The Rise of the Dead: “Through My Eyes”
|| Chapter 1: The Beginning ||
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"You guys seriously need to pay attention. As I've mentioned before, you have a quiz on these chapters which is highly important, as it is worth half of your grade!" Mr. Sterling emphasized heavily through gritted teeth, waving a book in hand as he stood at the front of the class, staring at each of his students to make them understand and care. The class wasn't paying attention. Mr. Sterling pressed his lips to a thin line like paper as he leaned against his desk. A sigh left his lips as he glanced at something.
From where I was sitting, I couldn't help but feel sorry for him. Kids in high school were ruthless and ignorant. All teachers were trying to do was teach the children, praying that they'd graduate and at least managed to learn something out of their years in high school. Mr. Sterling was a decent teacher. He was an English teacher who taught to freshmen and sophomores. In my class it was a mix. Majority were freshmen like me, and the rest were sophomores. In my experience, I found high school to be just somewhat. I wasn't popular nor was I involved in any school activities. In short terms, I was a loner. I didn't have friends and the idea of making any was absolutely terrifying. I wasn't always a loner. In elementary and middle school, I was a talkative person. I had a big group of friends and was genuinely liked. I don't know why it so happened to change. I guess that's what people mean by "high school can change you and others around you." Having nobody by my side sucked. And you want to know what sucked even more? Being a wimp. You were an easy target and not anything you said or did, made anybody take you serious, not even an ounce. Being a loner and a wimp meant that I only really had myself. I mean, my thoughts kept me company, so I guess it wasn't too bad.
"Rachel? Rachel! It's your turn to read!" Mr. Sterling shouted at me. It startled me as I came back to reality. I looked around to see that Mr. Sterling somehow managed to tame the classroom, and that everyone was waiting on me. I guess they could see the embarrassment on my face which erupted some giggles and whispering. My cheeks felt hot. I stared down at my book and looked back up to see Mr. Sterling who was staring down at me with such disappointment. "You probably don't even know where we're at. For goodness sakes, can someone tell Rachel what page we're on?" Mr. Sterling said in a sarcastic tone. It was the kind that made you feel like you were in a circus, a darn joke. I felt the heat rush to my ears now as a student next to me whispered to me the page and pointed to a paragraph. I thanked them quietly before I took a deep breath to read before I was interrupted. The school's intercom came on. It was our principal, Principal Hawthorne.
"Good afternoon, teachers and staff. I would like for all teachers and staff to please report to my office as I have something very important to discuss. Thank you." Principal Hawthorne informed as her voice echoed throughout the school and then everything went silent. Students looked at each other with a similar expression of confusion. Mr. Sterling chewed his lip with his brows furrowed. It was clear he wasn't expecting that. He looked at his class.
"I'll be back. Don't do anything stupid—in fact a thing you could all do is study chapters 13-16 for your quiz tomorrow." Mr. Sterling asserted with a finger as he left the class room. With just about a few seconds of silent, the volume was raised to a ten. Everyone began talking at once, sharing their confusions and suspicions about what the odd meeting was about. I looked around not knowing exactly what to do. Most of the "popular" students were hanging in the back discussing while some other students either kept to themselves, listened to music, played games on their electronics, or actually listened to what Mr. Sterling asked of us. I couldn't help but be a little nosy as I looked back at the "popular" students talking. Even I was confused and suspicious too, but no way was I going to engage in their conversation. I was too much of a coward.
"I just feel like that's so weird. Even Mr. Sterling was confused about it." Daniella pointed out, chewing bubble gum as she spoke. Daniella Rose was one of the popular students at school. She was absolutely beautiful and a nice catch, too bad the spotlight wasn't shared with her sister, Samantha. Jamie huffed as he leaned back in his chair, not as worried as Daniella was. It was funny you know, Daniella Rose and Jamie St. Clerk used to date way back in elementary school. I know it's crazy, yet too bad it lasted until the end of middle school. The whole school thought they'd be each other's soulmates for sure, even me. They were impeccable together, I couldn't lie. Both great looking, you couldn't deny it. If I remember correctly, the reason they broke up because Jamie found Daniella to be "disordered" and "clingy." It broke Daniella hugely. I remember one day during 5th period, Ms. Bishop's class, Daniella was having a rough time handling the break up. She excused herself to go to the bathroom and was there for quite some time. Eventually myself, I had to use the bathroom as well. Making my way there, I could hear soft cries. The type of cries you've been holding in for so long but since you're in public, you can't fully let yourself go. When I entered the bathroom, I suppose Daniella had heard me. She immediately went quiet, sniffling here and there, as she went into the mirror to fix herself. I watched her for a bit, feeling sorry for her. Jamie was a douche.
