I grab two more of the metal rulers from the pile on the desk and creep to the door. Peeking out into the hallway I watch the six of them eating Brian's corpse. Three pull out his intestine and two are ripping his ribs off so they could get to the good hearty meat underneath while the last is chewing on his knuckles, cracking his own teeth in the process.
CRACK! SNAP! CRACK! SHLURP!
I veer away and lean against the cold wall, feeling slightly nauseated, pressing my face hard against the painted concrete. I really didn't need to see that… I calm my breathing, brace myself, and walk out to face the dead.
I enter the hallway, creeping backwards to the south stairwell, ensuring they don't switch their attention to me out of the blue and leave me with some teeth sunken into my neck for being a fucking dumbass. Nope, not gonna happen. I'm not taking any chances with these creatures, even if they can't see. Fuck that shit, that's how dumb people die.
Creeping up the stairs to the 3rd floor, I power walk through the hallway quietly, trying to figure out how I'm gonna get them up here without dying or getting bit. Then I pass a door with a plaque on the outside reading Custodian. The Janitor's closet! There's bound to be some supplies that I can use in there, some type of weapon. I try the handle but it's locked up. I kick the door on the outside of the handle three times, but it's sturdy and reinforced, just leaving my foot sore. I pray none of the infected will come investigate that noise, being happily distracted with Brian's corpse and all. I stare at the lock on the door intensely after deciding I was still somewhat safe, figuring out what I should do to pick it.
The lock is on the actual handle, so it's not a bolt lock, very good for me. I can do this with just a card if I'm lucky. I pull my now forever useless debit card and slide it through the crack of the door, yanking hard when the card gives a little tug as it passes over the lock, sending the door flying open. I let out a shaky breath and flick the light switch on, unlocking the door from the inside so I don't have to do the card trick again. I quickly take in my surroundings. Many cleaning supplies and utensils reside on the single rack in the closet, random health regulations and custodial expectations of a typical day lining the opposite wall, along with the picture of a Asian family having fun at what looks like a family BBQ or picnic.
I shift my gaze from the now sad picture, knowing that there's a 95% chance that all of those people in the picture are dead or infected. There are a lot of different things in here, many possible weapons and equipment; three separate mops, a push broom as well as a sweep broom, a bucket of lost clothes the custodian had claimed for him or herself apparently, and a floor polisher, along with a duffle bag shoved underneath the rack.
"Remember about this later, focus on the plan," I say to myself, thinking of what I should equip. I grab a wooden mop and stomp off the mop head, leaving a splintered yet angled makeshift spearhead for me to work with. I honestly don't care if they hear me downstairs now. If I had the knife I would be able to sharpen it to a finer and deadlier point. Georgia… I hope she's still ok, hiding… I gotta hurry up before something bad happens to her.
I spot a thick grey snow jacket hanging in the back corner and snatch it up, yanking it on. I'm hoping it'll be good enough protection against a bite, at least to protect it enough so they won't puncture my skin.
There's a fireman's axe stuck in a glass box hiding behind the jacket. Hmm, how should I go about this… and after a minute of thinking of how not to break the glass to get the weapon and finding no answer, I ram the end of the spear I'd just acquired to break the glass. It'll help a lot more than the makeshift spear, but I'm gonna need both I'm sure. Better safe than sorry… I creep down the north staircase to the 2nd floor, each step seeming to echo louder the closer I get to that final step.
Even if I throw a ruler over here it won't be enough… They might get distracted and go after Georgia in the room. I stare at the carnage still occurring over Brian's body, the slurping of his blood drowning in my eardrums. Blood… Blood makes them go crazy… if I can leave a trail for them to follow, then they should follow me straight to the 3rd floor.
I unwrap the bandage on my left hand and smear it along the railing all the way to the 3rd floor after checking that there was infected blood along my path, letting a tiny puddle form at the top of the stairwell to attract their attention. I slink back down the stairs, rewrapping my hand securely so no infected blood will get into my body. My hands can't stop trembling. I kept trying to shake off the fear but it isn't working at all, adrenaline too overpowering to overcome.
