《[OLD] Humanity's F.A.T.E.》 Friday "Have faith in the process. Adapt to your conditions. And most of all, remember to evolve! That''s what the E stands for! Evolution!" Were the final words Darnell heard before being shaken awake. He heard a familiar voice before fully coming to. He looked up and realized he''d fallen asleep in class again. Luckily, his Government teacher couldn''t care less as long as he finished his work first. The one who''d disturbed his sleep was his classmate Phoebe. They were seated in a small triangle of three desks in the back of the class. The first thing his eyes registered was the bronze skin of his own arms which his head had rested in. As he raised his head higher, he made out Phoebe, who was across and to his right. Her rosy-pale complexion, curvy body and curly brown hair were too distinctive. Across and to his left was Hector, tan and chubby with a rough head of brown hair. "Ok, ok, we have a question," Phoebe said as she pulled her hand away from Darnell¡¯s shoulder. He raised his eyebrows at her to signify she had his attention. She leaned in smiling, "ok which is better against a zombie¡­ a sword?" She made a nasty look at Hector, then optimistically, "or, a bomb?" Darnell couldn''t believe he was shaken awake for this. "Are you serious?" he responded. The two stared at him intently. Darnell rolled his eyes, "A sword I guess?" Immediately after, Phoebe was in shock and Hector followed with the obligatory "Told-you-so, ''Ha!''" "But a bomb is an instant kill!" said Phoebe. "You could also instant kill yourself," Darnell retorted. "Well, what if it was a group of zombies? A sword would be useless." "What if there''s two groups of zombies? A bomb is useless." Hector was reeling back in his chair laughing. Phoebe crossed her arms in frustration, "Well fine, what would you use in an Apocalypse then?" "Any single weapon?" Darnell asked. Phoebe nodded. He thought for a moment, then answered, "A pistol." Both Hector and Phoebe recoiled at his unexpected response. Now Hector chimed in, "But you''d run out of ammo in no time," he exchanged a look with Phoebe, "zombies would-" "It''s not for the zombies." Darnell interrupted. Silence for a moment. The other two were clearly bewildered so he continued, ¡°Zombies are simple to deal with, they¡¯re practically just animals. The real threat is other people. Backstabbers, cannibals, cultists, I¡¯d like a gun to settle things like that quickly.¡± ¡°Oh.¡± Phoebe muttered. ¡°I guess that makes sense,¡± said Hector, obviously disturbed. It was awkward for a moment until Phoebe returned to her cheerful self with, ¡°Okay, what if the apocalypse started right now and we had to escape this class.¡± Darnell looked in the general direction of the nearest school exits, judging which was closer. He answered, ¡°The front entrance is closer, but the exit at the end of this hall would be safer. So Imma go with the back exit.¡± ¡°Well if you¡¯re going there, I¡¯m going too,¡± Hector laughed, ¡°you like the best person to be stuck in an apocalypse with.¡± ¡°Aw I¡¯m blushing,¡± Darnell retorted somewhat sarcastically. ¡°You think I¡¯m playin¡¯, but everyone else in this room is¡­¡± he lowered his voice to a whisper, ¡°not exactly the brightest.¡± Phoebe nodded her head with a ¡°mhm.¡± ¡°Like bro, it¡¯s obvious you work out, and you¡¯re smart! You¡¯re out here making everything look easy, sometimes I wonder if you¡¯re even human.¡± ¡°Okay, okay I get it. I¡¯m wondering if you woke me up to ask me about the zombie thing or just to praise me.¡± Just as Darnell finished speaking, the bell rang. And like it was routine, everyone immediately shot out of their seats, bags in hand stuffing whatever was on their desk inside. As Darnell was organizing his papers and making sure he didn¡¯t forget anything, Phoebe asked, ¡°So Darnell, what are you doing after school today?¡± ¡°I¡¯m hanging out with my friends at Chess¡¯s, just grabbing a bite to eat,¡± he replied. ¡°What about after?¡± ¡°Going to another friend¡¯s house.¡± ¡°Oh.¡± She sounded disappointed. ¡°Why?¡± ¡°No reason, enjoy yourself,¡± she said as she turned around and walked out of the classroom. Darnell shrugged it off, threw on his backpack and proceeded to walk out of the class as well. Just like any other day, school passed by fairly quickly without anything of significance occurring. Darnell left his final class ready to round up his friends to go to Chess¡¯s. Among the group were some of Darnell¡¯s closest friends that he¡¯d gotten to know since moving to Katy, Houston. He opened up his phone which had been buzzing near the end of the class and checked the group chat. Sure enough, Illyana was checking to make sure everyone was still onboard. Ryan, Makayla, and Alicia had already agreed. Darnell replied the standard ¡°Ye,¡± and was shortly followed by Teemo. That guaranteed everyone was still on board. They had agreed to walk there since it was only about ten minutes away from the school. So Darnell decided to just meet them along the way as he walked to the school¡¯s back exit. The nearest person to him was Teemo. Teemo¡¯s last class was digital audio, in the same hallway as Darnell¡¯s forensics class. Darnell waded against the flow of the crowd of students that filled the hallway, making his way to Teemo¡¯s classroom. When he reached the doorway, he recognized his friend by his dark chocolate skin, broad shoulders and low cut hair. His muscles were fairly visible even through his shirt, but they weren¡¯t as defined as Darnell¡¯s. Darnell always forgot that Teemo was slightly shorter than him, but was quickly reminded once Teemo came closer. The two did the standard ¡°What¡¯s up¡± and dabbed each other up before proceeding to meet Ryan. ¡°Ms. Frazier fix your grade yet?¡± Darnell started. ¡°Dawg, I¡¯m over that,¡± Teemo replied, ¡°this been going on for two weeks now, she clearly doesn¡¯t want me to have it.¡± ¡°That ain¡¯t right,¡± Darnell said before being cut off because the two split to walk around a slow walker, then finished, ¡°it¡¯s like no matter how much we on top of our game, these bums always find a reason to hold us back.¡± ¡°Like I said, I¡¯m over it. Once we graduate none of this stuff is gonna matter anymore.¡±The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. ¡°True. Man, it¡¯s crazy we¡¯re already seniors.¡± Darnell said in a reminiscent tone, he started to feel a bit of nostalgia looking at the white tile floors and bleak, grey brick walls. ¡°I¡¯m not gonna miss it, I can¡¯t wait til I can focus full-time on my music.¡± ¡°I¡¯m surprised you haven¡¯t just dropped out to do it, you make more money than most of these teachers already.¡± Darnell started to laugh, ¡°Shoot maybe that¡¯s why they hatin¡¯ on you now.¡± Teemo laughed, ¡°You know, when you put it like that, it starts to make a lot of sense!¡± ¡°Makin¡¯ they salaries look like pocket change-¡± he could barely finish the sentence before bursting into laughter along with Teemo. The two continued chatting until they reached the gymnasium where Ryan was waiting for them. Ryan was standing outside the door on his phone. His dirty blonde hair shot up in spikes like a hedgehog. He had skin more fair than gambling on a coin flip. Ryan noticed Darnell and Teemo approaching from the peripheral of his hazelnut eyes. His face lit up as he waved to his two friends. Darnell and Teemo almost in unison gestured their chins up as a greeting. The three rounded up and began walking back the direction Darnell and Teemo had come. Before anyone could say anything, Darnell¡¯s phone started ringing. He picked it up and it was Alicia. He answered with an ¡°Ayo,¡± and Alicia told him she was at the cafeteria with Makayla and Illyana already. Darnell responded with a ¡°bet¡± and informed her that he was with Teemo and Ryan and they were on their way. He hung up the phone and spoke to Teemo and Ryan, ¡°Alicia said that all three of them are already at the cafe.¡± ¡°Oh ok bet,¡± said Teemo. ¡°That¡¯s a first, that they¡¯re all actually ready already,¡± went Ryan. ¡°I¡¯m sayin¡¯, I was shocked when I heard that,¡± Darnell said, shaking his head in awe. The other two chuckled and Darnell continued, ¡°but watch we get there and suddenly they gotta take care of something.¡± ¡°On god¡­¡± Teemo rolled his eyes and shot his head down. ¡°Let¡¯s just pray and hope not,¡± Ryan said. Sure enough, when the boys had reached the cafeteria, they only saw Alicia and Makayla sitting down together. The two were seated on two different tables, sitting outwards to face each other. The three boys reached the aisle between the tables and Teemo exaggeratingly looked around the cafeteria with his arms flailing about. ¡°Where is she?¡± Teemo asked. The first to speak up was Makayla, without even tearing her eyes from her phone she said, "She had to go take care of something with Choir." Her voice was as assertive as ever. She spoke so confidently it would make anyone who wasn¡¯t used to it feel guilty for asking. It didn''t help that she was sitting in just the right spot so that the sunlight from outside made her olive skin glow. The three boys weren''t intimidated by her though. "Did she say how long she''d be?" Darnell asked. Makayla broke away from her phone to stare Darnell directly in his eyes. Her wavy, dark brown hair swayed ever so slightly, as if it was waking up to glare at Darnell as well. Her bright amber eyes challenged the impenetrable obsidian of Darnell¡¯s. For a few seconds it was a standstill. Teemo looked back and forth between them, trying to make out what exactly was happening. Suddenly, Makayla turned away exclaiming, "Nope!" "Bruh what," Teemo recoiled. Darnell''s eyebrows narrowed, "Girl don''t think you can-" he cut himself off and closed in on her. Makayla barely noticed Darnell zooming towards her and cried out, ¡°Wait, no no no-¡± but by then it was too late. She let out a yelp as Darnell unleashed a barrage of pokes and tickles into her side. She tried to retreat but was blocked by a railing behind her. ¡°Just keep tryin¡¯ me,¡± Darnell joked as Makayla uncontrollably laughed. ¡°Ok ok I¡¯m sorry,¡± she yielded. Darnell eased up but stayed close as a warning. Makayla caught her breath and finally said, ¡°She said her teacher wanted to rehearse a song before the weekend so she¡¯s gonna be like five minutes.¡± She put up five fingers to Darnell, but Darnell wasn¡¯t buying it. ¡°If it was only five minutes you would¡¯ve just said that,¡± he said creeping back down towards her. ¡°Ok! She said it¡¯d be about 10 to 15.¡± ¡°10 to 15 minutes?¡± Darnell shouted, he looked back at Ryan and Teemo, ¡°can we even stay in the cafe that long?¡± Ryan shrugged his shoulders. ¡°10 to 15 minutes isn¡¯t that long¡­¡± Makayla said. ¡°Yeah but last time her teacher kept her for ¡®10 to 15 minutes¡¯ we ended up waiting half an hour.¡± Alicia now finally spoke, ¡°You want to try to go get her?¡± Darnell turned toward the dirty blonde accomplice who also tried to keep quiet about the situation. Darnell glanced at her greenish-brown eyes. They were lit up as she anticipated his response. He thought for a moment, then answered, ¡°I¡¯m fine with waiting 10 or so minutes but if she¡¯s not here by then, then yes.¡± ¡°Okie!¡± she responded cheerfully. ¡°Guess we¡¯re waiting,¡± Ryan said as him and Teemo sat down. ¡°I actually have to go to the restroom anyway,¡± Darnell stated, ¡°I was gonna wait til we got to Chess¡¯s but it doesn¡¯t matter now.¡± ¡°Aight then.¡± Teemo said, pulling out his phone. Darnell reached the bathroom and did his business without disturbance. He used his foot to flush the toilet then made his way to the sink. He got a good look at his curly black hair, admiring the fade around his head as he washed his hands. He pulled his pick out of his backpack just to even out a few corners that had been manipulated during the day. He liked his afro arranged in a cube fashion while also staying about an inch and a half tall. Once he was satisfied, he put his pick back in his backpack. He fixed up his shirt a bit, he enjoyed wearing button-downs open, revealing an undershirt with a complimenting color. Today it was a grey and black plaid button-down with a black undershirt underneath. The shirt had loose threads and tears. It was the only shirt he had like this and it was his favorite. To match it, he wore smoky grey jogging pants. His motto was comfort over style. This was his favorite outfit and he of course had to wear it on a Friday. Darnell, Teemo, Ryan, Makayla, and Alicia, sat together in the cafeteria awaiting Illyana¡¯s arrival. Suddenly an alarm on Darnell¡¯s phone went off. He lifted his screen up for everyone to see. ¡°You see that?¡± Darnell said, ¡°that means we could¡¯ve been at Chess¡¯s already.¡± ¡°You set a timer for ten minutes?¡± Ryan asked. ¡°I sure darn diddly did,¡± Darnell answered, imitating a southern accent, ¡°I¡¯ll be darned if my here patience is tested much longer~.¡± He motioned to Alicia, ¡°Alicia, darlin¡¯ it looks like parts¡¯a my posse are bein¡¯ held hostage.¡± Alicia shot up out of her seat like a rocket. She mimicked Darnell when she spoke, ¡°Whaddya say we rough ¡®em up a bit partna?¡± ¡°If I di¡¯nt know betta I¡¯d call ya a witch fer readin¡¯ my mind!¡± The other three stared at them in awe. ¡°Well what are we waitin¡¯ for?¡± Alicia went, ¡°Our dearly beloved ain¡¯t gettin¡¯ any younger!¡± Teemo¡¯s face plummeted into the palm of his hand, trying to stop himself from laughing. Darnell and Alicia skipped off from the cafeteria back towards the main hall of the school. The other three watched them until they were out of sight. Ryan looked back at Makayla and Teemo and asked, ¡°How do they do that?¡± Teemo could only shrug his shoulders. Darnell and Alicia reached the Choir room inside the Theatre & Arts building. They peered inside until they found Illyana, distinguishable by her porcelain skin, standing in the middle of the Choir group. The teacher stood in front orchestrating. They wasted no time, Darnell and Alicia barged in the door stomping. Everyone in the room immediately turned to witness the two aggressors approach their instructor. Darnell shot a finger directly at her and shouted, ¡°You are so disrespectful!¡± Alicia echoed, ¡°So disrespectful!¡± The teacher shot right back at them, ¡°Excuse me?¡± Darnell and Alicia were now face-to-face with her and they didn¡¯t falter. Darnell continued, ¡°No! This isn¡¯t excusable!¡± He pointed his finger at Illyana, ¡°That poor girl there has been working endless, grueling hours and this is how you repay her?¡± ¡°For shame!¡± Alicia followed. The teacher, even more confused than before, could only respond, ¡°Wh-what are you talking about?¡± ¡°That-¡± Darnell feigned a sniffle, ¡°is a dear hero to the community!¡± The teacher¡¯s eyes narrowed as she glanced back and forth between Illyana and Darnell. Darnell knew he had the high ground, now he just had to double down, he persisted, ¡°She has not only cleaned up the streets, volunteered to feed those in need, but she has promised to care for the children at the daycare today.¡± ¡°The sweet children!¡± Alicia called out, grasping the air. ¡°She already has to balance so much of her life without¡­¡± Darnell looked the teacher up and down like he was repulsed, ¡°outsiders.. Interfering!¡± ¡°The children wait anxiously for her arrival!¡± Alicia cried again, this time throwing herself at the teacher and clutching her clothes. ¡°I don¡¯t-¡± the teacher jumped back, still trying to grasp the concept of this attack. Darnell started making his way towards Illyana, ¡°So believe when I say, yes! You are being disrespectful!¡± Darnell grabbed Illyana and gently tugged her along. Her eyes were like sapphires as they gleamed when Darnell took her hand. She happily moved along with him. The teacher picked up on their trick now, ¡°Hey no-¡± Darnell didn¡¯t give the teacher an inch, he immediately glared at her and yelled, ¡°Do you not care about the children?¡± Alicia tugged on the teacher harder, ¡°Do you not care about your community!¡± Darnell and Illyana sped up and he continued, ¡°If your rehearsals aren¡¯t in her schedule, don¡¯t even bring it up to her!¡± The moment Darnell and Illyana were a few paces from the door, Alicia smiled and said, ¡°Your community thanks you!¡± released the teacher and ran off. The teacher stood in the middle of the room frozen. She looked at the rest of the class as if they¡¯d have an answer. A kid in the back whispered, ¡°I should start volunteering.¡± It Came Quick ¡°Darnell just texted me saying ¡®Go outside,¡¯¡± said Teemo. ¡°Uh oh,¡± Makayla muttered. They all knew too well what that meant. They stood outside of the cafeteria exit in the glare of the sun. Moments later, a roaring YEEE-HAWW bursted through the air. Teemo, Ryan, and Makayla turned to face the direction it came from. Lo and behold, Darnell and Alicia were running towards them smiling and laughing. They could make out two skinny legs wrapped around Darnell¡¯s waist. Two small hands reached to the sky behind Darnell. Of course, it was Illyana. She was full of color now as she enjoyed the breeze gently running across her face. Her smile revealed a set of pearly whites that nearly outshined the sun. She giggled as she flicked her golden hair back, encouraging it to fly in the wind. For a moment, Ryan couldn¡¯t tell if Darnell was carrying Illyana or an angel. Darnell and Alicia skidded to a stop just in front of their friends. Illyana hopped down and fixed her hair. ¡°Wow, Bonnie and Clyde actually succeeded,¡± Teemo joked. ¡°Did you expect any less?¡± Darnell smirked, popping his shirt up by the collar. ¡°I expected y¡¯all to get suspended,¡± Makayla said as they began walking down the sidewalk. ¡°If you saw what we did you¡¯d think the teacher was gonna suspend herself,¡± Darnell laughed. Illyana jumped in, ¡°Did you guys have that whole thing rehearsed?¡± ¡°Nope!¡± Darnell and Alicia said in unison, Darnell continued, ¡°Imma keep it a hun¡¯ed, I¡¯m surprised it went that well.¡± Illyana giggled, ¡°Oh my god¡­ y¡¯all are crazy!¡± ¡°If crazy gets us to Chess¡¯s faster then Imma go loco,¡± Darnell bobbled his head and spun his fingers around his temples as he finished his sentence. ¡°Alright man, I¡¯m ready to eat!¡± Ryan shouted, jumping ahead of the group. ¡°Yes sir!¡± Teemo chanted. After about ten minutes of walking, two crosswalks, a territorial squirrel, and five more minutes of walking, Darnell, Teemo, Ryan, Makayla, Illyana, and Alicia finally arrived at their long awaited destination: Chess¡¯s. A small fast food restaurant famous for their chili cheese fries. They hadn¡¯t planned on ordering much, but the anticipation from waiting to eat for so long attacked them right in their stomachs. Accompanied by the silent assailant of the aroma of freshly cooked buns and bacon, they just couldn¡¯t resist gorging. Just making it to the table was a challenge for the fries. Eventually they were all seated at their booth, the boys on one side, the girls on the other. Darnell and Alicia sat on the outside and Teemo and Illyana on the inside. ¡°I think your best bet would be running away Illyana,¡± was Teemo¡¯s response to Illyana¡¯s remark about self-defense from knives. ¡°No no look you¡¯re supposed to go for the knife,¡± Illyana said, gesturing with her arms, ¡°then like twist the wrist or something¡­¡± ¡°What?!¡± Teemo said in disbelief, ¡°Are you tryna die!?¡± ¡°No, that¡¯s what I saw in a video before!¡± cried Illyana, ¡°I think?¡± Ryan sucked on his straw as loud as possible. Alicia looked at Ryan. ¡°Hey... why don¡¯t y¡¯all ask Ryan?¡± she said, motioning at him. Ryan dropped his soda, ¡°Oh no no, I don¡¯t know much.¡± Darnell fed into it without even looking up from his burger, ¡°But you know the most of all of us.¡± he added. Ryan sighed with a grin stretching from ear-to-ear, ¡°well if you insist¡­¡± he said. The others chuckled. ¡°First off,¡± Ryan began, ¡°Illyana, you would be better off running away-¡± ¡°Hey-¡± Illyana interrupted but Ryan quickly stopped her with a finger wave and a ¡°but!¡± Ryan continued, ¡°Everyone is better off running away from a knife. But let¡¯s say you didn¡¯t have a choice to run away.¡± Illyana interjected, ¡°You grab his knife arm and spin him around and twist it really hard right?¡± she signified the action with random and uncorrelated movements of her arms. ¡°Well you¡¯re¡­ you¡¯re half-right.¡± ¡°Hah!¡± Illyana shouted at Teemo, ¡°I¡¯m half-right!¡± ¡°Yeah you hear that Teemo?¡± Darnell joined in, ¡°She¡¯s only half-dead.¡± ¡°It¡¯s a bit complicated to explain,¡± Ryan said, ¡°a number of things can go right and wrong, but ultimately, you want to stop the knife from reaching you. Some say you should pin the knife hand, or if you grab something like a chair to keep the attacker away, that works.¡± Makayla turned to Illyana with her fist up, ¡°They¡¯ll regret bringing a knife to a chair fight,¡± she said. ¡°What if they have two knives?¡± Alicia tossed in. ¡°Hmm,¡± Ryan went. ¡°I think you¡¯re just screwed aren¡¯t you?¡± Darnell laughed. ¡°Yeah,¡± Makayla laughed. ¡°If you literally have absolutely nothing to fight back with or even keep your distance, yeah,¡± said Ryan. ¡°If they have two knives then I just drop kick them! Hiyah!¡± Illyana shouted, imitating a kung-fu pose. ¡°You assume you¡¯re heavy enough to drop kick someone,¡± Teemo joked. ¡°You won¡¯t know until you try¡­¡± Illyana pouted. ¡°Let¡¯s hope you¡¯re never in a situation where you have to try,¡± said Darnell. Makayla wrapped her arms around Illyana, ¡°Yes let¡¯s hope our sweet Illyana never has to drop kick anyone.¡± ¡°If someone messes with Illyana they¡¯ve got another thing coming!¡± Alicia went, flexing her arms, revealing nothing. Darnell couldn¡¯t help but chuckle. Makayla pointed at the boys, ¡°Yall. Yall are what¡¯s coming.¡± ¡°How¡¯d I get signed up to fight a double knife wielding maniac,¡± Teemo said, ¡°That should be Ryan¡¯s job.¡± Ryan quickly turned to Teemo, ¡°Yeah, true. Counter-argument: Darnell could handle it.¡± He pointed back at him. Everyone looked at Darnell who¡¯d opened the top of his soda cup and flipped the cup over his mouth to get the ice. Darnell crunched the ice that fell out and set his cup down. Finally, he looked around at everyone and said, ¡°I wouldn¡¯t let anyone get away with hurting yall.¡± ¡°Wow.¡± said Ryan, ¡°I got your back too bro.¡± ¡°Me too!¡± Alicia chimed in. The rest followed suit. ¡°Darnell, you know how to fight right?¡± asked Ryan. ¡°Depends on the type of fight.¡± he answered. ¡°What about a street fight?¡± Darnell¡¯s thought for a minute, then responded, ¡°I know what not to do in a street fight.¡± ¡°Like what?¡± Alicia said. ¡°Like assume there are rules.¡± Darnell took a bite of his burger. ¡°Oh yeah,¡± Makayla muttered. Teemo leaned over to look at Darnell, ¡°You sound like you ready to toss sand in somebody eye.¡± ¡°There¡¯s no rule against it.¡± Darnell said, covering his mouth. ¡°Ok what if there were rules?¡± Ryan said. ¡°Then there¡¯s no telling what would happen.¡± ¡°Hmm,¡± Ryan paused, ¡°are you ever gonna tryout for boxing?¡± ¡°Nope.¡± ¡°You sure?¡± ¡°Positive.¡± ¡°Man you¡¯d probably be unstoppable in the ring.¡± ¡°You¡¯re probably right.¡± Darnell chucked more ice into his mouth. ¡°If he doesn¡¯t wanna do it, he won¡¯t do it,¡± Makayla said. Alicia noticed something odd about the food on the table. Darnell had ordered triple the amount of everyone else, but he was closer to finishing than anyone else. ¡°Geez, I can¡¯t believe you eat so fast.¡± Darnell picked up his trash, ¡°I gotta go to Vanessa¡¯s later, remember?¡± ¡°Oh yeah,¡± she said.Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°Why didn¡¯t she come with us again?¡± asked Ryan. ¡°You know she doesn¡¯t like group stuff,¡± said Makayla. ¡°Well anyway, Imma go ¡®head and head out,¡± Darnell said as he came back from throwing away his trash. ¡°Alright man take care,¡± Teemo went. Darnell dabbed up Teemo, responded, ¡°Aight yall too,¡± fistbumped Ryan and Alicia, picked up his bag and exited Chess¡¯s. Darnell pulled out his phone to text Vanessa that he was on his way. ¡°I guess I should get going too,¡± said Alicia, standing up, ¡°I¡¯m helping Michael study today.¡± ¡°Aw here we go,¡± Ryan sighed. He could feel the chain reaction emerging. ¡°Oh that reminds me,¡± Makayla began with her thumb and index fingers on her chin, ¡°Raj is coming over to my house later today.¡± Illyana chimed in, ¡°Oh my dad can drop you guys off there! I¡¯m going to the mall later so he¡¯s already coming to pick me up from here.¡± ¡°What the-¡± Ryan exclaimed, he turned to Teemo, ¡°You see this? It¡¯s like a domino effect, one person leaves then suddenly everybody gotta be somewhere.¡± Teemo just shrugged his shoulders. ¡°Oh, you guys didn¡¯t have anything to do after this?¡± Illyana said concerningly. ¡°I was actually gonna go to the music store later,¡± Teemo responded, ¡°Guess I¡¯m going sooner than expected.¡± ¡°Wh- wow.¡± Ryan groaned. Makayla feigned tears with an overdramatic look of sadness, she taunted Ryan, ¡°Aw, poor baby Ryan is gonna be lonely.¡± ¡°Get outta here!¡± Ryan shooed her away as she laughed, ¡°I¡¯ll just go to the gym or something.¡± ¡°Are you sure? You could come to the mall with me and my friends!¡± Illyana innocently suggested. Ryan stared at her for a moment and said, ¡°I¡¯m flattered, but I¡¯ll do better at the gym.¡± ¡°Okay then, bye!¡± she sang the last part of her farewell and skipped to the exit. ¡°We¡¯ll see you guys later,¡± said Makayla, as she and Alicia waved goodbye and followed Illyana. Teemo stuffed the last couple of fries into his mouth, balled up his trash, and rose from his seat. ¡°Guess we better get going too,¡± he said, almost muffled from the food in his mouth. ¡°Yep, let¡¯s get out of here,¡± Ryan agreed, and stood up too.
