Lili faked a few tears, sniffling dramatically, but Xender didn't even flinch. Brent, the fool, wrapped an arm around her.
"Hey, it's okay," he said. "Forget about that jerk, I'll protect you."
The others didn't even pay attention. They were too busy whispering nonsense to each other, clinging to false hope.
"Help is coming, for sure."
"It's been about twenty-four hours now."
"The Z's are still outside."
"What do we do?"
Their voices were trembling, weak. They were too scared to face the truth—no help was coming.
Xender walked to the sink, drank some water and sat at a corner by himself. Cindy and Lucy soon joined him.
"Aren't you gonna sit with your friend?" Xender asked Cindy, his tone quiet but sharp.
"I'm afraid she might betray me too," Cindy said softly.
The students split up around the room, each group keeping to their own corner. Those who knew each other whispered in low voices, careful not to attract the Z's outside.
Brent was already playing the hero, simping for Lili like a dog chasing a bone. The fool actually thought he'd hit the jackpot—a queen gifted by the apocalypse itself.
"What now?" Cindy asked, looking between Lucy and Xender.
Lucy stayed quiet, her eyes on Xender.
He didn't answer. He just put his headphones on, maxed the volume and closed his eyes.
"I guess… we're doing nothing," Lucy muttered.
Outside, the same haunting sounds filled the air. More Z's. More chaos. No rescue. No hope. Time crawled by. Still nothing. The silence of human civilization replaced by the growls of the dead.
The hopeful ones began to break. Reality was slowly sinking in.
"Fools," Xender muttered under his breath, finally pulling off his headphones as the battery died. "Now they'll see—no help is coming."
The others kept checking their phones network, Wi-Fi, anything—but there was still no signal. Nothing worked.
Night fell and it was the same hell all over again. The weak ones started crying.
"This isn't happening. Everything was fine yesterday morning," a girl sobbed.
"Why? Are we all going to die?" another whispered.
Xender stood by the window, his eyes scanning the shadows outside. There were more Z's than before, way more.
"They're attracted to the light," Lucy said quietly.
"We should switch off the lights," Xender replied.
"What? Surely we can't stay in the dark," Brent protested.
"Look outside," Xender said, pointing toward the growing swarm.
The others hesitated. Half wanted the lights off; the other half couldn't stand the thought of sitting in darkness. Then Kayla spoke up.
"Brent, they're right. We should switch off the lights."
After a tense silence, they finally did. The room fell into darkness, broken only by the pale moonlight leaking through the window. No one dared to speak after that. Hours passed. Then more hours. Some managed to sleep, others couldn't even close their eyes.
By morning, the silence was broken—not by screams, but by the sound of growling stomachs. Hunger was setting in. They all knew the truth now. If the Z's didn't kill them, starvation would.
I guess we have no choice, Xender thought. If this is how it's gonna be, then I'll do anything to survive.
Around him, the others whispered desperately, talking about food, help, rescue—anything. Lili clung to Brent like she'd known him all her life.
"I'm hungry," she said flatly.
The fool looked down at her, completely under her spell, already thinking about how to get her food. There were only two places where food could still exist—the dorms and the cafeteria. The dorms were too far, probably overrun. That left only one option.
The cafeteria.
Everyone knew it. No one wanted to say it. Xender stood up, scanning the lab. His eyes landed on a large pair of surgical scissors on one of the tables. He picked them up, testing their weight in his hand.
"I'm going out there," he said.
The room froze.
"You're crazy," someone muttered. "That's suicide."
Before Xender could answer, Lucy stepped forward. "I'm coming with you."
"Me too," said Kayla.
Cindy joined them, then three random boys and a girl.
Xender nodded once. "Fine. Let's move."
He didn't care if the others thought it was insane. Staying here meant dying slow. Going out meant at least doing something.
Lili looked at Brent, giving him a stare that said go get food for me.
"Don't worry," Brent said, puffing his chest a little. "You don't need to go out there. I'll get you food."
The other girls started clinging to the boys, begging them to bring something to eat — their voices trembling, their eyes desperate. The sound annoyed Xender. Some even asked him directly, but he shut them down with a glare.
"If y'all want food," he said coldly, "get your asses out there and get it yourselves."
Some guys, too weak to resist the girls' pleas, decided to play heroes. Maybe they thought they'd get rewarded later — even now, in the middle of a damn apocalypse, they were thinking about scoring.
A few minutes later, half the group decided to go, mostly boys. The only girls who joined were the ones who had volunteered with Xender earlier, except for that bitch Lili, who stayed behind.
Twelve of them got ready, scavenging surgical tools from the lab — scalpels, scissors, anything sharp enough to cut.
"Just make sure you don't get bitten," Xender said.
He tightened his grip on the big scissors in his hand, thinking, I gotta confirm something too. I stabbed that damn Z multiple times and it didn't die… but it went down after I crushed its head.
The plan was simple — at least, they thought so: open the door, pass through the corridor, dodge the hordes, run to the cafeteria, grab food, and make it back alive.
Easier said than done, Xender thought. One bite and it's game over.
Some took trays to use as makeshift shields. Others clutched scalpels or scissors like daggers. They opened the door slowly.
The first few Z's turned their rotting heads toward the noise — and charged.
Those remaining inside slammed the door shut behind them, locking it tight. The ones outside tried to push the Z's back while carving a path to run. But it didn't take long to realize they'd made a terrible mistake.
The Z's were strong — unnaturally strong. In seconds, they overpowered the front line.
"Fuck!" someone shouted.
"They're too strong!"
"We gotta go back!"
No one was listening anymore. One of the boys screamed as a Z bit into his hand. Blood sprayed. The others panicked, swinging wildly, stabbing uselessly.
The bitten one was the first to go — dragged down, torn apart, his scream cut short. The sound only drew more of them.
"Why won't they die?!" another guy yelled, stabbing a Z in the stomach over and over.
He never noticed the two behind him until it was too late.
The group was a complete mess — no plan, no focus, just fear.
Xender moved differently. Calm, deliberate. He had already confirmed his theory.
Headshots. That's the only way.
He drove the scissors into one Z's skull — then another. Both dropped instantly.
A faint smile crept across his face. He was starting to understand the rules of survival. About twelve of them went out. Three were already dead.
Brent didn't waste time—he bolted back with two others, the last guy screaming with a bleeding bite on his arm. They reached the door, banging like maniacs.
"Open up!" Brent shouted, panic twisting his voice.
Z's closed in from behind. Lili hesitated, arms folded, face cold. These idiots didn't even bring food. Why the hell should I open? she thought.