*"I repeat, this is Public Information Officer, Robert Dawn, broadcasting live on station 3."*
The class huddles together and listens.
*"If any of you are still out there... still breathing... still human... please listen to this message."*
*buzzzzzz*
"Dang it, come on!" Trevor complains.
Mr. Brown walks around the room with his phone, trying to find a signal.
*"For those of you who are expecting for help to come... know that none will come... not anymore..."*
*buzz*
Everyone gasps.
*"The police are down, the military, destroyed, and The World Health Organization, along with all healthcare as we know it, have been eradicated."*
"W-What?"
"It can't be!"
They stand in shock. They can't believe it.
*"This catastrophe... it happened too fast. In just 48 hours, approximately 99.4% of the human population have been altered... turned into these... monsters..."*
Everyone is speechless. Robert is trying hard not to break down into tears. Shallow and shaky breaths can heard through the radio.
*"When the nations saw what was happening, they didn't know what to do... what to think. They pointed fingers... accusing each other of declaring biological warfare."*
*...*
*"They started a war... an impulsive decision that destroyed everything... a pointless war that killed and failed to protect countless lives... and now the world leaders had retreated to their bunkers and left us to die..."*
*...*
*"What was left of the Military tried to handle the outbreak... but they couldn't bring themselves to kill what were once innocent people... their own loved ones. They went rogue... further tearing themselves apart... until there was no one left to fight THEM. Just this morning, the dead had completely overrunned and wiped out every camp and every major military base on Earth... we are truly alone now..."*
"Oh, God..." Mr. Brown trembles.
*"The World Health Organization has identified it as a formerly dormant ancient cranial parasite from the Paleozoic era, dating 500 million years back. It's name... 'Thanatobius vorax' meaning, 'death-life devourer', but scientists had refered to it by the 'Reaper Parasite', which controls the brain of its host."*
The class stands in shock as they realize Ethan's hypothesis was right.
*"They appeared everywhere around the globe... Africa... Asia... Europe. It targets the weak... those who were sick and dying in the hospitals, suddenly turned violent and attacked. They started biting, infecting the nurses, doctors, and civilians. They can run, they can jump, they can crawl, they can hear and sense your trembling breaths, and they always travel in hordes... and worst of all, those who die are not spared. Everyone turns... eveyone."*
*...*
*" Why it awoken... is unknown. Some say, fate... others say, nature... I say, judgement."*
*..."
*"This madness... nobody could do anything to stop it. I understand that it only has one, single goal... to eliminate all human life on Earth."*
The class looks down in despair. They finally understand that everything is gone.
*"Humanity was not prepared for this. We did not see it coming... and that costed us everything."*
*"If anyone is still alive out there, listening... don't make a mistake... don't make the same mistake as we did... they are not your loved ones, they are not your friends... not anymore..."*
Mr. Brown and the class look down in defeat.
*"If you are there, breathing... maybe we were given another chance... a chance to see the age of humans once again..."*
*buzz*
*"If only we saw this coming..."*
Robert cries for a while. He breaks down. He wipes his tears.
*"I personally, have nothing left... my wife and my two daughter are dead... they were torn apart and eaten alive by these monsters... and now, they're at my door..."* Robert says in a depressive and hopeless tone.
*"..."*
*"..."*
*"..."*
*"...I'm gonna let them in now."*
Mr. Brown and the class gasp. They feel their guts curl up inside. Mary and Thomas sit back down at the corner, covering their ears.
*"You're on your own now... I wish you good luck, survivors... you're gonna need it..."*
You can hear a door knob turning and a door slamming open from the radio.
*SLAM!*
*"Death is upon us all."*
*GRRRAAHHHHH!!!*
*RAAAHH!*
*beep*
...
*buzz*
*buzz*
*buzz*
...
...
...
Everyone sits back down. The sound of empty static floods the room.
"It's over... isn't it?" asks Jay.
"Yup. We're gonna die here," says Alan.
"Everything's gone..." Michael presses his palms against his temples in disbelief.
Some of them are now sobbing. They all sit quietly in despair, waiting for the end.
...
...
...
Ethan stands up and grabs his ax. He pushes away the barricades, making a small hole to squeeze out.
"What are you doing?!" asks Jane.
"I'm getting out of here," Ethan replies.
"You'll die out there, idiot," says Brock.
Ethan doesn't listen. He continues to push.
"Ethan, it's over... give it up..." says Mr. Brown, lying down, completely out of hope.
