Dead End High

‘What’s the matter, Adam? Seen a ghost?’ Drake chuckled. ‘Oh, you must have thought all your Christmases had come at once when you got rid of me. The golden opportunity to move in on my girl.’

‘Drake.’ Adam stared, unable to believe the accusations. ‘No, it’s not like that. You disappeared. We tried to find you, but we couldn’t...’

’Oh right. You probably thought the aliens got me, did you?’ He gave a haughty laugh. ‘You really are one deluded piece of work.’

Adam felt a stab of pain hit his heart. He and Daisy had tried so hard to find him, so why was he saying these things? ‘Drake, honestly, we tried to find you...’ Then a thought came to his mind. What the hell was he thinking, standing here arguing with the guy? This wasn’t Drake. It was something controlling his body, trying to delay their escape. The real Drake was too nice a guy to make such unfounded claims. ‘You’re…’

Daisy called from the front yard. ’Come on, Adam. They’re getting closer. We have to go!’

‘Move your ass, Braddock!’ shouted Jack’s angry voice.

‘You’re not Drake.’ Adam pointed an accusing finger at him, not knowing whether to feel fear or anger. ’And you’re wasting my time. Now get out of my way!’

He lurched forward at Drake and attempted to shove him out of the way, but the big teen didn’t budge. He just stood there, a twinkle in his eye and a smirk on his face. Adam suddenly felt paralysed, not sure what to do. He couldn’t try to hang around and reason with him, because they had to get out of there now, but he couldn’t possibly hope to overpower Drake to get away.

Drake to a step forward, causing Adam to jump back in horror, but he stopped at the last moment and smiled, an evil gleam appearing in his eyes.

Adam’s paralysis evaporated and he made a dash for the window, his only means of escape, but Drake was on him in a flash and hurled him back onto the floor. ‘You’re not going anywhere, Braddock!’

At that moment, Jack appeared at the door. ‘What’s all the shout…’ His voice trailed away when he saw Drake standing over Adam. Daisy appeared behind him and her eyes lit up.

‘Drake!’ She pushed past Jack. ‘You’re alive. I can’t believe it, it’s really you.’

’No!’ Adam rose to his feet and blocked her path. ‘This isn’t Drake.’

’Give me a break.’ Drake scoffed. ‘You really have lost it, Braddock.’

Daisy took a step forward, but then stopped and studied Drake carefully.

‘Hi Daise.’ Drake smiled. ‘It’s me. It’s really me.’

Her expression softened. ‘Is it really?’

Jack grabbed Daisy by the arm and pulled her back. ‘Of course it’s not him, you stupid tart! He’s one of them. Come on! We’ve got to get out of here!’ Jack pulled her back towards the door.

Drake’s face darkened. Adam watched his eyes go from a bright blue, to grey, to a pitch black. He wasn’t like the other zombies. Something was different about him, but Adam couldn’t figure out what. Without ceremony, Drake shoved Adam aside and went after Jack, who was forcing Daisy back down the hallway.

‘It’s Drake!’ She tried to break free. ‘It’s really...’ But when she saw him again, she let out a terrified scream. ’Your eyes!’ In her haste to get away, she knocked into Jack sending him crashing to the floor.

Drake hauled Jack to his feet and cast him back down the hall with a wild scream. It was a powerful throw and Jack was hurled to the other end of the hallway. He tried to rise, but. Drake pulled him up and pinned him against the wall by the throat.

Adam, in desperation, attacked Drake with a barrage of punches to his back, but Drake ignored them, intent on choking out Jack.

’Go!’ rasped Jack, coughing violently.

Adam cast a glance through the window. He could see that the zombies were only fifty metres away from the house. They had to get out of there now or they wouldn’t get out of there at all.

’Don’t worry about me!’ gasped Jack. ‘I got him!’ Jack raked Drake’s black eyes, causing him to release his hold with a grunt of pain. He wrestled with Drake, bringing him to the floor.

Daisy was in tears, but Adam grabbed her hand and pulled her out of the house. ‘Come on!’ Once ag the car, he unlocked the car. ‘Get in!’

She obeyed and Adam scrambled in behind her. The zombies had almost reached the driveway when he gunned the engine. His heart in his mouth, he glanced back at the doorway to the house, desperate for Jack to appear, but he didn’t. Adam knew he couldn’t wait. Even if he was willing to put his own life at risk to go back in there and save Jack, he wasn’t prepared to risk Daisy’s.

He attempted to slam it into reverse, but his timing was all wrong and the engine stalled.

