Prologue
It was two months after the first signs of the infection. A group of seven students had locked themselves up in their building. The only way they could keep themselves safe was by completely blocking all the doors and windows on the ground floor and keeping completely silent. They had made a list of rules for each other, to keep themselves safe.
1. Don't go out for whatever reason
2. Check the streets and other buildings only through the windows on the fifth floor, sixth floor is a no go since the roof is too close to it, they climb onto roofs and can see you from there
3. When moving through the house, don't wear shoes and walk as carefully as possible
4. When discovered, alert other people in house, give them a chance to flee
5. When barricades are being broken by so called "infected", scream. Give other people a chance to get away: You're screwed anyway.
6. If we run out of food, too bad, starving to death is better than being beaten to death and eaten.
7. Try following the news as much as possible, through internet or phone, NO TV OR RADIO, everything has to be silent.
'I can't hold on like this any longer!'
'Not so loud Emmett,' hissed Marina. Both students were on the ground floor, in the kitchen. Emmett stared into the empty fridge.
'Come on Rina, we haven't eaten normally in six weeks! I'm sick of eating rotten food that has been lying here for two years or something! I swear, I'll turn into one of these puking things outside.' Emmet looked at his arms. 'I'm almost white as a sheet. Just a few more days and I'll turn blue, I tell you.'
'What are you talking about?'
'What, you didn't see those guys? There's some of them outside. Remember that fat clerk at the local convenience store? He's one of them. Has these weird blisters all over his body, and I swear his guts are coming out of his stomach.'
'Ugh, please, no need for details.'
Emmet closed the refrigerator and took a seat opposite of Marina. 'Anyway, we really gotta get out. You've heard it on the news, they're still evacuating! We need to get away now we still can! They'll soon give up on this place and who knows… They might nuke it!'
'Emmett, you really think we stand a chance out there?'
Emmet shrugged. 'If we arm ourselves a bit and run like hell we might make it.'
Someone carefully opened the door to the small kitchen and peered in.
'Hello.'
'What's the situation outside,' said Marina looking at David, who looked even paler than Emmett. He had eaten less than everyone else the past few days, thinking he could handle it. He had been complaining about stomach aches ever since. Not that the others felt much better, having eaten nothing but expired food for the last week.
'It's actually pretty peaceful outside. There's still some of them wandering out there, but not as many as before.'
'Must be because of those helicopters flying over. They go after the lights and noise.'
'Emmett has this crazy idea of leaving the building.'
'What do you mean crazy?' Emmet got up. 'It's our last chance! If we stay here any longer we'll die here!'
'He has a point,' said David, still peeking in. 'If there's any time we should go, it's probably know.'
Emmet nodded. 'And we have weapons. Kitchen knives and stuff. Or hell, even frying pans will do!'
'I think Phoebe has a baseball bat up in her room,' Marina added.
'So you're agreeing with our plan?' Emmet said.
'Wait a minute, plan? I thought we were merely brainstorming!' Marina reacted a little upset.
'There's no time for that. I say we get out now. Let's wake the others up.' Emmet got up and he and Marina went upstairs. Meanwhile David pulled open some kitchen drawers and grabbed the larger kitchen knives. Armed with three knives and two frying pans he opened the door to the stairs.
Emmett came running down, dragging Marina with him, followed by three of the other students. He pushed David aside, pulled the others into the living room and closed the door.
He started moving furniture stacked up at the front door to the door that lead to the stairs furiously.
'Hey man, what's wrong?'
'Someone's up there!' Deb hissed. David could see in her eyes that she was terrified.
'That thing… It was growling. I haven't really seen it, but it's eyes we're glowing! Like he was some kind of animal or something,' Harry stated. Emmett shoved him out of the way to put a desk in front of the door.
'Stop talking, just help me!'
David started handing everyone weapons.
'What about me?' Marina was left empty handed. David handed a knife, one he was planning to use himself, to her.
'I will manage. They're still vulnerable to fists, right?' The students looked at each other in silence. No one really knew. They didn't even know if stabbing infected, or hitting them over the head with frying pans was going to work.
'Whatever if they come back up, we'll just push 'em back down again!' Emmet turned around. He had moved almost all furniture from the front door to the door that led to the stairs. 'You guys ready?'
Again everyone remained silent. Marina shook her head. 'Let's just go for it.'
They headed to the door when Danny suddenly stopped. 'Wait, what about Phoebe? She's still up there!'
'That thing is up there too. We have no choice, we have to leave her there. What room do you expect he came through? He probably already-'
'Enough, Emmett. We get it.'
David and Emmet moved the last big table blocking the door.
'You ready?' Emmett held up a frying pan. Then, in a fast gesture, he opened the door. 'RUN!'
There they went, all six of them, running away from what soon became a horde of infected people running after them. They whacked, stabbed and shoved whatever got in their way, hoping to get out of the hellhole they had been stuck in for too long.
In the meantime, Phoebe was upstairs, on the sixth floor. She was sleeping. The commotion downstairs hadn't woken her up, not even the growling of the creature in the hallway woke her up. It was the breeze that came through the broken window of her room that eventually made her open her eyes, only to notice that the growling creature was getting closer and closer…
