Author's Note - I don't own Resident Evil, or any other mentioned works. Maybe now that the zombie fighting and Resident Evil-horror are in gear, this story will get more reviews
Chapter 02
The Hungry Undead
*Falco Alfred's House*
Falco was reading The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy, and was enjoying it tremendously. He laughed out loud as Marvin the Paranoid Android complained some more.
"I'm feeling very depressed!" Falco imitated the robot, then laughed again. Krystal had recommended it to him, and he loved it right from the start.
Then, from outside, he heard a loud moan, from across the street. It definitely sounded from the park, and Falco knew what that meant. He rolled his eyes and muttered, "Oh, great. The reckless sex begins. You've won, Krystal."
The moans grew louder and closer, and Falco began to feel uneasy. When the groans seemed right on his front lawn, he braved a look. Turning off the light so that he could see out his window without seeing his reflection, he put the book down on his desk. He looked through his window, which was above his bed. When his eyes fell upon the creature, they grew wide, and his mouth dropped in silent horror.
The monster looked like a human and was dressed like one, but it couldn't possibly be one! Its skin was peeling and rotten, its eyeballs were sunken globes, its hair looked old and crusty, and it was walking towards the house with its arms outstretched. Imagines of zombies from video games flashed through Falco's mind, as he started to hyperventilate. The zombie was now five feet from the window, and Falco didn't want to be around when it was at the house.
His family didn't keep a gun, so he knew right then that he was practically unarmed. Leaving his room and dashing around in his pajamas, he heard the zombie crash through his window! The thing moaned loud, but it didn't sound like a moan of pain; more like hunger!
Even as fear gripped him, he started to grow angry. That stupid thing was destroying his room! Yet all this anger, all emotions but fear left him as the hungry zombie lumbered out of his room and then towards him. Its arms outstretched, its mouth gaping and teeth exposed.
For a second or two, Falco was gripped by a state of shock. The sight of this dead man with huge slashes in his chest lumbering towards him, moaning horribly and smelling worse than anything he had ever smelt in his life, terrified him. But when the zombie was almost touching him, he broke out of his state of petrification and ran from the monster, who lunged at him with its rotting arms; it missed him by just a few inches, and he nearly vomited as a wave of nausea hit his nose.
He grabbed a nearby chair in the living room and flung it as hard as he could. "Take that, you festering undead!" he shouted, his adrenaline pumping hard, as well as his heart.
The chair knocked the zombie down to the ground moaning. Falco then ran upstairs, and burst into Krystal's room. She, out of anything in this house, had the one thing that he believed would be the best weapon.
He rummaged through her belongings, not caring about being careful at this moment. When he was close to panicking, there was a loud thudding noise from the first floor. Then another and another, each one sounding closer. Falco knew that sound; it was the sound of someone walking up the steps. That someone was the zombie, still after him.
Panting hard, he dug through Krystal's closet. He swore, he could hear his own heart beating, it was so loud! The zombie moaned deeply, sounding more like a growl than a moan; it sounded so close! Falco flung things behind him, not caring what mess he made.
Then he found it! Krystal's baseball bat! Just when he grabbed it and pulled it out, the zombie trudged into the room! Its rotting eyes fixed on Falco, and lumbered towards him. The young man gripped the bat as hard as he could, sweating and panting in fear.
"You ain't getting my brains, buster!" he grumbled before he swung the metal bat at the monster's head. This knocked the zombie down, and it let out a grunt. Falco swung his bat down on the dead man's head with such an impact that it sent pieces of rotten flesh and bone scattered across Krystal's room.
A couple more swings, and the zombie let out a high-pitched moan and lay still. Blood oozed out of the wounds that Falco had bashed into it, and a disgusting, greenish liquid dripped out of its mouth.
Falco gasped for air, unable to fully grasp what had just happened. He swallowed hard, then thought, "I should've let the zombie eat me. Krystal is going to kill me when she sees her room!"
Slowly, Falco edged around the dead...undead man. "Could zombies die?" he wondered. He remembered a line from a computer game of his, "How can one kill what is already dead?"
He ran down the steps, determined to keep as much distance from him and the corpse as possible. He grabbed the nearest phone and dialed 9-1-1. Then, it struck him that the police would never believe such a story, that a zombie burst through his window and chased him around his house. Maybe he should just say that a madman attacked him, and when they got here...
But then, Falco suddenly realized something. There was no sound coming from the phone, no ringing or dial tone. It was dead, dead as the monster in his stepsister's room.
This didn't look good for him. He dropped the phone and collapsed to the ground. Shock grabbed him once again, and he felt that he had traveled to a world that Stephen King had written. Had he fallen asleep, and was dreaming this? He gave himself an awfully painful pinch to the back of his hand, and then realized that this was all real.
Suddenly, the concept of more zombies coming at the house hit him. He needed to warn his stepsisters and his parents! Staying at home until something happened sounded like an invitation to be killed.
He bolted to his room, and grimaced at the sight of his window smashed, and the zombie's marks of rotting flesh and blood stained on his bed and floor. Dismissing this for now, he grabbed his backpack and poured his school books and binders out. He wouldn't need them, but he wanted his backpack.