’Come on!’ Daisy started back as the zombies drew closer.

Adam gunned the engine, just as Drake appeared at the doorway to the house. He charged at the car and Adam accelerated forward. The bonnet struck Drake, sending him tumbling onto the path.

‘Drake!’ Daisy cried.

But Adam already had the BMW moving. The zombies swarmed in through the front gate. He put his foot down and ploughed the car through them. The zombies made sorry attempts to clamber out of the way, as the BMW mowed through the middle of them. One landed on the bonnet of the car and the face of Brett Diamond’s mother stared at Adam through the window.

’You let them get my son!’ She clawed at the window. ‘It’s all your fault!’

Adam spun the car out onto the main road and Mrs Diamond’s body toppled off the car, onto the road. He put his foot down and let out a lungful of air as they drove away, leaving Mrs Diamond and the other zombies behind.

‘Drake...’ Daisy peered out the back window with tears rolling down her cheeks. ‘They really did get him. The aliens…’

‘I know. No doubt they have Jack too. Unless...’ he decided not to voice what he feared. It appeared that Drake had wanted to kill both him, Jack and probably Daisy too. It seemed a terrible thing, leaving without Jack, but they had no choice.

They approached the outskirts of Pungaru. At least now, they should have no problems getting to one of the bigger towns or cities. But what would they find on their arrival? Adam shuddered to think.

A car came from behind, speeding up on them. Daisy turned to look out the back window. ‘They can drive?’

Adam shook his head, not believing what he saw, and floored the accelerator pedal.

The car – a Mitsubishi people-mover with hatchback came at them fast, the horn basting.

‘Oh hell!’ Adam studied the driver in his rear vision mirror. ‘It’s Miss Crazy and her goons!’ He screeched the BMW around a corner and planted his foot.

‘I don’t get it!’ Daisy shrieked as the car built up speed. ‘How can zombies drive?’

‘They aren’t the ones being controlled. They’re the ones doing the controlling!’

He kept his foot down on the accelerator, getting close to 140 kph. Miss Crazy tried to match the speed but luckily Adam had the faster car – though it was getting harder to control. They had already missed the turnoff for New Plymouth and headed towards the old cheese factory.

‘Adam, slow down!’ Daisy braced herself against the dashboard and door. ‘You’re going to kill us!’

‘I can handle i...’ The gravel on the road was slicker than he figured. The BMW began to slide and he applied the brakes, which seemed to have the opposite effect, sending them into a spin. Adam remembered what he was taught about turning into a skid. The car straightened out and slowed, but it was too late. The car crunched through a wooden fence, landing nose down in a ditch. Adam’s right arm rammed into the steering wheel, causing him a jarring pain up and down his arm.

Adam flinched and clutched his injured arm, but another burst of pain ricocheted through it. He had to push the agony to the back of his mind. ‘Daisy, are you ok?’

Daisy appeared to be in a state of shock, staring straight ahead out the window, but as soon as Adam spoke, she came to her senses and stared at him in horror, ‘Oh my gosh, we crashed!’

At least she was ok, but Adam feared he’d broken his arm.

Smoke hissed from the engine of the car and the sound of Miss Crazy’s Mitsi brought on new panic.

Adam fumbled to open his door. ‘We have to make a run for it.’

With his free arm, he pulled Daisy out with him and couldn’t help but notice the Mitsubishi skidding to a stop. ‘Run!’ Adam pushed Daisy ahead of him, his injured arm screaming out at him in pain.

They ran across a field in the direction of the old cheese factory. It hadn’t been in use for a long time now and would make an ideal place to hide.

They climbed over the fence into factory grounds. He’d finally have an advantage over Miss Crazy; the building was abandoned and he’d explored it before. A side entrance into the factory was still off its hinges and they ran inside.

It was sprawling factory, five stories high, with plenty of places to hide, many interlinking rooms, mezzanine levels, rusted metal walkways and lots of old factory equipment. They made for a higher floor, hoping to get a good vantage point. They reached the highest level, filled with vats and other equipment. They climbed up a metal ladder to a mezzanine floor, where there was a lot of old machinery, and ducked down right next to a large window.

When Adam looked out the window horror enveloped him yet again. What he saw he just couldn’t fathom. It just couldn’t be true. ‘Oh my God! Daisy... look!’

Daisy crawled to the glass. She gasped and her mouth fell agape. She stared back at Adam with terror in her eyes.

The grounds swarmed with zombies.

‘That’s impossible!’ hissed Daisy. ‘How could they have gotten here so fast?’

