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"Asterin, Asterin. Did you hear?." My best friend Sarah said as she looked down at her smartphone. On the screen was a site that seemed to list all sorts of rumours, probably all made up bullshit. "It says here that people have supposedly sighted 'roamers' a few suburbs over.It's kind of scary to have them be so close to where we are." She looked up at me with a concerned expression as she spoke. "Don't you think that there's a chance we might be evacuated?"

"It's possible." I answered as i got lost for a second looking into her brown eyes. Turning my eyes away, i looked around the classroom to see what our classmates were up to. The rumour was news to me but judging by the nervous behaviour of some of them, the rumour seemed to spread quite a bit. A lot of them were looking at things on their phones, probably news or rumours, just like Sarah was doing.  Even though this was technically a normal class, the teacher didn't seem to care about what we were doing.  I returned my attention to Sarah and got lost in thought.

Sarah Mason, my closest and longest friend. Sarah was very much your stereotypical teenage girl, interested in her phone, boys, fashion and gossip (not necessarily in that order). Her long blonde hair, pale skin and naturally slender figure was the envy of a lot of girls yet her lively and outgoing personality meant she got along with everyone. Like all of the other girls, she wore our school's female uniform which was a short sleeved, knee-length dress with a tartan pattern of gold and various shades of dark green. Somehow she managed to make it look very fashionable which was a source of mystery to me. With long red hair, skin the golden colour of wheat and a well proportioned body i stood out in contrast when you looked at us next to each other. It didn't help that my uniforms, for some reason, always seemed to be a little too tight despite them being the right size for me.

It was at that point that the bell began to ring in a pattern of five short rings. That meant that there was going to be an announcement over the PA system. A little bit of static sound came out of the speaker as we all turned our attention to listen.  A second or two passed before we heard the voice of the principal begin to speak.  "Attention all staff and students. This is the principal speaking. I have just been in communication with staff at the State Emergency Defence Centre. The state government has declared this suburb, Mt. Oran, an immediate danger area subject to evacuation. Defence Force troops have been dispatched to begin evacuating the school in line with emergency policy. Staff members, take count of your classes so as to avoid missing any students." 

When the announcement ended, a wave of panic spread through the classroom, affecting all of us. Already, a few of our classmates had begun to cry while i could see tears starting to gather in the corner of Sarah's eyes. "I'm scared. They only evacuate us if there was a real, close danger right?. That must mean they are nearby." Sarah was very frightened and, to be honest, so was i. We'd all seen the footage taken of 'roamer' attacks, of the horrific injuries and of the bodies returning to their feet after death. Neither of us wanted to be caught in an outbreak but it seemed like fate had other plans for us.

"We'll be okay. The principal said that help was on the way and that we'd be evacuated. We just have to trust the authorities." I said as i pulled her into a hug. Even as i tried to calm her, i was teetering on the verge of tears as well. It was clear that any evacuation was a race against time. Would we be saved or would the area be overrun and all of us either devoured or turned into inhuman monsters as well?. The class devolved into a chattering mess as students talked or cried or just went silent and became withdrawn. It was interesting, in a surreal way, to see how our classmates reacted to the news.

About twenty minutes later, a wave of dull noise began to build from a distance then became a roaring sound as it got closer. As a distraction from our thoughts, we all turned to look out the windows on the external wall of the classroom. A wave of dots moved into view and rapidly turned into helicopters as they approached the school at speed before finally passing over the buildings where we lost sight of them though we could still hear them clearly. There was the sound of clapping which brought our attention to the open door where our teacher was now standing with the class roll in his hands. "As you leave the room, i will check you off on the roll. Move out into the common area and wait while i discuss with the other teachers."

I picked up my sports bag, slung it over my shoulder then joined the line with Sarah to leave the classroom. We shuffled out, got our names checked then joined the growing crowd of students milling about in the common area between the four classrooms of the section. There were kids crying and sobbing while others were in a daze. A few were even looking out the windows trying to see the helicopters again. Sarah and i found some empty space at a side and leaned against the wall to wait. "They're going to fly us out, huh. I wonder where to and how long it would take?" Sarah spoke as she glanced out the window at the sky.

