"What the hell is this?! They keep coming back!"

"C'mon, Jack, let's go!" I said as I stabbed the monster in front of me.

We ran and avoided the monsters in front of us and saw a classmate in need. "H-help me!!"

"Arrghh!!" Jack screamed as he rushed to save the damsel in distress, while I covered his back.

"You done, Jack?! They're coming!"

"You're Kate right? We need to go!"

"I-I can't, my legs aren't listening."

"Jack!!!"

Jack then lifted up Kate and ran. I followed suit.

As we ran to the stairs leading down to the lower floors, it was packed with monsters. We had no other choice but to go to the rooftop.

"To the rooftop, Jack!"

We made our way to the stairs leading to the rooftops, the door leading to it was locked.

"Damn it! Out of all times, why now!"

"What are we gonna do now, RJ?"

I processed my thoughts on what to do with the situation at hand...

"Kate, do you have a hairpin?"

"Yes, I have."

I took the hairpin from her and started bending it to look like a pick.

"You know how to pick a lock, RJ?"

"I practiced, but that was five months ago. I haven't practiced since then."

Steps... Steps...

"Jack." I said as Jack looked toward the down and said, "3 minutes."

"Don't die."

"I won't." Jack headed down and bought time while I went to work with the lock.

"Shit! Kate, give me another one." Kate handed me another hairpin as the other one broke.

"How many hairpins do you have left?"

"That's the last one."

"Okay, okay, calm down, RJ. You can do this. Remember what you watched on the internet, remember..." I said as I slowly got lost in my state of mind... click. A faint click with a turn of the lock snapped me back to the situation.

"Yes! it's open! Let's go"

"We're not waiting for Jack?"

"We need to find something to block the door. Jack will be here any second. Let's go."

We opened the door leading to the rooftops and searched for something to block the door with.

"Hey, could this work?" I looked and saw Kate pointing to a barrel with water.

"It should do the work." I pushed the barrel, and it slightly moved.

I then heard Jack screaming in the distance.

"They're here, guys!"

"Fuck."

Without a second thought, I tumbled the barrel and rolled it down toward the door.

"Jack, run faster!"

Jack sprinted for his life and reached the rooftop.

"CLOSE THE DOOR!"

As Jack closed the door, I turned the barrel upright and pushed it against the door. A few moments later, the monsters banged on the door, trying to get in.

"Man, that was close. You really pulled it off, RJ."

"Nah, if Kate wasn't here with us, we wouldn't have been able to open the door."

"But you're the one who—"

"Stop being humble, Kate. We all had our roles to play, so be proud."

Everyone caught their breath as they looked at the horrifying scene unfolding below.

"This..."

Everyone was speechless as they witnessed their fellow classmates, teachers, and friends tearing each other apart.

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"We need to find rescue. RJ, what's the plan?"

"We wait. Everything and everyone is in chaos right now. Let it die down first, and then we'll move. You should go take a rest, guys."

They nodded and found a place to settled down, and I continued to watch.

***

More than an hour has passed, and the chaos has settled down a bit.

"It seems the monsters have left. Jack, you stay here with Kate, I'll go look."

"Hey, it's dangerous down there. We should go together."

"No, I know that more people means more firepower, but it won't be possible to sneak around."

Jack had a look of realization.

"I understand that it's dangerous to be alone, but I can move faster. Trust me, bro."

"I-I understand. Be careful."

I walked down the stairs as they blocked the door behind me. I could still hear screaming from afar as I walked in the hallway, with blood everywhere on the walls and floor, making me want to vomit. Then, a room a few steps further was surrounded by monsters. There were probably survivors holed up in there, but I don't think I could help them, how could this have happened?

***

I awoke to the piercing sound of my alarm clock. Groaning, I reached out to silence it and slowly sat up in my bed. The soft morning light bathed my room in a warm glow, and I knew it was time to start the day.

Downstairs, I decided to whip up some quick breakfast before heading to school. The clock on the kitchen wall read 6:30 AM as I listened to the morning news on TV. There was a report about a new virus variant, but I didn't pay much attention to it. After a quick breakfast, I got dressed and turned off the TV.

I headed out and took my usual commute to school. From the window of the bus, I noticed some police officers and blood stains on the streets, but I dismissed it as another city incident.

As I arrived at school, I met up with my friend, Jack, who was in a different section. We exchanged a few words before heading inside for our classes.

Suddenly, during the first class of the day, a student walked oddly towards the gate, shuffling and bleeding from the arm. The school guard shouted at the student for being late and went to check. The guard was surprised as the student fainted, and the guard rushed the student to the school clinic.

During the next break, as I passed by the school clinic, I witnessed two students entering, believing they had stomach issues.

