Chapter 2: School's out...Literally
Central Square Middle school
4:35 pm
Dante and Xavier walked up towards the middle school, in which the boys both noticed that there not many cars in the parking lot in front of the school and all of the lights in the transportation center were off, and there were a few cars in the ditches...
" We must have missed some party." Xavier said.
" What the heck happened here?" Dante asked.
" Looks like everybody was in a rush to get out of here." Xavier guessed.
" Special half-day?" Dante said jokingly.
" I don't think so, smell that?" Xavier said.
Dante was starting to pick up the scent Xavier was talking about, and it was horrid. The air around the middle school had started to reek of a large pile of something rotting badly, in which Dante felt like he was gonna be sick because of how bad it smelled...
" Ugh, what is that?" Dante asked.
" I don't know." Xavier responded.
The boys then looked around to survey their surroundings, and Dante noticed there was a bus parked right in front of the school...
" Hey, why is there only one bus here?" Dante asked.
" I don't know, but look at that window." Xavier pointed out.
Dante looked to the bus's rear window in which he noticed a big splotch of crimson on it, which had left the boys pondering a question: WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED HERE?
" What do you think happened on that bus?" Dante asked.
" I don't know, but it was probably not good." Xavier responded.
" Think we should check?" Dante asked.
" Yeah, look, the emergency exit door is open." Xavier said, pointing the open door on the back of the bus.
They approached the bus, in which the scent was worse. They turned the corner, and the first thing they had seen was horrifying...
" Oh my god." Dante said.
They were looking at a young kid's corpse, violently lacerated and ripped to shreds. Blood was trickling down the back side of the bus, and the kid's brain pan was completely empty like he was attacked by a wild animal...
" What the hell could have done this?" Dante asked.
" I don't know, but I am gonna guess it was something with a serious appetite." Xavier responded.
Dante's phone immediately vibrated, and neither of the boys knew who it was, but the message said...
GET INSIDE, QUICKLY.
-A
" I think whoever sent this message wants to get inside." Dante said.
" I believe that's a smart idea." Xavier said, as he noticed the sun started to go down.
The two boys quickly rushed inside, and they noticed columns of smoke billowing in the distance...
" What's going on?" Dante asked.
" Let's look around for a working T.V and check the news, see if they have anything on this." Xavier recommended.
" Good idea." Dante responded.
They looked around to see if they could find a T.V, in which they had found one in the art room, and quickly turned it on to see the emergency broadcast network active...
" ATTENTION:A LARGE PORTION OF NORTHERN NEW YORK IS UNDER EMERGENCY QUARANTINE, AND NEW YORK STATE IS UNDER THREAT LEVEL RED, ANY SURVIVORS ARE REQUIRED TO PROCEED TO THE CITY OF SYRACUSE IMMEDIATELY FOR RELOCATION. I REPEAT, A BIOTERRORIST ATTACK HAS JUST TAKEN PLACE IN NORTHERN NEW YORK, AND THE SENATE IN ALBANY AND CONGRESS HAVE BEEN CALLED INTO EMERGENCY SESSION TO DISCUSS FUTURE MEASURES OF POSSIBLE VIRAL CONTAINMENT." The Broadcast said.
The boys were shocked at what the news said: A bioterrorist attack has just occurred on their home turf...
" Oh my god." Dante said.
" Hey, you boys." A voice said.
They looked to see one of the walkie-talkies still active and someone talking through it. Xavier picked it up and began to speak...
" Umm...Hello?" Xavier asked.
" Why are you two not showing signs of infection?" The voice said.
" Listen, we don't know what you're talking about." Dante said.
" I see, listen to me, you two right now are possibly the only chance we have for a cure." The voice explained.
" A cure for what?" Both boys asked.
" It's called The T-Nubius Virus, It is what caused this outbreak." The voice explained.
" T-Nubius virus?" Xavier asked.
" I don't have time to explain, but you will not be safe for long, I have a friend nearby, I'll tell him about you two." The voice said before cutting out.
" Wait!" Xavier said, with no response.
" Uh, Xavier?" Dante said.
" What?" Xavier responded.