I let out a spooked huff, step out into the hall, and start slapping the ruler against the wall. Their heads whip around to get a better fix on the loud sounds vibrating in their ears. I chuck it down the hallway at them and start running up the stairs, my footsteps becoming heavier, booming through the lower stairway like mini cannon fire. As I run, I whip out the 2nd ruler and continue slapping it against the rail, holding the axe and pole in my right hand while I climb the narrow steps, bounding up the stairs three at a time to keep ahead of death's shadow. I gallop through the 3rd floor hall and stop in the middle, waiting for them but really letting some air back in my empty lungs. I hadn't been breathing the whole time I'd been running, like my lungs were sewn shut for those few seconds. I throw the 2nd ruler to the floor as I hear them tripping up the stairs, trampling over each other to get more food, having tossed Brian aside like an unwanted bit of a oversized burger. I hurtle the axe through the air to the end of the hallway by the south staircase and wait for the beasts with the makeshift spear, sound dissipating around me, leaving me in a dead and eerie silence, frightening me beyond description.
Have you ever had one of those nightmares, where you're running from a monster or killer or something like that, and there's nowhere left to go? Time seems to slow down, but you can't do anything but sit and wait for what's coming, and all you can hear is your own body moving? That's what it feels like, except this isn't a nightmare, and I can't just wake up when the demons come for me…
I see them approach the hallway and sound snaps back to normalcy, even making my ears pop. But they stop, not even entering the hall, lapping at the blood on the floor like mutts, shoving each other out the way for a taste of essence. Christ, if they get that distracted by just a few drops of blood it should be simple to make a distraction and escape. Or it could spell our downfall if someone gets cut or is already bleeding like I am. Well, one problem at a time I suppose. I bang the pole against the wall two more times, irritated that they're losing focus so easily. If this is happening, its going to happen on my time goddamn it, I don't have time to waste on these soulless mother fuckers.
The first to reach me is the first one I'd killed the night before, a mousy lean boy with a gaping hole in his chest where the pole had been removed, the wound completely clotted with crusted black blood. I swing widely and connect with his right eye, slamming him into the wall and making his body slump down to the floor, stunned and confused. The 2nd comes right behind the 1st infected, screaming at the top of its rotting lungs. I readjust my position, using the bottom-heavy weight of the pole to level the pole in time, and jab at its mouth, the pole bursting through the back of his skull. I try pulling it back out, but unfortunately it's too stuck for me to get it out without being shredded by the other five stalking corpses. I regretfully let go of the pole and start sprinting to the southern staircase for the axe which glows bright, a beacon at the end of the darkened windowless corridor.
I hear the infected chasing me, their hollers bellowing through the hallway as they speed to catch up with their meal. I'm nervous, panicked, getting sloppy with my footing. I trip on the traction of my shoes, the polished floor being too smoothed out and waxed, and end up falling on my side, sliding three feet before slamming into the wall, a pained croak escaping my throat. They're coming faster now, closing in on the downed food source. I scramble, picking myself up quickly, my blood pressure rising from true fear, the kind you only get when you know you're going to die, when fight of flight completely takes over, becoming animalistic, primal.
Panic's spreading like wildfire through my lungs and heart, making it harder to suck in air. I snatch the axe from the floor, only a foot from my face, and try to get to the stairwell, but as I'm heading through the open door the 3rd infected bites hard into my shoulder, pressure hastily rising to an anguished state. I punch him twice with my bare knuckles to release his grip on me, ripping away a huge chunk of cotton and polyester from the jacket as I push away. I do a 180 turn, back step, and chop at its neck before it retaliates, severing it at the bone so the head only hangs on by flesh and skin. It flops to the floor, the body unable to move but its head still snapping at me. I bolt through the doorway, slamming the doors shut and shoving the axe through the handles, locking it precisely as the other three collide with the door, roaring in anguish that their new meal has escaped.
I slide down the wall and slump on the ground, catching my breath, calming my heartbeat to a certain extent. It isn't working well with those demons beating away at the fucking door. I close my eyes and lay my head back against the wall, letting out a horrid groan of realization.
