After the whole "zombie hamster" incident and the depressing view of the zombie horde outside, we were back in the cafeteria, trying to figure out our next move. The mood was... well, let’s just say it wasn’t exactly cheerful.
Elliot was doodling zombie hamsters on a napkin, Alex was staring at the ceiling like it held the secrets of the universe, and I was busy wondering if I’d ever see my parents again.
Then, out of nowhere, Alex sat up straight and said, "What about a radio?"
I blinked. "A... radio?"
"Yeah," she said, her eyes lighting up. "There’s supposed to be a radio in this school, right? Like, for announcents and stuff. If we can find it, maybe we can use it to call for help or at least figure out what’s going on out there."
I stared at her for a second, then nodded. "T-That’s a great idea," I stamred, trying to sound confident but failing miserably.
Elliot looked up from his zombie hamster doodle. "A radio? Yeah, that could work. I know where the broadcast room is. Follow ."
I raised an eyebrow. "Since when do you know where the broadcast room is?"
Elliot grinned. "Since I got detention for ’accidentally’ playing heavy tal music over the school speakers last year."
Of course he did.
We grabbed our weapons, my trusty broom, Elliot’s bat, and Alex’s crowbar, and headed for the stairs. The school was still eerily quiet, but after the zombie hamsters, I wasn’t taking any chances. Every creak of the floorboards made jump, and I kept expecting a zombie to pop out of nowhere.
As we walked, Alex glanced at . "You okay, Mira? You look... tense."
"Tense?" I said, my voice cracking. "Why would I be tense? It’s not like we’re in a zombie-infested school or anything. Oh wait, we are!"
Elliot chuckled. "Relax, Mira. If anything jumps out at us, I’ll protect you."
I glared at him. "You an like you ’protected’ when you scared on the stairs earlier?"
He grinned. "Exactly like that."
I rolled my eyes but couldn’t help smiling a little. Elliot’s stupid jokes were annoying, but they also made things feel a little less hopeless.
We reached the broadcast room without any zombie encounters, which was a nice change of pace. Elliot pushed the door open, and we stepped inside. The room was small and cluttered, with a desk, a microphone, and, most importantly, a radio.
"Jackpot," Elliot said, grinning.
Alex walked over to the radio and started fiddling with the knobs. "Let’s see if this thing still works."
I stood by the door, keeping watch just in case. "Do you even know how to work that thing?"
Alex shrugged. "How hard can it be? It’s just a radio."
Elliot leaned against the desk. "Famous last words."
As Alex tried to figure out the radio, my mind started wandering. What if we actually get through to soone? What if there’s a safe zone out there? What if...
My thoughts were interrupted by a loud burst of static from the radio. I jumped, nearly dropping my broom.
"Sorry," Alex said, wincing. "Wrong button."
Elliot laughed. "Nice one, Alex. You almost gave Mira a heart attack."
I glared at him. "I did not almost have a heart attack!"
"Sure you didn’t," he said, smirking.
Alex ignored us and kept fiddling with the radio. After a few more minutes of static and random beeps, she finally managed to tune it to a clear frequency.
"Got it," she said, looking up at us with a triumphant smile.
We all leaned in, holding our breath as the radio crackled to life.
The radio crackled to life, and for a mont, we all held our breath. A voice ca through, but it was garbled and hard to understand. Alex leaned forward, her fingers dancing over the dials as she tried to fine-tune the frequency.
"Co on, co on," she muttered, twisting the knobs with the focus of a bomb defusal expert.
Finally, the static cleared, and a male voice ca through loud and clear.
"Caution. Stay in hos. Danger outside. Rescue is on its way. Caution. Stay in hos. Danger outside. Rescue is on its way."
The ssage repeated itself, calm and robotic, like it had been playing on a loop for days.
Alex and Elliot both let out sighs of relief.
"See?" Elliot said, grinning. "Rescue is on its way. We just have to hold out a little longer."
Alex nodded. "Yeah, this is good. At least soone’s out there trying to help."
But I didn’t feel relieved. In fact, I felt the exact opposite. My stomach dropped, and a cold wave of panic washed over .
"Guys," I said, my voice shaky. "This is a pre-recorded ssage. It’s not live. That ans... no one’s actually out there broadcasting right now. No one’s updating it. No one’s... alive to do it."
Elliot frowned. "What are you talking about? It’s a ssage. That ans soone’s out there, trying to help."
I shook my head. "No, it doesn’t. It’s just a recording. It’s not telling us rescue is coming. It’s telling us... ’We’re sorry. We don’t know what to do, so here’s sothing to keep you calm while you wait for the inevitable.’"
The room went silent. Even the radio seed quieter, like it was holding its breath.
Alex stared at , her brow furrowed. "Mira, you’re overthinking this. It’s just a ssage. It doesn’t an anything."
"Doesn’t an anything?" I snapped, my voice rising. "It ans everything! If no one’s live on the air, it ans no one’s out there organizing rescue efforts. It ans we’re on our own. It ans-"
I stopped myself, realizing I was spiraling. But the thoughts kept coming, unbidden. What if we’re the last ones left? What if the world outside is just... gone? What’s the point of surviving if there’s no one left to survive for?
I looked at Elliot and Alex, their faces a mix of confusion and concern. They didn’t get it. They were still clinging to the hope that the ssage gave them, even though it was just a recording.
"Guys," I said, taking a deep breath. "Don’t get relaxed just because of this. It’s not real. It’s not live. It’s just... a coping chanism. Sothing to make us feel better while we wait for the end."
