Dying Breath: It All Starts Here

Approaching Montgomery

As Ms. Rivera drove bus 32 towards the highway, everyone was asking Jace questions.

" Mr. Haunn was your dad?" asked Emma.

" Why are you so shy?" asked Lindsay.

" What was Mr. Haunns first name?" Jace was prepared to answer all of their questions, but Askova interrupted, as she always does.

" I'm sorry, but I don't think that asking questions about a dead man is appropriate," responded Askova, " Especially right after he died." Everyone just stared at Askova. Jace spoke up.

" It's okay, I'm used to people always asking me questions," replied Jace. He turned towards the group. " Yes, Emma, he was my dad. But, I never liked that he was a math teacher. Everyone always picked on me because of that. That's why, Lindsay, I'm always so shy. And his first name? Well--" said Jace, but he stopped and gasped.

" What? What's wrong?" asked Askova. She looked worried. Everyone looked towards where Jace was looking. He was staring at the house that they just passed, near the dirt road. Jace was frowning, and he started crying.

" Was that... was that your house?" asked Lindsay. Jace nodded. His face was covered in blood, sweat, and tears.

" And we are...," said Ms. Rivera, her words cutting off, " Here?" she finished. Everyone looked out the windows and saw dead ones on lawns, roads, and even eating people. Lindsay looked away. Askova sighed loudly. Of course, Montgomery was invaded. The dead saw the bus and started to walk, slowly towards it. Ms. Rivera saw them in her rear mirror, so she picked up the speed.

Askova walked towards the front of the bus. Everyone else followed her.

" Man, this outbreak must be really bad. It reached all the way to Montgomery," commented Derek.

" This was an accidental infection release," replied Askova. Everyone just stared at Askova.

" What do you mean?" Derek asked.

" Yesterday on the news, they announced that an infection called Solanum Virus 1 was accidentally released, and told people to prepare," Lindsay assured.

" Why didn't people listen?" Emma asked.

" It was on Fox News," Askova said.

" Oh, makes sense."

" Where should I um... park?" asked Ms. Rivera.

" The elementary," replied Lindsay.

" Great idea," said Askova. Ms. Rivera drove the bus, avoiding every dead one she can.

" Ms. Rivera, don't you think that you should hit them?" asked Emma. Ms. Rivera just shook her head.

" Come on, ram into them!" exclaimed Jace.

" Yeah, for killing Jace's dad," said Derek.

Ms. Rivera still refused. Emma walked towards the pile of chicken patties that were wrapped in the seramik wrap. She opened one and took her first bite.

" Hmm, cold," commented Emma. Lindsay opened a water bottle, unscrewed the cap, and started taking big gulps.

" Lindsay, we need to save water," said Askova.

"There are 8 water bottles. I'm just finishing up the half water bottle." She finished drinking her half water bottle. She threw it on the floor. Askova scoffed but laughed after that.

Ms. Rivera finally arrived at the elementary school. She parked at the sidewalk.

" Man, this place is pretty empty, especially since the elementary school has more kids than the middle or high school," said Derek. He picked up one of the knives, hesitantly. He walked towards the door, just staring at it.

" Um, you're going out there?" asked Askova, concerned. Derek looked at her and nodded. Everyone else was concerned. Emma got up, threw her chicken patty out the window, and also picked up a knife. She looked as if she never saw a knife before. Everyone else grabbed a knife and stood at the door, ready to await the horrors that were inside the school. Askova grabbed a knife and handed it to Ms. Rivera.

Ms. Rivera released the handle that opens up the bus doors, and everyone walked out slowly. Askova got in the lead, leading them to the entrance of the elementary school. Everyone took a side, and formed a circle, protecting their side. They held out their knives, in case if a dead one got close. They arrived at the entrance.

" Man, the door windows are blurry. You guys wonder if they fogged up the windows on purpose?" asked Derek.

" It was probably the cold," replied Lindsay. Askova nodded in agreement. Derek tapped on the window, signaling anyone that was in there.

" Hello? Is anyone in th--." a dead one pressed up against the window, snarling at Derek. The dead one was reaching its hand out a small hole that was in the window. Derek screamed like a girl. He fell backward onto everyone else. Askova got up and plunged her knife into its head. It thumped to the floor. She looked through the hole and saw nobody else in there. Just dead bodies.

" I don't see anyone else in there except dead bodies," sighed Askova. Ms. Rivera went up to the doors and turned the handle. The doors were locked.

" Whos hand is small enough to reach through that hole?" asked Askova. People started looking at their hands.

" Mine is," replied Emma. She walked up to the door and reached her hand through the hole. She managed to find the handle. When she did, she turned it.

" You scream like a girl," Askova commented, looking at Derek. His face was red. Everyone walked in. The school was dark and cold. It also had flashlights. They didn't have a light source to see where they were going. Everyone kept bumping into each other. They walked towards the office that was to their right. All they saw were dead bodies lying on the floor.

" Man, how many dead ones are there? They pretty much got all of Montgomery. Probably headed towards St. Louis," commented Derek.

" Shh," shushed Askova, " We should probably split up. Cover more ground." whispered Askova.

" What should we do if we encounter one of them?" asked Lindsay.

" Stab them in the head. Try not to get scratched or bit," replied Askova. Before she could get a reply from Emma, she walked towards a room that was the right of her. It looked like an art room. It was small and cold. Very cold.

Everyone else was splitting up. Emma walked in a classroom that taught 3 different kinds of subjects, including Language Arts, Math, and Science. Jace walked into the music room.

" This room is... warm" whispered Jace to himself. He walked towards the piano that was in the corner of the room. He tapped a key. The key had blood on it. There was a body, lying under the piano, with one of the legs of the piano pierced through its body. Jace shivered then looked away, gagging.

Derek walked to the entrance of the cafeteria. Before he entered, he heard voices. The voices were very clear and it sounded close.

" I heard a cannibal snarling out near the school doors and then all of a sudden, it stopped snarling or whatever," said the stranger. The people in the room started talking. He couldn't make out their voices though. Derek peered out the doorway to the cafeteria. He saw three girls around his age. Maybe younger.

" Maybe there are people here. To save us!" exclaimed one of the girls. She looked eager to get out of here.

" I don't think they're here to save us. I saw a bus parked near the sidewalk. There wasn't a bus there before," replied the third girl, " Maybe other people survived just like us." Derek walked away, heading towards the art room, where Askova walked towards before he split up.

" Askova, there's other people here," said Derek. Askova looked at him, confused.

" What do you mean? Where are they?" asked Askova. Derek pointed towards the cafeteria. Askova walked to the cafeteria, careful to not startle the people in there.

" Who are they?" Askova asked. Derek shrugged.

" Just three girls. Around your age." Askova peered in the cafeteria, seeing only a glimpse of the girls skirt flowing out the back door.

" They are headed out. We need to follow them," said Askova. She gathered everyone and told them that there's other people here and that they needed to head out, to follow them.