Cassian Alaric

Male // 18 // Asexual Panromantic // M: Reyes

Bloody hell.

The creatures were still screaming their heads off. Cassian wasn't amused. Part of him was tempted to just… end it and leap off, but to be completely honest, he'd hate to be, what was it, infected. Infected and a blood-hungry little creature with dead eyes. Truly, he felt like the main character of a horror movie, like he had stepped into hell accidentally and couldn't leave. It was like a claustrophobic feeling, being stuck on the top of a plane with a stranger who probably thought he was insane.

He'd always wanted to climb on the top of a plane, but never because he was being threatened by the death and resurrection of… other people. Yay. I love my life more than anyone could possibly imagine.

“I can't say the same for you.”

“I sure hope not,” he muttered under his breath. “It'd be such a shame to look like you do now.”

Oh great now they were exchanging little retorts. Out of the ways he could die, he'd die with a judgemental stranger covered in blood. Lovely.

“Is that your stripper name?”

He almost choked on a laugh. Okay, okay. That's decent. That was decent. His eyes searched hers and, to his horror, amusement crept into his face once more. At this rate, you'd think he was watching a comedy show based on how many times he'd found something funny.

“That's a good idea. Might just change it for you.”

Every time he laughed, it seemed, she judged him and his horrible reactions. Maybe I should adopt a cat. God knows I need the emotional stability. His coping mechanisms weren't the best, he agreed, but it's better than just Geronimo-ing into the hoard below then. Jokes like that aren't funny Cassian.

The woman dug out her phone, damaged and beaten almost as badly as her. Nope. Stop joking. This isn't a comedy hour.

Her voice went solemn and Cassian blinked at the dead battery symbol flashing in front of his eyes. It seemed they were very different people. Funny. Someone with a dead phone, and a psychopath with an almost fully charged one. Not funny. Maybe we should fix the humor.

She reached for his phone and he loosened his grip. His eyes had been stuck on the missed call from his brother. Maybe I should have called back. The thought of his family being one of the creatures killing around them made his throat drop. His tongue felt like a weight. He couldn't respond to Reyes' snapback, and kept his eyes below them as if it would be better than eye contact.

“Does it matter what happened? This is what’s left of everyone else now.”

He flinched as discreetly as he could and hoped above hope that the woman hadn't noticed.

“I’m Reyes.”

Cassian raised one eyebrow as he surveyed the chaos below them once again. So the stranger has a name. Reyes. Never heard that one yet.

‘The virus doesn’t appear to be airborne but we urge citizens to take extra caution when dealing with… Aggression takes over the host and causes them to lash out, if you see someone, do not engage with them, isolate and quarantine…’

Well, at least they weren't the only ones going through the same hell. The thought did little to give him any ounce of comfort, though. One good thing in that hellish paragraph, was the fact that it wasn't airborne. They could still get infected, though. Cassian was assuming it spread by touch or bite, but he wasn't always right. I hope I'm not right.

“If you have any calls you want to make, I’d say your peace now. Because I do have a plan to get us out of here, but you’re not going to like it.”

He clutched his phone and stared down at the little screen. It was like a buoy in the middle of the ocean, anchoring him from drowning into hysteria. I should really call my brother. I should tell them I actually do care about their existence. I shouldn't have ignored his call.

Cassian was still deciding when Reyes sat up and wandered to the middle of the plane. It was nerve racking. Like anxiously watching a tightrope walker, hanging over a giant chasm. She offered up a seat near her, and Cassian slowly made his way there, continuing to clutch his phone, his bag, and that useless mug. Is this what my brother felt like when I forced him to carry all my stuff? Probably.

Reyes leaned back, but Cassian’s heart was still pounding. What if they fell? When she leaned back, she looked in pain and her hand grabbed for her head. Cassian instinctively reached out to steady her, but stopped an inch away, hesitantly watching her. If she died, he would be alone, and her injuries weren't helping. She slowly got into a steady position, but he continued to watch her through (surprisingly) worried eyes. His hands withdrew again, slowly watching Reyes in case she, he didn't know, felt pain again?

“I was planning on going back in there at night. These things will be just as blind as us when the moon is up. There won’t be much to see since it’s a crescent. We’ve got to go back into the plane and through that tunnel.” His eyes followed where she was pointing. Oh good. Blood was everywhere.

“Make it to the bathrooms,” her index finger moved and he tried to follow, but his eyes kept straying onto the people. The walking corpses. They were an infestation. They were everywhere.

“And then we can live another day. Simple.” He didn't respond, only snorting as if that would suffice as a good reaction. She continued on about leaving the airport, waiting until morning, waiting for authorities. He scowled. Seems like a lot of waiting. How would they actually get out of there with the help of authorities, though? The bloodshed was everywhere, and an airport wouldn't be the first priority. The more important folk would be the first choices to help, wouldn't it?

“I don’t suppose that mug has anything in it?”

He opened his mouth to answer when a screeching alarm sounded. Oh fuck. The creatures were absolutely flocking to the building. Those things just kept going, body slamming and clawing at the doors, the windows, everything. There was so much chaos and noise. He couldn't hear himself think much less speak. The creatures inside the plane were screeching. They were trying to break through the goddamn plane.

“Holy shit.”

His eyes were wide in disbelief. Those things were more insane than him. His entire joking façade melted away in a mess of terror and odd fascination.

“You think that's our cue to run and hide in the bathrooms?”

He rose into a stance that was somewhere between standing and squatting, awkwardly hunching over and offering a hand to Reyes to assist her. He felt like a pubescent teenage boy again who didn't know how to have social interactions.

“You want the ladies’ or men’s restrooms? In my opinion, the women’s is closer and the food areas are right next to it. Also, you can't really comfortably sit in urinals, can you?”

Glad you're up to joking, you lunatic.

“And hopefully, we'll find some other people to tag-a-long on this road to hell.”

Reyes Collin

Female // 23 // M: Cassian

The consistent ringing made Reyes’s head throb, causing her to reach for her forehead once again. The heat on her palm made contact with her skin, which only fueled the pain in her head. She quickly removed her hand, as it wasn’t helping the cause. Her mind trailed back to the airport; If there was an actual fire, the alarm should stop once the fire was put out… but if someone handled that thing manually… Spending the night in the bathrooms was going to be a lot more difficult to manage.

The sun was just a slither of light now, casting shadows on the flat, airy landscape. It was somewhat difficult to see overall, but the two could still be easily spotted if they were close enough to one of those things. Movement in her peripheral caught her attention, causing her to cock her head in the general direction she saw it. The wheat field that was placed right in between the city and the airport had little trails being carved through them. The creatures that had wandered into the field were now sprinting at the noise that the airport gave off. Great.

Now their chances of survival only began to drop—but the more she thought about it, did a few extra creatures coming into the playing field really make a difference? Reyes looked back to the airport, which now had bundles and hoards of those things outstretching their boney arms in ways that would be described as painful—in fact, she swore that one of them had a dislocated arm.

