They stayed in the classroom until the light outside began to fade.
No one suggested leaving.
No one suggested staying.
They simply existed in the space between fear and exhaustion.
Tari sat on the floor with his back against the wall, his fire extinguisher resting beside him. His shoulder still hurt, but the bleeding had slowed. The pain had become dull, like a constant reminder that he was still alive.
Amara sat beside Kunmi, who leaned against a desk. His breathing was steadier now, but his face was pale.
Every few seconds, Kunmi glanced at the door.
Like he expected something to come through it.
Like he expected death to knock.
Tari understood that feeling.
Because he felt it too.
A blue window flickered in front of his eyes.
HEALTH: 68%
MANA: 14
His health was increasing slowly.
He didn't know why.
He didn't know how.
But he was grateful.
Silence filled the room.
Heavy.
Uncomfortable.
Kunmi broke it.
"My brother," he said quietly.
Amara looked at him.
"He's in this school."
Tari's chest tightened.
Kunmi swallowed.
"He's stronger than me. He'll be okay."
His voice sounded like he was trying to convince himself.
Not them.
Himself.
Amara gave him a small smile.
"We'll find him."
Tari didn't say anything.
Because promises were dangerous now.
Footsteps echoed in the hallway.
All three of them froze.
Slow.
Uneven.
Dragging.
Not human.
Not fully.
Tari grabbed the extinguisher.
Amara picked up a broken chair leg.
Kunmi stayed still.
The footsteps stopped outside their door.
Silence.
Then
Scratch.
Something scraped against the wood.
Kunmi whimpered.
Amara placed a hand over his mouth gently.
Tari held his breath.
Scratch.
Scratch.
The handle twitched.
Once.
Twice.
Then stopped.
Silence returned.
No one moved.
No one breathed.
Minutes passed.
Eventually
The thing left.
Its footsteps faded.
Tari's arms trembled.
He lowered the extinguisher slowly.
"That door won't hold forever," he whispered.
Amara nodded.
"We have to leave."
Kunmi looked at them.
"Where do we go?"
It was a simple question.
An impossible one.
The school wasn't safe.
The outside world wasn't safe.
Nowhere was safe.
But staying still was death.
"We go down," Tari said.
The words tasted like fear.
Amara helped Kunmi stand.
He winced but stayed upright.
"I can walk," he said quickly.
Tari nodded.
"Stay behind me."
He moved the barricade.
Each sound made his heart race.
When the door finally opened
Nothing waited.
The hallway was empty.
But the blood remained.
Dark.
Dry.
Endless.
They stepped into it.
Their footsteps echoed.
Too loud.
Too exposed.
Tari's eyes scanned everything.
Every corner.
Every shadow.
Every doorway.
Looking for movement.
Looking for death.
They reached the stairwell.
The same stairwell.
The same blood.
The same smell.
Kunmi gagged.
Amara held his arm.
"It's okay," she whispered.
It wasn't.
But she said it anyway.
They descended slowly.
Each step felt heavier.
The ground floor waited below.
The exit waited below.
Freedom.
Or death.
Tari reached the bottom first.
He looked around.
The creature he killed earlier was gone.
Only black blood remained.
His stomach dropped.
"Where is it?" he whispered.
Amara froze.
"What do you mean?"
"The body."
Kunmi's voice trembled.
"Bodies don't move."
No.
They don't.
But something had moved it.
Something stronger.
Something higher.
A low growl echoed nearby.
They froze.
It came from the cafeteria.
Kunmi's eyes widened.
"My brother…"
He started moving toward it.
Tari grabbed him.
"No."
"But he might be alive!"
"He might not."
Kunmi's eyes filled with tears.
"You don't know that!"
He was right.
Tari didn't.
But hope could kill you faster than monsters.
Another growl.
Closer.
Hungrier.
Amara whispered.
"We can't fight it."
Kunmi looked between them.
Desperate.
Broken.
Alone.
Tari felt it again.
That choice.
That cruel choice.
Leave him.
Or risk everything.
Kunmi pulled away.
"I'm going."
He limped forward.
Tari cursed under his breath.
He couldn't let him go alone.
He followed.
Amara followed too.
They reached the cafeteria doors.
Blood covered them.
Kunmi pushed them open.
Slowly.
Carefully.
Inside
Bodies.
Everywhere.
Students.
Teachers.
Security.
Torn apart.
Eaten.
Kunmi's breathing stopped.
Then
Movement.
A figure crouched over a corpse.
Eating.
It looked up.
Its face was covered in blood.
Its eyes were black.
Kunmi whispered
"Brother?"
The creature stood.
Slowly.
Wrongly.
It stepped forward.
Kunmi's hope died.
His brother was gone.
Only a monster remained.
Kunmi collapsed.
Sobbing.
The creature lunged.
Tari moved.
He swung the extinguisher.
CRACK.
The creature staggered.
But didn't fall.
It was strong.
Too strong.
A blue window flashed.
ENEMY LEVEL: 4
Level 4.
They couldn't win.
But they had to try.
The creature lunged again.
Tari pushed Kunmi aside.
Its claws cut his arm.
Pain exploded.
He screamed.
Amara stabbed it with the chair leg.
It roared.
Tari used mana.
Strength filled him.
He swung.
CRACK.
The skull broke.
The creature collapsed.
Dead.
Kunmi crawled to it.
Crying.
"That's not him," Amara whispered gently.
Kunmi shook.
"I know."
But knowing didn't stop the pain.
A window appeared.
LEVEL UP
LEVEL 3 REACHED
Tari didn't feel stronger.
He felt heavier.
Because survival had a cost.
And he was paying it.
With blood.
With guilt.
With pieces of himself.
They left the cafeteria.
They left the dead.
They left the past.
