Were there any survivors?
I hoped that we would run into some, at the very least to swap war stories with. The conversation between us pretty much consisted of Henry’s drunkenness, Thomas’ silence, Claire crying, Nick grumbling angrily, and me throwing out some sarcastic, witty comments here and there, which may or may not have been directed at the drunk in the truck. Needless to say, conversation had become quite dull.
As we continued down the seemingly abandoned road, we came up to a clearing.
“Well, would you look at that…?” Nick muttered in amazement. I sat straight up and looked out the front of the truck. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing.
Chapter 44
“I
s that a school?” I asked in astonishment.It was untouched. The building was brick, one story, and was a decent size. Not too big, but it would be a great size for all of us. We saw a large parking lot off to the right side, and a playground toward the back and to the left. Further back, there was a wooded area that looked untouched, as well.
It wasn’t the same circumstance for every other building that was around the school. Some were just charred remains, others were falling down. There were a few that were untouched. The grass all around was burnt, but that would grow back eventually. The destruction was very random. As we came to a stop, I was thinking that it was possible that some of the damage could be from storms, but I wasn’t quite sure.
“Kind of looks like a school,” Henry replied. A few undeads, in various states of decay, were staggering about. “I’m going to take care of them.”
Henry checked his Sig and tucked it into the usual place. Then he pulled out his favorite long-bladed hunting knife. He always had a “don’t fuck with me” glimmer in his eyes every time that knife made a grand appearance. After seeing how he could wield the thing, I wouldn’t fuck with him.
He threw open the truck door and, without missing a beat, the undeads were attracted to us. They collectively staggered toward the truck. Henry jumped out and slammed the door. He marched right up to the closest one and plowed the knife right into his forehead. I shuddered. As many times as we had seen him in this manner, it was still impressive…although I was pretty sure I would never get used to seeing it.
At first, I watched between my fingers, but then we all watched in amazement as he took the undeads down in record time. In a way, it was a little bit of a turn on, seeing him slay them with such power and ease. Nick sat on edge, his hand on the door handle, just in case Henry got into trouble but, as usual, he didn’t. Once they were all true dead, Nick and Thomas got out and carried the already decaying bodies off into a ditch across the road.
Claire and I watched them in silence while they scoped out the school. They peered through the dusty windows as they walked around the building. I hopped out of the truck as Henry came back over to us. He had a little gore on his face. I wiped it off and, surprisingly, I didn’t gag. Go me!
“Thanks, love,” he said as he tucked a rogue strand of hair behind my ear.
I leaned into him and whispered in his ear, “You looked quite hot out there showing off your mad slaying skills.” He groaned loud enough for only me to hear. He pushed his body into mine, pressing me against the truck.
“I have some other skills I would like to show you later…if you will allow me, of course.” He was feeling insecure about our relationship, just as much as I was. He leaned in closer and nipped at my ear. Instantly, my body was ready for him. I was putty in his hands and he knew it.
“I may entertain your offer.” I looked up at him through my thick, black lashes. He smirked, but then stepped back.
“We’re going to check out the inside of the school. The windows are all papered over so we can’t really see much. I’m hoping it’s abandoned. So get loaded up, love.” I wilted back against the truck. He reached for me. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing. I just wish we had people to do this for us.” He laughed. Apparently, he thought that I was kidding. I wasn’t. As he walked away from me to the front of the truck, he yelled for me to grab an axe. I didn’t want to play that game anymore. Henry hollered for us to come up to the front of the truck. Captain Henry was back, and he was about to lay it all out for us.
“Alright, ladies and gentlemen. Here’s the plan.” I felt like I was on a plane, listening to the takeoff instructions from the flight attendant. “We are going to clear the school. Use your bullets sparingly. Try to use an axe or a knife first.” Then he looked at Claire. “I don’t want you to do anything. Just walk with us. You’ll have your Sig. Once we find a room where you can hang out while we check out the rest of building, I want you to try to rest as much as you can.”