However, something seemed off. I felt an eerie atmosphere in the air.

To my horror, the nurse and the previously injured student attacked the newcomers, I rushed in to help on of them.

"Get off them!" I yelled, trying to intervene, but I was overpowered.

The nurse was snapping her teeth trying to bite my face while I avoided it and pushed her away.

Panicked, I ran to the next classroom to find Jack. I knocked frantically on the door until the teacher opened, angrily berating me for disrupting the class. I didn't care and went straight to Jack, urging him to leave.

"What's going on?" Jack asked, bewildered.

My face was deadly serious. "We need to go NOW!"

The two of us fled the classroom, leaving the teacher shouting behind us. As we entered the school clinic, we found it empty, blood smeared on the walls and floor. Fear gnawed at our hearts.

Suddenly, a series of screams echoed through the hallway. Jack and I turned a corner and came face to face with several monsters, once-human creatures now transformed by the nurse and student from earlier.

"What the hell are these things?" Jack exclaimed.

I grabbed a mop. "I don't know, but we need to get out of here."

We realized we needed to avoid direct confrontation with these monstrous beings, and we ran for our lives.

Bang!! 

As the doors holding the classroom was broken through I snapped back to reality. Hearing screaming coming from the room as the monsters poured inside, I had the decision to make to help them but fear got a hold of me as I remembered what happens if they get a hold of you, then suddenly a trio of students got out of the room and headed straight towards Me.

"Hey, help us!" he screamed as they ran towards me.

My heart skipped a beat, and panic surged through me as I weighed the options. The monsters, drawn by the commotion, had noticed the three newcomers, and their ghastly forms were closing in fast.

With no time to waste, I shouted, "Hurry, get behind me!"

But the monsters were drawing closer, their low growls and frenzied footsteps echoing in the hallway.

In a desperate scramble for safety, we dashed into a nearby classroom. To our relief, the room was empty of monsters, although it was in complete disarray. Desks were toppled over, papers strewn across the floor, and the air was heavy with an eerie silence.

I slammed the door shut and leaned against it to catch my breath. "We need to barricade this door."

The three newcomers frantically gathered chairs, desks, and whatever they could find to fortify the door, creating a makeshift barrier.

As the monsters banged on the door, their gruesome determination sending shivers down our spines, we exchanged worried glances.

"We can't stay here," I whispered. "We need to find a way out."

The girl, with fear in her eyes, nodded. "But how?"

I gestured toward the window at the far end of the classroom. "There's an exit. It's risky, but it might be our only chance. We have to go out the window and climb up the pipes."

The window was small and high up, with only a narrow ledge outside. Climbing up would be treacherous. The room fell silent as we contemplated our daring escape plan. Our fate rested on this perilous climb up the steep, unforgiving exterior of the building, with the monsters hot on our heels."

As we stared at the large window across the room, dread settled in, and the girl began to shake her head, muttering, "No, no, no."

Then, a chilling sound of glass breaking pierced the room. The monsters had almost forced their way in.

I gripped the girl's shoulder and whispered, "Listen, if we stay here, we're all going to die."

Her eyes filled with fear, but she nodded, and we quickly moved towards the window. Outside, the narrow ledge awaited us, leading to the pipes we needed to climb.

We reached the ledge just as the monsters entered the room we'd left behind. They didn't notice our escape.

As I neared the pipe that would take us to the next window, my heart sank. Through the glass, I could see into a classroom full of monsters. Their grotesque figures hunched over, devouring students in a gruesome frenzy. We needed to cross to the other side of the window, right through their grisly banquet. The situation had gone from bad to worse.

I held a finger to my lips, signaling for the others to stay quiet, and we continued to the pipes. The climb was slow and agonizing, the tension in the air palpable.

I reached the pipe and quickly started my ascent. The rusty metal under my grip was slick and cold. Fear coursed through me as I looked down to see the gruesome feast continue below.

With trembling hands, I signaled for the others to come faster. "Hurry up!" I whispered urgently, my voice barely audible.

The three of them were just reaching the ledge, and with the monsters feasting below, every second counted. The tension in the air was suffocating, and we knew that our lives depended on making it across the pipe, and to safety on the rooftop.

But just as the last member of our group was about to reach the pipe, one of the monsters broke through the glass and lunged at the guy, sinking its teeth into his neck.

In a panic, the man regained his footing and, with a desperate, adrenaline-fueled strength, pulled the monster with him. They tumbled out of the window and plummeted to the ground below.

The rest of us continued our perilous ascent, hearts heavy with the loss of our companion but with no other choice but to push forward, climbing higher and higher, hoping that the rooftop would offer some semblance of safety.