Wednesday, June 10, 2025, 3:00 PM
After physical education class, Aras's first day of school had passed relatively uneventfully. Currently, Aras was walking towards the school exit with Can. His impression of Can was that he posed no threat. When they reached the front of the school, Can said to Aras,
"It looks like we part ways here. My house is close by, so I cycle to and from school."
Aras nodded. Can waved at Aras, but Aras's mind was elsewhere. He had been looking around for a while now, but his family, who should have arrived by now, hadn't come. A feeling of unease had formed within Aras. Aras tried not to dwell on it. While waiting for his family, he felt the need to go to the restroom, so he went back inside the school.
Just as Aras was exiting the school building, a sudden rain started. The interesting part was that there were no clouds in the sky, and the raindrops were red. Before Aras could comprehend what was happening, he heard people outside who came into contact with the raindrops screaming in pain, and saw them writhing on the ground as if struck by cramps. Screams echoed throughout the school. Aras couldn't hide his astonishment at the events; he had only one thought: The rain was dangerous. People caught in the rain seemed to pass out after screaming for a while.
The rain lasted for about 30 minutes and then stopped. All Aras could do during this process was listen to the screams, watch what was happening, and wait for the rain to subside. The more exposed to the rain the people caught in it were, the more their skin seemed to melt. Shortly after the rain stopped, the people lying on the ground began to get up. It was a very sickening sight. More than half of most of their faces had melted. Their bones were visible. Some wanted to go to their loved ones, some to their friends, after hearing their screams, but those who had been afraid to touch the rain, seeing it had stopped and their friend or loved one getting back up, gathered their courage and ran to their friends or loved ones. In the excitement of the moment, they had gone to them without paying attention to or seeing their faces, otherwise no one would have dared to approach such a repulsive sight after seeing it.
After going to their friends, they had noticed the changes in them, but it was too late, because those beings they thought were their friends were no longer human. Their eyes were pure white. Their faces and some parts of their bodies had melted. Their bones were visible. Those beings who were no longer human did not recognize their former friends and began to attack and bite them. Their poor friends, not expecting such a thing, were left stunned and only realized the situation after being bitten or, at best, scratched. The schoolyard was once again filled with screams. Aras had watched everything. Although his face held an indifferent expression, his eyes told a different story. No matter how difficult the training processes he had gone through, such an event would affect any human being—that is, if they were still human. Aras immediately tried to regain his composure and clear his mind. There was something very important he had to do: survive.
Aras stood a few meters inside the school's entrance door, at the start of the corridor. The scene outside was sickening, but years of witnessing violence and horror allowed him to process this shock quickly. His brain immediately shifted into analysis mode.
The red rain and the transformed beings afterwards were dangerous. The transformed were not human, they were aggressive and contagious (biting/scratching?).
I am inside the school building. Currently sheltered from the rain, but the external threat could seep in, or there could be affected individuals inside as well.
The cause was unknown. It came from the sky. It seemed to have no connection to the weather.
My goal is to find a safe place or leave the building. My family might be outside... Can had gone home on his bike...
The screams and commotion outside continued. The atmosphere of panic was palpable. Aras stepped back, moving away from the crowd and the outer door. Right now, all he needed was an escape route or shelter. In the corridor, a few panicked students and teachers were rushing around frantically. Some were looking out the windows, screaming in horror, while others were just milling about aimlessly, not knowing where to go. This chaotic environment was familiar to Aras from his training scenarios involving crowds or infiltrations at the facility. Panic was the greatest enemy. His steps were silent and resolute. His face was impassive. With a scream coming from behind him, he turned quickly. A teacher was cornered by a student whose face was partly melted and eyes were white. The teacher's cries for help echoed in the corridor.
Aras's brain formulated a plan within seconds. He had no instinct to help. His only thought was how to avoid this new threat and ensure his own safety. He ran towards the nearest classroom. He quickly opened the door, went inside, and without hesitation locked the door from the inside. There were a few students in the classroom, huddled in fear, trying to understand what was happening. Aras ignored them. The classroom windows faced the corridor. He quickly pulled the curtains. Then, he started building a barricade in front of the door using the desks and chairs in the classroom. The students were looking at him with astonished and fearful eyes.
