The Apocalypse: Part 1

Ruthie Zhang

Age 10

The Apocalypse: Part 1

Prologue

Huff huff. “Are we there yet?” I asked.

“Not yet. But almost,” Diana called back. Huff.

“Well, we better be there soon ‘cuz I can’t go much further,” Brian huffed. Huff. Huff. Huff. Soon they crashed through the trees and stumbled to a stop. Huff. Huff. “Have we lost it?” Brian managed to wheeze.

“I think so,” Diana replied.

“Phew. That was close,” Joe muttered. “Did we have to go that way? I mean, I’m pretty sure there’s another way around.”

“If we took a different route, it would still be chasing us.” Diana said.

Hi. My name is Aurora. I’m sixteen, and my parents are rich. The day the apocalypse started, I was really confused when some random person burst into my room, saying that she was just trying to help me. That person is now my friend though. Her name is Diana, and she comes from a family that LOVES boxing. I also have a younger brother named Brian. He’s fourteen years old and likes to play video games. Joe used to live on a farm and knows how to tame, ride, and talk to every animal. Just then, me, Diana, Brian, and Joe, were running from this weird possessed creature. I didn’t know anything about the apocalypse until that day. In fact, I was pretty sure I’d seen that monster coming after us in a dream, just before the apocalypse. Then, I thought it was some kind of coincidence. Just now, I learned the truth; it wasn’t. This is the story of the apocalypse.

Chapter 1

Two years earlier

Woah. This place looks epic. It’s so big, even bigger than my house! And I’m rich! So compared to my house, it’s HUGE. Oh wow! Would ya look at that! They have mini-houses here? Cool. I wonder if I’m gonna have my own mini-house.

“Sooooo cool!” Brian said. “I mean, I know this place has to house many people but still. Wow.”

“You’ll be able to live in one of the mini-houses on your own, but you could share a mini-house with someone else if you want,” informed Joe. “When we tried to share mini-houses, it didn’t work out so well for some people. You should’ve seen some of the fights! They were chaotic! A punch dealt to one person, a kick to another! They even threw things! Someone almost got a glass shard to the brain! Some still want to share the mini-houses but others? Well, no. In a few cases, people wanted revenge, so they said they wanted to share rooms. Then, they started fighting again, and we would never let them share rooms again since they might try to hurt each other. But if you’re worried they’ll hurt you, don’t worry. We have twenty-four hour surveillance, so if they try to hurt you, we’ll know. We have lots of security guards here, so don’t worry. If you were just play-fighting, you can tell us what happened. Although I suggest you don’t lie. We’ll find out eventually,” warned Joe.

“Well, I’m fine sharing rooms. How ‘bout you Brian?” I asked.

“I’m fine sharing rooms too,” he said.

“OK then. Back to business,” Diana replied. “First, we’ll show you your rooms. Oh, and by the way, if you can cook anything well, you can become a cook. Or, if you still want to be a cook, as long as you can cook a thing or two well, you’d be greatly appreciated. We need all the cooks we can get since we have so many people here. You can also be a med, a janitor, and many other things as long as you can do it well. If you want, me, Joe, and some others will teach you things to help you become a med and all the other jobs. We’ll also teach you other things too.”

They soon arrived at a flimsy-looking door with no security at all that they could see. I wondered how this room is even safe. The door looked so weak. And there was barely any security. This place didn’t look like it had a lot of security. So far, I hadn’t even seen one security camera at all!

“Brian, this’ll be your room,” Diana said, interrupting her thoughts. “And by the way, we’ve set up everything for you. All you have to do is scan this card and then do whatever the computer says.”

“Where do I scan it? I don’t see a card scanner. Besides, I think I could kick this door down in one try. And my foot wouldn’t even hurt one bit when I do it. And what computer? It doesn’t look like this place even has security at all!”

“Alright,” Diana said. “If you think you can kick this door down and not hurt your foot, do it,” she said, with a hint of mischief in her voice.

“Uhhhh, Brian? I suggest you don’t do that,” I said, a little worried by the mischievous tone of Diana’s voice.

“Ha. This door? It won’t stand a chance,” Brian replied.

“Uh oh,” I thought.

Pow!!!

“Yow wee!!” Brian yelled. “That hurt!”

“Haha!” Diana laughed.

“That’s not funny. Besides, why didn’t you tell me that it would hurt?” Brian said, grouchily.

“Well, if I knew you would be able to kick the door down, why would I let you?” Diana retorted.

“‘Cuz, um, you wanted me too?” Brian replied.

“Why would I ever want you to kick down a door? Doors are hard to find nowadays, you know what I’m saying?” Diana snapped back.

“Well, at least you should have warned me directly!”

“Well, only dumb people wouldn’t know what I mean!”

“Woah. Calm down guys,” Joe called over the commotion. “It’s not a big problem.”

“Whose side are you on?” Brian said aggressively. “‘Cuz it really hurt when I kicked that door!”

“Well, guess what?” Joe snapped back. “Maybe you should have been smarter!”

