We sat on the rooftop, trying to catch our breath. The glow from the stone was still there, but it was getting dimmer. The silence after the fight felt strange, almost unreal.
"We need to find out more about this stone," Mr. Alex said. "Maybe it can help us protect the whole school."
Kaori nodded, looking at the symbols on the stone. "There must be a reason it was left here. Someone must have known this would happen."
Ellis, still pale, said, "We need to find more of these stones. If this one works, others might too."
Mr. Alex agreed. "First, we need to secure the school and make sure no more zombies get in. Then we can look for more stones or any clues about them."
We decided to search the school for more clues. Moving through the hallways, we saw the damage from the earlier fights. Broken windows, overturned desks, and bloodstains were everywhere. It was clear that many hadn't survived.
We split into pairs to cover more ground. I was with Kaori, while Ellis and Miu went together, and Mr. Alex stayed with Davis. We agreed to meet back in an hour.
Kaori and I searched the classrooms. Each room was eerily silent, filled with memories of normal school days that now seemed so far away. As we checked each room, we found nothing useful, just more destruction and loss.
In the library, we saw books scattered everywhere. It seemed like someone had been searching for something. We decided to look through the books about local history and legends, hoping to find any mention of protective stones or artifacts.
Kaori pulled out a dusty old book. "Look at this," she said, showing me a page with drawings of stones similar to the one we found. "It says these stones were used to ward off evil spirits and protect sacred places."
"Do you think this could help us?" I asked, feeling a bit of hope.
"It has to," Kaori said. "If we can find more of these stones, we might be able to protect the entire school."
Just then, we heard a scream from down the hall. It was Miu. We dropped the book and ran towards the sound, our hearts pounding with fear.
We found Miu and Ellis in a science lab, surrounded by a group of zombies. Ellis was fighting them off with a metal rod, but there were too many. Miu was backed into a corner, her face pale with fear.
"Over here!" I shouted, trying to distract the zombies. Kaori and I joined the fight, using anything we could find as weapons. The battle was brutal, with blood and gore flying everywhere.
After a fierce struggle, we managed to kill the zombies. Ellis was bleeding from a wound on his arm, but he was alive. Miu was shaken but unhurt.
"We need to get out of here," Ellis said, his voice strained with pain. "There might be more of them coming."
We helped Ellis back to the rooftop, where Mr. Alex and Davis were waiting. They had found some medical supplies and quickly bandaged Ellis's wound.
"We found something in the library," Kaori said, showing them the book. "These stones might be our best chance to protect the school."
Mr. Alex looked at the book, his face serious. "Then we need to find more of them, and fast. The zombies aren't going to stop, and we need every advantage we can get."
As the sun began to set, casting long shadows across the school grounds, we knew we had a long night ahead of us. The fight was far from over, but we had a plan and a glimmer of hope. Together, we would keep searching, keep fighting, and do whatever it took to survive.