T
ToddDC
Guest
Original poster
PLOT:
It's June 29th, 2010, the last day of school for Liam Kendall, a seventh grade student at Algonquin Elementary School. While carrying down boxes for his teachers, Liam and others find themselves unwillingly caught in the zombie apocalypse. Barely escaping the school with their lives and seeking refuge from the inescapable terror, the group of survivors learn quickly that they may have to fight against themselves and those they trust the most if they want to escape the town alive.
GENRE: Drama, Horror, Comedy
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I. PROLOGUE
As Kat had learned in history class many years before, London and the nearby Thames River that ran through it had been found and named in 1793 by Lord Simcoe. In it's years, it was proposed as the capital of Canada. A few years later, it became a settlement for Europeans before officially being founded as a village in 1855 and since growing to be the largest Southwestern Ontario municipality. Having annexed many of the smaller communities that surrounded it, it still magically managed to retain the feel of a small-town, the urban community making up less than twenty percent of the whole city. London's most notable trademarks were the thirty-story skyscraper in the downtown and the University of Western Ontario - of which had become a well known and respected place. London was also home to the second oldest ballpark in the world and the birthplace of celebrities such as actor Ryan Gosling, screenwriter Paul Haggis and pop hit Justin Bieber. However, London's biggest achievement and knowledgeable trademark was being the city where Fredrick Banting developed the diabetic medication of Insulin.
It was in this grunge city that Katherine Holloway had been returning to her home after a long night working her usual day to day shift as a late-night prostitute. She was only nineteen years old, but she had been kicked out of her house by her parents two years ago and after months of relying on friends to pay her bills had been struggling to make a living. Paying rent and buying food and supplies necessary for a living had been harsh. She would instead spend her time with her friends smoking pot and drinking. It was after she learned through her friends that she was quite good at sex and she finally resorted to it as an occupation. Even with the ever growing risk of getting pregnant or catching an STI she still couldn't resist the urge for money – anything more than what Ontario Works welfare would give her – and she could only hope that one day she would eventually make enough to be able to afford a college education.
Kat looked around at the empty streets; her long black hair blowing in the wind alongside the clothes on her tiny almost-emancipated body, the smell of sweat, salty semen and cheap perfume reeked off her body. She had wanted to walk the casual route home, but decided that she would go a different path to cut time and shorten the lasting impact of her aching legs. She continued walking down the dark downtown street when something grabbed at her leg, causing her to trip and fall hard onto the cement pathway. She lifted herself up, looking back at who had tripped her and saw a middle-aged bum sitting on the pavement against a building; forty to fifty years old, his face wrinkly, covered with scabs. His eyes turned towards her, they were pale and blank like a blind man and he was drooling out a white slime onto his thick and scraggly gray beard. He was obviously a homeless man - probably a heroin addict coming off a high.
"What the fuck is the matter with you?" Kat shouted with anger, her snobby and stubborn attitude had her expecting a sudden apology from the man. Instead, he just stared at her, a look of confusion frozen on his face, still drooling slightly, his hair was a greasy mess, his clothes were ripped and torn, and clearly pulled from a dumpster seeing as underneath his numerous jackets he was wearing a small blue and pink v-neck tee that read "Celebrity Status". But the most notable thing about this bum was his smell, he reeked an indescribable stench. Kat guessed that he obviously hadn't had a shower in a while -- a long while, considering he smelt like a mix between basement mold and roadkill. Kat instead turned away from the man, looked down at her clothes and wiped off the dirt from the ground.
"Maybe I should just get a ride home." she told herself, remembering that she did have a bit of whiskey to drink and it had made her a bit clumsy, but to her dismay upon pulling out her phone she was shocked and angered to see that the screen had cracked and the phone was no longer of any use. Kat cursed under her breath in disappointment, looking back down at the homeless man who had continued to stare at her with an oddball expression on his face. Kat turned her head away from him, she didn't even know him and yet she already hated him and she hated the smell of rotting fruit that rose off of him. The smell had reminded her of her own odor. She had taken a shower not even a day earlier, but it was late June and the temperature had been getting increasingly warm as summer reached it's peak with the heat soaring as high as forty degrees Celsius. Her tight clothes had made it near-impossible for any air to circulate, and she also had intercourse with a rather sweaty man herself not even twenty minutes prior, but she couldn't complain, he was amazing in bed and the money was good. She reached into her purse and pulled out a small bottle of perfume and sprayed it, hoping to cover up whatever godforsaken smell she had been unleashing unto anybody who walked past her. That had been when her attention turned back to the homeless man who had begun to sniff the air wildly and raise himself off the ground, turning towards her.
