Chapter Text
Mr. Villiers voice drones on over the soft hum of the broken air conditioner. The sun burns through the glass and a beam of light streams across the pale of my palm. It’s incredibly hot even for a summer day it's way too much. My uniform dress shirt clings to my damp body and strands of my silver hair are plastered against my forehead. I wouldn't be in this classroom right now if it weren't for Vanille and Noel who are seated right next to me sweating like dogs; just like me. If that air conditioner worked at all it wouldn't be so bad sitting in summer school with the hot sun scolding into my side.
Last semester we had barely paid any attention. I mean none. I don’t even remember what we covered in Language Arts, I'm sure there was something about a famous ancient play but other than that I was too busy goofing off in the back with Vanille and Noel. Normally I don’t condone that kind of behaviour myself, I don’t even know why I joined them, it just seemed like a lot of fun and Mr. Villiers is an easy teacher. Well at the time that’s what we thought, little did we know he was just anticipating us joining his overheated summer lecture.
“Ugh this is so boring!” Vanille cries out exhausted throwing her hands out in front of her and dropping her forehead hard against the surface of her desk with an audible thump.
Mr. Villiers turns around to face us finally, his blonde strands clump together in groups across his glistening brows and there are major sweat stains under his armpits. I've never seen him so happy and miserable at the same time. His sky blue eyes betray him letting us know that he’s suffering though he wears a smile that would convince you otherwise. He grins like an idiot everyday, I don’t know why I would think that just because he’s sweltering in that dress shirt, vest and long dress pants ensemble that anything would change.
“Oh come on, it’s not so bad, we get to spend a lot of time together isn't that exciting? I find that very exciting,” He replies in his chipper yet condescending, raspy tone.
Noel chimes in just as depleted as Vanille, “Seriously dude, it’s a million degrees in here, can’t we at least go outside for the class?”
“You think it’s any better out there?” Mr. Villiers raises his eyebrows quizzically.
“Well… at least outside the AC can’t melt our organs, that thing needs to be fixed like two days ago.”
“Point taken, however, we’re almost done here. You can head home in another twenty minutes, not that big of a deal right? Now who can tell me why Juliet committed suicide?”
Vanille sits up straight and her eyes narrow into an unsettling glare, “Because her parents were trying to marry her off and she wanted to be with Romeo.”
My voice breaks through just before Mr. Villiers can correct her, “No, I believe that the real reason was because she seen that Romeo had already committed suicide… Before, she faked her own death so that she could be with Romeo but he thought that she was already dead since she drank that potion or whatever to make her look dead.”
I tap my pencil against my paper filled with messy notes and a few dirty drawings courtesy of Noel and his friends. Mr. Villiers turns his attention to me, I don’t look up to meet his gaze. I stay quiet during my classes to avoid attention from my teachers or other students, I do my work and hand it in for marks, I also choose to work alone rather than work with partners even if I'm supposed to. This is the first time I have ever spoken to a teacher during class without being prompted to before hand.
“Very good Hope, honestly I'm surprised you're even here, that’s exactly correct,” Mr. Villiers praises me and continues to speak for a good five minutes before the door bursts open.
Ms. Farron stands tall with her eyes fixated on Mr. Villiers. He cocks his eyebrows up again and leans against his desk with his arms crossed over his chest, legs following suit. When Ms. Farron doesn't respond he clears his throat to no avail. She’s calculating something, her irises move from one corner of her eye to the next scanning over the room. There are only four people here: Mr. Villiers, Noel, Vanille and myself.
“Light, is there something I can help you with?” Mr. Villiers finally breaks the awkward silence with Ms. Farron's delightful nickname.
“We need to get out of here… there’s something going on… We should talk about it outside,” She shifts her stance, her weight transferring to the left, arms just under her ribs and gaze pointed down.
Mr. Villiers seems to catch on that this is something not to be discussed in front of students and quickly removes himself from the classroom dragging Ms. Farron along with him. Vanille turns to face myself and I assume the window that follows. Carelessly she throws herself over my lap and bounces giddily resting her hands firmly on the long counter top to peer outside.
“Vanille! Don’t do that,” I chastise and join her without delay.
