Shuffling footsteps and the smell of decay snapped Sinjin wide awake. Her heart pounded painfully in her chest as she uncurled from her ball, making sure to avoid the table legs that surrounded her. Her gaze followed the zombies. She noticed how they moved like a slug through the atrium, completely unaware of the sleeping bodies spread out in the space, and the pieces of the puzzle fell into place. 

Her racing mind did not deem the dormant zombies a threat in this situation. The rain and darkness were to her advantage. But - and this was a big but - if anyone woke up and made a sound, she was doomed. 

She plotted an escape route to the scout car when a bang from outside unleashed chaos. Screams and growls mingled in the air. To make matters worse, the vanishing beam from the car dashed her last hope. Cursing under her breath, she unzipped her duffel bag and took out the most valuable items for survival. 

She needed a plan B. And fast.

As she slipped the PalmComm into her pocket, a loud thump tore her attention to the right. Two meters away, the female supply runner struggled against an obese zombie as it pressed down on her, its hands scrabbling on the floor. Sinjin’s lips thinned into a line. She fiddled with one of the round pouches secured around her waist, debating whether to save the woman’s life.

At that moment, a silhouetted woman burst forward and whacked the zombie with a baseball bat. As the zombie crumpled to the ground, Sinjin made a split-second decision. She dashed out towards the two women, her hands raised to signal she was human. When she neared them, she recognized the other woman as the driver of the car. Shula. The one who had kept quiet and absorbed her words when everyone else was confused, frightened, and angry after what she had said about Eden. She had pegged the woman as someone with enough brains to survive.

She felt a smidgen of relief. Her decision had been right. Strength in numbers. 

“Listen. I saw a red car at the back entrance,” she said in a lowered voice. “We can try that.”

“Don’t bother. We checked it out during the search. It’s a gone case,” Shula muttered. She turned to the other woman. “Qiyu, have you seen Joon?”

“I saw him coming from that side.” Qiyu pointed to the opposite end of the atrium. She spat out a globule of blood, her hand pressed against her side as she wheezed. “I think he’s near the piano. See that shadow?”

Sinjin’s eyes darted around the atrium, finding more zombies entering the school and attacking the remaining survivors. Their chances at survival were dwindling the longer they stayed. She urged the two women, “We’ve got to go.” 

After a hesitant pause, Shula clicked her tongue and nodded. Between the three of them, they moved quickly, with Qiyu and Shula bashing zombies’ heads in left and right. Sinjin kept in the middle between the two women, alerting them to danger whenever she spotted an undead. 

She pointed out three zombies to Qiyu in front of her when a cry burst from Shula. Spinning around, Sinjin saw two fast-running zombies converge on them. Shula grunted as she swung the bat, hitting one in the face, but the other was close behind and coming from the opposite direction. 

Dread curled in Sinjin’s gut. She knew she was too late but she yanked Shula back as the zombie lunged, its mouth snapping like a trap, eager to feast on-

An elbow connected with the zombie’s cheek, sending it flying into one of the trees lining the basketball court. 

The glow from the torches caught the shining scalp of Ah Long, the tattooed supply runner. One hand held onto his young son. His daughter clung to his pant leg, her eyes shimmering with tears.

“Are you okay?” he said.

Shula could only nod, the bat in her hand trembling as she lowered it. “Thank you.”

“We need to get to the north side.” Ah Long moved past Shula and eyed Sinjin, noticing she had no weapon. He gently pushed his children in front of him. “Can you take them?”

Sinjin hesitated. She wasn’t good around kids. But it was either that or fight against the zombies. So she held out her hands. With a little coaxing, the children left their father’s side. Their little palms in hers felt so awkward. She stared at their terrified faces but no comforting words came to mind. Instead, she settled for squeezing their hands, hoping her warmth would give them some measure of calm.

“Alright.” Ah Long raised his fists like a boxer. “Let’s go.”

With one more fighter in their retinue, they moved faster. By the time they reached the north side of the school, Shula, Qiyu, and Ah Long were panting in exhaustion. Sinjin could see shadows climbing the fence ahead. There were three shadows on the other side already. The fourth was half-way up and the last one had his foot on the fence. 

Strength in numbers, right? If she could get both groups together, she would be better protected. Hopefully.

Sinjin raced down the small slope with the two kids in tow. The slippery ground brought her almost crashing into the last shadow and as she let go of the children’s hands, she reached out and tapped the person on the back before she barreled into the fence. 

With a yelp, the shadow dropped to the ground and curled into a ball. Lightning flashed, illuminating the cowering face of the doctor. When he finally opened his eyes, relief flooded over his features.

