Page 56 of Cora

What the hell? We exchanged worried looks as we rushed to the double doors. The hallways were in complete chaos, as students and facultyran screaming.

“What’s happening?” Alice asked.

“I have no idea!” I replied. I pulled the fire alarm, adding to the chaos but hoping to spur everyone into their fire drill training and evacuate the school. Once people were out of the confined halls, we could take stock of what we faced. When the principal ran by screaming for her life, followed by a bloody fourth grader, I knew things were beyond help. “Help me clear the classrooms,” I yelled.

Alice looked at me and then at the chaos around us. She shook her head. “No way. I’m out of here. They don’t pay me enough for whatever this is.” She turned and ran down the hallway toward her classroom.

I shook my head. “And that would be why we can’t see each other anymore,” I said. The hallways emptied as people ran from the building, so I started checking classrooms on my own to ensure there weren’t any scared kids hiding. The firstclassroom was empty, but I found Kenny huddled in the corner of the second classroom.

“Kenny?”

He stirred and made what sounded like a whimper. The poor boy was terrified.

“Kenny, it’s Coach Derrick. Come on, buddy, let’s get out of here and find your Mommy and Daddy.”

“Don’t touch him!” the janitor shouted as he burst into the room, making me jump. “He’ll kill you.”

“What are you talking about?” I asked, facing him. “He’s a child. It’s our job to look out for them.”

The janitor’s eyes widened, and he nodded at Kenny behind me. “Are you sure about that?”

I turned back to Kenny and gasped. He had turned to face me and did not look like he did when he left my class a short time ago. There was a chunk of flesh missing from his cheek, leaving a hole in the side of his face. His skin had a gray pallor, and his eyes were foggy and unclear. He snarled and lunged for me, teeth snapping.

“Oh, fuck!” I yelled, dodging the feral child.

“I tried to tell you,” the janitor said. “It’s spreading, and we need to get out of here before it’s too late.” I always carried my keys and wallet, so I had everything I needed to make a break for it. “Come on,” I said as I dodged Kenny again. “Faculty parking isn’t far from here.”

We ran out of the classroom and down the hall. I heard an angry growl and looked behind me to see Kenny following us into the hall and giving chase. But what was genuinely terrifying were the children, behaving the same way, that joined him as he ran after us. It was surreal and horrifying. We burst into the parking lot. “This way,” I shouted, leading him to my Jeep. As we ran, we passed the school secretary with her face buried in Alice’s torso. She didn’t make it very far.

The janitor and I made it to my Jeep and escaped the school.A tiny army of flesh-eating kids followed us until they faded from the rearview mirror.

A flash of light in the woods pulled me back to the present. I watched as two more appeared and then a few more after that. I couldn’t figure out what I was seeing. Were aliens real? I finally identified the lights as fire but was still confused because fire didn’t usually move like that. It wasn’t until the fire drew closer that my brain finally realized what it was looking at: torches. We had company, and I didn’t think they were here to roast marshmallows at the neighborhood bonfire.

I ran to the bedroom to wake everyone up. “Hey, get up and hurry. We have company!” They all sprung from the bed and dressed quickly as I returned to the living room to see what they were doing now. It looked like the torches had stopped and might have been staked into the ground. They were far too steady to still be held by a person. I also didn’t see as many as I had initially.

“What’s going on?” Isaac asked as they rushed into the room.

“Torches in the woods,” I replied, moving to the other living room window and peering out. “Bingo,” I said. “They’re surrounding the house.” I ran to the back bedroom and looked out that window for the same view.

“I can see them out of the kitchen window, too,” Remi called.

“Ok, we know what to do. We’ve gone over all of this already,” Isaac said. “Let’s get the guns and ammo upstairs and drop the shudders. No one reaches the house. Shoot to kill. They have no idea what they’re up against.”

“Where do you want me?” Cora asked as we sprung into action.

“The bunker,” Isaac replied.

“I thought we were past this,” Cora growled, stomping her foot.

“We are, but we’ve run simulations of this, and they didn’t account for you, so it’s best if you stayed tucked away safely. Please, Cora?” Isaac begged.

Cora looked like she was about to argue when her expression smoothed out, and she nodded. “Fine. I’ll go to the bunker.”

“Thank you,” he replied, kissing her.

We watched her go, closing the panel behind her. Something felt off about that. I looked at Isaac. “I don’t think that was the win you think it was.”

“What do you mean?” he asked.

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