Silence had taken over the broadcast room
_
a heavy, suffocating kind of silence that settles only when fear hangs in the air like dust.
The faint white lights above flickered every few seconds, glowing weakly as if even electricity had grown tired of fighting the darkness consuming the world.
The cold night breeze seeped through the cracked window, brushing against the walls with a hollow whistle. It wasn't comforting. It wasn't peaceful.
It felt like a warning.
Pressed against the wall, half-slumped with her head tilted to the side, the teacher sat unconscious—or rather, suspended between sleep and shock. Her hair was messy, her breathing uneven, and her face pale from exhaustion. It had been hours since she had found this room, hours since chaos had swallowed the campus whole.
A few feet away, two students sat in complete stillness:
Yaram, the handsome boy with striking hazel eyes that always seemed full of life—now dimmed with fear…
And leena, her dark brown hair falling over her trembling shoulders as she hugged her knees to her chest.
Neither spoke.
Neither cried.
They just listened to the ticking of a broken clock on the wall and the sound of their own heartbeats cracking in their ears.
Then suddenly—
a sharp inhale broke the silence.
The teacher's eyelashes fluttered.
Her chest tightened.
And with a jolt, her eyes opened wide.
She gasped for air like someone being pulled from deep water.
Her hands shook as she pushed herself upright, trying to understand where she was, how long she'd been out, and whether the horror outside had somehow been just a nightmare.
But no.
The world was still broken.
Her gaze fell on the purse lying beside her.
She reached for it with unsteady fingers, placed it in her lap, and opened it. The faint glow of her phone's screen reflected in her eyes like a small piece of hope.
She grabbed the phone instantly—almost desperately.
But as soon as she unlocked it, the screen froze.
Her breath caught.
"No… no, not now…" she whispered under her breath.
For a second, everything inside her collapsed. If the internet had died again, if they were completely cut off, if they had no way of knowing what awaited them outside—
But then…
The screen blinked.
A loading symbol appeared.
And suddenly—
The internet was back.
Fast. Strong. Unnaturally smooth.
The teacher stared at the phone in disbelief.
"This is impossible… it wasn't working for hours…"
Yaram lifted his head slowly.
"Miss… put on the news. Please."
His voice trembled, but his eyes begged.
With a shaking hand, the teacher tapped the news app.
And instantly—
A LIVE broadcast appeared.
The screen showed a young female news anchor.
Her eyes were swollen, the skin beneath them dark from sleeplessness. Her professional composure was slipping, but she held herself together—only because she had to.
Her voice was steady… yet fragile.
"Ladies and gentlemen… in a few moments, the Chief of Army Staff will address the entire nation. Please… gather your families. Stay together."
A cold chill ran through all three of them.
The teacher's lips parted.
Leena wiped her tears with the back of her sleeve.
Yaram swallowed hard, trying to ignore the shaking in his chest.
The screen flickered—
And then changed.
The face of the Army Chief appeared.
He wasn't wearing his usual expression of strict authority.
He wasn't firm.
He wasn't unshakable.
His eyes carried fatigue… grief… and the weight of millions of lives.
He began speaking.
" My dear countrymen;Today, I stand before you with the darkest news our country—and the world—has ever faced."
His voice was steady, but the heaviness behind it could crush bone.
The teacher held her breath.
Leena's lower lip quivered.
Yaram clenched his jaw.
"A deadly virus has spread across the entire globe."
The words echoed inside the small broadcast room like thunder.
**"Scientists have named it the Z Virus.
It infects a human within minutes…
and transforms them into something no longer human."**
Leena burst into silent tears.
The teacher pressed a trembling hand over her mouth.
Even yaram—who always acted brave—looked shattered.
**"These infected individuals lose their memory… their identity… their humanity.
They become violent creatures, attacking anyone in sight."**
The Chief paused, exhaling a long, painful breath.
"We still don't know where this virus came from… who made it… or how it spread so quickly."
The teacher felt the room closing in around her.
Her heartbeat pounded in her ears.
Yaram whispered under his breath,
"oh god…"
"But listen to me carefully."
His voice grew stronger, firmer.
"We are fighting back."
For a moment—a very tiny moment—hope flickered.
"Our rescue teams have already evacuated more than one hundred thousand survivors."
Leena and yaram exchanged a quick glance.
Life.
Survival.
Hope.
Maybe they still had a chance.
But the next sentence shattered that fragile hope again.
"If you hear helicopters… do not panic."
"Move to a high, open area."
"Create a large SOS signal—big enough to be seen from the sky."
"The helicopter will rescue you."
The teacher swallowed a sob.
Her tears blurred the screen.
**"We are shutting down electricity, water supplies… and the internet.
Martial law is now in effect across the entire country."**
Leena let out a small, broken cry.
Yaram covered his mouth with his hand as if trying not to break down.
The teacher's tears fell freely now.
She couldn't hold them back anymore.
**"Please… keep yourselves safe.
Keep your families close.
Do not lose hope."**
His voice cracked—just once.
Barely noticeable.
But noticeable enough.
"I pray that we make it out of this nightmare… together."
And then—
"Be safe.
Be healthy."
The screen went black.
Completely.
The internet died.
The broadcast cut off.
The last connection they had with the outside world… vanished.
Only darkness remained.
Only fear.
Only silence.
The teacher covered her face and broke down into soft, shaking sobs.
Leena cried helplessly, shaking like a frightened child.
And yaram—strong, confident yaram—sat there with trembling shoulders, tears sliding down his face even though he tried to hide them.
The Chief's final words still echoed inside the room,
bouncing off the walls,
settling deep into their bones:
"Z Virus has taken over the world…"
"Martial law has been imposed…"
"Be safe… be healthy…"
Their world had ended.
Their lives had changed.
And there was no going back.
Not anymore.