The sky outside glowed with the first hints of dawn — a steel-blue veil rising over the burning city. Ash drifted through the morning haze like gray snow.
Inside the AV room, it was deathly silent.
Eight figures huddled close, wrapped in the cold that had crept in overnight.
They had waited there all night. Every creak of the hallway, every distant groan, every metallic clang made hearts jump.
Ayush crouched over a torn poster — their last-minute map. Routes were scribbled in shaky marker lines, arrows smudged with dried blood and trembling fingers.
"This is the plan," Ayush said quietly, voice raw from hours of whispering and no sleep. "Pairs. Auditorium corridor. Then sports shed. Then out the fence. We move at first light — now."
No one interrupted.
"Suraj," he called, tossing him a small backup knife. "You know what to do."
Suraj nodded, though his eyes were red, his hands shaking.
"Kartik, you take the extinguisher. Shivam, grab the iron rod. Shivam! Look at me."
Shivam snapped his gaze up, fury and grief swirling inside him.
"I got it," he spat, gripping the rod so tight his knuckles turned white.
Ayush pointed at the modified decoy device — a speaker taped to an old battery pack.
"We use these as sound traps to lure them away. One shot — we throw it down a different hallway. We get ten seconds, maybe less."
Sanaa whispered from the back, her voice trembling, "Ten seconds isn't much."
"It's all we've got," Ayush replied.
Ananya pulled her bag tight. She didn't say a word — but her eyes stayed locked on Ayush.
Then they moved.
The AV room door groaned on its hinges as it opened. Eight figures slipped into the blood-soaked hall, stepping over shattered glass and torn books.
Stay low. Don't breathe too loud.
Ayush led them, every step rehearsed in his mind a thousand times.
Then —
SLAM!
A door at the far end burst open.
A twisted girl, face shredded and hanging like wet cloth, sprinted toward them. Her screech cut the silence like a blade.
Ayush turned instantly, charging. He slammed her into a wall, fighting her flailing arms and desperate claws. The knife entered her skull with a sickening crack.
She spasmed. Then slumped.
His hand shook violently.
His first kill.
But no time to breathe.
"AHH! My leg!"
Tanya fell, her hand clutching her thigh. Blood spilled fast, soaking her uniform.
"Please... it burns... help me..." she gasped, her voice cracking.
Shivam lunged to grab her. "We can carry her!"
Ayush stepped in, blocking him. "Shivam! She's turning — look at the veins!"
Tanya's veins blackened, purple webs crawling up her neck as she shook.
She stared at them, eyes wide and terrified. "I don't... want... to die alone..."
She didn't get another word out. Her body convulsed. Her breathing stopped.
Shivam screamed, "NO! We can save her! She was right here!"
Ayush grabbed his shoulders. "Shivam! We can't — she's gone!"
Shivam shoved Ayush back, sobbing uncontrollably. Kartik pulled Shivam away, whispering fiercely into his ear as they dragged him forward.
They left her.
They ran.
They reached the school's back fence. Rusted iron spikes bent under their weight as they climbed, one after another.
Kartik crouched below. "Step on me — GO!"
They vaulted the fence, one by one, into the empty lot. Ahead stood the construction building, a hollow skeleton of concrete and rusted rods, three stories high.
They sprinted through the half-fogged dawn, gasping for air, ignoring the burn in their legs.
Inside, the building felt like a giant mausoleum.
"We go up," Ayush ordered. "Higher ground, easier to defend."
They climbed broken stairs, sidestepping nails and loose bricks.
At the top, Ananya tore a length of emergency cloth from a nail. She waved it weakly out the open edge.
"Maybe... someone will see us," she whispered.
She was right.
A voice cut the air behind them.
"Hands up. Now."
Ten meters away, a man in full black tactical gear stood with a rifle aimed, eyes hidden behind a visor.
Ayush saw the patch on his arm.
B.S.A.
His heart almost stopped.
"...Drake?" Ayush said, barely a whisper.
The man didn't move.
Kartik stepped forward, fists tight. Shivam lifted his rod shakily.
Ayush swallowed hard, then spoke the old Discord motto in a low, shaking voice.
"We are the shield in the silence."
The man lowered his rifle slowly. His shoulders dropped.
"...Joel?"
Ayush forced a thin smile. "Yeah. It's me."
Drake ran forward, crushing Ayush into a hug.
"Goddamn, bro... I prayed it wasn't really you stuck in there."
He pulled off a pouch and handed it over.
"Glock 17, two spare mags, rations, first aid, map. You'll need all of it."
Ayush took it silently, his breath still ragged.
Behind him, the group stared in disbelief.
Kartik stepped up first. "What is this, Ayush? You knew about all this? You... you planned for this?!"
