We are still mid-conversation when it happened.
From across the courtyard, we hear the first scream—shaky, high-pitched, and very much real. At first, we brush it off. Maybe another drill. The administration loves staging those, trying to simulate worst-case scenarios and sharpen our instincts.
But within seconds, it becomes clear—this isn't staged.
The students who go to attend the secretary's speech come sprinting out of the auditorium in absolute panic.
Their faces aren't acting. Their eyes are wild, and some of them are crying, pushing past each other to escape whatever is behind them.
Then we see the teachers. And then the staff. All running.
And behind them?
Zombies.
Real ones.
It hits us like a punch to the chest. No alarm, no sirens—just raw chaos bursting into our safe zone.
We react immediately.
"The juniors!" Amrit shouts.
Class 11 students, like us, haven't been invited to the assembly. They are scattered around the compound, frozen in place, unsure if what they are seeing is a drill or a nightmare.
"Get to the hostel, now!" I yell at them. "Move!"
They don't wait for us to repeat it.
Once they are moving, we don't stop to think. The five of us—Aditya, Gaurav, Jay, Amrit, and I—rush toward the auditorium.
We dodge overturned chairs and discarded bags, grabbing students along the way and dragging them with us.
Some are in shock. Some are limping. But we manage to pull a few back with us.
We make it to the hostel building and slam the gate shut behind us. Jay throws the bolt. Aditya stacks two benches in front of the door. My heart is still hammering.
"How the hell do they get in?" I demand, wiping sweat from my face.
Jay looks grim. "Not the best time to ask that, but… I've got guesses."
He takes a breath. "Maybe the gate is left open when the rations come in. Could've been the delivery guy himself—infected, slipped past the scanners. Or... it could've been intentional. You know, one of those conspiracy theories people always whisper about."
I clench my jaw but nod. "Doesn't matter now. It's done."
That's when I notice Aditya—his eyes locked on Gaurav.
Gaurav isn't speaking. He looks like he is holding something in. Then he breaks the silence.
"My sister...?"
Time stops for a second.
No one has said it yet, but we all realize it at the same time: we leave the girls of our class in the classroom.
Still inside the building.
Still trapped.
Still breathing.
And it is only a matter of time before the scent of that many people draws the horde straight to them.