The Running Dead
My alarm went off at seven AM. Duke and Kat followed me as I walked down the hall, then locked them out of the bathroom while I showered. I went downstairs, fed the dogs, and had some coffee. I read the newspaper---My column was about the ghost of Russell Hall, and why she wasn't real.
Then I finished off the coffee and pulled on my jacket---Today it had a police badge pinned to it. I grabbed my pack, got on my bike, and went out to manage the zombie apocalypse.
When I'd proposed the idea of a 5K zombie run as a fundraiser to Diane last January, it was one of those ones that I knew she'd never let me get away with. No way would any employer allow a staff member to singlehandedly plan and manage a 5K run. Except for Diane, who does kind of think outside the box, and I'd found the form signed off with her initials in my mailbox. I hadn't even had to forge them this time.
And that was how we started the Running Dead 5K, based on the Walking Dead comic book.
So I was the first one the arrive in the morning, setting up tables and chairs, starting coffee, setting out water bottles. Millie was the first to arrive, and she helped me bring everything out. I had a police badge on my jacket, and a cowboy hat, and I'd grown some stubble for the occasion. A fake gun was on my hip. I was Rick Grimes. And my new Zombie Outbreak Response Team T-shirt.
Savanah and Kyra came, already elaborately made up as zombies. My wife arrived with Paul and Tif. Chris came dressed as Daryl Dixon. Caley walked in, Ashlin came in to help, and our runners began to arrive. Tracey and her sister were in it, and so was Ellie.
"Savanah, Kyra, make these guys into zombies," I said. "You guys look pretty good. Savanah, are those bruises real?"
"No, they're just makeup," my rainbow-haired zombie said. "I've been practicing my bruises all week."
I heard "Thriller" playing, and looked around. It was coming from Kyra's cell phone. "Nice touch," I said.
"Where do you want us?" Millie asked.
"Once you're all made up, you and Ashlin get anywhere on the levee and scare people as they run by. You've seen the show, give them a good zombie move."
Millie grinned. "We can do that."
"Michelle and Chris, I want you down at the far end. Hand out the water. Give them a bit of a show. Tif, you stay at the table to watch Paul and take in stragglers."
"Got the makeup done," said Savanah.
"And we got blood on your table," said Kyra.
"I'll let Bill worry about that," I said. "It adds to the effect. Let's get going."
With Caley, Savanah, and Kyra, I walked to the starting line. We were up on the levee, behind the Catholic School. Perfect place for zombies.
"Everyone, thank you for participating," I called out. "I'm Sheriff Rick Grimes, of an unspecified location in Georgia. I'd like to thank you all for coming out and supporting the Ross Library. We have zombies along the route, and water available at the far end. Everyone into place....On your mark...." I fired the toy gun into the air. It made a loud click, but everyone got the idea, and they ran.
I started timing. We waited as everyone ran off, down toward the far end. I'd measured it out myself, with signs along the way: Mile 1, All Dead, Do Not Enter. Mile 2, All Who Arrive Survive.
"My face is falling off," Kyra complained. The gel she'd used to make a rotting look was peeling from her chin.
"It is kind of accurate, though," I said.
She ripped it off, and then looked around. "What do I do with this?"
"Shove it in your shirt," suggested Savanah.
"What? Ew. No. No, you nasty..."
"Give it to me," I said. "I'll put it in my pocket."
She handed it to me, and I jammed the piece of face in my pocket. Savanah laughed. "Man, I love you, Lou."
"I'm pretty likely to forget it, do the laundry, and find it in two weeks, and try to figure out what the hell it is."
Twenty minutes passed. We got our first-place winner, a college student, coming across the finish line. Then, two minutes later, our second-place winner---Little Ellie.
We all cheered as she ran across the line. Savanah took her number and wrote down her name. I gave Ellie a hug.
"Way to go, kid."
"That was cool," she said.
"How'd it go?" Adam asked as I walked into the library.
"Went great," I said. "Everyone had a good time, and we actually made a profit. I was worried about that."
"Hey, that's what matters," he said. "If you need time for cleanup, I got the desk a while."
"Thanks, man. I'm gonna go finish the paperwork, and milk this thing for publicity."
I went back to my desk, and finished off the legal forms. I sent photos to the Express and the Record, which would make us look like the coolest library ever. Then I counted up the money.
