that twisted look in his eyes, he was probably going to go after my group next. "You're sick", I told him. "It's survival of the fittest now, and only the fittest survive", he states. "It's 'survival of the fittest, only the strongest survives'", I corrected him. "Jeez, if you're going to go all-out psycho on your classmates just to survive, then at least that one statement right. 'Only the fittest survive'. Sounds like something that an idiot would say".
Ted then grabs me by the back of my neck, pulls me towards him and says to me, "You listen you little snot, there is no way that I'm going to negotiate peace with those smart-asses. Why should I? So they can tell me what I can and can't do? No thanks. I'm going to take out all those lame fucks and there's nothing that YOU can do to stop me". He turned his head both ways to see if anyone was close, then whispered, "And pretty soon, we might make a stop by the Main Building. We're going to need the supplies". He pushed me back into the cab of the truck and then closed the door. Okay, I have to find a way to break free of this rope and go warn the Nerds. There's no way that they'll survive this attack. If only my hands were tied in front of me, then I could at least try to chew the rope off. Man, I'm screwed. While I had tried to wiggle my hands out of my bondage, Mandy came by the passenger door, opened it and then cut the rope off my legs.
"Keep still", she whispered. She turned me around and then cut the rope off my arms. She then yanked me out of the truck and says, "Run. Go now". I turned in the direction of the football field and started to run. "HE'S GETTING AWAY", Ted shouted. Just then, they started shooting at me with their BB Guns but I was out of range when they started. I ran down the stairs and then made my way back to the Observatory. Now that I'm out of the Jock's grasp, I had to warn Earnest of their impending doom.
I made it to gates in as little as a minute and started yelling, "Earnest. Anybody. Let me in". Beatrice then ran up to the gate and then opened it. "Jimmy, what's going on?" she asks. "The Jocks are on their way. They're going to kill everyone here. I tried to talk to them, but they are all hell-bent on wiping you guys out", I told her. While I explained the situation to Beatrice, Earnest came up and heard all that I said. "Earnest, Ted is on the way with a truck and they're willing to ram through the gates if you guys just don't leave now", I said. "We aren't leaving. We'll fight to the death for this place", he says. "Earnest, this is crazy. You guys won't even stand a chance. You need to leave NOW", I warned him. "We got the better technology and I'm sure that we'll defeat them", he stated. "Earnest, they got a pick-up truck with one of your Spud Cannons on it and not to mention a clubhouse full of zombies. I'm sure that they'll have those involved as well as attract more from the noise", I told him. "Jimmy, as much as I appreciate what you're doing, we're staying and we're going to keep this place. And I don't care if hell froze over, we are not leaving", Earnest finally says.
Just when I about to tell him how much of a idiot he was to stay here and fight, there was a loud bang. We looked up and saw that a fire cracker has destroyed the Spud Cannon on top of the gate. We then looked down and saw Ted's army right at the gates. "HOPKINS, YOU'RE GOING TO DIE ALONG WITH EVERYONE ELSE HERE", Ted yells on the other side of the gate. "TED, IF YOU WOULD HAVE GONE WITH THE PEACE TREATY THEN NO ONE WOULD HAVE TO DIE HERE TODAY", I shouted back. I then turned to Beatrice and told her, "Find a way out of here. If I'm the last one alive, then I'll find you". "There's a tunnel that exits into the woods. It sits by a door that leads into an alley by Harrington House", she tells me. "Then go there. I'll meet you there. Make sure you have a weapon as well just in case", I ordered. "Got it", she says before she ran into the building. Just as she ran away, there was this other girl in the background. She had brown hair and either dark brown or black eyes. From the looks of it, she was probably Hispanic. "You too, get out of here", I told her. She ran into the building too.
Just as Beatrice and the mysterious girl was gone, all of the remaining Nerds came out of the Observatory with Spud and Bottle-Rocket Guns. Bucky came up to me and handed me both weapons. "Thanks", I told him. "NERDS, THIS IS YOUR ONE CHANCE. EITHER YOU GUYS LEAVE OR WE'LL JUST RAM THE GATE AND KILL EVERYONE IN THERE", Ted warns them. "NOT GONNA HAPPEN. GO SCREW YOURSELF", Earnest shouted. "Fine then. Ready or not, here we come", Ted says. "Hope you're happy, Earnest. You may have killed everyone now", I told him. "Either way, we were all going to die anyway. It was a matter of time. If I don't make it Jimmy, it was an honor knowing you", Earnest says before he held his hand out for a shake. "I don't do goodbyes", I bluntly told him before I took cover behind some crates. Just when I got in cover, that was when the pick-up slammed into the gate. The battle was on now.
