As per the plan, Jay, Purnima, and Aditya head toward the laboratory building while I prepare to enter the cafeteria. Snehil, unfazed as ever, ties a rope to a steel rod jutting from the hostel rooftop and drops the other end toward the cafeteria roof, two floors below.
Amrit and I climb down carefully, hands wrapped tight around the coarse rope, shoes grazing the rough campus wall. Just before I descend completely, I glance over my shoulder—and there she is.
Anaaya.
She stands by the window, staring down at us. Her eyes are cold. Indifferent. As if what I'm doing doesn't matter. As if I don't matter. Her gaze cuts deeper than any words ever could. And somewhere inside me, the question rises again like a wound that never closes:
Why do I keep trying to protect people who don't even believe in me?
We slip silently into the cafeteria. Amrit scans the room with practiced calm, eyes sweeping across every dark corner. Then he signals—clear. I nod, and he climbs up to perch on the roof, ready to haul up the ration bags. I begin passing the supplies from below. It's smooth. Silent. Mechanical. In thirty minutes, we manage enough food for at least a day.
But there's still more. Much more.
That's when it happens.
I reach for a large bag on the top shelf, but my elbow knocks against a steel container. It crashes to the floor, loud enough to split the silence wide open.
There's time to run. I know that.
But I don't.
Maybe it's not fear. Maybe it's something else. The exhaustion. The guilt. The weight of trying to be everyone's shield in a world that doesn't care. Maybe Anaaya's right. Maybe I am the villain in someone's story. Or maybe I'm just tired of pretending I'm not.
I turn to Amrit, already on alert. "We've got maybe a minute before they're on us. I'll stay. You keep hauling the rations. Don't stop until we have enough."
"What? Are you insane?" Amrit hisses. "We both run. Right now."
"If we both go, we both die. If you go now, they still get the food."
"Then call the others—Jay, Aditya, Snehil. We stall them together."
"No!" I snap. "No more risks. Not for me. Just go, Amrit."
He hesitates. But I see it in his eyes—he knows I've already made peace with this. I'm not bluffing. This isn't a heroic act. It's something... final.
Wordlessly, he grabs the rope and starts to climb.
I turn back.
The first zombie bursts through the kitchen door. Then another. Then five. I fight—hard. Slamming one against the counter. Crushing another beneath a metal shelf. My body moves, but my mind feels distant, fogged. Like I'm watching myself from far away.
This is it, I think.
This is where it ends.
Then comes the bite.
Sharp. Deep. My shoulder tears open under its jaws, and something cold floods into me. I feel the strength bleed out in an instant.
More come. Hands clawing. Teeth ripping. The pain is fire. And above, I hear Amrit scream.
"There's still time!" he yells. "If we cut the infection, maybe we can save him!"
"No," someone whispers. A junior. Voice trembling. "His shoulder's gone... it's already in his nerves."
"Shut up!" Amrit snaps.
I look up.
Shapes blur against the sunlight. Outlines shimmer like ghosts—Snehil holding Amrit back. I can't hear the words, but I feel them.
Let go.
And then… Anaaya.
She stands at the window. Silent. No disgust. No hatred. Just stillness. Her eyes meet mine—and this time, they stay. I don't know what's in them. Pity? Forgiveness? Maybe even regret. But for the first time, she sees me.
So I smile.
It's the only thing I have left to give.
Then I turn. Not toward safety, but away—from them, from the people I still love. I can't risk becoming a monster in their presence. I won't let them see what I'll turn into.
I scale the wall with bleeding hands, climb the fence, and vanish into the forest.
Somewhere along the way, my legs give out. My lungs burn. My vision dims. And finally, I collapse—alone. Far from the campus. Far from the ones I swore to protect.
And just before the darkness swallows me whole...
I believe—deep down—I've finally done one right thing.