The sun rests high in the sky shining brightly over the dark green fields. There’s not much around the school, a deserted bus stop, an empty park directly across the street and there’s a small ice cream stand that sits on the corner where an old lady and her grandson work together. It’s a peaceful place, there’s normally a lot of kids playing at this time but I guess they have better things to do after all summer break is great for the beach or water activities.
Noel slaps his hand down on my shoulder and leans forward, “Do you think it’s something inside?”
“Nope, I don’t think that it’s inside, do you think Ms. Farron would have come in here if that were the case? I wonder what it is, maybe there is a stranger outside and we have to go through a lock down or something.”
My stomach knots when Vanille points that out, I always get nervous during those things, practice or not, “D-don’t say things like that…”
She tilts her head, “Oh sorry Hope! I didn't mean to… make you uncomfortable or anything. But it’s always a possibility and we have to prepare for it.”
“Shh!” Noel points outside of the window, “Look at that, what’s going on? Is… is she bleeding?”
I turn my head in horror to find the girl, a student from this school wearing the very same uniform as Vanille only hers is splattered with a violent red where the white should be. I can't get a good look at her face though, something seems oddly familiar. My jaw falls open, it’s horrific, there’s spurts of blood gushing from the gaping crimson hole in her chest. There’s panic on her pained features, her legs are clumsy beneath her, hands are pressed hard against her oozing wound. She’s running from something… I don’t know what it is I can’t see anyone but she’s definitely trying to escape something…
And just like that suddenly out of nowhere a man dashes forward at an unrealistic speed, launching himself at her with all his might. She throws her arms out in front of her just in time to avoid a head on collision, both of them toppling over sloppily to the ground. She struggles to hold him up, the gap in her chest spitting out more rouge liquid onto her uniform. I can’t hear her screams but her mouth is wide open and she’s visibly frightened…
“We have to help her,” I murmur dryly as I inch my fingers to the lock on the window. It’s not a far drop from the second floor.
“Wait-”
Noel’s words are cut short when the girls arms give out and the man’s face crashes down on hers. We watch for a few seconds only to witness the most gruesome thing I have ever seen in my entire life. His teeth gnash together through the flesh on her cheek, blood soaks the ground as she goes limp, her teeth and gums becoming exposed the longer the man lays there chewing on her mushy flesh.
I feel sick. My heart starts to pound too fast and I grasp the ledge to keep myself upright. What the hell just happened? Bile rises in my throat and I fight to swallow it back. Who the hell does that?! My breathing starts to turn into loud gasps and I slump forward, I need to sit down. I touch the cold ground with my palm and lower myself down to gather my bearings.
“Oh my God!” Vanille falls back into my desk with her hands clasped firmly in front of her mouth, “He killed her! He ate her face!”
Noel hisses, “What a sick- wait… what the… sh-she’s getting up.”
Vanille throws herself forward and the lock to the window snaps up, “HEY!” She howls out of the window, “HEY! Are you okay?!”
“She’s…” Noel pauses, “No that’s not… that’s not normal…”
I have to see… I have to know what they’re talking about. My palms are slick as they touch the floor again, I almost slip forcing myself back to unstable feet. My hand wraps around Noel’s arm and he quickly supports me without really looking at me, his eyes trained on the girl… the girl standing up with blood dribbling from all sorts of places on her body…
She’s standing, not tall, she’s hunched over in a weird position. Her expression is completely blank, lost… her skin is paler, almost grey even, how did that even happen in the time it took me to stand up? She moves, one foot drags behind the other as she stumbles aimlessly away from her attacker who has now gotten to his feet as well… I didn't notice before, there’s something off about him, or should I say there’s something off of him… his arms are missing, one looks to be chewed off and the other is only hanging by thick strands of tissues dragging through the freshly cut grass. It’s literally only a few seconds from dropping off, how does that not hurt?
“What the-” I start only to be interrupted by the door swinging open once more and a loud bang resonates through the class.
“We have to go, we’re getting out of here right now, come on,” Mr. Villiers ushers for us to follow him.
After what we just seen I could really use an adults guidance. I waste no time lurching forward to join him, his hand presses against my back and Ms. Farron grabs my arm without hesitation. She begins a quick stride forward to the staircase on our right. There’s absolute silence throughout the empty school, there’s other summer classes taking place and I know that for a fact, I wonder how many of them know about this too…
“What about the others?” I murmur quietly only now aware of how close I am to Ms. Farron, I can smell her perfume mixed with coffee and sweat.
