CHAPTER 9: RAID
It took us hours to get the gate fixed. While Gord, Parker, Bif and I were fixing the gate, Derby and Tad watched over the digging of Chad's grave. Once the gate was completely fixed, we went over to attend the funeral. Every Prep surrounded the grave and looked down at the white piece of cloth that completely covered Chad from head to toe. Even his dog Chester was there to attend the funeral. Poor mutt.
"Chad Morris was one of the best men I ever met", Derby started. "He was an excellent boxer in the ring. He was an excellent soldier when we were up against the Greasers back during Winter Break. He was an excellent friend. He will be missed and let's hope that his untimely death wasn't in vain". "Amen to that", Bif says out-loud. After Derby was done with the speech, that was when Justin and Bryce started shoving the soil into the grave, covering Chad up forever from this harsh reality. Right after everyone dispersed from the grave, I quickly pulled my arm out of my jacket and pulled up my shirt sleeve. I looked at the bite mark that Crabblesnitch gave me back in the Cafeteria. If I wasn't immune to whatever the hell it was, I would have turned into a zombie myself. It took Chad a few minutes just to turn into one while I been fine for a few days. No fever, no symptoms, nothing. I guess I really do have antibodies inside me.
I rolled my shirt sleeve back down and put my jacket back on. I walked away from the grave and then inspected the gate one more time. I slid it open and then closed to make sure it worked. Once I was through, I pulled it open, got to my truck that I used to get here and then drove into the yard. I quickly got out and then closed the gate before anything could get inside. It was almost 7:00 PM when I got done fixing the gate. I better stay here for the night. I went up to Derby and asked him if I could stay for the night. "Not a problem", he answers. "There's no point in going out there at night. Who knows what other dangerous things are out there". He then showed me what room I was going to stay in for the night. The bedroom had a king-size bed in it with a flat-screen TV and a game console. "We usually have dinner around 7:30", Derby stated. "Why don't you go clean yourself while I go and check up on it?"
While he left the room, I turned on the TV to see if the news has anything that would shed some light on what caused. I flipped it on Weazel News to see if anyone has a story.
Bullworth, a small town in New Hampshire, is under quarantine after a strange disease infected some of the town folks, turning them into flesh-eating monsters also known as "zombies". As of right now, scientists at the Center for Disease Control down in Atlanta have no answers as to what caused this disaster. And as this ain't enough, there is a fear of the fact that this disease could spread across the country or even the world, ending civilization as we know it. Areas around the Bullworth County area are also under martial law, including the city of Portsmouth. Citizens are advised to stay indoors and report if a loved one is mysteriously sick.
I turned off the TV immediately after hearing all that. I guess so far, it hasn't spread outside Bullworth. That's good. At least maybe it'll give the scientists time to find a vaccine. Hopefully, they'll find one without my assistance. While I was in deep thought about all this, I heard a knock at the door. I turned and saw that it was Derby. "Dinner's ready", he says. "I'm coming", I said as I got up and followed him to the dinning room.
When I got to the dinning room, I saw that they made some kind of soup. "Pinky made it. It's beef stew", Derby says. "I'm not complaining about that. Pinky's a good cook from what I heard", I said. "She's the best. No one in Bullworth, before all this, could beat her cooking", Derby bragged. We picked up some bowls and then got some of Pinky's soup. When we sat down, I took a slip of the soup and man did it taste good. "This soup is really good. Angie's chicken noodle soup doesn't have anything on this", I said. "Told you", Derby says. After a while of eating, Parker sat down beside us and then soon all the Preps were at the table. "Hey Parker, didn't you tell Derby yet about what we found in the garage?" I then asked. "What's there to find? There was only zombies and the tools that you guys brought in to fix the gate", Derby says. "No, there was one more thing", Parker tells him. "We found an S written in blood. Now unless zombies still has some intelligence, I think that we may have a problem".
By then, everyone at the table was focusing their attention on us. "Look Jimmy, I'm sure you're mistaken", Derby says. "We checked the entire district for any signs of life. There's been none. We're like the only people here in Old Bullworth Vale right now. Hell, all the adults are dead or left town in a hurry. There's only a couple groups in Bullworth Town, but they know better than to mess with us. And then there's your group over at the school. I'm sure we don't have anything to worry about other than the zombies". "What about groups in New Coventry and Blue Skies Industrial Park?" I asked him. "I doubt there's anyone alive in those two areas. There's a hell of a lot more zombies over there than compared to here. In fact, there's more bruisers and bolters over there compared to here. And there's even retchers, which likes to spit some toxic crap on you", Derby stated. "Now where did you come up with names like that?" I asked him. "From a book back at the Library. Well, it's in my room at Harrington House right now. Maybe I'll give it to you when we get back to the school", Derby offers. "Okay then, when we get back to the school", I told him.
