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  Amy rolled her eyes. “Okay, so we can’t find out if you’re dead or not. How do those things act around you?”

  “They try to eat me.”

  “That’s good!”

  “Not really.”

  “No, but I mean, if you were really one of them, they wouldn’t try to kill you. You obviously aren’t completely infected like they are.” She smiled. “And it’s not like you’re eating people!”

  “No. Definitely not. That would be so gross.” Violet laughed nervously. “Anyway, I just need to get clean and get some sleep.”

  Amy gestured to Violet’s clothes.

  “Give me those. The water is still on, for now. But it’s cold, I’m afraid.”

  Amy was lying; it was freezing. Violet gasped as the icy water hit her skin, but it was also oddly soothing. It was like she was washing away the horrors of the last few hours.

  Amy made no effort to leave the room; she’d never exactly been one for privacy. Violet decided to start a conversation. At least then, they would be two people talking while one of them showered, and not two people standing in silence while one showered and the other watched. That was weirder.

  “What happened to you?” Violet asked.

  “After I left the party, I was walking home with Harry. Do you remember him, the one with the eyebrow piercing?”

  “The one with the tattoo of a knife on his cheek?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Yeah, he seemed…nice.”

  “Don’t be a snob. Anyway, we were walking home with his friend, Dan, and we found some of those things. They killed Dan, and we had to run. We saw the school and the open gates, so we took a chance. It was still pretty dark, so the biters didn’t see us go inside.”

  “What happened to Harry? Is he here, too?”

  Amy dropped her gaze, shaking her head. “There was someone else. She’d come in to hide. But she turned, and she bit him.”

  “I’m sorry.”

  Amy shrugged. “It’s okay. I barely knew him.”

  “Did he turn, too?”

  “Yes. He died really fast, then he came back.” Amy handed Violet a towel, which she wrapped around herself.

  “What happened? How did you get away from him and the woman? Did you have to—”

  Amy shook her head. “No, Matt arrived. He did it. He saved me.”

  “So he’s been here with you? He was outside earlier.”

  “He went out to find supplies, but he’s been here since the start.”

  Emily appeared a moment later, and Violet hurriedly hid her bitten arm behind her back.

  “Spare clothes,” Emily offered, holding them out. Amy took them quickly, before Violet had to attempt to grab them with one hand.

  “Thanks, Em. We’ll be up in a minute.”

  Violet made her way back to the teachers’ lounge with Emily and Amy, her mind still racing. She had no idea how she was going to hide her bite from the group long term—surely, they’d find out sooner or later? Her thoughts, however, were interrupted. The moment the three of them stepped through the door, everything went dark. For one horrible moment, Violet was sure she’d blacked out again, but then she felt Amy’s fingers close on her arm.

  “What’s going on?” Amy asked into the darkness.

  “Power’s gone out,” Sam replied simply. “We knew it was going to happen sooner or later. It just happens to be the worst timing.”

  “Nah,” Joe replied. “Could be worse.”

  “How?”

  “The biters could choose this moment to break inside. Then we’d be in the dark and running from the unde— Ow!”

  Violet guessed Joe had just received a swift kick from someone, because he didn’t finish his sentence.

  “Okay,” Sam began. “We need flashlights, or at the very least, some candles. Let’s split up and look around.”

  “Said no one who’s ever seen a single horror movie,” Joe added sarcastically.

  Sam continued as if he hadn’t heard him. “We know this building is secure. It’s locked up, and we’ve swept it several times. We’re safe; we just need some light. We can wait until morning?”

  “No, let’s get it done now,” Matt said from somewhere to Violet’s left.

  “I agree,” Violet added. She didn’t like the idea of spending the night in the pitch black.

  Sam paired everyone up: Violet was with Matt, Tom with Maggie, Joe and Amy, and Emily and himself. Matt and Violet began to check the classrooms off the main hallway, which was a tricky task in almost complete darkness. There was, at least, some moonlight coming in through the classroom windows. The two of them held their hands out in front of them as though they were blind, and Violet was not immune to the bitter irony. They were doing a pretty good impression of every zombie cartoon she’d ever seen.

