"A-hole" kiaan mumbled under his breath before continuing, "These zombies are stupid. If we make a loud noise, we can easily get their attention. Then we can lure them to this open field and use grenades from the armory vault to kill them all."
Kiaan said all this so calmly, which pissed off Jai, but he didn't say anything since he didn't want to disrespect Anju and Viren, who were standing there.
But unlike Jai, Kiaan's plan surprised them. "Just what is he talking about?" was the thought Kabir, Sarah, and Maya were thinking.
The reason being that the vault and armory were secret weapons storage for teachers in an emergency.
"How does he know about the armory and vault, and that there are grenades in there?" Rahul and Anju thought to themselves. Viren sighed. "This kid's IQ is a pain," Viren thought before saying, "Okay, but how do we make a lot of noise?"
"The speakers we use for morning assemblies will be loud enough," Kiaan replied now in a bit more confident tone.
Viren put his hand on his chin, thinking something before giving his order. "Kabir, Rahul, go get the speakers now. Bring them to the center of the field," Anju then handed a key with a mic as a key chain to Rahul. "Here, try to be gentle and don't damage them."
"Anju, take the girls and get grenades and some guns from the armory," Viren instructed Anju. With a nod, Anju and the other girls went to the armory.
"First of all, don't you ever dare speak about this academy's secrets in the open," Viren warned Kiaan with a fierce look, putting his hand on Kiaan's shoulder. "Are we clear?" He asked while pressing his thumb slightly above Kiaan's shoulder bone, delivering a low but annoying pain.
"AAHH... YES... YES SIR.." Kiaan yelled as Viren kept putting force on his shoulder.
Realizing his hand, Viren then asked Kiaan, "Explain your plan to me, and it better be safe and effective," as they both headed towards the football field. Kiaan was rubbing his shoulder as he spoke, his voice showing a little pain and discomfort.
.....
It took a while to get ready for the "big bang," as Kiaan called it.
Kiaan usually stayed calm in tense situations, which was helpful during gun training. But when it came to explosives training, everyone saw his excitement for blowing things up.
"Everything is set," Kiaan said with a big grin, which annoyed Anju. "Does he not remember that he is about to blow up his own friends?" she wondered.
"Kiaan, your smile is freaking me out a little," Maya gulped as she said, standing next to him.
"Come on, sweetheart, you know I'm harmless," Kiaan winked at Maya and gave her a slight nudge.
They both laughed a little. "Idiot," Maya muttered, punching gently on Kiaan's shoulder. "Ahh.." Kiaan winced as he held his shoulder.
"Did that hurt you, little boy?" Maya asked mockingly. "Only if I could tell you why it hurts," Kiaan said in his mind. "Shut up," he then replied to Maya.
These light flirtations between them both pissed off two people: Anju, being the first as she obviously didn't like Kiaan much, and Kabir being the second as he had feelings for Maya.
"There he goes again. I really want to punch him," Kabir whispered to Jai. But before Jai could reply…
"Let's move to the next step," Viren said calmly while plugging in the speakers.
There were six speakers lined up, about waist-high on Viren. A wire went from the speakers to the Tagore block, the power cable.
"Turn it on," Kiaan said excitedly. His excitement was annoying Anju, but she stayed silent as she was saving her energy in case anything went wrong.
"Bluetooth mode. Connected," the speaker announced as it connected to Viren's phone.
"Ma'am, play any loud music as soon as you guys get to the balcony," Kiaan instructed Anju, handing her the phone.
Then Kiaan, Viren, Jai, and Maya headed towards the boys' hostel next to the generator room. They carried different types of automatic guns. Reaching their destination, a narrow path between the basketball court and the hostel, they saw the zombies.
As expected, they were busy eating the students' flesh. This sight sent a pang to everyone's heart. "Stay strong and focused, kids," Viren instructed them in a whisper, but loud enough for everyone to hear.
But it was hard as this scene filled the senior students with a mix of fear and pity. "It's not like we can do anything," Kiaan whispered with a sigh. He too was feeling bad for the poor kids.
"Remember, aim for the head," Kiaan said firmly, lifting his gun.
.....
By now, Kabir, Sarah, Rahul, and Anju were on the balcony of the Tagore block.
This balcony faced towards the football field, and the speakers were not too far, yet not too close at the same time. This "team balcony" had 10 grenades and one automatic rifle.
"What the hell..." Anju exclaimed, her annoyance at its peak as she realized there were no signals and she was unable to access any music streaming app.
"What happened, aunty?" Rahul asked as he gently placed the crate of grenades on the floor.
"THESE MOTHER-FREAKING NETWORK PROVIDERS ARE SCREWING THEIR MOTHERS AND SISTERS AT THIS FREAKING MOMENT!!!" Anju loudly shouted at Rahul.
"I..I...I..am... sorry, ma'am," Rahul stammered as he replied, taking a few steps back, scared for his own life.
"That's enough to attract them," Kabir thought, gulping. He too was scared for his life, as he could see a vein pulsating on Anju's forehead.
"Uhh... ma'am," Sarah called out to Anju with slight hesitation in her voice, "Play offline music, if there's a network issue." She gently continued.
"I know! What do you think I am, an old woman who doesn't know how to operate a mobile?" Anju retorted as she searched for downloaded music. "See.." She then continued, clicking play on one of Viren's favorite songs.
Within seconds, the zombies were distracted. They left their meals and headed towards the source of the noise.