Chapter 1: Beginning of the End

Kayla sighed. It was just another boring Friday night, and she had already exhausted her interest on Tumblr, YouTube and other various social media sites; being single most definitely sucked. With her laptop still balanced on her lap, she reached for the remote control and began to flip channels on the small TV that was on the dresser across from her. After finding nothing to her interest, she switched over to the news. Maybe I can educate myself on any new developments in the world. For a 17 year old, Kayla actually kept herself well informed about what was going on, not just in the state or the country, it was the world too.

"Our new story tonight," the news caster announced, "there seems to be very spontaneous…what looks like riots in Los Angeles. We're going to turn the story over to our reporter Jennifer. Jen, would you care to explain what's going on?"

"Yes, Carol. All day people have been attacking each other all throughout L.A. We're not quite sure if this is a drug or if this is a protest of some sort. We just don't know. There's a possibility that it could be linked to what has been happening on the east coast, but again the facts are not clear." Kayla began to bite her lip as she watched the video clips they were showing. People were definitely attacking each other all right, but something was off about some of the attackers. There were too many shots of people running to get a good view of the attackers, but Kayla knew something wasn't right. Unsatisfied, she began to do research on what was going on. It's too coincidental…they have to be linked somehow. Earlier that month, New York and much of the east coast had been quarantined due to a deadly virus outbreak; the CDC had officially stated that it was Ebola, but no one had heard from that side of the country since then. All flights and interstate travel had been suspended, as well as international travel and trade, sending the stock market to plummet. With the economy crash, it would make perfect sense that riots would be starting up throughout the Midwest and the west coast, but there was nothing spontaneous about it. Anyone that was paying attention could see that. Her laptop made a noise, startling her out of her thought process; someone was trying to reach her on Skype. She turned on her webcam and answered the video call, revealing two boys on the other end. They were her best friends: Cameron and Ben.

"Hey, girl!" they screamed, making Kayla giggle.

"Hey, guys! What's up?"

"Are you still on campus?" Ben asked.

"Yeah. I didn't have anything better to do, so I'm in my dorm."

"Studying?"

"No, Cam, plotting world domination," she rolled her eyes, "what else, smarts?" Cameron narrowed his eyes at her, not thrilled with her sense of sarcasm.

"Kayla, you have to get out of your dorm room! You know, have something called fun! Party it up!"

"I would except for two problems: one, I can't go clubbing yet, and two, my car is in the shop." Ben shrugged.

"We'll get you."

"Really?"

"Yeah. Why not?" Kayla glanced at the clock in the bottom corner of her screen.

"I don't know….it's getting kind of late." Cameron looked at his watch.

"It's only 9:30!"

"I just….I don't feel comfortable going out tonight. There's a lot of stuff going on-"

"If you're talking about the riots in LA," Ben interrupted, "I got a news flash for you, honey: we're pretty far from LA. We go to school in the middle of nowhere. Nothing that exciting happens here." Kayla thought for a moment and sighed.

"How soon will you guys be here?"

"That's my girl," Cameron grinned.

"We'll be over in about five to ten minutes. Sound good?"

"Yeah," she smiled, "See you in a few."

"See you," Ben smiled, ending the video call. The two boys sat there for a minute, staring at the blank screen.

"Don't you even think about what I told you earlier," Ben growled.

"I didn't say anything," Cameron remarked, shrugging, "That's your deal. But if you do anything to hurt her, I'll kick your ass."

"C'mon, Cam," Ben pulled on his jacket and grabbed his keys, "I'm not that type of guy."

Kayla shivered and bounced on her toes in an attempt to keep warm. Her jacket was meant for colder weather, but somehow the wind managed to seep through. She had been standing outside for a few minutes and the boys were past their expected arrival time. Where the hell are they? She was suddenly greeted by headlights as Ben's car rounded the corner; she smiled as he slowed to a stop in front of her. As she reached for the door handle, Ben tapped the gas making the car pull forward a few inches. The two boys laughed as she smacked his car, opened the door, and climbed in.

