Zane
My eyes widened, and my heart skipped a beat when I saw that infected person. He looked extremely dangerous. I quickly took out the knife from my pocket and stood my ground because I knew we had to finish him off before doing anything else.
Running away again wouldn't solve the problem. These infected people weren't zombies—it just seemed like a new kind of virus.
I took a few steps upstairs, signaling Viktor to go down, but he didn't listen. Before I could move further, Vien suddenly ran up the stairs.
The infected man turned toward Vien and charged down after him. Then we saw black blood splatter across the wall—and moments later, Vien came back down.
That's when I realized we didn't have to be afraid of these infected people. We could actually take them down easily. We could move forward without worrying.
"Vien, stay with Nilo, and Viktor, go ahead. I'll stay behind," I said.
But stubborn Viktor didn't listen. Instead, he told Nico to come to me and stayed behind himself. I didn't argue—there was no time for that. We needed to keep moving. So, I went ahead while holding Nico's hand.
As we descended the stairs, my eyes darted everywhere. Finally, we reached the parking area. There were three cars waiting.
Viktor and Black had come in one, Adam and Rio in another, and Vien and I had come with the kids in the third.
"Guys, you go ahead. Vien and I will follow," I said.
Hearing that, Vien opened our car door, and I grabbed Nilo to help him inside. But suddenly, someone pulled me back—a strong grip. I turned angrily, only to see Viktor. He took Nilo and Nico from me, placed them in the backseat of his car, then came back and grabbed my hand.
"You're coming with me," he said.
"Huh? Why would I come with you? What about Black? How will he come? It's better if I go with Vien," I tried to explain, but as usual, Viktor didn't listen to anyone.
"Black will go with Vien. Don't worry about them—just come with me." He pulled me toward the car.
As he did, I saw Black sigh and get into Vien's car, while Adam and Rio got into theirs. Viktor made me sit in the passenger seat, then got in and started driving. He was leading, with the others following behind us.
As we drove out of the parking lot, I turned and saw that Nilo and Nico had opened their windows, peeking outside.
"Close the window, Nilo and Nico! Can't you see there are infected outside? How can you be so careless? Sit still and don't move until I say so!" I snapped, more out of fear than anger. I didn't want them to get hurt.
"It's okay, Zane. Don't be so harsh—they're just kids. Tell them nicely; they'll understand," Viktor said calmly, keeping his eyes on the road. It was a relief that he'd already closed all the windows.
I stared outside, my thoughts running wild. Then I remembered—the government had declared a lockdown.
"Viktor… it's lockdown right now, isn't it?" I asked.
"Yes, so?" he replied, tapping his fingers on the steering wheel, not even glancing at me.
I didn't say anything else. After a while, he finally stopped the car—in front of the high school.
"Why did we come here?" I asked.
"Because we'll stay here. It's safe. The military is bringing rescued people to this place," he said.
Oh, so that's why Viktor brought us here. But when we tried to go inside, the main gate was blocked, and soldiers stood guard.
Seeing our car, two soldiers approached and knocked on the window. Viktor rolled his down the mirror of his side and looked at them.
"Sir, you can go inside," one of the soldiers said. Viktor just nodded.
Wait—why did it seem like Viktor was someone important? There's no way soldiers would let us through just after seeing his face.
As he drove in, I tapped his arm. "Hey, what was that?"
"What?" he asked casually.
"Why did they let you in so easily? Just because they saw you?" My eyes narrowed—I wanted an answer.
He glanced out the window and started whistling instead. That's when I smacked his shoulder.
"Hey, idiot, I asked you something! Answer me," I scolded.
"Hey, that hurt! Don't hit me like that—I bruise easily! And you know what? It's bad to bully someone weaker than you," he complained dramatically.
My eyes widened in disbelief. Weaker than me? Seriously? Look at his body—he could probably lift three of me!
I gave him a side-eye and turned forward again. In the rearview mirror, I could see Nico and Nilo whispering to each other, but I couldn't catch what they were saying.
When the car finally stopped in the parking lot—already filled with many other vehicles—Viktor got out and came around to my side.
"Can't you just wait a few seconds before getting out?" he asked.
But why would I wait before getting out in the first place?
"Huh? What are you saying, idiot?"
I made a weird face at him before walking over to open the car door for Nico and Nilo.
The moment the door opened, both of them jumped out and grabbed my hands tightly. Soon after, two more cars pulled up—Vien's and Adam's. They all got out and joined us.
Vien came over and started walking beside me as we left the parking lot together.
When we stepped out, a soldier came toward us and led us inside the school. We entered the building and took the elevator up, stopping on the second floor.
As soon as the doors opened, Viktor's eyes began scanning the area, like he was searching for someone. He moved restlessly from one side to another, and just then, a girl passed by me—before suddenly running straight into Viktor's arms and hugging him tightly.
My eyes narrowed. Who was she? And why wasn't Viktor pushing her away? He was hugging her back too.