"I can't... My family might still be out there... I can't just sit here..." says Ethan.
"And how are you gonna leave the school? You step out of here and you're dead," asks Michael.
"I'll take my chances," he replies.
"If he wants to die, just let him..." says Kate.
The room returns to silence.
Sasha stands up and helps Ethan to make a hole.
"Are you going too, Sasha?" asks Jay.
"Isn't it obvious?" she replies, not even giving a glance.
After a while, Jack stands up, and so does Trevor. Stella follows.
"Have you guys lost your minds?!" asks Brock.
"You're right. We only have a tiny chance to survive out there, but in here, we have none," Trevor says to Brock.
"If you have people you care about and you're worried about them... now's not the time to be sitting around," says Jack.
"Everyone, we have to get out of here eventually!" Stella steps forward, her palm pressing against her chest, trying to convince them.
Unfortunately, nothing could sway the class to fight any longer, despite their certain end in the storage room.
Ethan faces them and steps forward.
"These... Freaks... destroyed everything. They killed so many people... they killed people we know... and now, they're just gonna sit outside this door and wait for us to starve to death or kill each other..." he points at the door.
"I won't stand for it... not anymore," Ethan says with unwavering determination.
The class sits and stares at them, not knowing what to do. Ethan stands tall, his expression serious.
"No one's coming to save us! Not the police, not the military, not our parents... we're on our own now... it's time to face reality... either we fight... or we die!" He and the others stand in front of them.
Their eyes show that they've already accepted the truth. The rest of the class hesitates to stand up. They know he's right, but they're all still afraid. Unexpectedly, Mary and Thomas, the two scaredy-cats, finally gather their courage to stand up. Their courage to stand up pushes the rest of the class to be brave, too. Everyone stands up. Finally, everyone is on board. They accept the fact that no one can save them now, but themselves.
Everyone picks up their weapons.
Ethan grabs his fire ax. Sasha pulls out her knife. Jack clenches his fists. James picks up his bat. Stella gets her hammer. Trevor holds his broom. Jane takes her cooking pan. Hailey has a mop. Michael has a box cutter. Brock has a fire extinguisher. Alan and Jay each have have a long piece of wood. Kate and Cindy have books. Mary and Thomas couldn't find anything. Mr. Brown has his glasses.
Michael spots a roll of duct tape on a shelf.
"Hey, I got an idea..." he says.
To make a little armor for protection, they wrap their forearms with soft books and duct tape.
"I also got an idea..." says Ethan.
The boys pick up the long wooden table in the room. Ethan knocks on its hard surface.
"Yes. We'll use this table as a shield," says Ethan.
"What's your plan, Ethan?" asks Mr. Brown.
The class gathers around to hear his grand plan to escape the school alive.
"We have to clear this entire floor. There's no doubt, more of them will be coming up. But if we succeed, we'll be making our stand at the stairway," Ethan says.
"The stairway?" Stella asks curiously.
"Yes. We'll put our strongest at the front, holding the table, stopping them from reaching this floor. We'll hold a Phalanx formation like the Spartans, pushing them back, and letting them fall," Ethan looks at each one of them.
Everyone looks at each other and nod.
"We have our weapons... aim for the head... hit as hard as you can! This is our only shot now..." he adds.
They move away the barricade and open the door... ready to face the bloodthirsty Freaks in the corridors.
No more hiding... no more sitting around... no more waiting for some miracle to save us... It's time to fight for our lives... for our loved ones... for our freedom...
"Let's show these Freaks what we're made of!"
They charge outside. Ethan leads the way.
In an instant, five spot them and immediately attack. The class pushes them back and aims for their heads.
Jack holds one against the wall.
"Ethan!"
Then, Ethan chops its head with his ax, decapitating it.
*Slash!*
James hits one with his bat, causing it to fall over.
*Smack!*
Then, Sasha stabs it through the temple, killing it.
*Slice!*
"Watch out!" Jane yells.
She smacks one charging at Hailey with her frying pan. She swings as hard as she can and cracks its head open.
*Bang!*
"T-Thanks..." says Hailey.
Brock, Alan, and Jay repeatedly smash the skulls of the Freaks while they're on the floor.
"DIE!"
The class fights the Freaks head-on. By looking out for each other's backs, they were able to clear the floor. As expected, they hear more of them coming up... a lot more.
"Barricade!" Ethan yells.
