A/N: So, here we are for the second installment of Zombies Bite. I would like to take the opportunity to thank everyone who reviewed and favorited this thing and all that good stuff. Um, not sure if there's anything else, but...oh well.

Disclaimer: I don't own shit. This is just another fanfiction.

Chapter 2: Death and All His Friends

"Okay, I love you, sis. Have fun at school," said the twenty-something man smiling at his younger sister in the passenger seat. He sighed imperceptibly when Alice Colthurst simply nodded and undid the seat belt, slinging her bag over a shoulder as she exited the car

As he drove off back to the home he shared with Alice, Louis Colthurst fell into the ponderings of a concerned older brother. Alice had never been what one would call the sharing type, even as a young girl, but a cruel life had taken its toll on the poor girl. Hell, if he was being honest, Louis himself had a bucket-load of problems of his own, but he could always suck it up. His main priority since the death of their father had been Alice's wellbeing, both physical and mental, and while he'd managed to keep them both well-fed and clothed in pretty good fashion, he just wasn't properly equipped to help a poor little girl who'd lost her mother to some unknown disease and her father to a horrible car accident when he could hardly deal with his own issues.

And that's what hurt the most. Louis always felt his shortcomings very acutely, and worried that his failings weren't just screwing up his life, but that of his precious sister's as well. Maybe she would have been better off in the hands of child services, rather than a fresh-from-college pencil pusher with an entry-level salary.

Shaking his head to rid himself of such morbid thoughts, he slowed his car to a stop at a red light. From the corner of his eye, Louis noticed a man who appeared to have even worse luck than he did, shambling in what could be better described as rags than clothes. A low, guttural moan issued from the man's mouth, and a stab of sympathy pierced Louis' heart. There was always someone worse off than him, wasn't there?

He reached down into the center console and grabbed some change, but when he leaned out the window and held out the handful of coins, the homeless man bypassed the hand and sank his teeth into Louis' forearm. For a second, the young man couldn't believe that had just happened, but as the scent of decay and destitution washed over him, he was shaken out of his stupor by the lance of pain stabbing up his arm and into his shoulder.

"Shit!" he cursed loudly, gunning the engine and taking of, heedless of the still-red light. He circled around the block and headed back to the high school, thanking his lucky stars that his mother's illness had spurred Alice into studying medicine, and that even now, she was probably in the school's infirmary. Glancing down, he grimaced at the oozing wound the bum had inflicted on him, and searched with his free hand for something with alcohol in it; who knew what sort of diseases had been festering in the hobo's filthy mouth?

He finally came up with a bottle of antibacterial gel. Better than nothing, he thought as he squirted some onto a napkin and pressed it to the wound, hissing in pain and swerving slightly as his arm jerked to the side reflexively. With skill born from desperation and pain, Louis managed to park his car perfectly in front of the school and rushed in, following the familiar path to the nurse's room, having gotten into plenty of fights in his days at Ironwood High.

When he entered, Alice was alone, refilling a jar with cotton balls. Her blue-gray eyes widened when they landed on the bloody napkin he was holding to the wound and ushered him onto the bed, the wax paper crinkling underneath him.

"What happened?" she asked even as she withdrew some gauze and a bottle of hydrogen peroxide.

"Tried to give a bum some change and he bit me," Louis answered, wrinkling his nose distastefully. Alice rolled her eyes and gestured for him to hold out his arm.

"Now, this'll sting a little," Alice warned, and Louis was reminded of all the times he himself had tended to Alice's scrapes and cuts obtained through childhood rambunctiousness. Nevertheless, he winced as the liquid fell on the wound and began hissing as though it were boiling on his skin. He watched as his younger sister expertly wrapped the newly-cleaned wound, then moved to a locked cabinet. "Normally, we don't give the students painkillers, but..." she shrugged with a small smile. "...you're not a student, are you?"

"I should hope not," Louis replied, grinning back despite the throbbing wound. "Thanks a bunch, Doll. You sure know your stuff."

"I'd suggest that you didn't go to work today, just in case," Alice said, slapping a smiley-face sticker over the wound and causing him to bite his tongue lest he scream like a little girl. "And I told you I don't like that nickname."

Louis poked her in the ribs. "You know you do," he shot back playfully. "So, how long d'you think I can hang out here and keep you away from classes?"