"Assholes!"

"I'm sorry," Ben chuckled, "I couldn't waste an opportunity like that."

"Yeah, whatever," she leaned forward and hugged them, "Don't do it again."

"I can't promise you that," he smirked, squeezing her hand.

"Buckle up!" Cameron commanded as she sat back in her seat, "I want to get going!"

"Jesus, did you meet a hot guy that was going to be there or something?" Ben teased as they drove off.

"No, I just want to party."

"Where are we going?" Kayla asked.

"There's a party going on by my dorms. I want to say it's a frat, but I really don't know." He was stopped at a traffic light and looked at her in his rearview mirror. "Do you want a bodyguard?"

"I'm a big girl, I'm pretty sure I can take care of myself," she scoffed, looking back at him, "but thank you for the offer." He smiled and returned his attention to the road. A while later, Ben had found a parking spot and the trio was making their way up a hill.

"I hear music playing!" Cameron exclaimed.

"Are you sure you didn't meet someone?"

"Shut up, Ben! We get free drinks and aren't going to be carded."

"Oh, you have a point there." Kayla shook her head and smiled; there was never a dull moment with those two. The bass frequencies got stronger as they continued their trek. When they reached the top, they saw a sea of people all sporting fraternity or sorority gear.

"You were right! It is a frat!" Kayla shouted over the music.

"Do you think they'll call the cops?!"

"What?!"

"DO YOU THINK THEY'LL CALL THE COPS?!"

"There's that possibility!" Cameron answered, "It happened to me once!"

"Really?! You didn't tell me that!" Kayla shouted at him.

"I'm sure I did! You probably just don't remember! Come on!" Cameron led the two younger students down the hill and located where the drinks were. He grabbed three Solo cups and poured various drinks into each of them.

"Here!" he handed a cup to Kayla and Ben.

"What's in this?"

"Uh…" Cameron swirled his drink around, "some vodka….a bit of wine…there may or may not be Jaeger in there…I don't remember what else I put in there. Kayla, don't drink from the punch bowl! It's probably spiked!"

"I'm not stupid, Cam!"

"Salud!" Ben held up his cup and the other two bumped their cups with his.

"Whoa!" Kayla exclaimed after she had taken a sip, "It burns!"

"Lightweight," Cameron muttered.

"Excuse me?"

"I didn't say anything." The trio tried to stay together for a majority of the night, but Cameron disappeared at one point and left a window open for Ben to dance with Kayla.

"I suck at dancing!" she shouted, trying to cover her face.

"I don't want you to do anything dirty! Just have fun and go with it!" It took her a minute, but Kayla finally loosened up. A few songs later, someone bumped into her and sent her stumbling into Ben. He caught her, their faces being so close that they were centimeters apart from kissing. They stared at each other, wide-eyed.

"Sorry," Kayla blushed as she straightened herself up."

"It's okay."

"Hey, Rodgers!" Ben turned his head at the sound of his last name, "I heard you were good at sake bombs!"

"Really now? Who told you that?"

"I don't remember! Is it true though?"

"Ben…" He shrugged.

"What's it to you?"

"If it isn't, will you still do one anyway?"

"No, thanks."

"If you don't, I'll tell your girl about your sex life!"

"Ha! Go ahead!" he shrugged, "It's not like you know or she cares anyway." The other boy came closer and mumbled something in Ben's ear; his brow furrowed and he glared at the other boy.

"Just saying," he said smirking and walking away. Ben chugged what was left in his drink and handed it over to Kayla.

"Ben, what do you think you're doing?"

"Defending my honor!" Kayla shook her head and sighed. She took a look at what was left in her cup and gulped it down. She ditched the cups and made her way through the crowd, trying to find Cameron. He, however, found her first.

"Heeeey! My pretty lady!" he hugged her from behind, reeking of alcohol.

