Chapter One: The Outbreak

Written by Mavelyn Rivera

Students flocked to the red bricked building standing tall on the hill located between Ogontz avenue and Broad street. The crisp early morning air was refreshing and many students chose to hang out on the patio before coming in to the school. A group of kids snickered as they saw their friend, Justin, stumble across the walkway on the way to the patio.

"He must have had a rough Sunday night."

"Pfft, Jackson, his idea of a rough Sunday night consists of eating ice cream and playing minecraft until the break of dawn."

"Oh yea, Caylie, and your Sunday nights getting baked and watching Robot Chicken are any better than his."

The kids waited for Justin to approach them and they noticed the palor in his face. His dark eyes were bloodshot and looked sunken; his brown hair hung in oily clamps over his pale face. One of the students asked him why he didn't just stay home. "I've been feeling this way since Saturday morning, I was planning on going to the nurse later and asking to get picked up", he replied.The other kids noticed the slight shake in his voice and the tremble in his hands as he held his bookbag over his shoulder. Shortly after, the shrill of the morning bell was sounded and the students made their way into the building.

The stale and humid air was a stark contrast to the crisp morning breeze enjoyed by the students minutes prior. The long line leading to the metal detectors was unusually long and the hot hallway was not making the wait any easier on the three students. It was especially trying on Justin who stood there with such a face of dispair that his friends worried for him. They suggested he sit down on one of the benches along the hallway and he could move up to their position in line once they get close enough. Justin made his way to the bench and sat down with his head in his clammy hands. His legs visibly shook and he could feel his heart thumping in his chest. The incessant chatter of the students waiting in line racked his brain; each syllable like a hammer relentlessly banging on his skull. He gagged.

Jackson and Caylie looked back to call their friend Justin when suddenly he ran by them, past the yells of the security guards and around the corner. The security guards raced after their friend but the chase only seemed to last about as long as it took for Justin to puke. By this time the noise had died down and all eyes were trying to catch a glimpse of what was going on up ahead.

"Did he puke?"

"Who was that? Was that Justin?"

"Jackson, what's wrong with your friend?"

"Relax man, he wasn't feeling good. I guess he was trying to run to the bathroom!"

The murmuring continued until long after the short morning entertainment, as some of the students considered it, was over. By the time Jackson and Caylie passed through the dim colored metal detectors the school officials had taken Justin to the nurse's office further down the hall. They worried about their friend, Justin, and planned on checking up on him during third period lunch.

"Okay, Caylie, I'll see you later."

"Remember, we'll just meet in the lunch room and then go to the nurses office."

"Yea. I hope he's still there. They'll probably just send him home right away."

They said their goodbyes and went along their separate ways to their advisory rooms. Jackson walked slowly through the emptying wide hallways; the few stragglers making their way into their respective advisories. He could hear some students talking about the events of earlier and wondered if people had nothing better to talk about. As he mulled over that he heard running footsteps behind him and was almost run over by some freshmen. Before he could yell some obscenities in their direction he was interrupted by a monotone voice over the loudspeakers.

"Attention, students and staff. Please report to an impromptu assembly to be held in the gymnasium. I repeat, please report to an impromptu assembly to be held in the gymnasium."

Soon afterwards, the emptying hallways began to fill with kids pouring out of their rooms. The wave of students suddenly overtook Jackson and he moved along with the others. On their way down he wondered about his friend. Those sunken eyes and pale face flashed in his mind for fleeing moment. It was very discomforting. When he got to the gymnasium he looked around the mass of faces staring back at him. He was looking for his friend Caylie but could not find her. He decided to take a seat alongside some seniors on the second row of the bleachers.

“Hey, you guys happen to know what’s going on? I saw some kids running down the hallway right before the announcement. Is it related to this?” Jackson asked one of the seniors next to him.

“Oh, I heard my teacher talking about a sick kid being sent to the nurses office this morning. Something about a really contagious virus.”

“Yea, I heard the nurse herself came down with the same symptoms soon afterwards. Someone said she was puking and her face was really pale,” added one of the other seniors.

