Stacked Against Us (Z-o-m-b-i-e-s Book One)

05

Terrance found a relatively empty spot in the front bleachers and ducked his way through the crowd and sat down behind the cheerleaders. He looked at the book in his lap, shaking his head before zipping it away in his bag. He cheered with the rest of the crowd as the team ripped across the lawn.

It wasn't even a minute in when the opposing team plowed through Zed, tossing him onto his back. Terrance sat up straighter trying to get a look over the cheerleaders and make sure he was okay. "Oh, that hurts," The announcer said with way too much joy in his voice.

"Oh, Zombie down, five, six, seven, eight," Terrance glared as Bucky joyfully started the cheer.

"Welp its third and long for Seabrook, really long. Yep the mighty shrimp are doing what they do best, losing."

The rest of the quarter wasn't going much better. Both teams didn't seem like they were playing the game; they were just all going after Zed or letting him get hit. "Go Seabrook, Go Seabrook, Go Seabrook!" Terrance looked up and saw a little girl in the stands. She stopped cheering after a few words from Eliza. He assumed she was Zed's little sister. She met his eye before she could look away. He smiled and gave her a small wave. She smiled and waved back, "that human smiled at me," she told Eliza excitedly as she pointed to Terrance.

Eliza followed Zoey's gaze down towards Terrance. The boy had turned back to the game looking over the stand's eyebrows cressed in worry, to see if Zed was okay. "I guess he's not too bad," she mumbled to herself.

"It's half time and the mighty shrimp are getting barbecued, skewered, fried and flayed."

Terrance clenched his fist and moved out of the stands and ran towards the boy's locker room hoping to catch Zed alone and see if he was alright. He peered into the locker room catching the eyes of everyone, Zed looked at everyone staring so he turned effectively letting the coach see Terrance as well. "Wrong turn," He squeaked out in a high-pitched voice. He tried to sink back and away but the coach pulled his arm, "You're Jackson Russo's boy, right?" Terrance shrunk into himself but nodded, he looked a lot like his father. "I was on the team with your father, the best player we ever had." he was clearly hoping Terrance had inherited his father's football prowess.

He bit his lip looking anywhere but the coach, "I'm not a player, but I know football plays." He looked at the mess on the chalkboard, he erased it before taking hold of the chalk and drawing out a hammer counter run, "This is what you're trying to do. The X receiver is Zed but instead of holding this line the whole team is breaking and letting him get hit."

"Hey Zed," Principal Lee said walking in, "I thought we had a deal you didn't keep your end of it. Hm? So, win this game or it's back to the basement." She went to walk out but turned back around, "Hey, coach, great idea, now people hate us AND we're losing."

The coach turned back to Zed and Terrance, "What happened to that brute strength I saw at the pep rally."

"Oh, my Z-band was actually turned off-"

"Great use that," he said like it didn't matter.

"No, I can- Coach no I can't," he didn't listen and walked away. Zed fell back on to the bench in utter defeat. A dawning look appeared on his face.

Terrance knew immediately, "You're gonna do something stupid aren't you?" Zed gave a sheepish smile, "As long as you don't get hurt anymore. I hated seeing that," He held out a hand to the Zombie pulling him up. He started to explain what he wanted to do but Terrance shook his head, "The less I know the better. Plausible deniability I can claim I had no idea, and you have less possibility for getting caught. Just promise me you won't hurt yourself for this stupid game."

Zed grasped his forearms making Terrance do the same on instinct, "I promise." It was a lie, but Zed wouldn't tell him that. So much hinged on this game, they had heard principal Lee. Terrance probably didn't think it was worth his safety but to Zed this was about so much more than the game, so much more than just him. To him this was about all Zombies everywhere.

Terrance would never let him do it if he knew how dangerous it really was, and Zed already knew he could never deny him.

~~~

Zed was the last one back on the field. Terrance was clutching his sweater sleeves. Anxiety coursing through him, he had no idea what Zed did, and he was starting to think that was a mistake. He was reckless that much was clear if the last few days were anything to go by. He bit his sleeve even more anxiety spiking as he saw Eliza walk back up the stands with her laptop in hand.

This time Zed was the one plowing through everyone. Making touchdown after touchdown, "Yeah that's my son!" The man who was apparently Zed's father screamed from the back. They lost a ball at one point from how hard Zed kicked it.

"Seabrook wins? Wow, a win!"

Now everyone was cheering, it felt wrong. Everyone was cheering for him because he could play, not because he was one of their own. The football team picked him up on their shoulders, "Let's go mighty shrimp!" He was let down and Addison ran over to him.

Terrance decided to wait until the crowd cleared out to talk to him. He made his way to wait outside the locker room. He was there for about a half hour when he finally came out, "There you are," Zed grinned. "I was starting to think you forgot about me, but let's be real who could forget this."

Terrance laughed, "very full of yourself I see." He picked up his backpack and walked towards his car. "You were awesome out there," he praised before checking his watch. "I've gotta pick up my little sister, Moe wanna come?"

Zeds smile fell, "Won't she ya know, freak out?"

He shook his head, "She was really excited about the integration. She'll just want to ask about your Z-band."

He shrugged, "I'll answer what I can, but that's more of an Eliza thing," Terrance smiled and took Zed by the wrist leading him to his car, making the Zombie stumble a bit. Zed fell electricity flash though him under Terrance's touch a pleasant warmth wash over his cold, dead figure. He gave the boy a goofy smile that he couldn't see as Terrance sat him in the passenger's seat. The ride was a comfortable silence with a few breaks here and there as Zed told terrible zombie jokes. The human boy laughed at all of them, they were so dumb they were funny.

"Alright wait here, this place might still sound the Z-alert." He nodded and watched Terrance leave the car and walk towards the building. He didn't even notice the small goofy smile was still his own face. He was so lucky to have this boy as his friend though he was really hoping he could be more.

He signed something on a clipboard then grabbed the hand of a little girl, about Zoeys age, walking her back towards the car. He opened the back door helping her climb in, "mom usually picks me up from art club," she said not noticing Zed yet.

"Well, I was at the football game so I figured I could pick you up and save mom the ride," he said as he buckled her in.

She scrunched up her nose, "why would you be there?" She asked when he got in the front seat. She knew her brother wasn't into sports and frankly neither was she. Moe didn't understand the appeal of watching teenage boys strike each other over a ball while other teenagers cheer for every slight concussion caused.

"Because my friend was playing," He gestured to the figure in the front seat, Moe hadn't noticed as she crawled in. She noticed the tuffs of green hair poking over the top and the arm leaned on the center consol. A gray arm with a Z-band on it.

She gasped a bit, "A zombie," she whispered under her breath. "Your friends with a Zombie!?" She asked much louder and more excitedly. Zed smiled at Terrance she wasn't afraid in fact she was delighted; she was excited she loved the mere thought of zombies. This one little girl symbolized so much, humans were capable of change, capable of acceptance, capable to unfiltered joy at the unknown. That meant the world to him. He turned to look back at her; her face lit up with pure delight. For the rest of the ride, she rapid-fired questions at Zed about his Z-band and how it works, what Zombie town was like and if he could teach her how to speak Zombie. She noticed that her brother and Zed readjusted their hands, so their fingers were interlaced and held them on the center console. She was going to ask but then figured if they wanted to tell her they would. 

Published: Aug 05, 2022
Updated: Apr 24, 2023