In The End: A Zombie Apocalypse

~~ The Bite ~~

We can still hear the moans of the infected outside. People are geting restless, no one wants to sleep incase something goes terribly wrong. Its dark. I can barley see my hand when its inches from my face. Beside me lay the unconscious Mr. Ryan. At least, I hope he's just unconscious.

***

The first orange lights of dawn trickle in through the windows, slightly illuminating the room. I can now see where everyone is. I turn my head to the left and find Delilah sitting inches away. "I can't believe they haven't left yet." She whispers to me. "I know, its been hours."

It took until sunrise for the things outside to finally move on. When they're a good two blocks away, people begin to stand up and stretch their stiff muscles.
"Finally!" Max says while cracking his back. It isn't long until people begin to make their way over to Mr. Ryan.
"So did you find out what's wrong with him?" Asks Savannah. I take a deep breath before I break the bad news. "Yeah. He's... He's bit."

Everyone is silent for a long time, letting the news soak in. "What are we going to do?" Asks Denise. "I guess we just have to wait..."
"Are.. Are we sure this is how you become one of those things?" Asks Jason.
"The newscasters said the infection spread through saliva and bites. No one would've guessed it would come to this.." Venus responds

We sit Mr. Ryan up against the wall. The rest of us find a place in the room to sit and we wait.

About a half hour later, Mr. Ryan comes too. "How long has it been?" His voice groggy. He trys to lift his body off the ground, but he's too weak, and lets himself plop back down on the ground.
"When were you Planning on telling us you were bit?" Venus asks, cutting right to the chase.

"I wanted to tell you kids last night, but I passed out before I got the chance. I'm sorry. I didn't want it to happen like this."
Delilah steps forward. "So, when did it happen?"
"When I went downstairs to the office yesterday. I lied when I said no one was there. When I was listening to the radio, Mrs. Higgins, the secretary... She did it.
I didn't want to tell you guys because I didn't want you all to get any more frightened than you already were. I wanted to help you guys for as long as I can..."

"So now what?" Delilah asks.
"Our plan doesn't change, Mrs. Brown. We'll still make our way to Costco, and when I feel I can't go any longer, I'll let you know."

"Maybe, sir, maybe you're immune, maybe-" Evan begins.
"No. I'd love to think that, but I feel it. So let's not waste any more time and let's get going."

***

We've been walking for a while now, only stopping once to let Mr. Ryan rest for a bit. We still have quite a while until we reach Costco. "You still doing alright?" I ask Mr. Ryan. "Well, Mr. Clark, I'm dying, and I feel shitty. I don't think I have much longer."

He puts a hand on my shoulder. "Lukas, you're lucky. You have Mrs. Griffin with you. You two have been inseparable since the day you stepped into grade one. Promise me, that you'll always be with her. Keep her safe. She needs you, but most of all, you need her. Promise me you'll never leave her."

"Sir, I would never, ever leave Liv. She couldn't get rid of me even if she tried -and, vice versa-"

He chuckles. "Good man."

"Hey, I think we should stop to eat. We still have about an hour to go." Suggests Denise. We break into the backyard of a house. Evan opens a can of peas and we share it amongst us, passing the can along. When it reaches Mr. Ryan, he refuses. "No, I don't need it. Save it for yourselves." After we eat, we sit for a while, resting Our feet. Mr. Ryan begins to cough, and blood sprays out. "Soon."

No one speaks. Everyone knows that maybe tonight, maybe tomorrow, we'll have one less teacher. Then a harsh shrill pierces trough the air. I get to my feet and run to the gate, seeing if I could find where the noise was coming from. I spot a woman on the ground, with about ten infected tearing her apart. "Guys, we have to go, now!" The group gets up, putting their backpacks on. But Mr. Ryan struggles. "No... No I can't keep going." His voice is barely a whisper.

"Well we can't all stay!" Venus quietly shouts, trying not to draw them to us. "Fine! You guys go! I'll stay with Mr. Ryan! Then I'll meet back up with you guys. Wait for me two blocks down. Hopefully I'll be there in an hour or so." I want to be with Mr. Ryan when he passes. I will not let him die alone.
"Then I'm staying too." Says Olivia.
"No! You need to go with them! Its too dangerous!"
"That's exactly why I'm staying. When its time for you to come back, you'll need backup. I will not let you be here alone!" She can be very persistent.
"Fine. Guys, we'll meet up with you soon." The rest of them hop the fence and I'm left with Olivia and Mr. Ryan.

"Come on, let's go in the house." Olivia breaks into the back door as I help Mr. Ryan up. We set him on the sofa, he winces with the pain.
"The infected... They're dead, all of them." He tells us.
"How... How can that be?" Olivia asks.
"I don't know, but I saw it with Mrs. Higgins, and Mrs. W. They were dead, but alive. I think.. That if one were to die, they... They don't stay dead. But, like I instructed you earlier, a blow to the head..." He coughs up more blood, then his eyes drift to my knife.

"Y-You want me to..." I stutter. He nods.
"When I take my final breath... Please..."
"...but, sir-"

"No... Buts." He inhales. "Mr. Clark..."

Exhale.

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Authors note

Hi people! How did you like the chapter? First character death *crying emoji*. I probably won't be able to publish another chapter until the weekend. I've got quite a lot of homework to do. But stick around! ~matt
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