SAVING JAMIE

You turn to Johnny and Jillian. "We're going to draw the zombies out and lock them in the storage room," you say in a hushed voice.

"How are we gonna do that?" Jillian says. She shouts in a whisper, hands pointing to the ceiling.

"I have a plan. We have to get past the cafeteria, and this is the best way to do it. I know it sounds difficult, but zombies are simple-minded creatures who we can trick. If there was any other way, believe me, I'd be the first to do it."

You find a small closet outside of the cafeteria, a perfect place to hide. When open, the doorway faces the door to the large storage room, providing a clear view of the zombie parade you have planned.

"We're going to hide in here. If we keep perfectly quiet, the zombies will run past us and jam into that room. Once they're all inside, I'll lock the door."

"It's risky, but let's give it a try," Jillian says. She glances back and forth between you and the cafeteria and paces in a short circle.

"I think it's a great plan," Johnny says. "It's like when Major Falcon tricked his enemies, the Nemesisters, into that building with the time bomb."

"Okay, let's do this," you say and head into the closet. Jillian slides in next to you. She stands so close that her warm breath on the back of your neck is distracting. Johnny pushes past you, stepping into an empty water pail and knocking over a broom. "Sorry," he whispers. Woody crowds in so close that you smell his rather pungent, earthy odor.

You lead Max into the closet. He stares up at you with wide, sad eyes.

You bring up the building's maintenance menu and enter the fire alarm system. It takes little time to locate the storage room, and with a deep breath, you tap the key to initiate the fire alarm. The ringing of the fire alarm explodes through the hallway a second later. Fevered growls erupt from the cafeteria. Short, rapid chimes of the alarm bell repeat under the sweeping clang of the buzzers.

You turn off your laptop and hold the door handle. As the zombies pound through the hallway, their mad howls eclipsing the fire alarm, you expect the closet door to burst in at any moment. You grip the door handle tighter until your fingers throb. The closet door shakes. Sweat drips into your eyes. You press your ear to the door. Their cries get closer and closer, and their numbers seem never-ending. But suddenly their noise drops below the alarm, and you crack the door to peek outside. No zombies remain in the hallway.

You rush from the closet and grab the storage room door, slamming it shut. You catch sight of the writhing mass of student zombies as the door closes, and you twist the lock. These metal doors will only hold them for a short time.

"Let's go," you call in a hushed voice.

Jillian runs from the door straight for the open cafeteria. Johnny skips out and waits for you.

You grab Max's leash and lead him out of the closet. Woody leaves the closet and follows as you cross the short hall.

The cafeteria is in shambles but appears zombie-free. Still, you waste no time in crossing the long room. As you pass the kitchen, you make a quick stop to search for food and gear. Neon lights bathe the room in orange, and cold air blows out of an enormous walk-in freezer, apparently left open. You step inside and find a cache of food still chilled.Leaving the kitchen, you run the rest of the length of the cafeteria and find the stairwell to the second floor.Stepping out of the stairwell, you take a quick look through the hallway, and other than a few bodies lying on the floor, the area seems clear.

"Hey, I need to take a pit stop," Woody says, pointing to the boy's room sign. "My stomach's killing me. Might be the smell or just the sight of all this. Give me a few. I'll be as fast as I can."

As you wait for Woody, you consider how to spend your time…

Review the school's camera surveillance system through the hacked servers.You open your laptop and bring up the school's surveillance system.

***** WEST WING, FLOORS TWO AND THREE *****

First, you turn on the cameras in the industrial arts workroom. You always enjoyed shop class and worked on quite a few projects in your high school days. On bench tops sit power tools, unfinished birdhouses, and scraps of wood. You can tell the room was left in a hurry; its chairs are overturned, workspaces left messy, and sawdust spread on the floor.

You flip over to the cameras in the nurse's office. The room is splattered with blood and human waste. Glass cases are smashed, and the main desk is overturned. A first aid kit lies on the floor, and various medical supplies are scattered around the room.

