In the high school courtyard.
Alex slumped heavily against the edge of the courtyard's central fountain. The cold concrete felt like a blessing against the stinging pain in his muscles, a momentary relief from the exhaustion that was a heavy slab, almost as tangible as the bloody axe George was holding.
The morning sun rose, bathing the scene in a relentless light that made the dry blood on their hands and the dirt on their clothes glisten.
Around them, the grotesquely piled bodies of zombies lay in a macabre monument to the collapse. A thick, heavy silence settled, broken only by their forced breaths and the echo of distant gunshots. The metallic taste of blood lingered in his mouth.
Alex closed his eyes, not out of a desire for sleep, but to relive every moment of danger. The image of George's axe getting stuck in a zombie's chest, Marlon's makeshift spear bending, the look on Tim's face when his knife slipped... they were fleeting memories repeating in a cycle of terror.
In his mind, he reviewed the recent events that had led him there.
A group of rescued people and the chaos of the afternoon. The safe house, the checkpoints, and the military's attempt to control the inevitable. Finally, their journey to the high school and the chaos within its walls.
"It all happened so fast," Alex mused, noting that less than a day had passed since the chaos erupted. The current moment of quiet was a painful contrast to the screams of the previous night in the city, screams that had since faded, leaving the zombies wandering aimlessly, most of them already placated.
Trying to control his breathing, Alex opened his eyes. The sight of Emily and Louis walking towards them brought him back to the present. Emily had an expression of genuine concern, but horror was etched on her face as she saw the blood-soaked courtyard and the pile of bodies. Louis, Marlon's friend, seemed more curious than scared at first, but his expression changed to one of shock.
"Are you guys, okay?" Emily asked, looking at George, her voice trembling. Then her eyes moved from Alex to the pile of bodies, unable to process the scene.
"Yeah, we finished off all the ones we could. Now all we have to do is wait for Alex to tell us what to do," George replied with a proud tone, straightening his posture slightly.
"Hey, are you okay, right?" Emily asked Alex, looking a little uncomfortable.
The question, so simple and human, clashed with Alex's physical and mental exhaustion. The lack of sleep, the pain in his muscles, and the burden of his decisions—it all exploded in an instant. "Yeah, I'm fine," he replied in a dry, clipped tone, an echo of his frustration.
Emily's expression instantly wilted. Her shoulders slumped and the light in her eyes faded. Alex saw it, and in his mind, he knew she interpreted his tone as a rebuke for the previous night's recklessness, which had nearly cost him his life. Not wanting to dwell on the awkward moment, Alex forced himself to change the subject. "I'm fine, it's not a time for small talk... The courtyard is clear. We need to go get the others," Alex said, pointing to some nearby buildings.
"It's much better if we go back and talk to everyone," Emily interjected.
Alex and the rest walked back to Emily's classroom in a tense silence. Upon arriving, the air in the room felt heavy, laden with everyone's fatigue and fear. Alex stood right in the center of the room, his posture firm and his face expressionless, attempting to convey calm to the others.
"We need to act immediately," Alex said in a clear voice that silenced all the murmurs in the room. "There are students and teachers trapped in the other buildings, without food and without knowing what's happening. We have to go get them."
Tim, who had caught his breath, stood up. "We could also take the opportunity to improve the barricade at the main entrance. Those soldiers didn't do it very well and they're not here anymore, but we are... If we don't do it now, we risk more zombies getting into the building."
"That's a good idea, but we have to make good use of our time," Alex commented immediately, with a palpable urgency in his voice. "We need to get food from the cafeteria. That's our main priority. We'll split into three groups to be more efficient. One to clear buildings, another to reinforce the barricades, and the last one to clear the bodies from the courtyard and the buildings."
Seeing that everyone seemed to accept the division into three groups, Alex was about to split them up, but just then Emily got up from her seat. It was a deliberate gesture, a silent declaration that captured everyone's attention in the room.
