CHAPTER 10: DOWNTOWN MADNESS
As I crossed the bridge from Old Bullworth Vale to Bullworth Town, I couldn't help but notice some of the debris that was lying around in the road. Broken road barriers, M16 Assault Rifles and a bunch of loose newspapers. What would the Bullworth Police Department need with the assault rifles? As I drove closer to Bullworth Town, I saw all sorts of stuff that I never thought I would see in Bullworth. There was a Barracks OL in front of the fire department and a Patriot by the gas station. I drove up to the town square in front of Town Hall and saw more Barracks OLs and Patriots. There was also tents, some Mesa cars and the one thing I thought I would never see in my lifetime: a 1992 model of a Rhino tank.
I got out of the truck and explored the square. The military must have set up a base here to operate, I think. Or maybe they were doing evacuations here for the citizens. Na, if they were doing evacuations then every student that was at Bullworth would be out of this town by now. As I explored the square, I found an M16 lying on the ground. I picked it up and aimed it at the Police Station's windows. I pulled the trigger, but no bullets came out. I took the magazine out and looked to see if there was any rounds inside. The magazine was full, but why wouldn't the gun work. "Damn thing is jammed. I never was good with actual guns", I said to myself. As I laid it back down, there was low moan coming from right behind me.
I quickly turned around and saw a soldier-turned zombie coming to take a chunk out of me. It tried to reach its mouth out to my neck, but I quickly jumped back and fell flat on my butt. The zombie got on all four and was now trying to bite off my face. I held it back with my leg arm just long enough to find a glass bottle with my right hand. I grabbed the bottle and then swung it at the zombie's head. Sadly, the zombie was wearing a helmet and the bottle shattered as it struck the helmet. "DAMN", I yelled. Now using both hands, I pushed the zombie off me. Using the broken bottle, I got on top of the zombie and then stabbed it a few times in the face until it stopped moving. Making sure the zombie stayed dead, I took the helmet off and then stomped on it's head. Now there was no way that it could have survived that.
Just as I looked up from the dead zombie, many more undead soldiers started coming out of the tents. With no weapon except for the broken bottle in my hands, I ran back to my truck and drove out of the square. I decided to do a 360 around the entire district to lose the zombies. But as I was driving towards the Dragon's Wings Comic store, I came across a makeshift barrier. I must have come across the Nerds' sanctuary, at least the second half's sanctuary. The ones that split from Earnest's faction at the Observatory.
I shut the truck down and then stepped out the truck. "HELLO", I hollered. I then climbed over the barricade and looked around. They set up a bunch of barricades all around the comic book store in the alleyways and on the streets. The Nerds have made themselves a front yard of sorts. That's smart, especially to keep the zombies away from the door and the windows. As I approached the nearby window of the comic store, I hear the sound of Spud Guns clicking. "That's far enough, poopy-pants. Turn around real slowly".
"Algie, is that you?" I asked while turning around. Algie, Melvin, Fatty and Donald then came out of the nail salon store armed to the teeth with Spud Guns. Even though they saw my face, they didn't lower their weapons. "Now how do we know that it's really you, Jimmy?" Algie asks. "For all we know, you could be a Bully in disguise. In fact, you could be a new kind of those zombies. The kind that can talk". "They can't talk. Plus, I'm the only one who ever wears this blue cap", I told them while taking the cap off and showing them. "He has a point", Fatty pointed out. "Looks like our knight in shining armor has returned after a long hiatus", Melvin said. "Praise the Lord. He came back in the time of our need", Donald says. Oh God, not again. Please, no more quest talk.
"Will one of you guys please inform me on what is going on? Like how zombies came out of nowhere to eating the living and about me being a Bully in disguise?" I questioned them. "First off, we don't know what exactly caused the zombie outbreak. We think it could be either an advance strain of the rabies virus or a government experiment gone wrong", Algie suggested. "Those two theories I already heard from Earnest and his group", I told him. "You found Earnest's faction? How are our brothers in arms over there?" Melvin asks cheerfully. I took a deep breath and told them, "They're all dead".
They all then looked at me in shock and disappointment from the news that I brought them. "What?" Algie asks utterly quiet. "Let's get indoors and I'll tell you everything", I suggested. I then followed the Nerds into the comic book store. "Close the door and lock it", Fatty ordered. I closed the door and then used the door lock. Once I backed away from the door, the Nerds pushed a heavy crate right up against it. Them and a few others that I don't recognize. "Okay now, explain what happened to the others", Algie demands.
I then explained to them what happened back at the Observatory. About the war between them and the Jocks, about Ted's madness and his unwillingness to negotiate peace, the battle that took place and the loss of many lives. I also told them about Mandy and Beatrice being the only survivors of the two groups as well as my plan to unite all the cliques to bring to the school and make it a safe haven. In a way, finding these Nerds is a good step towards my goal. If I'm correct, Donald's the one that made a grenade out of an eraser. We can have better weaponry and even make our own energy source for when the electricity shuts down at the plant.
"Hey, I got a question for you guys. Why did you guys leave the Observatory?" I asked them. "Why don't we go and talk on the roof?" Algie suggests. "Men, while I talk to Jimmy, please make sure those boards on the windows are secure". "Yes general", Melvin said. "General", I mumbled under my breath. Algie, a general? Funny because out of everyone in the clique and even in the school, he was the least popular person on campus. I'm sure that no one would ever follow him, even if he was the smartest out of the entire group. The fact that these Nerds follow him now is actually surprising.
