No Time To Bleed

“I really don't know why we're in here. Jasmine did it in self defense.” Ryant said.

Jesse sighed. “Jessica was being way out of line, I swear. I'm gonna need to to talk to her.”

“Do all the talking you want. I'm gonna beat her ass the next time she mess with me.”

Ryant chuckled. “You did a pretty good job. Did you see when her face hit the floor?!”

I laughed and the doorknob to the room unlocked. We were in a conference room with one window near the ceiling. Frosted glass was the only thing that covered the wall along with the door.

“I need all of your parent's numbers now!” The principal came barreling with a manilla folder that he slammed down to the table.

He was one of those middle aged African American male with a balding head of salt and pepper hair. And his mustache was hanging off just an inch.

“Ryant wasn't even fighting!” I protested.

“Get your hands off me! I need to go to the nurse!” Another voice shouted.

“Principal McMillan, we got a spicy one! Do you wanna use right of removal?” It was a security guard and a second later Jessica's figure was nudged into the door with the man behind her.

The principal's voice strained as he answered. “Just put her in here. If we have anymore fights, I'll get all of these kids expelled. I don't need problems at my school.”

“We didn't do anything!” Jesse and Ryant shouted simultaneously.

“Shut up! I run this school!” McMillan shouted back before whipping his head to Jessica. “Get in here now.”

Jessica rolled her eyes while breezing past and didn't even sit to the table. She stood in the corner and the door locked behind her. The room filled with silence.

“Nice nose.” I smirked.

“You're not even worth being at this school. You'll get suspended the minute your mother answers the phone with the heroin needles in her arms.”

I seethed. “That's really really unique. You're a fucking racist!”

My shout rang across the room and Ryant seemed to be frantic.

“Why don't you just shut up, Jessica. We're already in enough trouble.”

Jessica laughed. “Trouble? I didn't do anything and I'm make sure my mom handles this. All three of you are gonna be out of here.”

“And what exactly can your mom do?” I challenged.

Jessica smiled. “Don't you know my dad? He's head of this state's private school district. He'll do anything for me.”

“Why don't you shut up?!” Jesse shouted. “Nobody cares about your stuck up father! You're a bitch!”

Jessica froze chest heaving as she stared back to Jesse. She stepped forward until she was just a foot away from him.

“What did you just say to me?”

“Do I have to repeat myself? You're a bitch.”

“I never-”

“Oh my God! Oh my God! Somebody help me!”

We all froze. Screams had erupted pass the frosted glass. A figure slammed against the glass and red splattered everywhere. Heavy groans and screams gurgled like liquid as the body sank to the floor. The dark figure went scrambling away from the slumped body.

“What was that?” Ryant asked.

The fire alarm went off next and faint thumps could be heard.

“That thing tore his neck out with it's teeth.” Jesse answered.

“It wasn't a thing.” I said. “It was human.”

We all stood, fingers shaking and voices trapped in our throat. Something was happening.

The glass wall shattered under impact and we all fell back, shielding our eyes. I reached for Ryant and pulled him back til he was behind me. The creature before us wasn't an animal. It was a human. Limbs torn to shreds. Blood dripping from teeth. Eyes shot red. A deep gash and brains steaming from it's skull. And back hunched over til the bones cracked with every movement.

“Um, who are you?” Jessica asked, fear freezing her limbs.

The thing's eyes switched to all of us and stopped on Jessica. It lunged for her, screams snarling from it's throat. Jesse went diving for it, barely budging the thing as it shoved him back. Jessica still screaming and fighting with the, the, the... zombie wrapped above her.

My hand went for a metal waste basket. I slammed it into the zombie's skull and it seized over. Without a second moment, I brought the basket down again. My hands held a sure grip as it came down with a sickening crack.

“Die...” SMASH!

“You ugly piece of...” CRUNCH!

“I freaking hate...”

“Jasmine, you can stop.” Jesse came in.

The waste bucket crumpled from my hands and my breaths were in a tortured heave. My ears were pounding, everything inside me was burning up. The body stayed frozen to the floor, brains and bone sagged together in a liquid mess. Jessica backed away on her hands and knees, tears still stuck to her cheeks.

“I think we need to get moving. Something weird is going on and it's bad.” Jesse repeated.

Ryant shook his head. “It's not something new. It's that virus they've been talking about the last few weeks, the one that manipulates flesh. Yesterday, they said it had effects on humans psychologically.”

I stepped over the dead zombie's legs, sneakers crunching on the broken glass.

When had the school gotten so quiet?

They seemed to knock out of their conversation and follow me past the main desk. We all stopped short of the figure motionless on the floor, the security guard that had dragged Jessica in. Before any more words could be exchanged, I kneeled down, searched his waist and found the holster. The gun felt smooth and dark in my hands, dangerous.

I looked back to them, still crouched next the guard. “You guys ready to kill some zombies?”

Jessica's eyes seemed hollow. Jesse almost seemed amused in the sickest way, like this was turning him on. Ryant just seemed plain right terrified. Three people I had to protect and some sort of cannibal virus spreading through the school.

A scream came through the hallway and my phone buzzed in my pocket. Time to hunt for some dead meat.