'Almost there!'

  Almost there, almost there, almost there, almost there, almost there, almost there…

  Like a mantra, I kept repeating the words as we desperately ran through the school's locker-lined hallways to get to an exit.

  They were hot on our heels. Even now, through the loud sounds of my laborious breathing and the jingling of keys in my pocket, I could hear them. Those ghastly growls and moans.

  They were getting closer.

  Perhaps even louder than my breathing however, was that of the girl behind me whose hand I was holding onto tightly as we ran.

  'Damn asthma!' I thought to myself.

  We did our best to avoid a situation where we'd have to run, but now that it came to this, we had no other choice.

  We couldn't afford to stop. They were too close and every second counted. She was just gonna have to hang in there.

  I wasn't even sure whether she still had her inhaler on her or not.

  'If she didn't… No! We'll figure that out once we get to the exit. There'll surely be a way.'

  Just as we were approaching the final turn towards our exit, I heard a loud crash behind us from the end of the hallway. When I looked back I immediately wished I hadn't.

  There were dozens of them! They couldn't control their momentum as they were turning into this hallway and a number of them smashed right into the adjacent wall. It sickened me when I realised the sound was probably from bones breaking and snapping.

  But these things were less than human now. It didn't stop their relentless pursuit once they caught sight of us. The slow ones in front were quickly trampled by the swift ones. The blood clinging to their bodies and mouth was reminiscent of a toddler that had come across a bottle of ketchup.

  The nightmarish sight sent a new dose of adrenaline through me and I picked up speed.

  Similarly to the creatures, I smashed right into the line of lockers as I made the turn. Ignoring the throbbing pain in my left hand, I kept going.

  The door was right in front of us. Just a few more metres.

  'Was this hallway always so long though?!', I thought to myself as the distance seemingly stretched.

  I was feeling relieved. There was still some distance between us and them. We were going to make it!

  Then I felt a hand grab my wrist.

  I looked back in time to see the girl pull her hand out of mine.

  She stumbled and fell to her knees, struggling to breath. She looked desperate as she frantically clawed at her clothes, looking for something.

  I was about to stop and help her, when I looked up and saw the first one.

  Then my legs…kept moving.

  'Wait! No stop!'

  My attempt to slow down was killed as another one appeared.

  Then the third…

  Then the fourth…

  Then a dozen of them…

  'Stupid legs! Stop, damn it! She's going to die! Come on! Please!'

  I kept looking to the front, hoping I wasn't about to run into anything. Even now, my instinct for self-preservation was still working well.

  Perhaps too well.

  Looking back again, I saw she had put something to her mouth. Her inhaler.

  After she took a few drags, her breathing calmed down.

  I was now farther from her than the monsters were close.

  Still on her knees, she looked up at me. With tears rolling down her eyes, she flashed me a warm smile.

  Then the first of them reached her. Grabbing at her violently, I quickly tore my eyes away as the first one was about to dig its teeth into her neck.

  But it didn't stop the blood-curdling scream from reaching my ears.

  I kept running. Eyes forward this time. I reached the metal double door and gave it a tug.

  It was locked.

  Reaching into my pockets, I frantically brought out the bunch of keys. We had expected this, so the key we needed was marked with a red marker.

  A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

  Adrenaline was great for running away. Not so much for staying still.

  My hands couldn't stop shaking as I tried to fit the key into the keyhole so it dropped to the floor. All the while the growls were getting closer. The screaming had stopped, replaced by a quiet sobbing that was barely discernible amidst the cacophony of noises.

  Cursing, I quickly bent down to pick up the key and was able to get it this time. Turning the key twice unlocked the door and I pulled it out of the keyhole. I yanked the door open and burst into the room.

  I quickly turned around to shut it, getting a glimpse at a particularly fast one that had already gotten real close.

  It made an impact with the door, giving off a loud, metallic thud!

  Putting the key back into the hole, I locked it once more.

  Soon after another thud followed. Then several more.

  As they increased in number, I was worried the door would give way to their collective weight.

  I looked around the room.

