~ 2 ~ First Escape

As the trio just stood there, taking in the fact that their world is coming to an end, Sofia couldn't help but panic. 'What about Mom and Dad? How will we survive? How can we even get out of school grounds?' Many thoughts ran through Sofia's mind. Desirae seemed to read Sofia's mind. Desirae cleared her throat to gain her friends' attention.

"There are some short gates at the back of the school that we can climb over to get out of the school grounds. At the baseball field near the gates, there should be bats lying around from the baseball team. I just hope that the team didn't take it." Desirae seemed so confident, it made Sofia a bit jealous. That was not important though, what was important is survival. Sofia shook her head to get rid of the feeling.

Monica nodded. "That's good. We'll go get the bats first. If there's only one bat, I'll take it. I have some experience with fighting, so we'll look for some more weapons later. Trust me, I can protect us!" Sofia opened her mouth to speak but hesitated. They looked at her, confused. "What is it, Sofia?" Monica asked.

She sighed, almost hesitating again. "Can we call our families to see if they're okay?" Her friends nodded and they all proceeded to call their parents. Sofia quickly dialed her mother's number and pressed the phone to her ear. Luckily, the phone rang, meaning that there was a small chance her mother could pick up. Considering that she wasn't already... In that moment, Sofia's mother picked up. "Mom? Mom?! Are you there?" Sofia's friends looked at her, shocked.

"Sofia!" Her mother sounds relieved and panicked. There was a lot of background noise, like screaming, honking of horns and sheer chaos. "Please! Don't worry about me! Right now I'm driving to the house! Please, do not worry about me and just run! Sofia, just get to safety as quick as you can!" Tears threatened to fall out Sofia's eyes. Before she could respond, her mother continued talking. "If you can, make it to the house. If not, tell me when you are in safety. I'll pick you up. Please, Sofia, I beg of you. The power cords are still up, but who knows how long we have before they go down." A loud explosion like sound erupted on her mother's side and her mother gasped, shocked. "Sofia, I love you..." Sofia gave out a small "I love you" before the line disconnected.

"Sofia..." Monica mumbled in pity before pulling her friend into a small warming hug. Sofia took a deep breathe before releasing from the hug.

"Were you guys able to get to your parents?" They shook their heads, Desirae more devastated than Monica. Desirae had a close relationship with her father while Monica never spoke about her parents. All Sofia knew was that her father was rarely home, and her mother was practically a single mother who wasn't in the picture anymore. "We can stop by my house and just figure out what to do from there. My mom is going to try to make it there as well." Nodding, the three girls quickly but quietly ran downstairs. There were zombies everywhere in the hallways either eating others or limping around. People who were still alive screamed in pain, soon to be taken away by death. The girls stopped at the hallway.

"What should we do?" Monica whispered. Desirae quickly shushed Monica and pointed at a young couple walking down the hallway. The zombies didn't glance at the couple. Why aren't they going after them? Sofia wondered. The guy tripped over a shoe, falling on the floor and creating a slam on the ground. Some zombies turned to the couple. The girl started screaming and running away, the guy quickly following her.

Desirae narrowed her eyes, in thought. "I think they react to sound." Desirae started walking down the hallways slowly, cautious. Monica and Sofia followed her closely. A zombie inside a closed classroom banged its head at the door as Sofia walked past, earning a yelp from the girl. Desirae quickly covered Sofia's mouth and watched the zombie bang its head onto the classroom door, desperate to get Sofia. Desirae looked at Sofia's cut on her knee. "I think they react to blood too." Desirae thought out loud. "Smell and sounds seem to attract these zombies." Desirae took note of that in her head and nodded to herself. "Let's hurry and treat your knee, Sofia." The trio started running, passing the zombies who attempted but couldn't seem to catch up to them.

The trio ran down the stairs to the second floor. Desirae looked both ways. There were barely any zombies in the hallway.

"Do you think the nurse's office is clear?" Monica wondered. "We really need to cover up Sofia's cut before we go outside. I bet the zombies are everywhere out there."

In that instance, the door leading to the nurse's office swings open and the nurse, Nurse Terry runs out, screaming. A couple of zombies run out, full speed, and push Terry into the wall, pinning him. They started biting his legs and arms, anywhere they can land their teeth. The nurse screamed in pain, trying to push them from him. The trio gasped, unable to process what is happening in front of their eyes.

Desirae slapped her face, as if waking herself up, and sprinted to the nurse's office. Monica grabbed Sofia and pulled her, following behind Desirae closely. They passed Terry and ran into the office. Sofia looked back, feeling sorry for him. Monica closed the door, separating the zombies and the trio. Desirae looked through the many cabinets, picking up a med kit.