The first thing he did was run to the kitchen and stuff some food into plastic wrap and the like, then shoved them into a paper bag and threw them into his backpack. He also put the largest carving knife his family had in his backpack, but he covered it in a paper bag, so that it wouldn't cut him when he reached for it.
When walking through his living room, he grabbed a framed photo of his family, in case he needed to identify them to anybody he ran across. Also, he felt that he wanted some comfort in having a picture of them with him.
Back in his room, he grabbed his Hitchhiker's book and tossed it in, just for the sake of holding something personal of his close to him. He actually didn't know why he was talking it, but maybe it was because he was worried that he might never come home again, so he wanted to make sure he wanted it with him.
When that concept passed through his head, he grabbed his "Weird Al" Yankovic CDs. He didn't want to lose either of them, for he remembered having to save up money to get them, and they were the only ones that the blasted music store was selling.
After applying some sandals to his feet, he approached his dresser. He looked down at his pajamas, which were not something he really wanted to go running around in. His long-sleeved, royal blue shirt and dark green pants were comfortable, but not something he wanted to be running around town in. At least he was wearing boxers under them (Falco never believed in sleeping without underwear). He had time, right? After all, maybe that was the only zombie around...
Suddenly, there was another horrible moan from outside! He looked out his demolished window to see another zombie lumbering towards his house! "Well, screw that!" he thought as he ran out of his room, only taking a few seconds to grab his digital watch and his cap.
He put on his watch as he ran for the back door, and pulled his cap on, still gripping Krystal's bat in his hands. Falco's cap was given to him by Jessica, and it was a black one with Blizzard's logo on it, who were responsible for giving him some of his favorite computer games.
Burst out the back door, he ran to the empty parking lot. He was upset that both cars had to be gone at this time, and even though he didn't know how to drive yet, he felt like being in a car on the road would be better than on foot. He walked into the darkness of nighttime, his wide eyes scanning for the killer zombies, his hands gripping the bat's handle as he walked into the street.
Looking around, no zombies could be seen, and the neighborhood was as calm and quiet as possible. Yet Falco did not feel comfortable, not one bit. He walked down the sidewalk, wondering what to do next.
Lilypad High School was a fifteen-minute drive, far too long to walk. He had no clue where Jessica's friend lived, and he didn't know how to get to where his dad walked. His mom's restaurant was also a distance, but she was closer, and she had one of the cars.
But then he thought of a different plan than a thirty-minute walk to his mom's work place. He could ask his neighbors for help! Tell them that he needed a ride to where his mom worked, or something of the like.
Then suddenly, he remembered the major loophole for that. All of the adults of Lilypad City were going to a meeting about town growth. Lilypad was on the outskirts, miles away from any other town, and the people of the city wanted to expand in some way. All of the teenagers were at the School Swing, and it was then that Falco figured out that Imogine Susanna planned it like that: parents at the city meeting, teenagers fooling around at the dance until the late hours. Children couldn't drive, but he didn't know of any kids around this neighborhood anyway.
He sighed, and started towards his mom's restaurant. Gripping Krystal's bat tightly as he walked towards Lilypad Park, he didn't see the second zombie that was heading for his house. Swallowing a mouthful of saliva, he looked at the park in front of him.
"If I go through the park...," he thought. "I could save around five or ten minutes getting to mom's restaurant! But didn't those things...come from the park?"
Realizing that he didn't have time to spare, he ran towards the park. Yet then, there was a hungry moan from behind him! He looked around to see the second zombie, this one clothed in casual clothes, claw out of the bushes and shamble towards him.
With a startled cry, Falco bolted across the street, the zombie following him relentlessly. When he made it across, the night was lit up by a pair of headlights! Falco turned around to see a car, brakes screeching, plow into the zombie! The monster was knocked to the side and fell to the ground, its legs mangled.
Falco ran back to the car, where the driver jumped out of the car. He looked at the carcass that lay in front of his car, swearing and panting.
"Mister!" Falco called, running towards him. The man whirled around and pointed a gun at him. The teenaged boy raised his arms and shouted, "I'm not one of them!"
The man didn't reply at first, then lowered his gun. "You okay, kid?" he asked.
"I'm fine, yeah," replied Falco. "Don't worry, that was a zombie you hit! ...Uh, I mean...," Falco stammered, realizing that what he said what ridiculous.
"I can see," the man replied. "Those damn freaks burst into my house and bit me!" he then displayed his arm to Falco, where he could see a bloody bite wound covered in gauze wrap. "I shot the one that bit me, then tried to call the police, but the lines are down!"
"Yeah, I know," muttered Falco. "Were you heading for the police station, sir? I wanted to help my family, but-"
"Hop in, kid! I'll get us there!" the man exclaimed, and he and Falco climbed into his car.
The man then drove towards the police station, and Falco relaxed a bit. He still clung onto his stepsister's bat, and looked over at the man driving. He seemed sleepy or something, because he looked like he was having trouble focusing on the road.
"You okay?" Falco asked him quietly.
"Huh? Yeah, I'm fine. This bastard bite is just...painful, that's all."
