School's End

Chapter I: Classes are suspended

It was almost winter and the days are getting colder. At the college of Livingstone, the students of Professor Simms don't even bother what he was saying. "In my earlier days, we only had a chance to get to college because we worked while we are studying, we…." and he went on and on. He was an old professor who wasn't popular with the students, instead of teaching his subject; he tended to tell the story of his past life.

"There he goes again" grumbled some of the students at the back seats.

"Well, I'm pretty sure we are in the right classroom," asked Brenda irritably, as she reads her notes for her other subjects through her big round spectacles that almost cover the upper-part of her face. She almost tore the sheet in her frustration.

"I think I enrolled in HistoryOfMyOldProfessor101…" said Dan. He tried to sound as serious as he can. He wasn't watching the professor; instead he spun a pen at his fingers for amusement while brushing his spiky hair with his hand.

"Is that a joke? ...that's… too corny" said Shiela raising an eyebrow. She's simple and pretty, but her snobbish ways intimidate a lot of guys.

Dan frowned. "At least Xander laughed," he pointed out.

Xander replied in a lazy tone, "I think it's much better than Sir Simms' stories." He yawns as he looked at Professor Simms with his eyes half closed, his right hand at his chin and his elbow resting on the armrest. It doesn't take a genius to tell that he loves watching Anime and Asian series because of the style of his hair.

Dan dropped the pen he was playing and it rolled near to Xander's feet. As Xander bowed down to reach for it, suddenly the lights go off, as the light flickers, the classroom became a mess; blood was splattered throughout the room. Students looked awful, red tears of blood ooze down their cheeks, contrasting their perfectly pale skins. They are attacking the normal ones, tearing and biting much like wild beasts feasting on a dead deer. And amidst the chaos Xander stood like a statue, completely paralyzed. It's as if he was restrained by chains he cannot break.

One student was walking unsteadily to him coughing hard with blood. As the creature approaches, he recognized the face. It's one of his friends.

"B…Br...Brenda…" he called out in a shaking voice. He was about to say something more but the moment all of the creatures noticed his existence, they are lunging for him. His mind is at chaos; his heart is pounding in his chest like it is trying to get out.

A ferocious growl somewhere far outside the locker snapped him back to reality.

"Ouch!!" squeaked Xander after hitting something hard in his face. Now wide awake, he examined where he was. Apparently the locker was a compartment for clothes and shoes for the baseball club players. He realized he was just dreaming.

"Shhh…. I should also be saying that! You almost broke my glasses with your head butt," whispered a girl in front of him. The darkness was hiding her whole face since Xander's head was blocking the sole rectangular shaped opening that allowed light to stream through. "Let's wait for 'it' to be far away so we can come out safe."

"What makes you think we can be safe after that?" asked Xander exasperatingly.

"Shhh… please just whisper ok?"

"Sorry…" he said silently after realizing his fault. "May I know your name?"

"I think we always meet on the hallway… I'm Hitomi Sanada. Nice to meet you."

"I am Alexander Timelock. Just call me Xander. Nice place to get introduced for the first time huh?"

They will have burst out laughing if not for Xander's hands covering his and Hitomi's mouth.

"You know…um… this is the first time my face is close to a guy."

Xander turned four shades of red when he realized he had his arm resting on her shoulders.

"A...Anyway, w…we should think of a plan… how we could get out of here alive… I…I don't hear any of those growls anymore…"

"Me either, so what now?"

"I…I'll go out first, I'll call you out after if it's safe, if not stay here as long as you can, and try to wait for so-"

A hand to his mouth shuts him up effectively.

"Don't say that, we are both going to survive this… let's have faith, ok? I'll wait for your call."

Xander smiled and nod before he taking a baseball and placed it in his pocket.

"I might need this."

It was already evening as he walked cautiously in the moonlit room, fear clouding his empty mind. There is a crunch of compressed plastic; he had trodden a mineral bottle on the floor. There are opened and closed lockers, towels, shoes, and dirty baseball uniforms scattered across the room, splattered with blood.

He felt goose bumps rise as he walked silently, searching for a possible weapon. That was when he saw a baseball club.

"Just what I need," he told himself. He looked cautiously across the room while carrying the baseball bat at shoulder level and assumed a stance, ready to strike. After clearing the area he silently closed the door, feeling safe, he got back and get Hitomi.

"This room is free from those things, I need your help to push the closest cabinet to block the door," instructed Xander calmly to Hitomi.

After barricading the door, they sat in front of the window with their back leaning against a cabinet. Xander asked "How did I got inside the locker with you in the first place?"

"I saw you lying in front of this locker room," answered Hitomi. "Of course at first I was cautious, you might be one of those creatures, but you looked normal so I checked your pulse and carried you to this room, Then I heard something so I stash us in the locker.

"Th…thank God you were the first one to see me lying outside…" said Xander staring at the window.

"Umm… do you remember anything after you passed out?" she asked.

"Wait I'll try to refresh my memory a bit…I was in class and… the fire alarm just set off, we thought it's another fire drill, or someone playing a trick again, but we heard screams. Our professor told us not to panic and go to the nearest fire exit, but me and my friends were separated after going outside because of the stampede. I was certain it's not fire, I couldn't smell smoke. I saw strange moving students and some staffs were attacking the other people outside the window, so I ran going down the stairs. Maybe I was bumped strongly by the stampede of the people and got knocked out cold, and here I am now, saved by you as you have told me, thanks…" said Xander with a smile. He later felt Hitomi sleeping with her head on his shoulder; he could see Hitomi's hair at the corner of her eyes.

"We'll need all the strength we have to survive this," he said and closed his eyes.