Massacre

Arthur screamed instinctively, guiding everyone into the farthest room on the upper floor. He bolted the front door and rushed to the balcony, scanning for any sign of zombies near the pool.

"Jump!" he shouted. "There's no one near the pool. We need to go. Now!"

But no one moved. Everyone stood frozen — paralyzed by fear. To them, jumping meant suicide.

Arthur didn't wait.

"Alright, see you all later. I'm outta here!"

And with that, he leapt from the balcony.

A splash echoed — he'd landed safely.

He surfaced and waved up.

"Come on! It's safe!"

Gradually, one by one, the others followed, trembling but desperate. Everyone landed safely. Arthur led them to the cycles, urging them to pedal fast.

They all raced until they neared Sophia's house. But what they saw destroyed whatever hope they had. The house was on fire. Dead bodies lay everywhere — some burned, some eaten, and some torn apart.

Even Arthur, always composed, began to falter. Then — a call. It was Sophia.

"What happened? Where are you?!" Arthur shouted.

Her voice trembled, desperate:

"Help us, Arthur! The runners are following us — madly. We even lost two people. We're heading to the long bridge. Please... help!"

That fear in her voice made Arthur's blood run cold.

He turned to the others.

"Everyone — to the bridge! Now!"

They followed, racing to their end of the Golden Gate Bridge. The road was drenched in blood. Cars on fire. Slow zombies moaning in the distance. A grim, terrifying calm.

Then — a scream pierced the stillness.

It was Sophia.

She was sprinting down the bridge with only two boys behind her — and a massive swarm of runners closing in.

Arthur yelled,

"Go! Everyone, move! Head for the safehouse!"

He pedaled hard. Sophia reached him, barely able to run, and he let her grab his bike, pulling her up. Now, 17 students were fleeing while nearly 15 bloodthirsty, fast-moving zombies chased them.

They reached Morris's fortified house. He stood outside with two iron maces in hand.

"Get inside! Barricade the doors! Arthur, stay!" he yelled.

The others obeyed. Arthur threw his bike aside and grabbed a mace from Morris.

"Where'd you find these?" he asked.

"Dad's antique weapons stash. The four students with me got bitten. I had to... settle it. Now focus!" Morris shouted.

Arthur nodded.

"Born ready, man."

Inside, Sophia locked the barricade and collapsed, trembling.

Outside, Arthur and Morris stood back to back. Bones cracked. Blood sprayed. It was war.

The 15 runners charged. Arthur smashed one down. Morris ripped another apart. They fought like the Spartans at Thermopylae, refusing to yield.

Inside, students cried. Sophia lay unconscious, twitching from the stress.

The fight was brutal. But eventually... it ended.

The last runner fell.

Arthur and Morris stood atop the pile of twitching, broken corpses — victorious, panting, drenched in crimson.

Behind the barricade, the students watched in awe.

The massacre... was over.