Chapter 3

I felt sick to my stomach. But I could see Faye was feeling that way too. Courageously I got up and walked slowly to the door. They knocked again, even faster, more worriedly. I creaked the door open, enough to see whoever outside was not a threat. I ushered them in, and closed the door silently.

They looked pale white and shaken. I realised who they were; the two boys were a couple of years above Faye and I. I shivered and Faye shuffled over to the radiator, as I had let a draft in.

"What the hell's going on out there?" The taller boy asked, out of breath and red faced.

"I don't really want to know," I replied, looking out the window.

"Are you two ok?" The other boy said, his voice wobbly. He had a deep scratch on his arm, torn through his school jacket. I shook my head and looked at Faye. She mirrored me.

The two boys were sitting the other side of the room, their heads in their hands and not thinking straight. Subtlety they began a conversation about the whole situation. I didn't speak much, it was mainly Faye who had calmed down a bit.

The boys introduced themselves as Tom and Bradley - Bradley was the taller one with dirty-blonde hair, presumably older, and Tom had darker brown hair.

As it was getting slightly darker outside, my stomach began to rumble. I hadn't eaten anything all day. "We can't stay in here," I said almost in a whisper. Faye looked up at me in agreement. I stood up tiredly and looked out the window for a few seconds. "The cafeteria is just over there," I said pointing to the right, "I'm going to get some food,"

"Are you sure it's safe?" Faye asked concerned, also looking outside.

"There could still be... Zombies - outside," Bradley added, joining our conversation. He paused at the word 'zombies'.

"I'll go with you... I'm starving as well," Tom said, looking out the window, though he looked unsure. "Besides if two of us go, we can get more food. And you two can stay here on lookout." He said gesturing to Faye and Bradley.

"Okay, fine. But what will you do if they try and attack you?" Bradley asked, very seriously. He raised his eyebrows and folded his arms. Tom suggested we should try and find something to use as a weapon.

I walked to the cubicle on the end of the row. Parallel to it was a storing cupboard, where the cleaners kept their supplies. The handle was very small and there was a padlock on it. I grabbed it and pulled it with all my strength but it wouldn't budge. I twisted the handle and tried to snap the lock but I wasn't strong enough. I looked at my hands, they looked red and sore.

I was almost running out of ideas on how to open the cupboard when I realised I kept some hair grips in one of my blazer pockets. I rummaged around all six pockets until I found a slightly bent brown bobby pin. I put the end in my mouth slightly to help bend it into an 'L' shape. Then I tried to pick the lock.

"I can't find anything," Bradley shouted.

"Neither can I," Tom added, and Faye said, "Me neither,"

"Wait I think I have something," I called back. I fumbled around until I heard a click and the padlock fell to the floor. Yes! I thought. I successfully turned the handle to discover a pile of cloths, disinfectant sprays, toilet plungers and mops.

I walked back over to everyone, carrying two mops. "Here, " I gave Tom one of them, "We can use the end of these to stab the monsters if they attack us," I said. Bradley chuckled under his breath, thinking it was a stupid idea, but Faye nodded in agreement.

"We better go," Tom said.

"Be careful," Faye said, her voice strained.

I opened the door and peeked my head round. Tom copied. "Looks clear," he whispered.

"Yeah," I gulped. I blinked a few times trying to stop the tears. The 'zombies' had gone, but had left trails of blood everywhere, and half eaten limbs were scattered along the paths.

"Oh my god," I breathed, covering my mouth. The stench of corpses was revolting. I wondered if it was a good idea going out in this. There could be zombies lurking behind walls or in bushes. My heart thumped in fear.

"Come on," Tom said.