Author's Note: Hey guys, it's me again! You may or may not know me, but, nice to meet you all, I guess! I'm happy to say that you picked my story out of interest! After reading "Georgia Rose", by a fellow author in the community, I became immensely inspired to write this story. I've decided to pick up the "Z-Day Project", and continue it. This is one of the few times that I'll accept OCs, unless I do a spin off, sequel, and there is ONE more chance for OCs, which is another story in the future. If you want to send in an OC, PM me for the Sign Up Sheet (I removed it from here to avoid it being clunky). I'll only accept limited time. Otherwise, I hope you enjoy this story. I strongly request that you are NOT a silent reader!
Ever since I was six years old, my schedule everyday would be the same. It would involve, getting up, going to school, and coming home. With the occasional eating and free time games on the side, but that's not the point. The point is, life was always fairly simple for me; even for me nine years later on. Never once did it involve me putting a bullet through someone's brain. Until recently.
"Caius!" I whisper as I hear unclipped nails follow behind me. I'm crouching as I walk with a fire truck red axe in both of my hands. I have a large butcher's knife clipped to the side of my sideways, black belt. It glimmers as I past by an emergency flood light that is still running, despite the power going out a week ago. I imagine that it is connected to the emergency generator hidden somewhere in the school, most likely attached to a timer and a switch that is run automatically. It's amazing what Humans can do when they put their minds to work.
As I'm walking, I'm listening for any noise. Shrieking, gurgling, coughing, and even crying are all indications that one of "them" is nearby. I call my enemies "them", because I have nothing else to call them. I don't expect to hear much, I pretty much cleared out everything from this area to my place and back again. I actually come here once a day to loot something from the cafeteria for me, Caius, and Ziggy to share. I fear that the supplies here won't last much longer.
"Caius," I whisper and put my hands out in front of the chest of my dog. He stops all together, with his ears down. He's listening, too. He can hear it, too. Footsteps. I could be ready for a regular "creature", but something was odd about these footsteps. It wasn't running towards me, it didn't sense me. Whatever it was, it had no idea I was here. They sounded heavy, though. "Shh," I say quietly to Caius as I move forward, reaching the edge of the hallway, which goes into another hall. I hear voices.
"Dammit, that was a close one, Neil, are you okay?!" The first voice sounds strange, concerned. It almost sounds disoriented to me; probably because I haven't heard another voice in about three or four days now. "Neil?" I see a flashlight flicker on, and I move back a few feet. So it's true; they are Humans. They don't appear to show any signs of infection either. Both confusing and frightening. "Yeah, I'm fine, bro," the second voice chimes in, sounding groggy and tired.
"Neil, you're a goddamn mess! Don't you lie to me!" The second voice nearly yells, and I hear the sounds of creatures moving towards them. One in specific and it lets out a squeal as it comes. I notice it early and dash down the hall, Caius is following me. It's obvious that we are exposed, especially with how loud Caius's nametag chimes as we run down. "Die!" I say, smacking my axe with a loud crunch! into the side of the neck of the creature. Its head rolls off and hits the ground before the body comes tumbling down after it. It makes a thud!, and I realize that I'm covered in blood.
"Holy shit, that was close," I sigh and turn around. I can see the glow of Caius's eyes through the darkness of the school. Well, it's not entirely dark; there is a flood light on in that hallway, plus the glow of the flashlight the one kid had been holding. It was now on the floor, obviously dropped in shock. The kid picks it up and shines it in my face. For a moment, I'm blind. I defensively hold my axe up to block my face from the shining light. "Who are you?" The kid says, dropping the flashlight, and I drop my axe in relief. It makes a loud clank as it hits the floor. "I should ask you the same thing."
"If you are here to kill us and then rob us, get it down with," he says quietly, and I stare at him through the darkness. I can see the outline of his body, but damn, I can't see his face. "I don't care anymore, and my partner is dying," he mumbles so low that almost I can hear it. I doubt his friend would be able to. Actually, I hope his friend doesn't hear it. I'd feel pity for anyone who knew they were going to die. I must shock him or something, because I hear a light gasp, "I'm Arietta Liesel Blanc. And who are you?"
He stays quiet for a minute, "I'm Grayson," and I continue for him. I know the entire school from being observant as my time here, "Grayson Wallace," I say and then I look over there, "Neil Zarah. Am I wrong?" Grayson goes silent before replying, "No, that's amazing, how did you know that?" I sigh, and lean down to pick up my axe and move it aside. "I'm more on the sidelines than anything. I catch on," I say, going over and leaning down besides Neil, "Hey there. You conscious?" I hear moving in the dark, "Yeah, I'm awake."
"Alright then, I'll get you back up on your feet in no time. Assuming Grayson is willing to cooperate," I say, trying to examine Neil, but I can't see anything in the dark. I can tell he is leaning up against the wall in pain, "I'm going to die, aren't I?" I laugh lightly, "That depends, how cute are you?" I think I hear a slight snicker as well, "Pretty brave for a Freshman." I nod my head and correct him, "Sophomore."
I turn to face Grayson, "Give me a hand, would you? Let me grab my axe and I want you to help me carry him back to my place. It isn't far, and zombies shouldn't be a threat between the two of us and my dog, Caius." I think I see Grayson nodding in the darkness, "Yeah, absolutely," I go over and pick up my axe. Quickly, I pull my PSP out of my pocket and click on the icon that allows me to connect to the Internet. I brashly click on it, and try to access the internet. No servers are online, not even the "T-Mobile", that is always on there. I sigh and shove it my jean pockets. I call Caius over, and tie the axe to his back with an extra belt I had in my bag and go over to help Grayson.
"Okay, let's get moving."
