Days Of Dust

Chapter 1

Rick's heart pounded as he and several other students ran down the corridor of his school.

They won't get me, Rick thought, I've  just gotta find a weapon and I'll be fine.

It had been a normal day at West High school, laughing and joking around in class, when suddenly the Code Black alarm went off. At first everyone thought it was just a drill, but from the look on the teacher's face, Rick knew that it couldn't be. His classroom was on the second story so he had a good view of the city stretched out before him. He and his classmates were shocked to see people running around like crazed ants. The principle's voice could be heard over the intercom, telling the children and staff to remain calm. Rick grabbed the teacher's telescope and zoomed in on what the streams of people were running away from. His face drained, the figures looked like walking corpses were feasting on what looked like human remains.
"No way." he said aloud, he'd seen enough movies to know what was happening.

Suddenly there was a thud at the door and a girl screamed. Rick spun around to see someone pounding on the door. It was a man with putrid boils on his arms and half of his face was falling away, Rick quickly searched around for a weapon but all he found was a metal ruler that had a sharpened end on it.

"Oh well," he said "better than nothing."

He looked around for the teacher but he must have run away once the man had come to the door, the other students were cowering under their desks except some of the tough-looking football jocks.

"What do you want us to do, Rick?" said Butch, a big but friendly guy who would normally be surrounded by his popular friends.

"Um, well you and two others look for weapons and cover me while I deal with the guy at the door, then we'll go to the groundskeeper's shed, there'll be tools we can use as weapons in there for sure." Rick was surprised to find that he was the one in charge since he normally just sat in a quiet corner and minded his own business. But today things had changed, these kids needed a leader and he was going to be that leader.

Butch and two heavily built kids came back with metal poles that would have been from the desks. "Alright you three, cover me." And with that Rick threw the door open. The man stumbled back, surprised, but without hesitation Rick slashed and stabbed the creature until its body was just a bloody mess. Rick looked back into the classroom; there were five kids left that had not run away; Butch, his two friends Harry and Troy, a girl called Roxy and a small kid called Lewis.

"Come on guys!" Rick yelled as more creatures lumbered down the narrow walkway outside the classroom.

The kids jumped up and sprinted out the door.

"Butch, you and your boys cover the back and sides, I'll take the front. Hit any of those things that get too close."

Butch and his two friends moved to their positions. They passed the lunch area where mauled children and some adults lay, dead with flies already starting to buzz around them. They were halfway to the shed when they came to a locker area, blocked with ten or eleven of the creatures. No, not creatures, Rick thought, they're infected with some kind of disease. The closest of the infected turned towards them and let out a deep moan. The others turned towards them and lumbered forwards, arms stretched outwards.

"There's too many of 'em!" Butch yelled.

As if on cue, the infected started to move to a clumsy jog towards them. Rick braced himself, ready for a fight when suddenly an engine roared to life and the creature's body parts started falling off. It took Rick a moment to realise that they were being cut apart by a gang of kids armed with drills, saws and a chainsaw. At the lead was Matt Carby, he was a farm boy whose parents lived in the country while he boarded at the school. He spent most of his time in the woodwork and metalwork rooms, making various items.

Matt was carrying some sort of crowbar with a lethal, jagged edge, "How ya doin, Rick?" Matt asked, the two weren't really good friends but they generally got along together fine.

"Not too bad, Matt, just a little shaken up." Rick was lying, he felt exhausted after dealing with the man outside the classroom and after the run he felt a little dizzy.

Be strong, he thought, you gotta keep it together for Roxy's sake. Roxy hadn't spoken since he'd killed the man at the classroom door.

"Come with us," Matt said with his country accent, "We're heading to the mall, and seeing if there's any more adults left. If there isn't then we're gonna come back 'ere and fortify the school so we got somewhere to chill until the military gets here or those things go away."

Rick thought for a moment, "We'll take a vote." He wanted to act like a democratic leader so that he wasn't hated. "Who wants to go with them?" he asked, everyone put up their hands except Roxy, who just sat there quietly, not saying anything.

"Ok," Rick said, "you guys go over there with Matt's group, I'll be there soon." He walked over to Roxy, "Hey," He said lamely; he was awkward around girls, particularly Roxy.

She looked up at him, "Hi." She said in a small voice.

"Are you alright?" Rick asked, with concern in his voice.

"No." Roxy cried and he put his arm around her. "I'm so scared, Rick. I don't want to die like all those kids in the lunch area."

He pulled her closer to him, "We're gonna be fine, Roxy, we're gonna go to the mall and our parents can pick us up or the police, or someone." He knew it wasn't much but it made Roxy smile weakly.

"Ok." She said, as they went off to join the others.