Adam could only stare. He had no answer.

‘We’re going to die!’ Daisy grabbed his injured arm, causing him to cry out. She let it go. ‘Sorry!’

Adam nursed his arm. It started to go numb, which was probably a good thing, because at least it dulled the pain a little. ‘We’re not going to die.’ He held his arm to his body, hoping to relieve the pain still further. ‘I won’t let them take you.’ Adam felt far from confident. His plan had been to hide from three – not an entire swarm. Now, it was just a matter of time before they were found. They could already hear metallic banging noises from the lower floors.

‘Look,’ Adam said. ‘We need to find another way out. Or some way to trick them to make them think we’re gone.’

‘You’re not going to leave me, are you?’

‘I won’t go far. I just need to see what we can do. I have to check around while the zombies are still on the lower levels. If they get up here, we’ll be trapped.’

Daisy looked at him with a gloomy expression, but didn’t answer.

Adam left his hiding place. Still nursing his increasingly numbing arm, he went back down the ladder to a lower level, which fortunately gave plenty of cover. He spotted the fire escape ladder system leading up and down the factory walls. It would have worked great if it weren’t for all the zombies loitering around below, who would see them straight away if they tried to use it.

How did the crowd of zombies get there? By truck? He hadn’t noticed any other vehicles, but that didn’t mean they weren’t parked somewhere else. He made his way to the other side and slipped inside an office. Papers littered the floor - blank forms of some kind. There was an old desk - a bulky wooden thing covered in dust. The next office was much the same, but there was a broken window and bird droppings all over the floor.

A closed door led to somewhere else, but it was either locked or jammed shut. He stepped towards the broken window and peered out with hope. There was a roof just below it - a potential escape route, if his arm could take the exertion of climbing. They could easily make their way along the roof without being seen by the zombies below. However, anyone looking out from the upper levels would see them easily.

He heard his name being called by a male voice from below. ‘It’s alright, Adam! There’s nothing to be afraid of.’

Hah! What about all those flesh-eating zombies out there?

’There you are, Adam.’

Adam spun around, his heart in his mouth. He had not heard anyone come from behind and to do so would have meant opening the side door. But there stood Mr Vennie and the side door still was shut behind him. ‘Please, Adam, stay calm.’ Mr Vennie delivered his insane smile as usual. ‘There is no need to be afraid. All we want to do is help you. Please... Come back to school. It’s a good school, isn’t it? You have fun there. Haven’t I made it fun for you and the other students?’

’How… how did you get in here? Stay away from me!’ Adam backed away as Mr Vennie stepped forward.

‘It’s the best school in the whole of New Zealand,’ Mr Vennie appealed. ’What other school has no maths classes, sports every day and McDonald’s for school lunches?’

’McDonald’s? That’s a lie!’

’But it’s not. We just need to organise to have it brought in, that’s all. These things take time. Come now, we made this school the way it is and we made it for you. For you, Adam.’

Adam shuddered and stared at him in disbelief. ’What the hell are you talking about? For me?’

‘It’s all about you, Adam. Isn’t it your perfect school? Isn’t it everything you ever wanted in a school?’

‘Yes but...’ Adam scowled. ‘But I didn’t expect my classmates to be turned into aliens!’

Mr Vennie smiled again. ‘Oh Adam, that is absolutely not true. You got the girl, didn’t you? You killed the bully.’

’I didn’t kill anyone!’

‘All we want is for you to come back.’

Adam screwed up his face and his voice rose an octave. ’Who is we? You and the Borg Collective? What are you?’

The principal just shook his head and smiled yet again. ‘I think you know. I think you know deep down.’

Adam backed towards the window. He wanted to escape right then, but he couldn’t leave Daisy up there alone.

Mr Vennie stepped towards him. Adam glanced over the principal’s shoulder at the door leading back out the way he came. It was open inward and he noticed a key in the lock. If only he could get to it.

Mr Vennie took a step closer. Adam edged himself around the office. ‘Your plan isn’t going to work, Mr Vennie. I’m not going to become one of you.’

The principal continued turning as Adam inched along the wall, until Mr Vennie stood with his back to the window.

Adam couldn’t believe it had worked. He stepped out the door, pulled the door shut and turned the key in the lock. For a few seconds he stood there, feeling so much better. Even the pain had gone from his arm now and there was just numbness.

Adam expected Mr Vennie to kick up a fuss and shake the door, but not a sound came from within. He peered around, trying not to make any rash decision and bent down to look through the keyhole. He could not see his principal, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t in there. It then occurred to him he had just blocked off his only escape route.

