[Win – 7:12 a.m.]
Darkness.
Not the kind that hides you.
The kind that traps you.
I can feel Palm's breath beside me.
Still warm. Still real.
Even though everything else feels dead.
[7:14 a.m.]
We try the pantry door again.
Still locked.
Palm sighs. "Okay. So we confess feelings and die from starvation in canned bean purgatory?"
I roll my eyes, but I'm smiling.
"I didn't confess."
He smirks, "You didn't deny either."
[7:18 a.m.]
We use a can opener as a screwdriver and finally unscrew the rusty hinge bolts.
Door creaks.
Sunlight floods in.
And so do the zombies.
Two of them. Fast.
One girl, uniform still neat.
One man, probably a teacher — jaw hanging off like it's unzipped.
They lunge.
[7:19 a.m.]
Palm grabs a tray.
I grab the rod.
I duck the first swipe and jab straight through the neck.
The teacher-zombie crashes to the side, twitching.
Palm shoves the tray into the girl-zombie's face. She grabs him—teeth snapping inches from his neck.
I rush forward and slam her to the ground.
Twice.
Three times.
Until she stops.
[7:21 a.m.]
We're panting.
Covered in splashes of black-red.
Palm leans on me, shaky.
"We're getting good at this."
I nod, but my knuckles are white.
[7:28 a.m.]
We make it back to the music room.
Lin's face appears behind the door slit, relieved.
She opens up. Kao's right behind her, eyes unreadable.
Palm drops the sack of cans dramatically.
"I bringeth snacks."
Kao raises a brow.
Lin gives the tiniest smirk.
The room smells like desperation and sanitizer.
[7:35 a.m.]
We update each other.
Lin shows what she and Kao found — bottles, crackers, even some painkillers.
I tell her about the pantry ambush.
Palm starts joking again, but I see the tremble in his fingers.
Lin says we can't stay long.
Zombies are crawling up through the lower halls.
"We will go up,"
she says.
"to Rooftop. If there are survivors… that's where they'll be."
We all agree.
Except Kao, who's silent.
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