"Cool your tits, Dani. I doubt it's nothing." Jamie brushed it off with a scoff as he nonchalantly rose his arms behind his head, with his gaze to the window. Dani stared at Jamie with wide eyes and she covered her chest. That's Jamie St. Clerk. He was a total jerk. It wasn't meant to rhyme, but it was the truth. His dad was a CEO at a marketing company that was highly successful. He was your typical filthy rich scum who was annoyingly handsome. I didn't like him.
Jamie's goons, Scout and Austin Cromwell also known as "TweedleDee and TweedleDum" or just the "Tweedles" snickered. Samantha rolled her eyes at their stupid behavior. Scout and Austin were a set of ginger twins, with Austin being slightly younger. I knew Scout and Austin since they had the same PE class as me in 7th grade of Coach Hamil's class. I laughed each time I decide to remember those days. The two made Coach Hamil's life miserable. In the 8th grade, was when the two started hanging with Jamie and Dani and Samantha.
"Can we talk about something else? Schools ending and I want to start planning for the summer, than waste time speaking on something that means nothing. All teachers and staff have meetings throughout the day." Samantha expressed with exhaustion. She earned an eye roll from a few, one being obvious and that was from Dani.
"Hush it, Sammie." Dani mocked her. Samantha narrowed her eyes.
"It's Samantha. I don't go by Sammie anymore." Samantha corrected Dani, but it was clear as day that she didn't care. The rest laughed lightly, but Samantha didn't crack a smile.
"Lighten up, Sam." TweedleDee said lightly heartily as he nudged Samantha's shoulder which only made her annoyed. TweedleDee smirked, finding it amusing to annoy her.
"We should plan for the summer. A trip on my yacht?" Jamie suggested. The others chimed in excitedly and Samantha sighed deeply. Looking at her, I couldn't help but feel bad. Even in the "popular" group, she was mistreated the most. It was funny, considering she was Dani's sister. Even funnier, since they were twins, with Samantha being younger. I knew Samantha and all of them since elementary school. Samantha was always treated differently. It was normal for her. I remembered in middle school was when people started talking about how Dani was the prettier twin, and that Samantha would never live up to her. They said it like it was a fact—it wasn't even opinion-based. Samantha was an outcast trying her hardest to fit in. Despite us being the same age, I somewhat felt her. I can't imagine the feeling being compared to another person, especially to someone who is you, just in a different perspective in front of a mirror.
Just then, a loud alarm came on the schools' intercom. It was strange. The alarm was only used whether the school was in danger like a shooting or gas leak or an uninvited person. Stuff like that. Though not.
"Attention to all Hawthorne-Ridge students. This is your principal, Principal Hawthorne. I have come to announce an important change that is occurring at our school. I was not supposed to say, but I have to for the sake of everyone." She cleared her throat. "Students are becoming ill and with the illness, it is causing them to act with violence and not respond to normal human interactions. Please be aware of them, and do not let them interact with you in any way. The best solution is to stay in your classrooms, until we have this sorted out with the ambulances and the police to keep you all safe. Thank you." Principal Hawthorne informed as the intercom went quiet again. Everyone looked at each other with even more confusion and concern.
"Ambulance? Police?" TweedleDee head rolled back. He then began to tap his finger with his chin. "It's not infected, eh?" TweedleDee asked. TweedleDum did the same thing and they looked at each other. Jamie shook his head fast, refusing to believe something as ridiculous as that.
"It's nothing. They always say things like this. Remember when old-Wise here was sick with conjunctivitis? The whole school went on a lockdown and everyone had to be scanned and checked, just before entering the campus." Jamie reminded as he gave a side glance at Wise, who was sitting a few seats away from me. Wise perched up in his chair and adjusted his glasses.
"It was a while back! We don't need to bring up the past." Wise defended himself lightly but Jamie shot him a look, and he backed down. William Wise was a pretty decent guy and intelligent; it's why everyone calls him Wise. He always got the highest scores and always got recognized by colleges or universities, so his life was practically planned out ahead for him. I only ever talked to him a few times here and there, mostly for projects or partner works. He didn't treat me like trash and surprisingly knew my name. I liked Wise.