"FuuuuuuuuuuUCK!! …gotta go lock the other fuckin' entrance…" I sigh, picking myself up off the floor, sweeping away the strands hair stuck to my sweaty face. I hurry along to 216, trying the door but it's locked. I knock three times, but nobody comes to open the door. I knock louder and hear shuffling emerge from inside. A whole conversation occurs while I wait impatiently, getting very agitated by their incompetence. If someone doesn't come open this goddamn door I'm kicking the shit in…
After another minute of listening to them argue indistinctly, I slide the jacket off, wrap it around my uninjured hand, and punch the window out, glass erupting through the classroom over Henry and Jen who were arguing about whether to let me in or not. I glare as I unlock the door and make my way inside, dropping the jacket to the floor.
"Thank you all so much for opening the fucking door," I grumble before going about rambling through the room, searching for my weapon. I find the iron bar underneath one of the desks still upright, having been knocked down while they were in a panic. I don't give them a second look, too rushed for time, plus the infected could be making their way down here due to me breaking the glass.
I'm halfway out the door when Jen asks quietly, "What's goin' on? Where're Brian and Georgia? Are the infected in the building?"
"She never came to the room?" I question speedily, worry dehydrating my being faster than instant mummification, feeling like a leaf blowing uncontrollably in the wind. They all shake their heads, almost in unison. I dart out of 216 and slip on a puddle of blood a few feet from 216, almost falling flat on my ass. Then my eyes widen with terror as I realize that it's Brian's blood. This is where he'd been killed only 10 minutes ago, but his body isn't there… Panic engulfs my heart and I race to the room, following the slick trail. There's soft weeping in the corner opposite to the teachers desk at the back of the room where the trail continues to lead, but other than that the room looks undisturbed.
I pad towards Georgia's soft sobbing and glimpse Brian's corpse on the floor near the desk. His chest and stomach are scraped out, so much so that you could see his spine through the scraps of what meager meat scraps remain. His left arm is completely ripped off at the socket, tendons dangling from the open wound. His right leg must've been gnawed by demons from all four corners hell, the bottom half of the foot and toes are completely bone but still attached. His intestine had trailed behind him, the blood trail turning to a trail of feces the last few feet, creating a new form of putrid that stings my eyes. His eyes are still wide open, blood smeared over them like someone had tried to close them but the corpse is too fresh for that to occur yet. Georgia must've done that to try bringing him some peace, my knife sticking out of the top of his skull like a flagpole. I yank the blade out of his head, wiping it clean on my pants, and cautiously walk over to Georgia.
"Georgie, it's me. It's okay, here, take my hand. I needa take you to the other room before they come back," I urge soothingly as I reach down to gently help her up. She's cowering underneath the desk, her eyes wide, unblinking, hands twitching randomly. Tear stains are all that remain on her pretty sorrow filled face. She slowly reaches up and grabs my hand, then stands and clings to me tightly.
"I-I-I didn't know w-what else to do… He was gonna... I-I didn't-… Whatthefuckisgoingon!?!" she sobs into my chest while I glance over her body for scratches or bites. She's clean thank God.
"It wasn't him Georgia. He wouldn't try to hurt you… he wasn't that typa person. You put him outta his misery. Believe me, he's happy he didn't hafta kill you… This is what he woulda wanted. He wouldn't wanna end up a monster… you did the right thing," I soothe her and she cries harder, her body shaking with the release of piled emotion. I pick her up since I'd be dragging her otherwise and carry her to 216. "Watch her until I get back," I tell the rest, sadness etching across my face, then exit and run up the north stairwell. No infected in the stairwell, good note for me. Maybe I won't die today.
I peek around the corner once I reach the 3rd floor, thankful to see that they're still attacking the south staircase doors like a pack of rabid dogs. I was going to simply lock the doors, until I remember the pole in the middle of the hall. I peek again, seeing the spear in the center of the hallway, rather close to the group of diseased, maybe too close for me to even risk it… but, I mean… We're gonna need it to deal with these infected later…
…fuck.
