The Good, The Bad, and The Zombies

Being A Teenager Is Shit- and Then an Old Man Jumps You

A Small Town In South Georgia, September 12th, 2019

The clicking as the seconds passed by was the only thing keeping Thalia awake. Her chin rested on her hand as she stared up the wall- eyes locked on the round clock resting on the wall. She wasn't alone- every single high schooler in the classroom was doing the exact same thing. Counting down the seconds, on a Friday, as to how long it would be until they were released from their educational prison.

Come on, come on, come on, you can go just a little faster.

She liked to believe that her begging for the time to speed up is what caused the bell to ring. She shoots up, grabbing her backpack and slinging it over her shoulder. She puts her head down and rushed out of the classroom before anybody can be called back, or before the teacher can announce what the assignments for the weekend would be

Ducking to the side of the hallway, she keeps her head down until she feels a large and familiar hand plant itself on her shoulder," Hold up Tally, Jesus Christ," A voice rings out from beside her. Originally, she had flinched and gotten ready to bolt. Despite never being a personal victim of bullying- besides being called prude or hard to get from time to time, she always held the irrational fear that she was going to get choke slammed into a locker one day. But today wasn't that day.

"Clementine- you know, you really shouldn't touch people without their consent," She says with a grin. The girl walking beside her stood at least four inches taller- a considerable 5'9 for a girl in her junior year. With tan skin and dark curly hair, Thalia wasn't surprised by the attention that her best friend got. She wasn't just pretty, she was vaguely otherworldly. She was also stepping on her foot.

"You're crushing me," She says, and is met with a quick," Oh- my bad," From Clementine. The two walk shoulder to shoulder with each other to the front of the school. "We've gotta get you some new clothes," Her friend remarks with a slight smile. She looks down at her shirt. She saw no issue with it- a black short sleeved shirt with a front pocket, jeans, and shoes that looked like they had been through hell. But looking at her friends outfit- a tucked in collared shirt, dark pants and formal shoes, she begins to understand what she means

"Alright fine, I'll come get you tomorrow and we'll go to Walmart-" She is cut off when the other girl looks at her like she's insane. "Not Walmart." She tells her simply, patting Thalia's shoulder.

Unfortunately, the two of them lived in opposite directions. Clementine's parents had taken residence in a small suburban neighborhood, which Thalia's father called 'suburbia hell' when he had to drive her over. Thalia, on the other hand, lived in a small but manageable home across town. It was not one to envy- but it housed her and her family and her parents were proud of it. They always talked about how they were going to fix it up and make it perfect.

She never believed it would actually get done

The two girls bid their goodbyes, and begin walking in their respective directions. Thalia looks down at her phone when it buzzes, looking confused at the alert

PUBLIC HEALTH ADVISORY: Four cases of rabies have been observed in the past hour. A new mutational strand is seeming to cause the disease to evolve and become more contagious. The following neighborhoods are asked to remain indoors until the issue is resolved: 1st Avenue, Bloomingwood Blvd, Kalisic Ave, Umbrin Rd, Polyman Drive. Thank you for your co-operation with local law and health officials.

She furrows her brows, reading the alert again before simply shaking her head and continuing to walk. She didn't live on any of the listed streets- but Polyman Drive was familiar. Thinking, she groans as she realizes that's the road she must walk in order to reach her home. Any detours would add at least twenty minutes to her walk

"They didn't make a big deal out of it, it'll be fine," She mumbles as she continues walking

It was strangely uneventful. Each street was quiet- ridden of the usual noise of playing children or families and neighbors chatting with each other. It's good that some people are taking this seriously, she thinks

But as she passes an alleyway- she hesitates, backtracking for a moment. She recognized the man sitting on the ground. It was someone that her father worked with. An elderly man, one that her father usually commented about. He always says that this man must have dementia or something, because he usually forgets what he's even doing halfway through printing papers.

"Mr. Alvaz?" She asks, stepping into the alleyway. He looked confused- and scared. "I'm Thalia Asena, Jeremiah's daughter. You work with my dad. I know who you are, are you alright?" She asks. She was talking loudly in hopes of not startling the man.

He suddenly falls to the side, curling up slightly and seeming to convulse violently. His arms jerk with rigid motion as his body leans over something, hiding it from her vision

-Violence and Gore. If you are touchy with blood, please skip the following paragraphs. There will be another bold when it is over, thank you :)-

"Mr. Alvaz?" She repeats, stepping closer to man. It became more apparent what he was doing. Ripping something apart and eating it. She could hear it. He was peeling the flesh away from something and stuffing it violently into his mouth, animalistically ripping and eating

He hadn't even seemed to hear her, going into fits of becoming more violent. To the point where he was snarling to himself. When he finally leans back, Thalia is knocked from her state of shock.

In front of her father's co-worker, there was the mangled body of a large dog. The skin had been ripped off in several large patches- pouring out the insides and organs of the animal. The eyes seemed to have been forcibly removed, sockets torn and ripped. It was still bleeding- clearly just killed. The old man goes back to feasting, snarling and crunching several of the bones as he lowers his head to inhale more of the meat.

Gore Portion is over, please enjoy the rest of the chapter :)

Shock had forced Thalia into a stage of freezing, making her watch the bloody scene before her. But after finally recovering, she takes step back, feeling her stomach flip and threaten to force her food up. She covers her mouth as she backs out of the alleyway- her shoe brushing a broken bottle. The glass slides against the pavement, making a small scratching noise. She freezes, looking down at it, and then up at the old man, who is now staring at her silently

His eyes seem different. Unfocused, and yet filled with such a hatred that she feels her stomach do a second flip. She crouches lower and turns, getting half a step in before she is violently knocked to the ground. She feels her head hit the pavement and she sees stars- blacking out for a split second

She raises her hands to protect her face as her head is violently raised and slammed onto the ground again, causing her to cry out. She feels warm blood trickling down the back of her head, and she can't seem to focus on the top of the buildings around her

The next moments go by quickly. Bits of her past, all strung together as her body fights for survival. Clementine, who can't be older than 9, holding up a raggedy barbie doll and smiling brightly at her. The girl who writes the school newspaper. Her brother, grinning ear to ear as he holds up a baseball that he caught. Her mother, her kind words. Her father, his tired smile.

She raises a fist as her head is raised to be slammed again, and it connects with the old mans nose. In the second of hesitation, where he is shaken by the sudden fight in his victim, she raises a leg and repeatedly kicks him in the groin and stomach, forcing him to release her. While still on the ground, in her last desperate effort, she grabs the broken bottle, and flings it against his head. It shatters entirely, and he falls to the side, dark red blood oozing from the side of his skull

Thalia stands shakily, knees threatening to give from under her. She grabs her backpack, taking a step away from the scene. Blood is now running down the back of her shirt, the wound on her head feeling as if it's on fire, but she knows better than to take a moment to assess the damage done.

She runs the rest of the way home.

Authors Note: Hey! This is my first time writing an actual chapter for a story for the first time in awhile, so please ignore the main issues. I'm trying to get back into it, thank you!! :)