At last, Tong Xiangyu picked her moment and jumped. Her form was all wrong, and Song Ge barely managed to catch her.
Song Ge rode the bike. Tong Xiangyu sat on the back, struggling to hold the javelin.
Song Ge pedaled fast, cutting straight across the school field.
A little nervously, Tong Xiangyu asked, “Does this count as skipping class?”
Song Ge nearly laughed. Where had this pampered princess come from? “Want me to take you back to class, then?”
Tong Xiangyu shook her head frantically.
Song Ge didn’t bother with more conversation. She sped on.
Along the way, they passed several surviving students running for the school gates in a panic. They had no “transport,” so they were on foot. When they saw Song Ge sweep past like a gust of wind, they suddenly realized there was another way out.
The school gates were usually kept shut.
The elderly security guard was reading a newspaper in his booth, his glasses perched on his nose. When he saw Song Ge riding by with someone on the back, he dropped the paper and opened the window.
“Hey, you! No riding bikes on school grounds!”
“Sir!” Song Ge called over her shoulder.
The guard recognized her at once and frowned. “You again.”
“Sir, something’s happened at school. Open the gate—and you should get out of here, too.”
“What happened?!”
As he spoke, the guard heard a series of Bang! Bang! Bang! from outside.
Song Ge jumped and turned to look. On the road beyond the school, private cars had piled into one another. A bus had stopped abruptly, and someone was smashing its windows with an emergency hammer. A person leaped out through one of them to escape. When Song Ge looked closer, she saw the bus was already in chaos. The scene was bloody and horrifying.
The guard took off his glasses. One look at the carnage outside was enough to make him cry out in alarm. He stopped hesitating and hit the button to open the gate.
He might have been old and farsighted, but his legs were still quick. He soon came running out of the security booth.
Song Ge had only meant to get Miss Tong out of the school. But one look at the road told her that wouldn’t be enough. Leaving the girl here would only mean she’d get bitten outside instead of inside.
The gate swung open.
Song Ge rode through, then asked Tong Xiangyu, “Do you want your family to come get you?”
“I called my driver, but he didn’t answer.”
At that, Tong Xiangyu’s eyes reddened again. Her voice caught in her throat. “Do you think something happened to my mom and dad?”
“How would I know?”
Tong Xiangyu thought she was so cold. After a moment, she asked, “Then… could you take me to my dad’s company?”
“Where’s his company?”
“Downtown.”
“Too far. I’m not going.” Song Ge figured downtown would be packed with people. If they went straight there, the two of them would be bitten full of holes. “I can drop you here and give you the bike, or you can come with me to my place.”
“Where do you live?”
Song Ge fell silent for a moment, thinking of her basement tucked away in its miserable little alley. There probably wasn’t even enough room for this young lady to catch her breath. She changed her mind. “Forget it. Go find your dad.”
As she spoke, Song Ge squeezed the brakes and planted a foot on the ground.
Hearing that Song Ge meant to leave her, Tong Xiangyu grabbed her shirt in a panic. Her voice trembled. “No! I don’t want to go alone. Don’t leave me. Take me to your place.”
“You won’t regret it?”
What was there to regret? Tong Xiangyu answered at once. “I won’t!”
“Fine.” Song Ge said no more. She raised the pedal, then drove it down with one hard push, ignoring the cars smoking along the road.
The streets were already a disaster. Song Ge thought back to the trending topics from yesterday. There hadn’t been a single word about this, and now it had erupted without warning. Had Kecheng become the first city to fall?
If they could find somewhere safe to hide, all they had to do was wait for help.
She didn’t know whether this was a virus or something else, but the country would find a way to deal with it.
Song Ge’s “home” was very close to Kecheng High School. It took about ten minutes to walk, but the bike made the trip even faster. They reached the little lane in less than five minutes.
Song Ge glanced at the supermarket as they passed. Her scalp prickled. Things inside looked no better than they did out on the street.
Had the monsters appeared everywhere at once?
Song Ge didn’t dare linger. She still had plenty of food at home. It should last her ten days or half a month, and surely help would arrive before then.
But she stopped at the narrow passageway and hesitated. If monsters were everywhere, could there be any in the basement? If so, going down there would be walking straight into a trap.
“Wait here a minute,” she told Tong Xiangyu. “I’ll go check. If it’s clear, I’ll come back for you.”
She hadn’t even finished speaking when a monster came bursting out from behind a trash can, panting and wheezing. It was the old beggar from yesterday.
The old man lunged straight at Tong Xiangyu.
With her back to him, Tong Xiangyu held the javelin in both hands, completely unaware.
Song Ge didn’t hesitate. She kicked out hard.
The old man was so thin his bones seemed brittle. The kick sent him sprawling a long way, but he didn’t make a sound.
Tong Xiangyu had just seen Song Ge’s face turn fierce. Then she saw what she’d done. She looked back at the old man lying on the ground, filthy and disheveled, his face so bloody it was impossible to recognize him. She screamed and stumbled backward.
Song Ge decided that the young lady wouldn’t be safe anywhere on her own.
She might as well keep an eye on her.
“Give me the javelin.” Song Ge said, “Stay right behind me. If I say run, turn around and go straight back up. Don’t look back. Got it?”
Tong Xiangyu nodded tensely. “Yes!”
The passage was extremely narrow, and the light was dim.
Song Ge listened carefully, then started down the passage as quietly as she could.
Tong Xiangyu held her breath and followed close behind.
Luckily, Song Ge’s place was on the basement level, only half underground. They didn’t have to go far. Soon Song Ge unlocked the door and let Tong Xiangyu go in first.
The room was very dark.
The only light came through half a window, which offered a glimpse of the ground outside.
As soon as Tong Xiangyu stepped inside, she felt stifled. The room was so tiny. She couldn’t help wondering if anyone could really live in a place like this.
The space was cramped, but it didn’t smell bad. The air simply didn’t circulate. After being tense the whole way there, Tong Xiangyu felt as if she couldn’t breathe, as if there wasn’t enough oxygen.
Song Ge came in behind her, checked both sides, then locked the door.
The room was quiet.
Song Ge locked the door again from the inside and finally let herself relax. She went to the table, picked up her penguin-shaped thermos, and tipped it toward her mouth. Halfway through, she remembered something and glanced at Tong Xiangyu.
“Want some water?”
Tong Xiangyu’s throat was parched. But seeing Song Ge drinking so freely gave her pause.
Song Ge noticed. She picked up a cup that had been turned upside down on the table, filled it, and handed it over. “Here.”
Tong Xiangyu accepted the glass with both hands, trying to be polite. “Thank you.”
Song Ge didn’t reply. She lifted the thermos and took several long swallows before asking, “Is it okay if I leave the light off?”
“That’s fine.” Tong Xiangyu stood in the middle of the room, which was barely a hundred square feet. Her pretty face was full of awkwardness. There was only one little stool, and she didn’t want to sit without being asked. She also didn’t want to offend Song Ge by looking around too much.
So Tong Xiangyu kept her head down and sipped her water.
She’d heard a little about Song Ge, after all…
