Chapter 3 - Struggles for Survival

The situation was so severe and absurd that it was hard to believe it was real. For Hruday, it felt like living one of his recurring nightmares.

Hruday watched, frozen for a moment looking at the absolute horror bloodbath, as the zombies stumbled forward, their limbs jerking and flailing like broken marionettes. They moved in a grotesque, unnatural way—each one a twisted parody of life.

Some were drenched in blood, their bodies smeared with gore. Their eyes varied: some were a milky white, devoid of life, while others glowed a sinister red, filled with a malevolent hunger.

Each zombie seemed more horrific than the last. Some sprinted violently, their jaws snapping, desperate to bite. Others shuffled slowly, their bodies shivering as if struggling to retain control over their human forms. It was as if a clumsy puppeteer was toying with their bodies, making them crawl on their hands like grotesque spiders.

for hruday Time seemed to stretch and compress all at once—everything was happening too fast and too slow. It was like witnessing a horrible wish come to life, one that no one should ever have to see.

He repeated to himself, Calm down, think… think…Think, damn it. i need to Move hruday felt stuck his brain not working for a second then it started running be smart, Hruday. Now is not the time to freeze, his brain rushed with thoughts as his eyes darted around slowly his eyes turned cold 

Hruday started breathing deeply, a near-impossible task in this situation. Each breath felt like he was inhaling tangible fear, a choking sensation that caught in his throat. The metallic scent of blood filled his lungs, making his fear almost palpable. He kept repeating to himself, Calm down, think… think…

He snapped out of his stupor, just as he had in his dreams, where hesitation meant a torturous death. But now, the choices were real, and each chooses deadly consequences.

hruday Barin rushed with thoughts it was like a dream to him too fast to absurd,he closed his eyes and imagined they were at the right end of the buildings he could run to the lab or kitchen but quickly ruled it out even tho kitchen seemed more promising, he didn't want to take the risk of being cornered

so now Three options: go back to the classroom, run outside, or head to the end of the hallway and run towards the compound and jump. But the screams of pain and beastly growls from the teacher's room ruled that out immediately.

Running outside wasn't easy with the constant cries of horror echoing through the halls. The classroom seemed like a safer option—a place to regroup and think—but it could also be a death trap, just like the chaos outside. Following the crowd was never a good option, especially now.

If he did that, his chances of survival would be almost none. If he went to the classroom, it could turn into a death trap, but it might give him a minute to calm down and think. He hesitated, the sounds of horror echoing around him. The longer he took, the closer the zombies came. Think, damn it. Move!

Finally, he decided—the classroom. If nothing else, it would give him a moment to gather his thoughts at worst he could run right away before entering and taking turns to the office room. He hoped there wouldn't be newly-turned zombies waiting for them.

But he had taken too long to decide and think. The zombies were near, and two of them blocked his path, one an absolute monster towering over the others. Hruday's heart raced as he eyed the inner ground, the hollow part of the U-shaped building, where many more zombies roamed.

seeing all this hruday looked far back beyond the teachers' room a small toilet for teachers and a little bit of room to enter the backstage beyond it was the compound hruday contemplated running leaving everyone behind for a second then shook his head as that route would be far more distant and risky 

to snap others back, hruday said, "We will play dodge or die today." Roy, too tense to decide, snapped back almost at the same time. Just as he was going to ask, he heard this from his buddy. He was baffled. His eyes reflected this thought: "What the fu*k?"

Hruday ran, saying, "dodge." Roy, pulling Michael, said, "There isn't much space to run together without following you guys."

Hruday ran out without saying anything more, and everyone followed fighting a strong primal urge to run away. But with all this chaos they failed to note the fallen bucket of soup water kept to mop the floor now mixed with blood. Stepping on it, Hruday fell and slid down fast. Due to his inertia, he passed through the approaching giant, making it bend to grab him he too slept fully allowing his head to hit the slippery tile floor.

Hruday ran out without saying anything more, everyone following him despite a strong urge to flee. But with all this chaos they failed to note the fallen bucket of soup water that had been kept to mop the floor now mixed with blood. Stepping on it, Hruday slipped and slid uncontrollably, inertia carrying him forward. He narrowly avoided the outstretched hand of a towering zombie, who stumbled as it tried to grasp him.

