Chapter 34 – The First Clues
Silence filled the broadcast room.
Everyone stood quietly, their exhausted faces reflecting the hardships they had endured just to make it this far. The only sounds that could be heard were their slow breaths and the distant, eerie growls of zombies echoing somewhere far beyond the walls.
Unable to bear the heavy silence any longer, Ms. Selena let out a long, weary sigh. A warm smile slowly appeared on her face as she looked around at every familiar face before her.
"I'm... truly happy to see all of you alive," she said softly, her voice carrying both relief and heartfelt gratitude.
The moment Mr. Smith heard her voice, he instinctively raised his eyes toward her.
For a brief moment...
He simply stared.
Seeing Ms. Selena standing there alive after everything they had experienced left him speechless. Relief, admiration, and disbelief flashed across his face all at once.
Standing nearby, Yarm and Jackson exchanged amused glances before quietly smiling to themselves.
Noticing Mr. Smith's absent-minded expression, Ms. Selena snapped her fingers in front of him.
Snap.
The sharp sound immediately pulled him back to reality.
"H-Huh... Y-Yes!" Mr. Smith stammered awkwardly before clearing his throat. "We're... we're also very happy to see you again."
The moment he finished speaking, everyone in the broadcast room burst into warm laughter.
The tense atmosphere instantly became lighter.
Realizing that everyone was beginning to tease Mr. Smith, Ms. Selena cleared her throat with slight embarrassment and quickly changed the subject.
"Alright," she said in a professional tone. "Now tell me everything about the route you used to get here."
Before anyone else could answer, Mr. Smith confidently folded his arms.
"Well, if you ask me," he began proudly, "the journey was unbelievably dangerous. But through incredible courage... teamwork... and a lot of hard work, we managed to reach this place safely."
He then turned toward John with a grin.
"Right, John? I said it perfectly, didn't I?"
John, who had been quietly sitting on the sofa behind everyone, instantly froze.
The moment he heard his name...
A horrifying memory flashed across his mind.
He remembered slipping on the staircase...
Falling down the steps in front of everyone...
Hitting his head...
And then, completely by accident, letting out an embarrassingly loud fart because of the impact.
The memory replayed so vividly inside his head that his ears instantly turned bright red.
Trying desperately to hide his embarrassment, he hurriedly nodded.
"Y-Yes, sir... You're absolutely right."
Jackson, Mary, and Mr. Smith immediately recognized the awkward expression on John's face.
Within seconds, they all remembered the exact same incident.
During the chaos of escaping the zombies, they had almost forgotten about it.
Now that it had suddenly returned to their minds...
The three of them couldn't help smiling.
Inside the broadcast room, Ms. Selena, Lena, and Yarm noticed the strange smiles spreading across their faces.
Lena tilted her head curiously.
"Why are the three of you smiling like that?" she asked suspiciously. "If there's something funny, tell us too."
Mr. Smith, Mary, and Jackson exchanged a quick glance before looking toward John.
The poor boy was avoiding everyone's eyes.
They struggled with all their strength to suppress their laughter.
Mary finally answered.
"Oh... it's nothing important."
She quickly became serious again.
"More importantly, we shouldn't waste any more time. If there are still survivors hiding in the other classrooms, they're probably waiting for Ms. Selena's announcement."
Mr. Smith nodded in agreement.
"Mary's right. Every minute we waste could cost someone's life."
Ms. Selena's expression became serious once again.
"Then let's begin."
She looked directly at Jackson.
"Tell me everything."
"What was the condition of every floor you passed through?"
Jackson nodded before taking a deep breath.
"We were trapped inside the Drama Club room on the top floor," he began.
"The moment we heard your first announcement, we started preparing ourselves to move during the night, exactly as you instructed."
"When the lights finally went out and your second announcement came through, we quietly left the room while being as careful as possible."
"There were a large number of zombies on the top floor."
"However, most of them seemed to be gathered around the school buses, water tankers, and other vehicles parked on the parking floor."
"I think many students... teachers... and even drivers had become infected while they were still inside those vehicles."
He paused for a moment before continuing.
"I also think that shortly before we left the Drama Club, the zombies had found another victim."
"Far away, around Mr. Werner's parked car, dozens of zombies had gathered together."
"They surrounded the vehicle while releasing loud, terrifying growls that echoed throughout the entire floor."
"Because they were completely distracted, we managed to slip away without attracting their attention."
"We eventually reached the fourth floor."
Jackson's expression darkened.
"The fourth floor was absolutely horrifying."
"Out of all the classrooms there, only two had massive groups of zombies gathered outside."
"Both classroom doors were tightly shut."
"We immediately suspected that uninfected people might still be hiding inside those rooms."
"We quietly continued moving until we reached the third floor."
"There, it seemed like most of the zombies had gathered inside the Staff Room and the Assembly Hall."
"We could clearly hear countless growls coming from those directions."
"The rest of the floor had far fewer zombies."
Before Jackson could continue, Ms. Selena interrupted him.
"Do you think anyone is still alive on the third floor?"
Jackson slowly shook his head.
"We honestly can't say."
"Most of the classroom doors were already open."
"And because our only priority was reaching safety, we didn't have time to investigate every room."
"After that, we finally reached the second floor."
"The rest... you already know."
He gave a small, tired smile.
"Although... quite a lot of zombies followed us onto this floor afterward."
After carefully listening to every word, Ms. Selena remained silent for several seconds, deep in thought.
Finally, she spoke again.
"Did any of you notice anything unusual about the zombies?"
She looked around the room.
"I mean... anything that seems to attract them?"
Mr. Smith answered first.
"Yes."
"I noticed that loud sounds immediately attract them."
"When we were coming down from the fourth floor..."
He looked toward John.
"...John slipped on the staircase."
"A huge number of zombies instantly rushed toward him."
His voice became quieter.
"For a moment..."
"We honestly thought we had lost him."
Ms. Selena's eyes widened with concern.
"Then how did you save him?"
The moment she finished speaking, John abruptly stood up before anyone else could answer.
In reality...
He simply wanted to stop Mr. Smith from mentioning the embarrassing truth.
Trying to sound confident, he spoke loudly.
"Actually..."
"Before leaving the Drama Club room, I sprayed a lot of perfume on myself."
"I even kept the perfume bottle inside my pocket."
"When I fell..."
"The zombies completely surrounded me."
"They leaned closer..."
"They kept sniffing me like wild animals."
Everyone in the room listened in complete silence.
"But then..."
"They suddenly backed away."
John crossed his arms while thinking seriously.
"I believe zombies recognize humans by our natural scent..."
"Things like sweat... body odor... and other human smells."
He paused briefly before adding another thought.
"Or maybe it's something similar to sharks."
"When sharks detect blood, they become completely obsessed with finding their prey."
"They don't stop hunting until they catch it."
"So..."
"I think zombies may react to human scent in almost the same way."
As soon as John finished his unexpectedly detailed explanation, he quietly sat back down on the sofa and let out a deep breath, looking strangely satisfied with his own theory.
The entire broadcast room fell silent.
Everyone stared at him with expressions of complete surprise.
A few seconds later...
Someone began clapping.
Then another.
Soon, everyone in the room applauded John's unexpectedly intelligent speech.
John awkwardly scratched the back of his head, trying to act humble despite secretly enjoying the attention.
However...
Mary, Jackson, and Mr. Smith exchanged knowing glances.
The three of them quietly smiled once again.
Unlike everyone else...
They knew the real reason the zombies had stepped away from John on the staircase.
And it definitely had nothing to do with perfume alone.