Plankk!
The fourteen years old girl stood with the broken plate in front of her feet. Glass shards scattered and some of them hit her legs, bleeding yet the little girl looked unfazed by the sharp feelings.
"Again? Haaa...go to your bedroom. No dinner for you tonight." The voice of a woman sounded vaguely in her ears and when she looked up, the scenery of a happy family was present in her very eyes.
A wife who busily prepared the dinner on the table, a husband who just folded his newspaper to started the dinner, a boy that slowly set aside his mobile phone and a daughter that looked at her with eyes showed an empathy.
And who is she?
She is a fourteen years old girl named Maya that stayed at her aunt house after being an orphan overnight. She's no more than a burden of that happy family.
With a mild hunger, the young Maya go into her room without protest as if it's not the first time she makes mistake. Later at night, someone knocked on her room softly as if being careful for not waking up anyone else in the house.
As soon as Maya opened the door, she saw a young girl bringing a bread and mushroom in a tray.
"Sister, you should eating some. Mom making a lot of these. Don't worry, Claire will said that she eat these if mom asking." The little girl said in incoherent speech with clear eyes.
Yeah, Maya remember. Among the rest of the family, this cousin of her is the only one who always approached her while the others treat her invisibly.
Back to the present, Maya looked at the chaos below. The madness from before was no longer seen in the eyes instead was replaced by a usual look that the outsider always seen on her. Gloomy and nonchalant.
The memories of her childhood extinguished the fleeting excitement.
She remembered that even if she no longer has any attachment in this world, even if everyone around her cease to exist, she would never let Claire faced the same thing as those people.
Maya heard the sound of footsteps running up the stairs and before the door connected to the roof was opened, her eyes turned back to lifeless as usual. Towards her dismay, the group of the students actual managed survive the disaster below and climb to the rooftop area.
They seems breathless as soon as arrived only then they realized there was someone else present here before them.
"You? what are you doing up here?" Jared is a student council and seeing the unfamiliar schoolmate in the restricted area, he can't help but sound strict.
Maya blink her eyes and turn her head towards the direction where the turmoil started. Only then did she realize that the area was empty yet the effects of the tragedy were evident based on the ground that turning into the color of red a sign of bloodshed and body parts that Maya believe belong to the humans. No matter how functional one's mind is, seeing such a horrible situation is capable of making one lose the power to just stand.
It's just that, how long have I been here?
Seeing the girl ignoring him, Jared started getting annoyed but his friend stopped him.
"Jared, now it's not the right time." Kris want to say that the girl only want to find a place to hide like all of them but seeing the leftover foods on the floor, he knows she had been here before the incident. But still, in the middle of chaos, they can't do anything. They are still a student but they aren't stupid. Right now, the school is in disorder. Those people...no, those unknown creatures that resemble humans now invading their school.
"What the hell happened out there?!" One of the girl collapse on her knee and grab her hair. Her face are red from crying. Seeing this, Kris walked towards the railing and stand not far from the quite girl and looked below.
From here, all he saw was a disaster. If this is a movie, he would say that this would be the realistic scene ever. Earlier, he can't believe when he saw that people bite other people but now 'they' not only bite but also eating some kind of flesh like a cannibal . And the people who get bitten risen within a minutes and become the same kind of that 'creatures'.
"Are they....zombies?" Kris whispered in his breath. The others also come up to him and when witness the tragic scene, they can't help but felt churn in stomach and some of them down in vomit.
In the middle of the fear towards the unknown, Kris glanced at the quite girl that had been in this place from the beginning but from the looks on her face, all he saw was nothing. Only the unusual lifeless looks in her eyes.
.
.
.
No one knows how many time left before the system completely collapse and everyone had no idea of the thing happen outside the school grounds since nobody coming to the rescue. In the span of a few hours, many life was lose in the scene. Those who survived in this school in the first place are now in hiding. Some students who are brave enough to take a broom or chair leg as a weapon only to feel despair when they see that the school that was once beautiful, clean and full of life now become a hell that they want to escape as soon as possible.
Seeing the devastated scene, their leg unable to step forward and when they spot a group of monsters like humans, the students knew they fucked up. They should have never leaves their hiding place and just wait for the rescuer no matter how long it's take. That was all they thought before the monsters lunged towards them and the bloody scream of anguish resounding again.
