Chapter 6 - Season Finale

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July 23, 2012 – Three weeks after initial outbreak

Arnold, Eugene, Stinky, Harold, Gerald, Hyunh, Oscar, Charlie, and Phoebe huddled around a single classroom desk, each either leaning against a desk behind them, or standing straight with their legs crossed. Arnold's eyes darted from left to right in the group, "It's either we do this, and find hope to survive, or we stay here, and die slowly."

Silence continued to fill the room, a howling wind hit the windows, rattling them slightly, "Who wants to draw first." Arnold asked. On the desk in the middle of the circle, was a matchbox. Inside were several matches, and only three were burnt. Whoever pulled the three burnt matches were obligated to embark on a journey to the hunting shop to gather all supplies they can carry, including the emergency gas tanks that Gerald had stored there for the Humvee they had in the back.

"I will." Said Hyunh.

"Mr. Hyunh, you have a broken arm, all you'd carry is a pistol you won't stand a chance." Arnold said.

"Arnold, my boy I'm surviving as much as you are, when it's life or death, we all have same chance." Hyunh responded. He reached in, his head turned the other way, grabbed a match and pulled it out. He let his breath loose when he saw the match head was still clean and red.

"Sit down Hyunh, you ain't goin nowhere." Gerald said. Hyunh backed away from the circle, a hand on his forehead in disappointment. Eugene pulled next, followed by Stinky, then Harold was up next. He began to reach for the match and then backed away. An image of his own corpse lying on the asphalt shot through his head, followed by Rhonda standing over it in tears. Words could not express how much Harold missed her-

"Come on Harold. You need to draw." Arnold said. Harold snapped out of his nightmare and grabbed a match, it was clean as well. Oscar approached the box and reached in, he shuffled around the match sticks hoping for a clean one. He pulled one out and looked in horror to see a black burnt end in his hand. It still felt warm.

"Looks like we've got number one." Stinky said. Oscar backed away.

"Can I have a redraw please?" Oscar asked fearfully.

"We all got one chance Mr. Kokashka, it's only fair." Arnold said.

"But it's too dark and far out there. I don't want to die in a dark place." Oscar said.

"Oscar! Don't be a coward. It's time you faced the dark!" Hyunh erupted.

"He's right Mr. Kokashka. We have to do this for the sake of all of us. Please?" Arnold said.

"I won't do it. I don't want to die to those creeps out there." Everybody was shocked in silence at Oscar's rebuttle.

"Mr. Kokashka…" Arnold uttered disappointedly.

"I'm sorry Arnold. I want to live." Oscar replied. Dismissive by his stubbornness, Gerald approached him. He snatched the burnt match out of his hand.

"Then I'm number one." Gerald said, he gave one last look at Oscar and mumbled under his breath, loud enough for Oscar to hear, "Czech bastard."

Phoebe began to approach the box. Gerald watched her in slight nervousness, "Not you Phoebe." Arnold said. Phoebe's arm began to recede but her forehead started to scrunch.

"I'm quite able of taking care of myself Arnold. This retrieval business won't be a problem." She snatched a match from the box. It was clean. Gerald sighed with relief and pulled her in by the shoulder. She reciprocated with leaning her head on his chest, staring at the burnt match in Gerald's hand.

"I'll go next." Arnold said, he leaned in, shuffled the pile, and pulled one out. He sighed and said, "Number two." As he tucked the burnt match into his pocket, "Charlie." He said, looking at Charlie, his hands rubbing together in nervousness. There were only two matches left.

Charlie slowly walked forward, reached in, selected one match and slowly pulled it out. He moaned in somberness as he saw the burnt end. His legs started to shake, fingers pinching the match in his hand. Gerald put Phoebe aside and walked up to him, "It's ok Charlie. We're gonna look after you. Arnold and I, we promise." Gerald said, he looked at Arnold, waiting for Arnold to chime in.

"Yeah Charlie. Stick with us, and you'll be just fine." Arnold said with assurance. Charlie sunk his head into Gerald's side, tears streaming out. Gerald turned, still holding Charlie, and burnt fire into Oscar's stomach. His anger warmed his body and his forehead began to sweat.

