Chapter 11 #2
I yanked my arm free and stumbled backward just as his teeth snapped shut inches from my skin. He lunged again, scrambling to his feet with a movement that didn’t match what his body should’ve been capable of.
“Jerry, stop!” I shouted.
He slammed into the wall, rebounded, and came at me again.
That’s when the screaming started.
Not from me, but in the direction of the gym.
I turned and sprinted, just ahead of Jerry, out of the classroom and slammed the door in his face. I locked it, watching him snarl and slobber through the window in fascination.
The screaming coming from the gym grew in intensity, as did the noise in the hallway from Misty throwing herself at the door.
It broke me out of my trance.
My head was whirling with chaotic thoughts as I headed in that direction.
What the hell had caused this? How far had it spread?
As I approached the gym, the doors burst open.
Lila came flying out first, Ethan Holt right behind her.
“Mr. Rowen!” she screamed. “She—Coach just—”
She didn’t finish.
I cracked open the door and saw Coach Daniels. Her whistle bounced against her chest, streaked red. Blood smeared her mouth, and her jaw worked as if she were chewing. Her eyes were fully clouded—milky and unfocused.
She barreled straight into a sophomore girl who hadn’t moved fast enough.
The girl went down hard.
Coach Daniels dropped with her and bit into her shoulder with a sound that ripped through the gym.
“Oh my God,” I whispered.
This was completely insane.
Keeping her in sight, I opened the doors.
Students screamed and scattered through the large space, some frozen in shock, others crashing into the bleachers and each other in blind panic.
“Run!” I shouted. “Everyone out—now!”
A couple of students headed in my direction, running past me.
Coach Daniels rose from her first victim and lunged again.
A boy near the bleachers doubled over, clawing at his stomach.
Another student dropped to her knees, retching violently.
A third staggered into the wall, slamming his head hard enough that I heard the crack—then let out a thin, broken chuckle that rattled from his throat.
Too wet, too breathless—like he was trying to laugh without remembering how.
“My God,” Ethan whispered, still standing behind me.
Another boy snapped his head up and drove his teeth into the neck
of the girl closest to him, who was trying to climb the bleachers.
Everything had fractured.
“MOVE!” I screamed.
Students surged for the exits, bodies colliding, screams overlapping. One girl tripped and was gone before anyone could reach her. Another turned mid-run, eyes already clouding, and tackled someone twice her size with terrifying force.
This wasn’t spreading slowly. It was like a wildfire out of control.
“Mr. Rowen!” Lila cried.
I grabbed her wrist and shoved her forward, Ethan on her other side, three more students clinging close behind us like ducklings who knew they were prey.
“Stay together!” I yelled. “Don’t touch anyone bleeding!”
A cheerleader slammed into the lockers behind us, convulsing. A boy tried to help her, and she bit him in the face.
We ran.
I raced through the science wing and skidded to a stop at the teachers’ lounge. The door was thick, solid wood, with a narrow window reinforced with wire glass.
“In!” I ordered.
They rushed inside. I slammed the door and turned the lock as something heavy struck it from the hallway.
The sound echoed.
Once.
Twice.
We shoved tables and chairs against it, hands shaking, breath ragged.
Someone sobbed openly now.
Someone else whispered a prayer.
I pressed my back to the barricade, breathing hard. A fist pounded once—hard enough to rattle the glass. Then another.
Then so many I couldn’t count.
“They’re—” one student whispered. “They’re everywhere.”
I looked at the small group huddled in the lounge—Ethan, Lila, Lane Strong, and two younger students. Blood smeared shoes. Torn clothes. Shock written across every face.
Five students out of the more than fifty that had been in the gym.
I pulled my phone from my pocket.
One bar.
I typed fast.
School compromised. Multiple attacks. I’m barricaded in the lounge with students.
Send.
The message hung for a breathless second.
Then—
Nothing. Shit!
I’d just have to keep trying. Sometimes, with a text, it would stay in the cloud until it had enough signal to send.
I took a deep breath and lifted my head, reminding myself that I was the adult here and needed to step up. I was determined not to let the five lives in this room be lost to whatever the fuck this was.
“Listen to me,” I kept my voice steady, even though I felt anything but. “We stay silent, assess our supplies, and try to clean up. It’s crucial that anyone exposed to bodily fluids washes them off immediately. I’ve sent a text, so help is on the way." I prayed that Adrian would get my message.
“What about Jerry?” Lila whispered.
My chest tightened. “I’m sorry.”
I knew my words weren’t enough, but it’s all I had at the moment.
Lila started crying, and Ethan put his arm around her.
The pounding on the door suddenly stopped. Yet somehow, the quiet felt more threatening.