Chapter 60 — The Door That Wouldn't Open
It was already 3:00 a.m.
The moon was still visible surrounded by a vast blanket of darkness. An unusual chill lingered in the air, and everywhere in the world, nothing but destruction could be seen.
It felt as though humanity itself would soon take its final breath.
Yet despite this merciless destruction, some brave people still refused to surrender.
They were still fighting for their lives.
Among those courageous survivors were sixteen people who remained inside the school building.And now, all sixteen of them were making their way toward the school rooftop.
But their journey was far from safe.
Through careful planning, they had managed to divert the zombies' attention toward another part of the school, where the loudspeakers were broadcasting music at an extremely high volume.
The sixteen survivors were:
1. Miss Selena — Teacher
2. Mr. Simit — P.E. Teacher
3. Lina — Student
4. Yaram — Student
5. Hasnain — Student
6. Sana — Student
7. Afra — Student
8. Ghani — Student
9. Sam — Student
10. Boraq — Student
11. Saad — Student
12. Michael — Student
13. Jinjin — Student
14. John — Student
15. Mary — Student
16. Jackson — Student
All sixteen survivors continued toward the rooftop.
They had now reached the staircase.None of them knew what awaited them above.
---
{Back in the Broadcast Room}
Meanwhile, Chen Zheyan was still trapped inside the broadcast room.
His hands remained tied to the door handle, and Hasnain's tie was still stuffed inside his mouth.
But Chen Zheyan was no longer the brother Jinjin remembered.
He had become a complete zombie.
His milk-white eyes were undeniable proof of what he had become.
He struggled violently against the restraints, pulling with every ounce of strength left in his transformed body.
Then_The tie wrapped between his hands and the door suddenly broke.
Chen Zheyan was released.
His body lurched forward and crashed directly onto the table.
The control system for the school's loudspeakers was lying on that very table.
As Chen Zheyan fell, his hand struck one of the buttons.
The button controlling the school's loudspeakers was pressed.
And instantly—
Every loudspeaker in the school disconnected.
The music stopped.The entire school fell silent.
Chen Zheyan immediately rolled off the table and rushed out of the broadcast room.
A low, vicious growl escaped from his throat.
Because Hasnain's tie was still stuck inside his mouth, the sound was muffled and distorted.
But it was still enough.
Suddenly, the zombies locked inside the classrooms on the second floor began violently slamming their heads against the doors.
They pushed against the doors with all their strength.
The walls of all those classrooms were made of glass.The zombies began throwing themselves against the glass as well.
Cracks began spreading across the surfaces.The glass trembled under the pressure.
It was becoming painfully obvious that those walls would not hold for much longer.
---
{The Locked Rooftop Door}
Meanwhile, the sixteen survivors were climbing the stairs.They were getting closer and closer to the rooftop door.
Finally, they reached it.
Jackson stepped forward and grabbed the handle.
He twisted it.but Nothing happened.
His expression immediately changed.
The door was locked from the inside.
Jackson cursed under his breath.
"Damn it! This door is locked from the inside!"
John immediately began trembling.
His face turned pale.John asked in a shaky voice,
"What are we going to do now?"
Miss Selena quickly turned toward him.
Although fear was visible in her own eyes, she kept her voice calm.
Miss Selena said,
"Don't be afraid. We're all together."
Then she looked toward the others.
"Help Jackson open the door. Quickly!"
Jackson and Mr. Simit immediately positioned themselves against the rooftop door.
They pushed against it with their shoulders.
Then harder.
And harder.
They used the full strength of their bodies.
The heavy door shookBut it only opened slightly.
It refused to give way.Mr. Simit gritted his teeth and pushed again.
Jackson did the same.
The muscles in their arms and shoulders strained as they desperately tried to force the door open.
But nothing worked.
Then—
The school's loudspeakers suddenly disconnected.The music vanished.
Silence swallowed the entire building.
Every survivor instinctively looked toward the staircase.
For a brief moment, nobody spoke.
Then Mr. Simit and Jackson immediately resumed their desperate attempts to open the rooftop door.
Their repeated blows against the metal door were so powerful that the sound echoed down the staircase.
Those noises attracted the zombies trapped on the second floor.
Fortunately, the classroom doors were still locked, preventing the zombies from reaching the survivors.
All except one.
Chen Zheyan.
He wasn't trapped.
He had already escaped the broadcast room.
And now he was moving rapidly toward the rooftop.
---
Everyone kept their eyes fixed on Jackson and Mr. Simit as they struggled with the door.
But John was staring down the staircase.
His breathing suddenly stopped.
His eyes widened.
At the very bottom of the staircase, something was moving.
Then he saw it.
Chen Zheyan.
The zombie was climbing the stairs at terrifying speed, taking one step after another as he rushed toward them.
His body moved like a wild, starving beast chasing its prey.
John's face filled with terror.
He pointed toward the staircase.
John shouted,
"Look! Chen Zheyan is coming toward us!"
Everyone immediately turned.
Their expressions changed.
Fear spread through the group.
Chen Zheyan was getting closer.
Closer.
And closer.
Finally, he reached the last step.
He lunged forward.
But before he could reach anyone—
Saad stepped forward.
He swung his fist with all his strength.
BAM!
His punch struck Chen Zheyan and sent the zombie crashing backward.
Chen Zheyan fell onto the final step with a heavy impact.
THUD!
The sound echoed throughout the upper floor.
But that single sound created an even bigger problem.
The zombies on the terrace floor heard it.
They immediately became alert.
Zombies began pouring out of the assembly hall and staff room.
Their growls echoed through the building.
One zombie heard another.
Then another.
It was almost as if the entire infected population had suddenly realized where their prey was.
And then—
They all began rushing toward the second floor.
Hundreds of growls filled the school.
The zombies moved like wild animals hunting their prey.
Meanwhile, the zombies trapped inside the second-floor classrooms became even more aggressive.
They slammed against the doors.
They pushed against the glass walls.
The cracks spread farther.
The doors shook violently beneath their weight.
The sixteen survivors standing beside the rooftop door stared in horror.
Then they heard it.
The sound of countless zombies approaching.
Afra's face went pale.
Her breathing became rapid.
She could no longer hide her fear.
She looked desperately toward the locked rooftop door.
Afra cried out,
"Open the door! Hurry! If we don't get out now, we're all going to die!"
Mr. Simit immediately began pounding on the rooftop door.
BANG! BANG! BANG!
He shouted at the top of his lungs,
"If anyone is on the terrace, please! Open this door! Hurry!"
His voice echoed across the rooftop entrance.
But there was no response.
The zombies were getting closer.
Closer.
And closer.
They were almost on the second floor.
Then—
CRASH!
The glass windows of one classroom shattered beneath the zombies' pressure.
Then another.
CRASH!
Another window broke.
Then another.
The zombies began falling over one another as they forced their way out.
They climbed over the broken glass and stumbled into the corridor.
Within seconds, the hallway was flooded with infected creatures.
Their growls merged into one horrifying roar.
And then they began running.
Straight toward the rooftop stairs.
Straight toward the sixteen survivors.
The survivors had nowhere left to go.
The rooftop door was still locked.
The zombies were already on the second floor.
And now they were rapidly climbing toward them.
The distance between the sixteen survivors and the approaching horde was disappearing with every passing second.
They had only moments left before the zombies reached them.