Later, Charlie and Arnold were by the back door, checking their weapons: Stinky's shotgun, two Beretta pistols that Gerald snagged off a couple dead soldiers, as well as a fully loaded M4 carbine with two additional clips, thirty rounds each. In a classroom not far from them, Gerald held Phoebe in his arms tightly.

"I don't want this to happen." Phoebe murmured, her voice shaking.

"I know, but it has to be done. Arnold knows what he's doing." Gerald said as he stroked Phoebe's shoulder, comforting her with all his effort. He then took her away from his chest and looked into her eyes, Phoebe's arms still holding him by the waist, "Listen, we've stayed alive this long. There's still something we gotta do on God's green earth I bet. We're still around for a reason, and maybe it's to get you out of here." Gerald said, his mouth forming into a smile.

"Not your only reason. You're coming with me." Phoebe said jokingly, a big smile on her face. Gerald then pulled her in for another hug.

"You think Arnold's gonna find her out there?" Gerald said.

"Wherever she is, I know she's thinking the same. We'll find her, I know it." Phoebe said.

Charlie waltzed in on them, and knocked at the door, "Um Gerald, we're gonna be leaving soon." Gerald took a deep breath in through his nose, kissed Phoebe on the forehead and began to walk out.

"Gerald!" Phoebe called. Gerald stopped at the door and turned back, "Be careful, for your sake and mine." She said. Gerald smirked.

"Always am."

Soon, Gerald, Arnold, and Charlie were loaded. Everybody else was camped by the door, each with a bag of some sort in their hand, with all the supplies they had left in the school, as well as blunt objects. Arnold and Charlie stood by as Gerald held the chain that walled them from the beings outside, "Alright, you guys got the plan. We're gonna be out there half an hour tops and then we'll be heading back. If we're not back at the thirty five minute mark, you guys run for the Humvee and get the hell away from here. Got it?"

Most of the group nodded in agreement, "Let's do this. Eugene start the time." Gerald ordered. Eugene looked at his digital watch, and pushed a button. The 0:00 clock started to tick in black digitized letters. Gerald thrust open the door and went out, Arnold and Charlie followed. Harold stood by and closed the door. He picked up the chain and held it tightly, walking back to his spot on the wall, and slowly fell to the ground. Phoebe continued to stand, her thumbs rubbing consistently and palms soaked with sweat.

Outside, the foul air crept up on the trio standing right outside the doors. It was extra cloudy. The sky glowed a faint blue, more grey than any other color. Stenches of death and rot filled their noses as the three slowly trotted down the steps toward the backyard of the school. The field was bare. Glass from the bottle Charlie shattered earlier that day strewn across the gravel.

"We have to move, we've got a bit of a walk to the hunting store." Gerald said. He cocked the shotgun in his hands and they began their journey.

Bob rubbed his heel against the ground, one hand he had on his hip and the other was scratching an itch on the back of his neck. He clicked his tongue once and breathed in through his nose. He looked out over his shoulder through the cell bars and saw the hall, vacant. Across, he could see Suzie's feet, tapping against each other and her heavy breathing.

"Doing alright Suzie?" Bob asked.

"Yeah, just nervous. You think we're gonna get out of here?" Suzie asked.

"I couldn't tell ya. If they've got Helga somewhere else locked up, I'd be damned if they were doing something to her. You remember seeing the other chopper go down?"

"Hardly, I heard the explosion and last thing I saw was a big rotor colliding into the school. I know Oscar and the other boarders were on it. Next thing I knew, the guy next to me was gnawing into the pilot's neck and we crashed ourselves." Suzie responded.

"It's a regular B-horror movie garbage fest out there. Never thought these things could be real." Bob said.

"It's possible. The human body can live for some time even after death, in some sense, the body can be its own fuel source. Whatever started this, it's easy to spread. I saw on the tv an outbreak in Pennsylvania. People biting other people, they fall down and get back up in seconds. Scary thoughts."

"What're you? A nurse or something?"

"Nursing school, I had a couple classes."

All of a sudden, the door opened. The man in black strolled up to Bob's cell, a guard donned in a grey jumpsuit and clasps of armor was with him, "You need to come with us." The man said, assuredly.