A shadow falls on the floor from a room out of view, and you adjust the camera's angle for a better shot. Dark blood coats the door's upper window, and a pair of mangled hands claw at the surface.

You turn your attention to the gymnasium on the second floor. A swarm of the living dead fills your computer screen. From wall to wall, the floor is packed with the writhing undead, all languid and content in their inactivity. The bleachers hold more of the infected students, some under a banner announcing Green and Gold Day. As you pan the camera, it shows little other than zombies. In breaks in the crowd, you spot the sterile, white-tiled floors of the gym painted with huge red-and-blue circles. Wrestling mats lie stacked at the edge of the court near the double doors, and a net full of soccer balls sits outside a supply closet. The cameras pan further, and thick red stains mark the otherwise clean floor—a blood trail leading to the gym teacher's office.

You change to a camera outside the gym and see thick metal chains wrapped around the door handles with a padlock. Over the chains is a sign, though you can't make out what it says. Across from the gym is a storage closet with a cracked-open door.

Finally, you switch to the cameras on the fourth floor—the science floor—which has numerous classrooms covering biology, chemistry, and physics. Jaime must be here somewhere. You keep flipping cameras until you spot an area on the fourth floor in the southwestern corner packed with zombies, all coalescing under a hatch in the ceiling. After scanning more areas, you see no other points of interest and disconnect from the school's network.

Knowing the information you just learned from the surveillance system, you go to the Work room. You run through the hallway and stop outside the workroom, listening for any movement or moaning or other telltale signs of the infected. Hearing nothing, you peek inside and see no zombies, but you do a quick sweep and check under workbenches and behind machinery. Confident the room is clear, you search for supplies.

The workroom has an abundance of wood, metal, and mechanical parts useful for crafting. A multitude of tools hang upon the wall, arranged by size and type. There are several sinks, and you turn on a faucet. water streams out, and you spot empty bottles which can be filled and taken. You throw open cabinets and leave no space unchecked. Your effort pays off when you find a plastic bin full of electrical parts and a roll of duct tape.As you finish collecting gear, you step into the hallway and hear the pounding of footsteps from behind.

"Hey, we need help!" a voice says. Turning, you spot two teenagers, a boy and a girl, running towards you. She wears a pink hoodie and leather backpack with camo pants and sandals. He wears a sports jersey and shorts and carries a lacrosse stick.

As the pair rush up, Max leaps forward, teeth bared with a low growl.

The teens stand a few feet away, and the young man points the stick at your dog defensively.

You grab Max's collar and hold him back. "Max, heel!" you command, and the dog sits and turns passive.

With Max controlled, the young woman steps forward. "Thank God I found you."

You reply

"What's wrong? Are you hurt?"

"No, we're fine," the young man says.

"I meant I'm glad we found other living people," she says.

"I'm Aaron," you say. "I thought everyone in here was dead."

"Who are you?" Jillian says, her tone blunt and annoyed.

"I'm Brody," the young man says, "and this is my twin sister, Madison."

"Madison Milford," she says. "You know, the Milfords who built everything in this town."

"I'm Johnny," your nephew says with a quick wave. He tucks his body next to you.

"And who's this guy?" Brody says, kneeling to scratch Max's head. The dog wags his tail and pants to show his happiness.

"And I'm Woody." Jaime's cousin strides through the hallway, buckling his belt.

"Oh my," Madison says, her lips pursed in displeasure. She covers her nose and whispers to Brody. "He smells."

Brody frowns at his sister and extends a hand to shake. "Good to meet you, sir."

"I'm Jillian, if anyone cares."

"Maybe we should keep moving," you say.

Your group moves to the stairwell and ascends to the third floor. Brody leads the way, his lacrosse stick raised like a samurai sword ready to strike.

