[center][color=98FB98][h3][u] F R A N C E S C O  S A P I E N T I[/u]
[sup]The Bronx - Fordham University | Sector Br6[/sup][/h3][/color][/center]

[color=90bbbb]It had grown quiet outside of the medical supply room. Francesco could still make out some faint growling and distant screaming. It sounded like most of them had gone to the far end of the hallway. His arms sank down beside his body and he allowed himself to relax slightly. His entire frame had been tense, in a constant fight or flight response, wedged in between the wall and one of the closets. He let out a quiet breath while staring blankly ahead, studying the grey wall opposite to him.

He listened for a little while longer, trying to judge if the hallway was completely empty while also gathering up the courage to leave his hiding spot. Eventually he got out, the movement positioning him right in front of the window. Something was terribly wrong, whatever was happening wasn'’t limited to his school. It stretched much further than that. The sky had darkened ominously. Down on the streets he could see the gas station. The lights of the sign above the entrance had gone out, but much more disturbing was the horde of beastly humans throwing themselves at the concrete walls of the establishment. They were clawing over each other, pushing without any sort of coordinated movement.

An awful thought crept into his mind. What if there were people hiding in there? They would be trapped just like him. The beasts didn’'t seem to tire either, the horror of the scene compelled him to see what was going to happen and he couldn'’t tear his gaze away from the attack. Somewhere in the back of his mind a little voice warned him that they could look up and spot him, which ignited a tingle of unfounded fear in his stomach. Then he suddenly remembered what floor he was on. The fourth. It would be impossible for those things to see him. He closed the blinds quietly, turning his back to the window. The magnitude of the events weighed down on him, feeling like something heavy was pushing down on his shoulders. It made him sick to his stomach. There was nothing he could do to help them from up here, he could barely keep himself safe.

He kept wrecking his brain on what could possibly have caused this to happen. If the entire city was like this, maybe it had something to do with the government and the war. They might have released some type of biological weapon. Maybe the water resources were tampered with? As if to test his theory he went to the sink and turned on the faucet, a steady stream of clear water ran down into the drain. He frowned, well what was he expecting anyway? Fluorescent yellow or green, something radioactive like you’ would see in the movies. A small smile tugged at the corners of his mouth, laughing at his own ridiculous thoughts. He could be such an idiot sometimes.

Another terrifying realization dawned on him. If this was happening everywhere……...... He immediately got out his phone, noticing his hands were shaking. He raced through his caller list looking up the phone number of his little brother Massimo and pressed call. Francesco felt his heart pounding in his chest, so fast it almost started to hurt. His brother rarely picked up when he called, but he really hoped he would right now. He needed to answer his phone.
[color=cde0e0]“"Hey…."”[/color] The low voice of his eighteen-year-old brother sounded through the other end. Francesco felt a lump form in his throat. He was relieved because if his brother could pick up the phone it meant he hadn’'t gone crazy like everyone else.

“[color=cde0e0]"Fransh …what the hell is going on outside?”"[/color] Massimo asked his brother in his typically irritated tone of voice. Usually Francesco would snap back at him to watch his tone but right now he could care less. His phone beeped right through his call with Massimo, it meant his battery was running low.

[i]Damn it.[/i] He thought cursing at himself. Why did he always forget to charge his phone? He didn’t know how long the call would last and started to panic.
[color=98FB98]“"Mas listen to me, lock all the doors and draw down the blinds”."[/color] He began to give his brother instructions. If these beastly humans were everywhere his brother needed to haul up in his room and call for help. But what if the police were affected too? Who the hell did he want his brother to call then? Francesco lost himself in thoughts of worst case scenario’s but was brought back by his little brother’s annoyed voice.

[color=cde0e0]"“I already did that, why..? What’s happening?”"[/color]
[color=98FB98]“"I don'’t know what’s going on, just listen to what I say”!"[/color] He snapped at Massimo. He had no time to argue, he just needed him to be safe.
“[color=98FB98]"Go to my room and grab the knife set on the top of my closet, the one I kept for when I would be moving out.” “Take out the biggest one and keep it with you at all times."”[/color] He was spewing out instructions leaving no room for his brother to interrupt.

Another beep, his battery was almost dead. Francesco'’s heart skipped a beat. He was not’ done…

[color=98FB98]“"Call everyone, see if they pick up. Don’'t leave the house under any circumstances.”"[/color] He was talking increasingly faster as he went on. Massimo was used to his brother talking this fast and he could follow. The seriousness and panic of his usually calm brother freaked him out though.
“[color=cde0e0]"Yeah okay…..."[/color]” He replied in an equally serious voice. He started to realize something was very wrong.
“[color=98FB98]"I’ll be there soon…..I lo…."”[/color]

The phone died. Both brothers looked at their phones. Massimo saw the picture of one of his brother’s favorite video game character. He had attached that picture to his big brother’s caller id. Francesco on the other hand only saw a black screen.

A drop of water splattered on the dead screen of his phone, followed by a second one and right after a third. Francesco dropped to the floor, laying down his phone next to him. He pulled his legs up to his chest and buried his head into his knees. Quiet sobs shook his body, while he cried soundlessly, trying to be as quiet as he could. It was all coming to a head. The adrenaline rush of earlier had allowed him to escape the dorms relatively unharmed. But the images of his roommates turning into beasts, the desperate call with his brother and being hauled up in the medical supply room had no mercy on his mental stability.

It would be useless to try and hold it in like he usually did. He just cried and cried and cried some more. He didn’'t care about his dripping nose dirtying the sleeves of his sweater. When he couldn’'t press out any more tears, crying became painful until it eventually stopped. He gently wiped his raw face with his sleeves, a blank look in his eyes. He let out a shuddered breath and he wrapped his arms around his shoulders, studying each corner of the room.