About 20 minutes after a certain group at Chess¡¯s disbands, Vanessa¡¯s phone buzzes, alerting her of a text message. The alert interrupted the music from her bluetooth speaker, which she loved to play her lofi playlist from while she was in the garage. Her parents weren¡¯t home so the garage was empty, and she was utilizing the open space to build her miniature helicopter. It frequently got hot in the garage so Vanessa left the door open to let in the cool breeze that only came between Winter and Spring. She normally didn¡¯t go out much, so naturally her rosy-pale skin was sensitive to the sunlight, which wasn¡¯t helped by her Korean heritage. But she willed through it, it balanced well with the wind. Nuts, bolts, batteries, and other various metal and plastic pieces were neatly organized in a half-circle, waiting to be a part of more makeshift objects lying in the center. Vanessa¡¯s brown hair was roughly tied into a ponytail like a scruffy hamster. She had been kneeling down, screwing together two other pieces in her soft hands. Her silver eyes darted up at the sound of the alert on her phone. She was only expecting a message from one person so she immediately knew who it was. She stood up and brushed off her knees right before they buckled under her. It was apparent that she should at least stretch her legs every now and then while on the floor but she never cared. All that mattered now was responding to Darnell. She patted her cargo pants again and power walked to her phone. As she expected, it was Darnell, letting her know he was about five minutes away. Her thumb hovered over the keyboard, but right before she could type anything a blaring Emergency Alert took over her screen. EMERGENCY ALERT TERRORIST ACTIVITY. REPORT ANY SUSPICIOUS INDIVIDUALS TO YOUR LOCAL POLICE Vanessa skimmed through it, ignored it, and tried to text Darnell again. Right before she could type anything, another alert interrupted her. EMERGENCY ALERT MULTIPLE REPORTS IN YOUR AREA. SHELTER-IN-PLACE. THIS IS NOT A DRILL. Almost instinctively, Vanessa was going to ignore the alert, but her eyes read the text faster than her thumb could close it. Her thumb retreated back to the bottom of the screen. She read those words again. THIS IS NOT A DRILL. She stared at the screen, trying to process what exactly was going on. Her stomach twisted. What is this? What does it mean? She had to will herself from the screen. She turned around to look outside her garage. Nothing had changed outside. It was still peaceful around her house. But how long would that last? Or was anything even going to happen at all? She pondered closing the door, but she stood still. She kept telling her legs to walk to the button, but it was like her feet were glued to the floor. She looked at her phone, this time it was Makayla asking everyone in the group chat if they¡¯d gotten the alert too. Alicia and Michael were the next to respond, ¡°Yeah we got it too.¡± Illyana messaged next, ¡°Me 2, are you guys ok???¡± Tristan typed as formal as ever, ¡°Yes, I¡¯m fine. We shouldn¡¯t leave our houses.¡± Vanessa started typing that Darnell was on his way to her house when a screeching HELP startled her. She turned around to face the street again and this time a woman was running towards her garage from down the street. The woman was holding an object close to her chest. Vanessa could make out that the woman was frantically waving towards her. Vanessa¡¯s mind raced. What was this woman running from? Should she help her? Should she leave her? Every moment Vanessa hesitated, the woman only got closer. She was only a couple of seconds from reaching Vanessa¡¯s garage, and now Vanessa could make out two figures behind the woman. They weren¡¯t¡­ normal. They were nearly hunched over. Their arms flailed all over the place. BA-DUM. Vanessa felt a pounding in her chest. ¡°Don¡¯t come here!¡± she said in her head, but the words were lodged in her throat. BA-DUM. They drew even nearer. Thoughts and questions spiraled in her head. BA-DUM. What do I do? What are they doing? BA-DUM. Vanessa grabbed her chest. BA-DUM. Her breathing turned into rasping. BA-DUM. The strangers were just across the street now. BA-DUM BA-DUM. Stop! She shouted in her head. BA-DUM BA-DUM. Her vision blurred. Her head ached. BA-DUM BA-DUM. ¡°Close the door!¡± Vanessa heard. Vanessa¡¯s eyes opened. She was crouching on the floor with her hands covering her head. ¡°What?¡± She uttered to herself, ¡°When did I-¡± She looked up and the woman was running into her garage. She hit the button for the garage door and grabbed Vanessa by her arm. ¡°C¡¯mon!¡± she shouted. The woman dragged Vanessa into the house. As they ran inside, Vanessa could make out the two figures much more clearly now. There were crimson red splotches on their faces. Their faces were demented, chomping at the air as they ran. One of them managed to trap their arm under the door just as it was closing. Vanessa and the woman made it inside the house. The first room they entered was the kitchen. It was small, floored by white tile, only had a few cabinets and a sink. To the left was the dining room, and to the left again was the living room. There was a two step descent from the outer ring of the living room to the center. There was a single couch and two recliners on each side that faced a television on the left side. Across the living room from the dining room was the staircase to the second floor which started a few paces from the house¡¯s front entrance. The woman locked the door and the two almost rushed deeper into the house until the woman doubled-back when she realized she was inside a kitchen. Now that Vanessa was closer, and her mind was starting to defog, she identified the object in the woman¡¯s hands as a baby. Vanessa wasn¡¯t sure how, but the woman had gotten the baby to stay quiet. The woman scavenged the kitchen, randomly opening cabinets and drawers. Vanessa spoke up, ¡°Um, what¡¯s going on-¡± She was cut off by a ¡°HA¡± from the woman as she held up a large knife. ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± Vanessa finished. The woman spoke as she handed Vanessa a knife, looked at her and said, ¡°I have no clue, but-¡± BANG! The two jumped at the sound of the entrance into the garage being banged on. The woman looked back at Vanessa, ¡°I¡¯m not going to let them take my child.¡± She grabbed another knife. She rushed into the dining room and then into the living room and Vanessa followed her. The woman looked around, and decided to hide her child behind the recliner closest to the staircase. More banging came from the garage. The woman stood in the middle of the living room with the knife in front of her. Vanessa just stood next to her watching. There was more banging. Neither of them couldn¡¯t help but jump every time. The woman looked at Vanessa, ¡°What are you doing? Get ready.¡± She commanded. Vanessa could hear the shakiness in her voice. B-CRACK. The door broke open. Vanessa¡¯s heart began pounding again. She¡¯d hoped that the two people outside would just give up. That they¡¯d just walk away. But they were coming. And every bang on the door could be the last one before they ran inside. Vanessa followed the lady¡¯s lead. She held her knife in two hands and faced the kitchen door. Vanessa could make out the sounds coming from the garage as abnormal. She expected yelling. And screaming. And shouting. But it was just snarls. Hisses. Whatever other beastly noise a human could form. The door banged more, and she could hear the pieces of wood flying off and hitting the floor. Every second that passed, Vanessa could feel a shiver down her spine. Every crack of the door, her knees trembled. She looked over at the woman to her right. Her knife was shaking. Vanessa looked at hers. What was she even going to do with this? She couldn¡¯t even picture herself using it. She- BOOM. The crashing turned into stomping. Vanessa¡¯s eyes flicked up and in a moment, one of the snarling men crashed into the dining table. It¡¯s head spun to look directly at Vanessa. The two made eye contact. It¡¯s teeth showed. Even more red stains. Vanessa couldn¡¯t fool herself. It was blood. ¡°C¡¯mon!¡± the woman to her right shouted, trying to summon all of her courage. She was met with a blood-curdling screech that echoed throughout the entire house. Vanessa¡¯s body understood one thing. Run. Without even thinking twice, Vanessa¡¯s knife fell from her hands and her legs carried her to the staircase. She bolted faster than she could even blink. She ran up the staircase as she heard the woman cursing at her. Out of her peripheral, the second assailant had charged into the living room. Then, everything was out of sight. Vanessa reached the second floor, pivoted to her left and ran into her bedroom, slamming the door shut. Vanessa dropped to her knees the moment the door was closed. She could hear everything happening downstairs. Her screams. The crashing. The baby''s crying. More screams of fighting. Then screams of agony. Helpless cries. The baby cried out even louder. Vanessa tried not to imagine what was happening. Suddenly the woman stopped. The baby persisted, but it''s mother didn''t. It wailed louder and louder, hopelessly awaiting an answer. Then silence. Tears streamed down Vanessa¡¯s face. She was next. Nothing would change this. They knew she was up there. She curled into a ball as she sat in front of the door. Waiting. Expecting. Her face half-hidden behind her knees giving her an illusion of cover. She heard the creak of the stairs. It was slow, with seconds between each creak. And those seconds felt like hours as the creaking gradually got louder. Louder. And louder. Until it stopped with a stomp that Vanessa could tell was on her level. She clutched herself even tighter. Wishing she¡¯d just wake up and it would all be over. That she¡¯d be in her garage with Darnell building the helicopter she¡¯d told him so much about. That he¡¯d make her laugh like he always did. BANG. Vanessa clutched even tighter. ¡°Please.¡± she thought to herself. ¡°Please stop.¡± But the banging continued. ¡°Please!¡± Then, silence. A few moments passed. Vanessa shook as she lifted her head up to look at the door. There was a small crack in the center. On the other side, a bloodshot eyeball stared directly at her. It hissed and snarled and the very sight made her lose her breath. Her arms squeezed so tightly that her nails were practically digging into her legs. The eye moved up and out of sight then there was one massive BANG and the door swung open. It swung so fast that it collided with the wall behind it. Vanessa screamed at the top of her lungs, hopelessly putting her hand between her and the ragged and bloodstain aggressor lurking in her doorway. The crimson stains now covered a majority of it¡¯s clothes. It stood there for a moment, then suddenly its eyes rolled into the back of its head. Vanessa scooted back as it¡¯s body just plummeted onto the floor. Vanessa¡¯s mind whirled trying to process the sight before her eyes. She stared at it¡¯s motionless body until a pool of the blood started forming. The dark liquid seeped into the carpet around it¡¯s stomach area. Vanessa remembered the woman from earlier. ¡°She must¡¯ve managed to stab him.¡± she thought to herself. She looked up at the hallway outside her room, there was nothing else there. ¡°Is that it?¡± she thought to herself again. Everything seemed fine. She wanted to believe everything was fine, but her heart couldn¡¯t stop racing. She clutched her chest, attempting to mentally control it. As she sat there, more footstomps started up the stairs. Vanessa¡¯s eyes shot up. It was like an animal. A wild, blood-thirsty, humanoid animal. It¡¯s face was stained with even more blood than the first one. It came up the stairs howling and targeted her as soon as it made eye contact. Her heart plummeted for the final time. This one was definitely making it. She screamed as she tried to crawl away, but her back hit the wall. The intruder ran at her hunched all the way over with it¡¯s arms extended out to her. ¡°No!¡± Vanessa shouted at it. In the blink of an eye, it closed the distance between them. Her eyes shut, not wanting to see what was next for her. The howling pierced her ears as it was only inches away and she could feel it¡¯s breath just before- THWACK. Just before¡­ nothing. Was it that quick? No, it couldn¡¯t have been. She didn¡¯t want to open her eyes again, not after last time. Nothing could help her. ¡°Vanessa?¡± she heard a deep familiar voice. Her eyes slowly opened. Her vision was blurry with tears, but she could make out a tall, dark figure carrying a wrench. It had grey sweatpants and a plaid shirt wide open revealing a black undershirt. Her vision cleared and she came face-to-face with a panting, wrench-wielding Darnell. She looked down and to her right was the same monster that had been pursuing her, with its head split wide open. Darnell kneeled down in front of her, ¡°You okay?¡± he softly mumbled. Vanessa¡¯s head spun back to Darnell to look directly into the lustrous vortex of his gaze. To anyone else, he would''ve been more intimidating than the monsters sprawled out on her floor. But to Vanessa, there was a warmth like no other. Her mouth quivered, trying to force out words but she didn¡¯t have to. Her body spoke for her. Her arms wrapped around Darnell and tears continued to flow from her eyes. Darnell embraced her, whispering, ¡°It¡¯s okay, I¡¯ve got you now.¡± And Vanessa cried out. As For The Rest No one saw it coming, and absolutely no one was prepared. Teemo walked down the parking lot to the Narble & Bones. A music store located on the corner of a chain of stores and restaurants. Right next to N&B was a Chinese restaurant Teemo had never been to before. He considered if he should buy something for later that evening. He looked at the sky and noticed it had gotten considerably cloudier since he and his friend¡¯s left Chess¡¯s. That didn¡¯t stop the Sun from cooking everyone who dared step into its light though. Luckily for Teemo, he actually enjoyed the heat, and he could feel a pleasant breeze on his scalp. Teemo entered N&B and was immediately recognized by the cashier. The counter was square shaped and sat a couple of paces in front of the entrance. Immediately to the left and right of the front entrance were shelves of magazines and books. To the left, right, and past the counter were tables and shelves of CDs, cassettes, and other various tools for playing music. The back of the store could be seen from the front entrance, where more books were laid, along with boomboxes, cassette players, and some pictures of famous music artists on the walls. The cashier waved at Teemo and called out, ¡°What¡¯s up Timothy?¡± Teemo responded as he reached the counter and fist-bumped the cashier, ¡°Nothin¡¯ much Ron y¡¯all got the new release from Wednesday?¡± ¡°You know it baby!¡± Ron pointed at the table to Teemo¡¯s right, ¡°Got it right in the front waitin¡¯ on you! And...¡± he leaned in closer to Teemo and whispered, ¡°You know, just for you, I can drop an employee discount on your purchase, plus with a few reward points that... ¡®mysteriously...¡¯ appeared in your account, you can cut 75% off.¡± ¡°Aw you ain¡¯t gotta do that for me man.¡± ¡°Of course I do!¡± he exclaimed, ¡°You are our most valuable patron after all!¡± Teemo laughed as he walked over to the table to search for the album, ¡°Stop playin¡¯ dawg.¡± ¡°I¡¯m dead serious bro! Just promise that when you make it big we¡¯ll be the first to have your picture up on the wall!¡± Teemo laughed, ¡°I got you bro.¡± ¡°Yes sir!¡± Teemo looked on the table and the new album was the first object to catch his eye. He picked it up and flipped it over to read the back. Teemo looked around some more and considered buying the third installment of the book series on production he¡¯d been reading. Right before he made a decision, he heard Ron talking to someone at the front door. Teemo turned around to see a man stumbling his way inside, holding his head like it was aching. Ron asked if he was alright and immediately after, the man crashed into the magazine shelf on his right. Multiple magazines fell to the floor as the man mumbled, ¡°He-help.¡± Ron jumped from behind the counter to help the man. Another nearby customer came over to see what was wrong. Ron told the other person who¡¯d come over to call 911. Ron tried helping him stand up just when a scream could be heard outside. The man in Ron¡¯s arms spoke again, ¡°I- I need-¡± Ron leaned in closer, ¡°What? What is it?¡± he looked back at the other man, ¡°Call 911 already man!¡± The other guy frantically pulled out his phone and scurried for the dial keys. The delirious man spoke again, ¡°I need- I- I spread!¡± he suddenly shouted and grabbed Ron by his throat. The man with his phone jumped and ended up dropping his phone. The delirious man screeched and tackled Ron, choking him. Ron tried to fight back but to no avail. Teemo rushed in and kicked the man square in his face, sending him flying backwards outside. Everyone in the store rushed over to the front now. Teemo kneeled down next to Ron to check on him. Ron rubbed his throat and confirmed he was okay. Right after, the man jumped through the doorway again. He scaled over Ron and attacked another person standing in the crowd. They tried to stop him but just before anyone could react, the man dug his teeth into the person¡¯s neck and ripped the flesh off. ¡°What the-¡± Teemo shouted but the man didn¡¯t stop. He immediately jumped to the next person and bit them in their arm. Everyone began panicking and running away. Teemo picked up Ron and tried to carry him out of the store. Just when he got Ron up, Ron was suddenly swept from Teemo¡¯s grasp. Teemo turned around and the man who¡¯d been bitten in the neck was dragging Ron by his ankle. Ron yelled and tried to kick him, but he only grabbed that leg too. The screams and shouts echoed throughout the store. Teemo looked around and every person who¡¯d been bitten chased after someone else. CDs and books crashed to the floor. Entire tables and chairs flipped over. Teemo¡¯s mind raced, his body froze, unsure of what to do. He looked back down and Ron was still trying to fight off the man on top of him. Teemo looked behind him, he was right next to the exit. He looked at Ron, still struggling. If he stayed to help, he¡¯d be in danger too. He looked back at the exit. Back at Ron. The screams throughout the store still going. Teemo¡¯s blood pumped. He made a decision. Teemo dashed out of the exit and didn¡¯t look back. He didn¡¯t know where to run, but he decided to find somewhere safe and call the police. As he ran, he heard the loud screeching of tires suddenly coming to a stop. He looked to the road on the right of the parking lot and a car crashed into the back of another. More cars swerved trying to avoid them and ended up crashing too. A scream came from his left. Teemo turned towards the scream. A horde of people were scrambling around the parking lot, running out of different stores, running to others, running to cars, running anywhere. His eyes naturally began to coast along the horizon. Cars sped down the road, he could hear more crashes on the highway just behind the road. What was this? He chose to run. But he had nowhere to go. Almost instinctively, he felt the need to turn around. A horde of erratic people were charging at him from the direction of the car crash. Their arms swung about towards him. Their faces twisting and jaws munching in every which direction. Teemo¡¯s blood pumped again. His legs fired up and he sprinted away as hard as he could. He ran through the frantic parking lot. Hurdling over still bodies lying on the pavement. Juking around people who suddenly reached for him. Teemo ran harder than he ever had before. He ran like his life depended on it, because it did. The horde chasing him only grew in size. He ran until an empty restaurant caught his eye. Teemo charged inside, ramming through the door so fast the glass cracked. The restaurant was small, and he was able to locate a restroom at the very back. There was almost no time between him running in then running to the restroom. He had no idea how close the horde was behind him, but every second he wasted, they only got closer. He made it to the restroom in the blink of an eye and pushed open the door. There were three stalls. He immediately chose the furthest one and hid inside. Teemo locked the stall door and stepped onto the toilet seat to hide himself better. He tried to stay quiet but his chest ached and his lungs screamed for air. He desperately tried to control his gasping but it wasn¡¯t getting any quieter. After what felt like an eternity, Teemo realized he forgot to lock the door to the bathroom. His chest only pounded harder. Should he risk getting up to lock it, or should he stay put and hope they didn¡¯t come in? He pondered. But he fretted for nothing because he didn¡¯t get to choose. He heard the creak of the bathroom door opening. There were low snarls coming from the entrance. Teemo covered his mouth and tried to breathe through his nose as quietly as possible. He heard it gradually getting closer. Could he fight them? No, not all of them. Maybe one or two. Three if he was lucky. But he saw what happened to everyone else. All it took was a bite, and he was wearing a short sleeve shirt. He didn¡¯t stand a chance. He couldn¡¯t fight. He couldn¡¯t run. And it looked like he wouldn¡¯t be able to hide much longer. There was nothing Teemo could do to stop what was happening. A situation he couldn¡¯t control. He needed to do what he always did when he found himself in a situation he felt cornered. He needed to mentally retreat. This would be the last time he¡¯d have to picture himself in his happy place. He closed his eyes. He tuned out the ever-increasingly loud snarls. He pictured himself sitting in his room. He imagined sitting on the cold wood floors. He pictured his untidy bed behind him. He pictured the sunlight from the window beaming into his room, creating a light square on the floor. He imagined the aroma of fried chicken seeping into his room from the kitchen. He imagined the music he¡¯d normally have playing off his laptop. He pictured his phone buzzing with his friend¡¯s asking when he wanted to hang out next. He was so immersed he could actually feel the air vent on his ceiling blowing on his back. He could feel the floor. The snarls outside the stall were gone. Teemo moved his hand down and felt something cold and hard. It definitely wasn¡¯t the toilet. No, it actually felt like wood. Is this really what people go through in a near-death experience? He thought, ¡°Oh that¡¯s right, I¡¯m about to die.¡± This didn¡¯t arise anxiety out of him though. Teemo felt at peace. His heart and his breathing was calm. He hadn¡¯t even realized he didn¡¯t smell the stench of the bathroom anymore. He smelled clean and fresh air. Maybe I¡¯m already dead? He pondered. Death is weird. Teemo had a gut feeling to actually open his eyes. At this point, he didn¡¯t care if a blood drenched, drooling maniac waited on the other side of the stall. He was fine now. He wanted to get it over with. His eyes opened and¡­ he was in his room. Teemo blinked. He rapidly blinked. He wiped his eyes and slapped his face. No, this wasn¡¯t an illusion. He ran his hand across the floor, it was real. His bed was behind him, the same as he had left it. He shuffled the covers with his hands too. It was real. The sunlight pierced into the room through the window. He could feel the heat. It was real. He wondered if it had all been a dream. He pulled out his phone, there were two emergency alerts and multiple missed calls and unread text messages. The first alert mentioned ¡°terrorist activity¡± and the second mentioned a ¡°shelter-in-place.¡± He¡¯d missed a call from his mom and messages from the group chat with Darnell and the others. The messages had all been flowing in at once then were suddenly cut off. ¡°So it wasn¡¯t a dream,¡± Teemo mumbled to himself. His mind blanked. He sat back down on the floor and just stared at the wall with his phone in his hand. Michael and Alicia stared at the emergency alerts on their phones. They had been peacefully studying in Michael¡¯s room. They sat at a rectangular desk long enough for both of them to sit at. But instead of the textbooks, they looked at each other and back at the phones growing nervous. ¡°A terrorist attack?¡± Alicia asked out loud. ¡°I know as much as you do,¡± Michael answered back. Michael reached up to scratch his head. His fingers reached through the cardboard brown strands of hair that reached down to his face. His brown eyes were as lost as ever. ¡°But¡­ what is this?¡± As he asked, they both received a message from the group chat. It was Makayla. Michael and Alicia both texted back claiming they were okay.Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site. ¡°What are we supposed to do?¡± Alicia said. ¡°Shelter-in-place like it said, I guess,¡± he retorted. Alicia stood up and looked out the window over Michael¡¯s bed. The window faced the wall of another house. She tried to get a glimpse of the road in front of the house but failed. She studied Michael. He wasn¡¯t skinny, but everything about him was underwhelming. He didn¡¯t have any prominent features that signified strength or endurance. In the case they had to defend themselves, Michael was as helpless as her. ¡°We have to shelter-in-place and I¡¯m stuck with Michael?¡± she thought to herself. Michael read the incoming messages which suddenly halted. ¡°Uh,¡± he began, ¡°Vanessa, Darnell, Raj, Ryan, and Teemo haven¡¯t answered their phones.¡± ¡°What?¡± she exclaimed, rushing to her phone. She debated over whether she should try calling them. No, if they were in trouble, she could put them in even more danger. ¡°I¡¯m sure everything is fine.¡± she said, trying to calm herself, ¡°Vanessa is with Darnell, Raj is with Makayla, and Teemo is¡­ well he¡¯s Teemo, he¡¯ll be alright.¡± Just as she finished talking, the doorbell went off. They froze at the sound like deer in headlights. ¡°Were you expecting someone?¡± Alicia asked Michael. ¡°No¡­¡± he answered. The two ran out of the room in unison. Michael¡¯s room was on the second floor. Immediately in front of his door was a tight hallway and a railing overhanging the front corridor, with a view of the front door. Alicia and Michael ran up to the railing to look at the front door. There were two glass panes on the door that allowed them to make out a single figure standing outside. The doorbell rang again. ¡°I¡¯ll get it!¡± Michael¡¯s dad shouted from the living room. A stocky man came into view, Michael¡¯s father, as he passed under the overhang, making his way to the door. ¡°Who is it?¡± he shouted. Michael and Alicia watched with anticipation. Surely Michael¡¯s father had seen the emergency alert, they both thought. There was no answer, just another ring of the doorbell. His father motioned behind him and whispered to Michael¡¯s mother who was out of sight. Michael and Alicia could make out something about a pistol. Suddenly the figure outside began slamming its fists into the door. The sudden thrashing and banging startled everyone, ¡°Trisha, hurry!¡± Michael¡¯s dad shouted. In the next moment, a fist bursted through one of the glass panes and swung around. Alicia screamed at the sudden fright. The glass shards flew out at Michael¡¯s dad who ducked down. The hand that had crashed through had a plethora of cuts from sticking through the glass and blood began to stream down it like a delta. The sight of the hand, undisturbed by the clearly grotesque wounds it had acquired, froze everyone. Alicia¡¯s hands covered her mouth. The intruder¡¯s hand fumbled around until it reached the door¡¯s locks. Everyone immediately picked up on the scheme of the man outside but Michael¡¯s father couldn¡¯t stop it in time. It managed to unlock the door and it swung open. The man on the other side looked at Michael¡¯s dad like a hyena eyeing it¡¯s prey. His tongue hung out of a sinister smile and he laughed slowly. Michael¡¯s mother came back just in time for four more men to suddenly appear, screeching and howling as they swarmed into the house. No one even had time to react before they tackled Michael¡¯s parents to the floor. Michael screamed ¡°No!¡± and bolted to the stairway but Alicia managed to grab his arm and stop him. ¡°Stop!¡± she shouted at Michael. ¡°I have to help them!¡± He tried to fight her off. The two struggled until they crashed on the floor. Michael fell in just the right place to stare directly into the eyes of the man who had punched through the glass. His hand was drenched in blood but he was unbothered. He just stood there smiling. Through the chaos of the fighting below them, he could hear the man giggle and lick his lips at Michael. Michael felt a primal fury explode within him. He shoved Alicia off of him and stood up to look over the railing at his parents again. The four men willingly released his parents, getting off of them and revealing their bodies. Michael¡¯s father had multiple bite wounds on his neck, face, and arms. His body shook like he was having a seizure. He could only see his mother¡¯s feet but they were shaking all the same. The four men looked up at Michael and smiled with teeth stained with his parent¡¯s blood. Michael looked on in horror as the bodies of his parents fidgeted around until they became motionless. His entire body froze. He felt like a snake had coiled around his throat and all he could was quiver. All five of the men began charging to and up the stairs. Alicia managed to drag Michael away from the railing and into the bedroom without resistance. Alicia slammed the door, locked it, and began blocking the door with random objects. ¡°Help me barricade it!¡± she shouted at him, but it was like talking to a mannequin. Michael just stood there, blankly staring into space. ¡°Michael!¡± she screamed again and Michael jumped. He turned around to see her on one side of the desk. ¡°Help me move this to the door!¡± she said. ¡°Uh- oh.¡± Michael uttered as his wits returned to him. The two managed to lift the desk long enough to place it right in front of the door. They pushed it against the door to make sure there was no leeway. They stacked boxes, chairs, and even Michael¡¯s mattress onto the door all while the people outside banged on it. ¡°Now what do we do?¡± Alicia said. Makayla and Raj wondered the same thing when the emergency alerts took over their phones and the television. The two were at Makayla¡¯s home. Makayla agreed to the task of teaching Raj how to cook a Spanish omelette. The stove burned away as they stared at the television in shock. Only a few moments ago were they goofing around and enjoying themselves. Makayla loved to tease Raj¡¯s skinny physique, and this time she remarked that he should eat at least 3 Spanish omelettes every morning so he doesn¡¯t starve to death. Raj didn¡¯t mind, in fact, he loved bantering back and forth with Makayla. They never got physical, but sometimes Makayla would rub her knuckle into Raj¡¯s smooth and black hair and Raj would flip her hair over her face. Makayla and Raj made a deal that Raj would eat all the omelettes if she ate one of his Pakistani family dishes. The heat from the stove and their playfulness started to make Makayla sweat and she ended up turning on the A/C. Raj wasn¡¯t as bothered by the heat by his nearly hairless skin. Raj¡¯s skin and face were so smooth, there was a running joke among the group of friends that he was ¡°if butter grew legs and started walking.