"What's your problem, 'freak show'?"
The man still didn't speak and instead lashed out at her, shoving her onto the ground and lounging forward, climbing on top of her and trying almost desperately to bite at her jugular. Kat screamed in terror as she tried to shove the man off her and use her purse as a weapon, she had just barely succeeded by bashing him in the head with the broken phone before she escaped his grasp and started down the alleyway behind her. Tears had begun to stream down her make-up caked face as the homeless man pursued her relentlessly, even though he had been merely shambling, the chase was only sped when she took notice of another man chasing after her. She sobbed, fearing for her life which was now flashing before her eyes, her birthday when she was seven when her father bought her the entire first season My Little Pony box-set -- when she was shoved down and molested by her uncle at eleven -- the hunting trip with her father when she turned twelve, in which she accidentally shot him and almost killed him -- and the decision she made that locked her boyfriend in prison when she was fifteen. She had begun to regret every mistake she had made throughout her life and there was nothing she had wanted to do but get out of this mess and call her parents and apologize for all that she had done wrong, maybe then she could finally go home.
That was when she turned the corner of the alleyway and ran face to face with another man; he was quick to shove a shotgun in her face. She had quickly come to a conclusion that she wouldn't survive the night and would likely end up with her money stolen, found dead and raped in this very alleyway. Kat closed her eyes tight and prepared for the bullets that would pass through her being and leave her dead on the ground – only to hear the sounds of shells being fired. Kat opened her eyes and turned her head slowly to see both the homeless man and the other man who had been chasing after her had both been shot dead, just meters away from her and this man that stood before her, he didn't look menacing, he was rather young, and smelled fresh like after-shave, but she now knew she was looking into the eyes of a murderer, a murderer who slicked back his brown hair and reached out a hand to her --- what?
"You alright?" the man with the shotgun asked, a look of concern on his face as he offered her a hand off the ground.
"You just killed those people, what the hell were you thinking!" she shoved him back repulsively, beginning to wonder if she should run and scream for help, but something felt awfully wrong about the whole situation. The man simply shrugged her reaction off and returned her comment with a blank look on his face that sank right through her. It was almost as if he did not care by this point, as his attempt at being nice and caring had clearly failed. Now, he was simply looking out for himself. The worst part about this isolation to Kat, was the fact that she felt like she knew him from somewhere but couldn't place where, and it disturbed her, only making her more worried by the man standing in front of her.
"You would've been dead if I hadn't. Those 'people' aren't human, at least not anymore." The man turned his head away, and then turned his body around, and began to walk away from her casually. Kat observed him carefully, even though her adrenaline was still rushing and she was in shock, she didn't want to let her guard down and end up dead. However, instead of surprising her or embarking in any action that could be deemed suspicious, the man simply opened up the back door to one of the buildings of the alleyway, and turned back to look at her, giving her one last chance to open her mouth.
"What the hell are you talking about – not human?" Kat finally responded to him, she didn't quite process what he had said before, but she felt that he was waiting for a response. Even though she spoke softly, it was still just loud enough for the man to hear her.
"Those 'people' - are zombies. I've seen enough movies to know one when I see one, and if I were you, I'd get in here before more those things come -- and trust me they will. You're loud, you reek, and I wouldn't want to be out unprotected in the open if I were you." the man only shortly paused to reply as he walked inside the building. Kat looked around and with one final glance at the man – nodded in agreement, slowly picking herself up and stumbling inside, slowly, rubbing her arms, insecure about whether or not the man was telling her the truth, or if this was all some ploy.
"You know you're crazy right?" Kat spoke in immediate disdain as she stumbled past him and further down the dark corridor into the seemingly empty building, the orange flickering lights hanging from the ceiling and illuminating the halls, the walls were cracked and brick, the place was filthy and covered in dirt and grime, specks of dust floating in the air, definitely not where she'd prefer to die, but fitting in the city of London. Kat held onto herself tightly, still shaking. The man ignored her comment and turned back towards the door, locking it, before stopping and looking back at the door, he braced his grimacing posture against the door they had just closed, listening... waiting. Kat continued to stare at him, in confusion, then, as he expected, there was a loud bang at the door, this started her, and caused her to jump, but it was all expected to him.