I followed Algie downstairs to the basement, then he went to the door on the wall to the right which I never bothered to go into before. As I entered, there was a staircase going up to the second floor. As I climbed up to the second floor, I came across a messy apartment. Man, Zack Owens sure didn't live a clean lifestyle. There was piles of clothes everywhere. There was no dressers and there was only a mattress on the floor. In front of it was a small screen TV on top of a cardboard box. As I went through the living space, my foot got caught on a pair of white boxer briefs with a pee-stain on the front. "Yuck", I said as I kicked it away from me. "Jimmy, over here", Algie said as he stood on yet another stairway. I followed him up the stairs and just as I went through this door, we were on the rooftop and man was it nice up there. Zack must have been a gardener when not working in the store, because there was flowerbeds with lots of colorful flowers. There was also a patio with wooden chairs and a table as well as one of those old wood-burning stoves and a barbecue grill. Man, if only he would work more on his interior.
"This is really nice. I should tell Zack that he did an excellent job up here the next time I see him", I said out-loud. "Sorry to say, but Zack is actually dead. We had to kill him back when we came here from the Observatory. He too was a zombie along with all the soldiers and citizens here", Algie stated. "Man, that sucks", I said. "Are there any adults life in this town?" I then asked Algie. "That I sadly don't know", Algie answers. Seriously, is there any adults left in this town? All I have been finding so far are my fellow classmates and the walking dead. No adults. This is a lot like Lord Of The Flies.
"So Algie, why come out here? Why leave the Observatory and settle here at the comic book store when there was already walls over there?" I asked him. "It wasn't a choice that Donald, Fatty, Melvin and I took lightly", Algie states. "We knew about the Jocks settling at the school Gym. We knew it was a matter of time before they found out that we had the Observatory and that they would try to take it from us. We just didn't want to end up in a war on two fronts, the one with zombies and one with the Jocks. We would have just settled back at the Library, but it got overrun in the first few days when all this started". "Yeah, I remember the Library. I figured that you guys had control of it at one point", I told him. "So when the Library wasn't an option, we decided to try and make an attempt for the comic book store. We knew that there was some military medical supplies that we could have used here like bandages and morphine and there's also the clinic in the town square, so this place was a gold mine compared to the Observatory. But there is one drawback that we have come across". "And what would that be?" I asked him. "The Bullies", he answers.
"You mean Russell's crew? They're here and alive" I asked him. "All of them are there except for Russell. We believe he's dead", Algie replies. "No, he's alive. He helped my group take back the Main Building from the corpses", I told him. "He's there and the Bullies are here?", Algie asks. "Yeah", I replied back. "Well, doesn't matter. They still have the advantage. So far, there has been a few firefights between us and them in the streets. We haven't suffered any losses and neither have they, but if we do take one of them out then they'll really try killing us. Right before you showed up, we were expecting them to come and snoop around. We were ready for the attack just when you walked into our field of fire. But now since you're here, we can actually win this feud". "You want me to kill the Bullies for you?" I asked him in disgust. "Why not, they're the bad guys here. I had one of the Nerds downstairs that you don't know, Freddy, go to the Bullies' haven and they actually play with zombies. Dissecting them and placing their heads on sticks once they're through. They're totally crazy now. Gone psychotic. There's no going back for them. In fact, I even heard that they're working with another dangerous group. I think they're called the Savages".
I was smelling the flowers the entire time while listening to Algie, but when he said the name of the same group that attacked the Preps the other night, that was when I looked up at him and asked, "You know about that group?" "They tried to attack us a few nights back. What held them back though with the Spud Cannon over there", he says while pointing to the cannon over by the ledge. "You familiar with them?" he then asks. "Yeah, they attacked the Preps last night. I came to them to ask them to join my group at the Main Building. They said that they would and now I'm hoping that you guys would too", I told him. "Seems like a good enough plan. But if you want us to attend your plan of taking the school back, you have to deal with the Bullies", Algie replies. "I'm not going to kill anyone just because you guys asked me to, but I will talk to them. Believe it or not, I need them as much as I need you guys", I told him. "Didn't you hear what I said? They're working for the Savages", Algie says loudly. "I'm sorry, but I need to talk to them and see what they're like before I can do anything for you Algie", I said back.
"Jimmy, you're risking your life and everyone else's that are in the Main Building by including the Bullies. If you make that decision, we won't be there. We'll continue to live in this part of town. We won't even make any kind of trade with you if the Bullies go with you. Keep that in mind", Algie threatens. I then started heading for the door. "Where are you going?" Algie then asks. "I need to get back to the school. I need to warn my friends back at the school about this new kind of threat", I told him. Just before I could go down the stairs, Algie says once more, "If they come, count us out". I then went back down to the basement and went out through the front door once the other Nerds unblocked it.
As I got back into my truck, I made a complete reverse 180 and then started heading back to the school. If there is a new threat, I have to make sure that my group knows about it. If the Savages are hellbent on killing everyone that they deem "not worthy to live", then things are probably going to get interesting around here. I better get everyone ready for this new kind of nightmare.