Dead Parade

The Tree of Life and Death

Note: This story is a collaboration of Lunity_ and littlemusiclover_127. All drawing ideas belong to Lunity_, typed out software belongs to littlemusiclover_127. All ideas belong to both authors.
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Chapter 2
10:44 A.M
"Dude we need to get out. You guys got your pencils?" Jayna asked Angelo and Hau'oli.
"Nope. They seemed pretty useless." Hau'oli said.
One by one the zambies fell to the ground, collapsing into lifeless forms.
"Hurry, before more come!" Leslie said, appearing out of nowhere.
"Where the hell did you get the sledgehammer?" Angelo asked surprised. "Ugh," Leslie complained, "that doesn't matter right now! We have to go!"
As Hau'oli and them run to the square of foreign language classes, they find Kimmie, Ellie, and Queen.
"Hey guys!" Ellie greeted.
"No time for greetings, Ellie." Angelo said to her.
"Sorry then." she scoffed. "I'm calling Haru. Go fight and protect me." Jayna directed. As her phone rang, chaos was occurring. Everyone was running around, screaming, blood, horror, death. Leslie had lifted her sledgehammer, killing a zambie in an instant. The rest had to improvise. Angelo and Hau'oli stood near Kimmie, Queen, and Ellie, as they were weaponless.
"I stabbed one in the eye!" Queen laughed in enjoyment. "Oh my gosh this is so much fun!"
Hau'oli looked at her confused, "Queen! How is this fun?"
"Hello?" Jayna said into her phone. "It's Jayna. Where the hell are you?"
For a few seconds she listened into her phone, crouching behind Angelo.
"Nurse? Okay where are we going to meet up?"
Angelo glanced at Jayna, then quickly ducked after Ellie swung her scissors backwards. "Careful Ellie!" he warned.
"Was that a gunshot? Never mind. By the ramp, in five minutes. Okay, bye." Jayna said as she hung up her cellphone.
****
"Jayna said to head to the ramp." Haru said to Connor and Scarlet. Riley shot the last zambie, and knocked on the door to the nurse's office.
"Thank you!" the nurse said, "Come in!"
Riley motioned for the rest of them to get in. Connor, Scarlet, Steve and Haru hustled through the doorway, and the nurse close the door shut, locking it up. About three other students were in there, all 9th graders.
"We just need some stuff," Haru said to the nurse "and we'll be on our way."
"Out there? Are you sure?" the nurse asked, worry in her eyes.
"Please. We really need to go." Riley added. The nurse nodded, grabbing a duffel bag of supplies. "Thank you for the help." she said to them, handing Steve the bag. As they exited, the door shut behind them. They all quickly ran for the ramp.
*****
11:06 A.M.
They were all gathered by the ramp. The area was pretty clear, hardly anyone was around. But there were two dead bodies at the bottom of the ramp, and two alive students near the top.
"So? What now?" Kimmie asked.
"We got the medicine." Scarlet responded.
Footsteps were being heard. A 10th grade group in school called NTC was running down the hall. One of them, Jordan, was pulled aside by a zambie, and killed.
"Wait! Jordan!" Joelle yelled as the group slightly paused.
Matthew grabbed Joelle's arm, and started running with the group. "She's gone. We have to go!"
NTC ran past Queen and all of them, up the ramp and out of sight.
"It's not safe down here. We have to start moving, again." Connor suggested.
"We could head to the roof. Zambies can't climb up there." Riley informed.
*****
There weren't any ladders nearby the counseling-office building. But there was a tree.
"I can climb the fastest, so I'll go up last." Kimmie said. First up was Queen and Ellie, grabbing onto a branch of the large oak tree. Afterwards Jayna went after, then Connor, then Hau'oli. Scarlet, Angelo, and Haru trailed a bit behind them. Then went Steve and Leslie.
"I'll go second to the last." Riley said, "So I can shoot if anything." Riley got up on a branch, as Kimmie followed. Queen and Ellie already made it up, looking down at the rest. Jayna, Connor and Hau'oli were already on the last branch, with Scarlet, Haru, and Angelo not far behind. Steve and Leslie were up by the trunk of the tree.
"Leslie, you're bleeding!" Steve exclaimed. Angelo turned his head to look down at Leslie. There was a gash on her left arm.
"Were you bit trying to save us?" Angelo asked. Tears rolled down her cheeks, "I didn't want to tell you guys. I don't want to turn into one of them." Leslie cried as she suddenly coughed out blood, as it fell from her mouth to the far off ground.
A hole shot through her head, and the sledgehammer fell from her hands. Her body went lifeless, and her and the sledgehammer fell off the tree, and hit the ground.
Steve turned to Riley, who was holding the rifle while balancing on a nearby branch. "Why'd you shoot her?" Steve exclaimed to Riley.
"How long were you guys with Leslie?" Riley asked Hau'oli.
"Long enough for her to turn. She saved us, though." Hau'oli sadly said. Jayna teared up, continuing to climb.
"She said she didn't want to turn, and she was already coughing out blood. Riley did the right thing." Queen stated. "But Leslie..." Steve trailed off.
Kimmie hopped off the trunk of the tree, and walked towards Leslie's body.
"Kimmie, what are you doing?" Scarlet asked from the top of the tree. As quickly as she could, she quietly picked fallen flowers from around the tree, and placed them around Leslie.
"Hurry up Kimmie-Lin." Connor said. Everyone was on the roof, and Kimmie was getting back on the tree. As she neared the top, Ellie held out her hand to help her up. Kimmie grabbed her hand and hopped onto the roof, as they all walked more inward.
11:23 A.M.
"Thanks," Jayna said to Kimmie, "Leslie deserved that."