‘Mr Vennie?’ he asked in a soft voice, not wanting to attract unwanted attention. No reply came back. It was possible his principal might be hoping he would open the door again out of curiosity, but he wasn’t prepared to risk it.

Not willing to waste any more time, Adam hurried to one of the staircases leading down, debating the possibility of hiding himself and Daisy in an area that had already been searched. However, all he could picture in his mind were endless hordes of zombies moving their way through the old factory machinery, searching every nook and cranny.

He was about to turn when something grabbed a handful of his shirt. ‘Braddock, you piece of sewer slush. So you thought you could try to kill me, huh?’ It was Todd Spencer and he glared and him. He eyes began to turn black, just like Drake’s had. ‘You just left me down the bottom of that bank to die. You weren’t even willing to lift a finger to help me. Well now it’s payback time.’

Adam tried to move away, but Todd had him in a firm grip.

‘This is crazy!’ Adam panted, ‘You were ok when I left. You would have killed me if I’d hung around. What happened to you? You disappeared. They got you, didn’t they?’

‘They?’ Todd sneered. ’Oh, yeah... them.’ He laughed maniacally, his entire body shaking. ‘Ha ha ha ha! It was all your doing, Braddock, ha ha! They wouldn’t have got us if it wasn’t for you.’

‘What are you saying?’

‘They got us because you wanted them to. Now it’s your turn.’

Adam blinked twice. ‘I don’t know what you’re talking about. It has nothing to do with me. It’s the aliens, Todd. They want you, they want me, they want everyone.’

Todd let out a long evil laugh. ’Do you really believe that, Braddock? You’re only fooling yourself. You’re deluded. You are responsible for all this, you pillock!’

’I am not!’ With a burst of strength, Adam shoved him forward with his good arm, sending him didn’t think about his injured arm and scaled it quickly. He suffered no pain and climbed onto a metal mesh walkway, which crossed over the tops of old vats. Once up there he figured that perhaps his arm wasn’t broken after all, but the numbness was still there. In fact it began to feel like he had no arm at all.

Todd leapt to his feet and screamed, ’I’m gonna get you, Braddock! I’m gonna make you pay for what you did to me!’

The bully began to scale the ladder. Adam moved along the walkway, but part of the walkway had rusted and gave way beneath his feet. He grabbed hold of a railing with both arms and pulled himself back. The entire walkway creaked and started to sag. There was no way across.

Todd blocked the only route back. ’Got you now, moron. What you gonna do? I’m one of them now, just like you wanted and now there’s nothing you can do.’

Adam searched for a weapon. A rusted bar jutted out from the edge and looked like it could easily be broken off. Adam crouched down and tugged, but Todd was onto the plan.

The bully quickened his pace and strode across the walkway. The bar broke free just as Todd reached him and Adam swung it with all his might. It struck Todd across the chest and sent him sailing over the railing headfirst, with a forlorn wail. He landed heavily at the bottom of the vat with a loud vibrating echo. He lay motionless.

In the distance, aroused by the commotion, the zombies groaned. Adam heard a bang and a clutter as something got knocked over not far below. He stared for a few moments longer at the inert body of Todd, unable to believe he had yet again sent the bully plummeting over a drop. This time however, it looked as if Adam had really done the damage. No threats this time, no shouting, just Todd lying there motionless.

He couldn’t waste anymore time, so scrambled back down the ladder, his injured arm feeling weightless and free. He decided the only option was to go through the room holding Mr Vennie. But first, he had to get Daisy.

’Adam!’

Oh no. What ghoulish incarnation of a student or adult did he have to deal with this time?

Constable Clements hurried towards him from the main stairwell. Adam’s first instinct was to run, because he considered it likely that the officer was one of the aliens too. But he had to trust someone and so far, the constable had been one of his few allies.

‘Quick! Over here.’ He motioned Adam behind some old machinery and ducked down beside one of the windows. As if by instinct, Adam followed, hoping desperately he wasn’t being led into a trap.

Clements seemed more concerned with staring out the window than acting against him. ‘Get down!’

Adam obeyed.

‘Where did you come from?’ Adam asked. ‘Are you one of them?’ It seemed silly asking the question, but he didn’t know what else to say.

‘One of what?’

‘The zombies.’

‘The zombies?’ Clements peered at him through squinting eyes.

‘Yes, look at them all out there!’ He pointed out the window, where zombies meandered around the grounds.

Clements smiled wryly. ‘Don’t worry about them. They’re the least of your worries.’

