Days Gone By (CYOA)

[Zach]

Your eyes open as you hear the ringing of your alarm clock. It takes a second for your eyes to adjust to the red numbers blinking. You reach over to shut it off.

 

*6:15 AM*... *6:16 AM*

 

Sighing, you roll out of bed and walk into your bathroom. As you do your morning activities, you try to remember what day it is. It's a Monday so you have to get to the school early to set up your lesson plan. You work as a History teacher for the local high school. 

 

After getting dressed and eating breakfast, you start driving to the school. There seems to be a lot less cars driving around than usual. 

Pulling into an almost empty parking lot, you remember watching the news last night and seeing that there was a flu going around pretty bad. Not thinking much of it, you enter the school. You see Mrs. Kennedy, the attendance receptionist. She buzzes you in once she notices you.

"Good Morning Mr. Parker, how are you?" she asks in a low voice. It's odd... she's sweating profusely even though the building is air conditioned. She looks terrible. Her eyes are droopy and she looks out of it.

"I'm good Mrs. Kennedy, you don't look very good. Are you okay?" You ask. 

"Oh it's nothing I can't handle. I haven't been sick in forever! My husband got the flu thats been going around and he must've gave it to me..." She laughs nervously. 

You notice a bandage on her shoulder. "Are you sure you're okay?" 

She looks at you, "Yes Ryan... I'm fine." Her voice trails as if she was losing consciousness.
Interrupting you as you're about to reply, there is a knock on the glass door behind you. It's Kyle and his brother Will. You know them because Kyle and Will are your neighbors. They live across the street and were very welcoming when you moved in a few months ago. You reach over and open the door for them.

"Mr. Parker... Did you notice anything strange on your way over? Will swears he saw a woman banging on your door this morning."

"It's true Mr. Parker, the woman was banging on your door. Eventually she stopped and stumbled away." Will says.

"I don't know--" You say before being cut off.

The TV in the room blasts on with an alert. The following is said,

"Attention. Attention. Widespread panic is affecting the following areas due to the recent flu outbreak: Erie... Warren... Crawford... Mercer and Forest. Stay indoors. It's not safe to be outdoors. Do not come into contact with anyone known to have the flu. If you or a love one is experiencing flu like symptoms you must quarantine them or yourself. It is spread via germs and pathogens. Repeat... Stay away from anyone who is known to have the flu. People affected by the flu turn violent after only a couple of hours. Stay--"

The reporter stops speaking after a crash is heard behind the camera. The reporter falls over in his chair backing up. Screams fill the studio and the last thing you hear before the broadcast being shut off is the reporter yelling, "GOD NO!".

A crash erupts behind Kyle and Will--- a body flings through the glass and lands onto the floor outside of the secondary glass you,  Mrs. Kennedy, Will and Kyle are in. The man twists his body and gets up. He's hunched over and you notice that it's Mr. Riley, the school's principal. His dress shirt is ripped from the glass and blood covers him. You notice teeth marks on his cheek. He lunges forward and bangs against the glass, cracking it. A few more bangs and he'll get through. Before you can decide what to do, Mrs. Kennedy falls from her chair and lets out a groan. The school's resource officer, Officer Antoine comes running through the adjacent hallway to the room you are in. He's a large man with salt and pepper hair and a salt and pepper beard.

"What the hell is going on in here?" Antoine shouts.

The glass breaks and Mr. Riley falls to the ground again. Antoine draws his weapon. Mr. Riley gets up and stumbles toward Will. 

"Mr. Riley, I'm warning you stop or I'll be forced to shoot!" Antoine shouts. Antoine slams the hammer and lets out two shots that hit Mr. Riley directly in the chest. The thunderous gunshots ring your ears for a second, but you manage to turn to look at Mr. Riley. To your amazement, he only stumbles backwards. He quickly lunges forward again, tackling Will to the ground. Kyle grabs a nearby fire extinguisher and slams it over Mr. Riley's back. "Get off of him!" Kyle shouts. 

You look over to see Antoine hanging over the receptionist desk with his hands at Mrs. Kennedy's neck. Her teeth snapping together with saliva falling from her mouth. You look at Mr. Riley on the ground, his hands grasping onto Will's hoodie, pulling him toward him. Kyle cocks the fire extinguisher back and prepares to slam it down onto Mr. Riley. Out of your peripheral vision, you notice Antoine's gun laying at your feet. You pick it up. What do you do?

