Stay alive, p.3
Stay Alive, page 3
“Hey,” I said gently, almost as if I didn’t want her to hear me.
“Hey.” She kept her eyes fixed on the road.
“What do you think happened, for this to...?” I paused. Elise gave me a quick glance.
She heaved before she spoke. “You know, in those zombie movies, the cause would most likely be an outbreak of a certain virus, or maybe when they were testing new ways to cure cancer, something went wrong. In most cases, there was that one bad burger and one thing led to another.”
I chuckled more at the fact that her sarcasm could be perceived as she spoke.
“Well, whatever it is, there’s really nothing we could do about it. We just have to….”
“Run,” Elise said.
“Yeah...and keep running”. I looked at the blood-covered bat behind me.
“Of course, we must fight, right?” Elise grinned as she said this.
“That was in the plan and it still is.” I patted her shoulder and laughed together. It is the least we could do, we expected this and we worked towards survival. All we have to do is to see each other through this.
“We need to get to the junior high fast to save the damsel in distress.”
I chuckled.
“I wouldn’t really call her damsel,” I said, rolling my eyes.
In distress or not, we need to get to her quick before those things get to her.
Chapter 4
As we approached Junior High school, I shook in fear. I hadn’t expected the amount of those things to turn out this much here. Given the multitude of them, probably they had infected the whole school. Elise slowed down on the speed as she had suddenly seen a traffic police car on patrol.
“Don’t get so close to the school, but just enough so that when we get out of there, the bus will be close by.” I leaned over her shoulder.
“Is this close enough?” Elise asked as she stepped on the brake peddle.
“Yeah, I think.” I grabbed my bat.
“Take the keys with you,” I said.
“Are you sure about that? What if the keys fall off during our smash and bash with those things?” Elise asked.
It was quite reasonable, but we can’t take our chances here by leaving the key behind.
“Elise, it is not going to fall off. You’ll hold on tight to it.” I replied.
She nodded to me and we both jumped off the bus. We moved discreetly, the infected things hadn’t taken notice of our arrival and I would love we keep it that way.
“Remember that one Anime we watched?” I said in hushed tones
“The one with all the explicit scenes ?” She said with a straight face.
It took everything in me to hold back from laughing, so I simply nodded.
“Why bring that up now?” She asked with a frown.
I shrugged.
“Wanna try something?” I asked her as I pointed to one of the infected with the bat in my hands. She looked at me confused; that confused look fed my ego. I looked around and found a small rock, big enough to make a loud noise.
“W-what are you doing”? Elise looked at me.
“Just an experiment.” I walked forward towards the scattered bodies. There were many of them all over the place.
I looked behind me; Elise looked concerned. I gave her an assuring nod that passed the message across that it was okay. I wasn’t too sure myself, if this so-called experiment doesn’t fall through as it should, I’m a dead meat.
I got closer to a few of the infected, holding on tight to both the bat and the rock. I took a closer look at them, they looked horrid and I had questions. The spread of the infection started today, but their skin is peeled off already. Why? And their eyes, it is white and empty. They moaned as if they were in pain, although I doubted if they felt anything at all. Trying to catch my breath, I breathed heavily. I was nervous and scared. I’m practically risking my life. But I mustn’t let it show on my face, I’m strong and I know it. I summoned up all the courage in me and stepped back.
I threw the tiny rock as far away from me as possible in an opposite direction and then, it hit a car. I waited for what felt like forever. They began to move towards the car, where the rock hit.
I waited for them to be far enough before I waved at Elise to walk over to me. Once she was near me, I rested my head on her shoulder and sighed.
“I guess the experiment went well.” She said as she looked at the infected things on the other side.
“Let’s go. The rock is not going to distract them for long,” I said as I pulled Elise's hand and jogged over to the school silently.
The entrance door was looked. We tried pushing through, but it was impossible to begin with. My patience ran thin, so I smashed the bat against the window of the door to reach for the lock. The glass crashed to the ground sending shock waves through my body system.
“What are you doing?” Elise shouted at me in a whisper.
“I don’t think they noticed. Come on, let’s go.” I heard her sigh behind me.
“I’m surprised the alarm didn’t go off.” Elise looked around.
“Well, this is an old school wouldn’t be surprised the alarm system broke.” The hallway was darker than our high school and much narrow than ours too.
“I hate having to come back here,” I said.
“I bear the same grudge.” Elise reminded. I grimaced, and then I noticed that there weren’t any infected walking around.
“Maybe most of the students got out using the other doors or emergency exit.”
“It explains why there isn’t anything here, at least for now. Let’s keep moving”.
We moved around, checking each classroom for the infected, but none was in sight. As we walked down the hallway, the light above us flickered, making the whole atmosphere send some signals to us, signals that bear the message that we should run and get out of the place, but we kept on going.
“It’s kinda spooky in here”, Elise said as she stepped closer to me.
“Well, it’s been like that forever. I don’t remember having a “sunshine and rainbows” type junior high life.” I told her, probably to calm her down or distract me from the feelings I was getting out of this place.
