The Day the World Ended

Chapter 4

It was three hours later, and everyone was awake. The principal was making rounds, giving children what we recovered earlier from the cafeteria. When he came to me, he kneeled down and whispered, "Im telling the students today before anything gets worse. I thought about it."

I looked at him questioningly.

"They haven't gotten this far yet, I suppose people are still packing or getting ready to ride this out. When I tell the children, they're gonna want to go home to their family. Which I am willing to let them do. It'll be safe."

A part of me agreed, but I still had a bad feeling about that. "I see where you're coming from, but think about it, what if... it has spread faster than we think? Where are they and their families going to go once they're together? It's safer in here than it will be out there."

He considered it for a moment then shook his head, "You're right. But how Im seeing it is if they're with their families, they won't have to worry about not seeing them again. You know what I'm saying? They have a choice. If they want it I won't stop them." He saw my disapproval and handed me an apple, "Trust me on this."

I looked down at the apple as he walked away to go to the next classroom. Then, got an idea. I stood up and followed him out then stopped him. "The kids could go find their families and bring them here! More people makes a stronger group and we could find more!"

The corners of his mouth turned up slightly, "What a wonderful idea. How didn't you get an A in class?" He chuckled at that.

I just looked at him annoyed. I could see what he was trying to do but it was too early for jokes. He saw my disapproval and shook his head. Then walked away. I have to admit, I did feel bad for doing that. It wasn't like life was hard enough right now, and me being a jerk to him wasn't making anything better. I shrugged it off though, as much as I didn't want to. Since I was the only student to know about the outbreak in this manor, I helped the staff when I had time to. Today, I had to help set up targets in the gym for a shooting range.

Noise attracts them. Yes, I know. But, the gym had special walls for blocking most of the noise, or in our case, keeping it in. Also, in our gym, there's a staircase that leads to a wrestling room above the main area. That could be used for melee attacks. We all know from horror movies, books, and TV shows that the only way to kill one was by getting it in the head. So we'd need to teach the students to protect themselves while going out for runs or if we have a break in.

Also, if we all survive, when we are older we could well, repopulate the earth. I know it sounds stupid but none of us are related. Plus, isn't that the key goal when humanity is wiped out?

I walked down the hall and to one of the main entries. Around the school, so it was easier for staff to access, there were double doors. As I passed them, I looked out and saw a man walking up the parking lot. He looked drunk. Swaying side to side he walked up until he was right across the road. That was when I saw it, he had already turned. One of them wasn't so bad. Oh no. But, if he made enough noise, he would surely draw out more. He had to be taken care of.

I quickly ran across the doorway. Thankfully, he was looking the other way so I wasn't seen. In the gym, there was five other staff members.

"There's a walker outside," I said as I walked forward, "Want me to take care of him?"

They all looked at me with excited, nervous, and curious eyes. I forgot, they've never seen a Walker before.

"A walker? Is that what you're calling them?" One of the teachers came forward, carrying a knife from the cafeteria. "Step aside."

He pushed through all of us and walked to the door, knife in hand. No one objected, since he had a knife. I followed him out to the door as he opened the first set, and then the second set. He was now outside, only a street's length separating him and the walker. My breath caught as he stepped off the curb, seeming as if this wasn't his first time, which worried me. He strutted over with the knife ready, and when the walker saw him, it started for him.

The staff member used all his might and stabbed the walker right in the chest. I covered my eyes and shook my head. That was not the way to kill a zombie. The walker hissed and swiped at him, scratching his cheek. A pang of fear shot through his eyes as the walker stepped off of the curb, putting all his weight on the staff member, and falling on top of him. Both of them were on the ground. I covered my eyes as I heard a piercing scream. And then, silence.

I opened my eyes and looked up to see that the walker was ripping the man's flesh off, shoving it into his mouth and swallowing every bloody handful whole. I almost puked on the spot. Another staff member came out to see how we were doing and stopped as she rounded the corner.

"Oh my god. No. He's not..."

I nodded and swallowed. "Yea, he's... gone. But, we need that knife."

She shook her head, and grabbed my arm, "Don't you dare! Are you crazy? Risking your life for a stupid knife! I won't let you!"

I pulled my arm out of her grasp and put my hand on the door, "That 'stupid knife' will save someone's life if they use it properly. That man didn't stab it in the head. That's how you kill them."

She still had her arm outstretched and was looking at me with the whitest eyes and the palest face. With those as my final words, I pushed open both sets of doors into the chilly air. The smell was revolting. While the walker was distracted with his 'meal' I dashed to get a rock. Once I had it, I chucked it to a little ways away from me so I could grab the knife.

The walker looked up at where I threw the rock and slowly stood up to pursue it. Once he was a safe distance, I ran over to the body and looked for the knife. I caught a glimpse of the man. His entrails we're halfway out of him. They lay on the ground all around him and his neck had a bite on it. I gagged and hurled on the spot. The walker heard me and turned around. Shit. I wiped my mouth and found the knife and picked it up. With it ready in my hand, I walked over and grabbed its shoulder, it hissed and tried to reach for me, mouth open. I took the knife and drove it up through its bottom jaw and to its brain. It went limp and I pushed it to the ground. For extra precaution, I went over to the staff member and stabbed him in the forehead. Then I quickly ran across the road and back into the school where a crowd of staff awaited me.