Her icy blue eyes rest on me, “What others? There’s no one left.”
She’s harsh. I knew this about Ms. Farron the first time I had her as my teacher. Though I'm sure she doesn't mean to be she distant from everyone or make people uncomfortable and put off by her rigid personality. She’s not the friendliest person, I've definitely had nicer gym teachers, she’s not the worst either by far however. When I confessed my love for her in grade ten she was understanding about it so I have to be thankful that at certain times she can be nice in her own way. Today though, she’s not sugar coating anything.
“Oh…” I whisper low and quiet, “W-what’s going on?”
She pushes me down the stairs with too much force and I barely catch myself on the railing, “Don’t know much myself just get moving and don’t speak.”
My feet clash with one another as I trip down the steps only just making it to the bottom platform without falling flat on my face. Quick, hard breaths leave my mouth and I cling to the cool metal for dear life. A strong whiff of rotting flesh and rusty blood chokes off my gasps and I clutch my throat. I don’t want to breathe in but I know that I have to and eventually give into the nagging need for air.
I glance around searching for the cause of that horrid smell. There must be left over sandwiches in the cafeteria or something like that, not only one, hundreds maybe… only if we were that lucky. At the very bottom of the remaining stairs to my left there is a swarm of maybe a dozen, bloody, eaten students shuffling around the entryway with no sense of direction. It’s like they’re dead. Their eyes don’t see, they're a milky white clouded with confusion. This is like something out of a horror movie… what are they?
When I open my mouth to speak a hand clamps down over top of it and I'm shoved into the railing violently almost sending me over the edge. I flail my arms to grab hold of the cold bar and my head leans back to try and escape the iron grasp on my mouth. In my desperate panic I didn't notice but my eyes meet a pair of pure white irises and I resist the urge to scream. The person, or what used to be a person, directly below me sniffs around the air, his body limping in my general direction, nose held high to get a better idea of what is in front of him.
Ms. Farron yanks me back up from the wandering dead male, my eyes widen in fear, she’s warning me not to make a sound. Her hand slowly leaves my face and she grabs onto my arm once again leading me behind her very cautiously towards the front door. The students around us don’t seem to notice us, they aren't trailing behind us or anything instead they are headed in the opposite direction where distant screams are muffled by close doors.
Without so much as a backwards glance I make a mad dash for the front doors and drink in the fresh air. I've never been so relieved to be outside in my entire life. I will never take for granted the great outdoors ever again, I’ll spend less time hold up in my bedroom playing video games if I never, ever have to be stuck in that rank smell again.
Well, we’ll see…
“Quiet!” Ms. Farron hisses grabbing my shoulder and giving me a shake.
I don’t understand, why is she mad? I stop my desperate gulps for clean air and look up at her confused, “I'm sorry… I don’t get it…”
“Look, I don’t know much either but as far as I know these people… they aren't… they’re dead. I know that much for sure. Let’s put it bluntly, they're zombies. Get it? They can’t see, if you are quiet and stay away from them they can’t smell you… that’s all I know, from personal experience,” Ms. Farron explains in a hushed whisper for everyone to hear.
Mr. Villiers has his hands on Vanille’s back and Noel’s shoulder as we huddle together… it’s not real. Where are the hidden cameras? I step back and whip my head back and forth, animatedly might I add, to find them. There’s nothing though, no hints of a hidden camera show and Mr. Villiers and Ms. Farron seem genuine about everything. Even her absurd claim of zombies actually existing.
“That’s not even possible,” Vanille growls angrily and rolls her eyes. “You are being pretty childish for two adults. Some girl got her face chomped off and here you are making zombie jokes?”
“Explain the students in the lounge, Vanille,” Noel counters. He’s really buying this?
“Drama class, it has to be. I heard they were going to be messing around with their make up or something over the summer. They are just playing around. They did choose a pretty crappy day though, I mean some girl is seriously injured and they are having the time of their lives dressing up,” Vanille is proud of her explanation crossing her arms triumphantly and smirking.
Mr. Villiers jumps into the mess, “None the less, if this is real or not, something is going on and I have to get Serah.”
Ms. Farron turns her eyes to Mr. Villiers, her dubious expression is off putting, “We are not babysitting three students on the way and we cannot leave them without someone to take care of them idiot!”
