Dead Parade

A New Song

Chapter 25

11:30 A.M.

The entire crew sat on the curb, packing supplies together as they waited for Jonah and Riley to repair the van. The chatting was at a minimum, because obviously now would be a bad time to attract zambies.

Once things were settled the crew hopped back into the van, this time with Riley and Kimmie switching spots. They were going to head back to the school.

"Okay, so let's say we head back to the school, then what?" Hau asks. 

"We go to the spot where Leif was taken and where I saw the scientists and then once we both regain our memories we come up with a plan to figure out what exactly the government is up to," Ellie replies. Surprisingly, she actually knows what to do for once.

"Wa-wait, so are you telling me that a bunch of 15 year olds are going to try and stop an entire apocalypse? I'm sorry but I don't think I can keep this up if that's what we plan on doing," Jayna admits. A mix of opinions begin to rattle the entire van.

Kimmie sighs. "Yeah, maybe it's not the greatest idea to get near any of that science stuff." Alfie's warning sticks clear in her head.

"What? But we've made it this far already, what's the use in turning back?" Scarlet asks. 

Queen shrugs. " I don't know," she says with a groan. "I don't like risking my life so much."

"Yeah, me neither," says Haru.

"But we made it out alive," Leif adds on.

"Yeah, barely," Riley says.

"Wait, so are we just gonna spend the rest of this apocalypse waiting for somebody else to fix it?" Connor asks.

"No, yeah, you and your boyfriend can go and fix it," Jayna retorts. Angelo scoffs. "Jayna, seriously, cut it out."

"What is your problem?" Connor asks her. 

"I think this is all stupid, that's my problem," Jayna replies. "This is stupid."

The rest of the car ride remains quiet. It seemed that everyone was out of words. What exactly were they doing?

As they neared the road to the school, things seemed to be odd. The streets didn't seem as torn up as before, and there were a lack of zambies at every corner.

'What the actual f*ck is going on," Riley says as she drives up to the school and stops. 

"Why? What's happening," Hau asks.

Ellie shrugs. "The area is blocked off. Do you think they made it into a quarantine?"

A guard appeared in the post behind the gate, but he didn't look like he was much older than the group of kids. He turned to talk to someone behind him, then proceeded to speak to the group.

"Can all of you step out of the van for a minute?" he asks.

The entire group steps out, including their new acquaintances, and the dude sighs. He directs something at the people behind him, and soon the gates open. 

"You guys are freshmen aren't you?" he says to the group. "I've seen some of you around. I'm a junior here."

"Yep," Riley replies. "What's happening here?"

"Some of the students and teachers who stuck around here made it into a safe zone," he tells. "It's been pretty quiet around here. We usually do a clearing three times a day so that zambies aren't nearby the area. Just park inside and you guys can head over to the freshmen lot."

"Freshmen lot?" Queen asks.

"Yep. We separate everyone so we can even out where we all stay. One building is for freshmen, then for sophomores, and so on. That doesn't mean you guys can't leave your lots, it's just where you're assigned to sleep. Makes things easier for us to keep track of."

The strike of familiar faces hit the group as they entered the freshmen lot. A handful of people in their grade were there, all chatting and relaxing.

"Well looky here," Shay, a girl in their grade said. She smiled and welcomed the group in. "Where have you guys been this whole time?"

"Hey Shay," Scarlet greeted. "It's been wild. We'll catch you up later. Wanna explain to us how things work around here?"

"Sure sure, take a sat guys," she said with a laugh. "So, you know about the lot now. The science wing is apparently off limits, and so is the cafeteria kitchen. Something about the area being toxic, but the kitchen is only off limits so that people don't steal rations and stuff. No one is allowed out after 11:00 PM. We still have the nurse here and a few teachers and staff. At certain times of the day we go out and find supplies for us to live off of, and then we also clear the surrounding area of zambies and stuff. The majority of security staff is really the seniors and juniors. Don't get caught breaking any of the rules, or else you're banned from staying here."

"Has anyone been kicked out?" Angelo asks.

"Yup. A few troublemakers here and there, mostly people who try to take more supplies than they need. Other than that, it's been pretty safe," Shay replies. "I mean, Mr. Smith is still here, so his art classroom is always open."

"I would love to take a visit there," Kimmie says. 

"I'll follow," Scarlet says, and soon enough the girls step out of the room.

"A few of the other teachers are here too. Most of the career teachers are still here, except for the sales teacher and the lodging teacher."

"Who runs the place?" Ellie asks.

"Me," says Fran, slumping down on an empty spot in the circle. "Haha, I'm just kidding. It's Mr. Fin, yanno, the vice principal. He's really chill. You guys should totally just stick around here until the whole apocalypse thing blows over."

"That would be nice," Jayna says.

"If it blows over," Haru mumbles.

***

"Hey Mr. Smith," Kimmie greets, making her way over to her seat. 

"Hey Kimmie! Glad to see you're not zambified yet. And your friend," he says as he greets Scarlet.

"Who's here?" a girl asks as she comes in from the other art classroom.

"Lyric?" Kimmie says. The girl, apparently named Lyric, jumps in joy.

"Kimmie! Where have you been this whole time?"

"Places," Kimmie says with a sigh.

"Hey Scarlet, long time no see," Lyric greets. "Kimmie and I have been friends since kindergarten. It's nice to see familiar faces."

"You've stayed here the whole time?" Kimmie asks. 

Lyric nods. "Yup. But I've been using a transponder to contact my sister so that she can get back to me about leaving. She might have a way to get away from all this. You guys should come with me!"

"That's nice of you, but there's actually a couple more of us," Kimmie replies. Lyric thinks for a second. 

"How many? I could bring a few more people."

"Nine. Well, if you don't count an additional three people," Scarlet says.

"Yeah, that might be too many. If anything, the most I could take with me is five more people. I'm sorry," Lyric apologizes, but the girls wave her off.

"No need to apologize," Kimmie says.

"Anyway, I might not be staying long anyway. I need to leave to meet up with my sister. What have you guys been up to?" Lyric asks.  Scarlet and Kimmie exchange a glance. They both look over at Mr. Smith, who was busy painting and had his earphones in, jamming out to whatever song he was listening to. 

"Why don't you join us on your way there. We're not staying long anyway," Kimmie informs.

"What do you guys mean?" Lyric asks. "I thought you guys just got here?"

Scarlet sighs, picking up a paper and pencil to start sketching. "It's a long story."