Location: Meadow Hill Academy—Ground Floor, Cafeteria Hallway
POV: Matthew Dela Cruz (Grade 12, student council secretary—reserved, observant)
The hallway just outside the cafeteria buzzed with the usual midday chaos—students in uniforms shuffled past, clutching trays, trading jokes, the scent of reheated adobo clashing with fresh printer ink from the admin wing. But for Matthew Dela Cruz, something was wrong.
He stood just outside the vending machine alcove, his thumb tapping on his phone's cracked screen as he reread the same message over and over.
"Meeting cancelled. Stay inside your classroom until further notice."
– MHA Admin
No signature. No explanation. Just the vague order that had pinged all their phones five minutes ago.
Behind him, a junior bumped into another boy, sending a soda clattering to the floor.
No one paid it much mind. Just noise. But Matthew noticed that the teachers had stopped patrolling. Sir Abad was supposed to be on duty during lunch.
"Hey Matt, are you heading back up? " asked Trish Tolentino, a bright-eyed junior known for her photography blog.
Matthew shook his head slowly. "In a bit. Just checking something."
She lingered. "You saw the message too, right? What do you think it means? "
He didn't answer right away. His eyes flicked toward the emergency stairwell. A door hung ajar, and a strange trail—dark, streaky—led from it into the nearest comfort room.
Then a scream echoed.
Not a shriek of excitement. A real scream—high, raw, and guttural.
Students froze.
Someone dropped their tray with a metallic crash.
The air changed.
Trish's smile vanished. "That was—"
"Run," Matthew said.
Location Shift: 2nd Floor Hallway, Section 12-G
POV: Lucas Tan (Class Prefect)
Lucas had heard the scream too. He gripped the edge of the classroom door as students inside murmured nervously.
"Do we go out and check? " Alden asked.
"No," Lucas said, trying to sound calm. "We wait. Admin's probably handling it."
But even as he said it, his eyes drifted to the windows lining the hallway.
A teacher was running—Sir Jaime from AP—his white polo was stained with something. He slammed against the admin office door, banging on it with bloodied hands before collapsing.
Lucas didn't blink. Didn't breathe.
A figure rounded the corner after him—lurching, pale, its eyes glassy and milky. A senior girl, maybe. No. Used to be.
She dove on the fallen teacher like a beast. Screams rose up from the lower floors. Chaos bloomed like spilled ink.
"Everyone! "Lucas shouted. "Barricade the door now! "
Desks screeched across the floor. A few girls burst into tears. Peter Sangalang cursed under his breath while stacking chairs.
Lucas moved automatically, heart hammering, mind racing. He looked to Marvin, who stood near the back, clutching his phone.
"We need to call someone."
"No signal," Marvin muttered, eyes wide. "They're already in the building."
Location Shift: Faculty Lounge
POV: Ms. Ramos (English Teacher)
Ms. Ramos had locked the faculty door as soon as the scream echoed through the halls.
"What's going on? "Sir Dizon demanded. "Where's Geronimo? "
"I don't know! " she snapped. "He was supposed to report to the clinic. Maybe he's with the nurse."
The lights flickered. From one of the hallway windows, they saw students running—some bloodied, others dragging each other, limping, crying.
Ms. Ramos gripped her phone tightly.
No outside help was coming.
She turned to the remaining teachers. "We need to get to the PA system. Warn everyone to stay locked inside their classrooms."
"And then what? "Sir Dizon asked.
She didn't have an answer.
Location Shift: Gym Storage Room
POV: Marphin Rivas (Basketball varsity player, quiet but brave)
He had taken cover with a few teammates after seeing something—someone—leap from the second-floor railing onto a fleeing student.
From the cracked storage room door, he could see the gym court. It was littered with shoes. Someone's arm twitched near the benches.
He backed away, breathing shallowly.
"Dude, what is happening out there? " whispered RJ, the team captain.
Marphin swallowed. "I think it's… I think it's people eating each other."
The words felt wrong in his mouth, like saying a curse in church.
Outside, the infected girl let out a guttural screech, and the lights snapped off.
Rooftop—10 Minutes Later
POV: Principal Ignacio (Internal Monologue)
From the rooftop, Principal Ignacio looked down at his school—the once pristine Meadow Hill Academy—now reduced to confusion and fire alarms.
He had locked the rooftop door behind him.
He could still hear the screams.
How did it spread so fast?
He didn't know. But he did know this: Meadow Hill was no longer safe.
And no one was coming to save them.