Silence.
For the first time since the outbreak began, the engineering workshop was quiet.
Not peaceful.
Just…
Quiet.
The infected still wandered outside, their occasional growls echoing through the empty corridors.
Every few minutes, something scraped against the barricaded doors before shambling away.
Inside, twenty-one survivors waited.
Nobody spoke.
Some stared blankly at the floor.
Others silently cried.
Professor Harrison’s blood still stained the concrete.
No one had the courage to clean it.
Elias sat beside a workbench, a notebook open before him.
He wasn’t writing names.
He was taking inventory.
Food.
Twelve packets of instant noodles.
Seven bags of chips.
A vending machine with unknown contents.
Water.
Three unopened cartons.
One emergency eyewash station.
Several industrial sinks.
Medical Supplies.
One first-aid kit.
Almost empty.
Tools.
Enough to build almost anything…
If they survived long enough.
“…How bad is it?”
Noah sat beside him.
Elias closed the notebook.
“We have enough food for maybe two days.”
“And after that?”
“We starve.”
The words hit harder than any scream outside.
Noah looked toward the frightened students.
“They’re already exhausted.”
“They won’t survive a supply run.”
“They don’t have to.”
Noah frowned.
“You do?”
Elias nodded.
“The cafeteria.”
“About three hundred meters.”
“One connecting hallway.”
“If we’re lucky…”
“…it’s untouched.”
Before Noah could answer—
“I’m not staying here.”
Everyone turned.
A tall student named Ryan stood up.
“This is stupid.”
“My parents are in the city.”
“I’m leaving.”
Several others immediately agreed.
“I’m going too.”
“My girlfriend’s alone.”
“My little brother’s still at school.”
Panic spread through the room again.
Elias stood.
“If you leave now…”
“…you’ll die.”
Ryan laughed bitterly.
“You don’t know that.”
“No.”
“I don’t.”
“But I know what I’ve seen.”
“The infected don’t get tired.”
“They don’t hesitate.”
“They won’t stop chasing you.”
Ryan grabbed a fire axe from the wall.
“I’m not taking orders from another student.”
Silence.
No one moved to stop him.
Noah stepped forward.
“Ryan…”
Ryan shoved him aside.
“I’m getting out of here.”
He unlocked the side emergency door.
The workshop fell silent.
The door slowly creaked open.
Nothing.
The hallway was empty.
Ryan smirked.
“See?”
He stepped outside.
One step.
Two.
Three.
Nothing happened.
Some survivors exchanged hopeful looks.
Maybe the worst had passed.
Ryan turned back with a triumphant grin.
“Told you—”
A hand shot out from an open classroom.
It grabbed his shoulder.
Ryan screamed.
Another infection emerged.
Then another.
Then six more.
The hallway erupted into chaos.
“No!”
Ryan swung the axe wildly, knocking one infected backward.
A second bit into his arm.
A third dragged him to the ground.
His screams echoed through the building.
Inside the workshop…
Nobody moved.
Nobody could.
The survivors watched in horror as Ryan disappeared beneath a sea of grasping hands.
The emergency door slammed shut.
Silence returned.
Only Ryan’s fading screams remained.
No one questioned Elias again.
Several minutes later…
A quiet sob broke the silence.
One of the students whispered,
“…He was alive yesterday.”
No one answered.
Elias clenched his fists.
This wasn’t a victory.
It was a lesson.
One paid for with a life.
Noah finally spoke.
“The cafeteria.”
“When do we leave?”
Elias looked toward the campus map mounted on the wall.
His eyes traced every hallway.
Every staircase.
Every maintenance tunnel.
Then they stopped.
The service corridors.
Used by maintenance staff.
Hidden from students.
A slow smile crossed his face.
“We’re not using the main hall.”
Noah followed his gaze.
“…There’s another route.”
“The maintenance tunnels.”
“Exactly.”
“They’ll be darker.”
“Tighter.”
“But if the infected gather where people usually walk…”
“They’ll ignore the places nobody uses.”
One of the survivors overheard.
“You already have a plan?”
Elias nodded.
“We leave at first light.”
“A small team.”
“No unnecessary risks.”
“We take only what we can carry.”
“And if we find other survivors…”
He paused.
Every eye turned toward him.
“…we bring them home.”
Outside…
The rain finally stopped.
Far above the university…
A military helicopter crossed the morning sky.
The survivors looked up with hope.
Elias watched it disappear beyond the horizon.
Something about it unsettled him.
If the military was rescuing people…
Why hadn’t a single helicopter landed here?
He couldn’t shake the feeling that the answer would be worse than the question.
Tomorrow, they would leave the safety of the workshop for the first time.
And the campus was waiting.