¡± The kitchen was only separated from the living room by a bar, so they could see the TV from the kitchen. On the screen was a display of chaos and madness. Curious, Raj walked around the bar into the living room and turned up the TV. A news helicopter broadcasted an upturned city with people scrambling around roads, stores, parks and more, like ants. Fires, explosions, accidents, and break-ins were painted all over the city. ¡°What¡­ is¡­ happening?¡± Raj mumbled. ¡°Hmm?¡± Makayla went from the kitchen. ¡°Makayla, you might want to see this¡­¡± Makayla turned around from the stove and looked at the TV. Her eyes narrowed. She could see it clearly, but the disbelief urged her to get closer. She walked up beside Raj and watched in horror as the events on the screen unfolded. ¡°Oh my god¡­¡± she went. Then the emergency alerts went off. The alerts went off on their phones and blocked the screen of the TV. The two shut them off as fast as they could. Before putting her phone down she went into the group chat to confirm everyone else had gotten the alert. Michael and Alicia confirmed, then Illyana, then Tristan. Makayla ran into the window next to the TV and lifted one of the blinds to see outside. So far, nothing was occurring in their neighborhood. ¡°Okay, I don¡¯t see anything, maybe we¡¯re safe,¡± Makayla said. ¡°Maybe we¡¯re safe?¡± Raj mocked her with a raised eyebrow. She walked back over to him, ¡°Yeah you know how the media likes to blow things out of proportion.¡± ¡°Makayla! Look!¡± he pointed at the TV screen, ¡°The city is on fire! P- people are eating each other!¡± Makayla didn¡¯t believe the last part and circled back around to the TV. Surely enough, Raj wasn¡¯t misinterpreting anything. It was very visible that hordes of people were attacking others and then leaving them. The people who were attacked quickly joined the fright. ¡°This is the freaking apocalypse man!¡± Raj screamed as his hands held his head, ¡°It¡¯s not here now but it will be!¡± ¡°Oh my God, oh my God!¡± Makayla started panicking, pacing around and ranting in spanish. Raj looked at her like she was crazy and could barely make out words like ¡°stupid,¡± ¡°house,¡± and he could swear he heard ¡°dance.¡± Makayla suddenly stopped and shouted, ¡°Raj! Turn off everything!¡± then ran into the kitchen and shut off the stove. Raj scurried for the TV remote and cut it off before Makayla started turning off all of the lights where sunlight didn¡¯t reach. Makayla kept busying herself while Raj tried to keep up with her. He ran into the kitchen and saw her with a flashlight looking through the pantry. ¡°Oh my God how long will this last us?¡± she whispered to herself. ¡°Your family always has more than enough food anyway,¡± Raj reassured her. ¡°That¡¯s because those ni?os have appetites like black holes- AAHH!¡± Makayla suddenly screamed out, scaring Raj. ¡°What, what is it?¡± he yelled, he had his hands ready to catch or to run. Makayla turned to him, ¡°They¡¯re still at the daycare!¡± she bolted past Raj and almost knocked him over in the process. Raj ran after her, inquiring, ¡°Who? Your little brothers and sister?¡± ¡°Yes!¡± she shouted as she threw on her sneakers that she left at the front door. Raj caught up and grabbed Makayla by her shoulders and faced her towards him. Raj looked Makayla in the eye and asserted, ¡°Makayla, you can¡¯t go out there! That¡¯s suicide!¡± Makayla only got even more fired up and violently shook him off. Raj could see the flames in her eyes as she only got even more furious. Her voice shifted to aggressive and threatening. ¡°You do not tell me what I can and can¡¯t do for my family!¡± Makayla shot at Raj with some of her Spanish accent breaking through. Raj backed off almost instinctively. He¡¯d only witnessed Makayla get like this a handful of times in the years he¡¯d known her, but it was terrifying every time. She continued as she tied her shoes, ¡°I don¡¯t care if it¡¯s the army, la muertas, or el diablo! I will not leave them on their own!¡± She finished her sentence before swinging the front door open and running outside. Raj stood perplexed about what to do. He watched her run to and across the street. His foot started tapping as he looked back and forth between Makayla and the living room. ¡°Screw it,¡± he thought and took off running after her. The Fire In Her Eyes The journey from Makayla¡¯s home to the daycare stretched for a length of 3 blocks. It sat just outside of the neighborhood, and anyone fit could jog the distance in a few minutes. For Makayla and Raj though, jogging the entire way out in the open was not an option that day. In fact, they¡¯re journey got cut short by a suspicious individual walking shakily on the sidewalk. As soon as Makayla and Raj saw him, they hid behind the wall of a house. Fortunately, the stranger was turned away so he hadn¡¯t noticed them. Makayla and Raj carefully observed the man as he took sporadic steps forward. The entire street was silent except for the man¡¯s shuffling. They couldn¡¯t make any sudden movements. Raj whispered as low as he could to Makayla, ¡°We have to go another way.¡± Makayla whispered back, ¡°Yeah, but what other way doesn¡¯t have one of those things?¡± Raj couldn¡¯t argue, they were already on the fastest route to the daycare and they were lucky only one threat inhabited this street. Makayla looked around, ¡°Jumping through backyards would make too much noise, and it¡¯s more dangerous.¡± ¡°More dangerous?¡± Her hair whipped as she turned to look at him and said, ¡°I¡¯m surprised you never bothered to learn how to survive an apocalypse.¡± Raj¡¯s head shook in confusion. She continued, ¡°Open areas are better because there¡¯s less places a zombie can jump you from.¡± Raj slowly nodded his head, ¡°Oh. Huh.¡± ¡°Of course it¡¯s easier to get spotted but at least you¡¯ll see the zombie coming.¡± ¡°So what, you wanna fight it?¡± ¡°No est¨²pido, are you crazy?¡± she made a face at him, ¡°If we had a weapon maybe... but I kind of rushed out without thinking didn¡¯t I?¡± Raj¡¯s eyebrows scrunched down as his eyes narrowed looking at Makayla. He rolled his eyes at her before inquiring, ¡°So what do we do then?¡± ¡°The obvious answer.¡± Makayla picked up a rock next to the house and threw it into the window of a house across the street. There was a yelp from inside the house. The man who¡¯d been shuffling immediately turned around to the sound. He began running towards the house and Makayla and Raj took deeper cover. It ran towards the front of the house and grabbed a ledge on the house and started climbing up to the broken window. Watching the display of athleticism made Raj and Makayla¡¯s hearts drop. ¡°Holy¡­¡± Raj whispered. ¡°Wait till it¡¯s inside, then we book it.¡± Makayla tried to stay calm, but if they messed up, it could cost them their lives. The stranger reached the broken window and started climbing inside. There was a scream from within the house and the man climbing screeched. His pace quickened and he crashed inside. ¡°Alright now!¡± Makayla silently shouted. The two picked themselves and began running down the street again. Raj looked back at the house as they ran. ¡°I think you just killed someone,¡± he said concerned. ¡°Better them than us,¡± Makayla retorted. In all the years Raj had known Makayla, this was the most cold-blooded he¡¯d seen her. Granted, he recalled, there was the time she abandoned a dude who asked her to prom. And another time a guy in their class got left on Read by her for half the semester. After she responded, Raj remembered how excited the guy got. Then she left him on Read for the rest of the semester. Makayla was just ahead of him. Raj stared at her as they ran. ¡°If it¡¯s not friends or family, she can get pretty cold,¡± he thought to himself. He appreciated that he was one of those friends. Every turn they reached, Makayla checked around the corner and motioned to Raj it was safe. The two managed to reach the outside of the neighborhood, and the daycare was in sight. It was about half a football field away. But, Raj felt something was off when he looked at the daycare. As they drew closer to it, a mysterious anxiety grew within him. Just when they reached the porte-coch¨¨re of the daycare, Raj figured out why. The front doors which were mostly glass were broken into. Inside, it was completely dark. ¡°Makayla.¡± Raj said to her.This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. Makayla stared at the broken door. Her fists clenched. Her breathing began to deepen. Raj could see that same fire still in her eyes. A fire beyond the sparkling amber of her gaze. He knew she was going to go in. He knew he couldn¡¯t convince her otherwise. He pondered, could they even turn back now? Her house was three blocks back the direction they came from. There was no telling what would happen, and they would have risked their lives for nothing if they tried to turn back. While Raj was lost in thought, Makayla tossed a rock through the open door. They heard the pops of it bouncing on the ground. Suddenly, there was a growl from inside. Raj¡¯s heart beat through his chest. He prayed for any rabid or wild animal to reveal itself from the darkness. He prayed Makayla¡¯s little brothers and sister would just run out to them completely unharmed. Raj¡¯s prayers aren¡¯t answered. They stare into the darkness and it stares right back. From within the darkness, a hunched over, snarling man emerges. His eyes are bloodshot and his face and teeth are stained with blood. He stares directly at them with a face twisted in fury. Raj¡¯s mind is racing as it just stands there. ¡°Is it waiting for us?¡± Raj thinks. He can¡¯t feel anything. He can¡¯t feel his hands, his feet, nothing. No part of his body is responding. All he can feel, is the need to escape. If he gets away now, he might still have a chance- ¡°?Vamos diablo!¡± Makayla yells at the top of her lungs. She pounds her chest and puts her fists up at the ready. In a split second, Raj feels a sense of bravery. The darkness in his mind suddenly vanishes as he looks at Makayla. She¡¯s ready to fight. She¡¯s ready to die. Raj turns back to the bloody man who lets out a blood-curdling screech that echoes throughout the street. The inspiration from Makayla is fleeting but Raj¡¯s spirit grasps it. He stands his ground with Makayla. ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡± Raj shouts and pounds his chest all the same. He isn¡¯t sure if he yelled it for the monster that stood before them, Makayla, or himself, but his courage has arrived. And it''s here to stay. Immediately, the monster charges at them with it¡¯s arms flailing about. Raj and Makayla both rush at it at the same time. The monster targets Makayla and hurls itself at her. They both go crashing down on the pavement but Makayla manages to grab it¡¯s face and keep it away from her. With her hands holding it back, she sees an opportunity and takes it. ¡°Go to hell!¡± she screams as she sends both of her thumbs into its eyes blinding it. Raj grabs the monster by it¡¯s shirt and tries to pull it off of her but to no avail. It¡¯s strong. Raj thinks back to the other monster they saw scale an entire house in seconds. Very strong. The monster is still trying to chomp into Makayla as her thumbs continue to seep deeper into it¡¯s eye sockets. She¡¯s barely managing to push it back even with Raj¡¯s help. She can see the thing¡¯s veins bulging through it¡¯s skin as it tries to use every ounce of force to close the distance between them. Raj continues pulling when he hears tapping behind him. Raj immediately turns around in time to stop a woman covered in blood from attacking him. Raj just barely managed to grab it¡¯s wrists and stop it from progressing. It has an insane amount of blood profusely leaking from it¡¯s neck. He tries to hold it back, but it¡¯s pushing forward. For some reason, it¡¯s not going for his hands, which works in his favor. But it¡¯s still stronger. Much stronger. With every push, Raj is forced back more. He tries to twist and turn but it¡¯s overpowering him nonetheless. Meanwhile, Makayla is left on her own now. Makayla is even using her legs to push the monster on top of her back. But it¡¯s taking every ounce of her strength. And she¡¯s losing it. Inch by inch, it¡¯s jaws close in on Makayla. She needs more. She cries out as she can feel her arms and legs growing more tired. ¡°Makayla, I¡¯m almost there!¡± Raj shouts at her. He thinks about something risky. He needs to end this stalemate. No. It wasn¡¯t a stalemate. He was losing. Bad. He can¡¯t even fight back against the monster attacking him, he can¡¯t save Makayla. Makayla cries out again. Her thumbs have fully penetrated through the monster¡¯s eyes, and it still isn¡¯t giving up. In fact, it¡¯s only getting more persistent. It¡¯s getting stronger. It¡¯s getting closer. And Makayla can¡¯t do anything else. She winces in pain. Her strength isn¡¯t enough. She needs more. Makayla sees past the monster. She sees the reason she came here. The reason she¡¯s fighting. Rico, Leo, and Isabella. They¡¯re all waiting for her. She has to reach them. She has to protect them. Images of their faces swirl through her mind. Sadness, torment, hopelessness. ¡°NO!¡± Makayla screams out at the monster. She can¡¯t let that happen. She won¡¯t let that happen. She feels her desperation transforming into rage. She feels a burning sensation like none other boiling inside her. She¡¯s never felt this feeling before. This feeling of wrath taking over her body. She can feel it giving her strength. It travels from her gut to her chest. Then her shoulders. Then her arms. Makayla grits her teeth and brings her face closer to the monster. It¡¯s still gnawing but she¡¯s sick of this sight. She wants it gone. She lets out another warcry as the strength within her travels up to the palms of her hands. The monster shouts back just before a faint whistle is heard and then BOOM. The monster¡¯s head suddenly bursts into flames like a volcano. It¡¯s entire body flies back away from Makayla. Raj and the monster attacking him turn towards the sudden eruption taking place before them. The monster wails in agony as it¡¯s flesh melts away. The fire crackles away violently, not letting up a single bit. All three of them witness the scene in utter astonishment as the monster¡¯s body flails around. Then becomes motionless. ¡°What was that!?¡± Raj shouts at Makayla. Even she can¡¯t answer that question. She looks down at the palm of her hands which are still warm. They¡¯re so distracted they forgot the fight isn¡¯t over. The monster next to Raj suddenly returns to normal and jumps towards him. Raj wasn¡¯t paying attention. It manages to grab Raj¡¯s shoulder just as he realizes his crucial mistake. It¡¯s too late. It¡¯s directly on him now and he doesn¡¯t have the power to force it back. Makayla reaches her hand out forward and yells ¡°Stop!¡± She¡¯s not close enough to help him. Raj screams in terror as it¡¯s jaws open wide for his neck and there¡¯s a sudden whining chill. A moment before it¡¯s jaws chomp down on Raj¡¯s neck, the entire monster¡¯s body is covered in ice. Raj looks at it in shock, trying to process how he¡¯s even alive. It¡¯s just... frozen. He steps away immediately and gets a better view. The monster wasn¡¯t covered in a block of ice, but it was enough that it turned blue and icicles hung from it. The icicles weren¡¯t facing downward, they were pointed the opposite direction of Makayla. Raj¡¯s eyes followed a trail of mist from the monster¡¯s body to the hand that Makayla had reached out. She was in as much shock as him. Raj felt light-headed, he dragged his words as he struggled to stand upright, ¡°What¡­ is going on¡­?¡± As For The Rest II Doo doo doo, suu, doo-doo. Ryan pounded away at the punching bag. Throwing one-twos, dodging imaginary punches and staying light on his toes. The gym was dimly lit, with only a few lights on here and there. Everyone else had already left and now it was just Ryan practicing by himself. Ryan sent a few more combos into the bag before finishing with a powerful haymaker that sent it flying back. He rested and stopped the bag from swinging. He walked away with his hands on his head, giving his lungs more room for air. After some paces and some deep breathing control, Ryan grabbed his water bottle and chugged half of it down. He wiped his mouth and set the bottle down. Ryan looked around the gym then said to himself, ¡°Guess I¡¯ll start with the jump ropes.¡± Just as he¡¯d begun walking over to the jump rope rack, he heard his phone buzzing. Ryan turned around and he barely made out the Emergency Alert taking over his screen. When he picked up his phone, he expected to read a report of a missing child two cities away from him. Instead, he was met with ¡°TERRORIST ACTIVITY¡± & ¡°SHELTER-IN-PLACE.¡± ¡°Well alright,¡± Ryan said to himself, ¡°Wasn¡¯t planning on going anywhere anyway.¡± He dropped his phone again and went to grab the jump rope. Ryan flipped it over his head and stood at the ready, determined how high he¡¯d go, then began. The rope spun around him in a blur as he lightly pushed himself off the ground. He counted every time his toes narrowly dodged the windmills of the rope. 34, 35, 36, 37. The afterimages of the rope were almost mesmerizing, which made it easier for him to become in-tuned with the warm-up. 45, 46, 47, 48. He could hear his phone buzzing more but he wasn¡¯t bothered. 56, 57, 58, 59. It was all one motion, and once it started, it felt unnatural to stop. 63, 64, 65, 66. He didn¡¯t even hear the front entrance open. 76, 77, 78, 79. A young man around Ryan¡¯s age walked into the gym from the hallway of the front entrance. Ryan noticed him and recognized him without losing count. He had an athletic build similar to Ryan, curly brown hair and tan skin. 82, 83, 84, 85. It was Keith, Ryan¡¯s primary rival. 87, 88, 89, 90. Keith noticed Ryan, so he gestured a greeting as he dropped his keys and phone near Ryan''s stuff on the bench. 98, 99, 100, 101. Keith walked further into the gym to the restroom. 106, 107, 108, 109. A toilet flushed and some water ran. Keith came out of the restroom. 177, 178, 179, 180. Ryan spun the rope for the final time and dropped it before letting out a deep exhale. He lifted his hands to his head to give his lungs more room, while pacing around. Keith called out to Ryan, ¡°You see that crazy alert?¡± Ryan breathed a bit before responding, ¡°I think so yeah.¡± Keith started wrapping up his hands, ¡°You wondering what¡¯s going on?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t really care to know, someone will take care of it.¡± ¡°You know it said ¡®Terrorists¡¯ right? There might be-¡± Ryan noticed Keith¡¯s head fall like he suddenly went light-headed. Keith paused for a moment, then returned to normal, ¡°Might be a shooting or something going on.¡± ¡°Yeah, that¡¯d be bad,¡± Ryan tried to dismiss the conversation, ¡°Did Genesis ever call you back?¡± ¡°Nah man, she¡¯s probably with that guy Evan,¡± Keith said with a bit of frustration, he finished his wrap with an aggressive tug. ¡°Dang that sucks,¡± Ryan sighed. He walked behind the punching bag Keith was standing in front of and held it firmly. Ryan stated, ¡°You can imagine this as Evan if you want.¡± Keith chuckled, ¡°If this were Evan, I¡¯d forget everything I was taught and just swing on em-¡± Keith reeled his arm all the way back and slammed his fist into the bag. ¡°Just like that!¡± He swung his left fist into it next in the same fashion. ¡°Woo! Let it all out man!¡± Keith reeled his right arm back once more but suddenly slipped and fell to his knee. He grunted as he hit the ground, barely keeping his balance. Ryan looked over, ¡°You good man?¡± Keith held his head, ¡°Yeah, I don¡¯t know, I just felt light-headed all of a sudden.¡± Ryan walked over and helped Keith stand. ¡°Have you eaten at all?¡± Ryan questioned. ¡°Yeah I¡¯ve had plenty, that was weird.¡± Keith walked over to his water and took a sip, then stated, ¡°Alright let¡¯s get serious.¡± The two returned to their original positions and Keith started practicing his routine punches on the bag. He jabbed, hooked, uppercutted, ducked, hopped on his toes, and swerved around. Ryan threw in words of inspiration here and there for Keith and called out movements Keith was slacking on. ¡°That should all be one motion!¡± Ryan shouted, as Keith attempted a right jab, juke and left hook. Keith repeated it, faster, but his foot slipped too far. ¡°More control, Keith!¡± Ryan shouted again. Keith grunted and went for it again, but this time, his juke was slower. ¡°C¡¯mon!¡± Ryan persisted. Keith went again and this time his sweep and left hook slowed down. ¡°Keith! What are you doing?¡± Keith tried the move once more, grunting in anger. This time, his entire body swayed like he was drunk. His movements became sluggish, to the point he was barely moving at all. Ryan stopped yelling and just glared at him in confusion. Keith stopped performing the move and just stood there, panting and sweating. He appeared to have trouble even standing. Finally, after numerous long-winded breaths, Keith¡¯s right fist gradually made its way to the punching bag. Then, just as Keith¡¯s fist made contact, he fell to the floor. Ryan jumped to Keith¡¯s aid, worried, ¡°Are you okay man?¡± Keith panted as sweat trickled down his pain-stricken face. Keith barely gasped out, ¡°I-I can¡¯t¡­ feel- feel anything.¡± ¡°Hold on bro, I¡¯ll call for help!¡± Ryan reassured him. He rushed over to his phone to call for an ambulance. As soon as Ryan opened his phone, he was met with the social media app he¡¯d left open. The first upload in his feed snagged his attention. It was a video recording of a neighborhood in chaos. The person recording was swinging the camera around wildly, but he could make out everything. Everything he needed to see, to forget about his current situation, was in the first three seconds of the video. There were people screaming and running around in the streets. Puddles of blood all over the ground, staining the grass and the sidewalks. There were no weapons and no gunshots. Just... chaos. Ryan gulped. He suddenly felt like someone had tied an anchor to his heart. He subconsciously swiped up to the next post under that one. It was a person hiding in a dark room. They whispered into the camera for help. Outside of view, there were clear screams of agony and wailing being made. Ryan kept scrolling, he checked posts, live feeds, anything. The more he saw, the deeper he felt his heart sink. At first he thought it was just some sick joke, but it was occurring everywhere. He needed more information. He moved on to news networks. The first headline to catch his eye was ¡°CHAOS ACROSS THE COUNTRY - RANDOM VIOLENT ATTACKS EVERYWHERE!¡± He checked his notifications now. He had multiple missed calls and unread messages about what was going on. Ryan couldn¡¯t make a decision on what to do next, who to call, who to respond to, anything. It felt like a waterfall had splashed onto him and all he had to catch it was an empty can. Despite this, he could catch on to one specific detail. Those sounds, the blood-thirsty humans, the mass amount of deaths, what teenager wouldn¡¯t make the connection? ¡°There¡¯s no way this is real,¡± Ryan said to himself out loud. He struggled to make a decision on what to do next when his train of thought was interrupted by the groans of Keith behind him. Ryan turned around and immediately remembered his first priority. ¡°Oh sorry, I¡¯m calling them right now!¡± Ryan called out to Keith. Ryan scurried for the dial pad on his phone, typed the numbers 9-1-1 and hit call. The number rang. Ryan expected to immediately hear the standard, ¡°9-1-1, what¡¯s your emergency?¡± but was met with a buzzer noise. Confused, he tried again. Another buzzer. ¡°Oh no,¡± Ryan muttered under his breath. Suddenly, a wail of pain came from behind him. Ryan spun around to see Keith convulsing on the ground. ¡°Yo Keith!¡± he shouted as he ran over to his friend. Keith¡¯s head and eyes darted everywhere like a bird searching for prey. Ryan wasn¡¯t sure what to do. He didn¡¯t know if this was a seizure or if he was sick or just¡­ anything. He studied Keith¡¯s body up and down, as if the answer was written on him. In an instant, before Ryan could even react, Keith was in control of his body and he clutched Ryan by his shoulders and proclaimed, ¡°Make it stop! Make it-¡± Keith¡¯s face was twisted in agony. Tears were forming in his eyes as he fought to finish his sentence, ¡°Make it go away!¡± Once again, his body convulsed and his grip on Ryan released. Ryan fell backwards and scooted away from Keith. Keith yelled again into the air as his back arched up from the floor. Ryan jumped to his feet and backed away slowly from Keith. The images and videos he¡¯d seen on his phone flashed through his mind. Could this be it? Right here? Right now? Keith rolled over to his front side. He was on all fours with one hand squeezing his head. Keith spoke through the gritting of his teeth to Ryan again, ¡°It¡¯s filling my head¡­¡± ¡°What is?¡± Ryan called out to him, feigning ignorance. Ryan couldn¡¯t believe it. Ryan didn¡¯t want to believe it. ¡°I- I can¡¯t¡­ No!¡± Keith punched the floor hard enough for Ryan to hear the crack of his knuckles. Keith shouted again, ¡°I-¡± he turned his head to glare at Ryan, revealing bloodshot eyes, ¡°It- It sees you!¡± The sight of Keith¡¯s eyes and the words coming from his mouth sent a shiver down Ryan¡¯s spine. Keith managed to tear his glare away from Ryan but continued to grunt and groan in pain. Ryan''s mind was still in a whirlpool of thoughts and emotions. Was Keith turning into one of those monsters he saw on his phone? Should he run? Was it safe outside? Should he fight? Would he win? Could he call someone else for help? Who else could he even call? He felt confused. He felt anxious. He felt¡­ he couldn''t make out this one feeling that sat in the center of it all. It wasn''t familiar to Ryan. All he knew was that it was powerful. It was controlling. It was holding him down. He had no shackles but his hands felt bound together. In the turmoil of emotions, a memory flashed in his head. Ryan was brought back to the time he first started training with his coach. He remembered how he would preemptively dodge his coach¡¯s swings. His coach was upset, claiming Ryan was ducking out of the way too early. He told Ryan the only way to dodge an attack was to use his enemy¡¯s'' attack against them. To let them fully commit, expecting to land the hit. Then at the last moment, weave out of the way and counter it. He told Ryan that getting hit in the face was scary, yes, but he can¡¯t let that fear control him.This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it Fear. That¡¯s what it was. Ryan recognized this overwhelming emotion as fear. This fear was making him irrational. The fear was pushing him into a rash decision. Keith let out a roar that echoed throughout the entire building. It shook Ryan to his bones. If Ryan¡¯s fear was correct, this was easily a life-or-death situation. Ryan clenched his fists, took a deep breath, and asserted out loud, ¡°I choose not to die.¡± As he stated this, he could feel his wits returning to him. He stared down Keith as Keith began to behave more animal-like. He didn¡¯t know if Keith was actually going to turn or not, but his best bet was taking on a single monster rather than jumping into the pandemonium outside. He knew this now. He understood his situation better now. His heart pounded, not with fright, but with determination. Ryan¡¯s blood pumped and his energy surged through him. This was another punch he had to dodge. He saw the punch coming, now he just had to counter it. Ryan scanned his surroundings to find a weapon. There were the jump ropes, no, he could strangle Keith, but it might take too long. A metal chair, Ryan could hit him with it. A wooden stick, why was that there? Ryan refocused, it didn¡¯t matter right now. It would be easier to use, but it could break. He looked at the metal chair again. He¡¯d have to hit him hard. Keith snarled and roared once more, now he was on his hands and feet like a feral animal. Ryan couldn¡¯t waste any more time. He booked it for the chair, folded it and held it up like a bat. The chair was a good distance away, nearly on the other side of the boxing ring, so Keith was out of sight now. Ryan ran back over to fight. And the spot that had been occupied by the rabid Keith was empty. Ryan spun around in a panic, scanning the entire building. Nothing. He couldn¡¯t see Keith, nor hear him. The fear was setting in again, but Ryan breathed deeply. Ryan remained calm. Keith couldn¡¯t have gotten between him and the exit, so he had to be deeper in the building. He didn¡¯t have to look for him. Ryan determined himself to stand in an open area where Keith couldn¡¯t surprise him. There was even a chance that Keith was actually okay. It was highly unlikely, but that chance was more desirable than fighting a blood-thirsty, growling version of his friend to the death. He heard a bang to his right. Ryan swiftly turned to the source of the noise. A ladder behind the boxing ring had fallen over. Ryan clung to his optimism and called out, ¡°Keith? You okay?