The Apocalyptic World | Rilaya

Getting Ready

Miraculously, the six of us made it in one piece. I took one look at the school and immediately made everyone duck behind one of the bushes outside of the building.

"What is it?" Zay scowled, still annoyed at Farkle's plan.

"Look at the school, it's filled with zombies!" I exclaim, cautiously peeking my head out. Abigail Adams High looked even more run down than usual. It was worn and old, with wild vines weaving an intricate pattern over the whole building. Glancing at the inside of the school from one of the windows, I could see that there were hordes of zombies in there. This is just great. Farkle's plan seemed to be over before it even begun.

"What do we do now?" Lucas asks, scanning the area as well.

"I vote we go back to the house!" Zay shouts immediately, still not onboard with us.

Everyone rolls their eyes at Zay. Since my dad was preoccupied with the current situation, I took advantage of it and finally grabbed Maya's hand. She looked down at our intertwined fingers before looking back up and flashing me a bright smile.

My dad then looks back at me and groans in frustration. "No!" He screams once again and separates our hands.

I sigh, wishing that I could still feel Maya's hand on mine, our fingers intertwined perfectly. "Dad, what do you have against Maya?" I ask.

My dad's face scrunches in confusion. "What? I have nothing against her. I think she's good for you."

"Then why don't you let us do any couple things!?" I exclaim. He wasn't making any sense. If he thinks that Maya is perfect for me and he approves of her, then what's stopping him from letting me be with her?

My dad sighs. "I just can't believe that you're growing up so fast. I mean you're already in your junior year of high school and now you found your own Topanga."

"What did you just call me?" Maya asks, slightly offended.

"Topanga is Riley's mom's name." Farkle answers for me. "It basically means your other half, someone you'll be with forever. Speaking of which, I think I found my Topanga too." He says, looking at Lucas. Lucas gives Farkle a warm smile.

"Oh." Maya says. "Oh." She says again, Farkle's words finally hit her. "Matthews, you think that I'm Riley's Topanga?" She asks, sounding honored.

My dad nods. "I see the way Riley looks at you. It's the same way I look at my wife." He says, making Maya and I blush.

"Awwww." Zay coos once again. "I swear if one more person looks at me like that again, I will rip this bush out of the ground!" He yells. Zay then grabs the bush with two hands and tries to yank it out of the ground. He fails miserably. "Okay, so turns out this bush is anchored to the grass, but I am still upset!" He jokes, producing a couple short laughs from the group.

My dad turns back to me. "I'm sorry Riley. It's just unbelievable that soon you'll be off to college and my little girl will be all grown up."

"She won't if this apocalypse continues." Lucas mutters under his breath. My dad sends him a glare. "What? I'm just saying?" Lucas exclaims in his defense. "None of us will!"

"No! I have to go to college! Maybe MIT or Harvard or Ivy League!" Farkle panics. He stops for a second. "Or..." He trails off, looking at everyone. "Or I'll go wherever my friends go."

"Awwww." Do I even need to say who that came from anymore?

"Stop judging me!" Zay huffs and crosses his arms around his chest.

"Farkle, you can't let us be a factor in your decision." I say. If we were to end this apocalypse and go off to college, the separation between the two of us was bound to happen. I always knew that after high school, Farkle and I would most likely go to different colleges.

"I can and I will. It's you and me together, take on the world forever, remember?" Farkle says. I smile, thinking back to when Farkle and I first met when we were five. After spending the day playing together, we had made the promise to always be best friends.

"I know all your secrets and I promise you I'm gonna keep them. I'll be there when you are feeling clueless. You and me, oh yeah we're seamless." Farkle and I sing together.

"Awwww."

At first, I thought that it was Zay again but then I realized the voice was deeper. Everyone turns to look at Lucas.

"What!? I can't help it, that's just adorable!" He shouts defensively. "Zay, why are you looking at me like that!? You're usually the one who says aww."

"Yeah, but when it's coming from your mouth, it's just weird." Zay says, raising an eyebrow.

"Farkle, are you sure about this? Doesn't your dad always say that you should go off to Princeton?" I ask.

"He'll understand." Farkle says confidently.

Knowing that the conversation was over, I turn back to my dad. "Dad, you'll never lose me. Sure I may be starting the next chapter of my life but..."

"But what?" My dad asks.

"Yeah, that's all I got." I say, not sure what else I could do to make him feel better.

My dad rolls his eyes. "Yeah okay." He says. "Come here." He spreads his arms open, waiting for me to give him a hug. I oblige.

"Awwww." Four voices say together. I look up to see Lucas, Zay, Farkle, and Maya all smiling at the two of us.

I pull away from the hug. My dad gives me one last look before saying "Go."

I smile at him before crawling my way over to Maya, ducking my head to ensure no zombies saw us. "Hey." I say.

"Hi." She replies and wraps her arm around me. "I'd be honored to be the Topanga to your Cory." She says, putting her head on my shoulder.

"Awwww." Zay says again. "Stop it!" He shouts once again, huffing in annoyance.

"Okay, now that that's settled, back to the real problem here. You know, the zombies in the school." Farkle says, glancing back at the school. "The science lab is in the heart of the school, there's no way we could sneak in undetected when there's that many zombies roaming around." Farkle analyzes.

"Then we'll have to split up." Lucas says. "Three of us can create a distraction, luring all the zombies together and the other three can go to the lab and make the cure."

"No!" Zay shouts. "Haven't you seen movies!? Splitting up is never a good idea!"

"It's the only way." Lucas says.

"Lucas is right." Farkle says. "Three of us will have to use the main entrance and rack up all the noise they can, drawing the attention of all the zombies. The other three can use the side entrance and sneak to the lab."

"Okay, so who's gonna do what?" My dad asks.

"Well obviously I'm gonna be going to the science lab." Farkle starts. "I think Riley should come with me. She's just as smart as me, she can help." He compliments me.

"If Riley is coming with you, then so am I." Maya says.

"Yeah, you don't split up Cory and Topanga." I say. "The irony though, considering the real Cory and Topanga are split up." I throw a glance at my dad, who withers when I mention mom.

"Okay then it's settled." Farkle says. "Lucas, Zay, and Mr. Matthews will create the distraction while Riley, Maya, and I will go to the science lab and make the cure. Let's do this!"