The exit stood ahead.
Sunlight waited outside.
A new world waited.
A broken world.
A cruel world.
A world where mercy could get you killed.
Tari stepped toward it anyway.
Because forward was the only direction left.
The doors to the outside were still intact.
That was the first strange thing Tari noticed.
No blood.
No claw marks.
No broken glass.
Just two metal doors, closed, like the world beyond them was still normal.
Like everything that happened inside the school had been contained.
But Tari knew better.
Nothing was normal anymore.
He stood in front of the doors, staring at the thin line of sunlight beneath them.
Real sunlight.
Not the dim, dusty light of the classrooms.
This was brighter.
Almost warm.
Behind him, Amara and Kunmi waited.
Kunmi looked hollow.
His eyes were red, but no tears came anymore.
Maybe he had run out.
Maybe the world had taken everything already.
"Are we ready?" Amara asked quietly.
No one answered.
Because they weren't.
But they couldn't stay.
Tari grabbed the handle.
His hand trembled.
He took a breath.
And pushed.
The doors opened.
The outside world was worse.
The school courtyard was empty.
Not peaceful empty.
Wrong empty.
Cars sat abandoned.
Some crashed into each other.
Some had their doors open.
Backpacks lay scattered across the ground.
Shoes.
Books.
Phones.
Things people dropped while running.
Or dying.
The sky above was pale.
Colorless.
Dead.
Tari stepped outside slowly.
His shoes crunched against broken glass.
Amara followed.
Kunmi followed last.
"How big is this?" Amara whispered.
He didn't know.
He wasn't sure he wanted to know.
A distant scream echoed.
Not inside the school.
Far away.
From the city.
Kunmi flinched.
"So it's everywhere."
Not just the school.
Not just them.
The entire world had changed.
Tari's chest tightened.
His mother.
She was in the city.
Alone.
He hadn't thought about her.
Not until now.
Guilt stabbed him.
I have to find her.
But he didn't know how.
Or if she was still alive.
Something moved near the school gate.
All three of them froze.
A man stumbled into view.
His clothes were torn.
His face covered in blood.
He limped forward.
Alive.
Human.
Relief filled Tari.
Until the man looked up.
His eyes were black.
Not human.
Not alive.
It charged.
Fast.
Too fast.
Tari stepped forward.
He couldn't run anymore.
He raised the extinguisher.
The zombie lunged.
He swung.
CRACK.
The head snapped sideways.
It fell.
But began to rise again.
He swung again.
CRACK.
This time, it stayed down.
Dead.
A window appeared.
EXPERIENCE GAINED
He was getting used to it.
That scared him.
Amara stared at him.
"You're stronger now."
He didn't feel stronger.
He felt tired.
Kunmi whispered.
"How many more are there?"
No one answered.
Because they didn't know.
A loud engine roar filled the air suddenly.
They turned.
A black SUV sped down the road outside the school.
It stopped near the gate.
Three people jumped out.
They carried weapons.
Real weapons.
Guns.
Tari froze.
He had never seen real guns before.
One of them shouted.
"Are there survivors?!"
Amara raised her hand.
"Yes!"
They approached carefully.
They wore clean clothes.
Armor.
They looked strong.
Prepared.
Different.
The leader was a tall man with sharp eyes.
He looked at Tari.
Then the extinguisher.
Then the dead zombie.
"You killed it?"
Tari nodded slowly.
The man's expression changed.
Respect.
Or interest.
"I'm Daniel," the man said.
"Level 7."
Level 7.
The number felt impossible.
Tari's heart pounded.
That strong.
Already.
Daniel looked at Amara and Kunmi.
"Levels?"
"Level 1," Amara said.
"Level 0," Kunmi whispered.
Daniel nodded.
"You're lucky."
Lucky.
Tari almost laughed.
Daniel gestured to the SUV.
"We're gathering survivors."
Hope flickered.
But something felt wrong.
Daniel looked at Tari again.
"You should join us."
Not them.
Him.
Only him.
Amara noticed.
Kunmi noticed.
Tari noticed.
"What about them?" Tari asked.
Daniel shrugged.
"They'll slow us down."
The words were calm.
Casual.
Cruel.
"They'll die."
Silence fell.
Amara looked down.
Kunmi said nothing.
They already knew.
The strong survived.
The weak didn't.
Daniel spoke again.
"You have potential."
"Don't waste it."
The offer hung in the air.
Safety.
Power.
Survival.
At a cost.
Tari looked at Amara.
She avoided his eyes.
Kunmi looked broken.
He remembered everything.
The girl he left.
The promises he made.
The people he lost.
This was another choice.
Another test.
If he left
He would live longer.
If he stayed
He might die.
Daniel waited.
Patient.
Certain.
Because he believed he knew the answer.
Everyone chose survival.
Everyone chose themselves.
Tari's hands trembled.
He opened his mouth.
The world held its breath.
And he chose.
"I'm not leaving them."
Daniel stared at him.
Disappointed.
Or maybe amused.
"Then you'll die with them."
He turned.
He and his team entered the SUV.
The engine roared.
They drove away.
Leaving them behind.
Kunmi whispered.
"You should have gone."
Tari didn't answer.
Because part of him wanted to.
Part of him still did.
Amara looked at him.
"Why didn't you?"
He didn't know.
Maybe he was weak.
Maybe he was stupid.
Maybe he was human.
He looked at the empty road.
At the broken world.
At the future filled with death.
And realized something.
Survival wasn't the hardest part.
Choosing who you became while surviving was.
A blue window appeared.
CHOICE RECORDED
PATHWAY RESONANCE INCREASED
The Essence Record had seen.
It was always watching.
Always judging.
And Tari had no idea
If he had just saved his humanity.
Or doomed himself because of it.