BANG! BANG! BANG!
"Open up! It's me! The crazy girl who wanted to escape!" I called through the hotel doors.
"Now she comes crawling back!" The man who wouldn't let me leave sneered, "Sorry, you could be infected can't let you in!"
Jeffrey sighed annoyed as I watched our backs. Jeffrey threw his fist and pounded at the door, "Let us in you idiots!" He yelled.
"Open the door." The janitor commanded.
The man sighed, sort of creeped out and told the guards to open up. We ran inside.
"Jordan! Jeffrey!" Our friends surrounded us and covered us with hugs.
"I'd better call Lia! I bet she's freaking out!" He pulled out his phone and walked over to the side.
"I thought I'd never see you again!" Lynn wrapped her arms tightly around me.
I let out a sigh of relief and hugged her back, "They're dead." I muttered with tears in my eyes.
"What?" Lynn pulled me back so she could look at my face.
"They're all dead!" I yelled and everyone in the hotel looked at me.
I started crying and slid down to my knees, "Michelle..." I whispered as Lynn plopped down beside me and wrapped her arm around me, "I saw her die, Lynn..." I stared at my hands that were wrapped around my knees, "I saw Patricia and Sandra as zombies.... kill her!" I sobbed.
"Sh... it's ok. We're safe now." I buried my face in her shoulder and cried.
SWOOSH!
"We got two more!" A medic called out as the door swung open and in came Caleb carrying Ashleigh in his arms. He set her down in front of some of the hotel nurses and paramedics.
"What happened?" I jumped up and went over to my cousins like a loyal dog.
"Ashleigh hurt her leg fighting off a zombie to save some kids!" Caleb explained.
"Oh stop!" Ashleigh replied humbly as she tried to sit up but winced in pain, "I would be out eating brains and flesh if Caleb hadn't fought of the zombies and carried me to safety!"
Kariann smiled to herself over Caleb's shoulder.
"I'm just glad you're ok!"' I sniffled and hugged Ashleigh and then Caleb.
"Man, where's Rocky?" Riker wondered, "I'm worried."
"I know he's fine because he just took some ginger girl in the supply closet to 'protect her'." Rydel shook her head.
"Guess that means I got Roxanne all to myself!" Ross smiled, "Maybe I should 'protect' her." Ross grinned and headed over to find her.
"Don't. You'll just fall in love with her and then she'll die." The normally goofy member of R5 was no solemn and melancholy for the loss of his beloved girlfriend.
Rydel sat down beside him and wrapped and arm around him, and he put his head on her shoulder as a tear gleamed down his cheek.
"I'm sorry. I really care about you and it hurts me to see you..." Rydel's caring more than she says voice trailed off as Zack the janitor walked past her. He winked at her as he patrolled by, causing her to blush and forget about Ratliff.
BUMP!
"Oh sorry!" I apologized and then looked up at the once dreamy hunk.
"Oh hey! Are you alright?" Ross asked me.
"Like you care!" I rolled my eyes and stormed away.
"Wait-!" He tried to call after me, but he didn't know my name.
"Ross! Hey!" He turned to see Roxanne standing behind him, batting her eyelashes at him flirtatiously.
"Um hey!" He turned back, but I was facing away from him. Roxanne swung his head back around with her hand and pulled his head closer to her. She wrapped her arms around his neck and tilted her head at him, biting her lip.
Ross saw me turn and roll my eyes at the two of them. Angrily, he wrapped his arms around Roxy's waist, "Wanna go to the closet to help me find Rocky?" He asked kind of loudly so I would hear.
I tapped my foot angrily and bit my lip, trying to keep my mouth shut and stay out of it, but I couldn't control myself, "You are so different than I thought you were!" I stormed over and yelled in Ross's face, "Ever since I got to this hotel, you've been selfish and annoying! I thought you were different than all the other celebrities. I thought you were real and down to Earth! But you're just like every single other pig headed, snot nosed, boy!"
Ross's jaw dropped as his eyes filled with anger, "You're just angry because I wouldn't stop to sign your little pictures or CDS! Maybe I want a break from fans sometimes!"
"Converse." I mumbled.
"What?" He asked confused.
"I wanted you to sign my converse." I explained.
"Whatever! Same thing!" He threw his hands up exasperated.
I didn't speak, but stood there silently fuming.
"Fine want me to sign your little sneakers?! SO I CAN GET ON WITH MY LIFE?!" He exaggerated.
"Why so you can make out with some fake blonde girl?!" Roxanne opened her mouth and clenched her eyebrows, "No offense." I apologized.
"So what if I do?! Maybe I'm tired of being this sweet little innocent pop star!" Ross fought back.
"Cut the crap Ross, we all know you're to sweet for all this stuff! You've barely kissed anyone!" Riker pointed out.
"SO?!" Ross yelled angrily.
"Ugh, I don't know why I thought I liked you so much!" I crossed my arms and poked out one hip.
"Well, I don't like you either!" Ross agreed.
"Good." I replied bitterly.
"Fine." Ross turned his back to me and crossed his arms.
"They act like kindergartners." Rydel shook her head.
