The Scourge System

PROLOGUE

PROLOGUE

A group 5 different students sits around a circle table with piles of books in front of them and munching snack while studying. That typical scene where students have to study with lots of books, papers and holding pen but not really "studying".

"Can't you eat your food of a junk quietly? I can't focus on my chemistry assignment." Rohana had enough of Jonixa's loud crunching noise of his mouth. The grumpiest among them had to scold the woman in heart friend them. Really got no manner on table.

"Horry, ith how I enyoy mah hood." He made a peace sign with two of his fingers and chuckles, making his spit some crumbs on Rohana's notebook. Her comes the fueled fire.

She gave him an "I'm going to kill you" look with those dead pan face and a pair of sharp glare while holding her pen tight. With her lips curved upwards, she starts to plan about how to execute him later.

"Hey guys, aren't y'all excited for tomorrow?" Clarissa asked before flipping the page of her science book with full of head exploding formulas. She's the second smartest, probably doesn't need anymore reading after all.

"Why? What's with tomorrow?" Brenda who just woke up from her deep sleep asked while still rubbing her red eyes, scratching it and yawn with her mouth widely open. The modern Sleeping but not beauty has finally awoken and as usual, she's got no any idea of what's going on in the world she leaves every time she catches a time to close eyes for a moment. And by means of for a moment, it means hours.

"Tomorrow's a grand day for every science club members! All of the science participants will have a time to visit some science center, see some cool exhibition and stuffs." Clarissa explained with that gummy smile of hers. She couldn't hide the excitement in her eyes that none of the three found nothing interesting to.

"Pff... sounds like a total boredom to me." Brenda commented and clicks her tongue, reaching for a cookie on the plate.

"What makes you think that Jessa and I are here in Clarissa's house? Haven't you remember that we talked about this last week? We're going to have a sleep over here so tomorrow, we're going on the venue at the same time. Your ears are probably sleeping too. I won't deny that I'd think you'd wish to be a just a rock the next time you're born." Rohana explained and threw Brenda a colder look.

"Guess yah got that 'ight." Brenda let out a laugh, making sure that it sounds monotonously. "You coming there Jess?" She asked the shyest among the five of them.

Jessa nods her head with her lips are designed in a tight smile.

"Of course she would! She's the top ranked, teachers' favorite, genius, demure and a perfect role model to every each student in our school. This event they're talking about wouldn't be complete without our lovely, timid, quiet Jessa. Yes, sis?" Jonixa flips his imaginary hair while making face before picking up another handful of his "not" so favorite potato chips to stuff it inside his mouth. "And for the record, Brenda's not even part of the tour so I guess it's fine for her to know nothing at all." He added and let out a loud laugh that made Rohana grimace and worry about her eardrums, considering that she's sitting nearest to him.

"When will you ever stop running your mouth?" Rohana looks so done with him and she's ready to stab him with that pen of hers and sew his lips close to solve her problem. Thinking about that now, she wishes that she should've done it a long time ago.

"He can't, no one can. That's why we should call him 7/11." Brenda commented, still chewing the cookie in her mouth with her eyes closed and her hands are clasped above her a little chubby belly. All relaxed and calm while living in her whole world, not even participating with the study they should be doing, supposedly.

"7/11?" Clarissa's smart but that... she can't understand it. Rohana's eyebrows are lifted too even Jonixa himself is interested about what 7/11 means and Jessa? She's keeping herself the peaceful silence as she always does.

"24 hours open, like his mouth. Nonstop nonsense blabber." She clarified to them and Clarissa burst into a decent laughter together with Jessa who's smiling with her head down.

"What? Blabber? Hey, my mouth might be always open but I'm stating facts!" Jonixa tried his best to defend himself and even stood to his chair and poses like a model.

"More like spitting, literally." Rohana's sarcasm just made everyone laugh at him, while Jonixa? He's sulking there with his long pout and glaring at the four of them.

"I hate you all." He muttered and sat back on his seat looking all defeated and still moping like a lady in her red day.

"So, you two, Brenda, Jonixa, what are your plans for tomorrow?" Clarissa asked as she closed the book she's been taking notes from. Since she got distracted, might as well let the book go.

"Sleep." Brenda replied confidently that made Jessa simper even more.

