Chapter 8: c*****e, Part 1

I woke to the sound of light snoring in my ear. At first, I didn't know where I was. I heard birds chirping a bit too loudly, and leaves rustling. Why was I outside? As I tried to focus, everything came rushing back into my mind in an effort to crush me. Mom … Timmy .... Brandon … I sat up with a jerk, causing Derek to wake with a start. He was dazed for a moment as he looked at me, squinting, trying to remember who I was. Then, he wiped his eyes and jumped to his feet. He offered me a hand, helping me up. We looked around and we were the first ones up. Everyone else slept peacefully, unaware, escaping the horror of the previous day—for a few brief moments, anyway. "Are you okay?" Derek whispered, concern filling his eyes. He ran his fingers through his disheveled, blonde hair. "Yeah." I nodded, but my stomach growled loudly, giving me away. Derek smiled, obviously hearing my tell-tale stomach. "Yeah, I'm hungry, too. We'll have to work on that." "What's on the agenda now?" I asked, clearly at a loss of what to do next. Although I had some ideas, where should we start? "Well, we have to find some shelter somewhere," Derek said, looking around. "And some water," I added, running my tongue along my parched lips and teeth. My mouth was dry and tasted horrible from sleeping on the ground. I ran my fingers through my matted hair, trying to shake it out, but it was hopeless. What I wouldn't give for a toothbrush and a comb. "We also need to go back to the school and see what's left. We have to see who's there and what's going on." I nodded, knowing he was right. Then, a thought came to me. "Derek, there has to be a cave around here somewhere. There's caves all over the place around here. We can gather what we can and walk to the Knobs if we have to. I'm sure we'll find a cave there somewhere." Floyd Knobs was a nearby forest where I knew we'd be safe. It would be a hike to get there and would take a few days on foot, but it would be worth it. "Yeah, you're right," Derek added. "And where there is a cave, there has to be water." "Exactly." "I hate to do it, but I'll wake up Trevor and Scott to go along with me," Derek added. "Scott?" I asked. We were going to have to learn each other's names if we were going to stick together. And, right now, that looked to be our only hope of survival. "Him," Derek pointed to the senior. So that was his name. I nodded in agreement. "No, don't do that. I'll go with you." "No, you stay here." "Let him sleep," I objected. "If you take Trevor along, he might lose his temper and get us caught." Derek was about to object, but nodded in agreement. We both knew how hotheaded Trevor could be. "Come on," Derek said, taking my hand into his and pulling me along. He let my hand go as we ran toward the school. We needed to hurry before the others woke and noticed that we were gone. They didn't need to come looking for us; the fewer of us on this mission, the better. I broke into my stride, taking the lead. I never wanted anything to do with cheerleading, but track was my sport. I could run long distances and never break a sweat. I won several medals in middle school and high school in track. I even set a record when I was in middle school in the 660, and broke my own record in high school. It was harder to run in my school shoes—thank goodness I hadn't worn heels yesterday—but I was still faster than Derek. We slowed as we neared the school, invisible in the shelter of the woods. "Shush," I motioned to Derek, ducking behind the same fallen log from yesterday on the edge of the woods. A moment later, Derek ducked down quietly beside me. A strong stench rushed toward us, filling the air. I wondered to myself what it could be. The sun was already casting morning light across the earth, illuminating the school. But what I saw took my breath away. Tears slid slowly down my cheeks as I looked on in horror at the sight, unable to believe my eyes. When I peered through the woods, the building before me no longer looked like a school. Most of the windows were shattered—blown out—and shards of broken glass lay everywhere. Holes were blasted on the sides of what was left of the school and the roof was partially gone. But that's not what horrified me the most. Bodies still lay on the ground, ashen white; corpses. Some had their eyes still open. I was about to tell Derek that we had to do something; we had to bury them. We couldn't just leave them lying there on the ground. Then suddenly, a camouflage army truck with a roll cage covered with gray canvas drove slowly around the side of the school. Three men were walking along the side of the truck with bandanas covering their noses and mouths, while another drove. Immediately, I clenched my fist and shoved it into my mouth to keep from screaming. For two of the men bent down, carelessly scooped up a body, and threw it haphazardly into the back of the truck with a thump. Then, the men picked up another corpse, and threw it carelessly onto the other body. The third man was directing the other two. My mouth opened wide in horror. Suddenly, a gust of wind blew back the canvas on the truck. Derek quickly grabbed my head, shoving his hand roughly over my mouth as my eyes flew open wide in horror. For under the canvas was a pile of dead bodies. My classmates. And the truck was almost full.