City of the Dead
"Hey Jarred, I've been hearing things on this floor. I think there may be someone here, I'm going to search the area more thoroughly" Vanessa said over the cell phone's static.
"Okay Vanessa, be careful, what is the situation up there?" Jarred asked.
"Well, I've only seen a couple of zombies, but I have avoided them easily" She said.
Paul tapped Jarred on the shoulder.
"Hold on a second" He told Vanessa, covering up the speaker. "What is it?" Jarred asked.
"Lets go check out that security room" Paul said.
"Hey Vanessa, we're going to go check out that security room, we'll meet up with you later" Jarred said.
"Okay, you guys be careful, bring me back something nice" She said.
"Heh, alright, take care, don't get yourself killed" Jarred said before hanging up the cell phone.
"Alright, lets go" Paul said walking over to the barricaded door. "Help me get this out of the way" He said getting on one side of the bookshelf.
"Okay, on three, 1...2..3" Jarred said, helping to pull the bookshelf away from the door.
The two left the classroom and stepped into the hall.
"Now, we have to go through the lobby in order to get to the security room" Jarred said suddenly remembering the reason why they left.
"Yeah...Lets go, we can do it" Paul replied, hoping that the zombies weren't smart enough to climb stairs.After a short jog, they reached the big wooden double doors. Jarred stared at the doors in front of him, wishing that they, like all the other doors in the school, were glass. The only way of telling what was on the other side of these doors, was to open them.
"You ready?" Paul asked, readying his knife.
"Lets do it" Jarred said
Paul swung the doors open and stepped out onto the second floor landing, quickly realizing that apparently the zombies weren't as stupid as he had wished, several of them had climbed up the stairs and were on the landing, directly in their way. The closet was a man in a business suit, the other two were both female, they could have almost passed for normal, must have died recently.
"Come on" Jarred yelled running towards them.
Paul followed. With an unexpected lunge, the zombie in the business suit grabbed Jarred's arm. Jarred felt the cold firm grip and screamed in surprise, quickly shoving the zombie over the railing and onto the floor below. Jarred and Paul easily bypassed the two staggering women and made it to the other side of the landing. They opened the set of wooden double doors and went in.
"Okay, the security room is just down this hall and to the left" Jarred said going over his mental map of the school.
"I know where its at, come on, lets get some weapons" Paul said running down the hall.
Jarred shrugged his shoulders and followed.
They ran down the hall, and just as Paul turned the corner, someone collided with him and they both fell to the floor. Paul hit the ground hard. Jarred saw the collision and ran towards Paul, thinking that he ran into a zombie. Paul immediately got up and pulled his dagger.
"Hey man what the hell are you doing?" The person's voice crackled, still in pain from hitting the tile floor.
"Whoa, your not a zombie" Paul said, seeing that the person on the floor was very much alive.
"No, my name is John, John Russo" He said still laying on his back.
"I'm Paul" He helped John up "And this mangy looking character here, is Jarred" He said pointing to Jarred.
"Hi" Jarred said disregarding Paul's sarcastic comment.
"You don't know how glad I am to see someone else alive" John said dusting himself off.
He was wearing a World Industries hoodie and dark blue jeans. Paul had seen him around before, he was a skater, often outside after school ended, skating around and jumping the stair sets.
"So, are you guys alone, anyone else here?" John asked.
"Yeah, there's the chick Vanessa, but she is on the third floor looking for survivors" Paul said.
"I just came from the third floor, its dangerous up there, I just watched my friend get killed by fucking crows" John said, his eyes widening with fear.
"Crows? What the hell?" Paul asked.
"Yeah, I know its weird, but they are up there, got in through one of the broken windows I guess" John said, still sounding worried. "We were heading to the security room to find some weapons, but...he didn't make it" John said looking towards the ground.
"What a coincidence, so were we" Jarred said. "Lets go guys, its just down there" He said pointing towards the hall to the right of where John and Paul collided.
