"Yeah. It's done."
Amir's voice was quiet as he glanced down at his swollen right fist. The image of the kid who'd mocked his parents a month ago, now groveling at his feet and begging for mercy—it flashed through his mind, and his eyes gleamed with the satisfaction of revenge.
"You didn't go too far, did you?"
Bryan turned around to look him over. Amir's jacket hung open, his clothes disheveled, sweat plastering his hair to his forehead. Both fists bore fresh cuts and bruises. There was a mark on his face too, and his lip was split. He'd clearly been through a serious fight.
"No." Amir's expression remained stony as he touched his split lip, wincing slightly at the sting. "I started thinking about some bad memories during it. Almost lost control. But right when I was about to really hurt him, someone from the school staff stepped in and stopped me. I didn't think much of it and just ran back. Looking back on it now, I think he'd been watching the whole time—only jumped in when he saw I was about to go too far."
A flicker of understanding passed through Bryan's eyes. He let out a quiet laugh, knowing exactly what had happened, though he kept his expression neutral. "Alright, don't overthink it. You got your payback. Have you thought about what you want to do going forward?"
Amir looked at him, puzzled by the odd question. After a long silence, he spoke slowly. "I… don't know."
"No rush. Take your time figuring it out."
As if he'd expected that answer, Bryan didn't press the issue. He draped an arm over Amir's shoulders and guided him toward where Sarah and the others were sitting. "Come on. Take a break for now."
Once Amir sat down, the group formed a loose circle and fell into easy conversation—no awkwardness between any of them. They'd clearly been spending a lot of time together over the past month.
Seeing that everyone was present, Bryan found a spot and sat down too. He held up the white keycard, his face serious.
"Listen up. From now on, guard this card with your life. Do not lose it. There's no replacement if it's gone. Every credit you earn gets stored on this card—if someone else gets their hands on it, you'll have been working for their benefit."
He thought of something he'd seen on his way over and added, "There are already people in the school stealing these keycards. Be extra careful. Find a hidden spot to stash yours, or keep it on you at all times. If you need to buy something from the store, take me or someone else with you. Don't go alone. Got it?"
"Got it!"
Everyone nodded seriously, clutching their keycards tight. The thought of losing it—of earning credits for someone else's pocket—had them all mentally mapping out hiding spots already.
Satisfied that they'd taken it to heart, Bryan stretched and surveyed the training field.
Normally, the field emptied out after daily training. But today, after credits had been distributed, students had rushed to the store to redeem all sorts of recreational items—basketballs, baseballs, and the like.
Watching the kids running around the field, flushed and laughing with genuine excitement, Bryan realized this was the first time he'd seen truly happy smiles in this oppressive school. He found himself smiling too, almost without realizing it.
He turned back to the group. "Today's the last day of 2013. Tomorrow's a new year. Come on—let's go buy some food and games from the store and see out this god-awful year together."
"Yes!"
Allen was the first to leap up. He couldn't help it—being cooped up in this school with nothing but studying and training every day had driven him stir-crazy.
The others had no objections either. Since entering the school, every day had been wound tight with tension. They were overdue for a break.
And so the group of six marched toward the store with all the enthusiasm of a raiding party—only to stop short when they arrived. The place was packed with students. They weren't the only ones with this idea.
"Ah… looks like we picked the wrong time."
Bryan scratched his head with a rueful expression. He'd almost forgotten—today was credit distribution day. Everyone with credits would rush to spend them immediately. Even those with barely any would come to browse, and the opportunistic thieves would be lurking in the crowd too.
The school administration wasn't about to let the chaos continue, though. In a crowd this dense, even surveillance cameras couldn't catch every detail.
Soon, four or five soldiers entered the store to restore order, temporarily barring anyone else from entering.
Students with less-than-innocent intentions panicked at the sight of the soldiers. They abandoned their plans and, after being searched, hurried out.
Before long the crowd had thinned considerably. Bryan's group only had to wait a short while before they were let in.
The moment they stepped inside, the sheer abundance of supplies nearly overwhelmed them. Mountains of goods stacked on shelves—they hadn't seen this much stuff neatly organized in one place since the world ended.
Allen and Dick made a beeline for the games section, letting out banshee-like shrieks of excitement as they ran.
Bryan chuckled at their enthusiasm, then turned to Sarah, Lulu, and Amir. "This place has two floors with plenty to see. Let's split up—we'll meet back here when we're done."
Lulu immediately latched onto Sarah's arm and dragged her toward the food section. Amir glanced at the directory sign, said nothing, and headed straight for the second floor. There was a fitness equipment section up there.
Once everyone had scattered, Bryan strolled through the aisles at a leisurely pace. He wasn't really a kid, after all. Snacks and toys didn't hold much appeal for him.
But when he passed the beverage section, something on the shelf caught his eye—row after row of beer. He stopped in his tracks.
He picked up a bottle and turned it over in his hands. He hadn't expected to find beer in a school store, of all places.
Then he checked the price tag.
Fifteen credits. Per bottle. Half of everything he had.
Without a second thought, he put it back. Much as he wanted a drink, spending that kind of money on beer when he could get far more useful things? Not a chance.
After browsing a while longer, he grabbed a few sodas and called it good.
When everyone emerged from the store, they all wore satisfied expressions. Sarah and Lulu had loaded up on snacks and food. Allen and Dick had grabbed armfuls of games—the most conspicuous being the board game tucked under Allen's arm: Chinese checkers.
But the one that left everyone speechless was Amir. He'd used his credits on a dumbbell. Ever since his first training session, something had apparently awoken inside him—an almost obsessive dedication to working out.
The group headed back to the training field. Though dusk was settling in, bonfires were already springing up across the grounds. Clusters of students gathered around the flames, their laughter drifting through the evening air.
The school administration seemed to understand why the students were lingering and made no move to chase them off. If anything, they'd helpfully switched on the bright floodlights around the field's perimeter.
Bryan led the group to a spacious clearing, then gathered armfuls of branches from beneath the nearby trees. With a borrowed lighter and some kindling, he got a fire going. Flames crackled to life, sending sparks spiraling upward.
They all stretched their hands toward the warmth and let out sighs of contentment.
Allen immediately produced his prized acquisition—the board game—and waved everyone over. Within minutes, their corner was alive with laughter and playful arguments.
Bryan sat on the ground, half-reclining, and tilted his head back to gaze at the star-filled sky. He realized, with a start, that it had been a very long time since he'd simply sat still like this.
It all felt like a dream. Everything he'd experienced since arriving in this world—the nightmarish Infected, the people who were kind and the people who were cruel, the tension of school life inside the QZ—all of it carried an air of unreality.
"What's wrong? You look so gloomy."
Sarah's familiar voice pulled him from his thoughts. He slowly turned his head to look at her face—so familiar now—and couldn't help but smile.
Under his gaze, Sarah felt heat rise to her cheeks. To hide it, she swatted his arm in mock irritation. "Say something! Why are you just staring at me like that?"
"Hahaha!"
"It's nothing. Just thinking about old times."
He slung his arm around Sarah's shoulders and felt the melancholy wash away all at once. Surrounded by his companions' laughter, warmed by the girl beside him, an irrepressible grin broke across his face.
No matter what the future held, he would protect the people he cared about—and survive this apocalypse.
...
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