does not make sense to me.” Detective Black said, “Curtis then got up and attacked you? Why?”
Uhm, how about he wanted to eat me? Would that suffice?
“How should I know?” I said, “Maybe the boy that attacked him had a contagious case of mad cow disease or something.”
“Don’t get cocky with me.” Detective Black warned.
“I’m not getting cocky.” I said defensively, “I’m just saying that it could be infectious – some kind of mental infection? I mean who goes around eating other people?”
Detective Black seemed intrigued in what I just said.
“People?” He asked, “You’re referring to the bodies we found this morning?”
Damn it! I said too much. There was no way I could explain killing three people in less than twelve hours. I had to think. Think!
“Maybe.” I said.
Maybe? What was wrong with me? That sounds like a confession. Why not hand him a confession on a silver platter?
“How do you know what happened to them?” Detective Black asked, “Their official cause of death has not been released.”
What now? How to I salvage this?
“I live on the block.” I said, “I saw when the police removed the bodies.”
Detective Black nodded and wrote something down.
“Interesting.” He said to himself.
“What is?” I asked concerned.
“I just find it interesting,” Detective Black said with a smile, “You were in the vicinity of two crime scenes. It’s one hell of a coincidence.”
This guy was fishing. He did not have anything on me. He wanted me to come out and say that I killed four people. Well he can go to hell.
“What are you trying to say, detective?” I asked warily, “And why are you questioning me without legal representation or adult supervision? You are breaking the law.”
“So is murder.” He murmured.
That was the last straw. I saved an entire school from the undead and what do I get? I get accused of murder. I stood up and gave him a scornful look.
“Am I under arrest?” I insisted, “Or am I free to go?”
Detective Black looked at me. He was trying to hide the fact that he was bluffing, but I could tell.
He nodded and said, “You may go. Just stay out of trouble.”
I turned and left the office. Stay out of trouble? It’s a bit difficult when trouble suddenly seemed to find me at every turn.
I shut the door to the principal’s office behind me and could see the detective staring at me through the windowpane. I could tell he had already made up his mind about me. He was certain I had something to do with all four deaths.
I turned and walked down the hallway. For some reasons everyone was glancing at me, trying to hide the fact that they were looking. I could hear whispers as well. Some of them whispered, did you see what he did? What happened to Curtis?
I decided to ignore everyone. I was the topic of the day, but these topics would soon melted away into vague memories. I just had to let things run their course.
“Hi Zac.” I heard a girl’s voice to my left.
I turned and was quite amazed to see that it was Michelle. She was one of the prettiest girls in the school. She had a smile that melted the most hardened hearts. I’ve had a crush on her for years. I never got the courage to talk to her – always afraid I would make a complete fool of myself.
Her hair flowed down her shoulders like curtains and was as black as a raven’s wing. She was the definition of perfection.
Why would she speak to me? Why was she smiling at me?
“Michelle?” I asked taken aback
She twirled her hair while she spoke. I loved it.
“I just wanted to tell you,” Michelle said, “What you did earlier – it was the most heroic thing I have ever seen.”
She thought I was heroic? What a confidence booster. I felt a little spark lit up inside me. I felt appreciated, but still could not get any words out to carry on with our conversation.
“The way you protected us.” Michelle said softly.
Say something! I told myself, Say something before she thinks you’re a freak again.
“You’re welcome.” I said.
You’re welcome? I must be an idiot. How could that be the only thing I could think of? I just had to get away. I felt foolish and she probably thought I was full of myself. Without saying another word, I rushed off into the boys’ changing room.
I shut the changing room door behind me and leaned up against it. I was a complete idiot. You’re welcome… who says that? I must have sounded extremely arrogant. She would probably never speak to me again – not that it really mattered. There was no way in hell a girl like her would ever be interested in me. Things just never worked out that way.
The sound of tap water running caught my attention and I peeked around the corner at the row of basins.
Alex stood at a basin and spotted me. I quickly ducked behind the wall again. This was the last thing I needed. I was in no mood to be bullied. Perhaps I could slip out the door again?
“Zac.” Alex said.
His voice sounded less harsh than always. He sounded somewhat troubled. Why do I always do this to myself? Why should I care about him? He is a bully.
I found myself emerging from behind the wall and walked over to him. It was only then that I noticed he stood in his underwear and tried to get the urine stain out of his pants. This was a sight for sore eyes.
He wore rather odd underwear for a bully – cartoon characters depicted scenes across his buttocks. He sniffed and threw the pants into the next basin. He seemed agitated. He turned to me and I noticed that his junk seemed proportion to his muscles. Either he was stuffing or he did not use steroids like I thought.
He did not look me in the eyes. He sort of stared right by me, seeming ashamed of himself.
“What happened to Curtis?” He asked jolty.
How do I explain this to him?
“Well,” I said and hesitated.
If you tell him, he will have something new to bully you with. The more I looked at Alex standing there in his underwear, the more vulnerable he appeared. Perhaps I was wrong. A traumatic experience sometimes changed a person.
