Chapter 4: Zombies

Something wasn’t right, Song Ge thought.

Just then, someone began pounding on the classroom door.

The girls hiding inside screamed even louder. A boy shouted, “Back up! All you girls, get back!” Then the boys dragged desks piled with books toward the door, trying to keep whoever was outside from breaking in.

Song Ge tensed at once.

If this were just someone with rabies biting people, how could things have gotten this bad?

The doors and windows were shut tight.

The classroom looked like a safe place, with everyone together.

But from another angle, there was no way out. They’d locked themselves in a room and turned themselves into fish trapped in a barrel.

If no one came to rescue them—

If the doors and windows gave way, they’d be nothing but helpless prey, waiting to be slaughtered.

The boys were busy barricading the door. The girls were busy crying.

Song Ge sat calmly at the last desk in the classroom, completely out of place.

She still had wads of tissue in her ears, but even so, she could hear the commotion outside growing louder and more frantic. She looked toward the curtain.

If the hallway was already impassable, the window was their only way out.

Things hadn’t reached that point yet.

But if they got any worse, she’d need to make an escape route of her own.

The room was on the third floor, but if she did it right, Song Ge was sure she could reach the ground without a scratch.

I hope it doesn’t come to that.

Even now, the girls in her class still had their prejudices against Song Ge. They huddled together in fear, comforting each other, but no one called her over. Maybe she looked too calm. Maybe they’d simply forgotten she was there.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The blows against the door grew harder. Strange growls came from outside, too.

How many people are out there?

The question had barely crossed Song Ge’s mind when a boy shouted, “Get back! Everyone, run!”

Song Ge stood at once and grabbed the nearest broom. Backing away wouldn’t help. She needed something she could use to defend herself, even if it was only a broom. At least it was long.

If the other side had a real weapon, of course, the broom would be good for nothing except giving her a little courage.

As the boys bracing the desks against the door yelled for everyone to retreat, a hand punched straight through the door.

No tools. Someone had forced a blood-soaked hand through a solid wooden door with nothing but their bare strength.

It was unheard of.

Everyone screamed and crowded toward the middle of the classroom, away from both doors.

Fan Mingyuan and Tong Xiangyu were among them. Fan Mingyuan was a big guy, and he showed some courage. Even as everyone shoved and panicked, he stayed close to Tong Xiangyu, keeping her beside him.

But it was as if the heavens were playing a joke on them.

The back door had been attacked first, but the middle window was the first to shatter.

As the glass broke, everyone hiding nearby scattered in every direction.

When the intruders climbed through, Song Ge finally saw what they were: not people with rabies, not some gang of thugs, but crazed monsters that ate people. They still wore Kecheng High School uniforms, but their mouths were smeared with blood and their eyes were vacant.

There were so many of them, pouring into the room like a flood.

Fan Mingyuan was at least a big guy. He grabbed a chair and smashed it against the head of the first one through the window!

The creature’s skull caved in, leaving its face a bloody mess. One of its eyes popped free. Everyone around them screamed in terror, but it didn’t fall. Instead, it lunged forward even more viciously.

This was like something out of a zombie movie.

Fan Mingyuan jolted in alarm. He grabbed a second chair with his other hand and shouted, “What the hell is wrong with you guys? Are you just going to stand there and wait to die? Protect the girls! Anyone with guts, get up here and help drive these things back!”

It was a rousing speech, even if those monsters didn’t look human—and didn’t look like anything that could be beaten back.

Still, a few of the taller, braver boys grabbed chairs and charged forward.

The girls huddled together. The classroom filled with screams and sobs.

Suddenly, one of the boys fighting with a chair was grabbed by a monster and bitten hard. The line of students who’d been barely holding them back broke around him. The boy turned and lunged at the girls they’d been protecting.

Song Ge didn’t hesitate. She stepped onto the windowsill and tore down the curtain. With the tactical knife she always carried, she cut several slits in it, then rriip!—tore it from end to end into long strips and tied them together with a secure knot.

Next, she used the knife to unscrew the bolts holding the security bars in place, one by one.

The room was in utter chaos, but Song Ge’s hands stayed steady. In no time, she had cleared enough space for someone to get through. She tied one end of the curtain to the security bars and tossed the rest outside.

Song Ge didn’t climb out herself. Instead, she turned to the girls in the classroom, who were nearly crying themselves sick.

“Hey. Do you want to come over here?”

None of them answered. Or maybe they didn’t have time to. A boy who’d been bitten had turned on his classmates, and the girls were screaming, either cowering in corners or running wildly around the room.

Song Ge looked around. No one was paying attention, so she decided to go down alone.

She’d just turned around when someone bumped into her back. Behind her came a small, frightened gasp.

Song Ge looked over her shoulder. Pale skin, lovely features, a high ponytail. Her little face was full of panic, and her big, dark eyes brimmed with terrified tears.

It was none other than Miss Tong, the girl who’d given her cake that morning.

Song Ge tugged on the curtain and asked, “Little Cake—oh, I mean, Tong Xiangyu. Are you jumping?”