Endless Recess

Empty Hearts, Empty Stomachs| Part 3

Emma's legs gave up and her body crashed on the ground, Sarah and Jose rested their bodies on the walls instead.

Mason rushed to his brother, he helped him get to his feet and hugged him.

For an entire minute no one spoke or moved, Mr. Landon stayed on the ground staring at the locker in front of him that occasionally shook.

The position it was in meant that the more they tried to push it the more stuck it would get.

Eventually, Mason patted the back of Mathew and let go of him, moving directly to the nearby Mr. Landon and struck him on the face with his fist.

However, no one said or did anything. Not even Mr. Landon.

"Next time you go on your own, do it when you won't put everyone's lives at risk."

Mr. Landon stared at the ground in silence for a couple of seconds, then he slowly nodded. Making Mason move away from him.

"Alright, listen everyone. We have to keep going, now is the moment to take over the dining hall!" Mason shouted while turning around.

Directly left from the stairs was a pair of other classrooms and then a dead end.

The last door was white and made out mostly of glass.

Sarah shook her head and cleaned her eyes, taking a deep breath before staring at her shaking hands and forcing them to calm down.

Jose did a cross symbol on his head and kissed his thumb. Then tightly closed his eyes before moving away from the wall and following Mason.

Mr. Landon followed next by simply standing up and cracking his neck.

Emma took a deep breath as well and stood up looking at Mason staring at the shaking locker on top of the stairs.

She walked next to him and finally, the energy returned to her voice.

"That was amazing, Mathew."

His eyes still looked deeply disturbed and his entire body was shivering, unlikely to be due to the cold.

Emma stretched her hand towards him hoping to comfort him, however, she stopped herself the moment she noticed how badly was she shaking as well.

Death had almost gotten everyone in that hallway. Had Mathew not acted fast, everyone would have been eaten alive by the undead horde.

"Guys, come on" Sarah whispered at the two frozen friends.

She together with Mason, Jason and Mr. Landon crouched next to the pair of glass doors with their pipes ready.

Emma looked at Mathew, who stared back at her in fear.

"We have to go."

"I know" he said as if air couldn't reach his lungs.

Taking a deep breath he shook his head and walked with Emma to the rest of the group.

Everyone in a line stuck their bodies to the wall while Mason, at the head, tried to look inside the room for any movement.

"Seems clear. Let's move with precaution. Do not lift your bodies.

With that, he opened one of the glass doors and step inside the big dining hall."

There were dozens of large tables on the first and second floor. White wood and simple stools for sitting. The room was rectangular and huge, the second floor where the group was at had a U shape with stairs connecting to the first floor in each end.

They were at the back several dozen meters away from their prize, everyone stared at the tables where food was served and right behind, the doors to the kitchen.

It seemed like there was no corpse on their floor. Mason approached the railings and looked down the second floor.

It was hard to see as the curtains on the big windows on the wall facing the parking lots were down, preventing the most sun from reaching in.

Once he moved back with the rest of the group he whispered at them.

"There are three of them still inside, the rest must have gone to the stairs in the hallway with all the sound we made."

"So it's now or never, do we block the stairs then?" Jose asked nervously looking at the stairs.

"Forget about them, if we deal with the corpses and close the main doors we will be fine. I was expecting more but this makes things easier."

"What do we do first?" Emma spoke up, moving closer to Mason.

Mason looked at the ground for a moment, thinking, then looked up at his brother before returning his eyes to Emma.

"You, Mathew, and Sarah move to the kitchen doors get them open. The rest of us will close the main doors."

After a couple of seconds of silence, Mason pointed at the nearby stairs with his head and everyone began moving.

Emma stared at her surroundings, tables moved, stools thrown on the ground, some broken. Considerable less blood than other parts of the school, probably due to everyone running away faster from the starting outbreak.

She realized that the place seemed to have a damp smell rather than the usual rotten meat sickeningly all over the school. The sound of the corpses trying to move the locker barely audible.

