Of Eyes and Fingernails

Just Like the Movies

"Andrea. Andrea please wake up!" Logan was slapping Andrea's face repeatedly, forcing her aching head to rise from the cold, hard, floor. She groaned and sat up. It felt like she had been hit by a train. Her head pulsed and her ribs ached from the impact of the floor on her small torso, No one in the room seemed to be concerned about Andrea's "little incident' besides Logan. Even her friends Josh and Chris sat away from her, looking the other direction as if they didn't notice. She gently rubbed her temples and Logan helped her up. "Some friends," she mumbled as she glared in the direction of her inattentive comrades. "Don't worry about it." Logan replied. He, too, glared in their direction but made no confrontational remarks.

"So," Andrea began. "What do we do?" Her voice rose and became slightly panicky as tears filled her bloodshot eyes, "I just want to go home." At her own mention of the word home, she whipped out her phone from her pocket and began to furiously dial her mother's work number. "Don't bother." A boy with skater-looking hair and a plaid shirt absentmindedly remarked. "There's no service." He threw a small wad of paper on the ground. "Just like a freaking movie." Andrea's arms dropped. Her shoulders slumped and she rested her back against the wall. Logan moved closer to her as she began to shake from the fear, tears, and realization that she may not make it out of school alive.

She looked around at every face in the room and at every soul that each body contained. Each of these people were going through the exact same thing she was. All of them had families. Brothers, sisters, friends, even sons and daughters. Andrea dried her tears and felt rather ridiculous after this realization. "It's okay to cry, you know?" Logan crooned. "Everyone has their time where the seriousness hits them, and they need to let it out." Andrea shook her head and stood again. "How long was I out?" She asked, crossing her goose bump-filled arms across her chest. Logan looked up and pondered the question. "Oh, I'd say ten, fifteen minutes at the most." Andrea breathed a sigh of relief. "Have you guys heard any more of those," she choked, "things coming down the hall?" Logan shook his head. "Nope. It's been totally quiet."

As if on cue, three sharp knocks came from the door and were accompanied with a voice. "Open up!" It was the familiar voice of the man with the clipboard who had been giving out orders, Andrea stumbled over to the door and opened it with a smooth, gliding motion. Just as everyone had known, the man stood at the door, clipboard in hand. "Well. I understand that this is a great inconvenience," he began, ignoring the scoffs that filled the room. Andrea looked at his name tag, Herman. "but," he continued, "I cannot let anyone out of the school." Everyone groaned. "There seems to be a slight issue with a virus that has-" Andrea cut him off. "You think?!" She screamed. "You think that MAYBE, just MAYBE there was a SLIGHT issue? MAYBE there are crazy people...zombie...things running around?" She took a breath, "I THINK there MAY be a SLIGHT issue here! Dammit, there is a HUGE issue! What the Hell is going on?"

Everyone stared at the man, their eyes like saucers from the use of profanity from one of the school's top students. Still, they turned expectantly to the shaking figure with a clipboard. The man leaned against the door frame, pinching the bridge of his nose with his thumb and forefinger. He then took off his glasses, rubbed his eyes, and placed them back on. Inhale. "Look," he began. "There is a problem with a highly contagious virus." His attempt at being calm only fueled Andrea's anger. "We need to contain everyone in order to protect them from the infected. Military personnel will arrive shortly." Andrea clenched her fist. "Okay, Poindexter." She began. "I SUGGEST that you come back on a very regular basis unless you want to become as mangled as those freaks I saw coming down the hall. Am I very very clear?" She asked as she rolled the collar of his lab coat into her fist. "Yes ma'am." He replied shortly. "The infected are currently outside, but more are gathering at the south end of the school. I'll be back soon." With that, the door shut and he walked away to the other rooms.

Andrea turned around, her face flushed with anger. Everyone's looks of shock remained fresh on their faces. "What?" she asked bluntly. "Don't act like you respect me." Still angry from the lack of support she received while collapsed on the floor, Andrea settled herself on the opposite corner; away from everyone else who had disowned her. Logan came over and seated himself only a few inches away. "Honestly," Andrea began as Logan looked intently at her face, "I wish we were all dead." Logan shook his head and rested it on his knees as Andrea drifted back off to sleep. "C'mon, don't go to sleep! You probably have a concussion!" Logan warned, Andrea, however, didn't care, and made it obvious by resting her head on his back, quickly falling asleep.

Andrea finally woke up several hours later. The door was wide open and people filed in and out of the room. She sat straight up at the sight of the National Guard. She loved the military and everything having to do with it. However, she was more Marine Corps style. A group of four soldiers gathered in the middle of the room. One soldier, a rather short, young, and muscular fellow with the last name of Courtier spoke. "I'm sure you have all become frustrated with the lack of explanation and abundance of people telling you not to panic. We understand your anger. However, we are dealing with very sensitive government-classified information and cannot yet release it to civilians until we know more about the situation. I know this does little to comfort you and that you all have families that you are worried sick about, but we still need to contain the situation before releasing you from the school. A perimeter was formed long ago, and as of now the situation is under control. Please remain patient and work with us as we do everything in our power to remove you from the building. Do not, however go outside. As said before, this is a highly sensitive mission and deadly force is authorized upon entering unauthorized territory. Am I clear?"

Andrea's jaw dropped. "You're meaning to tell me that you'd kill a civilian just to keep your mission on the down low?" Yelled a teacher. The man nodded. Another soldier, a taller female, spoke. "My name is Sergeant Lin Stevens. I'm requesting that you remain calm in order to maintain a safe environment. I recommend that everyone sleep here for the night. We will be bringing in military issued cots for now. I apologize for any inconvenience this may cause." With that, the four walked away with long, important strides, leaving Andrea feeling more alone than ever,