The Rot

Escape part 2

  Some time had passed before we could leave the classroom we hid in. Once the coast was clear we silently snuck out and made our way down the hall continuing our path. Somehow our hands found each other again as we silently and slowly traveled. I stopped looking out windows and into classrooms, the scenes were that of a day time nightmare. Blood and guts and parts and pieces were literally everywhere. The stench was so strong it burned your throat as you breathed. 

  We cut through a side hall to try to get closer to the science building and we saw they had bolted the doors shut. "Well f**k" he sighed. "We have two options. We go up and see if we can get through that way or we go down and do the same.." I stated pointing in each direction as I spoke.

  He ran his hands through his hair in contemplation. We have no idea what's above us, but we do know about the mass in the court yard below. "We go up" he finally spoke and I just nodded. We aren't close enough to jump out a window and make a run for it, we would surely die. We had to get as close to the parking lot as possible before making that leap of faith. 

  "Now we have to back track" he sighed and pointed towards the closest stair case, back near where we came from. I just nodded in compliance and we linked hands and started in that direction. Occasionally jumping from a bang or a bump in the hall, we were both on edge. 

  We hit the stairs without incident and made our ascent. Pushing through the doors we found the stairs were absolutely disgusting. Each floor had a set of doors to the stairwell. Which could be lucky for us if they were closed these things might not know how to open them.With every step our shoes stuck into the goo. Black goo dripped and oozed down the steps as I fought the urge to vomit all over myself I clutched the hand rail to keep from slipping. We cautiously went further up the stair well listening for any possible sound that meant danger. 

  All of a sudden an explosion of sound below sent us flying up the stairs. Kieron grasped my hand as tight as humanly possible as he dragged me up with him. Before plunging through the doors on the 3rd floor. We looked around wildly for a safe space and found a teachers lounge. I ripped the door open and we both shoved our bodies through the door way and quickly shut it behind us. I watched as countless crawlies flooded the stairwell we were just in. 

  I was right though, they couldn't work the door. Which was some advantage to us. At least it'll give us time if nothing anything else. The doors opened towards the stairs and they didn't know how to grab the handles and pull. Kieron examined the room and found no one human or not so human was with us. We both collectively sighed at once and sat down. 

  We had been at this escape for hours now and the sun was getting low in the sky. "We might have to stay here the night" he spoke quietly. I bit the skin of my lips at the thought of staying in this hell hole. But he was right, how would we escape if we can't see them. Plus we don't know much about them especially at night. Both of our stomachs growled in unison and we laughed. It was a good laugh, a true genuine laugh. It felt god to be human for a second.

   He grabbed a chair and shoved it under the door handle, making sure nothing could push it open so we could remain safe and could drop our guard. I dug through the fridge and conjured up random lunches and drinks the teachers had brought. I laid everything out for us to pick from. Random sandwiches and salads, something that resembled meatloaf, and various chips and cookies. Along with some sodas. The waters I shoved in our back packs along with some granola bars and other seemingly non perishables I found. We would definitely need to stay hydrated and keep food in our bodies if we wanted to live.

  Luckily with the power still on all of the food was still good so we dug in and filled our bellies in silence.The few things we didn't finish we put back in the fridge for morning, hoping the power would stay on over night. 

  Kieron took some of the tables and set them in a circle around the furthest corner from the door as a barrier just incase someone broke in during the night.I collected random jackets and anything slightly comfortable we could use to sleep on and laid them all out in a nest. We both crawled into our fortress and laid on our sides a few feet apart staring at each other. 

  We idly chatted as the sun slowly made its decent leaving us in the dark. Chatting about family I learned he had just moved here a month ago with his parents and two younger sisters. They were military brats and moved often due to his fathers high clearance level job. I talked about my parents and other brother who was in college currently. We had no idea what was waiting for us at our homes but our words remained hopeful we would find our families safe. Cellphone and internet had cut out as soon as the invasion began leaving us completely out of the loop and guessing. As it got darker we had turned the light off in the room to not attract anything to this specific room while it was dark outside. Sounds of hell rang through the halls causing me to jump and shake every time a new screech or moan rang through. He scooted over to me and wrapped his arms around me, pulling me to his chest. I buried my face in as he gently stroked my hair to try and calm my nerves. All I could think about was how gross I probably smelled but we were both so desensitized after what we endured all day it didn't matter anyways. Slowly but surely sleep crept in and I forgot all about the nightmare we were living in.