Emily You, Period 2, 5/21/23

Creativity & Fiction

• Craft a piece of FAN fiction related to any of the reading we’ve done in class that addresses one or more of the following: Literary elements (i.e. structure, tone, diction, mood, irony, and figurative language) to craft a narrative.

• Structural features of drama (stage directions, character attributions/tags, dialogue, monologues, and/or soliloquies) to craft a script.

• Multidimensional characters to develop themes and create socio-political metaphors.

Brooklyn, New York, USA

[The seven-story apartment made an eerie creek with each step up the stairs. Cobwebs filled every corner, and the abundance of dust piled up as if it had just snowed indoors. The footprints left were clearly visible as I struggled up the stairs to the roof. There, I met the next interviewee, she looked like she was in her mid ———s. She was sitting by the railing as she was staring me down. To be more precise she looked as if she was observing everything around me. She was wary, and tense, and signaled for me to close the door.]

      I was in — grade when hell broke loose. It was like any other day, I was dragged to summer school by my parents. That day after I met up with Grace and Horan we skipped classes to grab some snacks from the cafeteria. We roamed the hallways after we stuffed as much food as we could into our bags since we wanted to hurl some food at the teachers after leaving class. But before we got back, there were blood-curdling screams coming from the classroom followed by the words “RUN!”, people in our class were running out of the room, running past us. I couldn't help but be curious at the time but Grace grabbed me by the arm and we ran in the opposite direction. 

     We ran into the room with 3 of the girls and we all hid in a classroom. They were barricading the doors with chairs so no one could enter. I don’t remember their names anymore since it’s been so long but the blonde was in tears trying to explain what happened. She was stumbling over her words but we made out what she was trying to say through her friends. The scrunchy girl told us “A man limped into the classroom with one leg twisted the other way, he was groaning so the teacher was worried. She went over to help him, but as soon as she got closer he lunged and bit her. We didn’t know what was happening at the time and thought it was a prank of sorts but then the assistant teacher ran over to pull them apart and hit the stranger in the head with a textbook. After that, we were freaking out. He created some space between them in case the stranger got up but the one who attacked was the teacher, she bit him and walked towards us. Only a few of us got away, everyone who got bitten turned crazy!”. 

     We thought it was a silly story, but we didn’t need to ask for proof. It was right there when a bunch of the other students banged on the door trying to come inside before they were attacked. The Brunette pushed the chairs barricading the door to prevent them from getting in, while four-eyes fainted after she saw the blood seeping into the room through the little crack under the door. We just watched them as they died in front of us, me and my friends hid so we wouldn’t be seen hoping they’d go away and eventually, they ran towards the sound of someone screaming elsewhere. We hid there for a while, afraid to move or even talk about it. We stayed up all night in silence and in tears hoping to be rescued.

How come the other students didn’t run into the other rooms?

     It was a summer program for troublemakers and failing students. They didn’t trust any of us to be inside a building with free range to every room, not that it mattered. With a bit of time, any of us could pick a lock, but they didn’t know any better. 

They?

     The adults, none of them trusted a bunch of kids so there were only four places we could access without a key: the classroom, the bathroom, the cafeteria, and the lab room because the lock was broken. That’s where we hid, the lab room since the restrooms were at the end of the hallway, and the cafeteria was even further away in the basement. Even though we hated most of the adults because of the way they treated us, we still missed them. That night they were all we could think about, our families weren’t with us and all we wanted was to reunite with them. Unfortunately, not a single of us were ever able to.

Didn’t you just say that any of the students were able to pick the locks? How come they didn’t just do that?

     If you were in their situation would you? Picking a lock takes time, if a bunch of crazy people were after you, would you be able to think rationally or even pick the lock in time? In the first place their hands would’ve been so shaky there’s no way they could have picked a lock while being chased by a mob of them. There were some students that got away since they ran as soon as they realized we wouldn’t open the door but the rest of them died.

…You said you didn’t believe the girl’s story before you saw it yourself, then why didn’t you open the door for the other students before they were attacked.

     We were scared, even though we couldn’t believe it completely at first. The ordeal didn't feel faked, they were banging, screaming, and scratching at the door. They cried for help.

[She became silent for a moment. Her eyes shifted away as she started to hunch over.] 

What did you do after that?

     We had some food, so we tried to make it last as long as possible until someone rescued us but it wasn’t long until we realized it wasn’t going to happen. it didn’t even take a few hours for us to realize that after someone got bitten they would become infected with something, and with so many people in New York, it wouldn’t be long before the country was abandoned. We had to do something and leave before everything got crazier. It was scary but soon we didn’t have any other choice but to run. 

     It was the 4th day when the girls tried to attack Grace to take our supplies. I was talking with Horan on the other side of the room when they were fighting… I wasn’t thinking straight back then but I punched the brunette sitting atop Grace, the other girls were holding her down except for the blonde who was still hiding in the closet. It became a blur after I pinned her down, and the next thing I knew I was dyed in the warm red liquid dripping down my body and Horan was grabbing my hand to prevent me from killing her. The two other girls had already backed away from Grace, and the brunette was just laying there. My body felt like it was burning hot, and my heart was beating so fast and hard that I couldn’t hear anything else. Grace gave me a hug and told me it wasn’t my fault. Thinking back, If Horan hadn’t stopped me or if Grace hadn’t tried comforting me I might have gone crazy right then and there. It wasn’t long before the brunette got back up though, I felt relieved she was still alive. Or so I thought.