"Once this whole thing with zombies is over, you should get that looked at. There's no telling what diseases those monsters are carrying."
"Damn right."
A lot of the trip was pretty quiet, but the man grew more and more out of focus as time passed by. He once ran a red light, but since no one else was driving around, the only objection raised was from Falco.
"Hey, you ran a red light!" he had exclaimed.
"So the hell what?!" the man almost shouted as he scratched his neck. "There are bloody zombies running around town, and you want me to obey the traffic laws?"
"I just don't want us to smash into another car and end up as the undead, that's all," grumbled Falco.
They were both silent for a few seconds, then the man said, "Sorry for yelling, kid. I'm just worried, that's all. This wound is really smarting, and I'm worried about my wife!"
"Apology accepted. Where is your wife?"
"At that stupid city growth meeting! I didn't want to go, and now I know that is a mistake! I ran around the neighborhood like an idiot, trying to warn my fellow human beings, but everyone and their grandmother has gone to that stupid meeting! I must have run around like a chicken with its damn head cut off for a couple hours! Then I jumped in my car and started to drive to the police station, and...you know what else happened."
Falco nodded, then just said, "My family's all over the place. Work, friend's house, school dance."
Just then, a fact that kept popping into his mind came up again. "What are going to tell the police when we get to the station?" he asked the man.
He grunted, then muttered, "...Maybe...something like...a riot...," He sounded like he was straining, and was scratching his body fervently.
"Are you sure you are okay?" Falco asked him again, growing nervous.
"Me...fine...," he replied.
They stopped at a red light just then, right outside of the town's mall. Falco glanced at it, then looked back at the driver. His dual-colored eyes widened in terror as a chuck of flesh from the man's arm fell off when he scratched it.
The man looked at him with eyes that were losing their color and turning completely blue. "Ruuuuunnn...," he moaned softly.
Falco didn't need to be told twice. He unbuckled as fast as he could, and almost ramming the car door open, he burst out of the red sports car. The man let out a moan of pain, then there were sounds of the man slamming against his car's steering wheel and door, shouting and groaning.
Falco, sweating again, ran up the street, which was in the direction of the police station. The man had been turning into a zombie right in front of him! Was it because of the bite, or was it some other reason? Could he turn into a zombie at any minute?
Suddenly, there was a loud, bloodcurdling moan from behind him! He whipped around to see the man crawl out of his car, and then pull himself up again. His skin was rotted, as if he had been dead for some time. The zombie, who had been a man minutes ago, saw Falco and stumbled towards him, moaning hungrily.
"Oh...oh-no!" muttered Falco, running away from the horrible monster.
After running non-stop for several minutes, he fell to the ground, gasping for air. His lungs were burning, and he was wheezing hard. He still felt slightly in denial of what was happening, because it wasn't human! It wasn't possible for living beings to turn into zombies right in front of others!
He heard shuffling footsteps behind, and looked around to see the man lumbering toward him, growling and moaning. Falco swallowed hard, then stood up. His legs were too sore to run anymore, so he stood there, ready to face the zombie with his bat.
Suddenly, the moon's light was blocked out by a flying object! Falco looked up, only to see a giant, winged creature swoop down and attack the zombie! The teenaged boy didn't stop to watch, for he forced his tired legs to run from whatever was now attacking the zombie!
He ducked into an alleyway, and hid behind a dumpster. Things were quiet, apart from his gasps for air. His legs ached like never before, and his head was spinning from nausea and disbelief. What was happening? This used to be such a calm, peaceful town! Now he was running around the city in his pajamas, clutching a baseball bat and seeing men turning into flesh-craving monsters!
CLICK!
"Get up, punk!" said a gruff voice. Falco looked up to see a gun barrel pointed directly at his face. He rolled his eyes and stood up slowly. "Perfect," he thought bitterly. "You avoid zombies and don't get bit, Falco, but you let street trash mug you!"
"Give me whatever money you have!" growled the thief. Behind him, Falco saw two other men, just as tough-looking and dangerous as the one with the gun. The one pointing the firearm at him was wearing blue jeans, a black shirt that had a bleeding dragon logo, and a purple vest. The men behind him were wearing the same thing, only one was wearing shades, and the other had brass knuckles.
"I don't have any," muttered Falco, his dual-colored eyes never leaving the mugger's. For the first time that night, Falco was hoping a zombie or maybe that winged beast would attack them.
"Shall I teach him a lesson, boss?" Brass Knuckles asked, brandishing his weapon at Falco.
"Not yet, dude!" Bleeding Dragon replied, then looked at Falco with a cruel grin. "You wanna know what we do to people who don't have money with them?"
"Steal their underwear?" replied Falco. Frankly, he didn't care if he was pushing it now, because he felt like that it was most likely going to die anyway.
"Don't get smart with me, dumbass!" shouted Bleeding Dragon.
"Why don't you just plug him, man?" Shades asked.
"I just might!" Bleeding Dragon smirked, then cocked his gun. Falco swallowed hard, thinking he was going to die. "Funny," he thought. "I never thought I would go like this!"
