Yeey slowly opened his eyes. He looked at the Kaize sleeping beside him, gently touched his cheek, then carefully stood up and walked into the restroom.
After splashing some water on his face, Yeey walked over to the refrigerator. When he opened the fridge door, he froze in shock—the candy and chocolate were all gone.
He looked around and realized there was nothing left. Walking to the other end of the office, he discovered Haoyi surrounded by empty chocolate wrappers.
Yeey watched as Haoyi was about to swallow the very last piece and rushed over, shouting,
"Don't!"
He snatched the final chocolate away and stood there panting, staring at Haoyi.
Yeey's shout quickly woke everyone up. Teacher Xu walked over and asked,
"What happened?"
Holding up the chocolate, Yeey said,
"He ate all the chocolate. This is the last one left."
Teacher Xu stared at Haoyi in disbelief and said,
"You ate this much chocolate all by yourself in one night? Are you trying to kill yourself?"
Haoyi said weakly,
"I got hungry in the middle of the night, so I got up to eat. I didn't realize I ate so much."
Yeey frowned and sat down on the table. Kaize walked over, rested his hand on Yeey's shoulder, and leaned his head against it. Yeey gently patted Kaize's head.
CuRiOsItY
Chapter Four: Breaking Out
Lowering her head, Teacher Xu said,
"When people are overwhelmed by grief, they sometimes binge eat. You should try to comfort him."
Yeey took the chocolate, broke it into several pieces, and handed them out.
"Only if we're fed will we have the strength to move on."
Fanling asked,
"Move on where?"
Yeey shouted,
"Out there! To survive! What, are we supposed to wait here to die?! Huh?!"
Haoyi muttered,
"You guys go. Let me stay here and die alone."
Yeey walked up to him and slapped him hard—smack!
Everyone stared at Yeey in shock. Grabbing Haoyi by the collar, Yeey shouted,
"Think about it! If your girlfriend saw you like this, how would she feel?! Don't you want to avenge her?!"
Fueled by anger, Haoyi roared,
"Yes! I do! I want to!"
Yeey smiled slightly and said,
"That's more like it."
Everyone else stared at them, completely confused.
At that moment, the zombies outside heard the noise and began rushing toward them.
Listening to the sounds, Yeey muttered,
"Damn it… shouldn't have yelled."
They quickly began preparing weapons and protection. Like something straight out of a movie, they taped books to their arms as makeshift armor and each grabbed a broken broom handle. Yeey picked up three knives—one he handed to Teacher Xu, one he kept for himself, and the last he gave to Fanling.
Looking Fanling in the eyes, Yeey said,
"Protect your future girlfriend."
Fanling smiled at him.
Kaize took the map off the wall and laid it on the table. Yeey pointed at it and said,
"We'll go down the same stairway we used before. There will probably be a lot of zombies on the way. Once we get through the stairwell, we run straight to the playground and then out of the school. Got it?"
Teacher Xu asked,
"Where do we go after we leave the school?"
Yeey replied,
"There are zombies everywhere outside right now. We'll head to the hotel next to the school first. They'll have plenty of food and water. Understood?"
Everyone nodded.
At that moment, a zombie passed by the office door. The door swung open, and just as the zombie lunged forward, a wooden stick pierced straight through its skull.
Teacher Xu pulled the stick out and stepped out of the office. The students followed closely behind.
Teacher Xu took the lead, with Kaize and Yeey on either side of her. Fanling and Haoyi stayed at the rear, while Liu Ly stood in the middle, protected by the others.
When the zombies spotted them, they charged. Fanling and Haoyi handled the zombies from behind; Teacher Xu, Yeey, and Kaize dealt with those in front, while Liu Ly struck at zombies coming from the sides.
A fierce battle erupted instantly.
One zombie after another rushed at Teacher Xu. With a stick in one hand and a knife in the other, she stabbed through their skulls again and again. Yeey and Kaize supported her, finishing off any zombies that fell to the ground with swift strikes.