"Like hell I am. Give me answers and then I'll consider helping you guys out." Bob said sternly. Without a blink, the guard popped Bob in the side with a cattle prod. The shock sent Bob to the floor. Quickly, the soldier unlocked the cell door and the man walked inside. Both grabbed Bob by his shoulders and legs and began to hoist him out.

"Where are you taking him?" Suzie asked, her voice panicked. The two ignored her and continued to carry Bob's body down the hall, "What are you doing to him?!"

The door was only a few feet away. Gerald, Charlie, and Arnold were lined up at the front entrance to the hunting shop. Gerald gripped the shotgun tight in his hands. Arnold had the rifle slung over his shoulder and one of the pistols in his hand. Charlie held the other, and in his shorts pocket was his slingshot and the other pocket held a bag of his ammo.

"Got the key?" Arnold asked. Gerald rummaged through his pockets and found a small metallic key for the door to their supplies in the shop.

"Ok, let's make this quick and easy." Gerald said. He decided to go first, he inched closer to the door. One hand held the shotgun, finger on the trigger, and the other moved closer to the doorknob. With ease, Gerald grasped it, turned it and pushed the door inward, creaking the hinges with every inch it rotated. Slowly but surely, the trio stepped inside. The shop was very long and narrow. From the front to the back was a lengthy fourty feet. Off to the side was a set of stairs that led up to the upper floor which hung over their heads about ten feet. In the center of the ceiling was a large opening where the contents of the upper floor could be vaguely seen. Upstairs was where they had to go to get their gas.

"I'll get up there and get what we need. You two stay down here and watch for any walkers outside or inside. Charlie's heart started to race when Gerald said 'inside'.

"Gerald! Here." Arnold said, he tossed his pistol to Gerald who snatched it out of the air, "Little extra protection. Be careful up there."

"Don't yell if you need me. Find something and tap the ceiling with it, I'll hear ya." Gerald responded. He stuck the pistol in the back of his pants and held the shotgun with both hands, working his way up the stairs. Charlie and Arnold began to rummage the downstairs area.

"Never took a good look at what this place had." Arnold said. He looked over and saw the fishing wall, several rods still lined up neatly with a few out of place or on the floor. Charlie walked up beside him, "I remember fishing with my grandpa. Gerald and I went out to get Big Caesar on the lake. Things were simple back then weren't they. You had your chocolate addiction." Arnold looked to Charlie and smiled.

"I know. I'm surprised I'm still alive after that. Those hospital visits after quitting scared me too." Charlie responded.

"Instantly changing your diet like that is gonna cause problems regardless. But you were young it's ok. Be thankful nothing bad came out of it before or after you quit." Arnold said, putting his hand on Charlie's shoulder. Charlie looked up and smiled.

Upstairs, Gerald slowly moved forward, the floor creaking with every step. He looked across the room and eyeballed the storage room he was going for. Several shelves stood in his way and he had to make his path around them. Without paying attention, Gerald bumped into a shelf with his knee and a pile of empty snack boxes came crashing to the floor. Almost as if the sound was on stereo, it sent waves through the entire shop. Charlie and Arnold looked up, still staying silent but hoping Gerald wasn't in trouble. No sounds of struggle or pain gave them the sign that Gerald was still ok.

Gerald bit his lip for a second and regained his bearings. He continued to waltz around the shelf. Eventually, he made it to the storage room. He rummaged his pocket again, pulled out the key, and slowly inserted it into the lock hole. After torquing it, the door was unlocked. Gerald put the key away and grabbed the doorknob. He rotated it, and gave it a good pull. The door slid open with ease.

Out of nowhere, a dead body came sliding off the door and fell right on top of Gerald.

At the school, Phoebe paced back and forth out of nervousness and impatience. It has been twenty minutes. Fifteen more till departure.

"Phoebe, I know they're okay. Just relax alright?" Eugene said.

"Yeah, your constant pitter pattering feet are startin' to get on my nerves." Stinky added.

Phoebe snapped, "You don't know that Eugene. Gerald could be dead and we'd be waiting for nothing."