“It’s you,” he said with a sigh.

“Dr. Yu.” She held out a hand and helped him up. “Sorry about that.”

Shula, Qiyu, and Ah Long caught up with her. On the other side of the fence, whispered exclamations burst forth and she watched as the three fighters in her retinue exchanged words with the male supply runner.

Their happy reunion was soon cut short by growls. Sinjin’s lips turned dry when she saw a line of undead rushing towards them like a wave of soldiers charging into the battlefield. Without a word, she boosted herself up on the fence and climbed as fast as she could. In seconds, she was on the other side, faced with a disdainful look from the guy who had saved her.

As he and the other male supply runner gestured to the people she had left behind, she turned her attention to the road ahead. They needed a new vehicle. And fast. She wrapped one arm around her torso, the pelting rain soaking her to the bone. Her other hand swept back the wet hair that clung to her face. 

Two lamp posts illuminated the overhead railway tracks and the tall trees lining the road. As far as she could see, there were no zombies - thank heavens - and also no vehicles. No usable ones at least. The bicycles that laid strewn to one side had no more tires. A solo van laid on its side. One motorcycle had no more handlebars left.

The zombies must have come from the residential areas behind the school then. Still, she eyed the surroundings warily. The rain was starting to let up as suddenly as it had started. The weather in Singapore was as fickle as she had heard. If it stopped and they were still this loud, trouble was bound to come.

She turned around. Qiyu, Shula, and the little boy had safely crossed to this side of the fence. Junming, Ah Long, and his daughter were still on the other side. The quicker zombies had already reached the small group and the two adults were busy trying to fend off the hungry corpses. Qiyu and the two men with her tried to distract the zombies by running further away and shaking the fence. But there were too many of them.

Gritting her teeth, Sinjin cursed. If they stayed here any longer, they would all die. Her hand slipped to the pouch by her waist. Was it wise to use it now?

“We have to go!” she heard Junming call out as he grabbed the small girl.

The girl writhed in his arms as she called out for her father. Ah Long wielded Shula’s bat like a professional gangster, sending zombies flying left and right with both the barrel and the knob of the wooden club. Yet more kept coming.

“Pei Yi, go with Dr. Yu!” he boomed.

Sweat streaked down his forehead. Sinjin could see he was tiring. His movements were slower, his breathing shallower. As he dispatched another zombie to the after-afterlife, the bat in his hand shook and his arm lowered the slightest inch. 

Sinjin’s sharp eyes spotted the danger coming. She rattled the fence and yelled, “Behind you on the ground!”

Ah Long spun around just as Pei Yi escaped from Junming’s clutches and ran towards her father-

-right into the path of the writhing zombie on the ground.

A child’s wail tore through the air. Sinjin’s hand flew to her mouth. 

“Pei Yi!” Ah Long slid towards his daughter and stomped his foot down on the zombie’s head, crushing it into a bloodied mass.

Pei Yi sobbed as she held onto her bitten leg. She looked up at her father, her eyes filled with terror. “I’m sorry, Daddy.”

“No, no, no. Pei Yi.” Ah Long cradled her small body in his arms, his bat forgotten by his side. “You’ll be fine. Okay, look at me, baby. Look at me.”

Sinjin tore her eyes away from the scene. Her chest constricted in agony. She couldn’t bear to see such a little girl turn into…Turning around, she dry-retched onto the pavement. Beside her, Shula kept a firm grip on the little boy crying his heart out as he watched his sister’s soul fade away. 

Yells punctured the air as everyone shouted at Ah Long to climb the fence. Junming tried his best to fend off the incoming zombies but his strength was also waning. Ah Long was no longer listening. His face was buried in his daughter’s chest as she took her last breaths.

“Baba!” the little boy’s high-pitched voice soared above the din and the grief.

Ah Long’s body twitched. He looked up, his cheeks stained with tears. The sight of his son wailing brought a spark back to his eyes. His gaze dropped back down to his daughter. As her limbs snapped back to life, he slowly wrapped two hands around her neck. 

An apology dropped from his lips as he closed his eyes and squeezed the remaining life out of his daughter. Sinjin turned away, unable to watch any longer. She heard the rattle of the chain behind her, the loud thump as Junming, and then Ah Long, landed on the safe side of the fence.

When she dared a peek at Ah Long’s face, the grief etched into his red eyes filled her with regret. She gulped, her hand dropping to her pouch. 

A tiny voice whispered in her ear, “You killed her.”