The airplane swooped down, causing the stomachs of those still alive to curdle upwards into their chests. Blood sprayed on the walls, ran along the floors. Most could taste the coppery wetness in their mouths. It was everywhere.
The screams were constant. Inside of the plane was a picture of chaos- human bodies, hurdling, tumbling, throwing themselves over the seats and down the isles, ripping through whoever they could get their hands on. The 600 people did not know what was coming when they stepped onto that plane hours before.
The plane was falling towards the earth, gaining speed every second. One of the propellers was smoking- sending black clouds billowing into the sky, a pollutant mingling with the healthy - a sign of things to come.
There was very little alive left to endure the horrific death of being in a plane accident. Upon impact, their spines cracked and glass and shrapnel ripped through their skin like blades through sheets. Their lives ended in a second.
Nobody left the accident alive. Instead, one man twitched and gargled, standing with an animalistic moan. He was hungry. Lights twinkled in the distance. With a loud hiss, the dead man broke into a run, away from the smouldering wreck. He would eat.
.
A scream rips through the halls, interrupting the class being held in the gym. Twenty-one heads turn at once, the basketballs dropping to the floor and rolling away, forgotten. The thumps that follow are loud and clear, in an even, fast pattern. Someone is running though the halls. And they're getting closer and closer.
Worry creases the brow of a blonde, hanging back at the end of the gym. Her eyes focus on the dark brown ponytail at the far end of the room, near the door.
'Riley-," The word is barely out of Maya's mouth when the gym doors burst open and the man jumps onto Riley. A spray of blood flies from them as he knocks her to the floor, convulsing with madness as he chews on her shoulder.
Maya can only remember screaming before something knocks into her, sweeping her off her feet. She is being carried out of the gym, the screams around her not registering as she fights whoever it is who's holding her, hysterically clawing and screaming Riley's name. Riley was there, just there, they can't leave her. She has never seen that man before, she barely saw his face before he tore her best friend down and chewed on her.
Maya can only think Riley. Her tears are relentless, nails digging into the arms of her captor. She's still screaming for her best friend when they burst through a door and she is dropped. Her head hits the floor with a crack and she sees stars, dizzying her eyesight. The pain is immediate, rippling through her skull like an earthquake. A click sounds in the distance.
Desperately, she rolls onto her knees and turns around to see Lucas Friar. Maya lunges at him, beating his chest, screaming blue murder. Blood runs into her eye, her mouth.
"WHY DIDN'T YOU GET RILEY? WHERE IS RLEY WE HAVE TO GO BACK FOR HER!" She repeats herself over and over, thrashing against Lucas' strength. Her grabs her wrists, holding her still, and she can't fight him.
"Maya, Riley is dead!" He shouts into her face, and it takes those three words to destroy every fibre of Maya Hart. Something twists and breaks in her chest and a sob heaves its way from her lungs, a loud cry leaving her throat and fresh tears running from her eyes like taps. Her fighting is fruitless; she knows in her heart that it's true.
As much as Lucas wants to let her cry, and he really does, they just can't afford the time. Lucas knows exactly what that thing was that took the life of one of his friends, but he can't utter the word. Even thinking of it threatens to purge the content of his stomach.
He's not sure how fast they multiply so its crucial they get out immediately. Cupping her face, he lifts it up so his eyes stare directly into hers.
"We've gotta go now Maya, right now."
She only hiccups and shakes her head. Lucas hardens his stare, hating to be the bad guy, but they need to get to safety. He needs to get her to safety.
"Maya, we are not safe here. Just stay close to me and don't let go of my hand okay?"
A feeble nod is all he gets in response. Taking her hand, he rises to his feet and pulls her up with him. Maya sways a little but gives him another small nod. Blood is pumping so hard through his veins he can hear it in his head.
He opens the door slowly, cautiously, peering out. Both his left and right are clear, so he walks out, pulling a very numb Maya with him.
She thinks of the Matthews. Where are they now? Are they safe? The last time she saw Auggie and Topanga was at breakfast- their happy faces and jubilant laughs waking her up with a glorious start. She had Mr. Matthews first period this morning. Did he escape? And if he did, did he escape to a world without his daughter? Maya feels like she wants to throw up.
Lucas has led them back to the gym, for a reason that Maya's unsure of. She doesn't understand why they have to go a way that would lead her past her dead best friend, to dig the knife in the already gaping wound that won't stop bleeding for a long, long time.
But, nobody is there. The gym is completely empty. There is, however, the evidence of the bloodbath they had witnessed minutes before. Blood is everywhere. Pools of it on the floor, splashes on the walls, blood handprints, blood footprints. That does Maya in. Letting go of Luca's hand, she whirls around with her hands on her stomach and vomits all over the floor. Lucas places a hand on the small of her back; rubbing in small, gentle circles. When she's done, she tries not to see how it mingles with the blood.
They go into the changing rooms and Lucas finds his car keys. Maya changes her dirty shirt and slips on her jeans, taking her leather jacket. She leaves her sneakers on.
They leave the way they came- through the fire exit and around the building. They don't go back inside like they did before. Instead, they go straight for the parking lot. But their luck has essentially run out.
Lucas suddenly stops and Maya crashes into his back. She scowls, her head throbbing, but he doesn't see it. He's looking at a figure wandering aimlessly around the cars. Maya sees it too, and the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end. Slowly, silently, Lucas turns around with his finger to his lips, implying for her to be quiet. She nods once.
They creep silently behind the cars, stopping whenever the woman looks in their direction. From what Lucas saw earlier, they can be fast.
With his car in sight, Lucas speeds up. He doesn't see the empty bottle in his path, and doesn't avoid it. The bottle is kicked across the lot, the usually quiet rattling of glass suddenly amplified, bouncing off every surface and echoing for a painfully long time.
The woman stops, and slowly turns. Maya gasps in horror at her face. She's missing her left cheek.
With an awful roar, the woman breaks into a sprint, limping slightly. For the second time that day, Maya is yanked away, her feet not fast enough to keep up with her mind. She trips, her hand ripping from Lucas' sweaty palm. In the back of her mind, she hears the woman growl.
Lucas' heart stops and backtracks to grab her arm and yank her up, making sure this time she's running with him. He unlocks the car from far away, letting Maya go so he can run around to the driver's side. The locks click only seconds before the woman crashes into Maya's window. She bashes her head against the glass multiple times, the gore of her injuries more detailed up close. Maya screams, and Lucas slams his foot on the pedal.
So far, Lucas knows two things. One, they're fucking fast. Two, they're your slow, stereotypical zombies until a loud noise sets them off. Ticking time bombs. Wound-up killing machines. In the rear view mirror, he can see a group of them, running after the car. They must have been screaming without noticing- what else could have attracted their attention.
Lucas is going to have to say it. Without taking his eyes off the road, he swallows.
"You know what we're dealing with right now, don't you."
It's not a question, more of a statement. Maya wants to throw up again. Her answer is barely audible, "Yes."
"Zombies."