Chapter 67
"Behind the store room Door"
It was already 10:28 in the morning.
As the minutes passed, the sky grew darker. Thick clouds slowly gathered overhead, swallowing the blue sky beneath layers of dark gray and black. The wind had begun to blow harder, sweeping across the school grounds with an unsettling force.
The trees surrounding the school swayed violently from side to side, their branches trembling beneath the pressure of the wind. Leaves and other lightweight objects scattered across the rooftop, occasionally being lifted into the air and carried from one place to another.
The atmosphere felt strangely cold and uneasy.
Yet, beneath that darkening sky, sixteen students and two teachers stood together on the school's rooftop.
This rooftop had become their only remaining shelter from the zombies.
For the past several hours, it had been the one place where they could breathe without constantly fearing that a zombie would suddenly appear in front of them.
But even here, safety no longer felt permanent.
The distant growls of zombies continued to echo from below.
Every now and then, those horrifying sounds drifted up toward the rooftop with the wind, reminding everyone that thousands of infected creatures were still trapped inside and around the school.
Fear was slowly consuming them.
Hunger and thirst had weakened their bodies, while exhaustion weighed heavily on their minds. Some students sat silently against the walls, while others stood together, their eyes fixed on the surrounding buildings.
No one had much energy left to speak.
And yet, despite everything...
They were still alive.
They were still standing.
They had survived another night.
For a few moments, the rooftop remained completely silent.
Then—A sudden sound came from the door of the storage room.
Everyone froze.
Their heads turned simultaneously toward the storage-room door.
Miss Selena immediately stared at it, her expression changing from exhaustion to confusion.
She slowly stood straighter.
"What... was that?"
Before anyone could answer—
BANG! BANG!
Another loud knock struck the door.
This time, it was much stronger.
A wave of fear swept through the rooftop.
Everyone stared at the storage room.
Jon and Afra instinctively moved closer together, their faces becoming tense.
Same immediately tightened his grip around Jinjin's hand.
Jinjin looked at him with frightened eyes, but Same didn't let go. His hand remained firmly wrapped around hers as if that small gesture could protect her from whatever was waiting behind the door.
Hasnain stared at the storage room in complete disbelief.
Jackson quickly reached for Mary's trembling hand and held it tightly.
Lina, who had been standing alone a little farther away, quietly moved closer to Yaram.
Yaram noticed her movement from the corner of his eye. He glanced at her for a moment before turning his attention back toward the storage-room door.
Then—
A voice came from inside.
It was the voice of a man.
An old man.
His voice trembled badly, and fear was unmistakable in every word.
"Hey... boys! If you're out there, please open the door! I've already told you before... I wasn't bitten by any zombie!"
Everyone exchanged nervous glances.
Miss Selena's brows furrowed.
"Who is that?" Mr. Simit asked immediately. "And why is he locked inside the storage room?"
Before anyone could answer, Jason stepped forward.
His expression became serious.
"We locked him in there two days ago."
"What?"
Mr. Simit's eyes widened.
Jason then began explaining everything that had happened.
---
Two Days Earlier
Jack, William, and Jason had been standing on the rooftop terrace, looking down at the zombies swarming across the school grounds.
Jason had just reached the terrace door and was pulling it shut.
But before he could completely close it—
A figure suddenly rushed through the doorway.
It was an old man.
He was wearing clothes similar to those worn by the school's chief staff.
The man entered so quickly that Jason didn't even have time to stop him.
The old man stumbled forward and nearly fell to the ground.
Jack, William, and Jason immediately turned toward him.
Jason's expression hardened.
"Why did you come here?" he demanded. "You're not infected, are you?"
The old man's frightened eyes darted between them.
Before he could answer, William stepped forward.
"Jason, why are you even asking him that?" William said nervously. "If he's infected, do you really think he'll admit it? He could turn into a zombie and infect all of us!"
The words immediately filled the three boys with even more fear.
They stared at the old man suspiciously.
The old man desperately raised both hands.
"No... no!" he pleaded. "Children, I'm not infected! I'm absolutely fine!"
His voice shook uncontrollably.
"I was only coming to the storage room to get some supplies. But on the way here, I saw people attacking one another..."
He swallowed nervously.
"I don't know what happened to them. They were acting like complete lunatics... attacking each other like wild animals."