They can’t feel pain, can they… Or if they do, they simply ignore it. Reyes thought back to when she kicked in the pregnant lady’s face, and how relentless that lady was even after getting her face caved in. Now that she thought about it, they’d seem to do anything to get what they want. They mindlessly tackled each other out of the plane when chasing Reyes… and now they were mindlessly hurting themselves to get what they wanted. They all should’ve been dead. The moment that brunette tackled that blonde and ripped a chunk out of her throat, Reyes knew she was dead. So why did that same blonde stagger back up onto her feet?

The thought sent chills down Reyes’s spine as she recalled what happened in that hell hole. They all ate each other, not holding back a single muscle from getting what they wanted. Every single one of them foamed from their mouths… Reyes could still remember the dripping sounds of white, thick saliva falling from their lips. The thought only brought her back to the girl who sat in front of her. The one with the gory chunk bitten off of her cheek- the girl’s mouth salivated before she seized too. How long did it take her to become one of them? 5--- 10 seconds? Reyes couldn’t recall. The entirety of being inside the plane felt like a century, but it was probably only a few minutes.

The virus isn’t airborne--Thank god for that. If it was airborne, Reyes would’ve been died a long time ago. In fact, now that she thought more about it, how did the virus spread? It’s not airborne and it’s not spread through touch- after all, Reyes experienced plenty of those plagued hands on her and would’ve turned by now if it was spread by such. Since it’s a virus, doesn’t that mean they technically need a live host? Reyes looked down to the hoard that only continued to gather. There were a lot more than she had anticipated. She managed to make out Cassian’s curse as she could only guess that he was seeing what she was seeing.

Reyes could feel the tremors of those things that were inside the plane—they were going insane. Their determination to get what they wanted was nothing to be taken lightly. There mere feeling of those slight vibrations and the sound of those shrieks made Reyes’s hands begin to tremble. She placed one of her palms on her knuckles before folding her fingers together to try and stop the shaking.

“You think that’s our cue to run and hide in the bathrooms?”

Reyes tore her eyes off of the bloodthirsty hoard, focusing on Cassian. His stance changed into a squat-like position as he held a hand out for Reyes. She looked up at his eyes, searching them for any malice. A small part of her was cooking up a scenario where he just tossed her down as bait to those things. Although, the more she studied his face, the more she could see the desperation that radiated from him. Just like Reyes, he didn’t want to be alone in this mess.

Just swallow your pride, Rey.

Steadily, Reyes grabbed onto his forearm, gaining a steady grip just above the guy’s wrist as she pulled herself up to obtain the same position as Cassian.

“You want the ladies’ or men’s restrooms? In my opinion, the women’s is closer and the food areas are right next to it. Also, you can’t really comfortably sit in urinals, can you?”

How could this guy talk so much? His tone was trying to take a humorous one, but in such an inappropriate time like this, it only annoyed Reyes.

“Last I recalled, guys took shits too,” Reyes gave Cassian a side eye. They could just as easily sit on the ground or in one of the stalls in the men’s bathroom- his mention about the urinals just gave his words an extra spice of shameless humor. “We’ll try the women’s bathroom.” She added on.

She wondered if she could ever get used to this guy’s form of… whatever it was- comfort? Was he trying to make Reyes feel better? Was he trying to make himself feel better? Why am I even thinking about this? After the authorities come, I’m never going to see this guy’s face again.

“Stay quiet and stick close to me,” Reyes spoke quietly, being close enough to him for her words to reach him. From what she could tell, the thumps were coming from the sections behind the emergency door, so they should have no problem entering the plane. They just had to be very quiet going through the rest of the place. It’s going to be just fine. I’m going to live through this and see my parents again. I’ll see Delilah, William and Daniel. I’ll be able to stay with them, share stories with them… return to my normal life. Everything will be alright Rey. Reyes had to reassure herself, hiding the fact that she knew that she’d never be normal again after this experience. Hell, if she didn’t need therapy before, she definitely needed it now--- and so does Cassian.

She didn’t want to draw attention or lose any kind of balance by standing up entirely, so she shuffled over toward the emergency door. She only realized that she was still holding onto Cassian’s arm when she felt a bit of resistance. Oh. Leave it to Reyes to forget that she was holding a death grip on this guy. One would think he was some kind of hostage with the way that she held onto him with that one hand.

She promptly let go as she looked down toward the door. The emergency door was still wide open, and there wasn’t a single soul in sight. Well, it’s not like those things have souls anyway. Her palms brushed against the cold surface of the plane as she leaned over a bit more, cooking up ways to get inside without making too much noise. The alarms were a good diversion, but if they made any sudden changes to that consistent ring, it was likely that those things would notice and just like that they’d be goners.

Reyes was now practically leaning entirely off the side of the plane; her palms were pressed tightly against the top of the emergency door as she twisted her forearms and readjusted her fingers. Now, she had enough leverage to slide down and squat-hop into the plane. She envisioned it perfectly, so now she just needed to actually do it. She took a glance over her shoulders every now and again to double-check if Cassian was still behind her. “If I slip you better catch me,” These words weren’t a plead, but a demand. She was placing a good portion of her life in the hands of this stranger…—the more she thought of it, the less she liked her blatant trust in people.

She took a deep breath in, puffing out her chest slightly as she leaned entirely off the edge. Her shoes shuffled onto the sides of the plane briefly before dropping entirely (thanks to gravity) and dangling by the bottom of the door. For a moment, a fearful thought that she didn’t have enough strength left to finish this pull-up had brushed her mind. Thankfully, when it comes to life-or-death situations, humans seem to surpass their limits. She always heard the same rumors about a mother summoning enough strength to lift up a car to save her baby--- so, hopefully, Reyes could become this mother on steroids today. She exhaled as she pulled herself up, gaining a better grip on the top of the door now that her toes were pressing against the middle of it. Her bottom dipped lower as she tried to look inside of the plane. She could only see so much at this angle…

She shuffled a bit closer.

Reyes peeked her head inside, being met with an empty, bloodied row of seats. Not a single body was inside. She reached her left foot into the entrance, putting only a slight amount of weight onto it until she was sure that she wouldn’t make any noise upon impact. Slowly yet surely, she mingled her way closer until she was positive that she could get inside without struggle. She released her grip on the door and swung her body into a cushion. Only a small squeak was sounded, but it was drowned out by the ringing.

She didn’t dare to look around and trigger anything traumatic as she popped her head out from the entrance, scanning above her for Cassian. “Come on princess, I’ll catch you,” She ushered him to follow, reaching out a hand in case he needed something to grab onto. The guy was bigger than Reyes and might struggle to do the same maneuver, but he didn’t exactly look scrawny, so Reyes had hope.

Thump.

Those thumps were getting ominously closer, which caused Reyes to look back inside and check if the coast was clear. The things were getting somehow more violent as they were tossing themselves at the windows. She couldn’t see them as they were behind the curtains, but she could only imagine the looks on their faces… the blood on their bodies… This was definitely going to be a challenge.