“Sunshine and rainbows, that’s something.” Elise chuckled.
“So, how do we find Nika?”
“I’m not sure. All classes look deserted. They could be in hiding,” Elise stopped as she fought back the fear that accompanied her voice. Nika was Elise’s little sister. She’s got her own little personality, and we both got along pretty well since she was easy to understand.
“Do you think she’s okay?” Elise asked.
“Yeah, I’m sure she’s fine. She is a smart kid. After all, I did train her.” I said boastfully. I was proud of Nika. She had always admired my strength and martial arts skills. A couple of years ago, I underwent training in martial arts and some military combat training. I found my strength in swords, especially a katana: a Japanese sword.
As a little kid, I had health challenges and I grew up mocked by people and weak and helpless. I never liked that I felt weak and so, I found my way around it. I trained so hard to be strong and able to defend myself.
“We should probably check the kitchen,” Elise said as we approached the kitchen.
“Yeah, let’s hope they have some useful weapons.”
In one of the homerooms, we saw infected ones and they were teachers and students. I looked at Elise and noticed the uncomfortable clouds formed on her forehead, and I could understand why. We crept to pass through silently without getting noticed. The whole lot in there would be too much to take on.
“They seemed to have spawned here,” I said.
We entered the kitchen, looked quietly through the kitchen for any usable weapons. I rummaged through a box full of cooking utensils.
“Hey, I found something I think you’ll like,” Elise said, holding out two knives. I walked over to her, grinning widely.
“Perfect. We’re about to make some meal. Let’s get cooking.” I said as we walked out of the kitchen, ready to slice and dice the infected. I took a slow pace.
“I know this is not the time. Probably it is. Ways, these things, the infected or whatever we call them. I want to give them a certified name. I mean, who knows, our names may be forever known for identifying them with a name.”
Elise stopped walking and shot me some scary glance. I was certain she couldn’t believe I would bring that up at a time like this.
“We don’t really have time for that, Jade.” She shook her head sternly.
“I know, but still, it’s worth the shot,” I replied.
She started to walk ahead of me.
“Fine, what do you have in mind?”
I rubbed my palms together and did a brief mental work.
“Body,” I said, a little dramatic.
Elise gave me a queer look. “I see you put so much thought to it.”
I nodded. She snorted in response.
“Come on, Elise, admit that it is super cool,” I whined.
“It’s not bad.” She said reluctantly.
“Good, let’s go then. We’re never going to find Nika at this rate.”
“Oh well, it was your idea to name the infected things,” Elise said as she increased her pace.
As we walked around searching for Nika, we came across more bodies than we had before. We managed to find hiding places but ran out of luck when we got close to the school’s main gym.
“Is it just me, or we’re beginning to get more popular with the infected?” I asked rhetorically.
“There are two Bodies at the main doors!” Elise shouted. I guess she saw no need to be quiet anymore. “I’ll leave them to you.” She shouted ahead of me. I grinned.
I took out the two knives I had earlier stocked myself with at the kitchen. I sprinted towards them both.
“Don’t fail me,” I whispered under my breath as the knives could hear me. The moment I got closer, I jerked back and stabbed the first Body’s head, dragging the blade across the skull and revealing bits of the brain.
The second Body in horror came grabbing me by my waist. I rounded up against him and managed to slit its throat. I took back the knife. Blood splattered against the walls. I whistled in excitement. My celebration didn’t last long as I saw Elise struggle with two others. I quickly picked up my bat and ran to them. In a quick glance, I smashed the bat on the potential threat Body. Elise managed to gain the upper hand over the other and also smashed its head with the bat she had in her hands. It dropped to the ground immediately and she continued hitting it, sending its blood to the wall.
“Elise!”
“What?” She yelled back. She had terrifying looks. My throat went dry.
“You’ve got it. It is dead.” I managed to say.
She panted heavily. I walked to the previous Bodies I had used knives on. I picked up my knives and clicked my tongue.
A few more of them started to appear in front of me. Elise charged towards them behind me, attacking with her bat. One of them grabbed my arm. I quickly pushed it against the wall stabbing it in the eye with the knife. Its blood spilled out like a leaking pipe. That was a bull's eye on its vein.
“Be careful not to get it anywhere near your eyes or mouth, Jade”! Elise ran ahead of me.
“You don’t have to tell me that!” The knife was stuck to the wall; I don’t have time to pull it out. I took out the second knife as another Body appeared behind me. I swiftly kicked it, sending it staggering backward. As it charged towards me, I threw the knife and it pierced into its stomach. It growled in pain as it fell to the floor. I picked my blood-stained bat, strolled to it. It looked me in the eyes, perhaps seeking mercy. I shook my head, raised the bat in the air and smashed it to instant death.
I looked around; Elise had taken down the rest bodies. She was standing next to the main doors.
“You’re slow and I beat you to it this time.” She said with a smirk as I walked towards her. I scoffed when I got to her side; I looked inside the gym through the glass.
“Well, that won’t be the next time. Let’s go smashing.”
