Part 1
I clench my hands together and blow air on my sweaty cold palms but they feel colder. This is what it feels to be anxious. I can't feel my heart but it's building a tempo in my ears, my legs, my fingertips and my lips keep shaking. I bite down on my finger to stop a whimper but the pain doesn't distract me and I feel hopeless.
Hopelessness is an understatement for what I feel. I just wish, I hope, I pray to whatever entity is up there to tell me this is a dream.
"Please" I sob as my hands tremble visibly. I can't even control it anymore. I sit up, tucking my cold feet under me but it's not cold.
"I'll do whatever you want, I'll listen to Ma, I won't be selfish-" A snarl makes me close my eyes shut and I bit on my lips to stop any noise from letting out. Was this the end?
"Nini" I heard a whisper of my nickname, my best friend calling out to me. But I know he's not here, he should be home with his Ma and Pa, away from all this. Theo shouldn't be here.
No! I have to be strong. For Ma and Pa, for Theo and everyone. If this was a nightmare, I must survive it. I must survive for my family, if you have nothing to live for, live for the ones you love and who love you. I sit up and open the closet door but it's pitch dark and the phone Victoria gave me is dead.
Victoria, she had said to should leave without her, what if she's still in the building? No, it's Vicky she must have left. Did she really leave me here? I question. But I know I wouldn't want her and her siblings to be stuck here in a Janitor's closet.
I crawl out of the closet, my body is aching but I use my hands to look out for anything to grab onto. I can barely see my hands in front of me even when I put them directly to my face. This scares the heck out of me. I knock something over but quickly catch it before it hits the ground, it's a torch; how convenient. I put it on and everywhere seems to brighten and I can see the whole room.
I see a mop, a bucket filled with dirty water, rubber gloves, sponges, and disinfectants. None of these would be useful except the mop stick, so I take it and pull it out of its plastic, it is just my height and I wield it like a bokken sword, I switch to a hand position I find comfortable. Now I need something for the tip so I look around some more things and I find a knife, balls chain linked that have pointy edges. Should I be worried the Janitor has such items? But I can't help but be grateful...for now. I notice a map of the school on the wall above a bundle of clothes and quickly rip it out, I smile at it.
I sharpen one end of my stick and tie the spiky balls to the other end. As I do all this, I realize how much of a baby I had just acted but it also makes me realize there could be other people who feel the same way and I have to help them. I could get caught and killed by the rabid people but it doesn't matter knowing there could be someone just like me, hoping for any sort of help. And I won't give up on them.
I need to save them. I recognize my irrational urge to save someone. It had been that way since I was young, always trying to save someone and I was still like that if not worse but it didn't matter, if it was irrational in my head, I could feel it was the right thing to do.
I wrap myself in bulky janitor's clothes and big sponges around my vital parts. I drag the table to the middle to a ventilator, I notice and climb into it, in my hand is a torch, I hide the knife I used earlier in my pants, it'll be useful, and in my other hand is the sharpened to perfection stick, it's restricted in this ventilator but I set the map in front of me, I could barely read the architecture, it's like the plans for my Lego house I used to build when I was younger, but other than walls and doors I got nothing else on this piece of paper. I crawl forward and the vents creak loudly, but it's fine, right?
As I crawl my way to a path I think should get me to the second main office, I pass another entrance to the vent and it shows a classroom with no one in it. As I drag my body to go over the enclosed vent, my lights catch the silhouette of a girl. I call out to her without even thinking.
She turns around me, her eyes in panic and she looks around frantically, looking for my voice and she visibly relaxes when she sees me.
"..."
"..."
"..."
"Help"
Okay, so the girl's name is Fiona and she said she was quick enough to get herself a classroom while other students had run out of their classes. She had covered the blinds, set some tables to block the entrance, and then secured the blinds. It seemed someone hadn't forgotten the school drills.
She had set up a small fortress and looked through her mate's stuff and found a blankie, snacks, and water.
"You can stay here with me, I don't have anyone else anyway," Fiona said as she crossed her legs and shrugged her shoulders. The only light coming from my torch was now set on the floor between us. I take the torch and I'm about to put it off when she stops me "Can you leave it on? It's better than the dark" Her voice breaks as she looks at the torch like it's her last line of hope. We should probably not be wasting battery but I set the torch back down and reduced it to low light.
