A Cold Start

11.24.2023

Jose Fabian Corral

It is autumn, the fall semester has become at a local Catholic high school. Students in uniform on this brisk September morning. The sun gives its warmth to the world. The young adult students wearing the beige bottoms, the skits a beige plaid, with a white dress shirt. Some in black school sweaters. Worn as they are intended and some tied on the waist. None seem to have any awareness of what the day has brought as they do not notice the chill in the air. 

But for them it is about to begin before the bell tolls the start of their day. 

Some students are laughing at what appears to be a woman shuffling along. Giving moans and groans in full character. 

“Look at her cosplay.” one student says to another. 

“What detail in that makeup. Little early in the day to be that painted up no?” another asks as they stood in a group. 

The woman is shuffling right up to a student who does not know the danger she is in. she just gave a nervous laugh as she watched. 

A young man who was aware of his surroundings looks up at the sky, taking notice of the clouds encircling the area. “Curious.” he said as he watched the woman shuffle right up to the female student. 

The female student gave another nervous laugh as the shuffling woman approached her. She said to her “Congrats, on the cosplay. Really makes me nervous that you are a zombie.” she said as the woman who has now tackled her to the ground. 

Most of the students have just gone into the school building having no time to watch what they think is a live cosplay performance. While others still record it on their cellphones, or live stream it. 

The female student screams as she is being bitten. 

The blood curdling scream sends chills up the spine of everyone in earshot. 

The young man has vanished from where he stood. 

The onlookers watch waiting still thinking it is just cosplay. 

“Look, she has stopped moving.” one says. 

Another points out “so has the woman. I need a better angle.” as they moved around to get a better view. 

“Oh look, they are both zombies.” one says as now the female student begins to stand straight up eerily.

“Did it just get colder?” another asks as the chill in the air is being noticed. 

“Ok, I did not get the text that today is zombie day. Look down the street.” one says as they turn their phone down the block. 

There were people running from the shuffling zombies approaching them. Others were not so lucky as they were tackled to the ground by two to three of them. Having their lives ripped away.  

The student onlookers are starting to get the picture here. 

“I do not think that they are cosplaying at all.” a female student says as she just watched a man ten feet in front of her have his jugular ripped open getting blood on her. She looks at her arms that are covered in blood. 

“Well, fuck….” another said as he is tackled to the ground by three of the shuffling ones. 

“RUN BITCH!” another female student says as she pulls the one that is covered in blood towards the school doors.