Marshall only stops running when he finds an empty class room. He scrambles inside and closes the door. He locks it, and then drags a desk in front of it. Only then does his pounding heart calm.
He slides down to the floor, resting his back on the desk as he catches his breath. He looks around the classroom. The lights flicker ominously, desks and books are scattered and thrown about the room. Two large windows sit high on the wall, boarded up and locked away from the outside world.
Marshall pulls the paper he took from Bonnie. Shaky fingers unfold it. He sighs when he sees the name scrawled across it.
Jake
Marshall hisses angrily. This was the name that Flame boy had. Marshall could tell because the sides were burned slightly. The pyromaniac probably took a lighter to it. And Marcy killed him, she texted him about it before she died. Which means Bonnie had Marcy's name. She killed her. She killed his sister.
Marshall furiously stormed across the room and threw a chair at the wall. He couldn't believe he was so stupid. Of course Bonnie could get away with killing Marcy. They're best friends. They'd never expect the other to…. To do that.
He should've known. He should've warned her.
Only then did he notice the moistness of his cheek and his uneven breathes. His hand touched his face and pulled away wet. He was crying.
Furiously, Marshall scrubbed the tears away from his face. He sighed, dropped the textbook he was going to throw, and began to clear his mind. He wouldn't be any help if he couldn't think properly.
The gothic boy paced about the room, deciding what to do next. He could always face those zombies. Just give up. But then who would protect Bubba? The sissy wouldn't be able to harm anyone. He'd go next.
That thought made Marshall's heart hurt. He rubbed his face, groaning. He had to find Bubba. He had to save him. He couldn't let him die like he did with Marcy.
Yes, that will be his next mission. Find Gummy.
Marshall wasn't sure how long he stayed in that room. He found some old tape in the pile of rubble and taped one of his weapons to his wrist, its pointed tip just barely grazing his palm. Proud with his strategic idea, he jabbed the air a bit. Yeah, this'll work.
Just as he was about to head to the door to sneak out, he heard a steady thumping noise.
Thump.
Thump.
Thump.
He frowned and searched for what could be making that noise. His eyes lifted to the ceiling. It was coming from the air vents. Panic sets in quickly.
It's the zombies.
They learned to climb in the vents.
They're going to kill me.
Marshall braced himself, holding one weapon in one hand and the other taped to his wrist. He held his breath, eyes wide, as he waited for something to happen.
The thumping grew closer until it stopped.
There was a second of silence.
Then all hell broke loose.
The thing that came tumbling from the ceiling crashed to the ground in a fury of cusses and shrieks. Marshall charged the figure, hoping to catch it off-guard. The person grabbed Marshall's arm and flipped him over a desk. He landed hard with a loud 'thwack' and a groan.
"Oh shit! Marshall, I'm so sorry! I thought you were a monster!" A high-pitched voice said.
The boy moaned in pain in reply. Fiona slowly helped him up, rubbing his back gently. Once Marshall came to his senses he jumped back, keeping his distance from Fi.
"Where's the others?" He asked suspiciously. "You were with Bonnie's group of survivors, right? Where are they?"
"I lost them. But don't worry, Bubba's okay. I have Finn watching him." Fiona said, rubbing her lower back, as that's what she landed on when she fell.
"How did you lose them?" Marshall hissed, dropping his guard. "I told you to stay with Bubba!"
"I know. But we went through the vents and I had to stay behind to fight off some badies. They were gone by the time I went in the vent. I don't know where they went. But Finn's with them. They'll be fine."
Marshall sighed. "Alright. Fine." He picked up the weapon that flew out of his hand when Fiona flipped him. "That's fine. We'll just have to go find them."
"They'll eventually find us. This school isn't that big." Fiona said.
"How do you know they'll be looking for us?" Marshall asked, confused.
Fiona rolled her eyes, "Do the math. There's two of us, and three of them. at least two of them will have to find us."
Marshall nodded before catching the odd look in Fiona's eyes, "Wait, three? What happened to…?"
"Bonnie never came back. And the badies got Cake." Fiona said slowly, her eyes finding the floor very interesting.
Marshall snorted, "Badies, huh? Was that certain zombie that took Cake blonde?"
Fiona glared at him. "I had to. She had Finn's name."
Marshall nodded understandingly. "I'd do anything to get Marcy back." After a moment of silence, he added quietly, "Even kill her best friend."
Fiona's eyes widened, "Bonnie…?"
"Well, at least you're closer to being valedictorian." He says meekly.
Fiona's head fell, sighing loudly she mumbled, "We're all going to hell."
"Already there." Marshall said as he headed towards the door. He checked out the window before pushing the desk aside. "Ready to go greet the devil?" He glanced at the girl before him.
"Fuck yeah, dude. Let's go."
He grinned, pushing the door open. With a quick glance down the hall, they sprinted out into their possible doom.