text: [Themes: sci-fi, science fiction, zombie]
  
  You glance between your friend and your crush and decide that it's worth tolerating James to be in their presence.
  
  "Great," James says. "Me and three girls."
  
  Destiny ignores him, reaches for the door and says "Come on."
  
  The three of you begin walking down the hall toward the trash barricade and make your way around it. Everything is covered in dust, the halls are littered with papers and notebooks and other school related items. The place is so quiet that your footsteps sound like they should echo.
  
  "Where did everyone go?" Destiny asks in a hushed tone. "It's so quiet."
  
  The four of you continue to walk slowly down the hall. Christie opens the door to one of the classrooms only to find it empty of desk and chair; littered with papers and textbooks. Even the teachers desk is gone.
  
  "This is eerie," Destiny comments.
  
  "Listen, there are four of us," James points out; "We can split up and cover more ground in groups of two."
  
  "Good point," Christie says. Destiny nods along as well.
  
  "Charlie," Destiny says. "You're the new guy. Pick someone to team up with."
  
  You look between them.
  
  James, your nemesis; but also probably the one best able to protect you if something crazy happens.
  
  Destiny, your dream girl; any opportunity to spend some alone time with her would be worth it.
  
  Christie, your friend; the one in the group that you know the most about and would probably work the best with.
  
  So. Who will it be?
  
  > Christie
  "I'll go with Christie," you say.
  
  James and Destiny pass a look between them and Destiny rolls her eyes. "Alright," she says; "James where would you like to go?"
  
  "Let's check out the pool," he says. The two of them head a little farther up the hall until they reach the double doors that lead to the swimming pool. You watch them as they step inside. He smacks her ass as they go. Classy.
  
  "You didn't want alone time with your dream girl?" Christie asks with an arched brow.
  
  "Nah," you tell her coolly; "I'd rather work with you. I at least know you."
  
  "At least," she agrees. "Come on, let's go check some more rooms out."
  
  The two of you walk along, checking on classrooms as you go but finding each one the same as before; floor littered with notebooks, loose papers, pencils, and textbooks; the rooms completely devoid of desk or chair. You and Christie aren't sure what to make of it.
  
  Soon you come to the end of a long hall where one of the school exits is located. You find the outside of the door is barricaded shut by a mess of chairs and desks.
  
  "That answers one question," Christie comments absently.
  
  "Yeah, but why?" You ask. She has no answer for you. Not that you expected one.
  
  You check more doors down the hall but after a few more classrooms she stops in the hall with a big smile on her face. She spreads her arms out to her sides and spins around. "What do you think?" she asks.
  
  "About what?"
  
  "About the portal," she says seriously. "Being able to experience alternate universes. Limitless possibilities."
  
  "It's pretty cool in theory," you say after some thought. "But I hope the other worlds are more exciting than this place. This one is... boring. And kind of creepy."
  
  Christie nods. "It is. The other worlds I've been to were much more exciting."
  
  "Like what?" you ask. "What was the most exciting?"
  
  Christie is about to answer when a loud scream echoes through the halls. "Back to the portal!" the voice calls. Christie and you share a look and make your way hastily back up the hall from where you came.
  
  You meet Mike, Frank, and the doctor at the trash cans.
  
  "What is it?" Christie asks. Before any of them can answer you see a pale pasty featureless creature running toward you; its face is blank. It has the appearance of uncooked dough.
  
  "Hurry," Dr. Verrukt says, opening the door to room 413 while the rest of you are still navigating past the line of trash cans. You bring up the rear despite the terror you feel and are the last one in the room.
  
  "Where's James and Destiny?" Frank asks.
  
  "They went into the pool," you tell him.
  
  "Shit," he says.
  
  "Yeah," you reply.
  
  "Come on," Christie tells you both frantically. "We need to leave."
  
  Frank shakes his head. "I don't feel right leaving them behind. He starts stepping around the trash cans again, into the hall where the dough-like creature approaches. You lock eyes with Frank for a moment.
  
  "Stay or go, man. It's up to you."
  
  > Stay
  "I'm coming with you," you tell him.
  
  "Well come on then we need to be quick," he says.
  
  The strange dough creature is roughly fifteen paces away when you step out from the abandoned hall and follow him, running as fast as your legs will carry you to the pool. You chance a glance over your shoulder and find the dough-like beast has fallen back to nearly twenty paces behind you.
  
  You follow Frank into the pool where the smell of stagnant water assaults your senses. "James!" Frank is calling. "Destiny!" There is no answer. You find their discarded clothes on the floor outside of the girls locker room and call Frank over. On the far side of the pool where the doors stand, you are filled with dread as the strange dough-like featureless creature steps into the room.
  
  "Well I guess we know where those two went off to," Frank says, sarcastic despite the tension in the air. "A fine time for this bullshit." He pushes the door to the locker room open and you follow him just a few steps behind.
  
  "Shit," Frank says the moment he steps into the first row of lockers. You stand beside him, your eyes falling onto a horrific scene. Destiny and James are both there, nakedly sprawled across the tiled floor; their stomachs cut open and their innards spilled out.
  
  "What happened to them?" You ask, your voice sounding weak and shrill in your ears.
  
  "We need to get out of here," Frank says; backing toward the door that leads back to the pool. "Now."
  
  You follow him, stepping back into the stench of stagnant water. The dough creature is only a few feet away. Frank takes you the long way around the pool. It's fortunate, you think; that this strange creature moves so slowly.
  
  "Hey guys," comes a familiar voice from just ahead of you. James steps out from the other locker room.
  
  "James?" Frank asks. He stops walking, you do the same.
  
  "What are you guys doing here?" he asks.
  
  "You can't be..." Frank began, but swallowed the rest of his sentence nervously.
  
  Something touches your shoulder and you jump forward, spinning around to find the dough creature standing just a foot away; its long handless limbs reaching out for you. Somehow, in its eyeless gaze, you become lost in wonder. The creature is both horrifying and beautiful. There is a perfection in its absence of form. Its limbs are almost like tentacles, and soon there is one on either side of your face.
  
  Behind you, you are dimly aware of Frank shouting something at James. You glance back for a moment to see Frank swinging the blade of a pocketknife at the linebacker. The blade cuts deep across James' throat but the big guy doesn't move or react in anyway.
  
  The doughy tentacles pull you back. You are wide-eyed and perspiring with fear and you start to feel the limbs pulling at something as they latch onto your temples. You feel a few repressed memories rise to the surface of your mind and flow into the tentacles, leaving you. More memories surface and exit through your temples, sucked into the creature. Soon you remember very little about where you are or who you are and not long after you are left with not even that.
  
  You feel a sensation of pain as your stomach is torn open. As you drop to the ground you see the creature feeding on you and when it rises it has become you.
  
  You go numb and cold as the world seems to fade away around you.