He exited the office with the Walkie-talkie in hand, in which he saw what Dante was looking at. Dante was looking at two young kids feeding off Mr. Penrod, one of the school principals, and they looked up at the two boys standing there. The kids' skin was greatly pale and discolored, their eyes were bleach white, and their mouths were soaked with blackened blood that had hints of scarlet mixed in. They stood up and started to growl and slowly approach the boys...
" What should we do?" Dante asked nervously.
" Running seems like a good idea." Xavier responded.
" Can't argue with that." Dante said in agreement.
The boys quickly turned around and ran, with the hungry zombies on their tails, in which the boys turned the corner and escaped into the empty gym and ran immediately for a storage room. Grabbing hold of some baseball bats they had quickly bludgeoned the zombies to death. But Xavier was shocked to have recognized one of the zombies...
" What is it?" Dante asked his shocked friend.
" It's Alex, from the bus." Xavier pointed out.
Dante looked at the zombie and was shocked to have found out one of the zombies they had just beat to death with bats turned out to have been Alex Foster, a kid who rode their bus throughout the school year. He dropped his bat and backed up slowly, freaking out himself...
" Oh my god." Dante said.
" If his sister isn't like this, she is gonna be devastated." Xavier pointed out.
" Worse, Alexis is gonna kill us both for beating her brother to death." Dante responded.
" Unless she understands it was practically an act of mercy." Xavier said.
" True." Dante said.
They were interrupted by the sound of somebody moving around in the locker room, in which the first person they had seen come out turned out to be Jared, in which he was followed by Mrs. Evans...
" You guys alright?" Dante asked.
" Yeah, I think so." Mrs. Evans responded.
Jared was silent, walking over to the deceased Alex, and simply staring at him with a blank stare...
" What's wrong with him?" Xavier asked.
" He's a little shaken up from when this all began." Mrs. Evans said.
" What happened?" Dante asked.
" I saved him from this horrible thing, it was like something out of a horror film." Mrs. Evans explained.
" My god." Xavier said.
" Anyway, I've got to get him back to his parents until this chaos dies down." Mrs. Evans said, trying to walk away before being stopped by Xavier.
" I don't think that's a good idea." Xavier said.
" Excuse me?" Mrs. Evans demanded.
" You didn't check the T.V?" Dante asked.
" What are you talking about?" Mrs. Evans asked.
" The Emergency Broadcast System was active, and everyone was being warned to get to Syracuse." Xavier explained.
" What? Why?" Mrs. Evans said.
" This isn't an ordinary sickness, a large portion of Northern New York is under Quarantine." Dante explained.
" Quarantine?" Mrs. Evans inquired.
" This isn't some viral outbreak, this is a bioterrorist attack." Xavier said.
Mrs. Evans was rendered speechless, a Bioterrorist attack had just occurred in her home state, in which the boys decided to tell her the situation...
" Oh my god." Mrs. Evans said.
" I know its a lot to take in, but the military is involved in containing this thing." Xavier explained.
" Do they know what's involved?" Mrs. Evans asked.
" It's something called the T-Nubius virus, someone contacted me and Xavier over the walkie-talkie he's got." Dante explained.
" Do you know who contacted you?" Mrs. Evans asked.
" No, but they think we might have a chance curing this thing." Dante responded.
" Why?" Mrs. Evans asked.
" Because we haven't shown any signs of infection, and the majority of kids in the region were infected." Dante explained.
" The kids are infected?" Mrs. Evans asked.
" I forgot to mention, I know how the virus was transmitted." The voice said over the walkie-talkie.
" You're back?" Xavier said.
" Yes, listen to me very carefully, the virus was transmitted via the school's water bottle supply, in which several students had reported it to be tasting foul." The voice explained.
" So that's how it spread." Dante said.
" Yes, and I have seen footage of you both ingesting contaminated water, but coming out with no signs of infection or change in behavior." The voice mentioned.
" So that means..." Xavier started.
" We really are the cure." Dante said.
" Yes, that makes you dangerous to others, but a symbol of hope for the rest of humanity, so don't let it go to your head." The voice said.
" Okay, but why are we dangerous to others?" Xavier asked.
" The group responsible for this calls themselves " The New Umbrella" and they are radical extremists who think they can create a pure humanity." The voice explained.
" Those sons of bitches." Dante muttered under his breath.
" Language." Xavier said in response.
