In The Blink of an Eye (A Zombie Story)

In the blink of an eye....everything had changed

The day had been normal; filled with papers, books, pencils and chatter, a regular day starting with the shrill alarm of my phone and the taste of burnt toast. Though now that I think about it, I should've realized what was happening sooner...then maybe I would've been able to save my family. Maybe if I'd paid attention to the news for once instead of glancing at the TV and listening briefly to the anchor say that the infection in Canada had spread. I'm a Zombie freak, how the hell didn't I see the signs?

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It was supposed to be a normal day, a daily routine that I'd repeated for years. So why were we still sitting here two hours after the bell had rung, why was the whole school in lockdown? I couldn't make sense of it, no matter how much I thought, what kind of emergency was this bad?

"-on."

What exactly was happening out there?

"-alon."

I subconsciously felt my brows knit and my lips turn down into a frown, my mind racing at the many possibilities. An escaped convict? A murderer?

"VALON!"

I jolted up and turned to find my two friends, best friends really, staring at me with a mixture of concern and annoyance. A sheepish smile slipped to my lips as I tucked my hands into my lap, rubbing my cool palm with a thumb as I always did anytime I became anxious.

"Sorry guys, I zoned out..What's up?" I muttered apologetically, meeting my friends' eyes with curiosity. Ty and Becca rolled their eyes, the former with a small smile and the latter with a sigh.

"As I was saying," Becca said, sneaking a glance to the unusually pale teacher before continuing, "He knows something. I bet he'd break if we pressured him."

I nodded, " Leave it to me." A sly smile slid comfortably onto my lips as I stood and stalked up to the front of the class, coming to stand before the anxious teacher and tapping the wooden desk with a sanded down nail, the sudden noise catching only the teacher's attention.

The poor man jumped slightly and pushed up his glasses with clammy hands before addressing me with a frown. "Miss Otto get back to your seat, the danger is still pres-" I cut him off with a raised voice, catching the class's attention. "Why are we still here? I know you know why Mr. B, we deserve to know!" An uproar of agreement roared from behind me, the bald man taken aback and looking more nervous than ever.

He was like a timid rabbit surrounded by starving wolves, shrinking before the pressure. Now was my chance, one more push was all he needed.

"Mr. Belle! What is keeping us here? Tell us!" I prodded, leaning closer to the wide-eyed quivering man. He mumbled something incoherent and kept averting his gaze, his frown deepening and he stared down at his desk as if he was inspecting the natural designs of the wood, though I could see the sweat beading at his forehead.
Maybe I pushed a bit too hard?

"What did you say? Speak up." I retorted less harshly, my voice lowering as I moved closer to hear his meek one. All eyes were on him as he sucked in a mouthful of stale air. Suddenly he changed, no longer a cowering rabbit but instead a snarling bear.

"Quarantine!" I cringed at his shout, the class quieting down as I began backing away with a puzzled look. My ears rang slightly from the volume of his raised voice and I staggered a bit before straightening with a deep breath. His word repeated in my head over and over. Quarantine. Quarantine. Quarantine.
I opened my mouth to speak but was cut off by another.

"What do you mean Quarantine?" Someone piped up, the calm tone a little startling given the situation. I whipped around to find it had originated from the usually quiet boy having leapt up from his seat. He'd taken the words right out of my mouth and I wasn't sure if I should feel as relieved as I did.
The questioning eyes of my fellow classmates turned to him instead and I could feel a burden lift off my shoulders.
In that moment I kind of felt like Frodo, trying to avoid the gaze of Sauron as he trudged through Mordor.
I hated when people stared at me...the sharp prodding of their gazes bothers me. Is that how Frodo felt too?
I snapped myself from my Lord of the Ring's musings just in time to hear agreements ringing out from the seated students.