Breathe in, breathe out. Stay calm. Conserve energy. Breathe in. Breathe out. Stay calm. Conserve energy. I played the mantra over and over in my head, preparing for what was to come.
Roderick continued counting, each second felt like hours. My heart pounded making my chest feel heavy. Perspiration ran down my back, and my palms were clammy so I rubbed them on my jeans to try and make myself feel better.
“298…299…300! GO! GO! GO!” Roderick yelled as he pushed us up off the floor and we all quickly ran to the pile of boxes. Reese pushed me ahead of her and the two of them got me up on the boxes.
“Go Ariah! Remember, don't look back!” Roderick said urgently. I climbed hastily to the top with their strength helping me go faster. I scrambled up the wall to the window and looked out, more of the same carnage I’d seen before littered the grounds in front of me, dust and partial bodies were scattered across the grass. Everything looked still and silent so I pulled myself up onto the window sill and felt the others push me up and out from the bottom of my sneakers.
I awkwardly got to my feet, stumbling forward as I started to run. Fighting the urge to look back, I picked up speed and kept my focus on the gymnasium in front of me. The sky above was dark pink, almost crimson in colour reminding me of blood.
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“Keep moving, keep moving!” I panted to myself as I pushed myself forward. All those sessions of running in gym class were paying off, I ran faster than I ever had before.
I heard the sound of someone running behind me and hoped that the others had made it out too and that I wasn’t being chased by whatever had caused the chaos.
Dust blew across the grass in front of me and I tried not to think about who it belonged to. I kept my gaze straight ahead and didn’t look down. The gymnasium was just a short distance away and I felt relief start to wash over me but I still had to get inside. I wondered if the door would be hot like the one in the basement.
Making it to the entrance, I stopped and gently touched the handle of the door. It was cool so I quickly tried to open it but it was jammed.
“No!” I cried out. Reese came running up behind me.
“Get inside Ariah, quickly!”
“The handle is broken!”
She grabbed it and tried to open it with her hands. It was stuck fast.
I gulped as I heard the popping sound start to fill the air.
“It’s coming!” I said, grabbing the handle again, trying to shake it.
“Stand back!” Reese pushed me backwards and raised her leg kicking the lower glass panel of the door. It smashed and she took her jacket off and wrapped it around her hand, punching out the rest of the glass pane from the door.
“Come on, get inside!”