"Kyaa! Le….me….go!"

"...R...un!"

"Back...you...bastard!"

"...What the hell?"

Hearing the sounds of muffled screams and shouting entering my ears, I woke up in a slightly irritated mood.

"Why's it too loud outside? Isn't this supposed to be a library?"

What happened to the person saying 'shh! Be quiet, you're too loud!'?

"What time is it? Whoa, one o'clock! What the fuck?"

Pulling out my smartphone and seeing the time, I explained in shock. I didn't know I slept this long! That's more than half of my classes! I hope there weren't any important notes that needed to be taken. 

I then go through the notification on my phone...

"Huh, Nora and Nate called…? That's a lot! Texts too."

There's over twenty texts from Nora and close to thirty calls by Nate. My phone was on silent because I didn't want to be disturbed.

I go through a few of the texts.

[Nora: Where are you? We need to get somewhere safe! Fast! Call me! The university is in chaos!]

[Nora: Nate tried calling you, are you okay? Did you get bit?]

[Nora: Call me! Answer the phone! We're worried!]

I scroll down to the last text.

[Nora: We fled the school in Nate's car heading towards his house. It's the closest one compared to mine. If you see this, go there.]

… I could sense the urgency behind the texts. Nora, who's usually calm and collected, was desperate and scared.

"..."

With a certain premonition in my head, I move on to my voicemails.

[EZ, you gotta answer the phone man! Shit's crazy out here! I'm hiding in an empty classroom right now. It's like the scene from that zombie movie we saw last summer! People are attacking each other like beasts! Anyways, stay safe man.]

[Fuck! It's fucking pandemonium out here! Get away from me!]

I then hear the sound of something feral followed by the sound of a barely audible object to skin collision. A few seconds later, the voicemail ends.

I tap on the last one. In a somewhat tired but trying optimistic voice, I hear Nate say amidst a noisy background.

[Ezra, by the skin of our teeth, we made it out of there…. Damn, I'm tired…! Other than Nora, I got a few of my classmates with me. I'm driving back to my house since it's the closest one. Heh, thank God for the pistol in the glovebox. Never knew it'd come in handy! Anyways, be safe. Hate to see my bro a zombie.]

"..."

After ending the voicemails, I start pacing around the room whilst listening to the dreadful echoes of screams emanating around campus. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to understand what's going on.

It's every prepper dream, a zombie apocalypse.

Well, I wouldn't say it's one per say, considering that they're not dead but it's close. People rising from the dead due to hell being overcrowded is unlikely.

Not to mention, the amount of chaos that's happening outside can't be due to the 'zombies' slowly walking, otherwise, if it's one-on-one, all you got to do is dodge them. So these 'zombies' can most likely run.

… I need more information.

And the only way to do that is to leave the room and go out into the potentially overrun library.

"Fuck it. I need to get out of here anyway. There's nothing in here to let me survive a few days."

Saying this, I put my phone in my inner jacket pocket and open my bookbag. After rummaging around for a few seconds, I pull out a sheathed tactical bowie knife.

You aren't supposed to carry weapons onto school premises but I wouldn't feel right without something to protect myself with. 

Besides what they know won't hurt them. 

First things first, get out of the school. Can I save a few people on the way? Sure, as long as it's not too dangerous. Two, make it back to my house. I need to gather supplies and get my weapons before they're looted. If that happens I'm going to cry. Three, try and rendezvous with Nate and Nora.

As for what happens then? I'll tackle it when I get there.

"Welp, maximum effort!"

Putting my helmet on for protection, I take the blackened steel knife out of its sheathe and carefully open the door.

I peek around the entrance of the room.

The coast was clear.

I then creep through the hallway towards the main area of the library, while sticking to the sides of the wall. 

As I crept towards the main area…

CRUNCH! CRUNCH! CRUNCH!

I heard the sounds of something being torn and chewed on. Peeking around the corner, I saw a horrendous scene.

Laying on the floor, face-up, in a pool of blood was the guy who was playing computer games at the reception desk. His face was bloody, beaten up, and covered with scratches. But that wasn't the worst part. The worst part was that there was a woman hunched over the body, with their back towards me, eating out his insides.

She was going down on him like an all-you-can-eat buffet. With each bite, blood squirted everywhere.

...Sucked to have been that guy. But don't worry, I'll avenge you, he's blocking my way after all. 

Creeping in close, I ready the knife to stab her. 

CRUNCH! CRUNCH! CRUN-

"Ahh!"

Once I got in range, I yanked her head back by her hair, stabbed her in the neck, and twisted it, cutting through her carotid, jugular, and trachea all at once. Her death throes were gurgles as blood slowly came out of her mouth and neck.

After killing her, I didn't have time to study her features and began glancing around my immediate surroundings to see if there were any more dangerous people like her around. As long as they're not near me to attack, I'm going to let these rabid people stay where they are. No need to pointlessly waste energy.

When I saw nobody around me, I cautiously crept towards the exit.

I need to get out of here.