I guess I don't have much of a fucking choice…
"…Why me?" I sigh as I creep down the hallway, making my footsteps as light as possible, only stepping on tiptoes. I reach the corpse problem free and feel a warmth spread through my head, easily becoming unwelcome, making me a little woozy. I ignore it and pull at the pole as gently as I can, trying my hardest not to make a single sound as it exits the body.
"Slowly, slowly, carefully… only a little more to go… almost there," I think, being unnaturally slow as I lift the last bit of pole out of the infected's head. I make one last tug and the pole is free, but that last tug had raised the corpses head with the pole, and I watch in regret as it splatters back against the ground. The noise of his head splattering against the ground makes the others turn towards me with surprisingly swift reflexes.
My body turns to ice, joints and muscles lock up, unmoving. I take a shallow breath, blink, clench my teeth, and dash to the north stairway, breaking the ice holding my joints and tendons in place while I force myself to sprint. They howl, tearing down the hall after me, cold dead hooves quickly slapping against the floor behind me. I feel a tickle running down the entirety of my spine, like someone running the tip of a chilled needle against my bones, as if they're reaching out for me, edging me faster. I keep pushing with all my might to stay ahead of the cannibalistic cadavers, full speed ahead, releasing my power. I try slowing down so I can easily turn and lock the doors, but Brian's blood on my shoes, along with the blackened blood of the infected I'd stepped in to grab the pole, makes me slip and fall, again, sending me rolling for the wall. I tuck my body and roll toward the right for the open doors, luckily passing through so that they wouldn't reach me. I kick the metal doors shut, hop up, and try to get the iron bar through the handles, but they slam against it, pushing the doors open slightly, the tidal wave of panic washing against me, almost knocking me off balance.
"Oh my—Fuck! BACK THE FUCK OFF!!" I bellow, kicking the doors six times so hard that I think I might've fractured all my foot and ankle bones, before the doors finally both click shut. I ram them with my shoulder again for good measure, then jam the broken pole through the handles to secure them.
They beat against the doors with a ferocity that meets my own, making me chuckle at the feat I'd accomplished. I lazily trudge down the stairs, getting about halfway down the hall when my body temperature raises unexpectedly, the warmth in my head more intense than any fever I've ever had, and seeping to all parts of my being, creating a migraine effect. The world twists around me, making my eyes roll around, trying to keep a steady pace with the planet and failing uncontrollably. The searing in my head becomes that of a burning needle burrowing into my brain, jabbing at nerves and brain cells as it pleases.
"The fuck?" is all I can think while leaning against the wall, making a tremendous effort just to stay standing. No… there's no fucking way… I check my shoulder again, positive there aren't any wounds where I'd been bitten earlier, making me more puzzled. "If I'm not bit, why do I feel like shit? Do we just turn no matter what or when? What kinda bullshit is that?" I wonder, edging my way into the hallway. I haven't drunken anything since early this morning, and it was only a tiny amount of milk. Maybe I'm just dehydrated or something. Hopeful thinking…
I stumble down the hall, mumbling in disbelief, falling twice, luckily not in any infected blood scattered spaciously on the ground. When I finally reach 216, I turn the knob, fall into the room, and land face first on the floor.
"Just kill me…" I grumble at an almost inaudible tone, everything vanishing to black…
****
"Shaun… Shaun! Wake up!" Angela yells, shaking me awake.
"I thought saving all your lives would mean I'd get to sleep in," I glower at her through squinted eyes, blinking the crust from the corners.
"Nope, just gets you our thanks," she says and kisses me on the cheek, making me stare at her with a newfound curiosity. "We need to get outta here… I hope you have a plan because the others have no idea what to do", She tells me as I sit up, checking my body for the "bite". There's really nothing there. Huh…
"Don't worry, I already checked you out. You'll be fine," she explains with a smirk. I'm still on the floor, but moved from where I was before, more towards the back of the class now, away from the doorway, and only in my boxers.
"Any idea why I blacked out? And did the others see me like this?" I ask, brushing off the fact that Angela examined me. I've fucked her before, so I'm not embarrassed about her seeing my body that way, but everyone else is a different story. My scars are for me, not for the world to see. I stand up and lean against the teacher's desk while I pull my clothes back on, blood stained but dry.