"Happy?" I tilt my head to look for her face and I see her let out a content hmm and settle back down. I love seeing people smile, it gives me a sense of happiness.
"My mom would be making baked potato and Tahini sauce with rice right now" Fiona started as she looked at the torch, longingly. "Mom makes the best Tahini sauce and her curry is the best" She smiles at this. I feel like I need to add something so I say, "My ma..." Pa is the one to actually make food and I won't ever tell Ma but Pa's cooking's better". "My ma would cut the turkey while my pa would make the best sauce for it and yummy pork back short ribs" I'm not sure what I'm saying but I continue, "My dad would be coming back home from work in 2 hours while Ma would be on the couch watching King's will".
"King's Will, *pshh, my mom watched that stuff a few days ago and still hasn't stopped talking about it, the show is so stupid, it makes me want to cry she even watches it, I thought it was for horny teenagers" Fiona snorted.
"Yes, Ma has some weird taste, she would listen to endless hours of Jazz or 20th-century indie pop"
"What?!" She squeaks "Mine too and then she would force me to listen to some oldie's music from the 19th century, sometimes I wonder how she gets access to those...taps? Tay-"
"Tapes you mean, my personal favorites are Dolly and Lion, they are good musicians"
"Oh my gosh, as much as I hate my mom, I have to say her taste in music is quite good, and I totally agree with Dolly and Lion, sometimes, I feel like I'm becoming more like her" She grumbles but I can tell she's worried.
"Hey it'll be fine, I'm sure our parents must be well at home" I take her hands into mine and it shakes so bad, much worse than mine did. "We just have to believe in the best because what would thinking of bad things do for us right now? It'll be fine" I squeeze her hands and the small tears that gather in her eyes, fall down. She pulls me into a hug and holds me tight. I'm surprised but I let her. Sometimes a little bit of love and care does the trick
"I'm worried about my friends, what if they've been killed" Her lips break out into a sob, Family isn't all that matters, your friends matter too, and sometimes your friends are your family. And school as horrible as it is can be a home, but the home was now being ravaged by bloodthirsty people.
"What do you think those things are?" She lets go of my arm but still holds me to herself. Touchy. Torch.
"I ...don't know" I look down at my hands. I don't want to know really. I just want to go home and make sure my family is safe.
"Do you think our parents and everyone at home are facing-" She quietly asks
"Shhh...Don't think about that, you just have to think of you right now, think of coming out of here alive, that's what your parents would want you to do." I pull her in and rub her back. "Come on lets rest," I say as I take a look at the camera and it's 9 0clock. I feel sleepy and my body aches all over from hours of crawling in the vent.
"What were you doing up there anyway?" She points at the open shaft that I came out from.
"I was looking for an escape route or something...I think the vents lead to somewhere out of school from the building plans I got" I turn around and get the map plans on the floor. I show Fiona the plans but she's just as confused as I am, but even still we make good guesses on where the exit could be.
The stall to sleep is there and I feel wide awake as we chatter in hushed tones, we know better than to speak freely as we did. I don't feel like sleeping neither does Fiona but I know she need her sleep so I tell her, I would sleep when she does because I'm scared of the dark and need to leave the flashlight on. She understands this and now she's passed out of some polyester under a table with a blanket on her. I look out the window to the city and it is dark, black not a single light and then I look up at the stars and the moon, I couldn't see the moon because of the position of buildings in front of mine but now I could get a perfect view of the moon. I hate it for that.
I go to sleep huddled in front of Fiona, my spear in hand and my things packed into a bad that I use as a pillow.
I can't believe it. I slept all through the night! I turn to my left to see a beautiful brown-haired girl who just snuggled into me as I tried to pull away. "No" She mutters as she holds me down in a tight hug. I huffed and just let us sleep some more as I stared out the window. I couldn't hear it because of my snoring sleep buddy but I could now, everywhere was silent. Like dead silent. No birds. No nothing. I stay in this bear hug for a few more minutes until I'm convinced it is time to wake up.
"Fiona, can you get me that one too?" I make grabby hands in her direction, my other hand is pinning down a huge bundle of clothes. Fiona is quite good in managing her resources I must say, as she tears another strip of blanket and hands to me. We decide we're staying.
