Chapter 59 —Sixteen Survivors, One Final Escape
It was already 2:50 a.m.
Inside the broadcast room, there were now only sixteen survivors left—sixteen lives hanging by a thread after Chen Zheyan had turned into a zombie.
Everyone was preparing to leave the broadcast room. Each person had something in their hands that could serve as a weapon. Hasnain, instead of the wafer he had been holding earlier, had now picked up the broken leg of Chen Zheyan's chair, the same makeshift weapon he had kept with him until now.
Meanwhile, once again, at Miss Selena's request, Yaram connected all the loudspeakers throughout the school and played the sound through them.
A tremendously loud scratching noise echoed through the entire school building.
The sound spread through every corridor and every floor, instantly drawing the attention of the zombies.
Their growls began to rise from different parts of the building.
Mr. Simit stepped forward and carefully opened the broadcast room door once again.
One by one, everyone began slipping out through the doorway.
But right beside the door stood Chen Zheyan.
He was no longer the brother Jinjin had known.
He was a zombie now.
Mr. Simit stepped outside without showing the slightest hesitation. Miss Selena followed him, then Jackson, who was holding Mary tightly by the hand.
Chen Zheyan immediately tried to move toward them like a wild beast.
His body jerked violently against the restraints, and a deep, animalistic growl escaped from his throat.
Saad quickly passed through the doorway.
Then Boraq followed.
But Lina and John froze.
Neither of them had the courage to pass Chen Zheyan.
The zombie kept trying to lunge toward them, growling continuously. However, the tie Hasnain had stuffed into his mouth prevented his growls from becoming as loud as they could have been.
Lina stared at Chen Zheyan in terror.
Her body refused to move.
Just as she was about to lose her courage completely, Yaram suddenly reached out and grabbed her hand.
Before Lina could even react, he pulled her forward.
The two of them hurried through the doorway.
The moment they reached the other side, Lina immediately pulled her hand away and glared at him angrily.
Lina snapped,
"At least tell me you were taking me outside! What if something had happened to me?!"
Yaram looked completely unconcerned.
Yaram replied casually,
"But nothing happened, did it? Now be thankful that I brought you outside. Otherwise, you would've been too scared to take even one step away from there."
Lina's expression became slightly embarrassed.
She looked away.
Lina muttered,
"It's not like that…"
Yaram couldn't resist teasing her.
A playful smile appeared on his face.
Yaram said,
"It's exactly like that. Honestly, I had no idea you could be this cowardly."
Lina immediately became annoyed again.
Lina snapped,
"Stop your nonsense!"
Yaram simply smiled.
He seemed to be enjoying teasing her far more than he should have.
Before the arrival of the Z Virus, Yaram and Lina had been complete strangers to each other, even though they were in the same class.
Lina was an average student.
Yaram, on the other hand, was one of the top students in the class—and he was also the class president. Outside the classroom, many girls in the school admired him.
But Lina didn't like him even a little.
Yaram was always serious and focused on his studies, while Lina was lively, playful, and loved fooling around.
Yaram belonged to a wealthy family, whereas Lina came from a middle-class family. Yet she had been living a happy and peaceful life with her parents and younger sister.
At least, she had been…
Until the Z Virus arrived.
The day the Z Virus entered their school, it changed their lives forever.
That day, everything had started normally.
They had been sitting in their classroom like usual, listening to their teacher's lecture, when suddenly several students covered in blood stumbled into the classroom.
Panic erupted instantly.
All the students ran out through the other door.
Among them were Lina and Yaram.
Yet at that time, they were still strangers.
Lina ran toward the second floor.
And then she saw something that changed everything.
A zombie had jumped onto Yaram.
He was struggling beneath it as the creature tried to attack him.
Without thinking twice, Lina grabbed one of the fire-extinguishing gas cylinders attached to the wall and hurled it at the zombie with all the strength she had.
The cylinder struck the zombie, sending it tumbling to the other side.
Yaram immediately got back on his feet.
The two of them began moving toward the broadcast room.
But then Yaram heard Miss Selena's voice.
He turned around.
Several zombies were coming toward them.
Miss Selena had fallen to the ground and was desperately trying to move backward. Her body hit the wall, leaving her nowhere else to go.
The zombies suddenly lunged toward her.
Miss Selena instinctively raised both hands in front of her face.
Then—
Yaram rushed forward.
He grabbed the gas canister and released it.
A thick cloud of white smoke spread rapidly through the area.
The zombies were temporarily obscured.
Yaram immediately grabbed Miss Selena's hand and pulled her toward the broadcast room.
They rushed inside and slammed the door shut behind them.
That was where everything changed.
During the time they spent inside the broadcast room, Yaram and Lina slowly stopped being strangers.
And Lina, who had once disliked Yaram so much, gradually began to see him differently.
She had started to like him.
Now, after all they had been through together, they were no longer the same two students who had once barely noticed each other.