The three got to the door and went in. The security room looked like a small darkened closet, only filled with gadgets. Security monitors bathed the surroundings in a grayish tint, a lot of them were out. John stared at the monitors, while Jarred and Paul's attention turned to a huge metal locker that was mounted to the wall.
Paul tried to open it.
"Damn locked doors" He said kicking a dent in the thin metal.
Paul violently kicked at the doors, until they gave way. he ripped them off the hinges and his jaw dropped as to what he saw inside. There was a row of Benelli 12-gauge shotguns, at least five of them, and many more handguns all sitting on the bottom shelf, ammunition, holsters, everything.
"Thank you for this bounty I'm about to receive" Paul joked.
"Why would public school rent-a-cops need all this artillery?" Jarred asked, surprised as to what he was seeing, but very happy about it.
"I don't know, but I'm sure glad its here" Paul said reaching in and grabbing a shotgun. "Oh yeah, this is what I'm talking about"
Jarred and Paul began taking the weapons and accessories, strapping themselves with the holsters that were inside. John had his hands in his pockets, watching the security monitors, John could see zombies slowly staggering around in several of the school's hallways, but his attention was focused on the lobby monitor, someone had just entered the school.
"Hey guys" John said with a confused tone to his voice.
"Yeah?" Jarred responded.
"Who is that?" John said pointing to the monitor.
Jarred walked over and looked at the screen, obviously it was the lobby's camera.
"Holy god" Jarred said suddenly taken by both confusion and fear.
"What is it guys?" Paul said walking over to the monitors.
What they saw was a large creature clad in a black trench coat, it's body resembled a human's, but that's where all the similarities ended. Its skin looked like torn leather, several cords sprouted from it's flesh and wrapped around its unearthly shoulders, a tear in the middle of its face housed a set of teeth and gums. Jarred, Paul, and John watched the creature smash it's fists through the skulls of the zombies that broke through the windows earlier. The monster turned, opened the first door to the left of the entrance, and entered one of the first floor hallways.
"Wha...What the fuck was that thing?" Paul stuttered.
"I don't know, but I sure don't want to be around to find out, guys lets get the hell out of here" Jarred said grabbing a backpack full of ammunition.
"Yeah, hey John, take some of these" Paul said handing John an assortment of ammo, a handgun, and a shotgun.
"Th...Thanks" John said still staring at the monitor.
"Come on guys, lets go, whatever that was, its on the first floor, we'll just steer clear of there for now" Jarred said walking out of the room. Several thoughts were swirling in his head, what is that thing? Why is it here? Suddenly his mind shifted towards Vanessa, he didn't want that thing anywhere near her.
"I've got to get her, she'll probably hate me for acting like a chivalrous hero, but I can't let...Whatever the hell that thing was, find her"
All of a sudden, Jarred took off running down the hall where John came from.
"Hey guys, I have to go get Vanessa, I'll meet up with you later" Jarred yelled running down the hall.
"What!?? Wait a minute, COME BACK!!!!" Paul yelled, but it was of no use, Jarred disappeared around the corner.
"Damn...That takes balls" John said nodding his head nonchalantly.
"Yeah, or pure stupidity, come on we have to go after him, we also need to look for Vanessa, she's somewhere on the third floor" Paul said.
"Alright, but I'm telling you, there's some bad shit up there" John said, cocking his shotgun. "But I don't think anything is going to want to mess with us" He sneered.
The two ran down the hall where Jarred went.
"Yeah, he went the way I came down" John said. "He probably took the elevator, follow me" John said leading the way.
"Dammit Jarred, why did you have to turn into a hero?" Paul thought. It may have been brave and noble, but it was definitely a blind and foolhardy move. With that thing now in the mix, Paul was beginning to doubt that any of them would survive...
Jill Valentine
There was an eerie silence that filled the dark hallways on the third floor. Vanessa paced on quickly, trying to remove the horrid images of walking corpses from her mind. She tightened her clench around the handle of the knife, since it was her only source of protection. Cautiously examining the halls, she peered up at the perfectly arched walls shaped by beautifully polished pine wood, decorated with extravagant carvings engraved deep within flesh of the wood.
