Still Alive

CH3: Maggie & David

David crouches on the table, balancing himself against the west wall of their classroom, and cautiously peers through the window.

Outside he sees the indoor garden that separates the classrooms in their wing from the classrooms on the opposite wing. Only a little sunlight is filtering down from above now, signaling that it is getting late in the afternoon. None of the infected are in sight.

He unlocks the window and opens it.

The students in the room hold their breath in anticipation.

David climbs through the window and carefully lowers himself to the other side. He lets himself hang from the window sill by his hands to land as close to the ground as possible, minimizing the sound the pebbles in the garden make as they shift under his weight.

He takes another look around and sees the coast is still clear.

David then looks for the largest potted plant near him. Quietly, he lifts the pot and places it right under the window. The pot isn't as high as their tables in the classroom, but it is enough to help him reach back up the window when he needs to.

Maggie, who has been watching the whole time, goes through the window next. She's not as tall as him, so he helps her down onto the pot, then to the ground.

The students lock the window behind them.

This is it.

They are outside.

Maggie and David simultaneously cup a hand to their nose and mouth. There is an overwhelming difference between the warm, sweaty air in the classroom and the air in the hallways. Now that they are well and fully outside, they smell a strange, sickly stench lingering in the air.

It smelled strongly like copper.

Just as Maggie makes a move to leave the garden and access the hallway, she hears something: the faint sound of footsteps.

It is slow, like someone dragging their feet as they walked. It sounds like it is coming from around the corner, to their right, and getting closer.

Maggie signals to David and pushes him further into the garden. They hide in the shadow of some taller plants as they await the source of the sound.

True enough, they see a student pass. Maggie would have called out and asked if she needed help, if it weren't for the torn and bloodied uniform.

They watch her drag her mauled left leg as she shambles forward, unaffected by her injury and unaware of her spectators.

Maggie's heart pounds against her chest as she looks at the girl's mangled flesh, reminding her of the horrors they have witnessed and of the ones that surely await them. When she sees the white of the girl's bone, she looks away, and tries not to retch.

David is not doing any better. His eyes are wide, still not believing what he is seeing. She feels his tight grip on her arm.

Once the girl crosses and disappears from their line of sight, the pair cautiously leave their hiding place.

Maggie sticks to the wall, David in tow, and sees the girl turn to another hallway. Luckily, the left end of the hallway is deserted.

She takes a deep breath and slowly, ever so slowly, she peeks around the corner whence the girl came.

A cold sweat runs down the side of her face.

She sees not one, not two, not three...but a number of them---students and teachers alike---standing idly or walking aimlessly in the hallway several feet away from them, clothes shredded and dyed red.