Suddenly, there was a loud buzzing sound from above them. All four of them looked up, and Falco recognized it as the winged beast that had attacked the zombie!
"WHAT THE F-" Bleeding Dragon shouted, but then the winged beast came down on him, several arms clawing at the mugger.
It was then that Falco realized what the monster was. A giant mosquito, complete with a huge stinger that was already stained with blood. The monster mosquito then stabbed the mugger in the chest with its harpoon-like sucker, and blood squirted out of its prey. Shades and Brass Knuckles, gaping at first, turned around and ran down the alleyway. Bleeding Dragon, who was having all of his blood sucked from his body, called his "friends" to help him.
Falco was already dashing out the alleyway, hearing the obscenities and gunshots from the dying thug ring out through the night. He turned the corner and ran for the police station. The gunshots and screaming stopped soon, but did not think he had put himself at a far enough distance, and it was more likely that the giant mosquito killed the man.
When he finally arrived at the police station, he pushed the double doors open and shouted, "I NEED HELP OUTSI-"
*Lilypad City's Police Station*
He stopped very abruptly when all he saw was brutal carnage in front of him. Men and women, some in uniforms and some not, sprawled on the floor, the desks, or still leaning back in their chairs. All had been violently ripped open and bit into, and blood pooled the floor. Falco stepped back, then heard his sandals splash in a thick pool of blood. He shuddered and yanked his foot out, taking deep breaths of rotten air.
Click click click...click click click...
A faint sound drifted to Falco's ears, and he tensed. The clicking grew closer, then a dog walked from around the corner. It could have been one of the police dogs, but the beast was coated in a layer of slime, and its fur and skin were falling off. Its ribcage was exposed, and the white bones glistened under the fluorescent lights. Its mouth was caked with blood, and a thin stream of it leaked out from the side. When its demonic eyes fixated on Falco, it growled, its ruined body tensing.
That was all Falco needed to see. Whirling around, he sprinted for the door and burst outside. The zombie dog burst after him, and it was much faster than Falco, even if he was healthy and in one piece.
When Falco shoved the doors open, he turned around and closed them firmly, supporting them with his own strength. The zombie dog was in mid-leap, its bloody mouth gaping and teeth glowing. It slammed into the transparent doors, splattering blood on the door like bug on the windshield. Its head mashed like a rotten pumpkin, the dog fell to the floor and lay there.
Even though it wasn't moving, Falco didn't want to stay there any longer. Turning around, he ran from the slaughter into the street, not thinking clearly. For if he was, he would have noticed the car driving down the road and coming right at him.
HONK! HOOOOONK!!
The blaring of the horn startled Falco, and when he turned to see the red sports car coming at him, he threw himself backwards. The car swerved to the right and the breaks screeched. It nicked a mailbox and came to an almost sudden halt as Falco landed somewhat painfully on the road. He had probably bruised his back or his seat when he had landed, but he didn't care about that right now.
As he slowly pulled himself to his feet, he heard the driver, who sounded quite young, roaring, "-CKING MORON! WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING ON THE ROAD?!"
The driver nearly burst out of his car in a rage, and suddenly, Falco could see who it was. "Oh-no!" he groaned in his mind. "Not him!"
"Falco?!" Shaun Fogel, the most popular, most arrogant boy in Lilypad City, glared at the young boy through fierce brown eyes. "You nearly got us killed, you little prick!"
"Us?" thought Falco, but his question was quickly answered as Kim Milano, a senior at Lilypad City with blond, curly, shoulder-length hair and brown eyes, stepped out of the car, glaring at Falco too. She was one of Mandy's friends, and she was incredibly good-looking. But still, in Falco's eyes, she would always a snotty, selfish witch with no heart in that body of hers.
The street was only lit by street lights, and one was shining down on them directly. Yet the teenaged boy didn't feel any more safe in the light than he did in the dark. "Shaun, there's something horrible going on here-" Falco started, but the arrogant teenager interrupted him.
"Yeah, your face!" Laughing at his own joke, Shaun ran his hand across his bleached blond hair, which was buzzed so that he looked pretty tough. Shaun could easily be mistaken for a football player with his high stature and tough look, but he never played sports; Falco always suspected that he was too worried about getting hurt.
"Will you listen to me?!" shouted Falco, growing nervous and frustrated at Shaun. "Just look in the police station, and you'll see-"
"Can't we get going, Shaun?" Kim's smooth, sexy voice came from behind them. She was seated on the hood of Shaun's sports car, and it was then that Falco noticed how much she resembled a prostitute. She was wearing a very short skirt that was almost translucent, and her breasts were barely being covered by a halter top. Falco rolled his eyes, then opened his mouth to talk, but Shaun beat him to it.
"Jealous, Falco?" he taunted him, then looked around to Kim. "I'll only be a minute, babe!" Turning back to Falco, he crossed his arms and grinned in some unannounced triumph. "What a babe, huh? She's a senior, and she's hot and ready for me! When we get to the park, I'll make sure we park in front of your house, so you can hear us loud and clear!"
Falco had an image of them getting ready to have sex, then zombies bursting into their car and eating them alive. Although it made Falco sick to think of it, he also couldn't deny that he wouldn't feel bad about it being them getting eaten.