"What are you doing?"
a student whispered. Aras didn't answer. All his attention was outside. The screams from the corridor seemed to be getting closer. After strengthening the barricade, he moved to the safest corner of the classroom. His mind was scanning the information he had learned at the facility. How strong were these creatures? Could they break down the door? What were their weak points?
No matter how much Aras pondered, he knew the only way to know these things was through time and experience. With a calmer mind now, he looked around again and broke the handle of the broom standing next to the trash can. Now he had a makeshift, albeit temporary, spear. The other students, unable to understand his action, whispered to Aras:
"You're not planning to fight them, are you? You can't beat them! I know what they are, I read about them in a manga before; they must be zombies. If you get bitten or scratched, you'll become one of them too."
The zombie idea also seemed logical to the other students who heard him. Aras couldn't help but nod as well. Even though he had spent most of his life isolated from the outside world, he knew about zombies. They were the walking dead. Aras couldn't help but smile as he thought about how much more traumatic his life could get. There was hopelessness in the students' eyes. Most had seen at least one zombie movie. Even if they hadn't seen one, they had heard about them and knew very well what the world turned into after a zombie outbreak. A heavy silence filled the classroom, broken only by the muffled screams from outside and distant noises coming from inside the building.
The students looked at the broken broom handle in Aras's hand and his calm but tense posture. For them, this scene felt ripped from the horror movies they watched, but this time, they were the protagonists. And that strange child was in the lead role... Aras approached the window and carefully peered outside from the edge of the curtain. The schoolyard had turned into a slaughterhouse. The transformed continued to chase the people who were still standing, each bite or scratch creating a new victim. A few people who managed to escape were heading towards the school building, with the fast-approaching white-eyed horrors close behind them.
"They're at the door..."
whispered a student in the corner, their voice trembling.
"Those creatures are trying to get in."
Indeed, the growls and banging sounds of the transformed entering the building from the entrance door and likely other openings had begun to be heard. The door Aras had barricaded seemed safe for now, but how long it would hold was uncertain. Aras turned, his gaze sweeping over the other students in the classroom. There were about five of them. They were paralyzed by fear. At the facility, they would be labeled 'liabilities.' Aras's training was clear: Get rid of liabilities. But this wasn't the facility. This was Atlas College, and these 'liabilities' were human beings. For now. He felt the weight of the broom handle in his hand. It was a simple weapon. Far from the training weapons at the facility. But it was the only thing he had right now.
A student began to sob. Panic was spreading. Aras took a deep breath. Panic was contagious and as dangerous as a zombie. Especially when trapped.
"Be quiet,"
Aras said, his voice unexpectedly calm.
"We might attract them."
The students looked at him. The authority in his voice made them pause for a moment amidst their fear. Aras saw their desperate gazes. For them, it was the end of the line. But for Aras, what he had to do was both incredibly simple and incredibly difficult: Survive.
His eyes scanned the classroom for other possible exits (perhaps a restroom, perhaps a connecting door to the next classroom). This barricade was temporary. He would need to get out of here. And the state of those next to him multiplied the difficulty of this escape. The screams and strange growling sounds coming from the zombies were getting closer and closer to the classroom where Aras was. At that moment, a group of 5 people fleeing from the zombies was passing by Aras's classroom, and suddenly a group of zombies cut them off as well. While Aras was looking out the window, trying to find an escape route, one of the students heard the screams in front of the door and gathered his courage, crawling to where the barricade was. Aras was so focused on making a plan that he hadn't noticed what the man was doing. The man slowly removed the barricade and cracked the door open. A woman from the group outside noticed the door opening and the shadow of the person behind the door. Turning to her group, she said:
"There are people alive in this classroom."
and immediately ran towards the ajar door. The other group members who saw her followed her. When the man inside saw them running towards the door, he suddenly panicked, but he gathered his courage and pushed the barricade aside to let the group through. Hearing the noise, Aras immediately snapped out of his thoughts and looked at the now vulnerable, half-open door. His eyes immediately glinted with a coldness, and he looked at the man who had pushed the barricade with menacing eyes:
"What do you think you're doing?!"
The man felt a chill run down his spine. Aras quickly ran towards the barricade, but it was too late. The group from outside had indeed entered the classroom, but a group of 5 zombies behind them had also started forcing the door. The door, without any support behind it, couldn't withstand this force and broke.