The Survival of Helena University

It seemed like my surroundings were in slow motion as I stood in the middle of our university's soccer field. I couldn't explain what was happening because it was happening so fast. Just a while ago, we were peacefully sitting in our respective classrooms, listening to our professor, but in a blink of an eye, chaos ensued and my fellow students were running around like mad dogs.

Running here, running there. The panicked students were running in no particular direction, just trying to escape.

"Aira!" That shout brought me back to the present.

When I looked to my right, I saw a student coming towards me, bloody, with a bite mark on his neck and his eyes turning white. I tightly gripped the baseball bat I was holding and prepared to swing at him.

Afterwards, I immediately ran towards my friend's location, entering our building.

"Hurry!" Allen shouted as we ran upstairs.

Every floor had obstacles, so we had a hard time reaching our classroom.

Our classmates, who were sweaty and looked like they had just arrived, screamed in surprise when we entered and quickly locked the door.

"What the hell is happening?!" Maika, the fashionista and most dramatic in our class, asked in a high-pitched voice.

"Zombies" Darra, our class president, said quietly but loud enough for us to hear.

Roy, the tough and bully in our class, tiredly washed his face. "Fuck!" he shouted, kicking a chair.

"I can't believe that what I used to watch is happening in real life" Franz, the taekwondo player in our class, said in a trembling voice.

We all screamed when the door of our classroom started to shake due to the zombies trying to attack us.

"Bring the chairs and tables here! Hurry!" Roy shouted while trying to keep the other door from opening.

I immediately moved, followed by my female classmates, while our male classmates were at the two doors, preventing them from opening.

After they locked both doors, we all helped to place the chairs and tables as a barricade.

We also locked the sliding window and placed chairs and tables as a barrier.

When we finished, we slowly gathered and retreated while watching the students who had turned into zombies.

I walked towards the other window where I could see the whole university and my muscles almost gave out at what I saw.

Screaming, running, and crying of my fellow students asking for help.

"What are we going to do now?" Amira, the quietest and most timid among us, asked.

"We can't just stand here because any moment now, the door could break and we're surely dead if that happens." Roy said.

"I have a plan..." We all looked at Darra.

"Spill" Franz said, walking towards Darra.

"You're a taekwondo player, right?" Darra asked Franz, who immediately nodded. "We only have minutes before the door and window give in... Aira, Maika, Amira, let's work together to remove all the curtains and look for additional ones in the cabinets and connect them. And you boys will support the barricades, Franz use your skills in case we get caught. Is it okay if you're with me till the end?"

We were all alert while listening to Darra.

"I have a question," I interjected.

"Go ahead," Darra said, nodding.

"Which floor are we going down to, given that the infected are scattered on all floors?"

"Okay listen, everyone. Roy, you'll be the first to go down once we've fixed the fabric. You'll look for a safe room that we can go to. Because we can't just leave the campus, you've seen the situation, so the only thing we can do now is to find a new room to hide in before we make a new plan to get out of the campus." There was no trace of emotion on Darra's face as she spoke. "Everybody move!" She ordered authoritatively and we immediately moved.

We removed the curtains one by one, Amira rummaged through the cabinets and luckily, there were some stored there. When we gathered all the curtains, we immediately worked together to connect them. When we finished, Darra called Roy to rappel down.

"Take care" Darra reminded before Roy finally went down.

The rest of our male classmates were on standby at the door because it was giving in due to the continuous onslaught of the damn zombies.

When Roy was finally able to go down to a room, Darra immediately instructed us to follow.

Even though I was trembling, I mustered the courage to go down because I didn't want to be a burden to my classmates. When I arrived, Roy assisted me and the others followed.

Darra and Franz were the last to go down because the door finally gave in and luckily, they were already holding onto the fabric and the zombies were trying to reach them.

We breathed a sigh of relief when the two finally went down and we immediately assisted them.

We sat down tiredly while Franz lay down and covered his face with his hands.

"What are we gonna do now?" Amira asked sadly.

"We need to escape this university"

"But how?" Maika asked.

Darra took out her cellphone.

Oh right, we have cellphones. I also took out mine but

I got disappointed to see that there was no signal.

"There's no signal," I said.

"We can't call outside for help." Allen said weakly.

I looked around and only then did I realize that we were in the art room.

"We have no choice but to fight and kill the dead" Darra said coldly before picking up a piece of wood from the side.

"What?! I can't do that!" Maika complained dramatically.

"If you want to live, fight and don't depend on your us, if you want to die then go out and offer yourself to the zombies, we won't stop you. It's your choice, it's either survive or die" Darra's voice was chilling when she said that before she walked to peek in the hallway.

After Darra's words, no one attempted to speak anymore, even the boys fell silent.

But the silence didn't last long because nothing would happen if they just stayed quiet and stared blankly, so after a few minutes, Roy stood up and called the other boys to help him get the painting stands and separate them to serve as their weapons, and gave one to each of their female companions.