"The day after the outbreak, we heard the school was abandoned," Brody says. "We left our house and came here, figuring there were tons of supplies. Turns out it wasn't really abandoned. The principal, Mr. Buckley, told everyone to go home, but some kids stayed behind. Their parents weren't home, or they were too scared to leave. So the school set up a shelter in the gym. Well—and this is the screwed-up part—some kids were infected, so instead of getting them away from the other students or getting them help, Mr. Buckley locked them all inside. He killed them all. They all turned."

You're all silent for a moment as Brody's words sink in. Hundreds of students sacrificed, all of them given shelter and then forced to become zombies due to panic or ignorance.

You near the doors to the stairwell, and Brody peeks through the small glass window. "Looks clear." He swings the door open and holds it to let everyone pass. You stare into a hallway flush in the pale glow of floodlights. One floor to go, and you'll reach Jaime.

"Are you in the military?" Madison asks, eyeing your uniform.

"Of course he is," Brody says.

"He could have taken the clothes off someone or found them, dumbass," Madison snaps.

"Yes, I'm in the Army."

"Thank you for your service," Brody says.

"Not anymore," Madison says.

"What?" you ask.

Madison shrugs. "Is the Army even a thing anymore?"

Your group turns a corner, and you hear a short pop like a firecracker. Madison cries out, and you spot a flash of red. Something hits your face, and you wipe your forehead. Blood

You stand frozen in the hallway of the third floor with blood on your hands and Madison crouched against a wall holding her wounded arm. At the other end of the narrow corridor, a submachine gun is pointed at you as a red-haired woman maneuvers around the broken classroom furniture scattered in her path. It's Rosie.

"Run!" Brody shouts, then he scoops up Madison in his arms, kicks in a classroom door, and runs inside. Jillian grabs Johnny around the shoulders and guides him into the room as well. You raise your AR-15 just as a bullet hits the wall next to you. Plaster explodes in a cloud of dust. Though you want to fight back, Rosie has the advantage, so you duck into the classroom with the rest of the group. Max growls and barks, but you call his name, and he runs to your side.

You slam the door shut and back away as a flurry of gunshots sound off in the hallway. Woody swings his rifle around and aims at the door. Brody lays Madison on the teacher's desk, and she wails and holds her arm. The room has four rows of aligned chairs with built-in desks and several cabinets of supplies against the walls. On the far end, a door reads "Mrs. Mulligan." You grab one end of a cabinet and call for Brody to take the other end. The two of you slide it in front of the door.

The gunfire stops, but you hear hurried footsteps from the hallway. "Open up!" Rosie yells, and the door rattles and pushes the cabinet back an inch.

"Why are you doing this, you psycho?" Madison yells.

Laughter comes through the door. "I know you're here for Jaime. We heard him call one of you, named Aaron. If you come out, everyone else will live."

"I don't know why you're after Jaime, but we're not your enemy here."

"You have three minutes to open this door. If I have to bust my way in, you're all dead," Rosie yells.

"What are we gonna do?" Brody says, hands on his hips as he catches his breath. His face is gaunt, and his skin looks pale.

You run over to Madison and check her arm. A small cut on her right tricep is the only wound. "The bullet grazed your upper arm. You'll be fine," you say.

"It hurts," she says and bites her bottom lip.

"Once this crisis is over, I'll take care of it."

You quickly consider all the possibilities for getting out of this mess. To save Woody, Jillian, Johnny, and the twins, you could run through the teacher's office, make your way into the hallway, and draw Rosie away from the classroom. Maybe you could lose her in the school or find equal ground to fight back. This puts you at a considerable risk. You could also sneak out and attack her while she's focused upon the door, though she might still break into the classroom and kill everyone. You might be able to convince Brody to distract Rosie long enough for you to escape and find Jaime. He could help you deal with the bandit.If Rosie gets into the classroom, she'll kill everyone, but if you sneak around and surprise her, maybe you can end this conflict. "I'm going to sneak around the side and take her out."

Your nephew walks up to you and gives you a quick hug. "Good luck, Ares. I'll make sure everyone's safe here."

