A Week's Worth of Food

"Is something blocking the door?" Jason asked, frowning.

"Yeah."

"Are you sure this is the right place?" Jason turned to the student.

"Definitely! I've been here many times!" the student confirmed.

"Simon, Hank, go keep an eye on the hallway. If any zombies show up, deal with them."

Jason knocked a few times on the door, listening to see if there were any signs of life inside.

After a few moments, there was no response.

"Is anyone in there?" Jason called through the door crack.

"We're here to help! Please open up!"

A man's voice responded from inside, tinged with suspicion.

"Help? I think you're here to steal food. My advice? Find somewhere else! We've claimed this place, and there are zombies all around. If you try to break the door, they'll be drawn to you. You'll be dead in minutes!"

Jason's frustration grew as the man clearly wasn't buying his story.

"We're really here to save you. There's a safe haven outside. If you cooperate, I'll take you there."

"Save us? Don't try to fool us with noble talk! We've already got food here, and you're just trying to take it!" the voice on the other side scoffed.

Seeing that the man wasn't budging, Jason made a decision. He wasn't leaving without the food.

"Simon, bust the door down!" Jason ordered.

"Got it!" Simon answered eagerly.

"Alright, Hank, Sakura, we'll hold the line. Keep the zombies at bay."

The four of them took their positions near the corner of the hallway. Simon backed up a bit, took a short run, and bam!—the door flew open with a loud crash.

The moment the door was breached, the building trembled slightly. Zombies, alerted by the noise, began to stir, and within seconds, a horde from the upper floors started rushing down.

"They're coming!" Jason warned.

In no time, over ten zombies poured into the narrow hallway, quickly filling the space.

"Open fire!" Hank shouted as he began shooting without hesitation.

Simon, having already broken in, was met by three boys, each holding a kitchen knife, ready to fight. They attempted to overpower him, but the sight of Simon's gun stopped them cold. Despite the knives, bullets were quicker, and within moments, the three were knocked aside.

Simon turned and ran out, joining Jason and the others to deal with the zombies. He ushered the three boys into the room, out of harm's way.

Outside, the hallway was now a gruesome sight—piled with bodies, both human and zombie. Some of the fallen zombies were tripping up others, slowing down their approach. This gave Jason and his group just enough breathing room to clear out about twenty zombies before the hallway fell silent.

"Finally! Is everyone okay?" Jason asked, his heart still racing. The sight of blood and gore had him on edge, his body trembling from the sheer intensity of the fight.

"We're fine," Hank said as he tucked his gun away.

"Let's head inside," Jason said, motioning for them to move.

Inside, the three boys they had fought against were on the floor, clutching their arms and groaning in pain. The room smelled of decay and sweat, with the faintest traces of the stale, metallic scent of blood.

Jason glanced around the room. There were loaves of bread, spicy snacks, instant noodles, hot dogs, and drinks—everything they needed. It was enough to feed over twenty students for a week.

He couldn't say he was surprised by the boys' actions. In the apocalypse, greed, selfishness, and suspicion were the only constants.

"Take all of this with us," Jason ordered.

Simon glanced at the three boys and then back at Jason. "What should we do with them?"

The three were pleading, begging for mercy. "Please, don't hurt us! You said you came to save us, but now you're just taking everything!"

Jason stared at them, conflicted. Part of him wanted to leave them to fend for themselves. But then he remembered the survival point rewards if they brought people back.

"You three are coming with us. Don't make a sound, or this gun might make a sound," Jason said, raising his gun slightly as a warning.

"Thank you, thank you! We won't say a word!" The boys hastily nodded, quickly filling boxes with the food.

Once everything was packed up, they headed out. As they walked down the hall, the six other boys who had been watching the chaos paused in shock at the sight of the bodies scattered across the hallway. But thankfully, none of them screamed.

Just as they reached the end of the hallway, Jason stepped too close to a fallen zombie, and its hand shot out, grabbing his leg.

"Watch out! There's one more!" Jason shouted. He quickly lifted his gun and shot the zombie in the head, but the distraction was enough to cause a scream from one of the boys behind him.

"Who screamed?" Jason demanded.

"I... I was grabbed by one of its hands," the boy stammered, visibly shaken.

Jason turned to see the boy's pant leg torn, the wound already turning dark. The blood was now thick and sluggish, a sign of infection.

"Anyone else hurt?" Jason asked, scanning the group.

Silence answered him. He knelt down beside the injured boy and inspected the wound more closely. It was already starting to rot, the infection spreading quickly.

"This guy's infected. It's only a matter of time before he turns. What do you think we should do?" Jason asked the others.

"Let's keep him. A little lab rat might be useful for testing," Sakura said, her expression unreadable.

Jason hesitated for a moment but then nodded. "Alright."

As they made their way back to the roof, the infected boy suddenly collapsed. His eyes glazed over as he convulsed, his body stiffening. The group rushed to him, but it was too late—his skin had already started turning purple, and blood oozed from his mouth.

Jason frowned, calculating. From the moment the boy was injured, only about ten minutes had passed, and already, the infection had progressed so quickly. Ten minutes—could it really kill that fast?

"Give him a quick end," Jason said, his voice low.

Sakura nodded without a second thought, drawing her knife and slashing across the boy's throat. He went limp, the struggle over in an instant.

Sakura's face was devoid of emotion as she wiped the blade clean, as if it was just another task to cross off her list.

Jason sighed, the weight of it all pressing down on him. "Let's just head back," he muttered.

This was a hard lesson for everyone—if the boy had opened the door, none of this would have happened. He wouldn't have been scratched, wouldn't have turned, and wouldn't have died.

The trip back was easier since they had cleared most of the zombies on the way out. Not long after, they reached the rooftop, where the students waved at them.

As they climbed back up, the sight of three full boxes of food made the students' faces light up with awe and admiration. To them, Jason and his group had become heroes, saviors in the wasteland.

It was still only 10 AM, and they had already secured a week's worth of food in just a few hours. Things had gone remarkably well for them.

"Simon, go ahead and distribute some of this food to the others," Jason ordered.

Jason sat down and pulled out his notebook, jotting down notes about the events that had transpired—especially the characteristics of the zombies and how quickly the infection spread. He knew the information could be valuable. As the first team out here, their findings could be critical for anyone back at the tower. He just wasn't sure how they would handle the data.