“I'm not leaving Serah longer than what I already have. If there's some kind of outbreak or something she’s in danger Lightning!” Their voices boom around the hollow surroundings.
My heart thrums viciously against my ribcage and I glance around searching for any evidence of life, there’s nothing coming. Just around the corner I know that the girl was attacked there and if they are really zombies they will find us soon enough. “We shouldn't really be arguing here…”
“These students are in danger and I'm sure that they want to be with their parents Snow! We have to call them and wait somewhere safe until they can pick them up!”
“If we do that then we have to wait! What if they can’t come get them?! What about Serah?! What if they can’t even get in contact with their parents?! I'm not leaving my family behind because you want to play the waiting game!”
“Guys,” I whisper, I can’t speak any louder, I can see a foot peek from around edge of the building and half of a body press against the firm brick as if trying to walk through it. “We have to go…”
My head is whirling, I can’t see straight… I'm starting to get sick and standing tall is getting more and more difficult. Puffs of breath escape my lips in short bursts and my chest rises and falls painfully. My vision starts to blur and I can’t tear my stare away from the girl slowly, very slowly inching her way past the wall. Once her other foot pops into view she’s free to fumble forward. If she’s anything like the one that got her… she’s going to be fast.
Ms. Farron is clearly exasperated, her tone has become irritated and hoarse, “Well we have to find a way to get them home Snow, I'm not leaving teenagers to deal with this shit on their own. Seriously, as a teacher you have to put them first sometimes!”
“Light-”
“Guys!” I shout this time, eyes not wavering from the sprinting chaotic figure beelining straight for us. Her hands swing from side to side in demented ways, mouth opening and snapping shut, her tongue gets caught up in the mess and splits from her open lips hitting the ground. She doesn't even flinch, “We have to go.”
Ms. Farron jerks her head up. Her expression changes from hatred to uncertainty to barely detectable fear, “To my car, let’s go, move, move, move!”
Her hand makes wide gestures towards the teachers parking lot on the other side of the long stretch of green behind her. We don’t need to be told twice, the hungry moans elevating from the monster chasing us giving us enough adrenaline to get the hell out of there. My arms and legs pump relentlessly to make it to the gravel covered pavement, my shoes slip on the tiny rocks sending me plummeting to the asphalt. I let out a small whimper and Noel is by my side in seconds picking me up.
“You okay?” He asks looking down at my arm, there’s probably a few scrapes and rocks embedded in my skin but I don’t much care, I slap his hand away and open the back door for him to get in first, "Man middle?"
Vanille gets in on the other side and there’s a loud whack, I hear Noel complain and Vanille whine, they must have hit heads getting in at the same time… I blink and get into the car swiftly just as Ms. Farron hops into the front seat and Mr. Villiers jumps into the passenger side. As my door slams shut raw, blood soaked fingers slide against the glass of my window.
The girls teeth clink against the thin pane. Her exposed jaw and tissue is extremely unsettling. My stomach twists viciously and on instinct I shove myself closer to Noel. He’s just as terrified, his eyes are wide and wet with tears, he’s crying… I feel his tears on my cheeks and I pay closer attention to the girl that he is very attracted to.
Oh.
That’s Yuel. Noel’s girlfriend of three years… I would have never known if it weren't for the flowers wound up in her hair. Her face is a crimson mess, eyes a grim white, she’s lost, everything about her screams dead. There’s nothing left of the girl that she was. This isn't Yeul. She’s not like this at all. She has a laugh of gold and a smile that could end wars; she literally has a heart of gold.
“No… that’s not right… she’s supposed to be at home, I told her to wait there…” Noel whispers and places his hand to her snarling face, “This isn't my Yeul…”
The car hums and it’s so quick, Ms. Farron slams her foot down on the gas and whips the car into reverse letting Yeul’s body collapse from the lack of the vehicles presence. The gear shift is shoved into drive and the car lurches forward at an alarming speed. Noel let’s out a choked cry and turns around in his seat to watch Yeul climb to her feet once again and stagger forward clumsily.
“I'm sorry,” Mr. Villiers places his hand on Noel’s knee and my defeated best friend flops back in his seat with his arms over his eyes. Wails of pain and sorrow leave his chest and fill the small confines of the car. His tortured whimpers don't fade for a long while, I didn't think such a thing was possible considering Noel is the strongest... well one of the strongest people I know.