Chapter 5
The Bodies were about thirty and they roamed about aimlessly. Elise left the door and rested on the wall. As long as we stayed silent, we won’t draw any attention to ourselves. I joined her.
“So, where do you think she is?” I asked her. She couldn’t respond immediately as she tried fighting the tears that wanted to flow out.
“She’s in here alright, I know that. “Elise said sharply.
I held her shoulders. “I know that and we are here for her, okay? We are going to get her.” I said assuredly. She nodded.
“So, where can she be hiding?”
“The only place left to hide in.” Elise said, directing her fingers, I followed them and it was to the supply closet next to the stage.
“Why would she be in there”? I asked. “So, what’s the plan?”
Elise stayed silent for a while. “We get in there quickly, get out with Nika, then exit the horrifying place.”
“Uh..Huh”. I looked at her with confusion.
“What’s the matter”? She asked me.
“Or do you mean like, we can throw something in the distance to distract them, get Nika, and then exit”? Elise knocked her head against the wall.
“It’s the same thing, Jade!” She roared in a whisper.
“But I explained it better. You have to be more specific”.
“So, what’s the distraction this time?” She asked. I thought about it for a while. Letting out a little chuckle, I beckoned to her to come closer and like there was someone I had to keep my idea from, I whispered in her ears.
“What?!” She asked in a loud voice. I tried to cover her mouth with my hand. She struggled, her arms flailing in the air. After a while, she calmed down and looked at me with soulless eyes.
“What? It’ll be fine. Trust me”. I said.
She shook her head in conviction and took my hand away. She stood silently. I then patted her head. “Trust me.” I knew she didn’t like this plan. I didn’t like it either.
“On 3,” I said to her and she nodded. She grabbed both knives to her sides. I took a deep breath and heaved heavily.
I started the countdown.
“1...” Elise tensed up.
“2...” At that moment, everything stopped. My chest was tight and my heartbeat against it, faster and faster. Lumps were formed in my throat, only if there was another number before three. I breathed in.
“3...”! I Shouted. We both pushed the door together and I stepped in. The Bodies all turned their dead gaze at me. I keep them focused as I walked in boldly, taking them slowly away from the closet upstage. The moment I got to the back door, I waited for Elise to sneak in and hide behind the door. As soon as that was accomplished, I turned the knob open, “Come get me, beasts!” I said and ran out immediately. The whole of them rushed towards me. As I looked behind, I was scared to my bones the way they came at me. Some crawled; some limped all for human flesh.
“This isn’t looking good.”
I ran faster, with my lungs trying to supply oxygen. It became harder for me to breathe. As I gasped for breath, my throat began to burn. By the time I got to the second floor, they were closer. I ran to the closest homeroom and shut the door behind me. I pushed the teacher’s table to the door to serve as an obstruction. I ran to the window, assessed the height of jumping down. I looked around the homeroom as I heard unrhymed bangs on the door. One of them managed to break through the glass. Arms went flying between the broken windows.
“Impatient, are we.” I chuckled. I took the metal bat and smashed the window in front of me. I hit it again with more force, only cracking the first layer.
“This isn’t going to work, is it? Oh!” I grabbed a lone backpack next to the desk beside me. Weighing it, it seemed heavy enough.
“Sorry about this, but it’s an emergency,” I threw the backpack against the window, shattering it entirely. I whistled at the amount of power it had to break the window.
“What did they put in that? Bricks, Encyclopedia books?” That sounds like something Elise would do. The persistent banging on the door and growling didn’t give me more room to think about my next action. I adjusted myself on the window seal and jumped, landing hard on my feet. Any normal person without the right muscle could damage their ankles. As for me, the impact felt like nothing. I dashed across the fresh-cut grass, leaving trails of detached grass to blow in the wind. I looked around for Elise and Nika. The coast seems to be clear. I couldn’t sight any Body around.
“Gosh,” Trying to catch my breath, I gazed at the bright sun. “A sunscreen would be the perfect medication right now.”
I placed both my hands on my hips.
“Does it really matter? You’re already tanned out.” Nika showed up behind me. She hooked her arm around mine, leaning her head on top of my shoulder. I chuckled and looked at Elise. I could see through her eyes, she had sad smiles and she probably wishes things hadn’t turned out this way.
I ran my hands through Nika's auburn brown hair.
“Are you okay?” I asked.
“Yeah.” She said using her high-pitched voice—something she’d usually do from time to time.
Nika smiled gracefully and tugged me. I smiled back and looked at her crystal green eyes, just like Elise. Beautiful and soothing.
The scorching sun burned my skin. I felt so red and hot.
“You okay, Jade? You’re uh, looking a little bit red there.” Elise poked my arm. The stinging sensation made me twitch.
“Wow, that’s really red.” She left a pale mark on my skin. I glanced over at her and I caught her biting her lip. She grinned, motioning her finger to poke me again in a different spot.
“Stop it, whatever you’re doing.” I grabbed her hand and jerked it away.
“Okay!”
“Let’s get to the school bus and get out of here as soon as we can,” I ordered.
