In Darkness & Light

Garrett rushed into the room, his hair back in front of his eyes. He was taking quick, hurried breaths. You could tell he just ran quickly. His face looked terrified.

“Everyone! There’s… things out there… we all have to stay in here… it’s not safe out there. I just watched someone get eaten by one of those things,” Garrett said, trying to catch his breath. He instantly looked over at me, and I could see the fear in his eyes but I just looked down at my phone. I had no service, which was unusual.

A boy in my class named Zack stood up from his chair. “What do you mean?”

Garrett looked over to Zack, taking a deep breath. “I think there are zombies out there…”

Everyone was quiet for a moment, and then the room was filled with a burst of laughter. Some people were laughing so hard that they were crying. Garrett was known to love zombies. He would wear shirts with zombies on them, read comic books about zombies, play zombie video games, and he was a zombie last year for Halloween. Only I knew this, but he was planning on getting the tattoo of a zombie on the back of his leg.

“Shut the fuck up, you freak,” Zack said. “I’ll go check to see if the zombies are coming!” Zack walked to the classroom door, pushing Garrett out of the way. I heard Garrett mumble something under his breath. A minute passed and then Zack walked back in.

“See, you faggot? There’s nothi-“Zack started to say, but as soon as he started his word, something behind him pounced on him and started to gnaw on his neck. He let out a horrible, pain filled scream which made us all go wide eyed. Mostly everyone screamed and we all ran to the back of the room. Garrett was closest, and he quickly walked over, pushing Zack out into the hallway and slamming the door. A girl in the class who was friends with Zack started screaming.

“What are you doing?!” She screamed. “Let him in! We have to save him!”

Garrett was getting angry. “Are you fucking stupid? Once a zombie bites you, you’re either dead or you turn into one of them. Someone go look outside and see if any are out there.”

I walked to where the windows were. The blinds were down, so I found the string to open them. My eyes went wide when I saw what was outside.

There had to be hundreds of them wandering the busy streets of our city. There were dead bodies on the sidewalks and even in the middle of the street. No cars were in the driveways or on the sides of road; everyone had tried to leave to avoid this. We all realized now that there was no power, and the clock was off by two hours. There was no way of getting help since no one had service, and there was no power anymore. I looked back towards this room filled with 14 confused and terrified people.

“We can’t go outside,” I said, shutting the blinds. Everyone knew Garrett would have the answer for us how to get out. I looked over to him, not realizing that I was pouting.

He looked at all of us and then sighed. “I don’t have any weapons; I don’t know what to do. If what I’ve learned is correct, they can’t see anything. They rely on hearing where people are. If we can all be quiet, we could get out and take one of the school buses. It’s big enough to plow through them without the windshield getting dirty.”

Everyone had no idea what to do, but no one wanted to leave. Everyone agreed that it would be easier to stay in the classroom. Garrett looked over at me. “Stas, I don’t want to leave you here… please come with me.”

I looked at him and then to the floor, not knowing what to do, so I didn’t answer. He walked over to me, grabbing my arm.

“If you stay here, you’re going to die. I don’t want you to die. Do you want to die?” I shook my head and he continued. “Please just get your bag and come with me.”

My eyes drifted back up to him, his teal eyes sincere. I nodded quickly, and he let go of my arm. I picked up my bag off the floor, putting it on my shoulders, and he did the same.

“Mr. Shaw, do you have a broom or anything that’s long and I could break to make a point?” Garrett asked and Mr. Shaw stood up. He walked over to his closet, taking out a broom and he handed it to Garrett. Garrett put the broom part under his foot and broke it off, leaving the end of the stick in pointy metal. He handed it to me. “You take it, I can defend myself.” I didn’t speak, and I nodded. Garrett walked over to the door, putting his hand on the doorknob. He didn’t open it just yet before speaking. “Don’t say anything after I open this door, okay? And walk quietly and slowly.”

“Okay,” I responded.

“On the count of three,” he said.

“One.”

“Two.”

“Three,” I said, and then he opened the door.

Zack was laying right outside of the door, covered in blood and dead. I took a deep breath and I stepped over him after Garrett. The hallway was filled with them. Some were sitting on the ground, unable to stand up. They were so ugly looking; their skin was a pale green color, the area where they were bitten was covered in blood which smelt putrid and it looked infected beyond repair, even some insects picking at the infected wounds. I wanted to puke on the floor when I saw all of these things roaming the halls. They were people I actually knew, too. I could see a woman down some way of the hall; she was my Biology teacher three years back. I saw a girl that I shared gym with this year. All of these people were dead. They weren’t actually dead, but they weren’t alive.

Garrett looked over at me, putting his pointer finger to his lips and then pointed to the stairs. He offered me his hand, his eyes burning into me. I put my hand on top of his, and he intertwined our fingers. At first, I didn't realize how awkward it was, but at this moment in time, I didn't care if a zombie killed us. I just cared if my hand wasn't sweaty. We walked slowly and quietly down the stairs, and it felt like an eternity as we walked each step slowly to not make noise. Once we got to the bottom of the stairs, we walked quietly down the bloody hallway. There were bodies laying on the ground that were in the process of changing, and some people that were still alert and alive, but bitten. Garrett pulled me through, ignoring the pains and cries of the dying people. I couldn't help but look at them, their faces covered in their tears as they cry in fear and the pain. There was a freshman boy begging us to help him. I just frowned and Garrett continued to pull me through the hallway.

We heard footsteps approaching behind us, and we both turned our heads at the same time. I lifted my weapon slightly, expecting to see a zombie. To our surprise, it was John and Pat, Garrett's best friends and band members. John was tall and skinny. He was wearing a plaid shirt and a pair of jeans. His hair was a light brown and it fell in front of his eyes, but it was usually pushed back. Pat wasn't as tall as John, he was about at Garrett's height. His hair was long and straight, and it was very long. It had to be the length of mine. He always says that he keeps it long because his ears are too big.

"I fuckin' told you Pat, Garrett would be trying to get out of here!" John said, slapping the back of Pat's head.

Pat frowned and rubbed his head. "I never doubted you!"

Garrett shook his head. "You guys have to be quiet. I don't know if there are any zombies around. The plan is for us to run to the bus garage and take a bus. It should be a quick run over. We all have to go together and work as a team, though. You guys in?"

John and Pat nodded at the same time, and John patted my shoulder. "Nice to see you, Anastasia. It's been awhile."

I gave him a friendly smile. "That it has, but we've all been forced together under horrible circumstances."

John nodded. "We'll all make it through this, Garrett's a fucking expert on these things, right Garrett?"

Garrett smirked. "I wouldn't say expert... and did you guys see Ryan or Alex at all?"

Pat's face went blank and John's glaze went down. "They got bit," John said, looking back to Garrett. "Can we just go? We can stop at my house and get guns if we need to." John's father was an avid hunter. John knew how to shoot a gun, and he taught all of the band how to shoot, too.

Garrett nodded, fixing his bag on his shoulder. "We need to stop there. We'll also get food and water. We can all fit in John's clothes, and Stas, you can wear his mom's clothes."

I nodded my head. "Do you think our families are still home?" I asked our small group.

"I doubt it," Garrett said. "My best guess is that they all fled to find safety, but little does anyone know, there is no safety. This world is going to turn to a mad place, and there's a small chance anyone will survive to tell the tale. But I want to put us in that small chance. You guys ready to leave this place?"

We all agreed and walked to the main entrance through the lobby. I don't think any of us were prepared for what was outside.