Mara
It's closed? The school is closed? I don't believe it. How could it be closed if the staff is still there? They are keeping Rowan in there, and I'm ready to break down doors to get to that idiot.
"You shouldn't be here," the voice rings from behind me. I recognize it to be the boy's who invaded my yard to fight zombies like a cartoon hero while telling me to stay inside and let the zombies eat everyone once they get inside.
"I need to go inside that school," I tell him.
"For what? A friend?" the freckled guy asks me.
"A brother," I elaborate even if it's an unnecessary piece of information to give. But as long as I'm getting closer to Rowan, everything is fine.
"I know another way inside," he says, offering to lead me there. I follow him. I don't care about him. I don't even trust him, but I need to find Rowan. Without him, I have no one.
The enterance is at the side of the school, smaller than the main enterance. There are no fences on this side of the school. It's almost too easy to get there. The door is unlocked. Maybe they use it as an emergency exit that the kids don't know about. Is this guy a staff member? He seems to know his way around too well. Why have I not seen him around before?
We pass the nurse's office, and he's still there with me even though he has already done what he promised to. I'm inside the building, and he's following me around like I'm an alien he's trying to catch. I'm just getting into thinking he's going hit everyone he sees with whatever weapon he's hiding, he talks to me again.
"I'll help you get your brother. If you see the zombies, I'll kill them," he told me.
His expression shows me no sign of a lie, but I still don't see a reason to trust him. The part about him having to be the one fighting was clearly an implication that I'm weak. Why is he even trying to protect a stranger so much? First invading my porch, probably trying to steal by package before the outbreak, and then telling me what to do in my brother's school. I've known this guy for less than a day and hate him already. I need to keep him as far away as possible.
"No shit. That's what we are here to do," I point out dryly, hoping he stops saying unnecessary things. We are here to look for Rowan, not to plan out a one-man strategy to defeat an army of zombies. I just want to walk to Rowan and keep as quiet as possible not to attract attention.
"How did you know about the door at the side?" I ask. Based on what he says, he doesn't seem to be a staff member or have attended the school. How did he know the way in? He followed me here. Has he followed me around every time I have came here?
"I deliver medicine here often enough to know my way to the nurse's office and back," he admits. Well, that's a detail that spites my interest. If he's associated with medicide, he might how about the medicine my mother took. If he doesn't, I'll permanently mark him as useless in my head.
"Oh, you deliver medicine. What kind of medicine?" I ask, acting as interested as the yawn that follows me words can make me seem.
"I used to work for my family as part of the Ashdowns and got to speed a bike with 'Elias Ashdown' written on it whenever someone had digestion or sleeping issues, but I recetly got a job at Quickhelper and something happened at the pharmacy," he explains.
"I didn't ask you who you work for, Ash, Ashdon, or whatever you said your name is. I asked what you know about medicine, not your family history in slow motion," I say while the leash I have around my irritatedness is slipping off. I'm annoyed that he doesn't list the exact names and details of the medicine, but manage to recall a word he said. "Wait, Quickhelper? What happened in that pharmacy?"
"My name is Elias," he says like it's the most important part before continuing. "Okay, so basically... Wait, did you know that some pharmacies have those little metal gates? Because I got stuck behind them once, and that's how I learned you can... Oh, right. Pharmacy. So there were people there, but not people people, obviously, because they were infected, except one guy wasn't infected, but I thought he was, because he was acting weird, and then—" Elias's words are interrupted by me clearing my throat. I stare at him before saying my line.
"The pills," I state.
"Right, the pills. So—" he starts again. I glare.
Please give me patience, or a brick. I'm not picky.
"Quickhelper pills? I haven't used those pills, nor do I know what exactly is up with them, but they seem to have a weird effect. There are some shock preventing things they put in them," he says, finally giving me the answer I have been searching for. For some reason, my false patience is still ticking. He seems to not know any more than I do. I have no more will to continue the conversation, but he still keeps talking.
"There was someone in the pharmacy before the full-on outbreak or whatever started. I saw a woman buy those pills I deliver. And boom, she lost control and started acting like the zombies I saw outside. All bitey. I don't know if it's organized by aliens, the owner of the pills or my neighbour's dog, but the pills seem related. I know a few people who took them. They aren't well," he keeps going on.
"I've also seen people get bit before you, or the undead, made my lawn their new home. Even my own mother had a bite mark that bled with Quickhelper colored liquid when she died. It's clearly not something to take as lightly as going out to fight just because you think it's fun," I lecture him.
"It's not fun. It's necessary. They are zombies like in video games and movies. If we don't kill them, we'll die," Elias said. I couldn't open my mouth. It was a true statement. Well, if you don't count the video game crap. Now that I think of it, this guy has seen ways to kill people whose brain doesn't work right anymore. If I could tolerate him, he'd be useful.
The pills being related to it all doesn't sound too distant anymore. Rowan somehow knew something was wrong when he first saw mom bring the pills home. It makes me wonder if he's if still alive. I hope he's well hidden if one of the things has gotten inside. I hope he hasn't seen them. He's too young for all the violence. I doubt he could kill someone.
We wander the empty halls for quite a while before I finally notice light brown hair and a bright red shirt. That's him. I round the corner to see my little brother sitting next to a girl who seems to be in a worse condition. She's covered in bite marks, eyes staring at nothing. There is no motion. Everyone stays quiet. Rowan's eyes are red and swollen. He's been crying. He looks at me through fresh tears.
"She won't move..." Rowan says quietly.
The girl seems to have been bitten by whole a swarm. I don't know if Rowan saw it, but I don't have the heart to tell him what truly happened to his friend. I don't want to tell him she's dead and can't come back.
Her fingers twitch.