"Oh, you must've been exhausted from doin' everything yesterday. Getting' here, killin' those fuckers. Then re-killing them… All while runnin' on fumes! I'm surprised you were able to do all you did. Here, drink this, it should help," she explains, passing me a bottle of Revive vitamin water.
"So they saw all my scars?"
"What? No, I checked you when they all left the room. Don't worry, I know how you are with your… appearance," she tells me discretely.
"Thank you Ang-wait… yesterday? I was out that long? Where's everyone at?" I ask after drinking half of the bottle, rubbing my right eye with the palm of my uninjured hand.
"They're on the 1st floor, using the bathroom right now or changing. And you weren't out for too long, just like six hours. We all slept in shifts to make sure nothing else happened. Henry even stayed on the first floor to keep an eye on the classes that actually have windows, but nothing tried to break in. Its morning now," she yawns as she stretches, arching her back, her stomach visible as her arms stretch over her head, pulling the material of the shirt up with them. I see bruises on her exposed skin and feel a tinge of sadness again. If I hadn't left to examine the building, none of this would've happened to the girls…
"What?" she questions, staring at my sullen face.
"Nothing, sorry," I lie and cast my vision away. She'd already noticed what had stared at.
"I never did get to say thank you-"
"You don't have to. I'm just sorry I wasn't there. I could've stopped it from even happening in the first place. But instead I took the two strongest people with me and-"
"Shaun, shut the fuck up. You did stop it. Before you broke in they had almost raped Jen, and were close to starting in on us. You did stop it from happening. I'm grateful that you think you could've done more for us, but you did enough. You saved us Shaun. Don't look so pitiful about it. We all love you for it, even if it didn't seem that way. Thank you," she says and gives me a small peck on the cheek, the corners of our mouths touching.
I don't quite know what to do or say to her. This is a first. I give her a quick smile and feel my cheeks redden a little from her gratitude, something I'm also not accustomed to. I can't really remember the last time someone was grateful for me existing. She smiles at my blush. I avert my gaze, peering around the windowless room. It's hard to keep track of time in a windowless hell. I'm surprised the kids who had to sit in these classes didn't go insane.
"Anyway, I'm about to go change, just thought I should wake you up so you wouldn't freak out if nobody was here when you got up," she tells me as she walks to the doorway.
"Alright, go tell the others to hurry up, we'll be leavin' soon," I respond as she exits.
This is gonna suck… I'm still worried about this fucking infection being airborne… Does it even matter if we get bit then? Maybe… It did take Brian a lot less time to change after they ate him, not to mention he was already dead… I guess getting bit means the infection spreads through your body faster and more dominantly. How're we gonna make it out of this? We're not even living to die anymore. We're just prolonging becoming monsters…
Is it even worth it......?
I gotta stop thinking about this… its beginning to diminish my ambition…
I take a quick jog to the second floor men's restroom, whiz, and run back to 216 to wait for the others. They speed back into the room in another minute, wondering what I have in mind for an escape, open to any idea of leaving the drowning sounds of the infected and the consistent tapping and scratching against the brick walls. I fill them in on our current situation.
"Okay... So we gotta go kill four zombies to get to the equipment in the janitors closet?" Kevin asks, his voice shaking.
"Yeah, that about sums it up," I answer with a nod, noticing the tension now getting denser, the airwaves curving, creating a sort of clouded and uneven aura around all of us.
"You make it sound so easy…" murmurs Spencer.
"It's not gonna be hard if you stay focused. Just don't freeze up or you'll get yourself killed. All you gotta do is hit 'em over the head. We can kill 'em easily, if you can keep calm. Be happy I already killed three for you man," I tell them and they shut up, knowing it needs to be done. We don't have the privilege to complain anymore, not about something like this. "Okay, Kevin, you take Spencer and head up the north stairwell. I'll go with Henry up the south staircase. Wait until we open our door first, then open yours and come out. You use your knife and have Spencer use the mop pole that's locking the door," I tell him. We split up, going to our designated stairwell, and the girls continue the search of the classrooms in the first two levels for drink and food, or anything that might be of use to us in the coming moments.
