Leo stopped dead in his tracks. The wallet was sparkly and a bright pink that seemed to glow in the dim hallway. A keychain was hanging from It, engraved with the names of Leo, Jay and Krystian. The wallet was given to Krystian by Jay for losing a bet. He had to carry the wallet around for the entire school year.
"Jay, come here," Leo whispered, not taking his eyes off the wallet; a clue that Krystian was there, In the very hallway they were standing on. Jay came up to Leo and His eyes widened when he saw what Leo was looking at.
"Krystian was here. Maybe he's still hiding inside?" Jay asked. Leo nodded, It was very likely that Krystian was still inside the classroom and they couldn't leave without checking. But, Leo noticed something. The video that was playing on the Laptop behind them had changed.
It wasn't the voice that was reciting the Periodic Table. A different video was playing. The whole video was dark and nothing could be seen, The monotone voice was replaced with a deeper voice.
"Hello everyone," said the voice, "For my project, I will be explaining the Importance of Technology in the modern world."
Leo kept staring at the video, something was off. The audio seemed badly edited and a little distorted. He could see that the original had some sort of video playing which he could see in snippets. Just then, the audio cut off and was replaced with an eerie silence.
Leo moved towards the laptop to see what was going on. The video had again changed. This time, it showed a face. Krystian's face.
Leo stared at the screen in shock. Krystian looked straight at the camera and seemed a bit too calm despite all the chaos. Leo slowly started raising his bat. Krystian's face on the screen tilted, "Don't hit the laptop leo," the distorted voice crackled through the laptop's tiny speakers, "It's the only way I can see you."
Leo put down his bat in an instant and moved closer to the laptop screen, not daring to believe it. "Krystian?" The words barely left him. The Krystian on screen nodded. By this time, Jay had seen all this and hurried over to the laptop, staring at his best friend's face. Krystian just kept smiling at them, though something about the smile looked forced.
"Is this a recording, can you actually see us?" Jay asked, the shock not leaving his face.
Krystian nodded and moved closer to the camera. "Yes I can see you, Now listen carefully," Krystian said in a more rushed tone. "I'm in the server room near the Janitor's closet. Come here fast and do not stop to talk to anyone."
Jay nodded and sprang up to go to the server room which was at the end of the hallway. Leo quickly picked up his bat and followed behind Jay. It didn't take them long to reach the Janitor's closet. Beside the closet, there was a small hallway leading to one separate room.
"I think that's the server room," Jay said, keeping his voice low. The room had a heavy looking door and seemed isolated and hidden from the rest of the hallway. Leo went up to the door and knocked three times and again knocked two times. This was a code used by the three of them as far back as Leo can remember. He was sure Krystian would recognize. Sure enough, after a few seconds the door opened ever so slightly and a head peeked out.
Krystian looked relieved to see them. His hair was messy and from what little Leo could see, his shirt had bloodstains on it. Jay rushed past Leo and put Krystian in an embrace. Krystian smiled and patted Jay's back. After Jay finally let go of Krystian, they entered the server room. It was cramped with shelves of wires and other machinery creating a loud hum. The room was colder than the rest of the school owing to the fact that It's air conditioned. Krystian closed the door behind them and leaned next to It.
"Why was the first thing you thought of the server room?" Leo asked with an air of amusement. Krystian gave him a tired smile. "Well I didn't mean to come in here but I had to," Krystian explained. Leo gave him an exasperated look, "Why are you acting so mysterious? Just tell us."
"Yeah, we also have a lot to tell you." Jay added quickly. But Krystian shook his head, "I know, but we don't have time now. We need to get out of here fast and find a safer place."
Leo looked at him confused. The server room had a heavy steel door which looked bulletproof and It could only be opened from the outside by a Keycard. It seemed to Leo that this was the safest place in school.
"But this place is really safe. We don't even know what's happening outside. I think we should stay right here," Leo said. Krystian looked a bit panicked but from his words, he had some sort of plan.
"You don't understand Leo. The server room is a hazard. Even our body heat could make the server too hot and we would suffocate here," Krystian explained to them that the server room was a ticking time bomb with the unstable electricity and was too dangerous for long term stay.
"But Krystian," Jay interjected "We can just get out of the school instead of going to a different location."
Krystian gave a shaky sigh at this and looked down to the floor, dejected. "We can't leave, at least not now. The whole school is surrounded by them." Leo gave him a confused look, " 'Them' what?"
Krystian looked up to Leo, his face a mixture of fear and determination, "Zombies. Hordes of them."