"The building is surrounded."
The words hung in the air like a cracked bell that refused to stop ringing.
"Help, we are screwed," muttered Chase, running a hand through his hair, pacing in tight circles.
"Come on, man, stop being negative," Marco said, though his voice lacked its usual playful rhythm.
"How?" Chase snapped, louder than he meant to. "Tell me how this gets better."
A sharp knock echoed from somewhere in the lower floor.
Corvin's head snapped toward the door. In a flash, he raised a finger to his lips, his expression cutting through the room like a blade.
Silence fell instantly.
No one moved. No one breathed.
Then came the sound.
A deep, metallic ringing from below, like something heavy dragging across steel. It vibrated through the floor, crawling up their spines.
Aisha leaned in, whispering, "We move. Quietly. No noise."
They all nodded.
They slipped out into the hallway, their footsteps careful, deliberate. Even the air felt heavier out here.
Astrid's voice came low, controlled but tight. "What should we do now?"
Mei Lin didn't hesitate. "We gather supplies on this floor. Everything useful. We don't know how long we'll be here."
"That's a good idea," Marco said, nodding.
And so they scattered.
Corvin moved with laser focus, his eyes scanning for anything mechanical. Screws, bolts, nuts, batteries, torchlights, screwdrivers, hammers, thin metal sheets. He collected them obsessively, as if each tiny piece was part of a machine only he could see. Food and water didn't even cross his mind.
Aisha was a storm in motion. She opened cabinets, smashed open emergency boxes, grabbed anything that could be swung, stabbed, or thrown. A baseball bat. Two crowbars. A machete. A fire axe. She tested their weight, her grip tightening with quiet approval. Then, almost as an afterthought, she stuffed fresh fruits and milk into a bag.
Astrid worked with methodical precision. Medicine first. Two medkits. Antiseptics. Burn creams. Medical alcohol. Cold medicine. Her hands trembled only once before she steadied herself. Then she added food, carefully selecting what would last, and practical necessities others might overlook.
Marco and Chase moved together, a surprisingly efficient duo. Camping gear, tents, stoves, cylinders, heaters, flint and steel. They worked without speaking much, communicating through quick glances and gestures. Between them, they gathered two tents and a pile of gear, though only four sleeping bags.
Mei Lin was relentless. She checked every room, every faucet, every container. Bottle after bottle, jug after jug. By the time she was done, she had nearly 60 liters of water lined up like a silent army.
They regrouped in the hallway.
That's when they heard it.
Movement.
Near the external emergency stairs.
Aisha's hand tightened around the fire axe. "Weapons," she whispered.
Everyone grabbed something.
The stairwell door creaked open.
Two figures stepped onto the floor.
Dimitri. Priya.
Both froze the moment they saw the group.
And the group froze right back.
For a second, the world shrank to breath and heartbeat.
Their eyes.
That was the first thing Mei Lin noticed.
Dimitri's eyes looked hollowed out, like something had clawed the light from inside them. Not just fear. Something deeper.
Something that had seen people stop being people. His pupils were wide, unfocused, flickering as if replaying something he couldn't escape.
Priya's eyes were worse.
They were sharp, alert, but shattered underneath. Red veins laced through the whites, and her gaze darted between everyone like she expected them to lunge at any moment. There was a tremor in her grip on the knife, dried blood darkening the steel.
Not fresh panic.
Aftershock.
Corvin recognized Dimitri immediately, but Dimitri didn't recognize anyone. Not really. He was still somewhere else.
Mei Lin's gaze dropped to the bat.
Blood.
She knew what it meant.
Still, she didn't lower her guard.
The tension snapped tight.
Aisha shifted her stance slightly. Ready.
Priya raised her bat a little higher.
"Wait," Marco said, stepping forward slowly, hands raised.
"No sudden moves," he added gently, looking directly at Priya. "We're not here to hurt you."
Priya didn't respond.
