White Walkers

   
      “Get over here!” I whispered to my friend as loud as I could. She was behind a large cabinet in the front of the classroom, barely out of site. “They’ll see you!” Evelyn looked over, clearly afraid to move.  I watched her eyes, deciding finally that I was right and she sprang up. She ran into a desk but managed to recover, her boots clunking down the isle. Seconds before they burst through the door did she get into the closet with the rest of us. 

      ****                          *****                          *****                            *****                              *****                              ****

      It had only been a few hours since everything changed.

      I was sitting in my English class watching my teacher sluggishly move from him desk to the podium. He was speaking with a lazy manor and he wasn’t the only one who didn’t want to be here. I was only awake because it was almost time to eat. I hadn’t eaten anything for breakfast. So when the bell rang, after reminding us our papers were due this Friday, I couldn’t help but try and be out of the room first.
        When I reached the lunchroom, I strolled to my usual table. My two best friends sat with me and a few others from previous classes.       

      “I swear this food is like heaven to my stomach. I couldn’t wait to eat!” I said happily, pushing another fry into my mouth. Evelyn just smiled at me with her hmpf type acknowledgement and continued working on some math homework she hadn’t finished.           

        “We knows. You said that shiiit like a hundred time-a-limes.” Emma remarked sarcastically, throwing in an eyebrow roll. I laughed but only because her speaking form is always so peculiar. She’s more like Dr. Suess and rhymes her words. Unfortunately though, I’ve picked that up.

    “Not my fault. T’waaaas hungry like a grizzly bear.” Her eyes rolled as she half grinned. 

      It had only been about twenty minutes into lunch when everyone went silent. Screams had broken through down the hall, echoing their chilling effect throughout the cafeteria. 

      As cliché as it sounds, everything happened at once. It was more like a strange reflex when danger presents itself, and all you can do is react.         

      A large group of students ran through the wide entrance into the food court, clearly frightened. No books were in their hands, their clothes looked disheveled, but that wasn’t so strange compared to the blood on their arms and legs covering most of their clothes. Several looked like death itself was after them.

      One girl was crying as she ran, and the last one to come in looked ghostly white. He was walking, almost limping, towards the closest, curious student. I wouldn’t forget his eyes later that day, because they were the eyes you never want coming at you. The unlucky girl was immediately confused as the white-eyed boy grabbed her and bit into her cheek leaving a long trail of blood down her bodice. She screamed while others tried to get him off her.         

      I remember thinking I was in someone else’s body watching a movie or something like that. Knowing without a doubt that we needed to get away from these pupil-less things attacking everyone, I looked over at my two friends. My heart was pounding like it would spring out of my chest and dance on the floor. I stood their momentarily helpless until many more of the white-eyed people sprung through the entrance looking for more prey.

    We were towards the middle of the lunch room standing and staring at the pools of blood covering the entrance of the cafeteria. Several bodies lay sprawled out while those things ate at them. Horror was bubbling into my chest and I wanted go home.

      It seemed no one knew what to do. People were running in all directions. The food servers who had come to see the commotion began leaving, fear plastered on their faces. Any teachers who'd been here before… were long gone. Some braver students continued to help kick off the biters. And then there was us, standing at our table. Frozen.

      I looked around. We were the last ones at our table. “We have to get out of here!” I yelled over the screams and cries of the other students. Emma and Evelyn both considered me with the same frightened expressions that my heart felt.

    I grabbed my purse and swung it around my shoulder and ran around the table to find them both still frozen in fear. Grabbing them by the arms seemed to wake them up.

      We had to maneuver around chairs and tables that had been tossed out of the way. The cafeteria looked like a jungle gym. Several other people were following us, heading towards the back entrance, and away from the horror show.

    As we reached the outer edge of the eating area, I could see many teachers and security officers making their way towards the white walkers. They failed mostly, trying to get them off the bodies. Many of them were turned into victims themselves.

    The boy that had bitten the cheek of that girl earlier was clawing at a tall security man. He was barely succeeding at keeping the thing at bay. The man was frustrated, yelling at it to stop, reasoning with it....but there was no reasoning with them. They were just like in the movies- blank stares, emotionless, never tiring, and .....hungry. The only difference here was their color. Completely pale, whiter than snow. And their eyes had absolutely no color.

      Zombies. Goosebumps raced down my back.



************************************************************

    We managed to flee the cafeteria and head towards the other end of the school. People were running everywhere. Emma turned toward the stairs and led us to the second floor. A couple of guys had been following us.

    I heard something weird, a strange noise in the stairwell. Instinctively, I ran down the hall yelling at my friends to follow. I rushed into the classroom, and stuffed myself into the large closet at the back of the room, Emma right behind me. The two guys ran in and I held the door open.

