Lucas poked his head out of the backstage entrance and looked down the hallway. It was the hallway Mr. Ladelson's room was in, so it's no further than they've already been. On a positive note, there were still no signs of any zombies.

"Okay," Lucas whispered. "The coast is clear. The front office is a straight left from here. It's lengthy, but it's there."

"Alright," Jerry whispered in reply. "You lead the way."

"You're usually the leader of everything," Becky pointed out. "Why don't you lead the way?"

"Because I only lead my own plans and ideas," Jerry replied. "Plus, if a zombie does a sneak attack from the front, at least it'll be Harving getting killed and not me."

"How nice to know you care," Lucas grumbled. He then took one last look down the hallway.

"Phoebe, do you have the ammo?" he asked the chubby sophomore.

"Yep," she replied as she held up a box of unopened nails. They looked pretty long for construction purposes, but that could easily be used to their advantage.

"Everybody, get a nail loaded, just in case." Lucas commanded. The high-schoolers quickly did just that as quietly as they could.

"Okay, let's head out on the count of three," he told them all.

"Wait," Ned suddenly said, "does that mean 'one, two, go' or 'one, two, three, go'?"

"Does that really matter?" Becky asked.

"Yes, actually! I don't want to go out too soon or too late!"

"Shhhh!" Lucas shushed loudly. "Okay, if it's that important, Ned, it's 'one, two, go'. Okay?"

"Got it."

"Okay...let's do this."

The high schoolers all carefully held their slingshots tightly and waited for the signal.

"One," Lucas counted quietly, "two...three!"

With Lucas in the lead, the teens quickly and quietly went down the hallway, weapons at the ready. As they walked, Lucas was sure to keep his eyes peeled for any signs of life, whether it be human or zombie. He really hoped they'd encounter another human, though; the thought of six sole survivors doesn't sound very encouraging.

"Hold up!" Jerry suddenly told them all.

Lucas turned around and saw the jock looking through one of the classroom door windows.

"What is it?" Becky asked.

"There's something in written on the wall in here," Jerry replied. "I can't tell exactly what it says, though..."

Curious, Lucas sneaked over to the window and looked inside. It was the choir room, which was normally very organized; Mr. Evans is a neat freak, as it were. But now, the room had chairs knocked all over the place, and the giant mirror in front of the room had been partially shattered. The main focus, though, was what was written in red on the wall next to the mirror.

"I can't make out the whole thing," Ned admitted as he poked through. "It looks like something along the lines of "is not here"."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Becky asked.

"Who cares?" Chelsea replied with a hint of annoyance. "Can we just get out of this place already?"

"Right," Lucas replied as he looked back down the hallway. "C'mon, guys. Let's go."

Lucas then continued down the hall, checking behind him to make sure everyone was following, which they all seemed to be. It may have been a trick of the mind, but whenever he looked back, it was almost as if Phoebe was looking directly at him every time; however, she'd look away as soon as he turned.

Suddenly, they all heard groans that made them stop in their tracks. Lucas looked in front of them and saw a few zombies slowly inch across the path as they exited one of the classrooms ahead of the students.

"We can take them out!" Becky whispered with excitement as she raised her weapon.

"No!" Lucas suddenly said in an equal tone as he turned and looked at her. "We're not sure how many there are. There could be more in the classroom; we don't want more than we can handle. We should only attack if they attack first."

"Okay, then," Jerry told him as he crossed his arms, "what do you suggest?"

"We may need to take a detour," Lucas replied as he looked at the doorways next to him. He then found a promising one.

"This is the band room," he said aloud as he turned towards Becky. "Isn't there a door in there that leads to the teachers' lounge?" he then asked her.

"Yeah," she replied with a nod. "From there, it's a quick walk to another doorway to the main entrance."

"Perfect. C'mon, guys! But be careful!"

"I think that's a natural instinct at this point, Harving," Jerry said as he rolled his eyes.

Lucas ignored him as he walked towards the band room door. With his weapon at the ready, he slowly opened the door and looked inside. Unlike the choir room, the band room had chairs and cabinets and all sorts of instruments everywhere that were completely neat and untouched. There were no messages written on the walls, either.