"Look at us," Marco continued, his voice softer now, almost conversational. "If we wanted to attack, we already would have."
Dimitri swallowed, his grip tightening on the knife.
Marco took another step. Careful. Measured.
"Dimitri, right?" he said. "You talked to us before. Cafeteria. Engineering and psychology stuff?"
Dimitri blinked.
Recognition flickered.
Just a little.
"Yeah," Marco said quickly, seizing it. "That's us, Same guys. Still obsessed with bolts and metal sheets and the human mind."
A faint, confused crease appeared on Dimitri's face.
Corvin gave a small nod. "You asked about load-bearing joints."
The tension cracked, just slightly.
Marco exhaled quietly. "See? We're just people. Same as you."
Priya's grip loosened, just a fraction.
"We've been through hell too," Marco added. "Whatever you saw… we don't need to be enemies on top of that."
Silence stretched.
Then slowly, painfully, Priya lowered her knife. Dimitri followed.
The air shifted.
Not safe. But not explosive anymore.
Marco smiled, just a little. "There we go. Step one: not killing each other."
That got the smallest, almost invisible reaction.
They gathered and moved into Chase's room, the largest one available.
Once inside, the door shut behind them with a soft click.
Everyone sat, though no one truly relaxed.
Mei Lin broke the silence. "What happened?"
Her eyes moved to the bat again.
"Why is it covered in blood?"
Dimitri inhaled deeply.
His hands trembled.
When he spoke, his voice carried the weight of something that refused to stay buried.
"We didn't have a choice."
-----
Dimitri Volkonsky:
Dimitri stared at his hands for a moment before speaking, as if expecting to still see something on them that no one else could.
"We… we went out," he began, his voice uneven but steadying itself. "There was a concert in the city. Loud, crowded… normal."
He let out a hollow breath. "It feels ridiculous now, calling it normal."
He swallowed.
"On our way back, near the main road, we saw someone acting strange. At first, we thought… drugs, maybe. He was stumbling, twitching, grabbing at people." Dimitri's fingers tightened unconsciously. "Then he bit someone."
The room went still.
"The person he bit collapsed. Just… dropped. People started shouting, some tried to help. But after a few minutes…" His voice cracked slightly. "He stood up again."
Dimitri looked up, his eyes distant, reflecting something far away and terrible.
"And he wasn't… right anymore."
His breathing grew shallow.
"He started attacking others. Biting. Clawing. And then more people started falling, and then getting back up again."
He shook his head, as if trying to reject the memory itself.
"Like… like—"
"Zombies," Priya finished quietly.
Dimitri nodded faintly.
"We ran. We didn't think, we just ran back to the dorms. On the way… there was a car explosion. Near the transformer." His hands trembled now. "It was loud enough to knock us off our feet. Fire, sparks… everything went dark for a second."
"We thought we were dead," he admitted. "But somehow… we made it."
He exhaled slowly.
"The front entrance was blocked. Someone must have barricaded it. So we went around. Broke through the back door."
His voice lowered.
"As we were heading up… someone on the first floor was attacked." He paused. "We didn't stay to see what happened. But…" His jaw tightened. "They didn't make it."
Priya Satsangi:
Priya sat unusually still.
For someone who once filled every silence with chatter, jokes, or dramatic flair, this quiet felt unnatural. It clung to her like a shadow that refused to leave.
"When we reached the second floor…" she said softly, her voice stripped of its usual energy, "we barricaded the door immediately. Tables, chairs… anything we could find."
She clasped her hands together tightly.
"We started packing. Supplies, bags… just like you all did."
A flicker of frustration crossed her face.
"But there were others there. They thought it was some kind of prank. Or panic. They didn't believe us." Her lips pressed into a thin line. "They removed the barricade."
She closed her eyes briefly.
"The moment they opened the door… they came in."
Her voice dropped further.
"Those things."