"We didn't know this would happen, I know all of you are shocked and still can't believe what's happening, even me, but we can't do anything because it's already happened and the only thing we can do is to fight to survive, get out of this university and ask for help from the officials. We don't know what's happening outside but, I'm sure it's not good. So brace yourself, be brave and fight for your lives. Kill to survive." Franz said, looking at each of his classmates who were clearly scared.

"We're all scared here and we don't know what will happen next because the disaster is just beginning, like what our president said, don't depend on our companions because we're all going to fight and help each other to survive here. Maika, I know you're afraid but you have to fight for your life." Allen added.

"If you're done with speeches, can we go now?" Darra asked coldly. "There are no zombies in the hallway so this is a good opportunity for us to move rather than having a moment there."

Bitch. Franz thought.

They also found tapes and cardboard earlier which they used to wrap around their arms for protection.

Roy quietly opened the door and they silently followed one by one and walked down the hallway towards the stairs.

They were going down when suddenly a horde of zombies appeared so they had no choice but to run up the stairs, because if they went back to the art room, they would surely be devoured because there were also zombies coming from there.

Swing here, swing there, push here, push there. And they unleashed a series of kicks and punches while climbing the stairs because of the zombies blocking their way.

"To the rooftop!" Roy shouted so the girls quickly ran up towards the rooftop door and tried to open it but it had a passcode so no matter how much they pressed and kicked it, it wouldn't open.

"Damn it!" Aira irritably kicked the door that wouldn't open.

A few moments later, their male companions followed, panting and looking like they were running out of breath.

"Why haven't you opened it yet?!" Roy asked, annoyed.

"How can we open it if it has a passcode and we don't know what it is?!" Maika retorted.

"Move aside," Franz said.

He pressed the numbers and the door opened. "Hurry, the monsters are coming!"

He pressed the numbers and the door opened. "Hurry, the monsters are here again!"

Just as the door closed, the zombies arrived and started banging on the closed door.

"How did you know the passcode?" Darra asked Franz.

"Because I once saw the janitor come up here and I saw him enter the passcode," Franz casually answered.

"This is hell..." they all looked at Aira, who was staring at the rooftop.

The situation downstairs was chaotic, the infected were scattered and they would surely have a hard time getting out, especially since they didn't know the weaknesses of their enemies.

"How are we going to get past them?" Maika asked.

"We won't be able to get out," Amira said, losing hope.

"Let's wait here. Maybe rescue will come. We can't go back inside because those damn monsters will surely feast on us," Roy suggested.

"Help me gather the broken chairs. We'll create an emergency signal," Darra said authoritatively.

They followed their class president's instructions and worked together to gather all the broken chairs and form an emergency signal that said 'SOS'.

Afterwards, they sat in a circle and waited for rescue. If there was any.

Hours passed and no one came until the light and darkness in the sky fought each other, and they lost hope that anyone would come to help them.

As the hours dragged on, the sense of despair grew stronger among the survivors. The once lively atmosphere in the university had now turned somber, with whispers of doubt and fear filling the air.

Maika leaned against the wall, exhaustion evident in her eyes. "I can't believe no one has come," she murmured, her voice heavy with disappointment. "We're on our own."

Darra nodded, her face etched with worry. "We can't rely on anyone else to save us," she said. "We have to find a way to survive and protect each other."

"But there is hope," Amira said, her voice filled with determination. "I think the scientists are now working tirelessly to find a cure. We just need to hold on a little longer."

Their stomachs growled and their throats became dry because they hadn't eaten and didn't have anything to drink.

"I'm so hungry and thirsty," Maika complained weakly.

"We are too, but we have no choice but to endure because we don't have anything to eat here," Aira said, also feeling weak.

"It seems like we're going to die of hunger and thirst, not from being bitten by those zombies," Allen added.

They stopped talking when Franz suddenly stood up and slowly opened the rooftop door.

"What are you doing, moron?" Maika asked.

"They're not here anymore," he whispered, but it was just loud enough for everyone to hear.

Franz closed the door again and returned to his standing companions.

"Allen and Roy, come with me," he invited the two boys.

"Where are you going?" Aira asked.

"We're going to get food and drinks. We can't go into battle with empty stomachs because we'll become weak and dizzy," Franz replied.

"Please be safe, we can't afford to lose any of us here. Comeback safely, okay?" Darra said in a worried voice.

"Don't worry, pres, we'll take care of ourselves. We'll be right back" Franz assured her. "Darra, take everything here under your control," he added before they left.

"Good morning world!" Aira cheerfully shouted as she opened her bedroom window.

It was Monday morning, so she woke up early to get ready for school.

She's a grade 11 student.

"Good morning, Dad!" she greeted as she saw her dad at the dining table.

Her smile faded when she noticed that her mom wasn't there.

"Where's mom?" she asked her dad, even though she had an idea of where her mom was.

