Narrator: "Sometimes the worst part of survival… isn't the danger. It's watching the people you love break a little more each day."
5:22 AM – Classroom of 10th B
We weren't sleeping anymore — not really. We just… took turns lying still.
I was on the floor. Kartik had one eye open, one hand clenched on a broken pipe. Sana was leaning against the lockers, scribbling something in her notebook. Probably one of those "If I die, tell them I tried" notes she never showed anyone.
Shivam sat near the door. Just like always. Same blank stare.
Only today, he looked different. Like he knew something he wasn't telling.
Morning Briefing
Ananya stood by the whiteboard, scribbling with one hand and tying her hair with the other.
Ananya: "We need to send a signal. And we need it today."
No one disagreed.
I stepped up beside her and mapped out the plan.
◆ Group A – Rooftop Mission
•Kartik, Tanya, Lucky, Shivam,Dev
•Goal: Reach science wing rooftop, launch flare, try emergency radio
◆Group B – Ground Sweep
•Ayush, Isha, Ayesha, Ananya, Sana,Manish
•Goal: Check west library for exits, rations, alternate signal tools
Tanya (loading flare): "We only fire if the rooftop is safe and open. No panic shots."
Lucky: "Radio might be dead… but I'm rerouting the battery lines through my DIY board."
Shivam: "If this doesn't work… then what?"
No one answered.
We split. Quietly. Like we were heading into two separate wars.
9:00 AM – Library Wing
Our group tiptoed past the hallway lined with honor boards. Names from before this nightmare. It felt weird to look at them.
Ayush (Narration):"We used to be scared of grades. Now we were scared of our own thoughts."
We reached the west library. Dust in the air. Books shredded. Shelves knocked over like something ran through them in a blind panic.
Ananya: "Search fast. Don't separate."
Isha (pointing): "Movement. Behind those metal filing cabinets."
We froze.
Out stepped a pale, shaking teenager — uniform stained, eyes darting.
Stranger: "Don't hurt me. I'm… I'm Vikram. Class 11-D. I've been hiding here alone since the second day."
He dropped his weapon — a rusted screwdriver.
Ananya (to Ayush): "Check if he's bitten."
I stepped forward. "Roll your sleeves."
No bites. Just bruises. The fear in his eyes was real.
Vikram: "They took my friend. A Runner dragged him through the south stairwell. But… they don't enter this library. I think something here… scares them."
That sentence hit harder than it should've.
Meanwhile: Rooftop Team
They reached the fire escape.
The staircase had scorched paint, burned posters, ash trails.
Shivam (quiet): "Someone tried to burn this place down. Recently."
They pushed open the rooftop hatch.
The city sprawled beneath them. A broken painting — greyed towers, shattered windows, smoke spirals far off. Distant, a metro train tilted on its side. No movement.
Tanya (raising flare gun): "Do it."
Kartik nodded.
POP!
The flare launched, red against the dull morning sky.
A signal.
A scream.
But not from them — from something behind the tank.
A Runner.
It burst forward — fast, lean, and angry. But when it saw the flare… it didn't charge.
It screamed at the sky.
Then it ran.Towards the flare.
Lucky (staring): "Did that thing just— react to the signal?"
Tanya: "Forget that. We need to move."
But Kartik wasn't moving.
He was staring at the tower across the courtyard.
Kartik (slowly): "I saw something… someone. Over there."
Back in the Library – 11:12 AM
We heard it.
POP. The flare.
Ananya: "They did it."
Vikram suddenly bolted upright. "NO. That'll bring them— RUN!"
A guttural scream echoed from the stairwell.
Runner.
We scrambled. The door slammed behind us.
Isha spotted a small gap behind the librarian's desk. We crawled into it — all of us. Ayesha first. Me last.
The Runner hit the door once. Twice. Then stopped.
It didn't try to break in.
It just… stood there.
Breathing.
Ayush (Narration):"It knew we were inside. But it didn't attack. It waited. Like it wanted us scared."
Isha whispered, barely audible:
Isha: "What if… what if they're learning?"
Rooftop Group – Escape Chaos
Walkers had started gathering near the base of the building. Slowly, then in waves.
Lucky was adjusting wires. Tanya was bleeding.
Lucky: "We have one shot to reroute power. If this signal booster works—"
KREEEEEEEEEEE—
Another Runner.
Shivam (grabbing metal rod): "GO! Get inside!"
Kartik: "No, we don't leave anyone—"
Tanya (pulling him): "Move, idiot!"
Shivam stayed back — fending off the Runner long enough for the others to get in.
AV Room – Reunion
We were back. All of us.
Tired. Scared.
But alive.
Kartik burst through first.
Then Tanya, holding her ribs.
Then Lucky.
And then — just when I thought we lost him — Shivam.
Bruised. Scratched. But walking.
Shivam (to Ayush): "It didn't try to kill me. It just… looked at me."
Ayush (narration):"Whatever's happening to them… it's not mindless."
Vikram stayed quiet the whole time. Watching us.
Especially Shivam.
6:00 PM – Notes on the Wall
We started keeping a record.It felt… necessary. Like proof that we weren't losing control.
◆AV Room Journal – Day 3 Summary:
•Survivors: 13
•Rooftop flare successfully launched
•Vikram (11-D) rescued from isolation
•Radio damaged – Lucky attempting DIY signal boost
•Runner behavior now confirmed: selective aggression
•Walkers gather toward light/noise – unknown limits
•Shivam survived close Runner encounter
•Isha & Ayush suspect infected have residual emotional memory
•Vikram hinted that library contains something they fear
Final Sequence -
Candlelight flickering.
Sana (to herself, writing): "We're not just fighting monsters anymore. We're fighting our own minds."
Kartik (to Ayush): "We're running out of time. And options."
Ayush (voiceover):"Some signals bring hope. Others bring death. Today… we called for help.But what if something else… answered?"
End Quote:
"In survival, pain is the tax.Every signal, every flare, every step forward — it costs something.Today, it cost Shivam's innocence. And our peace." — Ayush