Endless Recess

The gloomy morning dawn breaks through the tiny space in the makeshift curtains of what once was a classroom. a tender mist covers the streets and houses of this silent city. But not empty. Slow, decaying bodies of human husks walk around the deserted streets. Their skin grays and tore open, dirty and ragged just like most of their clothes. Without a sound, they move their bodies as if they were dragged by an unseen, unknown force. And she is staring at them. Far away in what was once the pride of the city. the public school. Huge two stores high building that housed thousands of students almost every day. Once unbearably loud and full of life. Lies now death, as everything outside of its intimidating frame. Emma stares at the outside world through one of the tiny spaces in the curtains. Her green eyes reflecting what her lips would never break open to be expressed. "Do you see anyone?." The brittle voice of the young girl laying on the floor catches her by surprise, but before turning around to meet her gaze, she strongly closes her eyes to extinguish these feelings. "Not yet! but one morning for sure, Layla." Emma's orotund and upbeat voice making a striking contrast to Layla's defeated tone. But as the latter stands up from the ground it becomes more than apparent their differences. Emma wears baggy, comfortable clothes with a brown hoodie, her body is slim and tall, her hair light brown and silky falling her back. A tender and young face paired with lively green eyes. a broad smile on her face. Layla however, does not share this optimism. Her petite physic and golden hair with blue eyes would draw attention. not to mention she seems younger than she is. her face a mixture of anxiousness and sadness. She dressed in light blue jean pants and a thick jean jacket, with white winter gloves fitting for this season. Emma lets out a sigh and gets down from the desk she was sitting on staring out the window and hugs her friend tightly. "Hey, they will come back soon. in the meantime, I have your back, okay?." it takes a couple of seconds of silence until Layla returns the hug, soft sobbing being heard through her muffled, shaky voice. "thank you, I just. Want this to end." "it will. We just have to be hopeful! the teachers will come back soon with help." "they left two days ago, Emma. What if-" "The teachers will come back, Layla. Trust me." the two of them stay silently in each other arms for a while. "Jesus f*****g Christ, Layla. Some of us would like to sleep in the morning without having to hear your sorry ass crying every. single.DAY." the high-pitched voice of Heather announces her presence as always, the girl lifting the upper part of her body off the makeshift mattress of backpacks and jackets, three other girls slowly waking up next to her. "Come on Heather, can't you be more kind to her? this is not easy for any of us!" "Still, if I'm gonna die. I would rather have some pleasant sleep for once." Heather stands up from the ground and stretches, showing her orange shirt and a light blue jean jacket, as well as her pants and black shoes. Her red, curly hair tied up in a ponytail so tightly it leaves almost no hair out of place. Her freckled face and green eyes frowning at the two friends. "I can't believe even now you are such a bitch." "and I can't believe your annoying, pathetic friend still cries herself to sleep every night, I hoped that she would toughen up but, hey, it's her thing to be a disappointment." Heather and Emma stared at each other with anger in their eyes, for a moment it seemed as if Emma would snap and launch herself at the girl but then a loud and clear voice shifted their focus to the source of it. "Knock it off already, both of you. Or you'll wake up Hope." Sarah's voice commanded attention and respect. Wearing gray sports pants and a gray hoodie it would be difficult to tell how well trained her body was. However, everyone knew under those garments the number one boxing champion of her school lays. Her hair was short tied up in a bun. Her brown eyes challenging anyone to stare at them without averting their gaze while also making a great pairing with her ebony skin. "seems you have that part covered, Sarah." Heather scoffed as she turned around to face the door, her lackeys jumping into their feet, each one giving a look of disdain at the three girls before following their leader off the room. The other girl was now awake and staring at Sarah or around in confusion and fear. "s-sorry, it was just me. nothing happened." Shaking her head Emma turned around to see her friend grabbing her backpack and securing it on her shoulder, she changed her face of anger to one of relief and even joy. "so, leaving early today as well right?." "Yeah, I want some time to draw. will you come with me?." "do you think I'll let you alone Layla? ha! of course not, I'm coming you knucklehead." They shared a light laugh and Emma turned around to pick up her backpack, once they were ready with cloths around their noses she nodded and they both made their way out of the classroom made dormitory but before they closed the door a hand stopped them. "Mind if I tag along for a bit?." Hope's voice was soft and warm, just like her appearance, a little on the chubby side, her black hair was long and straight, with pale and fair skin, combined with hazel eyes and a cute face. she was dressed in a dark blue shirt with a rock band on it, black pants, and an oversized