Don't get me wrong, our food and water supply can last us for days, we could wait her for a few more hours and help would definitely be on the way . so we really don't need anything...other than an escape route which is why I'm going to check for any other classes that could be empty. And what I remembered about the class just 5 windows down is the art room which means it's locked and no one would be in there! We just must camp out for some time, and we probably don't even need as much food. How hard could it be?
Humans I think can survive off water for 3 days? And we can live up to a week without food, our food supply can last us 4-5 days and I don't think we should sacrifice our lives just to get a few more junk food from the cafeteria and when the time comes, hopefully it doesn't, we'll just simply get some more.
"What do you say about some chips and pop?" Fiona stalks towards us, our strip of clothes almost done.
"I'd say good" I take it from her and settle down on a table beside the windowsill, "You know I never thought I'd be in one of these situations," Fiona says as she munches into some red bean bread. "Survival and all that shit" She walks towards me and settles on my side. I look out the window and then back to her.
"I don't think anyone would want to be in our situation" I mumble, and she hums in agreement. She takes a handful of chips from my bag, and I let her.
Fiona is an inspiring fashion designer, our school once made a shaggy fashion show and even with all the continual yelling of boys and girls alike, the gossip group that was slowly forming, everyone stopped just to look at Fiona's dress. She made a green dress with blue linens, giving it a wavy flow at the bottom, it was low at the back but was tight enough to hold her breasts up, apparently, she had made it sun-activated, which means the dress could change colours in different temperatures and had a cooling effect hidden in it. I'm not a dress girl but I'd say it was decent.
"Um...Xan, I don't feel so good" She moans and grips her stomach. She takes a juice box and quickly gulps it down. I stand up to check on her and her face visibly pales.
"Are you good now? Do you think you can stay here for now while I go? Maybe I shouldn't-" I softly ask Fiona who is now on the floor, one hand over her head, her body is curling into itself, and she had just thrown up most of the food she ate and watery stuff. "No, Xan you should go, I'll be all right, I'm just on my period, it's fine" She waves me off dismissively and turns to me. I back away not after tucking more blankets on her small shaking frame on the group of tables we've arranged like a bed.
"Okay, I'll be back very soon I promise, hang in there for me" I zip up the bag that held my supplies which consisted of 2 bottles of water, a torchlight, and a small pocketknife we had found in someone's bag, I don't know if that's even legal. The building's map and a baseball bat I had now attached the spiky balls with chains around it that I got from the janitor's closet. What is seriously wrong with the people from my school?
As I turn around and head to the windowsill where the bundles of clothes have been securely tied...I think. I set off with the task of finding an empty class, more surviving people to add to our group, and some painkillers for Fiona's monthly flow. Fiona says she has very flow and the pains go all the way from her ovaries to her back, affecting her entire lower region; it's so bad she has fainted a handful of times in the past.
As I come out the windowsill, the wind hits my face and it takes all in me not to look down. This building is very old, over 100 years old but it's very tall. The small ridges built into the building give me some footing and I edge my way to the class just a hand reach from me. It takes me minutes to reach the other class and it seems there are occupants in it already. Infected.
I move down, doing some climbing techniques I see on TV that runners do, I get to the other class and it's empty, I'm about to enter it when I see someone curled up in the corner. A person. I quickly grab the edge of the window to enter the class.
"Hey, hey" I call out as I crouch down on the edge of the window, the person looks up and I stare back at beady black eyes, shaggy hair and brown strings all over the place and with awfully ashy skin. Okay, what a weird skin tone. It reminds me of...that old grannie. That cursed damned old grannie. She's an elder but she doesn't get my respect! Now I feel bad for cursing her out.
They stand up and snarl and with that charge at me. I jump out of the way and land on the wall like a spider. I'm practically crouched like a spider, with my hands splayed over the cement to hold me to it. The person flies out the window and lands on the ground below, they splat and splay, one hand making a normal L and the other making a downward L. I can tell his other hand is broken.
I look around me and decide to not go to the art room. I have a bad feeling.
