Dec 21, 2012. Heartville High School.

Sara stared out of the window. It was snowing outside. The endless stream of white snowflakes covered the ground into a pleasing white.

Today was Dec 21, 2012, the day the world ends, according to the Maya prophecy, but Sara was pretty doubtful of that theory. The Mayans probably decided to stop making calendars not because they foresaw the end of the world but rather because they knew it was a waste of time. They would never live to see the calendars that featured two thousand years into the future been used, so what’s the point? Also, she was still alive nice and healthy. Earthquakes didn’t consume the ground. There was no volcanic eruptions. Nothing. Nothing except for the usual boredom of school.

The voice of Sara’s math teacher, Mr. Ians, was like a swarm of buzzing bees in Sara’s ears. He was talking about something like calculus and equations, but Sara wasn’t listening. She was never interested in math. Why would someone need to know equations they would never need to use ever again apart from the exams? Instead, her thought had flown to what tv show she would tonight when she get got.

Yawning and tired of the unchanging view, the girl looked around the classroom and saw half the class was having the same frustrations as she had. Some of them were on their phones and others were doing their own things. A couple was exchanging whispers. The teacher was still endlessly yapping, and Sara felt really bored. She took out her phone.

A few minutes passed as Sara was scrolling through her twitter feeds. Suddenly, her phone went dark. Sara frowned. She glanced at the battery of the phone two seconds ago. There was still 96% of the batteries. She pressed the power button for ten seconds and released it, but there was no effect.

Whispers came from all around the classroom. Sara raised her head and found that all of the students that were checking out their phones were met with a very similar situation. The projector that the math teacher was using was dark as well.

Something was very wrong.

The class started to fall into chaos as every student wanted to know what was going on. Sara felt someone tapping on her back and turned to find her best friend whispering to her.

“What is going on?” Elizabeth, a young brunette with long hair that slid down her back, asked. She was a soft girl, always being nice and pretty and easily frightened. Her wish was to find a good husband and get married.

“Why are you asking me? I know as much as you do.” Sara replied, slightly annoyed. She clicked her phone again, still nothing. This is not good.

“Everyone be quiet.” Mr. Ians tried to calm the entire class down even though he himself didn’t know was was happening. What he knew was that it was his duty to keep the students safe. “It’s probably just something wrong with the power source. Stay calm.”  

None of the students were convinced. What sort of power problem could damage the phones that weren’t connected to anything by wire?  

Elizabeth tapped Sara’s back again as if she wanted to say something else, but she was cut off by what happened next.

A figure solidified in the front of the classroom right behind Mr.Ians. The students were paralyzed as they saw what it was.

It was something like a walker from the walking dead or a zombie from resident evil. It’s body was gradually decaying, and a stink that originated from his body covered half the classroom. It’s teeth were yellow. Sara could even see something red between the rotting teeths. Its fingers were covered with long claws that made Sara shiver in fear. She had no doubt a single strike from the claws could rip open her throat. The creature was literally a walking dead in real life.

Sara had always wondered what she would do if things in television shows or movies she saw appeared in real life, but she fancied cool boys and girls, not a walking body. This was not something she expected, nor was it something she wanted. Turning her head to the side, she struggled to control herself from vomiting.

The other students saw the monster as well, and they were equally frightened. They wanted to warn their teacher, Mr. Ians, who was the closest to the walker, but all of the students were paralyzed by fear. The most helpful warning was a shaking arm a student pointed at behind the teacher.

“What is it?” Mr. Ians saw the feared expression on his students’ face and felt something was behind him. A trained soldier would have dodged as soon as possible, but Mr.Ians was a teacher, not a trooper. He made the mistake of turning around, and that mistake costed him his life.

The walker jumped onto Mr. Ians and bit on his neck. The fragile skin and flesh was immediately teared open, and blood poured out like it was coming out of a fountain. The walker couldn’t care less about the blood as he feasted on Mr.Ians, who was still alive, barely. The teacher desperately punched the zombie in the head, but he was already weakened from the wound on his neck, and his soft fist landed lightly on the walker. The walker seemed like it barely noticed the hit.

At the last few seconds of his life, Mr.Ions raised his trembling hand to his students, asking for help. His throat was gone, and all he could construct was a hissing sound as oxygen flew out of the wound on his neck. His hand dropped onto the ground as his life was gone. His eyes were still open.