purple varsity jacket that did not belong to her. "of course Hope, here." Layla stretched her hand to her and Hope grabbed it tight, her left hand holding a bottle of water and a towel. The three of them headed into the big hallway, they had seven classrooms, two bathrooms, and the teacher restroom. to their right four rooms and the bathrooms, a huge wall made out of cloth, desks, and other furniture preventing anything from getting or looking in. They walked together purposely making as little sound as possible, barely any light went through the curtains made out of blankets covering the few windows. Soon they reached the teacher's door and to its left, the classroom where they still had classes. "I will see you later. Layla, Emma." Hope let go Emma's hand and waved at them, turning right and getting into the room of the boys quietly, while the other two turned left into the only room that had all the desks where they should. The place looked as clean and organized as it could, the curtains not letting almost any sun get through, the chalkboard clean and nitty. They sat near the window at the furthest away end, Layla swiftly taking out her sketchbook while Emma once again opened a little bit of the curtains to see outside. Only to be greeted by the gargantuan sized horde of undead moving through the streets. Her mind drifted away from the moment and dwelled in the past. In how it was when it first began. it was Wednesday morning and they were in what's probably the worst class for many, physics. yet, for Emma it had always been a favorite hobby of her to tinker with mechanical objects and such, so numbers and equations about mass and speed were exciting even. Another thing that made bonding with Layla easier, as she had always been a great artist, but terrible with math, so they helped out each other since day one of class. "How are your Halloween scary drawings goin' pal?!" Emma, energetic as always patted on the back of the hunched over Layla, who blushed and gave her a smile ear to ear. "Fantastic! I'm just about to finish hiding all the drawings, I'm sure it's gonna scare more than one person, especially Tomas!" They laughed at the idea of the guy with his glasses jumping once he opens his locker and finds the extra realistic drawing of a disfigured face staring at him. "Also, I made this one for you." Layla said as she stretched to grab a piece of paper from her backpack, Emma raised an eyebrow impatiently until her friend gave her the paper with words in it. "First of, let me begin by saying that I'm grateful for our friendship, Emma. I'm glad that we meet how we did and I think you are an amazing person. you don't deserve any of the things that are troubling you, but let me tell you that..." Emma turned the paper around to see a quarter of a drawing, clearly depicting the upper body of Layla. "I hid three other drawings through the school, in the most important places for both of us!." Layla shyly looked away before continuing. "I'm really happy that we are friends, so I wanted to do something special for you." Emma hugged her friend and squeezed her tightly, maybe a little too much as eventually, she winced in exaggerated pain. "This is the cutest thing, Layla! Thank you!!" They laughed happily and hug once again, forced to break free once the bell rang "and that's a way to ruin a moment" "yeah, at least it's geography." Emma stared at her friend's statement in disgust and horror. Boring geography, as always. The time moved at a snail pace. While Emma tried with little success to not fall asleep on her seat. A buzzing in her pocket made her regain composure, knowing already that it was very likely her father calling her. She ignored it. All the matters with the divorce had been taking a toll on her, so whatever her father may want to tell her she just didn't want to know. However, the cellphone rang two other times. She began to felt curious, what could he possibly want to tell her so badly? shouldn't he be working right at that moment patrolling the streets with his partner? After a couple of minutes went by with no other call she shrugged and returned her feeble attention to the class at hand. Her mind no longer worried about staying awake, instead she wished for the bell to never ring. Right now her house felt suffocating, every day spent there was filled with the loud discussions of her parents. She preferred to stay there at school, with her best friend and everyone else. But the clock kept ticking. Time kept going forward, eventually, she knew she would have to leave. Her thoughts finally wandered off to other matters. The future, the things she wanted to do. The things she knew she would never do. It was fun in a way. to imagine the most unlikely things and wonder how would she react to them. Time kept moving forward like this until she glanced at the clock with dread and realized the bell was about to order her departure. Reluctantly she stored her books in her backpack while her friend Mathew whispered in her direction. Not bothering to stop fixing her books she glanced up to meet the guy. Wild, messy black hair and a combination of black clothes with a light brown leather jacket fit perfectly the type of person he is. In love with the unknown, mysteries, and paranormal, funny enough since he comes from a strictly religious household. His tan skin and green eyes befitting of his South American lineage. "Check this out! they are going crazy in the