What Ever Happened to Muffins?

Rats, He's Kicked the Bucket

Apartment 510

Derek runs out of the bathroom when a banging sound echoes throughout the apartment. It's followed by a loud cracking sound when he reaches the empty living room.

Claire suddenly emerges from the entrance's corridor. Pushing past him, she halts in the middle of the room. Muttering curse words  and swiveling her head in all directions, as if trying to think of a hundred different things at once.

"Quick! Look for a weapon!" She yells.

"What's going on?"

She reaches over the couch and grabs the tire iron. "It's no longer safe to stay here! One of my berzerkoid neighbors is trying to bust in through the front door. Hurry up! He's almost through!"

After fumbling in a drawer full of a few butter knives, forks and spoons, Derek finds a kitchen knife. Though its weathered wooden handle seems flimsy, he settles on it, since it's the only thing in the drawer that can actually be considered a weapon.

Hopefully, it'll be sharp enough.

Apartment 345

Sarah stares at the slightly opened door.

Katherine follows closely behind and peers over her shoulder. "Well, that's not creepy at all." She whispers into Sarah's ear.

Sarah shakes her head. "Not helping."

"Sorry."

"Hello?" Her voice comes out low and unsteady. She arches her neck, straining to look through the crack.

All that can be seen is a small portion of a wall.

With her left hand tightly gripping the skewer, she cautiously taps the door open and prepares herself for any surprises.

"Hello?" She repeats a little louder as she continues to open it. A shuffling sound and moans can be heard from somewhere within.

"Help!" A low and weak voice from inside the apartment says.

When the door is fully open, Sarah sees her neighbor on the floor. Only her head is visible, because the rest of her body is obscured by the division. Her brown eyes, wide and laden with fear, gaze back at Sarah.

While trembling and jerking her head, she mutters some unintelligible words to Sarah.

Katherine gasps and digs her nails deeply into Sarah's shoulder.

"Barbara! Hold on, stay right there! We're coming for you!" Sarah says.

She springs forth and crosses the threshold. Without paying attention to her surroundings, she trips over a book bag in the corridor and falls over. A baseball bat rolls onto the floor. Her face lands close to Barbara's.

When she can finally see the rest of the woman's body, she scrambles back in panic.

Barbara's stomach—a bloody and partially torn mess—has an opening as big as a softball on its side. Her labored breathing, mouth foaming with a mixture of drool and blood, causes her to gurgle most of her words.

In a daze from the horrific sight in front of her, and watching as the wound gushes out more blood when the woman strains to speak, Sarah doesn't hear when she says in an almost inaudible whisper: "watch out".

Christopher—Barbara's son—lumbers to where Sarah lays. Mouth and face covered in blood. Even his light brown hair is a matted disaster soaked in red. He drops down to his knees when he reaches for Sarah.

Sarah and Katherine scream in horror.

Sarah plunges the skewer into the roof of his mouth, causing him to be unable to close it. The teenage boy jerks forward, incessantly trying to bite at her.