"Well, fine. Don't look in the police station," bluffed Falco. "Though you see the topless woman the cops brought in. They think she's a prostitute."
That didn't work; Shaun scoffed and turned back to his car, grinning at Kim. "That little fag is so stupid. I should've mowed him down instead of driving to the side."
"He did dent your car, honey," she pointed out.
"HE WHAT?!" Shaun ran to his car, where he saw a dent in the side, which was where he had dinged the mailbox. Scratches of blue paint also added salt to the injury, as Shaun roared like a hurt animal.
Kim smirked at Falco when he ran to them, trying to get through to them. "He's so gonna kill you!" she giggled, and Falco frowned at the teenaged-harlot.
"I'M GOING TO KICK THE CRAP OUT OF YOU, YOU LITTLE SHIT!!" Shaun bellowed, running towards Falco with his fists up. Yet he stopped when Falco brandished the baseball bat at him. A gleam of triumph came into Falco's blue-and-green eyes as he shook the bat at Shaun teasingly.
"Not in front of a police station, you won't," pointed out the younger teenager. "Okay Shaun, you listen to me, and listen good. You either look into that police station, or I'll slam this bat into your car's window"
"You little fu-"
"Say one more thing I don't like, and it'll be both in five seconds," snapped Falco. Kim slid off of the hood, and Falco glanced at her as edged for the front door. "You get away from the door, Kim."
"Won't you get in trouble for demolishing Shaun's car outside of a police station?" she hissed, then smirking in victory.
Falco smirked right back at her. "If they do, then I'll them about you two. After all, Kim is eighteen, and Shaun is only seventeen, am I right?"
Kim looked at Shaun nervously, who was looking madder than ever. "You can't prove how old we are, you little bastard."
Falco tapped the side of Shaun's car with the end of his sister's bat, and Shaun flinched. "Now, now, Shaun. I probably can't, but I'll just say a junior and a senior went down to the park, and the police will put two and two together."
"Not if we stay here!"
"If you do, I smash the back door in!" Falco shouted, then pointed the bat at the two. "Now go look in that fricking police station!"
"I think you're bluffing," replied Shaun.
"You'd better hope I am-"
THUD!
A horrible monster leapt onto the top of the car, digging its claws into the metal as though it was paper. The twisting and screeching of metal were barely heard over the monster's hisses, as a long tongue flicked out and then back into its mouth. Its teeth, glimmering with blood, glowed under the streetlight. Its body looked that of a furless, giant cat, except that it had no tail, no eyes or ears, and its brain was on the outside.
The monster, who covered the top of the car with its body, looked at the three teenagers one by one, then to the side. It was hard to tell if it was blind, or if it only sensed movement or sound, for it wasn't attacking them with its already bloodstained claws.
Shaun, Kim and Falco never looked away from the monster, nor did they dare move a muscle. Even though Falco had seen zombie humans, dogs and mosquitoes, nothing could have prepared him for this abomination.
The monster sniffed loudly, as if trying to pick up a sent. Then it looked directly at Falco, who was still stained with blood from the police station and his house. Growling, it leaned closer to him, almost touching him with its snout.
Falco, trying hard not to even breathe, stood absolutely still. The monster sniffed more, then grunted. With a hiss, it looked away, uninterested. Then its head turned to Kim, and sniffed at her.
Kim shrieked out loud, her high-pitched voice and the suddenness of it making Falco jump in surprise. The flesh monster sprung like a cat at Kim, knocking her down to the street and pinning her. Shaun immediately ran away, heading for the police station.
Falco, more of a man than Shaun, raised his bat. Yet then the monster dug its left claw into Kim's shoulder, tearing open three slashes. When it dug its teeth into her chest, whatever sanity was left in Falco's mind at the moment screamed at him to run; this girl was doomed. He did, almost losing footing as he bolted away from the monster. Only then did he notice Shaun heading for the police station.
"NO, SHAUN!!" he screamed in a desperate, anxiety-filled voice. "NOT THERE!! IT'S A SLAUGHTERHOUSE!!"
Shaun replied with something very impolite, and ran in. Falco rolled his eyes, and decided to forget about the jerk. Then behind him, the roar of the monster filled his ears, and he whipped his head around, holding his sister's bat tightly.
The monster, who had a huge chunk of Kim's flesh in its mouth, was hissing at a pair of headlights that shone at him. Maybe Falco was not seeing clearly, but the monster looked larger and more powerful than before it attacked Kim...
The car was speeding towards the monster, yet the driver didn't slow down or steer clear; it barreled straight forward like if nothing was different about the road! With a hiss, the skinless cat leapt at the car, smashing through the windshield and shattering it to millions of sharp pieces. Falco watched this in horror, then remembered that Kim was still lying in front of the car.
She was still alive, but just an inch away. Almost lifeless eyes rolled in their sockets and then caught Falco in their sights. Highlighted by the street light and oncoming headlights, he saw her face was caked in blood, her chest was covered in it as well, and her breasts had been shredded. She mouthed what Falco thought was, "Help," and, against all of his better judgment, he ran towards her. When he realized he couldn't get there in time, he stopped before the car hit him as well. For a few seconds, Falco actually pitied Kim.