"It's thirty five minutes, we know that. They know that."

"If we have to leave without them, it's what we're going to have to do." Oscar said, standing against a classroom entrance.

"Oscar shut up! If it wasn't for you, Gerald wouldn't be out there right now." Phoebe cried.

Oscar looked at her obliviously, shocked at her anger and his eyes widened. A sudden shock of melancholy took Oscar over and he went down the hall to the stair well. Phoebe walked back to the wall and fell against it. Harold, meanwhile, came through the door, an empty bucket in his hand. He had finished pouring slop on the Humvee to cover up their scent when they escape. Eugene and Stinky sat in silence, side by side to the left, and Harold saw Phoebe on the right, her head in her arms, afraid that she could lose more loved ones in the hours to come.

Harold set the bucket down quietly and walked over to Phoebe, he kneeled down and wrapped her in a tight hug, "It's going to be ok Phoebe." Phoebe looked at him and returned his hug. Oscar saw this and began to walk up the stairs. He strolled down the empty hallway and into one of the classrooms. He waltzed over to the window and looked outward, a bit further out in the dense fog and dim orange sky losing brightness and day turning to night, he could see the hunting store. He himself started to hope the three would come back soon.

Then a rattling drew his attention away from the store and he turned around. The room was still empty. He turned back to see a zombie a foot away from him, looking through the glass, ready to lunge. Oscar stepped back as the zombie snarled, pounced through the glass and lunged at Oscar.

Gerald stepped away from the body. The loud thump of the corpse hitting the ground drew Charlie and Arnold's attention and they dashed upstairs, "What happened?" Arnold asked.

"This fucking guy came spewing out of the storage room!" Gerald replied angrily.

Charlie examined, the body's skin was pale brown, blood ran from the open gash in the forehead and soaked into its blue buttoned shirt. It also had on blue cargo shorts. The body itself was plush and a bit chubby, "It's Harvey…" Arnold said in horror.

"No no, it can't be. Harvey the mail man, a corpse miles away from Hillwood, are you kidding me!?" Gerald said in shock.

"Gerald be quiet! We've got a job to do, let's do it and get out now." Arnold whispered loudly. Gerald grunted and stepped over Harvey's body into the closet. Arnold tossed him a duffle bag and Gerald loaded it with what was left in the closet, a couple boxes of crackers and a 12 pack of Yahoo soda. He passed the bag back to Arnold, shouldered the shotgun and he grabbed the two gasoline tanks in the corner, both with ten gallons of gas in them.

"Let's get out of here." Gerald said, the three started to make their way to the stairs when Arnold stopped them.

"Wait," he said, looking to Harvey's body, "We should say something."

"Come on Arnold, he's been resting in peace for some time now. I don't think a few words is gonna make his soul any more comfortable."

"It's out of respect Gerald. We need to do it now. Come on." Arnold said, he set down the bag and walked back over to the body. Gerald set down the tanks and took off his shotgun. Arnold and Charlie did the same, they bowed their heads and closed their eyes. Gerald reluctantly left his eyes wandering out of impatience.

"God, we hope you look over Harvey. Seeing how he went is a sight no human being should ever see." As Arnold continued to pray, Gerald peaked at Harvey's head and the wound that split his cheek from the rest of his face. He knelt down and looked closer, "Gerald, what are you doing?"

"Hold up Arnold, this doesn't look like a regular bite. The cut's too fine for teeth to gnaw into." Gerald said.

"So?" Arnold said.

"So. Harvey wasn't killed by no simple zeke. This is something different." He said. Arnold looked closer and saw where Gerald was coming from.

"You're right, come on let's get out of here. We've got maybe ten minutes left." The three grabbed their stuff again and walked down the stairs. Lighting started to flash the interior of the shop and thunder followed closely. A storm was brewing.

Arnold, leading the pack looked back up past Gerald and Charlie to the upper floor, pondering if anything was forgotten. Gerald then screamed and it startled the whole group. They all fell backwards on the stairs and tumbled forward to the ground. They looked up and saw what scared Gerald. In the front doorway, stood a tall man, lanky body and a white jacket looking top was on his body as well as pale white looking slacks. His skin was darkishly tan and eyes beamed with black brownish color. In his hands, a long wooden rod and on the end was a large axe with streaks of red on the end of it. The figure stepped inside and stared at the three. Arnold got a good look of his face.