"As expected." Rohana mumbled while tapping her pen on her note pad that she haven't written anything of.

"I'm squeezing myself with you guys, I'll pay if I have to pay but I'm going with that tour, no matter what, whatever blocks my way, I'll twerk it off of my path." Jonixa answered as he isn't part of the science club but would usually scoot in. "Besides, my big sister has an ample of date these weeks and she already dated two boys in 3 days. What a whore, that's why I love her." Jonixa even cackled with his mouth wide open before dropping his face blank and starts to eat food again.

"Tomorrow's monday, he's just trying to escape the quiz on two of his subjects. Jonathan Villanova will be marked as absent again and trying to excuse himself being involved with the science tour to get exempted when in fact he just want to snuck himself in with the members. How wonderful." Brenda chuckled and opens her eyes to make a face that could annoy their gay friend. She knows how he never liked it being called by his whole real name.

"How many times do I have to tell you to never call me Jonathan? It's Jonixa, Jo to the Ni to the Xa. Capital J-O-N-I-X-A. Ms. World of all years, everyday and every night and in every second." He defended himself and acted like a queen, waving his hand in the air leisurely.

"You really have no self respect, do you?" Rohana threw him a disgusted look and rolls her eyes. She's used to him acting like his brain is damage but she couldn't help herself from getting disgusted and somehow savagely shut his mouth. It never worked though, there's nothing that can stop him from talking, even I think if she put cement in his mouth.

"Hey my five lovely ladies, how's study so far?" Clarissa's mother, Renai peeks from the back door to see them seated around the coffee table at the back yard.

"Hey, Mommy Renai! We're good so far, brains haven't exploded yet!" Jonixa's the first one to reaply to her with a wide grin that almost rips his cheeks open.

"As if you have a brain to explode." Brenda mumbled in which she got a hurting slap from Jonixa's hand.

Renai walks towards them while holding a bag of bread chips. "Mom, are you going to make us all fat?" Clarissa's eyes are big and giving her mother an "unbelievable" kind of look.

"Ever since you were a little, I kept trying but you have so much anti-fat in your body so, why not your friends, yeah?" Renai place the bag down above the table which Jonixa instantly digs in. She brushes Jessa's bob cut hair with her fingers. "Do you want some yogurt or ice cream, darling?" She asked Jessa who just shook her head negatively while smiling cutely that makes Renai's heart flutter from her cuteness.

"Bread pan! This is my favorite!" Jonixa took three bags of the said chips and place it on his lap.

"Concerning about five lovely ladies, Ms. Renai, there are only four lovely ladies and a sexually confused, shameless hombre here." Brenda snickered and intentionally brush the bag of chips on Jonixa's face.

"Mean! Mommy, they're bullying me!" He pouts his lips and wiggled himself on his seat.

"Oh, teenagers." Renai muttered and Clarissa glances at her while chuckling.

~ ● ~

"Honey come on, we're gonna be late!" Renai called out to her daughter from downstairs and as if on cue, Clarissa is already hopping down on the stairs.

"Ready!" Clarissa announced as soon as she stepped in the living room.

"I packed you an extra pair of clothes in case you need it, your tumbler, that cute BT21 notebook you're talking about and those silly highlighters and those I don't know how many colorful pens inside that pencil case of yours that you asked me to buy. It's all in your bag." Renai told her like as if she's rapping a song.

"Thanks, mom. You're the best." Clarissa pockets her phone and put her earphone inside her bag. "Work called?" She asked when she finally noticed that her mom's dressed for her job. She's used to see her mother having sudden calls from her work and would be gone for days, weeks.

"Yeah, it's actually scheduled today, I have a flight to DC and back. You don't have to worry 'bout anything because I already shopped groceries yesterday. I know that you're a lazy potato couch kind of lady that never gets any fat in your body so I bought canned foods, some ready to eat snacks, I ordered rice too it's in that pink bucket in the kitchen, and there's a bunch of some chips, banana chips and anything chips in your room and chocolates--"

"Chocolates?" Clarissa repeated while chuckling as she ties her shoes double just like how Rohana taught her.