"I want to be in the first group," she said, her voice firm, surprising me. "I want to go to the buildings to rescue the others."
"I didn't think she'd mature so quickly... though I don't know if it's bravery, recklessness, or stubbornness," Alex thought, staring at Emily. Her gaze was unyielding, a mix of fear and an urgent need for redemption that Alex could feel.
"Emily," Alex began to list the members of the first group. "You, the professor, and some students will come with me in the first group. Our goal is to clear the buildings in an orderly manner and help those who are trapped. We'll also have to check for wound marks and isolate those people in case they turn into zombies."
"The second group," Alex continued, "Tim, George, Marlon, Louis, and some other students, will go to improve the barricade at the entrance and clear the zombies from that area. The third group…"
Alex turned to look at Emily's friend, Amy, and the others next to her, but remembered he hadn't had much interaction with them the night before and didn't know their names.
"Amy, Minnie, Sophie, Brody, a female professor, and the rest of the people," Emily intervened helpfully, earning a subtle nod of approval from Alex.
"You will have to pile up the zombie bodies from the courtyard near the entrance," Alex continued.
"I hope the smell of the zombies will drive away the ones stranded in the nearby streets," Alex thought, a little distressed.
Once the plan was in motion, Alex gave everyone time to eat and rest. The students, sitting on the floor, ate quickly. Fifteen minutes later, Alex's group prepared. He carried his knife, Emily a makeshift spear, and the rest used homemade weapons. Everyone wore thick clothing to protect themselves from bites.
The fear was palpable, but behind it, there was a spark of determination in their eyes, a will to survive.
They headed to the first building, one that was very close to the gymnasium. As they passed near the building, Alex and the rest of the first group members saw students and teachers in the rooms and labs of the building.
They waved, trying not to yell. Their faces were pale with alarm and desperation. But upon seeing Alex and the others, their expressions changed. A wave of hope washed over them, and they began to point in different directions, alerting them to the wandering zombies in the hallways.
"Let's go," Alex said, his voice filled with determination.
Alex's group entered the first building, the door closing behind them with a chilling creak, leaving them in the oppressive silence of the building, and in total darkness.
The stale, cold air, heavy with a rancid and metallic smell of death that was all too familiar to Alex, clung to their skin. The creak of the building's wing door echoed in the hallway, a sharp, discordant sound that was lost inside.
The sunlight coming through the windows mixed with the shadows, creating a ghostly atmosphere. Overturned tables, scattered books, a backpack still hanging from a chair... Alex took the lead, his knife firmly in hand, with Emily, the professor, and the students behind him.
The air was heavy. Alex moved cautiously, his eyes scanning every corner. The hallways, once full of life, were now empty.
A trail of blood on the floor guided them to the first room, a classroom with scattered tables and chairs. The scene they found was one of devastation. The bodies of two people, devoured to satiety, lay on the floor, and four zombies walked erratically among the tables. There were no survivors.
The horror of the scene hit the group hard. The students following Alex reacted very badly. Some froze in fear, their faces pale and their gaze lost. Others started to vomit silently, the sound of their retching filling the air, their bodies trembling.
The only one who didn't react so extremely was the professor. With a face of deep anguish, he held back the nausea, but stood firm, clenching his fists tightly.
Alex reacted instantly. His mind became cold and calculating. With a quick flick of his hand, he signaled for the professor to take care of one of the zombies. At the same time, he turned to Emily, who had stood motionless, staring at the zombies.
"Emily, keep that one away from the others, don't let it pass," he whispered, pointing to one of the zombies that was staggering down the hallway.
Alex, with his knife in hand, took care of the two zombies approaching the indisposed group of students. With a quick and precise movement, he stabbed the first zombie in the head. The second one, coming from behind, tripped over his companion's body and fell to the floor. Alex, without losing time, stabbed it in the head as well.
The two zombies lay lifeless on the floor.