Her attention was immediately stolen by the wretched smell that fogged this plane. She could feel her throat burning, which was probably due to the abuse it went through when she had her crying fest. She could see the seat where the old couple resided, which was completely empty now. Fuck. I didn’t even see them outside… are they at the back of the plane? Reyes’s heart dropped. She didn’t know what she’d do if she encountered them as these

It was too late to turn back. They had to go through it all and make it to the restrooms. It was their only choice. Where else could they go? The city was likely overrun, and it’s not like they’re survivalists. Hell, Reyes could tell that that stripper definitely couldn’t skin a rabbit. This was the smartest move. Just wait for help. Outlast those things. There are no other choices. Perhaps they would come across other survivors too? Maybe they’d have food? Wait-- food. Reyes dug into her pocket to feel the plastic bag of almonds that still somehow managed to survive in there.

Thank god.

She had never been so grateful for a bag of almonds in her entire life. If she managed to survive this, those almonds will be the first things to be absolutely demolished. Her stomach would’ve growled in defiance if Reyes wasn’t surrounded by the goriest scene that she had ever come across.

Focus.

Reyes squatted down to the flooring of the plane, glancing at the cockpit before looking back at the curtains. With a shaky breath, she summoned whatever courage was left in her and took those few steps forward. Her hands brushed the soaked chairs as she slowly closed the distance between her and that blood-curdling thumping noise. Thump... Thump… Thump. She couldn’t tell if that was her heart or the things behind those curtains.

Reyes instinctively looked behind her, scanning for Cassian for that tidbit of reassurance. Surely, he knew by now to not make a single fucking noise. She swore if he chuckled and attracted that demented thing over to them, she would strangle him in the afterlife. Very gently, Reyes brushed her fingers along the blue curtains, shifting the fabric to the side as she peeked into the second section of the plane. There they were. The mere sight of them made her want to be back at the top of the plane. I have to do this. There were only two of them from what she could see—but It was far worse than Reyes had imagined. They were just so... violent. Not in all her years had she seen something so damn vile.

They were so intently thrashing at those windows that their faces were practically glued to them. Good. The more focused they were on that side of the plane, the better. Reyes somehow managed not to tremble in fear as she shuffled past the curtains, officially entering the second section. Her steps were filled with caution as she slowly strode toward the second pair of curtains. If she was right, the bridge should be connected to the middle half of this next section. They just needed to get past these two and-

Her heart fell into the pit of her stomach as an elderly figure tumbled out from the second pair of curtains, fixated on joining the other two. The creature had tripped over their own footing, landing face-first into the floor before quickly recovering themselves. A shock of grief and fear ran through Reyes as she recognized the old man. No no no. She stared into his baby blue eyes, which were now surrounded by bloodshot red instead of white. Frozen in place, Reyes could only watch as the figure stood up, fixated on the window, and readied to throw its body at it just like the others.

The problem was that it stopped in its tracks. As if their situation couldn’t get worse, his head cocked toward Reyes. Her gut twisted into itself as she locked eyes with it. Run. Why wasn’t her voice working? Run… She wanted to speak but she couldn’t summon the power. The guttural shriek sounded as the old man came tumbling over with a newfound speed for his meal. “Run,” Her voice was surprisingly firm, as she expected Cassian to be right behind her. She dove for the thing’s legs, forcing them to lose their balance and topple over. Her arms swooped around the underside of the man as she body-slammed him into the others, which were now fixated on her.

This should give Cassian a good enough opening.

The old man acted as a barrier for a brief moment, which allowed Reyes enough time to get the hell out of there. Her arms unlocked from around his waist as she sprinted toward the curtains. Her hand swooped up the blue fabric to smother the face of another oncoming beast from the third section that had followed the old man’s screech. With it now blinded, she swooped her leg under theirs, causing them to fall with a heavy thud. She didn’t care if Cassian was ahead of her or behind her now, all she knew was that she needed to get the fuck out of here. One would’ve given up at this point, but Reyes only sprinted deeper into the plane.

She could see the bridge’s entry; it was so close. There was only one body in her way that blocked the entrance, and that body was running full speed at her with the intent of murdering her in cold blood. Reyes ran headfirst into the situation, planting her hands on the thing’s chest as she shoved it into a seat. It wasn’t hard to divert its powerful strides into the corner and throw it off balance, but her gait was knocked out of balance in the act of doing so. Just as fast as she stumbled onto a seat, she quickly pushed off its soft surface and regained herself. Finally- she was at the entrance. And holy hell was it dark. The blood on the windows stopped any light from coming through, and the ringing of the alarm sounded throughout the entirety of the tunnel, practically defeaning Reyes.

She stuck to the side, keeping her eyes fixated on the glowing bit of light at the end of the bridge. Her strides covered lengthy bits of ground, not caring how loud her steps were since it was being drowned out by that horrible ringing noise and the distant screeching of riled up creautures. The ringing and darkness in this bridge should throw off her pursuers, but Reyes didn’t dare to look back. Just a few more steps and she’d be in the airport. Just a few… more. The sudden wave of light hit Reyes as she took her first step onto that white marbled ground. She immediately dove toward a desk that was a good ways off to the side, tucking herself under its wooden surface. She did it. She was in the airport. She made sure that she was entirely squeezed inside of the desk before she dared to take another breath.

I’m still fucking alive.

Cassian Alaric

Male // 18 // M: Reyes

He was shivering. Why was he shivering? It wasn’t out of fear, surely. He had already gone through being chased by those things, so what was it? Was he cold? No. He was just shaking. Wow. Maybe the world was ending alongside his sanity. That was a nice thought.

Reyes gripped onto his forearm and he pulled her up, straightening a bit as she got into a similar position as him. The older woman reminded him so much of his brother. A sarcastic, judgemental person with, well, human emotions. It was a nice thought, and a reminder that he had to call his brother. He had placed the phone in his pocket to steady Reyes and continue dragging around the plain white mug.

Why did he still have the mug?

Sure, he could be slow on the uptake, but really, how long could you hold a mug? He was mainly shocked that it hadn’t tumbled out of his hand when he had heard the alarm. Most of all, he was extremely surprised he hadn’t fallen off of the plane when the alarm had slammed into their eardrums. It would be rather sad to become infected because an alarm scared him. He bet Reyes would watch him fall, mutter a quick “oh well,” and move onto surviving. The thought was entertaining, but not in the current situation, he had to remind himself.

He should shut up. Reyes seemed as if she had half a mind to chuck him over the plane and onto the floor below them. That would be another bit of a sad death.

“Last I recalled, guys took shits too. We’ll try the women’s bathroom.” He shook his head in amusement. Sounds like a plan captain. It appeared, thanks to his amazing deducing skills, that Reyes wasn’t very happy with his little snips at humor. Let a man live without being judged, c’mon.

He glanced at her and couldn’t see anything past the blood and injuries and grim look. It was like watching the main character of an action film, with fear in her eyes but with a determination only the star of the show could have. She was clearly the sensible one of the pair, with her bright eyes watching his insane, wide-eyed look.

