Chapter 2: Medrano Hall Woes

Seated near the AC unit, one of the petite girls in the group suddenly sat upright.

"Wait guys," she said, eyes locked onto her phone. "Someone's going live. Near DLSU."

Everyone turned toward her.

She held her phone up a bit, squinting at the screen. "It's this guy I follow who's near Agno right now. He says... something's going on. He's freaking out."

Before she could say more, John approached from the back of the room, his footsteps quiet against the tile. He hesitated for a second, then gently leaned in.

"Hey, uh do you mind if I watch along?" he asked, nodding toward the screen. "I just... wanna know what's going on."

The girl blinked, then nodded and shifted slightly to the side, angling her phone so he could see. "Yeah, of course."

John stood beside her table, eyes narrowing as the livestream loaded.

At first, only a few people were watching.

But as the video loaded in, one of the ROTC cadets near the stairs to their office slowly stepped closer, drawn by the rising panic in the video. He didn't say anything, just leaned forward to get a better look.

The camera focused on them. At first glance, they looked like regular students, maybe. But the way they moved was off.

Slow. Sluggish. Off-balance.

One figure walked with a limp, arms hanging stiffly at their sides, head tilted slightly, like it was too heavy for their neck. Another stumbled forward, pausing every few steps as if confused by their own feet. There was no urgency, no direction, just a mindless shuffle across the pavement.

They looked… human.

But they weren't right.

"Do you see that?" someone whispered near John.

The person filming zoomed in on one of the figures. Their clothes were stained, not torn, not dramatic, just dirty, like they'd fallen over and never dusted themselves off. The face was slightly pale, expression blank, eyes unfocused.

"Maybe they're drunk?" someone offered, trying to sound casual, but their voice wavered just enough to betray them. 

The girl with the phone said nothing. Her hand was trembling slightly, just enough for John to notice. 

Then, without warning, the video froze.

A buffering icon spun at the center of the screen… then vanished.

Stream ended.

She blinked, tapped the screen a few times. Nothing.

"That's weird," she mumbled, swiping down to refresh. Still nothing. She opened Instagram. Black screen.

"I think... the Wi-Fi just died."

Someone nearby pulled out their phone. "Try mobile data."

She was already checking. Her brow furrowed. "I'm on Globe… No bars. Not even one."

The girl looked up, eyes drifting across the room before landing on the tall guy in the polo. "Richson," she called, trying to steady her voice, "Can you try using mobile data? Check what's going on on Facebook?"

"It's loading," he said. "Facebook's up... but-" He scrolled, brow furrowing. "No one's posting anything weird. No updates. Just memes and food pics. Like... nothing's happening."

A few people gathered closer, peering over his shoulder.

"That doesn't make sense," someone whispered. "We just watched a livestream of someone near Agno."

"Maybe it hasn't gone viral yet," another offered.

Richson looked towards the girl that previously showed the instagram live and said "Connect to my phone. I have a lot of data left."

She reached out and handed him her phone, to set up the WiFi. 

"Yeah," he said, taking it carefully. "Give me a sec."

Richson tapped through the settings quickly, then handed it back. "You're connected."

Myreign nodded, her fingers already moving to reopen Instagram. She found the livestream again and it was still active. But this time, the camera wasn't moving.

It was pointed straight up at the sky, tilted sideways, like the phone had been dropped and forgotten.

Clouds drifted overhead in the fading light, the colors now a dusky orange-blue. For a moment, there was nothing, just wind on the mic.

Then, without warning, a face moved across the top of the frame.

Just for a second.

Human. 

The skin was slightly pale under the streetlight's glow, the eyes glassy and wide, blinking slowly—as if trying to focus but not quite understanding what they were seeing. The expression wasn't angry or feral just... vacant, like the mind behind it had stepped away.

Soon the video stays the same with the view pointed towards the sky and eventually Myreign closes her phone off.