The dormitory was noisy, but the weariness Lucas had accrued from several planned, long days forced little more than brief awareness. Bursts of momentary consciousness existed; rarely long enough to register the source or the identity of each intruding nuisance. Throughout those moments, he was dimly aware of a brief moment of darkness or light filtering through the window before the demands of sleep rushed back.
A clamorous thudding battered the air, punctuated with a shrill cry. Opening his eyes, Lucas could see the room was lit. Ignoring the nuisance, he closed his eyes again. The thudding resumed before slumber returned, with a vaguely familiar voice calling out. Slowly rolling over to face the door, he could just make out the sound of a muffled voice calling his name.
Lucas closed his eyes, his weariness almost making him not reply before he called out. "Come back later." He half yawned out the last word, the pervasive molasses of weariness in his muscles still lingering from the impulsive caffeine binge his finals cramming session required.
"Lucas!" The shouting replied louder, the thumping resounding more loudly at the confirmation. "Have you been bitten?" Somewhere outside, the faint wail of a siren echoed in the distance. Its cry had been lingering in the air but only now had Lucas recognized it for what it was.
Lucas slowly rose from the mattress, throwing the blankets to the floor as he strode towards the door. "What did you say?" He still wore the black shirt and jeans he had on when he passed out on his mattress sometime yesterday afternoon. On the way without his glasses, Lucas nearly stumbled over the backpack and coat he had carelessly thrown onto the floor. He caught himself against the wall and approached the door.
Evan called out from the other side of the door. "Why are you not answering your phone?" His voice carried an almost frightened tone.
"I turned it off for finals, remember?" Lucas unlocked the door and casually swung it open. Evan stood about six feet and two inches tall, and had the wiry, athletic build of a practicing martial artist. Lucas backed away as Evan rushed inside and closed the door behind himself.
Evan set his backpack on the floor by the doorway. "You've been asleep this whole time?" Evan shook his head as if to shake off the question. "Everyone's been worried about you. We thought you were dead." Then, immediately, Evan took out his own cell phone and dialed, holding it to his ear.
Lucas listened to Evan speaking as he searched for his own cell phone. "Yes, it's me. No, I didn't and he's fine. He was asleep. Yes, I will. Tell everyone else."
Lucas searched under the paper sitting on the simple metal stand serving as a desk for his laptop. Since finals started, he had neglected the laptop and piled cluttered wads of paper upon it. An empty pizza box was laid haphazardly among the refuse, and at some point the laptop had become unplugged from its charger. As he searched among the papers, some sheets fell to the floor unceremoniously.
Without finding his own phone, Lucas stopped once Evan ended his call and looked over. "What was that about?" Lucas narrowed his eyes and brushed his right hand through his short brown hair. The tone of the call sounded uncharacteristically urgent.
Evan pocketed his phone, now standing by the window and looking down at the street below. He nervously brushed his hand through his short red hair as he looked through the glass. "There's a zombie virus outbreak. We're in one of the warning zones, and the news is telling everyone to stay indoors. We thought something might have happened to you."
Lucas laughed after an initial moment of wondering if he heard the words right, then shook his head. "Yeah, right. Did Ryan tell you to do this?"
"Come downstairs and see for yourself. I saw a few people watching the news in the common room." Evan returned to the door and carefully opened it before peering into the hallway. Satisfied, he quietly stepped out and motioned for Lucas to follow. "Someone's watching the front door and a few more people are watching the news on the TV down there. They don't really know much right now. But people have reported seeing them in downtown Portland. In Oregon."
Lucas rubbed his eyes as he followed Evan into the hallway. Lucas was slim, but a lifetime of reading books indoors instead of an active life outside had rendered the nineteen year old college student rather unfit for most physical activity. Evan led the way, keeping pace only a few feet ahead of Lucas as he spoke.
In the front lobby by the heavy glass door, stood a tall, heavyset student wearing a thick wool sweater. He was staring through the broad, floor to ceiling windows flanking the entryway, his hands clenched tightly on a sturdy length of pipe. In all, the man was maybe six and a half feet tall and three hundred fifty pounds.
Lucas didn't recognize the man at first; he had regarded them with little more than a glance as they descended the stairs. At the bottom of the stairs, Lucas recalled his name was Simon. He was one of the people in charge of the dormitory.
As they turned down the hallway leading to the common room, a shrill cry came from outside, muted, but harsh. Evan turned back and approached the front door. "What was that?"
"People are running around out there." Simon said flatly. Lucas approached the window with the others. Its view were of the now familiar park blocks of the university, the greenery of trees and grass interlaced with benches and sidewalks nestled between sprawling buildings of the university. The slice of greenery sliced into the city's grid layout, extending far beyond the university grounds. "Idiots should have stayed inside."
Lucas stared out across the park in growing shock. Usually, people would be outside, walking, sitting on the benches or talking in clusters. Even in the cold, even in rain. Today, it was sunny, mild for winter, and empty. Three people at the far end of sight, several blocks away were running along the length of the park. A single figure trailed the group at a decent distance, charging after them. All of them were getting closer.
Evan tried the door, tugging on it fruitlessly. He glanced to Simon, "What are you waiting for? We have to let them in!"
"I'm not unlocking it." From the way Simon spoke, it was clear he was used to his size and posture ending arguments.
"There's no time for this." Evan said, reaching for the keys the heavyset man had on his belt. He snatched them away easily, and stepped back to the doorway. In response, Simon clenched the pipe firmly in both hands and swung at Evan. Lucas barely had time to step out of the way before the large man's backswing hit him.
Evan twisted to the side and responded with a solid kick to the heavyset man's gut. Simon fell to his knees and dropped the pipe. Evan then opened the door and waved his hands in the air. "Over here!"
The fleeing group changed direction and ran towards them. Lucas stepped away as Simon stood up angrily, balling his hands into fists as two women and a man hurtled through the doorway. Evan shut it behind them. Evan hurriedly locked it again as the figure barrelled towards them.
The trailing figure slammed into the sturdy doorway with a solid thump and fell to the ground. Lucas took a fearful step back as he saw movement through the broad windows, and the figure stood up. Lucas gasped as he heard the doorknob rattle against its lock. He didn't realize he had been holding his breath.
