Behind the door, stray students and teachers nervously paced the corridors. Algae approached a passing student, eager to understand the situation beyond the barricade. The boy responded that anxiety had gripped everyone due to a few individuals falling ill. The cause was uncertain: there was fear that it might be linked to a zombie virus, which could potentially spread differently from the typical modes of transmission.
"This is indeed a serious concern. If the virus spreads like other diseases through airborne droplets, humanity could be at a significant disadvantage," Algae acknowledged. "And if it turns out to be a common cold, getting to the nurse's office quickly would be crucial."
Satisfied with his grasp of medical knowledge, Algae smiled at Jake and me. However, the dissatisfied student interjected, "Assuming there's anything left of the office."
Curious about the whereabouts of the unwell students, Jake inquired, "Where have those feeling unwell been taken?"
"They've been isolated in Room 23 by the stairs, providing the guards easy access to monitor them closely," the student explained.
"And are there any other concerns?" I chimed in.
The student's expression turned even more troubled as he replied, "Yes, a major one. One of the boys from Artur's team isn't feeling well, and some of the girls are experiencing discomfort due to their menstrual cycles. They're currently in the room next door with the other students."
Algae wanted to know more about the ground situation, asking, "How many people are available to venture to the ground floor and deal with the zombies?"
"Only Arthur and Connor for now. We've tried to enlist more students for this mission, but fear has held everyone back, myself included," the student confessed.
Taking charge, Algae asserted, "Jake and I will accompany them."
Injecting a touch of humor, Jake quipped, "If you're offering a field trip, count me in."
Eager to contribute, I added, "I want to join as well!"
However, Algae's expression shifted to one of concern as he looked at me and began to say:
"You'd better stay here," Algae advised.
"So you want me to be alone again without knowing if you will come back?" I responded.
"No, I'm just worried that something will happen to you," Algae explained.
"It's better that I go with you then; you won't worry because you will see me all the time," I suggested.
"Let her come with us," Jake interjected, "and she'll have to see what it's like to kill zombies eventually, too."
"Alright. But you have to be careful and stay close to me," Algae said with clear annoyance. He turned to the worried student and instructed, "Give her some weapon at a distance so that she can push the zombies away and run away just in case."
"I know," the satisfied student replied.
Though Algae wasn't pleased with how the conversation had turned out, I, on the other hand, was quite content. I saw this as an opportunity to experience the situation on the ground floor firsthand and witness zombies up close. The student we had been speaking to guided us, informing us that he would provide the weapons and introduce us to Arthur and Connor. Along the corridor, glimpses through open classroom doors revealed students who clearly wished they weren't in this predicament. We passed rooms 23 and 24 where students, including girls from Artur's team, were isolated. Upon reaching room 26 by the stairs, Connor himself opened the door, welcoming us.
"Who are they, John?" Connor inquired, referencing the student leading us.
"Your new replacement companions for the ground floor cleaning operation," John replied.
"Alright, please come in. Arthur is inside thinking of a plan," Connor said with a hint of happiness.
Entering the classroom, we found Artur sitting at a makeshift table crafted from several benches. The room was spacious and illuminated. Outside the window, smoke lingered along with the presence of zombies. As we approached the table, a blond-haired boy motioned for us to sit beside him. It was then that I noticed Arthur had a metal baseball bat with evident bloodstains—a dark red residue covering him. His gray zip-up sweatshirt was also marked with numerous blood stains and remnants of what was once a brain. Arthur caught me staring and offered a smile. However, as soon as everyone settled around the makeshift table, his expression turned serious—an intensity I had never witnessed before.
My mind wandered briefly, reflecting on the memory loss that prevented me from recognizing faces or recalling my parents. Returning my attention to the table, I saw Arthur had spread out plans for the school's ground floor—a document I wasn't aware he had. The plans were neatly folded and clean. Picking up a red pen from the table, Arthur began outlining his plan, his demeanor shifting into focused determination.
"See these stairs?" Arthur asked.
"Yeah," we all replied.
"We'll take the stairs slowly down to the ground floor. There shouldn't be any zombies there. The boys who guard these stairs report back to me every two hours on the behavior of zombies trying to get to the first floor. The second staircase is also observed, but it is also completely isolated. There were too many zombies wandering around," Arthur explained.
"During our watch, no zombies tried to climb up," Algae interjected.
"When did you have a watch?" the surprised blond inquired.
"Almost in the middle of the night," the green-haired boy replied.