One of the students, a large male teenager that was part of the wrestling team, walked up to help. He was scared as well, but he calmed down much quicker than his friends.

Conner was always someone fond of adventures and taking risks. He enjoyed the feeling of doing something dangerous and telling that to his friends. He enjoyed the look when his friends gave him when he told them about how brave or tough he was. He was full of pride.

As a semi professional boxer, Conner observed the strange enemy before he made the move. Apart from being disgusting and stinking, the walker wasn’t really strong. Judging from how the body of the walker was literally falling apart as the walker moved, the muscle integrity of the walker couldn’t be that impressive. Throw a few heavy punches to the head and the monster should go down. Plus, the walker would make a move on them sooner or later. It was much smarter to strike when the walker was focused on feasting upon the body of its first victim.

Conner moved forward with utter determination. He heard a few surprised noises from behind, and, knowing that everyone behind was watching him, he felt a surge of energy running through his veins. The thought of stepping in and saving the day helped him overwhelm his fear of the walker.

The walker raised his head from his feasting. Seeing, or rather smelling, the engaging teenager, it growled and charged on Conner.

Conner took a step back and dodged the horizontal swing of the walker’s claws. The claws reached the side, and Conner used that chance and punched the walker in the head.

The walker’s head was strangely fragile. Walkers came from muutated dead bodies, and dead bodies don’t get a lot of calcium intake. The bones cracked with absolute ease at Conner’s punch. Without his head, the walker collapsed and died.

“What the...” Voices of ultimate shock came from behind, but Conner didn’t have the time to face the reward of his bravery. Instead, he closed his eyes.

“Conner?” A blonde girl walked up with a look of concern in her eyes. She frowned at the permanently dead walker. The collapsed body on the ground wasn’t exactly fitting the girl’s standards. “Conner, Conner are you ok?” She was worried. She was Conner’s girlfriend.

Conner’s eyes snapped open, and a struggling look passed through her eyes. “I’m fine.” He replied with a slighly shivering voice. Walking out of the stink, Conner was met with looks of gratitude on his fellow students, who converged and assembled around him, but for now he didn’t have the same satisfaction he usually had. The current situation didn’t allow any enjoying.

“What in the world just happened?” Conner wiped the blood off his fist and looked at the dead walker with a slightly frightened fashion. “That was a real zombie over there! It wasted Mr. Ians.”

“But you killed it.” Connor’s girlfriend, Carly, reassured. “We need to call the police.”

“Not possible.” An Asian teenager reasoned. The entire class of around thirty people looked at the teenager.

“What the hell?”

“What the f**k are you talking about?” The students weren’t exactly happy that their only hope was being denied. The single walker was enough to bring the students to an edge. The uncertainty of life and the threat of dying was too much for a group of high school students to handle. A few extremely displeased students swore at the Asian.

“Guys! Calm down?” Conner reassured, and the entire class quieted down. Conner saved their lives, and the image of him killing the walker, the image of his strength, was enough to make the teenagers listen to him, for now. As the teenagers quieted down, Conner looked at the Asian, who was expressionless and unmoved by the taunts he received.

Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more.

“Why not?”

“Half a minute ago screams came from outside...” The teenager started and was cut off immediately by a girl.

“I didn’t hear anything.”

“The screams from outside were covered by your own screams.” The teenager was as chill as ever. The girl gave a death glare at the Asian, who ignored her and continued on.

“That happened when the walker appeared beside Mr.Ians. That walker is not the only walker. They are everywhere.” The students went silent as they realized the direness of the situation. The teenager continued.

“It is likely the entire world is being ravaged by these walkers. If the government is still strong enough to take actions, assuming they have not been overran already, they will protect important people and locations. Military base. Research facility. Food warehouses and production sites. The wealthy and the powerful. As students with neither money nor background we will be the last priority on the to save list.”

“Can you just shut up for a minute?” A teenager with ear piercings demanded. He wasn’t exactly the nicest kid, and he was faced with a lot of stress.

“Calm down Frank.” Conner said forcefully. Frank appeared like he wanted to say something, but he glanced at the dead walker and chose not to. He might be tougher than most of the other students, but he had no confidence in defeating Conner in a fight.

The students bursted out into disarray again, but Conner silenced them with a glance. He was afraid himself, but he acted chill. In utter silence, he walked past the students and to the door of the classroom. He peeked outside through the small window.

