BGI v3 [Part 2-2]

[Posted by Ted H]

...Managed to sit down and bust out the remainder of part 2 of BGI even while working both jobs...GO ME!

.......My manager also has a habit of always inquiring me as to how many pager I've written. Next time, I'll have a more definitive answer...
After that?.......I dunno...

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BGI v3 [Part 2-2]

            D was quick to his window when he heard the lone gunshot. He had heard some gunfire from inside the school but figured that was just some of the scientists who miraculously survived the labs. Gunfire outside might mean one of the white-coats are trying to escape as opposed to the standard protocol of making it to the safe area of the school and awaiting evac. No one was allowed to leave, especially now since it was up to D to kill all the staff. He didn't need anyone slipping through the cracks, not if he was still stuck here and especially not if the person escaping is also the one responsible, or knew of a way around the lockdown.

            He looked outside and bit his lip at what he saw. Students were shuffling about, some crowding around one of the broken down buses. Even from his vantage point he could tell most of them shouldn't be walking around. "Nobody told me the smaller Mosiers were capable of transmitting the virus," he said as he continued looking around until he saw two students running for the rear entrance. He exhaled and leaned back into his chair. The students weren't getting out.

            There was still the matter of the staff inside the school. D knew he wasn't getting anything done sitting in his office. He patted down on his gun tucked into his belt for the millionth time before punching in the code for his door to unlock. He wanted nothing more than to ride this situation out in the safest possible place, but he was trusted with a more important job to do, and there was a reason he was getting paid and trusted to be in the position he was in.

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            The door to the equipment room in the gym was closed, but there wasn't a latch; it needed a key to work the deadbolt or it would swing open anyway. The door needed to be closed because almost three dozen dead bodies were scattered around the gym walking around or eating other students. Judd, Al and Mangan were all inside the equipment room looking for supplies for the injured students when the first of the dead started getting up. They stayed where they were while panicked and injured students ran about trying to escape, but all exits were either locked tight, or opened into a hallway full of more undead.

            Al was holding the doors shut while Judd was looking over the gym equipment, trying to decide which would make good weapons. Mangan sat on the floor, racking his brain for an escape plan. "There's no other way out of this room," he said as Judd sized up a hockey stick, nodded and placed it next to another one he had set aside. "We hit up hallway 10 and fight our way out," he said as he checked out a new stick, shook his head and moved on.

            "I'm not a fighter," Mangan said as Al turned around quickly and put a finger up to his lips. "Shh," he said "One is wandering nearby." Mangan bit his lip and thought some more. Despite being a grade lower than the others, Judd was a big guy, and could easily wield the hockey stick as a weapon, but Mangan wasn't so well off. Had he known this day would come, maybe he would've hit the weights a few times. Al wasn't much use either, being overweight and now very strong either. Judd was tough, but not tough enough to make up for the other two.

            "The other doors were locked," Mangan remembers from the futile attempts of other students from before. So many had found their way into the gym when they realized that exiting the school was just as deadly. Some were severely injured and bled out in a matter of minutes; they were the first to later get up and start killing. "There was the one exit though," Mangan said in a low tone "It leads to the main office." No one had tried that exit because the dead were originally piled up by that doorway. Nobody tried exiting that way with all the undead by it.

            "You think those doors will be unlocked?" Judd asked.

            "It's our best bet," Mangan said.

            "Those doors are on the other side of the gym. Our 'best bet' would be fighting our way out the back."

            "That hallway is filled with more of those things. We leave that way, we'll be jumping out of the frying pan right into the fire."

            "What's to say that the main lobby isn't also filled with those things?"

            "We don't know. But we do know that the 10 hallway is a suicide run. There's only one safe option."

            Judd was actively failing several of his classes, despite Grime's already low standards. Mangan had no intentions of losing a debate with him. Judd thought for a moment as he pulled out one more hockey stick he deemed satisfactory. "I don't like it," he said "We're going for the 10 hallway and getting out. Maybe the chaos in there died down."