After I was done with eating my soup, I went back straight to my room and laid on it. I don't believe what Derby said. There's no chance of survivors over in New Coventry or Blue Skies. I'm sure that's a mistake. I'm sure the Townies and the Greasers are hold up somewhere. Those are some pretty tough cliques who grew up on the wrong side of the tracks. I'm sure they survived. But then again, the Jocks were really tough too and now they're all probably dead after that assault on the Observatory. What if the Greasers and the Townies are dead too and that I'm just wasting my time trying to find them? I won't know until I do find them, alive or dead...or even undead. Not wanting to think about it anymore, I stripped down to my briefs and closed my eyes.
Six Hours Later; 1:00 AM
I was just asleep when I heard a loud pop outside. I woke up and then quickly jumped out of my bed to the window. I looked outside and saw what looked like very dirty people in gray clothes. Gray shirts, fated jeans and combat boots. They were battling with the Preps outside. Just as I'm looking out the window, Derby bursts into the room and says, "We're under attack".
"Under attack by who?" I asked him. "I don't know", he states. "We don't even know how they got in. We need help". I then quickly put on my pistol pants and my white T-shirt and grabbed my Super Slingshot. I went straight downstairs into the living room when the attackers got in. "THEY'RE IN THE HOUSE", Tad shouts before one of the attackers came up to him and swung at his head with a metal pipe.
I shot at him with my Slingshot and he dodged the rock. I then charged at him and tackled him to the floor. I punched him several times in the face right before he pushed me off him. I quickly grabbed his metal pipe and swung at him. He fell back down to the floor and so I kicked him a couple times on the floor. He got back up and just as I thought he would probably throw a punch at me, he made a 180 and then ran out the door. The other guy who was attacking Derby ran out just as he saw his friend.
I ran out the door and saw about five more attackers. I saw the other two run out the open gate. "Oh crap, the gate", I said out-loud. Just right before I started for the gate, I hear a click right next to my head. "Don't move", says one of the attackers. I slowly turned and saw that he had a Tranquilizer Gun in his hands. Now where did he get that, I don't know. "I will drug you and watch the zombies eat you alive", the attacker says. I took my chance and kicked him in the knee. I quickly took the Tranquilizer Gun out of his hands and then shot him in the neck. He covered the part of his neck where I shot him and said, "You bastard", right before he fell down face first to the ground. "Crap, baddie has one of our Tranquilizers. Fall back". "What about Holden?" one of the attackers says. "Forget about him. We need to leave now or we're all finished". Just then, all the attackers ran out the gate. Some of the Preps then started shooting their weapons at the retreating attackers. "RUN, YOU ANIMALS. RUN", Derby shouts at them. Just as the attackers exit the yard, Gord and Parker quickly closed the gate to make sure no zombie or attacker came back in.
"Now are you sure that there's no one else alive here in Old Bullworth Vale?" I sarcastically said to Derby. "Shut up", he says in a angry tone. I looked down at the guy that I drugged and said, "What do we do about this guy?" Derby looked down at the kid and says, "We'll have to interrogate him, find out who these guys are and what they want", Derby tells me. "How are we going to interrogate him?", I asked him. "Easy, we'll just beat him up very badly till he gives us what we want", Derby says . I turned away from Derby and looked back down at the guy. Something tells me that it's not going to end well for this guy.
Seven Hours Later; 8:00 AM
After the attack last night, I went straight back to bed and tried to sleep as much as I could. The following morning, I woke up and went downstairs to find Derby. When I went down to the ground floor, I heard a sharp cry coming from underneath me. The guy must be in the basement, I thought. So I went to find the basement door. After a few wrong doors, I found it in the kitchen. I slowly went downstairs just to see the same kid I drugged tied down to a chair. I didn't quite notice his features until now. He has brown hair with a touch of gray, green eyes and was probably six feet two-and-a-half inches. Since the attack and being captured, I see that he has been beaten probably by Bif or Derby himself. He had a black eye, a swollen cheek and a opened gash on his chin.
Just as I walk up to the injured kid, someone starts storming down the stairs. "Hopkins, what are you doing down here?" Bif asks as he walked up to me. "Just seeing what you guys did to him, that's all", I told him. "Found anything out?" I then asked him. "Not yet", Bif says. Just as he was about to punch the guy a few more times, the guy started saying, "Enough. ENOUGH. Please, no more. I'll tell you anything. Everything". I found a chair in a dark corner and dragged it right in front of him. I sat down in front of him and asked him, "So, who are you guys? Why did you attack us?"