Was this when you first realized all those who had died would become infected?

     Yeah, the way she acted was abnormal. The girl with the scrunchy was attacked first, she was the closest to her and the last one stood there looking defeated just waiting to be bitten. Maybe it’s because she didn't want to live without her friends or she knew that she would’ve been alone even if she had survived. It’s kind of ironic how she stole food so the three of them could survive longer, but in the end her friend became her first victim. If she hadn’t ganged up on Grace the three of them might’ve lived longer. Horan checked the hallway as Grace destroyed the barricade. I used a chair to push her back and eventually after we destroyed the barricade, we ran without looking back. Blonde was still in the room but we couldn’t afford to wait for her. We ran to the bathroom and hid for a day. We knew if we stayed, it would’ve been the end of us cause our supplies were gone. 

How did you escape? Why weren’t there any infected in the hallways?

     We’re not sure we didn’t encounter them in the hallways but we could hear quite a few of them in the staircase to the basement. I think they were going after survivors down there, or maybe we were just lucky. We used the vent to get around the school and it took a while but we eventually found a way out of the school down the trash disposal. We saw that there was a vehicle in the parking lot. I don’t know what the car was but it was our principal, and it’s always unlocked. He was a very trusting man, he even trusted us when we lied to him, he was different from the other adults. If he is still alive now it would’ve been a miracle, with the world gone crazy everyone looking out for themselves. 

     We carjacked his car after running through the parking lot. Horan was good at that, the zombies had started to swarm us by then but luckily we drove away quickly. Horan drove as far as he could before we got stopped by a bunch of cars that were blocking the road and sidewalks. We got out and continued a cycle of carjacking and hiding until we got so good at it, we could’ve done it in our sleep. Though I wouldn't know for sure since we only had sleepless nights from there. We got far and drove to Richmond, we knew this was the least populated borough we could go to and there was no way we could have gone any further. That's where we found refuge and lived.

Where are your friends now?

     They died…

Did zombies invade the refuge?

     Things weren’t that simple, there are more ways for people to die than from zombies. Their lives were taken because of a different kind of monster. It happened after we lived there for a few years. We tried to live as normal of a life as we could in the apocalypse. We scavenged for food while avoiding the infected, and we built up our defenses in a house that's located in the middle of nowhere. It was vacant before we arrived so we used it to our advantage. We did fight with each other while we were there since we were cooped up so much other than the times we had to scour for food but it was comforting that we knew how to make it up to each other. Horan and Grace fell in love during that time, I felt like a third wheel and joked around about how if they at least had a child, I wouldn’t be the only third wheel. 

     But the food in the area was starting to deplete when it actually happened. She was pregnant, and it took us a few months to notice but when we did it was such a joyous day. We celebrated and it felt as if the world around us wasn’t still in chaos. Me and Horan did the scavenging that year by ourselves, and since it was during the winter, the zombies were frozen so it should have been safe for her to have been home alone. Unfortunately, we didn’t have defenses against humans. When we got back, instead of being greeted by a smiling face, all we saw was blood. puddles of blood and a cut-up body. There was the sound of the door closing from the other side but all we could focus on was her. Some of her organs were missing, and the unborn fetus was no longer inside her but rather covered in blood lying in her torn-apart uterus. Horan told me to go without him, he said their bodies were still warm so they would turn any time soon. He was still holding them tightly, but I didn’t know what to say. I tried to convince him to take revenge instead of turning but there wasn’t any response. He told me his last words while holding onto them tightly “I’m sorry, one day until it's all over… no, just— don't forget us. Thank you for being a good friend, please live until the end”. That day I ran after Perps, even if Horan didn’t want revenge, I couldn’t help but want to. I followed the traces of bloody footprints and at the end of the prints led me to a house. There I saw the killer, and I hesitated for a moment.

What happened?

     

     When I got there, I was determined to kill whoever it was. At first, when I got there I saw the perpetrator, and my tears prevented me from shooting at first. I felt a burning sensation of hatred and sadness. My hands were shaking and I was about to take the shot when a young girl came out of nowhere to hug the guy soaked in blood. I felt my blood boiling in anger and my head throbbing from questioning whether I should shoot or not. I struggled with myself, I wanted to blow his brain out but… what happens then? There’s nothing left for me if I killed him and then someone else came, it was a pregnant woman. I couldn’t take the shot, at least not in front of them. I waited until he left far enough before I shot him in the back of the head. I felt like I was too merciful at that time but at the same time, I felt horrible. I knew no one would help his family after he had died but he was someone who killed my friends. The only people I had left. It was only fair, right? 

[I didn’t know how to respond to her grimace expression so instead, I asked her one final question]

What do you plan to do now?

     I’ve already achieved my goal, and there’s nothing left except to reunite with the rest of my family and friends. 

[She sounded calm as she stood up and gestured for me to leave and as I walked down the dusty stairs I came in from, I heard the sound of the door locking behind me.]