Chapter 57 — The Escape
The night was deep and dark.
But unusually, for the ten students hiding inside the school building, this night felt far heavier than any night they had ever experienced.
They were desperately trying to survive.
Trying not to become zombies.
And soon, that struggle would turn into a battle for their lives.
Inside the men's washroom on the third floor of the towering school building, ten students stood together, fully prepared to begin their dangerous journey.
Everyone was tense.
Some held their makeshift weapons tightly.
Others repeatedly glanced toward the washroom door, afraid that a zombie might suddenly appear outside.
Hasnain looked at everyone and gave them one final instruction.
"Stay here and don't move until the song starts."
His voice was firm.
"No one leaves this room before then."
He looked at each person carefully.
"And the moment I give the signal, everyone moves forward."
Everyone nodded.
No one dared to speak.
They simply waited.
One minute later, just as Ms. Selena had announced, the song finally began playing through the school's loudspeakers.
Yet Hasnain still didn't move.
Instead, he raised his hand and signaled everyone to remain where they were.
Five minutes passed.
The song continued echoing through the school.
Then Hasnain finally gave the signal.
He quickly opened the washroom door.
The moment the door opened, everyone carefully looked outside.
Just as they had planned...
The zombies were gone.
All of them had followed the loud sound of the music coming from the speakers.
The entire floor was almost completely empty.
The zombies had moved toward the assembly hall because the speakers there produced a much louder and more powerful echo than the speakers in the other rooms.
That louder sound had successfully attracted them.
The first line of the song echoed through the building with powerful emotion:
"Hey fighter, step in—ignite your flame,"
At that exact moment, Hasnain stepped through the doorway.
He immediately reached for Sana's hand and firmly held it.
Sana instinctively tried to pull her hand away.
But Hasnain didn't let go.
Instead, he focused his intense eyes on her for a few moments.
There was something deeply emotional in his gaze.
It was as if he was silently telling her everything he couldn't express with words.
How much he cared about her.
How desperately he wanted to protect her.
And how even the smallest scratch on Sana would feel like a wound through his own heart.
Sana looked into Hasnain's eyes.
For a moment, she forgot to resist.
Her fingers slowly relaxed in his grip.
Hasnain tightened his hold on her hand with his left hand.
In his right hand, he firmly held the wiper they had prepared as a weapon.
Then everyone began moving quickly toward the stairs.
They ran as fast as they could—
but carefully.
Every step was controlled.
Every movement was cautious.
No one wanted to make even the slightest noise.
Their hearts pounded violently inside their chests.
Yet somehow, their plan worked.
Not a single zombie noticed them.
They finally reached the stairs.
At that moment, another emotional part of the song echoed through the building:
"Zee Virus rises, rewriting the game."
Without wasting another second, they began climbing the stairs.
Another line followed:
"Neon lights fade into shades of gray,"
Their feet moved faster.
And soon, they reached the second floor.
Then the next line echoed through the school:
"But our courage won't break, we won't fade away."
As soon as they reached the second floor, they saw them.
Mr. Simit.
Ms. Selena.
And Jackson.
The three of them were standing there waiting for them like brave soldiers preparing to protect their comrades.
Mr. Simit tightly gripped a hockey stick.
Jackson held another weapon.
Ms. Selena stood firmly beside them, ready to help anyone who needed it.
The moment they saw the students coming toward them, relief appeared across their faces.
No one wasted even a second.
One after another, the students quickly entered the broadcast room.
They didn't stop.
They didn't waste time.
They simply rushed inside until every single one of them was safely behind the door.
Once everyone was inside, the atmosphere changed.
For the first time in what felt like hours, they could breathe.
They looked at one another.
They were alive.
They had made it.
The sight of their friends standing safely in front of them filled everyone with happiness.
Their courage grew stronger.
For a brief moment, it almost felt as though they had won.
Then another line from the loudspeakers echoed through the building.
The song was extremely emotional.
Every musical instrument seemed to be playing at full intensity—the drums, the electric guitars, the powerful rhythm, and even the singer's voice seemed to shake the entire building.
Then the next line echoed:
"Even when shadows try to take the sk—"
Before the line could finish, Yaram quickly disconnected all the loudspeakers once again.
The music suddenly stopped.
Yaram then hurried back into the broadcast room and joined everyone else.
Now that the two students from the third floor had arrived, the broadcast room suddenly felt much smaller.
There were now seventeen people inside.
Ms. Selena.
Yaram.
Lena.
Mr. Simit.
Jackson.
Mary.
John.
Hasnain.
Barak.
Ghani.
Sad.
Sam.
Sana.
Afra.
Michael.
Jinjin.
And Chen Zheyan.
Seventeen people.
Seventeen survivors.
Seventeen frightened human beings who had somehow managed to make it this far.
They looked at one another with relief.
Some smiled.
Some were still trembling.
Some were exhausted.
And some were silently trying to process everything that had happened.
For a few precious moments, the broadcast room felt like the safest place in the entire school.
But none of them knew...
That something far more terrifying was waiting for them.
None of them knew about the storm that was about to arrive.
And none of them could have imagined how quickly their fragile moment of happiness would be shattered.
...
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I hope you enjoyed this chapter. ❤️ This is my first written novel, and every chapter I write carries a little piece of my imagination, my dreams, and my heart. I may still have a lot to learn as a writer, but I truly hope that one day, the words I write today will reach far beyond these pages and become stories that people remember. Your support, comments, and collections mean more to me than you might realize. If you're enjoying the story, please continue supporting me and stay with these characters on their journey. Thank you for reading. ❤️