Guilt washes over me, if only we were a little faster, if I opened the window once we seen her… I should have done something… what are we supposed to accept now? That she’s not gone but not here at the same time? She’s dead but she’s the undead? This is so messed up. Zombies… seriously? Where the hell did that even come from? What kind of dream is this? I want to wake up.
There’s not many cars on the road, well that’s not true, there’s hundreds of cars all ransacked and off to the side. Either empty of life or filled with mindless creatures scavenging around for anything they can get their hands on. Birds and stray cats lifeless corpses appeal to the decaying populace plunging to get a piece of any part of the poor animals that they can. Within a matter of three hours of class the whole city has descended into hell. How did all of this happen so quickly and without notice?
It doesn't take us long to get to Mr. Villiers house. It’s a rather large compound, the place is about three stories and could probably be considered a mini island. A large brick fence surrounds the entire thing. A sturdy metal fence blocks the garage entry where there is at least four clueless remnants of what used to be humans stretching their hands through the bars. Ms. Farron waits for nothing, she revs the engine loudly and the monsters turn their heads to watch us with dumbstruck faces. The car darts forward and the bodies crumple against the hood. When we back up they disappear from view and Mr. Villiers punches in a code on the console off to his side of the vehicle.
The gate groans in protest as the metal crawls off to the side to let us in. Ms. Farron doesn't bother waiting for the garage door instead she parks the car and kills the engine in the middle of the driveway, she rushes out of the car without looking back. She’s a blur, she moves so fast to the front door I can't keep up. The three of us, Noel, Vanille and myself, stare as Ms. Farron and Mr. Villiers bolt for the front door.
Noel sniffles and the click of his seat belt alarms me, “What are you doing?”
“I'm not sitting in here with nothing to protect myself! I'm going to get something from the garage or something. I'm sure they won’t miss anything look at the size of this place,” He grumbles and pushes Vanille’s door open to climb out.
Vanille’s seat belt lashes back into its spot and she joins him outside, “I'm going too. Maybe there’s a crowbar or something I can use. You stay here if you’re too scared Hope. We’ll be back.”
Scared? You better believe it! This isn't normal. No way can this be happening. I can’t just accept that… no way… not a chance. When they hurry off towards the garage I release my belt and leap across the two seats to tug the door shut and slam my hand down on the lock… The gate behind the car whines as is closes itself, a bit delayed but at least it's closing.
My throat is dry, I need some water… my head hurts and my heart is probably going to bust out of my chest any second. My tongue darts out over my scorched lips and I tug my phone out of my pocket. It’s two thirty, I have enough battery to make one call, my mom should be at home, my dad is probably at work or something, I'm not too concerned about him. I quickly dial my mother's cell phone number and wait through the annoyingly long dial tone.
“Hello?” She whispers, her voice is cracking through the receiver, I better make this fast.
“Mom? Mom it’s me. Are you okay? I'm going to come home, I'm just with my teachers but I'm coming home right away,” I panic once I hear her and my words just pour out without really meaning to let them.
“Hope?” She questions softly, “My sweet boy… You can’t come home… it’s… it’s not safe here. You have to be safe Hope. You just have-”
Her screams rupture through the earpiece and I drop the phone instantly. The sound of ripping flesh drowns out her gurgled moans and the phone goes dead within split seconds… my jaw opens slightly and my breath stops in my chest… I ache to let it out but I refuse… What just happened? Mom… mom… no… I let out my breath and a pained whimper follows after it. Tears sting my eyes and I curl my legs up to my chest. What the hell? What kind of dream is this?
“Hope,” My shocked gaze trails from the phone on the ground towards the bright blue eyes in front of me. Ms. Farron’s face is inches from mine, “Are you okay? What happened? Where are Noel and Vanille? Hope? Are you listening?”
“Gone… She’s gone…” I spit out finally just barely audible, “My mom… she… I called… she… gone…”
Her cold eyes soften slightly and her hand brushes against my cheek, “It’s okay Hope. I'm going to help you. You have to tell me where Noel and Vanille are, okay? We’re going to go inside for a bit. We have to come up with a plan. Do you hear me Hope? Hey, do you hear me?”
