Zombie apocalypse:whispers from the dark

the next day

The sun rose slowly over the horizon, casting long, golden rays through the broken windows of the school. The quiet murmur of the undead outside reminded Zach and the others that the danger hadn’t passed. Inside the janitor’s closet, the group stirred, the weight of their situation hanging over them like a storm cloud.

Zach opened his eyes first, still leaning against the wall from the night before. His piercing blue eyes scanned the room. Anastasia was still beside him, her head resting against his shoulder. Mei and Aradhya were curled up on opposite sides of the small room, while Yeong Do sat in the corner, awake, his black eyes watching the door as if expecting it to burst open at any second.

Zach’s muscles were stiff from the awkward position, but he didn’t want to disturb Anastasia. He had barely slept, his mind racing with strategies, thoughts of how they could survive the coming days. The more he thought about it, the more he realized they couldn’t stay here much longer. Sooner or later, the zombies would find a way inside, or they’d run out of supplies. They needed to move, but where?

Anastasia stirred beside him, lifting her head. Her green eyes met his, a mixture of exhaustion and gratitude in her gaze.

“Morning,” she whispered, her voice still soft from sleep.

“Morning,” Zach replied, offering her a small smile. “How’re you holding up?”

Anastasia glanced over at Mei, who was still fast asleep, then back at him. “Better than I thought I’d be. But we can’t stay here, can we?”

Zach shook his head. “No. We need to find somewhere more secure—and fast.”

As the others began to wake, Yeong Do stood, stretching his tall frame. “We should check the school for supplies first,” he said, his voice steady. “We don’t know how long we’ll be out there, and we’ll need everything we can carry.”

Zach agreed. “Let’s split up, but stay close. We’ll cover more ground that way.”

“Aradhya and I can check the cafeteria,” Anastasia suggested, her green eyes glancing at Aradhya, who nodded in agreement.

“I’ll go with Yeong Do and Mei to check the gym and the science wing,” Zach said, giving Mei a reassuring look as she woke up, rubbing her eyes.

Everyone nodded, the plan in place. They were running on survival instincts now, each person understanding the importance of finding food, weapons, or anything that could give them a fighting chance.

The group split into two, moving cautiously through the abandoned halls. Zach, Yeong Do, and Mei made their way toward the gym first. The eerie silence filled every corner of the school, broken only by the occasional shuffling of a stray zombie outside. Zach held his breath as they approached the gym’s entrance, his senses on high alert.

The gym was empty, save for the remnants of overturned tables and chairs from the chaos of the initial outbreak. The once pristine floor was now littered with debris, but no immediate danger. Zach motioned for the others to move inside.

“We’ll grab anything that can be used as a weapon,” he said, keeping his voice low. “There should be baseball bats, hockey sticks—anything sturdy.”

Yeong Do nodded and began searching the equipment storage room while Zach helped Mei look around the bleachers.

“Zach,” Mei whispered suddenly, pointing toward the far side of the gym. There, lying among the scattered sports gear, was a bow and a small quiver of arrows, likely left behind from the school’s archery club.

“Good find,” Zach said, picking it up and testing its weight. “This could come in handy.”

As they gathered their finds, Zach’s mind wandered again—back to Anastasia. The brief connection they had shared last night was still fresh in his mind. He wasn’t sure what it meant yet, but he knew it was important. Something was pulling him toward her, like a tether that couldn’t be ignored.

When Yeong Do emerged from the equipment room, he was holding a couple of baseball bats. “This should be enough to defend ourselves,” he said, handing one to Mei. She took it, though the weight of it seemed heavy in her smaller hands.

“I’ll get better with it,” she said, her heterochromatic eyes gleaming with determination.

“We’ll make sure of it,” Zach replied, feeling a small swell of pride at Mei’s courage.

Meanwhile, Anastasia and Aradhya made their way toward the cafeteria, their footsteps quiet on the tiled floors. The silence between them wasn’t awkward—it was more the calm before the storm, both girls knowing that at any moment, they could be ambushed.

When they reached the cafeteria doors, Anastasia paused, her green eyes scanning the large room through the glass. There were no signs of movement, no sounds from inside.

“Looks clear,” she whispered, pushing the door open.

The cafeteria was as she had expected—desolate, with scattered food trays and half-eaten meals left in the rush to evacuate. The air smelled stale, a mixture of spoiled food and dust. Anastasia wrinkled her nose but moved forward, her eyes darting to the storage area.

“Let’s check the pantry,” she said to Aradhya, who nodded silently.

They moved through the kitchen, opening cabinets and pulling out any food that hadn’t gone bad. Canned goods, bags of rice, dried pasta—it wasn’t much, but it would have to do.

Aradhya held up a couple of cans. “It’s not a feast, but it’ll keep us going.”

Anastasia gave her a small smile. “Better than nothing. We can make it work.”

As they gathered their supplies, Anastasia found her thoughts drifting back to Zach. She couldn’t deny the feeling that had taken root between them. She’d never felt like this about anyone before—not in the middle of a crisis, not when death was literally knocking on their door. But there was something about Zach, about the way he had stepped up to protect them all, that made her feel… safe. And in a world that had turned upside down, safety was everything.

An hour later, the two groups reconvened in the janitor’s closet, their arms loaded with supplies. Zach’s heart skipped a beat when he saw Anastasia walk through the door, relief flooding him. He couldn’t help the small smile that tugged at his lips when their eyes met.

“We found enough food for a few days,” Anastasia said, setting the bags down. “It’s not much, but it’s a start.”

“We got some weapons too,” Zach added, showing the baseball bats and the bow. “We’ll need them when we leave.”

Yeong Do, who had been quiet most of the time, spoke up. “We’ll need a real plan now. This school isn’t safe long-term. We need to find somewhere more secure, like a shelter or a place where we can barricade ourselves properly.”

Zach nodded. “Agreed. But we can’t just run out there without knowing what’s ahead.”

Anastasia stepped forward, her green eyes meeting Zach’s. “What if we scout the area? Send a couple of us to check out the streets and see if there are any safe zones nearby.”

Zach considered her words, feeling the tension between wanting to protect her and knowing she was right. They couldn’t stay hidden forever.

“Alright,” he said finally, glancing around at the group. “We’ll scout the streets tomorrow, gather as much information as we can. We’ll move quickly and carefully.”

Anastasia smiled slightly, nodding in agreement. “We can do this.”

Zach’s heart thudded in his chest as they all prepared for the next step. The stakes were higher than ever, but somehow, he felt more prepared with Anastasia by his side.

And so, as the sun began to set again, the group huddled together in the dark, preparing for the challenges that awaited them outside the school’s walls.