They all gasped in fear as Ahmad slowly lowered the table again.
The very first thing Arjun and Ahmad did was check if Roommate 2 was bitten or scratched.
Arjun: "Please tell the truth… did he scratch you?"
Roommate 2: "No. He tried… but he couldn't."
Ahmad: "Are you sure?"
Roommate 2: "My sweater was thick. He couldn't get through it."
Ahmad: "Your weird habit of wearing thick clothes while sleeping—even in mild winter—just saved your life."
Roommate 2: "Yeah… but how did he suddenly turn into those creatures after a whole twelve hours?"
Arjun: "We don't know. But one thing is sure—if we want to live, we have to act on our own."
Arjun moved toward the window again, staring at the central building—the one with the lobby and official rooms. The running track was behind it. The dorms on the right, canteen and shooting range on the left, and the entrance gate in front.
Ahmad: "What are you looking at?"
Arjun: "The only way to ask for help is to reach the lobby and use the landline there."
Roommate 2: "But the ground… and every single route to the lobby is filled with those creatures."
Ahmad: "Forget the ground. Our whole dorm building is full of them. First think how we'll even get out of here."
Arjun grabbed his bag, took out a pen and his diary. On the back page, he quickly drew a rough map. Ahmad and Roommate 2 stared at the random lines, confused.
Arjun: "We're here."
(He circled a block on the map.)
Ahmad: "Oh… it's a map."
Roommate 2: "Apparently."
Arjun: "I'm not an artist. I'm a shooter. Manage with this only."
Ahmad: "Okay, okay…"
Arjun: "Look, Ahmad, do you remember on the first day, when we were roaming around, we saw that small alley behind the dorms? The narrow space between the dorm and the boundary wall… it could fit maybe four people. No one ever walked there."
Ahmad: "Yes… that creepy alley."
Roommate 2: "This place really has something like that…"
Arjun: "So the safest way is: we take that alley, enter the para-athletes' dorm—they're fewer in number—then we SPRING straight toward the lobby. Their dorm entrance faces directly toward the lobby door. Once we're inside, we lock the door and block the other four side-doors."
He tapped the map.
Arjun: "If any zombies are inside, probably not more than five. Once I get my gun and bullets, we can kill them easily."
Ahmad: "Great idea."
Roommate 2: "Wait, wait—this is the plan after we manage to leave this building. But how will we get out of here first?"
Ahmad: "We can take the roof—we're on the top floor. Or we fight our way down."
Roommate 2: "There are too many inside this building. We don't even know all the ways they attack. And we're already low in number. The rooftop is also locked—I tried yesterday. Huge lock. Even if we try to break it, the noise will attract them. Before we even open it… we'll be dead."
A brief silence fell as all three tried to think.
Arjun: "Hey, listen… the staircase has a small window between each floor, right? So the roof should have the same kind of window?"
Roommate 2: "Yes… I think there was one."
Arjun: "Great. All we need is a rope, and we'll end up directly behind the dorms."
Ahmad: "So you're saying we should do parkour?"
Arjun: "No. We'll make a rope. We'll drop it from the roof window. The roof area should be empty. We just have to reach that window, climb down five floors, and then run straight to the para-athletes' dorm. Simple and safest—no zombies and minimum risk."