  I was in the storage room where we kept our gym supplies and equipment. It was a small room with a small window at the back wall.

  I looked around for something I could use to brace the handles of the door. Then I saw a bunch of baseball bats on the floor in a corner of the room. Some wooden, others metal.

  Grabbing two of the metal ones, I slid them across the handles. It was all pointless if the handles of the door turned out to be weaker than the bats.

  For a few scary seconds, the door seemed to be bending inwards as they increased in number. I held my breath, slowly retreating towards the back of the room where the window was.

  Then finally, it stopped.

  Perhaps all the creatures in the school were currently in front of this door. But that was all right. They were out there, and I was in here.

  I let out the breath I was holding in a sigh of relief.

  I was safe.

  The moment the thought crossed my mind, all the adrenaline and pent up fear seemed to rush out of me as quickly as they came, and in its place, terrible emotions filled the void.

  Anger, frustration, sadness…and disgust.

  The plan had failed spectacularly. Everyone was dead!

  A brief hesitation here, an unexpected variable there, a random shoe lying on the floor.

  As we desperately tried to make our escape, the jaws of despair closed in on us and pierced us one by one with its mangled and rotten teeth.

  Soon enough it was just two of us, and even then I had left her to die.

  Memories of my friends flashed through my mind. Good memories now supplanted by memories of them being eaten alive by others I had also called friends. My legs began to shake. Tears long overdue began to well up in my eyes. The grief was palpable, weighing heavily on my chest. I struggled to breathe as I tried to choke back my sobs. A sickening feeling overwhelmed me and the disgust came back.

  But it wasn't disgust towards the monsters that had taken everyone from me.

  It was disgust towards myself.

  I let out my cries.

  I should have done something! I shouldn't have left them!

  "I should have stomped on the arm of the one that grabbed his leg!" I said to myself.

  'They don't feel pain though. It wouldn't have let go' my reasoning replied.

  "I should have helped her up when she tripped on that shoe!"

  'She was already falling behind. You won't have made it in time.'

  "I should have waited a bit for her to use her inhaler before it became that bad!"

  'It's hard to pick up speed again once you stop.'

  "Then I should have tried to carry her on my back!"

  'What if she was too heavy?'

  "HOW COULD I HAVE KNOWN WHEN I DIDN'T EVEN TRY!"

  Yelling in outrage at the relentless excuses my mind was throwing at me, the creatures outside became agitated.

  They began to pound on the door, the metal creaking under the renewed vigour of their advancement. But I didn't hear it. I couldn't have heard it in the midst of the noise, my shouting to drown out that noise and the loud snarls coming from behind the door.

  As the madness around me and the guilt within me began to mix, the growls of the creatures outside began to sound like the angry wails of the dead, the wails of my friends, loathing and cursing me, desperate to have me join their fold as revenge for my leaving them behind.

  But I still didn't want to die.

  Even now, as the guilt was eating me up, I still wanted to live.

  I covered my ears, trying not to hear the noise. I retreated from the door till I hit the back wall and slid down to the ground. The tears blurred my vision as they began pouring incessantly. I let loose another shout.

  "AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH! PLEASE! I'M SORRY, I'M SORRY, I'M SORRY, I'M SORRY, I'M SORRY, I'M SORRY, I'M SORRY, I'M SORRY, I'M SORRY, I'M SORRY, I'M SORRY, I'M SORRY, I'M SORRY, I'M SORRY, I'M SORRY, I'M SORRY, I'M SORRY, I'M SORRY, I'M SORRY, I'M SORRY, I'M SORRY, I'M SORRY, I'M SORRY, I'M SORRY, I'M SORRY, I'M SORRY, I'M SORRY, I'M SORRY, I'M SORRY, I'M SORRY, I'M SORRY, I'M SORRY, I'M SORRY…"

  'I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry…'

  I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry…

  I'm sorry…

  I'm sorry…

  I'm sorry…

  I'm sorry…

  I'm sorry…

  I'm sorry…

  I'm sorry…

  I'm sorry…

  I'm sorry…

  I'm…

  Sorry…

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