The car ran over her head, and Falco looked away as a crunching and thudding sound that made vomit rise in his throat could be clearly heard. Then the car swerved to the side, thrown off of by the human speed bump. Its wheels screeching, the car rammed into a tree, and exploded in a ball of fire!
The explosion shook the air, and Falco winced as a horrible wailing sound could be heard. The skinned monster that had attacked Kim was catapulted out through the back window and shot through the air. Burning like a torch, it landed about ten feet from Falco, blood oozing from wounds. The smell of burning flesh reached Falco's nose, and he gagged.
Hissing and wailing, the monster struggled to get to its feet. Falco quickly ran over and brought the bat down upon its head. It roared and reached out feebly with a burning claw. Avoiding its dangerous hands, Falco slammed the monster's head with his bat, splattering the brain that now burned. After a few whacks, the monster gasped out and then collapsed, no longer moving.
Backing up from the smoldering, dead monster, Falco looked around for any other monsters or zombies. His imagination on what could come next was running wild, and he half-expected a skeleton or a demon to come after him next. When he did see something, it was Shaun Fogel, bursting out of the police station, eyes wild and looking horrified.
The teenaged boy then burst into a long blue streak, using words and phrases that made Falco feel somewhat queasy when he heard them. All he could understand from Shaun's cursing was that he had been freaked out by the gore in the police station, and that he was going to call the army into Lilypad City.
"The lines are all down, Shaun," said Falco, who approached Shaun after he was done swearing. "We can't call anyone."
Shaun looked at Falco, who had blood speckled on his pajamas, and his bat had a mushy, pink substance on it. "Then we'll use a cell phone, dumbass," he replied, saying the insult louder than any of the other words.
"Do you have one?"
"...No, I don't. But Kim does!"
"Kim did."
Falco gestured towards Kim's corpse, not wanting to look at her. "That monster wasn't able to finish her off, and a car ran over her head. The monster's dead now, so we're currently safe," he finished, then noticed the look of what could possibly be sadness in Shaun's eyes. "I'm sorry about Kim," he added.
Shaun then looked at Falco and sneered. "Who cares about her? She's dead!" Falco bristled, feeling his rage growing. "You get the cell phone from her skirt's pocket, and I'll get the car ready!"
"You can get the bloody cell phone, Shaun!" spat Falco, his dual-colored eyes filled with anger and frustration. "She was your girlfriend, and she might still be alive if you hadn't run for your own pitiful life!"
"How dare you!" Shaun's eyes were as filled with anger as Falco's were. "You do not tell me what to do, you little son of a bitch! And she wasn't my girlfriend, anyway! She was just a senior who was willing to give me a piece of her ass! She had probably hoped it would get her some more popularity if I, Shaun Fogel, had sex with her! So you get the cell phone, or I drive off without you!"
Falco was almost shaking with rage. "You disgust me," he hissed at Shaun, then walked over to Kim's remains. Shaun didn't reply, which pleased Falco.
Unfortunately, Falco had a pretty good look at her when he approached her. Her head was beyond a description of gore, and he gagged when he caught sight of her brain from the large opening in her head. Shuddering, he looked down at her skirt, and saw the pocket. With a quivering hand, he reached in to fish out her cell phone. He tried not to look at her crushed head, but if she were to turn into a zombie like the last man, he didn't want to be bitten. Breathing hard, he yanked the cell phone out of her pocket.
A feeling of loss hit hit when he saw the cell phone. There was a large hole punctured right in the center, most likely from that long-tongued monster. Even it could still work, several buttons that were important to use for calling were destroyed, like the number one button.
"It's demolished, Shaun," he groaned as he stood up, tossing the broken object away.
Shaun didn't show any emotion, apart from swearing and opening the door. "You coming?" he asked as he climbed in.
Falco ran over to the side door, wanting to make sure Shaun didn't leave without him. He was very relieved to find the door unlocked, and he sat down in the side seat. Maybe Shaun was afraid that he was going to hit his precious car if he tried to take off without him, or maybe the current events were keeping him from acting too much like a spoiled jerk.
There was a box of condoms next to Falco, and he knocked them off the seat and onto the floor in disgust. There was also a container of small pills on the floor, but Falco didn't want to think about that. As he buckled himself in, he muttered, "If the police are dead, then where do we go?"
"My folks are at that stinking meeting, and my classmates are at the dance," replied Shaun as he started the car. "Me and Kim left early, so everyone's still there."
Falco thought about it for a while. He still didn't know where Jessica or his step dad were, so it was to two choices: his mom's work place, or the high school, where Krystal and her friends were. As much as he cared about both, going after his mother sounded very dangerous, since her restaurant was in the middle of town, where monsters could be running freely. Also, the students at his school were going to have cell phones beyond a doubt.
"I have no clue where that meeting may be, so why not warn our fellow classmates?" Some music came blasting out of the stereo of the car, and Falco winced from the loudness and the terrible noise that he had mistaken for music. Turning it off, Shaun glared at him.