 

A. Shoot Mrs. Kennedy. 

B. Shoot Mr. Riley. 

C. Run through the broken glass, pulling Kyle along with you.

---

Name: Ryan Parker

HP: 100/100

Fatigue: None

Profession: History Teacher

Inventory: 9mm Beretta (?/0), Wallet, Keys.

Edited July 6, 2017 by Zach

[Legoland99]

Bit of advice, Muldraugh and West Point only have a local radio channel but the spread was announced only after a day since the airborne infection happened. Try changing that a bit if you want to follow the PZ world. Otherwise great start, minor mistakes.  

[Zach]

Thanks man. I don't know yet if I wanna set this in PZ world yet or not. Thinking of maybe having it modern times. You forgot to vote man.

[Legoland99]

Also, I feel as if Kyle could manage to knock out Mr Riley if he has a weapon. I'd chose to shot Mr Riley but then yet again Antoine is in bigger trouble since he's slumped over the desk. Random coworker or your neighbor, I'd say help the brother and kill Mr Riley before he has a chance, even if you might doom Antoine.

 

B is my choice.

Edited July 6, 2017 by Legoland99

[Legoland99]

4 minutes ago, Zach said:

Thanks man. I don't know yet if I wanna set this in PZ world yet or not. Thinking of maybe having it modern times. You forgot to vote man.

Sorry, and you should, it's more fun that way being in the PZ world. Great job so far, keep us posted.

[Zach]

Bump.

 

[TheWraithPlayer]

D= Quietly sneak ( or run if need be ) out. That's what I'd do

[TheWraithPlayer]

if not that, A or B

[DresdenBBQ]

B

[Zach]

Shoot Mr. Riley.

Another thunderous gunshot fills the air. Mr. Riley's body goes limp due to a bullet wound to the head inflicted by you. His blood spurts around the room, most of it falling onto Will. You just took a life. A human being. You've gone hunting with your father and your brothers before and have killed wild game... But this... This was something different in it's entirety. Your hand that holds the gun starts to tremble. Only when Kyle screams, "Mr. Parker! Help!" do you snap out of it.

Antoine and Mrs. Kennedy's fight has escalated to the front of the receptionist desk. Kyle, thinking quicker than you, goes to pull Mrs. Kennedy off of Antoine. He pulls her down and she falls onto her back. You get a good look at her face. Her eyes are bloodshot and her skin is a pale yellow. Black veins protrude from where normal veins would be. You draw the gun to her body. Without thinking, you let out 2 shots. One shot hits her in the shoulder, the other grazes her forearm. Even with the wounds, she twists her body to get up. You walk quickly over to Mrs. Kennedy and aim the gun directly at her head. She snarls and reaches for you. You squeeze the trigger. Another human being. Why didn't she stop after being shot? What the hell is going on?

Moments pass and Antoine slumps down into a waiting chair.

"That bitch bit me man!" He says.

You notice that he's holding his left hand.

"Shit this hurts like a bitch!" Antoine grunts.

Antoine looks down at Mrs. Kennedy's lifeless body and kicks it.

You reach around the desk and grab the first aid kit. You open it and find gauze and bandages.

"Here." you say as you wrap the gauze and bandage around Antoine's hand.

You look around the room and then peer out the glass. Where is everyone else at? Sirens fill the air from a distance away.

Kyle and Will are sitting across from Antoine. When Kyle sees you looking out the window he says, "Why the hell did they act like that? Shouldn't they have at least felt getting shot?"

The thought did cross your mind.

"Shit kid... I felt a chunk getting taken out of my hand thats for sure." Antoine squeezes his hand harder. "It not stopping man. I'm bleeding real bad." He looks up at you.

"Is dad gonna be okay? We should probably get back home as soon as possible." Will says as he wipes the blood off of his pants.

You remember that Kyle and Will's dad worked for the police department.

"I gotta get to a hospital man... My hand definitely needs to be sewn up." Antoine grunts.