Ananya's voice trembled, tears pooling in her eyes. "You lied to us?"
Ayush looked at them, every muscle in his face pulled tight.
"I didn't lie to hurt you. I was part of the B.S.A. We prepared for something like this... a possible outbreak, a societal collapse. But I didn't believe it would actually happen — not like this."
Suraj added, voice quiet, "It was protocol. He didn't want to involve us. To protect us."
Shivam spat at Ayush's feet. "Protect us? You think leaving Tanya behind was protection?!"
Ayush's hands trembled. "I didn't want this. I swear — I didn't want any of this."
Silence.
Then —
Drake placed a hand on Ayush's shoulder. "Walk with me."
They moved to the rooftop edge.
Down below, shadows shifted between columns and debris.
"Six, maybe seven infected moving in," Drake said, scanning. "They weren't here before."
Ayush's jaw tightened. "You got a silencer?"
Drake sighed. "Lost it when I had to bail from my safe house. Almost didn't make it here alive."
Ayush glared. "You're kitted head-to-toe, but no silencer?"
Drake cracked a tiny grin. "I spent all my credits on the shiny shit. My bad."
They shared a short, bitter laugh.
Then Drake nudged Ayush lightly. "So... that girl. She your crush?"
Ayush groaned. "Bro... not now."
Drake snickered. "Hey, king, she's stunning. Sister-in-law material. Just saying."
Their laughter died when Kartik joined them.
"Morning," Kartik muttered, eyes cold. "What now?"
Drake straightened, his tone suddenly mechanical.
"There is no 'we.' My mission was to extract Ayush. Only Ayush."
Kartik froze. "What?"
Drake switched off his rifle safety. "If you interfere... I have orders."
Kartik's voice cracked. "Are you insane? Why the hell would you kill us?! We're not infected!"
Drake's voice stayed flat. "Orders are clear. If anyone tries to stop extraction, I have full authorization to neutralize them."
Ayush stepped forward, eyes burning. "Drake... these are my people."
Drake raised his radio. "Captain, he refuses."
The response crackled.
Uncrowned King: "Neutralize the others. We gave you clear orders."
Kartik shook his head, trembling. "You hear that?! They don't care about us!"
Shivam shouted, fists clenched. "You're no better than the infected!"
Drake stepped forward, regret in his eyes. "I'm sorry, Ayush."
Ayush drew the Glock from his pouch. "Don't make me do this."
Drake's eyes softened. "I don't want to. But you leave me no choice."
Ayush took a slow breath. "Either we all go... or none of us do."
They locked eyes.
A single moment.
Then — the Glock fired.
Drake staggered back, a clean hole in his neck. He fell, gasping once before going still.
Silence.
Then —
"MOVE!" Kartik yelled, grabbing Ayush's arm.
They stripped Drake's body fast:
• Glock to Ayush.• M16 to Shivam.• Knife to Kartik.• Rations. Ammo. Medical packs.
Ayush's eyes darted to the rooftops. "Ammo check — conserve shots. No sprays. Head only."
Shivam, trembling, nearly dropped the M16. "Why... why did it have to be like this?!"
Kartik slapped his back. "Shut up! MOVE!"
They raced down broken stairs.
Outside, infected stirred at the gunshot. Their heads snapped up.
Ayush took point, his movements surgical. He fired twice — two heads dropped. He whispered, "Count your rounds. Every bullet matters."
They bolted through a hole in the construction wall.
Beyond, Delhi was an inferno. Fires tore across rooftops, black smoke pillars curled into the dawn sky.
Bodies. Screams. Ash.
Ayush's phone buzzed in his pocket.
1 Missed Call — Mom.
He didn't open it.
They crossed the street and slipped into a small two-story yellow house on the edge of a cul-de-sac.
Ayush swapped Glock for Kartik's knife. He took out four infected inside, each kill silent and clean. Knife at the skull base.
They secured doors and windows. No power. Only dust, broken furniture, and old family photos on the walls.
They sat in a circle, breaths shallow.
Shivam, shaking, stared at Ayush. "One man came to save you... and you killed him."
Kartik looked at him sharply. "No. Ayush saved us. We were never part of their damn plan."
Ayush didn't respond. He sat alone in the back room, staring into the dark, his mind echoing Drake's final look.
Ananya appeared at the doorway, hesitating.
She studied him for a long moment, eyes glimmering with fear and something deeper.
She stepped forward, slowly.
She sat beside him.
Silent. Close.
After a moment, she reached for his hand.
He didn't pull away.
But in his mind, he heard the radio crackle again and again.
"Neutralize them."
Ayush knew.
They were coming now.Not to save him.Not to rescue anyone.
But to make an example.
And Drake… was only the beginning.