"Here, this should keep some distance between you and them," I tell Henry and pass him the iron bar as we jog up the stairs.
"Uh, thanks," he murmurs, remembering what I'd used it for on Jamal and not entirely sure if he wants to grab something that was up another mans asshole. He decides he does want it, grabbing the weapon from me. I feel his hand brush up against me as I pass the weapon, very sweaty and clammy. I give him a look of confusion, staring at his face for a moment. He's terrified, not a look I've seen from Henry before. Of course he's scared, we all are, but it's just so strange to see this side to Henry. I always looked at him as a stronger person than me, a man's man or whatever you call it. To see him this way is one hell of a reality shock.
The day that Shaun O'Shea has the plans and courage over everyone, it really was when hell froze over the earth in the form of rain. Jesus… that's kinda fucked up…
We reach the door, noticing it's extremely quiet. No banging on this door, though you can hear banging and screaming from this floor. None of the infected are near us, still banging on the door of the northern stairwell, and getting nowhere as predicted. I can hear their screams echoing through the halls, sounding of wounded animals.
"You ready?" I ask him and he nods; ultimate focus in his eyes, shielding the fear crawling beneath the skin. He's as ready as he'll ever expect. I pull the axe out of the handles, carefully opening the door, making sure they don't creak and prematurely alert the infected. I glance down at the half dead corpse on the floor and chop its head open. Thick dark crimson oozes from the gash, almost a pitch black color aside from the red tint in the light. I glare at the other infected and tighten my grip on the axe, storming down the hall in a huff.
"HEY!" I scream, smacking the side of the axe against the wall to draw their attention. The anomalies turn toward us, and gallop at an unnatural speed and precision.
"What the fuck dude?!" Henry yells, tensing up, eyes darting between our four targets.
"Just calm down and focus!" I shout and charge ahead, kicking the 1st back, sending it flying backward, landing on its back and neck uncomfortably. I chop the 2nd on the side of its head, blood gushing out over the axe head, ivory white from its broken cheekbone sliding into view. I tug the weapon free and spin the weapon around to smack the 3rd with the butt of the axe, stunning it slightly. Henry jumps over the 2nd's body and bashes the pole over the bridge of the 1st's nose, becoming death from above, continuously beating the shit out of the infected until its limp. Henry then drives the bar into the 4th's temple, which had been closing in on me, about to bite my fingers off. The 3rd retaliates, lunging for Henry's arm. I shove him out of the way and the beast tackles me, head urgently pushing toward my neck. I shoot my right hand out and grip its neck to keep it at bay, then unleash my knife and jab the blade into the back of its head. Henry tosses the body to the side and helps me up while I slip my blade back into my pocket.
"You guys ok?" Kevin asks apologetically, rushing down the remainder of the hallway with Spencer.
"Yeah, Henry saved my ass back there," I say as we gaze upon the cadavers.
They seem like how they were before, yesterday, the first time they were killed. I'm not sure if that makes this any less sick, but I assume they deserved a second death. Maybe it's God's form of punishment for the atrocities they would've contributed had they survived. But the fact that they killed Brian makes it seem distasteful. It would've been better to have just killed them back then. We should've stabbed them in the head for extra security… I should've known something like this would happen. I should've done something…
"Come on… lets head back," I say, leading them down the stairs, patting Henry on his shoulder as thanks. He nods back to me in the same apologetic manner. We'd saved each other, not something you can often say about your best friend.
"So now what?" Henry asks, studying me in hopes of an answer.
"Go get the girls, get prepared to leave. Take all the water and food they found and put it in someone's backpack. Kevin, come with me really quick," I tell them while Kevin and I continue down the stairs to the 1st floor after I grab the fluffy jacket I had yesterday.
"What d'you need my help with exactly?" he asks while we're walking back into the room of uninfected bodies.
"We gotta take these bodies to the roof, I think I got an idea on how to get us outta here," I explain, picking up Peter's body and carrying it to the foot of the stairs.
"And what the fuck does this plan have to do with this asshole?" he questions further while we heft the body up the last of the stairs to the roof.
