"Move! Move!"

While the flock of twenty students were being pushed back by the undead horde before them, they were still aptly defending themselves. The impromptu leader, Rory Paxton, stood at the front, swinging the cricket bat he had found when the situation started hours earlier at the heads of the undead. Not yet fully decomposed, having only been dead today, the walkers were still in tact, making slaying them quite the project.

Contradicting some of the boys' expectations, the girls were quick to step up to the plate. Cayenne Reirson stabbed a walker in its bloodshot eye, Lydia Phillips downed two by herself, and even the young Echo Cabello bashed one in the head before being pushed behind the safety of the eleven- and ten-yearers. The younger students were instinctively sheltered behind the older while fighting off the unwavering horde, for reasons obvious.

Blood staining peoples' clothes in splatters, body parts severing. The sight was enough to make anyone lose their lunch. In fact, some did along the way.

After what seemed like forever, the last walker was downed against a locker by a petite brunette, who promptly fell to her knee in exhaustion and shock afterward.

"Hey, come on, get up," Celica Bryers told her, patting her back and assisting her to her feet. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, are you?" the girl asked breathlessly, stumbling over her own two feet on her way to where the others were.

"I think so," Celica answered, sitting the sweaty brunette down on a clean bit of floor. "You bit?"

The girl shook her head. "No."

A feminine voice groaned from a short ways away. She was gripping her shoulder tightly, from which blood was gushing at a rapid rate. "Somebody help me!"

Kane Wesley-Price's head whipped over to the girl, a fresh wave of anxiety crashing over her. She partially crawled over to her hurriedly, taking the girl's hand away from her shoulder. "Were you bitten, Leah?"

"Yes," the blonde answered, her eyes shut tight. She bit down hard on her lower lip again and screamed through it.

"Shh, shh!" Kane quickly put her hand over the other's mouth, preventing the sharp noise from summoning more walkers. "You'll be okay."

"The hell she will," Allen Mellark Sandin commented from the other side of the hallway. Kane shot him a disapproving look, to which she only shrugged. "Look at her."

"I am," the brunette told him. Turning back to the wounded, who was beginning to fade, her breathing quickened. She patted the girl's cheek, trying to keep her here. "Hey, hey, hey. Don't, okay? You'll make it through this, okay? Leah."

"Kane, stop," Rory told her, placing a strong hand on her shoulder. He looked over at the main entrance to the school, which was beginning to lose strength under the power of the crowd outside. Only a couple students were keeping it up. "We have to go. That door's not going to hold much longer."

Kane looked back down at Leah, who who didn't have a lot of anything left in her anymore. Kane felt bad for anything, even things she didn't do. She never saw the sense in deliberately hurting someone; it hurt herself extensively. So now, as one of her long-time classmates was dying in front of her, she didn't know what her emotions were doing. This had only happened a few hours ago to the principal, and from there it spread imperceptibly quickly. As far as the group knew, there was no one left but themselves.

"But . . ." Kane didn't know what she was to say. She looked up at Rory desperately, who was looking down at her with a sad expression. "We have to—!"

"Kane, you saw what happened to the others!" Lydia shouted, coming forward from her little group. "Just let her go!"

A couple people shot Lydia some looks, but didn't disagree with her.

Kane ended up giving the passed-out Leah one last look and jumping up from a kneel as the main doors burst open. As she and the others ran, she heard the distant screams of a couple left behind. Her heart lurched in her chest, wanting to turn back, but every time she looked behind her she saw the staggering, terrifyingly alive corpses pursuing her.

"Let's go to the canteen!" she suggested as they turned a corner, thinking that food would help them greatly, assuming it hadn't already be looted.

"Good idea!" Rory shouted back.

The group, now slightly smaller than before, sprinted down the halls, either dodging or downing stray walkers without a second thought along the way.

Finally, the door to the canteen burst open when the students shoved the double doors open. They quickly shuffled in, certain students taking sad note of those who didn't enter. Kane retreated to one of the clean white tables, sinking down into the seat. As the doors were barricaded by the boys, tears began to fill her eyes. I may never come out of here.

The Fallen:

Leah Jade Baines (bitten and bled to death)

Jake Madjeski (left behind, presumably dead)

Ian O'Connor (left behind, presumably dead)

Marcia Stray (left behind, presumably dead)