Chapter 72 — The Last Thread of Hope
The four girls sat together in silence, each lost in her own thoughts. The rooftop was unusually quiet. The distant sounds of the ruined world below—occasional groans, distant crashes, and the restless movement of zombies—made the silence feel even heavier.
Trying to change the subject, Mary suddenly looked toward Sana with a small smile.
"So, tell me… is there anyone you like?"
Sana blinked in surprise. Then a faint, almost shy smile appeared on her face.
"Me? I… haven't liked anyone so far."
Leena raised an eyebrow playfully.
"Wow. Looks like Sana has some pretty high standards."
Sana quickly shook her head.
"No, it's nothing like that. I've just… never really thought about these things. And now, with everything happening around us, all we can think about is staying alive."
Her voice gradually became quieter.
For a moment, the four girls fell silent again.
The lightness that had briefly entered their conversation disappeared, replaced by a familiar sadness.
Mary noticed the change and quickly turned toward Afra.
"What about you, Afra? Is there someone you like? Or have you never thought about anyone either, just like Sana?"
The moment those words left Mary's mouth, Afra's expression changed.
The faint softness in her eyes disappeared.
She lowered her gaze.
Instead of answering, she looked toward Jinjin, who was sitting nearby with her head resting against Saim's shoulder. Jinjin looked exhausted and heartbroken, while Saim remained quietly beside her, allowing her to lean against him.
Something inside Afra tightened.
She quickly stood up.
Without saying another word, she walked toward the edge of the rooftop and stopped beside the short wall.
From there, the school grounds stretched out beneath her.
Once, the green grass had probably been a peaceful sight.
Now, it looked like part of a nightmare.
The running track was littered with wandering zombies. Bodies lay scattered across the ground, some of them already decomposing. Dark stains covered parts of the field, and the horrible stench of decay had begun rising toward the rooftop.
Afra stared at the scene without really seeing it.
Mary watched her from behind and immediately regretted her question.
"Maybe Afra felt bad because of what I said," Mary murmured sadly. "I shouldn't have asked her that."
Sana shook her head.
"No, Mary. You didn't do anything wrong."
She paused, her eyes following Afra.
"The truth is… Afra really liked Saim. But when she found out that Saim liked Jinjin, something inside her broke. She hasn't been the same since."
Leena's expression softened.
"That's terrible…"
She looked toward Afra with sympathy.
Afra was still standing alone by the wall.
Her eyes full of tears remained fixed on the ruined school grounds below.
Then she felt something.
Someone had gently placed a hand over hers.
Afra's breath caught.
She slowly turned her head to the left.
It was Ghani.
He stood beside her, looking at her with quiet concern.
The moment he saw the tears gathering in Afra's eyes, his expression changed. It hurt him to see her suffering, even though he didn't fully understand what had caused it.
In a gentle voice, he said,
"I don't know why you're wasting your precious tears… but I promise you, everything will be alright. And I'll always be here for you."
Afra immediately pulled her hand away.
But Ghani didn't move his hand.
He simply left it resting against the wall, respecting her distance while silently letting her know that he was there.
Afra said nothing.
Instead, she turned away and walked toward Saim.
She stopped a short distance from him and wiped her tears.
Saim was sitting against the wall, with Jinjin beside him, her head resting on his shoulder.
The sight stabbed at Afra's heart.
Every second she spent looking at them seemed to deepen the wound inside her.
She swallowed hard.
Then, with a trembling voice, she whispered,
"S… Saim…"
Saim immediately recognized his name.
He looked up at her.
"Yes?"
Jinjin also lifted her head slightly and looked at Afra.
For a moment, Afra couldn't speak.
Despite her own pain, she couldn't stop thinking about Jinjin.
Jinjin had already suffered more than enough.
She had lost her brother, Chen Zheyan, and her childhood friend, Adam, in devastating circumstances.
Afra didn't want to add to her pain.
So she forced herself to speak.
"Can I… take Jinjin with me for a while? Maybe it will help distract her."
Saim followed Afra's gaze.
He looked toward Leena, and Mary sitting farther away.
Sana was now standing nearby, having realized how deeply her friend was hurting.
Saim understood immediately.
He also knew that Jinjin was struggling emotionally.
Perhaps spending some time with the girls would help her.
So he nodded.
"Yeah… of course. You can take Jinjin."
Jinjin, however, kept her head against Saim's shoulder.
"I don't want to go anywhere."
Saim tried gently to persuade her.
"My dear, just go for a little while. Maybe it'll help you feel better."
Jinjin frowned slightly.
"I said I don't want to go anywhere."