You think back to the broadcast. "If you or a love one is experiencing flu like symptoms you must quarantine them or yourself. It is spread via germs and pathogens. Repeat... Stay away from anyone who is known to have the flu."  Antoine was in trouble.

Shaking your head you say, "We have to head back to our homes. I'll take the kids and bring them to their dad. Are you gonna be okay?" You felt bad for trying to leave Antoine but it's possible he could have the flu now.

"Yeah man... I guess..." Antione says reluctantly.

“You have a daughter right? If this shit hits the fan any harder than it has, come find us at either my house or Kyle and Will’s house. It’s directly across the street from mine.” You tell him.

Antoine nods.

“Alright let's get out of here.” you tell the boys.

Before you step through the entrance, you peek around the parking lot. No infected appear to be in sight. You release the magazine on the Beretta and check how many shots you have left. 8 plus the one in the chamber. You were never that great of a shot, but when it came down to it, you knew how to work a firearm.

You and the boys sprint to your car. Quickly, you all get in and you start the engine.

You spin out of the parking lot as a million thoughts fly through your mind. You just took two lives. Your co-workers, people you knew. You remember visiting Mr. Riley for a barbecue over the summer. When you first moved to this town. He had a wife and three kids. Three little girls. Your thoughts drown out the boys talking to their father on the phone. Mrs. Kennedy was the first person to greet you when you walked through those same glass doors for your interview. She was going to retire at the end of the year. She constantly talked about moving down to Florida with her husband. You approach a stop sign and scan your surroundings. You see massive amounts of people running in opposite directions, some looking just as Mr. Riley and Mrs. Kennedy did. The sound of your phone ringing grabs your attention. You look down at the caller I.D. It’s your brother, Travis. You answer and talk as you drive.

“Ryan! Are you okay? Where are you?” Your brother frantically asks.

“I’m fine. T, I got a couple of my students and I’m taking them back to their father right now.”

“Alright, thank god you’re okay. You need to get down here as fast as possible... It’s out of control. People are going crazy and fighting over things. Dad and I have the house locked down for now, but we’re gonna need all the help we can get. Uncle Rick is already on his way. He’s bringing his guns so we’ll be protected. I don’t know what the hell is going on but we’re not gonna sit around and hope that the Government or Military or whatever manages this.” Travis says.

Just as Travis finishes talking, a woman sprints from the side of the building and runs in front of your car. Trying to minimize the damage, you swerve to the left and take out her front leg. Her body rolls over the hood and lands on the concrete. You aren’t able to regain control of your car and slide about 20 yards before crashing into a lightpost. Your head slams against the steering wheel and temporarily stuns you.

Coming too, you look down and see your blurry hands. You grab your head and feel a large gash on your forehead. Your ears ring for a few seconds before the ringing is replaced with screams. You look to your right and see that Kyle is no longer in the front seat. Your eyes dart to the side mirror. The screams you heard earlier belonged to a child. She’s crying and looking down at what you assume to be her mother. The woman you hit. You unbuckle your seatbelt and stumble away from the totaled car. Kyle is running toward the child. You check the backseat of the car and see an unconscious Will. You look behind the child and see a pair obviously infected people running toward the child. It looks like Kyle will reach the girl before the infected do. You call for Kyle’s name but he keeps running. What do you do?

 

A. Sprint after Kyle. You’ll have his back if he needs it.

B. Stay at the car and try and shoot the infected. They’re about 40 yards away.

C. Get back in the car and try and start it. It looks pretty beat up.

D. Draw your gun and wait till the Kyle gets the girl and you have a better shot. You’re certain Kyle will get there first.

E. Leave Kyle, Will and the little girl and run through the adjacent alleyway. Your safety is the most important thing.

---

Name: Ryan Parker

Age: 28

HP: 90/100 *Gash on forehead*, *Concussion*

Profession: History Teacher

Inventory: 9mm Beretta (9/0), Wallet, Phone, Keys.

 

Name: Kyle Reeds

Age: 18

HP: Unknown

Profession: Student

Inventory: Fire Extinguisher, Backpack, Phone.

 

Name: Will Reeds

Age: 15

HP: *Unconscious*

Profession: Student

Inventory: Backpack, Phone.

 

[TheWraithPlayer]

A

[Zach]

Bump.

[Ironfist56]

E