As kids rushed into the girls' hostel, panic ensued, and they ran everywhere. Some wise girls locked themselves and their boyfriends or male friends in their rooms, not letting anyone else in. Among the scared ones was Jerry, and to no one's surprise, she did the same.
Jerry sat on her bed with both knees drawn to her chest, tucking her head inside her arms and knees, sobbing.
"You are safe now, Jerry. You don't need to be scared anymore," Jhanvi said as she placed her hand on Jerry's head. "I have locked the door, and no one can come in. I won't even let our roommates come in," she reassured her best friend.
The dormitories in the hostels were spacious, divided into six parts for six students to live in each room. In each corner, there was a wooden table with a drawer on the right and a mini cupboard below it, a chair, a metal cupboard, and a single bed for one person to fit.
Jerry looked up at Jhanvi, tears flowing from her eyes as she went in for a hug. "It was so scary," she said, her tears falling on Jhanvi's back. "Their eyes... they were so... so horrifying, red and..." She cried silently.
"I know, dear. I was there too," Jhanvi continued. "I just hope all our friends are fine."
.....
As soon as all the kids had entered the hostel, they held those who were injured the same way they had before Viren yelled at them, and no one argued against it.
"You four, go get the stretchers from the storeroom and carry all the injured to the infirmary," Kartik ordered some of his friends who weren't holding any students.
All four of them were prefects of the vice head boy. "I'll make sure that all the students stay in their rooms," Kartik said as he headed upstairs where the rooms were. Even Kartik was not holding any students in his hand.
"As if we don't know you are going to check on your girlfriend," one prefect mumbled as they all walked towards the storeroom, scared and worried.
.....
The girls' hostel was slightly different from the boys' hostel due to the difference in numbers. The ground floor of the girls' hostel housed the canteen, dining hall, and infirmary. The first floor accommodated the students, while the second floor was reserved for students and included a laundry room. Additionally, there was a special control room that served as a secret passage between the boys' and girls' hostels. Another passage, unknown to most students, was located in the laundry room and was under construction; it connected to the boys' hostel gym but was hidden by metal cupboards on both sides, as per the instructions of the wardens.
"I'll come with you; you might need a hand," Hanu said gently as he placed a dead girl on the ground, supporting her upright against a wall. This girl had a bite mark on her neck, and blood flowing from the wound had stained her orange top red.
...
"I'll come with you; you might need a hand," Hanu said gently as he placed a dead girl on the ground, supporting her upright against a wall. This girl had a bite mark on her neck, and blood flowing from the wound had stained her orange top red.
"Neil, please take her with you," Hanu said as he moved towards the stairs. "Thank you," Hanu immediately replied, even though he hadn't even reacted to Hanu's request.
"You just want to check on your girl," Kartik said, looking directly into Hanu's eyes as they climbed the stairs.
"So do you," Hanu retorted worryingly as he skipped two steps at a time, crossing Kartik.
Kartik let out a sigh and shouted through the stairs. "The rest of you, make sure they are in the infirmary!! Then, all of you head upstairs," he ordered the other kids, then started climbing the stairs just like Hanu, taking two steps at once to catch up with his friend.
"That's not fair. I also wanted to check up on my girl," said a fair-looking kid with a fat physique, soaked in blood, holding an unconscious guy on his shoulder with her face pointing the ceiling and ponytail hanging, almost touching the ground.
"So why didn't you say something to Kartik?" another kid beside him asked, also holding a guy in the same manner. Unlike his friend, he was slim and athletic.
"He has a girlfriend?" Another guy behind him said. He was bulky and had distinctively blonde hair. What made him different from the others was that he was holding two heavy guys on both his shoulders.
"Well, Neil, if you try not to fall for every girl you see, you'll also get one," taunted the fat one.
"Hey, at least I fall for only hot chicks, unlike your girl who falls for you, Zayn," Neil replied.
"Okay, let's go. I've locked the gates," said a fair-toned girl with black hair and an athletic build, putting the keys in her pocket.
"I can carry those keys for you, Riya," Neil said, blushing a little. At the sight of this, Zayn gave him a side-eye as if saying, "SIIIIIMMMPPPP!!!"
"No, it's okay." Everyone headed towards the infirmary.
"I'll go check on the girls. It's odd that I'm the only girl here," Riya said as she went towards the stairs.
"We'll be joining you soon," said Neil with a smile on his face.
"Weirdo," Riya muttered to herself while waving her hand with a smile to Neil.
"Womenizer," stated Zayn.
"What the duck did you say to me?" asked Neil in a very annoyed tone.
Everyone thought a fight could break out between them at any moment, but it was actually natural for these two to pull each other's legs like this. They both kept yelling at each other as they headed towards the infirmary, followed by the other boys carrying students on their shoulders.
As they entered the infirmary, Zayn yelled, "Diya ma'am, are you there!?" There was some munching sound coming from a corner, so Zayn gently placed the student he was carrying on a nearby bed and headed towards the corner. "I never knew the drills we did would have been this useful during a time of chaos," he said to himself.
These students used to have drills somewhat similar to this situation, at least the part of moving to safety and carrying the injured.
Although all these kids' hearts were heavy, the training helped them to stay stoic.
"Neil, help others and make sure everyone is on a bed," Zayn instructed as he walked towards the corner. "Also, check where those mother flusters are who were supposed to bring stretchers."
Zayn was cautious, and his heart was beating fast due to the circumstances they were in. "Why am I being like this? The threat is outside, not inside," he thought while slowly approaching the source of the sound.
The moment his eyes fell on the cause of the munching noise, his heart sank at the sight, and fear froze him. Diya was lying dead on the ground with a pistol near her hand.
A pool of blood was everywhere around her, and two people, whom Zayn recognized as canteen waiters, were sitting beside her, tearing her flesh apart and eating her guts.
They didn't notice Zayn as they were busy munching on the nurse, and their backs were towards him. "MOVE DAMMIT, MOVE!!" he shouted at himself in his mind.
That's when Neil approached him and said in a deep and low tone while putting one hand on his shoulder, "Hey, what happened, bro?"
But the moment his eyes fell on the cause, he too was shocked as he looked at the sight, but unlike Zayn, he wasn't frozen but scared to his core and yelled in a loud booming voice, "AHHHHH!"
This loud yell had finally attracted the attention of both the waiters as they looked at Zayn and Neil.
Their eyes were red, and blood was all over their mouths as they held pieces of flesh in both their hands, and were munching on what they had in their mouths.
"YOU IDIOT!" Zayn yelled at Neil. "RUN! EVERYONE!" Neil said as he ran towards the door and grabbed Zayn's hand, dragging him as well.
At the sight of this, both waiters also got up and started running towards the kids as they could not see their lunch getting away from them.