“Stay quiet and stick close to me.”

He nodded mutely, but doubt kept striking him over and over again. What if they didn’t make it out? At first, no doubt had really clouded his mind. It had just been full of fear and worry and pure terror. Reyes was still gripping onto Cassian’s arm when she started shuffling. He blinked in confusion and followed her as best as he could without sending both of them toppling down and over the body of the airplane. She let go rather quickly when they started moving and Cassian slid to make their movement more comfortable. Well, as comfortable as one could be in the current situation.

Reyes continuously glanced over at him before saying, “If I slip you better catch me.” Cassian rolled his eyes when she turned back around. Aye aye, Captain. If she slipped they would both go over. Cassian was already struggling with his bag and mug - what’s the goddamn point of the mug at this point? - but, he could try. But by all means, he would truly drop her and himself if he had to stumble to catch her.

Thankfully, she didn’t slip.

He squatted above the entrance and squinted to watch Reyes’ movements. He felt like he was about to fall off the plane, but tried squaring his stance to get more steady. Reyes seemed to be inspecting her surroundings. Cassian had half a mind to warn her off of looking at the gruesome scene, but she was already eyeing all of the blood, all of the horror inevitably waiting for them inside the airport building as well. Reyes disappeared into the plane then. No doubt scouting for the bodies that weren’t there.

“What the fuck, Reyes.”

She had popped her head out and managed to scare Cassian halfway to his grave, if he wasn’t there already. A scowl immediately lit his face and he glared at her. “God, you look like my paralysis demon,” he muttered, shaking his head and ruffling out his hair. The locks slid into his eyes and he irritably swiped at them.

“Come on princess, I’ll catch you.” She stuck out a hand and motioned for him to hurry up. He swatted her hand away as spitefully as he could and slid in as gracefully as he could, in which his gratefulness could have been compared to an elephant ice skating. He stumbled in and promptly ran into Reyes. Thankfully, she was distracted, having looked inside at the resounding thumps. He glanced around at the bloody seats of the airplane. The thumps echoed, making it so much more ominous.

He was about to ask what they would do next when Reyes pulled out goddamn almonds. He blinked at her. What a fine pair they made, her with her little bag of almonds, and him with his blood-stained duffle and mug. Yep, we’re definitely going to die out here.

Cassian tried following her, but a pit of dread was sinking in his chest. The thumps were getting louder. Were those things throwing themselves at the windows? Nope, nope. He was not up for this. His hand clutched the mug closer to his chest and he used his other hand to grip the duffle. He was ready to run. And throw the mug at whatever moved. That was important.

His eyes made contact with Reyes’ as she swung around. If looks could kill. She looked ready to strangle him if he made a single peep. He let go of the duffle bag strap momentarily to give her a thumbs-up. Oh, he wanted to mock her so badly. It almost rivaled his desire to live. And, oh my god what is she doing. She was slipping into the curtain where the creatures were. If he didn’t need her to survive, he would’ve run off without her. Just the sight of the creatures made him want to curl in a ball.

She stepped into the curtain.

Please Reyes. Give me at least an hour to get ready for the blood.

He followed her, but not before he heard the sound of a body falling onto the floor. His eyes widened at the sight of another creature joining into the window slamming fray.

But then… Reyes was stopping?

He reached to grab her arm and shake her out of her stupor. He gripped her tightly but then… but then the old man - was he considered an old man anymore? - looked at Reyes. He immediately let go of her as the creature, the vile thing, started racing towards them. Oh my god. Run, run, run. Right now. Move.

Reyes was diving at the thing and making it fall. The other creatures were watching now, but at least the thuds against the window had stopped.

Oh she’s gone. His eyes dully watched Reyes sprint the hell out of there.

He grunted and raced after her. Reyes was knocking those creatures down left and right. Cassian was tempted to throw the mug, but it looked like the woman was taking care of everything, barreling straight into the creatures as if they were playing a football game.

They were running through the tunnel with the screeches of the creatures behind them, and the siren, deafening call of the alarm. He could hardly see, trying his best to follow Reyes’ footsteps, but it proved to be a tad bit harder, you know, because of all the noise.

Then, there was light. He was blinded and stumbled a bit, running into Reyes again. Water was raining down, and the alarm was screeching, but it felt like a good victory to him.

“Holy fuck you’re crazy,” he laughed in relief. They weren’t dead. He had to pat down his chest with one hand to make sure he hadn’t been unalived. His duffle was in one piece, he was in one piece, Reyes was in one piece, the mug was still hanging useless in his right hand- Yep. Everything was accounted for.

The moment lasted very shortly, however, when the gurgles of the (un-alived?) people hit his eardrums very suddenly. Don’t celebrate too soon. He glanced over at Reyes and just grappled at her arm, keeping as fast as a pace as he could without running as he headed for the bathroom. It was so close.

“Alright, the moment's over. Let’s try not to die, shall we?”

He slammed into the door with his shoulder and let go of Reyes as well. Squinting in the bathroom light. He couldn’t really see what with the water pouring. He stood in front of the door to let Reyes go through. “Ladies first, madam.”

It wasn’t because he was trying to patronize her or because he was polite, though. His thoughts were consistently straying towards calling his brother back. How would the conversation go, he wondered? A little flash of what it might go like was rushing through his head faster than the water droplets slicking his hair. He shook his hair out and tousled it again.

‘Hey Alec. I’m sorry I ignored the call earlier, please don’t be dead?’

No, no. Rewind.

‘Hey Alec. Tell my idiotic triplet siblings that I love them and I’m sorry we couldn’t die together, like how we were born together, like we planned as kids. Tell dad I’m sorry I couldn’t be good enough to help him get rid of his debt. Tell mom I’m sorry I wasn’t perfect enough to make her stay with us. And- and I’m sorry for leaving you with all the responsibilities. I’m sorry for being selfish and leaving you on open all the time and ignoring your calls and arguing with you so goddamn much.

I’m just- I’m sorry. If I die, I’m sorry for everything and anything I ever did or have done. Just please be okay.’

Maybe he’d tell Alec that he was the best brother he could have ever asked for, or that Cassian had always looked up to his older brother, always wanted to be like Alec. Maybe they’d reminisce for the last minutes they had together. Maybe they would get to both apologize and argue and get to say goodbye one last time.

His lips pursed and his eyes started to feel warm, his throat closing a bit. His nose burned and for a horrible moment, he was afraid he was going to tear up and cry in front of a stranger.

But he couldn’t call Alec. How could he, after all those arguments and anger and rage, with only Alec being the sensible one. With Alec being the one who seemed to care.

But I care too, the child-like, plaintive voice in his head echoed.

He gingerly pulled the phone out and shielded it from the chaos roaring around them, clicking into his phone and holding a finger, just one finger, over the call button. It’d be one single button. It wasn’t hard. He glanced up at Reyes for an almost reassurance, and he froze in that pose with his eyes turning back to the little screen that held a portal to all the things he regretted and wanted to say.