Ross bit his lip, feeling kind of bad about the situation. He began to turn around to apologize but-
"AHHHHH!" We all heard the shriek and turned to see Megan with her hair all messed up and clothes all wrinkled, we all assumed was from her make out session with Rocky, screaming as a grotesque looking corpse of a once alive hotel employee was making his way towards her.
He got closer to her until he was right behind her, hovering over ginger hair. His bloody breath reeking behind her ear.
"Megan don't move!" Lynn yelled.
"Eeek!" She squealed silently, squeezing her eyes tight shut as she waited for he dead monster to devour her flesh.
"Uhhh..." The corpse, with one eye hanging from his socket and the other sort of lazy eye staring blankly, placed his shedding skin hands gently on Megan's shoulders. His long crispy finger nails slowly and carefully dug into Megan's shirt.
"AHHHH!" Megan screamed.
"Megan no!" Lynn yelled.
"AHHH!" The decaying zombie corpse opened his broken jaw and screeched and hissed, about to prey on his meal.
POW! The bullet came slowly darting from the side and sunk deep into the zombie's skull, passing through a layer of dead, decaying skin. The corpse began shaking wildly until the zombie's head exploded, causing a mixture of zombie blood, guts, and a strange green liquid to gush into the air and came splattering all over Megan.
"EWWWW!" She spat some of the gunky goo out of her mouth.
Zack put his gun back in his belt and approached Megan, "Are you ok?" His dark brown eyes glistened under the sketchy hotel lights.
Megan blushed and tried to rub some of the goo off for the hunky janitor, "Yes I'm fine, thanks to you." She thanked him.
"Megan!" Rocky came from behind everyone and hugged her, "I'm so sorry! I should've helped you, but I was still in the- What is this strange liquid all over you?" He pulled away from her.
She smiled slyly and hugged his again, rubbing the gunk all over him, "Zombie guts!"
"Ewww!" Rocky was repulsed, but continued to hug her anyways.
"You saved Megan's life!" We all went over to Zack.
"How did you know what to do?" Riker asked him.
"Practice." He tightened his belt.
"So you know about zombies? You're not one of those nerds who just studies up on this and plays xbox all the time and has been preparing for this your whole life are you? Because you are way too dreamy to be one of those kinds of guys!" Rydel babbled.
Riker elbowed her sharply, "I mean its ok if you have!" She corrected.
"If you guys want to live, I can help you." Zack began sharply, "But you have to do what I say, when I say it are we clear?" He scanned the room at the remaining survivors.
"So how do you know so much about zombies?" Riker inquired again.
Zack stared off into the distance as if lost in thought. We all waited for what seemed like an hour for him to finally speak.
"I used to work as an assistant for a pathologist studying epidemiology back when I was in college."
"You're that old? You don't look a day over 20!" Rydel commented. All the girls swooned along with her as the guys just rolled their eyes.
"We were good friends," Zack continued as his eyes turned a golden brown color, "He didn't always used to be crazy." He laughed once to himself.
We all eyed each other, wondering what in the world he was rambling on about.
"We met in school. He was a professor at the college I was attending. He was brilliant. His name was Ben Clements." Zack stared at the ground, "Everyone said he was brilliant beyond his years. They said one day he would cure cancer! And that's exactly what he wanted to do."
"What does this have to do with-?" Riker began.
"Wait!" Ryland stopped him, "Just listen."
"He hired me as part of work study, or internship and soon I became his full time assistant. We worked very closely, but we weren't just coworkers, we were friends."
"Ben married his highschool sweetheart, Rosemary." Zack smiled softly, "And she was beautiful." He smiled, thinking of her, "Long auburn hair and bright green eyes that sparkled like the sun, and her teeth, oh they were white as snow. Her smile was perfect, I swear, just like her. She had the perfect amount of freckles too and her skin was golden tan. Perfect." He muttered again, "I can see why he loved her."
"He told me about the first time he really saw her."
Things seemed to fade to black and white as we imagined the flash back of his memories.
"They'd grown up in the same town, but he'd never paid her any mind." His voice echoed, "Until one day..."
The young teenage boy tossed the brown football across the yard. It sailed through the sky before landing in the arms of one of his jock friends.
"Catch this!" The boy chunked the football, kicking it far into the yard across the street.
"Really?!" Ben sighed and carefully jogged across the street into the neighbors yards. He saw the ball near some bushes and went to go retrieve it and get back to his game.
"Ah!" A girlish shriek came from behind him.
He turned, "I'm not a burglar! I'm just here to get my football!" He explained, bending down to pick up his ball.
"Ah!" She screamed once more. She raced over and hit his shoulder, "You're on the flowers!" She bent down to make sure they were ok.
"Gee sorry, but it's just a bush!" Ben apologized, gazing over the girl's flawless face.
"Shrub." She stood up and dusted of her dress.
"I beg your pardon?"
"It's a shrub not a bush!" She smiled her perfect smile and blushed slightly, "There Rosemary's! Like me!" She smiled and did a curtsy, "I'm Rosemary, nice to make your acquaintance sir!" She laughed all properly.
"Rosemary." He whispered again.