    “Where is Eve?!” I yelled, “Eve!” She burst through the door, panting…and jumped behind the podium.

    “Get over here!” I whispered to my friend as loud as I could, “ They’ll see you!” Evelyn looked over, clearly afraid to move.  I watched her eyes, deciding finally that I was right and she sprang up. She ran into a desk but managed to recover, her boots clunking down the aisle. Seconds before they burst through the door did she get into the closet with the rest of us. 

    The closet barely fit the five of us. Emma, Evelyn, myself, and two other guys we didn't know that followed us out of the cafeteria. I could feel the tension in the air. Everyone was afraid. What the hell just happened? 

    Seconds after Eve got into the closet we heard glass shatter in the classroom, but I couldn't see a thing. I was jammed into the door with Evelyn right next to me and everyone else behind. She was squeezing my arm so tightly, but I couldn't say anything.... They  were in the room. They made weird guttural sounds, like pigs looking for gruel. I prayed they couldn't smell us...

    It felt like hours when there weren't any more sounds emanating from the room. My body ached having been in the same position for so long. Evelyn had finally let go of my arm, but her trembling hadn't ceased. Neither had mine.

    "Do you think you should check through the crack?" whispered one of the guys. I wanted to look, really, but what if they were in this room, just waiting for something to walk into their path?  We can't stay in here forever though. I mentally signed and gathered as much courage as I could.

    The door slid quietly to the left. Thankfully. I felt Evelyn stiffen. Heck, I stiffened too. It was so bright at first, but then my eyes focused.

Nothing.

    I could have jumped for joy; however we weren't out of this mess yet.

    I slid the door all the way, checking once more  that we were alone in this classroom. And we were. The classroom was on the second floor, with only a few windows that looked out onto the roof. The door was ajar and the glass window next to it was broken, covered in blood.

    The taller of the two guys was already closing the door and scouting. Good. I couldn't move past the last row of tables at the moment.

    "I don't see anything." he paused, "but there's… blood everywhere." he said the last two words so quietly, I almost didn't hear.

    "Holly, I'm going to throw up!" Emma  was leaning over the table nearest the closet. She was looking at me with so much disgust and fear; it made me forget my own. Ever since I've known her, the sight of blood has made her either pass out or throw up.

    "Okay, sit down and close your eyes. Don't look around. Just breathe."I said lightly.  I did my best to soothe her. Evelyn was next to her, rubbing her back for comfort. We both looked at each other, as if one of us had the answer to this crazy, insane situation.

    The clock on the wall read 12:40pm. We'd been in the closet roughly an hour. The guys came back over to us.
"I'm Holly, this is Evelyn and Emma." I pointed.

    "Jack, and this is Trevor." he said back. Jack was the taller one, and definitely didn't seem as afraid as the rest of us. Lucky him. 

    I nodded, continuing to whisper, "Ok, we need a plan. I don't hear any sirens nearby, so I'm guessing this isn't isolated to just us here. I'll bet you these things are everywhere now..." Jack and Evelyn nodded in agreement. Emma looked very pale. I hoped she could get through this without fainting. 

    "Maybe we can get out onto the roof through one of these windows and get down somehow instead of the hallways?" Trevor suggested.  I was about to say no but Jack beat me to it.

    "No, dude, there are windows everywhere looking out onto the roof from other classrooms, and those things would see us. From what I can see they're not slow, and who knows if they're smart enough to climb or open doors. I'd rather take my chances sneaking through the hallways.  At least there are rooms and hallways to run to if we are spotted and we can lock ourselves in." Jack was right. Either way was a risk, but the hallways were a better chance. And it was still so quiet. I hoped that was a good sign for us. 

    "Emma, can you do this?"  I was quite surprised she hadn't already thrown up. Adrenaline, I'm sure, being the reason.

    "I don't know. I think so. Just give me your hair pin." I pulled out a bobby pin from my hair. She grabbed it, using it to clog her nose. Good.

    "Maybe we should grab some things to arm ourselves?" I looked at Eve, surprised she said anything, she'd been so silent. And she was right. Maybe these things could die like zombies in the movies we've seen. Maybe.

    "Yea, here," Trevor handed her a hanger from the closet. He broke off the bottom part. The two sides looked sharp enough. We all did the same. I grabbed the yard ruler off the dry erase board, and began trying to break it in two. Jack came over and broke it quickly over his knee, taking the other half.  He gave me a sad smile.  He looked like a football player, broad shoulders and muscular arms. His strength could be useful.

    Jack walked towards the door, "Alright, I'm going to scan the hallway here real quick, I'll be right back."

    "Wait, I'll go with you." I said, although I'm not sure why I would volunteer to do this.. " I'll go right, and you can go left. We can meet in the middle." The second floor was just a circle, lined with classrooms on each side. Two stairways on opposite ends.