Saim understood that she genuinely didn't want to leave.
He looked toward Afra apologetically.
"I'm sorry, but Jinjin doesn't want to go anywhere right now."
Sana quickly answered,
"It's okay."
Afra remained standing there.
Her eyes stayed fixed on Jinjin, who had once again rested her head against Saim's shoulder.
The sight was becoming unbearable.
The pain in Afra's chest grew heavier and heavier.
Sana noticed.
She walked over, gently took Afra's hand, and led her back toward Mary and Leena.
She made Afra sit beside them before sitting down herself.
Then Sana looked at her sternly.
"Afra, have you lost your mind? Why did you go over there when you knew seeing them together would only hurt you more?"
Afra remained silent.
For several seconds, she simply stared at the rooftop floor.
Then tears began rolling down her cheeks.
Her shoulders trembled slightly.
When she finally spoke, her voice was barely above a whisper.
"Because I thought…"
She wiped a tear from her cheek.
"I thought that if I hurt myself even more, maybe the pain inside me would become smaller."
She looked at Sana with tear-filled eyes.
"But I was wrong."
Her voice cracked.
"When I went near Saim and Jinjin… it hurt even more. Sana, it feels like my heart is going to break from all this pain."
Sana's expression immediately softened.
Without saying another word, she pulled Afra into her arms.
"Afra… please, hold yourself together. I know this is incredibly difficult for you. But believe me… this time will pass too."
Afra finally stopped fighting her emotions.
She buried her face against Sana's shoulder and began crying.
Her sobs were quiet enough that the others standing across the rooftop didn't notice.
But for Afra, it felt as though an entire storm had erupted inside her heart.
---
Meanwhile…
While Afra battled the storm inside her heart, everyone else on the rooftop was facing a different battle.
The battle for survival.
After reaching the rooftop and seeing the horrifying condition of the school grounds, followed by the rescue helicopter crashing violently into the school, everyone had finally realized the truth.
The world outside had become far worse than they had imagined.
Staying on the rooftop was no longer a long-term option.
Their food and water supplies would eventually run out.
And if the zombies didn't get them first, hunger and thirst eventually would.
That realization had settled heavily over everyone.
They stood scattered across the rooftop, their faces tense and serious.
Even Mr. Smith had lost his usual cheerful expression.
He stood between Miss Selena and Mr. Jacob, his eyes fixed on the students.
Miss Selena stood on his right.
Mr. Jacob stood on his left.
For once, the normally composed teacher looked genuinely worried.
Her voice was low so that only Smith and Jacob could hear her.
"Smith… I'm really worried."
She glanced toward the students.
"When I look at them, I remember that I was the one who gave them hope. I was the one who convinced them to keep moving and led them all the way to this rooftop."
Her voice trembled slightly.
"And the rescue we risked our lives for… never came."
She lowered her eyes.
"Now I don't know what to do."
Before Selena could say anything else, Jacob spoke grimly.
"And even when a rescue helicopter finally came… it crashed right in front of us."
He looked toward the school grounds below.
"Honestly, I don't have much hope left for another rescue."
Smith listened silently.
The seriousness in Selena and Jacob's voices affected him deeply.
For a few moments, none of them spoke.
Then Smith finally broke the silence.
"We must not let go of hope until our last breath."
Selena and Jacob looked at him.
"This is only the beginning. We don't even know what is happening outside or what is going to happen next."
He glanced toward the students.
"And if we lose hope now, what will happen to these children?"
His voice became firmer.
"They've started looking at us as their protectors and their guides. As teachers, it is our responsibility to remain strong for them."
He paused.
"If they're afraid, then they should be able to look at us and find courage."
Then he looked directly at Selena.
"And besides…"
A faint smile touched his face.
"What about the promise you made, Selena? The promise that gave all of us the strength to follow you onto this rooftop?"
Selena listened carefully.
Jacob did too.
Slowly, the guilt on Selena's face began to fade into determination.
"You're right, Smith."
She took a slow breath.
"I feel ashamed that I was saying all of this."
She looked toward her students.
"I'm their teacher. And as their teacher, it is my responsibility to keep their spirits alive—not allow my own fear to make them lose hope in life."
Smith gave her a reassuring look.
"Selena, you shouldn't be ashamed of yourself."
His voice was calm.
"Fear is natural. Anyone would be terrified in a situation like this."
He looked across the rooftop.
"But we have to be brave."
He clenched his fist slightly.
"We have to fight our fear and fight for our lives."
Then he smiled.
"And that takes courage. Anyone who continues fighting in these circumstances, anyone who refuses to surrender hope, is already showing courage."