It was literally hell outside. Dead bodies filled the hallway. Blood, intestines, organs, and spare flesh were scattered all around the white ground. Several walkers were wondering aimlessly in the hallway. The Asian was right. They weren’t the only ones attacked by the walkers.

Turning back, Conner was met with a sea of hopeful eyes. All of them were looking at him as if waiting for judgement. Conner wanted to tell them everything was fine. He wanted to tell them the walker was just a single case. He wanted to tell them the government would come and save them. And yet the lie was caught at his lips.

He couldn’t hide them from the truth, and the truth was that the world was changing toward an extremely unpleasant way.

“Jason is right. I saw half a dozen walkers out there.” Conner said slowly, and he saw a look of desperation appearing on the students’. Jason was the Asian student. He was perhaps the calmest among the students.

Sara’s hands flew to cover her mouth, which were hanging wide open, and she could feel tears sliding down her face. She wasn’t supposed to be like this. Zombies? She wasn’t supposed to be a fighter! She was just a girl. She just wanted to ace through high school and get into a good university. A peaceful life. That was it. She was living in a very comfortable life, and, despite how she enjoyed the walking dead, she had no intention of being a participant herself.

Behind her Elizabeth was equally shaken. She folded her arms in a defensive position. The semi warmth wasn’t enough to give her a sense of safety.

“Let’s not give up yet.” Conner reassured. He was as depressed as the others were, but that didn’t mean he would accept the fate and just give up. If he was to die, then he would die trying. That was the least he could do.

But his words angered some.

“Give up?” Frank smirked. “The apocalypse is here and the world is filled with zombies. Our teacher just got turned into lunch, and sooner or later all of us are going to be the same. Give up? What difference will it make if we remain faithful?” His words successfully drew a wave of pessimism from the students.

Conner looked as if he was debating with himself. A few seconds later he finally signed and spoke. “There’s something I need to tell you guys.” He walked to a table and punched it. The students frowned at the potentially self harming action, but instead of getting bruised, Conner’s fist punched a hole in the table.

“Whoa.” Sara said in astonishment. She knew Conner was tough, but she didn’t know he was this tough. Jason’s ever the same expression briefly flickered before returning to that solid look.  

Frank faltered a bit. “What are you trying to tell us? You’re a tough man?” He asked provokingly. He was desperate. Really desperate.

“No.” Conner’s left hand slid down his right fist. “I was always a strong puncher, but not this strong. After I killed that walker, I opened up a panel. It’s complicated, but my point is I could enhence my strength. I can be stronger.”

The students stood in surprise and attempted to process what had happened.

Sara’s mouth hanged wide open.”Are you saying..” She spoke up, and she blushed slightly as the other students looked at her. “are you saying we can get stronger by killing these walkers?”

“Not just stronger.” Conner bit his lips and struggled to construct logical sentences. “It felt like...it felt like I was playing a game. When I killed the walker, I got more experience and leveled up. By leveling up I got point I could add to my personal information like I am a character in a game. I also got these.” His hand swiped on his belt, and a gold coin appeared on his palm. “This is the currency in whatever game this is. I can buy stuff with this, but I don’t see a store.”

“A game?” Jason whispered and his eyes turned. “Someone that can put the whole world in a game...who can do that? What can do that?” A scent of curiosity crossed his eyes. No one heard his whispers.

“Fine. We can get upgrades by killing monsters. So what? What will upgrades do if we are all dead?” Frank didn’t share the optimism. “I say we barricade the doors and the windows and wait for someone to come and save us.” His idea attracted some agreements from the students. Staying in the relative safety of the classroom was much better than going outside and fight.

“Who? Who will save us?” Conner questioned. “The government? The military? I doubt if they can save themselves. You know how your phones died?” He tapped his pocket.

“Yeah. So?” Frank was unmoved.

“That means an EMP wave was emitted. It is likely all the electronics on the planet are disabled. That will include most of the weapons in the military. The soldiers will be left with nothing but their personal gadgets against an army of zombies.”

“That doesn’t mean the military is lost.”

“That means saving will not be arriving in a while. Meanwhile we don’t have food. We don’t have water. We have nothing. We’ll starve to death before we get saved, assuming the walkers don’t get us first.” Conner reasoned. Frank groaned, but he knew the man was right.

