Resident Evil: Fallen Paradise - 1. School Survival

September 29, 2002. That was when all hell broke loose.

The wind blew through the window and a chill rose up his spine as he looked away from the boring lesson of his teacher. His eyelids drooped down little by little upon his deep blue eyes. In a matter of seconds, his eyes were shut and fell off into a shallow dream. That small moment of bliss took him to a land of endless possibilities. Curiously, he watched a movie the night before and on his palm was a handgun. It was a standard 0.9mm Sig Sauer P320 issued to US Marines. Then before him was rotten human being that was about to devour his flesh.

“Mr. Hawkins!” The teacher called out. A slight grunt followed after from his dry throat. “Please pay attention regardless if you find my lesson boring or not. Otherwise, if I get bored myself, I’ll have you in detention. You will have a lot of time and space to daydream there.”

Mr. Carrow tried to be funny. But he failed miserably. Caleb looked at his classmates who wished they weren’t within their teacher’s sights. His case of stage fright had kicked in and his heart pounded in his ribcage.

Things soon settled down and Mr. Carrow proceeded back to his boring lesson. Caleb tried to find a way to keep himself from falling back to dream land. He gazed outside but failed to fight it off. In an instant, he was back to his own world inside his head.

-

Meanwhile at the school gates, a guard noticed something that headed up to him. It moved in a slow pace and made its way through the intense heat of the sun. He saw a man with a bloody shirt. The latter’s eyes were white and smelled of rotten meat. It was putrid and appalling. He touched the end of his revolver to get his sense of security back.

The guard went from relaxed to suspicious in a split-second. It felt like a sick Halloween joke in the middle of the day. And it was a month too early. The creature got nearer and nearer. It wobbled sideway every few steps or so. That was when he spoke to his radio and alerted the other guards.

[We have a bogey here, over.] He stated. [I need an ambulance quick. The guy’s bloody as hell. Call for one ASAP!]

He approached the moving creature with a bit more courage. “Sir, we’ve already called an ambulance. Please come in and let’s get you bandaged up.”

No response came. It walked as if nothing was heard.

The guard moved closer but the creature grabbed him. For a frail man, there was a bit of strength in its arms. It was quick and rabid. Before the guard realized it, the creature bit his forearm. Its yellow set of teeth sunk into his flesh.

The guard shrieked in pain and pushed his attacker back. But it was persistent and pressed forward. He then took out his Magnum Revolver out of its holster which was strapped onto his right leg. He aimed at one of its legs and pulled back the hammer.

“One more step and I would have to use deadly force!” The guard grunted. His wound on his forearm stung like heck and he was sweating all over. He made a few steps back to get a clear shot.

The thing made another step and that was the deciding point.

-

Caleb was snapped back to reality as his short, dirty blonde hair touched and made a tingly feeling on his right ear. He looked at the clock just above the black board stated 2:54 PM and then to the teacher. Mr. Carrow gave Caleb another mean look. But the kid gazed upon the blackboard and noticed that there were more notes on it. He took out one of his notebooks and his pen. Caleb began writing down his notes which would eventually get lost after a week.

BANG!

Everyone couldn't have mistaken that it was a gunshot. Their heads turned towards the windows in unison. Even Mr. Carrow went pale. “Calm down, everyone. I’m sure our security guards can handle that.”

BANG! BANG!

Caleb heard the footsteps of teachers coming out of the faculty just a few rooms across the hallway. Everyone in class was fully awake. Some look worried, some turned white, and some looked frustrated. Caleb looked anxious. Something was wrong.

He knew it was from a Magnum Revolver. His uncle and old man taught him a lot about guns. There was no mistake. The guards had to use deadly force and that meant big trouble. Uncle Steve was an early retired US Navy Officer and his father was still serving in the US Marines in some other State. Since childhood, he had been trained by both of them how to properly shoot and defend himself through close-quarters combat.

Caleb was the last kid in school you would want to beat up.

The bell rang and it was their last class already. Everyone stood up and went to their next class in an orderly manner. Thankfully, his Science class was in the same room so he didn’t have to move. But he considered it stupid that the classes went on despite the fact that there was trouble inside the school grounds.

He noticed that Mr. Carrow and Ms. Johnson, his science teacher, were talking outside the classroom. Caleb noted how Mr. Carrow left in a hurry towards the Clinic. That teacher served as a Medic in the US Army for a short stint. And that was Caleb knew that things were already getting out of hand.

Ms. Johnson greeted the class but the classroom was in deep silence. Caleb frowned at the stupidity of his teachers and school admin. Instead of getting them out safely, their class would go on for another 40mins.

It was halfway through the class when he had a sudden urge to pee. He had his permission from Ms. Johnson and left the classroom. He walked down the hallway that was eerily calm. But based from the faces of the students, most of them were eager to get out as soon as possible.

