Chapter 5: A Dangerous Decision

The day passed.

The stillness in the classroom shattered like fragile glass.

A voice, sharp with frustration, cut through the silence.

“You selfish bitch! You’re just going to hoard food while the rest of us starve?”

Vanessa stood at her desk, her face twisted with anger. Her voice carried across the room, drawing everyone's attention. In front of her, a girl clutched her backpack defensively, her knuckles white against the straps.

“I brought this food from home! It’s mine!” the girl snapped back, her eyes burning with defiance.

Vanessa let out a bitter laugh. “Oh, it’s yours? So what, you’re just going to eat it while the rest of us rot? We’re in this together, aren’t we?”

The girl pressed her back against the wall, tightening her grip on her bag as if it contained the last treasure of the earth. The tension in the room swelled, a volatile mix of hunger, fear, and exhaustion.

The students watched in silence, their gazes flickering between the two girls. No one stepped in. No one wanted to pick a side.

The hunger had become unbearable. The last scraps of food had been eaten yesterday, and now the gnawing emptiness in their stomachs dulled their thoughts, made them irritable, reckless.

A deep voice broke the silence.

“This is pointless.”

Adrian, one of the braver boys, stood up. His lean frame was rigid with suppressed frustration, but his voice remained steady. “We’re fighting over a few bites of food like desperate rats. If we don’t do something, we’ll all collapse before we even have a chance to escape.”

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His words hung in the air, a stark reminder of their dire situation.

“So what are you suggesting?” Nick, another student, scoffed. He leaned back against a desk, arms crossed over his chest. His posture was relaxed, but his sharp tone betrayed his irritation. “That we just waltz outside and grab some snacks from the cafeteria? Maybe wave at the monsters while we’re at it?”

Adrian’s expression darkened. “You’d rather sit here and starve?”

Nick sneered. “I’d rather not be monster food.”

The tension in the room deepened. Two sides were forming—the ones who wanted to act and the ones who wanted to wait.

Mia, the class rep, rubbed her temples before stepping forward. “Enough. We’re all exhausted, and arguing won’t help. We’ll settle this with a vote.”

Her voice was calm, but there was an edge to it. She, too, was at her limit.

A murmur ran through the group. A vote meant commitment. It meant deciding their fate.

Ash remained quiet, his mind racing.

Both choices carried risk.

Going outside meant braving the monsters. A single mistake would mean death.

But staying inside? That wasn’t much better. Food wouldn’t magically appear. If they grew too weak, even the illusion of safety in this room would become meaningless.

He could see it in the eyes of the others—their hunger was warping their reasoning. Some students no longer feared death as much as they feared the ache in their bellies.

The vote was cast.

A decision was made.

Allen, a tall and confident student, stepped forward. “I’ll go.” His voice was steady, resolute. “We need to know what’s out there.”

Adrian followed. Then Jason. Two more boys—Sam and Ethan—stepped up as well.

Ben nudged Ash. His voice was low, tinged with amusement. “You see it, don’t you?”

Ash turned to him. “See what?”

Ben smirked. “Allen’s not just doing this for food. His girlfriend is trapped in another classroom.”

Ash frowned. The pieces clicked into place. That explained Allen’s determination. He wasn’t just looking for food—he was looking for her.

It made sense. But did it matter? In the end, they all had their reasons for wanting to survive.

Mia stepped forward, her arms crossed tightly over her chest. “You need to think this through. If you go out there, there’s no guarantee you’ll come back.”

Allen met her gaze, unwavering. “And if we stay in here, there’s no guarantee we’ll live.”

Mia exhaled sharply. She had no counter to that.

The five who volunteered gathered what little they could use as weapons—broken chair legs, makeshift clubs. Useless against the monsters, but it gave them something to hold on to.

The room fell into silence.

Then—

A sound echoed from outside.

A guttural screech. The sound of something heavy being dragged.

Every breath in the classroom hitched.

Something was happening out there.

A moment later, rapid footsteps thundered down the hall. The monster was moving—toward the sound.

A shriek. A sickening crunch.

Then silence.

No one spoke. No one dared to move.

Ethan exhaled. “It… it ran toward the noise.”

Jason nodded slowly. “It must’ve found someone.”

The weight of that realization settled over them. Someone else had been caught.

But it also meant—for now—the hallway was empty.

Allen’s jaw tightened. “This is our chance.”

The absence of the monster felt like an invitation. A dangerous, fleeting window of opportunity.

But was it a trap?

They didn’t know.

All they knew was that they would rather move than stay here and wait for death. They know the danger, they are scared but it's better than waiting for some hope that is impossible.

And nothing would ever be the same again.