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  ‘Don’t make me do this.’ I said, trying in vain to reason with the zombie. I’m not sure what I expected. For it to shrug and agree, then go somewhere else?

  It lunged at me and I swung the stake at its hands, batting them away. There was a crack and saw couple of fingers now hang limply, with the middle finger on its right hand now pointing in an unnatural angle. Obviously it didn’t feel pain and was still locked on me, slowly advancing. I didn’t want to- I really didn’t after what happened at the building site, but I had no choice. Right? Adjusting my grip, I lifted the stake like a spear in both hands.

  I thrust it forward at the zombie’s face, sinking the stake into its left eye. The zombie didn’t scream or react in any way... it just stopped and fell to the ground, the stake protruding from the eye socket. I stood for a moment looking at it, yellow pus oozing from where the stake had entered.

  Reality suddenly snapped back into focus. Stephanie! Nkata! How long had I been busy?

  ENTRY 16

  I sprinted around the clubhouse again towards the tennis courts, my chest aching as I breathed... but I was too late!

  My encounter with zombie Siya had taken too long and the zombies had caught up with them. The car was surrounded - the boot was still open and Stephanie was screaming and kicking at the hands of grasping zombies as she tried to get to over onto the back seat. The rest of the zombies were banging on the windows, trapping Nkata inside.

  I ran into the parking lot, waving my hands and shouting at the zombies to get their attention and away from the car.

  ‘Hey dead-heads, I’m back! Over here!’ I reached down and picked up a few rocks from the ground. I threw them at the zombies feeling my shoulders flash with pain from pulling out the stake moments ago. The rocks landed in the zombie crowd, one bouncing off a head with a wet thud. That got the attention of only one – the naked guy in only a bath robe. It had to be him, right?

  His mouth hung open, his beard covered in yellow crusts. If the horror of being a zombie wasn’t enough, his brown chequered robe was flapping open – I was sure I was going to be scarred for life and really wanted to shield my eyes. I cursed myself –the tennis court gate was still closed and I managed only to lure one zombie from the car.

  This was turning into a disaster. At this rate, we were going to end up zombie lunch – we had to re-group them somehow. I could see Stephanie had made it to the back seat, so she was safe for now, but what was I going to do with the half-naked zombie? That’s when I heard the sound... it was like tin cans rattling. I looked across and saw my knight in shining armour – literally!

  Clattering as it ran, the figure in the suit ran at the half-naked zombie, shoulder charging it. There was a loud crash like someone kicking over a drum set, sending the zombie spilling onto the tar. The bathrobe flapped open even more and my unshielded eyes were once gain imprinted with a horror I was never going to forget. Clutching a samurai sword, the figure hacked at the zombie on the ground before lifting his visor... Freddy!

  ‘What’s the plan?’ He panted from within the metal suit.

  ‘We need to get them into the tennis court,’ I said, pointing at the closed gate.

  ‘Go!’ he instructed, handing me his sword. ‘I’ll get their attention.’

  Closing his visor he clunked over to the car. I ran past the court with the two zombies from earlier in the day, to the gate of the empty court, stopping myself against the chain-link fence. I pushed the bolt and kicked the gate open.

  Using the armour as protection, I watched Freddy approach the zombies, pushing and shoving at them to get their attention. It wasn’t long before they surrounded him, clawing and biting at the metal exterior. I ran forward and cupping my hands. I shouted ‘Play dead!’ I got a thumbs-up as the tin frame collapsed to the ground. The zombies swarmed all over him as though trying to eat baked beans through a can – I hoped Freddy was going to be okay. It was time for me to get their attention again. Tapping the sword against the concrete path leading to the tennis court, I started shouting at them.

  ‘Let’s get this over with! Over here meat sacks!’

  The zombies looked up, following the sound of the metal taps. Once the zombies left the car, I saw Nkata get out, looking back at where Freddy lay. His movement caught the attention of the last figure that turned and walked back towards him – it was Walter.

  ‘Nkata! Watch your six!’ I screamed.