"Whatever happens, no matter what you do, no matter what you hear, you do not open this door." the man slowly walked towards her, and stopped, glaring into her worried eyes that struggled to remain hostile, he admired her without a doubt, and realized his manners had been lost.
"What's your name?"
"Kat."
"Well, Kat. I'm Ryan Thompson, and I apologize for not properly introducing myself, and the slight bit of hostility, I'm ex-military, fresh from the burning fields of Afghanistan. I'm still not used to being back home, sleeping in a real bed for the first time in years, but now that things are going to hell, it might be a bit more easier for me to open up, especially since we might be spending a little time together."
"Don't get any funny ideas, Thompson." Kat mumbled.
"Huh?"
"I know you're looking at me, you're probably thinking that since we're stuck together in this hellhole and it might be the end of the world because of the zombie-fucking-apocalypse, that this cute busty young girl in front of me, slapped with make-up is the best chance of 'repopulating the earth' – forget about it. I may be a prostitute, but I'm not a whore, and unless you've got a damn good amount of money, you can forget having a --" Kat stopped, interrupted by Ryan's laughter, she paused, clearly irritated.
"What's so funny?"
"Kitty – I'm not into girls, so unless you're going to magically turn into a big muscly Channing Tatum, climb on top of me, and have some – ahem – sweet, deep, gay sex, then you can take that whole 'repopulating the earth' bullshit and shove it in the face of someone else."
"Oh." Kat mumbled, feeling rather stupid and stuttering for words. Ryan smacked her on the shoulder, cracking a warm, heart-felt smile and giggling despite the apparent end-of-the-world outside. It appeared that the mood of the room had changed as Kat opened a smile as well.
"Now come on, let me get you something to eat, you look starving, it won't be much, need to save on rations, but hear me out, it's better than being skin and bones."
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II. THE LAST DAY OF SCHOOL
Liam Kendall yawned and brushed back his greasy black hair with his hand, the lights of the elevator buzzing loudly above him as silence filled the air. The look of life in Liam's eyes seemed to slowly decay from the lack of stimulation or anything to slightly peak his interest, it was as if he had become a zombie with no brains to eat. If his memory was not failing him; the date that had been written on his classroom chalkboard was June 29th, and thus the final day of the school year.
It had practically slipped his almost desolate mind that it would be on this very day in just over one year's time that Liam Kendall - the overweight, unhygienic seventh grade loner - would be graduating and heading on into the ever-dreaded world of high school, where years of locker-shoving and chain-smoking would seemingly follow. For at the current moment, this seemed like a worry to be saved for the future. Liam had only just recently transferred to Algonquin Elementary, the school upon which he found known for it's notoriously slow elevators. Being a newcomer to the school, Liam had managed to become rather familiarized with the students and staff in his short two months at this new school, but that did not mean he felt a sense of belonging, or appreciation, for that delicacy had been taken from him. It was unfortunate, considering it had been not more than three months before that Liam had been under temporary residential care, a necessary step in order to convince his parents, teachers and board of education that he was suitable for re-entry into the school system, a battle that almost wasn't won as Liam was almost consistently deemed a "threat to himself and others", which for the most part wasn't true, he was a harm to himself, but that was about it. Liam, was for lack of a better word – misunderstood, he did things with good intentions that always seemed to manage to backfire and destroy everything he held dear to him, but yet, every time he managed to pull through by the skin of his teeth, as such, Liam had retreated into becoming an almost full-on introvert, but this whole little hiccup in his life had been following a year of home-instruction, depression, derealization and paranoia, that seemed to formulate and suck Liam into a downward spiral that he still struggled to get out of.
For in his rather empty place of a mind, there was no doubt that despite all the negative repercussions that would come as a result, the incident at his previous school had managed to shape him and change him into the person that he had now become and who he would be for the next few years of his childhood. It seemed as if it was only with gritted teeth that Liam had managed to get by in life, struggling constantly with his corrupted and broken family, bad choices, wrong decisions and all the while suffering from the hell that was school. It seemed that his only strength to pick himself up and move on from his past that seemed to still haunt him was with the help of his friends. Yes, it seemed that with a stroke of luck, Liam had made a small patch of friends, partially online, partially in real life. His closest friend at the current time of the elevator ride was a girl from his former school named June Winchester, a girl whom he had communicated with over the internet. June had many personality traits that attracted Liam, such as her hyperactivity and strange sense of humor, for June was the odd flower out of the popular gang and as such, she had little-to-no problem being an added friend and support for Liam.