"Oh my gosh my volleyball, stupid school aides can't do shet." Connor said as he grabbed his volleyball from the floor of the roof. "They can't even protect us from zambies."
Haru laughed, "Okay that's true."
"I need to call my mom!" Queen exclaimed.
Ellie turned to Queen in confusion, "I thought you already did! Me and Kimmie called when we left class, remember?"
"I didn't, I was fixing my bun!" Queen complained.
"I called while you guys were all fighting at the nurse." Steve explained. "My parents locked down the house and said to stick with you guys."
"I need to call." Connor said as he pulled his phone out from his pocket.
"Me too." Haru added, fishing his phone from his back pocket.
"I called while walking up to the nurse's office." Scarlet said. "The whole neighborhood is blocked."
"Me too. My place is lockdowned." Riley stated.
"I needa call." Angelo said, stepping aside.
"Yeah, me too." Jayna said.

"While they're calling, we have to think of something, and how to get out. We can't stay here." Ellie suggested.
"I'm amazed, you don't sound panicked for once." Scarlet replied to her.
"I can drive us out of here!" Riley exclaimed. "Great! So where's your keys? We gotta get moving." Steve inquired. Riley reached into her pocket, only to find her keys weren't there. "They're in my bag, in the gym." Riley sighed. "I'll be back, I'll get them."
"We don't even know how the zambies are, we can't go back down yet." Kimmie informed. Jayna and Angelo came back to the group, putting away their cellphones. "My mom is also on lockdown, and her mom is too." Angelo said. "If you guys are gonna try to go down, I think they respond to sound. I'm going down and y'all aren't stopping me." Jayna said, going back down the tree. Riley stood by the ledge ready to shoot if necessary.
"What's Jayna doing?" Haru asked.
Connor and Queen walked back to the group.
"She's fine. She's Jayna." Queen said.
Jayna stopped and looked at Leslie's body for a bit. After a couple of seconds of slowly recapping, she walked over to a broken piece of tree branch. She loudly stepped on it, having the loud noise of smashing waver in the air. A zambie walking nearby turned its attention to her. Jayna decided to run back up the tree, and made it back in one piece.
"I was in plain sight, so it only responds to sound." she informed.
"I'll go get my bag." Riley said.
"I'll tag along." Scarlet added, "You guys stay put."