¡± No response. Ryan gripped the chair tighter. He tried again, ¡°If you¡¯re okay, you better say something!¡± No response. ¡°Aw man,¡± Ryan mumbled. Suddenly, another metal chair flew from behind the ring and crashed into the wall. Ryan jumped back. He eyed the chair on the floor with shock, then looked back up. There he was. Keith just lurked in the darkness, glaring at Ryan. Keith¡¯s fingers curled up and down like he was getting a feel for them. It was low, but Ryan could hear a growl coming from Keith. Ryan tried once more, ¡°Keith! C¡¯mon man! I don¡¯t know what¡¯s happening but you gotta snap out of it!¡± Keith¡¯s chin snapped up to the right. His eyes bulged out at the ceiling. His arms began to raise and his entire body shook. Then, in a flash, he snapped back to Ryan and sprinted towards him screaming. Ryan¡¯s entire body and mind flinched back at the sight of Keith charging him without warning. But Ryan¡¯s soul prevailed over his body. His fear would not control him. Ryan reeled the chair back and just before the two met, Ryan whacked Keith in the left side of his head. The collision made a satisfying CLANG as Keith¡¯s body plummeted face-down. Ryan knew that wasn¡¯t the end of it. He knew the human body could sustain much more damage than that. And he knew Keith. Ryan jumped on top of Keith with the chair over his head. Keith was formidable. But Ryan didn¡¯t want to run. His blood coursed through him, seeking for violence like it always had. He aimed for the head. WHACK. Ryan cast down the top of the chair directly into Keith¡¯s neck. He¡¯d just barely missed, but damage was damage. Before Keith could move, Ryan swung the chair again. And again. And again. Ryan stopped aiming and decided that, as long as he hit him, it was good enough. Another direct bash into Keith¡¯s skull. This time Ryan could see a dark liquid leaking from the back of Keith¡¯s head. Ryan¡¯s determination desired more. He continued to brutalize Keith¡¯s body. There were cracks of bones in his back, blood streaming from his head, and Ryan only persisted. These were sights and sounds Ryan was used to. It didn¡¯t sicken him, it only encouraged him. To Ryan, these were signs of progress. Ryan had lost count of how many times he¡¯d bashed into Keith¡¯s body. There was enough blood on the floor and the chair to fill a cup. He glared at Keith. Keith laid there still. He waited for any movement. Any breathing. Any sign of life. After half a minute, Ryan couldn¡¯t find anything. He raised the chair over his head one last time. This blow would be the parting gift. Ryan cast down the chair onto Keith for the final time, but it didn¡¯t reach. In a split second, Keith¡¯s arms rose up, his elbows and shoulders popped like firecrackers as his arms bent completely backwards to catch the chair. Ryan¡¯s eyes widened in shock. Ryan tried to regain possession of the chair. He pulled but it didn¡¯t budge from Keith¡¯s grasp. Keith let out a raspy roar and flung the chair away. Ryan flinched, giving time for the battered Keith to spin around and face Ryan head-on. Despite the numerous injuries and the beating Ryan had given Keith, he moved as if he felt no pain at all. His arms, with more cracks, bent back into place and grabbed Ryan by his shirt. Ryan got yanked down to Keith before he could react. Keith slammed his skull into Ryan¡¯s face, square in the nose. Ryan doubled back, but he didn¡¯t back down. Just like Keith, he could take the pain. In fact, the pain only fueled his thirst for violence. Ryan immediately reached for Keith¡¯s throat and wrapped both of his hands around it to choke him. He slammed Keith¡¯s head into the concrete floor, right in the same area he¡¯d already been bleeding from. Keith¡¯s eyes rolled into the back of his head and his grip on Ryan released. Ryan didn¡¯t let up, swinging a right hook directly into Keith¡¯s jaw. Keith¡¯s head whipped to the side with blood flying from his mouth. As Ryan felt the skin and bone of his knuckle collide with Keith¡¯s face, he began to feel another surge of power flow through him. He swung a left hook into Keith¡¯s face, knocking it to the other side. Ryan¡¯s nose stung, but it only encouraged him to keep going. Right, left, right, left, faster and faster. In a matter of seconds, Ryan unleashed an onslaught of punches onto Keith¡¯s head. Right, left, right, left, nonstop. More blood sprayed everywhere. Staining Keith¡¯s teeth and lips. Some of it landed on Ryan. He didn¡¯t care, he continued on and on. Ryan decided not to let up this time. He wouldn¡¯t give this monster that used to be his friend another chance. He would make it out alive. He would swing until his head turned into a bloody pulp. He would swing until- CLAP. Ryan¡¯s entire motion came to a halt. He could¡¯ve sworn his fist was supposed to connect into Keith¡¯s face again. He looked at where his fist had come to a stop. Keith had caught it. Keith snarled as he stared directly at Ryan with his blood-drenched face. It had become so full of blood it almost looked like face paint from the cheek down. Ryan didn¡¯t waste another breath. He immediately kicked into Keith¡¯s arm. He aimed right for the elbow that had been bleeding profusely. With the swift strike, Keith was forced to release Ryan, who jumped away from Keith. Ryan stood a couple feet away from Keith now, panting, still grappled by fear. How was everything he¡¯d done up until now unsuccessful? Keith had shattered bones and torn muscles all over, but not only did he fight on, he nearly overpowered Ryan. Keith began picking himself up. Ryan wasn¡¯t sure what to do now. He was still between Keith and the exit, he could book it, if Keith wasn¡¯t faster than him. No, Keith would chase him as long as he had to. The difference in stamina was apparent. At this point, Ryan would have to tear off Keith¡¯s limbs to fully immobilize him. He stared down Keith who had now fully risen. Yeah, like Keith was going to let him do that. They both glared at each other, exchanging silent resentment. Ryan just wanted Keith to be dead already. He couldn¡¯t tell what Keith¡¯s plan or goal was. It didn¡¯t matter, because Keith was charging him again, this time, more controlled. Keith ran with proper form and flailed his right arm at Ryan as he reached him. Ryan reacted instinctively and blocked the swing with his left arm then jabbed Keith with his right. Keith stumbled back but recovered into a left uppercut. Ryan narrowly dodged it, skidding on his heels to keep his balance. They were in the narrow hallway that led to the exit now. Ryan started to feel more in-tune with these circumstances. Whatever Keith, or this monster, was doing, it wasn¡¯t what Ryan saw on the News, and he relished that. Ryan wanted to fight how he knew to fight. Just like Ryan didn¡¯t let up on Keith, Keith returned the favor. He pushed at him again but with a long-winded right hook. Ryan had seen this move a thousand times. He¡¯s countered it nearly as much. Ryan let Keith¡¯s fist near his face just before swerving out of the way. His head slipped under Keith¡¯s arm like butter. BAM. Ryan delivered a powerful blow into Keith¡¯s side, right beneath his shoulder. Keith recoiled back and as he did Ryan punched Keith dead in his chin. Keith couldn¡¯t recover, Ryan sent a left hook into whatever was left of Keith¡¯s jaw. Keith spun and flew backwards, landing on his side with a grunt. Ryan chose not to approach him. He was not eager to discover what other contortionistic insanity Keith could whip out on him. Ryan understood his defense was impenetrable right now, so he stuck to it. Keith sprang back up onto his feet with a shout. Ryan readied himself, put his fists up, and shouted, ¡°C¡¯mon!¡± Keith bolted to him but side-stepped to the right and left, throwing off Ryan. Ryan, confused, made his defense even tighter, trying to follow Keith. Keith suddenly jumped to the wall and ran across it towards Ryan. Ryan immediately backed away out of Keith¡¯s range. Keith pursued him. Keith reached out both hands in an attempt to grab Ryan, but Ryan slammed his arms down then kicked Keith square in his chest. Keith barely budged from it, but it gave Ryan an opening. Ryan propelled himself into the air, just in front of Keith, grabbed Keith by the head, and sent his knee directly into Keith¡¯s face. This time, Keith fell. Ryan could feel it. That natural instinct he¡¯d developed as he grew up. The instinct that the fight was coming to its end. Someone was going to fall, and not get up again. Soon. Keith slowly but surely rose back to his feet. Ryan needed a surefire way to completely immobilize Keith, otherwise Ryan would lose the battle of stamina. Ripping off his arms and legs was obviously not going to happen. But he did have one idea in mind. Keith shook his arms and legs before coming at Ryan again. Ryan waited for any surprises, but there were none. This time, Keith copied Ryan¡¯s form. He put his fists up and slid over to Ryan with caution. Ryan couldn¡¯t help but grin from ear-to-ear. Victory was his. Keith threw a quick jab which Ryan backed away from. Ryan waited. Keith tried a double jab with the opposite arm, Ryan dodged that as well. Ryan continued to wait. Finally, Keith faked a jab, Ryan was completely unfazed by it, and Keith actually went for a hook. This was the moment Ryan had waited for. He immediately ducked under Keith¡¯s arm and slid around him like a snake. In a mere moment, Ryan was behind Keith, with his arms around Keith¡¯s waist. Ryan shouted, ¡°This ends now!¡± Keith tried to pry Ryan¡¯s arms off just as his feet suddenly came off the ground. Ryan released a warcry as he lifted Keith completely into the air. Keith¡¯s arms and legs flailed about, trying to regain any ??leverage, but it was pointless. Ryan flipped Keith upside down and finished the attack with Keith¡¯s neck crashing into the floor. Like an insect, Keith¡¯s arms and legs froze just as his body made impact with the concrete. Keith went from flailing to completely motionless. Ryan released him and stood upright once again. Keith¡¯s body just fell flat. Ryan stood over Keith, eyeing his work like a masterpiece. ¡°A suplex,¡± he said, ¡°I never got to do one before. It¡¯s sad that I had to do it to you like this.¡± As Ryan expected, there was no response. Ryan walked past Keith¡¯s body to grab his phone and other belongings. He realized he might be able to call one of his friends to ask what was going on. Just before Ryan reached his phone, he felt a chill down his spine. ¡°No way,¡± he whispered. Ryan quickly spun around and to his astonishment, Keith stood again. ¡°Are you serious right now?¡± Ryan yelled at Keith, ¡°Just die already!¡± Ryan¡¯s blood boiled in frustration. What else was he supposed to do? How much would it take? Ryan¡¯s blood rushed to his fist again. He couldn¡¯t stand this any longer. Ryan¡¯s anger overflowed him, to the point he could feel it manifesting throughout his entire body. How much harder would he have to hit him? As hard as he had to, because he had to. Keith bolted at Ryan again with no coordination. Just a wild charge. Ryan yelled at the top of his lungs as he winded back his fist to deliver another blow directly into Keith¡¯s shattered jaw. The two were in arms reach of each other. In the moment between Ryan pushing his fist forward and it hitting Keith, everything suddenly felt like it was slow motion. His fist soared directly towards Keith¡¯s jaw without fail. Ryan put forth everything into his fist. His anger, his frustration, his confusion, his sadness, his malice, his fear, and most of all, his desire to overcome. Everything. Packed into one punch. And Ryan could feel it. He could feel the energy surging through his arm. In the split second just before his fist hit Keith. His entire hand felt much stiffer. Just as Ryan saw it, his entire hand was covered in a red, metallic coating. The coat reached halfway down his forearm. Then- SPLURGE, his fist collided with Keith¡¯s chin for the final time. No, it didn¡¯t collide. Ryan¡¯s fist completely ran through Keith¡¯s face, bursting it into a firework of blood and bones. Ryan stared in awe as Keith¡¯s body flung backwards with it¡¯s entire jaw completely ripped off. It plummeted to the ground and the blood rained down with it. Ryan stood there, stunned. He looked down at his fist, and sure enough, it still had that red coating. Ryan got a better look at it now, it was crimson red with white and black streaks running across it. Ryan was completely unable to move his fingers or bend his wrist. It was like a shell on his arm. Then, it slowly began to split apart and fade away into his skin. He was able to move his fingers and wrist again. But he couldn¡¯t wrap his head around what had just happened. What he did know, was that victory¡­ was finally his. As For The Rest III ¡°Just wait because it keeps getting better!¡± Illyana cheered to her friends. Her and her three other female friends had just recently made it to the mall and were strolling around. As usual, the mall was buzzing with activity. The polished wooden floor and luminous signs appealed to their eyes, while the aroma of the food court pleased their noses. When they entered, they passed a billboard promoting a new show titled, ¡°The Doctor¡¯s Hope,¡± which sprang the conversation about it. ¡°I hope it does, I saw the first episode and I had no idea what was happening.¡± one of them, who happened to be blonde, responded. ¡°I think it¡¯s cool, so many characters already died, it¡¯s got me on the edge of my seat!¡± the brunette of the group exclaimed. ¡°See!¡± Illyana chimed, ¡°eventually... everything will get explained!¡± she smiled and skipped along. One of them questioned if they should go for clothes or food first. Illyana informed them she just ate not too long ago so they agreed on clothes. Luckily, one of their favorite stores was near the entrance. Illyana¡¯s father didn¡¯t feel like sticking around for ¡°girls day,¡± so he told Illyana he¡¯d be at the theatre. A couple of minutes later, and after Illyana had to borrow her dad¡¯s keys because she forgot her purse in the car, the girls found themselves in Eternal 21. The girls frolicked around the store, inspecting different shirts and dresses, trying on new things, and complimenting each other. One of the girls walked out of the dressing room posing as the girls wooed and cheered her on. ¡°You think Evan will like this?¡± she asked them. ¡°Evan?¡± Illyana questioned, confused. The blonde leaned in close to Illyana answering her, smirking, ¡°It¡¯s Genesis¡¯s new crush.¡± Illyana looked at Genesis who gazed at herself in the mirror, ¡°You like another new guy Genesis? Weren¡¯t you just on Keith last week?¡± she said. Genesis flustered, ¡°Okay, okay, I know how this looks, but this time it¡¯s different.¡± The brunette chimed in, ¡°That¡¯s what you said with Daniel.¡± ¡°And Jermaine.¡± the blonde counted. ¡°Okay! I get it!¡± Genesis griped, ¡°Change the topic please!¡± ¡°You¡¯re the one who brought it up,¡± the blonde said, shrugging her shoulders. As the girls continued their gossiping, Illyana wandered off towards the front of the store, again. There was a particular black shirt with a purple design on it¡¯s sleeve that caught her eye. Illyana walked closer to the shirt to examine it. It was a casual button-down, on the back was a very intricate design of a blue skull with purple flames. It immediately reminded her of Darnell since he normally wore these types of shirts. And his favorite color is purple, Illyana thought to herself. She considered buying it when she heard the shatter of glass echo in the mall corridor. Illyana jumped at the sound. There were some shrieks and gasps coming from outside the store. Illyana, filled with curiosity, decided to discover the source of the commotion. Illyana left her friends behind in the store and walked into the main corridor. Outside, there were multiple people gathered around a food cart. They all just stared in shock at what Illyana could make out as a man twitching on the floor. Shattered glass was scattered all around his body. Illyana walked up to another bystander to ask, ¡°What happened?¡± The bystander responded, ¡°I don¡¯t know, I just heard the glass break and dude was laid out.¡± He gestured to the man on the floor. Another woman who looked like she worked at the cart kneeled next to the still man. She had a worried look on her face as she frantically tried to shake him up, pleading for him to say, he was okay. But he didn¡¯t react, he just laid there. Illyana looked around at all the people standing around, spectating. None of them moved in to help. Illyana looked back at the man lying on the floor. Without a second thought, her legs carried her over to him. Illyana kneeled down across from the girl shaking the man. Illyana asked her, ¡°Do you know what¡¯s wrong?¡± The girl, nearly sobbing, replied, ¡°No, I don¡¯t know, we were just talking- then he just flung himself at the glass!¡± she pointed at a broken glass barrier on the cart. Illyana had no idea what to make of her story but it didn¡¯t stop her from trying to help. She rolled the man over onto his back and put her ear to his chest. THUMP-THUMP. There was a strong heartbeat. And it was faint, but he was still breathing also. ¡°Ok I think he¡¯s just knocked out¡­¡± Illyana said to the girl. Illyana really had no idea what she was doing. But... she couldn¡¯t help herself but to offer aid to anyone she saw in need. Even if there was nothing she could do, Illyana always felt a mysterious force compel her to act. ¡°It should be natural to help people,¡± she would always say when someone commented on it. Which is why Illyana didn¡¯t understand why she was the only one who rushed in to help. She looked around at the bystanders who surrounded the cart. Some looked concerned, some giggled, some shrugged and walked off. There were so many people, yet none were helping. Why? She asked in her head, as her eyes darted around at all of their faces. All of their twisted faces. Faces filled with fake sympathy. She felt a knot turning in her stomach the longer she focused on them. ¡°Why is no one else helping?¡± she yelled out. They all just stood there, unmoving. ¡°Hello?¡± she yelled again. Suddenly, there was a shriek further down the corridor. Everyone turned to the direction the noise came from. Then there were multiple screams. Illyana stood up to get a better view. She could hear a stampede of footsteps. The chaos echoed through the corridor as it grew louder and louder. Another shriek. This time, it was right next to Illyana. So close she jumped up. The scream came from the girl next to her. Illyana looked down and shock filled her as she witnessed the man they were just trying to save was now attacking the girl. He growled at her as he clutched onto one of her arms and legs. She yelled for him to stop but he persisted. Illyana dropped down to help her. She used all of her might to shove the man away. No success. She tried again. This time, the man¡¯s head spun towards her. His eyes were wild like a hyena. Before Illyana could even react, the man¡¯s elbow swung into her cheek. Illyana immediately fell to the floor. All she saw in that moment was red and white. Her hand instinctively rose to hold her cheek. Why? She thought to herself. What was once shock was now being replaced with fear. She¡¯d never been hit before, and it was showing. She couldn¡¯t think about anything but the swelling pain rising in the right side of her face. All of the noise in the mall just tuned out. She tried to direct her attention away, but she couldn¡¯t.The pain overwhelmed her. She could feel tears welling up in her eyes. She would have continued to lie there, but another jolt of pain surprised her in her back. Illyana¡¯s eyes shot open as her body was shoved over. Her vision was blurry but she could make out hordes of people running past. The screams and shouting around Illyana finally began to reach her. Illyana woke up from her trauma to find herself dead in the middle of a calamity of fighting and brawling. Everywhere around her, people were being tackled, beaten, bitten, tossed and twisted. Blood began to paint the once glossy wooden floors of the mall. The luminous signs were masked with red. Everywhere Illyana turned, there was more chaos. Her stomach twisted more than a corkscrew. Her mind blanked. She felt like she was stuck inside of a cage surrounded by starving sharks. She knew if someone attacked her she would be helpless. She couldn¡¯t fight. She didn¡¯t need another reminder. Her only saving grace was that she¡¯d somehow avoided the attention of everyone around her. But that grace ran out. As she sat on the floor lost and confused, her eyes met with a man who looked crazed out of his mind. Blood dripped from his mouth and knuckles. The two locked eyes with each other. Then he charged at her. The fog of Illyana¡¯s mind made way for one thought: Run. Her feet kicked off the ground as she turned and began to run the other direction. Her heart was already pounding. She ignored all of the fighting and bloodshed occurring around her. She could just barely see the exit of the mall. The bright sunlight shone in from the outside like a gateway to Heaven. But she wasn¡¯t fast. She didn¡¯t accelerate very well and her form was sloppy. She could feel it too. Like doom creeping on her shoulders. She couldn¡¯t outrun it. Not like this.Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more. ¡°No, not like that.¡± Everything around Illyana felt like it had paused. She could hear Darnell¡¯s voice. In a moment, her mind reran an old memory. Was this it¡¯s way of saying she was about to die? She could see the memory too. It was a couple months ago. Her and Darnell were hanging out at a basketball court. She swung on the pole with her hair flying in the air. ¡°How do you run so fast?¡± she suddenly quizzed him. Darnell turned to look at her, ¡°I¡¯m not fast.¡± She squinted at him, ¡°Don¡¯t lie, yes you are.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not fast. I¡¯m fast-fast.¡± he smiled as he scored a goal. ¡°Oh my god,¡± she giggled, ¡°Well, how do you run fast-fast?¡± ¡°Well Illyana, the secret to being fast-fast has been kept secure for traditions.¡± ¡°Really?¡± ¡°I can¡¯t just give up that information to anyone.¡± he shrugged his shoulders as he picked the ball up. ¡°I¡¯m not just anyone,¡± she pouted. ¡°You¡¯re right, you¡¯re someone who will get me Dippin Dots if I tell you.¡± ¡°I- I was already getting us Dippin Dots.¡± He leaned in closer to her, ¡°I wanna dip in your dot though-¡± They both recoiled. Illyana¡¯s eyes widened in shock and she shouted with a mix of confusion and amusement, ¡°What!?¡± ¡°That didn¡¯t come out right! I meant like- we share, since we gettin¡¯ two different flavors y¡¯know?¡± ¡°Oh really!?¡± ¡°Yes! On my life!¡± Darnell tucked the ball under his arm so he could place his left hand on his chest and held his right hand in the air. ¡°Ok that¡¯s fine,¡± she flicked her hair, ¡°I¡¯ll allow you to partake in my¡­ dots.¡± They laughed. ¡°Ok, you wanna know?¡± Darnell inquired, setting the ball down. ¡°Yes please!¡± ¡°It¡¯s all about form.¡± He posed in a mid-run stance. ¡°Oh!¡± ¡°Yep, when you¡¯re running, you want to stay on the balls of your toes-¡± ¡°My what?¡± her eyebrows narrowed. ¡°Goodness girl,¡± Darnell lifted up one of his feet and pointed midway down the sole, ¡°the round part of your foot where your toes bend up.¡± Illyana looked down at her feet, tilting them up, ¡°Oh that.¡± ¡°Yeah, when you¡¯re running, don¡¯t let your heels hit the ground.¡± ¡°Got it!¡± ¡°Up here though,¡± he gestured his hands around his torso, ¡°your arms should be bent at ninety degree angles, and your hands,¡± he moved his arms back and forth in a seamless stride for her to see, ¡°should sway tight to your side like this.¡± ¡°Oh! I run like that though.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve seen how you run,¡± he shook his head, ¡°you don¡¯t run like that.¡± ¡°Ok fine! Let me try it that way.¡± Darnell posed for her so she could try to figure out the form herself. Darnell had her imitate his arms as he moved them back and forth. ¡°When you run, it should be opposite hand and foot. So-¡± he lifted his left knee and brought his right hand forward, ¡°Right hand, left foot.¡± Then alternated, ¡°Then left hand, right foot.¡± ¡°Ohh okay¡­¡± Illyana continued to imitate him. Darnell stopped and leaned against the pole. ¡°Now try running just like how I taught you.¡± He said as he swiped his finger along the Out-Of-Bounds line of the court. Illyana skipped to the corner of the court, then, to the best of her ability, tried to run down the line the way Darnell taught her. She ran from one corner, past Darnell, to the other end of the court. To her surprise, she actually felt faster than she ever did before. She turned around and jumped with joy, ¡°I did it!¡± She cheered to Darnell. ¡°No, not like that.¡± he said with his arms crossed. ¡°What?¡± she whined. ¡°Your arms were out of sync with your legs, your heels touched the ground, and your breathing was... atrocious.¡± ¡°I did all that wrong?¡± Illyana wept, all of her joy drained from her body, ¡°But I felt so fast.¡± ¡°That¡¯s a testament to just how bad your form used to be.¡± he laughed. ¡°Oh¡­¡± ¡°It¡¯s okay,¡± he walked up to her and put his hand on her shoulder, ¡°It just takes a bit of practice, once you get used to it, you¡¯ll be a natural.¡± ¡°Really!¡± her sapphire-like eyes lit up again. ¡°Mhm, let¡¯s just keep running it over and over.¡± he walked back to the pole, ¡°And if you do really good, we can watch that movie you keep talking about.¡± ¡°Yay! Alright let¡¯s do this!¡± she clapped her hands together and got ready to run again. Illyana returned to the present. She felt brand new. She felt hope. She felt determined. Her arms fixed themselves. She raised her heels up to stay on her toes. And her breathing calmed down. Just like how Darnell taught her. She could feel it. That creeping doom swept off her shoulders by the wind gliding past her body. Everything started to pass by much faster. Her vision narrowed, she had one goal: the exit. "I can make it!¡± Illyana shouted in her head. Before long, she didn¡¯t have to force the form even more, it just came naturally, and she picked up more and more speed. The fighting, the signs, the doorways and every other conceivable image became a blur to Illyana as she sped past it all. She had no idea how close her pursuer was but looking back wouldn¡¯t change anything. She would run as hard as she could no matter how safe she was. Gradually the exit became closer and closer. She ran even harder. Brawling and flashes of punching and tackling occurred next to her. She didn¡¯t bat an eye. In a matter of seconds, she reached the corner of the corridor. Without a breath wasted, she pivoted around it. Just ahead of her, the exit doors beckoned. The sight of the outside world encouraged her to keep going. Her lungs started to burn but she gritted through it. She ran even harder to the exit, leaving behind the sounds of violence behind her. She ran until finally, SLAM. Illyana shoved open one of the multiple doors and leaped into the fresh air. The sunlight engulfed her, congratulating her for making it this far. But it wasn¡¯t over. She still had a good distance to her dad¡¯s car. She had to cross a small plaza then make it half across the parking lot. She didn¡¯t stop running. Illyana could feel that once she stopped, she wouldn¡¯t be able to start again. Illyana continued across. She crossed the plaza just when she realized she needed to unlock the car. Then she remembered, she didn''t return the keys to her dad. She quickly threw her hand in her front pocket for them. Her pace slowed down momentarily but she managed to free the keys. As she reached the key out ahead of her, she could hear a second pair of footsteps behind. They didn''t seem close but they weren''t far either. Everything had to be done seamlessly. She hit the button twice to unlock all the car doors. Only eight cars away. The footsteps started to grow louder. Illyana couldn¡¯t tell at first, but little by little, she was slowing down. Six cars now. The snarls drew nearer. Four cars. Illyana¡¯s legs were burning, but she couldn¡¯t give in. She couldn¡¯t give up, not now after she made it this far. Only one more car. The man or¡­ thing, was close enough for Illyana to feel his attempted swings at her. Illyana finally reached her dad¡¯s car. This was the deciding moment in her flee. Everything led up to this. She pivoted down the walkway between the two cars, ran past the passenger and backseat doors and spun around to open the backseat door right as the man almost caught her. The man collided with the door and flew backwards. Illyana paused for a moment to witness her success. She was almost scot-free. She was so tired, so exhausted, she was only two steps from escaping. As the man fell to the ground, Illyana jumped into the car. She hardly had any energy to leap, but she preserved on pure fumes. As she climbed into the car, her foot just slipped. Her heart dropped with her foot as she looked down. As one foot fell, both fell. Soon her shins were scraping against the edge of the car. Illyana held on though. As soon as her feet hit the ground she pushed up again. This time she wouldn¡¯t fail. This time things would end. Left foot in. Perfect. Now right foot- Suddenly, Illyana was going backwards. A force tugged her right foot right back to the ground. She cried out and spun around to face the source. The same man who had been chasing her since she was sitting on the floor in the mall, now had his grimy hands wrapped around her ankle. She cried and kicked at him. But he didn¡¯t falter. His mouth hung wide open and he let out an ear-piercing shriek that carried through the entire parking lot. Tears streamed down Illyana¡¯s face. Her kicks were completely ineffective and she couldn¡¯t pull away. The monster tugged her down even harder and she slid off the seat to the step. ¡°No!