A smile smirked on his face, for as much as he had lied to himself to deny it, there was no doubting the attraction he had for June - a very petite figure, with blonde hair and staggering blue eyes that had Liam's mind wandering in an imaginary wonderland. June was ridiculously short and skinny when compared to most of her fellow seventh graders for she had just barely reached four-foot-ten and weighed in at only 86 pounds, much the opposite to Liam who was 5'5 and weighed 172. Liam knew he had no chance with her, he was probably only one of the dozens of guys who had a crush on her, and he was probably the least attractive and most socially-awkward out of all of them – but others aside, he also knew that it wouldn't make sense for a cute and innocent girl like June to go out with someone who was deemed most likely to murder everyone at the high school dance.
However, June wasn't the only girl that Liam had a crush on, there was two girls at his own school that had peaked his interest, one of them even more so than June had. First off, there was Heather Willis, one of the two other presences on this slow elevator. Heather was a seventh grader and transfer student from out of town. Liam had a crush on her for the obvious reasons, she was an athletic, energetic and cute brunette who was just a tad bit shorter than him. Yet, even though she was placed in a different classroom, she always seemed to be there at the right moments for Liam to bump into her in the halls, or sit next to her during school assemblies. Of course, the ironic twist being that they weren't actually friends. It seemed that despite the every-day greeting in the morning and the awkward stares and smiles they gave one another, they had never actually talked much. There was one exception to that, the last conversation that they had, which Liam figured he had fucked up and ruined any further chance of a friendship with her. He figured the only reason why she even communicated with him in the first place was because she felt bad for him and that Heather herself had lacked very many friends, despite her welcoming and kind demeanor and heart-warming smiles, she just didn't fit into place at her school and Liam was the same – even though he had friends when he started at the school, his friends Jill, Amelia and Trina had became ever-distant from him.
Liam snapped out of his daze as reality hit him hard, the thought that today was the last day had him worried; for they were graduating and he knew that he may never see them again after this very day. Liam had once openly asked his friends if they would still be in contact with him after they graduated and while they said that they would, his personality and anxiety had made him seriously doubt that would be the case. To add, his friendship with them had recently dwindled down the pipes. His social awkwardness had become more severe as the stress built up and the pressure stacked on. It was just another worry to add to his already bad anxiety. Liam wasn't angry, if anything he was sad, for that had been all it took to destroy everything he had worked to over the past few months, his attempt at a new start had been ruined. Liam looked down at himself then to his blurred reflection on the stainless steel doors of the elevator in which he stood.
Liam had been carrying a box filled with random stacks of paper from one of the resource rooms in the school. Thankfully, he wasn't alone on this godforsaken journey as standing next to him were two of his fellow schoolmates; Heather and Claire Grey. Heather was the oldest of the two, being of the same age and grade as Liam. He knew that she was a kind caring person, who didn't discriminate against others, she always wanted to help others and contribute to the community. That's what she had been raised and taught by her father to do. She learned that if she was kind to others they would be kind back, and so far it had worked. Claire was the youngest of all three of them and she had been counting down the clock, soon she would no longer be a sixth grader. Claire's dark brown hair and a pink tiger-striped hoodie barely made an impression as to what she was truly like personality-wise but it was the appearance and fashion she had settled into. She didn't know Liam or Heather that much and she didn't really care. If carrying down these boxes like her teacher had asked her to would make the day go by faster, than so it should be. For Claire, school was little more than a nuisance; she had preferred her social life and her family to school. Soon the day would be over and she could go home and the only thing that she would have to pay attention to would be her older brother and her friends. The three waited patiently on the elevator. Liam sighed, upset.
"What's wrong?" Heather had asked as she peered over at Liam's face and gave him one of her famous heart-warming smiles.
"Oh, it's nothing." Liam responded, looking back over at her and smiling in return.
"What are you going to do after school tonight?"
"Not sure. Probably just gonna sit at the computer, play video games, eat fries and chug down some Gatorade like usual."