Should I?

But what if he doesn’t pick up? What if they’re dead by now? What if I become a liability because I’m wasting time wanting to call them? What if after what if. The little game of these- these what-ifs weren’t helping his constantly pounding head. His teeth clench and his finger waivered, for one little moment, closing in ever so slightly on the call button. Water droplets from his hair fell onto the phone. It seemed to mark their deaths even further.

What if I can’t do this little thing? How am I supposed to survive?

No, no, no. Too many questions. Too much stalling. Too many regrets just piling and piling up, up, up.

A scowl was his response to the never ending cycle of fear and hesitation. It was just his brother. His older brother. His best friend since before he was born. Wasn’t that what they said?

Reyes Collin

Female // 23 // M: Cassian

I'm still fucking alive.

Those words burned through the small slither of peace that Reyes had. She glanced over her shoulder to look at Cassian, who seemed just as bewildered as she was.

“Holy fuck you’re crazy,”

His voice was somewhat muffled out by the ringing, but Reyes could make out his words. This was the only time that Reyes didn’t look at him oddly when he laughed; In fact, one might’ve even seen her crack a smile and let out a weary snicker. She always rushed headfirst into dangerous situations and was always scolded for being so bold: this was the only time something good came out of it. Her heart was beating rapidly and thumping in her ears. She still managed to pump warm blood up to her head as she grasped the situation. The bit of relief that she felt getting inside the airport was over. Her little moment of serenity had gone just as quick as it had come. They still had to make it to the bathrooms.

It seemed like Cassian had the same train of thought when he heard those shrieks begin to get a little too close for comfort. She felt her arm get hooked around by Cassian’s as she was practically flung out of her seat. She tried to cuss, but because of the sudden movement all that came out was an exasperated and pitiful ‘fughk’. It was only when she lifted herself from the ground that she realized just how scared she was. Her knees wanted to buckle in, and the entirety of her legs was trembling. She gave in to the pressure for a brief moment before she forced herself back up.

She managed to collect her stride to match that of Cassian’s so he wasn’t pulling her along as they made a beeline toward the bathrooms. The scene that plagued the airport was horrendous. The water was discolored with red, every little wall was splashed with blood as if it was some canvas. This bit of the airport was eerily empty, though. Perhaps it was the fact that she was sprinting in a daze and couldn’t notice if there was anything around her.

She was somehow managing not to slip when she looked over her shoulder. One of them made it out of the tunnel. As if unaffected by the sudden wave of light, it was now sprinting toward the two with a built-up rage. Reyes felt another pump of adrenaline rush to her as she quickened her gait. Hurray, mistake #1. She slipped over the hard marble, making a half-hearted tumble toward the ground; but thanks to Cassian’s grip on her arm, she managed to catch herself. She could hear the creature behind them fall with a hard thump. Its screeching was almost the same consistency as the ringing. She didn’t dare look back a second time as she raced toward the bathrooms.

The sudden movement of her head caused another wave of dizziness to rush to her vision- which only made the situation worse as her temple began to throb once more. Suddenly, Cassian let go and opened the doors.

They really were that close.

Cassian said something, but in the rush of the moment, Reyes had blocked it out as she dove into the bathrooms with the last bit of energy she could muster. It almost looked like an actual dive since she tripped over herself in the process. Her body flung itself to the tiled flooring as she rolled onto her side. Due to the momentum, she slid further into the bathroom, causing her to nearly collide with a stall.

The thing behind them must’ve struggled in the water because it didn’t seem to run in right after them. Thank God for that. Reyes immediately sat up, rushing over to barricade the door with her body as if she hadn’t just pulled some NFL move.

Even if they were out of sight, that thing could still be after them-- It could still try getting in. With her back against the door, Reyes finally gave in to her knees. She plopped onto the ground with a loud huff, making sure to put just enough pressure against the door in case something tried to fight its way in. For a moment she was tense as she prepared herself for resistance, but not a single noise outside of the ringing was sounded.

Reyes supposed that the thing must’ve lost sight and eventually lost interest after Reyes and Cassian entered the bathrooms. The idea of having a break from fighting for her life allowed Reyes to calm down a bit more. She was still in a state of shock but managed to collect herself.

She looked down to her feet, which were huddled in a pool of discolored blood. For a moment she thought it was her own, only just realizing moments later that the water was washing her clothes off. The fact that it wasn’t even her blood that was being washed off caused her stomach to turn in a terribly familiar way. She had to bring her palm to her mouth to stop that lump of puke from coming out. The acidic liquids burned at her throat, but she managed to swallow the bit that made its way into her mouth.

She looked up at the little sprinkler that was connected to the roof. It violently poured out water onto everything within its radius, splashing Reyes’s face in the process. She never thought that she’d be stuck in the women’s bathroom with some stranger, running from cannibals whilst getting rained on inside an airport. My, how life likes to throw curveballs.

She reached for her mangled bun that was barely being held together by the tattered hair tie. Her fingers plucked the tie out, letting her hair fall to her shoulders. Her sensitive scalp ached due to the amount of time that Reyes had her hair up. She instinctively reached for her head to begin rubbing the sensitive spots but faltered when she saw the blood on her palms.

Reyes dipped her head to her knees, shaking her hair out. Little bits and strands fell out in small, tangled clumps as she pushed the hair away from her neck. She could feel the scratch on the nape of her neck being hit with cold little droplets. She hadn’t realized just how hot the wound had become until a cool liquid surfaced on it. Was it infected? The thought sent a small panic through her as she looked toward the mirrors. It was too far away from the door, so she pushed the thought to the back of her mind.

Reyes began to vigorously rub her hands together, washing off the blood that clung to it. She needed to check the mirror, but she wasn’t going to leave this door unguarded for the life of her. She flopped her hair back over her neck before briefly scanning her surroundings. She needed to find something to barricade the door and keep it shut in case one of those freaks tried getting in. There were about 6 stalls in the bathroom accompanied by 3 sinks and a large mirror. The marbled countertops were relatively clean given the state of the outside of the airport, which Reyes was thankful for. There were two paper towel dispensers planted on either side with the hand motion sensor label planted in the middle of the black compartment. The little bits of beige paper that poked through the machine were absolutely soaked now, so they were practically useless.

At least she was getting a shower and washing her clothes at the same time, a win-win situation, right? Reyes opened her mouth and stuck her tongue out like a child catching snowflakes. She let the water gather in her mouth before swallowing it. The water had an irony tint to it and lacked quality minerals, but at least it helped ease the throbbing that rushed through her body from the dehydration. If she could, she would go to the sink and just help herself to the water- but she was far too attached to the door to even think about getting up.

What would happen if they were stuck in here with one of those things? The mere thought sent a shudder down Reyes as she looped her arms around her legs. It was only then that she felt the goosebumps on her arms. She placed her wrist on top of her forearm to feel the temperature from her body- surprise surprise, it was cold. She curled into herself, tucking her head behind her knees. Her hair fell around her on either side, somewhat tickling her shoulders as she prepared herself for a long night.

