Time 1:00 PM afternoon
As Viren and Anju entered the control room and the doors shut, Viren's eyes welled up with tears. He had been holding them back for a long time.
"I can't believe they're dead," Viren said, wiping his tears and trying to maintain his composure. "I was so happy when we returned safely from the cruise, but this is just horrible."
Anju felt the same way, but she kept her sadness to herself as she comforted Viren with a hand on his back.
"You have three missed calls from General Raj and one recorded video message," a voice announced from the walls of the room. The control room was much larger than any of the student rooms. It had built-in toilets, washrooms, a kitchen, and a dining table that could double as a conference table. There was also a bed and several cupboards. Most impressively, it had ten computers and a master computer connected to a giant screen that covered half a wall.
"Do you want to play the video message?" the computer asked.
"No, not now," Anju replied. Viren nodded in agreement.
After placing their weapons (a sword and an automatic rifle) on the master computer table, Viren ordered the computer, "Show us the cameras of the girls' hostel."
The computer responded, but before they could see anything, a new message popped up on the screen. The computer read it aloud: "An emergency call is coming from General Raj. You are unable to reject it. Pick up the call."
Letting out a sigh, Viren picked up the call.
"Oh, thank God you picked up. I was getting worried," said a fair-skinned man with a clean-shave and dark black hair. He had a muscular build and wore a black leather jacket and a hoodie (not covering his head).
"What happened? Please hurry up. We're in a tough situation. We know about these infected, or zombies if you call them that. So if you're calling me for that, we'll talk about it later," Viren said in a rush.
"Well, I contacted you because I needed your help," the one-eyed man said, matching Viren's urgency. "You see, these infected are spotted everywhere in the world."
Both Viren and Anju's eyes widened. A few infected had done this to the whole campus, and now the whole world? That's what they were thinking.
"Things are not going great. We have to protect High Priests, the PM, the President, and CMs while defending ourselves from these cannibals," General Raj rushed on. "But I can see you have some problems as well. And please tell me the blood on your body isn't because you were bitten," Raj asked Viren with concern.
"It is. Now please hurry up. I know what happens after being bitten, so skip it," Viren said, even more rushed this time.
General Raj sighed and said, "I'm currently in Varanasi escorting the High Priest of the Kashi Vishwanath Temple. I will visit you to discuss this matter today by 3:00 PM. Get all the kids lined up as well."
Viren nodded and said, "Jai Hind" (an Indian patriotic greeting) as a goodbye before disconnecting the call.
"Sir, why was that teacher talking to you so disrespectfully?" a soldier in the classic army uniform asked the general.
"Because he's my childhood friend," Raj said. "We were both in the same orphanage since childhood. If not for him, I wouldn't be alive today, let alone be a general at my age." He spoke these words with pride about his friend.
In the control room, both wardens were looking at the cameras. "What the hell is that?" Anju exclaimed as she stared at the screen.
Unsurprisingly, they both saw a good number of zombies banging on a door at the very end of the hallway. But what surprised them more was that there were more zombies on the floor, like they had been killed. Both wardens thought the scared students had finally shown some balls.
"Check the room camera," Anju said in a panic. Cameras were installed in the rooms as well, but this was a secret only known to the wardens and the academy principal.
"It's unreachable," Viren said with worry. "Maybe some malfunction. Let's leave it as it is." He continued, moving towards the door with his sword and rifle.
"The kids still seem to be in danger. We need to hurry," Viren said as he pressed a button to open the door.
The doors swung open silently. Viren held his rifle raised, while Anju gripped a pistol she picked from the control room's armory.
Unnoticed by the zombies banging on the far door, Viren and Anju walked forward silently. Neither of them wanted to look at the dead zombies, knowing they would only see their own student's bodies lying lifeless on the floor.
But they couldn't avoid seeing the students. Blood covered the floor, soaking into the soles of their shoes as they walked. Some students had bullet wounds in their heads or eyes, indicating they were shot. The lifeless eyes of the dead zombies filled Viren and Anju with a sense of failure for not protecting the students.
However, there was nothing they could do now. The students were already bitten. With that thought, they moved past the bodies and reached a clearer area where they can move while shooting if needed.
They nodded to each other, a signal that they were ready. Then, they both opened fire on the zombies aiming at there heads.
After killing a few zombies with ease, the remaining ones charged at the wardens. But Viren and Anju effortlessly killed them as well.
With a sigh of relief, having used almost all of there bullets, they rushed towards the door while shouting, "Come out, kids! It's safe now!"
Slowly, the other doors began to open as well. Kids emerged, some bitten and clutching their bite wounds, some unharmed but with blood on their clothes or faces.
The younger students burst into tears upon seeing the wardens. But for the wardens, the most important room was Jerry's. They had been swarmed by zombies earlier but seemed fine when they last spoke. They wondered what could have led to this unfortunate situation.
Gradually, the kids from Jerry's room also came out. Viren and Anju noticed Kiaan among them. He was looking down at the floor, avoiding eye contact with the wardens, and held two short swords in both of his blood-soaked hands.