"Good work today, everyone. Go and rest now."
A timid girl with round glasses-Fredrick's class leader-addressed the tired students who were done cleaning up the zombie bodies.
With tired sighs and lazy yawns, the students marched toward the two classrooms for their much-needed rest.
The inhuman screams and the loud banging coming from the smoke-rising city have been slightly muffled under the scorching evening sun. That undefeated silence was slightly broken by the various discussions that transpired between the numerous students.
"Man, that was tiring."
"I ended up vomiting three times just from the stench."
"What if we get infected as well?"
"We should wash our hands before doing anything."
After a couple of seconds, the two classrooms were packed to the brim with countless students. They ate their lunches while sharing some with the people who didn't have one.
In the eleventh-grade classroom, five people were sitting in a circle formation under the dim light. Chloe, Tess, Timid class leader, the two soldiers and Fredrick.
"So, what happened with Robert?"
The timid girl with round glasses asked Fredrick with a curious, tense expression on her face.
Fredrick met her gaze for a moment before answering with a disappointed look on his face.
"We went there to talk to him...but it didn't work out."
***
"So, if I understand it right...Regina is on the second floor with Charles."
Fredrick's tone released an aura of danger, but Chloe beside him didn't sense it.
"When the zombies started to appear, Robert blocked the stairway to the first floor. For a while, everything was fine except for people being scared."
She then closed her eyes for a moment before taking a deep breath.
"Then things changed-zombies... they started to appear among us and attacked the other students. Robert forced them to the third floor-The floor they are currently in- and blocked it as well."
"Why did Regina go with Charles instead of waiting with her friends?" Fredrick asked in a tense tone.
'Even though she wants to help him, she doesn't trust or like him enough to do that.'
"Charles took Regina with the promise that he would help her find you." Chloe blurted out instantly, causing Fredrick to grip his hand tightly enough to crush a stone.
'That lying, fucking, piece of shit. The fucking crackhead lied after beating me half to death.'
Fredrick clenched his teeth while walking toward the blockage of desks and chairs.
He was furious because Charles had deceived his Regina by using him. But he was strangely calm in the heart as well since he knew that no matter what happened, Charles wouldn't hurt Regina or force himself on her.
Even though it was a bitter thing to do, he has to admit that Charles has some good qualities to him.
He stopped near the blocked zigzag stairs and looked through them toward the second floor. The only thing he could see from the tiny gap between the wall and the blockage was the cemented floor.
After a few futile attempts to locate a human being, he turned to the most basic thing he could do to communicate with the others.
"HEY, ANYBODY THERE?"
He screamed with the top of his lungs toward the mass of desks and chairs to see if he could get someone to respond, and without delay, someone did.
"Who is it??"
A teenage boy's voice responded to Fredrick from downstairs. Fredrick's mind quickly became alert and tensed, but he kept his cool.
Fredrik lingered for a moment, took a deep breath and motioned for Chloe to take his place.
Since Fredrick is considered a loser by everyone in this school, except for the students on the third floor, he thought they would take a teacher's words more seriously.
Chloe threw a light nod at him and leaned toward the blockage. Then she looked down and talked with her smooth, beautiful voice.
"Hello, is Robert there?"
The boy turned silent for a moment before replying.
"Yeah, he is here."
Silence overtook again, until a voice that resonated with Fredrick very deeply sounded.
"Who is it?"
Robert asked casually with his rough, domineering voice. His words sent ripples of shivers through Fredrick's body, causing an invincible weight to manifest on top of him.
On the other hand, Chloe heaved a sigh of relief with a hint of joy. Things were going like they planned.
"Robert...please, what you are doing is wrong. My students are tired and hungry, and we don't have much food. Please let us down, so we can share the cafeteria's food."
Silence followed for a long, everlasting minute until Robert replied again.
"I might do that, but what could I possibly get out of that?"
"Huh?"
A frown appeared on Chloe's face as she tried her best to hide her surprise.
"What do you mean? Robert?"
He lingered for a moment before answering.
"If you want me to remove this blockage and let your parasites barge in here, you must do something for me."
Chloe gulped after hearing that. A hint of fear overwhelmed her heart as she tried her best to calm herself down.
Fredrick, on the other hand, was burning with intensity and rage.
'That fucker, how dare he ask something like that of Miss Chloe?'
Robert replied with cold intensity and a calculating tone.
"I want the gun you used to kill the zombies and all the ammo you have to it."
Chloe blinked a couple of times in surprise before sighing. She then looked toward Fredrick, expecting a yes, but she was pointed. With a darkened gaze, Fredrick shook his head, indicating his disagreement.
She lingered for a moment, nodded in disappointment and replied to Robert.
"Unfortunately, we can't do that, Robert. Maybe we can come to a...different agreement."
"There will be no other deals. There is only one thing you can give to convince me, and that is giving me the gun."
Chloe looked at Fredrick again, but only saw the rejection of the proposal. She pleaded with Fredrick's eyes to consider it for some time, but Fredrick was having none of it.
She sighed and said to Robert. "I am sorry, Robert, but we can't give you the gun."
"Then we have nothing to talk about."
After saying that, Robert opted not to answer anymore, no matter how much pleading Chloe did.
***
"That's how it happened."
Fredrick said while giving a serious look to the timid class leader, whose name was Henriette. When she heard that, she lowered her head in defeat and mumbled to herself.
"What should we do now?"
"Why can't we just clear the barricade ourselves?"
Selena Tess-aka Tess-who were beside Henriette, locked her eyes with Fredrick and asked. She had taken over the leadership of the other class since both their class teacher and leader were dead.
"We can't. It's too dangerous."
Fredrick said while shaking his head.
"Even if we have a gun on our side, descending the stairs while removing the blockade is a dangerous thing. It's prepared in a way that the moment we remove it from here, it collapses onto us. The only way we can safely remove it is by the second floor."
Fredrick said the reason for his disapproval of the request. He also didn't want to meet Robert without his soldiers.
"So, what should we do? Our food is running out." Henriette said with a frown on her face.
Fredrick met her gaze for a moment before looking through the class window toward the scenery of the dead city.
"Don't worry, I have a plan...A plan that will get us out of here."
'I am about to farm tokens.'