Zombie Super Powers

Chapter 5

| Chapter 5

“Duck!” Valerie said, racing past Ron with the tall metal door of a locker clutched in her hands. She had ripped it off and ran with it towards the robot. Ernie pulled his head down as Valerie took a huge leaping swing, slamming the locker door into the robot’s head. The robot fell sending Ernie sprawling to the floor scrambling away from its grip. Valerie stood over it, smashing the door against its head until there was a gash the size of a bowling ball. It stopped moving and its glowing eyes flickered out.

Ernie jumped up, “I thank you once again. Time to go. Remember act natural.”

“Wait,” Valerie said, “can’t we just wait a second? I can’t just put on a smile after that.”

“I’m sorry Valerie, but we need to move now,” Ron said.

Ron walked over to Valerie and put his hand on her shoulder.

“It’ll be okay.”

She didn’t pull away like he was expecting, but leaned in closer into him. The smell of her hair like a fruity shampoo was heaven to him and he lost track of everything but her head against his shoulder.

“I’m serious guys we need to move now,” Ernie said.

He splashed a calm look on his face and walked past them to the doorway. Valerie dropped the twisted locker door and looked up at Ron. He looked for her smile, like the one she always gave him when she put her muffin and coffee on the countertop. She wasn’t smiling. He tried coaxing her with a smile of his own but it was forced. She tried smiling back but it wasn’t the same. Ron hoped he would get to see her real smile again. She dropped her gaze to the floor, combed a hand through her hair, and headed to the door behind Ernie. Ron followed looking down at the massive robot with a crescent moon for a head as he stepping around it.

They headed left and continued down the hall further away from the jail cells. Ron looked inside the windows and saw that no one was paying any attention to them, but it didn’t help him feel any less nervous. They came to a door, Ernie used the key card from the man taped up in the supply closet, and it slid open. He walked in, grabbed a clipboard from a hook on the wall inside, and motioned for Ron and Valerie to follow him with one hand as he jotted something down. Ron couldn’t believe how Ernie could look so calm. He really looked preoccupied with his clipboard as he lead them further into the facility. They passed by the busy scientists and not one of them looked up. Ron felt like the doorway at the back of the enormous room was miles away. As soon as he passed by a scientist he could swear he felt their eyes on him, burning a hole into his back.

He walked into the hall behind Valerie. Once they neared the end of the hallway Ron could smell food and coffee coming from the next room. The hallway opened up into a massive cafeteria filled with tables and lined with food dispensing machines. Ron thought he counted thirty different machines. A few scientists were scattered throughout, eating and chatting at tables or getting food from the machines, but they didn’t seem to think anything of the old man and two kids walking in. Then a scientist at a table looked up from his food and saw them. He waved them over.

“Remember, act natural,” Ernie said.

He turned walking casually towards the scientist with a warm smile creasing his face.

“These must be our new interns,” the man said.

“Uh, yes.”

Ernie glanced at the man’s name tag.

“I was just giving them a tour of our facility Dr. Nangrum.”

“I see. Well, that’s great and all but I need their assistance right now. They can finish the tour later. I’m sure that’s okay with you isn’t it Dr. ah, I’m sorry your face is familiar to me your name has just slipped my mind.”