"Sir, we are almost there!" The pilot of the helicopter said to Raj, with a hint of confusion.
The time it took them to reach the hostel was not much, since the hostel was really close to the airport and both were situated in the outskirts. That's why the number of zombies they encountered was less, but Viren and Anju would argue about this comment.
....
"Kids! Whoever is not injured, line up in the volleyball court," Viren sent this message to every room in the boys' hostel through the speakers installed in each room.
Since it hadn't been much time, the kids on cleaning duty had just taken a shower and were about to take a nap, and this announcement pissed them off.
"Ahh! What the duck, are we some kind of reincarnations of gods who don't get tired?" Kabir yelled at the speaker in annoyance. He was laying on his bed and was just about to doze off. Not only him, but everyone was doing the same. Kabir was wearing a dark blue T-shirt with "Killer Rock" printed on his chest.
(These kids were supposed to be tough, and they were, way too tough for their age at least.)
"Anyways, if we don't get out there, Viren would come here," Jai said with a grunt as he pulled himself up from his bed, rubbing his watery eyes and yawning. He too was wearing a black casual outfit which said "Cobra Kai" and had a snake going around the text.
"You wake up Kiaan, I'll wake up Rahul. They must be fast asleep," Kabir said with a sigh as he too got up from the bed, still sounding annoyed and making faces.
"We are not asleep," Kiaan said as he walked with heavy eyes, dirt around them, and messy hair. He was wearing a white T-shirt with a grim reaper on it and said "The Deathly Hallows". "Actually, I was, but...." Kiaan continued but was interrupted by another announcement.
"BE FAST!!! I CAN SEE NONE OF YOU HAVE LEFT YOUR ROOMS YET!!" The speakers shouted as if Viren had come out of them and yelled into their souls.
"RUN, RUN, RUN!" Rahul was the most panicked out of them all and went past everyone towards the door, but then stopped to say "RUNNNNN!!!!" This made everyone rush as fast as they could.
And not just the seniors, but every kid was now running like a horde of wild buffalos, as if they had just seen a lion.
.....
"Now it was the girls' hostel's turn as they too heard Anju's voice announced through the speakers.
But unlike the boys, they got up instantly. They did make noise but did not curse.
"Oh, I hate this," Maya grumbled as she pulled herself up with messy hair and dirt in her eyes. She was wearing a red T-shirt with an orange flame pattern and the text "I am too hot for you."
"You look like shit!" Sarah said as she came from outside, wiping her face with a towel. She was wearing a light blue T-shirt with an anime character on it (Kakashi Hatake) and the text "Water clone Jutsu."
"Change your clothes and wash your face before heading out, or Anju would kill you," Sarah told Maya as Maya left the room to do just that. Sarah went to her cupboard to get her uniform.
The kids weren't allowed to wear casual outfits outside the hostel buildings, and they were given four different colored T-shirts to wear at different times. All these four colors were taken from the Indian flag:
Saffron during the morning roll call and breakfast.
White after school/classes for lunch.
Blue during the evening roll call and snacks.
Green for dinner.
(Roll calls were supposed to be held before training.)
"Hey, what color should we wear?" Sarah asked Maya as she saw Maya come in while brushing her hair.
Sarah was holding both a white and a blue T-shirt in her hand, not wearing anything else on top but her black bra. "We didn't have lunch, but isn't it time for roll call?" Sarah continued, to which Maya just stared at her chest and smirked.
Maya didn't answer anything but whistled as she walked towards Sarah and teased her, "I suggest you remove that as well and make love to me, sweetheart."
"Girls, stop wasting time and come out quickly wearing your blue shirts. It's roll call," Anju's voice boomed through the speakers, which jolted Maya and Sarah back to dressing up.
"What about lunch? I am very hungry," Jerry said as she brushed her hair out of her blue T-shirt.
"I don't know, but I am hungry too," Riya said from her side.
Riya was actually Jerry's senior, but since she was the only girl from class 11, she didn't get a separate room but was put in a room with Jerry, Jhanvi, Zahera from class 10, and Rosey and Minnie from class 9.
After dressing up, all the girls headed out calmly towards the volleyball court. they were indeed late.
...
As the girls headed out, they saw boys crouch-walking across the volleyball court, sweating, and some covered with dirt because they had fallen over.
They were being punished because they didn't even think of changing into uniforms; they all just rushed out wearing whatever they were wearing before going to bed.
