CHAPTER 22: BUS RIDE THROUGH HELL

It is 9:00 AM right now and it's been 9 hours since I got back to the academy. Last night, I found out that Gary was the leader of the Savages and that he was keen on killing everyone just for what happened at the end of the school year. Pinky gave her word that they attacked and probably killed all the Preps. Now with one less clique that's on our side, it's time that I drive the bus and round up the remaining cliques before they meet their demise.

Everyone in the Main Building was round up in the main hall. Clayton was explaining to the group about what was going to happen. "Alright, so we're rounding up all the cliques today and we're bringing them here. Jimmy and I will probably be gone for an hour, if not thirty minutes. Once we get back, we'll park the School Bus at the front of the building and enter from there. Russell, you're on door duty. As soon as we get back, open the door. Don't open it for anyone else". "Russell will do his best", he says to Clayton. "Zoe, Pete, you're in charge till we get back. Patrol the perimeter. The Savages may not know we're here, but we can't take that risk. Make sure there's nothing suspicious going on. Protect the group", Clayton orders. "Don't worry, we'll make sure nothing happens", Zoe says. "You can count on us", Pete tells Clayton. Wait, Pete in charge? Is that even a good idea?

"Alright then", Clayton continues. "Everyone else, do your usual chores. But be aware of the situation. If anything doesn't seem right, don't take the risk. And try to remember: the Savages aren't the only dangerous thing out there. We'll be back in no time". I approached Clayton and then we exit the front door. Russell locked the front doors and then we started making our way to the Bus with our weapons in hand.

"Are you sure Pete is the right choice to leave in charge?" I asked Clayton as we walked. "Well, he did become Head Boy before all this started to happen", Clayton started, "He has good leadership skills. Plus, he has your girlfriend to help him out in case something goes wrong". "But I don't think he has been exposed to all this enough to lead them in case more zombies somehow break in or if the Savages come out of nowhere", I told him. "Trust me, he's been exposed enough", Clayton tells me. "Back when all the students were evacuated to the academy before the infection spread here too, I had to help Pete get to his house in Bullworth Town to get a few items. When we got to his house, his parents were dead. Well, undead". "I did not know", I told him. "He took it hard at first. Didn't speak for a few days. But later when I rounded up most of the non-clique students and took them to the Boys' Dorm, he asked me to help tough him up. Teach him how to use melee weapons as well as guns. He mastered with pocket knives real well. Had to give him one of my sod busters just in case". "Wow, even Pete has been affected by the zombie outbreak", I stated out-loud. "Don't you worry, I've been keeping my eye on him", Clayton says. "Have been the entire time. I've also been protecting him. I didn't want him to see what I was about to do to Ted that other day down in the basement. His parents being dead was a huge blow to him, I didn't want to make things worse for him".

I stopped Clayton, put my hand on his shoulder and told him, "Thank you, for looking out for him". "He's a great kid. He shouldn't have seen what he have seen so far", Clayton tells me. "How are you doing, by the way? After what you did to Ted in the basement?" I then asked him. "I try not to focus on it", he tells me. "I get nightmares about it. Some nights, I just can't sleep. I try not to dwell on it, but it's hard not to think about it". I took a good look at him and noticed that he hasn't had enough sleep. He clearly had bags under his eyes and I even noticed that he's been yawning a lot lately. "Come on, let's get this over with", Clayton tells me. We continued walking will we made it to the Bus. Just as we approached the Bus, a zombie came out of nowhere and started strolling towards us. "I got it", he says as he pulls out "Shelly" and wacks the zombie a few times in the head. When it was dead, I checked out the Bus from top to bottom. "You did all this?" I asked him. "Sure did", he answers. "Wow", I said as I took a good look at it. Spikes on the front and back bumpers, and the windows were completely boarded up with wood. When we entered the Bus, I looked around and noticed that the glass was gone. "Just like the seats, the glass had to go too", he tells me. "And you did all this by yourself?" I asked again. "Yes", he answers. "You are not like any rich kid I ever met", I told him. "Good to know", he tells me. "So, are you going to start it up now?" he then asks me.

I went up to the driver seat, sat down and turned the key, starting the old Bus up. "Alright then", I cheered. "How much fuel is in it?" I ask him. "Enough to do a few laps around this town", Clayton answers. "Cool", I said. I put the Bus in gear and we slowly started driving it up to the gate. "I'll get it open", Clayton says as he jumps out of the Bus and opens the gate. He rushed back and got back onto the Bus. "Where to?" he asks me. "I'm going by the Spencer Estate first. I need to see if there's any survivors", I told him. "You're driving, I'm riding. I'll go where you go", he says.