"Don't worry. I know what I'm doing," you say and touch the side of his face affectionately.

Jillian strides over and kisses your cheek. "Be careful out there. I know you'll be fine."

"I'll do my best."

You open the door to the teacher's office, careful not to make a sound, and rush through the small room to another door. This one leads to the back hallway, and you run until it meets back with the main corridor where Rosie is standing, submachine gun raised at the classroom door. She fires a burst of bullets at the door, the loud popping sound echoing across the walls of the third floor. Past her, through the stairwell from the second floor, rushes a group of student zombies.

You start your way down the hallway, and then it hits you—the zombies are drawn to the noise. She must realize it too, because as the zombies draw closer, Rosie turns and runs in your direction—the only possible route.

"Hey!" she yells, spinning the gun towards you. Bullets hit a blackboard a foot away from where you stand, and you run forward. A sign ahead reads "Samuel Milford Auditorium," and you hope you can find a way to reach the fourth floor,Bullets tear through the wood-panelled wall over your head as you run the length of the auditorium away from the crazed bandit woman and the horde of zombies chasing her. She seems less concerned with the living dead on her tail, even as the noise from her weapon draws in more and more. You climb the steps to the dark stage and slide behind a thick curtain. Bullets cut through the material, making holes that allow light to stream through, allowing you to make out shapes on the stage. In the middle is a series of ladders leading to a metal scaffolding. Past it stands a much narrower ladder that leads up to a control booth perched among the rafters.

From the auditorium comes the sound of rapid gunfire and the thick snarls of the zombie horde, all moving closer to the stage. You climb the far ladder and kick it away once you reach the control booth. A series of ropes lead from a panel to the scaffolding and a trap door below it, and another ladder extends into the rafters at the ceiling, which you presume leads to the fourth floor. Raised high above the stage, you watch as Rosie runs behind the curtain, her face now flush with fear, then she fires back into the gang of undead still following her. From the other side of the stage, a pack of new zombies rush out, now trapping her from all sides.

She scampers onto the scaffolding and climbs to the highest point, and the zombies run under her, leaping and swinging though unable to reach. She stands on a shaky pole and clings to a rope for balance. She won't last for long, and even as you think it, she slips and struggles to stay on the scaffolding.

You glance down at the control panel. One of the levers connects to ropes for the trap door beneath the stage. If you flip the switch, the zombies would likely fall through the trap door, allowing Rosie to escape. On the other hand, you could leave right now and ascend the ladder to the fourth floor. This woman is no concern to you now, and Jaime still needs your help. Yet another thought crosses your mind: the other lever on the control panel leads to the scaffolding. Pulling it might release the metal holding her up, and she'd fall to her death. Revenge would be sweet,It's not in your nature to leave Rosie to her demise, and if you show her compassion, maybe she'll want to work with you.

"Hey, you down there!" you call from your perch. "Calm down. I can help."

Rosie looks up, and the simple gesture almost makes her lose her balance. "Please, help me!"

"I can help you, but first I need you to promise you'll leave me and my friends alone," you say.

Rosie nods frantically, staring into the rafters. "I'm sorry for shooting at you. It was wrong and stupid. I haven't been thinking straight. It's the apocalypse making me crazy. I promise if you get me out of this, I'm out of this school and gone for good."

It's difficult to know whether or not to trust Rosie, but time is running out. "Toss your gun away, and I'll help."

With no hesitation, she heaves the submachine gun over the heads of the zombies. It rattles across the floor and slips under the heavy curtain.

The zombies crowd the platform directly beneath the scaffolding, swarming and pushing the loosely held structure to the point of collapse. You grip the lever, not knowing if it will even work, and shove it forward. Loud clicking and sliding noises spring from around the stage, and the trap door flips inward. The mob of zombies tumble through the hole, now turned into a pit of writhing arms and legs. You pull the lever back, and the doors close, muting the zombies beneath the stage.

