[Win – Rooftop – 9:00 a.m.]
The moans don't stop.
They rise.
They thicken.
It's like the sound is seeping into our skulls.
Every face around me looks different now.
Not friends. Not classmates.
Just strangers trying to stay human while the world tears it away.
[9:05 a.m.]
"Board the stairs," Best barks suddenly. His voice is hard, sharp. "If they break through, they'll climb."
Palm nods quickly, grabbing the broken chairs. Namtan follows, hands shaking as she drags scraps of wood.
But I catch it.
The way she looks at Kao.
Like Kao's worse than the monsters below.
[9:10 a.m.]
We stack debris against the rooftop door. Wood. Chairs. Metal. It won't hold forever. Maybe not even for an hour.
The growls from below scrape at my nerves.
Every thud against the walls sounds like the world cracking open.
"Too many," Palm mutters under his breath. "Way too many."
[9:15 a.m.]
Best wipes sweat from his forehead, glaring at Kao again.
"This is your fault," he spits. "They weren't here last night. But the second you admit what you are—look what happens."
Kao doesn't flinch. Doesn't fight back.
She just stands at the edge, silent.
Almost like she's listening to the dead.
I hate it.
Because a part of me thinks maybe she is.
[9:20 a.m.]
"I said STOP!" I shout. My voice cracks but it silences them for a heartbeat. "Lin died saving us. Dean—whatever the hell he is—left us. And Kao's still here. Fighting."
The words taste bitter.
I don't even know if I believe them.
Best growls, but doesn't push it further.
For now.
[9:25 a.m.]
The barricade shakes.
Hands slam against the door from the other side.
Scratches scream through the wood.
"Grab weapons," I order before Best can. My hands tremble, but I grip the broken pipe tighter.
Palm pulls out a bent crowbar.
Namtan finds a sharp shard of metal.
Kao… doesn't move.
She just whispers something I can't hear.
[9:30 a.m.]
The door rattles.
One plank cracks.
We brace.
We swing.
The first hand pushes through. Rotting. Twisting. Clawing.
Palm smashes it with his crowbar. The wrist bends the wrong way, bone snapping.
But more come.
More always come.
[9:35 a.m.]
"Fuck this," Best spits. He backs away, chest heaving. "We can't last like this. Food's gone. Water's almost out. We either leave or we die."
The word leave sinks into my gut like a knife.
"Two people," I force out. "Two go. Quiet. Grab what they can. The rest hold the rooftop."
Everyone stares at me like I just volunteered us to die.
Maybe I did.
[9:40 a.m.]
Palm steps forward first.
"I'll go." His voice is low but firm. His eyes flick toward me. "And… Win."
My stomach lurches.
But I nod.
Because who else?
Namtan gasps. "You'll get killed down there!"
Best doesn't argue. He just grins bitterly.
"Better them than all of us."
[9:45 a.m.]
We gather what little we have—bags, empty bottles, scraps of cloth.
Palm grips my arm.
"We move fast. Don't think. Just run."
I nod.
But when I glance back, my eyes catch Kao's.
She's still staring down at the swarm below.
Her lips move, whispering again.
And for the first time, I hear it.
"I can feel them."
A chill runs through me.
[9:50 a.m.]
The barricade splinters. Fingers push through. Claws scrape.
Best screams for us to go.
So we do.
We leap the railing onto the balcony below.
The rooftop fades behind us—shouts, crashes, the smell of rot growing thicker.
And all I can think as my feet hit the cracked floor:
This isn't just a run for food.
It's a run for what's left of our sanity.
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