“He was attacked by a zombie.” I said.
The words tasted funny in my mouth. It was not something that came up in every day conversation. I paused for a moment, waiting for him to burst out laughing, but he didn’t. Instead he simply shook his head as if he knew that was what happened.
“Figures.” Alex said.
Alex did not look like the macho guy he usually portrayed. He seemed lost and confused like a ten year old boy afraid of the monster underneath his bed. He looked at me as if wanting to say something, but then hesitated.
“I’m sorry for being a jerk to you.” He said.
The door opened and a scrawny, freckled face boy entered.
“Get out, you freckled freak!” Alex demanded.
The boy darted out the door again without a second thought. Alex seemed annoyed by the interruption, but a second later his face relaxed.
“I don’t mean to be a bully.” Alex said.
What should I respond to that? I did not know what to say, so I just nodded and stuck my hands in my pockets.
“It’s just a front I put up.” Alex said.
He could have fooled me. He was one of the meanest boys in school. How did anyone end up so mean? Did his mother not hug him enough? Did she hug him too much? All I knew was that he needed my help.
I picked up his pants and proceeded to dry them underneath the hand dryer. It took a while before the pants were dry and then I handed them to him. He smiled at me like an orphan getting some warm food. Maybe he was not that bad.
We stood there for a moment; staring at each other – Neither one of us knew what to say to the other. He flashed an awkward smile and then left. He was a weird character. I turned around and left the changing room. As soon as I stepped out i
nto the hallway, I could hear the group of popular boys teasing someone and laughing like they were the funniest group of comedians on earth. I hated guys like that. Why did they have to pick on the little guys?
To my surprise, I saw the group of boys were teasing Alex; calling him Alex Piss-pants. It took no time at all for him to get a nickname that would stick – and this from the very group he associated himself with.
“You guys, it’s not funny.” Alex pleaded.
“What?” One boy laughed, “Is the little baby going to wet his pants again?”
They bickered back and forth while Alex tried to maintain the little dignity he had. Was this what I looked like? It was a horrible thing to witness. I had to do something.
I walked up to the group.
“Is there a problem?” I asked casually.
One of the boys looked at me with sheer terror in his eyes. It almost looked like I was threatening him with a chainsaw.
“No.” he apologized, “We were just fooling around.”
The group of boys cautiously backed away and then hurried down the hallway. I was impressed with myself. Clearly killing two kids in school hallway made me a force to reckon with.
The hallway was empty except for me and Alex. The school sent everyone home after the incident and only a few remained in the hallways.
“Thanks.” Alex said foolishly, “I could have handled it.”
He glanced at me and then walked away.
You’re welcome. There I go again. Why do I want to say that to everyone?
6
The empty school building felt heavy. I’ve never been in the school building on my own. It was kind of creepy. I left the building and stepped outside. There were still a few police officers outside and some onlookers, but most of the people made the most of an off day.
“Hi.” Richard said from behind the wall.
I hated it when someone sneaked up on me.
“Hi.” I greeted back.
Richard stepped out from behind the wall and seemed a bit paranoid, checking over his shoulder for something or someone.
“Are you alright?” I asked concerned.
“Yes.” He said jittery, “I’m fine. I’m just a bit rattled about what happened earlier, you know?”
“Oh.” I said.
He was obviously referring to the two undead kids I killed in the school hallway – that was awesome. It felt just like a video game.
“What are you going to do the rest of the day?” Richard asked.
“Go home I guess.” I said.
I stared up at the sky looking for answers – answers I might never find. Why did this happen? Why now? But the most important question was; did Michelle like me?
“I’ll probably watch TV or play some video games.” I said.
“Me too.” Richard said, “Mind if we walk home together?”
“Not at all.” I said with a smile.
Why would I mind? We were heading in the same direction.
We walked down the main steps of the building and then down the street. It was a really nice, summer’s day. I just loved summer. The weather made me feel alive.
“So…” Richard said and hesitated, “Those two kids you – uh, how do I put this? The two kids you killed; what was wrong with them. It looked to me like the one tried to eat the other one.”
“They were zombies.” I said, “The undead.”
How could he live in a house with James and not know about the undead?
“What?” Richard gasped, “You mean like zombies in our video games?”
“Yes.” I said.
“Shut up!” Richard exclaimed, “That is so cool!”
I guess it is kind of cool – if you don’t mind the danger of being eaten.
“Yeah,” I said, “I guess it is.”
“Weren’t you scared?” Richard asked.
“No.” I said, “It was as if I knew exactly what to do, you know?”
“Like you were chosen?” Richard asked.
What a strange way to put it – almost the same way his dad put it.
I stopped walking and so did Richard. I turned to him. There was something he was not telling me. Why did he act so surprise to hear that I killed two zombies, but then mentioned that I might have been chosen? It made no sense. His father had to have told him something.
“That’s what your