"The lack of zombies may be due to the roar we heard. Either way, zombie behavior has changed. It was divided into nocturnal and daytime behavior. They are more active at day than during the night. We could go to the ground floor at night, but the problem was that we wouldn't see anything and nobody. The lack of electricity at night makes it very difficult to hunt zombies," Arthur elaborated.
"That's why we'd rather go during the day than wait until night. We can see everything and have more control despite the higher zombie activity," Connor chimed in.
"Exactly, and now let's get to the plan. There are five of us: me, Connor, Jake, Victor…" Arthur began.
"You can talk to me like the rest, Algae," the boy interrupted.
"Continuing, since there are five of us, we can set up a defensive formation by standing in a circle back-to-back when it's dangerous, and when it's safe, we can use the same tactics we used when we cleared the first floor: three in the front and two in the back, making sure nothing happens," Arthur outlined.
"Alright, does everyone agree? If so, we'll hand out the weapons right away, and after a bit of preparation, we'll be ready to descend," Connor said with enthusiasm.
"I'm with you!" Jake affirmed.
"Okay," Algae confirmed.
"I'm curious to see what it's going to look like. I'm in!" I added.
"If everyone is on board, let's go. I'll distribute the weapons," John offered.
With Jake and Algae, I stood up from the table and followed a short student with shoulder-length black hair that partially obscured his face. We left the room where Arthur and Connor remained and entered the adjacent room, connected by a door. This small room contained empty vials, aprons, and chemical instruments. Among the items were weapons crafted by the students who had fought on the first floor: a second baseball bat, makeshift spears, and gloves with sharp attachments. John handed spears to Algae and me, then he picked up a bat and gave it to Jake. As Jake examined the weapon, the other two entered the room.
Connor put on the gloves, while Arthur donned one of the aprons—a peculiar sight, a red and black apron. Now we understood why it bore those colors; Arthur had used it while dispatching zombies.
"Why is this apron already all red when this floor has just been unlocked and you haven't gone downstairs?" I asked, though I already had a hunch about the answer.
"Ahh... That's because that apron belonged to one of the teachers who turned into zombies. It was also the first zombie I killed. I took it as a trophy. Unfortunately, she was also one of my favorite teachers, so I kept some of it as a souvenir," Arthur explained.
"I'm sorry I didn't know," I responded.
"Hmm? But it's nothing. This is the past. Nothing can be changed in the past," Arthur reassured.
There was a sudden silence for a good five minutes. Fortunately, someone decided to break it – Connor.
"Alright! Ready? Let's go," the excited boy declared.
We quickly left the room, exited the hall, and made our way to the entrance of the stairwell. I sensed something was amiss with them, but I decided to ignore it. Two guys armed with spears cleared the tables blocking the stairs.
"Good luck," they both said.
"Thanks," we replied.
We began descending the stairs. Upon reaching the ground floor, a wave of nausea hit me. The scene was truly horrifying – intestines strewn about, torn flesh and clothing, and blood covering every surface. Looking at the boys, I could see their horrified expressions. Even those who had battled the undead before were shaken by the sight.
"Wasn't this on the first floor?" I inquired.
"No, definitely not," Arthur replied, his fear evident.
When I glanced at Connor's face, it was a picture of horror. His eyes held an urge to run. The other guys shared similar expressions.
"Beware of the zombies ahead!" I warned in a hushed voice, just loud enough to alert the others but not the zombies.
Shaking off their shock, the boys immediately assumed the defensive formation: three in the front, two in the back. The zombie approached slowly, awkwardly dragging its right leg. A slim boy with disheveled hair, wearing denim trousers and a shirt shredded like rags, it was a pitiful sight. About five meters away, it picked up speed, arms reaching out. The front line swung their weapons into action. Two baseball bats struck its legs, and Connor delivered the final blow to its head. It collapsed like a fallen log but attempted to rise after a while. Algae stepped in, pressing it down and eventually crushing its head with his leg. The boys exchanged high-fives, while I stood there, stunned, struggling to grasp the situation.
"Watch out, next one!" I exclaimed.
As I spotted another zombie, fear gripped me, but within seconds I snapped back to reality and hurled the spear I had been given directly into the zombie's eye, sending it tumbling. The boys stared at me as if I'd fallen from the sky.
"Go on, finish it off, because it's trying to get up. You didn't strike hard enough to kill it," Arthur instructed.
Calmly, I approached the zombie Algae was restraining on the ground, retrieved the spear, and drove it forcefully into the creature. Immediately, the zombie ceased all movement. My first undead encounter was now marked on my record.