"I'm surprised you recognized me. How many drinks have you had?"

"About….six? Yeah, six."

"Where'd you disappear off to?"

"Oh, I found eye candy and then he became non-eye candy. Didn't like his style though. Where's Ben?"

"He went to defend his honor or some shit like that. It involves sake bombs." Cameron shook his head.

"Stupid bastard." A roar erupted from the direction Kayla came from.

"You think that's him?" Kayla asked.

"Most likely. There's a frat here that's notorious for manipulating freshmen into slamming drinks, and bets are placed. Someone won at another's expense. Come on." They weeded their way back and discovered several freshmen semi-sloshed, but were still lucid; some of the fraternity members were grinning.

"That one bribed Ben." Kayla pointed at a guy counting a huge wad of cash.

"Ah, shit," Cameron scowled, "That means probably drunk off his ass somewhere; I don't see him here." Kayla stood on her tip toes and craned her neck, trying to see over the crowd.

"Well," she lowered herself back down, "Let's look around. Do you think he would try to go back towards where I was?"

"Maybe, but he's probably so drunk he doesn't know his left from his right."

"If you guys are looking for Ben," one of the participants pointed in the direction they were facing, "he went that way. And said something about a girlfriend or whatever. Did he mean you?" Kayla raised an eyebrow.

"Probably, but we're not dating. He's still single as far as I know."

"Not after tonight," the other guy scoffed, taking a gulp of his drink.

"What's that supposed to mean? I'm not even drunk!"

"Let's stick to the task at hand, alright?" Cameron grabbed her arm and began to pull her to where Ben supposedly went.

"Cameron, do you know something that I don't?" He didn't answer. "Cameron?"

"I know a lot of things that you don't; what difference does it make?" Kayla scowled at him, but didn't respond. "Look! There he is!" Ben was a few yards away from them, gripping the trunk of a tree for dear life.

"Ben, are you okay?" Kayla asked, concerned about his current state.

"The world's turned sideways," he slurred, "so I don't know."

"Jesus….how many sake bombs did you have?"

"Mmm…anywhere between eight and ten." Both Kayla and Cameron's eyes widened.

"Can you walk?" Cameron questioned. Ben let go of the trunk, took a few steps forward, and promptly face planted. Although Cameron was more sober, he burst into laughter at Ben's fall.

"Oh man! You are totally wasted! Completely and utterly fucked up!" Ben rolled over onto his back, confused at his current location on the ground

"Pathetic," Kayla shook her head, "Ben, give me your keys?"

"Why?"

"Because there is no way in hell that I'm letting you drive me back, nor do I see you being able to go back to your dorm without our help." Ben forfeited his keys to Kayla's extended palm.

"Does that mean we're gonna have a slumber party?" Cameron asked, suddenly excited.

"What other choice do I have?" Ben mumbled.

"Yay!"

"Will you help me get him up? I'm not doing too well." Both Kayla and Cameron helped Ben up to his feet and proceeded to help him across the lawn to his dorm room. When the trio reached his building, Kayla realized something crucial.

"Crud, Ben I need your ID."

"I got it, sweetie." Sweetie? She eyed him as he pulled his ID out of his wallet and reached past her to scan it; the door unlocked and they dragged him in.

"Your room's 513, right Ben?"

"Mhm. All the way to the top."

"Trust me, you're past that." The elevator doors opened almost immediately after Kayla pressed the button.

"Alright, ladies! Everyone in the birdcage."

"Who are you calling a lady, lady?"

"You, ya gay bastard!" Ben teased, pushing Cameron a little.

"Shut up, ya drunk!" he laughed, shoving him back.

"Shhhh! Shut up! You're going to wake up the whole building." Ben hugged her a little.

"Sorry," he whispered. She smiled at him. When they reached his room, Ben reached into his pocket out of habit.

"The fuck are my keys?"

"I have them."