Just as i was about to speak in reply, i was distracted by the sight of a teacher who rushed into the common area then started speaking quickly with the other teachers. They talked amongst themselves then moved to the entrance of the common area and called for our attention. "Listen up students. In a minute, we're going to split you into two groups according to your classes. One group will be led to the back playing fields while the other will be brought to the football fields. From there, you will wait to board the military helicopters. These helicopters will then fly you to a safe zone far out of the city. Now, classes 4-2 and 4-4 will go to the rear fields. Classes 4-1 and 4-3 will go to the football fields."

*****

 When we got to the football field, we were finally able to see a lot more than we could in the classroom. In the distance, there were so many columns of smoke rising that it seemed like the city was burning. Far overhead, i could just make out all sorts of planes flying in all directions to flee the city. On the main road that ran past the far side of the field and the school, all sort of vehicles were stuck in one huge traffic jam, honking their horns in futility. Closer to us, the view was just as stunning.

On the football field sat six helicopters, their rotors continuing to spin, as crew chiefs had already begun directing the first groups of students onto the choppers. Several more choppers circled overhead, likely watching for any clear signs of 'roamers' while awaiting their turn to land. Despite the situation, i couldn't help but geek out internally as i watched the display of military hardware. It was my guilty pleasure, one only Sarah knew about. "Blackhawks, MRH90s and a Chinook. They've certainly committed to the school evacuations with these." I muttered to myself as i continued to watch.

I suddenly felt Sarah nudge my side then heard her speak. "Asterin, look over there." I turned and saw that she was pointing to the school's back gate. On the other side of the gate, a crowd of local residents were starting to gather together. They were probably hoping for the army to rescue them and take them to safety. On our side of the gate, a squad of soldiers stood in a line facing the crowd with weapons ready and grim expressions on their faces. "Do you think that they'll be rescued as well?" Sarah asked as she watched the crowd. I just shook my head in reply. It was clear from their demeanor that the soldiers were there to guard the evacuation and not to rescue others.

Even as we watched the crowd grow, the evacuation of students continued at a quick pace. Helicopters landed, were packed with students and staff then took off again. For an operation in a rush, things progressed unusually smoothly especially considering the situation at the time. However, that was not to last. As the last two groups, including the both of us, were led to the helicopters things turned from bad to worse. There were suddenly screams and then gunshots from behind us so we hurried to climb in. I was the last to climb in then sat down, slipped on a headset which hung from the top of the bay and joined the rest of the group as we watched, in shock and terror, the crowd at the gate devolve into chaos.

Several people within the crowd seemed to have turned and had begun attacking everybody around them. Several people were bitten before the gate was forced open by the weight of the crowd pressing on it. The soldiers tried to take out the 'roamers' but their numbers increased faster than they could be killed while the crowd blocked most of their chances to shoot. All of this happen in the span of not more than a minute. The crew chief slid the bay door closed then climbed into the gunner's bay as the chopper began to lift off the ground. At the same time, the 'roamers' overran the remaining civilians and soldiers.

Everyone had just started feeling relieved that we had made it away just in time when there was a succession of cracks and bangs followed by a scream and a pained groan. Everyone began screaming in terror as the helicopter began to spin wildly out of control. I could just make out one of the pilots on the radio talking. "Mayday! Mayday! Mayday! Evac 5-5 is hit. Main pilot is dead, co-pilot is injured. Aircraft ha sustained critical damage. We are going down. I repeat. Evac 5-5 is hit and going down."

When i heard the pilot declare that we were going down, i strapped myself in with the safety restraints then strapped Sarah in as well. I waved my hand in front of her face to get her to focus on me then took hold over her hand as i leaned close to her face to speak. "Sarah, hold on tight because we're going to crash." The ground and houses were a rapidly approaching and unfocused blur through the door windows until there was a a thunderous bang and we were jolted heavily by an impact.

The helicopter had hit the ground at an angle then began to bounce and violently roll across the ground.What happened after that is just a blur of shattered, scattered fragments of memories. Everyone and everything not strapped down was sent flying around the cabin, bouncing off everything else as they flew. I remember the pain from being hit several times by flying objects or limbs. The last thing i remember during the crash was that something hit my head very hard then i screamed in pain and blacked out. 

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