Tester: Survival

"Hey, what are you doing?!" Her shrilly voice rang out above the chatter, gaining attention from everyone who were presence in the confinement room. The guy in a blue flannel shirt just kept on scratching and gurgled up some intelligible words. By now, I became wary of the scene in front of me. Please don't let that guy be infected. Please. Please, don't. I tugged on my big brother's green shirt. However, he just stood there as still as the statue in our small living room at home. I began tugging more frantically and as he finally whipped around with an annoyed expression, the screaming started. The guy in the flannel shirt got his hands on some bystander and was wrestling on the ground. The girl was pushing her right palm against his jaw in an attempt to keep it close and away from her sweaty jugular. My big brother finally broke out of his trance and dragged me toward the opposite direction of what was happening.

"Don't turn around." Those three words were the last complete sentence I heard from my brother. After that it was just us and the refugees fleeing the ghosts. It all started with one man biting another, but then it spread like fire on dry grass. We managed to get out of the two-hundred-square-meters room with minimal injuries, while others were not so lucky. Screams of pain and agony could be heard over miles. I disobeyed my brother request and looked back one last time. That image would forever be burn into the back of my retina. The image of polite housewives, professional guards and hyperactive children being reduced to nothing more than flesh-ripping monsters.

*1 week ago*

Great, Japanese and Chemistry tests are on today. I am so not ready for this! Another piece of ham met its demise and along with it were tomato, lettuce and a part of the sandwich bread. It was just another annoying day, in my annoying life. My brother had just graduated high school and was taking a gap year before starting his education in becoming a battlefield medic. My mother was singing happily in the kitchen along with the Vietnamese New Year festival. Then there was my dad, who focused solely on beating his number one Chinese Chess opponent on his iPad. While, Grandparents were conversing with one another about some sales which started today at a thrift shop. Chemistry test is on spectroscopy and emission spectra. Japanese is a speaking test on our summer holiday. Great. I mumbled under my breath and at the same time cursing the subject programs. Whoever think that having two important tests on one day would help further their students' future, are idiots!

"Don't stress yourself out, kitty." My brother gentle hand rested on my head. All of my friends told me that having a sibling or siblings was not that good, because they would take your stuff without asking and blamed you for everything. I concur. My big brother was the best sibling anyone could ever hope to have.

"I am, aren't I?" I sighed. I can't help but freaking out, they are worth fifteen percent each after all. A clattering sound was heard, signaling my father had put down his iPad which also meant time for school. I turned around and hugged my brother and waved to the rest of the family. Words of encouragement rang out greeting me goodbye. We got into our Mazda 2 and drove out the driveway. The traffic was not that bad and we made to school with plenty of time to spare. With a quick goodbye, my dad pulled away and I began my trek toward my group. Before they could see me, I already heard the heated conversation on the function of the spectroscope and Japanese sentences were being discussed.

"'Sup late-comer. We thought you bailed on us." Tommy yelled out as soon as he laid eyes on me.

"Shut up." I replied, jokingly bumping his shoulder. That was that, before his short attention span swiveled over to Marz, his girlfriend and my bestie. My ex-boyfriend was nowhere to be seen. He properly walked off when I came. Our one year relationship was perfect with a few hiccups along the way, like the breakup up period, the individual's motivation and my suicidal attempt. Those would be stories for another day.

"Are you ready, Marie?" Songhi asked me while flicking through her test notes. She was the kindest and most beautiful girl in our group. To be honest, I was a bit jealous of her and at the same time admire her. Her writing was unmatchable, it was like cursive printing on paper.

*Ring*

"Right, people let's do our best today in the tests!" Alex called out excitedly, but was met with a few grumbles.

"Good luck, Alex." I replied while smiling at him. After the break up, I began noticing him more. Especially when we were sitting in the library after school for homework club and heatedly discussed what we would do in case of a zombie apocalypse. The zombie would be The Walking Dead zombie and the scenario was Owl, Alex, Trent and I were stuck together. We went through almost all possibilities about ration, shelter, weapons and rescue missions.

I arrived at the classroom and took my test position. The teacher said a couple of mandatory encouraging words before handing us our test papers. All of our bags were placed at the front of the classroom prior to taking our seats. Pens, pencils, rulers and correction tapes were littering students' desks as they internally freaking out.

Ten minutes into the test, I began to lose my chain of thoughts. Oh, god. I am going to fail! Right, focus. Emission spectra is a range-Yells and screams rang out as clear as the school siren. I looked up and everyone in the class halted their actions as I was. We began looking around, and some were panicking. Our chemistry teacher tried to calm us down and said that it was probably nothing. I knew it was not nothing because I could read his expression like a children's book. His bushy brow knitted together and he was fidgeting with his thumbs. For the first time in my life, I openly disobeyed the teacher's order. I quickly finished the rest of the test, in case my instinct decided to play a prank on me. As I handed in the test ahead of my class, the P.A. announcement came on.

"We advise all teachers to follow the evacuation plan, immediately!" It was cut off suddenly but not before we heard screams and growls.

That was finally the cue for chaos. It was true, the saying that you could see the real character in people in bad situations. I left my favorite pens behind and quickly scooped up my bag. At the same time, trying to calculate what I should leave behind and what would be useful to keep. Most of my classmates were pulling out their phone and ringing home. Some had tears running down their eyes. Even the toughest boy in the class was crying. Damn it, why don't I have the same class as my group?! I dumped out my heavy text books but kept my lunch box and keys. Nothing was really useful in my bag except the knife.