7.

A Chapter by Kira

Clair's eyes widened when she noticed everyone looking at her. Slowly, slowly, she raised a hand, pressed the heel of her hand to her face, and pulled it away as though she could go her whole life without seeing it, but feeling compelled beyond all reason to.

Noticed the blood.

Opened her mouth.

"Run!" Tracy yelled, grabbing Lucas with one hand and Jeremy with the other and yanking yard. The group didn't need telling twice--they were sprinting down the hall in the opposite direction from the algebra room (Tracy knew that, for the moment, she had to forget her friends, but it didn't make it any less painful). Clair soon fell far back; she was already stumbling and coughing and she looked off-balance. The same thing that had caused the blood was turning her into a zombie.

"Please!" came Clair's hoarse cry. "Help me!"

Tracy did a double-take and noticed the blonde girl on the ground in the distance. She looked even paler than before under the fluorescent light, or maybe she was just utterly drained. There were tears rolling down her cheeks, mingling with the bloodstains.

Before she knew what she was doing, she found her hand on a doorknob and ducked inside the classroom, knowing that they would follow, and hoping that whatever was in here was preferable to a dying stranger.

Honorable Mention