            "Don't be stupid," Mangan protested.

            "You do what you want," Judd said "That's my plan. Follow me or don't."

            Mangan made a face. "So we push right for the exit? I like it," Al said as Judd nodded and handed him a hockey stick. It was a suicidal idea, but so was splitting up, so Mangan conceded and picked up a stick of his own. "Stay close," Judd said as he stepped forward and peered out into the gym from behind the doors.

            "Ready?" he asked.

            "Not really," Mangan said.

            "Too bad."

            Judd threw open the doors and charged out holding his stick horizontally out. He caught any undead and pushed them away, giving Mangan and Al room to run. "Go! Get to the doors!" he yelled as he continued forward. Al and Mangan made a left for the nearby exit; only one zombie lingered in their path. Al thrust down on it with his stick, but the blow did little to kill it. Mangan ran in and tripped it up before it could grab Al.

            Al immediately went for the door and threw it open while motioning the others to follow. Mangan turned to see Judd throw his caught zombies down before running to catch up. Mangan then turned to Al just in time to see a mass of bloody hands reach from the outside and grab Al.

-Those things are still right outside the door. We're surrounded. We're fucked-
            Mangan stood almost in shock as Judd shouldered passed and grabbed Al's outstretched hand. "Don't let go!" he screamed as more hands groped at his body and face. Judd tried to pull Al back into the gym but ultimately pushed the poor man out and slammed the door closed behind him to keep the zombies out.

            "What do we do now?" Mangan screamed out frantically. They couldn't return to the equipment room, not without a way of closing the door. There was nowhere to hide. "We try your plan now," Judd said as he pushed ahead into the gym. Judd pushed passed a zombie and Mangan tried to stay close behind. He made a weak swing at an approaching ghoul, but it grabbed hold of his hockey stick and with a quick struggle, Mangan let go and ran to keep up hoping that Judd could make better use of his weapon.

            The two zigzagged diagonally through the gym making for the other corner doors. The dozens of zombies were initially scattered, but now were bunching up behind the men as they reached the door. Judd ran full speed into the doors, but they didn't budge. "No!" Mangan screamed, wanting to drop to his knees in defeat.

            Judd spun around to see the closing in horde, and took off running without missing a beat. "C'mon!" he yelled as he ran over and climbed up onto the stage. Mangan scrambled behind him just before the first undead student reached him. The zombies struggled to climb up behind them. They were slowed down, but Judd and Mangan couldn't afford to linger.

            They moved the stage curtain aside and ran on. It was dark backstage but they could make out any obstacles. There was a movable barrier on the opposite side of the curtain that led to the cafeteria. That would require them to move over set pieces and piles of costumes and props, and it was also assuming the barrier wasn't locked in place. On the far side though was a standard door leading into the back lobby, which would give them an exit from the school. They reached it to find it too was locked, but the door was wooden as opposed to metal like the gym doors.

            "I can bust this down easy," Judd said. "And if there are more out in that lobby?" Mangan asked. "Then we deal," Judd said as he turned and kicked the door. It didn't budge, but it gave off audible cracks. It wouldn't survive many more kicks. While Judd continued to assault the door, Mangan turned around to watch their backs. There were muffled moans from behind the curtain, but none of the undead were able to follow. Either they weren't able to climb up or the curtain proved too powerful of a deterrent.

            Another kick from Judd gave off the sound of splintering wood. "Almost," Judd said as he caught his breathe and prepared to kick again. Mangan allowed himself to breathe easy as he scanned the dark of the backstage area. His eyes were adjusting to the darkness just as he began to take notice of an odd smell. It was a potent chemical scent that burned at his nostrils. He scanned through the dark trying to see of anything stood out as the origin.

            One final blow from Judd allowed the door to swing open. Light flooded into the room as Mangan's eyes darted to the sign of movement from deep in the stage. A low, heavy growl sounded as Judd reached over and grabbed Mangan by the shoulder. "Let's go," he said as the two stumbled through and into the lobby.