I turned left onto Main Street and drove into Old Bullworth Vale. After a few turns, we made it into the residential area in Old Bullworth Vale. After a few minutes of driving, we made it to the front gate of Tad's house. I stopped the Bus and hopped out. "I'll stay here and make sure no one gets on", Clayton tells me as I disembark from the Bus. I approached the gate and then opened it. Luckily, I still had the key from last year after the whole egg incident. I just had to get the key from my dorm room first. As I slowly opened the gate, I noticed a pile of blood and bones right by the gate. It was too small to be any of the Preps. As I approached the corpse, I couldn't help but notice the collar around what I would assume to be it's neck. "Chester", I mumbled. I slowly moved up towards the house. As I approached, I spotted the remains of Tad and Gord. Tad's face was half-eaten while Gord's legs was completely gone. All that was left was the bone for one of them. Of course, Gord was a zombie now. A half-eaten zombie, I should say.

I crouched down next to him, aimed my Spud Gun at his head and told him, "I'm sorry it had to happen. I should have come back sooner". I pulled the trigger, killing the creature that use to be Gord. I got back on my feet and then went inside the house. Inside, it was a mess. Overturned furniture, broken vases, damaged paintings, there was even blood on the floor. "HELLO. ANYONE STILL ALIVE", I shouted. There was no reply. After a while, I decided to check every room in the house. I checked every bedroom, bathroom, the dining room and the kitchen. Nothing. I then checked out the basement. When I got down the stairs, I found what was the remains of Derby and Bif. Throats slit and fingers cut off. Man, that must have been painful. After a while of looking, I decided to get back to the School Bus. "Did you find any survivors?" Clayton asks as I came back to the Bus. "Nothing", I told him. "Let's get moving".

I got back into the seat and started the Bus back up. I drove the Bus by the Happy Endings Retirement Home and towards the bridge leading to Bullworth Town. I was going to go across the bridge, but the I remembered the zombie horde from last night, so I turned right and headed back towards the plaza. Once I got to the end of the road, I turned left onto the one way road. "Why didn't we take the bridge?" Clayton asks me. "There was a large horde there last night. I don't want to catch up with that horde again", I told him. I got back onto Main Street, drove past the academy and crossed the bridge to Bullworth Town. I turned right at the first intersection, but noticed the Barracks OL blocking the way. "Just ram the damn truck", Clayton tells me. "Can the Bus handle it?" I asked him. "It will", he tells me. I backed the Bus towards the bike shop, then I hit the gas and made it go fast enough to where it pushed the truck out of the way. With the military truck out of the way, we turned right and then stopped at the old motel. But as I turned to look at the Bullies' safe haven, I noticed that it was gone. Completely burned to the ground.

"No", I said out-loud. "This can't be happening". "The Bullies were based here, weren't they?" Clayton asks me. "Damn it", I said as I pounded my fists into the steering wheel of the Bus, sounding off the horn for a quick second. "There's no way this is happening", I then said to Clayton. "What do you expect? From what you told me about Gary, he sounds like a dangerous sociopath. In fact, he is one", Clayton tells me. "I should have come back sooner", I told myself. "There was nothing you could have done. I was still fixing the Bus during that time, so it's my fault too", Clayton says. "I think I'm going to check out how bad it is", I suggested. "Why?" Clayton asks. "It's most likely that they were shot and left for the zombies to eat, or they perished in the fire. There's probably nothing left to check out". "You're right", I told him. "Maybe we should continue on. There's two more cliques that I need to rescue". But before I could accelerate the Bus, there was a loud thud on the side of the Bus. "What was that?" Clayton asks. "Wait, hold up. We're coming", a familiar voice says out-loud. "That sounds like Wade", I said as I opened the door and got off the Bus. As I got out, I turned and saw Wade covered in blood.

"Where were you guys?" I asked Wade. "We thought the Savages killed you". "And they were close to killing us", Wade tells me, "but we took cover in the old theater. Lucky no one ever thinks about going in there". Just then, Clayton got off the Bus and asks Wade, "You got any injured people?" "Just one", Wade answers. "It's Troy. He took a blade to the rib-cage. The cut is so bad that it reached to the bone". "Okay then, get everyone onto the Bus. We still have two more places to stop before we get back to the school", Clayton orders Wade. "I'll get the boys then", Wade says as he runs off back to the theater. After a while of waiting, all the Bullies came out of the theater. Tom was helping Troy get to the Bus. Once all the Bullies got onto the Bus, I went back into the driver's seat followed by Clayton making sure no one or nothing boards the Bus. "Next stop: the junkyard", I said out-loud.