"Sure, Wise. Sure." Jamie said with a hint of sarcasm as he eyed Wise. Wise shook his head.
"The information we've received from Principal Hawthorne, we should likely take precautions. If what she says is true, we should protect the classroom." Wise suggested looking at the "popular" group and around the classroom.
"Like defense?" Samantha asked, wanting clarification, as she heard Wise out. Wise nodded but Dani was quick to shake her head.
"Woah, Woah, Woah. Defense? Precautions? What are we? In danger?" Dani questioned in a bit of a frantic with worry.
"We don't know that for sure, but it's always good to take precautions, you know? To have the upper hand." Wise reassured Dani. Jamie scoffed and muttered something underneath his breath.
"This is ridiculous. We're not in danger. This isn't some... apocalypse! Teachers and staff disappear to a meeting half an hour ago, we get an announcement from our principal 10 minutes ago, and yet nothing happens!" Jamie jeered in denial. "The police and ambulance will handle it. Let's just wait it out. That's the best thing to do." He added. Wise put his hands on his hips.
"Apocalypse or not, we need to be prepared. Principal Hawthorne said on the intercom that the illness is causing people to not act on human behaviors or interactions. That means they don't have control over themselves. From all the comics I've read about the apocalyptic world, it practically sounds like infected!" Wise argued back. Jamie arched his brows in disliking. He didn't like when someone talked to him in a certain way. I guess his ego was just too big.
There was a bit of silence before a harsh, blood-curdling scream came tearing down the halls, along with loud fast footsteps like a person was sprinting. Sprinting like their life depended upon it. Heavily. Everyone in sync, whipped their heads to the classroom door. The screams rang louder, becoming more and more terrifying.
"GET AWAY FROM ME! HELP! HELP! SOMEBODY HELP ME!" A woman wailed and roared in agony. Her voice was raw and desperate and strained. She was banging on classroom doors with urgency, trying to find safety. All of us in the classroom did no more than stayed quiet and still.
"Hey—hold on! I'm only trying to help you! The ambulance and cops are on their way, didn't you hear?” A man followed up with. "Just stop running and calm down!" The fast sprints came to a halt.
"I'm bleeding, Mr. Jayson! I am bleeding! Can't you see that?" The woman cried out to him. "Can't you see that I am dying?" Mr. Jayson was one of the math teachers at the school. He was a younger man, perhaps in his early 20's. The girls at the school found a liking to him for his young features and soothing voice. I had him earlier today—my first period class. I hated math, but he didn't make it all so bad.
"I-I can see that—but you're not dying. Help is on the way but as of now, just let me help you." Mr. Jayson offered assistance. "Do you even know what caused the bleeding?" Mr. Jayson questioned the woman.
"I-It was Ed! Ed Carter, Mr. Jayson!" She revealed. "He went batshit crazy at me and attacked me!"
"Ed Carter?" Mr. Jayson repeated, in disbelief . "The footballer?"
Hearing the interaction between the woman and Mr. Jayson was terrifying. Ed Carter going crazy? Attacking? Just what in the world was going on?
In the midst of their tense conversation, there was shocked sound that erupted. Our class were taken back by the noises. A outburst of screaming emerged and echoed down the hallway.
"No! No! No!" The woman screamed, her voice cracking. "Mr. Jayson, no!" The woman then sobbed. From our classroom door's window, we could see the shadow of a figure coming closer to it, hitting it with a loud bang. The banging noise caused everyone to jump. Dani let out a soft gasped and Samantha covered her sister's mouth to muffle out any more noise. TweedleDee and TweedleDum shared the exact same face down to the details. Jamie's tough façade seemed to crumble into fear, but yet still stiff enough to not be clearly seen... like he was holding his fear back to protect himself. I looked to my left to see Wise staring at the door, his face full of knowing what we were about to face. The figure was blocking the view from outside of the classroom. It slowly began to drag down, streaks of red left behind. There was a soft thudding sound to the ground outside the door, followed by this jagged, wet, mushy sound. A sound like something was ripping. Tearing. Pulling apart.
There were a few steps that seemed hesitant that soon turned into quick tappings that were moving away from our classroom. It went on for a bit, fading away and soon came silence. The silence was heavy and tense. No one knew what to do now.