Sara thought about it. Her emotion told her to stay back and hide and hope/pray that salvation could arrive in time. But her logic told her something different. Her logic told her this was a bad idea. She needed to get out there and take control of her life. If Conner was telling the truth, then she could get much stronger by slaying walkers. She could get strong enough to protect herself and those she loved. That was the right thing to do.

But the right choice was usually the most difficult to choose.

Conner saw the struggle in his fellow students, and he knew he should back off. “I don’t know about you, but I will go out there and make a run for the cafeteria and find some food and water.” He scanned the students. “I will try to bring some food back, but I can’t do much on my own. If anyone wants to join me, meet me at the door in two hours.” He went to the side and left the students to make their own choices.

----------------------------------------

In a corner of the classroom, Sara and Elizabeth were sitting with their arms folded.

“What do you think, Beth?” Sara whispered quietly.

“I think this is stupid. Really stupid.” Elizabeth responded as she glared at Sara. “Wait a second, are you really considering what Conner said? Go out there and be a hero?” She asked with disbelief. “You are a student, Sara, not a soldier. Did you see how that walker wasted Mr.Ians? He was a fully grown man and he didn’t stand a chance. You are a girl who can’t even kill a chicken. What are you going to do against all those walkers out there?”

“We can’t just stand back and hide. We need food. We need water. We can’t just stay in this room forever. Eventually we will have to get out and face those walkers. Better sooner than later.” Sara replied sadly as her fingers flickered a strand of her hair. She understood the danger, but she had no choice. Not if she wanted to live.

Elizabeth signed. “I know I may sound selfish, Sara, but listen to me. There will be others that will help us get through this. We don’t need to go out there and risk our own lives. Conner said he will go out soon. He can literally punch through a table. He will bring back what we need.”

“And we just hope he will be generous?” Sara questioned. “And you just want to receive the food and water Connor earned by risking his life for free?” Elizabeth was silent. “Beth, I know you know what is the right thing to do. I am begging you. Do it.” Sara was almost pleading. She didn’t want her best friend to go down a wrong path.

Elizabeth finally signed. “Fine, but if I die, I’ll kill you.” Sara smiled and hugged Elizabeth.

----------------------------------------

Jason silently walked to a wooden table and grabbed onto one of the legs. He pulled with his entire body, and with one loud crack he managed to pull off a leg. A couple was by the table. They briefly glanced at him before going back to mind their own business.

Walking back to his own place, Jason took out a pocket knife from his bag and started to sharpen the wooden leg. He would rather have something sharp in his hand when he engages flesh eating zombies.

----------------------------------------

Frank’s group was the largest in the room. Frank was always a shady one. He moved to this school a few months ago. It was rumored that in his last school he got into a fight and broke someone’s ribs. He got suspended and had to change a school to go to.

Usually someone like Frank wouldn’t have too much friends, but things have changed. The class was being chased after by walkers, and someone good at fighting had a much larger chance of surviving then someone who wasn’t.

Several boys and girls were with Frank, and the teenager was more than happy as he felt the soft body of two girls in his arms. He knew why they were with him. They didn’t come to him because they loved him. They came to him because they wanted to use him and secure a sharing of the things he would bring back. He was fine with that. Really. It was a deal. The girls would allow him to touch and perhaps even sleep with them, and he would in exchange pay them with what he brought back. It was all part of a deal.

Reaching his hand into the shirt of one of the girls and feeling the warmth, Frank was secretly praising this apocalypse. If this never happened, he would be the bad student Frank. No one would care about him. No one would respect him. No girls would sleep with him. But now, now he mattered. He had influence. He had power.

And he enjoyed it.

----------------------------------------

On a table, Conner was examining the map of the school and trying to find out a way to get past the walkers without a single loss. Then he realized there was no easy way. The only way was to fight a way through.

The man signed. People will die. He was no saint. He wouldn’t sacrifice himself for his friends. And yet he would do anything he could to save the others. Partly because he enjoyed the gratitude of others, and partly because he valued human lives.

Back during the conversation Conner was debating whether or not he should tell the class about the upgrades. If the students didn’t know about it, then they wouldn’t compete with him for more kills and therefore more experience. He would get stronger much quicker, but his success would be originating from the demise of his classmates. If he had done that, then he would be no different from the walkers outside. In fact, he would be even worse. At least walkers didn’t feast on their own kind.

He checked the clock on the wall. One hour thirty minutes until action. He sat down on the ground and closed his eyes.