Ethan, Jack, James, and Brock hold the long table, blocking the stairway.
The Freaks are now approaching.
"Here they come!" says Brock.
"Get ready!" Jack yells.
The Freaks see them. The groans are filled hunger and malice.
"GRRRAAAAAHHHHHH!"
*SLAM!*
Three of them crashes into the table at once.
"Push!" Ethan says.
They push the table, causing the Freaks to stumble and fall from the stairway, crashing into each other.
"Advance!"
They move forward and make their way down. The others attack over the hand rails, stabbing their eyes and smashing thier heads.
*Smack!*
*Slice!*
*Pow!*
They step over the bodies and make their way to the 3rd floor. Using the table, they push the hoard against the wall, not allowing them to move. Ethan kills them with his ax one by one. One sneakily attacks him from behind.
"GRAAAAAHHHHH!"
"ETHAN!" Mr. Brown yells.
"Shoot!" Ethan turns around.
It grabs onto him.
Sasha runs and stabs its head, saving Ethan.
"Thanks," he's catching his breath.
Alan and Jay are caught. Their feet are being pulled by the Freaks.
"AHH!"
"HELP!"
Brock sprays the Freaks with his fire extinguisher until they let them go.
Alan and Jay smash their heads.
"Thanks, Brock."
"Go! I'll follow," says Brock.
He stays behind to spray the floor behind them, making the floor slippery, stalling them.
The class runs past a classroom. It's packed with Freaks. They see Thomas and Mary, cowardly clenching their weapons, and attack.
"GRAAAHHHH!"
"AHHH!"
"AHHH!"
They hold out their weapons, screaming. Trevor slams the door shut, not letting them out. They crash their bodies into the door.
*SLAM!*
They are scared half to death.
Frighteningly, the Freaks start turning the door knob.
"W-What?!" they're shocked.
"Guys, let's go!" Stella yells, waving her arm from the stairway.
"Come on!" Trevor leads them.
The three panic and run.
The class makes their way to the 2nd floor, barging their way through the horde. They fight and kill every single one that stands in their way. Working together as team, they stay at each others' side and finally reach the ground floor.
There, they find themselves surrounded. Freaks charge at them from every direction at every hallway.
"Run to the exit!" Mr. Brown yells.
The boys drop the table. They make a final run for the exit, pushing through the Freaks and dodging their deadly grasps.
They look behind them. The savage horde is getting closer.
Brock tries to spray the floors again, but the fire extinguisher is already empty. He throws it at them and continues to run.
"They're catching up! What do we do?!" Hailey screams.
Jack sees the lockers. He stops... and with all his might, he knocks them down, blocking their path.
Ethan helps to knock down the lockers, buying the class some time to push through the Freaks and exit the school. Finally, the class reaches the end of the hallway. They reach the exit and step outside.
After three days, they finally feel the warm morning sun on their skin again.
They look ahead in the far distance... a sight that will leave you unnerved and absolutely horrified... there's more coming, way more, hundreds more... policemen, civilians, adults, and children... They're all already dead and infected, and are coming to devour all of them.
The noise of groaning and fighting attracted every Freak from a mile radius. They come charging at full speed, ready to tear the class to pieces.
"Oh, God!"
They take a step back.
"Run to the forest!" Mr. Brown leads the students.
"WAIT!" they hear a scream for help coming from inside.
Kate is still inside, she was tripped and caught by one. The Freak grabs her leg from under the lockers. She screams in terror as she tries to kick her leg loose.
The others panic as they see the horde of death approaching. Ethan, with no hesitation, runs back inside to save Kate. Jack stands by and waits for them outside. Ethan kills the Freak with his ax. He pulls Kate up and they make a run for it.
"Run!" he shouts.
He turns around to slash the others, then runs away. The rest of the class is making their way to the forest to hide.
As soon as Ethan reaches the exit, the infected girl in the yellow hooded jacket jumps out from a classroom and pushes Ethan into the opposite one. He drops his ax in the hallway.
"ETHAN!!!" Jack yells, panicked.
Stella, Trevor, Sasha, and James stop running as they hear Jack yell. They run back while the rest retreat to the forest.
The Freaks are about to reach the exit. Jack has no choice but to slide the iron gate shut, preventing them from exiting. He quickly locks it.
*SLAM!*
The Freaks slam their bodies against the gate and groan, trying to claw Jack through the gate.
"GRAAAAAAAHHHHHH!"
