'it was only the beginning, yet most had already met their ends...'
Day one
Dion had never run so fast before, not in his entire life,in those few heart racing seconds he felt the air whip at his hair, and his leg struck the ground several times within a second.
A moment later, he had rounded the corridor and entered a new one, but as he did his heartbeat doubled.
There at the far end of the hallway, standing at the intersection with two other hallways, there was a zombie wandering aimlessly, no two, as another stumbled into his sight from somewhere at the right.
"Damn it," he cursed.
As he ran, his head darted about rapidly, death might have been waiting for them at the end of the hall but that didn't mean he couldn't find a solution before that. Luckily, the zombies hadn't seen them yet, as they were still wandering about aimlessly and weren't lunging at him with a crazed desire to thirst his flesh… yet.
He knew he had to be fast, not only were they coming in from behind, they were also blocking his way up ahead, but the most troublesome fact remained that if the ones behind caught sight of them in this hall they were dead.
There would be no path to retreat, and there was obviously no path up ahead, it was looking like they would get sandwiched.
So Dion had to somehow get himself and James too out of this hallway before the two up ahead noticed or those in pursuit of James rounded the hall.
'There!'
Up ahead and by the left was the classroom for SS3 B, his class. Through the transparent glass window, he couldn't see any obvious movements that would indicate that there was any zombie hanging out there, and he was certain he was the last person to exit the class after the bell had rung, which meant there should be no one inside who could have been infected to turn into a zombie…
… or… he could be wrong and make their double headed predators gain another head, that was a sure death for them.
He got to the door while hoping it was open, normally the classrooms doors won't be locked until after school was closed, but he couldn't dismiss the fact that some students who survived were holed up in there and locked it for their safety.
He reached the door, extended his hand and with shaky breath, he pulled…
*****
James took off immediately after Dion, as he did he heard a crashing sound behind him and risked a glance, the zombies had crashed into the door, then they stumbled into the hallway a little disoriented, only to start off after him immediately after sniffing at the air.
James was gratified to know that they weren't as fast as the first, the shy kid who had turned and began killing everyone around him, this time the zombies moved as they looked, nursing numerous broken bones and a dislocated ankle, the zombies were suddenly very slow in their movements as they dragged their broken foot along behind them .
But take nothing away from their determination, as they showed no reaction in face of such discomfort, only moving forward with a crazed determination to consume him.
'Not scary, not scary at all'.
Boosted by andrenaline James speed was boosted almost two fold, and next he was rounding the corridor into the next hallway.
Suddenly his blood ran cold and his heart skipped a few beats, in front of him, at the far end of the hall, two zombies were loitering about aimlessly, and he couldn't see Dion anywhere.
'Where is he?'
He wasn't worried about Dion's safety as barely a few seconds had gone by, and there wasn't any evidence to suggest otherwise.
Despite his uncertainty his legs didn't stop moving, and within seconds he was approaching an open classroom door by his left.
'So where is that bas - '
The next moment, a head with short black hair stuck out ominously from within the class, James heart leaped through his throat.
Expecting to see the already familiar dead eyes and hungry mouth of cannibalism, James reacted instinctively, he borrowed power from his speed and launched a deadly left hook at the 'creature'.
"Get in - "
BAM
The blow connected with an unassuming Dion's forehead, and the force hit the back of his head against the door frame.
Dion crumpled like a broken doll.
James, "..."
But he didn't let his shock kill him, in a swift moment, he dragged Dion in with an arm, and shut the door with another.
He paused for a moment looking at Dion's still figure.
Then he frowned...
"He's not dead is he?"
*****
Dion felt a splitting headache when he woke up, and a sudden rush of dizziness left him feeling disoriented for the moment.
"Wakey, wakey, princess".
Hearing the unfamiliar voice, Dion forced his eyes open, albeit painfully.
" Hey, you okey?" James offered him a hand, his voice a lot warmer than usual.
But aside from him there were three unfamiliar faces in the room. They weren't really unfamiliar, as Dion had normally seen them hang out with James, they were probably SS 2 students.
They had dry patches of blood scattered across their bulky bodies, they were lounging across the classroom with a lazy and unnatural sort of confidence about them, and Dion noticed the one closest to him was gazing at him with disdain.
He was probably the one who made the initial comment.
Nevertheless, Dion found himself feeling happy about them being here, after the terribly gruesome affairs he had witnessed today every life suddenly felt infinitely valuable.
"You sure took your time," one of them gave him a crooked smile.
Dion remembered him to be Osalema, or maybe Osalema... something like that, he was sure it was one of those weird sounding middle-belt names.
"Come on now, Osaremeh," another of them chipped in. "Can't you see our dear SP was just fast asleep".
So, Osaremeh it was.
Dion turned towards James with a questioning eyebrow.
James nodded, "I saw them passing by a while ago, after the... after those things were gone. I invited him in as you were still... still...out"
As if earlier agreed upon, the three began a certain mocking laugh.
Dion ignored them, these was nothing new to him, usually when students he had... disciplined at school met him outside of the school premises, they mostly tried to insult him or bring him down.
These three clowns were just the same, only too stupid to consider and put their situation first.
"I am sorry," James continued, his face looking a bit guilty. "I was... I was just... I was..."
He paused unable to continue, a certain reddish glow crept upon his cheeks.
'You were just scared'.
Dion smiled at the teenage like emotions exhibited by James.
"Here," James offered him his hand again.
Dion took it, but winced when a sharp headache assaulted him when James drew him up.
"You okay?" James asked with concern, still feeling guilty.
"Been better," Dion shrugged, then paused. "How long have I been out?"
James was silent for a moment, doing a mental calculation.
"Between 40 to 50 minutes".
Dion nodded.
40 to 50 minutes, which meant that it had been almost an hour since the outbreak started, which also meant that the initial chaos had subsided.
That didn't mean that the situation was now peaceful, no, instead it meant he could now draw a line, those who survived and those who didn't.
And now those who survived would look for ways to keep on surviving, while the zombies would begin to get more desperate in turn due to the absence of food.
The hunt would now begin in full swing.
And during this period, they had to ensure their safety.
He frowned.
"We have to move," he peered out the transparent windows, his frown deepening. "This place isn't safe".