"There's the door, right across from us!" Becky pointed out as she poked through.

Sure enough, a double-door could be seen a good 50 feet ahead of them. From there, it was the teachers' lounge, a quick right, and then the front entrance. Hopefully it could go as simply as Lucas would want it to be...

"Alright," Lucas whispered. "Let's move!"

The loner then walked forwards very slowly and quietly, looking around the room as he did.

"I've never seen this room so empty before," Ned whispered.

"I have," Becky replied. "I'm usually always the first one here for events and stuff."

"Sounds about right," Jerry commented as he glanced around the room. "You always were obsessive of your punctuality."

"Her...what?" Chelsea asked.

"Basically, she always wants to be on time," Ned explained.

"Well, why didn't you just say so?" Chelsea asked her boyfriend.

"I...nevermind. Let's just keep going." He replied

"Hold up," Lucas said as he held his arm up.

"What is it?" Phoebe asked with a gasp.

"Do you guys hear that?" Lucas asked the group.

Everyone paused and stayed quiet, listening.

"I don't think so," Phoebe whispered unsurely.

Lucas continued to stay frozen, listening very carefully.

"Hm... alright. Let's go," he finally told them. 

They kept walking forward, though Lucas was sure to keep a closer eye and ear out for everything.

"Once I'm out of here," Jerry said quietly, "I'm going to get my girl, her parents, and my parents into a minivan and get us all the hell out of this town."

"Hell yes!" Chelsea said with a giant smile.

"Where are you going to get a minivan?" Becky asked.

"It's the apocalypse; I'll just steal one," Jerry replied with a shrug.

"Jerry, you don't know what's going on outside!" Ned piped up. "For all you know, everything's calmed down and under control."

"Well, we won't know until we're out of here, Rike."

That's when a loud crashing sound was heard from the band director's office! They all turned towards the office and saw a zombie running towards them! Lucas quickly pulled back his slingshot and fired at the creature, only for the ammo to graze the side of its head. The zombie kept running towards the group, but stopped short when a nail flew into its head and it dropped dead.

Lucas looked to his left and could see Becky holding the slingshot in front of her, staring in relief at the fallen monster.

"Damn!" Chelsea said in awe. "That was impressive!"

"Wow," Ned said with a raised eyebrow. "That might be the nicest thing you've ever said to anybody!"

"Go to Hell, Rike."

"Ah, there's the Chelsea we love!"

"You done?" Lucas interrupted. "C'mon. Let's go."

The group then managed to make it to the door. Once arriving, Lucas slowly cracked open the door and took a peek outside. All he could see was the teacher's lounge, which seemed completely normal, save for the lights being off.

He then reached along the wall and found the light switch. When he turned it on, he was fully prepared for there to be a zombie inside. To his surprise, though, there was not a soul in sight. 

"You know, there are a lot less zombies than I thought there were going to be in the zombie apocalypse," Ned commented.

"Well, don't get your guard down," Lucas replied as he inched into the room. "The band room looked empty and look what happened."

"True," Becky agreed. "By the way, I believe a 'thank you' is in order for that."

"Oh. You're right. Than-"

"Hello?"

Lucas shut his mouth as he turned back to the lounge. The rest of the group looked around, as well.

"Who said that?" Jerry asked in a concerned tone.

"I...need help...please!"

"I know that voice...!" Becky gasped with realization. "Carol?"

There was a pause, along with some short breaths before there was a response.

"B...Becky...?"

"Oh, my God! Where are you??"

Just like that, a figure slowly arose from behind one of the couches. It wasn't a zombie, though; it was a human girl. Her face was scratched up and she looked like crap, but she was still a human being.

Upon seeing her, Becky ran into the room and towards the girl, hugging her once she could.

"Uh, who are you?" Chelsea asked in her typical snobby tone.

"This is Carol, my clarinet partner!" Becky replied as she continued to hug Carol tightly. She then broke from the hug and took a look at her friend.

"What the hell happened to you??" she asked with concern.