Suddenly, before Joe could react, Brian’s hand balled into a fist, already flying toward him.

“Don’t do that!” I yelled, but it was too late. As soon as Brian punched him, security guards surrounded him, and one of them shot him. Luckily, it was just a dart to make him fall asleep, and soon he fell to the floor, snoring loudly. Diana immediately tried to get to Joe, but the guards wouldn’t let her.

“I need to see if he’s OK!” she yelled.

“He’s probably fine, so you don’t need to worry about him. Besides, the med team is trying to work, so be quiet,” the guard snapped.

“Probably?” She yelled. “I need to see if he’s actually OK!”

“Well, he is, so go away.”

“But you just said he was probably OK. How can you be sure?”

“Just stay outta this, or I’m going to have to lock you in your room for the next hour.”

“Hmph,” Diana muttered under her breath. “Stupid guards.”

“I heard that!” the guard said. “Now you really are gonna be locked in your room for the next hour.”

“That’s not fair,” she yelled. “I just wanted to see if he was OK, and you stupid guards kept keeping me away saying that the meds are busy! If he really is fine, then the meds wouldn’t be very busy,” she pointed out.

“Well, I guess that’s true,” the guard mumbled.

“Ha! See! Now it’s not right to keep me in my room since I just proved that you were wrong!”

“But you called us stupid, so ha! You are gonna stay in your room for the next hour.”

“I only called you stupid ‘cuz you are stupid.”

“Look, kid,” the guard said, “You’re staying in your room for the next hour, whether you like it or not.”

“Hmph,” Diana muttered under her breath.

“Look, I’m sorry about Brian. Although, I assume you’ve learned your lesson. Brian has a short temper, and will easily get mad,” I said.

“Then, you should’ve warned me and Joe earlier! If you told us that, this wouldn’t have happened!” Diana retorted. With that, she stomped away.

“Diana—” I called, but she was already gone.

Suddenly, she turned around and tossed something into my hand.

“By the way, that’s your card. It has your room number. And a lot of other info. Although, you can only understand that if you’re smart. Though you’re probably dumb like your brother,” she jeered.

“Well I’m smart, not dumb,” I yelled.

“Then, find your way to your room by yourself,” she challenged me. With that, she left.

Chapter 2

After finding my room, unpacking, and then meeting my roommate, I followed my roommate down to the cafeteria for dinner. My roommate introduced herself, saying her name was Zoe, and also introduced me to Joy, Kate, June, and April. After finishing dinner, my new friends and I participated in a few activities around the building. I hadn’t seen Brian, Diana, or Joe since yesterday, and I was wondering where they were.

Before I went to bed, I decided I’d go look for them. Finally, I found Diana doing some boxing. Joe was hanging out with some other people, and Brian was in his room playing video games. At least that’s what his roommate said.

After I was done checking on them, I did some homework then did the stuff you usually do before going to bed.

***

The next morning, when I woke up, everyone was whispering about something. When I arrived at the cafeteria, my friends told me what everyone was whispering about. Rumor was that there was a substance that could cure anything. But there was also some other substance that could counteract

it, and if it was used with the curing substance, none of it would have any effect. But if the substance that could counteract the curing substance was used by itself, it could give the victim any disease the person who used it wanted. The curing substance was called Substance 4040, and the disease substance was called Substance 4041. Many people were already wondering if they were gonna be chosen for the mission, if there was a mission.

“I’m guessing that if there was a mission, they’d choose one of the professional survivors. You know, the ones that have trained at this base for quite a long time,” June said. “They probably won’t trust people that don’t have much experience. I’m not surprised though. I just wish that I had been at this base longer, so I could’ve gone on a few missions already.”

“Hmmmmm . . .” I murmured.

“What ya thinkin’ ’bout, Aurora?” April asked.

“What? Oh, not much. Although, I was thinking that maybe we could sneak out and go find the substances ourselves.”

“Really? That can’t be possible. This place has high security. You could never get past it,” Kate replied.

“Actually, that’s not true,” Joy piped in. “I have a secret tunnel in my room that I found a few years ago. That tunnel actually connects to a maze of tunnels, and I’m still not done exploring. The authorities say they know everything about this base, but they don’t. ‘Cuz they know nothing about secret tunnels.”

“But how will I know which path to take?” I asked.

“I’ll guide you through the tunnels,” Joy said.

“But I thought you didn’t finish exploring all the tunnels?”

“Don’t worry. After going through these tunnels for quite a few years, I know a lot of ways out of the school.”

“Alright then, when do we leave?”

“After you finish packing for the trip. You could also bring a few friends if you like. Zoe and I can’t go. We’ve got an exam tomorrow.”

“And don’t even think about including me and April,” Kate said.

“What about you June? Are you gonna help me find the substances?” I asked.

“Huh? What?” June stammered, confused.

“Were you even listening?”

“Oh, sorry. I was thinking about something else. What was the question?”

“Are you going to sneak out to find the substances with me?” I repeated.

“I can’t. I just got a notification saying that I’ll need to go to Greece soon.”