  He spun around, smiling at the message, no doubt thinking I had finally learnt my lesson from all those video game defeats. He was ready for an attack with his rock pick, but suddenly froze at the sight of his brother in front of him.

  ‘Walt... bro, it’s me, Nkata.’

  Zombie Walter didn’t stop walking straight at Nkata, who took

  a couple steps back, dropping the rock pick onto the tar.

  ‘Don’t you recognise me? We can get you help! Walter?’

  Zombie Walter reached for Nkata, who caught its wrists, holding it off, its jaws snapping at the air between them, trying in vain to bite him.

  Nkata’s eyes welled up before tears began to roll down his cheeks.

  ‘Don’t do this Walt... please. I want you better again...’

  I made eye contact with Stephanie in the car and held up the sword for her to see. I threw it over the approaching zombies like a javelin. The blade sunk into the grass sticking upright. Stephanie got out of the car and grabbed it before rushing towards Nkata.

  He was still pleading with his brother – I could see he was starting to realise Walter wasn’t there anymore. He was gone and all that was left was an empty shell.

  Stephanie ran up behind the zombie Walter and lifted up the sword. She hesitated for a moment, looking at Nkata. He looked back at her with tears in his eyes, nodded and looked away. Stephanie brought the sword down hard onto the back of zombie Walter’s head, the blade easily sinking into its skull. It went limp and Nakata let go of its wrists, letting it fall to the ground.

  He sank to his knees and Stephanie went to his side putting her arms around his heaving shoulders. I took a step forward, wanting to rush to his side, but stopped when I saw the other zombies were now dangerously close – I had to finish the plan.

  I could smell that awful stench and it was much worse coming from a horde of zombies. I backed through the gate, making sure they all followed me onto the court. There was no net on the court, so I didn’t have the luxury of a barrier to slow them down. They entered slower than I wanted and I could see Freddy lumbering up in his armour ready to bolt the gate.

  I turned and walked to the middle of the court - my legs were tired and my body ached. As I reached the far baseline, the last zombie was inside and I heard the bolt slide closed. I turned and launched for the fence, grabbing at the metal links.

  My shoulders ached and I struggled to get a grip, realising how badly my hands stung from the cuts made by the metal stake. Using all my strength I hoisted up my body up, my feet sliding on the fencing. That’s when I felt the grip around my ankle. I slipped, but managed to grab hold again, hooking my fingers into the links. I screamed in pain as my middle finger twisted – I could hear it snap.

  I hung on by one arm, twisting as the weight on my ankle kept pulling. My shoulder continued to scream in pain and I could feel my fingers slipping. A thousand thoughts flashed through my mind. Was this going to hurt? Would I remember anything as a zombie? Would I recognise my friends or just want to eat them? I closed my eyes preparing to be dragged down.

  There was suddenly a loud crack and the weight around my ankle disappeared. I swung against the fence, and ignoring the pain in my hands and shoulders, I clawed up to the top using all the strength I had left. I threw my leg over and lay on the top pole of the fence looking back at where my friends were... but they weren’t alone. There were army vehicles and police cars.

  Crouched on top of a brown army vehicle was a soldier aiming a rifle, the barrel smoking slightly. Near him was... Dad! He came. I looked down at the zombies massing
against the fence below me. On the ground one zombie lay with pus and blood oozing from its head onto the green asphalt. I got my other leg over the top and started climbing down. I don’t remember getting to the bottom because everything suddenly went black.

  ENTRY 17

  I woke up, not sure what was going on. I was on an ambulance stretcher and my father’s face was looking down at me.

  ‘You came,’ I said softly. He smiled and hugged me tightly.

  ‘Lucas... what were you thinking?’

  ‘Where are Stephanie and Nkata?’ I asked, slightly groggy.

  He put his hand lightly on my chest.

  ‘They’re fine, but you need to take it easy,’ he said.

  ‘I’m fine,’ I replied, sitting up and looking around.

