Better Dead

In Macintosh high school an unknown virus is going around causing all the students and faculty to come down with a terrible disease. All throughout the high school coughing and suffering echoes through the halls.

Leon – man, the nurses office is jam packed with people, whatever’s going around sure isn’t good. I’ve even heard rumors
that they’re planning to let us out early.  Can you believe it?

Candarice – yeah, it’s pretty crazy, in class today there were only 3 people including me in there, even the teacher was out with a sub.  It’s quite the epidemic.

Leon – Any idea as to what it may be?

Candarice – No clue, but from what I’ve seen it’s just a swine flu V2. Just like the swine flu I’m sure we’ll have a cure for it in no time.

Leon – yeah… I sure hope so, my little sister’s come down with it, and I just want to make sure she’ll be ok. I don’t like to leave her alone inside that nurses office, but they won’t let anyone who’s believed to be unaffected by the disease come anywhere close.

Candarice – I understand how you feel, but I’m sure she’ll be fine. She’s in good hands, nurse Mallory knows what she’s doing.

As Candarice and Leon were talking they were interrupted by a loud, blood curdling scream. Upon hearing this scream, they raced to find were it came from.

Leon – Did you hear that? The scream sounded like it came from Mr. Garcia’s Spanish class, come on, let’s go check it out, maybe we could help.

Upon arriving in Mr. Garcia’s class, the boys notice a girl fallen over who doesn’t appear to be breathing, and another girl hovering over her holding onto her hand and crying for her to get up. Mr. Garcia’s is trying to get someone on the phone to help, but is unable to get through to anybody.

Female student – Help her please! Please help her! She just passed out and won’t get up! She isn’t breathing or anything! I’ve tried everything but she just isn’t budging! Please help her!

Leon - Any idea what happened? Was she infected by the virus?
Female student – yes… yes I think so, but she didn’t seem to have any of the symptoms, she was just fine one moment ago.

Mr. Garcia’s – No one is picking up the phone! What the hell is going on here? I’m sorry students I’m going to have to leave and go find some help. I’m sorry I have to leave her like this, but try giving her CPR to try to get her breathing back, I’ll return as soon as I can with the paramedics!

Leon – Ok, stand back, I know a little CPR, had to take a class on it when I joined the swim team.

Leon begins breathing into her and pushing into her chest to try and get her to draw a breath, but to no avail.

Leon – damnit nothing is working! At this rate she’s going to die! Mr. Garcia’s better return soon or she won’t make it.

Leon tries one more time but still manages to get no results

Leon - I… I don’t even hear a heartbeat anymore

Female student – What?! No! No! Marcia! Marcia! Don’t die on me! Don’t die on me! Life wouldn’t be the same without you!

Leon - I’m… so sorry, I tried everything I could. 

The student pushed Leon away and started hugging her friend’s cold lifeless body, squeezing it and rocking back and forth as tears streamed out of her eyes. 

Just as hope was lost and things began to look bleak, Marcia’s eyes open and look around the room.

Female student - Marcia! Marcia! You’re ok! Oh my god Marcia I thought you were dead!

Something was different about Marcia; she was still cold and lifeless looking, and her eyes color pigment turned grey and sick looking.

Female student – Marcia, Marcia what’s wrong? You still look so sick.

Marcia let out a ghoulish moan as she wrapped her hands around her friend’s neck.

Female student – Mar… Marcia?

Marcia lunges at her friends neck and rips it apart, blood spurting everywhere as she screams in horrendous agony.

Leon - Oh my god! Candarice we’ve got to help her! She’s gone bat shit crazy!

Leon tries to pull them apart but Candarice stops him and pulls him away

Candarice – Leon no it’s too dangerous. We’ve got to get out of here right now.

Leon – Candarice tell me I’m not hearing you say that you’re telling me you’d just leave her for dead?

Candarice – Leon damnit she’s already dead! There’s nothing we can do now come on we have to get the fuck out of here right now!

Candarice continues to grip Leon by the arm and pulls him out of the room, Leon, confused and terrified reluctantly follows.

Screams of fear and agony echo through the barren Spanish hallway, panic starts to set in through the school as the alarm goes off and a muffled announcement tells all the students to evacuate immediately.