"She left earlier, she had breakfast ahead of us because she said she had a lot to attend to at the university," her dad replied.

That was always their setup with her parents. She never got to eat with her mom, and it was always her dad who was there with her. It's not that she didn't enjoy eating with her dad, of course she did and she was happy that they always ate together, but she wished that even at the dining table, she could be with both her mommy and daddy. She wanted to be able to eat together with them, but her desire was never fulfilled because her mom was always busy and she could hardly talk to her or even see her.

She lost her appetite, but she still forced herself to have breakfast because she didn't want to leave her dad alone.

After they finished breakfast, she said goodbye to her dad, who was also getting ready to leave for work.

On the other hand, Allen, Aira's closest friend, was still drooling in his sleep. He woke up when his alarm clock rang, which he immediately turned off, but after a few moments, he jolted awake when he remembered that they had school that day.

He lazily took a shower and got dressed. Even in going to school, he lazily walked towards the university gate.

The whole Helena University was alive with students chatting while walking, playing around, cleaning classrooms, and doing other typical student activities at the start of the day.

Allen was greeted by laughter and teasing as he entered their classroom.

"Hey, Allen, buddy!" Roy, the toughest and bully in their class, greeted him.

"Good morning! Good morning! Good morning!" Everyone turned to look at Crystelle, the loudest in their class who also sold various beauty products. "Excuse me, that's my chair," she said in an arrogant tone to Roy's group who occupied her seat.

"Here's your chair, your majesty," one of their male classmates even presented the chair to her.

Crystelle just rolled her eyes and sat down.

"Have you heard the news that there have been missing tenants in the Vicente apartment for three days now?" Aira's group whispered to each other in a corner.

"Yes, and they say it's connected to the landlord!" another female classmate added.

"Scary!"

Meanwhile, Darra, the class president, quietly listened to the conversation of the girls beside her and observed her other classmates who were having fun because their teacher had not arrived yet.

Not long after, their adviser, who was also their first-period teacher, arrived and started teaching as they settled into their seats.

While their teacher was teaching, Roy was sound asleep at the back, which their teacher noticed but let him sleep since he was dead tired.

When the bell rang, signaling the end of the class and their break time, the boys quickly left the classroom to be the first ones in the cafeteria to eat.

Meanwhile, other students scattered around the campus field, including Aira, who walked alone in the wide field of Helena University.

The peaceful and joyful laughter from friends chatting was interrupted by a loud siren sound, accompanied by the students running and screaming, not out of joy but out of fear as they were being chased by fellow students who seemed to be crazed, attacking anyone they saw and biting them on the neck.

"What's going on?" Aira asked herself.

She looked around in confusion, trying to make sense of the chaos unfolding before her eyes. The once familiar faces of her schoolmates now twisted with an insatiable hunger, their eyes glazed over and filled with a primal instinct.

"Run!" A voice shouted, breaking through the panic. It was Allen, his voice filled with urgency. Without hesitation, Aira followed his lead, her heart pounding in her chest as they sprinted towards the nearest exit.

As they ran, She could hear the screams of terror and the desperate please for help. It was a nightmare come to life, a scene straight out of a horror movie. The hallways were filled with the sounds of scuffling feet and the guttural growls of the infected.

Inside the building, Maika, Darra, and Amira entered their classroom one after the other. The three immediately locked the two doors and the sliding windows.

They were panting from running.

"What's happening to them? They're worse than rabid dogs when they attack!" Maika exclaimed, catching her breath.

Darra was about to answer when the window on the other side suddenly slammed, revealing the entire Helena University.

It was their male classmates.

"Open it quickly!" Roy shouted from outside the window as he pounded on it.

"No!" Maika stopped Darra from opening the window, but Darra didn't listen. She opened the window and Roy and Franz entered one after the other.

"What the hell happened to them? They suddenly went wild!" Roy cursed loudly.

No one said anything, and the sudden opening of a door broke their silence.

I thought I locked that?! Did I forget to properly lock it? Amira wondered to herself.

Maybe I didn't press the lock properly.

As they reached their classroom the adrenaline coursing through her veins made it hard to think clearly.

"Is everyone okay?" Darra asked, her voice steady despite the chaos outside.

"I think so," Allen replied, his breath coming in ragged gasps. "But what the hell is happening?"

"Zombie outbreak," Darra said. "But we need to stay calm and figure out a way to get out of here."

Roy spoke up. "We can't stay here forever. We need to find a way to escape."

Franz nodded in agreement. "There's an emergency exit at the back of the school. If we can make it there, we might have a chance."

Aira, who had been quiet throughout the ordeal, finally found her voice. "I saw some of our friends get bitten. What's happening to them?"

Allen's expressions turned grim. "I think they've been infected and turned into zombies. We need to be careful and avoid getting bitten at all costs."

The room fell into a tense silence as they all processed the gravity of the situation. The once familiar school now felt like a battleground, and their survival depended on their ability to stay united and make smart decisions.