    "Sure, good idea." I looked back over at Emma and Eve, they both gave me worried expressions. "Trevor, keep a look out?"Jack asked. He nodded. Pleased it seemed, to not have to get out of the classroom just yet.

    I blew them both a kiss. "Be right back." I crept past the door behind Jack.

    The hallway was a blood bath, to say the least. Jack gave me a quick nod and headed to the left.  Mine wasn't as gory as his, and thankfully only one body on the ground...the head bitten off. I could have puked.

    Still, no sound. Please, PLEASE, don't let one of those things get me. I scanned every room I passed, just in case. No one. So weird.
    Jack was already out of sight, down the adjacent hallway. I hurried up. I came up to the stairway and checked it out, opening the double doorway slowly. I crept to the edge of the stairs, clutching my ruler with white knuckles, and peered over the railing for any sign or "life".  Again, I got lucky. I pulled the doors together and clamped the lock down to keep them shut. Just in case.

    Minutes later I was in the hallway we were supposed to meet. He wasn't there, and I immediately had a bad feeling. My eyes flew to each room I passed, searching for him. Nada.

    As I passed a room on my left, I felt something grab me. I would have screamed except its hand was on my mouth lightening fast.
    "SHH," Jack said quickly.  I was against him in the divot by the door, and then I saw why he shushed me .. One of those things was crouched over a body, ripping the skin off just a few classrooms down by the door. I wouldn't have seen it. I could have been attacked. 

    Jack carefully opened the door and shuffled us in. He kept his voice very low. "That was close, for us both. It came out from the stairway behind me. It pushed the doors open and tripped. If he hadn't tripped over a body, I'm sure it would have seen me." He looked almost shocked by his luck.

    "We have to kill it or something." He sighed in obvious agreement. We couldn't risk leaving it alive." I think we could both do it together. Its back is turned to us. Maybe you can tackle it down and I'll ram the ruler into its head." The thought was so disquieting, but what other choice did I have? It could attack and kill us, or turn us into one of those things, if that was even possible…

    "Okay, we'll go together.” He stepped out of the classroom; very quietly I followed on his tail. It was chowing down and didn’t notice us. Jack kicked it forward with a loud thud, and it landed on its front. Before it could recover, he jumped on top and dug his knees into its back to keep it down..

    “Do it now!” He was pinning the things failing arms. I used both of my hands to nail his head. The ruler barely went past the skull. I had to stand and use my leg to kick the ruler all the way in. The skull cracking was disturbing. It stopped squirming and went still instantly….

  Thank God!

    “At least they die from brain trauma,” I said a few seconds later, staring at its lifeless body.
    “Yea, uhm here,”  he agreed, and started unzipping his Bears hoodie. “Put this on, you’re covered in blood.” I glanced down, and my stomach involuntarily lurched. I threw up next to the dead zombie. “You ok?” He looked mildly concerned, but not surprised considering. 

    “Fine, I think this all just hit me at once…” I quickly took my shirt off, not caring if he saw me in my bra, and zipped up the hoodie. “Thanks.”

    When we got back to the room, Eve and Emma seemed calmer, especially now that we were both back and in good health. After we explained what happened we started to prepare to leave. Our plan was to get off the campus and find a car.

    “I have a jeep near the football field,” Trevor added, “It has bars in front and could probably handle running over dozens of those zombie creatures.” We still didn’t have a name for the white walkers, but zombie made it seem too surreal.

    We made it to the stairs, Emma was doing better, and she didn’t look like she was going to faint. For now. Trevor unclasped the lock and peaked through the doorway.

    “Clear, from what I can see!” We followed suit. When we made it down, Jack proceeded and checked through the glass slits on the doors.

    “I can’t tell, these windows are too small. All I see is blood…” Shocker. I came up next to him and looked out the adjacent window. Nothing.

    “I guess we have to risk it or we can scout again, but this floor is too big for two of us.”  Jack was thinking. So was I. I’d rather risk it, knowing that we can kill these creatures. If there are a lot though, that’s a different story.

    “Risk it?” He looked at me, I nodded.

    “What if there are tons of ‘em?” Emma asked, panicked.

    “We just have to be extremely careful, and watch ourselves. Trevor maybe you can stay in the back, and I’ll stay up front? If anyone sees anything, immediately say something.” Jack slowly opened the door and searched both directions down the hall.

    We went right, towards the sports rec and football field. This would be tricky, more pathways the closer we get to the gym, and also, a lot of open areas. Ugh.

    We walked so very quietly and slow, I thought we’d never make it. Trevor stayed close behind us, but Jack was at least ten feet in front, keeping his eyes and ears open. We were approaching an intersecting hallway. Jack paused and motioned for us to get closer.

    “There are three of them all feeding off dead people.” I peeked around him. The walkers looked absorbed in their meal. Yuck.