¡± she cried out hopelessly, ¡°Please stop!¡± Illyana covered her face. She¡¯d done everything she could, but she fell just short. ¡°Go away!¡± she cried again. Silence. Illyana couldn¡¯t make out anything from behind the darkness of the palms of her hands. She didn¡¯t feel anything anymore. She peeked out from her hands. She was still sitting on the car step with legs reaching the pavement. But, there was no monster clutching her ankle. She looked all around her and there it was. A few paces away, the monster that had been attacking her was just¡­ walking away. ¡°Wh-what?¡± Illyana muttered as she eyed the man. Illyana looked down at her ankle, there were no marks, or bruises, or anything. This wasn¡¯t a dream, and Illyana wouldn¡¯t waste this chance. She climbed into the car, slammed the door, reached to the driver''s seat and locked the car. Now Illyana just sat there. Confused, frustrated, and most of all, exhausted. The adrenaline was finally wearing out, and her entire body became heavier. She couldn¡¯t control her breathing and her heart was pounding. But at least she was safe. Illyana reminded herself she was finally safe as she laid down on the floor. She tried to rest her head but it collided with a frail object. She looked up and it was a half-empty cup of soda. It was Genesis¡¯s. Illyana¡¯s heart wouldn¡¯t get a break. She remembered the faces of her friends that were trapped inside the mall. She remembered her father. She tried her best to be optimistic but she could only picture them sprawled on the floor in a pool of their own blood. A waterfall of uncontrollable tears broke free from her eyes. She sobbed as she laid there, knowing she was helpless. And alone. Darnell To The Rescue Vanessa let Darnell guide her to her parent¡¯s room since she couldn¡¯t bear to keep her eyes open anymore. She didn¡¯t want to continue viewing the sickening sight of her home. She sat on the floor, next to her parent¡¯s bed, cradling herself. Darnell made himself busy on his phone. Darnell suddenly spoke to her, ¡°I got a hold of Michael and Alicia.¡± ¡°You did?¡± Vanessa replied lowly, still saddened by the events that had previously transpired. ¡°Yeah, but judging from what Alicia is saying, it doesn¡¯t seem like they have much time.¡± ¡°You¡¯re going to help them?¡± Vanessa''s eyes widened in shock, fearing the answer to the question. ¡°Why wouldn¡¯t I?¡± Darnell put his phone in his pocket, ¡°They¡¯d help us wouldn¡¯t they?¡± ¡°Are you going to leave me here?¡± ¡°Not if you come with me.¡± ¡°Oh¡­¡± Vanessa lowered her head. She couldn¡¯t go out there. She couldn¡¯t see those things again. She didn¡¯t want to feel the weight of that fear again. Pressuring her. Pushing her down. Until she was helpless. Darnell kneeled down next to her, and spoke calmly with his hand rubbing her back, ¡°I won¡¯t force you to come with me. If you choose to stay, I promise I¡¯ll come back for you.¡± Vanessa looked him in the eyes, ¡°You will?¡± ¡°Absolutely. But, what I can¡¯t promise... is that you¡¯ll be safe while I¡¯m gone. I can¡¯t protect you if you stay here, Vanessa.¡± Vanessa gazed at Darnell for a moment, then down at the floor. She pondered. She really wanted to stay with him. Darnell had a glow that provided her comfort. If he left, Vanessa would feel that darkness creep up on her again. She wanted to follow him. Vanessa wanted to stay with Darnell. She tried to open her mouth to express those feelings. But it was like her lips were sealed shut. Her own body wouldn¡¯t obey her, just like always. Vanessa turned to Darnell again, sending a silent plea for help through the silver beads of her eyes. Darnell slowly reached for her hands to hold them. He whispered, ¡°Blink twice if you want to come with, blink once for no.¡± Vanessa¡¯s heart jumped with joy. She blinked twice. The two wasted no time. Vanessa had to close her eyes as Darnell guided her through the house. She couldn¡¯t bear to witness the aftermath of what happened in her own living room. They went out the back door into Vanessa¡¯s backyard. ¡°You can open your eyes now,¡± Darnell whispered to her. Vanessa gradually cracked open her eyes to the view of her backyard. There was nothing extraordinary about it. There was a minimalist patio occupied by a single grill. The rest was just unkept grass and fallen leaves from the trees overarching the yard. ¡°So what do we-¡± Vanessa spoke but was cut off by Darnell¡¯s hand being placed over her mouth before she could finish. Darnell motioned for her to lower her voice. ¡°What do we do?¡± she leaned in whispering this time. ¡°We should¡¯ve discussed this in the house¡­¡± Darnell muttered under his breath, then turned to Vanessa, ¡°We¡¯re gonna hop through the backyards until we reach Michael¡¯s place.¡± He pointed at the fence across from them, ¡°I already know what direction his house is in, this should be the least risky route. You up for it?¡± Vanessa nodded her head. ¡°Aight let¡¯s go.¡± The two crept through Vanessa¡¯s backyard, trying to avoid crunching as many dead leaves as possible. Once they reached the fence, Darnell stood next to the fence and cupped his hands. Vanessa stepped onto his hand and Darnell effortlessly boosted her to the top of the fence. Vanessa made it over with ease. Once she sat on top of the fence, she looked around her neighbor¡¯s backyard. No signs of life, at least that she could see. Before she even realized it, Darnell had scaled the fence and was quietly dropping to the ground. He helped Vanessa get down slowly to prevent her from hurting herself. The two looked around the yard, and gradually made their way to the backyard to their left. Vanessa had never pictured herself sneaking into someone¡¯s backyard before. She was creeping through someone else''s property without their permission. And after the near death experience, everything felt so surreal. The almost dying part was definitely not a pleasant memory, but she did start to feel exhilarated. Especially while following Darnell. They repeated the same process for every fence they reached. Vanessa had lost count of how many backyards they¡¯d broken into by now. Luckily, Darnell was doing most of the work so she wasn¡¯t feeling too exhausted. They reached another fence, but Darnell suddenly motioned for Vanessa to stop. She froze immediately. Darnell slowly crept towards the fence and tried to peer through a crack. Vanessa''s heart began to pound. Not like before, this was a warning of what was to come. Darnell peered through for a solid minute. Vanessa awaiting his next move. She dreaded what he was going to tell her. Darnell turned to Vanessa and put up two fingers. Two. There were at least two of those same monsters that had attacked her on the other side of the fence. Vanessa''s heart began to pound even harder. No. She couldn¡¯t go through that again. She couldn¡¯t bear to face that overwhelming fear. Vanessa couldn¡¯t rip her eyes away from the flimsy wooden barrier. It was all that stood between her and death. There had to be another way around right? Not to Darnell. In the midst of Vanessa¡¯s panic, Darnell had already jumped over the fence. She noticed just in time to see his body disappear behind the fence. ¡°No!¡± she suddenly shouted without thinking. She immediately covered her mouth, flinched, then ran to the fence. Just after hearing the crash of Darnell¡¯s feet on the other side, the sounds of groaning and croaking could be heard. Rampant stomps occurred in a matter of moments. Vanessa¡¯s mind painted a thousand pictures of what could possibly be occurring. There was a swing of a metal object, a bang, a thud. More rampant footsteps. Vanessa tried to look through the crack. All she could make out were random blurs, nothing defining. Then another swing and a crack, followed by a screech. The screech was abruptly silenced by another bang, then a thud. Silence. Vanessa had no idea what to expect to see on the other side. From what Vanessa understood, those things were ferocious. And they outnumbered Darnell. But she had to look. She had to know if Darnell was okay. Suddenly, the fence shook violently. And swooping over the top came the only person who could make the darkness in Vanessa¡¯s heart vanish. Darnell. He dropped to the ground and dusted himself off. Before he could even finish he was assaulted by Vanessa who wrapped her arms around him and squeezed tighter than a lion holding down a gazelle. Darnell, caught by surprise, recoiled from the affection. He grabbed her by the arms and slowly pulled her away so he could look her in the eye. He whispered softly, ¡°I told you, I¡¯d protect you.¡± Vanessa nodded in agreement. They resumed their progress with Darnell boosting Vanessa over the fence. Vanessa hadn¡¯t even realized what still awaited her on the other side. As soon as she got over, the horrific actions of what took place were revealed to her. There were two bodies. Sprawled out on the ground in pools of blood. The nearest one to the fence was on her right. It¡¯s head had a gaping crater that could only be caused by a blunt object. To her left and a bit further away, the other body had a similar injury, but it¡¯s left arm took a severe blow as well. Vanessa was still taking in the sight when Darnell hopped over. He helped her down again. The longer Vanessa stared at the dead bodies, the more sick she felt. She never got to witness them as ¡°monsters.¡± Darnell guided her away from the bodies. Vanessa continued to stare at them as the distance widened. Those things didn¡¯t even look like monsters when they were dead. They looked like normal people. Normal people who had been brutally murdered in their own backyard. She had no idea why these thoughts were running through her mind. Vanessa decided to distract herself from it. She looked at Darnell and asked, ¡°What do you think is happening?¡±The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement. Without stopping, Darnell responded, ¡°I know just as much as you Vanessa.¡± He stood next to the next fence and cupped his hands again. ¡°Do you think it¡¯s only here in Houston?¡± she stepped onto his hand and he lifted her up again. ¡°Like I said, I know just as much as you.¡± Darnell launched himself over the fence. After sticking the landing, he continued to speak as he helped Vanessa down, ¡°What I do know, is that our friends need help.¡± Vanessa nodded. Darnell pointed to the street that was on the other side of the house from the backyard they were in, ¡°Michael¡¯s house is that way.¡± ¡°We have to cross the street?¡± Vanessa fretted. ¡°No¡­ we have to cross the street fast.¡± Darnell smiled, attempting to lift her spirits. Judging from the look in her eyes, it didn¡¯t work. He cleared his throat, ¡°As long as we don¡¯t make too much noise, we shouldn¡¯t run into too much trouble.¡± ¡°You promise?¡± ¡°Promise.¡± Vanessa¡¯s eyes narrowed towards the direction of the street, with a nod she assured herself, ¡°Okay. Let¡¯s do it.¡± The two treaded along the side of the house to the fence facing the street. Just before Vanessa stepped into Darnell¡¯s hand, he whispered, ¡°Once we¡¯re out, we gotta go aight?¡± Vanessa nodded again. Darnell lifted Vanessa to the top of the fence like he¡¯d done before. This time though, Darnell moved much swifter than all the other times. Before Vanessa had fully situated herself at the top, Darnell was already swinging over. Vanessa wasn¡¯t sure how, but despite his speed, he made no noise at all. As soon as he was done, he lifted Vanessa off the fence from her legs then placed her on the ground. He wasn¡¯t kidding when he said they had to go because he immediately darted towards the street and looked around. There were signs of break-ins down the entire street. All they had to do was cross from one side to the other. The street was relatively clear of life. There was an overabundance of greenery, with trees overhanging the street creating a decent shadow. Darnell turned to Vanessa and gave her a nod, signifying that the coast was clear. The two ran down the street together. Darnell ran behind Vanessa to make sure she wouldn¡¯t fall behind. As soon as they reached the next house, Darnell stopped and tried to listen for any noise. Nothing. The two hopped over and kept moving. Alicia was reaching her tipping point with Michael. Michael had been reacting incredibly sluggish to everything that had happened up to this point. There was a horde of cannibalistic, deranged men trying to feast on the flesh of anything walking, and the only thing protecting Michael and Alicia was a makeshift barrier. And Alicia felt like she was the only one trying to survive. She put her back to the barrier and tried to push into it, giving them more time for help to arrive. She had to yell at Michael before he contributed to the effort. ¡°Jesus, Michael, you¡¯re going to get us both killed like this!¡± Alicia shouted at Michael, as their bodies shook back and forth from the onslaught on the door. ¡°What do you want me to do? Everything keeps happening so fast!¡± Michael retorted. ¡°I want you to act like you¡¯re not seven years old!¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry, okay! I- I can¡¯t think¡­ There¡¯s no way this is real right?¡± ¡°It¡¯s as real as the burning in my legs trying to keep this door closed!¡± The two grunted, pushing with all their might. They had no idea how long they¡¯d been holding this door closed by now. ¡°I want to kill them. I want to kill all of them.¡± Michael said sternly. ¡°And how will you do it Michael? With a textbook?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t care. I just want all of them to die.¡± he choked on his words as he spoke. Alicia looked over at Michael and tears were streaming down his face. Remembering what transpired not even ten minutes earlier, he had every right to feel that way. She knew if she saw someone she cared about be attacked like that, she¡¯d want revenge too. But those emotions would get them killed. She had to discourage it as much as possible. ¡°You think those are the terrorists from the alert?¡± Alicia gritted. ¡°Probably. Another reason they deserve to die.¡± Michael responded. ¡°If they are, then that means help is on the way, right?¡± ¡°I guess so.¡± ¡°So then someone else will take care of ¡®em, right?¡± ¡°Yeah¡­¡± ¡°Then let¡¯s hold out until then, Michael!¡± ¡°Fine. Let¡¯s hold out.¡± Suddenly, the entire barrier slid forward, nearly sweeping Michael and Alicia off of their feet. The two panicked as their butts nearly hit the floor, but they both managed to catch themselves. They jumped up to push the barrier again, but it was too late. One of the men outside had just enough time to shove their arm through the door. Alicia yelled at Michael, ¡°Push the barrier!¡± He listened to her, and with his heart racing and his legs already burning, he willed himself to push the barrier with all his might. Alicia hurriedly grabbed a textbook off the floor and slammed it into the man¡¯s hand as hard as she could. It faltered, but it didn¡¯t give up. She tried again. Nothing this time. ¡°C¡¯mon!¡± she yelled at it, and threw the book at the hand. She didn¡¯t wait to see if it would have an effect, instead she grabbed one of their pencils and attempted to stab it. Alicia barely made a scratch. She looked around the room, there weren¡¯t many options left. Michael grunted, implying that she should hurry. That did not help her panic in the slightest. Her eyes darted all over the room, hoping that some tool would just magically appear to save them. But there was nothing. At some point, her eyes weren¡¯t even searching anymore, they were just scurrying around like wild rabbits in a prairie. There was another creak of the door and the barrier altogether. Alicia spun around and now one of the mens¡¯ arms was fully through the door up to his shoulder. The man screeched and roared as he continued to force his way in. Michael screamed, ¡°Alicia!¡± ¡°I know!¡± Alicia shouted. ¡°RAAAHH,¡± the man boomed. DINK, the window went. The window? Alicia turned to the window of Michael¡¯s room, and outside was Darnell, waving in. All of her uncertainty of what to do next was flushed away. She immediately ran over to the window, unlocked it, and swung it wide open for Darnell to jump in. Without even a second wasted, Darnell dashed through the room with determination in his eyes and a wrench in his hand. He immediately charged the man in the crack of the door and shoved the wrench directly into his face. With a loud crack, the man went flying back far enough for the door to be completely shut again. Michael immediately collapsed to the floor, gasping for air. Darnell looked back and forth between them with his eyes still narrowed, ¡°Are yall okay?¡± he said sternly. As Darnell finished his sentence, he was ambushed by a tight hug from Alicia. ¡°Oh my god, thank you!¡± she cried, pressing her face into his chest. Darnell put his arm around Alicia¡¯s waist, responding, ¡°Yeah, yeah, it¡¯s no problem.¡± He gently pulled her away so he could help up Michael. ¡°C¡¯mon we g-¡± Darnell was interrupted by a giant bang on the door that caught all of their attention. Then continued, ¡°Yeah we gotta go.¡± The three moved to the window to escape. Darnell and Michael let Alicia go first. She poked her head out of the window and there was a ladder stretching up to it. At the bottom of the ladder was Vanessa waving her down. One by one, they all climbed out of the window, with Darnell being the last. Darnell shut the window on his way out and climbed down to the ground with the rest of them. ¡°Thank you guys so much,¡± Michael said, still catching his breath. ¡°Now where are we going?¡± said Vanessa. Darnell pointed behind them towards Michael¡¯s backyard, signifying they needed to get out of sight first. The four of them jumped over the fence without any difficulty. After getting behind cover, Michael and Alicia started to relax, but their rest was cut off the moment it began. ¡°Now we head to Tristan¡¯s.¡± Darnell commanded them. He began walking over to the far side of the backyard. ¡°Wait, Tristan is in danger too?¡± Michael called out to Darnell. Darnell spun around with his finger on his lips, his eyebrows were narrowed. ¡°Oh-¡± Michael realized his mistake. None of them moved for a minute. A long minute. Then Darnell signaled the coast was clear. They all huddled together so they could lower their voices. ¡°Are the terrorists on Tristan¡¯s side of the neighborhood too?¡± whispered Alicia. ¡°Those ain¡¯t terrorists.¡± Darnell replied. ¡°So¡­ there¡¯s no terrorist attack?¡± Michael went. ¡°I wish that¡¯s all it was.¡± Darnell shook his head, swinging his wrench in a spiral. Michael and Alicia looked at each other, both with confusion and worry in their faces, then back to Darnell. ¡°So what is it?¡± Alicia said. Darnell looked both of them in the eye, then stated, ¡°Pretty sure it¡¯s the apocalypse.¡± We Survive Neither Alicia nor Michael could believe what had just been said to them. They stared into space, processing Darnell¡¯s words. Alicia managed to utter while holding her head, ¡°What- no- just like that?¡± Darnell nodded his head. Alicia looked at Vanessa and Vanessa reaffirmed it with another nod. ¡°Oh no, no, no-¡± she began to utter, but suddenly, Michael collapsed to his knees. Everything sunk in for him. Their behavior, their attack, their bloodlust, their lack of reaction to pain. It all began to make sense. Not really. This whole situation was beyond any sense. He never thought he¡¯d think the words, ¡°My parents were attacked by zombies.¡± But here he was. More tears poured down his face. He looked down at his hands, which were quivering. The memory kept replaying in his head, except now he realized he was even more powerless than he thought. ¡°Oh my god Michael.¡± Alicia muttered, she reached out to him, but stopped midway. ¡°What are we supposed to do?¡± Michael said to Darnell. Darnell answered him without hesitation, ¡°Survive.¡± ¡°How the hell do we survive that?¡± he sobbed, pointing back to his room, where the assailants most likely had broken in by now. ¡°By rounding everyone up as soon as possible.¡± Darnell said sternly, ¡°Tristan is the next closest. We know Ryan is at the gym, Makayla and Raj are at Makayla¡¯s, I know Teemo is fine, and Illyana¡­ I¡¯m not sure, but I¡¯m optimistic.¡± ¡°So that¡¯s it? We just, round up the gang and go zombie huntin¡¯?¡± Michael snapped, flailing his arms about in a goofy manner. Darnell remained serious, ¡°If you tryna put it that way, yes. We goin¡¯ zombie huntin¡¯ partner.¡± he mocked Michael. Michael dropped his hands, he couldn¡¯t do it. ¡°I¡¯m not going,¡± he said. ¡°What do you mean?¡± Alicia nearly yelled. ¡°I¡¯m not-¡± Darnell cut off Michael the moment Michael opened his mouth, ¡°We¡¯ve already wasted too much time here. Tristan needs help. You ride with us and you keep breathin¡¯. You don¡¯t, then Imma just drag you with us.¡± Michael just glared at Darnell, it was clear he was unable to form a response. ¡°Aight let¡¯s roll.¡± Darnell finished the conversation. Vanessa hurried towards Darnell to follow him. Alicia stared at Michael for a moment. She pitied him, but only to an extent. Alicia wanted to support Michael, but she¡¯d rather just move along with Darnell. So she did. Michael looked at the three of them walking away. He looked back at his house. That was it. There was no going back. Not unless he wanted to die. He slowly picked himself up, and grudgingly followed along. Darnell hustled the group a lot harder than when he was just with Vanessa. They needed to get to Tristan¡¯s, and fast. According to Darnell, Tristan had his house broken into and he, along with his siblings, were trapped by a group of the monsters. Luckily, Tristan¡¯s house was only a few blocks away from Michael¡¯s. But that was where the luck ended. The group hopped over two fences and were making steady progress. Vanessa and Alicia in the lead, Michael and Darnell taking the rear. They treaded along the third backyard. Nothing was spectacular about it. The yard was fairly large, with dead leaves and patches of grass blanketing it. There weren¡¯t any trees or outdoor furniture occupying it. As soon as Darnell hopped over the fence into the yard, he gave them a nod and they began to move forward again. As the four crept along, Vanessa felt a weird sensation. Like she was being watched. And not just because Darnell and Michael were behind her. She felt something more sinister. She didn¡¯t have much time to comprehend this feeling. Everything seemed to be going as smoothly as planned. Her and Alicia crossed the midpoint of the yard. That was when she noticed a window on the back of the house, overlooking the yard. Vanessa eyed the window as it fully came into view. There was a figure, she couldn¡¯t really make it out. Not until, they were directly across from it. It was a man, his mouth was hanging open while his hands pressed against the window. The glare of the Sun made it difficult to make out any other details. Then he vanished. Vanessa felt another eerie sensation crawl up her spine. What was about to happen? Was all she could ask herself, then she was answered. ¡°Move!¡± Vanessa heard a shout behind her and the shove of a hand on her back. Her and Alicia launched forward at the same time, flying a couple of feet before sliding on the ground. As she hit the ground, there was a loud shatter of glass behind her. Vanessa immediately turned around to see Darnell standing directly under the flying path of another one of those bloodthirsty cretins. It soared through the air directly towards Darnell with its hands reaching outward. ¡°Darnell!¡± Vanessa screamed out to him. Darnell used the momentum from pushing Vanessa and Alicia to roll backwards just in time to dodge the falling man. Darnell had his monkey wrench at the ready, crouching on his toes, ready to fight. The man immediately recovered and got to all fours like a wild dog. It hissed and snarled at him. Darnell tightened his grip on the wrench. Michael, panicking, tried to run around the monster. It immediately noticed him. ¡°Michael, no!¡± Darnell shouted. The monster directed it¡¯s attention to the terrified Michael and jumped at him. Michael screamed as it¡¯s bloody hands and jaw reached out to take a chunk of his flesh. As it was mid-air, though, Darnell delivered a powerful kick directly in it¡¯s side. The monster folded over as it flew backwards. It landed directly on its side and immediately recovered. Without a second wasted, the monster switched targets to Darnell and wildly charged towards him. Darnell stood firmly while reeling his wrench back. The monster repeated the same attack it attempted on Michael, by pushing with all of it¡¯s might to fly in the air at Darnell. Darnell didn¡¯t even flinch. His wrench came whirling in an underhand spin. The monster and Darnell¡¯s wrench met mid-air and a satisfying bang was made as the wrench collided with the underside of its chin. The monster spun right back the way it came, its entire body going limp. It crashed directly onto its head, dealing even more damage. ¡°Holy!¡± Michael screamed as its arms and legs fell down with the rest of it. This time, it didn¡¯t recover as swiftly, and Darnell didn¡¯t waste the opportunity. Darnell jumped down onto the monster as it rolled onto its side. Darnell lifted the wrench high above his head then sent it directly into the side of the monster¡¯s skull. It¡¯s head planted into the ground from the force of the impact and blood splashed onto the grass. Now, it stopped moving. ¡°Well I¡¯ll be-¡± Michael spoke just before being interrupted by Darnell who covered Michael¡¯s mouth. Darnell put a finger to his own lips and looked around them. After a moment, it was clear they hadn¡¯t attracted any attention. Darnell whispered in a stern tone, ¡°We survive.¡± Then took his hand off of Michael¡¯s mouth and walked towards Vanessa and Alicia. ¡°Yall okay?¡± Darnell whispered. Vanessa and Alicia nodded their heads. ¡°Then let¡¯s go.¡± he finished.If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. The four of them resumed their previous task, making as little noise as possible. They were on a mission and Darnell would not let anything get in the way. If it wasn¡¯t clear before, then it was clear now. As expected, it didn¡¯t take long for the four of them to reach Tristan¡¯s house. In fact, neither Michael, Vanessa, nor Alicia realized the journey was already over when Darnell didn¡¯t move to the next fence. ¡°There it is,¡± he said, pointing at a house across the street. The four of them advanced along the side of the house they had snuck into. Sure enough, it was Tristan¡¯s house across the street. But it was not the sight they were expecting. Vanessa and Michael¡¯s stomach churned. Across the street, Tristan¡¯s front door was wide open, the windows were broken, and worse of all dozens of those monstrous cannibals were patrolling around it. ¡°No way,¡± Vanessa uttered. She gripped onto the back of Darnell¡¯s shirt and tugged it. Darnell, knowing it was Vanessa, turned towards her with soft eyes. Vanessa tried to speak, ¡°Y-Y- You¡¯re not-¡± she swallowed, ¡°Please say you won¡¯t.