that would last forever.
As the uberzombies moved in, she crouched low, like a lioness ready to pounce. I didn't wait to see the fight. I understood what I needed to do. Sybil had saved me so that I could save her. I slipped out of the cafeteria. The attack was vicious--growls and screams, and the sound of ripping flesh.
I cried like a baby as I headed for the subbasement. Moving
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away from the ferocious battle, I thought of all the wonderful things Sybil had done for me over the years. But this took the cake. My throat ached as 1 sobbed out loud. I did not look back.
I pulled open the door leading to the subbasement The moment I did, I heard the most unwelcome sound. More zombies. Loud zombie moans and shrieks were coming from down the stairs. 1 peered down the darkened staircase. There must be hundreds of them down there, I thought. Then I remembered Sybil, and started down.
I reached the bottom. Before me lay a long, narrow corridor with deeply creviced walls. The corridor, lit only by a few low-wattage bulbs, was empty.
"Woooooeeeeeohh!" A zombie wailed from somewhere up ahead. My legs were shaking as I continued in the direction of the sound. There was a door at the end. The boiler room.
The sounds were getting louder.
"Where are they?" I whispered. It was as if the corridor was crawling with zombies, and yet I didn't see any.
"Ooooooooh!" I jumped. The sound was just above me. I looked up and spotted the ventilating duct vent. The zombie moans and cries were carrying from upstairs through the duct. There were no zombies here.
"Oh, my goodness," I whispered as I slumped against the wall. I let out a long, slow sigh of relief. I was safe ... for now.
I reached the door at the end of the corridor. A sign on the old metal door read:
BOILER ROOM
Custodial Staff Only!
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I held my breath, and pushed in.
The boiler room was as dimly lit as the corridor. As I entered, I was assailed by the dank and pungent odor of mold and mildew.
Baron and Milton were seated in folding chairs across the room in front of the huge metal boiler. They didn't see me at first, but as I stepped into the room, their heads lifted. Slowly, both boys rose. Baron's lips parted.
"Hello, beautiful."
I couldn't believe my ears.
"What are you doing here?" chimed Milton.
My eyes widened. "You're not zombies. You're not zombies!" I cried as my heart sang out with relief. I raced across the room, threw my arms around Milton, who was the closest to me, and hugged him.
"Get offa me!" he squawked. "Of course we're not zombies." He pushed me away.
"Is someone gonna hug me?" Baron asked.
I looked into his smiling eyes and threw my arms around him.
"That's what I'm talkin' about," he said, grinning. I thought I'd never see that smile again.
"What are you doing here?" Milton again.
"I came for the antidote. What are you doing here?"
Baron explained that when Principal Taft stumbled upon their lab, he was so happy to discover what they were doing, he officially enlisted them to create the new antidote. He brought them here, where they could work undetected.
"So, you're not prisoners?" I said.
"Course not. We're free as birds. We go home every night," said Milton.
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"And every day we work on the new antidote. It'll be ready in a few days," added Baron.
"We don't have that long," I said gravely. "Besides, as soon as you give him the antidote, he's going to turn you into zombies."
I told them the entire story. "He doesn't want to turn the students back. That would spoil his plan. The only reason he wants an antidote is insurance in case he ever needs it."
As the meaning behind what I'd said sank in, Baron and Milton started getting angry.
Milton pounded his fists into his thighs. "He suckered us!" he snapped. "I told you not to trust him!"
"No, you didn't. You said he was going to make us superstars."
"0h. Right. Dude, if only the original antidote had worked, we would be superstars."
"Maybe it did." The words drifted up from deep in my soul. Baron and Milton turned to me, and I spoke the truth I'd been hanging on to for so long. "You were right. I didn't use it on Dirk."
"I knew it!" cried Milton, jumping up and down.
"Chill, dude!" A stunned Baron turned to me. "Why?" he asked. "I trusted you."
"I know." I heard the betrayal in his voice, and wished