"Willie?" Arnold said, "Willy the Jolly Olly man?"

"Hello boys." The figure said, very solemnly and an utter sense of terror in his voice.

"It is you Willie! You're alive!" Gerald said happily.

"I most certainly am." Willie replied, his voice almost sadistically moaning.

"Where have you been? Marty Green said you were with him then you took off. You okay?" Gerald asked. Arnold then flashed back to when Gerald told him about Helga's whereabouts, and how the last thing Helga could radio in was Willie's name. He started to realize what Willie could have done.

"You boys don't seem to be too shabbish yourselves." Willie continued to moan.

"What've you done Willie." Arnold said, slowly putting the pieces together, Helga's message, the wound on Harvey's face.

"Whatever do you mean?" Willie asked. The boys started to get up slowly.

"Helga. She was in here and you tried to kill her didn't you. What'd you do." Arnold said, intimidating.

"Oh that little bitch. You're lucky she got away with her life."

"Willie, what're you talkin man? Are you crazy?" Gerald asked.

Willie sighed, he continued to inch forward, "What makes you think I could be crazy." He said, his voice raised.

"Willie just take it easy, we're just getting the last of our supplies and we'll be on our way." Arnold said.

"Your supplies? What makes you think anything in this place is YOURS!" Willie said, "Just because you said so? I think NOT!" Willie started to shout.

"Willie, keep quiet, they're gonna find us!" Charlie uttered.

"They? They?! They are not going to find me. They're going to find you, and you are going to be their meal!" Willie said. He raised the axe but he didn't aim at the boys, he swung to his right and smashed the axe into the glass window. The impact echoed down the streets. Several walkers strolling across the sidewalk turned their heads toward the noise and saw Willie standing in the doorway.

"Willie what the fuck is your problem?!" Gerald asked frantically.

"Come and get it my babies!" Willie cried. He smashed the axe against the door and then on the shelf to his left. He spun the axe in his hand and looked at the boys now standing and flinching with his every move, "Why shouldn't I get in on the fun? Take a piece of each of you boys myself!" He cried, charging at them with the axe raised high. The three split, Charlie ran straight back, Gerald ran back to the stairs, and Arnold hit the corner against the shattered glass window. Zombies started to zero in on the hunting shop and got closer and closer.

Willie chose Arnold as his first target. He ran at him swinging but Arnold was quick enough to dodge each move. Gerald looked above the staircase and saw the window on the second floor. He quickly ran up to it, grabbed a chair and smashed it against the window. The shattered glass fell to the concrete sidewalk, some almost hit Arnold on the shoulder. Arnold got up quickly and ran for Charlie. Gerald came back to the stairs, and called for Arnold and Charlie.

"Guys! Up here!" Arnold dashed to his right, grabbed Charlie who was huddled in a corner, terrified, and they ran up the stairs. Arnold saw what Gerald had planned.

"Gerald that's nuts."

"It's only a few feet higher. Remember the Sewer king?" He asked. They approached the window and looked down. Zombies started to charge into the shop through the front door.

"We're trapped!" Charlie uttered.

"No we're not, come on Arnold, live or die?" Gerald asked. At that moment Willie came to the top of the stairs and saw them.

"Time for chow!" He said. He began to charge the guys but they each made their decision and leapt from the window. Charlie hit the ground too hard and the pistol in his hand flew from his grasp. Before he could grab it, Arnold pulled him up. They looked back at the shop, now fully in front of them and saw the zombies pouring up the stairs to where they once were on the second floor. Willie stood at the edge of the shattered window, "You're gonna die. You're all gonna dieeee!" Willie screeched, flailing the axe everywhere. Gerald saw some of the zombies that were still on the main floor turn around and noticed them standing in the middle of the street. They snarled and started to run at the group.

"Run!" Gerald cried.

Rain started to pitter patter on the school rooftop. A roll of thunder had everybody at the back of the school looking up to listen to its eerie yet comforting noise. The world around them felt chaotic and it was a feeling that gave them dread.

