The Dead Ones

Chapter 1

Somewhere along the line, we all grow up. Whether or not we notice it is a different story. Sometimes growing up is exciting, even fun, but in my case growing up was more scary than fun. No, not in the typical sense, in the sense that sudden events caused me to grow up faster than anyone I knew. In this new world, you either grow up and survive or you hold onto your innocence and die. Here is my story.

"Nyx get your ass down here!" Leslie yells. Awoken from my deep sleep, I roll over an cover my head with a pillow. "You get one more warning! Get down here or you are going to be late for school, again!" "Fine! I'm going, give me a goddamn minute!" I scream in response. Searching through my dresser, I finally find my favorite pair of black skinny jeans and a grey crop top. I grab a red flannel and tie it around my waist, finishing off the outfit with my favorite pair of black heeled boots. I quickly run down the stairs and find Leslie standing at the bottom. "You are not going to school dressed like that, young lady." Leslie says while eyeing my attire. "Can we just skip this part?" I question, "every morning you say the same thing, and I argue that you aren't my mother. You shut up and then I leave. So I'm gonna do that. Bye, Leslie." I walk passed Leslie, and head for the door, stopping to grab my keys and backpack before walking out.

Before I know it, I am pulling into the school parking lot. "Great, another day in hell," I say under my breath. Quickly, I grab my bag and turn off my car. Once inside the school, I head to my locker, the first step in the never-ending routine of my school day. "Hey there, stranger," I hear from behind me. "What the hell do you want Xander?" I say. He fakes surprise, "I just wanted to say hi! Why are you acting like I want something from you? On a completely unrelated note, did you get the homework for calculus done?" Laughing, I hand over my notebook, "Yeah, just make sure you give this back before we get to class, I don't want to get in trouble because of you, again." "Sweet! You are the absolute best Nyx." Xander leaves, a smile plastered on his face. "I know!" I call after him, before turning the opposite direction and heading to the library.

"Good morning miss Dromgoole." says Mrs. Lenx, the librarian. "Hi, Mrs. Lenx. How was your weekend?" I reply sweetly. "It was very good, I got to see my grandbabies and finish reading my book. How was your weekend?" She questions. Memories of my birthday party flood into my mind, the gifts, and the people around me. I see the giant cake Leslie ordered for the party, saying that "18 is the most important birthday! You are officially an adult." Then the end of the night, I lay crying in my bed, thinking about all the birthdays my parents have missed, and all the times I wished they could have been there with me. "Good. My weekend was good." I am lying through my teeth, putting on a smile so no one asks questions, something I learned to do from a very young age. I put all my stuff down at the couch and throw myself down. "Quietly please." Mrs. Lenx whispers. "Sorry." I breath out.

I spend most of the day in the library, only leaving occasionally for food, or for one of my two classes. Around the middle of the day I hear the static from the intercom system, meaning someone is about to speak. "Good afternoon students," Mr. Elliot, the principal, says, "we have some announcements. Today is the last day for the senior class of 2019! Congratulations seniors, you have all made it through high school." Cheering is heard from around the school. "Second, there has been a accident at the hospital, a man was brought in with a few bite marks, whose origin have yet to be determined. Shortly after he was admitted, he started to become violent, he attacked and bit three people and killed at least four before being detained. In other news, we are having burgers for lunch today, donated by the senior students' parents!"

People were attacked and killed by mad-man, and that announcement is shoved in between congrats seniors, and we're having burgers for lunch! What the hell, people's lives deserve more recognition than that. I think to myself, but Lucy, one of my best friends since 6th grade, is apparently thinking the same thing. Lucy leans over her desk and says, "Some crazy guy attacks three people and kills four others, and all the principal says is 'we are having burgers for lunch today!'" "I know it's ridiculous there should be more value put on a human life than that, especially when they die in such a gruesome way," I whisper back. Mr. Fredrickson looks at us both with a stern expression, "It may be your last day, but that doesn't mean you can just throw all rules out the window, and interrupt my class by talking! I will still send you to the office!" The entire class breaks out in laughter, including Mr. Fredrickson. "But I thought the assignment was to make as much noise as possible, Mr. Fredrickson!" I say sarcastically. "Oh, yes, I completely forgot, carry on miss Dromgoole." He says laughing.

Beep. Beep. Beep. The alarms through the school flash and beep, signaling that there's some sort of emergency, but none like we had seen before. Beep. Beep. Beep. "Attention students, school is going to end early today due to an unforeseen event." Mr. Elliot says into the intercom. "The national guard is here to escort you all safely to the parking lot and the buses. When you get home, we ask that you tune into the news, so that you are up to speed with the emergency. Please, be safe, and always listen to what officials tell you to do. Good luck students."

Good luck students? Unforeseen event? What does that even mean, what is going on?