‘You’re kidding me, aren’t you?’ Adam shuddered to think what could be more dangerous than an army of flesh-eating zombies. Even Miss Crazy and her two goons seemed less of a threat.

‘Adam, we have to act quickly. They’re coming and they want to take you with them.’

‘I know that. I nearly killed myself trying to outrun them in the car. I think I may have even broken my arm’ He raised his arm as easily as if he had never injured it at all. It felt like it wasn’t there, but his eyes told him otherwise.

‘Doesn’t look broken to me. Anyway, I saw what happened. I followed you all out here. Luckily I found you before they did.’

‘So you’re not with them? Miss Casey… Don, Morgan?’ He wanted to believe it, he really did.

‘No, of course not! You know that. I’m here to rescue you from them. But if you want to get out of here alive, you have to do exactly what I say.’

Adam, desperate, was willing to trust him. ‘What do we do?’

‘I want you to wait up here.’

‘But they’re closing in on us!’

‘Yes, but I have a plan and you need to stay here for now.’

‘But I need to get Daisy.’

‘Who’s Daisy?’

‘My friend. She’s hiding. I have to get her first.’

Clements let out a frustrated sigh. ’Where?’

Adam pointed back from where he came, to the mezzanine floor.

‘Alright, go over there, but you wait there. No matter what happens.’

‘How are we going to get out? The zombies are surrounding the place.’

‘Don’t worry about it. Just go over there. But if Casey and her lackeys show, don’t trust them. Don’t believe anything they tell you. They’ll kill you if they catch you.’

‘What’s going on? Are they aliens?’

‘Yes!’ Clements said. ‘They want to take over the world and they’re starting with this town. It’s my job to stop them and I need you to trust me.’

‘I knew it!’ Adam felt vindicated. ‘But how will you stop them? You’re only one man. Or are there others like you?’

‘There are others like me and I intend to get you out of here. Now get moving.’

Adam stepped out from their hiding place, looked to make sure the coast was clear and hurried towards Daisy’s hiding place. He glanced back to see Constable Clements disappear around some equipment, out of sight. He turned and nearly jumped out of his skin when Daisy appeared in front of him.

‘Daisy! I told you to stay put. Constable Clements is here. He’s going to help us get out.’

She just stood there, gazing at him serenely. ‘It’s ok, Adam darling. We don’t have to hide.’

‘What are you saying? There are zombies and aliens all over the place. I just locked up Mr Vennie and barely got away from Todd Spencer.’

‘Don’t worry. Scott, Darren and Doug have explained it all to me.’

’What?’

‘They’re upstairs. They want to talk to you.’

‘You have got to be kidding! Daisy, they’re trying to trick you!’

‘No. They’re fine. Look there they are.’ She pointed up to the mezzanine floor. Sure enough, all three boys were waving to him with smiles on their faces. Adam tried to make out their eyes. Were they hazy or black? No, they seemed normal, but that didn’t mean anything.

Adam slapped his hand to his head in anguish and stared back up again. They still smiled.

‘Adam, this isn’t what you think. All they want to do is help you. Mr Vennie and Todd were right. This is all about you, Adam. You’re the key to all of this.’

He jerked his head back to her and stared at her. ‘How do you know what they said?’

‘I just know, Adam. It’s all so clear now. This is all for you, darling.’

Horror filled Adam anew and he couldn’t believe they could possibly have got to her. ‘No Daisy.’ He took a step back. ‘Not you too. How did they get you so fast?’

‘Oh Adam, come on. You know full well what’s going on. You know the truth deep down inside, we all know the truth.’

’I don’t know!’ Adam shouted, ’Tell me what the hell is going on?’

He squinted up at his three friends, who still stood on the mezzanine floor, but he froze in horror. Scott had suddenly grown a second head and Darren had changed to a metallic grey colour, his face looking like that of a sad, miserable robot. ’What?’ He continued to stare, unable to fathom what he saw.

The sound of footsteps coming up the metal stairs caused Adam to jerk sideways. He heard a sickly groan of a zombie. It was too late. They had to hide. ‘Quick,’ Adam shoved Daisy behind one of the machines. ‘Don’t say a word!’ He searched for his own place to hide. He rushed for the vats, but zombies appeared from the stairwell. Large groups of them. He turned to take another route, spotting even more. ‘Damn it, Constable, what are you doing? We need you now!’

‘Adam, we need to talk to you,’ a female voice said with absolute calmness.

Adam spun around. Miss Crazy and her two henchmen stood behind him. There was no escape this time. They had him trapped.