I enter a classroom; it doesn't have anyone or anything for that fact in it. I walk over to the other room, and it has a recording set. This must be the communication and journal club's room, I walk over to a closet and I see the closet filled with salted snacks and even some decent food, but no water. This is lovely, I could get Fiona to come here, and we'll have a good supply to last us for up to a week. Other than the 4 bottles of water left, we have nothing else.
I secure the door and the window but as I'm about to double-check, I hear a scream, it seems to come from above me, where Fiona is. I rush out with the baseball bat clutched in my hand, I climb the wall easily, my heart is beating in my chest, please let it not be Fiona, please let it not be Fiona. Fiona had caught my eye even before the fashion show, I had grown to like her and even got to the point where I knew her address, her likes, her dislikes, her everything.
You shouldn't have left her. I shouldn't have.
I get to the class but Fiona is not on the table, she's on the floor, blood all over her, and someone is on top of her, scratching her body and face as they try to get to Fiona through the mop stick separating them. I'm about to enter the room when the thing leaves Fiona and comes at me, Fiona sees this and grips their ankle, holding them back. and flipping herself on top. But the thing is already holding onto Fiona's hair bringing Fiona down to her. The thing is a girl, I can tell from the skirt but the muscles this girl is sporting is that of a weightlifter, it is so big and it easily flings Fiona to the side
Fiona looks at me in desperation "Xan, don't come in" Fiona yells as the thing pounces on her and I'm just lost. I'm lost, I lost Vicky, I don't know if Ma or Pa is okay, I let the person back at the janitor's closet be eaten and now...and NOW Fiona is about to be dog's food?!
I feel this rush of anger, this injustice. And I cry, that thing was once a person, that thing could have been a Fiona, MY Fiona, it's someone's daughter, someone's Fiona. But Fiona is right in front of me. Just a few yards away but I can't do it. But Fiona.
I scramble into the class, the bat in my hand feeling light and I smash with all my weight on the girl sitting on MY FIONA. How about you find someone of your own size! I think as I hit it away from Fiona who's now lying dead on the floor. Dead. Undead. Sick. She looks sick. She looks ashy. Ashy like Kale. Dead like Kale. She's Kale. Just food.
I see the thing stand up. Not Fiona. Yet.
It snarls and crouches like a cheetah, waiting for its prey. I look over at Fiona and back at it, tears in my eyes. I walk towards it but it moves back. I hear a sick crackling and I know it's Fiona. Now.
Fiona's skin begins to gray, it doesn't have that glow to it. She doesn't have that glow to her anymore. I had always been jealous of her, she had a perfect family, good grades and a lovely body shape, but even with that, I looked up to her. Now, the thing before me was a husk of Fiona. But was still Fiona. Her head cracks to the side and she looks at me, her brown eyes slowly going black,
"Xan, take the spear and go" She says but with a lot of difficulty. I don't move, I just stare at her. I can't leave Fiona, she isn't like these things, she can talk, none of them could talk, so she's still in there. I just know it. Fiona isn't gone.
"Now" She snarls out, her hand is trembling as her manicured nails extend to a hideous claw, her hair chips slowly at the tip, withering away. I gulp and look back at the student, I catch a Pink Pom Pom tied to her skirt waistband. The only thing that can show her identification as a human. The infected bulky girl looks at us with emotionless eyes, but I think something move in her eyes.
I am back to the lonely communication room, filled with snacks, filled with radio sets but not with Fiona. The silence was filled with screams just a few moments ago but now it's silent. Dead. Dead like Kale. Dead like Fiona. And most importantly, Dead like Vicky.
Vicky once gave me an ugly black Pom Pom as a parting gift on the day our 10-year friendship ended. She knew I didn't like black, it was her favorite color, not mine, that made me angrier and I tossed it away like it was trash out of anger. Now, that Pom Pom looked like the best Pom Pom I had ever seen in my life. Vicky was like Kale. Dead.
Vicky was family, Fiona was family, and Kale was a good family, but now they are dead.
"Ma" I bury my head between my knees. And i fall asleep. Silent. Alone. Dead.
Imma no even lie. Xan's the person I find hardest to write and I haven't even started /(ㄒoㄒ)/~~ She's...funny. Not in a good way lol.
Stay Fresh and not...dead.(lll￢ω￢)
Author is out!