"Sit on the bed real quick, Sofia." Desirae instructed. Sofia sat down on the bed while Monica continued looking for things they can possibly use. "This will sting a bit, but I believe you can get through it without making a sound." Desirae warned. Sofia nodded and closed her eyes. Desirae opened the med kit and pulled out some alcohol wipes. She gently wiped Sofia's knee, cleaning the wound, then took out a bandage and covered it. "That should be okay for now." Desirae looked at Sofia.

Sofia looked at her knee. "Thanks Desirae. You're a life saver."

Desirae chuckled. "No problem! It's what anyone would do for a best friend." The pair didn't notice Monica's stare. Desirae packed up the med kit and turned to Monica. "Did you find anything?"

"No." Monica said bluntly and turned away. "Nurses office don't really have anything but food and ice. Besides, we don't have anything to carry it with." Desirae nodded as Sofia jumped off the bed.

"The nurse stopped screaming." Sofia frowned, saddened that they couldn't save him.

Desirae nodded and held the med kit. "Yeah, Nurse Terry was nice." She looked towards the door. "He stopped screaming though. That means he's gone guys." She looked at her friends, noticing Sofia trembling. "We can throw something as a decoy and use the same stairs to go to the field."

Monica pulled out a bag filled with pens. "Let's just throw these." The trio nodded, Monica slowly opening the door. She opened the bag on pens and roughly threw it across the hallway, opposite to the stairway. The nearby zombies, including Nurse Terry, sprinted towards the noise. The trio swiftly ran towards the stairway.

It was easy enough to get out into the field where they found two bats. One for Sofia and one for Monica. They made their way to the shortest fence of the school and climbed over it.

'We just escaped our school with ease. Now it's time to go home.' They heard a car struggling to start at a nearby gas station. They ran down the hill that their school was placed on top of and stopped at the sight. Zombies everywhere. Children, adults, everyone was walking, lifeless. How was that possible so quickly? Sofia thought.

"Guys, do you hear that?" Desirae asked. From the gas station, the girls could barely make out a person shouting. The zombies advanced towards the voice. Monica raised her bat up and followed the zombies. Desirae and Sofia started to chase Monica while she pushed some zombies out the way and hit others in the head. Sofia was completely shocked at Monica's strength, but it wasn't enough. Eventually, a zombie took hold of her hand, pulling her closer to him. Sofia stopped moving and stood paralyzed with fear. One of my best friends is about to get bitten. So why am I not doing anything?! Desirae quickly took the bat from Sofia's hands and slammed it into the zombie's head with all her force, causing it to release Monica and collapse. Sofia avoided Monica's gaze.

Desirae grabbed Sofia's arm and pulled her to the gas station as quickly as possible, Monica following. There, the girls found a car that wasn't working, and someone who was trying to turn it on. The person was a young male, screaming at his car to turn on. He noticed the teenagers and screamed even louder, this time in fear. Desirae walked up to his window. "We'll help you if we can get a ride." Desirae offered. "I can get it working in a few minutes if you buy me some time."

Scanning her, the male slowly nodded his head and reluctantly got out the car. Desirae started to analyze the car and Monica started talking to the man.

"So, is this even your car?" The man looked away from Monica, not answering her. She hummed lightly to herself and smiled. "What, cat got your tongue? You look young. What's your name?"

He scoffed and the looked at the girls, slightly annoyed. "I know I look young... You look young too, seeing your uniforms." He bit his lips, as if he were hesitating from saying more. "H-Hey can you just tell your friend to hurry up?" Sofia watched him, confused.

"It's going to take a while for her to fix it." Sofia explained. "Do you have a weapon?" He shook his head, hesitating. Her suspicions grew. "I'm asking because zombies are coming. We might have to hold them off while she fixes the car, okay?"

Before he could respond, Desirae turned on the car and turned to the rest smiling. "It's working! Get in everyone." The guy immediately pulled out a small handgun, pointing it at Desirae. "What the hell...?" Desirae put her hands in the air.

The guy looked at Monica and Sofia. "Put your weapons down and no one gets hurt." His eyebrows rose as the pair looked at each other. They could've fought against him, but their best friend's life wasn't something they would risk. They both frowned and reluctantly dropped their bats onto the ground, gaining the zombies attention even more. The guy scoffed and looked at Desirae. "Sike," before shooting the bullet.

Everything seemed to be in slow-motion; Desirae closing her eyes, scared, the guy firing the gun, Monica getting her bat from the ground and charging at the guy. Sofia realized the situation. 'By the time Monica reached him, it'll be too late,' Sofia thought to herself. Determined, Sofia ran towards Desirae as quickly as possible and tackled her away from the bullet. Sofia felt a sharp pain in her back and heard her friends screaming before her vision went to pitch black.