"What? All you have is a stupid bat! If there are more of those freaking zombies or that f-"
"We're just as bad off there as we are anywhere!" shouted Falco as they turned a corner. "We can't get leave town to get help, because that could take hours! Have you got a better plan?"
Shaun was silent for a minute or two, and Falco noticed that he was indeed driving to Lilypad High School. "Do you have anything in this car you can use as a weapon?"
"Gun in the trunk, maybe," replied Shaun. "That is, if my mother didn't use this car last. She hates them, and she disproves of my dad keeping it there in case of emergencies."
"Let's hope your mom didn't use this car last," muttered Falco. "Because you sure were going to use this car, if you know what I mean," he thought. "Also, if it is there, let's hope you don't decide to shoot me."
When they pulled up to the large high school, Falco felt a horrible chill go down his spine when his eyes fell upon the building. There was just something about it that made him shudder, something that gave off an aura of fear and death. Nobody was outside, and from the number of cars that were still in the parking lot, it didn't look like anyone else had left.
Maybe Shaun felt that fear as well, for he parked as far away from the building as possible. As they stepped out from his car, Shaun went over to the trunk and opened it immediately. Falco was listening for any sounds coming from the school, anything unwanted, but there was nothing to hear except the loud music that could be heard from the back of the parking lot.
"Yep, it's here!" he shouted triumphantly, then pulled out a pistol. He put two clips into his pocket and started babbling on about the gun type, but frankly, Falco could care less. A gun was a gun to him, and he had no interest in learning about the different models or numbers.
"You think we should check to make sure no one is parked?" asked Falco, who was not very anxious to enter his school.
"Why, you hoping to catch some action?" Shaun replied. If that had come from almost anyone else, it would have been a silly joke; from Shaun, it was insulting.
With a scowl, Falco retorted, "No, but we're here to warn the students. God willing, the monsters and zombies are not here, but we must expect the worst."
"Right. This whole town is so screwed anyway, so why should we think the school is a haven?" Chuckling at his own joke, Shaun started walking to the other cars. "I guess since I didn't get any action today, like I should have, you can go in that damn school. I'll just check out these cars, okay, loser?"
"Fine!" replied Falco, who walked towards the school.
With every step he took, Falco grew more and more nervous. The school's aura of fear grew thicker as he approached, and soon, he felt the desire to turn around and run. Yet the thought of those zombies going after Krystal or Mandy drove him on, and he approached the door for the auditorium.
The music from some band Falco couldn't identify was blaring from the door, but when he tried to open it, he found out it locked. He knocked on the door loudly, and shouted to be heard over the music, but no one came. For a wild moment, Falco thought about breaking the door down with his stepsister's bat, but the door was metal with no windows, so forget that.
Walking around the building, hearing no sound except for the loud music, Falco found that all of the doors were locked! Also, there were no windows on the doors, and the windows all had the blinds down; that was not surprising, for he learned that the teachers lower them afterwards to anything inside from fading, due to the sunlight. Still, Falco felt it odd that everything was locked up, or maybe that was just because reality was bending all around him.
He finally came to a door that was unlocked, which was the main entrance to the hallway. It hadn't been locked, for someone had put a doorstop in the right door, preventing it from being closed. However, the electronic device that is used to control the doors was clicking constantly, and the open door shook now and then as the doorstop and the electronic device fought for control.
*Lilypad High School*
Nervously, Falco stepped in. "Hello?" he called, tightening his grip on the bat. "Anybody?"
He stepped in the dim hallway. Half of the fluorescent lights were off, and a few of the ones still on were blinking. Falco felt like he was stepping into an abandoned building, rather than the school he had been walking around in this afternoon.
He took a step forward, and his foot landed in a puddle. Yet it was warm and sticky, most certainly not water. Without thinking, Falco looked down, and regretted it immediately.
A student, probably a junior or senior, was lying on the floor facedown. Her flesh had been viciously ripped off by human-sized teeth, and her throat was mauled to the point of decapitation. Her eyes stared lifelessly at Falco's shoes, which were backing up very quickly.
The sight of a classmate lying in her own blood hit Falco's stomach hard, and he couldn't hold it back any longer. Grabbing a nearby wastebasket, he vomited violently. He clutched his stepsister's bat in trembling hands, and his eyes were losing focus. Slumping to the floor when he was done, he took deep breathes, smelling the blood and his vomit.
"I hate school," he muttered, trying to calm himself down. Wiping his mouth with his pajama sleeve, he stood up slowly. Summoning his courage and sanity with a deep breath, he carefully walked past the dead student and started forward.
Then the corpse let out a moan! Falco whipped around, his eyes wide with fright. The female student pulled her mauled body up slowly, her head hanging loosely by a mutilated throat. Her sunken eyes fell upon a terrified Falco, and, reaching for him and moaning hungrily, the zombie girl shambled forward at him!
Falco, sickened and horrified, turned around and ran from the freak that was once a human being. Even when armed, he did not want to dare fight the zombie, afraid he might turn into one from the slightest touch of her decaying hands. Sprinting down the hallway, easily leaving the zombie behind him, he turned a corner, and saw a holocaust of the worst kind.