"Oh, right." Kayla unlocked the door and they led him to a futon and sat him down.

"Whoa!" Ben exclaimed as he went down, taking Kayla with him. She furrowed her brow and her face turned a bright shade of red.

"Hey there," he winked; she slapped his cheek. "Ow!"

"Let go of me!"

"I'm just messing around, Kayla!" he unwrapped his arms from her and sat up, rubbing his cheek, "God that hurt!"

"Serves you right," Cameron grabbed the remote control and turned on the TV, "Remember what I told you earlier." As the screen brightened, Kayla heard the familiar opening tune of one of her favorite old-time TV shows.

"Leave it," she told Cameron as Rod Serling began to speak.

You unlock this door with a key of imagination.

Beyond it is another dimension:

A dimension of sound, a dimension of sight, a dimension of mind

You're moving into a land of both shadow and substance, of things and ideas

You've just crossed over into…the Twilight Zone.

"I like this show," Ben smiled, "it's trippy."

"Yeah, it is," Kayla smiled. At commercial break, Cameron got several water bottles for Ben so that he could sober up a little quicker. Two and a half hours later, Kayla was beginning to drift off to sleep.

"Want to pull the futon out?" Ben asked, waking her up.

"Please."

"Okay, up. I have extra gym clothes too if you want pajamas."

"That would be awesome," Cameron smiled, helping him pull the futon out. After that, Ben handed his two friends sets of gym clothes and they departed into separate rooms to change. Kayla finished first and went to get blankets out of Ben's closet. As she was pulling out a large comforter, she felt two arms wrap around her stomach; looking over her shoulder, she was greeted with a mop of messy black hair.

"Hey," she murmured.

"Hey," he mumbled into her shoulder, his breath tickling her skin, "I came to help." She blushed and tried to compose herself.

"You're not doing much by standing there." Ben looked at her, grinned, reached up and grabbed some pillows. Then, due to the excess liquid courage still flowing through his system, he pecked her cheek. Kayla's face darkened and he felt her body stiffened, but her facial expression proved that she wasn't angry at him. He grinned a little wider and unwrapped his arms from her middle.

"Will you help me back over there? I almost fell on my way here." She nodded, too flustered to speak.

"What's up?" he placed his hands on her face, "Mad at me?" She stared at him, fear visible in her eyes and shaking.

"Uh-no. No, I-I'm not mad," she stammered, "I just didn't expect you to do that. God damn it! Stop grinning at me!" He leaned in and kissed her forehead, "and….for the love of God," her voice had dropped down to a whisper, "… stop kissing me. If you want sex it's not going to happen, so stop leading me on." Ben's grin had faded.

"I don't want sex...if you don't like me that way just say so." He was whispering now too.

"Ben-"

"You know I like you, Kayla. Not everyone is the same." She stared him down for a moment longer, then reached up and hugged him with one arm, kissing his cheek.

"Okay," she whispered, taking a deep breath, "I'll trust you." He smiled and squeezed her against him.

"Still need help walking, in case you've forgotten." She giggled, grabbing his hand and leading him toward the futon.

"You falling asleep?" Cameron asked, poking Kayla's cheek. The three of them had retreated under the large comforter and it was now close to one o'clock.

"No."

"Liar," he smirked.

"I did the best I could," she rolled onto her back and closed her eyes, "Goodnight."

"I want a good night kiss," Ben muttered. Her eyes opened again and her brow furrowed.

"You want one too, Cam?" she asked.

"Sure, why not?" Boys. Kayla rolled her eyes and moved to her left.

"Goodnight," she pecked Cameron's cheek.

"Thank you. Night, sis." Kayla rolled over to her other side to kiss Ben, but she never made it to his cheek. Ben's face had suddenly become very close to hers; close enough, actually, to kiss Kayla on the lips. Her eyes widened, and she was momentarily paralyzed from the shock, but she relaxed and returned the kiss. They broke away and gazed at each other, her face turning several shades of crimson.

