Tex took his weapon and aimed it out the window, then he looked over his shoulder and shouted to the men in the back, "Show time! Evans, get up to the Ma Deuce and watch your fire. Do not fire into the bus or trucks!"
"On it, Sarge!" one of the men assured.
Grasping the backs of the seats, Zoe rose up on her knees and could see they were nearly on top of the bus in the rear. Zombies had climbed all over it and others still gave chase and pounded it with their palms. Still more were attacking the truck and the first bus and she feared the worst as the buses and trucks began to slow.
Sergeant Morris took careful aim, then shouted, "Let 'em have it!"
The crack of weapons split through the confined interior of the Stryker and Zoe dropped back down and covered her ears. The sharp cracks and pops of M-16s and M-4s were joined by hellish blasts from the big .50 caliber machine guns on top of the attack vehicle. The noise was horrific and she could feel her senses overloading. She bent forward over her legs, tensing up little by little as the firefight continued. Something had escaped her that morning, some part of her morning ritual that had been forgotten, and here in this nightmare of ear splitting sounds she finally realized she had forgotten her medication in her rush to join the soldiers.
Her senses and emotions were on overload and she trembled and screamed against the noise that overwhelmed her.
It seemed to go on forever.
At some point, she could only hear the sound of the engine, felt the beast tremble as it rumbled down the deserted road. Slowly, she raised her head, her eyes wide as she glanced about, and she hesitantly lowered her hands from her ears.
Tex looked down to her and asked over the drone of the engine in a loud voice, "You okay, Princess?"
She just turned her eyes down and nodded.
"We're almost there, Kiddo," he assured.
"Okay," she acknowledged in a shaky voice.
They approached the school slowly and the buses and box truck held back a block as planned.
With the school in sight and about two hundred yards away, the Stryker stopped to assess the situation. No movement could be seen, no zombies milling about as they expected.
Sergeant Morris raised his binoculars to his eyes and scanned the front of the two story brick building. Nothing. The school's parking lot had a few cars still parked in it. A few more were out front, and one had apparently lost control, jumped the curb and hit a tree in the grassy, neglected yard area in front of the building. Windows were broken and there was litter blowing about, but no other activity.
"I don't like this," he mumbled.
The driver squinted as he looked toward the school. "You think they left?"
"The moaners?" Tex asked, then he shook his head. "They wouldn't just give up with people still inside. Take us down the street."
The Stryker lurched forward and slowly crept toward the front of the school. Ports on the sides were open and soldiers watched nervously for any movement. Evans still manned the fifty caliber, though he remained low as he watched for any threat.
"Sarge," the driver summoned in a low voice. "Front door."
Tex looked toward it, then raised his binoculars, and he clenched his jaw. "Damn. They barricaded it, but it looks like it didn't hold." He reached for the radio and raised the microphone to his mouth. "Truant to Principal."
"Go ahead, Truant," Colonel Halstead replied over the radio.
"School's been breached," Sergeant Morris informed. "We're going to recon and will advise."
"Stay in contact," the Colonel ordered.
Looking to the driver, Tex ordered, "Back us up to the front door and give us about twenty feet of maneuvering room. And keep the engine running. We may have to bail in a hurry."
"All over it, Sarge," the driver assured.
Tex looked down between the seats where Zoe sat cross legged, staring back up at him. With a nod to her, he said, "Game time, Princess. Let's go."
Inside the school, Zoe stayed at Tex's side, her wide eyes scanning the area as she looked for any movement. Tensions were high and weapons' muzzles swept the hallways as they expected to be attacked from anywhere at any time.
One of the other soldiers nudged Zoe's arm, and when he had her attention he asked in a low voice, "Do you sense any other zombies nearby?"
She glanced about and replied just over a whisper, "I don't know."
"You can't feel them?" he hissed.
"Not if I'm not touching one," was her answer.
Tex snapped, "Snap out of it, Owens. Zoe, have you been here before?"
"Yes," she replied. "My brother went to school here."
"Any idea where a lot of people might have gone to find safety?"
She considered, then strode up ahead and looked down a hallway to the right. Wheeling back to the soldiers she pointed down that corridor and reported, "The cafeteria's that way. I think it's big enough for a lot of people to go. They might also be in the gym."
Another soldier said, "Cafeteria's the better choice. That's where the food's going to be and it's probably more defensible."
"Let's head that way," Sergeant Morris ordered. "We don't find them there then we'll check out the gym. Lead on, Princess."
Zoe walked a few steps ahead of the soldiers, her eyes on where she was going as she tried not to let on how afraid she was. Coming to a tee in the hallway, she looked over her shoulder and pointed to the left, toward the cafeteria.
Tex nodded and motioned with his head for her to move aside.
She backed away and watched as they took up their positions at the corner of the tee that would turn toward the cafeteria, then she heard the faint moan behind her, a moan like someone would make in sleep. Her eyes widening, she slowly turned and looked the other way, peering down the hallway to the right.
There were many, many zombies there, all looking right at her and the soldiers they could see who were ready to assault the cafeteria. They just stood there, but they were ready, and dead looking eyes were intense and wide with anticipation of the feast to come.
A breath shrieked as it stormed through Zoe's open mouth and she backed away from the mob of zombies, and she retreated into one of the soldiers, making him take a step forward to keep his balance.
Keeping his weapon ready, he half turned, his angry eyes finding the girl as he hissed, "Would you watch it?"
Zoe reached behind her and grasped at him, pointing to the mob of zombies as she backed away another step.
He looked and saw them, raising his chin as he saw the threat behind his team, and he barked, "Sarge!"
Morris turned, looked over his shoulder toward him, then down the other hallway. His eyes widened as well, but he did not hesitate a second before he shouted, "Check six! Everybody fall back!"
All of the soldiers swung around, training their weapons on the zombies who started slowly forward, with unsteady, jerky movements.
Zoe retreated behind them, covering her ears as weapons fired with sharp, ear splitting cracks. Most of the rounds were fired with deadly accuracy and burst through the heads of the advancing zombies that approached first. Those that were hit had their heads snap back, and many of their heads seemed to explode from the back as they began to collapse when they were hit. Not deterred, those behind them continued to advance, and louder moans and growls came from them as they quickened their paces.
Sergeant Morris and his men formed a nearly shoulder to shoulder line as they backed away, selectively and accurately firing as they slowly retreated. Zombies fell one after another, but they kept coming.
Backing up along the wall, Zoe watched the carnage in front of her as the soldiers slaughtered the zombies that attempted to attack them. Looking behind her toward the Stryker where three more men waited, she saw a door open and drew a gasp as another zombie pushed his way through it and into the hallway.