"I'm gonna bait them away from the door with this meatsack. The blood'll attract them to the back of the building, then I'll dump another body down there to keep 'em distracted so we can get away," I explain, hacking at the neck a few times until the head is separates from the body. It creates on hell of a mess, but I can't stop yet.
I chop the arms into three separate parts each, the hands, forearms, and biceps. The legs get chopped into four separate parts each, the feet themselves, the calves, and the thighs are chopped in half for more pieces so they don't dawdle on them and get distracted, leaving the torso whole. The scent of pungent death wafts through the rain, mixing with the metallic blood, and Kevin's putrid vomit. The rain must wash away a lot of the scent, but this should be enough to make them notice and come running, because it's enough to make me gag while I'm chopping the shit apart. The rain is coming down lighter than earlier, but enough to still be called rain. We maneuver the torso so it'll fall right next to the main entrance of the building, next to the mass of infected crowding outside the door, and throw it down.
"Won't we need to get the resta the bodies?" he wonders as we scurry back down to grab another uninfected body.
"Naw, we only needa chop this fucker up. It only takes a 'lil blood and they go crazy. If I can make 'em follow the trail of meat, we'll have our way out," I explain as we haul the 2nd body up the last of the stairs. "Alright, you might wanna go back downstairs and get ready with the others. Make sure everyone's ready in five min. We'll hafta leave by then or we'll lose our chance," I tell him through pants and he trots off. I chop the 2nd body into three pieces, each leg at the hip, leaving the torso and upper body whole to longer distract them, trying hard not to gag while I work, blood literally pouring off the slick waterproof jacket. All the puddles on the roof are now diluted maroon colored, and becoming pinker with the falling rain.
I grab Peter's hand and throw it 10 feet away from his torso, now almost picked clean by the deadly creatures. I stop and ogle the beasts, gagging once more at the sight. They were slurping the contents of his intestine before moving away from the torso, brown and unprocessed feces smear over their lips and chins while they continue to gulp it down like a chunky chocolate milkshake. I almost vomit just imagining the horrid smell below.
Those closest to it leap for the hand; fighting over it like rabid dogs. Fuck yeah!! I carefully drop the pieces down until they've all moved around the back of the building. When they all gather around the back near the fence that surrounds the entirety of the school, I grab the two legs and discarded them over the edge, both slapping down one of the infected along the way. They frenzy over them, biting each other while trying to find the untainted meat. I shove the 2nd torso over quickly before running down to the 3rd floor to get the others. The time is nigh.
"Is everyone ready?" I ask promptly, coming to a stop at the custodian's closet, tossing the blood soaked jacket to the floor. They all nod, looking nervous, Jen, Kevin, and Spencer trembling. They're ready. It'll be hard, facing the horrors awaiting them outside, but they'll manage. They have no choice. It's either they manage, or they die. And they know that.
"Okay, this is gonna get crazy. I got the group by the front to move to the back of the building so we're in the clear, but they won't be distracted for too much longer, meaning we needa hurry the fuck up. We still gotta move the blockade out of the way before we can leave. Once we're outside, we needa get out of this city. There're too many people, too many infected, and it's getting more dangerous every day we stay here," I explain as we move down the stairs to the first floor. Nobody argues, just follows my lead. We hastily move the blockade out of the way and I slip my worn belt back on after removing the bar, ensuring my pants don't sag and make me trip or anything stupid.
"Keep your eyes wide open," I maunder, peering back at the others and tying my hair back into a more secure ponytail. I take a huge breath, open the door, and dash out. There aren't any infected right outside luckily. There are a few further down the alleyway, some wandering up the stairs toward the courtyard, and a shitload behind the C building by the grass and Donahue gym.
"Where should we go?" Georgia asks quietly, observing all the blocked off routes.
"We needa make our way to the marina, get away from all the infected on the mainland. There's no way we'll make it through the courtyard. The main gate is still blocked off with half eaten corpses and more infected... our best bet is the side gate but the Little Theatre. Since its locked nobody should've been around there, plus it's the closest exit for us to use right now," I say, thinking out loud, quickly walking down the pathway that leads to the side gate, Henry stabbing a stray female infected with a pretty floral dress through the head and shoves her into the wilted bushes lining the pathway. The dress looks nicer than the bushes, it's an improvement. Who wears dresses when it's raining anyway? White girls…
"But it's locked ain't it? How're we gonna open it?" Jen questions, a small hint of nervousness coming out in her voice as we see the gate in the close distance.
