George chuckled nervously, “Guys… is this a prank? It has to be a prank, right?”
The two figures came closer and closer to the school, and eventually they were no longer clouded by the fog. Everyone gasped audibly. One of the figures turned out to be a young female student. Eric guessed she was a freshman. The problem was that blood was pouring out of her neck. A third of her neck was gone, like something took a bite out of her. The person next to her was a middle aged man. He had a bloody mouth and a bent leg. They walked forward slowly.
Everyone connected the dots. That middle aged man just bit into the student’s neck. That was horrible, sure. Everybody knew about crazy murderers and psychopaths, but who knew about their victim standing up like everything was normal and walking with them afterward? Nobody!
George took a step backwards and pointed at the female student, “That’s a fucking zombie, bro. A zombie!!”
“You can’t be serious, George,” Eric said with a frown.
“Yeah, shut the hell up, George,” Rebecca said with pale face.
George clasped his head, “You all saw what I saw. Look at her neck, bro! She’s dead!”
Everybody turned to look back at the female student’s neck. She was closer than before, so everybody got a good look. They saw that her eyes were unfocused and her mouth was hanging open. Most importantly, a screen was above her head.
Level 1 Zombie
Health: 10/10
Chapter 2
“See! I was right!” George said, although he wasn’t happy about it.
Eric looked at the person next to the student and found the same screen hovering above their head.
Level 1 Zombie
Health: 10/10
The two zombies disappeared from view. They were on the 3rd floor, so they couldn’t see what the zombies were doing. Eric unlocked the window and slid it open. Rebecca grabbed his hand and hissed, “What are you doing, Eric?!”
Eric looked over at her, “I need to see if they entered inside or not.”
“O-okay, don’t fall!” Rebecca let go of his hand and took a step back to give him some space.
Eric took a deep breath before poking his head out the window. Their classroom was above the main entrance of the high school. Eric looked down before pulling his head back inside. He turned around only to find everyone else staring at him. Rebecca gulped, “Well?”
Eric shook his head, “They can’t get inside. They’re just banging on the doors.”
Everyone let out a collective sigh of relief. At least they were safe for now. Mr. Wes pulled out his cellphone and said, “Everyone, be quiet. I’m going to call the police.”
Mr. Wes dialed 911 as fast as he could. Everyone fell silent and listened in. They could all hear the ringing followed by a robotic voice saying, “All operators are currently unavailable.”
Rebecca frowned, “How is that possible?”
“Uhh, guys…” George tapped Eric’s shoulder.
Eric looked over at George, “What’s wrong?”
George’s finger shook as he pointed out the window. Eric followed his finger only for his mouth to hang open in shock. Figure after figure appeared from the fog. All of them walked slowly. One of them had a missing arm, yet they didn’t seem to care at all. Their mouth was hanging open and their eyes were looking straight at them. Shivers ran up Eric’s spine as he made eye contact with the zombie.
Everyone froze as they witnessed at least a hundred zombies exit the fog from the parking lot. The cell phone fell from Mr. Wes hand. The zombies weren’t silent, they were groaning as they walked. The sound traveled to the 3rd floor and passed through the window. Rebecca promptly slid the window shut, blocking off the creepy sound. Her face was deathly pale as she muttered, “Fuck, fuck, fuck.”
Several other students quickly opened their phones and dialed 911, only for a robot to tell them no operators were available. Banging from below could now be heard. The combined might of a hundred zombies were hitting the doors.
“Fuck this man, I’m outta here,” Jordan said before running towards the classroom door.
His response caused a chain reaction among the students. Panic set in. Student after student ran towards the door. Jordan made his way out, but the people behind him got stuck. Too many were trying to exit the door at once. The people behind them continued to push.
Mr. Wes shouted, “Calm down! Don’t panic!”
His shouting couldn’t overcome the screaming of the students. Eric was one of the few who didn’t panic. He knew someone who would have a good idea of what to do. He pulled out his phone and dialed his best friend. As the phone rang, Eric muttered, “Come on, come on, pick up.”
A few seconds later, Michael’s voice came from the other side of the phone, “Did you get the screen too?”
Eric began to explain what he just witnessed, “Forget about that. Y’know how my class faces the parking lot? Well, I just saw a freshman get eaten and turn into a zombie. Right now, there are over 100 zombies banging on the front entrance of the school. Some of us tried to dial 911, but there were no operators.”
Michael fell silent. Eric watched as his classmates finally made it out of the room. Next to him were Rebecca and George. George was crouched down with his back to the wall. He held his hands over his ears. Rebecca was talking to someone on the phone. Mr. Wes was helping a student who got trampled.
“Okay, I understand,” Michael said after a few moments, “Meet me at the gym.”