"I was in detention during the assembly," Carol explained. "Mrs. Adard was keeping an eye on all the detention kids. But then we could hear screaming from the auditorium. She ran out towards the auditorium to see what the commotion was, but the doors were blocked by some sort of concrete wall!"

"Those pods the zombies came in from..." Ned quietly added with a nod.

"And then... the next thing we knew... some green person dropped down from the ceiling and started attacking...no, SLAUGHTERING everyone, including Mrs. Adard! God, there was so much blood... I-I didn't know what to do, so I panicked and ran in here!"

"Did anyone else make it out of there alive?" Lucas asked.

"I...I don't know... I've been too scared to leave and... Becky, I don't know what to do!"

"Shh..." Becky said quietly as she hugged Carol again. "It'll be okay. In fact, we were just about to break out of the school and figure out what's going on outside."

"O-Okay..."

"Uh, guys?" Ned suddenly piped up. "Do you hear that?"

Everyone stood still for a few seconds before they could hear what sounded like footsteps in the hall outside.

"Damn it!" Lucas muttered as he pulled out his weapon. "Zombies!"

"Or survivors," Becky assured him. "Let's check, first."

"Okay, but let's be safe about this. The six of us with weapons, let's scan the area for threats. Carol, while we do that, we need you to deactivate the security system."

"What?" Carol asked with confusion. "I don't think I know how to."

"It should just be a switch at Ms. Bines's desk," Ned told her. "Just flip that and we're out of here."

"O-Okay..."

"We'll go out first," Lucas told her. "Just follow after us and go straight to the office to look for the switch."

"You'll be fine, Carol," Becky told her friend. "We'll take care of the threats."

"Okay, Becky."

It was the first time any of them, besides Becky, had seen Carol smile or show any kind of emotion other than fear.

"Alright, let's do this," Lucas told them all.

He quietly opened the door and peeked his head out. In front of him was the entrance to the front office. The left was the sealed front exit, the right was a small hallway that led to the front of the gymnasium. 

He walked forward and into the office, slowly inching his head through and looking around. No zombies that he could see. There honestly wasn't a place the zombie could hide in here; even if it was under the desk, a shadow, at the very least, would give it away.

"Not seeing anything yet," he told them all. "Still, we should canvas the area. Follow my lead. Carol, head into the office and turn off that switch."

"Okay," she whispered as she took a deep breath.

Lucas then walked out of the room and into the hallway, towards the gym, making sure his weapon was pointed ahead of him. He could see that the rest of the crew was following suit. Once they were far enough out, Carol quickly but quietly walked into the front office. 

"Do you think she'll be okay?" Ned asked as they scoped the hall.

"Who, Carol? Yeah. Why?"

"I don't know... I just have a bad feeling."

"There aren't any zombies in the office, Ned. She'll be fi-"

Lucas didn't get to finish that thought. The next thing he knew, a large flash of light in his eyes and loud boom in his ears caused him to stand still in confusion. The source of the light and sound was the office; it had seemed that something had exploded inside of it!

"CAROL!!!" Becky screeched as she ran into the office. 

"Becky, wait!" Jerry called out as she chased after her.

"Both of you! Out of there!" Lucas told them as he, too, ran in the burning room.

Immediately in sight was a large flame where Ms. Bines's desk once stood. The surrounding area was scorched black. And against the back wall was what looked like part of a charred body.

"NO!!" Becky cried as she dropped to her knees and covered her mouth in terror.

"What the hell happened??" Jerry asked himself as he stared at the flames. "How the hell does a desk just blow up??"

"This is all my fault...!" Becky sobbed. "I shouldn't have let her come in here!"

"Oh, please, Lexington."

Lucas turned and saw that Chelsea was in the doorway, with Ned and Phoebe behind her.

"Are you honestly saying you knew the desk would blow up?" she continued.

"N...no..." Becky replied in a shaky voice.

"Then it wasn't your fault!"

"I..."

Becky then proceeded to vomit onto the floor, coughing and crying as she did. Lucas walked to her and rubbed her back as the bile poured out.

"She's right, you know," he told her. "If any of us is to blame, it's me. I'm the one who told her to come in here. If you're going to be mad at someone, be mad at me."