Some were lucky in this since they went to take a nap wearing blue uniforms, as this was their habit to save time.
And the lucky ones were mostly from the room of Kartik and Hanu. As seven students stood behind Viren and saw the other kids suffering, with Viren making fun of them and calling them names.
"Seriously, man, Viren sir is about to become a zombie and he still is punishing them," Neil whispered in Kartik's ear. Kartik just gave Neil a look and didn't say anything.
"Shh... I agree, but stay quiet or we will be joining them," Zayn intervened, whispering in Neil's ear and gesturing for him to shut his mouth.
But it was no good, as Viren had heard their comments, and it had affected him. An officer like Viren was ready to die a long time ago, but now he would die this soon, and what he would become scared him a little. Although Viren's strong mindset didn't let him feel sorrow for long, it was time to discipline those brats who dared to talk during Viren's punishment.
Viren turned back and looked Zayn and Neil in the eyes, which startled them both. With a slight hand movement and a smile, Viren gestured for them to join the others.
Without arguing or giving each other a look, they both went to join the group of crouch-walkers, looking down at the ground in embarrassment.
"Keep going, boys. I promise myself that you'll never repeat this mistake," Viren taunted everyone.
"Sir, where is ma'am?" Sarah asked Viren in a soft tone.
"Just get in line," Viren said without looking at Sarah. "BOYS!! LINE UP WITH CLASSES BUT STAY IN CROUCH POSITIONS." Viren then gave new orders to the undisciplined boys.
.....
It had been a while since Viren had asked them to line up, and Anju had also come out from the control room by now. The number of students significantly dropped down after this incident, and Viren's only hope was Raj; maybe he had some way, some way to help these poor kids.
The kids were seated on the ground, whereas both wardens were sitting on chairs.
"Today morning we were around 200, and now the number is 43," Viren said with sorrow in his voice.
"I know you young ones haven't seen death up close like this," Viren said, looking at the kids who were under class 8. "I... I never thought we would have to face any more deaths after the cruise attack," Viren said with a lump in his throat.
"It's okay, sir. It's not your fault," Rahul said to console his uncle-in-law, to which Viren just nodded.
"All the communications seem to be out of order," Anju said in a firm voice, though she was not unaffected by any of this. She too was saddened, mourning the deaths of her students and those who would die due to being bitten, including Viren. "Our only hope is General Raj," she added, giving herself and others a slight glimmer of hope as she kept checking her phone for a signal.
Hearing Raj's name, the students had sparkles in their eyes. Raj was a reliable figure for these kids, and he had once saved them from dying before, so all the boys liked him more than Anju, and all the girls liked him more than Viren.
Although girls' liking for him was not similar to boys, as girls liked him in a lustful way.
...
Everyone was able to hear a loud noise coming from afar, as if some kind of giant motor was turned on and heading towards them.
"It must be him," Viren said as he got up. "You kids take rest, we will go and welcome him."
As soon as Viren and Anju left, the kids burst into chatter.
"What happened to our parents?" "What is going on outside?" "Are we really screwed?" "I can't believe something like this is actually happening." "Will all our friends really turn into zombies?" These were the thoughts racing through the minds of the students.
....
Time 3:37 pm
Viren and Anju were standing where the football field used to be, but now it was just a muddy ground.
"How and where will they land?" Anju asked as she saw the helicopter coming from the direction of the sun.
The day was too hot, and the sun was shining brightly, making it hard for Anju to see anything.
"Why is it so bright today? I can hardly see anything," Anju said, clicking her tongue and covering her eyes with one hand.
"Maybe because I am wearing my favorite T-shirt today," Viren said, pointing at his T-shirt.
Viren and Anju were exceptions to the uniform rule. Viren was wearing a black T-shirt with the text written "I shine bright because I am the sun of my life" and a sun logo on the chest. Anju hated that T-shirt.
"Anyways, I think he would slide through ropes and let the helicopter land outside the campus," Viren said as he stared at the tiny helicopter.
In no time, the helicopter was above the ground and was levitating around 30 - 35 feet. After a few seconds, the doors opened, and Viren and Anju could see three figures wearing complete black standing. Focusing more, Viren saw that Raj was standing in the middle.
Seeing what Raj was wearing, Viren couldn't help but comment. "Is he really wea...." He suddenly stopped at what he saw next.
In between Viren's talking, Raj and both his companions jumped out of the helicopter and landed in front of them without any safety gear.