Quietly they moved down the stairs with Mason at the head as always, once everyone was on the first floor they saw the three bodies giving their backs at them.

The stairs were at the far end of the room, far away from the main doors leading to the rest of the school's first floor.

Right before Emma could move ahead with Mathew next to her and Sarah behind, Mason stretched his arm and stopped her. He looked at Sarah.

"You go ahead, make sure to strike at anything that may hide behind the doors."

Emma frowned at the clear message he was giving, "Protect them".

However Sarah was too shaken from the moments earlier to think at all, she simply obeyed and moved ahead.

He moved his arm and grabbed his lead pipe with both hands.

"let's move fast and quietly."

Everyone nodded and moved forward, however, only a second after Sarah gave a step and a splash of water turned everyone's attention to her.

Just in time to see her sports shoes slip and propel her directly to the ceramic floor.

Everyone's heart stops as she managed to fall with her hands, but her lead pipe hit the floor causing a loud clank sound that traveled through the entire room with a long echo.

The corpses immediately turned around to face the group, as the sound of the moving locker stop.

"GET to the doors!!" Mason shouted as he rushed forward with Mr. Landon and Jason.

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" Sarah repeated as Emma ran past her and Mathew helped her get on her feet.

Emma jumped over the tables and avoided looking at the disgusting mold filled leftover food around, heading straight to the door.

Out of instinct she first tried to open it, as usual, unsurprisingly the door didn't open, so she kneeled and pulled out her lock picking box, Mathew appearing soon with the tearful Sarah behind.

As she held the lockpicks in her hands she saw the stream of water from inside the kitchen and into the dining hall through the crevice of the door.

"Don't engage! Straight to the door!"

She heard Mason shout before lifting her hands and began trying to get the doors open.

Mason ran ahead hearing his heart in his ears as he smashed the arms of an incoming corpse with his lead pipe, running past it and heading straight to the doors.

Jose following close behind and turning his body to hit the same corpse right on the back of the head, throwing him on the ground and quickly running with Mason.

Mr. Landon providing the finishing hit to the corpse lifting its body, directly on the face, splitting open its skull, and throwing its dark red insides on the ground.

As Mason got closer to the opened wooden doors he saw with increasing horror how a couple of "them" made their way inside the dining hall.

His mind tried to grab any solutions or possibilities, they had just barely managed to survive a few minutes ago.

His feet slowly stop moving as all the hidden fear overwhelmed his senses and siphon all his strength.

The silent corpses staring in his direction with open jaws and exposed muscle.

"Mason don't stop!!"

The broken voice of Jose made him look back, he saw the dreadful stares of him and Mr. Landon as they approached quickly, he stared back at the undead in front of him and remembered that if they didn't bring food back, everyone would starve.

A scream came out of his mouth, a mixture of anger, fear, and courage as he leaped forward now with Jose and Mr. Landon to his side.

They too screamed as they shared this newfound determination to fight against death itself, and together, they swung their lead pipes.

The adrenaline traveling through their veins as they hit each corpse with incredible strength.

Finally, they reached the doors and Mason jumped forward hitting one of them on the head, pushing him on the ground giving him the space needed to close both wooden doors. Pressing his body against them.

However in a few seconds, the horde was against the door, dozens of them pushing with inhuman strength, quickly Mason got overwhelmed and the doors began to open.

"MOVE!"

Mr. Landon tackled Mason and with his powerful arms held the door close, the responsibility of separating the horde from the group once again on his shoulders.

Mason and Jose now standing between Mr. Landen and a dozen corpses who had made their way inside.

"BROTHER!" Mathew shouted while looking at Mason in trouble.

He stared at the shaking Sarah, who looked like she had finally broken, tears falling down her cheeks and trembling lips whispering incomprehensible words.

Despite his fear, he jumped over the tables and ran to aid his brother.