I accelerated the Bus and was now going through New Coventry. While going through the center of the district, there was a small horde of zombies in the way. I sped up a bit and ran over most of the horde. "You can bet that there will probably be a head impaled on one of the spikes when we get back to the school", Clayton tells me. "Have you been to the junkyard before?" I asked Clayton. "No, I haven't", he replies. "Look, there's a dirt road that leads directly down to the junkyard and that dirt road is surrounded by a wall for some reason. I'm going to park the Bus directly in front of the exit and then I'll take the Bullies down the road to help with any zombie issues that the Greasers and I may have", I explained. "Okay, I know where you're going with this. I'll stay with the Bus as well as Troy. I think there's a med-kit on here, so I'll treat him while you're gone", Clayton tells me. As soon as we finished talking the plan out, we made it to the apartments where the dirt road is located. I slowly pulled the Bus up and completely blocked the exit. "Wade, your group is with me. Clayton will stay with the Bus and make sure no zombie gets through", I told him.

I got off the Bus followed by the Bullies. We all then stormed down the dirt road, killing every zombie we came across. After maybe a quarter-mile of jogging, we made it to the junkyard. Luckily, there was no zombies at the "gate" and the Greasers were all there. "Is it time?" Johnny Vincent asks me as I entered the junkyard. "It's time", I told him. "EVERYONE GATHER AS MUCH AS YOU CAN. WE'RE LEAVING", Johnny announces to his friends. After a while of waiting for everyone to grab their most precious or needed items, we all then headed back to the Bus. "It may be a tight squeeze on there, but I'm sure we can fit you guys, the Bullies and the Townies in there", I told Johnny as we all jogged. "That's fine enough for me as long as we get the hell out of here", Johnny says. Once we got to the Bus, we saw Clayton and Troy standing outside the Bus. "Everyone get on", Clayton orders. "Troy and I got your backs". I quickly got on the Bus and got back in the driver's seat, followed by everyone else. Then Clayton and Troy got back on. "Punch it", Clayton tells me. I then drove the Bus around the corner, passing by the pile that use to be the Tenements, and back onto the main road. I turned left and then crossed the bridge into Blue Skies.

I pretty much stuck to Blue Skies Road and turned right onto the same road. I headed straight down the road till I made it to the tunnel leading to Happy Volts. I drove the Bus down the road and then started honking the horn. I steadily slowed the Bus down as I approached the gate to the asylum. Once I stopped completely, the Townies opened the gate and I drove on through. Once I was inside the yard, they closed the gate. "Everyone stay on", I said as I got out the driver's seat and off the Bus. "Your boys still not happy about the plan?" I asked Edgar as I approached him. "I did some talking with them and they're not really okay with it", he tells me. "Don't worry, I have a surprise for them once they help take the academy back from the undead", I told him. "What happened to you the other day? I thought you were going to be here yesterday", he tells me. "I ran into some issues", I told him. "Got into an accident, paid a visit to the Savages. Long story short, they're probably dead and luckily I'm not". "At least some good came out of it", Edgar says. "I wouldn't really say good, but at least there's a thorn out of our's side now", I told him. After a while of talking, the other Townies had their things together and got onto the Bus, followed by Edgar.

I got back onto the Bus and hopped right into the driver's seat. "How did you learn to drive a Bus anyway?" Johnny asks me as I sat down. "Just something my own dad taught me when I was young", I told him. I then drove the Bus around the yard and back to the gate. But instead of waiting for someone to open it, I smashed on through the gate. "Awesome", I said as pieces of the gate came falling off the Bus. "And we are out of here", Edgar says. I drove the Bus through the tunnel and then slowly turned into the other tunnel. I was going to take the back road this time. As I drove the Bus slowly through the tunnel, the top of the Bus was scraping against the tunnel ceiling. It was so loud that everyone was covering their ears. Once I was through the tunnel, I now had to go across the narrow bridge. "I don't know if the bridge could hold the Bus' weight", Johnny tells me. "Well, we have to try", I told him. I took a deep breath and then hit the petal. I was so focused on crossing the bridge that I didn't hear everyone screaming for dear life. Once I made it across the bridge, I stopped the Bus, got off and looked back at the bridge. There was barely anything left of the bridge. Man, I'm so glad that we didn't go down with it.