Leon – Holy shit Candarice tell me I didn’t just see that.  Everything’s going to hell! Just what’s going on why are people going crazy like that?

Candarice – It must have something to do with the disease, Leon I was wrong this is much worse than any old swine flu.

Leon – Candarice, my sister… she’s come down with it and she’s stuck in that nurse’s office. God damnit Candarice we’ve got to save her! Please… please tell me you’re with me on this!

Candarice – Leon you and your sister are my best friends, of course I’m going to help you. The only problem is getting downstairs though. People are panicking all over we’d probably end up getting trampled over if we head out down there that way.

Leon – Any ideas then?

Candarice – A lot of people don’t know this but there’s a hidden staircase that leads downstairs in the janitorial closet. Don’t ask me how I know that but if I had to guess I’d say that’s our best bet for getting down there safely.

Leon – That’s genius!

Candarice – Yeah, what would you do without me huh?

Leon – I’d probably already have been in Harvard by now.

Candarice and Leon make their way to the janitorial closet. As they near the door they notice someone limping down the hall. His leg looked bitten and his eyes were all puffy and pale.

Leon – Hey! Are you ok? You don’t look so good you need any help?

The student notices their presence and begins to limp towards them, but doesn’t seem to respond with any words or gestures.

As he nears he begins to growl and foam at the mouth, lunging at them with every step.

Leon – Oh… shit.

Candarice – Leon get away from him we’ve got to get downstairs now!

Candarice kicks the student away as he was nearing Leon and pulled Leon into the closet door with him, closing it up and sealing it shut. The student begins to claw and slam at the door and only stayed stable due to the lock holding it together.

Candarice – things are getting worse fast, that thing out there almost got you Leon, you need to pull yourself together.

Leon – you’re right sorry… this is just all a little tough to process.

Candarice – Look its fine, I understand, now let’s go get your sister.

Leon – Thank you Candarice…

The boys head downstairs as the screams become louder and louder with each step.
As they finally made it to the bottom of the steps Leon nervously grabs for the door knob, shaking furiously as he does so.

Leon – God I just… I don’t know what it’s going to be like down there. Think we’ll be alright down there? I mean we almost died from just one. I can only imagine how many are down there as of right now.

Candarice – Only the more reason to get down there and save your sister as quickly as we can Leon. I know you’re afraid, I am to, but I’m not worried, because I know we’re going to make it, and I know your sister’s counting on us.

Leon – you’re… you’re right Candarice. Damnit I can’t believe I just let that get the better of me. I’d do anything for Samantha, even if it means risking my own life.

Leon firmly grasps the knob and opens the door, as he peered outside he see's a sight of true and unimaginable horror. Corpses and blood laid all over the floors, some still squirming in agony as those who had gone crazy feast upon their still living bodies.

Leon - Oh... oh my god.

Candarice - don't look, just keep going until we make it to the nurses office.

Leon takes one mighty step outside, and as he does, his shoe sinks into the pools of blood like a puddle from a bad rainstorm. Leon's body shakes violently at the thought of whom and what he was stepping in.

Candarice - The infected seem to be to preoccupied eating to notice us, it shouldn't be to hard to sneak around them, try not to draw to much attention to yourself.

Leon - y-yeah...you, you got it

Candarice and Leon make their way through the blood soaked halls as the infected were to busy feeding off the students who were unlucky enough not to be able to make it out. As Leon was nervously tiptoeing through, he accidently tripped on something, as Leon begins to get up, he noticed it was the dismembered body of his old friend Timothy.

As Leon lay next to him, he began to scream in terror at the horror of seeing someone he knew in such a gruesome state.

Candarice ran over to Leon and muffled his mouth with his hand, but was too late for the infected started to rise up and limp towards them.

Candarice – Damnit Leon you brought them all down upon us!

Leon – Shit… shit… I, I didn’t mean to…

Candarice – There’s no time for that now we’ve got to move!

Candarice got Leon to his feet and made a run for it down the narrow halls. The infected dead on their tails, they find themselves trapped at a dead end.

Leon – well I guess it’s all… over now. It’s Funny how it all ends here at a dead end, something pretty ironic about that.