Emma tried to ease her breathing and stop the shaking of her own hands, as cold sweat on her palms made it even more difficult to hold the lockpicks correctly.

She was careful and growing more desperate each second, the fear and adrenaline made the worse happen, as she kept twisting the delicate metal piece. It snaps.

Sarah slowly turned her head to see Emma's face of absolute horror. Her mouth opens as if she wanted to scream, eyes focused on the broken tool on her hands.

Her mind went blank as her body fell on the ground unconscious.

However, Emma opened her box once again and pulled out a replacement for the broken tool.

"Only two left."

She whispered out loud before staring at the unconscious body of Sarah. Another scream made her turn directly to the door and get ready to work again, but this time she took a deep breath and tried to be as steady as she could.

Swing after swing they barely kept the undead in line, lacking Mr. Landon's strength to deal with each one in a single hit they hit them multiple times but at the end, they were forced to push them or kick them.

Until Jose tried to shove one of them and it grabbed his varsity jacket, pulling him onto the ground with it.

Jason screamed as the corpse slowly pulled him close its open jaws.

"JOSEE!!" Mason screamed while desperately fighting off six of them

The other three got close to the pinned down the teen and then.

"AAAAGH!!"

Mathew screamed as he hit one of the corpses from the back hard enough to throw it to the ground, then rushed to push back another on his left, making it go over a table and fall at the other side.

Finally, it hit one that was already holding Jose's jacket from the side, first managing to force it to let go of him and then kicking it.

"KILL THIS SON OF A b***h!!" Jose screamed as he moved his head to the side.

Mathew realizing the opening lifted his lead pipe and made it fall with all his might on the face of the corpse dangerously close to Jose's shoulder.

Again and again, until it released Jose, then he helped him get on his feet and they both ran to aid Mason.

Quickly, the three of them managed to push the undead back and take them down one by one, until only four remained.

"I can't do this for much longer!"

The pained grunts of Mr. Landon made Mason turn to see him. He was slowly giving up inch by inch.

To the point that now the fingers of the corpses went through the small opening on the door, helping them push it open more.

"The tables!" Mathew shouted while rushing to begin pulling one of the large wooden tables.

"Join him Jose!" Mason said grabbing him by the shoulder "I will hold them back."

"But-"

"GO!" he hastily shoved him towards Mathew.

Jose ran to help Mathew pull tables and stools against the door. While Mason firmly grabbed his lead pipe and jumped forward at the remaining undead, who already had some broken limbs.

Mr. Landon's strength was finally failing him when the wooden table broke and push back the fingers on the door, making him once again able of closing the door fully.

"Quickly! Bring everything you can!!"

Mr. Landon shouted while Mathew and Jason pushed more tables.

Meanwhile, Emma was quietly trying to open the door, desperately focusing on the sounds of the lock weakening to know where to pull or lift.

Until finally, the sound of it unlocking.

She almost screamed in joy and happiness as she pushed the door and it opened with a loud cracking sound.

She entered the kitchen and saw it clean as if nothing had ever happened, an open sink overflowing with water the source for the wet floors.

The kitchen was dark and had all cabinets and tables made out of steel. Despite the situation, her stomach growled at the idea of the countless cans of food inside each cabinet.

But then the sound of a body slipping on the water near the stairs made her stand up and walk back.

She stared at the far end of the dining hall and saw the guys pulling tables and stools one on top of each other, several corpses lying still on the ground.

After checking on Sarah she knew it wasn't her. So when she leaned over the table she was greeted by a gray hand helping its owner lift off the ground.

A corpse of a student with a tear-open neck. The same that had gotten Layla.

The corpse stared at the terrified girl and launched at her.

Emma dodged his attack and fell on the ground next to Sarah, quickly moving away from the dead student that was now getting over the table, falling on the ground in front of her.

As the devil stretched its hands Emma felt the cold of the lead pipe Sarah had dropped, grabbing it she stood up and stared down at the corpse preparing to lift its body and finish what it started.

