A heavy silence had settled over the classroom.
Nothing could be heard except the steady ticking of the clock on the wall. Each second felt like a full minute.
Jack-Antoine let out a long sigh and ran a hand down his face.
— Damn it… I'm sick of this. We've been waiting for five hours and we still don't know what's going on.
No one answered. The students were exhausted, on edge. Some stared at the door, others scrolled aimlessly on their phones even though there was no signal — just something to do with their hands.
Lara broke the silence.
— I think someone should go out and see what's happening…
— Worst case, we all go together, said Yarina, trying to smile.
— I don't know if that's a good idea, said the teacher. It could be dangerous. The government message said to stay in the classrooms.
Max wasn't really listening anymore. He stared at the door, lost in thought.
Since the alert message, he had felt that strange sensation in his chest — a mix of fear and curiosity he couldn't explain.
Something was calling him again.
Without warning, he stood up and walked toward the door.
— Max?! Weiwei called out, startled.
But Max had already turned the handle. The door creaked in the silence as he stepped into the hallway. The air outside was cold and heavy. The neon lights flickered, casting a sickly white glow on the walls.
The school seemed deserted.
Each step echoed down the corridor.
Then, in the distance, he heard voices — shouting. Something was happening near the main entrance.
He quickened his pace and reached the hall.
Behind the large glass doors, a group of students and teachers had gathered near the locked gate. Outside, several police cars blocked the road. Blue lights spun slowly, throwing moving shadows across the walls.
Max opened the hall door and shouted:
— Come on, there are people outside!
Seconds later, the rest of his class arrived. The students approached the gate, both curious and nervous.
— What's going on? someone yelled from the crowd.
— We want to go home! another shouted.
Voices rose, the tension building. Teachers tried to calm everyone down, but no one was listening.
The police looked just as confused — some whispered among themselves, others already had their weapons drawn.
Then, a gunshot.
A sharp crack split the air, making everyone jump.
A policeman had fired into the sky.
— EVERYONE CALM DOWN! he shouted.
The situation is under control! No one leaves this school! If you have to, you'll sleep here until further notice!
A wave of disbelief rippled through the crowd.
— What?! Sleep here?!
— My mom's coming to pick me up! Amalia cried.
— Same here! Lara added.
Other students began shouting too, panicking. Some grabbed their phones to call their parents, but none had any signal.
— Your parents won't be coming, said a policeman flatly.
Everyone turned to look at him.
— What do you mean? Raphaël asked.
— The roads are blocked. No one is allowed to leave their homes. That's an order.
Silence fell. The students looked at each other, confused and frightened.
The teacher stepped slowly toward the gate.
— But… what's really happening? What is this virus?
The officer hesitated, glancing around as if he wasn't supposed to talk. Then he muttered:
— It's not just a virus. People are losing control. They attack others — they bite them. And bullets don't always stop them.
A chill ran through the group. Some students stepped back instinctively.
Max froze.
Those words.
They were exactly what he'd dreamed.
— No way… he whispered.
Weiwei turned to him.
— What?
— It's… it's the same thing as in my dream. The virus, the attacks, the gunshots… all of it.
Weiwei frowned.
— Dude, now's not the time for this.
Before Max could answer, a scream cut through the air outside.
A raw, inhuman shriek.
Everyone jumped.
Two police officers ran toward an ambulance parked nearby. A nurse, covered in blood, stumbled backward.
Behind her, a man was walking with jerky, uneven steps. His clothes were torn, his eyes empty. His face was smeared with blood.
— What the hell is that…? someone whispered.
The officers raised their weapons. Three shots rang out.
The man took the bullets straight to the chest — and kept walking.
He growled, mouth open, arms reaching forward.
— Oh my god… Amalia whispered.
A final gunshot echoed. The bullet went through his head.
The body collapsed instantly, motionless.
Silence fell once again, heavier than before.
No one moved. Some students cried, others stood frozen, hands covering their mouths.