Closets full of medical supplies lined the walls in a u shape. Their lineup was interrupted by the sink, which was placed rather awkwardly between yet two more closets. A mobile hospital bed sat in front of the two closets right of the entry door. Two sets of IV poles were placed randomly inside the already cramped room. Next to the door tugged away into a corner sat a potted plant, but you could barely make out what kind. Some smart ass figured it was a good idea to plant a creeping ivy in the same pot. The winding plant had nearly taken over its host. Placed in the center was a long table filled with all kinds of hospital stuff, most of which he wasn’'t even allowed to use yet, heck he wasn’t even allowed to be in here under normal circumstances.

Francesco hauled himself up from the dusty floor. He crossed his arms and let out his last sigh. He was done crying. If the world was really going to hell, he'’d seen enough movies to know what to do. Even though Hollywood logic usually didn'’t make any sense it was his best reference point. He hadn’'t lived through a world apocalypse recently so…..

He searched through the closets to inspect the contents, opening, and closing each one very quietly and carefully. He kept his rummaging to a minimum, instead judging what he saw by sight to make as less sound as possible. He only took things which he recognized and knew how to use. Slowly but surely, he had assembled his own personalized first aid kit. He made two kits in case he’d run into anyone who needed it. They were too big to put into his school bag seeing what was already in there, so he stuffed them into an empty pillow case. He emptied one of the tables, throwing whatever was on there into one of the closets.

Keeping his hands busy also kept his mind distracted. Ideas came flooding one after the other, he made a mental to do list. He had packed a first aid kit, now he needed to let any hopeful survivors outside know he was in here. After that he would barricade the door. There weren’'t any empty pillowcases left, he was planning to make a sign and hang it out of the window but there was nothing to write on. He'’d already managed to find a black marker pen. He bit his lip, searching the room for the fifth time in a row. All the while he failed to spot the pillow on the hospital bed, which had a perfectly usable fabric casing around it. Francesco only realized this when he flopped onto the bed in defeat.

[i]Really…?[/i]
Did he just not see the pillow sitting there this entire time? Not for the first time that day he smiled at his own stupidity. He spread out the pillowcase on the table neatly, smoothing out the folds. Writing the word HELP on fabric wasn’t as easy as you'’d think. It ended up readable and luckily large enough to be seen from the floor he was on. He made two small holes in the top corners of the pillow case with a scissor and looped a thread through it, which he then tied to the iron bars of the heating system underneath the window. He opened the window carefully and wind rushed inside. He lowered the pillowcase against the walls of the building, it flapped in the wind resting just underneath the bottom edge of the window. 

He really hoped it would stay visible and not get blown away by the wind. SOS sign done, he checked it off of his mental to do list. A growling noise which rivaled the human beasts escaped from his stomach and his face flashed hot with embarrassment, even though there was no one around to hear it. He grabbed his bag and took out his lunchbox. He looked at the two sandwiches contemplating if he would eat both of them. He didn't know how long he'd be in here. It could hours, maybe even days. What if he was discovered by those beasts before he escaped? Eager to dismiss the last thought he munched down on a peanut butter sandwich. He was thinking of the best way to barricade the door. Moving one of the closets would make way too much noise and he doubted he had the muscle to move it anyway. His best bet would be to wheel the hospital bed in front of the door, maybe move that potted plant too, with one of the tables for good measure. When he finished his lunch he got to work. The plant was the smallest of his three makeshift barricade materials so that was up first. 

He wiped his hands on his jeans, they were kind of clammy, before grabbing the plant at its base using his left leg to guide it to the door. It was deceptively heavy, probably because of the soil inside the pot. He grunted while he moved it into what he thought a strategic position, when suddenly he looked at his hands. The veins were swollen, just like the ones on his face but they were glowing a crazy traffic light green. Startled he let go immediately, the glow dimming after he released the plant. What the hell was that?! He blinked a few times, the glow was gone.

He tentatively touched the plant again and the glow returned, only now he felt the leaves stir against his skin, the base of the plant seemed to move underneath his palm. It kind of felt like a pulse, slowly beating against his hand. A loud crash erupted somewhere down the hallway, it sounded like doors being demolished. The hairs on the back of his neck stood up, and fear toyed with his stomach. The glow of his veins increased to a bright green and then something extremely disturbing happened. It was like his panic was feeding the ivy plant. It started to grow at an unnatural pace, like something you'd see in a timelapse video, where seedlings grew into full formed plants in a matter of minutes. It wrapped its vines on anything that it could find, weaving like a spiderweb across the door. It snaked around the handle,creeping underneath the door. All the while Francesco watched with wide eyes, unable to let go, not knowing what he was doing. The ivy seemed to fortify the door, creating a net on the inside of the medical room, covering most of the wall, in which the door was placed. If someone would open the door they would push into a hedgework of tough leafy vines. 

[color=98FB98]"Oh my....god"[/color]

It felt like the room was spinning for a second and he steadied himself on one of the IV poles. He was feeling really light headed. His throat was dry, like he hadn't had a drink in hours. He swallowed a couple of times, waiting for the dizziness to fade. 

There was no time to admire his handiwork, because he could hear them stalking through the hallway like before. Francesco quickly wheeled the hospital bed in front of the door. He pushed one of the tables against the bed. The fact that he was creating noise by doing that was lost on him, he still couldn't get over what he had just done. The barricade wouldn't get any stronger than this, because one he was out of material and two, the room was already cramped. He moved as far back as possible, hoping somebody would spot his sign before.......[/color]