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The day was calm, if not a little boring so far. Birds chirped outside of campus, their beautiful melodies reaching the classroom through the open windows. Faint laughter from the sports fields could be heard from the second floor, where students were busy taking notes for exams that would be coming up in a few weeks.
Vikk being included in that as well. Although he didn't necessarily enjoy it.
He looked over to the clock, ten more minutes of class until second period would be over. He tapped his pen a bit faster against his notebook, the utensil pressed between his middle and index fingers. He sighed, resisting the urge to just put his head down on the desk; English was boring. Always analyzing works, finding this, finding that, it was all a bore to the dark-skinned teen, and just didn't seem necessary.
Alas, the bell rang soon, signaling the end of his second class, Vikk packed up his things as quickly as he could, before slinging his backpack over his right shoulder, heading out the door with his class to the hallway.
The hall was soon bustling with other kids, loud conversation and laughter soon overtaking Vikk's own thoughts, as he pushed through the mob to get to the stairwells, where he would wait for Pete.
Pete. The two haven't spoken that much in recent weeks, perhaps even a month. Most would think it was due to exams nearing, and most knew how busy an upperclassmen's schedule is. But it wasn't that, or at least, the main reason.
Vikk had been declining the other's offers to hang out, although he felt guilty in doing so. No way he could accept his hand when he hasn't offered the other his own first. The taller was always dragging him along with him, for participating in MCC a couple years ago, when the two were freshmen. But burnout had gotten to him, and Vikk couldn't continue playing in the event.
And anything after that was his own choice, his own fault.
Shoulders brushed against his own-some light, some more harshly-as he made his way towards the stairs. He looked above most of the students; Pete was tall, so it wasn't that difficult to spot him, although the blending of their uniform colors would make it a bit harder.
But Pete wasn't anywhere to be found yet, so Vikk decided to just wait near the stairs, keeping away from the steps to let others pass. He knew it wouldn't take that long, the other's class was only just down the hall.
Only a few minutes passed before he could hear Pete's voice call out to him: "Vikk!"
The shorter looked over to see the taller with his other group of friends, a few he could recognize as Quig and HBomb, although he didn't know the two very well, if at all. Pete waved him over, a small smile on his face.
"Hey, Pete." Vikk smiled as the group of three approached him, HBomb giving him a polite nod in greeting, before dismissing himself and Quig.
"We'll be going now, see you at lunch?" The senior questioned, and Pete nodded, although he hesitated in agreeing, looking over to his friend as if to ask, Is it okay?
Vikk shrugged in reply; he didn't mind so much. He didn't have many other friends, but he didn't want to barge into Pete's group, especially since he wasn't invited. And yet, he felt a pang of sadness as the two other students walked off to their other class, Quig immediately jumping back into conversation with the other.
"How was English?" Pete asked him, feeling a bit more at ease and less awkward, as he adjusted the dark-blue beanie that rested on his head. Vikk looked over, before shrugging again: "It was fine. Boring as always, and we have a project we'll have to start in two weeks."
"Ah, I'm sure it won't be too bad," Pete brushed his dark-green hair out of his face, as the two started up the stairs. "Your class seems fine."
"Yeah, but the teacher sucks," Vikk complained, "She always gives us a lot of requirements to meet for even the bare minimum."
"I'm always down to help if you need it." Pete offered, but Vikk shook his head, just before the two reached the second floor. Here he goes again with the declines.
"It's alright, I don't want you to be too busy-"
A sudden scream echoed throughout the upper floors, and the two stopped, the other kids around them doing the same. Screaming was common; usually it was just the teens fooling around, often the freshman and sophomores, who always seemed unhinged right when they step foot on the school grounds.
But this was different. It sounded more serious, more frightened. And Vikk felt his heart start to pound louder as he heard more, followed by rushed footsteps coming down the stairs.
"What the fuck?" Vikk could hear Pete mutter under his breath, but none of them dared to move. At least, until they heard desperate pleas for help, where the students on the same floor as they started to cautiously, slowly, walk up the stairs.
The dark-skinned boy was about to go upstairs to see what was going on, but Pete stopped him midway, his lightskinned hand gripping the other's forearm.
The voices grew closer, and Vikk could catch a batch of words being screamed.
"They're coming!"
Who? Vikk was about to ask, before pandemonium erupted all at once. A huge mob of students ran down the stairs, nearly pushing the two boys down the stairs, to the second floor once more. By then, a group of kids gathered down below them, confused and worried.
"Vikk!"
The shorter was yanked by the arm from the stairs, Pete pulling him back to where they were previously, taking a few steps back from the commotion.
"You okay? You almost hit your head on the stairs," the taller's voice was soft, worried, and Vikk was about to assure him with a smile that he was alright, reaching for the backpack that had slipped off of his shoulder.
Until kids started falling down the stairwell. Some out of shock, some being shoved.
And most out of being tackled.
Vikk couldn't look away, seeing pools of red start to spill from some of their heads. They screamed, shrieked, bloodcurdling cries that only paralyzed him further. He could see one student running towards them, in their direction, eyes filled with fear.
Before getting jumped by another, falling to the ground with a hard thud, a piercing scream erupting from their throat, and a pit of uneasiness was brewing in Vikk's stomach.
