The Z Virus

Dustin Grey looked down at his book, pretending to read. His English class was so boring. It was just reading from the book and answering questions, every day. He started to care less and less. He hadn’t been very tired before going in to that second period class. The teacher talked from the front of the room, startling him out of his half asleep state. He checked the clock, then looked down at his paper. He was over halfway done, and he’d be able to finish. He just really didn’t want to. “When you’re finished, turn your papers in up front,” Mrs. Carson said. Dustin looked around, and he noticed a kid sitting next to him. What was his name? Tim? He was acting really strange, rocking violently in his chair. “Are you alright, son?” Mrs. Carson asked. “Huh?” Tim sounded weary, but he didn’t stop shaking. “Oh, I’m fine.” “What happened to your arm?” The teacher pointed to his arm, which was wrapped in gauze. Tim slowly glanced at it, not seeming to understand the question. “Oh! This crazy rabid dog bit me. I got a shot, though.” “I think you should go to the nurse’s office,” she said. Tim nodded, and he headed off. He didn’t remember the pass, and Mrs. Carson rushed to give it to him. Dustin had wondered what that was all about. It seemed odd, but Tim was a strange kid sometimes. He just let it slip his mind as he finished his work. It was the last thing on his mind when the bell rang, and he headed into his history class. He realized that Tim must have been sent home when he wasn’t there halfway through the class. It hadn’t bothered him then, but he wished it had. Nothing so strange ever happened in his town. West Creek was a small town, and everything that happened in California happened in bigger places. In his hometown, a bike being stolen made the front page. That was what his town considered news, it was a boring town. Dustin snapped his attention to the class again, trying not to think about how boring his town was. Instead, he thought about how boring his class was. That didn’t keep him much more awake. This girl named Darlene was reading. Suddenly, everyone in the class turned their heads to the door. There was a noise coming from the hall – not the usual sounds of the school, but a groaning that just grew louder. Eventually, Darlene quit reading, too distracted by the sounds in the hallway. She turned to Mr. Bates, the history teacher, with a questioning look on her face. “Keep reading, I’ll go outside and find out what’s going on,” he said. She nodded and started reading again. Dustin hated when they read aloud, but it kept him from having to do it himself. He was fine with that, because it allowed him to focus on the more interesting things that were happening, like whatever was going on out in the hallway. He didn’t have to worry about not finishing some mundane assignment when all they were doing was listening to some a teacher’s pet read. Mr. Bates ran into the room a few minutes later and locked the door. He was obviously not to appear panicked, but something was bothering him. He walked quickly to the phone and dialed a number. The whole class was staring at him now. “Yes, hello. I need security in room 507. Well, in the hall. There is some kid walking around, and I think he needs some help.” There was a pause. “What’s going on?” Darlene asked. She was always the first one to want to find something out. Her curiosity wasn’t necessarily bad, but it was slightly annoying sometimes. Mr. Bates held up his hand, causing his sleeve to slide down his arm slightly. Dustin noticed it, and the rest of the class obviously did too. There were teeth marks on his arm. When he saw that they were uncovered, he pulled his sleeve up, but the students were troubled. “Alright, thank you,” Mr. Bates said. He turned his attention to the class and said, “There is a young boy out there, and something’s wrong with him.” “Who was it?” Josh asked. “Did he bite you?” Andy wondered aloud. “Yes, he bit me. I can’t disclose who it was, that isn’t my place. Let’s just…” He was interrupted by a fit of coughing. “Let’s just continue with the lesson, okay?” “It was Tim, wasn’t it?” Dustin asked. He had a strong feeling that it was after the boy’s fit earlier. He didn’t know why it was so necessary for him to bring it up, he just felt like he needed to know. “Dustin! Whether it was or not, we have no need to spread the information,” Mr. Bates responded. He was trying to cover it up, but it was obvious that Dustin was right. The teacher’s face displayed very clearly everything that his words tried to hide. “Does anyone…” He started coughing again. “Does anyone have an answer for number 1?” He asked. He had to talk through his coughing. Of course, Darlene raised her hand. Mr. Bates walked toward her desk, but he didn’t say anything. He stood by her, but didn’t call on her. Instead, he took her arm. People, especially Darlene, stared at him, as though he was crazy, but no one made any move to stop him. He affirmed he was with what he did next. He lowered his head, and he bit her arm. She screamed in pain. She tried to get away, but he wouldn’t let go. Dustin stood and pulled him off of her. He staggered back, looking at her. He mouthed the word, “Sorry,” but was unable to actually make a sound “What’s your problem, Mr. Bates?” Dustin asked. He was surprised and rather angry at the teacher, otherwise, he probably wouldn’t have jumped to mouth off so fast. Dustin stood to his feet and grabbed Bates’ shoulder. The teacher didn’t respond to him. At least, not with words. He just groaned and lurched backward. Dustin was knocked off the man, and he tripped over the desk. He hit his head on the desk behind it, then fell to the ground. Darlene had already run screaming. She tripped along the way, probably over nothing. She was just panicked, and that made her fall. Dustin was near the end of the row, so she wasn’t far from him. Kids were standing up all over the class. They were starting to get scared, and they didn’t know what to do. They just wanted to get away from their teacher, who had quite apparently gone totally insane. People ran, some to the front, and some to the back of the room. Dustin struggled to get to his feet. He was dizzy from having hit his head. He glanced at Darlene, and saw her dragging herself toward him. He told himself that she was probably just trying to stand up, as he was, but something was off. He saw Josh get up and run, but Mr. Bates dove and tackled him, then he bit the young man as well. Dustin felt like he was going to vomit. He wasn’t sure if that was from the fall, hitting his head, or the sight. Probably all three.