Emma's eyes suddenly changed from fear to anger, she grits her teeth with fury, and with a powerful battle cry, she hit the head of the undead with her lead pipe, many times.

Every hit was a life she had lost, her uncles, aunts, parents and her best friend, almost everyone she loved or ever cared for.

It was all let out in that moment, the anguish, the pain, the doubt.

"Emma!!"

Mason grabbed and pulled her away from the long immobile corpse. Its head a mere mangled and butchered remain of what it was.

"I WILL LIVE!!" She screamed to the top of her lungs.

"I see you got the door open" Mason said releasing her from his arms "and we have barricaded the other doors as well."

Emma looked in the direction of the main doors and saw a bunch of tables and stools pressing against it. Keeping it close as the horde tried to break in.

"The kitchen it's secure. Emma, we can bring the food to everyone now" Mason said squeezing her shoulder.

"We will live" She said looking at him with fire in her eyes.

"Oh God, I heard them scream!"

Miss Juliet was close to having a panic attack, her usually calm self was completely shattered and everyone else's spirits falter with hers.

All the students and the two teachers stood in the hallway looking at each other anxiously, the screams of their classmates were barely heard, however it was enough to make everyone think of the worse.

Mr. Asher held Miss Juliet with his arms, trying to give her some comfort, then he realized how everyone else was just as scared.

"They probably saw them, got scared, and are coming back as we speak!" he shouted at the nervous group looking at the barricade.

"But those were screams, right?! What if they got cornered?!" Jason spoke up, shaking with Brook next to him.

"Mr. Landon is with them, he would never let anything happen to them-"

"What if Mr. Landon is d-death?" Joshua whispered loud enough for everyone to hear.

"N-no! Don't say that Joshua!, Mr. Landon is-"

"If they come back without food we will saarve to death anyway!" Adam said with a fearful face, Hope next to him trying to calm him down.

Soon the hallway got filled with concern for the group outside or themselves. All while Mr. Asher ran out of things to say.

He too wondered if the group had been consumed by the undead, what would it mean for the survival of everyone else?

"For the love of God shut up ALREADY!"

Heather shouted loud enough for everyone to stop talking. Now all attention focused on her.

"They WILL come back with food. And I mean EVERYONE of them, so you better shut up and stop agitating everyone else!" She said pointing at the nervous crowd.

"We fear for our survival."

Annie said soon after the hallway fell into silence. She rested her body on the door frame of the girl's room. Her tiny smile and judging glare always on her face.

"None of you is ready for this world. Already crying for people you didn't even care about a month ago. Hypocrites."

"Just because you were never loved as a child doesn't mean everyone has your same misfortune. Some of us have friends, monochromatic b***h" Heather spat with disdain.

"Like you and your little lackeys?" Annie spat back rising an eyebrow.

"Hey!"

"Shut up!"

"Ugh."

The group behind Heather answered. The lioness smiled crossed her arms.

"I don't know what you try to prove, gothic good-for-nothing asshole, but it's not working."

"When the moment comes that they have to choose between themselves and you, they will ditch you Heather and you know it. They only stick with you because it's the only thing they've known how to do since childhood."

"Well some have healthier habits than others, don't you think so you junkie?"

Annie's smile disappeared while Heather's grew, the pale girl then step forward and walked closer to Heather. Who've friends frowned and prepared for conflict.

"Alright girls stop it here" Mr. Asher said stepping between the two "Heather, we are all anxious so don't mind too much what Annie says" he looked at the upset teen who rolled her eyes "and you Annie, that is no excuse to go on trying to fight others, especially not in times like this."

Annie looked at her teacher as if he was an annoying fly before spitting on the floor near Heather, making her pull out her tongue in disgust. She then shrugged and walked back to the girl's room, only to stop by the frame and look back at Heather, this time with her smile back.

"I would be careful with whom you use that word Heather, you may hurt someone's feelings. And I'm not talking about mine."

