We were already exhausted from running.
Our breath burned like fire, our throats were dry and painful, and our legs no longer obeyed.
Just as we were about to give up, Qin Yan yanked open a metal door and said, "Get in!"
It was a cluttered storeroom filled with brooms, empty buckets, folding chairs, and several large wooden crates.
We rushed inside, and I slammed the door shut behind us.
"Quick! Bring these things over here!" I panted and immediately grabbed a wooden crate and pushed it in front of the door.
Qin Yan didn't say anything, he lowered his head and dragged the folding table over to block the gap in the door.
Wang Yifan hoisted up two chairs and quickly jammed them tightly behind the door.
"Give me that iron bar!"
I saw a rusted metal rod in the corner, probably once used for hanging curtains.
I rushed over, yanked it out with both hands, and wedged it diagonally between the handle and the frame.
"That should hold it," I said through gritted teeth.
The next second—BANG!!!
The door shuddered violently, and the entire room trembled.
"They're here," Liu Zehao said tightly.
Bang!! Bang bang!!
A series of crashes followed, the door threatening to burst open.
But we had piled on too much weight that the door just shook, but did not actually broke.
The four of us held our breath in the narrow room, even the sound of our breathing unbearably loud.
"What about the others?" Qin Yan whispered to Wang Yifan. "Where are Song Yao and the rest?"
Wang Yifan's expression changed slightly; his throat bobbed. "…We got separated."
"What happened?" I asked.
He looked up, eyes troubled. "Something happened when we were running."
The eight of them had been running together, wind whistling in their ears, footsteps chaotic.
Jiang Che and Song Yao were at the front, followed by Wang Yifan, Ji Ran, and Liu Zehao.
Gu Wenqiang was sixth, and Lin Qiao was small and thin—was seventh, gritting her teeth and pushing forward.
And Xing Wang—he always lagged at the back.
"Hurry up! They are catching up!" Song Yao shouted loudly, her voice already filled with tears.
Lin Qiao panted like a bull, face pale, sweat dripping from her forehead.
Her backpack had become unbearably heavy, and her legs were nearly numb.
She glanced back and found that the monsters were just twenty meters away, mouth wide open, tongue dragging, their gait grotesque but eerily fast.
Just as they turned a corner, Xing Wang suddenly surged forward
"Move! I don't want to die!!"
He went mad, shoving Lin Qiao with all his might.
"Xing Wang, you—!" Lin Qiao screamed as she flew sideways like a broken kite.
Bang!
She slammed into the wall, backpack hitting first, body bouncing twice, her right leg catching on the doorframe—crack—bone snapped.
"Ah—my leg!!" Lin Qiao screamed, the sound was as harsh as iron nails scraping on glass.
She struggled to stand, fingers scraping bloody marks on the floor.
Her face twisted in fear and despair.
"Don't leave me… Xing Wang!! Help me… Aah! Jiang Che, save me—!!"
She reached out to him with all her might, crying, "Jiang Che, I don't want to die!! You promised to protect me… You promised!!"
That scream drained the last breath from her.
It pierced the wind and footsteps, filled with deep trust and utter despair.
Jiang Che stopped suddenly, and in his eyes he saw Lin Qiao collapsed in a pool of blood, the fear on her face, the desire to live, and the pair of eyes that had been staring at him which almost burned his soul.
He trembled slightly, his throat choked with something unspoken.
He didn't take a step forward, nor did he run. He stood there like a statue split in half.
"Jiang Che!" Song Yao grabbed his arm. "You can't save her! Come back!!"
"She's… I promised her…" Jiang Che's voice was hoarse, his eyes red.
"You will die if you go!" Song Yao gritted her teeth and pulled him, "If you die, her death will be in vain!!"
"But she's still looking at me…" he whispered, his voice trembling and at the moment, he was on the brink of breaking down.
And in that moment, the monsters arrived.
Mouths open, fangs bared, blood dripping from their lips.
The first one lunged forward and bit into Lin Qiao's neck and shoulder.
"Ahhhhhh—!!"
Blood sprayed across the wall and stained the floor.
Lin Qiao struggled desperately, her hands still stretched out in the air, waving in the direction of Jiang Che.
In her eyes were disbelief, fear, and a final, silent plea before being torn apart.
Jiang Che's body trembled, and he seemed to be on the verge of collapse. He moved his feet, but was held tightly by Song Yao.
"She wouldn't want you to die too," Song Yao whispered.
He closed his eyes, clenched his teeth, and let out a low roar like a beast, suppressing all the pain in his heart and forcing himself to turn around and run.
As soon as the devouring was finished, the monster seemed to have "upgraded". Its eyes suddenly lit up with a strange light, and its speed suddenly increased. The next second, it jumped directly towards Xing Wang.
"Ah! No! Don't bite me!!!" Xing Wang screamed, and fell on his back, kicking the ground with his legs frantically, trying to crawl away.
The monster bit into his knee. The blood gushed from his pants.
He rolled on the ground, struggling desperately to crawl forward, grabbing Song Yao's clothes.
"Help me!! Song Yao… please save me!! I don't want to die...my mom's waiting for me at home… I'm begging you!! Don't leave me!!"
His voice was desperate, hysterical, laced with sobs, like a child abandoned by the world.
Song Yao turned pale, her eyes filled with terror. She froze.
"Are you crazy? If we stay, we all die!" Jiang Che yanked her arm.
"But…" Song Yao choked.
"You want to die with him?!!" Jiang Che roared to Song Yao.
The next moment, Xing Wang's hand was torn from her, and he was dragged into the monster swarm.
And then, his scream drowned everything else out:
"Don't leave me aaaaaahhhhh—!!"
Then there were the sounds of biting, tearing, the dull thud of flesh being torn, and the "crackling" sound of bones breaking..
They had no choice but to split up. Otherwise, none would survive.
"…That's what happened," Wang Yifan finished speaking, his eyes filled with pain.
"Xing Wang pushed Lin Qiao… and still didn't escape," I murmured.
"He begged Song Yao to save him," Liu Zehao muttered. "But who could?"
"That's not rescue. That's a funeral," Qin Yan said coldly. "Any hesitation in times like this is suicide."
I slid down against the wall. The iron rod still jammed the door. The pounding outside still at there.
"How long do we stay?" I asked.
"Until they leave," Qin Yan said.
"And if they don't?" I looked at him.
He was silent for a moment, then said, "Then we'll fight our way out."
The air in the storeroom was heavy.
Only our ragged breaths and the dim flicker of a rusted bulb filled the silence.
"Do you think… we'll make it out alive?" Liu Zehao asked.
No one answered.
But who among us doesn't want to live?
The question is - can we go back?
No one slept that night.
Maybe it was the fear. Maybe it was because every time we closed our eyes, that scream still echoed in the hallway of our minds.
That sound like death whispering beside your ear.
Who will be torn apart next time?