She can’t keep my concentration on her, I can’t listen right now, there’s only one thought running through my head and that’s the screams of my mother… her dying words. She didn't get to finish her sentence… what kind of cruel fate? What kind of hell is this? Why me? Why my mom? What am I supposed to do now? Who am I supposed to turn to? She’s gone… she was my only hope… I have none… I don’t want this… I don’t want to do this. What exactly is this? Survive the zombie apocalypse? This is ridiculous...
“Hope?” I can only vaguely here Ms. Farron’s voice over the screeching in my mind, “Hope please.”
Warm lips press against my cheeks and hot breath blows against my cooling tears, Ms. Farron pulls away from my face after a few seconds and I avert my eyes from the phone to hold her gaze. She’s blushing slightly, eyes determined and jaw taut, lips shining only slightly with my tear.
“W-what?” My voice cracks from the lack of saliva that is supposed to coat my throat.
“Where are Vanille and Noel?” She’s stern, she means business this time.
“The garage… weapons, they are going for weapons or something.”
“Okay good, come inside. We’re going to talk now. We need a plan, do you hear me?” She narrows her eyes to make sure that I understand and I nod once, “Good. Go on I’ll meet you in there.”
“Yeah,” I struggle to get out of the car, it’s an obstacle in and of itself.
Everything is just happening too fast. What do I know? I know that I don’t have to go to summer school anymore, bonus. I know that Yeul is… the undead… I know that there is such a thing as the undead. My mother is... dead, maybe even possibly undead. I don’t have any idea where I'm going to go or what I should do now. Not that I had any sort of plan before hand either. Who’s prepared for a sudden zombie apocalypse? This is… this is just impossible. I refuse to even entertain the thought that this is real. What’s next? One of those cheesy new reports telling us to stay indoors?
My fingers linger on the door knob, this isn't really happening. How many games have I played where this type of thing happens? This doesn't happen in real life. However... Don’t the main characters react kind of the same? But they can suddenly kick ass on a whim without training… I'm nothing like that, I know that I can't kill anything, I'm not weak but I'm no killer even if they are dead. How do you even kill what's already not of this world anymore? If this was a game I would have been the first guy to die, it’s almost amusing to think about… except this is, only in its own way, just the beginning… that’s not as entertaining, there's still the chance that I'm exactly that guy. Maybe I die to give the real protagonist a reason to go on. Shaking my head I push the door open to the extravagant home.
Being in here you wouldn't have guessed that the streets were dressed in the blood of the dead and that carcasses rule our small town at this very moment. The house is cold, it's so nice to step into from the blistering heat. It’s also very large and very bright. There are skylights directly overhead and straight in front of me where I assume the living room starts there is a large window letting in the sun. There’s a staircase off to my right just beyond the entryway closet, a small dark skinned boy sits curled up with a small yellow bird in his palm.
Great there’s kids here? That doesn't look like Mr. Villiers, I shouldn't pry…
I'm not sure if I should talk to him… I kick my shoes off awkwardly, I don’t want to dirty the grey carpet or anything. Avoiding eye contact with the little boy I mark my way forward into the living room where there is a whole crowd of people… I blink rapidly trying to take it all in.
Mr. Villiers is clutching a small pink haired girl against his chest, she’s crying and she’s obviously happy to have him home. There’s another woman with messy black hair and red tips that flicker like fire when it moves. Her skin has been kissed by the sun and she’s got a tattoo on her arm that seems to fit her tough demeanour. Another man is in the room with his arms crossed over his chest, if I had to guess I would say that he’s the father of the little boy, his skin and his afro are an uncanny match to the child. He also has a tattoo that matches the fire haired woman in the center of his broad chest.
“Well, what are we going to do now?” Noel’s voice sounds from behind me and I wince at the sudden break through the silence.
Mr. Villiers tilts his head up, “We wait for instructions.”
That’s it? That’s all you brought me here for?! Your wife is fine and that’s just that?! We can all just rest here and be safe?! I could have been with my mother if I wanted to wait around and die! What kind of plan is that?! You have got to be kidding me, this is the genius plan that you construct?! No! No! I won’t take it!
Is what I want to say. But I quietly take a seat in front of Mr. Villiers and his sobbing wife, leaning forward with my elbows on my knees and I wait… like I'm told.