"Goodnight!" she turned away, pulling the comforter over her head. Ben moved under the comforter, successfully finding his way back to Kayla's mouth; this time, she didn't hesitate to kiss back.

"Goodnight," he whispered.

No one turned the TV off that night; after The Twilight Zone mini marathon, Cameron had changed it to re-runs of Breaking Bad and fell asleep in the middle of "Caballo Sin Nombre." A while later, the signal was disrupted and a test screen was displayed with the words "PLEASE STANDBY." The high pitched sound somehow managed to wake Ben out of his drunken slumber. He squinted at the bright screen, not fully comprehending the unusual test screen; he reached over for the remote, shut off the TV, and moved back down next to Kayla. He didn't wake up again until bright rays of early morning sunshine began to penetrate his eyelids. He groaned as he opened his eyes; his migraine headache was a clear sign that a hangover was starting to settle in. Jesus, I should've never participated in that drinking challenge. Never again! Kayla stirred a little, subconsciously wrapping her arm around his waist. He smiled and kissed her forehead, waking her up.

"Good morning," he whispered as her eyes slowly opened. She looked up and smiled,

"Morning. Are you all sobered up?"

"I'm getting there," he rubbed his temple, "Damn, my head hurts. Why did I go through with something so stupid?"

"You were defending your honor."

"Pff, I wasn't defending my honor," he pulled her closer and closed his eyes again; "I was trying to prevent something bad from happening to you." She raised her eyebrows. "He said if I didn't participate, that he and his buddies would find a way to spike your drink. Couldn't let that happen."

"Idiot, you'd be more useful sober."

"I realize that now. Pride got in the way."

"For the record, I threw our cups away after you took off….if that means anything."

"Good." Kayla leaned forward and kissed his forehead.

"Does that help?"

"A little," he smiled. She pressed her forehead against his, both of them falling asleep within minutes.

Kayla was out on the balcony, dressed in last night's clothes. It was actually a nice day that day; it had rained for most of the prior week, but the sun had come out, revealing a bright blue sky. She inhaled deeply, enjoying the crisp scent of fallen leaves, clean air, and fallen rain. The view below her wasn't anything to be amazed about, however; there were red solo cups, paper plates, napkins, toilet paper, and a lot of other disposable items strewn all over the grass and in the trees. A student sporting the same Greek letters of the fraternity that hosted the sake bomb contest stumbled over a hill and across the lawn. Kayla shook her head as she watched. Bastard's still drunk. Some of his buddies approached and began to talk with him, but something wasn't quite right. Kayla was too far away to hear anything they were saying, but she could tell by the sober ones' body language that something was off with their friend. The drunk frat boy lunged at one of them, sinking his teeth deep into the others neck. The screams were blood curdling and drew more people to the sight. Kayla was standing straight up, looking around at the crowd of students. Everything seemed okay, until she noticed the people that were the farthest out were stumbling around in the same manner. She backed up slowly to the open sliding glass door, her eyes still glued to the spontaneous cannibalism going on below. She closed the door as soon as she crossed the threshold, shaking like a leaf.

"Kay?" Cameron went to her as she sunk down into a chair, "Kayla? What's the matter?" She swallowed and shook her head, mouth agape like a cod fish. It can't be what you think it is, it can't be what you think it is. There's a logical explanation…now think! Think, damn it, think!

"Bath salts!"

"What?"

"T-there's a guy out there on bath salts. I-I just watched…."she looked back up through the door at the clear blue sky. It can't be what you think it is. Cameron went outside and looked down over the balcony.

"Holy shit!"

"What the hell's going on out here?" Ben rounded the corner and joined Cameron on the balcony.

"What the fuck….." Kayla managed to stand back up and walk back out to review what she had previously seen; it was getting worse. There were other people eating each other now, and some of the dead ones were sitting up and adding to the carnage.