¡± her eyes were shaking as she spoke. Darnell put his hands on her shoulders, he whispered in a soft voice, ¡°You don¡¯t have to go in if you can¡¯t Vanessa.¡± ¡°Who can!?¡± Michael went. ¡°We can.¡± Alicia retorted. More tears flowed down Vanessa¡¯s face to the point Darnell was surprised her eyes hadn¡¯t dried out by now. Vanessa knew Darnell was capable of a lot of things. She¡¯d seen him do a lot. But, there was just no way. One or two was already much. But dozens? Vanessa could only see Darnell charging in and¡­ she grabbed his shirt and planted her face into his chest, sobbing. She couldn¡¯t lose him. Michael spoke up, ¡°How do you even know Tristan is still alive?¡± Darnell patted Vanessa on the back and turned to Michael, ¡°Because he just texted me saying, ¡®Where ya at???¡¯¡± he said as he pulled his phone out of his pocket with the message open. ¡°What the¡­¡± Michael couldn¡¯t believe his eyes. Darnell continued, ¡°Honestly, I didn¡¯t think it¡¯d be this bad. I have no idea how the dude still kickin¡¯.¡± Darnell eyed the monsters across the street for a moment then uttered, ¡°I¡¯ll have to change the strategy. C¡¯mon.¡± Everyone followed Darnell to the back door of the house they were taking refuge behind. It was a glass door so he was able to peer inside. The door was in front of a dining room with a short wall to the left separating it from what seemed like a kitchen. Further down, Darnell made out a living room. From what he could tell, there was no sign of life within the building. Michael spoke up again, ¡°Wait, are you about to break in?¡± ¡°Yep.¡± Darnell replied nonchalantly. He reached for the door handle. Alicia grabbed his arm while nearly exclaiming, ¡°Wait!¡± ¡°What?¡± Darnell went. ¡°Don¡¯t make too much noise.¡± she said. ¡°I¡¯ll be as quiet as possible.¡± Darnell grinned as wide as he could. ¡°Darnell, seriously.¡± Alicia scolded. ¡°If you¡¯re just going to break in we should do it somewhere farther from that herd,¡± Michael said, pointing across the street. Darnell grabbed the door handle and, to everyone¡¯s surprise, it slid right open. Darnell casually stepped into the house as if this was completely normal. All three of them stood behind Darnell, stunned. He turned around to see Michael, Alicia and Vanessa completely still. ¡°Oh,¡± he finally went, ¡°y¡¯all would be surprised how often people just leave their doors unlocked.¡± Then he continued into the house. Vanessa ran in after him. Alicia looked at Michael, shrugged her shoulders, then stepped inside. Michael shook his head, ¡°I¡¯m not even going to ask how you know that.¡± Alicia decided to ask her own question. ¡°So what are you looking for?¡± she asked as they followed Darnell, who started scavenging through the kitchen. ¡°Depends,¡± he answered, ravaging through one of the lower cabinets. He looked at Alicia, ¡°Are you fighting with me?¡± Alicia hesitated before murmuring, ¡°Will I get in your way?¡± ¡°Not if you follow the plan.¡± ¡°Make me part of the plan and I¡¯ll follow it.¡± Darnell smiled, ¡°Bet. Look for any oil in this kitchen, olive oil, peanut oil, if it¡¯s flammable, grab it.¡± Vanessa jumped in next to Alicia, ¡°Is there anything I can do?¡± with her fists pumped up. Darnell turned to Vanessa, ¡°Toilet paper. As much of it as you can find.¡± Vanessa gave a salute while exclaiming, ¡°Yes sir!¡± then ran off deeper into the house. Alicia sprung into action herself, not wanting to be outdone by Vanessa. She bolted for the cabinets opposite of Darnell and started scavenging through those. Together they pulled tupperware, spices, bowls, plates, canned foods, and anything else that could be found in a disorganized home. ¡°This is ridiculous,¡± Darnell complained as the floor became riddled with objects. The two continued to move along the entire kitchen until coming to the same cabinet. This was the last place to search, it had to be it. The two looked each other in the eyes and nodded. Darnell swung it open and sure enough, there were bottles of vegetable oil and peanut oil taking up the pantry. ¡°Perfect!¡± Darnell exclaimed, snatching the bottles. And with perfect timing, Vanessa came rushing into the kitchen with cases of toilet paper rolls in her arms. ¡°I found it!¡± she cheered. Darnell smiled when he saw Vanessa had completed her task. ¡°Good stuff V!¡± he cheered along with her, ¡°Now let¡¯s take this into the living room,¡± he began picking up the bottles of oil then turned to Alicia, ¡°Alicia, can you find a blanket?¡± ¡°Of course!¡± Alicia jumped. She rushed past Darnell and Vanessa to run upstairs towards the bedrooms. Darnell and Vanessa exited the kitchen into the dining room. Darnell took note that the dining room led into a narrow hallway with two arch-like openings on each side. The closest opening on the left led to the upstairs and the living room, the farthest just led into the living room. The wall dividing the two arches was only a few feet wide. To the right, Darnell assumed there was a laundry room and another dining room. At the very end of the hallway was the front door. There were no walls dividing all four areas of the house. Darnell dropped the oils at the front door then rushed back into the kitchen. Vanessa waited for him, and not a moment later, Darnell returned with sticks of butter. Vanessa, understandably, was perplexed at the assortment of material Darnell had arranged. ¡°So umm, what¡¯s the plan, Darnell?¡± Vanessa decided to ask. ¡°That¡¯s a good question.¡± Darnell said, staring at the items, ¡°This could either go terribly well, or terribly¡­ terrible.¡± Alicia came running down the stairs with a large blanket. ¡°Will this do?¡± she yelled from the staircase. Darnell turned around and gave her thumbs up. ¡°It sure will.¡± he answered, ¡°leave the blanket there and come here.¡± Alicia dropped the blanket and ran to huddle up with Darnell and Vanessa. ¡°So what¡¯s the plan?¡± she asked with her hands on her hips. ¡°Good question.¡± he answered, ¡°This could either go horribly well, or horribly¡­ horrible.¡± Vanessa chuckled. Darnell continued, ¡°First off, where¡¯s Michael?¡± Michael called out from the living room, ¡°Right here!¡± ¡°What you doin¡¯?¡± ¡°Looking for a remote.¡± Darnell¡¯s head shook in bewilderment as he mouthed, Why? ¡°Well, come in here for right now. I¡¯m bout to tell you how you gon¡¯ stay alive for the next 24 hours.¡± In a few moments, Michael came trudging around the corner into the hallway. ¡°Alright!¡± Darnell clapped, ¡°Michael, you got your phone?¡± ¡°Yes¡­¡± he answered. ¡°Good. I need you outside then.¡± ¡°Now?¡± He raised an eyebrow. ¡°Nope, in like, five minutes.¡± Darnell nodded. Darnell pulled out his phone and called Michael¡¯s number. As expected, Michael¡¯s phone buzzed from his pocket. Michael pulled out his phone and answered it. ¡°What are you doing?¡± Michael spoke into the phone while looking at Darnell. ¡°You¡¯re recon for this mission.¡± ¡°Recon?¡± ¡°You tell us what you see from outside, so we know what to do, sound good?¡± Michael stared at his phone then back at Darnell. He shrugged his shoulders and went, ¡°Fine. Anything else?¡± ¡°Nah you good.¡± ¡°Ok then¡­¡± Michael ended the call then slowly backed away into the living room. Darnell just smiled and waved at him. As soon as Michael was out of sight, Darnell returned his attention to Alicia and Vanessa. ¡°Alright!¡± Darnell clapped again, ¡°Alicia, you and I will need to find some tape, brooms, or a swiffer, just two of any long stick. Vanessa, take this butter and oil, and spread it out all over the floor up to¡­¡± Darnell guided his finger along the floor as he walked backwards until he reached the staircase, ¡°Here. Can you do that?¡± ¡°Mhm!¡± Vanessa nodded and immediately reached down to open one of the bottles. ¡°Bet! Alicia come with me.¡± he ushered her over back into the kitchen. Alicia chased after Darnell. When Alicia reached the kitchen, Darnell picked up a roll of duct tape they had tossed onto the floor earlier. Darnell turned to Alicia with a grin on his face, ¡°We boutta pop off.¡± What A Man, Two Girls, And Lots of Oil Can Do Drool dripped down the face of a man who couldn¡¯t do more than trudge along the ground. The saliva landed on his already tattered and bloodied shirt. The rips and tears were the results of reckless parkouring, crawling and wrestling. The stains, from chewing on the flesh of helpless victims caught in his grasp. Among him were more just like him, aimlessly creeping about the front yard of the house that had been broken into by even more just like him. There were so many hunters inside, with so few prey, it wasn¡¯t even worth going in the house. The lot that patrolled the yard hoped for fresh meat to emerge. There was a flash that caught one of their eyes. From the peripheral of another male¡¯s vision, a door across the street swung wide open. He turned towards the house. It was too dark for him to see what was going on inside. Which made the mystery of what was to be found even more intriguing. There had to be a human in there, cause doors don¡¯t open on their own. He sprinted toward it. In a single moment, the bloodied man had crossed the street and made it to the porch of the mysterious house. What was inside became even more clear. It was a hallway, with some arches on both sides. It was so dark that almost nothing could be made out. With flailing arms, the bloodied man rushed into the home, barging in through the wide open door. His right foot stomped in. But it didn¡¯t stop where it landed. Before he realized it, both of his feet were sliding across the floor. Everything around him became a blur. His arms spun around trying to stop his momentum, but it was no use. At the end of the hall, he noticed a blue wall, a strange design decision. He continued gliding across the wooden floor until coming face-to-face with it. He slammed right into it, only he didn¡¯t. It was soft, and wrinkly? It wasn¡¯t a wall, it was a blanket. With quick wits, he grabbed a hold of the blanket to prevent himself from falling. Before he could even look around, he felt a cold twinge in his lung. His entire chest suddenly felt like it was tightening. He looked down, and inside of his chest, was a makeshift spear of a fairly large kitchen knife, duct tape, and a stick. It had burst through the blanket and right into him. He tried to retaliate, but the spear retreated almost immediately. His grip on the blanket began to loosen against his will. He felt something warm gushing onto his already stained clothes. Gradually, he dropped to his knees, then laid on his back. He felt a bulging in his head, like something was trying to force him to move. But it was no use. His entire body began to go numb as his vision blurred. All he could do was attempt to blink the pain away. But his eyelids began to feel heavy as well. It became harder to open them after every blink. Just when his eyes opened for the final time, he noticed at the entrance of the hallway, another man, just like him, came dashing in. His eyes closed for the final time as the other man¡¯s foot carried him to the same fate. ¡°There¡¯s two more coming in.¡± Darnell and Alicia heard Michael¡¯s voice from the speaker of the phone, instructing that two more freaks were running into the house. They both clutched their spears tighter, preparing for another thrust through the blanket. ¡°Get ready!¡± Darnell shouted towards Alicia. ¡°Ready!¡± she shouted back. Almost right after, the sound of shrieking could be heard on the other side, then right after, the blanket jerked. Through the blanket, the figure of a man was embedded into it, allowing Darnell to know just where to strike. Like lightning, Darnell thrust the spear through the blanket into what he guessed was the chest. The blade tore right through the fabric and went out the other side. He felt a tight grip on the other end, it had sunken into something firm. Bingo. Darnell withdrew the spear. A crimson liquid trickled down the blade, signifying his success. It was faint, but there was some gurgling on the other side. Alicia was hypnotized by Darnell¡¯s skill. To the point she didn¡¯t even realize that there was another jerk in the blanket, this time on her side. ¡°Alicia!¡± Darnell yelled, right before thrusting his spear into the blanket once more, hearing the shluk of his blade puncture another target. ¡°I¡¯m sorry!¡± Alicia stammered, regaining her focus. From behind them, they heard Michael¡¯s voice again, ¡°They¡¯re coming in a lot faster, zombie after zombie after zombie.¡± Darnell posted up with his spear again, ¡°Stay focused Alicia!¡± ¡°Yessir!¡± she shouted back. She couldn¡¯t mess this up, everyone¡¯s lives were at stake, including Darnell¡¯s. She clutched onto her spear as tight as she could, narrowing her eyes, and prepared herself. Alicia was determined to make blood spill by her hands. More shrieking could be heard on the other side of the blanket. It was time again. There was a squeak, a shriek, then a boom as another figure slammed into the blanket. It was dead in the middle, and just like they agreed beforehand, Darnell would strike first. And so he did. Another direct hit. Alicia did not let herself get distracted with Darnell¡¯s work, and it paid off because before Darnell could even pull his spear back out, another figure flew into the blanket. Alicia didn¡¯t waste a breath. She plunged her spear into the blanket with all of her might. She aimed for where the core of the figure should be. Just like in practice, the spear went clean through the blanket, then she felt it get stuck. The green flecks of her eyes gleamed at the indication of this feeling. Alicia stomped down and yanked the spear out from the blanket. And just as she¡¯d hoped, her spear came back out dripping with the blood of her slain enemy. Her heart jumped for joy when it was clear she had succeeded, but she couldn¡¯t celebrate yet. She managed to stay focused. Her spear at the ready. Darnell struck another one on his side. A body landed in the middle, Alicia took it with full confidence, the same feeling from before. Then another one, on Darnell¡¯s, he took it out just as swiftly as the others. Then one on Alicia¡¯s, she didn¡¯t hesitate and struck directly where its body landed, and another enemy slain. One by one, the freaks kept coming. Like Whack-A-Mole, the duo kept striking as their targets kept arriving. It was very fortunate that Darnell expressed a perfectionist attitude towards the set-up of the blanket. The tape wound the blanket tightly around the pillar of the arches on both sides. If it had been assembled with even a slight hint of laziness, their lives could have ended much sooner. ¡°Dodger! Dodger!¡± Michael¡¯s voice came from the phone speaker. Darnell immediately slid to the side to peer around the pole the blanket was attached to. The freaks were catching on. One of them managed to dodge the oil and came running around the hallway. There were no walls separating the side rooms from the dining room. There was a short decline and a waist-high barrier between the dining room and the side rooms, but that wasn¡¯t enough to stop those monsters. The one that managed to dodge the oil in the hall came running towards the dining room. Darnell anticipated its arrival with ferocity. It noticed Darnell and immediately went for him, jumping up the wall in a flash. It knew Darnell awaited it on the other side. What it didn¡¯t know, was that its fate was the same as the others that had collided with the blanket. On top of the wall, an overabundance of butter lied in wait. As soon as it used its hands to leap over the wall, it immediately slipped and stumbled over face first. And like a mouse caught in a lion¡¯s den, it couldn¡¯t save itself. Alicia heard the grotesque splurge of Darnell¡¯s blade puncturing the ¡°Dodger¡± to her right. She couldn¡¯t turn away from the blanket. Because another body fell into it. Alicia plunged her spear into it, bullseye. Before she knew it, Darnell was back at her side. ¡°I can¡¯t count them anymore, there¡¯s too many! The bodies at the blanket are piling up! More dodgers!¡± ¡°That¡¯s it. We done here!¡± Darnell shouted to Alicia over the violent shrieks coming from the hallway and the front door. Another monster, a female, managed to get over the wall. With a grunt, Darnell spun around and shot his spear directly into its throat before it even landed. ¡°C¡¯mon!¡± Darnell yelled again. Darnell and Alicia bolted out the backdoor of the dining room into the backyard. The backdoor was completely covered in duct tape so they could no longer see what was happening inside. Darnell held Alicia¡¯s arm as they sprinted around the house, jumped the fence and regrouped with Michael, who¡¯d been hiding behind an overgrown bush. The three of them watched the house, and before long, the shatter of glass could be heard. That was Vanessa. She was instructed to remain completely hidden until the street was clear of the monsters, which meant it was safe to come out. Darnell, Michael, and Alicia emerged from the bush to find Vanessa jamming the front door of the house shut. There was a roaring coming from within the building.The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. ¡°Good stuff V!¡± Darnell exclaimed to her as all four of them began running down the street to Tristan¡¯s house. This was it. The last stage of the operation. Suddenly, a gargantuan shockwave shook the ground beneath them. The sound managed to cause Vanessa to stumble to her knees. Vanessa looked back, and sure enough, everything went according to plan. Or actually, better. What was supposed to be a house fire created by a lighter she threw through the window, became an explosion that caused the entire house to erupt nearly instantaneously. Darnell immediately reached for Vanessa to help her up. He looked back at the house and remarked, ¡°Gas leak, I guess?¡± Vanessa shrugged her shoulders. All four of them continued to rush to Tristan¡¯s house. As soon as they reached his front yard, the second part of the plan commenced. They had no idea how much more they¡¯d have to go through before seeing Tristan. What exactly lied in wait for them now? Whatever it was, the group was going to make it reveal itself. They scattered around the house, Vanessa and Michael ran on opposite sides, while Darnell and Alicia hid near the front entrance. Darnell to the right and Alicia to the left. As Michael and Vanessa ran around the house, the two reached into their pockets, and pulled out fairly large stones. One by one, they chucked them into the windows, shattering them as much as possible. At the front, Darnell and Alicia nodded at each other. Darnell leaned over close to the front door then shouted into the house, ¡°Tristan! Get out!¡± Immediately after, roars echoed through the house until reaching Darnell and Alicia, hitting their faces like a gust of wind. Darnell glanced down and Alicia had already finished her part of the plan. There was a layer of tape low enough to be missed but high enough to trip any unsuspecting runner. Darnell reached into his back pocket and pulled out a can of lysol spray. It was definitely a wing of the moment decision to pick up, but who knew, it might actually help. He began spraying as much as he could into the front entrance, hoping the aerosols would linger as long as needed. He stopped when he heard the roars drawing nearer. He dropped the can and made sure he was still out of sight. Alicia and Darnell¡¯s hearts raced, knowing everything depended on what occurred in the next minute. A single fluke, a single hesitation, and it would mean the end. The stomps drew nearer, an uncountable amount. Alicia cursed the sweat on the palm of her hands. ¡°I swear if this is the difference between a kill and this thing slipping out of my hands...¡± she thought to herself. The first enemy that broke into the sunlight came out in a flash, Darnell and Alicia¡¯s eyes hadn¡¯t even caught it by the time it was close enough to catch them. Its entire body flipped over as its ankles got caught in the tape and its face planted into the cement. Its body hit the ground before Alicia could even react to it. She remembered what Darnell said only ten minutes prior: ¡°Those things will be at full-speed, they¡¯ll overrun us before we can react.¡± And so the tape became a crucial part of their survival. As soon as Alicia¡¯s senses recognized the enemy on the ground as a target, she immediately shoved her spear into its right side. It reeled in pain as blood spurted from its chest. As soon as her blade entered, another body invaded her vision as it fell over her target. Alicia yanked out her spear as she saw Darnell thrust his spear into the second enemy. In a flash three, four, five, six more of them came bursting out of the door. Some of them immediately fell over each other, some gagged as they reached for their own eyes, one hurdled over all of them. Darnell and Alicia could barely keep up with the amount of enemies rushing at them. Alicia sent her spear into another just as a few were starting to recover. Her heart began to pound even more as they all started to stand up and target her. There were four, no, five, she couldn¡¯t count them. Some had faces twisted in anger, some hunger, some crazed, which should she go for? Would it matter? She debated a plan of action in her head. She imagined just going for the one on her far right. It was farthest from the front door, and if she could get around she might be able to regroup with Darnell. But what¡¯s stopping the other four from catching her as soon as she speared one? Should she run around the house? And leave Darnell alone? Ridiculous. The group of freaks gradually closed in on her. She waved the spear frantically at all five of them, trying to threaten them. But she couldn¡¯t even convince herself that she was a threat. She could feel her eyes water as she stepped back. They were in over their heads. As Alicia panicked, the middle one, the most crazed one, caught her attention. It raised both hands to the sides of its head. It put its thumbs to its ears, stuck its tongue out, then shook its head while wiggling its fingers. It was taunting her. Alicia stood stunned at the sight before her. ¡°What the hell are you things?¡± she shuddered. Suddenly, there was a roar behind the group walling off Alicia. Like the sun rising on the horizon, Alicia witnessed Darnell emerge behind the freak taunting her. He¡¯d somehow managed to get a good distance in the air, and like lightning, his spear came down on the neck of the freak. Its entire head reeled back from the force of the attack. Alicia witnessed Darnell ride its back down until it crashed to the ground. The others just barely noticed him. The one to Darnell¡¯s right started to shriek but before it could do anything else, Darnell¡¯s wrench swung into the side of its head. Sending it flying backwards, and in the same motion, Darnell jumped to the freak behind that one and kicked it square in the face. The freak launched backwards through a window and into the house. In one swoop, Darnell took out three of them, but the other two were still behind him. The closest one immediately lunged for Darnell. Just before its hands reached Darnell¡¯s back, its entire body was being shoved in another direction. A sharp pain invaded its left abdomen. It looked down, and its eyes met a revitalized Alicia with eyes of determination. As Alicia tackled the fourth monster with her spear, Darnell began spinning around. He immediately met the fifth and final freak which had begun to go for Alicia. Darnell thrusted his spear directly into the center of its chest. Darnell drove the freak all the way to the ground. As it laid on the ground, resisting death, Darnell stomped on its shoulder with his right foot. Darnell reeled his wrench across his body until it went around his head. The freak tried to pull the spear out of its chest, but had no time as Darnell¡¯s wrench came clean across its face, killing it instantly. Darnell stood up straight, pulled his spear out, then cocked his head back as he took a deep breath. He turned around to Alicia who had been waiting for him to finish his victory pose. The two were covered in blood, sweat, and dirt. Alicia looked around, there were so many. So many dead bodies creating a pool of blood all over the yard. She¡¯d never seen anything like this before. She¡¯d seen it in movies, but this was drastically different. She could smell the metallic odor of the blood. She felt it on her hands. She caused some of it. Not all of it, not most of it, but blood covered her. Whatever these things on the ground were, they used to be people. Alicia continued to stare at the blood on her hands, feeling her entire mind go blank as she struggled to understand why she had to do this. Why did they have to go through this? Who were these people before this happened to them? What is happening to them? Suddenly, a hand fell onto her shoulder. She looked up, and Darnell was standing in front of her. ¡°It¡¯s different now that they aren¡¯t behind a blanket, huh?¡± Darnell stated, clearing the fog in her vision. Alicia tried to speak but the words choked her. All she could do was nod. ¡°You don¡¯t have to fight if you can¡¯t. Hopefully this was the last of them.¡± he looked around at the bloodbath beneath them. Suddenly, both of their ears stung from the sound of a wild screeching. They looked up, and across the street, burning bodies were jumping out of the flaming house. ¡°No way,¡± Darnell uttered. More and more began escaping the burning building. They¡¯re bodies were engulfed in flames, but they continued pushing on. Darnell held up his spear and his wrench. There were multiple, at least a dozen, that had escaped the house. Like a wall of flames, they all charged directly at Darnell and Alicia the moment they spotted them. ¡°Darnell!¡± Alicia cried out, her hands were still quivering. She tried to force herself to pick up her spear, but her body acted against her. ¡°No! Why can¡¯t I¡­¡± she uttered as she fell to her knees. Just then, Michael came running back around the house. ¡°Help!¡± Michael screamed out to Darnell and Alicia. They both turned back to face Michael, and right behind him, were three of the monsters. Michael rushed over to Alicia. Alicia saw the terror behind Michael, and felt herself break free from her doubt. Alicia¡¯s hands reached for her spear and pointed the blade directly at the group. Behind her, there was more screaming, it was Vanessa. In the same fashion, she came running around the house with two more freaks behind her. ¡°Are you serious!?¡± Darnell yelled back. The flaming monsters were already across the street now. Darnell immediately back-pedaled towards the others. Michael, Alicia, Vanessa and Darnell backed away from the herds until their backs collided. In a small circle, they fended off from every direction. The flaming ones were now on the lawn of Tristan¡¯s house. On their left and right, the others closed in. Alicia looked to Darnell. His conviction hadn¡¯t wavered even slightly. There was ferocity in his eyes. He lifted his spear towards the flaming monsters charging at him. Like a lion''s roar, Darnell released a warcry that echoed through the entire neighborhood. His determination radiated from him, to the point Alicia could feel it. Her hands began to grip her spear tighter, her shaking ceased. Alicia felt as if she was being possessed, possessed by the will to live. Similar to Darnell, she turned to the freaks closing in on them and she let out a warcry deep from her gut. The freaks were only a few feet away now. They raised their weapons, and prepared to fight with everything they had! Everything felt as if it was moving in slow-motion. The monsters¡¯ faces twisted with anger and corruption. Darnell could feel the heat from their flames as he stomped down to thrust his spear into the closest one¡¯s neck. Alicia prepared to send her spear soaring through her target¡¯s stomach. Everyone, Darnell, Alicia, the monsters, lunged forward and- ¡°SHIIEEELLDD!!¡± A familiar voice shouted from behind all of them. Suddenly, all of the monsters were stopped dead in their tracks. Just before Darnell clashed with his flaming opponent, its body plummeted into what looked like a layer of glass. Its cheek and hands pressed up against the invisible layer. Soon, all of the monsters repeated the same thing. All around Darnell, Alicia, Vanessa, and Michael, the monsters were stopped by an invisible dome. No, it wasn¡¯t invisible. There was a yellow glow on the areas the monsters slammed their fists. Darnell turned to Alicia in hopes of an answer. Alicia turned back and shrugged her shoulders. ¡°Glad y¡¯all finally made it.