Becky finally stopped vomiting and then turned towards Lucas with wet, bloodshot eyes and a puke-covered chin.

"I'm not mad at you," she finally told him. "I'm just-"

Suddenly, they could hear the west hallway door open up!

"Quick! Hide in the lounge!" Lucas whispered loudly to everyone as he bolted for the office doorway. It didn't take long for the others to follow after him.

Once they were in the teacher's lounge, Lucas quickly shut the door, turned off the light, and stood still. It was eerily quiet. The only sound was the fire coming from the office. At least, it was before the slow but bold footsteps approached the area.

The footsteps got closer and closer to the door before stopping. Everyone held their breaths in anticipation. They were all curious as to who, or what, was out there. It then sounded like they moved into the front office. When they did, Lucas carefully and quietly opened the door ever so slightly and looked through the crack.

What he saw was what looked like the figure of a large, muscular human being backlit by the flames, but the only thing that concerned him was that it had the pale green skin of a zombie. He looked about 7 feet tall and wore nothing but black pants and boots. He appeared to be looking around the room for something. He then finally pulled out what looked like a 2-way radio.

"Nothing here, Boss," he told the radio in a strong Russian accent. "Just exploded desk and one burnt body."

"Excellent news, Blade," a thick British accent replied from the other end. "Looks like my booby trap worked. I knew a stupid human would try and turn that switch off, eventually. Looks like it was their last mistake."

"Agreed, Boss. I am on way back to...wait..."

The zombie, who was assumed to be named Blade, walked towards something.

"Boss, I have found something."

"Oh? What is it?"

"It looks like some sort of puddle. If I had to make guess, I would say vomit. Placed here after explosion."

"I thought you said there was only one person in that room, and it's dead!"

"I did. That is why I am thinking there is another that was here and then escaped!"

"Hm... well, one human isn't going to hurt, at least for now. If they were caught in the explosion, they'll be dead soon, anyway. Head back to your station. If a human is spotted, the others will take care of it."

"Yes, Sir. Understood. Over and out."

Blade then put the radio away and started to turn around. That was Lucas's cue to quickly close the door and wait. Blade walked out of the office and seemed to be returning to where he came from: the west hall. After the hall doors closed, Lucas turned the lounge lights on and looked at everyone else.

"Well?" Ned asked. "What was it?"

"It... looked and acted and sounded like a human," Lucas told them in a confused tone, "but he had the skin tone of a zombie, as well as seeming to be on their side!"

"I thought zombies were supposed to be dumb and brainless?" Phoebe asked quietly with a confused face.

"Hm..." Becky said with a stroke of the chin. "I guess this is weirder than we ECH!"

She quickly scrunched her face and pinched her nose.

"Something smells like rotten onions!" she said as she looked around in disgust.

Everyone stared at each other before Jerry looked towards into his armpit and took a whiff.

"Woo!" he exclaimed with a cough. "That would be me!"

"Ugh! Babe, that's just awful!" Chelsea told her boyfriend as she, too, covered her nose.

"Well, all this running around from the zombies has given me a workout!" Jerry argued.

"I don't care what the excuse is," Chelsea told him sternly. "Just do something about it!"

"Like what?"

"Well," Lucas piped up, "we could get into the locker rooms and get him to shower there."

"Actually," Ned interrupted, "do you think I could shower, as well? I don't smell the best, either."

"Me, neither," Phoebe told him.

"Well, of course you don't," Chelsea told Phoebe. "You're so fat that you-"

"If you don't want to get punched in the mouth, I'd suggest you stop moving it right now!" Lucas suddenly snapped at the cheerleader. 

"Did you just threaten me, Harving??"

"Maybe I did, Folquen! What are you going to do about it?"

"Why, I oughta-!"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Becky suddenly told them with her hands in front of her. "Let's just all calm down here! We can kill each other after we're out of this school, but for now, we can't afford to get our guards down over stupid stuff! No offense, Phoebe."

Lucas and Chelsea stared at each other with death glares before Lucas sighed and turned towards the lounge door.