"I knew my speculations were right..." Wise said in a soft, shaky, low tone. The words hung over all of us. Jamie looked at Wise, who also showed fear on his face. The only difference was, Wise seemed more comfortable to show it than Jamie.
"We.. we should barricade the door.." Wise spoke clearly now, looking at everyone. Jamie face hardened as he nodded and collected himself, agreeing with Wise which was highly rare of him.
"Yeah, we should." Jamie began, clearing his throat. He looked to the Tweedles and nodded his head. "Tweedles, give me a hand with the door." Jamie ordered, waving a hand in gesture for them to follow him. Slowly, Wise began to give orders to the class on how they could contribute. Soon enough, it came down to me.
"Rachel, is it?" Wise looked at me. I gave a slight nod. "Can you help with Jamie and the Tweedles with the door?" He asked of me. "We need it to be as fortified as possible. Until the ambulance comes, we need to be safe from what's out there." I cringed to myself knowing I'd have to work with the most insufferable people ever, but I nodded—I mean I had no choice did I? Slowly, I made my way over to where Jamie and the Tweedles were at.
"Lift that up! No! Not that one! Damnit you idiots! How stupid are you?" Jamie was going to give himself a stroke having to work with the Tweedles who were as dumb as a box of rocks. Jamie noticed me and eyed me up and down judgmentally. "And what are you doing here? Can't you see we're working on the door?" He gestured to it and looked at me, wanting an answer. Speaking was difficult for me but I managed to get it out.
"W-Wise sent me.. over here to help." I muttered. I sounded so cowardly and I hated it. I saw how Jamie was glaring at me and how Tweedles who were slightly behind struggling with the wall. Jamie studied my face.
"That's cute, but we're fine. We don't need an extra pair of hands. We're good." Jamie insisted as he went back to the door. I observed them for a bit. The Tweedles were throwing desks and chairs carelessly up against the door, hurrying to support it as it came crumbling down.
"Why don't you rearrange the desk and chairs oppositely? Instead of throwing it there, perhaps some structure could be beneficial?" I offered my thoughts. It was shocking to me to talk when I wasn't spoken to. Jamie glanced at me and then at the desks and chairs. He muttered something underneath his breath and nodded as he straightened himself up.
"Yeah, yeah. Tweedles, switch the desks and chairs around to fortify the door. Get on with it." Jamie told the Tweedles. They got to work right away, taking down the chaos they created. Jamie gave me a nod before going back to work. I noticed the others in the classroom were doing various jobs assigned by Wise. Dani and Samantha were closing the windows and using the curtains to not draw any attention from outside. Other classmates pitched in too.
Nightfall approached, and all of us were sitting down in our now fortified classrooms. Each hour we'd hear screams of students being consumed by the infected. The so called "ambulance" and "police" to show up must've been a sham. Maybe help never would reach us.
Wise told us not to use any lights due to his knowledge about infected and apocalypse from the various comics he has read. The only source of light we had was a small lantern from Mr. Sterling's desk when we used it last fall when it was near Halloween to tell horror stories. It was one of the few reasons why Mr. Sterling was liked.
We were all gathered around, sitting crisscrossed. Everyone turned to Wise like they depended on him. With everything, he quickly picked up on the "leader" role. Despite what happened earlier, no one really talked about what was going on.. or how they were feeling. Wise looked down at the lantern that illuminated a warm honey gold hue on his face.
"This.. this is not something I'd.. ever would've thought to ever happen. It's not like in the shows, comics, or movies I've seen—since you'd think it'd be impossible.." Wise broke the silence, speaking with disbelief more to himself.
"The impossible, always has its way of being possible.." A tomboyish girl spoke slowly. She sat with one leg propped up as she rested her arm on it. She was toying with a pocket knife. Everyone turned to her.
Her name was Allison June, but she went by AJ for short. I thought she was always cool. She was so bold, rebellious, fierce, and incredibly awesome. She wasn't well-liked by many students or teachers. She's been known to be pretty violent and unordered. I also thought she was cool since she didn't bow down to the "popular" groups' feet like a peasant. She was like a forest fire, she couldn't be put out, not without a fight.
"So what should we do ..?" Dani asked fearfully, looking at us. Every one of course, turned to Wise again. Wise was quiet for a moment before he took one deep long breath and exhaled it.
"We survive. That's what we should do." Wise proposed, meeting our vulnerable gazes.