"Well I forgot when will your period comes and I forgot to buy you napkin or tampons whatever you use, so I bought you chocolates. And I think you know what you have to do while I'm gone, right?" Renai pulled her lipstick from her pouch and colored her lips.

"Of course, mom. We've been through this for so many years now." Clarissa nods her head and sat on the sofa. She's actually fine with it, used to it so she has nothing to complain about.

"Mommy! How do I look?" Jonixa comes down from the stairs, looking like he's going in a disco club.

"I told him that he'd look like a walking disco ball with a high heels on." Rohana over take beside him and fixed the strap of her bag. "Hope you trip and sprain your ankle." She even muttered through her breath. Shaking her head negatively, it hurts her eyes from the reflection of his mirror like clothing, talk about awful taste and class in terms of fashion.

"Looking too shiny, sweetheart." Renai laughed richly. "Where is Jessa? It's already six! You have to be at school to get on that bus before seven." Renai gasped looking at her wrist watch.

"She's already outside the house, Mom." Clarissa answered when she peeped outside the window and found their prim and proper friend looking amused at a blooming rose outside their house.

"Okay so what are we waiting for? Let's go!" Renai lively yelled like she's in the military.

When they arrived, the bus is ready to leave. All in all there are 19 students inside including them, three of their science professor are tasked to guide them, and the driver in the bus.

"Are we there yet?" Jonixa asked for the umpteenth time that annoys the hell out of Rohana. He's the one who was way too excited with the trip and now he's being eaten of boredom.

"We've only been in the bus for an hour now, Jonixa, and the venue is 3 hours away from home. What makes you think that we'll be there in just an hour?" She uttered, regretting that she let Jonixa sit beside her, should've just pulled Clarissa or Jessa with her when she had the chance to do so.

Jonixa let out a sigh and took his bag that Renai stuff full of food that entertains him while he's bored to death.

"Hey Jessa, have you receive any texts from Brenda? She said she's going to meet us at the gym back at school but I didn't see her." Clarissa asked Jessa that's seated beside the window.

"No." Jessa softly and curtly answered her but took her phone with a cute unicorn case from her bag and tried to call Brenda. But what shook them, a phone rings so loud from the far back of the mini bus.

"What?" Clarissa muttered and took a peek at the back, it didn't help though, the students that are either busy with their phone and sleeping and blocking her view to see what's at the far back of the bus.

"Class, please keep the phone down. We're having some yoga session here." Mr. Roniel, their science professor chided whoever's phone is noisy, waving his hand upwards.

"Isn't that Brenda's ringtone?" Clarissa asked to Jessa, it's the one ok rock song playing as a ringtone.

"Yeah." Jessa pulls the sleeve of her sweater longer until it shows no more of her hands but not before ending the call, which ended the loud hard rock ringtone from the back.

"Thank you!" Mr. Roniel uttered loudly while his eyes are fixed on his phone.

Clarissa stood up, balancing herself by holding at the backrests of the seats until her question is solved when she reached the far back of the mini bus.

12 rows of the bus were occupied from the front and the 4 more rows at the back are empty, and then there's Brenda. Sleeping like a deep person at the corner.

"Yeah your plan was to sleep." Clarissa uttered, recalling Brenda's answer yesterday when they asked her what would be her plan for today.

~ ● ~

The next hour became silent as traffic stuck them in the Jones Bridge but what doesn't, is one of their member's story that whoever hears it, will make their eyebrows rise up.

"You look really pale, what happened?"

"I don't know. My sister and I had a fight before I came here. It's odd because she never insisted a fight-- I mean, we never fought. I know Vanessa, she's kind and sweet." From that shaky and a bit deeper voice for a female, Clarissa identified it as Jessica.

She knows Jessica for being the oldest of the famous family in their town, Jessica's family owns a brand of clothing that has too many branches in the whole country. And aside from that, Jessica is known for being loving and caring for her sister Vanessa, her little sister has a cancer and they ought to do everything just to keep her alive.

"Maybe she's just in her bad mood. You know kids, they get a little too sensitive sometimes." Karyl tried to comfort her.

"I don't think so, Karyl. It's-- it's really-- I can't stop thinking about it. Vanessa-- she just starting to act... strange and then it's like she wants to attack us and... she even bit me." Jessica sounded too stressed and confused. "She was screaming and acting way too awful and... she was acting real strange." She showed the bandaged wrist of hers where he sister bit her.