She couldn’t close her eyes. Every time she blinked, she could see the horrifying scene that unraveled around her back in the plane. She could hear their blood-curdling screams. Every time she closed her eyes, even if it was for a brief moment, the scenes became more vivid. There was always a new victim that came to her attention, a new story behind their life. A life that was to abruptly taken away.

She looked toward Cassian, then towards his duffel bag. He should have something in there to help them, right? Maybe he was a murderer and had some kind of rope and tools to tie the door shut. Maybe he also had some tarp to block the water, a first-aid kit-- he could’ve shoved a whole buffet in there for all she knows-- now Reyes was blindly hoping for Cassian to pull things out of that duffle bag like a magician with its hat.

Her eyes zoned in on the stranger and his phone. He seemed to be lost in thought as his amber eyes tore into the little rectangle. He’s probably thinking about his family. I mean, what else could he be possibly thinking about? Another degrading joke? Reyes interrupted her judgmental thoughts with another sigh.

As much as she wanted to deny it, she was grateful for him. She likely would’ve gotten tackled by that thing if he hadn’t dragged her along with him. Even if she wanted to refuse it, she needed a companion—you know, someone human that wasn’t trying to get at her throat.

Reyes was blatantly staring at him, but she didn’t care. He seemed to be on the verge of tears given his body language, which made Reyes become a little more self-aware of their situation. This was the first bit of emotion that Reyes could relate to-- other than the fear of being eaten alive, of course. Cassian’s finger rested on his phone, and he seemed to just… sit there for a moment. Staring at the phone. There was no doubt about it that he was experiencing the same thing Reyes did on top of that plane. Well, at least he’s not alone now.

Shit. She felt bad for him… How was she supposed to comfort someone again? Pat their back? She was never the best at this. Even if she felt pity, there was always an air of awkwardness whenever someone else cried in front of her. Her friends always asked to go out to eat whenever they went through a bad breakup... so perhaps food would be comforting? Reyes reached down for the bag of almonds that she oh so adored. A small growl sounded from her as she stared at them hesitantly. She looked back to Cassian, who was now looking back at her. Dammit.

She wanted those almonds. You can do this Rey. Once help comes, you’ll be eating like a fucking king. She didn’t know what to say as she tossed the bag over to Cassian, refusing to leave the door. “y’know… Fiber..” These were the only words that her brain managed to gather. You couldn’t think of anything better than that? She tore her eyes away from Cassian, wanting to give him some kind of privacy in this delicate state. Rubbing her temple with her fingers, she focused on the source of the water that was pouring down on them.

“If-“ She began before abruptly pausing. How the hell do people function words. Reyes’s searched her brain, but her mind seemed to go blank.

“If it makes you feel better, it already looks like you’re crying.”

Really Rey?

Reyes plopped her head back against the door, regretting ever speaking. She was referring to the water going down his face in little droplets- they looked like tears- okay? She just wanted to make him feel better with a bit of the sarcasm that he used, but now she just felt like an ass.

Now that she thought more about it, from the get-go she was pretty rough on this dude. She was in far less of a stable mindset than he was, and now he was falling into the same amount of despair that Reyes had. Well, she still had that despair; she just managed to suppress the rest of her emotions after crying relentlessly. She had to, to survive. She wouldn’t have been able to summon the courage to go through with her plan if she just sat there and wilted away.

Whenever Reyes coped with the stress she always distracted herself with something to do. Perhaps Cassian just needs something to do. No. She looked back at him again, recalling the time when he hesitated when Reyes told him to call his family. Why had he procrastinated calling his family? Did he not have a family worth calling…? Damn, now Reyes really felt like an asshole.

Her older sister, Delilah, was always the one who was good at comforting her. She should be here, not Reyes. Reyes felt the same burning sensation in her throat as she looked down to her feet. She wanted to cry out but all she could muster up was a few tears. She swiped her forearm over her nose, stopping the snot from gathering. “You’re fucking contagious,” She spoke with a hoarse voice before sniffling. She let out a small chuckle at their hopeless situation. It was not meant to be found funny, but one that realized just how fucked they were. The congestion began to build up in her nose and a rush of warmth filled her pale face. She couldn’t differentiate the tears from the water at this point.

She pulled out of her phone, which was long gone from recovering. Her chest ached at the thought of her family as she stared into the black screen. She didn’t even know if her words reached them. She didn’t even know if they were still fucking alive. This phone was all she had left to contact them, and now it’s gone too. She shoved the phone back into her pocket. It was useless now that it was soaked, but she kept it there more for comfort than anything else.

She never anticipated crying in front of a stranger, but at this point, that was the least of her worries. She looked up toward Cassian with watery eyes. “If we can survive this, so can they right?” These were meant to be reassuring words… They instead came out in a form of a question that was grasping for hope. Reyes tried to muster up a comforting smile but all that formed was a twisted sob. Her nose ached from the abuse it had endured, and her eyes were blurred from the tears that gathered in them. Everything hurt.

Aurora let out a relieved sigh, closing her sky blue eyes for a moment and leaning back against the shining, seemingly stainless white wall of the bathroom. It was cold as ice, but, why should she care? The sixteen-year old had a lot more important things to worry about, such as trying to find another way to spite her mother. Or, she could focus on the fact that she could finally take a break from the endless waves of people flooding the airport-

SLAM!

Or, another person could walk into the bathroom. Shit.

Aurora jumped, spooked by how loudly the crimson red door to the right of her had opened, a loud sound echoing across the bathroom. She heaved herself up from the wall that she was leaning against so that her back and legs were straight, but was surprised to find that the one who’d slammed the door open so loudly was none other than… a really short teenage girl. At least, Aurora thought that she was a teenager. She didn’t really know. This girl could be in elementary school from how small and petite she was.

What Aurora did not expect was that she’d say, loudly since the restroom was so damn empty and fairly echoey, “Thank God! Only one other chick in here. This hellhole’s packed; you wouldn’t believe the lines in the other restrooms.”

Well, Aurora hadn’t been to the other restrooms, and she didn’t really care much about them, either. This one was good enough, since it was completely empty and the only one to answer Aurora’s calls was absolute silence. Or, at least, that’s how it used to be before this girl came in.

God. Damnit.

The teenage- or, maybe preteen, girl was walking over in Aurora’s direction, wheeling her suitcase along with her. The sixteen-year old felt tempted to take her knife out of its sheath in an attempt to scare the girl into shutting up. But, she already knew that that wouldn’t work. Great. Maybe Aurora would just leave—

“Say, since you’re around, would you mind watching my things for a sec’? Can’t have anyone yeeting on in here and stealing my shit; my brother would chop my head off if we lost all this! Anyway, I’m electing to trust you, so…”

Then, with a swift and rather hard shove of her arms, the suitcase went wheeling across the floor in Aurora’s direction, and the girl just barely managed to not get toppled over by the load. What the hell? Who in their right mind would trust a stranger with something that was so important that their brother would “end up chopping their head off if they lost it.”