Soon, they reached the stairwell door. They opened it, rushed inside, and slammed it shut behind them. Just as they were about to catch their breath, they realized there were even more zombies inside the stairwell.
Haoyi shouted,
"Let me handle this!"
He rushed to the front, with Fanling right behind him. The zombies surged upward like a tidal wave. Haoyi kicked them down, causing those in front to topple into those behind.
Working together, Haoyi and Fanling kicked and stabbed, driving the zombies back step by step.
They quickly made it downstairs. Yeey shouted,
"Run! Get outside!"
At the very back, Liu Ly saw a zombie leap at her from behind. She raised her stick with all her strength and stabbed straight through its skull, lifting the zombie into the air.
Fanling rushed over, knocked the stick from her hands, and shoved his own into them.
"Go! Now!"
He grabbed Liu Ly's hand and ran. Liu Ly looked down at the hand holding hers, then slowly lifted her gaze to Fanling's back.
They reached the playground, but even more zombies came charging toward them. All they could do was run with everything they had.
A zombie lunged at Haoyi, who sidestepped and dodged it. Another zombie rushed at Yeey from the front. Just as Yeey raised his stick, Kaize thrust his own through the zombie's heart.
Yeey stared at Kaize for a moment, then looked at the zombies chasing them. He grabbed Kaize's hand and kept running.
They burst through the school gate. Yeey slammed the close button and sprinted out as well.
They stopped, gasping for breath. Fanling pointed at the gate and said,
"It's closing too slowly. The zombies are going to get out."
Haoyi remembered Yanping being torn apart by zombies. Rage consumed him. He charged back toward the gate, shouting,
"You bastards!"
Fanling tried to stop him, but Haoyi had already run inside. Yeey grabbed Fanling and shouted,
"Come on! Let's go!"
Fanling stared at Haoyi's retreating figure and cried,
"Come back! You idiot!"
Tears streamed down his face.
Inside, Haoyi fought alone, stabbing zombie skulls one by one. Eventually, a zombie tackled him from the side, pinning him to the ground. More zombies piled on, slowly swallowing him as the gate finally slammed shut.
Watching the devastated Fanling, Yeey shed a single tear. He pulled Fanling along and said,
"Come on. It's over. Let's go."
Teacher Xu waved at them from the hotel entrance. Just as the students were about to approach, a runaway car crashed into Teacher Xu, smashing her into the hotel.
Everyone stared in shock. Liu Ly's eyes widened, and she sprinted forward. Kaize, Yeey, and Fanling followed.
Inside the hotel, Liu Ly helped Teacher Xu up. Barely conscious, Teacher Xu whispered,
"Quick… upstairs…"
Kaize looked at the driver of the out-of-control car—the driver had already turned into a zombie.
Fanling carried Liu Ly into the stairwell. Yeey said to them,
"I grabbed some room cards from the front desk earlier—higher floors. Let's go."
They soon reached the twelfth floor. Yeey slowly opened the door and peeked inside. He checked the left—no zombies.
Just as he turned to the right, a zombie suddenly appeared in front of him. He quickly pulled his head back and slammed the door shut.
Yeey motioned for Kaize and the others to follow him. They moved up to the sixteenth floor. After opening the door and checking carefully, they found no zombies at all.
They cautiously entered. Looking at the hollow-eyed Fanling and Liu Ly, Yeey said,
"In a place like this, don't drown in grief. Calm yourselves."
After that, he took Kaize with him to find rooms that could be opened.
Yeey checked the room cards and said,
"Rooms 166 and 167."
Yeey and Kaize opened the doors at the same time and inserted the key cards.
Kaize exclaimed,
"There's light! This hotel still has electricity!"
He ran out and hugged Yeey excitedly.
As they locked eyes, a noise suddenly came from Room 169. Both of them instantly turned serious.
Kaize slowly walked over and knocked on the door.
"Is anyone inside?"
When there was no response, Kaize looked at Yeey. Yeey pushed him aside and looked through the peephole.
He checked the left—no one.
He checked the right—no one.
Just as his view reached the center, something holding a sharp object stabbed straight through the peephole.