" Anyway, get back to the main doors, my friend can get you four out of there." The voice said.
" Okay." Xavier said before the voice cut out again.
" I hate it when they do that." Dante said.
" I don't think they do it on purpose." Xavier said.
" What do you mean?" Dante and Mrs. Evans said in unison.
Xavier explained the person on the opposite end of the line always faded out to static, meaning they are having a difficult time trying to keep in touch with them. They could possibly have some faulty equipment, or their gear had been damaged as a result of the outbreak. Dante and Mrs. Evans immediately agreed that could be a reason the voice on the opposite end cut out, and the four of them proceeded to the main doors in which they saw a blonde man wearing a thick, dark brown leather jacket with a blue shirt underneath, black pants and shoes, carrying a bulky pistol in hand.
" That must be the person's friend." Mrs. Evans whispered.
" Hello?" Leon asked.
" Hey." Xavier said, drawing his attention.
Leon turned to see the four of them before noticing the massive creature from Mrs. Evans story slowly creeping up behind them...
" RUN!" Leon screamed, firing his pistol at the beast.
The four of them ran towards Leon, and they raced out the doors into the parking lot, where somebody on the roof of the transportation center fired an RPG that took out the creature's head, splattering it's infected blood all over the sidewalk into the front entrance to the middle school. Leon then turned to the four and decided to talk to them...
" So you four are the ones Ada told me about." Leon said.
" What?" Mrs. Evans said.
" Ada Wong, she was the one contacting you over the walkie-talkie. " Leon explained.
" Oh, okay." Xavier said.
" Who are you?" Dante asked.
" My name is Leon. s. Kennedy, I'm a federal agent looking into this mess." Leon explained.
" I'm Dante, this Xavier, Mrs. Evans, and the silent kid is Jared." Dante explained.
" So, you two are immune." Leon pointed out as he reloaded his gun.
" Apparently." Xavier said.
" Good, all we need to do is get you boys to Syracuse, in which a cure will be produced from a sample of your blood." Leon explained.
" Do you really think that's gonna stop New Umbrella?" Dante asked.
Leon immediately became serious after Dante mentioned the one word he had wished never to hear, the one organization that just won't die: UMBRELLA.
" HOW DO YOU KNOW THAT?" Leon demanded.
" Your partner, she apparently figured it out, and even figured out what caused the outbreak here." Xavier explained.
" I see." Leon said.
" You aren't even gonna ask what we are immune to?" Dante asked.
" Huh, I hadn't really thought of that." Leon said.
" Your partner called it the T-Nubius virus." Dante explained.
" T-Nubius?" Leon asked.
"Yeah, apparently that's it's name." Xavier explained.
Leon opened his trunk, and there was a whole bunch of assault rifles and pistols...
" What did you do, Raid an armory?" Xavier said.
" No, I was on my way to the high school to aid the survivors there." Leon explained.
" There's survivors at the high school?" Xavier asked.
" Yes, but they're under massive attack by the infected." Leon explained.
" I'd like to help you." Dante said.
" What?" Leon responded.
" Hey, we may be important, but those are our friends that could be hanging the balance." Dante said.
" Well, you're not leaving without me." Xavier said.
" Are you kidding me?" Leon said.
" If there are families there, we need to get them out, besides, I am a crack shot with a sniper rifle." Xavier explained.
" Wait, are you serious?" Mrs. Evans said.
" Hey, it's better that Jared gets out of here because his family would have done the smart thing and left." Xavier said.
" He's right, Jared's too traumatized to be here, so that means he won't last long in a fight." Dante explained.
" I can escort these two out if you'd like." Ada said as she walked up.
The group turned around to see Ada walking up with the RPG slung over her shoulder...
" You'd do that?" Mrs. Evans said.
" Of course." Ada said.
" Okay then, Ada will escort Mrs. Evans and Jared to Syracuse, while we help Leon get the High school survivors." Xavier said.
" Agreed." Leon said.
" Good luck boys." Mrs. Evans said.
At the end of this chapter, Xavier and Dante team up with Leon to go rescue survivors from the high school, while Ada Wong escorts Mrs. Evans and the traumatized Jared down to Syracuse to get them out of the Quarantine Zone. The next chapter involves a massive fight scene, and the second phase of the New Umbrella's plan is revealed...