The hallway outside the library was narrow, lit only by flickering emergency lights. Cracks ran along the tiled floors, dust rising with every hurried footstep. The group was tired—bloodied, bruised, and covered in sweat—but alive.
Barely.
"We need to stop," Godou-sensei said, her voice firm but gentle. "Kanami's hand is bleeding. You're limping. And you—" her gaze flicked to Kanata, "—you haven't said a word since the library."
"I'm fine," Kanata muttered, gripping his bandaged arm tightly beneath his jacket.
"Liar," Serizawa whispered, eyes narrowing.
"The nurse's office," Takiya said, leading the way. "It's two turns down, past the art room. We'll patch up, rest, and then head for the old gym stairwell."
The group moved fast, knowing time wasn't on their side.
They reached the infirmary without incident.
Inside, everything was untouched—eerily clean, with white curtains swaying gently in the still air. A few cabinets had been smashed open, but many supplies remained. Bandages. Antiseptics. Saline.
Even a few morphine vials.
Takiya stepped past a curtain and froze.
The wall behind the nurse's desk was riddled with bullet holes. Dried blood spattered the cupboards. A smashed radio sat beside a military-grade medkit, long since emptied. The bed in the corner was stained. Someone had died here. Or maybe many.
"Military was here," she muttered, brushing a spent shell casing with her toe. "They were trying to hold this place."
Serizawa helped Kanami sit on the infirmary bed, gently applying gauze to her scraped knuckles.
"I'm fine," Kanami insisted, flinching. "It's just—"
"You nearly lost your hand back there. Don't pretend it didn't scare you," Serizawa said gently.
Takiya rummaged in the drawers, keeping her back to them. Her shoulders were tense, stiff.
Godou-sensei motioned to Kanata. "Come. Let me take a look."
"I told you, it's nothing," he said, hesitating.
"That's not your call anymore."
She tugged him behind a curtain, leaving the others behind. With a sigh, Kanata sat on the edge of a cot and slowly unzipped his jacket, revealing the bandaged arm beneath. Blood had seeped through the gauze. The wound looked worse now. Inflamed.
Godou-sensei's eyes narrowed.
"This is a bite," she whispered.
Kanata met her gaze. "It's under control. It didn't go deep."
"You don't know that."
"If they find out... they'll panic. We'll never get out."
Godou-sensei sighed and leaned closer. "Then what's your plan, Kanata? Hide it until you lose your mind and rip someone's throat out?"
"I won't let that happen."
He stood, zipping up the jacket again. "We're almost out. Just... let me get them there."
Godou-sensei stared at him for a moment longer, then stepped aside, lips tight.
---
Meanwhile, Takiya opened the supply closet at the back of the infirmary. The smell hit her instantly—gunpowder, blood, mold.
Her flashlight cut through the darkness. On the wall was a tattered whiteboard with scrawled notes.
> "Tried to hold south stairwell. No backup." "M unit lost. Lockdown override failed." "If infected, shoot first."
Below that, a bloodied student ID badge had been pinned: Kaito Shino. Age 15. Baseball Team.
Her little brother.
Takiya stumbled back. The bokken clattered from her hand.
She braced herself against the wall, breath hitching.
"He was here…" she whispered. "He was here, and I wasn't…"
Her knees buckled, and for the first time since the outbreak began, Takiya Shino cried.
Kanami rushed in, eyes wide. She hesitated, then gently pulled Takiya into a hug.
"You're the strongest of us," she whispered, voice cracking. "But you don't have to carry this alone."
Takiya clutched the smaller girl tightly, shoulders shaking. "He was just a kid. He waited for me. I promised I'd find him…"
Serizawa and Godou stood at the door, silently watching the two girls cry. Even Kanata, in the hallway, felt his chest twist.
This school—this tomb—had taken something from all of them.
---
Minutes passed. The mood was heavy, but calm.
Then came a click.
A long, mechanical whir.
And then—SIRENS.
A loud, metallic female voice echoed through the halls:
> "Emergency Lockdown Initiated. Containment Protocol Re-engaged. Evacuate Immediately."
"What the hell—?!" Serizawa shouted, spinning.
"I didn't touch anything!" Kanami said quickly.
Lights flickered red. Metal doors began to lower over corridor exits.
Then—the groans came.
Zombies.
Dozens of them.
Drawn by the sudden sound.
"Get ready!" Kanata shouted.
They could hear them now—wet feet slapping tile, bones dragging against lockers, snarling voices echoing off the walls.
They had minutes—seconds.
"We're boxed in!" Takiya shouted. "There's only one way out—the window through the counselor's room!"
"Then we make a run for it!" Serizawa yelled.
Godou-sensei grabbed the med bag. "Stick together!"
They rushed down the infirmary hallway just as the first wave of zombies slammed into the door behind them, their dead eyes flashing in the crimson light.
Kanata swung his bat, smashing the window open.
"In here!" he barked.
They climbed into the counselor's office one by one. Serizawa stumbled, her bag catching on a hook—but Kanata grabbed her and hauled her through.
They heard the door splinter behind them.
The first zombie surged in.
Takiya turned and struck it across the neck with her bokken, snapping bone with a loud crack. It screamed, slamming into the filing cabinet.
Another leaped for Kanami.
Kanata didn't think—he lunged forward, taking it in the chest and ramming it through a bookshelf.
"Keep going!" he shouted, even as his arm throbbed.
The window was small—barely wide enough for a person to squeeze through. Beyond it was the open corridor and a maintenance stairwell still free of the lockdown shutters.
"Go! Move it!" Serizawa screamed, pushing Kanami forward.
Takiya climbed through next, then Godou.
Kanata shoved Serizawa through last.
Then came the final surge—three zombies at once, crashing toward him with their mouths open, fingers clawing.
Kanata threw himself through the window.
A hand grabbed his jacket.
Serizawa grabbed his hand. "KANATA!"
With a snarl, he kicked the frame, jerking free as glass shredded his side.
They collapsed on the hallway floor, panting. Behind them, the counselor's room was quickly overrun.
"We need to go," Godou said, pulling them up.
Blood dripped from Kanata's shirt. He grunted.
Serizawa frowned. "You're hurt. Again."
"I'm fine," he insisted.
"You keep saying that," she said, voice trembling.
Kanami looked at him, eyes glassy. "Please don't die."
Kanata turned away.
---
As they limped through the next corridor, the alarms still blaring behind them, Serizawa walked beside him.
"Hey," she said quietly. "You act like you want to die."
Kanata didn't respond.
She stopped him, forcing him to look at her.
"Is that it? You think sacrificing yourself will make up for Takeshi?"
His jaw clenched.
"If I die saving you all... that's a good death," he finally said.
Serizawa slapped him.
"You idiot. I don't want your 'good death.' I want my friend alive. He wanted that too."
Kanata's eyes flickered.
For a brief moment, the pain broke through his cold exterior.
"I'm not planning to die," he muttered.
"Then stop acting like it."
Behind them, the sirens echoed on as the school locked itself once more—a steel tomb filled with nightmares.
But ahead...
There was still a path.
Still a way out.
If they could survive one more night.
---
To be continued...