"Sounds like fun." she joked sarcastically.
"What about you?" Liam asked.
"My parents are away for work over the next few days, so I'm throwing a party tonight with my friends, I doubt many people will actually show, but I was thinking that we could crack open a few beers, that kind of stuff. It's sort of a "school's out" celebration. You down?" Heather said enthusiastically and awaiting his response.
"I guess. I don't have much better to do." Liam spoke yet again. She smiled.
Claire, being on the outside of this conversation, looked at the two and pictured them together; the idea didn't click in her brain. Heather was an athletic and very social girl, Liam however, was much more of an abstract piece of art among the seventh graders. He was really not much more than overweight loner who smelt and looked horrible, acted retarded around people and put himself down like a monkey eats bananas, it was as if the only chance of them ever getting together would be a one-night fuck followed by a bad hangover. As the elevator buzzed and the doors opened up, Liam, Heather and Claire walked out of the elevator and into the corridor, where many awards decorated the walls, with two large display cases showing off art by the students and two pencil drawn portraits of the school. The walls were a pinkish-white color, with a thick red stripe that continued down the middle of the hallway across the whole first floor.
"Are you sure it's alright with your friends? I mean... having someone like me over-" Liam spoke before being cut off.
"It's fine. Trust me." Heather spoke with a smile.
Liam stopped for a second in thought and then began walking again. He turned the corner of the corridor and continued towards the main office of the school. It was a wide open space with a small staircase that had lead up to the front doors of the school with a small ramp next to the stairs for wheelchair access. As Liam walked towards the office he couldn't push away the unwanted thoughts that the party was a set up. He'll show up and nobody will be there, or they'll slam the door shut on him, or they'll make some sort of humiliation out of him. That's the only thing he could think of, the only thing he could believe. He didn't however believe he would actually be invited to anything, it was just rooted deep within him to assume that everything and everyone was out to get him. Liam followed by a philosophy that if he thought negative about things and good things happened, he would get more enjoyment out of the good, but if bad things happened, it wouldn't affect him as much as it would otherwise.
However, as Liam continued to be lost in thought a slightly disturbing image had slipped past his eye, the fact that he had slipped by something automatically caused him to freeze where he stood. Liam had slowly turned his head to find that Heather and Claire had both dropped the boxes they had been carrying and were now backing away slowly from the scene, their eyes had been wide open in shock, Liam turned towards the scene, his eyes still glued on the two girls and their reaction, before then seeing what had them in shock, as on the floor of the main lobby had laid three teachers – that had now become nothing more than lifeless bloody half eaten corpses on the ground- and on top of them a man; he was no more than thirty or-so years old, he had combed brown hair, and his skin tone was that of an pale Caucasian. But Liam knew it wasn't an ordinary man, despite his apparently casual business attire. He smelled horrible, a very familiar juicy, sweet but cruel and ghastly smell - much to the same level as Liam's non-existent hygiene. His eyes were pale and lifeless, his once neat and tidy gray uniform was torn to shreds and his face, his hands and his body had been drenched in fresh blood that was of both his own and of the teachers.
The man had lifted his head up from the meal and looked over his shoulder at Liam with a cold dead stare that quickly embedded itself into Liam's memory. The man then looked away, seeming to have taken no interest whatsoever in Liam before taking notice of Heather and Claire, with them in sight, the man had raised himself off the ground almost like a rag doll, raising one of his arms and pacing slowly towards them, unleashing a deep guttural moan. Just like in the movies. Heather and Claire had been on the verge of running down the hallway and never looking back but Liam however was still frozen and startled as to what was being played out in front of him, before he snapped back to focus and ran out into the middle of the corridor shouting.
"Hey you!"
The man looked back, with the same dull facial emotion he had worn before, drooling slightly. Liam took charge at him, bending his back and bracing his head under his arms, ramming the man in the side of the rib cage and thus knocking him into one of the benches. There wasn't much thought involved in his attacks, all Liam could focus on was distracting this man or at least temporarily disabling him. His next move was to stomp on the man with his foot and knock him onto the floor, but instead he decided to leave the man be and move away from the attacker. Liam grabbed hold of Heather's hand almost unknowingly as he switched priorities and began towards the two large doors that lead to the gymnasium, with Claire following closely behind them.
[Chapter 2, to be continued].