“Got it,” Eric hung up and looked down at George. He clasped his shoulder, “George, get up. We can’t stay here.”
George shook at the touch of Eric’s arm. He looked up and let out a sigh of relief that it was just his friend. Eric pressed him with a firm voice, “Follow me, George. Now.”
“O-okay…” George stood up and followed Eric to the classroom door.
“Wait! Where are you guys going?” Rebecca ran up to them with her phone in her hand.
“To the gym,” Eric responded.
“What, why?”
Eric shrugged indifferently, “I don’t know. Michael said to meet me there.”
“Michael? The student president, right?” Rebecca thought for a moment before saying, “Okay, I’ll come with you.”
Mr. Wes was helping the injured student stand and couldn’t help but overhear their conversation. He called out, “Wait. I’ll come too.”
Eric and his group left the classroom and entered the hallway. A few teachers stood outside their classroom doors and were looking around in confusion. The screaming from the students in Eric’s classroom alarmed the entire floor. The teacher’s eyes lit up as they saw Mr. Wes enter the hallway. One of them called out, “Ed, what’s going on?”
Mr. Wes shook his head, “There are zombies in the parking lot. Lots of them. Andy, go inform the principal. Tell him to lock all of the doors of the school to prevent any zombies from getting inside.”
“Are you shitting me, Ed?” Andy said in disbelief. He was in shock because of the screen appearing, but zombies? That was too unbelievable.
Mr. Wes’ face was pale as he screamed, “SHUT THE FUCK UP AND DO IT ANDY!”
Andy’s mouth gaped open in surprise. A moment later his face grew solemn as he nodded, “Alright.”
Eric and his group went right, while the teacher named Andy went left. He sprinted as fast as possible to the Principal’s office. They were currently on the 3rd floor in the center of the school. The gym was on the far left side on the 1st floor. It would take a few minutes to get there. Eric and his group walked as fast as they could without leaving behind Mr. Wes and the injured student.
At each corner, George’s heart clenched in anxiety. What if one appeared right there, right around the corner? Eric was unconcerned as he continued forward fearlessly. Each time, George let out a sigh of relief.
More and more students were walking in the hallway now. They didn’t know about the zombies, but all of them experienced the screen appearing. Only Eric and
his group had a destination in mind. They reached the stairway and walked down to the first floor. They were right next to the gym now.
“Over here!” Michael’s voice came from down the hallway. Eric and his group ran up to Michael. They stood just before the gym doors.
“What’s the plan?” Eric said with full confidence in Michael.
Michael raised his arm and dangled a key from his hand. He grinned, “Just a little breaking and entering.”
“Hah, I’d never thought to hear the student president say that,” Rebecca chuckled.
Michael was the student president of the school. This gave him access to rooms students weren’t usually allowed into. He went into the janitor’s room and swiped a key that opened every door in the building. With a click, Michael unlocked the gym doors. They entered a large gym. A high quality basketball court stood before them, along with a set of bleachers stacked alongside the wall.
Michael spoke to Eric, “Where do they keep the sports equipment?”
“Over here,” Eric lead the way to a set of doors on the far side of the gym. Eric played baseball for his freshman year, so he knew where they kept the equipment.
Michael used the janitor’s key to unlock the door. The door led to a decently sized storage room. Basketballs, soccer balls, baseballs, and all sorts of gym equipment could be seen. They were all organized neatly.
“Aha! Exactly as I thought,” Michael nodded in satisfaction.
Michael entered the room and approached a bin of bats. He picked up a heavy metal baseball bat and took a stance. He practiced a few swings before nodding in satisfaction, “Good enough.”
Michael tossed the bat over to Eric. Eric caught it with a grin, “Now I feel more comfortable.”
Eric looked down at the bat as old memories surfaced. He played all types of sports when he was younger. He’d play soccer for a season, lose interest, and then change to another. It was only in his sophomore year that he finally found his passion. All of a sudden, a screen appeared above the baseball bat.
Metal Baseball Bat
Damage: 3
Durability: 125/125
“Huh?” Eric thought to himself, “What does damage and durability mean?”
Before he could tell Michael of his findings, the principal’s voice came from the speaker, “This is not a drill. It has come to my attention that hundreds of zombies have surrounded the school. At first I didn’t believe it, but cameras cannot lie. Whether or not they are zombies isn’t important. What is important is that hundreds of intruders have surrounded the school. I have ordered the faculty that all doors leading outside must be locked and blocked off. We will gather in the cafeteria and wait for authorities to arrive. I repeat, this is not a drill.”
The message repeated once more before the speaker turned off. Rebecca spat, “Hah, I don’t think the police are going to be coming any time soon.”
Screams suddenly came from behind them. Everybody spun around and found a student entering the gym. The door they came through led to outside. More students entered the gym through the door, all of them screaming along the way.