Caleb entered the comfort room and stayed inside. For some reason, his instinct kept telling him to run for it. He wasn’t a rule breaker but he always followed his guts. It had always helped him in a tight spot.

Since it was just the ground floor, he could escape by the comfort room’s window. He locked himself inside the cubicle and closed the toilet lid. He climbed up and got himself out quickly. Caleb scanned the area for teachers but thankfully, there was none.

Suddenly, there was a loud scream. Followed by another. Then another. He looked back at the building and saw the immediate chaos inside. The classrooms were in disarray and howls of pain can be heard. Caleb wanted to look what was going on. But his guts told him to find a place and hide as soon as possible.

BANG!

Caleb almost jumped at the sound of the gunfire. He inhaled deeply after that. The last thing he needed was to join the panicked students inside.

BANG! BANG! BANG!

More shots were heard. He wanted to go back and search for Cole, his best friend. But it was too risky. He knew that Cole was a smart-ass and wouldn’t do anything too stupid. Caleb had to secure himself first before others. As his dad told him, he can’t protect others if he cannot even protect himself.

“Shit.” He muttered under his breathe and ran for it.

The farthest building was the tool shed behind the track and field oval. It was relatively safe and got inside. Caleb checked if anyone saw him but there was none. Once he got inside, he pushed the heaviest box he could find to jam the door. As far as he knew, there was only one exit and that was secured. Then the first thing he grabbed was a metal baseball bat to defend himself.

The waiting game was boring. Caleb checked his phone and saw that it had no reception at all. There was no way of communication from the outside. The only way to know was to go outside. He didn’t even had a watch to tell the time. What an idiot!

CLANG!

Something fell from behind the boxes that made a loud noise. Caleb almost had a heart attack and raised his weapon. He was sure that he was going to hit the first thing he saw next! But a boy came out of the shadows with a baseball bat of his own.

“Jesus Christ!” Caleb exclaimed. “You scared the fuck out of me!”

“Sorry.” The blonde boy said, almost in a whisper. Caleb admired the boyish face. His eyes were intensely green. And there was no blemish in his youthful appearance. The boy could practically be a commercial model. “I was making sure you were not bitten. You looked fine so I decided to show myself.”

Caleb just sighed and tried to catch his breath. The boy was shorter than he was and his voice was still high-pitched. He couldn’t help himself but be sorry for the boy. Their school turned into a warzone with a snap of a finger.

“Angela, you can come out now.” He said. Then a girl also came out of the shadows who looked like a ten-year old. Caleb hid his frustrated that was boiling up. He didn’t want to babysit anyone in the middle of a crisis.

“So, who are you guys?” Caleb asked. “I’m Caleb. I’m from the 9^th Grade.”

“I’m Skyler, 7^th Grade.” The blonde-boy replied. His green eyes and freckles splattered on his nose made him look so innocent. If it was not a moment of crisis, Caleb wouldn't have been able to resist and make snarky comment. “And this is Angela, a 5^th Grader. We just happened to find each other here.”

“You said that you were scared that I was bit.” Caleb said. “Why would I get bitten?”

“I was on the way to the Clinic when I saw it happened. Remember the first gunshot we all heard this afternoon?” Skyler explained. “A guy bit the guard. And then the guard had no choice but to kill him. When the guard was brought to the Clinic, he looked terrible and died within an hour.”

There was silence among the three of them.

“My dad can help us get out of here.” Angela spoke up. Her eyes filled with hope and strength. Caleb tried not make a cynical remark. He didn’t want to crush the girl’s spirit when it was chaos outside their shed. “He works for Umbrella Corporation. I’m sure he can help us.”

“Great.” Caleb quipped. “I guess that should be a good plan. We can either stay here all night until help comes. Or we can try to find a way to Angela’s dad.”

“It’s not that easy.” Skyler whispered.

“What do you mean?” Caleb replied.

“The guard who died. He went back to life after a few minutes.” The boy went pale after saying that. “Then he grabbed the nurse and bit her, too! It was scary! I had to run away then I bumped into Angela. We used to be club mates back then so I told her what I saw. She said that it would be best to get away as soon as we can. That’s why we hid here.”

“You’re shitting me.” Caleb muttered and shook his head. The story just couldn’t be true. It couldn’t be. Nature didn’t work like that. “Don’t fuck with me, Skyler. Dead people don’t get back to life. Now is not a good time for a joke.”

Silence fell and the three of them sat on the floor. Minutes passed by and they saw the light slowly fading out. It was getting late. They snapped back to reality when they heard a scream outside. It went from high pitch to a bloody gurgle.

“Shit. We need a plan.” Caleb stated. “Let’s take votes. Either we look for help outside or we wait for help. Since it’s the three of us, one will be voted out. And I vote to wait.”

“Let’s get help.” Angela and Skyler said simultaneously. Their looks determined. There was no way of contending with that.

Caleb just sighed deeply one last time and held his grip on the metal bat tighter. “This is not what I fucking planned for today.”