Rosie drops from the scaffolding, bends at the waist, and sucks in deep breaths of air. You watch her, hesitant to move and give away your hiding place. Moments pass, then she stands and stares around the auditorium, looking up and down and around the back of the auditorium. She takes a few steps forward and reaches under the bottom of the curtain. She wasn't looking for you. She yanks her submachine gun from the other side of the curtain and raises it in one hand.

"Thank you. Whoever you are, thank you," she says. "To hell with Dillan and the others. Jaime's on the roof, on the southwestern corner. Dillan's up there, trying to figure out a way to get him. That friend of yours is one tough son of a bitch."

And with that, Rosie runs from the stage.

You climb the ladder to the fourth floor and find a trap door in the ceiling leading into darkness.The trap door leads you into a pitch-black room, with the sounds of dripping water nearby and the smell of mildew filling your nose. As soon as your hands are free, you cover your face and search for a light switch. Instead, you find a door knob and turn it. Light shines in through the sliver made by the open door. You stand in a closet, and from above, water drips through a crack in the ceiling. The smell from the mold nauseates you, though it's mixed with a harsher, chemical smell, and hearing nothing besides the near-silent water drops, you slip through the door into a classroom.

Your eyes adjust to the pale light, and you scan the room. Lab benches instead of desks and chairs fill the room. On several bench tops lie the remains of animal dissections. The smell must be the formaldehyde used to preserve the specimens. Numerous cabinets must hold supplies, and several doors lead into other rooms. You try the closest side door and find it locked, and as you cross the room to try the other, a shadow crosses the hallway door. A figure comes into view—Dillan, from the parking lot with Lyle and Jillian. He still holds an FN P90, which he swings from side to side as he searches.

You crouch behind a lab bench and listen as he steps through the hallway. He turns and peeks into your classroom, revealing a long-healed scar on his face, and smoke trails into the air from a long cigarette. As he walks away, he whistles a casual tune. You rush to the front door, which you now see is unlocked and ajar. Beside you sits an open cabinet of chemicals, Bunsen burners, and other lab gear you'd be excited to see in a less intense situation.

You stare through the window and spot Dillan turning a corner at the end of a hall. You rush to follow him, listening for his whistle to know his distance. Reaching the end of the hall, you turn and gasp at the sight of a zombie swarm ahead. They stand behind a wall of glass in an observatory, all staring into an open hole in the ceiling. Jaime must be up there, which means you're facing two obstacles: a gun-toting bandit and half a dozen living dead.

Dillan stands just ahead, not more than twenty feet away, and stares through the glass at the group of zombies. They all seem oblivious to his presence and gaze at the hole in the ceiling, low idle moans rumbling in their throats. He takes the cigarette from his mouth and grinds the tip on the glass. With his other hand, he takes a wrapped object from his pocket, unfolds the paper to reveal a sandwich, and takes a bite.

Why isn't he killing the zombies? With that weapon, he could likely eliminate them in order to get to Jaime.

You need to end this. Attacking Dillan headlong will take care of the first obstacle. But he looks confident and fearless, and with that submachine gun by his side, this is a fight you might not win so easily. Even taking a wound could lead to death, since you can't exactly perform surgery on your own gunshot wound. With all of the science labs on this floor, you could rig some traps using all the chemicals, which could disable Dillan.

And then it hits you—what if you used the zombies against Dillan? You could take out two birds with one stone, leaving the path clear to rescue Jaime. Of course, this might be the riskiest solution, as the riled-up zombies could easily come after you.

You decide to You take out the small device and move down the hallway. It's powerful, so you need to time your throw in order to get it close enough to Dillan, then run far away to avoid being caught in the explosion.

Dillan remains in the spot where you left him, still eating his sandwich and watching the zombies through the glass. You move to the end of the hallway and pull the pin. With one smooth motion, you roll the device over the tile floor towards the armed bandit. It falls short, but you don't wait around to watch. You hear the explosion as you round the corner, turn to look back, and spot the observatory window cracked open. Somehow, Dillan has survived, but the damage is done. Deep wounds cover his body, and his face is darkened and bloody from the blast.