But Roy, who realized it was too late to react, couldn't stop so he kicked the 6'4" monster's bent head, making it stager sideways and fall off the corridor,

Michael attempted to brace himself, but his efforts were only partially successful. Instead of falling, he slid across the floor like an ice skater, but John's push sent them both tumbling toward the skinny zombie. They collided with the creature with a force that would have been enough to knock over a giant bowling pin, but instead of plunging over the edge, they managed to avoid disaster. Closing their eyes, they crashed into the wall, each in a different direction.

They opened their eyes in a second, their backs wet. Roy screamed, "Open the fu*king door! We are fine. As he noticed the door ajar, he sprinted towards it and pounded on it. When it opened slightly, he forced his way inside. Hruday felt his heart pang scanned everywhere, thinking about what to do.

Opening the door, Roy jumped on Shravan, slapping him as hard as Hruday. After getting in, he closed the door and leaned on it. Before he could warn them, a violent sound came. The old wooden door shook, silencing everyone.

The 6'5" zombie screamed, gathering dust and old paint, scaring everyone. Hruday, who was pushing the door, got others to help support the door. They prayed to every god they could think of to make this monster go away or this nightmare end. The monster zombie banged three consecutive times, each bang making everyone's heart cling to it, but fortunately or unfortunately due to a violent scream of horror it got distracted. After a long silence, Hruday, whose heartbeat was chaotic, signaled to barricade using their long wooden benches.

They all hesitated as it would cause noise, but hruday started picking it up on one side. Scared, everyone helped slowly move it 4 people holding a single long bench, and they barricaded the main door. They all slowly staked in and ensured all windows were locked. They sat on the cold, red oxide floor in the center.

Just as they were trying to barricade another door, Hruday stopped them. As he said a few people started banging on doors from outside in terror. Everyone got under the table and didn't flinch. As soon as they got under the table, people outside started screaming, "Ahh, run... ahh... bastards, open the door, you cruel mf,"

then there was a lot of scratching and banging on the windows, and the door went silent. A girl near Sam whispered continuously, pressing her hands against her ears, "I am sorry sorry... I can't ..., am scared ." Soon after hearing that, the monster started to bang on the window.

The girl next to her closed her mouth and hugged her tightly. Everyone panicked and showed it in various ways: talking in hushed voices, cursing, crying, and hugging each other. Most boys, rather than crying, hugged females, trying not to show their panic, repeating, "Calm down," and "Everything is alright." They were doing it to calm themselves.

Some crawled inside, putting on their bags. But it wasn't everyone that was hiding under the table as they had practiced in emergency drills. some were extremely cautious like hruday staying near the exit and looking around to run, the minute they found something off, After the screams and growls became distant and mild, Hruday popped open a coffee candy taking a few deep breaths after finishing 2 toffees he moved from the spot still observing everyone and then called one guy from each line. They formed a circle near the black door hruday looked at both doors once again and lingered on the unbarricaded door.

Everyone asked urgent questions about what was happening. Hruday said bluntly, "It's zombies." This shocked Bane, who asked with teary eyes, "Hey, are you guys doing one of those pranks? If you are, just say it. Please, this is going too far.

another voice came "Is this a drill?" Hruday and Shravan answered at the same time, "No, it's not." Several others asked them questions about how many there were.

Some surprisingly asked what a zombie was hruday ignored them completely, and some looked at him suspiciously, fearing he might be bitten, and asked how they escaped.

after explaining the whole event and hearing Sharvens perspective and others quires Hruday said, "Look, we don't know if it will spread by bite. Just to make sure, let's check everyone's legs and hands."

There was a wave of hesitation and silence. Hruday added, "Girls will check their groups, boys will do theirs, and we will build a barricade separating the bitten and us."

Then there was a wave of suggestions, some filled with selfishness, asking to collect everyone's food and trying to be a leader. As the argument grew louder, Hruday said sharply, "It will not matter. Let's talk later. We need to survive first." His voice was accompanied by screams of dread and the sound of a car crash. He completed the sentence, only shaking once.

He added, "First, we will barricade properly make sure that these don't fall over, and close all windows he said as he pointed towards a window still opened. Then we will make a compartment separating the injured from the uninjured. After that, we will ask if anyone has a phone." When Shravan felt his authority was declining, he took the initiative and built the box.

