There are friends, there is family, and then there are friends that become family.
****
Justin locked the door, gasping for air. He sat slowly on the floor, panting heavily. The two rings descended slowly and went back to his arm.
Seeing this, a wry smile appeared on his face. Suddenly, the door shook vehemently, like it was going to break. However, it never happened.
Justin raised his head, looking at the zombies banging their hands on the door, and smirked. After a couple of minutes, his breathing had returned to normal. Though he was still weak. He could walk.
He peeps out of the window, trying to discern what had caused the last tremor. 'Let me check for a couple of seconds for any traces of any powerful beasts.' Just as he wanted to turn his back, his perception caught a slight movement in the distance.
Suddenly, his eyes widened. Subconsciously, he took a couple of steps backward, staring at the beast, dumbfounded.
The beast turned his big yellowish eyes and red pupils away from the building while its long fangs moved swiftly, swallowing a couple of zombies in the distance in one swift motion.
Shit!
Justin's back was drenched in cold sweats. His leg turned to jelly while his heart pounded. The beast averted its gaze and slithered away, not caring about the zombies in the distance. Justin watched as the beast with the dark greenish scales disappeared into the distance.
Holy Moly!
"Its length is about a hundred meters!" Justin gasped. He shook his head, trying to recover from the scene he had just witnessed. Quickly, he regained his bearings and rubbed off the sweat from his forehead.
"How did I even discover such a beast? Those zombies seem not to be aware of its existence. " He murmured, looking at the big auditorium for any safe place to rest.
"Hmmm... wait." He halted his movement and raised his brow. "It is when it moves, that's when I discover it." His eyes widened.
"Sound!"
'I see... my innate ability lets me discern every sound in my surroundings.'
"Now, I understand why I can see without my eyes." He continues to move, pursing his lips. My body is receiving the sound signal sent by the surroundings. "Hmm... He chuckled. " This is going to be fun."
After searching for a suitable place to rest, he discovered none on the ground floor. Without wasting a second, Justin dashed to the second floor.
However, he couldn't find anywhere that suited him until he reached the fifth floor. The musical auditorium was clean, devoid of traces of fights or whatnot.
Quickly, he found an inner chamber and lock the door. He drags his tired body to one corner and slumps to the ground. Once his head touched the floor, his eyes closed immediately, drifting into a powerful sound sleep.
"I believe we're safe here. Let everyone lookout for those zombies. " A voice commanded.
Quickly, a group of students rushed to the nearby window, peeping to see if there were any anomalies. After checking for a couple of minutes, A lady whispered. "The coast is clear."
Hearing this, a lot of relief sighed and echoed throughout the musical auditorium. The group gathered together and sat, looking at each other with perspiration all over their faces.
They looked at each other for a couple of minutes before a strong, well-built young man broke the silence.
"We need to prepare ourselves for the worst." The young man announced, looking at the faces of the others with seriousness.
"The world has changed and those zombies are increasing every second. We need to get stronger to find a secure shelter. "
"Nika, it's easy for you to say because you're the strongest among us." A lady pouted. "We're students, not soldiers. How are we to defend or fight those zombies? "
Nika frowned and said, "Do you think those zombies care if you are a student or not? We need to defend ourselves. If we're thinking that help would come, who knows when? Maybe all of us would have died by then. The only option is for us to defend ourselves." He gripped the kitchen knife in his hand tightly.
Hearing this, the others sighed, lost in thought. Who would have guessed their peaceful student lives would turn upside down in just a matter of minutes?
After an unknown number of minutes, a thin young man cleared his throat. "How are we going to protect ourselves?"
"By killing." Nika declared frankly.
What!
The group looked at Nika with wide eyes. They grumbled, murmuring.
"Nika, you know those zombies are still our friends and colleagues, hmm? So, killing them is like killing our friends. And if the government has a vaccine or antidote for these people, are you going to be responsible for the lost lives? " A young man named Collins questioned with dark eyes.
"Do you think those zombies are still our friends and colleagues? Open your eyes wide. The world we know is gone. No internet. No power. Nothing. Everything is gone. " Nika announced, raising his voice by an octave.
"Do you know how many of us were in the beginning? We're fucking 20. Now, how many are we? 7! We're goddamn fucking 7....." He stood up, taking a deep breath.
"You know what? I can't put my life in danger for you. If you want to stay here and pretend that everything is fine, Fine! That's fine by me. However, anyone that wants to follow me must be ready to kill. "
After completing his monologue, Nika left the group and sat on the other side of the auditorium.
The auditorium descended into an abrupt silence. The six looked at each other's faces, not knowing what to do. However, everyone was lost in their thoughts. Should they stay or follow Nika?
While the others were still fighting their inner conflict, The thin young man walked toward Nika with some trepidation. Even though his heart was pounding vehemently, and his palms were full of sweat.
He never turned back. Seeing him, Nika opened his mouth, but the word refused to come out. He nodded his head and smiled.
Just then, an average-looking woman with big eyes and glasses over the tip of her nose followed the thin young man. "What are you up to...?" Collins asked, stupefied by his friend's decision.
"hat do you think?" Chloe shrugged, leaving without turning back.
"Collins leave them. I'm sure they'll run back when they find out their choice was wrong. Then it would be too late. "Esme announced confidently, looking at Chloe and the others with disdain.
"Do you guys know where the cafeteria is?" A sudden voice asked.
*****
AN: Vote and comment for more chapters.