Beacon

5

    I looked to the right of the children and saw Miss B cornered against the wall holding Oliver. I finally could breathe. I need to figure out what to do and fast. A knife can't hold off all three, and if the overweight mail man was fast these children are definitely going to be able to catch up with me.

"Lizzy?"

    His voice was weak and afraid, but when he spoke the children turned towards him. The mail man seemed to react to sight, but these only react to sound. Can they see at all? With the  black eyes? I picked up a block and threw it in the opposite direction of my brother. They all turned towards it and one even made a slight movement towards the sound. I motioned for Miss B and Oli to watch me. I picked up one of the student's small chairs and threw it in the same place that I threw the block. The kids ran towards it and I beckoned for Oliver and Miss B to come. I put a finger to my lips and she crept quietly towards the door. The children were preoccupied trying to find what made the noise and didn't even notice they were moving, until Miss B tripped on a toy firetruck.

    Her eyes went wide as the toy rolled loudly across the floor making siren noises and flashing tiny red lights. The children quickly turned towards us, running immediately with frustration finding nothing from the previous sound. I grabbed Oliver from Miss B and ran as fast as my legs would take me out of the building.

    We were about halfway through when I heard a snap. I jerked my head around to see Miss B down on her knees, the children not far behind her. Her heel snapped and she was struggling to get off her shoes when the fastest child came from behind and pounced on her. I saw her eyes grow wide and her face grow pale when she felt the impact. I covered Oliver's eyes and ran the rest of the day out of the building. I didn't turn back.

    There were no more of those monsters in sight but I still got Oliver into the car as fast as I could and backed got into the driver's seat. I turned the ignition and turned to look at Oli in the back seat.

"Put your seatbelt on."

I could tell he was scared because he just did the task in silence. He's usually such a chatterbox. The last time he was this quiet was when I took him to go get his flu shot. He didn't even cry or whine. Even when he's scared he's always so brave. I leaned my head on the steering wheel. Where do I go?

"Lizzy we need a gun."

"Oliver! How do you even know that?"

"The shows you watch. The ones with the zombies. That's what those kids were right? In the shows they always fight off the zombies with guns."

"You aren't supposed to be watching those. But, you're right. I just don't know where to find a-"

I turned the car around and drove as fast as I could back to the bakery. Kathy must have guns, she talks about them all the time. I just hope to God this wasn't one of her stories. As I speed back to the bakery I didn't see anymore of the creatures, no Oliver was right, they're zombies. I just feel so silly thinking that, like a child. How can this be happening? Was it the spread of some virus like in the movies? Maybe a drug? I don't know all I know is I need to get Oliver somewhere safe and fast, and I need those guns.

As I approached the bakery I couldn't believe what I saw. Hundreds and hundreds of the zombies were crowded around the bakery, not necessarily wanting to get in but wandering aimlessly in a heard, almost like cattle. I could recognize some of them, this town wasn't very large. Over on the edge of the back was my fifth grade teacher, Mr. Talbott, and over there that was my old middle school crush Juan. It seems like everyone in the town was affected except us, how was it spreading? They looked up as we got closer and I noticed they all had the black eyes like the children did. Why didn't the one I saw earlier have it if this giant herd of them all does?

"Oliver I think I have a plan, when they have the black eyes it means the-"

"They can't see they only react to sound."

"Yes. So we need to get into the bakery for supplies. I'll drive the car honking the horn over to divert them away. I'm gonna count the three when I get to three jump out of the car and we'll run to the bakery. Got it?"

"Got it."

I reached my arm behind to the backseat holding out my pinkey."Ready?"

He linked his pinky with mine. "Ready."