High School of the Dead

Fox sniffed the air. A grin crossed her lips. The ground beneath her feet was soft from the remnants of the morning dew, her shoes sinking deeply into it. Her blood felt hot underneath her skin as she looked into the forest, almost as if she could see through the trees to her prey.

“Run, run as fast as you can,” she cackled. Her expression suddenly became serious and her eyes narrowed. Looking into the dark shadows cast by the leaves overhead she called out. “You there, come on out!”

The trees rustled in the wind but no one appeared. Fox stood waiting but at last she gave a sigh and moved on, unaware of the gaze that followed her.

The road continued from the military facility towards the city, passing through the outskirts of town. Putting a finger to her temple she pondered a moment. Antoine Calkhen was her target; the carrier that had made a daring escape in plain sight from the ice queen herself Col. Drakonis. Her lips curled back, exposing her teeth. Undoubtedly this woman possessed a high degree of intelligence despite her simple mind, and would not be caught so easily again. She would turn away from the road soon enough.

Diverting from the road as well, Fox moved deeper into the forest. Out here away from Holly Glen, the houses were few and far between. However when Antoine had escaped, she had been under the heavy influence of ketamine amongst many paralytic agents. Her actions had been that of one unaffected but Fox knew better. Antoine would be exhausted and need to recover.

Her pace quickening, a nasty grin settled in over her features. The scar on her neck was tingling. She hadn’t felt this excited in a long time. That frigid woman had kept her locked up for so long. It was curious though, how the carrier had begun to change right before their eyes. Her fingers tightened around the knife in her jacket pocket.

It wasn’t long until she heard noises, dreadful slurping and growling noises. Tilting her head slightly she followed the source of the sounds, appearing at a small clearing surrounded by thick underbrush. A dark red Jeep sat there, surrounded by a group of them. Fox quickly ducked out of sight, her mind racing a mile a minute.

This seemed unrelated to her search, but it bore investigation nonetheless. Fox was eager to draw more blood, but there was no satisfaction in taking out these mindless drones of people. The best part of her job was watching the horror in someone’s eyes as their life slipped away. With an irritated expression she took another look at the scene.

The Jeep was damaged in the front, and someone had been hit. However, the body was mostly gone, the meat stripped from pale white bones. Those hanging around now did not seem to be connected to the meal though, as their lips displayed no traces of fresh blood. The driver of the vehicle seemed to be missing as well. To her knowledge, these freaks of nature did not possess the skill of driving so it seemed logical that the one inside had not succumbed to this disease yet.

These preliminary deductions seemed simple enough, but Fox needed to get closer. If the driver had not been killed exiting the vehicle, they would have had to seek shelter. This meant that some sort of abode was nearby. The forest canopy was too thick here for her to see if there were other patches of blood upon the ground. Looking past the Jeep, she noticed the grass had been pushed down as if something had been drug along there recently.

Twirling the knife in her fingers she looked up in thought. If this was unrelated it would be a giant waste of time and Antoine would slip away. She gave a little gasp as the knife fell from her hand. Staring at it in disbelief, she wondered if her skills had gotten rusty. Then she noticed her fingers were trembling and she gritted her teeth. Another withdrawal was coming, and it seemed to be bad this time.

“Damn that woman,” Fox cursed, her hands balling into tight fists. Her fingernails cut into the palms of her hands, a refreshing reminder of pain.

Col. Drakonis had been limiting her cocaine usage in the facility, and she never felt as if she had enough anymore. While she had been allowed to have a regular dosage, it was severely monitored and she couldn’t even get a high anymore. It was always just enough to keep the withdrawal symptoms at bay. To Fox it was a slow torture.

The sensation of a thousand bugs crawling underneath her skin, on fire began. Her stomach was flip-flopping and sweat began beading upon her forehead. Her eyes darted to the side and she realized that some of them had begun wandering closer to her hiding place. This was dangerous. Clutching her stomach she grabbed her knife, crawling forward before she seized up from cramps. Retching, she tried to keep the sounds minimal but she knew it was too late.

As she recovered from her bout of nausea she looked over her shoulder and froze. One of the men was now standing over her, a smile upon his bashed in face. His eyes were set back in his head, with the wrinkling of crows’ feet around them. If they weren’t bleeding into the sclera he would have been any other old man.

Staring up at him she felt a hint of desperation. “Isn't it time for a diet?” she quipped.

Unsurprisingly it didn’t go over well. The man leaned down over her, teeth exposed. Fox kicked out, but grunted as her foot connected with his chest. While she was many things, a fighter she was not. The man grabbed her leg and lifted her small frame, her body experiencing vertigo as she was hung upside down.

Slashing across his chest with the knife, she watched as blood began bubbling up from beneath his thin shirt. It bloomed out into the yellow cotton, turning it a sickly brown. The pain didn’t seem to register but he dropped her nonetheless. Fox fell upon her shoulders, hitting her head on the ground. She groaned but quickly got to her feet.

Turning to flee, her progress was halted as a woman approached her, eyes bloody. Despite her worry, Fox chuckled. “Surrounded, huh? I should have seen this coming.”



Two new characters arriving soon... I've already planned them in.... Hmm... That's all for spoilers... 

 

I was involved in a minor car accident, I am fine I believe or have not found anything on my person besides a bruise from my seat belt, but my car is not. At the moment there will be a hiatus on my stories.