Eugene looked at his watch, Gerald and his team had five minutes left till they departed. A loud slam drew their attention away from the door to look toward the stairwell. Quiet sounds of struggle sent shivers down their spine and they began to walk slowly toward the stairwell far down the hall.

"O-Oscar?" Phoebe uttered. There was silence. The grunting and struggling noises stopped. Harold walked forward.

"Wait here, I'll go see what's going on." He said as he walked toward the staircase. Eugene called his name but Harold did not respond and he continued to walk toward the stairwell.

Upstairs, a body laid limp on the ground, blood pouring out from its freshly opened wound. Standing over it was the tall figure of Oscar, with a metallic globe in his hand, red mucous smeared on one side. He dropped the blunt object to the floor and stepped over the corpse he had just sent back to its grave. Oscar than looked toward the classroom door when he heard a faint voice call his name.

Harold stood at the bottom of the stairs. He looked back at the group and then back at the stairs. Oscar left the classroom and walked toward the stairs.

Suddenly a loud slam drew Harold and the others toward a classroom door that was between them. Another slam came after. Low growls were heard on the other side and then suddenly, the door burst open to reveal a pair of zombies with bloodied fists. They stepped over the shattered splintered door piece and examined their prey. They looked to their right and saw the group standing by the doorway and then at Harold to their left who was standing on the first step of the stairwell. One of them screeched and they began to charge after Phoebe and the others.

Eugene screamed in terror and Phoebe looked at the sealed up door. She knelt down, grabbed the baseball bat they had. "Stinky, get the door!" She hollered

As Stinky fumbled with the chain that sealed the door shut, Phoebe charged at the zombies. She raised the bat high in her hands and swung at the first zombie. The strike knocked its head to the side and it collided with the other, sending both to the floor in a daze.

"Harold come on!" She cried. Before Harold could make a run to their side, another zombie popped in through the classroom. Behind the zombie, Harold could see how they got in, a broken window, presumably on the side that they had forgotten to spread slop around. The creature saw Harold and dashed after him. He quickly ran up the stairs, nearly stumbling on each step. As he made it to the top, the zombie continued to scamper after him. Then out of nowhere, a leg swung around and knocked the zombie over the banister sending it back down to the first floor. Harold looked up and saw Oscar standing over him.

"Come on Harold, this way." Oscar said. They could hear more screeches as more zombies began to pick up their scent and came pouring into the school through the broken window. Oscar and Harold ran for one of the classrooms and ran inside, slamming the door shut.

Outside, Gerald Arnold, and Charlie slammed their backs against the side of a building, breathing heavily. They had just turned the corner and were about a block away from the school.

"Can't shake these bastards. Where are we gonna go now?" Gerald asked, panicking. Arnold, his chest pumping in and outward, looked around. He then saw a large garbage dumpster to the side, and then higher up, was a ladder leading to the fire escape. It scaled all the way to the roof.

"We're not gonna make it going forward. We're going up." He said as he ran for the dumpster. He took a smaller box and pulled it in front of the dumpster. He climbed up, turned around and stuck his hand out, "Come on!"

Gerald was the first, he hopped up the box, passed Arnold the gas tank, grabbed Arnold's hand and Arnold hoisted him up. Charlie began to climb up the box, when zombies started to turn the corner and ran after them. Before they could hop up the dumpster, Gerald took a massive swing at them with the second gas tank. Arnold took one tank and Gerald held the other. They shouldered their weapons and began to scale the building with one hand holding the bars as the other hoisting the twenty pound gas tanks.

As they hopped off the fire escape and stood on the roof, they began to regain their bearings and find where they had to head. Arnold squinted his eyes in one direction and could see the school far in the near distance. He walked over to the edge of the building and looked over it. A good three story drop, but it was four feet between them and the second building. He tossed the gas tank over to the building and told Gerald to do the same.

"Are you crazy Arnold? Hopping buildings? We ain't gymnasts here man!" Gerald said.

"Live or die remember?" Arnold said as he leapt across the buildings and landed safely on the other side.