"What?" She wondered.
"It's just, your name is so beautiful." He stared at her as she blushed, "Just like..." He realized that he hadn't stopped looking at her beautiful green eyes since they'd met, "-the flowers!" He saved himself, "The flowers are beautiful, I'm so sorry for stepping on them!"
"It's fine." She twirled a little, making her dress flow back and forth as she rocked on her heels.
"Is there anything I could do to make it up to you?" The smooth haired boy continued.
"You could start by telling me your name!" She laughed.
"Oh! My apologies." He bowed, "My name's Benjamin, but everyone calls me Ben-,"
"Benny! I'll call you Benny." She grinned playfully.
"Benny. I like that. Only you will be allowed to call me Benny." He smiled along with her. He held out his hand to her, "It's a pleasure to meet you."
"And you as well." They stared into each other's eyes as they shook hands.
"Soon, they were inseparable!" Zack continued, "They got married right out of highschool. It was a beautiful wedding, Ben told me. Small, but beautiful."
Ben and Rosemary ran out of the church as everyone threw rosemaries and rose petals at them. Everyone cheered as they kissed once more.
"She followed him anywhere he went. So naturally, when he went to Medical school, she supported him. But nearing his graduation of Med school, he noticed Rosemary beginning to act weird. Her golden skin grew pale, her bones were weak, she was losing more weight than she needed to be."
"Honey, I'm home!" Ben walked in the door to his little white house, "Rosemary?" he called out for his beloved wife.
"In here!" She struggled to reply from the kitchen.
He walked in to see her clenching against the counter, straying to stay standing. At first, he didn't notice her. He walked over to the fridge and opened it and began telling her about his day, "Rosemary?" He thought she wasn't listening he turned to see her arms shaking violently still holding the counter, "Rosemary? Sweetheart? Are..... you..... alright.....?" His voice seemed to slow down and the world turned grey around her as she slowly collapsed to the floor.
"Rosemary!" He ran to catch her on the ground, "Sweetie? Talk to me! ROSEMARY!"
"She was diagnosed with Tuberculosis. The doctors said she wouldn't last another year or two."
Ben's worried face gazed over at his beloved wife as she was lying silently pale and grey in the hospital bed while the doctors were telling him the news.
"He devoted his life to trying to save her, desperately searching for a cure. He told me about all this so I could further understand the importance of our research."
"And I'll never forget the day she died. Ben was a mess. I walked in the room and he had thrown all of our work on the ground. He went into a crazed rage and frenzy until he finally broke down and cried. He didn't show up to work for weeks! Eventually, he returned and told me that he had been hatching a plot..."
"Zack!" Ben grabbed the boy's shoulders, "I've been doing my research. And there are people out there who have seen the dead come back to life! I'm going to bring my Rosemary back to life!"
"I thought he was mad!" Zack explained.
"Sir, maybe you should take a couple more weeks off." A young Zack asked.
"No listen to me, boy! I don't care if you help me or not! But hear me out, you can't stop me from trying to save the one most important and valuable thing in my life. Without her, I am nothing! I have to save her! Now are you gonna help me or not?" His pleading eyes dug into Zack's soul.
"I couldn't help but agree to his nonsense. We were friends, and it meant the world to him. I might as well do something useful with my life, is what I thought. I was horribly wrong."
"We spent long hours and endless nights working hard and studying up, making sure everything was perfect for when we would attempt to revive her." Zack paused for a moment, "Sometimes I would catch him crying at her body late at night when he thought I was gone. I felt awful bad for him, but I was still nervous about the whole project."
"Anyways, the big night came and the life elixir we had concocted went horribly wrong. It was supposed to revive her in youth and beauty, but instead it turned her into a flesh eating corpse, zombie if you will."
The light flickered in the room as suddenly Rosemary's beautiful green eyes seemed to melt into a dull, blue, lifeless color.
"Sir, we have to get out of here!" Zack begged, pulling on his boss and friend, "Sir it's not her! She's alive, but she's dead! Come on she'll kill us both! We have to get out of here before it's too late!" He screamed.
"Rosemary!" He hugged his undead bride.
"Uh...." She groaned.
"Ben! NO!" Zack knew it was too late. He fled as he heard the screams of his admired friend being ripped to shreds and devoured by the second.
"I locked the doors of the laboratory hidden deep in Ben's basement and left never to return." He finished, "I didn't understand what went wrong and spent my life in research of zombies making sure this would never happen again.
"So how did you end up in New York?" Ross questioned with a puzzled expression.
"I've been traveling all over the world. I just recently took a job here at the hotel. It was the first I could find in New York. I heard news of a doctor working on a cure for Tuberculosis here and came to find information, but like any other citizen, I needed money and a place to stay."
Something didn't seem to add up with his story, but I ignored my gut and my need to survive over powered my curiosity.
"So you can help us survive? Is there a cure for the zombies?" I asked.
"Yes and I have no idea. I've been searching for it my whole life but never found any answers."
We all stayed silent, letting the story sink in.
Zack jumped off the counter he had been sitting on while he told us the story and headed towards the elevator, "Now if you want to live, follow me."