The middle school section was built in a four-story rectangular formation, surrounding an uncovered space in the middle. A tree was planted in that courtyard, together with several flowers meant purely for decoration.
That very tree was Arthur's prime suspect.
'Those things might be roots instead of vines.'
From his position, he watched a few zombie children walking mindlessly around the courtyard. Their movements were slow and erratic, like broken puppets drifting without direction.
The wall he leaned against felt colder now that he knew what he was about to face.
Instead of railings, a barrier of thick concrete separated the courtyard from the classrooms that overlooked it. The structure was waist-high, just enough to block the view from below while still allowing someone to look over it if they stood.
If Arthur stood upright, he wouldn't be spotted instantly.
Apart from vaulting over the barrier, a main exit lay only a few paces away.
And that was exactly where Arthur was headed.
'Isn't this place supposed to be empty? The middle section was closed by the time the apocalypse began.'
His grip on the gun tightened.
Without hesitation, he stepped out and opened fire.
The sound of gunshots shattered the eerie silence of the courtyard. Several zombie children collapsed immediately as the bullets struck them.
Behind him, his squad stepped out just in time to witness the falling bodies.
"What the fuck!" Tamsin exclaimed, immediately retching in disgust.
Arthur lowered his weapon slightly but did not turn around.
"The gun has made enough noise already. Sympathy could cost you your life," he said calmly as he walked forward into the courtyard.
He stopped beside the bodies and counted them.
Seven, to be exact.
'I really need to work on my aim.'
One of the zombies suddenly twitched. Thick mucus slowly seeped from its grey eyes as its broken body attempted to move.
Arthur calmly walked toward it.
His squad watched in tense silence as he approached the still-moving corpse. The creature tried to rise, but most of its leg joints were shattered from the gunfire.
"Tamsin, come over here," Arthur ordered.
She looked at the others beside her before hesitantly stepping forward.
Arthur pointed at the zombie.
"Stomp it."
His voice rang low and clear.
"But…" she tried to object, instinctively taking a step back.
"You wish to work with me… with the winning team," Arthur said coldly. "So take orders and don't complain."
Tamsin's body trembled slightly as she stepped closer.
She looked down at the zombie's face.
It had once been a child. Seven or maybe eight years old.
Her foot slowly lifted.
"It's dead, Tamsin," Arthur said quietly. "And it wants you dead. Do it."
Her raised foot hovered above the zombie's face.
She tried to bring it down.
But her morality stopped her.
Arthur sighed softly and placed a hand on her shoulder.
"You will learn as time passes."
He stepped forward and took her place.
Without hesitation, Arthur brought his foot down on the zombie's skull.
Once.
Twice.
Three times.
He continued stomping several times until the skull finally collapsed completely. All that remained was a wet splatter of decomposing brain matter against the concrete floor.
When he was finished, Arthur kicked the corpse aside.
He turned toward his shaken squad and walked past them.
"Find weapons. Spread out and search for a stairway," he instructed.
"Kill any hostile threat on sight. If the problem is bigger than you, solve it quickly before I arrive."
With those words, Arthur walked away and disappeared down the opposite corridor.
The hallway ahead was darker.
'To my left, I'm back to the hall. So we take the right.'
From where he stood, Arthur could see the main entrance to the middle school section. The path was quiet, almost unnaturally so.
Straight ahead led to the school's library and the chemistry laboratory.
'That place gives me the creeps. Too dark.'
The spacious corridor stretched ahead of him.
Arthur steadied his thoughts.
His gun was reloaded, and he advanced quietly. His eyes scanned everything around him, from the cracked walls to the blood-stained floor beneath his boots.
Halfway down the corridor, he stopped near the first inner window that overlooked the main hall.
Although he didn't particularly care, he still glanced through it.
The survivors were still gathered there.
Their usual pitiful expressions remained unchanged.
'The mentally strong are few.'
His mind briefly drifted toward people like Mara and his newly formed scout squad.
With a quiet sigh, Arthur continued forward and entered the library and laboratory area.
The deeper he moved into the hallway, the more he began to reconsider splitting the team.
"How many people died here?" he muttered aloud.
He lifted his leg slightly and watched thick blood drip slowly from his boot.
Before he could lower his foot, the sudden sound of running startled him.
A door burst open from the chemistry lab.
A teenage girl ran out screaming, her arms flailing wildly in panic.
Behind her, an adult zombie stumbled out of the laboratory.
Judging from the torn clothes and posture, it had likely been a teacher before it died.
The girl slipped on the blood-slick floor.
She fell hard.
The zombie crashed down on top of her a second later.
Its fingers dug into her shoulders as it immediately tried to bite her neck.
Arthur raised his gun.
Three rapid shots rang out.
The zombie's head snapped backward as the bullets tore through its skull. It collapsed beside the girl.
Arthur approached cautiously, his weapon still aimed at the corpse.
He bent over the convulsing body.
The girl's movements slowly weakened before stopping completely.
She lay stiff and motionless.
'A scratch can turn someone into a zombie. Terrifying.'
Arthur studied the wounds on her shoulder.
'What other traits do zombies possess?'
He observed the scratches carefully.
Slowly, the blood around the wounds began to darken.
The red turned black.
Dark liquid began to stream from the girl's mouth, nose, and eyes.
Her skin gradually lost its color, turning pale and lifeless.
The first twitch came seconds later.
Arthur sighed and stood up.
'Three bullets left.'
The gun fired three more times.
Each bullet struck the transforming girl in the head.
Her body finally went still.
"Rest well. Your end has passed," Arthur whispered quietly.
He turned and continued exploring the corridor.
The next several minutes were uneventful.
The library and chemistry lab were strangely intact. There were no overturned desks, no signs of struggle, and no scattered equipment.
Only multiple patches of blood stained the otherwise clean white tiles.
Eventually, boredom crept into Arthur's mind.
He walked back out of the area and reloaded his Glock 17.
'Why didn't I bring more ammo?'
He stared briefly at the last cartridge in the magazine.
Soon he would have to switch to his assault rifle.
Retracing his steps back toward the courtyard, Arthur didn't see his squad anywhere.
That wasn't surprising.
Instead of returning through the courtyard, Arthur walked through the classrooms along the corridor, checking each one as he moved.
Within a short time, he had nearly circled the entire ground floor.
'I told those morons to inform me if they found the stairway. Now they've practically vanished into thin air.'
Arthur stopped in front of the second main toilet on the ground floor.
For a moment, he considered checking it.
Then he abandoned the thought and walked away.
He eventually stopped at a four-way junction.
Straight ahead were rows of classrooms.
To his left were more classrooms.
Behind him was the toilet corridor.
To his right was the main exit of the middle school section.
That was now his final objective.
It was the only area he hadn't checked yet.
'Why is this school so large? They had to give unnecessary distance to exits and toilets.'
Arthur stood quietly for a moment, deep in thought.
Then the sound of heavy panting reached his ears.
A door he hadn't noticed suddenly burst open beside him.
Arthur instantly raised his gun, ready to shoot.
A figure stumbled out and collapsed to its knees.
Noah.
"We have gained access to the second floor."