June 9, 2030
Luke tried the door, it wasn't locked but pushed as a student ran past it erratically.
"Don't give me a scare like that man" Mira complained while sounding relieved herself.
"Sorry but lets get out of here" Luke replied sounding worried.
Luke's heart was still pounding as he and Mira rushed through the library's back exit. The sounds of chaos echoed through the campus—the screeching, the distant gunshots, and the inhuman growls that made the hairs on his neck stand on end.
It was pure mayhem outside. Luke witnessed betrayals of all sorts as everyone tried to survive.
He witnessed a student pulling a deranged student biting at a student on the ground away only for the person he saved push him into the deranged student who tore at his throat spilling blood everywhere. A quick glance around showed Luke a lot he needed to know to focus on his self.
"its really happening" Luke said, his voice barely above a whisper, panic creeping in as he glanced back towards the library. They had to keep moving; they couldn't afford to be caught in the open.
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The late afternoon sun cast long shadows across the eerily quiet campus as Luke and Mira hurried away from the library. The occasional scream and distant shouts were enough to keep them moving, though neither knew exactly where to go.
"Luke, seriously, where are we going?" Mira asked, panting as she struggled to keep up.
"Anywhere that isn't swarming with those things!" Luke snapped, though his voice softened when he glanced at her worried expression. "We'll figure it out, okay?"
They rounded the corner near the engineering building and almost ran straight into two figures.
"Watch it!" one of them barked, stepping back defensively.
Luke instinctively raised his hands, ready for anything, but then recognition set in. "Collins? Jeff?"
Collins, his shorter but feisty coursemate, looked at him like he'd grown two heads. "Luke? What are you doing out here? And what the hell is going on? We just barely got out of the workshop alive."
Luke glanced over at Jeff, Collins' towering, soft-spoken friend, who looked pale but steady. "Workshop? Wait, you saw them too?"
Jeff nodded grimly. "Saw one guy collapse, then next thing we knew, he was... biting someone."
Mira stepped closer. "It's everywhere. We just escaped the library, and it was bad—really bad."
Collins folded his arms, his jaw tightening. "So, what's the plan, genius? Or do we just keep wandering around hoping not to get eaten?"
Luke frowned, taking a moment to think. Before he could answer, a rustling noise from behind the bushes made all of them freeze.
"Who's there?" Jeff demanded, his deep voice carrying an edge of fear.
From the shadows, three figures stepped out—one skinny, clutching a bag that looked stuffed with books,the other a girl looking nervous, and the other broader, huffing from what must have been a long run.
"Don't shoot!" the scrawnier one blurted, holding up his hands.
"Shoot? What the hell-"
"Favour?" Mira asked, squinting in disbelief.
"Sarah... Justin?" Luke added, recognizing the stocky guy beside him, his round face glistening with sweat.
"Thank God," Justin wheezed, leaning against a nearby pole. "I thought we were done for."
"Wait," Collins said, narrowing his eyes. "Who are these clowns?"
"Coursemates," Mira muttered, brushing her hair out of her face while moving towards Sarah who look terrified.
Justin straightened up, catching his breath. "Hey, I resent that! I just saved Favour's butt back there. That's gotta count for something."
Favour adjusted his bag nervously. "Technically, I tripped, and you just happened to pull me up before I got... uh, eaten."
Collins groaned, rubbing his temples. "Great. So, we've got a group now. What's next? We gonna go sing Kumbaya while the campus turns into hell?" "what's wrong with you guys being calm right now?" he almost shouted out showing just how frayed his nerves were.
Luke ignored everyone and scanned their surroundings. "First, we need to get off the open streets. Find somewhere we can regroup and figure this out."
Jeff nodded. "There's an old storage building near the sports complex. Hardly anyone ever goes there. It might be empty."
"Good enough," Luke said. "Let's move before anything else finds us."
The group set off cautiously, sticking close together amidst the chaos.
The cautious moment didn't last long as two students lunged at them blood all over them.
Justin screamed shrilly "Yo get away you disgusting -"
"Fuck run!" Collins hollered leading the way whilst barreling through some students.
They ran to a deserted area catching their breath.
No one spoke for a while just wheezing.
The uneasy silence between them was broken only by Justin muttering, "I swear, if I die before breakfast tomorrow, I'm haunting all of you."