HΣR GRΔCΣ

Chapter 1

My hands fumbled over the clasp on my bag as I struggled to pull out my Geometry book, only listening half-heartedly to the complex orders our teacher was barking at us. The woman meant well, of course, but like any other high school teacher, she was absolutely repulsive, and not to mention obnoxious. If I had to give a good description, of which I will, she sort of resembled a shaven bull dog that had been living way past her years, her complexion like a raisin left out in the sun for too long.
I placed the text book on my desk with a soft thud, finally letting out a small sigh I didn't realize I was holding. If there was one thing you should know about me, it's that I absolutely abhor math. It makes no sense, I'm absolutely no good at it, and it is potentially the most useless class that ever could of been thought of. Algebra? When am I going to need that in life?
By now I had toned out the teacher, who was squawking out equations at one my friends in the front row. Reaching into my bag, I grabbed my phone, holding it under the desk so no one would be able to see what I was doing. Though it wasn't against the rules like it would've been in Middle School, I still hated people trying to read my Tumblr posts over my shoulder. I turned my cell on silent, and gently pressed the centre home button, expecting my usual tribal elephant background to appear on my lock screen, but it just remained black. I looked down confusedly at my phone, knowing that just a second ago it was fully, or almost fully, charged, so it shouldn't of died. I pressed the button again when a small burst of cold air cascaded up my back, causing me to shiver.
" Geez..." I breathed, still fiddling with my problematic phone. " Why's it so cold in here all of a sudden..." Immediately I noticed the absence of my teacher's usually loud, high-pitched voice and the occasional onslaught of my friend's whispers. I looked up, to see what was wrong, when a strangled gasp escaped my throat, which soon morphed into an inhuman screech. My chest heaved up and down at the revolting sight, hyperventilating at the massive amount of blood that was still pooling onto the tiled floors.
" Oh my God..." I muttered, my eyes scanning across the room of lifeless bodies. My gaze settled among one in particular, my best friend. Her eyes stared blankly back at me, glazed over and grey. My hand flung over my gaping mouth to suppress another saddened cry. I could see tears forming in the corners of my eyes, threatening to fall as they burned and blurred my sight. All my mind could think about was, what happened? A room full of twenty one people, and all but one are quickly, silently, and deviously murdered? It made no sense. But apparently I wasn't thinking of sense at that time. Whatever had been there, could've still been here, and what did I do? I ran. I forgot about all sense and just ran, not even having the mind to hope that I didn't run into the killer. I wrapped my arms around my body to keep myself warm, as I noticed small, wispy white clouds emitting from my lips as I took each breath.
'Damn it,' I thought, my teeth chattering as I continued to sprint down the halls. 'I should've grabbed someone's sweatshirt.'
After I was sure I had calmed down, I had slowed myself down to a brisk walk. At this pace I started noticing the strange things around me. The walls were tinted red in places, blood smeared across the fresh paint, and limp bodies lay all over the school, some of which I knew, and some too disfigured and bloody for me to figure out. A couple of times I even thought I had heard voices, but after stopping to listen more closely, they ceased entirely, leaving me to believe it was only the trauma of the situation, making me believe stuff that wasn't actually real, or - at least I hoped so. I shoved my hands deep into my pockets with a huff, looking disappointedly to the ground. I finally decided that I would have to leave the building, though I was a little reluctant at first, in case something or somethings were waiting outside to greet me. I pushed open a set of double doors, letting them close with a heavy metal sound behind me, and that's when I heard the voices clearly for the first time.
" Hey!! Is anyone out there?" A low voice reverberated throughout the halls. I was about to scream back, but from my over abundance of crying, or just from the sheer happiness that someone else was still alive, I figured out that I couldn't. My mind began to think of what would happen if I didn't find this man, or he didn't find me. Visions of the killer finding me first flashed through my mind as I witnessed my own death behind my eyes. I didn't even realize I was running until I had turned the corner and smacked head first directly into someone's chest, sending him spiraling back with me on top of him. His flashlight skidded across the tiled floor and bounced off the wall, shattering the bulb on the inside and leaving us in complete darkness. The gun grasped in his right hand sounded off, ricocheting off the ceiling, the bullet traveling to some other unknown place. A loud scream escaped my lips and I pressed my hands to my ears to escape the loud noise, which sounded foreign to me, since I had been wandering around in silence and darkness for what must of been an hour or so. I rolled off the man, backing up against the wall when I finally got a good glimpse of him. He had longish, shaggy, brown hair and vivid sage green eyes that gazed curiously at my panicked form pressed tensely against the wall. He was tall, very tall, probably around six feet or over, if I had to guess off the top of my head, and he was incredibly thin as well, though not unhealthily so.
" Sam!!" The voice cried again, it's host cutting the corner and gliding into the hall that this so called 'Sam' and I had invaded. The other man, who was much shorter and broad than his friend, clasped a ČZ SP-01 in his hands, aimed towards my head. I impulsively threw my hands up in reply, as I waited for the man to realize that I wasn't a threat. Once he did, he placed his gun down beside him, and helped his friend up, who in turn, offered a hand to me. My hand intertwined with his own, and I gave an embarrassed smile, accepting the help from the stranger I had accidentally barreled over.
" I'm sorry," I mumbled under my breath, and turned my head to avoid his gentle gaze. " For running into you, I mean. I got a little excited when I heard that there was someone still alive in here other than myself."
" Don't apologize," He breathed, and then slowly tipped my chin towards him. " What's your name?"
" Zoe."
" Alright, My name is Sam, and this is my brother Dean," He gestured to his brother, who gave a sensual grin, and a small wave.
" We're here to help you." Dean snorted, before turning around, gaining a small glare from his brother for making fun of his heroic, though geeky comment. I couldn't help but giggle. Even in the time of a crisis, these two seemed to be able to lift anyone out of their moods, which, I admit, included me as well.
" So," I started, attracting the attention of the two older boys. " Do you guys know what happened?" Sam looked to his brother, who shook his head in confusion. " Well, I'm not completely sure. We would've like to ask you the same," He admitted hopefully, awaiting my answer, though much to our dismay, I didn't have one.
" To be completely honest, I have no idea. I looked at my phone for literally two seconds, and then all of a sudden, everyone was... was..."
" Yeah. Same thing in town as well. We've checked practically everywhere. Whatever it was, it left no survivors. Well, except for you, though I'm not entirely sure why."
" Wait, the entire town was killed as well? I thought... My dad... And you said you checked everywhere? No survivors...?" Sam turned his head, trying to avoid my prying gaze. " N-no. There was none." I sighed.
So this is how it would be, huh? Reality had finally caught up with me. No more friends, no more family, no more regular everyday life. As boring as it was, I doubt I would've ever picked this life over the former. I wasn't sure what I was gonna do, I just prayed that this was just some sick, twisted dream, and all of this would be over once I woke up in the morning, to the sweet, welcoming smell of my father cooking breakfast, and the gentle, comforting touch of my warm, cozy bed.