  There was another ambulance and a police car parked next to the army vehicle. Several soldiers were at the tennis courts, erecting plastic sheeting around the perimeter, ignoring the zombies pushing against the fence. Amongst them, a stocky soldier was hanging a sign saying ‘Under Maintenance.’ At the entrance to the parking lot, the police had put yellow barricades and no entry signs. Stephanie and Nkata were sitting on the pavement, with a paramedic checking them out.

  ‘Careful,’ my father said, helping me stand. Pain shot through my hand, making me look at it.

  ‘You dislocated your finger,’ he said.

  My hand had been bandaged and a splint held my middle finger upright like I was flipping someone off in traffic.

  My father chuckled, ‘You’ll have to watch where you point that thing. It’ll have to stay like that for a few days for the tendons to heal.’

  ‘Did you speak to Mom?’ I asked, thinking the Mothership will have found my pillow doppelganger by now.

  ‘She’s fine, just worried that you snuck out again.’ He cupped the back of my head and brought me in for another hug. We stood there for a while and I could feel him trying not to cry. He sniffed and changed the subject. ‘So, zombies?’

  ‘Yeah,’ I replied, watching the final plastic sheeting go up, hiding the zombies from view. ‘We think it started with Nkata’s brother. He took some medicine, but instead of getting better, he got worse before changing into one of those things. And when he got out, it just spread. The vial I took is in the glove compartment of the car.’

  ‘I’ll make sure they get it,’ my father said.

  I looked over at Nkata. He was sitting on the pavement, looking inconsolable.

  ‘The government already has scientists looking into what happened.’ He went on to explain that he got hold of an old friend at the CSIR, and after a few hours, it was confirmed that some experimental medicine was missing. No one would confirm what the medicine was or did, but when word spread that it was missing, the army was immediately called in.

  ‘You can draw your own conclusions,’ my dad said, nodding to the soldiers doing a literal cover-up right in front of us. He saw me look over at Nkata and Stephanie again.

  ‘Go to your friends,’ he said. ‘I need to go speak to one of the doctors.’

  I walked towards Nkata, trying to think what to say. I came to a stop in front of him and opened my mouth, but nothing came out. I didn’t have to say anything. He stood and hugged me, bursting into tears again. I said nothing and hugged him as we stood there.

  ***

  ‘How’s the hand?’ asked Stephanie as we sat on the pavement.

  ‘You tell me,’ I replied, holding up my finger, grinning.

  ‘Funny,’ she said, smiling, but her eyes said something else.

  ‘What’s wrong?’ I probed.

  ‘I killed his brother,’ she replied, looking over at Nkata, who had gone with a paramedic for another check-up at the ambulance.

  I took her hand in mine.

  ‘Walter was already dead. Nkata knows that now - you saved his life.’ I squeezed her hand, and she looked up, her eyes moist with tears.

  ‘I know what it feels like, but you did what you had to, to save your friend. It feels like crap, but we’ll get through this... together.’ I leaned over and kissed her softly on the cheek. She lifted her arms and hugged me.

  ‘That reminds me, we’d better tell them about the other zombies,’ I said after she let go, suddenly remembering all the zombies we locked in the houses, Siya’s friend behind the bar, the ones in the park, and the dead zombie at the building site.’

  ‘Don’t worry, Boy Scout,’ she smiled. ‘We already told them while you took your nap earlier.’

  ‘Nap?’ I repeated, and we laughed together.

  The muscles in my shoulders and chest hurt as I laughed. I winced in pain.

  ‘You had a close call,’ Stephanie said, putting her hand on my back.

  ‘I thought I was done for,’ I said, thinking back to how close I was to falling from the fence. ‘I knew you could do it,’ she said, taking my hand.

  A familiar voice cursed zombies and sat down heavily beside me. Freddy was out of his armour, his face was red and his hair was all sweaty.

  ‘You came in the nick of time,’ I said lifting my well hand and giving Freddy a high five.

  ‘That’s what IT does, man. We’re the glue that holds everything together,’ he said, interlacing his fingers like the pieces of a jigsaw puzzle.

  ‘At least you stayed conscious this time.’

  We laughed and he wiped his sweaty forehead with the back of his hand.