"Good thing I got this axe then right?" I say and we start jogging to the gate.
"Won't that make too much noise?" Georgia questions.
"Well it's either we do that, try to run through that hallway in the H building to exit that way, or hop over the slick fence and prey we don't break our necks on the fall down. I just see chopping the lock off as the easiest solution. At least we can see what'll be comin for us," I retort, pointing toward the H building teeming with infected. It reminds me of a piece of rotten wood infested with huge cannibalistic termites.
We head down the pathway to the western side gate, and note five infected standing between us and our freedom. I put my finger to my lips to indicate that these are silent kills, and sneak up to the infected, the rain covering our soft footsteps. I chop the blade of the axe into the back of the 1st's head, yanking it out quickly to pierce the back of the axe head through the 2nd's chin and shrugging it's corpse off the blade. Henry and Spencer have traded their weapons, since Henry's better with a spear compared to Spencer. Spencer runs up to the 3rd, but he freezes, fear taking hold, and the infected shoves him to the ground. Henry pierces the 3rd infected through the cheekbone before it chows down on Spencer's forearm, helping him up afterward while Kevin shanks the 4th three times in the side of its head.
The 5th was coming after me, and I froze. It was the boy I threw to the infected yesterday, the boy I'd decided to sacrifice for myself… I couldn't bring my weapon up to do the deed again. It was bad enough I'd killed the poor boy in the first place, I didn't need to do it again. He's like this because of me. Just looking at him makes me somewhat regret using him as a shield, almost wishing our role had been switched for the wrongful action I took against the boy.
But as it approaches me, Jen stabs it through the top of its skull with the 2nd piece of pipe I'd used to lock the door. I watch the corpse fall and say a silent prayer for the boy, thanking him for once being alive and for saving my life, even asking if he could ever forgive me, wherever his soul may reside. I avert my eyes, knowing I have more important things to worry about.
"Everyone good? Spencer, you still with us?" I question and he nods, shaken but still stable. We continue keeping a low profile until we get to the gate. "Ey, make sure there aren't any around, this is gonna be loud," I advise them after checking the outside of the gate, finding no infected around. Strange considering how many I saw just last night… I put it to the back of my mind and chop at the lock four times until it falls to the ground. We wait for three long, time devouring minutes, feeling like three lifetimes, and when no infected still came we let ourselves breathe and divert our eyes.
"Okay, you saw how the school was. We got lucky in here, now we hafta be on constant guard. The city is ten times worse than what we've seen… We can't have anybody gettin' bit or fallin' behind, so stay together. Keep quiet and watch your step," I explain to the best of my ability, glancing back at the infected now running toward us, the sound waves having finally delivered the loud clangs of me trying to break the lock moments before. Spencer opens the gate and we all file through. I close the gate as quickly and quietly as I can, locking the bottom into the cement so that the rushing infected wouldn't keep chasing us through the unknowing streets. The rain has stopped to a very light sprinkle or mist, the kind of weather where your vision becomes obscured by the water in the air, collecting on your eyelashes. I scout straight ahead, trying to find the best pathway to head down. Gripping the axe until the bones of my knuckles protrude through the paleness of my skin, I smirk and brush the water from my eyes, and lead the group into the streets full of hungry demons…
And for the first time in a long while, I feel like I'm actually in charge of my own life. Sure, I can't prevent things from happening such as the end of the world, but I'm able of make the best of it and survive. I'm no hero, I won't act like I can do everything and save everyone, but I sure as fuck will try. Now is the time to take charge and change our fate. And I don't think it's that we aren't in charge of our own lives; it's that that's all we are in control of. We can't control everything that goes on around us, but we can control what we choose to do about it. And right now, this feeling of control is exactly what I need, because I'm not sure if we're even gonna make it three blocks without dying…
But we will push on… even if it kills us…
~*~