Screams. It sounded like there were thousands of screams coming from behind me. I ran as hard as I could, my feet hitting the pavement in a sick, rushed tempo. Any hope that I had for surviving this horde was slowly draining away. I was too tired, too weary to even attempt to shoot at the zombies. I could feel my time running out. So much had happened in such a short amount of time, and I doubted I could bear it much longer.

"Sophie!" I stopped in the midst of the thinning crowd to glance back at my friend. She jogged up to my side, a textbook clutched to her chest.

"Hey Alice, what's up?"

"Did you see the news?" She glanced around nervously. "Another state's been consumed. They made the announcement this morning." She clutched her book tighter and lowered her voice. "It's getting closer, Sophie... it won't... it won't be long before..."

I pressed my lips together and shook my head. "It won't get here. This thing can't last. They've made that new vaccine, the one that's supposed to prevent it from spreading, yeah?" I started walking towards the end of the hall, and she kept stride with me.

She shifted her textbook to one arm and lifted her hand up to rub at the back of her neck. "Parents are pulling their kids out of school... they're moving away, trying to get out of the country... nearly half the kids in my English class were gone. My teacher didn't even bother taking roll."

I was beginning to grow agitated. "Well then, sucks for them when it turns out this thing is put under control, and they've wasted hundreds of dollars for nothing. You know what," I lifted my shoulders. "I'm not even going to worry about it."

She took two large strides and turned around to stand in front of me, blocking my path. "There's footage everywhere. They don't show them on the news stations but... they're all over the internet. It's scary, Soph. The things that happen to those people... it's fucking horrifying." She stared at me intently. I tried not to change my expression, but I began to grow uncomfortable. I shifted awkwardly and tried to sidestep her.

"How are you not scared by this? People are dying. They're turning into zombies for god's sake."

I managed to step around and walked past her, leaving her standing in the middle of an empty hall. I managed to slip into my class right before the bell rang, and found a seat near the back. As I flipped through the pages of the textbook, I thought of what Alice had said. I didn't... the "Infection" wasn't something I wanted to think about. Not now, not tomorrow, and nowhere in the near future. It felt wrong. Like when you wake up from a dream, and you suddenly realize how none of the stuff you dreamt about could have really happened.

I stopped flipping through the pages when I noticed a thumbnail of a medieval painting, printed on the corner of the page. In it, the artist had made the sky dark, with stormy clouds swirling around the sky. A person was looking up towards the clouds, his expression a look of what could only be described as pure anguish. His body was disfigured, with angry welts covering his skin. The painting was titled Plague.

I closed the textbook.

My legs were beginning to give out. I pushed myself harder, a single thought rushing through my head. You don't want to die this way. You don't want to die this way. My hands were sweaty, and my grip on the metal barrel began to slip. I didn't have the courage to glance back, but I knew they were gaining. The screams were louder. It'll hurt. Part of me pleaded with the Sophie that wanted to crumble to the ground, the Sophie that just wanted it to end. It'll hurt like nothing you could ever imagine. Keep going, pleaded that part of me. Keep going.

The ride to school the next morning was tense. I stared straight ahead, my hands resting in my lap and fumbling with my backpack's strap. I stole a quick glance at my mother. Her fingers were tapping impatiently on the steering wheel.

"Uncle Stan is inviting us to his house."

I swallowed. "For how long?"

"For... however long we want to stay."

I kept silent.

She threw her hands up in the air, then jabbed at the radio. A man's voice filled the car. "...reports of Tennessee being consumed as well, and we'll have more info on that as soon as possible..."

"This is ridiculous, Sophie. I honestly don't understand why you're being so stubborn in the first place. This is for your safety, people are dying out there and you just want... want to wait until the Infection reaches you?" She stared at me in disbelief. "What are you-"

I cut her off by reaching over and turning the volume up on the radio.

"It has now been announced that there are to be no citizens traveling in or out of the United States under any circumstances. All flights in or out of the country are currently being cancelled. I repeat, the President has announced that nobody is to travel in or out of the United States. The date in which this restriction will be lifted is currently unknown."

My mother inhaled slowly. "We can still move further west," she said in a softer voice.

"And try to outrun something we'll never be able to escape?" I opened the car door and climbed out, then hoisted my bag onto my shoulder. "...in theory."

"Just think about it," she called out behind me. The window was rolled down, and she was leaning over the passenger seat. "Who knows?"

I nodded and walked away and into the school.

There were less students at the school today than there were yesterday. A strange, tense energy throbbed throughout the campus. It was obvious that many of the students were nervous, and extraordinarily cautious - people were filing in and out of the restrooms all day just to wash their hands. The teachers tried their best to act as if everything was fine, that everything was normal, but throughout the lesson their energy would deflate and they would give up, resigning to sitting at their desk in silence.

I lost my appetite halfway through my lunch. I got up and dumped my tray into a trashcan, and walked back to my locker. Someone was leaning against it, their arms folded across their chest. I couldn't tell who it was - they were bundled up in a grey sweatshirt, the hood loosely hanging over their head. As I walked closer, I began to recognize who it was.

"Alice?" I called out. She lifted her head and looked at me, and a faint smile crossed her face.

I chuckled softly. "What are you doing in that monster?" I playfully tugged at the sweatshirt. I felt bad for snapping at her yesterday.

"Nothing else was clean..." she mumbled softly. I started to get a good look at her face. It seemed darker and less lively than it used to be. There were bags under her eyes, and her hair fell in stringy locks around her face.

"Are you okay? You look terrible."

She wrapped her arms around her chest.

"I couldn't sleep last night. Listen, I was going to..." She took a deep breath. "We're moving. Up to Maine. My mom's a wreck. She saw a video last night and..." Alice laughed softly. "We're not allowed out of the country, but I'm pretty sure my mom would swim the Atlantic to get away from the Flu. She thinks Maine will be safer for us."

"I..." My sentence was cut short - Alice gasped and stumbled forwards. She clutched at her throat and began to cough violently.

"Oh my god-"

"I just- I need to - restroom." She ran down the hall and all but crashed into the restroom door, disappearing behind it.

I stood in the empty hallway, stunned. Was she infected? No, absolutely not, she had been fine yesterday. There was no way she could have caught the disease. My eyes glanced to my left at the locker she had been leaning against. I was standing so close to her. Did she cough on me?

The bell rang. I stayed frozen to my spot as students began to file out of the cafeteria. Part of me knew I should go and check on her, but another part was scared. Scared of what I'd find.

I walked in the opposite direction towards my next class.

I didn't have many options left. My lungs were on fire. My feet felt heavier with each step. I couldn't run forever. I fumbled with the gun in my hands, praying that I wouldn't fuck up and drop it. I heard the familiar click. I glanced up towards the stormy sky and screamed. "You owe me this!" I turned and somehow managed not to trip. I continued to stumble backwards as I kept my eyes trained on the zombies. I pressed on the trigger and kept my finger clenched down.