The zombies roar in unison, then they rush from the side room, some crashing through the door, some falling through the remaining glass window.

Dillan drops back and kills the first zombie with a headshot. He tumbles over a broken desk and fires into the next of his attackers, spinning the dead student away. The zombies keep coming, and he shoots them one by one, though the speed of their approach is faster than his reaction. The last one drops to a shot in the hip, and she scurries along the floor, knocking Dillan over.

You run along the hallway, half staring at Dillan, half staring at the observatory in case a straggler remains in the room. All of the zombies are dead, save the one attacking Dillan, who's struggling to bring his weapon around for a shot. The zombie lunges, and blood squirts over her shoulder as Dillan screams in pain. You raise your AR-15, ready to kill the zombie, Dillan, or both, but a flash of steel stops you. Dillan's free hand swings a knife and impales the zombie's head. He shoves her corpse to the side, and you lower your weapon at the sight of him. His stomach is torn open, and several fingers are missing on his gun hand. He has a large slice on the side of his head, and blood gurgles from a wound on his throat. You kick the submachine gun away and leave him there for now. Jaime is still on the roof, and you hope you're not too late,You step past the broken glass of the observatory window and rush to the hole in the ceiling. A hatch door lies open, and dried blood dots the wooden edge.

"Jaime!" you yell with no hesitation, despite the possibility of more zombies in the area.

"Aaron!" Jaime calls from above, then his head pokes through the hole. "Damn, dude, took you long enough."

A ladder slides through the ceiling, and Jaime climbs down from the roof. The cool night wind blows in with him, and you enjoy the rush of freezing air. As Jaime hops off the ladder, he turns and gives you the strongest embrace of your life. He laughs and swings you in his arms, and in that moment, you feel a powerful sense of relief.

"What happened? Where's Dillan?" he asks, pulling away from you and glancing around the room.

You now notice that his shirt is torn and blood coats his forearm, and a blood-soaked rag is wrapped around his hand. "I'll tell you the details later, but Dillan's in the hallway. He's no longer a threat. What happened to your hand?"

Jaime ignores the question and marches out of the observatory, and you follow. You can't help but eye the blood dripping from his hand and the slight twitch to his walk. Given the last few days, you can't help but look for signs of infection.

As you reach the end of the hallway, you spot Dillan struggling to rise, but he's still lying in a pool of his own blood, and all color has drained from his face.

Jaime stops a foot from the dying bandit, tears in his eyes, mouth twitching. "I told you this is how it would end," he says, staring down at Dillan. "We were safe. We had everything. The things you did, the people you hurt…what you wanted us to do. And now look at you, food for the dead."

"Jaime, we need to go," you say. You need to find your nephew, Jillian, Woody, and the twins, escape this zombie-infested school, and get back home.

"Go ahead downstairs. I'll catch up in a minute. Somethin' I have to do first," Jaime says as he bends over and lifts Dillan's submachine gun.The two of you need to leave, and this is dragging things out. You raise your AR-15 and fire once into Dillan's head. Blood spurts from the wound, and the bandit stares back at you with cold, dead eyes.

Jaime stares down at the dead man and lifts a hand to pat your shoulder. "Let's go."

You follow Jaime to the stairwell and walk down to the third floor.

As you walk through the double doors, a low growl echoes through a row of classrooms, so the two of you quicken your pace. Jaime sucks in air through his teeth and holds his hand up.

"What's wrong?" you ask.

"Cut my hand on the shaft up to the roof," Jaime says. "What? Did you think I was infected?"

You smile. "The thought never crossed my mind.

PLEASE YOU GUYS SHOULD DROP A THOUGHT ON THE NEXT BOOK AM ABOUT TO WRITE ABOUT VAMPIRES SHOULD IT BE A MALE OR FEMALE LEAD