"I've got to say," she thought to herself.
"This school is pretty damn nice..."
Tiny glints of glass shimmered in the small source of light from the side lamps, and Vanessa noticed that several of the windows had been broken.
"What the?" she whispered to herself.
Bending down, she gently scooped up a pile of black feathers, saturated with fresh, warm blood.
"Oh my god..."
Realizing she was not alone, Vanessa slowly looked up, seeing a flock of crows lined up above her on the window sill, hungrily staring at her through their deep red, evil gaze.
"Stay the fuck away from me!" she cried, slowly staggering back, waving the knife in their direction. The crows seemed to of been amused by her response to their presence, as their ghostly shrieks somewhat resembled the sound of evil laughter.
Realizing the knife held no threat to them, she immediately bolted in the opposite direction. The accumulated sound of wings beating the still air followed Vanessa with an ominous echoing. The rhythmic beat of their wings equaled the rate of her heart, as they closed in on her, faster and faster.
The first two doors in the corridor were locked, and there was possibly no way she could escape if the next three also happened to be locked.
"Please don't be locked, please don't be locked..." she chanted repetitively in her head.
Approaching the next door, she discovered that it was unlocked.
"Jesus loves me!" she shouted, forcing open the door, while slamming it behind her.
Relieved that she was safe, Vanessa took a deep breath of air, noticing a musky, acidic smell that filled the large, dark room.
"Holy shit!" she cried once again, examining the pile of dead bodies that filled the center of the room.
"Uhhhhh.." came a monstrous hiss from above her.
Before she could open her frozen throat to scream, the creature leapt down beside her, bearing it's ferocious teeth in a vigorous threat. Then, with one swift movement, it swiped it's sharp claws at her, as she narrowly dodged it, defending herself with the knife. Unable to defend herself, Vanessa forced herself out of the room, and back into the corridor, realizing the crows had disappeared. Somehow, the creature followed her out into the hall; it seemed to be intelligent enough to open doors, unlike the mute, brainless zombies.
Screaming in fear, Vanessa bolted the down the corridor, heading towards the flight of stairs that lead down to the second floor.
Recognizing a figure approaching her, Vanessa realized it was Jarred; safe and armed.
"Jarred!! Run!!!" she yelled quickening her pace to the fastest speed possible.
Jarred looked at her, as shock filled the expression in his pale face. Loosing control of her legs, Vanessa stumbled into his arms, her grip tightening for a sense of security.
"I'm so glad you're here," she cried, shaken from the strange creatures she encountered. "I was so scared..I
didn't know what to do...I didn't know what to do!"
"Shh..it's ok now, you're safe. I'm here.." he reassured her, cradling her in his arms.
Pulling her gaze up to meet his, Vanessa found herself quivering with fear, while remaining unable to speak.
"Let's get out of here. We found another survivor, John Russo, and he knows a safe place where we can hide for a while." he said, looking down at the empty staircase.
"Don't worry, we'll get out of here. I promise you..."
Carlos Oliveira
As quiet as he could Nathan searched the hallways for rooms with survivors. Unfortunately all he found were dead bodies. Stopping near the Art room on the second floor, Nathan crouched down and counted his ammo.
"3 clips, 8 in each, plus the one in the 9mm minus 1 leaves me 31 shots." he said to himself.
Again his fathers voice came into his mind.
"Son. It's O.K. to be afraid. But now's not the time Nath. You need to get outta here Son. Someplace safe. Remember that the only sovereign you can allow to rule you is reason Nath. Never forget that."
With that one time motto he stood with new resolve.
"It's time to find out if all your training paid off Dad." he said out loud.
Nathan stole a look around the corner and saw 4 of the "zombies" walking towards his direction. With a deep breath he took the corner running dropping to his back silently thanking the janitor for waxing recently as he slid on his back under the first firing 2 rounds into it's face and chest, as he passed under he kicked off another wall and slid passed another firing once more, the round punching neatly in it's forehead. Rolling to his feet he dove under another twisting onto his back as he stopped under it. The monster looking down with saliva dripping from it's open mouth.
