A new group, engineering students were pulling Z's away, using themselves as bait so another squad could sprint toward the cafeteria. They fought like maniacs with hammers, crowbars, nail guns, wrenches… anything that could crush a skull.
One muscle head whistled. "Daaamn… look at that guy with the crowbar. He just one-shotted a Z like it was nothing."
Bodies kept dropping. Screams echoed across the courtyard.
"Ahh—!"
"Dammit! I'm bitten—help me! Help—!"
Blood sprayed across the pavement. More than half of them fell instantly — Z food. But the survivors kept pushing, trampling bodies under their boots.
The people inside watched like it was a damn horror movie come alive.
The nerds were shaking. "They're dying… we have to help them. Please."
A lunatic snorted. "Help them? Let them die. They're entertaining."
Sasha tilted her head, eyes shimmering with cruelty. "Interesting… very interesting."
Finally, Xender woke up, sitting up like nothing was happening. His hair messy, eyes half-open, still looking dangerous.
Lucy rushed to him. "Xender… please. They need help. Can't you hear them?"
He stared at her blankly.
"Do I look like a damn savior to you?" He stood, stretching casually.
"Why don't you go out there and help them? This ain't a robbery, girl."
Lucy had no words.
Xender looked outside again. He didn't give a damn if every single one of them became Z food. He didn't even blink.
Sasha crossed her arms, smirking. "Finally, someone with a brain. Only weaklings run out there in an apocalypse. Emotions get you killed."
Outside — chaos continued.
The engineers who survived reached the cafeteria doors and started pounding like their lives depended on it.
"OPEN UP!"
"PLEASE—OPEN—!!!"
"HELP US—HELP—!"
More students kept running toward safety, some from engineering, some from business, some workers and lecturers sprinting behind them in terror.
The nerds panicked. "If we don't open… they'll die! They'll really die!"
A muscle head barked,"Shut up! If you open that door at the wrong time, we all die."
But Xender watched the metal door shake. Those hits were getting stronger. If they didn't open… it would break.
He clicked his tongue.
"Fuck it. Let them in before they break the damn door down."
Sasha raised an eyebrow but didn't argue.
They unlatched it fast—
The first five survivors threw themselves inside, crawling, slipping in blood, screaming.
The people behind them?
They were swallowed by Z's instantly.
The corridor filled with the sound of tearing flesh and screams that turned into gargles.
The door was slammed shut again — hard — blocking out the carnage.
Silence fell.
Only the distant ripping sounds and muffled growls remained.
Inside, everyone stared at Xender… Some grateful… Most terrified.
More survivors kept pouring in—screaming, bleeding, desperate. The door slammed open and shut again and again as people stumbled inside. Then, about twenty meters away, two more figures sprinted toward them.
It was that bitch Lili and complete simp Brent.
"DON'T CLOSE IT!" Brent shouted, waving his hand wildly.
But Lili was slowing down, falling behind. A pack of Z's was gaining on her.
"No way I'm dying here," she whispered coldly.
Without hesitation, she grabbed a girl running in front of her and yanked her backward—straight into the jaws of the Z's. The girl screamed once before teeth tore into her neck.
Lili used the opening, sprinting past her and diving inside the cafeteria, panting hard. A few more girls were right behind her.
"CLOSE THE DOOR!" Lili shrieked.
"THEY'RE BITTEN!" she lied instantly.
The muscle head guarding the door didn't think twice. SLAM. LOCK.
The screaming girls outside were ripped apart inches from safety.
Inside, the cafeteria spiraled into chaos.
The total number of survivors now pushed fifty. People collapsed onto the floor—crying, praying, gasping—traumatized but alive. Hunger hit them harder than fear; several hadn't eaten in almost two days.
Lili scanned the room… and her eyes landed on Xender. And beside him—Cindy.
Her expression twisted with rage. She stomped toward him.
"You heartless bastard!" Lili shouted.
She jabbed a finger at his chest."Why didn't you bring food back for me? You left me out there to starve!"
Xender didn't even blink. He didn't bother replying.
More people burst into tears—some relieved, some grieving. But the loudest voices came from the new arrivals.
"We want food!"
"Give us something to eat!"
The guy with the crowbar stepped forward, wiping blood from his face. He froze when he saw Xender.
"Xender… you survived."
They were classmates. And he'd always hated Xender—especially after Lili used him, dumped him, and threw herself at Xender before the apocalypse. He believed Xender "stole" her, when in reality he was just her toy.
Today, the idiot thought he could finally settle the score.
His grip tightened on the crowbar.
"Today I'll fucking kill you for my girl!" he roared.
Lili immediately switched sides, screaming behind him.
"YES! KILL HIM! HE LET ME STARVE! HE LET ME DIE OUT THERE!"
She had the fool wrapped around her finger like a puppet.
Meanwhile, the starving survivors surged toward the counter. No order. No rules. No fear. Just instinct. The lunatics, Sasha and the muscle heads rushed in front of the crowd, blocking them.
A muscle head roared,
"STOP RIGHT THERE!"
Sasha added sharply,
"No one takes anything. We'll give you food."
But one of the lunatics stepped forward with a wild grin.
"If anyone moves… I'll fucking kill you all."
None of it mattered. Starvation had turned humans into animals. The moment someone made the first grab—
CHAOS ERUPTED.
Chairs flew.
Tables crashed.
People tackled each other to the ground for a loaf of bread.
Screams, blood, fists—everything clashed at once.
The lunatics loved it. The muscle heads fought back with raw power. Sasha carved through the chaos with precision.
And in the middle of it—
The crowbar loser charged straight at Xender, swinging the crowbar like a madman.
Lili cheered from behind him, screaming,
"KILL HIM! FINISH HIM OFF!"
She wanted Xender dead more than anything and he knew her ex-toy was stupid enough to die trying.
The crowbar slammed against the softball bat, steel screeching against steel. Xender skidded back a step, jaw tightening.
Damn… this bastard isn't bad at all, he thought, frustration breaking across his face.
"YOU'RE DEAD!" the loser screamed, swinging again with wild fury.
Xender ducked, blocked and slid sideways.
"All this over Lili?" Xender scoffed. "Bro… you can HAVE her back."
"SHUT UP!" the crowbar idiot roared, blinded by jealousy.
Around them, the cafeteria was turning into a battle royal—
students clawing at cabinets, chairs being thrown, tables flipping, fists flying everywhere.
"EVERYONE JUST STOP—"
A lecturer tried to shout over the chaos…
But a random student booted him aside like a bag of trash. The madness only intensified.
Sasha's eyes were glowing with pure excitement. She raised her scalpel like a maniac.
"FINALLY! I get a chance to dissect a living human!" she shouted, almost drooling.
In the corner, the nerds—Lucy, Kayla and Cindy, hugged each other tightly, watching with pale faces.
"HELP HIM!" Lili screamed, pointing at Xender.
She turned to Brent. "GO! Don't let Xender win!"
Brent, the certified idiot, didn't even think.
"Yeah! Two-on-one!"
He grabbed a metal stool and joined the fight.
Xender swung his bat, knocking Brent back, then blocked the crowbar. But two-on-one was starting to wear on him.
"Brent, you dumbass! HIT HIM!" Lili shouted.
Brent panicked and threw the entire metal stool straight at Xender.
Xender shifted just in time— the stool slammed into the cafeteria glass door.
BAM!
Everyone froze.