Jason's face remained tense.
"I don't know anything about that," he said coldly. "Just get out of here."
But before he could finish—
BANG!
The zombies suddenly began throwing themselves against the terrace door.
The entire door shook violently.
Their horrifying growls echoed through the rooftop.
There were many of them.
Far too many.
Jack, William, and Jason immediately rushed toward the door.
Together, they pushed against it and began placing anything they could find around it—broken pieces of furniture, damaged equipment, metal objects, and other heavy items—to reinforce the entrance.
When they finally managed to secure it, they turned back toward the old man.
Their fear had not disappeared.
Instead, it had grown worse.
None of them wanted to take the risk of keeping a stranger close to them.
What if he really was infected?
What if he suddenly turned?
The thought terrified them.
Jack was especially frightened.
His breathing became rapid, and his hands began to tremble.
Then, acting purely out of panic, he grabbed a thin wooden plank lying nearby.
Without thinking about the consequences, he swung it toward the old man's head.
THUD!
The old man collapsed.
A small amount of blood appeared from the injury, and he lost consciousness.
The three boys stared at him in shock.
For a moment, none of them spoke.
Then, working together, they dragged the unconscious man into the storage room.
They shut the door from the outside...
and locked him inside.
---
Present
"That happened two days ago," Jason finished.
Everyone on the rooftop fell silent.
Behind the storage-room door, the old man knocked again.
"Please... open the door..."
His voice sounded weak and frightened.
Miss Selena's expression softened.
She immediately walked toward the storage room.
"Wait," Mr. Simit said cautiously.
But Miss Selena had already reached the door.
She carefully removed the lock.
Then she opened it.
The door creaked slowly.
A man stepped out.
He appeared to be around fifty years old.
His face was pale and exhausted. He had a short beard, while his hair was completely white. His clothes were those of the school's chief staff, now wrinkled and dusty after spending two days inside the cramped storage room.
For a moment, he simply stood there.
He looked around at the rooftop as if he couldn't believe he was finally outside.
Then—
"Uncle!"
Mary suddenly rushed toward him.
She threw her arms around him.
"Uncle, are you okay?"
Her voice broke as tears filled her eyes.
The man looked down at her.
A weak smile appeared on his exhausted face.
He gently hugged her back.
"I'm glad you're okay too, Mary."
Mary held him tightly for a few seconds, finally allowing herself to cry after days of fear and uncertainty.
Jackson then turned toward the others.
"This is Jackob, our cafeteria chef," he explained. "He's also a close friend of Mary's grandfather."
The students finally relaxed.
The suspicion and confusion that had surrounded the old man's identity disappeared.
Miss Selena stepped closer.
"Are you feeling better now?"
Jackob nodded.
"Yes... I'm alright."
He tried to smile, but his hand instinctively moved toward the back of his head.
"My head still hurts, though."
Miss Selena gave him a concerned look.
"That's understandable. You were unconscious for two days."
Jackob slowly looked around at the exhausted students.
He seemed to realize just how much they had suffered.
And for the first time in days, something changed on the rooftop.
The fear was still there.
The zombies were still below them.
The danger had not disappeared.
But at least one more person had survived.
And more importantly—
they had found food.
---
The dark clouds continued covering the sky.
Not long afterward, tiny drops of rain began falling from above.
Drip... drip... drip...
The rain continued intermittently until around five in the evening.
Sometimes it stopped completely.
Sometimes it returned as a light drizzle.
The cool rain washed over the rooftop, while the wind carried the scent of wet concrete through the air.
But strangely enough, the rain was not the worst thing that happened that day.
In fact, something good had finally happened.
The storage room contained a large supply of food and bottled water that had been kept there as emergency stock.
For three days, the survivors had been struggling with hunger and thirst.
Now, at last, they had enough supplies to eat and drink.
They gathered around the food quietly.
Some of them stared at it in disbelief.
Others immediately began eating.
For the first time in days, their stomachs were no longer completely empty.
The exhaustion remained.
The fear remained.
The zombies were still waiting below.
But for a little while...
they could finally breathe.
They could finally eat.
They could finally feel something they had almost forgotten—
relief.
Above them, the rain continued to fall beneath the darkening sky.
And below them...
the zombies continued to growl.