Free Stay Dead: A Novel by Steve Wands Page A

the lower level. Ben crisscrossed his flashlight’s beam
over Boone’s. Shorty was right behind Ben. Eddie and Frankie held
the back of the line. Shorty had his pistol ready in one hand and
his crowbar in the other. They stood at the bottom of the steps
with their ears listening for noise. Experience had taught them you
could sometimes hear a lurker before you’d be able to see
one--especially in the dark. Not a sound. They continued into the
initial room. Once they began searching the rooms they noted that
most of the rooms were for storage; filing cabinets and old desks.
They came across a break room that was conveniently labeled
‘maintenance only’. The room had some unopened soda bottles and
moldy bread on the dirty microwave. The boiler room followed that
and it too was labeled as such with a big red sign on the door.
They cautiously opened it, Shorty and Ben kept an eye in the other
direction. The boiler room was quiet and the pipes weren’t hissing
or steaming. It was very clean and looked as if the maintenance
had, in fact, been maintaining it. Shorty and Ben now stood in the
doorway while the others quietly and quickly looked around.
    Upstairs, Scott, still dizzy from the
collision, along with Judy, Alexis and Joseph, guided the rest of
the gang in the opposite direction from Boone and the others, to
the gymnasium. Alexis and Joseph had been holding the back of the
line. She held a flashlight and had a knife easily accessible in
her pocket. Joseph was no more than a foot away and brandished a
pistol.
    Given the size of the school, the gym was not
as big as one would think. Toward the left hand corner of the room
was a large stack of gymnastics mats. They were in various sizes
and a multitude of colors—all dingy, however. They would make an
excellent place to sleep for the night, no one in the group had
seen a mattress in some time, and this was the closest they were
likely to get any time soon. There was also a rack of basketballs
against the wall. To the right of the basketballs was a corridor
which led into the locker rooms. Once they checked and cleared them
they headed back into the gym, toward the gym’s entrance. After
they checked the rest of the floor they came back to the
gymnasium.
    Scott and Judy waited near the door where
they had entered the school, while Alexis and Joseph hung around
the gymnasium entrance. They would wait there until the others
returned from the basement. There was no other floor and no visible
access to the roof.
    After a few minutes the group returned from
the basement. They met up with Scott and Judy and followed them to
the gymnasium.
    “Everybody listen up,” Boone spoke loudly but
not yelling. “We’re going to stay the night, it’s safe. I think
it’s best for everyone if we all stay inside.”
    “Should we just leave our cars the way they
are?” Ricker asked.
    “Yeah, leave your cars as is for now—so long
as they’re off, we’ll worry about them come daybreak. For now just
rest up.”
    Everyone settled down. There were more than
enough mats for everyone to use, and they did. People grouped up
and spread out around the gymnasium floor. The children were
freaked out being inside the school. They were used to a school
being safe, bright and full of people making noise. This, to them,
was another sign of the world they knew disappearing. Alexis,
Janice, and a few others did what they could to comfort the
children as much as possible, but it wasn’t the easiest thing when
they needed comforting just as much.
    Boone left the gymnasium by himself. He
walked over to the door where they came in. He peered out the
window, which was now lying in pieces on the floor mixed with
Jon-Jon’s blood, and noticed shadows moving in the distance. He
took a deep breath and took twice as long to exhale. He had no idea
what he was doing anymore. He used to have an idea about what to
do, but it seemed no matter what he did people died. Their deaths,
each and every one took a