"What?" Karyl exclaimed silently. "Oh my gosh, that looks-- very painful."

"Yeah, it won't stop bleeding though... dad even put a lot of alcohol and bandage on it. It's still fresh." Jessica sniffed and sigh. The pain on her face is clearly showing off.

"Are you sure you're feeling okay? Because you really look pale and--"

A sudden loud explosion happened a few cars away from the bus. Hearing many screams from outside and some many people starting running away from the explosion, looking all scared, running away like something's chasing them.

"What the hell?" Brenda uttered with that groggy voice of hers, scratching her eyes to clear her blurred sight. She grunts as she peeps outside the window and sees how people sprints away from something.

The driver had to step on the break too harshly as the collision happen in front of them and the vehicles had bumped from the back and starts to make a butterfly effect with the following cars.

"What's happening?" Ms. Kai, one of the three professors asked with an alarmed tone of her voice.

"I don't know. An accident maybe?" Ms. Marife looks out through the window.

"I'll go check it out." Mr. Roniel insisted to go outside. "Ey buddy, mind opening the door?" He asked the driver.

"No, sir."

The moment Mr. Roniel step out of the bus, another explosion happened at the other end of the bridge.

Clarissa glances at Jessa with worried eyes. She knows how soft Jessa is. She knows how Jessa gets scared so easily and so she holds her friends hand and squeeze. Jessa looks up to her and she offered her a smile.

"Hey, are you okay?" Clive, a known weird and nerd classmate of them asked Clarissa.

"Yes, thank you." She politely replied to him before taking her full attention on Jessa.

"What's happening, Clarissa?" She asked with that timid voice of hers.

"I don't know, Jessa but we'll be fine." She replied calmly. "I'm sure there has been an accident, it will be fine." She nods her head at her before making her neck long to see ahead of them.

Clarissa closed the window beside Jessa and tried to see what's going on outside on the front. She stood up and there she saw the fire a few meters near them but everything's almost blocked by too many people running scared and then... there's this someone...

This someone... a person-- she has blood dripping from her mouth... her eyes... instead of natural colored eyes... hers are light, almost light as white and her skin is tainted by black, like her veins are showing up. She's wheezing for air making an unpleasant sound while she's running and attacking people.

"What the hell?" Clarissa mumbled with that deep frown on her forehead.

Jonixa screamed loud enough to panic everyone in the bus too. "We are not in the Racoon City!" He exclaimed that made the others fright from his sudden shriek.

Rohana pulled his ear, pulling him down, rough enough to make him screech like a tire having a friction with the street ground. "Shut up!"

"What the hell is happening?" Brenda suddenly came out from the back.

"Brenda? What are you doing here?" Jonixa asked her while caressing his ear that was pulled a second ago.

"I was just sleeping." She replied and scratches her eyebrow before clicking her tongue, saying how much percent her irritation is. She doesn't like it when someone or something disturbs her sleep. It makes her grumpier than Rohana could be.

"Figured." Rohana rolled her eyes and looks outside the window just to hear her gasp loudly. "Get down!"

Even before anyone could ready, a truck came and hits their mini bus, knocking it out to the fence of the bridge. Windows shattered, everyone's screaming in panic and in fear.

Deaf, that's what they thought they are when the impact came. Muffled noises, everything sounds like their ears are covered. The high pitched tone and wooziness didn't help them to calm down.

"Jessa!" Clarissa pulled Jessa towards her and hugs her tightly.

"Clarissa, we have to get out!" Her horrified pleads, straining her voice but her face shows it all. The fear and nervousness.

"Hold on to something!" Ms. Kai shouted to everyone of them.

"We gotta get out!"

The driver of the truck that hit them caught Clarissa's eyes. He's strapped in his seatbelt and banging his head like some kind of a drummer. There's blood gushing out from his mouth just like the woman she saw from earlier. From that wriggling the driver's doing, his foot is stepping on the gas, pushing the bus to the edge, making the fences crack open.

Slowly, the bus is scraping towards the edge, all ways that they could get out are blocked. And if they get out of the bus, those things are everywhere.

They are not safe anywhere.