Alice gave him a rare full smile, "As long as it takes for Mrs. Wheatley to sort out whatever it is that got her called out to the front gate, I guess."

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Michael Daly wasn't one to brag. Sure, he was pretty badass, and he sometimes espoused how much of an awesome dude he was to those around him, but that was self-confidence, not arrogance. Despite a pretty screwed-up childhood, Mike was of the opinion that he was a fairly well-adjusted individual, and the fact that he was popular at school was only a plus. Of course, much of that celebrity had to do with his exceptional natural athleticism and charming good looks, but he didn't bother himself with inconsequential details.

Therefore, it was with much confusion (and no small amount of jealousy) that he found himself watching his long-time crush, Serafina McKenna climbing up the administration building from his seat near the window of A.P. Biology class.

At the start of the school year, he felt that he was in good standing to start dating who he believed to be the hottest woman on the planet (barring Scarlett Johansen, of course). Sera, of course, seemed partial to his presence, and while she had, on more than one occasion, stated quite vehemently that she did not want to go out with him, Mike was certain that she was only playing hard to get.

Enter Felix Villalobos: the bane of Mike's existence. About a month into the semester, some kid who had the appearance and fashion sense of some common vagabond came from who the hell knew where, sitting at the back of every class he and Mike shared, which was every single damn one, acting as cool and nonchalant as some uber-hipster with the telltale reek of weed smoke draped around him like a well-worn jacket, and all the girls instantly took notice of his don't-give-a-flying-purple-fuck attitude.

But Mike really didn't care about those other girls. True, having them all hanging onto his every word was pretty cool, but he'd rather have the attention of Sera than every single chick at Ironwood High. Except...

...except one day, Sera wasn't at the lunch table all the 'in-crowd' (student body government, athletes, cheerleaders, etc.) was wont to sit at. Mike chalked it up to her leaving early for a doctor's appointment, or some family thing, but she was there in fifth period right after the lunch bells rang, and when he asked her about it, she simply shrugged and said it wasn't important.

But one day, after a couple of weeks without Sera being where she belonged, Mike decided to follow her, and much to his surprise, found that she'd taken to hanging out with motherfucking Villalobos on top of the school!

At first, he'd figured she was just being nice to the new kid, who by all rights was pretty much a loner, despite all the female attention he received. But as time wore on and Sera showed no signs of ceasing her fraternization with the resident pothead, Mike had taken action. He'd warned her that rumors would begin to spread if she continued absconding with Villalobos to do who knew what up there, but she'd countered that what other people thought of her meant little, if anything, in the long run, especially high school students. Then he'd switched tactics by trying to get her to hang out with him instead, but she just smiled and told him that 'Felix' was a cool guy, and that he was really funny when he wasn't being so annoying.

His final gambit had been to slander Villalobos and saying that he was corrupting her with his logic-retarding stoner-ness, which in hindsight, had been a huge mistake. Sera's famed temper had flared up immediately, and she championed Felix's cause with great vehemence, telling Mike that he shouldn't talk badly about someone he didn't even know, and that Felix was a much more complex person than Mike gave him credit for.

And that was when Mike truly became jealous and started harassing Felix. He'd even gone so far as to get some of his football buddies to go with him and threaten Villalobos, and was sorely disappointed at the outcome. The stupid stoner had the audacity to laugh in their faces when they'd cornered him behind the gym, then performed some insane free-running that got him out of arms' reach of Mike's group, chuckling all the while.

Eventually, Mike had given up and tried to mend fences with Sera, which had taken nearly two months. But now, as he watched Sera climbing the metal ladder that led from the top of the gym to Felix's little hidey-hole, the envious beast within him surged upward and roared defiantly. He would not lose his girl to some punk-ass little bastard who was quick on his feet.

Raising his hand, he caught the teacher's attention. "Mr. Van de Velde, can I go use the restroom?"

The Biology teacher, an aging yet surprisingly spry man with salt-and-pepper hair and a scar across his forehead, raised an eyebrow. "McKenna's already using the pass, Daly. You'll just have to hold it."

Mike, no stranger to white-lies and half-truths, affected a slightly embarrassed air as he replied, "Ah, it's not exactly something I can hold in, Mr. V." The other students chuckled, and the teacher rolled his eyes but nevertheless scribbled something on a scrap of paper.