---
After Yaram and Lina left, only Sam, Jinjin, Afra, Sana, Hasnain, Ghani, and John remained inside the broadcast room.
Afra and John were still terrified of Chen Zheyan.
No matter how hard they tried, they simply couldn't overcome their fear.
Neither of them could even bring themselves to step through the doorway.
Ghani's eyes fell on Afra.
He saw how frightened and shaken she was.
Without hesitation, he walked over and stood beside her.
Ghani said gently,
"Afra, don't be afraid. The more you let yourself be frightened, the harder it becomes to find your courage. Come on. I'll help you get through the door."
Afra was already terrified, and his words only irritated her.
She answered sharply,
"Don't give me too much advice. I'll get out through the door myself. I don't need your help."
Ghani looked slightly hurt by her response.
His expression turned frustrated.
Ghani asked,
"Why are you always annoyed with me? Whenever I look at you, you're angry with me."
Afra frowned.
Afra replied unpleasantly,
"It's nothing like that. It just seems that way."
Neither of them said anything after that.
Silence settled between them.
John stood to Afra's left.
Beside John stood Sam and Jinjin.
But Jinjin was still crying.
Her heart was filled with unbearable pain.
Every time she looked at her brother, Chen Zheyan, tears immediately filled her eyes.
She still couldn't accept it.
Her brother—the person she had grown up with—was standing right in front of her, but he was no longer himself.
He had become one of the creatures they feared most.
And the cruelest part was that she had to watch it happen right before her eyes.
Sam looked at her seriously.
Sam said softly,
"Jinjin, please. Try to hold yourself together."
Jinjin's lips trembled.
She could barely breathe through her tears.
Jinjin whispered,
"How… how am I supposed to hold myself together?"
Her voice cracked.
"First my best friend, Adam, gave his life trying to save us… and now my brother…"
She couldn't finish.
The words became too painful to speak.
Her face tightened with grief, and tears once again rolled down her cheeks.
She lowered her head and sobbed helplessly.
Sam stood beside her, trying his best to comfort her, even though there were no words powerful enough to take away the pain she was carrying.
Sana was also there, standing beside Afra.
Unlike the others, Sana hadn't openly shown that she was frightened.
But she was.
Deep inside, she was terrified.
The moment Chen Zheyan had turned into a zombie, her heart had begun pounding violently.
She stood frozen, staring at him.
Chen Zheyan was right beside the door.
His hands were restrained, but he kept pulling against them with all his strength, desperately trying to free himself.
The sight frightened Sana even more.
She wanted to move.
She wanted to leave.
But her legs wouldn't cooperate.
She couldn't gather enough courage to pass Chen Zheyan and reach the door.
Hasnain noticed.
His eyes had been searching for Sana constantly, just as they always did.
The moment he realized how frightened she was, he immediately stepped forward.
He opened the door completely.
Then he moved behind Chen Zheyan and firmly grabbed his restrained hands, holding him back with all his strength.
Everyone looked toward Hasnain.
Even Sana.
For Hasnain, however, that moment felt like a blessing.
Because Sana was looking directly at him.
The girl he had quietly cared about was finally looking at him.
For a brief moment, everything else seemed to disappear.
The zombies.
The fear.
The darkness.
Even the danger surrounding them.
All Hasnain could see were Sana's eyes fixed upon him.
Afra finally broke the silence.
"Thank you, Hasnain."
She immediately moved toward Sana, wrapped both hands around one of Sana's arms, and began guiding her outside.
They passed through the doorway quickly.
But for Hasnain, time seemed to slow down.
His eyes met Sana's.
For a fleeting moment, their gazes remained locked.
Neither of them said anything.
There was fear in Sana's eyes.
And something else that Hasnain couldn't quite explain.
He simply stood there, holding Chen Zheyan back, while watching her disappear through the doorway.
Then Sana and Afra were followed by John and Ghani, who also finally made it outside the broadcast room.
Jinjin, however, was still crying.
As time passed, the pain inside her heart only seemed to grow heavier.
She couldn't bring herself to leave her brother behind.
Sam knew that.
He knew she would never willingly walk away from Chen Zheyan.
So he reached out and took Jinjin's hand.
Jinjin resisted.
She desperately wanted to stay.
But Sam pulled her away from the broadcast room, forcing her to leave before it was too late.
"No… Sam… please…"
Jinjin's voice trembled as tears continued streaming down her face.
"I can't leave him…"
Every word struck Sam's heart like a blade.
He knew how much Chen Zheyan meant to her.
But he also knew they had no choice.
The longer they stayed, the greater the danger became.
And finally, Jinjin was brought outside.
She continued crying, looking back toward her brother until the very last moment.
Then, at last, Hasnain stepped out of the broadcast room as well.
The door was left behind.
Sixteen survivors had made it out.
But their escape was far from over.
They had survived the broadcast room.
They had escaped Chen Zheyan.
But now, their next destination awaited them.
The rooftop.