With that message, she closed the door.

"What a f*****g lunatic" Heather said turning around and preparing to enter one of the rooms.

It was then that the blankets and desks of the barricade began to move, everyone looked in its direction and time seemed to stop.

But to their delight, Mason's frame popped out of the blanket, with his backpack on his back and another one on his hand filled to the brim with cans of all type.

"We are back! With food and all of us!" he said lifting the heavy backpack.

The whole hallway exploded with cheers and celebration, Heather ran to embrace him in a tight hug.

"Boys, girls please be quiet!" Mr. Asheron shouted making everyone remember the danger of them.

"That won't be needed anymore Mr. Asher, we barricaded the only ways they had to get to us."

Once again the hallway fell into silence as the rest of the group appeared from the other side of the barricade.

"Does that mean that we are safe? We are safe?" Adam said walking up to his friend, who let go of his bloody pipe and rested his hand on his shoulder.

"Yes Adam, the second floor and the dining hall are safe."

"We will survive this apocalypse carajo!!" Jose shouted lifting his lead pipe before Miss Juliet tackled him and hugged him tightly.

Once again the hallway got filled with cheers and true happiness, everyone cheering on the group now fully inside the no longer needed protection of the barricade.

Emma stood there feeling joy and pain, the latter mainly from the heavy backpacks she carried, while former for the same thing.

Miss Juliet finished embracing Jose and jumped to her, giving her many kisses like a mother.

"You are a brave kid Emma, I'm so glad you are all back safe" She whispered in her ear as she began to softly sob.

Emma returned the hug until Miss Juliet let her go and went on to praise Mathew.

"Give me that!" Heather said grabbing Mason's backpacks and almost crying at the sight of the vegetables and meats "Miss Juliet let go of the nerd and cook us some food!!"

Rather than being commanding or mean, Heather seemed genuinely happy and simply was being playful. Miss Juliet and most of the students laughed but also understood it was an honest request, she cleaned the tears from her face before speaking.

"Everyone please help to carry the backpacks to the teacher's room, tonight I will cook a huge stew!!"

Gladly, the students rushed to relieve the group from their weight.

Heather and her group too helped carry them, soon everyone left the barricade and only Emma and Mason remained.

"So, "I will live"?" Mason said at Emma raising his eyebrow.

"Oh, yeah" she blushed slightly "it was the heat of the moment."

"I see, didn't say anything right then but, I think you are right. You will survive Emma" he said now properly turning to face her "You are brave."

"And so are you, Mason. Without you, we could have very well starved to death!"

"I don't think it would had come to that. I believe you would had spoken up."

"Maybe but-"

"Oh stop it already" he said grabbing her face "Give yourself some credit. You are capable of more than you think. I knew since the night we went up to the roof."

Emma could feel the heat going to her face and there was nothing she could do to stop it. Mason stared into her eyes and she felt as if he was pondering something.

But then his eyes widened and he looked towards the teacher's room.

"Come, I have an idea" he said grabbing her hand.

Mason and Emma entered the already packed room.

Everyone was organizing the cans and inspecting the foods, Mason let go of Emma, to her displeasure, and waved them to catch everyone's attention.

"Listen everybody! Not only will we eat like king's tonight, but the place we doit also matters! And for that, I have an idea!."

The night came, winter night with cold winds and the eerie silence that had engulfed the whole world.

The automatic lights on the streets shinned down on the shambling corpses of the death.

Meanwhile, several feet walked on a hallway, the school hallway of the second floor. The floors and walls had been cleaned to the best of their abilities, and while some whispered fearful, most were silent.

Emma stood at the first steps of the stairs leading to the roof, staring at the locker now reinforced with several more desks resting on top of it.

Her heart swells up with the memory of her friend. If only she could be part of tonight was about to happen. But she knew she was staring at them from the stars she loved so much. And that made her smile.

"Emma?"

