Dead Quarantine by A. Rosaria

zoning out in shock, Sarah slapped her. “Go
help George.”
    Lilly nodded and went over to him, putting
pressure on the wound. They could use help. Where was Vic? He would
help. Jake sat back at his desk with Anna on his lap. He whispered
something in her ear and pointed at George. Anna laughed
sheepishly. Everybody was breaking down.
    “Someone know what's happening?” she
screamed.
    Her thoughts raced, unable to focus on any
one of them. She wanted to get away, run out of the classroom, out
of school, to home. Leave this all behind. She felt bile creep. Her
breathing became shallow. Her hands felt numb. She stared at them
and looked back up. Lilly sat next to George, shaking her head. He
lay motionless in front of her. Sarah felt her head go woozy.
George was dead.
    Lilly grabbed her hands, calling her name.
She allowed the words to drag her back and focused on Lilly's
lips.
    “What should we do now?” Lilly asked.
    How would she know? She was just a teen, a
month away from turning eighteen. She had been keeping herself up,
hoping it would turn out all right, but everything was crashing
down instead. Mount Vesuvius exploded, and they would all soon be
covered under its shit.
    “Sarah?”
    She saw the panic in her friend’s eyes and
her need for her. Sarah gulped. She closed her eyes to collect her
thoughts. No way could she give in. She had a mom and brother to
return to and a real friend that depended on her. She evened her
breathing, opened her eyes, and stood up.
    “We wait for daybreak.”
    “We what?” Jake said.
    She ignored him. “Tomorrow we leave; in the
meantime, we hide here.”
    “I'm not staying here with a corpse,” Anna
said and pointed at the teacher. “Two corpses.”
    “We can't leave Tommy alone,” Sarah
said.
    Whatever they choose to do, she wouldn't
leave him alone. He was still out cold and too heavy for her to
drag. She couldn't count on the others to help. Jake hitting Tommy
must have done some damage to him, most likely a concussion. He was
still out without a sign that he would be back up anytime soon.
    “Well then, it's decided,” Jake said.
    Jake stood, grabbed Anna by the waist, and
walked to the door. “Who's coming?” No one else stirred. “Suit
yourselves; I prefer to be alone anyway.”
    They left, leaving Sarah with Lilly, the two
nerds, Emily, an unconscious Tommy, and two corpses. Whatever
happened, Sarah was determined to get through the night. As long
they kept to themselves and made no noise, they would be fine.
She'd manage. She fought to believe it. She sat down in a corner,
closed her eyes, and tried to rest.

CHAPTER TEN
    “I
should have left you out there,” the man said. “You caused me more
trouble than you are worth. Now, they got my house surrounded.”
    He walked past Ralph into the kitchen. From
the fridge, he took two beers and tossed one at Ralph, who barely
caught it. Why make him feel so unwelcome only to offer him a beer?
Not that he was complaining; it was better to feel unwelcome than
to be zombie chow.
    “Are you gonna stay on the floor.”
    The man sat down on his sofa in his living
room. The room had all the commodities of picture-perfect living
from an IKEA showroom. Spotless, plain, and a sense of unpractical
usage. Ralph stood up, wincing at the stiff muscle pain stretching
over his body. He sat down on the opposite sofa. The soft cushions
were a delight to his aching bum.
    The zombies outside banged on the door
incessantly, as if they instinctively knew succulent food was
inside. Could they smell them or was it that they were so dumb and
compulsive that they would keep going in one direction without
additional stimuli?
    “You like the door? Want to open it? No?
Well stop staring at it. Open your beer and have a drink with
me.”
    Ralph popped the can open and took a sip. He
didn't like beer, too bitter, and it was heavy on his stomach, but
today he savored the cool and bitter taste. The alcohol quickly
made itself known. It went