Arjun: "Oh… are you scratch—" (stops)
"No, I mean… you said your friend turned while you were with him.
So I'm just confirming." (soft voice)
Vijay: "No. I'm fine."
Lily watched his expressions and gestures carefully.
She understood — he was safe.
Vijay: "So why did you come here in such a crisis?"
Sia: "They wanted to call for help using the landline."
Vijay: "So… are they coming?"
Ahmad: "No. He dialed the wrong number."
Arjun: "I couldn't help it! I accidentally pressed 3 instead of 2.
You know how stressed we all were!"
Ahmad: "I never blamed you!"
Arjun: "But your tone did." (voice rising)
Ahmad: "Bro, calm down. I didn't mean it like that."
Sia: "Stop it, both of you.
Arjun, you're not the only one who's stressed.
We all are.
We lost our last chance to call for help — and now we're stuck here.
All because of your plan."
Arjun: "I never forced you to come!" (voice shaking)
"If you had such a problem, you could've stayed back.
But no — you came on your own.
So don't put the blame on me now!"
Ahmad: "Arjun, shut up!
You're angry and frustrated — that doesn't mean you get to unload it on anyone."
Arjun crouched down, fingers buried in his hair, breathing uneven.
Arjun: "Yes… it was my fault.
I risked your lives too…
My stupid plan…
It's all because of me…"
Ahmad: "Arjun…" (concerned)
Arjun — "That's what you wanted to hear, right? Yes, it's my fault. I made that stupid plan… but what about you all?"
His voice cracks as he wipes his face roughly.
"You also agreed. Every one of you. So don't act like I'm the only one to blame. You're all equally guilty of the situation we're in now."
now, right?"
Sia: "Maybe." (still not convinced)
Lily signs again.
Sia: "She's saying even if there's no harm, we shouldn't eat this. We should only eat the food we brought."
Vijay: "Okay." (he puts the packet away)
They cut an energy bar into equal pieces and ate it quietly. The banging outside had finally stopped, and even the distant growling seemed to fade. Arjun slowly opened the door a little and peeked outside. Zombies were still wandering, and the telephone lay on the floor—broken into pieces.
Arjun: "It's broken." (he shuts the door again)
Vijay: "So… what are you going to do now?"
Arjun: "I don't know."
Vijay: "You wanted to call for help, right? Either through a call or a message?"
Sia: "Yes, but there's no other source now."
Vijay: "There is… our phones."
(Everyone looks at him instantly.)
Sia: "But we don't know where they kept them."
Vijay: "I know. I heard some athletes talking. They said all the phones were kept in the basement."
Ahmad: "The basement? But exactly where in the basement?"
Vijay: "I don't know the exact spot… but they said everything was kept in one locker—inside a basket. Must be in the coach's cabin."
Lily signs something quickly.
Sia: "You know where the coach's cabin is?"
(Lily nods.)
Ahmad: "All set then."
Arjun: "You want to go to the basement?!" (disbelief)
Sia: "Wasn't it your plan to call for help? After losing every other option, this is our last one. Did you forget your own lines?"
Arjun: "I said that, yes… but the basement has one entrance and one exit, and both are the same door."
Ahmad: "True. And it's barely used."
Sia: "So now… what?"
Arjun: "Even if we get the phones, we'll still need Wi-Fi. We'd have to reach the gym, canteen, or somewhere that has a router. There's no network in this whole area."
A brief silence filled the room, broken only by the soft crackling of an energy-bar wrapper in Ahmad's hands as he crushed it nervously.
Vijay: "Well… I know a shortcut to the basement, but if we get stuck there, there's no way out. No windows to jump from, no second door—just the stairs."
Ahmad: "If we want to live, we have to take that risk."
Arjun: "That's not a risk. That's guaranteed death."