As they were making a compartment, Hruday asked around for gum and tape, which they gave him, thinking he was going to use them for sealing windows. He sat with his friends. Sam complained about how Shravan always bossed around, and Hruday calmed him down while thanking him. Roy was angry because of Shravan's antics. He said, "We have to do something if we are trapped here. I am pretty sure Shravan and his gang will take food from us." Hearing that, Hruday replied halfheartedly, "I don't think we have that long. I just hope I get enough time to prepare."

Then he walked around with his backpack, ready to run if chaos erupted. He wasn't just walking around; he was doing a couple of things. He was trying to shake some eyes off him while scanning for people who could be infected. But the main reason was a weapon. Yes, he was looking for a broken piece of an old wooden chair. After a while, he finally found it near a window.

Collecting all that, Hruday sat tearing his book. This caught some intelligent eyes; some even realized what he was doing and wanted to stop but couldn't, as it would mean they wouldn't get it. Hruday first used paper and tape to cover Roy's neck and shoulders. After helping all his friends with experience and experimentation, he covered himself.

After that, the man who gave the tape came, asking to return it. Before he could raise his voice, Hruday started to cover him. He was satisfied and kept quiet. Hruday then offered his service for a bottle of water, which only a few accepted as they thought they could just steal it later or they valued safety more.

In the end, he got three bottles and sat with his empty bag, putting his bottles in. Roy asked, "Now what? They will start doing something. Look, they are convincing people over there." Hruday wasn't bothered much about that. What bothered him was that no one was bitten, which meant either zombification happened through the air, which is doom, or they hid it. Whatever it was, zombies were going to pop up without warning.

Hruday thought. He got up, saying

, "I will be back," and walked around searching and thinking.

"Hey, alright, babe, are you alright?" The girl next to the couple finally asked, "Hey, what happened to her? She is pale." "Ah, I have a stomach cramp. I think I am having my period early," the girl replied. "Oh, don't worry, hold your bag; I will block you," her boyfriend said. The other girl, who was the best friend of the lover, got suspicious and moved.

Just as he was coming back, there was a big explosion. He knew that it was a gas station that blew up. As it was happening, the distant roar of helicopters thickened. Hruday didn't want to lose hope but couldn't help it. They all screamed for help, and he turned back and shouted, "What is happening? Zombies... zombies...!! Run, run!!"

Hruday looked around to isolate himself, but it was too late as the girl, who was shaking and crying, walked toward the main door with her friend. Hruday, who noticed it, screamed for the first time, letting out a curse so loud, "Shit, stop that stupid bitch!" But it was too late.

Due to fear and the hope of a visible helicopter, he ran straight even though he had made the safest plan to reach his house by going backward near the toilet, where he could have jumped the low-height compound and taken an inner small route. Although it was a long one, he could have escaped with some good possibility, but he ran straight, thinking that in the worst case, he could jump over the big compound that led towards the hospital and doctors' cottages (houses).

As they fled, the primary school loomed closer. Small, three-foot-tall zombies emerged from the building, rolling and tumbling towards them. Despite the distance, their fate was sealed if they slowed down. Surrounded and pursued by hundreds of zombies from all sides, they raced desperately. Hruday's screams echoed through the chaos. "Oh! Fuck, fuck!!" he yelled, dodging and trying to avoid falling. The world was a blur of terror and carnage.

He couldn't think, only react as zombies swarmed around them. Just as he reached for Pase, a sudden pull sent him backward. He saw Shravan running past, his eyes fixed on the sky and people's legs passing over him.

A wave of despair washed over him, his heavy heart sinking into the abyss. Instinctively, he felt a deep sense of hopelessness, as if everything was falling apart around him. Fear jolted him as he realized the danger. He quickly recovered from the jarring impact and saw a zombie bending down to feed. A kick and a hand intervened. It was John and another unfamiliar face. Hruday's heart swelled with gratitude as he ran alongside John. Behind him, the cries of his saviors were muffled by the endless cacophony of terror. The reality was harsh: kindness was a luxury, and cruelty was rewarded. As John and Hruday fled, the world was a grim testament to this harsh truth.

The helicopter, a beacon of hope, wobbled and came crashing down. Boom! The fan detached and became a slaughtering boomerang, killing zombies and humans alike. Hruday's heart froze when the fan suddenly turned toward him. Barely dodging, he felt warm blood on his cheeks. He tried to look at his arm, which was crimson-red. Looking at it, he screamed, "My arm!!?" Roy looked at him in horror and ran without looking twice.

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