Jackson looked around the gymnasium. It seemed like the entire school was here; he started to really worry about his friend. I guess he really did have a rough sunday night. He should have just stayed home. Jackson wondered if school was going to be cancelled today. That would be great. He needed more sleep, Justin wasn’t the only one had a rough night. The students sat around for what seemed like hours and slowly started to get more impatient. The complaints started to arise and many tried to leave their seats much to the disapproval of the teachers trying to keep order. The gymnasium was a vast room that could easily house the student body with plenty of room to spare. However, ventilation was poor and it was beginning to reek of sweat and bad body odor. Damn how much longer will we be in here? At this point many students could be heard yelling out to the teachers to be let out or to go home. Steadily the noise in the gymnasium grew and more tried to leave their seats. The seniors sitting next to Jackson decided to move closer to the doors leading outside. Just as quick as the students were up a loud banging began on the doors leading to the hallway. The loud noise echoed throughout the gymnasium and the student’s chatter shrank to a murmur. Each loud bang rang in their ears like a loud percussion and it was increasing in speed.

Jackson looked towards the teachers and they looked just as confused as the others. They stood in place; everyone seemingly in a stupor and locked into place. Either by fear or confusion he could not tell. However, his instincts screamed at him to move and exit through the door next to the bleachers. One of the teachers snapped out of that confusion holding everyone in place and slowly moved towards one of the doors. As he slowly placed his hand on the knob the door swung open with such force that it knocked him down to the floor. Suddenly, chaos ensued. A dozen or so people flooded through the door and ran towards the bleachers. At first everyone stayed rooted to their seats; why were these students running towards them. Was that blood on their shirts?

“Oh my god! Are they eating him! Look, they're eating the teacher on the floor!

Suddenly, everyone sprang into action. As the students who breached the gymnasium doors ran towards the bleachers with inhuman speed Jackson saw that their faces were disfigured in some ways. Some were missing an eye while others had gaping, oozing wounds on their faces. The students on the first bleachers were the first to be taken down. Teachers and students alike were being torn to shreds with such ferocity Jackson questioned whether these people were human at all. All the while Jackson could not move his legs. He was transfixed by the scene playing out before him. The stench of rotting flesh and death assailed his senses and he reeled. He was dimly aware of the Senior next to him screaming into his ear.

“We gotta go, c’mon man! This is some serious stuff and we have to get out of here!” The senior closest to him, Ricardo, pushed him until he was almost fell off the bleachers.

Jackson was able to gain his senses just before someone lost their footing trying to get to the door next to him. She fell and immediately the ravaging lunatics launched on her and tore her to pieces. He couldn’t believe his eyes and he stumbled off the second seat onto the floor. Ricardo quickly followed and his friends pushed on by.

“Lets go, we can’t stay here. These people aren’t human. Look! Oh my god, they are getting up again!”

“How is he alive, his neck has been torn off! What the f---!”

Several students screamed and pointed at those that have fallen getting up and walking again. Many of them sporting gaping wounds and missing entire limbs. Jackson was dragged on by Ricardo who decided to help his poor soul as he seemed incapable of fending for himself. As they made their way towards one of the side doors leading outside Jackson spotted his friend Caylie. She was standing over Justin!

Jackson broke away from Ricardo and ran towards his friends. He tripped over someone groaning on the floor; a puddle of blood slowly spreading over the glossed woodwork. He got up and slowly walked over to Caylie.

“Hey! Oh my god I’ve been looking for you. What are you doing we have to go. Lets help Justin up and lets go! Jackson shook Caylie but she still had her back to him.

He noticed a rancid smell and looked quickly behind him. The chaos around him was in full tandem but not close enough to get them just yet. He shook Caylie again and his nose scrunched from another whiff of that rancid smell of decaying flesh.

“Caylie, WE HAVE TO GO!”

No response. He decided to use more force and turned her around to face him. Jackson gasped. He was staring at his friend but only a blank look stared back. Eyes that no longer saw the light of day and a facial expression that reflected misery and pain no living being can ever comprehend. Suddenly, she lunged at Jackson and all went black.