When Alex turned to see how the others were doing, his hair stood on end. The professor was on the ground, being bitten on his arm by the zombie he was supposed to take care of. Alex saw the struggle, heard the sound of the thick clothes tearing, but to his relief, the professor had used the thick clothes Alex had told them to wear.
Alex quickly helped him kill the zombie and then turned to help Emily, who had been holding on all this time. With her spear, Emily had kept the zombie at bay, which was moving erratically and trying to get close to her. Alex, with a quick movement, took the spear from her and stabbed the zombie in the head. The zombie fell to the ground lifeless.
Alex stared at Emily, her face pale and her eyes full of fear, but also with a spark of determination. Alex smiled, a little. Despite the horror, humanity still had a chance.
Two hours later.
"We did a great job... And luck helped us a little," Alex thought, standing in front of a group of people.
After an intense period of rescues and clearing buildings, they had rescued about 50 people in this operation, and to everyone's luck, there were no incidents involving bites. The only problem was that the size of the group was now a burden. This new group of people required a quantity of food that only the cafeteria could provide.
"It's the only way... We must clear the cafeteria," Alex thought, resigned. The tension in the second-floor hallway leading to the cafeteria was palpable in the air. Alex looked around.
A mixed group of people was in front of him, but this group was no longer just scared students and a few professors. Men and women of all ages had joined this risky operation.
Tim, Marlon, George, and Louis were with him, along with the professor who had proven his courage in the first group. There was also Minnie, one of Emily's companions, and other students who, behind their fear, had found an unsuspected strength. They formed a precarious phalanx formation.
At the front, the strongest and bravest men carried makeshift shields from gym mats and tables. Behind them, a row of spears made from broomsticks and metal was raised, ready for the attack.
Alex, Tim, and the professor, in the center of the formation, held their knives ready, but in their hands, as a plan B, they also carried guns. The professor, Sonny's gun in his hand, held it with an almost imperceptible tremor.
It was a high-risk operation, and everyone knew it.
With one last sigh, Alex headed for the cafeteria door.
The silence at the entrance was complete, only the echo of their own footsteps breaking the stillness. With a quick and coordinated movement, Tim opened the door and they stepped aside, allowing the phalanx to advance.
A nauseating stench hit them like a wall, making them take a step back. Alex peered through the crack in the shields and what he saw chilled him.
They weren't just a few wandering zombies. There were almost hundreds of them, crammed in the darkness, moving in a whirlwind of aimless bodies, who, upon hearing the creak of the door, underwent a brutal and terrifying change.
All heads turned at once, with such a synchronized movement that it seemed rehearsed. Hundreds of cloudy eyes and drooling mouths fixed on the entrance, where Alex and the rest were standing. A chorus of grunts echoed in the place, and the sight made Alex's hair stand on end. He had never seen anything like it, not even in his visions.
"Everyone to the barricade! Kill the ones near us and close the door!" Alex yelled. His voice, though full of authority, was tinged with fear, a desperate, hoarse cry.
The plan had changed.
They would kill the ones near the door, then block it, and allow only a few to come out so they could be safely disposed of.
"This will work," Alex thought, desperation in his movements as he advanced. "It has to work!"
.
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[A/N: CHAPTER COMPLETED
Hello everyone.
NEWS SECTION
First, I want to apologize for the delay, but my PC has crashed, and this time completely.
Those who follow my novels will know, from the author's notes, that I've been experiencing seemingly harmless blue flashes for several days, but they were all just a sign of the massive failure of my SSD.
Unfortunately, I didn't have a backup of the chapters I'd written, so I had to redo them and start over.
N/A SECTION
Alex will now begin preparing for high school for those left behind, but not without some difficulties.
The group grows, but with that growth, so does the need for supplies.
Can Alex defeat the gym leader?
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Read my other novels
#Vinland Kingdom: Race Against Time. (Chapter 74)
#The Walking Dead: Emily's Metamorphosis (Chapter 20)
#The Walking Dead: Patient 0 - Lyra File (Chapter 6)
You can find them on my profile.]