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dumpsters. Taylor backed the car in and got out, opening Jenna’s door from the outside as he walked by. The locks on the rear doors prevented a prisoner from opening the door from the inside.
    Matt got out and walked around to the back of the car. They hadn’t seen any more of the infected, but he could hear sirens from several different directions. Somewhere farther off, tires squealed.
    The inside of Taylor’s trunk was empty, except for a long black plastic case.
    “My trunk isn’t normally this empty,” Taylor said, rubbing his forehead absently. “You heard what Steve said: this is a loaner vehicle from the pool. I only pulled this out because it’s department policy not to leave weapons in your car when it’s being serviced. In my regular patrol car I have extra ammunition and magazines for the pistol, the rifle goes in a rack next to me, but the pool cars don’t have the racks for rifles.”
    “A bad day not to have your normal car,” Matt commented.
    Taylor grimaced. “Yeah, just my luck.”
    Taylor opened the case. Inside was what looked like a machine gun and three plastic magazines with small windows that showed part of the bullet. Or at least Matt thought it was a machine gun. He wasn’t completely sure. He’d never been frightened of guns, but other than the occasional action movie, he’d never given much thought to shooting one either.
    Taylor grabbed the weapon like it was an extension of himself, deftly putting a magazine in the bottom of the gun and racking the slide. He tucked the other two magazines in his front pockets.
    “I want to try to get inside the school before Steve gets here. It’ll be safer than waiting in the open,” Taylor said.
    Jenna still hadn’t moved. It was clear from the look on her face that she didn’t want to leave the car. Matt could understand that. They’d just been trapped inside a building full of crazy people and she wasn’t excited to go into another when they had a perfectly good car.
    Matt squatted down beside her. “How’re you holding up?” he asked, making his voice calm.
    “Okay I guess. As well as can be expected,” Jenna said. Her chin wobbled a little but she didn’t cry.
    Matt nodded toward the sleeping baby. “Why didn’t her parents come get her?”
    Jenna hugged the baby tighter. “She was born early this morning and her mother passed away shortly after. We don’t know who the father was.”
    “Ready?” Taylor asked, coming to stand behind Matt. Matt nodded and Jenna stepped out of the car.
    Taylor tried the back door of the school but it was locked. Matt walked to the nearest window and cupped his hands to peer through the glass. Inside was an empty room full of desks.
    “Step back, for a second,” Taylor said, slinging his AR-15 behind him and withdrawing his baton from his belt.
    Matt grabbed his arm. “Wait a minute.”
    “What?”
    Matt jerked his head toward Jenna. “The baby. She’s gonna scream when you break the glass and anyone in shouting distance is going to come running. Why don’t you go around the corner with Jenna and the baby. I’ll break the window and climb inside, then I can walk around and open the door for you.”
    Taylor made a face. “We shouldn’t split up.”
    “Jenna and the baby can’t be off alone. You have the gun. The baby will be safer if you’re with her.”
    None of them had spoken about it but the baby was what they were all thinking about, the reason they were together. She was so small, swaddled tightly in Jenna’s arms. She looked peaceful even though the world had gone to shit.
    Taylor nodded once. “Alright.”
    Once Taylor and Jenna were safely around the corner, Matt took the hammer and smashed one of the glass window panes. It sounded like thunder and Matt flinched and looked around but he didn’t see anything to indicate that he’d been spotted.
    The window was chest height. He did his best to clear the glass away with the hammer, but as he pulled himself inside, he felt