"Hungry? Eat this!" Nath said as he fired 1 round into the creature's head as he kicked out from under it.
Standing up he was less then 5 feet from the last one.
"Don't worry about what can't hurt you Son."
Deciding his father was right he slipped to the nearest door and fumbled with the handle wrenching the door open, and closing it quickly behind him. After locking it he slouched to the floor and reloaded pocketing the loose round and slapping in a fresh one. Taking a quick look he realized he was in the welding class.
"Never did show up to this class." he thought with a chuckle
"Lets see if Mr. Wilson left anything around for me to use." he said to no-one in particular.
And with that he began to search the room.
Books welding materials but nothing of use, then he spotted his locker shelf where he kept his clothes before class. As he walked over he smiled to himself. During his first week here, he had come to the class once and had changed into his welding outfit and left his good clothes here. Not once had he come back for them thinking Mr. Wilson would be pissed at him for dropping the class after 2 months of not showing up, but then again when you were as good as him at Wrestling none of the teachers seemed to care what you did as long as you won. After a brief lapse in memory Nath remembered the comb and opened the locker to reveal his clothes. Quickly he changed from his jeans into the black tear off pants with white stripes and tossed on the vest over his black shirt. All together he felt kinda safe wearing more then he was. It felt like a second skin. Quickly he emptied the jeans of the $210 he was carrying and his cell phone which he clipped to his pants, and the cigarettes and zippo he had. Quickly he took out a smoke and lit it and placed the smokes and lighter into his vest pocket along with the 3 extra clips. Nath adjusted the shoulder holster and walked back to the door and slowly unlocked and opened the door.........empty. Slipping out with his smoke hanging from his lips he took a drag and started walking down the hall and flicked the safety off of his 9. One way or another he was getting out of here and even if it meant shooting his Wrestling coach himself,...."After all they didn't vote me student body president for nothing. I always know how to handle a situation right? Well only one way to find out." With that thought he walked towards the stairs and headed up thinking the only good thing that could happen now was finding a friend..........after all.....being alone sucked!
Joker
Ryan ran down the hall, the sound reverberating throughout the halls with every step. Warren High, which had not long ago been a hustle and bustle of activity was now silent, a soulless monolith instead of an average school. It was empty, quiet enough to hear one's own thoughts screaming at them. Indeed, that's what Ryan heard.
"Get out of here! Find the exit and leave!", his mind screamed at him, his survival instincts coming to the fore.
As Ryan stood pressed against the wall next to a corner, he risked a peek out into the hallway.
Empty.
Just as he went to make his leave, however, Ryan heard footsteps. They were approaching fast.
All of a sudden, BAM! Ryan was smacked down onto the floor. Looking back, he could see the inverted image of somebody running.
Ryan quickly got up and started off after the figure, but the collision between his head and the ground made seeing straight a challenge, let alone running straight.
Forcing himself on, Ryan went around the corner he saw the figure take and...
...they were gone.
"What the...", Ryan said to himself. "What the hell was that? Did I just make all that up?"
Looking around, he spotted a fire emergency cabinet. Inside was the alarm, waiting to be pressed, and a fire axe, just waiting to be taken.
"Hmm... I always was good at burying the hatchet...", Ryan said with a wry smile.
Lifting the fire axe, Ryan found it wasn't as heavy as he first thought. It'd be perfect for a self-defence tool until he found a gun. "And the likelihood of that happening is about the same as me being responsible for winning the SuperBowl", Ryan thought inwardly. He remembered the security room, but that had probably been looted already.
Now ready for anything, Ryan looked around for something to field-test his axe on.
The halls were absolutely desolate. Not a solitary soul (or rotting corpse) in sight...
...except for what looked like a face peering out from the far end of the hall.
"Hey! Wait!", Ryan called, but the figure took off again. Ryan went in pursuit, running faster now that he was no longer dazed.
But, once again, when he turned the corner, the figure was gone.