forums!!." His raucous voice helping little to his attempts of being discreet. Something the old man at the front of the class quickly noticed. "Mathew! store that cellphone back into your backpack or I will take it with me for the weekend!." "you can show me late-" "NO! something is going on outside!" The panicked tone of his words mixed with the seriousness of his face took everyone by surprise, as he had always been the quiet guy in the classroom. "I don't care what you are talking about, sit down and calm down right now!" The teacher tried to be more demanding now, but Mathew almost jumped from the chair to stand up. "I need to see my brother." Now with clear fear, he grabbed his backpack and took off running past everyone ignoring the orders of the teacher. "Godammit!, I will return soon. No one leaves the class! Sarah watch over them, please." "Of course!." Soon the class began to whisper about the whole situation, some pulling out their cellphones to try and figure out what he meant. "Probably forgot his cartoon body pillow in the washer." Heather's comment made the entire room get filled with laughter. However, soon the sound of phones buzzing replaced it. "NO cellphone's in class!" Sarah's shouting got ignore as they answered the calls, soon their faces twisting as loud words could be heard from the call, some quickly go to their feet and took off with their backpacks, earning anxious looks from their peers. "What the hell is going on?." Layla said, who was seated behind Emma. then, as if summoned by her words, a few gunshots were heard in the city, as more and more ambulances, police cars, and rushing vehicles were seen through the streets. Drawn by the unusual scene everyone quickly rushed to the windows, which quickly got filled with curious students. Whose curiosity they would soon wish never came. An unreal scene quickly began to unfold, as they saw people running away from each other, cars running at high speed, and police officers shooting at what seemed like normal day citizens. But then, it became obvious that something was wrong with them. A pair of police officers were shooting at a group of civilians, who ran at them like if the bullets did nothing. Quickly overwhelming them and dragging them into the ground in the middle of the street. The rushing sound of dozens of shoes filled the hallway, making Emma look away from the nightmarish scenery for a moment, as she saw the open door of the room letting her see several students running away to the stairs leading to the first floor. Her body began to move on her own as she turned to the door, but a grip of her wrist made her halt her advance, as she turned around to meet the horrified face of her friend holding her free hand up, shaking, pointing to somewhere outside the window. Soon her ears capture the gasps, screams, and heavy breathing of everyone around her. As she looked out the window to see hell. The civilians that had pinned down the officers were now tearing them apart with their bare hands. Layla gagged and vomited all over the floor as soon after several of the students ran away to the hallway. Emma couldn't move or think for that matter. All she could do was stare. It was then when she saw it. A bus out of control rushing at full speed through the main street, barely avoiding to clash with people and cars, but eventually, it got into the school grounds, grazing the back parts of several parked cars. Until she realized too late, that the bus was directly going to hit the main entrance of the school. Right below the very classroom where she is standing. The bus finally clashed against one of the cars that were trying to drive away from the school, sending both flying. "EMMA!!" Her body suddenly was pulled away from the windows, just as the sound of shattering glass, broken concrete, and painful screams filled the hallway below. Finally her brain functioning once more, she came back to her senses and looked up. She saw the face of Mason. His brown eyes and black, short hair. Wearing his common school team purple varsity jacket with a white t-shirt under. he was tall, well built, and known as the team leader. A favorite among the students. Had this moment happened under any other circumstances she would be quite happy. Yet, her mind had no space for such thoughts. "You did your good deed of the month now let go of her and let's get the hell out of here!!" Heather was holding her boyfriend's arm, pulling it. "Sorry, I'm sorry." Layla muttered under her breath standing far away from everyone, having moved away from the windows without grabbing Emma out of pure fear. Mason let go of Emma and stared at Heather. "Look at the door, if we go out right now we risk getting crushed." Everyone did so and realized that the hallways were packed with students running towards the stairs there was a lot of pushing and even punching. "Are you not supposed to be the BEST in pushing people AWAY?!" Heather screamed at him with tears in her eyes as her entire body shakes. Mason grabbed both of her arms and spoke in a commanding tone. "We are NOT moving until the hallway it's safe. I can get out on my own, but I won't let everyone here alone." "L-L-LOOK OUTSIDE THE WINDOWS!!" Mathew who had entered the classroom with his brother screamed as he stood near the window. Once again the remaining students moved forward and saw how the crazy civilians were running towards the school now. Their clothes bloody and dirty. "They are coming! We have to LEAVE!!" Heather ran to the door as her group of friends followed her right behind, this time Mason grabbed her tight and stopped her. "let me go, LET ME GO!!" "Something is wrong with those people! We have to warn everybody!