She looked up and saw the entire group of teachers and students standing in front of her. After a moment of silence, she nodded and walked upstairs with them.

The moment the door opened Mr. Asher was the first to step forward.

Several desks had been placed one in front of the other, creating a sort of long table. The lights of the entrance to the stairs were on and after a month of darkness, they could see clearly at night.

Soon everyone else burst onto the roof with joyful laughs and excited minds, staring up into the clearest night sky they had ever seen.

"Everybody! Take off your masks!" Emma shouted and everyone hesitated at first. But soon did as she said.

Taking deep breaths their voices soon grew louder as they hugged each other and jumped around, everyone took deep breaths letting the purity of the air invade their lungs.

"let's eat!!."

Miss Juliet carried a metal pot as well as Heather's group, the steamy stew making everyone's mouths wet.

After not long they had eaten and laughed telling tales of the past, then the group spoke in detail of their experience outside the barrier. Making everyone even more thankful and amazed at them.

After dinner, the survivors had broken off into groups, the teachers sitting on the table, Mason with his group inspecting the mess of wood and metal near the stairs. Heather and most girls sitting on the roof talking. Jason, Brook, and Luca chatted in their group sitting on the floor away from the girls.

Emma on the other hand was sitting at the edge of the roof, facing the school coliseum.

"Don't tell me you already want to go there like my brother."

She turned around to meet Mathew's disapproving glare, but after she gave him her own, he laughed and sat next to her.

"I'm just thinking about the future Mat."

"You want to get out too, right?"

"You don't?" She asked the teen, who simply shrugged "We can't stay here forever."

"Maybe, but at least I want to enjoy our newfound peace. With the halls cleaned and now weeks worth of food, everyone can move to their own classroom and have some privacy, we can use the blankets as ACTUAL blankets. After an entire month, we may finally rest calmly."

Emma too felt much more at peace knowing that things would be easier from now on. Then the real question she wanted to ask him came to mind.

"What made you come with us Mat?"

He scratched the back of his head and gave her a shy smile.

"I wanted to be brave like my brother I think" he then briefly looked at her in the eyes, before returning his sight to the floor "and, I wanted to be sure I wouldn't lose the only two persons I love."

Emma felt her heart melt and hugged her friend tightly.

-I love you too Mat, you are the only true friend I have left.

"Y-yeah" Mathew said while patting her back, a little embarrassed.

"But, I want to spend more time with everyone in general."

Emma released her friend and stared at the groups.

"Even the teachers?"/Mathew asked jokingly

"Specially the teachers."

"Talking about them, what's up with Mr. Landon? Today he was, a little strange."

Emma nodded and they both stared at the huge man laughing loudly with Mr. Asher and Miss Juliet sitting next to him.

"Jesus, I can't believe you did it" Asher said to his friend.

He quickly hushed him and pulled a bourbon whiskey from his coat, discreetly pouring some in both teacher's water cups.

"I didn't know you two were keeping this in the school kitchen, you could have gotten into serious problems with the principal!" Miss Juliet said taking a long sip.

"Who do you think told us where to hide it?!" Mr. Landon said with a big smile before laughing loudly and embracing both teachers in his heavy arms.

As Asher giggled to himself he noticed a tiny drop of blood that fell from Landon's right arm. he quickly pulled up his sleeve revealing several scratch marks.

"Don't worry Asher, they are superficial and will heal soon" Landon said noticing his concerned friend's face.

Asher stared at him worried but soon he shook his head and forced a smile.

"Everyone! look there!"

Vanessa was standing and pointing at the coliseum. Emma and Mathew turned around while everyone walked closer to the edge with them.

"Are those?" Mathew asked standing up with Emma.

Light beams pointed at them, like trying to communicate by constantly turning them on and off.

"But, that means-"

"There are others in the school coliseum."

Mason finished Emma's sentence as everyone stared at the school building. surrounded by an endless sea of corpses.