"Alright," he finally told them all while still facing the door, "let's just get into the locker rooms, and anyone that needs a shower can get one. At least one person guards each locker room. Clear?"

"Clear," everyone replied.

"Then let's go."

Lucas opened the lounge door and, with slingshot at the ready and the others close behind him, walked towards the gymnasium. Once at the gym doors, he quickly noticed something: the pods from the initial attack were no longer there! While they were all curious as to where they went, they had bigger issues to focus on.

They then proceeded into the gymnasium, although it didn't take long for them to stop. The sights and smells of the students' corpses caused them all to stare in shock.

"Good God..." Becky whispered as she stared at the bodies scattered all over the room.

"It looks like a damn massacre," Jerry said with wide eyes.

"That's because it IS," Chelsea replied as she grabbed her boyfriend's arm in fear.

Phoebe looked like she was about to pass out as she started breathing heavily in fear.

"I guess now that we got to look at the damage without the immediate fear of the zombies coming after us," Ned commented, "we see just how terrible the situation is."

"I suppose so," Lucas told him as he shook his head.

It's kinda funny when Lucas thought about it. He had hated all these people, or at the very least wanted nothing to do with them, but never in his wildest dreams would he want any of them dead. Yet here they all were, with holes in their heads and covered in blood. Nobody deserved to go out the way these people did. Not even someone like Chelsea.

"Come on," Lucas finally told them all. "Let's just get our showers so we can get out of here."

"Good idea," Becky told him. "I'd start vomiting, but I frankly don't have anything left."

"Nice to know. You girls take the girls' locker room and us guys will take the guys' locker room. If anyone needs help, get to the other locker room and get help. Check everything before getting your guard down and start showering."

"Understood."

"Good. Don't dilly-dally, either. I know you girls love your long showers and all."

"Trust me, Harving," Chelsea piped up, "with as awful as the school showers are, I'll happily get out ASAP."

"Good. Be safe, girls. Guys, let's go."

The men and women then went their separate ways into the locker rooms. Once inside, Lucas, Ned, and Jerry went towards the showers and checked every single one before looking at each other.

"So, who's guarding first?" Jerry asked.

"Given your stench, definitely not you," Ned replied.

"Like you smell any better, Rike!"

"I'll guard first," Lucas replied. "I don't need a shower, anyway. Just be quick about it."

"Will do," Ned replied. "Although Jerry may need a lot of body wash..."

"Screw you."

The two went into their showers, closed the curtains, and started to strip and throw their clothes over the top and onto the outside floor. Lucas quickly went back towards the lockers and sat on the bench.

"I just hope this all ends well for us," he thought to himself. "This all feels like one giant dream... no, a nightmare. Yeah. Any situation where I'm cooperating with Chelsea Folquen is a nightmare."

He quietly laughed aloud. After all that's happened today, he needed a good laugh. 

Suddenly, after about five minutes, he heard the locker room door open behind him! He quickly turned around, expecting a zombie, but was instead greeted by a familiar brunette Latina with a clarinet sweatshirt.

"Becky!" he said with a sigh of relief. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," she replied. "I was just tired listening to those two bitch at each other. Well, I guess listening to Chelsea bitch at Phoebe while Phoebe just stands silently, most likely crying."

"Yeah, it's no different over here," Lucas replied as he pointed towards the showers where Ned and Jerry were confined.

Becky gave a small giggle and sat next to Lucas.

"It feels good to laugh, given the circumstances," she told him.

"Yeah, I know,"  he replied with a grin.

"Wow, Luke. I haven't seen you smile like that in a while."

His grin instantly went away and his eyebrows returned to an angry glare.

"You know I hate being called that," he told her.

"Why? I think it's cute."

"I know you do, and I hate it."

"You know, you weren't always this crabby."

"I know I wasn't. Then you came along."

She stared at him with a sad expression before sighing and looking away from him.

"I'm sorry about that. How many times do I have to say it before you believe me?"

"Oh, I know you're sorry, but that doesn't change anything. It certainly doesn't change what you did."

"I know... I haven't gone one day without regretting that."