  ‘How did you escape custody?’ Stephanie asked, making light of his apprehension.

  ‘I told you, I’m good at giving over-technical excuses.’ He told us how he convinced the security at the front gate that he needed the bathroom, or he would severely wet his pants. Sucking in his stomach be barely managed to squeeze through a very small window, falling into a thorn bush. Stealing back his sword from the back seat of a security car, he ran agonisingly to his house. Seeing his prized replica armour he decided that only a knight could save the day.

  ‘I tell you, running in armour is the new fitness fad. I’m sure I lost ten kilograms running here in that tin can!’ he joked, patting his stomach and recalling his run to the clubhouse with armour rattling the whole way.

  ‘I was afraid they would find a way through the armour when you went down,’ I said.

  ‘No way,’ replied Freddy, it may be a replica, but that armour is as strong as the real thing. I got it at a medieval fare where the guys use it in real battles. They smash each other with swords for real! I knew I’d be safe, I just went into my shell like a tortoise!’

  We giggled at the mental picture. Nkata returned to where we were sitting with my father.

  ‘Paramedics say you are all clear to go home,’ Dad said.

  Looking at Nkata, I suddenly remembered his mom.

  ‘Dude, your mom!’ I cried out.

  ‘His mom is fine,’ my Dad smiled. ‘I sent an ambulance to their house when we arrived. She was still in bed, knocked out on some painkillers with my name on it. You don’t know anything about that?’ he enquired, lifting an eyebrow.

  ‘It’s a long story.’ I smiled. I’ll tell you everything when we get home.’

  ENTRY 18

  It’s been two weeks since the near zombie outbreak. There’s been nothing about it on the news, only a report that there was a small GEOIT-20 outbreak in our estate and twenty-three people tested positive and died.

  That’s more than the amount of zombies we saw, so it means a few more people were infected that we didn’t find. The government announced yesterday that there will be one extra week of the lockdown. Infections have gone down dramatically, and the President issued a statement that he is proud of the nation and there will be a slow return to normalcy in a phased approach.

  Learners must stay home another two weeks before going back to school so that the academic year can carry on. I’m not looking forward to all the work we’ll have to catch up on. My finger is almost back to normal – I can bend it again and Dad makes me do exercises every day. He also checks my temperature daily even t
hough I told him repeatedly that none of the zombies bit me.

  Some men in suits came to speak to Dad a couple of days after our zombie ordeal. They didn’t say much, other than we could not speak about what we experienced to anyone – not on social media or to the press. They also took our phones, erased the videos and reset them back to factory settings. So I had to set it up from scratch again – so long contacts and gaming apps.

  As I expected, The Mothership grounded me for the rest of lockdown after getting the longest hug of my life, so no video games or cell phone, although I am allowed to call Stephanie and Nkata if I ask nicely. Nkata insists they should have given us medals or something.

  ‘We stopped this thing, brah! We’re the heroes!’ He doesn’t mention Walter, but I can hear the sadness in his voice sometimes. It’ll take time for his family to get over the loss.

  Nkata’s dad made it home from Angola. He wasn’t pleased about his car and I have to help Nkata wash it once a week for the rest of the year to make up for the damage we caused. It could be worse – at least we’ll get to hang out doing it.

  Mrs. Radebe got an operation to put metal pins in her leg – my dad made sure she got the best care. When I phone Nkata, I can hear her screaming in the background to help her and fetch things from the bedroom or kitchen.

  ‘I’ve become a butler,’ he sighs.

  I look forward to talking to Stephanie most. I didn’t expect us to become so close because of what happened. In any other situation I doubt we would have even spoken, let alone become friends. We’re definitely still going to the movies when everything gets back to normal – let’s hope there is something good showing... no zombie movies! She still calls me Boy Scout and we talk until The Mothership hovers in my doorway, giving me the signal that the time is up.

  Stephanie is slowly coming to terms with killing zombie Walter. It took a few days for her to talk about it, and I also opened up about the zombies I killed. It helps to have someone who understands and went through the same experience.