Ahmad—"What? You want to come too?"
(Lily nods and looks at Sia. She signs something, but Sia is too angry to respond.)
Vijay—"I'll come too. If help was coming, they would've arrived by now."
Ahmad—"Fine. So everyone is coming."
Arjun—"Sia is not coming."
Ahmad—"I said everyone I want to come is coming."
Sia—"I'm not interested."
(She folds her arms and peeks out the small window, pulling the curtain aside slightly. Zombies everywhere.)
Vijay—"But the basement will be dark right now. We should go in the morning. It's already dawn."
(Arjun looks at Sia, then at Lily struggling to follow the conversation.
He points at his wrist like a watch, then imitates waking up and leaving.)
Lily nods and smiles, signing yes.
Ahmad—"True. Let's rest for now."
Arjun—"Till then, can you explain the route?"
Vijay—"Listen… instead of going out of the lobby, we'll use the left-side door. But we have to be careful—the doors are broken, and there are glass pieces everywhere. That door goes directly to the stairs down, but they were under maintenance the day before yesterday… so I don't know if they're still stable."
(Arjun opens his bag to grab the water bottle, but sees his diary.
He takes it out with a pen, walks to Lily, and hands it over.
He opens the back page and writes: 'Use this to communicate.'
Lily looks confused.
He writes again: 'Do you know how to read and write?'
Lily nods and writes: 'Thank you.')
Ahmad—"But how do you know that door leads to the basement?"
Vijay—"I asked a worker. They said there are pipes and maintenance lines down there… but eventually everything connects to the basement."
(Arjun writes down the entire plan while Lily reads and understands clearly.
Sia still refuses to join, but after one more glance outside… she realizes she cannot survive alone here either.)
Ahmad – "Okay so…"
(They continue finalizing the plan, discussing every possible pro and con.)
Vijay – "So that's it."
Arjun – "We should rest now. We need energy for tomorrow."
Vijay – "But…"
(He looks confused.)
Arjun – "What?"
Vijay – "How can we all sleep here? Especially with…"
(He glances at Lily and Sia.)
Sia – "What do you mean!!"
Vijay – "No, I mean… you two might feel uncomfortable, right?"
Sia – "I've been uncomfortable since the moment I met you all."
Ahmad – "Okay, calm down, calm down. We can divide the room—"
Sia – "Much better."
(They pull the shelves to the middle and divide the room, clear the floor, and lay out the mats as makeshift beds.)
Ahmad (whispers) – "Arjun…"
Arjun – "What? Why are you whispering—?"
(He jolts because Ahmad whispered so suddenly.)
Ahmad – "Bro… I need to use the washroom."
Arjun – "Right now?!"
Ahmad – "It's been a whole day, man."
Arjun – "We didn't even drink water. I told you to go before we left."
Ahmad – "Bro, nature's call doesn't come with a warning."
Arjun – "Can't you wait a bit?"
Ahmad – "I can't control it anymore."
Arjun – "Just rub your thighs a bit and sit still. You can hold it a little longer."
Ahmad – "What kind of friend are you?"
(Arjun just walks away, fixing the mats.)
Night Scene
Everyone is trying to sleep when Lily suddenly sits up.
Sia: "What happened?"