Leon - I’m really sorry I got you dragged up into this, if only I wasn’t so much of a… a pussy we probably would’ve already been out of this mess.

Candarice – There’s no one to blame here Leon… I doubt we would’ve made it far out there anyways.

As things began to look bleak, footsteps began to echo through the halls as if someone was running upon their position.
Quicker and louder, the footsteps were heard until a shadowy figure appeared that then took form into a young athletic
looking man holding unto a baseball bat.

He was battered and covered in blood from neck to toe, and had a very fiery facial expression as he began to close in on their position.

As he neared, the infected turned slowly around to face him. The young man stopped for a moment, clutched his bat, and proceeded to whack at the infected as they approached.

One by one he would smash their craniums in with a few hits as they were out of reaching distance, blood and brain
pieces spewed out everywhere on the floor until finally only one infected remained.

The young man appeared to be enjoying himself as he had a large grin while he was beating the infected brains inside out. To add insult to injury, he put his baseball bat sideways into the final infected mouth, pushed it into a wall, and slammed down upon its jaw until it lay bloodied on the floor.

The young man laughed and stuck his hand inside its jawless mouth, then crushed its head upon the wall with one final swing with his mighty bat.

Young man – Hoooweee! Now that sure was a blast! Them  ol’ dead bastards didn’t know what hit em’ I tell ya! You see the look on that ones face as I beat the brain right out of his head? Priceless!!
Well, now that’s all done an out of the way, you boys alright? I heard some screamin’ and I thought I’d go see what all the hubbub was about.

Leon – Oh my god… those people, was it really necessary to kill them all like that? Maybe there’s a cure for this disease somewhere out there, and now they won’t ever be able to recover from it.

Young man – You kiddin’ me? Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but there ain’t no cure, and even if there was, sure as hell wouldn’t be any helpin’ these people. These people here are already dead, nothin’ but reanimated corpses, so you can go and do whatever you want to em’ cause they don’t feel no pain.

Young man – They had this commin’ anyways, after what they did to all my friends, I was just takin’ out my aggression on em’.

Leon – Wait what? They’re dead? You mean like… zombies? But that’s absurd.
Young man – well it’s true, saw one get shot a couple of times by a police officer, just kept on goin, for him, didn’t even flinch. It was only until the officer shot em’ in the head’s when I knew what was goin’ on. It’s just like the movies.

Leon – what… no, that… that can’t be, no… that’s… that’s…

Candarice – Well um, thank you… uh…

Chris – Names Chris! Christopher J. Tanner! But just call me Chris; I ain’t that big of a fan of my full name.

Candarice – Well thank you Chris, we owe you our lives.

Chris – Sure thing! If I hadn’t shown up I’m sure you’d be nothin’ but a pile of bones by now!

Candarice – Yeah… hey Chris, do you mind if we ask you one more favor?

Chris – Well… sure, shoot it out, whatcha need?

Candarice – Well you see my friend here… Leon. Well his sister was stuck in the nurse’s office when this all went south, I’m wondering if you could maybe help us fight our way there?
Chris – The uh… nurses office you say? Well isn’t that were they were keepin’ all them infected? I don’t know how to tell ya’ll this but um…

Leon – Just shut the fuck up okay! I don’t want to hear it!  I know my sister is alive in there! She’s got to be! If you don’t want to help then that’s fine, we don’t fucking need you! I’ll go get her by myself if I have to!

Chris – Now hold up now no need to be all rash… I never said I wouldn’t help, What I was going to say was I doubt you’ll like what you’re gonna find.

Leon – Just keep it to your fucking self… well, if you’re going to help then we’d better get moving I’m sure she’s probably frightened to death in there.

The group marches on down the halls with Christ reluctantly leading the charge, fending off the roaming infected with his baseball bat as they come near.

Finally the Nurses office comes to view. The hallway was strangely barren, what used to be bustling with people in a huge line outside the office is now nothing more then memories and blood stains. As they came closer upon the office they noticed the doors were sealed shut.

Leon – Damnit! It’s sealed shut! Can one of you find a way to open this damn door?

Chris – here… just stand back and I’ll see what I can do.

Chris repeatedly tackles at the door, budging slightly with each forceful motion, he signals at Candarice to help him. Together, with one final forceful lunge, the door flies open.