But, then again, this girl didn’t seem like she was in her right mind.

Aurora wasn’t in the talkative mood, though. She never was. So, she stayed silent, too anxious to voice her thoughts out loud. Maybe she’d steal the stuff. She didn’t really know this girl, anyways, so why should she care whether her brother got mad or not? The sixteen-year old turned her head around to look at what the other girl was doing. It looked like she had a pair of earbuds on, and was focused on… browsing through the bathroom stalls? Whatever. This girl was crazy.

Leaving the stranger’s stuff behind, Aurora headed for the crimson door, hoping that from inside the restroom it’d look less ugly. No, no, it looked just as ugly as it had before. Still questioning the airport’s choice of color, Aurora flung open the bathroom door, but what she saw had her think that her eyes were deceiving her.

A man- a man was getting mauled. There was a bloodied, crazed person on top of him, ripping apart and tattering his clothes and most likely his flesh as well from how much blood was gushing out and pooling on the floor below him. The sixteen-year old stood in shock for a moment before finally realizing that she’d end up just like the man if she didn’t shut the restroom door.

Slamming the door shut, Aurora backed up with wide eyes and a mind that was far from blank. What the hell? Did those people have rabies? Aurora had never been taught how to deal with something like this. And just when she thought that her dad had taught her everything, the world had to show her that she was wrong.

She could hear the other girl talking over in the bathroom stall, but her mind was in too much of a flurry to bother to listen to the words that came out of her mouth. All she could focus on was the blood curdling screams coming from outside of the crimson door in front of her, which was still really fucking ugly.

The teen could feel her heart pounding inside her chest, and that’s when she could feel something collide with her body. Or rather, someone. She jumped, taking a few steps back and looking at the girl who’d bumped into her. “Sorry, sorry. Uhm. Some shit’s happening to my brother. Ehe~ Need to check something…”

The girl walked over to the restroom door.

In a voice smaller than the other girl’s height, Aurora said, “D—don’t open that door.”

Aurora should’ve spoken louder, because she did it anyway, even though her whole body was shaking wildly and the panic outside hadn’t died down in the least from the all too noticeable screaming that now plagued Aurora’s mind.

Outside was the same man from before, with tattered, bloodied clothing. In the background, people are getting chased, and running… and falling. The floor is painted red with blood.
“Holy shit!” Aurora says right as the man lunges, the other girl closing the door just in time so that he slams into it instead of them.

She could almost feel the other girl’s anxiety and fear radiating off of her, which made Aurora more anxious. She backed inbetween the wall and the sink, her entire body quivering. She couldn’t take her mind off of the chaos outside, wincing as the sound of nails scraping on wood and growling began. One, two, three— there were too many screams to count. Aurora could feel tears well up in her eyes.

The other girl has dropped her phone and is on her knees, scrambling to pick the device up. A voice is coming from it, saying, “SADIE! FUCKING, ANSWER ME!”

Is that what this girl’s name was? Sadie? Aurora assumed that whoever called her must care about the girl an awful lot to call her at a time like this, where some probably wouldn’t give a damn about who lived and who died as long as they could save their own asses. If only Aurora’s mother cared about her enough to call. Her phone hadn’t rung or vibrated even once, but it wasn’t like she was expecting it to, anyway

But, then again, she may already be dead.

Sadie— or, whatever this other girl’s name was, was whimpering as her brother or father or whoever the person over the phone was was questioning where the hell she was. Sadie’s crying was only making Aurora feel worse, a tear rolling down the teen’s cheek as she stroked her right arm in an attempt to soothe herself.

It… didn’t really work.

Her sky-blue eyes clouded with hopelessness, Aurora can still hear Sadie talking over the phone, but, then, the other person’s voice went silent.

Could he have died? Or, maybe it was the phone that died. Aurora didn’t really know, but Sadie is saying “Charlie?” “Charlie, hey, where’d you…? Charlie, you better not have— Char—”

Well, Aurora was right about the phone dying, since the other girl started to pour her stuff out on the ground, looking through it until she found a phone charger. Aurora wasn’t even sure how she managed to pick it up, much less plug it in from how damn shaky her hands were. Of course, Aurora was trembling, too.

Aurora blocks her ears as another scream arises from outside, followed by thudding against the door. She just wishes that all of this was some horrible prank or a part of her wild imagination, but knows that this is reality. She stares at the ground.

“Hey,” Sadie says, and Aurora whips her head around so that their eyes meet. “my brother’ll be here soon. Do you— We need something to defend ourselves— Do you… Do you have any idea what’s going—”

She was about to answer, but that’s when the overhead alarms started to go off, shrieking loudly and huing the airport with red. Water rained down from above, soaking Aurora’s hair and clothes. She felt like she’d just come out of a swimming pool, water even pooling beneath her as it dripped off of her hair and shirt.

Somebody had pulled the fire alarm. She wasn’t actually sure where it was, but that meant that most likely, those rabid, rabified people were everywhere in the airport, possibly outside of it as well. However, she hadn’t heard an announcement over the speakers about them, which seemed odd to her. If the situation was this damn serious, shouldn’t you tell everyone about it so that they don’t end up dead?

Aurora scrambled to take out her phone, which had water droplets rushing down the screen but thankfully, it was still working. After shakily and just barely punching in her password, Aurora scrolled through the internet, looking for any mention of what she assumed to be some sort of virus or infection. That’s when something caught her eye— a video that had a thumbnail with one of those… things on it. Aurora didn’t bother to look at the clip, though— she didn’t think that her ears could take anymore screams of terror or loud, ear-splitting screeches.

And then, something— or, no, someone threw the restroom door open. Instinctively, Aurora got to her feet and prepared to run while also gripping onto the sheath of her knife tightly. But, when she got a closer look, she could see that the one who’d opened the door was in fact human.

It was a guy who looked to be about in his early twenties with a height that was close to Aurora’s. He had voluminous black hair which made his already pale skin appear even paler— but, besides that and his hazel eyes, the sixteen-year old didn’t bother to pay attention to the man’s physical features. She just cared that he wasn’t rabified. That was all.

She could hear Sadie say, “Charlie?”

“There you are, you fucking bitch,” the man says.

This could’ve been who Sadie was talking with over the phone, actually, it was pretty likely in Aurora’s mind. How else would he have known that they were in here? Plus, by Sadie’s reaction, she 100% knew this person.

Aurora turned away, hoping that maybe, just maybe she wouldn’t be noticed by anybody. She wiped her tears from her face with her sleeve, just in case she was seen. She didn’t want anybody’s first impression of her to be some terrified, sniveling child. Plus, maybe this was a chance for her to show off how smart she was.

But, she then noticed yet another person had come in through the door after who she assumed was named Charlie, at least, by Sadie’s reaction. He must’ve come in while Aurora wasn’t paying any attention. She didn’t know this person’s name, but he looked to be about her age. Great.

