Teamwork makes the Dreamwork!... DAMN IT AKITO!!

Well here goes….

"Um.." I let out, it felt like the words I was about to speak just vanished. Seeing all their gazes on me made me dizzy.

"I think Ruby is right…" I mutter, before taking a deep breath and continuing. "We should find a way out first — we need to work together as classmates if we're gonna be stuck together like this, right?"

Nathan raised his hand before speaking, "Well, that's true.. but shouldn't we just wait for help instead of risking our lives?"

"Well uh… that's true, but we need to at least try and find a way out, right? We're not even sure if help will really come.. and even if it does, when? We might starve to death waiting for them." I respond, which received an acknowledging nod.

"Mmm. True. But what do we even do? Get out of the room and hope for the best?" Hana asked.

"Uh.. well.." I murmur. "Why don't we go for the fire exits?" Herson suggested. "y-yeah! Yeah. I was about to say that." I clear my throat.

"Hmm, worth a shot! Are we all gonna go..?" One of our female classmates asked. "I surely am not." Ha-ru scowled.

"Alright, can anybody raise their hand if they wanna come with?" I ask, before raising my hand. "Only 4 people?" I stare blankly.

"Hey Herson, you're the one suggesting things earlier and you're not even gonna come?" I ask, "well I'm not going to just risk my life to help you out, no way." He responds.

"Coward…" I whisper. "U-uhm… I'll go with you… it'll be better than staying here with.. him.." Ha-rim stuttered as he raised his hand. "Hahhh??? the hell did I do to ya?" Ha-ru frowned at him.

"Welp, seems Ellie is going so I'll go too." Celeste announced, raising her hand as well. "seriously? You? Going to help? Very funny." I let out with a scoff.

"What's that supposed to mean, you ugly grape haired bitch?" Celeste yelled, pointing her finger at me. I roll my eyes in response.

"Alright, we have me, Athena, Elena, Celeste, Ha-rim, and Soo-kyung. I think that's enough people to go check for an exit, right?" Ruby counted the people who decided to stay. "You guys play it safe, okay? Don't leave the classroom."

"W-waittttttt!" A guy from behind everyone called out. "Can I come too?" he asked eagerly.

"Oh, sur—"

"NO!" Celeste yelled, cutting me off.

"Jesus Christ, what now?" I glared at her, irritated.

"We'll get mauled by the zombies because of him, Athena! You weren't there earlier, but he looked like he was playing tag with those things!" Celeste pointed accusingly at Akito.

"Athena?" He ignored Celeste's complaints and turned to me with a grin.

"Uh, sure? The more the merrier, I guess?" I said reluctantly.

"Yay! Can we go to the restroom on the way?" He cheered, raising his hands in a 'woo-hoo' gesture.

"Wh—" Celeste stammered.

"Do you just need to use the restroom?" Elena asked with an awkward laugh.

"Yes! The girls' restroom!" he replied, before getting a yank on his hair from Ha-ru.

"The hell you mean? Damn pervert."

"No! I meant, I need to look into the girls' restroom!" he explained hurriedly.

"That's… even worse," I sighed.

"You have no shame," Ha-rim muttered.

"Agh, that's not it, jeez! I need to look for my sister! She's missing! She went to the restroom earlier didn't she?" Akito pleaded desperately.

"Oh, Violette?" I asked.

"No, Mi-jin. Obviously Violette. Who else is my sister?" He responded sarcastically with a blank expression.

"I just asked…" I muttered. "Well, whatever. Come here if you're going. We can check the bathrooms before looking at the fire exits."

"Restroom," Nathan corrected.

"What?" I blurted out.

"It's restroom. Not bathroom," he repeated.

"Oh…"

"Whatever… if something happens to us, I'll blame it all on you!" Celeste warned, crossing her arms.

"Yeah, sure! I'll make sure to push you into the zombies so you don't do that!" Akito mocked sarcastically.

"Alright, everyone. Let's get going. Remember, stick together and keep your voices down," I instructed, trying to take on a more confident tone than I felt.

We cautiously made our way to the classroom door. We stepped out into the dimly lit hallway. The silence was only broken by the distant shuffling of feet and the occasional moan from the undead.

"We need to be prepared for anything." Ruby muttered.

"Prepared for anything… like, say, more zombies?" Celeste added sarcastically, her arms still crossed.

"Yeah, like more zombies," Ruby confirmed, unfazed. "Or worse, no way out at all."

As we neared the girls' restroom, Akito's pace quickened. "Violette! Are you in there?" he called softly, peeking through the slightly ajar door. There was no response. He glanced back at us, then back at the restroom door. "I'm going innn! Excuse meee!"

"Wait, we should check it together," I said, placing a hand on his shoulder to stop him. "Also it feels weird making you go inside the girls' bathr— I mean, restroom."

Akito nodded, and we entered the restroom cautiously. The flickering fluorescent lights cast eerie shadows on the tiled walls. Each stall door was closed.

"Violette? It's me, Akito," he called out again, running around the room.

Still no answer.

"Let's check each stall," Elena suggested, her voice steady despite the circumstances.

We split up, carefully opening each door one by one. Finally, Akito reached the last door. He took a deep breath and pushed it open.

Empty.

"Dammit!" Akito cursed, slamming his fist against the door. "Where could she be?" he pouted.

"We'll find her," I assured him, though I wasn't entirely sure myself. "Let's just keep moving."

We regrouped and headed towards the fire exits. The journey felt like it took hours, though it was likely only minutes.

As we approached the exit door, Celeste spoke up. "What if it's blocked? Or locked?"

"One way to find out," I replied, pushing down the handle.