"We're a group that shows no regret, nor remorse. We're without conviction. We are the Savages and we have a goal. A goal that no one else has". "A goal? What is it? Did it involve assaulting our sanctuary?" Bif asks the guy. "Our mission is to cleanse the entire town of people who don't truly deserve to live. So far, we're the only ones that deserve to live", the guy says. "Man, you're crazy. No one deserves to have their blood drunk. Especially from a walking corpse", I told the kid. "Where are you based at?" Bif asks him. "Like I'm going to tell you that", the guy answers. "You'll just kill my entire group anyway". "If you tell us what we want, then you get to live", Bif tells him. "If I don't tell you what you want, then you'll kill me. But if I do tell you, then my leader will kill me. Either way, I'm screwed", the guy replies. "Bif, you can keep trying but I don't think he'll tell you anymore", I told him. "You're right, Jimmy. Maybe we'll..." "Wait...wait a minute. You're Jimmy Hopkins?" the guy then asks me right before he starts laughing.
"What's so funny? How do you know me?" I asked him. "My boss told all of us about you. Said that you were an immediate threat to our operation. Told us all to kill you if we get the chance", the kid answers. "Who's your leader?" I asked him. "You'll have to find that out yourself. All I can say is he'll be happy to see you out of the picture. Especially after knowing all about your good deeds throughout the last year", he replies. "Who's your leader?" I asked him again. "My lips are sealed", he says. I grabbed him by the shoulders and then threatened, "If you don't tell me who your leader is, I swear I'll take you outside still strapped to this chair and watch the zombies tear you from limb to limb". I don't really mean it, but I got to make him think that I am serious. "You don't mean that, you phony. You don't scare me". Just then, he started going into some kind of spasm.
"Interrogation over", Bif says out-loud. "I think I need some fresh air", I told Bif. I then climbed the stairs back up to the ground floor. Just as I got to the top of the steps, a shot echoed out from the basement. That was it. The kid was dead. Probably not the best idea, now that I think of it. Those other guys that helped out with the raid will probably come back for their friend. It can only end one way when they find out that their friend is dead.
Four Hours Later; 12:00 PM
For the next four hours after the interrogation, I pretty much helped the Preps out with finding any kind of breach within their perimeter. Apparently, one of them threw a rope up onto the fence by the gazebo and climbed in from the park and that could be how they opened the gate and let the others in. According to Derby they have the gates to where no one can open them from the outside, so someone climbing in had to open the gates to let the others in. Derby also made a speech about how they're going to have to have guards checking the perimeter 24 hours a day to make sure no one else gets in the yard.
My job was through here. I finally convinced them to come back to the school and help us establish a very safe haven. Of course, they'll have to wait till we get the school bus here just to get them all safely back. It may take a while for Clayton to get the bus fix, maybe even a week. But at least we got the Prep's support.
I loaded my things back into my truck while Derby was talking to me. "Are you sure you don't want to stay here any longer?" Derby asks. "Maybe you can help us out when we run into more trouble with the Savages". "I need to get the other cliques to get on board to take back the school. We'll establish a very safe haven just until rescue comes or a miracle happens. We all need to work together, especially when we go against zombies or the Savages", I explained. "You think they know about your group in the Main Building?" Derby asks. "I don't know. I hope they don't. My group doesn't really have many weapons to defend themselves. With the Preps there, at least we'll be able to sleep at night", I told him.
Just as I hopped into the truck, I looked towards the house and saw what looked like a Hispanic girl. The same girl from back at the Observatory right before Ted attacked it. The same girl that Beatrice said that she did not spot running into the tunnel with her. I got out of the truck and walked over towards the girl. Just as she saw me, she ran into the house. I chased her right up to the living room. "Jimmy, you looked like you've seen a ghost", Pinky says as she came up and kissed me on the cheek. "A girl just ran in here. Did you see here?" I asked Pinky. "Jimmy, I'm the only girl in this group. True, there was some girls in the Preps that you didn't get to know during the school year, but they're all dead. I'm the only girl from the clique that's still alive", Pinky states. "You seriously didn't see the Hispanic girl that just ran in here?" I asked. "Jimmy, are you alright?" Pinky then asks. I probably sound like that I'm going crazy to Pinky. I don't want to mess up having the Preps at the school with my group, so I lied. "Yeah, I'm fine. I just wanted to play a trick on you".
She kissed me on the cheek again right before she said, "Good luck with your mission". I hugged her for a second and then returned to my truck. I got in and said to Derby, "I'll be back before you know it". I closed the door and then drove up to the gate. Gord opened it while I drove out. I watched in the rear-view mirror as they closed the gate behind me. I just hope that the Savages don't come and wipe them out before I can come back.
As I drove from the Spencer Estates and back to Bullworth Road, I turned left and then right onto Bullworth Vale Road. I was now heading to Bullworth Town. Just as I'm crossing the bridge, I can't help but wonder what's going to happen next. I guess I'll find out soon enough.