"Some summer vacation." Gerald muttered as he tossed the gas tank which Arnold caught. He then took a few steps back and ran. His first foot caught the ledge but the other slipped by the toes. Before he could tumble down to the gathering horde below, Arnold caught him by his red shirt and pulled him to the flat end.

"Come on Charlie!" Arnold called. Charlie clapped his hands, rubbed them and ran. His skinnyness propelled him further than expected and he collided into Gerald who had open arms. Both fell to the floor. "We're almost there. Let's get this gas in the Humvee and get out of here." Arnold said. Before long, the group was bounding over big dips and hopping from building to building, getting closer and closer to the roof of the school.

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On the ground at the school, Stinky had unlocked the door and Phoebe, Eugene, and Hyunh walked to the other side. Stinky shut the doors and sealed them up, locking themselves outside the school, "Where the hell are those fellers?!" Stinky asked frantically as he shut the padlock.

"They'll be here, I know it." Phoebe said.

"And what about Oscar and Harold? Are we just gonna leave them up there to be devoured?!" Eugene said.

"We'll drive around in the Humvee and try to clear the way for them to jump on the Humvee." Phoebe said.

"That's a twenty foot drop from those windows up there Phoebe. They can't make it. Not to mention, we need that gas if we're gonna make it far." Stinky said.

"If they wanna stay alive, it's what we have to do!" Phoebe demanded.

"Guys, can we have this discussion somewhere safer?" Eugene said, motioning over to the parked Humvee, khaki colored and massive compared to the school playset which sat beside it.

Arnold and the others landed on the next rooftop. The school was right across from them, "Come on, all we gotta do is jump one last time, climb in through the skylight, get the gas in the Hummer and we're gone." Arnold said.

Just as he finished talking, they heard an engine sputter then rev up. They looked over to the ledge and walked over to it. There they saw the Humvee, its lights shining brightly and it slowly began to inch out of the playground,

"They're already leaving?!" Gerald shockingly exclaimed.

"No, there's still time!" Charlie said.

"Let's go, if we can get to the school, we can still catch them. The Humvee started to pull out further. Arnold and the other two leapt across to the school and located the nearest skylight. Gerald blasted it out with the shotgun and they jumped inside. The room was clean, save for a freshly rotting corpse by an open window. They looked around and saw Harold and Oscar huddled in the corner.

"Arnold! Gerald! Choco boy! You guys made it!" Harold said happily.

"None too happy about it. We gotta move, the others are leaving without us." Gerald said.

"What?!" Harold exclaimed.

"Don't bitch about it, come on let's go!" Gerald hollered. The group threw open the classroom door and went back out into the hallway. They heard screeches coming from the stairwell, getting louder and louder.

"Oh come on!" Harold angrily said.

Oscar looked at the group and then back at the top of the stairs. He looked to the sides and saw the gates that slid shut to lock up the hallways after school hours. Quickly, he grabbed one side and slid it the middle of the hall, he then grabbed the other and connected it to the first half, sealing himself on the side with the stairs and the approaching zombies.

"Mr. Kokoshka what're you doing?" Arnold asked frantically.

"I'm sorry Arnold, sorry for all the trouble I've given you and your family. This is how it has to be." Oscar replied.

"No, Mr. Kokoshka, no. It doesn't have to be like that." Arnold said.

"For so long, I've been so selfish, so rolled up in my own greed I never could see what was important. It's time I changed things. It's time I did something for you and your life Arnold."

"Oscar, please don't." Arnold said, getting more frantic, tears dripping from his eyes. It was the first time Arnold ever called Oscar by his first name.

"Do me a favor Arnold, find my wife. Find Suzie and tell her I love her. I'm doing this for you, and I'm doing this for her." Oscar said, backing away from the gate.

"Oscar don't! We have guns! We can fight them!" Arnold screamed. Gerald, knowing they wouldn't have enough ammo grabbed Arnold's shoulders and began to pull him back.

"Gerald, take the fire escape on the other side of the school and get to the others." Oscar ordered, "I love you Arnold, you're the little nephew I always wanted to be an uncle to."

Arnold continued to watch him as zombies began to reach the top of the stairs.

Then Oscar said, "Goodbye."