"Hurry it up, then, Daly," Mr. Van de Velde said, holding out the paper, which Daly snatched up gleefully. "And remember to wipe. I don't want you stinking up my classroom with your skid-marks."

Mike opened the door to gales of laughter, intending to make a beeline to the gym, but was halted by a figure in the doorway. Mike almost shoved past, but was halted by the horrible odor coming from...Ms. Hopkins? The traffic attendant who sat outside the school and made sure those on foot were able to cross the streets safely had apparently abandoned her post in favor of coming into the school, and the reason was blindingly obvious. A chunk of flesh had been ripped right off of her face, marring what had once been relatively pretty and turning into something more grotesque than anything Mike had seen in the most gruesome horror flicks imaginable.

She made a grab at him, and he instinctively backed up, leading the poor woman back into the classroom, causing a general gasp from the students and screams from some of the more squeamish. When Ms. Hopkins swiped at Mike a second time, he stepped behind her, looping his arms around her and slamming her into the wall next to the door.

"Calm down, Ms. Hopkins!" he shouted, but she only made a gurgling, rasping sound in response, struggling against his hold.

"Don't hurt her, Daly!" Mr. Van de Velde shouted as he reached for his phone and dialed. "Yes, security? We need someone at Room 23, right now. The traffic lady's gone insane!"

Hopkins continued to struggle, so much so that her arm snapped clean off with a sound that turned Mike's stomach, and he barely managed to avoid the bony spear her arm had become, backing away quickly. When she lunged at him again, he grabbed her remaining arm and tossed her away from him, toward the slumped over form of...who was that, Dave Vincent?

The one-armed woman crashed into Dave's desk, jolting him back into the world of the conscious, and he shook his head as Hopkins unsteadily rose to her feet once more, that same choking noise directed toward the groggy teen.

But when she tried to grab him, Dave moved out of his seat with uncanny speed, allowing her to crash into the desk again, this time snapping off one of the forelegs which held the desk up.

While Hopkins was having trouble disentangling herself from the fallen desk, Dave peered down at her before looking out the window. Mike saw his face turn white as he turned back to the class and said, to the room in general, "Did the zombie apocalypse kick off while I was asleep?"

And that was when it all clicked into place for Mike, like one of those sliding-panel puzzles. While Mike was wrestling with the concept of a zombie apocalypse actually happening, Dave grabbed up the wooden leg and, with a single, quick thrust, shoved the tip through Ms. Hopkins' eye socket, and her struggling form stiffened before relaxing with a final gurgle.

Most of the students had backed away from Hopkins, some staring out the window in abject horror while others simply broke down and huddled themselves into fetal crouches. Mr. Van de Velde stood instantly, calling order and telling everyone to calm down in a loud voice Mike had never heard issuing from his teacher's mouth before.

"Okay, kids, this is not a drill," he boomed. "Grab your things and get ready to run."

Mike stared at the man for a moment while the others were shocked into action, grabbing their bags and shoving pencils into pockets or pulling on jackets. Dave just stared down at Ms. Hopkins' still form while dark brown, viscous liquid dripped from the end of his makeshift weapon.

"Everyone ready? Alright, follow me, stay close, and if you see anyone that looks like...like Ms. Hopkins over there, call out, and we'll adjust course accordingly. Let's move out, now."

The students huddled close to their teacher, who led them down the hallways with the purpose and poise of an army commander. At least, until they ran into a large herd of the things halfway to the nearest exit. With creepy synchronity, every head, intact and ruined alike, turned in their direction, and a horrendous groan ripped from the throats of the creatures as they began shambling in their direction. Quickly back-tracking, the group almost cried in dismay when a second block of the undead headed their way from a second direction.

Soon, they were being shepherded by the two groups into a corner, and Mike withdrew a bowie knife he kept on his person at all times while other students pulled various school implements from their bags and Dave readied his desk leg.

"Kids," Mr. Van de Velde said in an eerily calm voice. "When I tell you to, run like all hell. Get through the windows and keep going." He turned his head and gave them a kind smile. "It was an honor teaching all of you. Now GO!" And then he charged the horde of zombies, bare-handed and with a cry of rage and hate tearing from his lips.