    I whispered my idea, “Let’s go one by one across the hall.” Everyone agreed. Trevor went first, quick as a mouse. Emma and Evelyn followed seconds after. “I’ll keep an eye, go ahead,” I told Jack. None of the things had even seen our movements.  As I started walking, I tripped on an overturned book. STUPID! ….SHIT! SHIT! SHIT!

    It would have been impossible for them to have not heard that. They saw me paused in the middle of the hallway, and shot up. I bolted down the way we came. “GO! I’ll lead them away, HIDE!” I told them, trying not to yell too loudly.

    I heard their throaty noises approaching from around the corner, and saw everyone running toward the gym as I looked back,    Trevor half dragging Eve who was still looking at me, hoping I’d follow. Too late.  I hope they make it without trouble.

    I ran and ran until I saw the stairs we came from. I climbed them. When I reached the top, I slammed the doors and locked it. My fingers were trembling from fear. I had barely finished locking it when they made it up the stairs. Swinging around, I headed toward the other staircase.

    The stairs were clear, and thankfully I descended without seeing another walker. I peeked out the bottom, looking around for anything. The gore was intense here on the other side of the school. Bodies everywhere, sprawled on top of each other. It looked as if everyone tried to get through the stairs at once, but got trapped…and then attacked. I wanted to cry looking at these people, people I probably know but can’t recognize. I gingerly stepped over them, heading right towards the gym.

    I had two options, risk going back through the cafeteria which lead straight to the gym, or go around and take more time to get there. I didn't dare risk going outside.

    I clutched my makeshift knife and decided that the cafeteria was my best and fastest option.

    The doors to the lunch room were slightly ajar but not open, giving me the advantage to check for walkers. I didn’t see anything, just lifeless bodies. PLEASE don’t let them come alive.

    Carefully, I glided across the lunchroom. When I reached the serving bar, I decided looking for a real weapon would be appropriate. I jumped over the counter. Spotting the knife rack, I grabbed a few larger cutting knives.. I placed all but one in the loops of my belt.

  CLANK!

    I flipped around, ready to stab a walker in the face. Instead, there stood two guys, one looking at me like I was going to chew his face off, the other lowering his butter knife.

    “Thank GOD you’re not one of those things,” he said gratefully. I recognized him; he sat next to me in Trig.  Luke or something. His timid friend could be suffering a heart attack for all I knew; his anguished face was worrying me.

    “I’m sorry, you scared the crap out of me.”  I lowered my knife. “Ok well, I’m hopefully meeting some friends who are going to get a car and we’re getting out of here. Do you want to come? I don’t have much time.” They gave each other a quick look.

    “Yea, where do we have to go?” I explained and they seemed happy enough to be getting out of this place. Me too.

    “Zombies…this is unreal.” Luke said as we opened the gym doors. I nodded, concentrating on the scene in front of me.

    “It’s probably a virus or something,”  I mumbled quickly. The gym looked deserted and thankfully nothing lurking around that I could see.

    I hope my friends didn't leave without me. It hasn't been that long....

    We sprinted across the gym, reaching the farther doors that exited to the parking lot. I was hesitant to open the doors, there was no window to see through. What if there were hundreds sitting, waiting to snack on my flash. I mentally shook myself. STOP IT HOLLY.

    Putting my ear to the door, I listened. Nothing.  No sounds.

    “Stand back, I’m going to make sure nothing is there.” Both of them… masks of fear. When I cracked the door open, I didn’t expect Jack to be there pulling it open at the same time. I almost face planted, but recovered fast. He was smiling down at me. And I couldn’t help smiling either, despite the circumstances. Evelyn and Emma both jumped me with hugs and squeals.

    “What the hell, dude!? I thought you were a goner,” Eve was giving me the happiest, disappointed face I have ever seen. I sighed, noticing that she had been crying.

    “Sorry, I figured you guys could use the distraction. It was a far run you had to the gym.”

    “Next time, you’re going first,” Jack added, squeezing my shoulder.

    “Sure thing, boss,” I shook my head. “This is Luke and…”

    “Mark,” the timid guy chimed in.

    “Found them in the cafeteria, oh and…” I pulled a knife off my belt and handed it to Jack. He would be best with a real weapon. He took it appreciatively.

    “This is better.” He shoved it in his belt loop as well. “Trevor is getting his jeep. He said it would be faster if he went alone and ran.” I saw the car coming up as he spoke. It was a nice black jeep.  We all trotted down the stairs and hopped in. Jack sat in front, the rest of us crammed in the back. Luke hopped in the trunk.

    Trevor turned around, “ Where to, guys?”  I looked out the window at my college, knowing I’d probably never see it again. A few tears leaked off my cheek. All those people…

    “Let’s just get away from here,” I said, sadly.