Another student was on top of them, bloodied and rabid, moving erratically and sharply. Their mouth was covered in blood, eating away at the other's neck, and Vikk could only hear the cracking of bones.
"Vikk."
He couldn't move, eyes wide with shock, too stunned to move. He could barely feel Pete's hand gripping his arm so tight his knuckles were pale as white sheets.
"Run."
The student- no, monster, looked up at them, letting out a disgusting snarl.
"Vikk, run!" Pete screamed, and finally the shorter snapped out of his trance, turning on his heel and sprinting as far away from the commotion as he could, his friend right next to him. They could both hear shrieks from behind them, growing increasingly in number, and the squeaks of their sneakers against the tile flooring.
Pete's hazel eyes were fixated ahead of them, where more students were present, seemingly unaffected for now, running away from the danger as they were. Vikk's heart pounded in his ears, he could practically hear the rushing of blood through his own veins.
They were nearly at the end of the hallway when they saw another wave of bloodied students tackle the majority of the ones ahead to the ground, eliciting screams from their throats. The two skidded sharply to a stop, Vikk nearly falling against the tile, yet Pete was thinking quicker, his mind on the fly.
He gripped the handle of one of the classroom doors to their right, trying to get the door to budge. Vikk assisted, and the two were able to open the sliding wooden door, running inside the empty room, desks and such still in ordered arrays.
But another student was able to get through the door before Pete slammed it shut, preventing the other horde of rabid students from getting through the door. And they all jumped at the sound of bodies slamming against the wood, all manic and bloody and screaming.
Vikk's eyes were fixated on the door's windows, which were soon smudged with red, chest feeling tight and constricted, breathing heavily. His body felt numb, he couldn't move; none of this was real.
Right?
"Are you okay?" he could hear Pete's voice, and his eyes flickered to the other student who was cowering on the floor. They nodded, albeit very stiffly, still in shock.
But they seemed fine, and they weren't injured, so Vikk had let it slide.
He walked over to the windows, looking out to the sports field, his heart sinking as he looked upon the sea of students that were staggering around, no longer their true selves.
"They're zombies." He said out loud, not to anyone in particular, yet it caught Pete and the other student's attention.
"Are you sure?"
"Aren't they the same thing? Look at them," Vikk called him over, Pete showing up beside him. The two of them looked out across campus, brows furrowed. "Don't you see how they're acting?"
"I mean..." Pete paused, "we don't really know what it is."
"Don't you have your phone in your backpack? We should probably call the police or some shit," the shorter said, worry starting to settle in. "Then call your parents, tell them not to come to the school."
"What about our friends?" Pete asked him, taking in a breath, as he slung his backpack off of his shoulder. "Shouldn't we call them after?"
"I mean, we can, but-" Vikk's voice trailed off as he looked over to the doors, seeing the student's head down, hand covering the bottom half of their face. He could see them trembling, and concern started to wash over him.
"Hey, are you okay?" Cautiously, tentatively, he took a few steps towards them, a bit nervous. They looked up, a small line of blood trickling down their nose, eyes looking a bit frantic.
"Y-Yeah," they stammered, voice a bit wobbly.
Pete saw the bloody nose, and his voice grew calmer, as to not startle the other; "I have some tissues in my bag, you need some?"
"Uhm- yes, please."
The taller answered with a hum, as he slipped his backpack off of his shoulders, pulling open the zipper of one of his bag's pockets. But Vikk's eyes were fixated on the student near the door, thoughts starting to come together as more blood started falling, the liquid starting to blend into the other's white collared shirt.
"Were you bitten?" Vikk questioned, although he already had an answer in mind. His unexpected remark caught Pete off-guard, and he stopped peering into his bag to look at the other two, brows raised.
"I-I wasn't," the unfamiliar student said, their tone defensive, as they stood up to meet Vikk's gaze. "I swear I wasn't bitten-"
"There. On your arm." Vikk pointed over to their limb, where he had noticed a cut through the navy-blue jacket of their uniform, confirming his thoughts. Pete was standing now, eyes widening in shock.
"That's not-"
"What? What is it supposed to be then?" Vikk's tone of voice grew more hostile. "You were bitten, I can see it-"
"I wasn't bitten!" The other nearly screamed, voice growing more desperate. "I-I wasn't, I wasn't bitten, please-"
But by now their face was a bloody mess, and Vikk could see the veins in their neck blacken and pop out the more scared they became, the signs of infection becoming more prominent. Pete was now in front of Vikk this time, arm defensively blocking the shorter, as the two of them backed up towards the window.
They were changing. And there was nothing either of them could do.
"Please- I-I don't want to die, I'm scared," they pleaded, voice becoming more shaky by the second. They took a step forward; Pete and Vikk took a step back. "I'm-I'm not one of them, I swear!"
They took one more step, and Vikk could see their eyes filled with fear. And for once, he understood the fear of being bitten, being scared of how you'll die, being scared of the unknown.
But at the same time, he felt selfishness for his own life. And his small sliver of sympathy disappeared as quickly as it had formed, as the other student collapsed on the tile floor, body starting to twitch.
Pete ushered him farther back, eyes still set on the student who was turning. Vikk felt nauseous, suddenly, stomach lurching as he heard their bones cracking into place. The taller grabbed a chair from one of the desks, and Vikk could see Pete's hands trembling, ever so slightly. He was scared, he could tell.