  “Are you okay?” Matt asked as they went into the next classroom.

  “Yeah, just trying not to trip over stuff.”

  Matt shook his head as he opened one of the drawers on the teacher’s desk and began to root around inside. “No, I mean, you were out there on your own for a long time. It must’ve been horrible.”

  “Yes, but I was fine.”

  A little light illuminated Matt’s face, and he grinned. He’d found a lighter, and showed it to Violet victoriously before continuing his search. “I’ve been here since the start, and that’s been hard enough. Those things have tried to get in so many times.”

  “Have they ever done it?”

  “Not so far. They seem to lose interest after a while if they can’t see you anymore.”

  “We need to find a way to lock the gates,” Violet said. “Then we won’t have to be scared to walk past a window.”

  “Yeah, you’re right.” Matt stopped rummaging through the drawer, his eyes flicking to the window. “Do you hear that?”

  “What?” Violet followed his gaze. She heard it that time. Barking. It sounded close. Going out into the hallway, she followed the sound until she reached a classroom at the end. She moved inside and headed to the window.

  You’ve got to be kidding!

  It was the dog from the woods; his leash was tangled around a small tree just outside the window. He barked in frustration as he struggled to get free.

  “I know that dog!” Violet pressed her hands against the glass as Matt approached. “We have to get him.”

  “He’ll be fine.” Matt’s response was so quick, so casual, that it surprised her a little. She couldn’t help but feel a wave of something unpleasant and scowled.

  “Those things could kill him!”

  Matt leaned closer to the window, the moonlight illuminating his face. Violet could see that he appeared completely unconcerned, and this made her even angrier. He seemed to sense this, holding up his hands as he explained.

  “They don’t eat animals. I’ve seen them pass dogs and cats like they aren’t even there. They’re not interested in eating anything that’s not human.” He nodded at Ben. “He’ll be okay. We can get him in the morning. It’s not safe to go out there in the dark.”

  Violet was sure he was telling the truth. He didn’t seem like the kind of person who would happily watch an animal get torn apart, but she still didn’t feel okay about leaving Ben outside.

  “Maybe they won’t hurt him, but he could still get hurt.” She gestured to where the dog was still fighting against his leash. “He could strangle himself out there. Please, we need to get him.”

  Matt looked again and sighed.

  “Okay. But we need to do it fast. It wasn’t long ago that those things were out there. We haven’t given them enough time to get bored and leave. They could still be around.”

  Violet climbed onto a nearby table to open the window. This one was bigger than the last, though still relatively high. Matt got up beside her. “I’ll go, and then pass him up to you.”

  Violet shook her head. “No, he might run away when you untangle him. He knows me; I’ll get him. Plus, I’ll need help getting back inside, an
d I won’t be strong enough to pull you up.”

  She could see in Matt’s eyes he knew she was right, but he wasn’t happy about the plan. Regardless, he agreed, and Violet climbed out into the night.

  She landed with her usual grace and elegance—stumbling into a puddle and soaking her new clothes. It had at least stopped raining. She moved toward Ben as quickly and quietly as she could.

  He saw her coming, almost strangling himself as he jumped up in excitement. She crouched beside him, hurriedly untangling the leash and taking it in her hand. He seemed okay—no bites, no scratches, maybe a little thin, but otherwise unscathed. She didn’t know if animals could get infected like humans, but he appeared healthy enough.

  “Looks like you’ve had better luck than me,” she muttered.

  Ben continued to wag his tail, then sniffed cautiously at her arm. Violet’s heart began to beat a little faster. What if he blew her cover? A dog constantly sniffing at the same spot on her arm could draw suspicion. But he lost interest, beginning to lick her face. She smiled, stroking his tangled white fur. For a minute, she forgot where she was, and why she’d been in such a hurry to rescue him.

