[Win – 8:17 a.m.]
Lin draws a rough blueprint on the wall with chalk.
"If we reach the rooftop, we need to block all three stairwell exits. One way up. One way down."
Palm adds,
"We can pile desks near the edge. Make a signal if we see helicopters or drones."
I suggest using the fire extinguisher for crowd control. Lin nods.
Kao… just stares out the tiny slit window.
Her eyes don't blink much anymore.
[8:22 a.m.]
The planning goes on.
They argue about rationing food.
Palm wants to assign weapons.
Lin wants to map every room we pass.
Me?
I'm bored.
And honestly… scared.
So I do what I always did before exams.
I walk to the piano.
[8:25 a.m.]
It's old. Dusty.
The first key I press is broken.
The second isn't.
A soft, haunting note echoes.
Kao turns slightly.
Palm glances back.
I press another.
And another.
It sounds like a forgotten lullaby.
For a second, the apocalypse doesn't exist.
[8:27 a.m.]
The third note doesn't even finish before we hear it—
SCREEEEEEECH—
Palm drops the flashlight.
Lin stands up fast.
Eyes wide.
"No, it's just morning bruhh."
Thump.
Thump.
Thump.
Kao walks to the door. Presses her ear against it.
"They heard it."
All of them.
[8:28 a.m.]
We hear snarling.
First one.
Then dozens.
Hands slam against the hallway lockers.
Feet dragging fast.
And then—
The high-pitched wail of a Screamer.
Lin screams, "WEAPONS! NOW!"
I grab the rod.
Palm grabs the fire extinguisher.
Lin holds her blade.
Kao?
Still calm.
She turns to me slowly.
"You played death's lullaby irony is that it lured them"
[8:30 a.m.]
The first zombie SLAMS into the barricaded door.
The whole wall shakes.
Then more.
And more.
The wood cracks.
The knob turns violently.
Lin braces herself behind the amp.
"We will hold it! DON'T LET THEM IN!"
Palm yells, "I TOLD YOU NO JAZZ IN A ZOMBIE APOCALYPSE!"
I scream back, "I WAS BORED FR!"
Another SLAM.
This one cracks the bottom hinge.
Kao looks at her blade.
And for the first time—
She smiles.
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