The group's tense waiting was shattered by a shrill scream echoing across the parking lot. Jean whipped his head around, his heart sinking as he spotted Brittany "Bri" Summers, the pink-haired influencer, running with a selfie stick held high, her phone broadcasting live."OMG, besties, this is INSANE!" she shrieked, stumbling as she tried to keep the camera pointed at herself. A horde of zombies was right on her heels, their decayed hands reaching out as she backed away, stumbling."What the hell is she doing?" Jean muttered, gripping the fire axe.Lucas shook his head, disbelief etched across his face. "Are you kidding me? She's live-streaming this?"Brittney's followers filled the screen with panicked emojis and comments, but she was too busy trying to look dramatic for the camera to notice the danger approaching from behind. Just as she took a step back, her foot caught on a piece of cracked pavement, and she tumbled to the ground. Her phone and selfie stick clattered to the side, leaving her defenseless as the zombies closed in."Help! I need backup! IRL backup!" she screamed, scrambling on the ground, reaching desperately for her phone.Without hesitating, Jean charged forward, his fire axe in hand. "Hang on, Brittney!"He reached her just in time, swinging the axe with all his strength into the closest zombie's head. The blade buried itself in the creature's skull with a sickening crunch, and it dropped instantly. Jean didn't stop. He kicked the next zombie back, yanking the axe free with a grunt before hacking into the second one.With two zombies down, he quickly grabbed Brittney, ignoring her indignant shouts as he hoisted her over his shoulder. She started flailing, reaching out toward her phone, which lay a few feet away on the ground."Put me down! My phone!" she yelled, her voice shrill as she tried to twist in his grip. "I need to go back for it! My fans need to see this!"Jean gritted his teeth, making a beeline back to the bus as he shouted, "Forget the damn phone, Brittney! You're about to get eaten!""But—my livestream! This could go viral!" Brittney whined, her hands clawing toward her phone, even as he carried her to safety. "This is, like, premium content, and I can't miss it!"Ethan, still hunched over the driver's controls, looked up as Jean sprinted back to the bus, Brittney slung over his shoulder, kicking and thrashing. "Are you serious right now, bro?" Evanshouted, barely containing his laughter. "She's mad about her phone?""Just get this thing started!" Jean yelled back, practically throwing Brittney into one of the seats as he slammed the bus doors closed behind them.Brittney scrambled up, pouting as she clutched at her now-empty hands, her eyes wide with outrage. "I had, like, two thousand people watching, and you just ruined it!"Jean rolled his eyes, exasperated. "Would you rather be famous or dead? Because right now, you were about to be lunch!"Brittney crossed her arms, still sulking. "Famous, obviously. If you'd grabbed my phone, this could've been a perfect rescue moment for my TikTok."Lucas snorted, shaking his head. "Wow, priorities. You almost became a hashtag."Evanignored the chatter as he concentrated, finally pulling the last of the wires together. The bus engine sputtered to life, coughing once before roaring to full power. He let out a triumphant whoop, his hands flying up in victory. "We're in business, boys!"Tyler gave Evana slap on the back. "Nice work, dude! Let's get the hell out of here!"Jean took a quick headcount, making sure everyone was aboard. "Alright, buckle up and hang on. We're getting out of this nightmare."Ms. Heather then got into the driver seat and put the bus into drive, Jean took one last glance at the school behind them, knowing there was no going back.The bus jolted as Ms. Heather gripped the wheel, steering it out of the parking lot. Everyone clung to whatever they could find as the bus lurched forward, the heavy engine rumbling like a growl. Evangave her a thumbs-up from the passenger seat, grinning like he'd just pulled off the heist of the century."Alright, let's get outta here!" Lucas shouted, pumping his fist as they finally began to move.Just as they pulled out of the lot, a figure came running from around the corner, waving his arms wildly. It was Brad, his face twisted in panic as he sprinted toward them, his breath coming in desperate gasps."Hey! Hey! Wait! Don't leave me!" he yelled, stumbling as he tried to catch up to the moving bus.Chloe, seated near the front, looked out the window and spotted him. Her face twisted in disgust as she leaned out, her voice dripping with venom. "You left me back there to get eaten, you asshole! You can rot!"Brad's face blanched as he picked up his pace, the desperation clear in his eyes. "Come on! I panicked! Don't just leave me out here!"Ms. Heather hesitated, glancing at the others with a conflicted look on her face. "I know he... I know he left Chloe, but we can't just leave him to die...""Are you kidding me?" Chloe snapped, still glaring out the window. "He ditched me the second things got tough!"Jean glanced around at the group, weighing the risks. He knew they couldn't just let Brad die, no matter how much of a jerk he was. He looked at Ms. Heather and nodded. "Open the door. Just don't slow down."Ms. Heather hesitated for a moment, then leaned over, pulling the lever. The door clanked open, and the bus continued rolling forward at a steady 20 km/h. Brad lunged forward, sprinting as fast as he could to catch up, his face red and covered in sweat."Come on, man! Don't leave me behind!" he shouted, his voice strained as he reached for the open door."Better jump!" Lucas called out with a smirk. "We're not stopping!"With a final burst of effort, Brad managed to grab the handle beside the door, hauling himself up with a grunt as he stumbled onto the bus. He nearly fell face-first into the aisle, gasping for air as he collapsed onto a seat.Chloe rolled her eyes, crossing her arms. "Wow, real heroic of you back there, Brad. Way to look out for your 'girlfriend.'"Brad scowled, still out of breath. "Look, I panicked, okay? It's every man for himself out here.""Classy," Evanmuttered, shaking his head as he settled into his seat.Ignoring the glares, Brad leaned back, still catching his breath. "Whatever. I made it on, didn't I?"Ms. Heather glanced in the rearview mirror, her expression a mix of relief and unease. She tightened her grip on the wheel, keeping the bus steady as they pulled out onto the street."Alright, everyone, hold on," she said, her voice calm but tense. "We're out of the school, but we need to be ready for anything. I'll try to keep us moving as smoothly as I can."Jean moved to the front of the bus, keeping an eye on the road. The streets were chaotic, with abandoned cars scattered in every direction and panicked people running down sidewalks, dodging the slow, staggering movements of zombies that dotted the road.As they sped down the street, weaving around obstacles, Lucas let out a low whistle. "Man, this is like something out of World War Z. The whole city's going down."Jordan, sitting toward the back, shook his head, still looking dazed. "I still can't believe this is happening... I thought this kind of stuff only happened in anime."Evanchuckled darkly, glancing over his shoulder. "Well, welcome to the real-life horror show. All we're missing now is a soundtrack and credits rolling."Jean turned back to face the others, his expression serious. "We need to figure out a plan. Getting out of the school was one thing, but we can't just drive around aimlessly. We need supplies, weapons—some kind of safe place."Ms. Heather nodded, her face determined as she maneuvered around an overturned car. "I think I know a place. There's a shopping plaza a few miles from here that has a grocery store and a hardware shop. It might be risky, but we'd have access to food, tools—maybe even more weapons."Lucas grinned, twirling his makeshift broom handle. "Sounds like a plan. Let's stock up and gear up. We're not gonna survive long without supplies."Evanleaned forward, glancing at Ms. Heather. "You good to drive us there?"She gave him a small, reassuring smile, nodding firmly. "I've got this. Let's get to that plaza and figure things out from there."With their destination set, the group settled in, bracing themselves as Ms. Heather steered the bus toward the unknown, their makeshift family banding together against the chaos unfolding around them.Q: Do you use Tik Tok?