  Until she heard them coming.

  They were down by the gates, far away for the moment, but there were five of them and they were heading straight for her. Ben barked, and Violet hurriedly pulled him toward the window. Matt was leaning half out, reaching for the dog. She held him up, and Matt pulled him inside. Then he was back, holding his hands out for her. He looked up, eyes widening, pulling his hands back inside the moment their fingers touched.

  “Run!”

  Violet turned. They were so close! She wouldn’t have time to try for the window. She dodged to the right as they closed in, continuing to run. She heard Matt calling out after her.

  “Get to the cafeteria!”

  She knew where it was, and she was going in the right direction. Her eyes were streaming from the cold air, and she slipped and almost fell over more than once. Rounding the corner of the building, she saw the fire door to the cafeteria up ahead, but it was still closed.

  “Matt,” Violet cried when she was just a few feet away. “Open the door!”

  But there was no one there.

  Just as she was about to pass it, the door swung open. Matt was there, and he grabbed her by the arm, wrenching her inside and pulling the door shut behind them. The dead hammered their hands against the wood, but they couldn’t get in.

  We’re safe.

  Violet dropped down onto her knees, exhausted. Her heart was hammering, and her shirt stuck to her skin. Ben began to lick her face enthusiastically. She stroked his back with clammy hands. Matt sat down beside her, out of breath.

  “Are you okay?” he asked.

  Violet gave him a thumbs-up, too out of breath to speak.

  The two of them sat in silence, the sound of banging outside eventually slowing before stopping altogether.

  “They’ll stand around for a while,” Matt said, nodding to the door. “Then they’ll wander off. They usually do.”

  “This is so messed up.”

  “I know.”

  Violet found herself shaking her head in disbelief. “How did this even happen?”

  Matt leaned against the wall behind him. “I have no idea. None of us do. One minute, everything was fine. The next… How did it spread so quickly?”

  “The bites, I guess.”

  “But it was so fast.”

  She shrugged. “Those things don’t need to rest. They just bite and feed. I suppose it doesn’t take too long to spread over a small town like this.”

  Matt thought for a moment. “Do you think this is happening everywhere?”

  “You mean the rest of the country?”

  “The rest of the world.”

  “I have no idea.”

  “It must be,” Matt concluded. “It’s been ten days. Surely the army or someone would’ve come by now? If no one’s got here yet, maybe they’re not coming at all?”

  Violet rested her head in her hands. “Well, that’s a cheerful thought.”

  Matt, Violet, and Ben made their way back up to the teachers’ lounge. They hadn’t found anything of use besides the lighter, but the others had found candles and flashlights, so the trip wasn’t a total loss. Everyone seemed happy to see the dog, and he got a great deal of attention from everyone except Tom, who muttered something about having another mouth to feed before skulking over to the window.

  There was more good news. Sam and Joe had found a heavy chain and padlock to secure the school gates, as well as spare keys to make up for the ones Matt had lost.

  “We’ll lock the gates first thing tomorrow,” Sam said. “At least then we won’t have to be too scared to walk past the windows, and we’ll actually be able to spend some time outside.”

  “Sounds good,” Matt said. He glanced briefly at Violet, and she knew what he was thinking. Hopefully the dead would be gone from the grounds by the morning. They didn’t tell the rest of the group about the ones outside, or about Violet almost getting eaten for about the millionth time. There was no sense worrying them, not now that everyone seemed a little more relaxed.

  “That’s not all,” Sam continued. “We need to secure the rest of the school—the other buildings. No point locking ourselves in if there are biters hiding anywhere inside. We’ll make sure the whole place is safe, and then we can start to make it more like a home. Until we get rescued at least.”

  She knew Sam was right, though the idea of exploring the other buildings with no clue what was out there didn’t exactly fill Violet with excitement.

