Jase tapped my shoulder. “I’ll cover you while you get lined up for takeoff.”
I nodded and opened the door. I brought my seat forward. He squeezed out from behind me and hopped outside. Bill leaned between Clutch and me as I started to taxi back the opposite direction I’d landed. Jase walked alongside the Cessna as I taxied, ready to take out any random zed that came at us.
“What are you doing?” Bill asked. “You’re going past the dorms.”
“We’ll check them out on foot. First, I need the plane ready in case we need to make a quick takeoff.”
He muttered something and leaned back. Suddenly, I found myself pressed forward against the yoke as he squeezed passed me. “Hey!”
Bill jumped out of the plane and ran back toward the dorms, carrying the bag of letters.
“Idiot,” Clutch muttered.
I shook my head. “He’s going to get himself killed.” I taxied the plane all the way back to the eastern edge of the street and turned around, setting the plane up for an immediate takeoff. “I’m half tempted to just leave him and head back.”
As I cut the engine, Jase walked around the front, still scanning the area.
Clutch grabbed his rifle.
I put my hand on his forearm and fought to say the words I needed to say. “You should stay with the plane, in case we need to make a quick takeoff.” I inhaled before he had a chance to speak. “You know us. Jase and I won’t do anything stupid. We’re just going to check on the dorms, that’s it.”
“I know. I trust both of you. It’s the other guy I don’t trust.”
“We’ll be wheels up in ten minutes. You stay here and sweep for us in case zeds start trickling this way. Okay?”
He sat there, gripping his rifle. After a moment, he hit his legs, startling me.
“I hate this. I fucking hate this,” he said before tilting his head back against the headrest.
My heart ached for him. “I know,” I said softly and touched his cheek. “This is a temporary inconvenience, that’s all. You’ll be walking soon. I know it. We just have to take it one day at a time.”
His lips tightened. “I’ll see you in ten.”
After a moment, I dropped my hand, unbuckled, grabbed my gear, and climbed out.
“Be careful,” he said suddenly. “I’ve got a bad vibe about this place.”
I gave a small nod and walked away, glancing back to see Clutch already focused on scanning the area.
Jase came up to my side. Looking around, he gave an exaggerated shiver. “This place gives me the creeps. Everything’s been trampled. There’s not even a shrub left.”
To my right was a parking lot filled with cars. Most were parked askew, as though they’d been forcibly shoved out of their parking space and into the spot next to them. A couple had even been rolled over. I hadn’t seen any mobile zeds, but no survivors came out to greet us, either. Both would’ve heard us fly over.
I slung my spear onto my shoulder and kept my rifle ready. “Let’s make this quick.”
We walked toward the dorms where Bill had headed. We took slow steps, constantly scanning our full three-sixty, though I knew Clutch had our six covered. While I wanted to get the hell out of there, I didn’t rush. Just because Bill had run in half-cocked didn’t mean that we had to put ourselves at risk.
A zed without legs reached out like a beggar. I stepped to the side, and it tried to drag itself to us. I didn’t waste energy killing it; it was in such bad shape that the only way it could latch onto a victim was if someone fell on it.
The ominous feeling in my gut grew worse as we approached the first dorm. The doors were propped wide open by a mangled corpse. Bones, tufts of hair, and cloth shreds were about all that remained.
Jase and I eyed each other. With a deep inhalation, he stepped inside first. Glass crunched under my boots as I stepped around the corpse. We walked as carefully and quietly as we could, pausing to listen after every few steps.
Something fell on the floor in a nearby room. I swung my rifle around.
We moved as one toward the open door. I listened for any other sounds, but could only hear movement in the one room. When we reached the door, I twisted around and aimed. I lowered my weapon with a sigh. “Jesus, Bill. I nearly blew your head off.”
He continued to rifle through papers on the table. “They’re not here. I don’t understand it. There’s no note.” He chewed on his bottom lip for a moment before he looked up and over his shoulder. “They must still be in the student center.”
“Hold up,” I said, reaching for him. That no one had cleaned up the body in the building they lived was a serious red flag. “They probably had to run and didn’t get a chance to get back here to leave a note.”
“Bill, hold on, man,” Jase echoed.
He pushed open the door. “It’s lunchtime. Everyone eats at the student center.” He headed outside.
“He’s a real pain in the ass,” I muttered, not caring if Bill heard me or not.
“The idea of ditching him and heading back is getting pretty appealing,” Jase added.
I glanced at my watch. Six minutes to go. I sucked in a breath. “Let’s get this over with.”
We followed Bill as he jogged down a sidewalk and up to a brick building with large glass windows.
“Hold up,” I said and grabbed his arm before he opened the door.
He yanked out of my grip. “Everyone will be inside. It’s okay.”
“Look,” Jase said and pointed.
“What?” Bill asked, and then he frowned. He cupped his hands against the glass and squinted. He let out a gasp. “No.”
Inside, the student center was a mess. Tables were overturned, chairs were scattered. There was nobody eating lunch. There was nobody, period.
“They must’ve run,” I said hopefully.
Bill grabbed the door handle and yanked it open. As he ran inside, I lowered my head and shook it slowly. After taking a deep breath, I followed, staying protectively at Jase’s side.
There were no zeds, not even any bodies littering the floors. The ominous feeling in my gut had morphed into fear.
Bill was doing a three-sixty, looking around. “Katie!” he called out. “Jan!”
“Sh,” I hissed. “Keep it down.”
A thump came from somewhere off to my left, confirming my suspicion. There were zeds still around here, all right.
A smile broke out on Bill’s face, and the tension fell from his shoulders. “Oh, they’re in the theater. Thank God.”
“Don’t,” I warned.
Bill turned back to us. “It’s all right. The theater is our emergency shelter. They’ve probably been staying in there until someone came to give them the all-clear.”
“Then why is there a steel pipe through the door?” Jase asked, but Bill either didn’t hear or didn’t care because he rushed across the open space and to that exact door.
“I don’t like this,” I said, slowly walking toward Bill.
“I think we should get out of here,” Jase said.
“Agreed.”
“I’m coming!” Bill called out and glanced over his shoulder. “It’s okay. You don’t understand. This is part of our emergency procedures. Someone probably locked them in here for safety, so that zeds couldn’t get to them. But now they can’t get out unless we unlock it for them.”
“Then why didn’t they lock the door from the other side,” Jase asked dubiously.
Bill slid the pipe out from the handles and pulled open the door. He stood there, staring into the darkness. “Katie? Jan?”
Moans echoed. Jase and I both lunged for the door the same time a zed tumbled from the darkness. Bill cried out and shoved it down. Jase slammed the door shut, and I slid the bar back into place. I spun on my heel to see Bill holding the zed back with his hands pressing against its shoulders.