Dave smashed the nearest windows, and the rest of the students began piling out, some tearing their clothes and skin to shreds on the sharp edges of broken glass. Van de Velde's momentum carried him halfway into the crowd of creatures before they were upon him, and his angry, defiant yell quickly transformed into screeches of pain as he was literally eaten alive.

Mike turned away, but he couldn't block the horrible noise, and he used his teacher's distraction to help the other students through the windows. When the last student was through, Mike and Dave glanced at each other and came to a silent accord. Outside was hardly better than being inside this charnel house, but it afforded more freedom of movement than the cramped corridors of the school building.

They jumped out the window.

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Alice had known fear before. It would be impossible not to, living in a world such as the one she resided in. She'd been scared when her mother smiled and told her everything would be alright, even knowing that nothing would be right again. She'd been scared when they lowered her father's sealed casket into the cold ground. If she was being honest, she'd been scared of her Calculus test last week.

But as she watched the small forms pouring out of the street and into the school, stopping every once in a while to munch on the poor souls unlucky enough to fall into their jaws, Alice could admit for the first time in her life that she was downright terrified. This was only compounded by the state her brother, her only living blood relative left, was in.

Minutes after she'd cleaned his wound and wrapped it up, he'd broken out in a fever, which only kept rising steadily with each passing second. He was still cognizant, but every now and then, he'd mutter something to their mother or father, both of whom were long-dead.

She felt him shuffle up next to her, his breathing shallow and brittle, and together they stared down at the unfolding madness below.

Alice was startled when she heard Louis chuckle. It wasn't his normal, light-hearted laugh, the one she heard almost constantly at home. This one was raspy and tinged with hysteria common to fever victims. She turned to him with a raised eyebrow, and he sighed.

"Do you know what's happening, sis?" he asked, continuing on directly afterward. "Those things down there are zombies. Honest-to-God zombies, Doll. And you know what? I got bit by one of them!"

He laughed again, this time more natural than before. "I'm gonna turn into one of them soon. The fever, the hysteria. At first, I just thought I was septic, but that can't be it. I suppose I should have someone destroy my brain before I can manage to reanimate, huh?"

Alice didn't respond at first. Her brother was talking utter nonsense, but at the same time...no! How dare he scare her like this? It would be just like him to pull some stupid prank on her.

"This isn't funny, Louis," she ground out between clenched teeth.

The smile dropped from Louis' face instantly. "You're right, Doll, it's not. It's the furthest thing from funny I've ever experienced. I can feel it, y'know? It's already taking hold in me, and if I die and reanimate, then I'll come after you if you're still close by. And I refuse to let that happen, Alice. I will not be the reason you die."

He looked around the infirmary and settled on an IV stand, which he quickly disassembled so that he was holding a long steel rod in his hand.

"What are you-?" Alice began, but with a quick, powerful swing, the pole smashed through the window, showering the creatures below with falling glass. It was one of those floor-to-ceiling windows, four stories above the ground. Louis stepped up to the gaping hole and looked down, then turned back to Alice.

"I won't be the death of you, Alice," he said sadly, "but I was wondering if you'd be the death of me?"

Alice understood immediately, and almost instantly disregarded it. "No," she whispered. "I can't do that."

"Not even if you'd be saving me?" Louis retorted. "You want to be a doctor, right? Well, sometimes, a doctor has to make a hard choice. This is just practice. Please, Alice. I'm not sure I'm strong enough to make the jump, and I'm terrified that I'll be weak enough to allow you to care for me until whatever this is claims me."

Alice couldn't believe her ears. Louis, not strong? For her entire life, she had looked up to her brother, the one who had taken care of her after their parents had died, someone she believed infallible, who possessed more strength than anyone she knew. And here he was, admitting to her his weakness. But she couldn't just kill him! Even if...

...it saved him...

Slowly, Alice walked up to Louis, stared into his eyes, and wrapped her arms around him, hugging him fiercely. She felt his arms embrace her briefly, squeezing once.

"Love you sis. Be strong for me."

Blinking back tears, Alice replied, "I love you, too."

And she pushed him.

A/N: And there we have it. Three more members of the group have been introduced, and there are two more to go. Next chapter, we'll meet Cassie and Nero, and everyone gets the hell out of Dodge! So...yeah. See ya next time! And don't forget to review! PLEEEEEEAAAAZZZZZEEE!