“Greece? But that’s so far away! Besides, why do you need to go there anyway?” Zoe asked.

“We’re low on TP. Some random nineteen to twenty-three year old people thought it was funny to unravel all the TP that they were able to find! And most of the TP got dirty. Imagine, people older than us, and even some professionals unraveling all the TP so that no one can use it! I mean how crazy is that! The professionals are now students again, and they have extra work to do. The rest aren’t allowed to eat for two days except for a banana a day. And they have to stay in their rooms for two months! They aren’t allowed to go anywhere else. Anyway, the base in Greece contacted us saying that their base was overflowing with TP, and we would actually be doing a favor for them!” June explained. “And I’ll help the others collect the TP.”

“Oh, alright then. Good luck on your mission,” I called as she started to get up from the table.

“Thanks!” June called back.

“Well then, I guess you’re on your own,” Joy said.

“Actually, no. I know a few people who would love to go with me,” I said slyly.

“Why do you have such a mischievous smile on your face?” Joy asked suspiciously.

“One of the friends I’m bringing is someone you don’t really like.”

“Who?”

“Oh, you’ll see. Hehe.”

“Errr . . . OK.”

As everyone got up from the table, an announcement was made.

“Students, this is the base founder. Everyone, go to your rooms now. A possessed creature has invaded the base. I repeat, a possessed creature has invaded the base.”

As soon as everyone heard the announcement, the whole base was in chaos. Some screamed and shouted while others hid under tables and chairs. Some people even hid in the trash cans! Guards and staff tried to calm everyone down and tell them to go to their rooms, but the majority of people were not calmed down the least.

Suddenly a BOOM echoed throughout the room. All the chaos stopped at once. Everyone turned to look at the monster and most of them yelled, “Ewwwwww!” I wondered why people had yelled that, so me and my friends fought our way to the front of the crowd. There I saw the ugliest, slimiest, stinkiest creature ever. Now, I understood why people had yelled, “Ew.” It was huge. Super duper huge. It was made out of brown stuff and had yellow liquid all over its body. It smelled like pee and poo. That’s when I realized it was made out of pee and poo.

“This is your chance to escape,” Joy whispered in my ear. “C’mon.”

“But shouldn’t we help get rid of the monster?” I asked.

“But if you go find the substances now, you can cure the creatures, send them home, and all will be back to normal!”

“But . . .”

“No buts. Do you wanna go find the substances or not?”

“Fine.”

“Alright then, pack your stuff. Get your other friends and let’s go.”

“OK then.”

I rushed to my room to pack my stuff. I wondered how I would find my friends in all the chaos when I spotted Joe.

“Hey Joe!” I called

Joe glowered at me. “What do you want?”

“Come with me. We’re going to go find Substance 4040 and Substance 4041.”

“Why should I come?”

“Do you want the apocalypse to stop or not?”

He sighed. “Fine, I’ll come.”

“Great!” I said. “By the way, do you know where Diana is?”

“I think she’s in the boxing room.”

“Cool! I’ll go check. Go pack your stuff. It’ll be quite a while before we’re back here.”

“Alright. See ya. Also, where are we meeting up?”

“In Joy’s room.”

“OK, bye.”

I forced my way through all the chaos and finally saw the boxing room. I looked around and saw Diana. Her eyes were darting from side to side, and she was in a boxing position like she was ready to punch anything that was in her way. I called her, and she glared at me.

“What do you want?” she snapped.

I explained the plan to her and told her to pack her bags if she was coming. Then, I told her to meet up at Joy’s room.

“Oh, and one more thing. Have you seen Brian?” I asked.

“He was heading in the direction of the arcade. Typical.”

“Alright, thanks!” I called.

I soon found Brian and explained the plan again.

“Duh, I’m coming!” he said. “Sneaking outta the base on an unauthorized mission? Best thing ever!”

“See ya then!” I called.

* * *

I saw Brian and Joe with uncertain expressions as Joy and Diana argued.

“Why are you guys arguing?” I asked as I walked up to them.

“She doesn’t trust me to lead her through the tunnels! She thinks I’m gonna get us lost!”

“How am I supposed to trust you when I barely know you?”

“Ask Aurora! She trusts me. You trust me, right Aurora?”

“Yeah. Of course I do.”

“See?” Joy said triumphantly.

“Hmph. Fine,” Diana muttered.

“C’mon guys there’s no time for arguing. Take us through the tunnels, Joy.”

“Alright.”

Chapter 3

Soon, my friends and I were outside. It was really dark outside. We said bye to Joy then walked to the wall and used a grappling hook to get over. There was a slight breeze blowing and rustling the leaves. We walked a while until we were too tired to go on any further. We found a place to sleep for the night. Finally, after a while everyone fell asleep. I closed my eyes and hoped that this wasn’t going to be so bad.

* * *

Suddenly, a loud crunch sounded throughout the forest. We quickly scrambled out of our sleeping bags and saw a big shadow looming over us. That’s when I saw it. And that’s when I knew one of us was doomed.

To be continued . . .