"RRRAAAAAAAHHHHH!"
They rush to the classroom's window to find Ethan. He is being tackled by the Freak.
"ETHAN!" they yell.
He kicks her in the abdomen, pushing her away.
Another enters the classroom, Ethan pushes her aside and closes the door just in time, preventing more from entering.
They slam their heads against the door.
*Slam!*
"GRRRRAAAHHHH!"
Ethan is trapped in a classroom with two bloodthirsty Freaks, unarmed.
"He doesn't have his ax!" Stella yells, covering he mouth.
"We have to get him out!" James strikes the glass with his bat.
"Stella, your hammer. Give it to me," says Jack. He takes the hammer from her and tries to break the window.
They use their weapons with all their might to try to break through, but it's no use. The thick window was made to be impenetrable.
"It's bulletproof! We can't break it!" says Trevor.
The Freaks charge at him from left and right. Ethan pushes one away and runs around the classroom, trying to find a weapon. He picks up a broken chair's leg.
They climb the desks and pounce at him. He barely evades them and swings at the infected girl, aiming a strike for the head.
*Swiiiing...*
*Smack!*
But, to their terrifying surprise... the infected girl was able to block it with her forearm and hold on it.
"W-What?" he's confused.
"Grrrr..."
The girl is holding onto his weapon.
Ethan and the others stand in shock. They didn't know there was a Freak that was capable of blocking an attack.
At that moment, they've come to a terrifying understanding... that what they're facing aren't just mindless monsters... they are conscious.
Ethan tries to pull back his wooden stick. Suddenly, the other one pounces at Ethan and tackles him on the floor.
"Oh, no!" Stella covers her mouth.
"ETHAN!" Trevor yells.
"Crap!" James shouts.
"Damn it!" Sasha hits the window with the handle of her knife.
"No! No! NO!!"
Jack desperately punches the window as hard as he can, until his hands bleeds.
Ethan, weakened by hunger and exhaustion is completely pinned down on the floor, helplessly trying to push both of them away.
The blood from their mouth and black liquid from their eyes drip to his face.
"Crap!" he yells.
He reaches for a sharp broken piece of wood. He pokes one through the eye, stabbing her brain, effectively killing her. He kicks her body away.
The girl in the yellow jacket crawls closer and bites his left shoulder.
"AHHH!"
Ethan winces in pain. His blood drips to the floor.
"NOOO!" Stella screams in horror, looking away.
"ETHAN!" Jack yells in anger.
"SHIT!" Sasha slams the window.
"W-Wait... This can't..." Trevor is in disbelief.
"Ethan..." James stares at him in tears.
They all tear up while futilely and hopelessly attempting to bash the bulletproof glass open. Their hearts drop as they see another one of their friend bitten. The kids are in a state of despair and helplessness. Suddenly, they hear him yell.
"Guys, go! Run!" Ethan yells.
They stare at him, confused.
"If you stay, they'll catch up... leave me!" he struggles to push the Freak away from him.
"W-We can't just leave him, right?!" Stella looks at the others with tears.
"That's right, Ethan! We're all getting out, together!" James yells, holding back his tears.
"You idiot! Don't give up!" Sasha is tearing up.
"We've come this far... don't make it all for nothing..." Ethan adds, fighting the pain and exhaustion.
"It's over for me..." he says hesitantly and fighting his tears.
"... Fight... and survive!" he says with a final stare, his eyes light up with determination and hope that they will survive.
Ethan's words, once again, fills them up with willpower to keep going. As heart wrenching as it is for them, they'll have to keep moving without him.
Jack looks at him one last time and nods. He grabs the others' arms.
"Let's go!" he says.
They step away, constantly looking back at him, as they run. They leave crying with hundreds of Freaks on their tail.
After minutes of running through the woods, they manage to shake them off, they catch up with Mr. Brown and the class.
They fall on the grass, completely exhausted.
"Where's Ethan?" Mr. Brown asks, catching his breath.
They don't say anything. They stare at the ground, mortified and exhausted.
"No... It can't be..." says Michael in disbelief.
"What happened?!" Jane asks, angrily.
"Ethan..." Brock tries to hold back his tears.
Kate falls to her knees, covering her face with her hands, her heart heavy with guilt. Mr. Brown takes off his glasses. His eyes are watery. For a moment, everyone looks at the ground in despair, tired and grieving.
After a while, they all continue walking, going to wherever their twisted fate leads them next.