"What the hell is up with that?!?", Ryan said as he came to a halt. He realized that the axe might have been a deterrent, but there was more to it, Ryan was certain.
"Typical that someone would run off upon seeing me", Ryan thought. He was never very "popular". All he had was a few close friends.
"And now, they're dead...", Ryan thought to himself.
It wasn't as if he didn't have acquaintances, people that accepted him enough to say "hi" or actually talk to him beyond "What's the answer to problem 34?", but friends were a commodity he just ran out of. And that, Ryan could not take.
"Well, to hell with that... whoever or whatever that was... I'm out of here", Ryan quietly stated as he started bounding down the halls.
While he did, he couldn't shake the feeling that it was now him that was being followed...
Claire Redfield
Winsor continued her journey through the twists and turns of the air vents. She thought she heard a gunshot come from somewhere but ignored it. Whoever had fired probably would be dead now.
And I am in the vents trying to escape. Just admit it Sam, you're afraid of being alone.
But that was the way she was. A woman who didn't give a rat's ass about anyone. So why should she look for survivors in the building.
"Just get me the hell out of here," she muttered to herself. "If I run into someone or something, I'll just
either run or maybe join them. If they don't look a little sick."
She stopped at a dead end, staring in disbelief.
"Dammit! Son of a bitch! Goddammit! Mother fucker! Jesus fucking Christ! Shit! You gotta be fucking kidding me!"
She leaned against the metal wall and placed her head in between her hands. She was stuck now. The only way to get out of the vent was to turn back and return to the library.
Which has probably been broken into. Those zombies could have broken through that barricade easily. If I was able to move a book shelf to block it by myself, a few of those things could break through.
It was part true. She did move a book shelf, though it wasn't one of the heaviest objects she wished she had the power to move. It only weighed maybe 100-something pounds and she knew it would slow the zombies down. Probably for a few minutes, but she knew she couldn't kid herself.
A moan came from beneath her. It was faint, but she recognized it. The zombies have came. The school was going to become fully infested with the living dead. She looked down and noticed a small hole about the size of nickel in the vent. She looked through and saw the creature. It was a zombie from the outside, it was too decomposed to be a fresh one. It just stood by a corner that separated the school hallways. She couldn't tell if it was a man or a woman, but she really didn't care. It was just there. She was about 10 feet above the ground, but it didn't help her to where she was.
And there was a shout coming from somewhere. A human voice. There were survivors. And wherever they were, they didn't, couldn't see the zombie.
And they'll run into it. Maybe they'll kill it or maybe....
"They'll die, just like everyone else have so far," she whispered. She reached behind her and grabbed her bat and put on her backpack.
This better work or I would feel like such a jackass when they die. Would I feel like a jackass? Nah, I won't, but I have nothing else to do.
She started to kick and punch the walls of the vent. Small dents started to appears as the sound echoed throughout the tunnel.
"STOP! DON'T MOVE ANY CLOSER! ZOMBIE IS AROU-"
A sudden vibration stopped her and she felt the vent suddenly bend underneath her. She heard the sound of metal starting to break-
and she fell through the vent, bringing the bent metal that she was sitting on with her.
"OOOOHHHH SSSHHHHIIIIIITTTTT!" she screamed. She closed her eyes until she heard the sickening crack of bone. She opened her eyes and saw the zombie underneath the bent metal, which she was on top of. Blood flowed from the sides of the fallen monster and she realized that it was dead now.
She got off of the metal and stood up, quickly dusting herself off and clearing her throat. She quickly picked up her bat from the floor and looked up.
There were two teenagers staring at her. Both were guys and one of them took a step and stopped when there was shouting coming from behind them. The two guys turned around and from an unseen door, two more people ran up. Another guy and a girl.
"Found her," the guy with the girl said. The couple ran to the other guys and they all looked at the girl to see if she was hurt. The guy that came with the girl then looked at Winsor. Then they all looked back at her.
She swung her bat as if it was a cane and opened her mouth. "What the fuck are you staring at?"