We'd made almost two hundred dollars in profit. I slipped it into an envelope to leave for Diane.
Well. Look at the flowers.
Then I finished off the coffee and pulled on my jacket---Today it had a police badge pinned to it. I grabbed my pack, got on my bike, and went out to manage the zombie apocalypse.
When I'd proposed the idea of a 5K zombie run as a fundraiser to Diane last January, it was one of those ones that I knew she'd never let me get away with. No way would any employer allow a staff member to singlehandedly plan and manage a 5K run. Except for Diane, who does kind of think outside the box, and I'd found the form signed off with her initials in my mailbox. I hadn't even had to forge them this time.
And that was how we started the Running Dead 5K, based on the Walking Dead comic book.
So I was the first one the arrive in the morning, setting up tables and chairs, starting coffee, setting out water bottles. Millie was the first to arrive, and she helped me bring everything out. I had a police badge on my jacket, and a cowboy hat, and I'd grown some stubble for the occasion. A fake gun was on my hip. I was Rick Grimes. And my new Zombie Outbreak Response Team T-shirt.
Savanah and Kyra came, already elaborately made up as zombies. My wife arrived with Paul and Tif. Chris came dressed as Daryl Dixon. Caley walked in, Ashlin came in to help, and our runners began to arrive. Tracey and her sister were in it, and so was Ellie.
"Savanah, Kyra, make these guys into zombies," I said. "You guys look pretty good. Savanah, are those bruises real?"
"No, they're just makeup," my rainbow-haired zombie said. "I've been practicing my bruises all week."
I heard "Thriller" playing, and looked around. It was coming from Kyra's cell phone. "Nice touch," I said.
"Where do you want us?" Millie asked.
"Once you're all made up, you and Ashlin get anywhere on the levee and scare people as they run by. You've seen the show, give them a good zombie move."
Millie grinned. "We can do that."
"Michelle and Chris, I want you down at the far end. Hand out the water. Give them a bit of a show. Tif, you stay at the table to watch Paul and take in stragglers."
"Got the makeup done," said Savanah.
"And we got blood on your table," said Kyra.
"I'll let Bill worry about that," I said. "It adds to the effect. Let's get going."
With Caley, Savanah, and Kyra, I walked to the starting line. We were up on the levee, behind the Catholic School. Perfect place for zombies.
"Everyone, thank you for participating," I called out. "I'm Sheriff Rick Grimes, of an unspecified location in Georgia. I'd like to thank you all for coming out and supporting the Ross Library. We have zombies along the route, and water available at the far end. Everyone into place....On your mark...." I fired the toy gun into the air. It made a loud click, but everyone got the idea, and they ran.
I started timing. We waited as everyone ran off, down toward the far end. I'd measured it out myself, with signs along the way: Mile 1, All Dead, Do Not Enter. Mile 2, All Who Arrive Survive.
"My face is falling off," Kyra complained. The gel she'd used to make a rotting look was peeling from her chin.
"It is kind of accurate, though," I said.
She ripped it off, and then looked around. "What do I do with this?"
"Shove it in your shirt," suggested Savanah.
"What? Ew. No. No, you nasty..."
"Give it to me," I said. "I'll put it in my pocket."
She handed it to me, and I jammed the piece of face in my pocket. Savanah laughed. "Man, I love you, Lou."
"I'm pretty likely to forget it, do the laundry, and find it in two weeks, and try to figure out what the hell it is."
Twenty minutes passed. We got our first-place winner, a college student, coming across the finish line. Then, two minutes later, our second-place winner---Little Ellie.
We all cheered as she ran across the line. Savanah took her number and wrote down her name. I gave Ellie a hug.
"Way to go, kid."
"That was cool," she said.
"How'd it go?" Adam asked as I walked into the library.
"Went great," I said. "Everyone had a good time, and we actually made a profit. I was worried about that."
"Hey, that's what matters," he said. "If you need time for cleanup, I got the desk a while."
"Thanks, man. I'm gonna go finish the paperwork, and milk this thing for publicity."
I went back to my desk, and finished off the legal forms. I sent photos to the Express and the Record, which would make us look like the coolest library ever. Then I counted up the money.
We'd made almost two hundred dollars in profit. I slipped it into an envelope to leave for Diane.
Well. Look at the flowers.