¡± The voice came from above. All four of them looked up to the direction the voice came from. On top of the roof, was a well-built teenager, around their age, with eyes resembling topaz. His dark, combed back hair blew slightly in the wind. The gleam of the sun casted a dark shadow in front of him but it leaked from behind his neck just enough to highlight his desert sand colored skin. He smiled as he looked down on the friends. ¡°Tristan!¡± Darnell exclaimed. The Barrier ¡°Where y¡¯all been?¡± Tristan exclaimed from the roof of the house. ¡°Where we been? Homie look around us! This where we been!¡± Darnell shouted back. ¡°Oh yeah, sorry ¡®bout that. I didn¡¯t know there were that many.¡± "Um.. hello!?" Michael yelled at both of them, "what is this!?" Michael waved his arms around the mysterious barrier surrounding them. "Oh... yeah... that." Tristan giggled, "I''ll explain it somewhere safer. For now-¡± ¡°Get outta dodge.¡± Darnell finished. ¡°Yep.¡± Alicia looked around and the monsters who had been burning were slowly dropping to the ground. Darnell readied his spear, examining their surroundings. There were only five left now. He turned around to observe Alicia. She was panting, but her grip on her spear didn¡¯t yield. Alicia eyed the monsters still beating on the barrier protecting them. Darnell turned to Michael, he stood frozen like a statue. Vanessa was¡­ Darnell didn¡¯t see her. He spun around in search of her. ¡°I know she¡¯s not that short.¡± he said to himself. That was when Darnell realized there had been a tugging on his leg for a while now. Darnell looked down, and he found her. She was curled in a ball on the ground, one hand grabbing Darnell¡¯s pants and the other covering her head. Darnell put his hand on her head. Vanessa raised her head, opening her eyes for the first time since they¡¯d regrouped. Darnell whispered, ¡°I¡¯ll get us out of this¡­ but first, can you let go of my leg?¡± ¡°Michael.¡± Darnell suddenly called out. ¡°What do you need?¡± Michael answered. ¡°On a scale of one to ten, how well would you say you can swing a monkey wrench?¡± ¡°Uh-¡± ¡°You better say ten.¡± Michael recoiled a bit, then stated, ¡°Ten?¡± ¡°Excellent!¡± Darnell smiled wide and patted Michael¡¯s shoulder with more than enough force. Darnell offered up his wrench to Michael, ¡°You¡¯re the new wrench swinger.¡± ¡°Alright¡­¡± Michael slowly reached up and took the wrench into his hands. He held the wrench that was stained with the blood of an innumerable amount of victims. ¡°Alright¡­¡± he mumbled to himself again. ¡°Tristan!¡± Darnell shouted up to Tristan. ¡°You got somethin¡¯?¡± ¡°E¡¯yup!¡± Darnell exclaimed and pointed to his right, where the three who had been chasing Michael were, ¡°Are you able to turn off this barrier whenever you want to?¡± ¡°I guess so yeah,¡± Tristan answered. ¡°Then jump down over there. Get those three¡¯s attention. As soon as they turn around, open this thing.¡± Darnell pointed to Michael, ¡°Michael. The moment the barrier is gone, smack ¡®em upside they head with the wrench.¡± He pointed at Alicia. ¡°Alicia. We¡¯re gonna kill those two as fast as possible, then help them, aight?¡± Alicia nodded. ¡°Alright then.¡± Darnell walked over to the edge of the barrier next to Alicia, ¡°Ready when you are Tristan.¡± As soon as Darnell finished his sentence, the sound of footsteps could be heard from the roof. Darnell smiled knowing that Tristan hadn¡¯t even wasted a single moment. If anyone respected and trusted Darnell¡¯s ideas, it was Tristan, and his immediate action reassured Darnell of this. Almost a moment later, Darnell could hear the slam of Tristan¡¯s feet hitting the ground. In unison, Darnell and Tristan shouted, ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡± The effulgence of the barrier faded away before everyone¡¯s eyes. As it faded, the monster directly in front of Darnell gave one last swing. Its fist swung fully through the air with no interference at all. Its entire body swung forward unexpectedly. Without time to react, Darnell¡¯s spear plunged completely through the underside of its jaw into its skull. Its arms hung down while a fountain of blood spurted from underneath. Its accomplice, just to the right, eyed Darnell as he sent the other monster flying. Then the second one¡¯s body folded over as Alicia¡¯s spear thrusted into its abdomen. Its body fell over to the ground without resistance. Michael¡¯s hands hardened around the wrench like stone. He gazed into the bloodshot eyes of the closest enemy as it clawed the barrier. His attention was torn away for only a moment to catch a glimpse of Tristan dropping behind the beasts. All of them turned around nearly instantly. Michael now faced their exposed backs. These things. What they had done to him earlier¡­ the memory returned. And with the memory, his rage returned as well. His clutch on the wrench tightened even more. He could feel his heart burning. Was it anger? Anxiety? A mix of both. But all Michael wanted to feel was¡­ Michael heard the shouts of Darnell and Tristan on both sides of him. It was barely visible, but once the barrier lifted, Michael could tell. The monster in front began to take a step towards Tristan but Michael denied anything further. He brought the wrench far above his head then slammed the wrench directly on the back of the monster¡¯s skull. It made a satisfying DINK as its body plummeted down. The other two continued to rush at Tristan, but Michael paid them no mind. Michael stepped closer to the body of his victim. Its hands pressed into the ground, attempting to pick itself back up. Then WHAM! Another blow directly in the same spot. Its body fell once again as blood flew out of its skull. Michael screamed as he drove another attack of rage into it. Its body flinched from the impact, then nothing else. Michael¡¯s burning didn¡¯t cease. His wrench hand rose again without him even realizing. Michael had the wrench high above his head, then it suddenly jerked. To Michael¡¯s right, Darnell zoomed past him in a blur. Michael looked up to see Darnell with the wrench in his hand now. A couple feet ahead, Tristan secured himself in another barrier as the last two monsters attacked it. Darnell drove his spear in the nape of the right one¡¯s neck. Its body immediately went limp as Darnell used the spear to toss it to the side. Before the last one could even react, Darnell swung the wrench into its left temple. As it scrambled to recover, Darnell jumped up and stomped on its face. He had its head pinned down beneath his right sneaker. It attempted to claw and scratch its way out, but to no avail. Darnell dropped the wrench, then held the spear in both hands. He pointed the blade downward, then, for the final time, plunged his spear into its chest. Its clawing slowed down until eventually going motionless. Everyone stood in silence after the final enemy had been slain. The silence was only broken by their heavy breaths. Darnell walked over to Vanessa, blood on his shoes, pants, shirt, and face. He reached his hand down to her. Vanessa readily took it and Darnell raised her up. Darnell looked around to everyone else, ¡°Alright we¡¯re done.¡± Tristan walked over to them then motioned to the door, ¡°Let¡¯s head inside then.¡±Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more. The four made their way over the heaps of dead bodies into the house. Darnell made sure he was the last one inside. Alicia stared at the front door as Darnell closed it. Watching that door close was like watching a clock tick to the end of class. With a click, the door shut. That was it. It was over. Her spear dropped from her hands without her realizing it. Her hands felt tight and sore. She tried to loosen them by flexing and stretching her fingers. She couldn¡¯t tell if it was working or not. But every time she opened and closed, there was reaffirmation that it was still sore. Darnell walked past her as he spoke to Tristan, ¡°So that¡¯s how you lasted this long on your own.¡± Alicia looked up, Tristan¡¯s house was nearly dark except for the rooms that were illuminated by the sunlight. Tristan spoke, ¡°Well, not on my own.¡± Tristan led them down the dim hallway, around the corner, and into a bedroom. The door to the bedroom was completely torn down. As the group walked past the ruined entrance, they all came face-to-face with a set of three young girls holding each other in the farthest corner. Everyone¡¯s faces were stricken with surprise. Tristan gestured out towards the girls, ¡°Everyone, meet my sisters.¡± ¡°You have sisters!?¡± Alicia pushed past Tristan and bolted for the girls. Alicia kneeled down next to them. She took her dirty hands and awkwardly failed to wipe the dirt and sweat from her face. She smiled brightly at them with eyes of wonder. If not for the blood stains all over her clothes, she wouldn¡¯t have looked like a complete maniac. As Alicia got a better look at them, she noticed their resemblance to Tristan. Dark hair, warm skin, and dark brown eyes. ¡°I knew you had siblings, but not three little sisters.¡± Darnell stated with his arms crossed. ¡°None of you ever really asked.¡± Tristan responded. ¡°Um,¡± Michael suddenly spoke up, ¡°I think what¡¯s more important is the fact that Tristan has literal superpowers!¡± Michael flailed his arms at Tristan. ¡°Oh yeah!¡± Alicia turned away from the sisters and ran up to Tristan. She exclaimed, ¡°How could you-¡± she punched Tristan in the arm who responded with a light wail as she continued, ¡°keep that a secret!¡± Tristan rubbed his arm, ¡°I didn¡¯t. This is new to me too!¡± ¡°How did you do it?¡± Darnell inquired. ¡°I dunno. One moment, all of those¡­ things¡­ were charging at us. Then I just felt my body do it on its own. I didn¡¯t even realize I was doing it until a moment after.¡± ¡°Well how about that?¡± Michael snarked, ¡°When your house gets broken into, you get a superpower, but when I-¡± His voice weakened as he spoke. Tears welled in Michael¡¯s eyes. Darnell and Alicia looked at Michael with sympathy. Michael tried to refocus his emotions to anger, but it was no use. He sniffled, trying to pull his emotions back. His arms swung in frustration, then he turned around and walked out of the room. For a moment there was silence. Tristan finally spoke, ¡°What¡¯s up with him?¡± Darnell simply shook his head with his hand waving his neck. Tristan understood. Suddenly, a soft voice came from behind Tristan, ¡°Tristan, is it over now?¡± The four friends turned to Tristan¡¯s shortest sister, who had approached him from behind. Her eyes pleaded unforgivingly for a ¡°yes.¡± When they heard her question, all of their chests began to ache. To Darnell, Alicia and Vanessa, the girl looked about 10 or 11. Darnell squeezed his eyes shut. Alicia looked to Tristan, hoping he¡¯d have an answer that wouldn¡¯t be a lie or crush her. Tristan kneeled down and hugged his sister. He whispered to her, ¡°For now, we need to get somewhere safer.¡± ¡°Yeah, much safer.¡± added Darnell. ¡°We should speak outside. Vanessa?¡± he turned towards the completely silent lurker, ¡°Could you stay in here with them?¡± Vanessa nodded. Darnell, Alicia and Tristan made their way down to the other side of the house. They walked past Michael, who found comfort lying on the floor in the living room. Once the three made sure they wouldn¡¯t be heard by the others, Tristan began, ¡°So what¡¯s the plan?¡± ¡°Daycare.¡± Darnell responded bluntly. ¡°Daycare?¡± Alicia asked. ¡°The daycare?¡± echoed Tristan. They were both dumbfounded. ¡°Yep,¡± Darnell said, ¡°Makayla and Raj are there. Once we group up with them, we¡¯ll be decent in manpower.¡± ¡°Makayla does bring a lot of power¡­¡± Tristan muttered. ¡°Or at least, that was the plan.¡± Darnell paused, ¡°I didn¡¯t anticipate you to have three siblings.¡± ¡°Hmm.¡± Tristan grunted. ¡°Then again, I also didn¡¯t expect you to have a literal superpower. Like¡­ like that¡¯s different.¡± Darnell began to get more excited, ¡°Oh my God! You have a superpower! How did I not process that ¡®til now!?¡± ¡°I know right!¡± Tristan began cheering with him. He flexed his arms and hands at the sky, ¡°AAHH!¡± he shouted. ¡°Dude! The way you came in yellin ¡®SHIELD!¡¯ though! That was cold!¡± Darnell dapped up Tristan as Tristan blushed. ¡°I was just doin my thang, you know me! Ahaha!¡± Tristan pretended to dust himself off. ¡°Nah you got that! You got that!¡± ¡°Guys!¡± Alicia interrupted their hype train. ¡°Oh... yeah¡­¡± Darnell grunted, the two of them cleared their throats. Darnell returned to his senses, ¡°The original plan was, we join forces, then venture forth to the daycare.¡± ¡°Venture forth?¡± Alicia echoed skeptically. Darnell continued, ¡°But we¡¯ll have too many people now. I can make up for Michael and Vanessa, but¡­ I ain¡¯t tryna say nothin¡¯ bout ¡®em-¡± ¡°No, I get it.¡± Tristan said, ¡°Plus, we lack sufficient equipment.¡± The two pondered for a moment, their hands on their chins. Darnell suddenly spoke, ¡°I know where we can gear up.¡± ¡°Where?¡± Tristan asked. ¡°Ryan¡¯s at the gym, right? There¡¯s plenty of stuff at the gym.¡± Darnell brought up. ¡°True.¡± ¡°And, Alicia and I can manage on our own.¡± Darnell asserted. Alicia looked up to Darnell, feeling accomplished for all of her effort. ¡°So Alicia and I will move to the gym by ourselves. Without Michael and Vanessa, we¡¯ll be able to hustle way more.¡± ¡°So¡­¡± Tristan went. ¡°You¡¯re taking them with you.¡± ¡°Dang it.¡± ¡°I mean, with the right words, they¡¯ll put in work. But you¡¯ll have to move carefully anyway.¡± ¡°And I have my power. If Michael and Vanessa can actually help, it could work.¡± ¡°So we got it figured out?¡± Alicia chanted, ¡°This sounds like a plan to me!¡± ¡°Glad you¡¯re on board,¡± Darnell chuckled, ¡°Let¡¯s go tell the rest.¡± Darnell motioned for them to follow as he exited the room. All three of them came out to Vanessa sitting in a circle with Tristan¡¯s sisters in the living room. Michael still laid on the floor. As soon as the three revealed themselves, everything in the room came to a halt. Everyone turned to Darnell, Tristan and Alicia in unison, anticipating an explanation. Darnell looked at all five of them, then spoke, ¡°Who¡¯s ready for a field trip!?¡± Almost There Whatever was going on outside was none of Ryan¡¯s concern anymore. The problem was outside, and it wasn¡¯t coming inside, so there was no problem. Even if something did come in, he wouldn¡¯t hear it. After washing his hands and nearly painting the sink red, Ryan plugged in his headphones, then laid down in the center of the boxing ring. Ryan stared at the ceiling while his favorite playlist, ¡°End of the World,¡± blasted in his ears. About thirty minutes ago, Ryan had no idea what he would do. His old friend was now a piece of modern art scattered across the floor. Should he go on a killing spree? Should he go home? Should he test out his newfound ability? No, none of those. He had the perfect playlist for this. So he decided to just do that until help arrived. Would help arrive? What would help even be? Who would come for him? He asked himself this as he blatantly ignored the buzzing of his phone. Maybe there would be a clue there? Nah. His eyes didn¡¯t tear away from the dark ceiling stretching far above him. The music hypnotized him. This was better than whatever the world had planned for him. The internet could go out at any moment, so might as well make the most of it now. The song ¡°all my friends,¡± by 21 Barbarian played along. Ryan laid on the canvas, letting the lyrics flow into his ears. ¡°I don¡¯t need no friends if you really wanna know the truth~¡± No friends, huh? Ryan thought to himself. Images of his friends began to flash through his mind against his will. Like a powerpoint presentation, he saw Darnell, he saw Makayla, he saw Alicia, he saw Tristan, he saw Teemo, he saw Illyana, he saw Vanessa, he saw Raj, he saw Michael. He saw some more individuals he happened to know, but they didn¡¯t hit as hard. He willed himself back to his close friends. He wondered where they were. He wondered what was happening to them. ¡°Lost a couple friends, I ain¡¯t even really mad though~¡± sang 21 Barbarian. ¡°No, I¡¯d be mad if I lost them.¡± Ryan said out loud. Where were they? Ryan suddenly shot up. He had to check his phone. Ryan reached to his side where his phone rested. Ryan checked his notifications where every update on what had been going on outside was being updated. The first thing he checked was the group chat which read: Darnell: Just met up with Vanessa - 1 hour ago Makayla: Raj and I are at the daycare - 1 hour ago Darnell: Ight, Michael and Alicia are closest so we goin there first - 1 hour ago Darnell: Then I¡¯m goin for Tristan - 1 hour ago Makayla: Kk - 1 hour ago Tristan: Please hurry. - 1 hour ago Darnell: Just grabbed them, on our way Tristan - 56 minutes ago Tristan: Wya? - 44 minutes ago Tristan: Darnell? - 39 minutes ago Makayla: Darnell u okay? - 38 minutes ago Darnell: We got Tristan, sendin him to u Makayla - 25 minutes ago Makayla: O ok! Don¡¯t scare us like that! >:( - 24 minutes ago Darnell: My b lol - 24 minutes ago Makayla: Wait where u going? - 24 minutes ago Darnell: To Ryan - 23 minutes ago ¡°To me?¡± Ryan said out loud. Ryan looked around, he was still alone in the gym. Should he call them? No, what if that endangered them? Ryan wasn¡¯t sure what to do. He ran to the bathroom. Ryan looked himself in the mirror, he looked like a mess. His nose was still swollen from the headbutt Keith had given him earlier. He tapped it. It stung. What a surprise. He ran his hand through his rough hair. There was some blood in his hair that disrupted the dirty blonde color. He splashed water into it over and over. He managed to smear it. Ryan sighed into the sink. ¡°What am I doing?¡± he said to himself. His music was still blaring in his ears. Ryan exited the bathroom feeling dumber than before. Why did it matter how he looked when his friends saw him? As Ryan walked back into the gym, scratching his neck, he could hear shuffling behind the ring. Ryan stopped dead in his tracks. He examined the giant dim corridor of the gym. Nothing. Was he just hearing things? He did still have his headphones in. Ryan decided it was just a part of the song. Still, he looked down at his hand and balled it. He commanded his fist to do what it did before. He flexed it as hard as he could, concentrating. Slowly, he felt a tingling sensation along his entire forearm and fist. Like his skin was being opened up from his pores. The red shell began to cover his arm again, starting in small spots that grew larger and larger until conjoining. Soon, his fist was covered in a red shell again, he made out the irregular white streaks and varying shades. With this, whatever it was, he would survive. Ryan slowly exited the bathroom again. He peered into the gym, it was mostly dark, except for the few emergency lights and the light from the bathroom. Ryan didn¡¯t turn on the lights before because he relished the darkness. He was regretting that decision more and more. He took one step into the darkness. Nothing. Then another. Nothing. Ryan took more methodical steps along the gym. His eyes darted around the room, looking for any sudden movements. Ryan slowly made his way around the left side of the ring. His heart began to pound even more. He looked down at his fist once more, the red shell hadn''t abandoned him. Ryan approached the second corner, moving as steadily as ever. Ryan prepared for whatever would be hidden behind the ring when the crashing of a ladder happened in the far corner of the gym. Ryan turned towards the ladder that wobbled on the floor from the impact. His heart pounded even more. Whatever was here just gave itself away, but now, it''s guaranteed he has to fight now. Ryan stared at the area where the ladder fell. Hoping to discover anything. The hair on the back of his neck tingled. Like his body was telling him to turn around. The urge grew stronger and stronger until he couldn¡¯t bear it anymore. Ryan shot a look behind himself just in time to catch a dark figure reaching for his head. Ryan immediately swung his fist towards the intruder. His crimson punch shot towards his opponent and in a flash, the figure swerved to the side and pushed his fist away. The force of Ryan¡¯s punch pulled him forward, causing him to lose balance. But Ryan was quick to recover. Ryan swiveled on his left foot and brought his right foot down in front of him to stop himself from falling. The intruder was now behind Ryan, and Ryan spun his right fist around, hoping to land a back-handed blow. Halfway through, all of his momentum was blocked by the intruder who clashed their forearm with Ryan¡¯s wrist. Before Ryan could pull away, the intruder¡¯s grabbed Ryan¡¯s arm. Then his other hand caught Ryan¡¯s neck. Ryan yelled in frustration as the intruder wrapped his leg around Ryan¡¯s right leg. In one swift motion, Ryan was brought to the floor. Ryan wailed as the cold concrete collided against his cheek. Ryan tried to break free, but the dark figure held him down firmly. He heard the intruder speak, ¡°Alicia! Get your spear!¡± Ryan¡¯s eyebrows narrowed and his eyes bulged. The voice sounded familiar, and ¡°Alicia?¡± ¡°Wait!¡± Ryan shouted out with hope that his hunch was correct. ¡°...¡®Wait?¡¯¡± the intruder loosened his grip. ¡°Ayo! Ryan!?¡± ¡°Yo! It¡¯s me!¡± Ryan shouted out. The dark figure released his hold on Ryan and stood up. Ryan heard footsteps to his left as he began to bring himself up. The figure walked in front of him and offered his hand. Ryan took it, rose up, and came face-to-face with the perplexed expression of his friend, Darnell. ¡°Darnell!?¡± Ryan yelled. He looked to his left, and a shorter, skinner, feminine figure holding a long sharp object stood a few feet away. Ryan pointed at her, and using clues from what he heard earlier exclaimed, ¡°Alicia!?¡± ¡°Is that you Ryan?¡± the girl asked. Ryan patted his chest yelling, ¡°Of course it¡¯s me! What are you guys doing?¡± ¡°We could ask you the same thing!¡± went Darnell. ¡°I was minding my own business! Y¡¯all were the ones creeping around in the dark!¡± ¡°We didn¡¯t even know if you were still alive or if something happened to you,¡± said Alicia. ¡°Of course I¡¯m alive!¡± Ryan yelled. ¡°Answer the group chat next time then!¡± Darnell scolded. Ryan sighed, throwing his face into the palm of his hand. Darnell walked past Ryan to sit down on a nearby chair, he spoke, ¡°Well, at least you¡¯re alive, I was hoping you were.¡± Ryan looked up at them, ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m glad to know that everyone else is okay.¡± ¡°Hopefully, it stays that way¡­¡± Darnell added with worry in his voice. ¡°I¡¯m sure it will!¡± Alicia cheered. ¡°Yep, let¡¯s do our best,¡± Darnell grinned. He stood up and started to examine the gym. ¡°And in order to accomplish that, we¡¯ll need new gear.¡± ¡°Oh yeah,¡± Ryan went and pointed at Alicia, ¡°Is that a spear!?¡± Alicia jumped to show it off, ¡°Yep!¡± she slammed the butt of the spear into the ground and puffed her chest out, ¡°I¡¯ve slain many a enemy with this!¡±Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. ¡°What the-¡± ¡°I need a new weapon too, my spear broke on the way here.¡± Darnell said, ¡°Also armor.¡± ¡°Armor would be good,¡± Alicia said, walking closer to the other two. Darnell walked behind Ryan with his arms crossed. With a deepened voice, Darnell spoke, ¡°Also, Ryan¡­¡± Ryan turned around to face Darnell, who wasn¡¯t looking in his direction. Darnell was looking towards the hallway that led to the exit of the gym. Darnell continued, ¡°I¡¯m guessing that was your doing?¡± Darnell gestured his chin towards the bench on the far side of the gym. Ryan realized Darnell was referring to the mutilated body of his old friend Keith across the gym. Ryan choked on his words for a bit, remembering what he¡¯d done. What he had to do. ¡°Yes,¡± he managed to say, ¡°I did it with this.¡± Ryan¡¯s statement piqued the interest of both Darnell and Alicia. Ryan held up his fist once again. The two leaned in closer. Ryan flexed his fist just like he did before. Only this time, his arm already felt strained. Ryan mentally demanded that it come out again. Nothing. Darnell and Alicia shot Ryan looks as his hand just started to shake. Ryan, feeling embarrassed, spoke up for himself, ¡°It didn¡¯t take this long before¡­¡± he fretted. Ryan shut his eyes and refocused. He reimagined the sensation of his skin tingling, crackling open, numbing, then stiffening. This time, there was a hint of soreness, but Ryan ignored it. As he focused on calling out his red shell, he heard the ¡°Ooh¡± of Alicia to his right. Ryan opened his eyes, and it was back. The red shell covered his fist again, although this time, he felt exhausted calling it out. ¡°Interesting¡­¡± Darnell whispered. Ryan couldn¡¯t hold it anymore and released the shell. The shell retreated back under his skin where it would most likely hide until much later. Ryan dropped his hand onto the ring and started panting. Ryan could feel sweat on his face and arms. He honestly expected more of a reaction from his friends. ¡°That¡¯s it? Just interesting?¡± Ryan panted. ¡°You¡¯re just like Tristan!¡± Alicia cheered. ¡°Like Tristan?¡± Ryan looked to Darnell for an explanation. ¡°Yep, you got a superpower too.¡± Darnell said. ¡°What!?¡± Ryan exclaimed in disbelief, ¡°It¡¯s not just me?¡± ¡°Nope, but Tristan¡¯s is much more different than yours. But¡­ two people getting some superhuman ability on the same day¡­¡± Darnell put his hand on his chin, as he paced away. In earshot of Ryan and Alicia, Darnell thought aloud, ¡°Are ??Tristan and Ryan¡¯s powers connected to the apocalypse? Then how many more people are going to get powers? Do other people have powers?¡± Ryan and Alicia looked at each other. Darnell spun around. ¡°Ryan,¡± he said. ¡°Yeah?¡± Ryan answered. ¡°How did you activate it?¡± ¡°I dunno. I was fighting Ke- that thing, then as I tried to punch it, it just happened on its own.¡± ¡°Mans just became a bloodbender out of thin air.¡± ¡°Bloodbender?¡± ¡°Yea, from what I can tell, it looks like your blood coming out or somethin¡¯.¡± ¡°Oh¡­ that would make sense.¡± Ryan looked down at his hand. ¡°Anyway, we can discuss it more when we meet up with everyone else at the daycare.¡± ¡°Yeah! That would be better,¡± Alicia chimed in. Darnell moved over to a shelf on the wall closest to them. He picked up a roll of bandage tape and headgear. ¡°But first, Alicia, we need an upgrade.¡± ¡°Yessir!¡± Alicia rushed over to Darnell to find out what new plan he had now. When Darnell said armor, Alicia had no idea what Darnell actually meant. She pictured a suit of shining knight armor, no idea how he¡¯d get it, but that would be cool. Or maybe, a samurai armor, with the colorful plates that resembled a dress? Again, no idea how he¡¯d get it, but it sounded awesome. What Alicia didn¡¯t imagine, was that moments after Darnell stated ¡°they needed an upgrade,¡± that she would become a mummy. ¡°Ow,¡± she uttered as Darnell fastened the final bit of tape on her left arm. Alicia now had layers of bandage tape, held down by duck tape along both her left and right forearms now. Her arms looked ridiculously bulky. Darnell patted the tape with a grin, proud of his handiwork. He looked up to find a not-so-pleased Alicia though. ¡°It¡¯s for protection.¡± Darnell stated. ¡°It¡¯s weird. And tight. And itchy.¡± Alicia complained. ¡°Well until you can whip up magical barriers or paint yourself red, this what you gotta do.¡± Ryan eyed Darnell after that last statement. ¡°Now gimme your leg,¡± Darnell commanded. Alicia reluctantly lifted up her left leg, and Darnell rolled up her jeans so he could put the tape under it. ¡°I didn¡¯t need this before¡­¡± she said. ¡°We didn¡¯t have this before.¡± Darnell managed one layer of the bandage, ¡°and it ain¡¯t like you got hair on your body.¡± ¡°Well it still kinda stings¡­¡± she pouted. ¡°Well it¡¯s still kinda going to stop a zombie from biting into your skin.¡± Darnell didn¡¯t wrap as much on her legs as he did her arms, and stopped after a few layers. ¡°You already got your jeans here, so I think this¡¯ll be fine.¡± Alicia felt like a patient of a car crash. She intentionally stuck her arms and legs out like they were in casts. Darnell eyed her skeptically as he rose up. Alicia just stared at him with her arms lifted up in the air. ¡°Bruh, you good.