She inhaled slowly, forcing herself to continue.
"Fortunately… only two made it up before the others could push the door back. But that was enough."
Her grip tightened.
"Our friends… they got bitten." A pause. "And then they turned on us."
Silence swallowed the room.
"We didn't know what to do. There wasn't time to think." Her voice trembled just slightly now. "So we just… swung."
Her eyes flickered toward the bloodstained bat.
"Again and again until they stopped moving."
She took a breath.
"We heard more coming. No time to properly barricade. So we just dragged a shelf against it."
A faint, tired exhale.
"And then we ran. Through the emergency exit."
Her gaze lifted, meeting the others.
"And… we ended up here."
----
"So… what do we do now?" Dimitri asked, rubbing his hands together, like he was trying to ground himself.
Astrid let out a quiet breath. "Do we even have a plan?"
No one answered.
Corvin kept staring at the pile of parts he'd gathered, lost in thought. Aisha stood near the door, still gripping the fire axe, alert even while standing still. Mei Lin sat upright, her mind clearly racing through possibilities.
Marco glanced around, then shrugged slightly. "I mean… not a great sign that nobody's saying anything."
"Yeah," Chase muttered, "that's usually when things are really bad."
Before anyone could respond—
A distant chopping sound echoed through the air.
Everyone froze. Chase looked up first. "…Helicopters?"
The sound grew louder, filling the space, vibrating through the walls.
They moved toward the window carefully.
Above the campus, several helicopters cut across the sky.
And below…
The infected started moving.
Aisha leaned closer to the glass. "Hey… hey, look at that."
The scattered figures around the building began drifting away, drawn toward the noise like moths to a flame.
"That's good," she said under her breath. "That's really good."
For a second, it felt like luck had finally decided to show up.
Then Chase squinted. "Wait… where are they going?"
Everyone followed his gaze.
The parking lot.
Their cars.
The entire mass slowly gathered there, clogging every possible exit.
Chase let out a short, humorless laugh. "Of course. Of course they are."
Marco shook his head. "That's almost impressive. In a horrible way."
"And the helicopters?" Astrid asked, hope still clinging to her voice.
They all looked back up.
The helicopters didn't slow down.
Didn't circle.
Didn't even hesitate.
They just kept flying.
Farther and farther away.
Until they were gone.
Silence settled in again, heavier this time.
Priya crossed her arms, her voice flat. "Yeah. They're not here for us."
No one disagreed.
"Probably headed somewhere important," she added. "Some politician, some billionaire… someone worth saving."
Mei Lin looked away, her thoughts suddenly elsewhere.
"Bunker, huh" Her family had one.
They were prepared. They had to be safe.
"Bunker?" Chase said, catching the word. "Wait… you've got a bunker?"
Mei Lin looked back at him, unimpressed. "My family does."
Chase raised an eyebrow. "Okay… so yeah, rich."
She held his gaze. "And?"
He lifted his hands slightly. "Nothing. Just saying."
Across the room, Priya sat down slowly, unusually quiet.
Dimitri noticed.
That was new.
She used to talk constantly. Jokes, commentary, dramatic reactions to everything. Now she hadn't said more than a few sentences at a time.
Her fingers tightened slightly around her sleeve.
A village far away. No helicopters. No bunkers.
Aisha glanced at her briefly, then looked away, jaw tightening. She didn't say anything, but she understood that kind of worry more than most.
Marco leaned his head back against the wall. "If my family's still doing their thing, they'll be fine," he said, half to himself. "They've got connections everywhere."
Astrid gave a small, uncertain nod. "Mine… probably don't even know what's happening yet."
Chase exhaled. "My family runs trade routes. If things are still moving anywhere, they'll figure something out."
Corvin stayed silent.
If anyone's family had the resources to handle something like this, it was his.
Factories. Engineers. Systems.
He just hadn't said it out loud.
Dimitri sat slightly apart from the group.
