Dear Reader,

Whoever is doomed enough to find this. I want you to take a breath, lest you drown and are left agape by the harrow this tale holds.

This is my message to this ravaged world. A solemn scream, just to say "I was here. I lived!" 

Read on if you will bear witness to me. To all I was.

That day was as if any other; another ordinarily normal day. It started with mother -- as she always does, insisting I wake up and get my materials ready. You see, it was my second day of school; and I had already grown tardy. Mother was always the voice of reason in life, she had always turned me to the path of diligence; as much as I wanted to sway away, I loved her, so I listened. I slung my bag over my back and exited the house. Little did I know at the time, it would be the last time I would go back there, at least for the foreseeable future. Now reader, let me preface this by saying, this day was truly the beginning of the end, for not just me, but all of humanity. My legs carried me over to the bike and I began to pedal lazily, I really detested school; I had hated it throughout the years, and I was not going to change my mind, that I was adamant about. Alas, I persisted, I meandered throughout the village streets, past the bustling crowds making their way to work, past the old ladies preparing vegetables to sell, past the butcher bellowing the prices of the meat at passer-bys. As I passed by the streets I came across the TVs that were out on display, they always had the news on; it was normal. However, the broadcast was quite worrisome, it mentioned something about evacuation, moving into refugee camps due to a new biohazard. Apparently, a virus was sweeping the country; and it was spreading rapidly. No one in the village seemed worried, why would we be anyway? We were out in the middle of nowhere, this seemed like a trouble for those fortuitous enough to live in the big cities -- dare I say now that was a curse.

I finally pedalled close to school, waiting was the Physical Education teacher, Mr. Soen. My, oh my, what a piece of work he was. Everybody detested him, and I mean everybody. How he was still hired was a mystery to the entire student population. Why was he hated? I hear you ask, well, dear reader, may I present to you the reason why. As I dismount my bike, in all his pride and esteem, he proceeds to push my bike with a nudge of his foot. I, obviously, clamber down to the floor like an idiot in front of my peers. "You're late, Eran." His voice was as monotone as his appearance, a completely bland and plain man. His hair was missing from the front and his stature was that of Napoleon. And yes, dear reader, my name is indeed Eran. Although, as you will soon find out, names mean absolutely nothing anymore. "Yeah, thanks for that, really thoughtful thing to do to a student." I picked myself up, grumbling quite angrily at how a teacher could carry themselves with such a disgusting attitude. "Don't talk back to me, you daft child." Mr. Soen always needed to have the last word, and usually, it was always an insult. What a prick. 

I left my bike in the designated station, due to the village being so sparse, there was an insurmountable amount of bikes in there. Almost as if it was a maze made of two-wheeled machinations. Off to class I went, ready to start another mundane day of studying things that will never be used outside of those classrooms. The first period goes off without a hitch, and by that I mean me not falling into an eternal slumber by the first few words that comes out of the teacher's mouth. Before second period starts, my one and only friend comes over to gossip. "Eran, you'd never guess what I just did." His pride was signalled in his posture, his eyes gleaming with bygone thoughts of lust, I immediately knew what it was. "You finally built up the courage to talk to June, Arthur?" How readable! "How'd you know?" Genuine shock was spelt across his face. "Arthur, you talk about her everyday, now go one, tell me how it went." Arthur has had a crush on this girl for years now, ever since we were eight. And yet, he only ever talked to her to help her with homework. Amateur mistake if you ask me. "I asked her to go out to dinner with me, y'know to celebrate the new school year." Wow, he worked fast this time around.

"And?" I grew tired of the suspense. "She said yes!" I stood up and gave Arthur a hug, our harmonious embrace was cut short by the second period teacher bursting through the door. Time for class again, another hour of pure boredom. This time I just peered out of the window, Mr. Soen was still there, he didn't have any class, it would seem. My eyes just rested on him, especially on his lack of hair. He spots a student that seems to be coming late, the student was stumbling towards him, limping as if he had been in an accident. The student gets closer, and closer, edging towards the gates to the school. Mr. Soen grew tired of it, it seemed like he had thought that the student was faking it, running up to him and grabbing his collar to drag him into the school.

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In just an instant, I see a red hue splash out from Mr. Soen. An exuberant fountain of red splashing all over the floor, the student who he had grabbed was clasping his jaws on the neck of the teacher. My eyes had widened, my stomach churned immediately and I was about to gag at the sight of so much blood.

Until I awoke. It was still second period, and it had just ended; another teacher was coming in to deliver another class. Everything was normal, was this a dream? A sick delusion that played in my mind? I peered out of the window again and I saw a trail of blood from the gate leading to the school; floods of screams had suddenly began to play. A cacophony of fear had enveloped the entire school. The teacher immediately closes the door, Arthur ran towards me and grasped me, embracing me in a fit of fear. "What's happening, Eran?" I didn't know, I had no idea. It was all so sudden, my heart was in an eclectic pace. "Arthur, where's June?" We had to make sure everyone was safe, we had to make sure that she was not one of the screams we were hearing. Almost like clockwork, Jane bursts through the door and runs over towards us, along with her posse of best friends. Sandy, and Summer. "Arthur, Eran, what's going on!?" She was in a worse state than us, her friends had mimicked her fear, their eyes were those of deers, completely terrified of the sounds of human screams. 

The intercom buzzes and the principle states;

> "All students, please remain in your classroom, and remain seated. This is no cause for alarm. Please remain in your seats and stay calm. Teachers please lock the doors. I will update you all on the next actions shortly."

That's it? Stay here? And do what, ignore the screaming of our peers? What sort of announcement was that? The teacher locks the door before any of us could even think. The disaster had not struck this class yet, we were on the top floor. Which meant the floors below were just filled with pure malice and fear. Arthur, June, and her friends had found their solace with me, standing aside my desk that had been poised against the large window. We all peer outside, trying to see what is happening. Many students are out there, ignoring the principle's announcement and just slugging around, their feet dragging behind them. That was until they turned towards us and we were met with faces of mutiliation, their jaws jutted incomprehensibly, their joints were twisted, as if broken.

"What is that?" Arthur was the first to speak, June began to cry first, it was one of her friends in that crowd, and she had just seen them as a horror from nightmares. Arthur tries to console her, and began to hug her. That consolation was cut short when the door to our classroom began to echo loud bangs, students were outside. They were not like them. They were normal. The teacher was stricken by terror, the students outside are pleading, begging for us to open the door. I stand up and walk towards the door before Arthur drags me back, June; in her fit of sadness, also helps drag me backwards. "What are you doing? They're normal! They're not like them. We can save them!" I was furious, they were stopping me from saving other students. "It's far too dangerous, Eran!" In a single moment, their pleas turn into shrieks, the sound of blood splattering on the floor was all too common now. It had put the entire classroom into silence; everyone was frozen in fear. Mr. Soen was at the door, his head was barely visible at the window of the door, and his teeth chatter on the glass to the door. A snivel is heard, this had set Mr. Soen off into a rage, he knew something was inside, and he wanted to get in.

His arms rammed against the door, the glass was bolstering against the force from him; this sound had attracted more of them, the slams grew louder and louder, now joined by a force of them. The glass begins to shatter, a crack, more cracks. Some students can't help but scream, they knew the end was near. And we were apart of it. The glass is vibrating wildly, the cracks grow longer and deeper, the grooves are now spreading far too much. The glass breaks, a swarm of hands reaching into the classroom as the door begins to now shake.

We all thought it was over.

It should've been.