Elliot opened his mouth to argue, but then he closed it. He looked at the radio, then back at , and I could see the realization dawning on his face.
"Mira’s right," Alex said quietly. "It’s just a recording. We can’t rely on it."
Elliot sighed, running a hand through his hair. "So... what do we do now?"
I didn’t have an answer. None of us did.
****
The room felt heavier than a fat kid on a seesaw after that radio bullshit. The pre-recorded ssage had basically taken a giant shit on whatever fragile hope we’d been clinging to, and now we were left with the cold, hard truth: we were fucked. No rescue. No cavalry. Just us, a repeating radio, and a horde of zombies outside who probably wanted to eat our faces off.
I sat cross-legged on the floor, my brain doing ntal gymnastics. What the hell do we do now? Do we just sit here and wait to beco zombie chow? Or do we keep fighting, even if there’s no one left to fight for?
Elliot broke the silence first, because of course he did. "So... what’s the plan, Captain Obvious?"
I looked at him, then at Alex. They were both staring at like I had all the answers. Spoiler alert: I didn’t. But I couldn’t just sit here and do nothing, because that’s how you end up dead in a zombie apocalypse.
"We take turns sleeping," I said finally, like I was so kind of survival genius. "We’re all fucking exhausted, and if we don’t rest, we’re not going to make it through the night. One person stays awake while the other two sleep. We rotate every few hours."
Elliot’s face lit up like a kid who just found out recess was extended. "That’s so smart of you, Mira."
Alex nodded in agreent. "Yeah, good call."
I shrugged, trying to play it cool, but inside, I was screaming, "Finally, soone acknowledges my goddamn genius!"
Elliot stood up, stretching like he was about to run a marathon or so shit. "I’ll take the first shift. You girls sleep. I’ll keep us alive."
I rolled my eyes so hard I almost gave myself a headache. "It’s just staying awake, Elliot. Don’t say ’alive’ like we’re dying or sothing. You fucking idiot."
He grinned, brushing his hand through his hair in that annoyingly perfect way he always did. Damn it, why does he have to look so... Elliot? My brain went into overdrive. Calm the fuck down, hormones. This is not the ti. We’re in the middle of a zombie apocalypse, for fuck’s sake!
Alex cleared her throat, snapping out of my internal monologue. "Actually, I’ll take the first shift. You two sleep."
I raised an eyebrow. "Oh, now you’re trying to act brave in front of us? After you backed down from killing that zombie hamster earlier?"
Alex twitched at my comnt, her face turning red. "That was different! The hamster was... cute."
Elliot snorted. "Cute? It was trying to eat your fucking face off!"
"It had little paws!" Alex shot back, defensively.
I couldn’t help but laugh. Even in the middle of all this chaos, we were still arguing about the dumbest shit. It was almost... normal.
After a bit more back-and-forth, we finally settled on a schedule. Alex would take the first shift, staying awake for about three hours before waking up Elliot. Then Elliot would take over, and I’d be last.
According to the clock on the wall, it was almost 9 PM. The sun had long since set, and the school was eerily quiet, except for the occasional groan of a zombie outside.
Elliot and I found a relatively clean corner of the room and laid down on the floor, using curtains from broadcast room as makeshift pillows. It wasn’t exactly a five-star hotel, but it would have to do.
As I closed my eyes, I couldn’t help but think about how fucking weird this all was. Just a few hours ago, I was worrying about howork and detention. Now, I was lying on the floor of my high school, trying to sleep while zombies lurked outside.
Elliot shifted beside , his arm brushing against mine. I froze, my heart skipping a beat. Why does he have to be so close? Why does he have to be so... Elliot?
I peeked at him through half-closed eyes. He was already asleep, his chest rising and falling in a steady rhythm. For a mont, I let myself imagine what it would be like if this were a normal sleepover. No zombies. No apocalypse. Just us, hanging out like normal teenagers.
But then I rembered where we were, and the fantasy shattered. Focus, Mira. You’re in survival mode, not rom-com mode.
I closed my eyes again, trying to quiet my mind. But it was no use. Every ti I started to drift off, I’d hear a noise outside and jolt awake, my heart racing.
Finally, after what felt like hours, I managed to fall into a restless sleep. My dreams were a jumbled ss of zombies, Elliot, and that stupid fucking hamster.
At so point, I felt a hand on my shoulder, shaking awake. "Mira," Elliot whispered. "Your turn."
I groaned, sitting up and rubbing my eyes. The room was still dark, but the clock on the wall showed it was past midnight.
Elliot handed a flashlight(which we found in Broadcast room) and a crowbar. "Stay sharp," he said, his voice low. "And try not to wake Alex. She’s been through a lot."
I nodded, taking the crowbar and sitting down near the barricaded door. Elliot laid down in the spot I’d just vacated, and within minutes, he was asleep.
The silence was deafening. I could hear my own heartbeat, the soft breathing of Elliot and Alex, and the occasional shuffle of zombies outside.
As I sat there, keeping watch, I couldn’t help but think about the future. What the hell would happen to us? Would we ever find other survivors? Would we ever get out of this alive?
I didn’t have the answers. But for now, all I could do was stay awake, stay alert, and hope that tomorrow would bring sothing better.
Note to self: The human mind is a weird fucking thing. It clings to hope, even when there’s none left. Even when the world is falling apart, it tries to find aning in the chaos. But what happens when the hope runs out? What happens when the mind breaks? I don’t want to find out.
– Mira’s Internal Monologue
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