Chase glanced at him. "What about you?"
Dimitri didn't even look up. A small pause.
Then, flatly, "They'll manage."
Something about the way he said it made the room go quiet again.
Not confident. Not worried. Just… detached.
---
A long silence stretched across the room, thick and unmoving, until Corvin finally spoke.
"We can't stay here," he said, his voice calm but firm, like a conclusion rather than a suggestion. He looked at each of them in turn. "Most of the infected are at the parking lot now. That gives us a window."
Chase frowned. "A window to do what, exactly?"
Corvin pointed toward the far side of the building. "There's a connecting bridge on the fourth floor. It leads to Sterling Hall. If we use it, we can cross without going outside."
Aisha tilted her head, thinking it through. "You're saying we avoid the ground entirely."
"Exactly."
Mei Lin leaned forward slightly. "And why Sterling Hall?"
"Stronger structure. Fewer entry points. Easier to defend," Corvin replied. "If we're going to hold somewhere, that's better than here."
Marco crossed his arms. "Isn't Sterling Hall right next to the parking lot though?"
Corvin nodded. "Yes. That's why it works. The infected are drawn there now, but they won't stay clustered forever. By the time we reach it, they'll start dispersing again. We move when they're spread thin."
Dimitri spoke up, more quickly than usual. "Then we leave at dawn. Not midnight. We won't see anything in the dark."
Mei Lin immediately nodded. "Agreed. Darkness puts us at a disadvantage. Dawn gives visibility without too much heat."
Priya, who had been quiet, added softly, "And fewer chances of making mistakes."
Aisha looked around. "So we rest here and move at first light?"
Corvin shook his head. "No. We move to the bridge tonight. Then we camp there."
That got reactions.
"Camp… on the bridge?" Astrid repeated, uncertainty clear in her voice.
Marco frowned. "That sounds… exposed."
"It's controlled exposure," Corvin replied. "Two entry points. We barricade both sides. It's safer than staying in a building we haven't secured."
Chase scratched his head. "Or we trap ourselves in a narrow hallway with nowhere to run if something goes wrong."
Aisha stepped in. "We're already trapped. At least this way we choose where."
Astrid hesitated. "What if something comes from both sides?"
"Then we deal with it," Aisha said bluntly.
"That's not reassuring," Astrid muttered.
Mei Lin raised a hand slightly, cutting through the tension. "It's risky. But staying here is also risky. The question is which risk we can manage better."
Silence.
Then Marco sighed. "…I hate that this actually makes sense."
Priya gave a small nod. "We don't have a perfect option."
Dimitri leaned back slightly. "We never did."
That settled it.
"Alright," Aisha said. "We do it."
Before moving, Dimitri and Priya added what they had gathered.
"We packed some gear," Dimitri said. "Two tents big enough for two people each."
"And sleeping bags," Priya added.
"With the four you guys have, we have enough for everyone."
"Okay, that's actually huge," Chase said.
"We're officially upgraded from 'barely surviving' to 'mildly organized chaos.'"
They began packing.
Eight backpacks. Two duffle bags.
The distribution happened almost naturally.
Corvin packed his tools with careful precision, adding a few weapons within reach. Every item had a purpose in his mind.
Aisha took on the heaviest load, stuffing in most of the water and a large portion of the food without complaint.
Marco and Astrid split the medical supplies, along with the remaining food and water, balancing practicality with accessibility.
Mei Lin, Priya, Zhao, and Dimitri divided the camping gear between them, making sure tents, stoves, and essentials were evenly distributed.
Chase and Dimitri each carried a duffle bag filled with clothes, hygiene items, and small personal belongings from all eight of them.
"Traveling circus," Chase muttered, adjusting the strap.
"Survival team," Aisha corrected.
They moved out slowly.
The emergency exit creaked softly as they opened it, each person slipping through carefully. The stairwell was dim, their footsteps controlled and quiet as they climbed to the fourth floor.
