The Prison Bell

This story, "The Prison Bell," chronicles the immediate aftermath of a sudden, unexplained collapse at St. Jude's academy. When the institutional order vanishes, the students and a few faculty members fragment into rival feifdoms based on personality and strategic asset control.
Mark, the former VP, seizes the Central Feifdom (food/medicine), using ruthless efficiency and psychological manipulation to turn defeated rivals into fiercely loyal soldiers. He battles President Ethan's Tower Coalition (defense/water), which relies on entitlement, academic knowledge, and brute force. The conflict centers on a struggle for survival resources (food, medicine, water), where intelligence and psychological warfare prove deadlier than brute strength. The narrative captures the terrifying clarity of Mark's new regime, the humiliation of misplaced trust, and the constant, cold battle for authority in a world stripped of its rules.