I shot the Jock on the Spud Cannon just as the truck stopped. I then tried shooting the other Jocks taking cover behind the truck. "Somebody throw a fire cracker", one of the Jocks shouted. Casey then got out of cover and threw a fire cracker at the crates I was behind. The crates then blew into a million pieces and left me exposed. I then backed away while firing at the Jocks. I took Casey and Dan down and then went behind some barrels. The Jocks then shot more BB's and took down most of the Nerds. Man, this is a loss cause. But I still kept fighting.
Just when I wasn't paying attention, Earnest shoved me and then took a hot potato to the head. Earnest yells in pain and falls to the floor. "This burns so much", Earnest says in a very low tone. He then pulls something out of his pocket and handed it to me. It was a super fire cracker. "Use it on the truck", he suggested. I then lit it and then tossed it at the truck. "CRAP! GRENADE!", the Jock on the Spud Cannon said just when he jumped off. The truck then turned into a huge fireball as it exploded and shook the ground. I kept shooting at the Jocks just as they all started flooding into the yard. "TAKE THEM ALL OUT", Ted yells as he stayed in the back of the group. I went back behind the barrels and then went around some of the tents. I want to take a crack at Ted. There's no way that I'm going to let him live.
After passing by a few tents, I found the perfect spot to take Ted out. I aimed my Spud Gun at him and was about to fire it when he turned around and shouted, "ZOMBIES. Coming in fast". He backed away from one of them, but then tripped and fell backwards onto the ground. Two of them then went on top of him. I heard the sound of Ted as well as all the Jocks and Nerds yelling in pain as the zombies ripped them all apart. Sucks to be them right now, I thought to myself. I then quickly rushed out of the yard and went into the Observatory. Along the way, I took out any zombie in my way. I closed the doors behind me as I went in the building. I then went to the doors that led to the tunnel that Beatrice talked about. I went down the tunnel and soon I was out in the woods.
"Beatrice, are you around...or alive for that matter?" I said while looking around for her. "I'm here", she says as she came out from behind a bush. "Where's the other girl?" I asked her. "What other girl?" she asks. "There was another girl that followed you down the tunnel. She was probably a Hispanic girl", I told her. "There was no other girl. I was the only one there", she answers. "So, what happened back there? Did anyone else make it?" she then asked. "I'm sorry to say that I'm the only one left", I told her. She sighed in disbelief. "Great. I knew that Earnest had a big ego about keeping the Observatory, but I never thought that he would get everyone killed", she says. "I'll take you to the Main Building, but first I have to go back to the Gym. I need my weapons back and we need to see what happened to Mandy". "Mandy? Why would you want to help her? She was with the Jocks and I bet she liked the idea of them killing all of us", Beatrice stated. "No, she didn't. She was actually against it. She even saved me so I could warn all of you", I told her. "Really?" she asks. "Come on, let's just save her. She might be in trouble for all we know", I suggested. "Okay...but if she does anything to hurt me, I will feed her to the undead", she threatens. "Trust me, she won't", I said back.
We then went through the side doors by Harrington House and then started making our way to the Athletics Area. We vaulted over the blockade with ease. We then entered the Gym and found Mandy tied up on the ground. "Jimmy, help me", Mandy says. I then untied the ropes on her arms and legs and helped her onto her feet. "You okay?" I asked her. "Yeah, fine", she answered before hugging me. "Where's the others?" she asks. "All dead", I told her. She backed away and from the look on her face, she was probably going to cry. "Oh no, don't you go crying. You lunatic boyfriend attacked my group and now all my friends are dead because of your friends. If anything, I should be the one crying", Beatrice says to Mandy in an angry tone. "Beatrice, I didn't mean for this to..." "BULLSHIT, YOU ALWAYS MADE MY LIFE MISERABLE, ESPECIALLY THROUGHOUT LAST YEAR. WHY THE HELL SHOULD I BELIEVE YOU ABOUT ALL THAT HAS HAPPENED? I WILL NEVER FORGIVE YOU FOR THIS". "Ladies if you don't mind, how about we get back to the Main Building before you continue your argument any further? We're not exactly at a safe place right now. Not if any of the Jocks has survived and are making their way here now", I told them.
The two girls looked at each other as if they both wanted to claw each other's eyes out. I don't blame them, especially after what happened. But this wasn't the best time to go at each other's throats now. "Can we just please focus on two important things: finding my weapons and getting to the Main Building?" I asked them. "Your weapons are in Locker 111 in the Boys' Locker room", Mandy pointed out. "Will you both just get over your hostility until we're safe?" I asked again. They both thought about it for a long time before Beatrice decided, "Okay". "Good", I said before I went down to the Locker Room and got my slingshots and wooden plank back. I regroup with them and then told them, "Let's get going".