Every sound felt amplified.
Every breath too loud.
When they reached the fourth floor, they paused.
Nothing. No movement. No sound.
Aisha peeked around the corner first, then motioned for the others to follow.
The hallway was empty.
"Clear," she whispered.
They moved as a group, keeping close to the walls, scanning every corner.
The entrance to the bridge was just ahead.
A glass-paneled structure stretching between buildings, faintly lit by the distant glow of emergency lights.
They slipped inside.
Still nothing.
But no one relaxed.
"Barricade," Corvin said immediately. They got to work.
Heavy shelves scraped against the floor as they pushed them into place. It was slow, exhausting, and louder than they wanted.
One side went up smoothly.
Then—
THUD.
A dull, heavy wooden knock echoed through the bridge.
Astrid froze instantly, her breath catching. The crowbar in her hand had slipped and struck the side of a wooden shelf.
"I'm sorry," she whispered, her voice barely audible, eyes wide with panic.
"No time," Aisha hissed under her breath. "Move."
Corvin didn't even look back. "Barricade. Now."
The group didn't wait.
Adrenaline surged like a sudden storm. They rushed the remaining shelf into place, boots scraping, wood grinding against the floor louder than they wanted, louder than felt safe.
"Push—push!" Marco whispered urgently, shoulder pressed against the edge.
"I am!" Chase muttered, straining.
The shelf finally slammed into position with a heavy drag.
They froze. Not by choice this time, but because their bodies demanded it.
Every ear strained.
Every heartbeat felt like it might give them away. But nothing came.
No footsteps.
No scraping.
No distant groans rising toward them.
Just silence, thin and fragile.
Aisha slowly exhaled, the tension easing from her grip just slightly. "We're okay."
Mei Lin tilted her head, listening carefully before nodding. "Fourth floor… the sound wouldn't carry well from here."
Corvin added quietly, "And there's too much noise outside already. It got lost."
That explanation settled into the group like a thin blanket. Not comfort, but enough to breathe again.
"Let's not test our luck twice," Priya murmured.
With both ends finally sealed, the group stepped back into the center of the bridge.
For a moment, no one spoke.
Their chests rose and fell rapidly, lungs catching up with what they'd just done.
The space around them felt different now.
Still dangerous.
Still uncertain.
But contained.
Like standing inside a fragile bubble they had built with their own hands.
"Okay," Marco said after a few seconds, running a hand through his hair. "New rule. No dramatic sound effects."
A faint ripple of tired smiles passed through the group.
Even Astrid managed a small, embarrassed exhale. "Agreed."
They got to work setting up camp.
Tents unfolded with careful, quiet movements. Fabric rustled softly as they secured the corners. Sleeping bags were rolled out in pairs, side by side, forming small pockets of shared space.
Gear was sorted into neat clusters. Water here. Medical supplies there. Tools in a corner where Corvin could reach them instantly.
It wasn't comfortable by any means, but it was structured. And right now, structure felt close to safety.
"We've already eaten," Mei Lin said quietly, keeping her voice low out of habit. "No need to open anything else."
Astrid nodded. "Less noise, less risk."
One by one, they settled in. Boots were loosened, bags set aside, and bodies finally allowed to acknowledge the exhaustion creeping in. The tension didn't disappear, but it softened just enough for fatigue to take hold.
Chase lay back first, staring up at the ceiling of the tent. "So… when are we waking up?" he asked, his voice already heavy with sleep.
"6:30," Corvin replied without hesitation. "We move at first light."
The conversations faded after that, dissolving into quiet breathing and the occasional rustle of fabric. Outside, far below them, the chaos of the campus continued, distant and muffled.
Up here, suspended between two buildings, they had managed to claim a fragile pause.
Eight survivors, balanced between what they had escaped and what still waited ahead.
And slowly, despite everything pressing down on them—
they fell asleep.