Have Mercy {Z Nation AU}

Day One

As the heat of the day blistered on, we all sat around on the bleachers of the school pool, soaked. 

"Hey, Emma! Catch!" I heard, I turned as a basketball hit me straight in the side of my face. Blinding white light filled my vision, and cleared after a few seconds. I heard screams and laughter in the seconds that followed. 

"Oh shit, I'm so sorry!" Noah said from across the pool, half laughing. I glared at him but it soon turned into a smile, and he waltzed over. "Shit, it looks like you got punched. Wouldn't be surprised if it turns black. I'm so sorry, Emma." He kneeled in front of me, with his hand barely touching my face. "Your dad is going to kill me." 

I scoffed in his face, and the moment was over. I looked over to Ava, who was quietly laughing, and to Daniel, standing in the pool holding the basketball, silently waiting. 

"Okay you little love birds, moments over." Daniel said, as he threw the ball to Noah, who gracefully caught it. Ava stepped up to the tiled edge of the pool, in her maroon bikini, and dived in to tackle Daniel.

Noah bounced the ball as he walked, and sat where Ava was on the metal seats covered in our towels. "Of all the days we organised my first time meeting your parents, and I hit you will a ball."
He hung his head a little, and leaned in, I smiled.

"Hey, it's honestly fine. We'll just tell them the truth."

I pulled my phone out, and clicked onto open texts.

Soz. Cant make it today, busy.

"Hey guys, Tommy isn't coming." I shouted, so that Daniel and Ava could here over the splashing of the water.

"Aw, we were supposed to be seeing Scouts Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse! Ugh, he always does this." Ava said, mildly pissed off.

"Guys, it's fine, we can go without him." I said.

"What time was the movie again?" Noah asked.
"Two-thirty, babe."
"Wait, what time is it now?" He said as he pulled out his phone from his pocket. "Fuck. Its already ten past two. We gotta go. Ava, Daniel! We gotta hurry." Noah yelled, as Ava and Daniel started swimming to the railings. We packed up our bags and towels, and ran as we put our shorts and tops on, plus shoes. The cinema was a 5 minute walk, but we had to get our tickets. As we reached the door to the cinema I passed Noah my card so that he could walk up and get the tickets and popcorn.

As he walked to me with the paper tickets in his mouth, a voice over the PA boomed for us to head in.

~

The cinema was empty, apart from the four of us. I pulled my white camera out of my bag, and started taking photos of the dark, empty cinema and the four of us. Before long, I was out of film, but had a favorite photo of them all, Noah, laughing looking at the screen.

~

After the movie, we headed back onto the school grounds. It was technically on break, but everyone was there for part time courses. We ate, and sat on our damp towels talking. Soon after, we noticed people heading towards the under cover area.

"Eh, stay here it's probably just another fight. No point in watching other people getting hurt." Daniel said, right before we heard an ear piercing scream coming from where the fight was.

I jumped up and ran, leaving my backpack and the others behind. I pressed my way through the crowd, elbowing ribcages as I got through. I made my way through to the front of the crowd, and immediately wished I hadn't. 
There, crouching down on the ground next to a body spewing blood from the neck, was Ingrid. 

The nerdy girl who sat next to me in class, and shared her notes.
Her eyes were coated with a film, making them look bloodshot and brown, and a black substance started pouring from her mouth. On the ground next to her, was Wendy, her girlfriend. 

Wendy sat up, and had the same glazed eyes and pale skin tone that looked sickly green. I felt my stomach turn, and started to shove my way back through the crowd and back to my friends. I grabbed Noah as I saw him coming through the crowd, and as more screaming followed, we ran. 
 Noah ran ahead and grabbed our bags, Daniel and Ava had stayed sitting. As we reached the tree where we sat, we told them what had happened. 

"I don't know what the fuck is going on right now but we need to hide. This is a school, wheres the safest place we can go?" I asked.

"The music block! They have the soundproof rooms, they only have one door each and there's no glass." Ava said as we chucked our bags on and ran. The canteen was open, and I decided to make a choice.

"You guys go ahead, meet me in MU3, I want to grab as much food as I can! I know it!" I yelled, and Noah nodded and kept running. I reached the door and unzipped my bag, I pulled all bottles of water from the fridge, along with jerky, fruits, nuts and whatever else I could grab. By the time my bag was almost busting at the seams, I could hear screams and growling as if it was right behind me. I turned around to the door, and saw my teacher, Mr Harrington, standing there blocking my exit with the black liquid pouring out of his mouth. I tried to go around him, but he wouldn't let me pass. 

I screamed. As loud and as earpiercing as I could. 

Before I knew it, a metal pole had run itself through Mr Harringtons head. 

Noah stood before me, holding the end of the metal rod. 
 
"Oh my god, oh my god. You killed him." The words raced out of my mouth as I stepped over his body, lying still on the floor. "He always had such good hair too."

Noah grabbed my bag as we ran across the field and into the tiny door way of the music block. We raced down the hallway past the first to rooms, and into the third where Ava and Daniel were sitting. I unloaded my bag, with easily a few days worth of food inside, and sat down on the hard floor.

"I don't know what happened. Ingrid looked like a rabid animal, she attacked Wendy and she was bleeding, then she got up and she was the same, I just don't know." I stuttered, and stared into nothingness. The room was soundproof both ways and eventually, the quiet took its toll. We stayed in there for hours, and after dark was even worse. We slept sometime after midnight, ate around three in the morning. There was no phone signal, and to get it, we had to go outside. By the time morning came, the school was silent. I pulled my phone out of my back pocket and texted my parents, hoping that they'd find me.

The music block was empty, no one else had realised it was an easy hide out.

I went back inside, and split our remaining food between us, grabbed my bag and ran out. My phone buzzed as I closed the door behind me, hearing Noah banging behind it trying to get it open. 

Mum: We're outside, you need to hurry, they're everywhere.

I let the door slam open, Noah burst out the door as I turned to run to the truck that was just pulling up. He grabbed at me as he ran, I threw my bag into the back tray and turned to him. I kissed him on the cheek and whispered I love you as he relaxed and realised there was no coming back. As I climbed in the truck, I looked back at him standing there, crying, wiping his face with his hand.  

I saw a figure run at him, and he fell to the ground underneath one of them.