¡± Darnell pushed her arms down to her legs. As soon as he let go, she flicked them back up like a spring. Darnell just shook his head and grabbed more tape. Alicia looked over at Ryan, who sat a couple of feet away, examining his hand. What happened earlier started to concern him. Would he be able to do it again? His hand was more sore than before, and there was a slight tingle now. Like when a limb falls asleep but less extreme. Ryan wanted to test it, but he feared it would only get worse if he did. Alicia rose up awkwardly from her seat. She expected the tape to hinder her movement but it wasn¡¯t as bad as she expected. Still, Alicia made it her goal to be overdramatic. She waddled over to Ryan like a penguin, looking over her shoulder to see if Darnell was watching. Darnell had already started wrapping his own arm. He was wrapping his arm pretty fast. Ridiculously fast. His arms were just a blur as he did his left arm. Then switched to his right arm almost seamlessly. She just passed it off and brought her attention to Ryan. Alicia stopped waddling once she reached Ryan. ¡°Is it working?¡± Alicia asked him. Ryan jumped up, not realizing she had approached him, ¡°Oh, I think so. Not sure though.¡± ¡°What is it supposed to do?¡± ¡°Not sure. When I was fighting, it suddenly appeared, and I just killed him with it.¡± Ryan nodded his head at Kyle¡¯s decimated body. ¡°So is it like super strength or something?¡± Alicia tilted her head to the side. Ryan shrugged his shoulders, ¡°Probably¡­ I still don¡¯t know.¡± ¡°You wanna-¡± ¡°Alicia!¡± Darnell suddenly called out to her. Both Ryan and Alicia looked to Darnell who was already wrapped in bandage tape, and holding a wooden stick about three to four feet long. The same stick Ryan saw earlier. Darnell held his hand out to Alicia. ¡°I need the knife,¡± he explained. After Darnell¡¯s spear broke on their way to the gym, he made sure to at least keep the knife that was attached to it. He had given it to Alicia for safekeeping before he ¡°attacked¡± Ryan. Alicia reached into her back pocket and pulled out the kitchen knife. She handed it over and Darnell walked back over to his seat with the tape. ¡°Are you making a new spear?¡± Alicia asked. ¡°Ye¡¯tirr,¡± Darnell chanted, as he inspected the knife. In the dark, it was difficult to tell if the knife was still sharp or not. ¡°Well it don¡¯t really matter,¡± he whispered to himself. He began shaving off one end of the stick with ferocious cuts. Alicia turned back to Ryan and continued what she was saying before, ¡°You wanna test if it¡¯s super strength?¡± ¡°Can I?¡± he asked her and himself. He already wasn¡¯t willing to pull it out just for looks, much less testing it. ¡°What could be wrong with it?¡± ¡°That, I also don¡¯t know. I just got it like an hour or two ago. I¡¯ve only used it like, three times. Now my hand feels all sore and shaky-¡± Ryan was disrupted by the overbearing sounds of whizzing behind Alicia. The two turned towards the sound and Darnell was slicing the air with a newly crafted spear. He skillfully spun the spear in windmills with transitions to slices and thrusts. ¡°Yo you¡¯re kinda crazy with that thing.¡± Ryan called out to Darnell. Darnell chuckled as he did his final swing. He stopped, breathing deeply, and turned to the others, ¡°Let me find out I¡¯m an Aztec warrior baby.¡± Darnell walked over to them with his new spear. ¡°So we¡¯re ready to go back out and fight?¡± Alicia asked. ¡°Dang girl,¡± Darnell boomed, his eyebrows narrowed, ¡°bloodthirsty ain¡¯t ya?¡± Alicia smiled and looked off to the side, ¡°Maybe¡­¡± she giggled. Darnell shook his head, ¡°Nah, I ain¡¯t had water since we dipped from Chess¡¯s.¡± Ryan pointed behind him, ¡°There¡¯s probably some in my coach¡¯s fridge.¡± Near the bathroom was his coach¡¯s office, where the fridge was located. All three of the friends walked to the office door. Ryan pulled on the doorknob, but of course, it was locked. ¡°Hmm,¡± Ryan grunted. ¡°Punch it.¡± Darnell said. Ryan turned to Darnell, not processing what he heard, ¡°What?¡± he went. ¡°Punch it.¡± Darnell repeated, acting like it was the obvious solution. Ryan looked at the door, not sure if it was okay to break into his coach¡¯s office. ¡°I highly doubt he¡¯s gonna need to file any papers anytime soon.¡± Darnell said bluntly. Ryan couldn¡¯t argue with his logic. What he could argue though, was that it might not be wise to activate his ability. Ryan looked down at his hand again. He balled it into a fist, reluctantly. As if he was testing that he could still control his hand. ¡°Did you try it with your other hand?¡± Darnell spoke up. Ryan looked up to Darnell with a blank look, feeling Darnell had just broken open a dam in his brain. Ryan looked from his right hand to his left hand. He processed what Darnell said. Why hadn¡¯t he tried it with his left hand? ¡°Oh, I haven¡¯t...¡± Ryan uttered. Ryan wasn¡¯t sure if it¡¯d work or not, but he¡¯d might as well give it a try. Ryan closed his left fist and replicated the same feeling he had in his right hand. The tingling returned, and almost immediately the red shell emerged in his left fist. Ryan¡¯s eyes bulged out of his head when he saw it happen so easily. ¡°Oh! Whoo!¡± Ryan cheered as he jumped up, pumping his fist in the air. Ryan waved his fist in Darnell and Alicia¡¯s faces, yelling, ¡°Y¡¯all see that? That right there!?¡± Darnell chuckled as Alicia nodded her head. Ryan stared at his red fist, ¡°Heheh¡­¡± So now Ryan knew he wasn¡¯t losing it. Ryan recalled how he¡¯d held the shell on his right hand for an extended amount of time earlier. If that was why it was sore, then he just needed to give it a good break. Ryan proudly nodded his chin at his fist. ¡°Alright now punch it.¡± Darnell stated. ¡°Right.¡± Ryan said. In the upper center of the door, directly in front of Ryan¡¯s face, was a window for the door. It had metal wires and blinds preventing anyone from peering or breaking inside easily. Easily. Ryan was confident that his fist wasn¡¯t ¡°easy.¡± He lifted his left fist. The shell encasing his fist and forearm as it should. Ryan reeled back, aiming straight for the window. With a grunt of power, Ryan rocketed his fist straight for the window. Like paper, his fist tore through the glass and metal wires with ease. Ryan was actually shocked. He believed he could punch through it, but actually doing it was surreal. Ryan reached his fist down towards the handle on the other side. His fist. Oh yeah, he thought to himself. He had to undo the shell or he couldn¡¯t move his hand. Ryan released the shell then grabbed hold of the door handle and unlocked the door. Just like that, they were in. The three entered the room with caution. Darnell flicked on the light, and illuminated the room. The office was relatively small, with just enough space for a desk and a couple shelves. Some light really did them some good. Alicia and Ryan reeled back and squinted at the sudden flash of light. As they adjusted, Darnell called out, ¡°Found it.¡± Darnell located the mini-fridge just behind the desk in a corner. He pried it open, revealing a couple of water bottles. ¡°Finally! Water!¡± Darnell shouted. ¡°Water!¡± Alicia chimed in. Darnell pulled out two bottles and tossed them to Ryan and Alicia. ¡°Stay hydrated young bloods,¡± Darnell asserted. In unison, they all twisted off the caps and began chugging the refreshing beverage. To all of them, water had never tasted better. Alicia didn¡¯t even realize how thirsty she was until her tongue made contact with the cool liquid. She kept chugging and chugging, as if her body was controlling her arm. Halfway through the bottle, she managed to tear her mouth away. ¡°Ah!¡± they all went. ¡°Woo! I feel good!¡± Darnell sang, he tossed his already empty bottle into a nearby trash bin. Ryan didn¡¯t need as much, but it still tasted amazing. ¡°Now, we¡¯re ready to go back out and fight,¡± said Darnell, smiling. That Night Illyana hadn¡¯t moved an inch. She refused to move an inch. A pool of her own tears was the only comfort she had. Her face and eyes were red and puffy. The unsettling noises of car crashes and traffic had died down. There was the occasional scream, but it had mostly become quiet. But Illyana didn¡¯t dare check out the window. She remained completely still. Her only connection to the outside was her phone. She had texted her friends whom she¡¯d left inside the mall. No response. Now the only connection she had to the outside world was the group chat with Darnell and the others. She was getting a play-by-play of everything they were doing. From what she could tell, they were nearly fully rounded up, and meeting at the daycare near their school. Illyana had no one around her, nor a safe way to reach anyone. She didn¡¯t dare ask Darnell and the others to help her. They were at least ten to twenty minutes away driving distance. She wanted to ask. She wanted to beg that they save her. But she couldn¡¯t. The thought of asking made her heart twist. Not because she was afraid they would leave her, but because she knew they would come for her. Illyana couldn¡¯t bear the idea of them putting their lives at stake for her¡¯s. Or them perishing on the way to her. Darnell had reached the gym with Ryan apparently. That was great. Tristan, Vanessa, and Michael had reached the daycare. That¡¯s nice. It didn¡¯t mean anything to her. Illyana looked up at the windows in the car. All she could see from the floor were the grey clouds blanketing the sky. Illyana reminiscenced on how many times she¡¯d laid eyes on skies just like that one. How many times had she found peace in that monochrome view? How many afternoons had she been lulled into sleep during that weather? The sight of that sky only made her chest hurt more. Illyana knew she was never going to get afternoons like that again. Everything in the world has changed now. So why was the sky still the same? Illyana soon found herself cursing the sky now. Why did she have to see clouds that reminded her of peaceful memories? Peaceful memories she¡¯d never relive. Her eyes attempted to cry, but they were dried out. Illyana was left with the unsatisfying feeling of built-up tears. Illyana¡¯s fist closed. She wanted to slam it into the floor. But she knew if she did, she would risk getting caught. She had to silently vent her frustration. Illyana reread the same messages over and over. Not sure what else to do. Would she ever see her friends again? Was it possible? She wanted it to be possible. Her thumbs hovered over the keyboard. She kept reading them. They were out there. Surviving. Fighting. She could tell their spirits hadn¡¯t broken. Darnell was all over the place like a special agent. She giggled at the thought of him in gold armor and red cape, conquering every small town for the glory of Sparta. If he could fight, then why couldn¡¯t she? Granted, she wasn¡¯t Darnell. ¡°But he did say that success always starts with a mental, then mental makes physical,¡± Illyana mumbled to herself. Illyana looked up at the driver seat in front of her. She paused for a moment. Is it possible? ¡°It¡¯s possible.¡± Darnell stated. Darnell, Ryan, and Alicia stared out of the window of a stranger¡¯s home they¡¯d broken into. They were now only a couple of minutes away from the daycare. Major problem... a couple of minutes turns into half an hour when a horde of flesh-eating monsters is in your way. The trio had been sneaking through the neighborhood when they¡¯d come across the intimidating obstacle. Across the street, around the homes, and in the backyards, a collection of zombies had accumulated. They were lucky to even have a good view of the enemy. ¡°Darnell, that¡¯s even more than how many surrounded Tristan¡¯s house.¡± Alicia said. ¡°Yeah, like a buttload more,¡± he agreed. If it wasn¡¯t the apocalypse, anyone would assume there was a parade going on. Darnell continued, "But we can get past them." Ryan and Alicia''s hearts began to pound. They looked past Darnell and at each other. Ryan spoke up, "Darnell, there''s-" "Gotta be another way?" Darnell finished his sentence. "There isn''t. Look." Darnell pointed down at the sidewalk near the window. "There were three lurking there until now. Guess where they''re at now." Alicia and Ryan thought for a moment. What was Darnell talking about? Alicia imagined a tattered zombie, frolicking to the only area out of their line of sight. Slowly, walking around the house. Around the house. Alicia immediately felt a shiver down her spine. Darnell let it sink in before assuring, "We''re surrounded." Ryan glanced over his shoulder, with panic in his voice, "What? No, no." "If there''s a few back there, there could be even more that we don''t know about." Ryan raised his voice, "Well I''d rather fight a few than a hundred!" Darnell remained grounded, "It don''t make no difference how many are back there. If even one spots us, it makes noise, and the entire neighborhood knows we¡¯re here.¡± "You''ve gotta be kidding me." Ryan dropped his face into his palm, shaking his head. ¡°It¡¯s insane that they¡¯re gathering like this¡­¡± Darnell uttered. ¡°You have a plan right?¡± Alicia prompted. Her eyes stared at Darnell in wonder. Awaiting to be in awe about whatever idea Darnell schemed in his head. Darnell just continued to stare out the window. The glare of Darnell¡¯s obsidian pupils didn¡¯t even glance at her. After a moment of silence, Darnell finally spoke up, ¡°Ryan¡­ can you punch through the roof?¡± Ryan looked at Darnell with skepticism, then at the ceiling, ¡°I mean, yeah?¡± Ryan rapidly shook his head, trying to make sense of Darnell¡¯s question, ¡°W-why?¡± ¡°You guys are going to escape. Get to the daycare, as fast as you-¡± ¡°Why are you saying ¡®you guys?¡¯¡± Alicia interrupted Darnell. ¡°¡®You guys?¡¯¡± Alicia echoed what Darnell said in her head. Her heart dropped at the sound of that. Alicia attempted to speak calmly but her voice rose on it¡¯s own. ¡°What are you going to do?¡± she questioned Darnell. Darnell looked around the ceiling then in the direction opposite of the daycare. Darnell brought his eyes back down to Alicia, who had worry written all over her face. ¡°I¡¯m going to run too¡­¡± Darnell smiled, ¡°in the opposite direction.¡± ¡°What!?¡± ¡°As soon as Ryan breaks open the roof, I¡¯m going to jump onto it. I should attract the attention of every monster outside-¡± ¡°Darnell, are you crazy?¡± Ryan scolded. Darnell was unfazed by Ryan¡¯s comment, he continued, ¡°The houses are close enough that I can jump from roof to roof.¡± ¡°You can do what!?¡± Ryan shouted. ¡°No, Darnell!¡± Alicia took hold of Darnell¡¯s hand, ¡°You don¡¯t have to do that, let me help!¡± ¡°You wanna help?¡± Darnell said calmly. ¡°Yes, please,¡± Alicia had hope in her voice. ¡°You can help by making it to the daycare safe.¡± ¡°No!¡± Alicia¡¯s head fell and she gripped his hand tighter. Not again, she thought to herself. Alicia couldn¡¯t be a liability to Darnell again. She thought she¡¯d been doing so well. But history was repeating itself. Alicia had memories of a specific night sky surfacing. She tried to suppress it. But the more she fought, the stronger it grew. She remembered the yellow hue of the street lamps illuminating the sidewalk. The blue letterman jackets of the strangers. Darnell¡¯s back coming between her and them. The pounding in her chest as she left him behind. The streams of tears down her cheeks. It was barely a year ago. Alicia had finally managed to get Darnell to go bowling with her. Just the two of them. It was no easy task. Darnell had always busied himself after school. Then when he did agree to hang out, it was always with the whole group. Alicia had to go all-out to persuade him into it. ¡°Can you teach me how to bowl?¡± Alicia suddenly brought up during class. The two sat in the back of the average sized classroom. All of the desks were set up in pairs, so naturally, the two sat together. The teacher had finished the lesson and informed the class of their assignment. Now they were allowed to speak freely. While the rest of the class chattered, Darnell immediately started hustling through the work. Without even looking up, Darnell responded, ¡°You don¡¯t know how to bowl?¡± he had his eyebrow raised. ¡°I know how to bowl¡­¡± she answered, then cheered, ¡°But I want to bowl better!¡± Darnell flipped a page back and forth, ¡°What makes you think I¡¯m better than you?¡± ¡°Teemo told me you went bowling with his church, and you, and I quote, ¡®whooped ¡®em all.¡¯¡± ¡°I can¡¯t deny that story.¡± ¡°So you¡¯ll teach me to bowl?¡± Darnell sighed, ¡°Yeah, I¡¯ll show you a thing or two.¡±Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work! Alicia jumped with joy, ¡°EEEE!¡± she cheered, both fists in the air. Darnell flipped another page, ¡°When you wanna go?¡± he asked, ¡°I think Teemo and Makayla are free-¡± ¡°Just the two of us.¡± Alicia cut in. Darnell slowly turned his head to face Alicia. His eyebrows were raised with a slight grin on his face. ¡°Alicia.¡± he said sternly. ¡°It¡¯s not like that,¡± Alicia corrected, ¡°I just want to learn, that¡¯s it!¡± Darnell¡¯s expression didn¡¯t shift. ¡°Okay look, hear me out,¡± Alicia continued, pushing her hands forward as she spoke. ¡°Aight.¡± ¡°You know how when you do work, you don¡¯t want distractions, right?¡± Darnell glanced at his classwork, ¡°Crazy, right?¡± Alicia followed his eyes and giggled, continuing, ¡°Well if we invite anyone else, it¡¯ll be like a distraction.¡± ¡°Oh really?¡± ¡°And¡­ the harder it is for me to learn¡­ the harder it is for you to teach, right?¡± Darnell¡¯s eyes darted away for a moment, then came back, ¡°True dat.¡± Alicia put her hands on her heart, ¡°It needs to be convenient for you,¡± she said. ¡°Convenient for me.¡± ¡°So¡­ we should go alone.¡± Alicia put on a wide grin stretching from ear to ear. Darnell paused for a moment. Alicia held the smile. Darnell returned to the assignment, then said, ¡°We¡¯ll meet at your place tomorrow-¡± ¡°Yes!¡± Alicia shouted immediately. Darnell smiled, ¡°Be ready by 6 ight?¡± ¡°Gotcha!¡± Time passed in a blur as Alicia looked forward to that Saturday evening. She stood outside of her house, awaiting Darnell¡¯s arrival. She dressed herself as impressively as possible. Glittering shirt, a black ruffle skirt, makeup did, Alicia just outdid herself. Darnell didn¡¯t exactly get the memo. He appeared in his casual attire as if it was another day at school. Sweatpants, undershirt, and a wide open button shirt. There was no reason for him to dress up anyway, Alicia had told herself, they were just hanging out, nothing else. And that¡¯s what it was. They went to the bowling alley, and Darnell taught her how to bowl just as he¡¯d promised. Sure, they laughed and joked around a lot, but that was it. Sure, their faces had gotten really close and Alicia got to stare into the depths of his eyes, but that was it. And sure her heart was racing while in Darnell¡¯s embrace as he guided her hand down the alley, but, that. was. it. Their activities ended with absolutely positively nothing strange happening between them, yep. Alicia constantly reminded herself of this as the two walked down the sidewalk to her house. The sun had already fallen and been replaced by the moon. The sidewalk was lit by the yellow hue of the street lights. The two joked as they strolled along. ¡°Yo that man was givin¡¯ his all and for nothin¡¯,¡± Darnell laughed. ¡°No joke, remember when he tried to feed her his pizza!?¡± Alicia exclaimed. Darnell almost fell over laughing, ¡°Yo, her face!¡± Darnell hovered his hand over his own face, ¡°I thought she was gon¡¯ slap him!¡± ¡°I was gon¡¯ slap him for her!¡± Alicia exclaimed. ¡°Bruh, and wasn¡¯t he tryna flex his Reddit karma or sumn?¡± Alicia¡¯s face lit up as her hands moved up to cover wide open mouth, ¡°Oh noooo!¡± ¡°I was embarrassed just to hear that, I can¡¯t imagine her.¡± ¡°Ooh ooh, Darnell!¡± ¡°Hmm?¡± Alicia pulled him closer, ¡°I forgot to mention, but she was scheduling an Uber halfway through their game.¡± Darnell immediately reeled back, ¡°Ain¡¯t no way!¡± he shouted. ¡°I¡¯m not playin!¡± ¡°I¡¯m dead!¡± Alicia continued to laugh, and Darnell continued, ¡°You know she ain¡¯t care about price neither!¡± ¡°Nope!¡± ¡°She was ready to drop 30 to get outta there!¡± ¡°Hahahaha!¡± ¡°Oh man¡­¡± ¡°That¡¯s crazy¡­¡± Alicia said, calming down. The laughter of the two gradually faded away, but their smiles remained. They were silent for a moment, and Alicia broke it, ¡°Thank you, Darnell.¡± ¡°Hmm? For what?¡± Alicia¡¯s voice lowered, ¡°For coming out with me.¡± ¡°Oh girl that ain¡¯t nothin¡¯.¡± ¡°But you wanted to come with everyone else, and you¡¯re always busy, and-¡± ¡°Alicia. I always invite everyone to hangout because I just think it¡¯s more fun. But we can have fun with just the two of us if you want.¡± ¡°Really?¡± ¡°Yeah, and I¡¯m only busy cause I don¡¯t like wasting time, but spending time with you isn¡¯t a waste.¡± Alicia¡¯s eyes lit up staring at Darnell. Darnell met her gleaming gaze, saying, ¡°Real talk, pill talk.¡± The green in her eyes was shimmering. They hadn¡¯t even realized it, but they¡¯d stopped walking. ¡°Thank you.¡± she said softly. ¡°It ain¡¯t nothin¡¯, c¡¯mon, let¡¯s get you home.¡± Alicia nodded with an ¡°mhm.¡± The two were passing a park, a landmark signifying they were only a few minutes away from Alicia¡¯s home. Only a few minutes. They were so close. So why did everything have to end the way it did? Why? As the two passed the park, a dark figure emerged from the darkness ahead of them. His appearance didn¡¯t matter. All Alicia remembered was the blue and black letterman jacket he wore. Darnell and Alicia slowed to a halt when he appeared in front of them. Alicia assumed he just needed directions or something petty then would be on his way. Then Darnell stood between the stranger and her. ¡°You need directions or sum¡¯n?¡± Darnell called out. ¡°Woah! There a problem? In a rush?¡± the stranger spoke, Alicia remembered his voice being coarse. ¡°Yea, it¡¯s almost time for lunch,¡± Darnell pointed at the night sky, ¡°move along, I¡¯m hungry.¡± The stranger scoffed, and spit something on the ground. ¡°Alright then, we¡¯ll make this quick.¡± There was more shuffling in the darkness. Darnell¡¯s hand slowly came around Alicia and pushed her further behind him and away from the park. Alicia looked to her left and noticed more figures emerging. Three more, all wearing the same blue and black letterman jacket. Alicia¡¯s heart was still pounding, but for a different reason now. She didn¡¯t know why, but her legs were starting to shake. She clutched to Darnell¡¯s back. ¡°I¡¯m sure you can tell what we want,¡± the stranger in front of them said. Some of them snickered. ¡°Directions.¡± Darnell answered confidently. ¡°This motha-¡± the stranger scoffed again as he turned to his posse. One of the three to their side yelled, ¡°Hey man, you wanna die!?¡± He pulled a switchblade out of his pocket. As soon as Alicia saw it, her heart sank. She looked at Darnell, who hadn¡¯t budged. What were they supposed to do? The ringleader waved his hand, ¡°Woah calm down,¡± he looked back at Darnell with a smirk, ¡°look man, I¡¯m sure we both don¡¯t want to get hurt.¡± ¡°I can agree with that.¡± Darnell said. ¡°So let¡¯s make this easy for all of us.¡± The ringleader looked left and right before continuing, ¡°We¡¯ll let you scram, and we¡¯ll take care of the girl for you.¡± The others snickered, one of them added, ¡°Yeah, real good care, heheheh.¡± Darnell tilted his head back laughing, ¡°Oh! That¡¯s what yall need!¡± The ringleader smiled and nodded his head, ¡°Yeah that¡¯s all!¡± Darnell¡¯s voice lowered, ¡°Y¡¯all need directions to Hell.¡± Their smiles dropped. ¡°Alright.¡± the ringleader uttered, he nodded his head at one of the goons. Alicia suddenly felt Darnell¡¯s hand pushing her aggressively. She peaked from behind him and one of the goons was moving towards their rear while another tried to walk to the street on their right. Alicia¡¯s mind became jumbled to the point she couldn¡¯t control herself. ¡°Go girl!¡± Darnell yelled, he pushed Alicia into the street, getting her further from the goons. ¡°Wait, Darnell, no!¡± Alicia shouted. She knew what Darnell was trying to do. She looked all around at all four of the goons who were closing in on them. She had to help him. She couldn¡¯t leave him there. Her heart raced faster. Alicia couldn¡¯t think straight. Tears were welling in her eyes. Her mind was a torrent of panic and fear. Fear for Darnell. Fear for what would happen if she left him. Darnell roared at her again, ¡°I said go Alicia!¡± Her mind suddenly cleared. His face was twisted in anger. She¡¯d never heard or seen Darnell as frustrated as now. But his words reverberated through her entire body. Before she knew it, she took off in the opposite direction. Alicia felt a tear stream down her face. From behind her, she could hear cursing, then faint grunts and a slam against the pavement. There were more noises but they grew less discernible as she got further away. Alicia ran and ran. She ran as far as her legs would take her. She ran so fast the wind dried her tears as they flowed from her eyes. She tripped, but she caught herself, and kept running. She didn¡¯t dare look back. If I look back, I run slower, she remembered, that¡¯s what Darnell taught her. She thought about nothing else but running. She ran through the entire neighborhood, until she made it to a busy street. She ran down the street too. Her legs were burning, but she kept running. She forced herself to run despite the pain in her lungs. She just kept running. She didn¡¯t want to feel anything else. She feared that if she stopped running, the pain of her heart would overwhelm her. Alicia ran until she had reached a gas station. She bursted into the brightly lit store, scaring the clerk. He said something to her, but Alicia didn¡¯t hear it. She immediately pulled out her phone, and unlocked it. She went to the dial pad realizing she could¡¯ve just used the emergency dial. Didn¡¯t matter now. Alicia called 9-1-1. She told them everything. The rest of the night was pure agony. Everything was a blur. The faces of the officers were fuzzy, everything that she heard and said was hazy. She did remember sitting on her porch after being escorted. She did remember hearing the officer saying they couldn¡¯t find anything except blood. She did remember Darnell not picking up his phone. She did remember Illyana and Makayla came. The police told them somewhat of everything. The rest of the week was pure agony. She couldn¡¯t do her work. She couldn¡¯t pay attention to the teacher. She walked into the wrong class at least seven times. She remembered staying up all night on her phone, waiting. Waiting to hear anything from Darnell. She wanted him to magically appear before her, perfectly healthy. The longer she waited, the weaker she felt. She passed out in class at least five times. She was sent home early Wednesday. She got to stay home Thursday and Friday. She remembered crying into her pillow over and over. She remembered not being able to eat. She remembered not being able to move. She remembered how powerless she was. She remembered how she didn¡¯t help him. Her heart felt like it was being stabbed over and over. Alicia told herself she deserved it. She told herself it was her fault, if she never saw him again. She remembered punching her mattress. Why did she have to ask him to go out? Why did she convince him to go alone? She hurt herself. Makayla had to watch her. Makayla wasn¡¯t doing too good either. No one was. Alicia remembered hearing the knock on her door that Sunday. She remembered hearing Makayla¡¯s screams and cries from across the house. She remembered seeing him. She thought she was hallucinating. She thought it was a dream. She remembered feeling him again. She remembered his embrace. That warmth that she hadn¡¯t felt since that night. She remembered everyone coming over to see him. She didn¡¯t remember his explanation for why he went missing. She only cared that he was there again. But now she was about to lose him again. Darnell dragged Ryan over to the spot he wanted him to punch through. Alicia shook her head rapidly, pulling herself back to the present. Alicia ran over to Darnell and wrapped her arms around him, yelling ¡°No! Darnell please! Let me help!¡± Darnell placed his hands on her sides and stared deep into her eyes, which were glossing with tears. He spoke softly, ¡°You can help me.¡± Alicia nodded her head. ¡°If I know you¡¯re safe at the daycare, that would help me.¡± Alicia¡¯s knees buckled and she shook her head, ¡°No, no, no, no¡­¡± she uttered. Before she knew it, Darnell had slipped from her grasp. ¡°I¡¯ll be okay,¡± he said to her. Then jumped out of the hole.