- He then looked at the paralyzed Sarah and screamed at her- Don't let anyone go outside Sarah!" She snapped back and nodded furiously, he then ran past Heather and got outside the classroom. Heather once again tried to run outside but this time Sarah stopped her. "move away you fucki-" A powerful slap came from her hand, so much so that Heather fell to the ground, making everyone shock. "Mason is right! All of you are at risk of getting crushed! So stay here or I will knock you OUT!" With that Heather's friends kneeled next to her to calm her sobbing while everyone else stared at each other nervously. After a couple of seconds, several students stepped inside the classroom, together with some teachers and Mason carrying a severely injured student in their arms as Hope right behind them crying her eyes out. "I have to-" "you have to nothing! Stay here, Mason!" One of the teachers stopped him from getting outside. "but-" "NO!, You almost got thrown to the ground, so we all stay here until the students abandon the hallways." "People are killing each other outside!" At this several teachers gasped and looked at the windows. "Oh my God." One of them, an elderly lady. Said as she brought her hands to her mouth before turning around and running at the door. "Miss Evelin stop! You will get injured!" The sports teacher told her but she just turned around, dread in her eyes. "my grandson it's on the lower floor." With that, she dashed at the running students before anyone could do anything. A couple of seconds later finally the last student passed by until none other was seen. Mason quickly left the side of the injured student laying on the floor and ran to the door. "There are several more on the ground, we have to take them down with us!!" "Yes! Everyone come with us now and help carry your unconscious classmates!" The teacher said as everyone but Emma moved into the hallway. "Emma. EMMA. EMMA!!!" Then, she snapped back into the present. "Emma?" Turning her head away from the window she stared at the teacher in his winter jacket. he was a middle-aged man who had long well kept brown hair with white strikes. wearing a pair of rectangular glasses. His voice is monotonous and empty. "The class is about to begin. Please take your seat." "Of course, good morning Mr. Asher!" Returning to her usual self she tried to smile and wave at the man, who simply ignored her by walking to his desk near the chalkboard. Then several other classmates entered the room. Mathew walked inside the room scratching his head and yawing loudly, sitting next to Emma as he always had, and quickly giving her a shy smile with a good morning. "I suppose you did not sleep too much last night right? Stayed up doing Ms. Juliet's assignment?" "Oh?! No! I had forgotten completely! I was just looking at the inner garden of the school. You girls are lucky you got to sleep on the windows looking at the city." "There is nothing different to see Mat, I assure you- She said rolling her eyes." "Well, at least you get to see SOMETHING. At this point, I've memorized the Don't do drugs and Winter dance posters hanging around the place. I wish we could just go to the library and get something nice to read" "What happened with the biography you were writing?" "w-well..." Mathew scratched the back of his head and glanced at a couple of desks ahead of him that laid empty. "What did Mason do this time?" Mathew stayed silent while avoiding meetings Emma's inquiring eyes. "He just. We were playing around and he accidentally threw my book out of the window into the inner garden." "Accidentally, YEAH. What an asshole, what is his problem with you anyways?" "He is going through a lot right now so I don't want to push him in the wrong way or anything." "He is your brother Mat. It does not give him the right to treat you so poorly. Besides, we are ALL going through a lot." "look he just wants me to focus on what's important now. You know he wants us to go out and-" "Emma and Mathew. Be quiet" The two friends stared at the teacher who was now standing with white chalk in his hand. The rest of the morning went, bizarrely normal. The first couple of days they were trapped inside the school had been the harshest. Most students were crying and having panic attacks. Barely able to get out of the classrooms in fear of the undead. So to do some activity to take our minds away the teachers decided to go on with the school schedule. Now, most teens had something else to think about and in a surprisingly short amount of time things had returned to be somewhat common. Emma pondered on this while Mr. Asher explained literature and history to everyone. She wondered for how long would they be able to keep this up. And the moment the thought of rescue came to her head she frighteningly focused on something else. So she looked at her classmates. Behind her sat Layla her best friend. Who had changed a lot since the outbreak started. However at least when drawing she could see some of that Layla from before that she adored. To her right seats Mathew. He had always been a quiet and shy guy in class. Preferring to keep to himself and for some reason this made the two of them click in a way. Not long after he showed