The door swung open with a creak, revealing a stairwell leading down. It was dimly lit, but clear. For now.

"It's open!" I let out a small laugh of relief.

"Alright, everyone," Ruby said, taking the lead. "Let's make this quick and quiet. We're almost there."

We descended the stairs cautiously, our footsteps echoing in the confined space. The air grew colder the further down we went, adding to the unsettling atmosphere.

"Do you think anyone else made it out...?" Ha-rim asked, breaking the silence.

"Maybe," I said. "We can hope."

As we reached the ground floor, a sudden noise made us all freeze. It was a low growl, coming from the shadows ahead.

"Zombies?" Celeste whispered, her voice trembling.

"Stay calm," Ruby instructed. "We can handle this."

We slowly approached the source of the noise. As we rounded the corner, the growl grew louder.

What we saw made us all stop in our tracks.

A lone zombie, its eyes glazed over and its movements sluggish, stood in our path. It hadn't noticed us yet, but it was only a matter of time.

"Okay," Ruby said, her voice steady. "Let's see here…" she pointed to the fire exit close.

"Go over there quietly, don't let the zombie notice you okay?" Ruby whispered.

"Damn it... This would have been easier if we had some sort of weapon with us..." I muttered.

We reached the fire exit door and pushed it open. Fresh air rushed in, a stark contrast to the stifling atmosphere inside.

"We made it," I said, a mix of relief and disbelief in my voice. "W-wait a minute… this isn't... this isn't outside? Where are we?" I looked around, confusion setting in.

"O-oh...! We're at the staff corner… we must've walked into the wrong door..." Ha-rim muttered.

"You've got to be kidding me!" Celeste stomped down.

"Now's not the time for little fits, Celeste. We need to get out of here," I glared at her.

"Violetteee! You in hereee?" Akito called out.

"DUDE!" I yelled.

"What??" he responded innocently.

Suddenly, loud footsteps erupted. "What is that sound...?" Ruby muttered, eyes widening as she saw the huge horde of zombies dressed as the school's building renovation staff heading our way.

"Oh... whoops!" Akito let out a nervous chuckle.

"YOU DUMBASSES, RUN!!!" I shouted, taking off.

"DAMMIT AKITO YOU'RE THE WORST!!!! I'M GOING TO DIE I HATE YOU!!!!" Celeste screamed.

"I'M SORRY OKAY!??" He shouted back in response.

"YOU GUYS ARE ATTRACTING MORE ZOMBIES SHUT UP!!" I yell at them both, quickening my pace.

I reached my hand over the near door and yanked it open, motioning frantically for everyone to go in. "HURRY UP!!!" I called out, my voice echoing in the narrow hallway.

Ha-rim, Ruby, Elena, and Akito entered quickly, their faces pale with fear. But Celeste and Soo-kyung were still behind.

"Hurry up, you two!!" I screamed again, panic rising as the infected workers closed in from every corner. "CELESTE!!" Elena yelled, her voice cracking.

"GOD DAMMIT, THIS IS ALL MY FAULT!!!" Akito shouted.

I turned to him, my anger flaring. "Hell yeah it is! What is wrong with yo—" Before I could finish my sentence, Akito bolted out the door. "AKITO, WAIT!!" I reached out for him, but he was already gone.

He turned towards me, a smile plastered onto his face. "I'll go save them okay!?" I shouted. But deep within that energy, It was obvious he was nervous. I mean, who wouldn't be?

My heart pounded in my chest as I watched in horror as Akito ran around the zombies, getting closer to Celeste and Soo-kyung.

Before Akito could reach Celeste, Soo-kyung pulled Celeste out of the way, pushing herself towards safety. Akito's eyes widened, his smile breaking.

"CELESTE!" Akito called out, but the only response was a blood-curdling scream from Celeste as a zombie lunged at her.

"Akito, I—!" Soo-kyung tried to reach for Akito, but he dodged her and sprinted towards Celeste, barely managing to pull her away from the grasping undead.

"JUST RUN BACK, OKAY?" he shouted over his shoulder. Soo-kyung nodded and turned to run toward us.

I opened the door wider, hoping she would make it. But just as Soo-kyung neared the door, a horde of zombies surged forward, dragging her down.

I step back in shock, my hand covering my mouth. I hear gasps from behind me.

"A-ATHENA! HELP!" she cried out, her voice filled with agony. I froze, paralyzed by the horror of it all. "I.." My grip on the door faltered, causing it to swing partially shut.

"OUT OF THE WAY!" Akito bellowed, shoving past me and slamming the door shut behind him. The door rattled with the force of the zombies' assault, Soo-kyung's desperate screams muffled but still audible.

Everyone stood in stunned silence, the reality of what just happened sinking in.

Akito collapsed next to the door panting, his face pale and drawn. He began laughing to himself as he attempted to wipe the sweat from his face, but his expression immediately turned blank when he heard more screams from Soo-kyung.

Celeste ran to Elena, who enveloped her in a tight embrace.

"I thought I was going to lose you!" Elena sobbed, clutching her friend tightly.

My knees felt weak, my mind reeling from the shock. I couldn't fathom how I had just stood there, watching it all unfold, unable to do anything to save Soo-kyung. The sounds of the undead pounding on the door echoed in the silence.

"O-oh my g…" I let out.

Why..? Why didn't I do anything?...

This was the second time I couldn't save a classmate…

How am I so useless..?

I felt a warm hand on my shoulder. "It's going to be okay Athena.. it was risky," Ruby comforted.

I took a deep breath and sat down on the floor. I looked at my hands, they were trembling.

I took another deep breath.

"..."

"Let's try and find a different way out." I sighed.