When I got back onto the Bus, I was met with a few complaints. "Please don't do anything like that again", Johnny tells me. "That was not cool", Lola complains. "Not really a smart move on your end, Jimmy", Clayton says. "That thing was no more a bridge than it was a bunch of termites holding hands", Andrew says. "Okay, I get it: don't cross a narrow wooden bridge anymore", I said. "But now that I think about it, it's not the only thing we had to worry about. There's a jump just up ahead. You all need to get down and hold onto something". Everyone on the Bus then sat down and held their heads in between their hands. I continued driving down the dirt road till we made it to the jump. "Everybody hang on", I said as I sped the Bus and made the jump. We were in the air for a few seconds until the Bus took a hard landing back onto the ground. By that time, the Bus then automatically shut down. "What the hell?" I said out-loud. The Bus started slowing down and eventually came to a complete stop. "Crap", Clayton says out-loud. "Looks like I got to check under the hood right quick. Jimmy, Johnny, Edgar and Lola, you're with me".

I got off the Bus, followed by Clayton, Johnny, Lola and Edgar. The four of us then stood guard while Clayton went up to the hood of the Bus. I went up to him as he opened the hood of the Bus. "How fast can you get this fixed?" I asked him as he inspected the motor. "Hard to say", he started to explain. "I need to know what caused the motor to stop working. Then I need to find a way to fix it without any tools and even then, I don't know if... Oh". "What?" I asked him. "It's just a loose battery cable. That should be easy to fix", he tells me. "WE HAVE A HORDE OF ZOMBIES COMING OUR WAY", Lola yells. "From which way?" I ask her. "From the south, the direction that we're heading", she tells me. "Clayton, whatever you got to do, do it fast", I told him. "Just let me attach the cable", he says. After about a few seconds of messing with the battery, Clayton got the Bus fixed. The Bus' lights started flashing wildly as he pulled the hood back down. "Thank you, God", he says. "Everybody on now. We're leaving", I said to the guarding survivors.

All five of us then boarded the Bus and started it back up. "With the bridge gone, how are we going to get away?" Lola asks me. "Only one way: we're going through", I told her. I accelerated the Bus and drove it right into the horde, running each of them down. I ran over each fresh zombie, fat charger, crawler and spitter as they all got into the way of the big yellow moving death trap. There must have been over a thousand zombies in that horde because it took over two minutes to get through that horde. Once we were clear of the horde, everyone on the Bus started cheering. Cheering for the fact that we escaped the horde, cheering for the fact that they're safe. Cheering for the fact that they were still alive.

After a rough ride through the woods on Back School Road, we made it to the parking lot driveway. I had to make a slow, hard right turn just so I could reach the gate. I knocked over a lamp post in the process, but it was all good anyway. Once I pulled up at the gate, Clayton quickly stepped out of the Bus, went to the gate and opened. As I pulled through, he tells me, "Park at the front of the Main Building. I'll handle the gate and catch up with you guys". "Got it", I said. I circled the Bus through the parking lot, avoiding the cars in the process and drove through the archway. Once I made it to the front of the Main Building, I shut the Bus off and opened the door. "Welcome back, everyone", I announced to everyone. "Let's hope your stay here is better than your last previous times". We all got off the Bus and went up to the front door. I knocked a few times on the door, then I said out-loud, "Let us in, Russell. It's me". The door opened and Russell let us all into the main hall.

Everyone slowly inspected their surroundings as they all went in the main hall. "You took this entire building by yourself?" Johnny asks as he looked around. "It was me, Russell and Clayton that took on the entire building of undead in here", I told him. "Three people against an entire building of zombies. That's mightly tough, even for you Jimmy", Edgar says. Just then, Clayton came through the door and locked it behind him. "Well, all the cliques are now here. All thanks to you, Jimmy", Clayton says as he regroups with us. "You had a hand in it too with repairing the Bus", I reminded him. "Yeah but you convinced the cliques to come back to the school. You went onto the dangerous streets to look for them and you did whatever they asked you to do. I probably wouldn't have done what you have done", Clayton tells me. "That means a lot to me. Thanks for the compliment", I told him.

"So now with the cliques here, we're moving onto phase three of your plan?" Clayton asks me. "We might as well do it later today", I started to explain. "With the cliques here, we can probably take the school before nightfall. The only things we have to do is secure each building and close off any paths that are left open like the one leading to the Observatory". "Then what after that?" Clayton asks. "Then we can set up some kind of peaceful society and live the rest of our lives here or until rescue comes or even until the zombies all rot to death or something", I told him. "Then we better get to planning. I'll see if I can find a map of the school somewhere", Clayton says before going up to the office. Now with phase two done, now is the time to take this school back from the undead. No more living in fear. This is still our time, not theirs.