"You see what I see, right?" Ben asked, looking at his friends. Cameron looked back at him, and then looked at Kayla.

"Kayla?" She was pale and she was standing completely still.

"If what you're seeing can be blatantly described as 'zombies'… then yes." They went back inside, Kayla slamming the door behind them; Ben jumped onto the futon, pulling up the blankets to look for the remote. He turned on the TV and the annoying high pitched sound of the test screen came through.

"What the fuck is going on?!" he shouted as he flipped through the channels; each one bore the same test screen with the same words on them. Finally, he managed to get through to a news station. The reporter looked disheveled and utterly terrified

"We're reporting from Los Angeles…the CDC has issued a full quarantine on the city. It is advised to the rest of the state, as well as the country, that you stay indoors and wait for help to come. Do not attempt to reach out to loved ones. I repeat: do not attempt to reach out to loved ones. It is crucial that everyone stays indoors and waits for help to come. If there are any more updates, they will be broadcasted immediately." The three of them grabbed their cell phones and immediately began to dial their families. Cameron's line picked up first.

"We're sorry, the number you are trying to reach is currently unavailable."

"What?" he hung up and began to redial.

"What happened?"

"It was unavailable. I'm trying again." The other two got the same unavailable message and redialed also.

"We're sorry, the number you are trying to reach is currently unavailable."

"DAMN IT!"

"We're sorry, the number you are trying to reach is currently unavailable."

"FUCK!" Cameron gave up, almost throwing his phone in frustration.

"I couldn't get through either," Ben hung up, "Kayla?" She still had her phone pressed against her ear, a look of disbelief spread over her face.

"Kay?" She looked at the two boys and put her phone on speaker.

"We're sorry, the number you are trying to reach is currently unavailable. Please try your call again later. We're sorry, the number you are trying to reach is currently unavailable. Please try your call again later." She hung up and all of them just stared at each other.

"What do we do?" Ben asked absently. As if someone had heard him, his phone rang. They all jumped as he looked at the ID.

"It's my mom!" he quickly accepted the call, "Mom? Mom! Can you hear me? Are you okay?"

"Ben-scratch scratch- don't-scratch scratch- no one-scratch scratch."

"Mom, you're breaking up. What's going on?"

"No one-scratch-find better shelter- scratch-love-scratch scratch-I love you, Ben."

"I love you too, Mom." He was cut off. "Mom? Mom! Damn it."

"What did she say?"

"I couldn't really hear her. She said something about finding shelter." Kayla thought for a moment. This couldn't be happening; she read about stuff like this, played video games, watched TV shows and movies, but it was never real. One thing was for certain: if they stayed in Ben's dorm, they would die.

"She's right. We can't stay here."

"What are you talking about?"

"We can't survive here, Ben. We have enough food to last us a few days, but after that we'll have to leave." She stood up, "Do you have any sports equipment? Or hardware? We need blunt or sharp objects."

"Y-yeah. In that room," he pointed over her shoulder. She entered and began to rummage through the mess.

"Kayla, what's gotten into you?" Cameron asked.

"Listen, we know what's going on out there. It doesn't seem real, but it is." She tossed him a baseball bat, "I want us safe….and if reading about apocalyptic situations and war has taught me anything, it's that we have to move. If we stay here for much longer, we'll be dead."

"But Kayla, they said not to go outside."

"I don't care what they said! They were reporting from LA! By the time they reach Fresno there won't be a way to access the rest of the state; forget about the rest of the country. We need to get going as soon as we can." She finished rummaging through the room and handed Ben a hammer, "I want us safe. It seems completely insane right now, but it will be beneficial." He nodded and took the hammer.

"We need a better view of the grounds; is there any way to get to the roof?"

"It involves leaving the apartment."

"That's the risk we're going to have to take." Ben lead them to the front door, but paused with his hand on the door knob.

"What happens should we run into….them?"