The teacher was the first to speak.
— Everyone, back inside. Now. Lock the doors.
The students rushed back into the hall, tripping over each other in panic.
Max didn't move. He stood there, staring blankly.
What he had just seen — he'd already seen it before. Exactly like this. In his dream.
Weiwei grabbed his arm.
— Max, come on!
He turned slowly toward him.
— It's starting…
— What are you talking about?!
— The dream.
He paused.
— And this time, we're not waking up.
A heavy silence fell over the courtyard.
The echo of the gunshot still hung in the air, ringing in the minds of everyone who had been there.
The man who had collapsed lay motionless on the ground.
No one dared to speak.
The smell of gunpowder mixed with the heat of the pavement.
One officer, visibly shaken, reloaded his gun sharply while another shouted at him to lower it.
Chaos hovered on the edge, held back only by fear.
Whispers rippled through the crowd.
Some students stepped back, others stood frozen, unable to process what they had just witnessed.
The teacher took a step forward, voice trembling but firm.
— Everyone, back inside. Now.
At first, no one moved. Then, slowly, the groups began to scatter.
The school staff tried to stay composed, but their eyes betrayed the fear they were trying to hide.
Max lingered behind, staring at the body on the ground.
There wasn't much blood — just a man lying there, eyes open, staring blankly at the sky.
He hadn't screamed or fought back. It was like he was already gone before he even fell.
Weiwei placed a hand on his shoulder.
— Come on, man. Leave it.
Max nodded silently and followed the others.
As they walked through the hallway, he caught fragments of conversation — students whispering about the virus, an attack, a riot.
No one knew the truth. Everyone was guessing.
They returned to their classroom.
The mood was nothing like before.
The nervous laughter was gone.
Teachers whispered to each other in the corridor, the blinds were drawn, and a voice over the intercom announced that "for safety reasons, no one is allowed to leave the building until further notice."
The word safety sounded hollow.
No one felt safe.
Lara dropped into a chair, arms crossed.
— What the hell is going on? Why won't they tell us anything?
Jack-Antoine slammed his fist on the table.
— They just don't want us to panic. But seriously — five hours stuck in here? There's a dead guy outside and they're acting like it's normal!
No one dared to argue.
Even the teacher said nothing, just stared out the window like he was waiting for an explanation to appear.
Time dragged on.
Minutes felt like hours.
Phones showed no signal — no network, no Wi-Fi. Messages wouldn't send, calls wouldn't go through.
Outside, the police lights still flashed.
The paramedics didn't move.
From his spot near the window, Max could see them — still, like statues.
One spoke to a police officer, but even from afar, Max could see the tension in their gestures.
The air felt heavy, filled with an eerie silence.
No birds. No traffic. Nothing.
Even the city seemed frozen.
Finally, the teacher stood up.
— Listen… stay calm. The most important thing is not to go outside. We'll wait for instructions, alright?
— And if no one comes? Amalia murmured.
He didn't answer.
Hours passed.
Some students fell asleep on their desks, others stared blankly at their notebooks.
Max couldn't look away from the window.
As the sun began to set, he saw movement.
Two officers were carrying the body on a stretcher, covered with a white sheet.
They loaded it into an ambulance and climbed in silently.
The siren never turned on.
The vehicle drove off slowly, almost quietly, disappearing down the street.
— They took him away, Max whispered.
He wasn't reassured.
Nothing about this day felt normal.
Everything seemed too quiet, too controlled. As if someone wanted them to stay locked away, far from whatever was really happening outside.
When night fell, the power went out for the first time.
A short blackout — just a few seconds.
But enough to make everyone's hearts race.
The teacher tried to stay calm.
— It's nothing, just a city outage. It'll come back.
The lights flickered back on.
But the silence that followed was more terrifying than the darkness itself.
In a corner, Jack-Antoine whispered:
— Something's not right…
And Max knew it.
He had felt it since that morning.
This was only the beginning.