The vice president’s words left no room for argument. Upon hearing about their families outside, they all wore shameful expressions, as if wondering whether they had truly forgotten their loved ones beyond these walls.
There was one thing I realized from this: President Ava was nothing but a figurehead. The pretty girl meant to keep everyone happy. The vice president made all the real decisions.
"For now, enjoy your meal, but we will be leaving shortly."
With that, the decision was final: we would be leaving the school today. Some students opposed this, while others just wanted to see their families. As I sat alone eating, Liora came beside me. I had noticed she was unusually quiet this morning.
"Are you alright?" she asked.
"Yeah, I’m fine."
When I answered, she stared at me suspiciously.
"How can you be fine when that girl you were with..." She blushed slightly and looked uncomfortable. "Wasn’t the two of you?"
Ah, so that’s it. She was worried about me because of what happened with Sarah. Seeing my blank expression, she decided to change the subject.
"Anyway, what do you think about what just happened? Do you think it’s a good idea to try to leave?"
"I have no thoughts. My head is empty."
She pouted and crossed her arms.
"I’m serious. Part of me wants to go home and see Mom, Dad and the others, but another part can’t help but think it’s dangerous. I mean, if we get killed in the process, then it defeats the whole purpose."
"Maybe you should tell them that."
"The vice president can be very stubborn at times and doesn’t like taking anyone else’s opinion."
"He would if it were you."
"What’s that supposed to mean?"
"Nothing."
She stared at me suspiciously but didn’t press further.
"Hey, how do you think the others are doing?" she asked.
"They’re strong, so I’m sure they’re fine."
"Yeah, my connection with the pack is still going strong. I haven’t detected any anomalies. What about you?"
"Same. I’ve sensed some strong emotions at times, but nothing that indicates they’re in danger."
Liora sighed in relief. Knowing that our family was okay gave us some comfort. Werewolf pack members have a strong connection with each other, which we usually refer to as a bond. It allows us to communicate and sometimes feel each other’s emotions. This connection weakens the further apart we are.
"As long as we all get out of here safe, I shouldn’t have any problem." She then turned her gaze to me. "For that, we’ll need the help of a certain someone."
"..."
"Can’t you at least help us until we leave the building?"
"..."
"Fine, I knew you wouldn’t help anyway."
Seeing my silence, she rolled her eyes and stormed off, leaving me to eat my meal without a care in the world.
Time passed, and soon it was time for us to leave. Our first obstacle was the zombies banging on the door from outside. To solve this problem, the vice president had those without fighting abilities stand at the back of the room, while those who had inherited powers stood at the front.
I was among those without fighting abilities, and I watched as my sister and the others fought the zombies that burst into the room as soon as the door opened. We had five fighters in total: the president, the vice president, my sister, Damien, and Victor.
Among them, the person who stood out the most was Victor. He slaughtered the zombies with little to no effort. He fought with his bare fists, putting them down with a single blow. But what really ticked me off was that I could tell he was holding back quite a bit.
My sister wasn’t bad either. After what happened yesterday, she didn’t hesitate to take down the zombies. She fought with her true strength, showing off her high agility and speed.
I could tell the vice president was amazed by her. He wielded his spear with more viciousness than skill. It wasn’t a bad approach when fighting creatures as unskilled as zombies. But if he were to face an opponent with even a little skill, someone like Jason, he would lose.
The president, along with Damien, offered support from the back. Damien used his fireballs to incinerate the zombies to dust, and the president used her wind attacks with her staff to slice them in half. All in all, they managed to dispose of the zombies outside the door relatively easily, but that seemed to have caused the other zombies in the building to stir.
I watched them with my thermal vision, and they all started to move more actively.
As expected, the vice president took the lead to guide us out of the room.
"Okay, follow me and stay close together so it will be easier to protect everyone."
With his orders, we marched behind the group of fighters down the hall toward the staircase. Things went smoothly, without anyone being injured or killed. Even though we were surrounded by vicious zombies, there was a strangely hopeful atmosphere lingering in the air but that hope would soon be shattered.
They all overlooked one crucial detail: the classrooms. They focused on the zombies in the hall but not the ones in the classroom. The ones that could easily encircle us.
Most of them were still filled with dead students who had turned into zombies, and with the commotion going on, they started to stir. To everyone’s surprise, they began pouring out of the classrooms, circling us on all sides.
Immediately, panic erupted, and it wasn’t long before the first student was killed. Seeing the grotesque scene of a student being eaten alive, panic set in, and the students started shoving each other to get away. Soon, more students were killed, causing fresh blood to spill onto the hallway.
It was as if I were watching a snowball roll down a hill because soon, the spilled blood attracted another creature: Blood Moths. It was as if they were drawn in by the scent. The terrified creatures descended through the windows like demons summoned from hell.