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Dhammawitaya School – 8:25 a.m.
Somewhere on the second floor, a girl was crying. Not sobbing—just a quiet, broken cry, like someone who already knew it was too late.
Jet Chanasorn didn’t slow down. Not for the crying. Not for the blood.
“Go, go, go!” he barked, pushing students ahead of him. His arm was hooked tightly around Tae’s shoulder, dragging his best friend through the chaos.
Tae had tripped back in Room 3/2—blood on the floor, screams in their ears. If Jet hadn’t grabbed him...
“We’re heading to the AV room,” Jet yelled. “Metal doors. Only one entrance.”
Tae nodded, face pale, still clutching the strap of his backpack like it was a lifeline. “What if they’re already there?”
“Then we don’t knock.”
---
Across the building, in the science wing, Mew had barricaded herself in the lab with two underclassmen. One was shaking. The other wouldn’t stop bleeding.
Mew knew that wasn’t a good sign.
She crouched, knife gripped tight. Her breathing was steady, but her mind wasn’t. Blood didn’t scare her. Screams didn’t scare her.
But this wasn’t normal.
These things—these people—were faster than they should be. Hungrier. Stronger.
She’d seen one jump from a second-floor window and stand back up.
“Do not,” she warned the bleeding girl, “fucking turn. I swear to God, I’ll stab you myself.”
---
Back in the janitor’s closet, Sol couldn’t stop shaking. The air smelled like mold, sweat, and Rin.
They were still pressed together—chests nearly touching. Sol’s back was against the shelf. Rin had one arm braced beside his head. Protective. Trapping. Dangerous.
Outside, the infected girl had gone silent.
“I can’t believe this is happening,” Sol whispered.
“I can,” Rin muttered.
Sol swallowed. “How did you know?”
Rin didn’t answer right away. His eyes were fixed on the crack of light beneath the door.
“I saw something,” he finally said. “This morning. Behind the nurse’s office. A student… coughing blood. Eyes like glass. Thought he was tweaking out. But now—”
He shook his head.
Sol’s throat tightened. “My dad works at the hospital. He said something weird was going around. A patient attacked a nurse last night.”
Rin glanced at him. “And you still came to school?”
“I thought it was just rumors. Some weird flu.”
“People died because of rumors.”
That shut Sol up.
Outside, something heavy slammed into the door.
Both boys jumped.
Rin stepped forward silently, blade in hand.
Sol grabbed his sleeve.
“Wait,” he whispered. “What if it’s a student?”
“What if it’s not?”
The door thudded again.
---
In the AV room, Jet slammed the door shut just as another infected student lunged. He kicked the boy backward, hard, and locked the metal handle.
“Okay. Okay. Okay,” he panted. “We’re safe for now.”
Tae was already scanning the room. Wires. Monitors. Old radios. “We might be able to reach the front office from here.”
“If there’s anyone left there,” Jet muttered.
He sat against the door, then looked at Tae.
“You okay?”
Tae nodded, shakily.
Jet reached out—gently pushed hair off Tae’s bloody forehead.
“You sure?”
Tae blinked. “You’re being… weird.”
“I’m trying not to panic. Flirting helps.”
Tae gave a half-hearted smile. “Maybe flirt less if we’re going to die.”
---
8:39 a.m.
Mew’s barricade wouldn’t hold much longer.
The bleeding girl was pale now, head leaning against the wall, lips trembling.
“Mew…” whispered the underclassman boy. “She’s not breathing.”
Mew stared.
Her fingers tightened on the blade.
“Open the door,” the boy begged. “We can get help—”
“No.”
“We have to—”
“I SAID NO.”
The girl twitched.
Then she lunged.
The scream that followed echoed through the whole floor.
---
Back at the closet, Rin moved fast.
He pushed Sol behind him, opened the door, and shoved his blade into the infected teacher waiting outside. Blood gushed—black, thick, unnatural.
The teacher didn’t scream. Just snarled.
Rin pushed again—hard—and the body hit the floor.
Sol stared in horror. “You… you just—”
“You’re welcome,” Rin growled, yanking Sol by the wrist. “Let’s go.”
They ran.
Down the hall. Past lockers. Past broken glass. Past three infected students tearing into something that used to be a boy.
---
They didn’t stop until they crashed into a supply room.
Door locked. Lights off. Breathing ragged.
This time, it was Sol who pressed close to Rin.
And this time, Rin didn’t pull away.
“You didn’t hesitate,” Sol whispered. “When you killed him.”
“I’ve done worse things,” Rin said.
Sol looked at him—really looked.
And for the first time since this morning, he didn’t see a thug.
He saw someone who was terrified… and still standing.
---
Somewhere else in the school…
Eli sat calmly in the art room, alone.
Blood on his fingers.
A bite on his neck.
And he was smiling.
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