"CARA!? WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?!" screeched Pranav. He was confused. Cara was Pranav’s other friend, but she was the type of person who was strict, so being here instead of going to a camp she was so excited about was confusing. What was even more confusing was the fact that she was with Regine, an individual Cara was not very fond of.
“Chill out, lil bro. I already know what questions you’re gonna ask so let me break it down for you. I’m here 'cause Regine is on her period. I asked the school to give us a moment so I could help her. But by the time we managed to prevent it a little and came downstairs, the whole cohort was missing. Presumably because they were busy ranting about a certain three people as they were missing. Care to guess who? But anyways, after the school left we came down to the nurse’s office which was surprisingly empty. Then we were searching for pads. When you barged in with a pen knife.”
Pranav felt awkward for a minute. Then he proceeded to reply with a “Um, you wanna escape out of here after searching for the pads?” Both Regine and Cara looked at each other. They were confused about what was going on. Pranav, clearly looking at their reactions, found out that they were confused. He then proceeded to enlighten them with the news.
Cara and Regine were laughing their heads off. This was clearly some kind of joke. But soon they looked at Pranav, who had a disgusted face. This was real. Cara and Pranav had only been friends since the start of the school year, but they knew each other quite well, and this time she could tell he was not joking. The two pulled out their phones and scrolled through the news. They just realized that the apocalypse had started. I told them to grab all the medicine they could get their hands on and also the pads while they were at it. I proceeded to go back to the cafeteria to tell Keith what happened.
“I found Cara and Regine. They didn’t know about the apocalypse, and when I broke the news they looked crushed. Turns out they were stuck here because Regine was on her period and Cara helped her,” Pranav said. Keith replied with, “Don’t Cara and Regine have beef, but never mind that. How do you plan on leaving with all this stuff?”
Right as Pranav was about to answer, Cayden came running, carrying something they would never think of. “Cayden, give me one logical explanation on why we need a mini-fridge,” Keith asked. Cayden just told Pranav and Keith to trust the process.
“Well, Keith, to get out of here we need a vehicle. One that isn’t loud, 'cause if I’m right, we need to be as silent as possible so that we don’t draw much attention,” Pranav said.
“How about an EV?” asked Keith.
Without any hesitation, Pranav slapped Keith and said, “An EV would be gay. Let’s just use a hybrid. It’s much quieter than a normal car and can also travel long distances. I noticed a silver arrow parked outside the school on my way here.”
Just as they finalized which car they would be taking, Regine and Cara walked out of the General Office looking upset. The two obviously didn’t find any pads. But they brought along all the medicines they could find just like Pranav asked them.
“Why do you guys need a mini-fridge? Also, why is Cayden sweating so much?” asked Regine.
Cayden replied with “nothing.”
The 5 then made their way out of the building. They turned back and looked at the school. It was probably the last time they would see the school. They then made their way across the street to a nearby seating area, where they placed their bags down and started looking around the Car Park for the hybrid silver arrow. The group split up into groups which consisted of Cayden and Regine, Pranav and Keith, and finally Cara since she was chill about the fact she was going to be alone.
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Pranav: “Keith, it’s so obvious, right?”
Keith: “What do you mean?”
Pranav: “Cayden likes Regine!”
Keith: ”Stop being so nosy, Pranav. At least he’ll pull Regine. All you can pull is a push door.”
Pranav was wide-eyed. He stopped talking and started looking around. There were a bunch of Silver Arrow cars but not a single one of them was a hybrid. Until eventually they heard a loud scream. Pranav and Keith ran towards the source of the scream. They reached the far end of the car park. It was Regine. She was on the ground. Screaming in agony. Cara soon came afterwards. She asked Pranav to get the bags since she took painkillers from the nurse’s office, while she ordered Cayden and Keith to continue looking for a hybrid. Pranav and Cayden started walking in different directions. Pranav started walking towards the seating area. By the looks of it, it seemed as if it was 20 mins away. He eventually decided to run, because Regine was most likely in agony.
Upon reaching his destination, there seemed to be a strange figure looking through their stuff. He was a male, looked to be about in his early 30’s. He was dark-skinned and looked to be as fit as a fiddle. There was no way Pranav could take this man on his own. He rummaged through his pockets expecting to find the pen knife, but there was nothing. It was at that moment he realized that he left his pen knife in his back. To his luck, the 5 teenagers locked their belongings with a padlock. However, the only items that were vulnerable and were out in the open were the items Keith scavenged in level 3. These were some of the most important items. They consisted of electric generators, batteries, flashlights, etc. Knowing that he couldn't take a full-grown man by himself, Pranav looked at his surroundings. He found a stone. He used all his might and chucked it across the seating area. It landed on the road near the school. The man must’ve been paranoid. He started running away immediately, thinking that he was in some kind of danger. So as to not raise suspicion, Pranav quietly put all of their bags onto the trolley and walked towards Cara and Regine.
Cayden and Keith, on the other hand, found a Silver Arrow Hybrid. As luck would have it, the owner had even left their keys inside the vehicle. Using a sharp twig, they managed to pry the window open and grab the keys. Since Keith had experience driving cars, he drove the vehicle to Regine's location.
Cayden, Keith, and Pranav arrived at the area Cara was at. Pranav started loading the bags and the trolley into the trunk and passed Cara the painkillers. Pranav then started driving the vehicle. Keith was in the front passenger seat while Cayden, Cara, and Regine were at the back. Cayden was clearly trying to hide his smile. He was so happy. It was confirmed. Cayden definitely liked Regine.
Just as they started driving, they heard a yell. They all looked behind. There was a male in a green windbreaker. It was the man Pranav had seen earlier. He was shouting, “HEY! THIEVES! SOMEBODY HELP. SOMEONE’S STEALING MY CAR!” Pranav rammed his foot onto the accelerator. He turned around a corner and instead of waiting for the barrier to open, he rammed through it, leaving red and white debris all around the area. The whole place was almost empty. Only four or five cars were driving on the roads. Keith looked at the car’s in-built GPS. There was heavy traffic near the outskirts of Eldervale. Everyone was escaping to other countries.
They turned on the radio to listen to the news.
“BREAKING NEWS: the new zombie virus that has been spreading around Eldervale has now been confirmed to have killed 564 people. Hospitals have been reporting these patients dying and coming back from the dead after half decomposing. It has also been reported that this virus gets transmitted through the air and through saliva contact. So be safe and wear a mask. We also suggest that you make your way to another town. Immediately. At this rate we’re all gonna die in a week. Stay strong, folks. We’ll make it through it.”
There was a pin drop silence throughout the car. Whatever was going to happen to them from now on would be a fight or flight situation. Cayden looked up images of the zombies. They looked disturbing. Their eyes were half out of their sockets. Their skulls were gone, leaving behind mushy flesh and muscle covering their brain. Rotten gums and degraded teeth. Their bones were visible from the holes left behind by the decomposition process. Pranav looked around the car. Everyone was halfway to tears. He could feel his heart rate elevating. He started hyperventilating. His eyes felt like there were weights on them. Pranav collapsed. Right on the spot.