POV: Marvin Cruz
Location: Meadow Hill Academy—Room 2C
It began, not with screams, but with silence.
The kind of silence that settled between heartbeats—dense, waiting, like breath held in suspense.
The television above the blackboard crackled to life.
Marvin Cruz sat near the back of Room 2C, chin propped lazily on his palm, his pen motionless above his notes. The final quarter of the school year had just begun. The air smelled of whiteboard markers and half-dried floor wax. It was Friday, and that meant the last few periods dragged like wounded animals, limping toward dismissal.
"Can someone turn that off? " Alden Reyes muttered from beside him, tossing a balled-up candy wrapper toward the screen. It bounced off the frame. "We get it, the world's a mess. I don't need another reminder before lunch."
But no one moved. Because this time, the footage was different.
No headlines. No hosts. Just a shaky phone video—someone's backyard. A man stood in the frame, pale and staggering. His arms twitched, his head lolled, and then—he lunged. The camera dropped with a scream, followed by a sickening crunch.
Then static.
A moment later, the screen faded to black.
The entire class went still.
Sir Geronimo, their biology teacher, fumbled with the remote and finally managed to turn the TV off. His face had drained of color.
"That… wasn't supposed to play," he murmured, more to himself than to them. He cleared his throat and tried to resume the lesson. "Alright, class. Page 142. Nervous system overview. Let's focus, okay? "
But no one was really listening.
Not even Lucas Tan, the ever-dutiful class prefect. He stared at the blank screen like it was still playing.
Location: Meadow Hill Academy—Faculty Room
POV: Ms. Anna Ramos
The coffee had gone cold.
Ms. Ramos stirred it anyway, staring blankly out the window. In the distance, past the boundary fence, the town of Northwood shimmered under the late morning sun. Birds circled above the highway. All seemed normal—except for the buzzing phone in her coat pocket.
Another notification.
She finally pulled it out.
URGENT: Public advisory from the Department of Health
Multiple cases of unexplained aggression reported in Region IV-A.
Stay indoors. Lock doors. Avoid contact with infected individuals.
Infected.
That word again.
Sir Pablo, the literature teacher, leaned over her shoulder. "Anna… you've seen these too? "
She nodded.
"The same thing happened during homeroom. A student showed me a video—some guy biting a traffic officer. I thought it was a prank at first."
The lights in the faculty room flickered.
Somewhere down the hallway, a fire alarm began to wail.
Location: Meadow Hill Academy—Main Quadrangle
POV: Lucas Tan
Lucas was methodical. Organized. Reliable. He followed the rules and expected others to do the same. That was why he noticed when people didn't show up.
"Where's Anton? " he asked, flipping through the attendance clipboard. "Or Jerson? "
Ms. Delgado, the PE teacher on monitoring duty, looked up from her bench. "Sick, maybe? "
"But Anton was fine yesterday. He was practicing with the basketball team after school."
Lucas checked his phone, looking for updates in the school group chats. But all he saw were memes, GIFs, and one vague post from Jerson's story:
"Something's happening near the mall. Stay away."
The alarm continued to blare in the background. No one moved. Students milled about the quadrangle, nervously laughing, unsure if it was a drill. But some were starting to whisper.
And rumors spread faster than fire.
Location: Meadow Hill Academy—Basement Maintenance Hall
POV: Jun the Janitor
Jun liked silence.
The noise of students didn't bother him anymore. He had learned to tune it out—just like the creaking pipes and flickering lights of this old building. Meadow Hill was his second home, the place he'd cleaned and fixed for nearly fifteen years.
But today, something was off.
The generator room door was cracked open. He hadn't left it that way.
"Hello? " he called out, gripping his wrench tighter. "Ben? You're down here? "
No answer.
Just a dragging sound. Slow. Wet.
Jun's breath caught. He stepped closer, one hand on the door.
He never finished opening it.
Something yanked it shut from the other side—with unnatural strength.
Location: Meadow Hill Academy—Room 2C (Later)
POV: Marvin Cruz
The intercom crackled.
"Students and staff, this is Principal Ignacio. Please remain in your classrooms until further notice. Do not attempt to leave the school grounds. This is not a drill."
Whispers exploded around the room. Desks scraped as students shifted.
Marvin looked out the window. Beyond the fence, in the distant neighborhood, black smoke was rising.
The silence returned. But this time, it wasn't peaceful.
It was waiting.