  The group woke up early, and Sam went over the plan. The school was made up of three buildings. The main block was where they currently resided, which contained classrooms, the cafeteria, school hall, and changing rooms. There was also the art block, and the science block. There were several small huts scattered around the grounds, too, which were used as extra classrooms.

  The group knew the main block was secure, so split into groups to check the others and the rest of the grounds. The school was surrounded by a high brick wall at the front, enclosed at the sides by chain-link fences, and had hedges planted in front for privacy. The only way for the dead to get in and out, provided there were no gaps in the fence, was through the main gate.

  Sam and Amy went to the science block, with the plan to lock the gates on the way. Maggie and Joe checked the perimeter for gaps, and Tom and Emily went to the huts. Matt and Violet were given the art block. They took Ben, too. Violet had a weapon now, a baseball bat. It didn’t exactly scream ‘zombie exterminator,’ but felt heavy enough that it could do some damage if brought down on a skull.

  The art block was dark, and Violet almost jumped out of her skin when they first entered the textiles room and came face to face with five mannequins. Luckily, however, the building was completely empty. They checked the whole thing in less than twenty minutes, with only one room left. It was the boys’ bathroom. Violet stood by the door, waiting for Matt to go in.

  “You’re not coming?” he asked.

  “I’m not a man.”

  “I’m not sure that’s relevant.”

  Violet was less than convinced. “It’s going to be gross in there.”

  Matt raised an eyebrow. “So you’re willing to let me get ripped apart by the undead because ‘it might be gross’ in there?”

  “I think that’s pretty accurate, yeah.”

  Matt laughed. “Fine.” He went in alone, flicking on the light switch out of habit.

  “Oh, right, no power,” he muttered.

  Luckily, the art block was set on one level, and the bathroom had a skylight in the roof, which let in a little natural light. Violet propped the door open with her foot as Matt moved further inside.

  “I’ll be right here, holding the door open.”

  “How comforting.”

  Matt disappeared. Violet wasn’t worried. If he hadn’t encountered one of those things by now, it wasn’t
in there. Still, she’d feel better when Matt gave the all clear. She could hear him pushing the cubicle doors open with his bat as he passed.

  “Huh,” she heard him mutter.

  “What?” she asked, leaning a little further into the room. ‘Huh’ wasn’t typically the reaction of someone who was getting torn apart by a zombie, so she still felt pretty relaxed. He didn’t answer, so she sighed, moving further into the room. It wasn’t so bad; clean enough, anyway. Matt was standing at the end of the line of stalls, peering into the last one. Violet joined him. Every inch of that stall was covered in writing. Years and years of graffiti, squeezed into one small space.

  “Why is it all in here?” she asked, examining the other stalls, which all had spotless walls.

  Matt shrugged. “I know when I went here it was like this—the janitor only kept the ones near the door clear, since the principal never checked further in. Over the years, the guys just stuck to writing in this one.”

  Violet briefly glanced over the writing. It was the usual stuff she’d expect to see in a school—names written in different styles, phone numbers, kids insulting each other, her name.

  My name?

  “My name is on here,” she exclaimed, swiveling toward Matt. Was he surprised? He didn’t look it. In fact, he looked like he was trying not to laugh. She turned back to the wall, reading aloud.

  “‘Gary’s list of hottest eighth graders.’” She rolled her eyes. “How charming.”

  Matt grinned. “I know.”

  Violet examined the list. “Eighth grade…this is old.” Amy was there, of course. She was second. She’d hate that. Amy hated not being first in anything, even if it was a gross list on a bathroom door. Violet found her own name again.

  “Twentieth.” She couldn’t help but laugh. “Twentieth on a list of twenty.”

  “At least you made the list.” Matt shrugged, smiling. “Lots of girls didn’t make the cut.”

  “Lucky me,” Violet replied sarcastically, but she couldn’t help but feel a little lighter. It was almost like things were normal; this was the kind of thing two friends might laugh about. Much better than remembering how they had almost died the night before after being chased by flesh-eating monsters.