Immediately, he swung a fist at the first zombie to charge him, sending it flying back toward the wall. The others began to run after him. Oscar ran into a classroom again and shut the door. Gerald continued to pull a screaming Arnold away from the gate and into the classroom with the fire escape. Charlie and Harold followed. The last thing Arnold saw, were zombies banging on the door that Oscar had barricaded himself behind. Before Gerald pulled him all the way in, Arnold could see the zombies breaching the door and beginning to pour inside the room Oscar was hiding.

They went over to the open window, stepping over the zombie Oscar had killed and climbed out onto the fire escape. They began to quickly run down the ladders from level to level, holding the gas tank in one hand and keeping his grip on the ladders with the other. Arnold, while he climbed down, wiped tears from his eyes. Gerald hit the ground first, followed by Charlie and Harold and finally Arnold. Arnold and Gerald set their gas tanks down.

"Where's the Humvee?!" Harold asked frantically.

"It's gone. They left without us." Charlie said in despair.

"No, no it's not. Not now, this is not how it's gonna be." Arnold demanded, "They're coming back for us." He walked toward the vacant street, away from the school which continued to fill with zombies, "Come on, we've still got Stinky's truck, if we're quick we can catch up." Arnold said, picking up his gas, Gerald doing the same. They sprinted away from the school and back down the alley they had first taken when they first arrived at the school. Sure enough, Stinky's truck was still parked there. No zombies were around to catch their attention.

"Fill the truck with one of the tanks and put the other in the truckbed." Arnold said, handing his gas tank to Charlie. Harold climbed into the truck, and Arnold walked around to the other side of the truck. He peaked inside and sighed with relief to see the keys sitting on the dash where Stinky had left them.

Gerald tipped the gasoline container into the plug hole and gas began to pour out, its foul odor filling Gerald's nostrils. Charlie was on the other side, he stood up on his toes to reach inside the truck bed and set the container down.

Suddenly, a sharp gnawing pain hit Charlie and he collapsed. The throbbing came from his leg and he looked down in horror to see a zombie's teeth being sunk into his calf. The zombie, laying under the truck began to crawl after him after having bitten him.

"Arnold!" Charlie called. Arnold looked out the truck window and saw the zombie. He frantically hopped out the truck and pulled out the shotgun, blowing the zombie's head off. Charlie sat there, clutching his leg. Arnold went to his side, moaning and repeating to himself.

"No no no no no no no no."

Gerald went over, saw his wound, "Oh shit." He uttered.

"No no, Charlie, stay with me. This is gonna be okay." Arnold said.

"This can't be. It hurts so bad." Charlie moaned sobbingly.

"Listen to me, you're gonna be okay." Arnold said, his voice shaking with fear.

"Arnold." Gerald said. Arnold looked up at him, seeing his face with extreme assurance and self awareness, as if Gerald were to say, 'It's over for him'. But only doing it with eye contact to keep Charlie from hearing.

Gerald, being behind Charlie, began to pull out his pistol from his pocket, "Wait." Arnold said, "It's been at least twenty seconds now, and he's not changing." Gerald let go of his holster.

"Feel anything?" Gerald asked.

"N-no. It just stings a bit." Charlie said.

"No cold sensation? Tingling of the spine?" Arnold asked.

"Nothing…" Charlie said, as they heard a running engine get closer. Out of nowhere, the humvee came skidding up beside Stinky's truck and the others piled out. Phoebe ran around and hopped into Gerald's arms, gripping him tightly. She looked over and saw Charlie on the ground.

"What happened?" She asked.

"Charlie's been bitten." Gerald responded.

"What?" Phoebe asked panicked.

"Wait Phoebe, he's not changing…" Arnold asked, shocked.

"Well..why is that?" Phoebe asked. Arnold looked at her and back at Charlie who had the same dumbfounded look as Arnold did. Gerald continued to look on in shock as well as Hyunh, Harold, Eugene, and Stinky, "Why's he not changing?" Phoebe's barrage of questions just faded away in everybody's minds, "Why is he not changing? How come the bite's not infected?...How is that possible?...Where's Oscar?...Why's he not changing"….…

The End….?

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