Every corner of the school was full of eerie situations, the sound of flesh being torn apart along the scream of pain become everyone's nightmare.
"What is that creature?" Jared said in whispered but his words still can be heard by others.
"I don't know but if we go down there, how many percentage of our survival?" Kris spoke looking at the smartass among them.
The person sighed in hopelessness." Negative zero."
"Are you serious Liam? not even a zero but negative zero?" Kris ask again in disbelief.
"You can survive one percent if you can fly but if you use your goddamn leg to walk then forget it. This school has been surrounded by that creatures and we have no chance." Liam said with annoyance towards the tall guy questioned him.
"What are you guys saying?! How could you guys thinking about escaping when that creatures still running around the place! I don't want to die early." The ponytail girl said with snort. She had been cried from the beginning and feel frustrated.
Kris looked away in contempt.
In time when they were looking for a hiding place in the middle of chaos, they came across these three girls who insisted to follow them thus they stuck as a six group of people and now they were sitting and forming a circle to discuss.
"Shut up woman. We don't force you to come with us." Liam said with obvious disgust. Since they trying to get away from the situation, these three woman had been clinging to them as if they were their savior. Hell no, he and his friend need to be saved too!
No longer bothered with these woman, Liam looked at one unfamiliar girl that was standing still on her spot not far from their group. Kris also scratch his head awkwardly. Well, instead of six should it be seven people including that nameless girl?
"Jared, you seem to know her." Kris spoke. From the way Jared act early, he seem to be familiar with her. Nevertheless to Kris, that girl kinda feel odds.
"Uhmm,. she from our class. I think her name is Maya. She a bit weird though." The ponytail girl said before Jared opened his mouth. After being taunted by Liam, she knew that her presence made these boys uncomfortable. After all, she's one of those girls chasing after the popular students like them. Therefore, she want to make the better impression since she can't survive in this chaotic state alone.
Still, interrupted others are one of the most rude way in talking.
Kris notice the tension in the group before let out a light cough.
"Ehem..back to your question, Liam, it's hard to say this but those creatures are likely was a human. Did you all notice how those creatures multiplied? It's unbelievable but they increase through bites like the one particular monster that we watch in the movies."
"Zombies isn't it?" Liam said and when Kris nodded in certainty, he add. "I notice that too. From what I discovered, the victims from the bus accident was the ones that started all of this and infecting others through their bites. And the one get bitten immediately turns into one of them in few minutes before attacking others. That's how their number escalate.... easily."
Out of sudden, Liam stopped talking , the bitter feeling bubbling up as the terror was clearly plastered on his face.
Not only him but the others also had horror looks on their faces. The girls has long muffled their cries and hugging their knees. Undoubtedly, without them voicing their thoughts, they know that they are stuck in this school and even if they manage to get out, will there be a safe place?
Amidst the tension, Maya who was standing not far from them started to move and headed towards the door.
"You! where you're going? Stop." Jared stood up and walked towards her.
Maya stop her pace, obeyed his words likewise.
"Go down."
"It's dangerous down there. You have been here before the situation started right? It's obviously safer here. I'm telling you, the situation down there is a worsened. You will die." Jared tried to push the common sense but that girl still remain silent.
Jared can't help but feel off with her attitude since he saw her in the office few hours ago. She's too obedient but also unemotional when being criticism.
But right now, he just can't turn blind when seeing this schoolmate of his to go die even if they are not close enough to butt in each other business.
Jared tried to grabbed her hand to prevent her from go any further only for this girl to take a step back.
Her face remain emotionless but her eye suddenly become cold. The feeling of an obedient but quite student that Jared had seen at the office was nowhere to be seen. He can clearly see a pair of eyes behind the glasses stared straight at him making him stunned in place.
"I will die when I want to die. But if I want to live, no one can stop me from survive. If I continued hiding here, sooner or later I will die without doing anything." For the first time, she spoke to the others more than one sentence but Jared can't be bother with this. Nevertheless, he can't stop her from leaving as she disappear behind the closed door.
"Bro, why you don't stop her?" Kris said with worried on his face. With how chaotic the situation is, human lives were precious and even more in times like this. They are still young and yet anytime the death will knock on their door.
"She don't want to stay and I don't want to force her." Lie. He could force her if he want to. But for the first time,
'Her eyes look alive.' Jared said in whispered that remain soundless.