her his collection of fairy tales they became good friends. Nearest to the teacher's desk sits Sarah. She was the first on board with the whole "Post outbreak schooling". Always the best grades and highest scores in sports. Next to her would be the seat of Hope, since day one she has been taking care of Christian. The injured student that Mason saved the day it all began. He is so badly beaten up that he can't move at all. So we were all glad that Hope offered to look out for him. Behind Hope lays the "bitches domain", how Emma and Layla used to call it. Heather and her group of friends, Vanessa, Gally, and Harley. They assisted the first couple of classes too. Once the main lioness had regained her composure they now skip almost every day. Then between them and Mathew sits Luca. Blonde hair and an athletic built. Wearing a yellow jacket and a black scarf. Even now he pays attention to class and writes everything down, a very smart and kind guy. In front of Heather lays the "row of sports". Adam, Jose and of course, Mason. They all dressed almost the same, they were part of the baseball team. But that is only recently Adam used to be on the running team and Jose the best boxer in the school before Sarah was transferred of course. Mason, on the other hand, had always been in everything. Swimming, soccer, football. The rising star of our school. A reserved yet charismatic person. Emma blushed a little remembering the crush she had on him ever since first grade. Back then he used too much more lively and energetic. However, as the years went by he seemed to become more detached. Cold. She then frowned in doubt. What had happened to him to become so different from his usual self? Maybe it had been simply a matter of him growing older. But now that Nettube and Eyeread were off and no TV could be seen. She didn't have much else to occupy her mind with. So she wondered if perhaps, now that she had all this time in her hands she could connect a little bit with him. " Jose. Stop messing up your desk" "Que aburrido de mierda" "Speak in English Jose!" " I said O.K! Jesus!" Emma returned her attention to her classmates, Jose is usually the only one of the sports bunch to go to Mr. Asher's class, for whatever reason. Mason and Heather should be in the girl's bathroom doing, who knows what. As you can never go to the bathroom when they are in. Adam trying to flirt with one of Heather's lackeys who prevent anyone from going in at the door. Emma then shifted her attention to the talking pair furthest away from her. Jason and Brook were whispering to each other. Jason was a Japanese student who came last year while Brook is the oldest student here. They are both in love with science and while they never really spoke much before the outbreak, they now seem like the oldest friends. Right behind them should seat Annie. However, she remains in the girl's room all day. And lastly but not least. Behind Annie sits Joshua. The black-haired and the white-dressed guy looked similar to his father, the priest in one of the churches in the city. He never allowed his Bible to leave his side. This whole situation had made his faith ever more strong. "And, that will be all for today. Don't forget to complete the quiz for tomorrow and, yeah. That" Mr. Asher grabbed his things in the same tired manner he always had and left the room as it exploded with the conversation. Emma had been thinking a lot about the people around her. And although she often did this to occupy her mind it was clear that even that would grow old. So she decided to invest herself a little more with everyone around her. The situation outside the safety of the school walls was always present, through the tiny spaces on the curtains of the windows she could stare in the distance the shambling bodies of those who were not dead. But she was determined to not let this change her. She was here now, so the best she could do was to make sure the hopes of everyone didn't vanish. She saw her classmates laughing and joking. She wished to protect that. And with a new objective in mind, she turned around to engage the person that needed it the most. -Layla, After Miss Juliet's class, I want to speak with you in the bathroom, alright? Layla raised an eyebrow, but the tiniest of smiles formed on her face before disappearing as quickly as it came. Then she nodded and kept drawing. Emma pondered on what could she do to raise Layla's mood, she remembered all the things she liked to do or was absolutely in love with. Then it hit her. She is always drawing about the sky and the stars. Layla never dared to look outside the window as it caused her panic attacks the sight of the undead. She is not the only one in the group but. Emma was determined. The stairs to the balcony were directly right to the stairs leading to the first floor. It was a gamble but maybe she could sneak outside the barricade and go to the stairs. Emma's hand went under her desk, where her bag of pencils was at. Inside that bag, there was a metal box of lockpicks. She never was one for crime or anything. But her love for mechanical parts and objects leads her to learn simple skills such as this. But there was another problem. Them. The image of their wide-open jaws and torn skin send a shiver down her spine. In this case, she wasn't silent enough, or worse, that they sneak up on her. What would she do? It was clear she would need muscle in this situation. Mason. That was her solution.