"You hit them in the head as hard as you can…..just like The Walking Dead." He nodded.

"Just checking," glanced over his shoulder at his friends, eyes falling on their weapons, "Really, Kay? A screwdriver?"

"This isn't really the time to discuss makeshift weapons right now, Ben. We'll come back and I'll find something else, alright?"

"Fine." The three of them burst through the door and sprinted down the dimly lit hallway to the elevator.

"I don't get it," Kayla looked down the hallway as Ben jammed the up button, "It's…..empty. Where is everyone?"

"They're not like you, Kay," Cameron started, "They're going to try to wait it out until the CDC or the army or someone comes to rescue them….but we know by that time, it'll be too late." The elevator doors opened and they rushed inside, Ben immediately pressing the "R" and "close door" buttons.

"Do you think they'll get inside?" Ben asked.

"They probably will eventually," she twirled the screwdriver in between her fingers, "Animals will do anything to get to their prey." Ben swallowed; the way Kayla had said "animals" wasn't sitting with him too well.

"Cover me when the door opens, like in the video games we played," she commanded as the elevator stopped. The doors opened, Ben and Cameron exiting first, checking around the corners.

"You're clear, Kayla." She exited and began to look down at the grounds.

"How's it looking?"

"Not too good," she admitted as she walked along the roof's edge, "We'll need to gather what supplies we can. If people are as stupid as we think they are, we'll have no problems getting into town to get more. If we do run into problems…."

"Like what?"

"Well, if there's total anarchy and no one's at the checkout, at least money won't be an issue. Everything else we'll just have to be on guard for. The west side of campus looks pretty clear and it will be safer to go that way because of the woods. There's no way to get to your car, Ben, I'm sorry." He shrugged.

"It's too small to plow through zombies anyway." He earned a smirk from Kayla.

"Come on! We're wasting time."

There wasn't much in Ben's dorm room that was worth taking, but they managed to get at least a day's worth of food, half a week's worth of water, and enough blankets to keep them warm. After rummaging through his roommate's separate domains, Ben managed to find another baseball bat and Kayla had taken a paring knife, a chef knife, and a few serrated knives out of the kitchen drawer. Upon breaking into the supply closet at the end of the hall, they were able to grab a first aid kit as well as toilet paper and paper towels. Nonchalantly, Kayla led the boys into the girls' showers, (they shrank back against the door nervously after realizing where they were) and began to smack a large metal box on the wall with one of the bats in attempts to break the lock. Once it burst open, it was like she won the jackpot of feminine products; Ben's face turned bright red.

"What?" she asked as she began to shovel feminine products into the very front pocket of her backpack, "Did you think I just never had my period?"

"You never really let on when you were on it," he mumbled.

"Well," she stood up and slung the backpack over her shoulder, "get used to it." She patted one cheek and kissed the other. "We need one more thing, then I'll give this back to you." One good swing was enough to shatter the glass box surrounding the fire ax. As they descended the staircase (taking the elevator seemed too risky at this point), Ben and Cameron managed to get axes for themselves, stowing them away in their backpacks. Surprisingly, the west side of campus was still the clearest area if campus by the time they got to the bottom of the stairwell; there were a few zombies here and there, but nothing they couldn't handle.

Kayla signaled them to crouch down and she slowly propped the door open with her foot.

"Listen, our main goal is to survive. If we get separated, keep running. Don't look back, and most importantly, don't get bitten." A final glance outside signaled that they were good to run.

"Go!" The door closed behind Ben and the three of them sprinted towards the woods. A few zombies tried to make a grab for them, but Kayla and Cameron took them down without a moment's hesitation. None of them had run so fast in all of their lives; none of them looked back until they were at least a yard inside the wood's edge. Breathing heavily, they took one last glance at their school. It was a good thing they left when they did, because now a large heard of undead began to fill the one clear area of campus.

"What now?" Ben asked. Kayla turned back toward the tall trees.

"We keep going."