How in the hell was a group of mostly teenagers supposed to survive hordes composed of possibly hundreds of rabified people? Also, why was Aurora still referring to these people as if they had rabies? Oh, well, she had much more important things to worry about. Like how the kid who’s name she didn’t know seemed to just be ending a call as he brought his phone down from his face. She didn’t really bother to pay much mind to what he’d said or done before. But, now, Aurora was a bit more focused.

"Hi," the kid greeted. Pfft. How plain. "I think that we should barricade ourselves in here until the morning comes. The people outside don't have enough brain power to keep interest in us if they don't see a chance to get inside, so we should be safe. We can keep up with the news —" he waved his phone with one hand. "— with this, and if we find out anything new, then we can move. I don't think those things can talk, so we can probably trust anything that can form words."

Okay, now he was starting to sound smart. Aurora turned around, facing him as well as the other people in this rag-tag group. She’d keep her mouth shut. For now. But, what in the hell were they supposed to make a barricade out of? This was a public restroom, not a goddamn storage unit. Unless he was suggesting that they just lean against the door to keep it shut. That could work, too.

With a bright smile, the kid said, "We'll be fine if we can make it through the night."

Yeah, but, what about the days that followed? Three minutes without oxygen, three days without water, three weeks without food. Was that the saying? Whatever, it didn’t matter. What did matter was that the group couldn’t stay in this bathroom forever. They’d need food somewhat soon.

But otherwise, a restroom was an ideal place to hide out. They had all the water that they needed, as well as easily accessible toilets. Aurora was lucky that she’d made it here before the chaos ensued.

Aurora propped herself up, and let out a lengthy sigh. This was going to be a rough night.

___________________________________

kind of gave up near the end of this piece of shit

Robert Kelvin Wiles | 23 | Male | M: none

Robert chewed his nails as he sat on an upside down ten-gallon bucket. It was horrible habit that he would have to break, but right now was not the time. Besides, his thoughts weren’t on his issues, rather that they were thinking about the beautiful red wood trees he was missing out on. His brother had planned the entire trip for him to go and see them, sort of as a getaway from homework. He had always wanted to see them and to stare up at them in awe. He always wanted to try to climb one and had been wondering on the plane if a park ranger would permit him. At least he hoped they would. But no, no, no, the trees would have to wait because of some demon-possessed people. He let out a deep sigh and then his stomach gurgled. I really should’ve chosen a better place to hide, he thought with his head in his numb-nailed hands, like a kitchen.

He looked around him like he had about every couple minutes. Nothing had changed. The door was locked and barred by a plastic trashcan, a mop and the mops’ bucket. The walls were bare except for the schedule and a couple hooks and shelves to hold supplies. The single light flickered on and off and on and off. It wouldn’t last very long and he didn’t think that he would either. He was hungry, but the food on the plane was too expensive for his student loan indebted wallet. He had decided that he’d wait until he found a McDonalds where they’d serve him some real food. Mmm, he could think of the warm buns and the thin but ketchup covered meat that laid between the two pieces. His stomach lurched again. He needed to stop this fascination with carb-loaded food. Diet, remember! He told himself, but he didn’t want to listen. He wanted a large of those hot yellow sticks of pure potato carbs and salt. He needed that wonderful, refillable cup of coke that would fizz just right in his parched mouth. Alas, he had chosen to duck into the janitor’s closet where one’s only source of water was the dirty mop water and he wasn’t that desperate. Not yet.

He looked at his watch. It was 3 am and he really wanted to take a nap. His eyes drooped and the flickering light seemed to grow even dimmer. Then his stomach gurgled again, which thankfully woke him up some. He didn’t feel thankful, though. He looked back at his watch. It was now 3:02 am. Rats, he had hoped for at least ten minutes. He just couldn’t let himself sleep. Not with those demon-possessed people out there. They seemed indestructible and very driven to destroy more and more of God’s creation. He had heard of demon possession before, but only from the Bible. He would’ve never imagined that they were like this. He looked around and he knew that he was alone and it seemed like a good time to pray. He hadn’t done this in a while. In fact, he and God didn’t seem to be communicating at all and right now he really hoped that He’d pick up the phone and wasn’t mad. Thus he prayed in the private quietness of the janitor room and he barely whispered the words.

“Dear God, I really, really hope you’re listening. I’m not sure what to do. Uh, please watch over me while I sleep and not let them come in and destroy me. Thank you, Lord. Amen.”

It wasn’t a great prayer and he knew that God accepted any message, no matter how short and no matter the fact that he hadn’t talked to him a weeks. The prayer felt good to say, like he was having lunch with a grade school friend. He looked back at the door, shadows could be seen throughout the little cracks. Some screaming echoed in the distance, but he was tired. He could sleep.

Then a muffled noise erupted inside of the little closet. Robert, dreaming of redwood trees and hamburgers, woke up with a sudden start. Crap! Did I remember to write that paper? He shot up and was confused to why it was dark. He groped around in the dark trying to find a light switch. Instead he felt the plastic of the bucket that he had been sitting on three hours ago. Then he remembered. He was not in his dorm. He did not have homework due, having done that the previous night. He was not going to see the red woods. His heart lowered a bit, but he remembered his prayer. He was still alive and God had been faithful. Then he recalled the reason why he had woken up. He quieted his thoughts and listened to a speaker outside of the closet. It was an announcement. Something about a pandemic and that he needed to check the media.

Up on a shelf was his phone. It had been charging since he had run it dead while on the plane playing CandyCrush. He reached out for it and typed in the code, 1234567890. It was easy to remember and he figured that it was too simple for anyone to take the time to type out all the numbers.

It was a list of coordinates. One for a quarantine camp and one for a town that was able to transport people to it. That was great. Now all he had to do was get out of his closet and he’d be off to the camp. Maybe it would be close to some red woods. Hopefully everything will be back to normal soon. With his phone providing light, he gathered his stuff, that being the device itself and its charger which he crammed into his carryon bag—a backpack. It was moderately heavy, having a sketch notebook, some homework and writing/drawing utensils with him. It was a large history book that really weighed him down and he hoped that he wouldn’t have to leave it in the closet. He thought about it. He wasn’t the fastest runner and he really didn’t want to loose his phone or notebook. It had some really cool drawings in it already. So he reluctantly removed the thick book from his bag and made sure that his name, number and address was printed legibly on the first page. Then he put it up on the highest shelf to keep it hidden from any ole thieves. Hopefully, he could return and grab it after the pandemic and it would be untouched. He’d figure out how he’d recognize which closet it was in after he made it out of the airport alive.

He reluctantly removed the stuff he had crammed in front of the door. Slowly, he cracked the door so that only his good eye could be seen. It looked clear. There was some blood on the walls and on the floors. He listened. He couldn’t hear anything. He didn’t feel any vibrations. He could only smell blood and he didn’t think it wise to try to taste anything. He took a deep breath and declared that it was clear to go.