Jacob nodded.
"Smith is right."
He looked toward the students.
"And now, as the adults here, the three of us have one responsibility."
His expression hardened with determination.
"We have to get these children out of here safely."
The three teachers fell silent.
Selena lowered her gaze toward the rooftop floor.
Jacob looked over the wall at the ruined school grounds.
And Smith slowly scanned the rooftop.
His eyes moved from Jason, sitting beside Jack, William, and Michael…
To Hasnain, who stood with Ghani, Saad, John, Jackson, and Yaram…
Then toward Leena, Afra, Sana, and Mary, who were sitting beside the wall…
And finally to Jinjin and Saim.
Smith studied every student's face.
Fear.
Exhaustion.
Despair.
They had all begun to believe that death was waiting for them.
The atmosphere had become painfully heavy.
So Smith decided to do something only he could do.
He changed his serious tone into a lighter one.
"Hey! What's with all the silence? Why are you all sitting around like this?"
John, who was standing in one corner with Ghani and Saad, gave him a tired look.
"What are we supposed to say, sir? I think we've already run out of words."
Before John could say anything else, Jack interrupted bitterly.
"And what's the point anyway? We're probably going to die soon. Instead of wasting time talking, we should prepare ourselves for what's coming."
The moment those words were spoken, Selena's expression changed.
She stepped forward.
"Enough!"
Her voice thundered across the rooftop.
"Anyone who talks about giving up again will answer to me!"
Everyone turned toward her.
"If we were simply going to die, then why did you risk your lives to reach this rooftop with me?"
Her voice softened slightly, but her determination remained.
"And have you already forgotten Adam, Chen Zheyan, and Borak?"
The rooftop fell silent.
"They sacrificed themselves so that we could survive."
Selena looked at each student.
"So don't you dare make their sacrifices meaningless."
She paused.
Then her voice became gentler.
"I've already told you all of this before."
She looked around at them.
"We will get out of here."
Her eyes carried a quiet determination.
"Until then, don't waste your energy thinking about how we're going to die."
She took a breath.
"Think about how we're going to get out."
For the first time in a while, a small spark returned to some of their eyes.
Smith noticed the change.
The atmosphere was still heavy, but it wasn't completely hopeless anymore.
So he decided to push it one step further.
"I've figured out how we're going to get out of here."
Everyone immediately looked toward him.
For the first time, their expressions contained something other than fear.
Questions.
Curiosity.
And, most importantly…
Hope.
Jacob raised an eyebrow.
"Then tell us. How are we getting out?"
Smith smiled.
"Simple."
He paused dramatically.
"We're going to leave with the rescue team that's coming to save us."
A few seconds of silence followed.
Then—
The students' expressions fell.
Leena stared at him in disbelief.
"Mr. Sumeet, we've already spent all this time waiting. I don't think the rescue team is coming."
She sighed.
"And we don't even have a phone to contact them."
The small spark of hope that had appeared moments ago began disappearing again.
Despair returned to several faces.
Everyone seemed trapped in the same hopeless thought.
Everyone except Hasnain.
For him, there was still one reason to keep living.
Sana.
As long as Sana was alive, he had a reason to survive.
Smith noticed the atmosphere sinking again.
He immediately raised his hands.
"Alright, alright! Since we're going to wait, we might as well prepare ourselves."
He grinned.
"From now on, all of you are going to train with me."
The students stared at him.
"And I don't want to hear a single excuse."
His expression became mock-serious.
"As a PE teacher, I'm warning you—if anyone fails to follow my instructions properly, I'll punish them by making them do the chicken pose."
The students stared at him in confusion.
For a moment, nobody understood what he meant.
Then, strangely, the fear and despair on their faces were replaced by bewilderment.
John raised his hand slightly.
"Mr. Smith…"
Smith looked at him.
"What?"
John frowned.
"How do you become a chicken?"
A grin spread across Smith's face.
"You'll find out when you become one."
For a second, everyone simply stared at him.
Then smiles slowly appeared across the rooftop.
A few students even chuckled.
For the first time since the helicopter crash, the rooftop didn't feel completely like a place where death was waiting for them.
Smith had done it.
He had managed to break through the heaviness surrounding them, even if only for a moment.
But not everyone smiled.
Afra was still sitting beside Sana.
Her eyes remained fixed on Saim and Jinjin.
Jinjin was still resting against Saim's shoulder.
And although everyone else had found a tiny moment of relief…
Afra's heart was still hurting.
Deeply.
Silently.
Because sometimes, even when the world around you is fighting to survive…
your greatest battle can still be the one happening inside your own heart.