Realization dawned upon Michael as he exclaimed, “Gym class was outside!”
Chapter 3
Eric ran towards the gym door while calling out, “George, grab a weapon and come!”
“Ehh,” George took a step backwards. He looked at the baseball bat in the storage room, but couldn’t find the courage to go over.
Michael grabbed a metal bat for himself and ran after Eric. They reached the gym door just as a student with a bloody arm came through. The injured student’s face was pale as she muttered, “What the hell is happening? What are those things?”
Eric and Michael found an opening and rushed outside. In front of them were multiple fields. The school district wasn’t lacking wealth, so they had a baseball field, a track field, and a football field. They couldn’t see them because of the fog, but they knew they were there. Eric and Michael kept their eyes peeled for any figures in the fog.
“Faster, faster! Run back to the gym!” A deep voice came from the fog. Eric and Michael recognized the voice as the gym teacher, Mr. Gray
Eric and Michael stood guard at the door as over ten students made it inside. Groaning could now be heard in the distance. The zombies were coming. A student that made it back to the gym called out, “Come inside, quickly! I’m going to lock it!”
“Don’t you dare!” Eric shouted without turning around, “There is still Mr. Gray!”
“Tch,” The student clicked their tongue as they fled further into the gym.
Eric and Michael waited with their bats at the ready. Eric’s heart was thumping in his chest, but his resolve only strengthened. A figure suddenly came sprinting out of the fog. Eric’s eyes lit up as he recognized them. Eric asked quickly, “Mr. Gray, are there any more?”
Mr. Gray was a giant. Some would mistake him for a bodybuilder, but he was just a humble gym teacher. He carried a student in each arm as he ran. As he passed them he responded, “No! I made sure of it!”
Michael’s eyes narrowed as he saw the condition of the two students being carried by Mr. Gray. They were unconscious, and a trail of blood was left on the ground. Michael turned around and began to head towards the gym door, only to find a figure not far from the door. He called out, “Eric, on your left!”
Eric snapped his head to the side and found a zombie next to the gym door. It came from the side, not the front. It would make it inside before they returned. Eric roared as he tightened his grip on the metal bat. He sprinted at full speed towards the zombie with his arms raised. When he reached the zombie, he planted his foot on the ground and twisted his waist. His stance was similar to hitting a baseball.
The bat struck the zombie head on. A cracking sound rang out as the zombie’s nose flattened. The zombie was sent flying backwards and landed on the ground with a thud.
A small screen appeared in front of Eric.
-6
Eric looked down at the zombie and saw that the screen above its head changed.
Level 1 Zombie
Health: 4/10
“It’s still alive?” He mused to himself. The groaning of the zombie below him confirmed his guess.
Michael called out to him, “Stop dawdling!”
Erin looked over and saw Michael at the gym door. He was the last one outside. Just as he turned to run, a hand grasped his leg. He looked down and saw the zombie about to bite into his leg. He reacted quickly and swung down with all his strength.
-4
The zombie collapsed on the ground, motionless. The zombie suddenly lit up. It glowed bright white before dissipating into motes of light. To Eric’s alarm, the light flew into his body. A screen appeared in front of him, followed by two more.
10 XP Acquired.
You are now level 2.
You have gained 1 Stat Point.
“Come on! More are behind you!” Michael called out again.
The groaning of zombies could be heard behind him. Eric didn’t spare a glance behind him as he ran towards the gym door. As soon as he ran through the door, Michael slammed it shut. He calmly took the janitor’s key from his pocket and locked the door. He turned around and scanned the gym, evaluating the situation.
George was still frozen by the storage room. Mr. Wes was tending to the injured student from Eric’s classroom, while Rebecca was talking to the student’s from the gym class. Mr. Gray was covered in blood as he set down the two unconscious student’s. No, wait. Michael’s eyes narrowed as he saw one of the unconscious students twitch. He sprinted towards Mr. Gray as he shouted, “Get away from her!”
Mr. Gray looked over in confusion, only to wince in pain. He looked down to find his student biting into his neck. He grew confused, “Sally?”
Eric looked over at the commotion, his eyes dimmed as he realized what happened. He followed after Michael. When the student didn’t let go, Mr. Gray instead grew angry. He used his hands to push Sally’s head with
his full strength. He successfully pried Sally away, but a chunk of his neck was bitten off. He grabbed his neck and took a few steps backwards as he cussed, “What the fuck are you doing?”
Michael arrived at this time. He looked down to see the other student beginning to awaken. He pointed with the bat, “Look, both of them have a screen above their head.”
Everyone in the gym was looking over, and they all saw the now familiar screen.
ZOMBIE SLAYER!!: A LitRPG Apocalypse Page 2