Of Eyes and Fingernails

One Long Night

Soldiers filed in and out of the room, bringing in the cots one by one. Some students helped, but Andrea just sat in the corner feeling more drained than ever. After all the cots had been set up, Lin Stevens came back in the room. "I'm sorry that there aren't more blankets," she said sharply, "but with all the soldiers on patrol tonight and all the survivors we're finding, we're running out." Every single bit of chatter in the room went dead at the word 'survivors.' Andrea stood up, as everyone else began to understand that she was the leader even though she was only fourteen.

"Survivors." She repeated. "What in the Hell are you talking about?" She threw her hands up and gave the woman a horrified look, but to no avail. Lin Stevens stood with her feet shoulder width apart and her hands folded in front of her belt; at ease. "I've said too much, and for that I apologize. However, I ask that you remain calm and know that everything is under control for now." A large teacher who had been in the Marines stomped up to her from the back of the room. He grabbed the soldier by the collar and pushed her up against the wall, lifting her several inches off the ground. Her don't-mess-with-me expression remained unchanged. She felt the warm air of his breath hit her neck as he leaned in closely and asked in a rather loud whisper, "What the Hell are you tryin' to pull?" Stevens did not answer. She simply looked him in the eyes and yelled, "Give me back up NOW!"

With that, two soldiers came running into the room with hazmat suits and M16s. "Where's the zombie bastard? I'll kill him!" One said. They each pointed their guns at the short, beefy teacher and yelled, "Release her or I'll shoot!" Slowly, he loosened his grasp and let her fall to the ground. She walked right up to him and grabbed him by the collar. "Do you understand that I could have you arrested for assault of military personnel? I am property of the U.S government, and when you screw with us, we screw with you." She pushed him back and walked over to the doorway. "Goodnight." She said rudely as she switched off the light. After she closed the door, the two soldiers with M16s posted themselves on either side of the door and sat down in the hall. They pulled out a deck of cards and began playing Rummy, assuming they wouldn't see any action that night. Things inside the room, however, were not so calm. The light had been turned back on, and everyone who was still sane enough to have a conversation was standing.

"Did you hear that?" One woman asked. "They said zombies. Freakin' zombies! How do we compete with that?" Andrea scoffed. "Are you serious? You didn't see this coming? I knew from the second I looked outside that there were some type of infected creature, namely zombies, running around town. Just forget it. Look at all the zombie movies and look how those turn out. Look around the room. Pick your favorite character, and guess what? He's as good as dead." Everyone's jaws dropped. "You knew this was happening?" Yelled her friend Chris. "What is wrong with you? Why would you ever?" He slammed his fist against the wall. "F you!" He yelled.

BOOM BOOM BOOM! The door rattled and a man's voice soaked through the cracks under it. "Keep it down in there, don't you know the neighbors are trying to sleep?" The two soldiers laughed at their own joke. Andrea sighed and spoke more quietly. "The key is to not be broken up by fighting like this. That always leads to death." Everyone nodded. She glanced up at the clock on the wall and saw that it was eleven. "Now," she said, "everyone go to sleep. I have a feeling we're going to need a good night's rest." With that, everyone laid back down and she switched off the light.

At the crack of...midnight, Andrea sat up in bed. Everyone else was dead asleep and some snores could be heard. Logan had snuggled in beside her on the small cot. She sighed. "Big baby," she murmured to herself. "I heard that!" Logan quietly laughed as he sat up. Andrea ruffled his hair. "Well good morning, Sunshine!" She chuckled quietly. Logan's face, which could be scarcely seen by the illumination of the glow-in-the-dark-clock, turned serious. "Why are you up?" He asked. "Why are you in my bed?" They both paused and Andrea sighed. "Look, I know something's not right," she explained. "I just get these feelings, so I wake up in the middle of the night and listen." Logan nodded and fell silent as they both tried to locate a noise.

Pop, pop! Distant gunfire could be heard. "Aha! I knew it!" Andrea exclaimed. Quickly, she got off of the cot and began rummagaing through her backpack. She pulled out a flashlight and held it in front of Logan's face, flicking it on and off twice. "Always be prepared," she whispered with a smile. As she got up and walked to the door, Logan stood. "Where are you going?" He asked worriedly. "Don't worry, I'll be back soon," she replied, "I just have to....go to the bathroom. AKA see what's going on." Logan crossed his arms and replied with attitude, "There's a bathroom in here. They won't let you out." Andrea took her hand off of the door handle and put it on his shoulder. "Dear Logan," she smiled. "They don't know that." She began to jiggled the door handle until one of the soldiers opened the door. "What's going on in there?" He asked with seriousness. His voice had lost its joking, ready-to-kill quality. It was more concerned and his hands shook slightly around his gun. "Calm down," Andrea said, "I just have to pee." She waved her flashlight and the soldier shook his head.

"No can do Little Missy. I can't even let a pretty little girl like you through this door. Have to use the bathroom in there." He indicated the direction of the bathroom by nodding his head. Andrea batted her eyes. "I'm scared!," she said, playing up her cuteness. "What if something is in there?" She whispered with pretend embarrassment. The soldier laughed, seemingly forgetting his worries. "Want me to check it out before you go in there?" Feeling quite satisfied at her manipulative work, Andrea nodded and grabbed his arm. "Oh please do!" After receiving discreet knuckles from his partner, the man walked toward the bathroom, Andrea trailing behind. As she passed Logan, she hurriedly whispered, "Throw something down the hall. Make sure the other guard goes. Go look outside and tell me what you see!" With that, she slowly headed to the bathroom.

Logan gulped. He reached into his backpack, pulling out a large pencil. He peeked outside the door, which had been left ajar from the other guard coming in. With one swift motion, he threw the pencil to the other end of the hallway. As the sound of clanging came from its landing, the guards from each room pointed their guns and slowly headed down the hall. However, they were smart enough to only use one of the two guards posted outside each room. Logan pushed himself against the wall, hitting his palm on the floor. "CRAP!" He whispered aloud.

Andrea rounded the corner, clinging to the soldier with fake fear. "Thank you for protecting me," she cooed. "You're so brave!" The soldier smiled and nodded through his hazmat gear. "Thanks," he laughed. "Just my job. I'll see you again in the morning." With that, he closed the door. Andrea rushed over to Logan. "Well?!" She asked expectantly. "WELL," Logan replied, "there's guards everywhere." Andrea glanced up at the clock. Twelve thirteen. She put her head in her hands when gunfire erupted from the hall. The fire alarm went off. "Barrier breached!" She heard the soldier who had escorted her yell. "Open fire!" Andrea ran and flicked on the lights. No one screamed. No one cried. They all stayed completely silent and stared at the door, wondering what was to come.

"Man down, man down!" One man screamed. "You've got to kill him," a woman yelled frantically. "No," the other argued, "it's my best friend, we've been together since-" A single shot from a pistol interrupted him. "There." The female voice replied. "I got him." As everyone stared at the door, they had not even begun to understand that this was just the beginning of one very, very long night.