Dead bodies of students littered the hallway, their bodies already decaying and blood coating the floor. Falco dropped his weapon, and his hand came up to his mouth. "This can't be real...," he whispered.
About three students were eating their dead classmates, chewing noisily and making stomach-churning sounds. Falco suddenly remembered that he dropped his weapon, and hurriedly picked it up. That was fortunate, because the female zombie was now closing in on.
She was too close to avoid now, so Falco knocked the zombie over with the tip of the bat. Falling down, the zombie moaned and reached out for him. Grabbing onto his leg, the teenaged boy screamed in fear and brought the bat down on the monster's face. Smashing her repetitively, he ruined the zombie's face and the zombie let go of his leg. With a strange moaning sound, the zombie lay still on the floor.
Panting hard, Falco wiped the sweat away from his forehead. "Stupid girl," he muttered. "Why can't she just stay dead? Women can never make up their minds."
Chuckling at his joke, Falco then remembered the zombies that were in front of him. None of the three had stopped eating, and Falco wondered if they could hear. Smell or see, maybe, but how could he tell how good a zombie's senses are.
The only way to get anywhere in the school would be around the next corner of this hallway; all the doors so far led to singular classrooms. He realized that he would have to walk past this slaughterhouse of a hallway, and past three zombies.
Gingerly, he walked around the corpses of the dead teenagers, avoiding getting his feet near their mouths and hands. His mouth was filled with the stench of the dead, and nausea became to overcome him.
"How long ago did this happen?" he thought. "How did these monsters get in here when only one of the doors unlocked? If there are any survivors, where would they be?"
Stepping over a particularly large corpse, he recognized it as Eric Deree, a member of the football team, and one of the many people who loved to keep asking Falco about his "relationship" with him and Jar-Jar Binks. Eric had also threatened to beat Falco up a few times, so Falco wasn't that grievous to see the big jerk was dead.
None of the other corpses he stepped over were people he knew; either that or they had decayed so badly that he couldn't recognize them. Looking back to make sure he had not alerted the zombies, he noticed that they hadn't even moved from the corpses they were eating with to begin. "Thank goodness," he thought. "Even when real, zombies are still brain-dead."
Looking down the third hallway, he saw it was clear of carnage, and that there were four doors to choose from. The Multipurpose Room (which was where the dance was), the Principal's Office, or two bathrooms, one female and one male.
He ran for the Multipurpose Room's double doors, but with a heave of his strength, he found it locked. Slightly worried, he remembered that there were four entrances to the Multipurpose Room, and so far, only two were locked. Then again, seeing that all the doors were locked, apart from the one that he had entered the school in, he didn't think that one of them would fortunately opened.
His next idea was to check the bathrooms for survivors. He walked up to the men's room and reached for the bathroom door, and found it was locked too! Rolling his eyes in frustration, he tried the lady's room, but the same problem related there. He kicked the door slightly, then turned to the Principal's Office. Expecting the same fate, but not wanting to leave it untouched, he reached for the doorknob.
It was unlocked! Falco was very much surprised, and he pushed it open.
*Principal's Office*
No one, living or dead, was occupying the small room. He had been in this office once or twice, and something about it struck him as odd. The room was ransacked, but not in the sense that someone fought for his life or that a monster thrashed about in the office, but that someone was in a hurry to get out. Wouldn't they just stay in the office and lock the door, rather than leaving the safety of the windowless room?
He knew Principal Howard Fletcher well, and ever since he had seen the man, he had always disliked him. The principal didn't seem to give a damn about his students, as on-campus violence and theft were a growing matter. Falco was lucky to stay out of trouble, because when Krystal had slapped Shaun, Fletcher very nearly gave her detention for assault and battery!
The office was a mess, but a seemingly-organized mess at that. A potted plant had been knocked over, and all of the chairs, except for the rolling one the principal sat in behind his desk, had been overturned. Papers and writing utensils scattered across the desk, and the computer was still on. He first looked at the papers, but nothing interesting was to be seen.
Next he looked at the computer. The red iMac was on the desktop currently, and there were three folders. One was titled "School Business," the second was "Computer Applications," and the third was "Personal Belongings."
Prodding around the principal's computer was not what Falco wanted to be doing right now, so he ignored that. When his eyes left the computer, he noticed something unusual in the wastebasket. There was a small clump of ashes, which looked like someone had burnt a few pieces of paper. Not giving it much thought, Falco looked up and then noticed the door slowly open.
He at first thought, for a hopeful second, that one of the survivors had seen him come in, and had followed him. He was right except for the last part: the person was not alive.
Recognizing the zombie as one of the feasting cannibals in the hallway, the boy in gore-stained jeans and t-shirt stumbled towards him. A moan escaped the blood-coated lips of the fiend, and two others followed from him. Falco saw the other two zombies, both male, walking in the office as well.
Falco was trapped! Armed only with a baseball bat, and no other weapons in the small office, he was cornered by three zombies with no way out except the way they were coming in!
"I should've known not to go to the principal's office!" he muttered, brandishing his stepsister's bat, and waiting for the first zombie to come close enough...