The two sat in silence before Lucas finally stood up.

"Well, that's the least of our problems now. I need to focus on making sure Cain and Abel over there don't kill each other."

"Yeah, and I think Chelsea and Phoebe were almost done when I left, so I'll head back and then get my shower. And as much as I'm sure you'd love to watch, I don't think the other girls would be fond of that."

Lucas just stared at her with anger. Becky sighed and walked out of the locker room. After a few more seconds, Lucas sat back down and placed his face in his hands.

"I thought being stuck with Chelsea was bad enough, but Becky, too? I don't know how I haven't snapped yet... she's lucky I still respect her as a person."

That's when Lucas heard what sounded like shrieking coming from the vents! It sounded like Phoebe, which definitely was not a good sign! He quickly got up and ran out of the men's locker room and into the women's, where he could see the last thing he thought he'd see today.

Lucas could see three zombies slowly approaching two women that had their backs turned to him. One of them was wearing a pink bra and yellow underwear, and the other was completely nude.

"Becky! Chelsea! Get behind me!" he called out as he raised and pulled back his slingshot. The two girls turned around and looked at him.

"Lucas!" Becky gasped with a smile as she turned to look at him.

"Harving??" Chelsea gasped with fear as she covered her bare chest and crossed her legs to hide her crotch. "Why the hell are you in here??"

Lucas then fired the pencil and it lodged into one of the zombies' head.

"That's why!" he replied. "Now get behind me!"

Becky bolted behind Lucas while Chelsea speed-walked, still trying to cover herself up. Huh. Either she wasn't as slutty as Lucas thought she was, or he was unworthy of seeing the goods. Frankly, he didn't care either way.

He aimed and fired another pencil into another zombie, causing it to go down. The final zombie was now only a few feet in front of him and it seemed to be picking up speed!

PIFF

The zombie then went down, leaving Lucas in surprise. He turned around and saw the source of the shot: a fully-dressed chubby blonde breathing heavily with her hair wet. She lowered her slingshot and looked at Lucas.

"Nice shot," he told her with a nod. Phoebe gave a small grin in return.

"What even happened?" he asked Becky. "Didn't you clear the room before showering?"

"Of course," she replied as she adjusted her bra, "but those 3 suddenly dropped down from the ceiling without warning!"

"Wow. I guess you girls are really lucky you're all alive."

"I guess," Chelsea, who was now covered in a towel, replied.

Suddenly, Jerry and Ned rushed into the room, hair wet and bodies fully clothed.

"What happened??" Jerry asked. "Is everyone okay??"

"Oh, Sweetie!" Chelsea cried out as she ran towards Jerry and hugged him tight. "It was awful! Zombies appeared out of nowhere and-"

"Shh... it's okay, Chelsea. As long as nobody's hurt, it's okay."

"Physically, nobody's hurt," Lucas told him. "Though I think I'm mentally scarred from seeing your girlfriend naked."

"You WHAT????"

"Relax, Jerry," Becky piped up. "She was covering herself up the best she could. Plus, he was too focused on saving her ass to get a good look. Not to mention he's not the first guy to see her that way."

"Yeah," Ned commented with a smile. "Neither is Jerry! Hahah-OW!"

"One more comment like that and I'll punch harder!" Jerry threatened.

"Yes, Sir..."

"So, what's our next course of action?" Becky asked Lucas.

"Don't you still have to shower?" he replied.

"Nah. I'll survive."

"Well, then, since the security system switch is blown to hell, I guess we're back at square one on how to get out of this school..."

"I've been thinking," Ned told him. "It sounds like that zombie from earlier is setting up some sort of station or something in the West Hall. Maybe it wouldn't hurt to find out what's going on."

"So you want us to go TOWARDS the zombies?" Chelsea asked.

"Do you have a better idea?"

She stared in silence.

"Yeah, that's what I thought."

"He's right," Lucas told them all. "It may not get us out of here right away, but this zombie apocalypse is too suspicious, even for a zombie apocalypse. Let's investigate and find out what these zombies are up to."

"Sounds good to me!" Becky told him. "Let me just, uh, get dressed first."