Chapter 74
"A Promise Against the Darkness"
The evening had settled over the devastated school building. The training session had finally come to an end, leaving exhaustion written across everyone's faces. Some students dropped onto the rooftop floor, too tired to remain standing, while others slowly made their way towards the storeroom.
Suddenly, a voice stopped them.
"Everyone, stop!"
It was Miss Selena.
She was sitting on the rooftop floor, but there was something unusual about her expression. The moment her words reached everyone's ears, they froze in their places and turned towards her, wondering what had made her interrupt them so abruptly.
Mr. Smith looked at her with concern.
"What happened, Selena?"
Keeping one hand pressed firmly against the rooftop floor, Miss Selena listened carefully before speaking.
"I think... there's a helicopter heading in our direction."
Her words instantly changed the atmosphere.
Hearts began pounding faster across the rooftop. For some, it was the sudden return of fear; for others, it was the fragile excitement of hope.
John, who had been standing nearby, immediately straightened. His expression turned unusually serious as he listened to the distant sound.
"What if it crashes like the previous helicopter?" he asked anxiously. "I'm really scared..."
Mary heard his words, and the colour seemed to drain from her face. Fear spread across her features as her eyes gradually filled with tears.
"I... I don't want to die."
Those few words were enough to silence everyone.
A heavy stillness descended upon the rooftop. Nobody knew what to say. The sound of the approaching helicopter continued to grow louder, suggesting that it was drawing closer with every passing moment.
Yet, despite the growing sound, one question occupied everyone's mind:
Was that helicopter bringing them a chance to live, or was it carrying another message of death?
For several moments, nobody spoke.
Then Jack stepped forward, breaking the terrifying silence.
"Tell us something, Miss Selena..." he said, his voice carrying a bitter edge. "What reassurance are you going to give us this time?"
He deliberately emphasised her words, almost as though he were mocking the promises she had made in the past. His jaw tightened, and his teeth clenched as he struggled to contain his frustration.
He continued, his voice growing louder.
"Are you going to give us another false hope of survival?"
"Yes..."
He paused for a moment before suddenly shouting.
"How long?!"
His voice echoed across the rooftop.
"How long are we supposed to keep running from death like this?! How long will we continue wandering from one place to another, desperately trying to survive?!"
Miss Selena looked directly at him.
Despite the exhaustion on her face, her voice remained gentle yet firm.
"We will continue fighting death until our very last breath."
William immediately stepped forward, supporting Jack's argument.
"Those dialogues sound beautiful in movies, but this isn't a movie! We're standing in the middle of reality, Miss Selena! So why do you keep giving us empty reassurances? Why can't you simply tell us the truth? That our countdown has already begun and there's no escaping what's coming!"
Before Miss Selena could respond, Yaram stepped forward angrily.
"Shut your mouth!"
Jack immediately turned towards him, his expression burning with anger.
"Shut my mouth? We're not the ones talking nonsense! The real nonsense is Miss Selena's false promises and the fake hopes she keeps feeding us!"
Yaram could no longer control his anger.
In the next instant, he stepped forward and punched Jack hard across the face.
Jack stumbled backwards, struggling to regain his balance. After a moment, he slowly straightened himself and brought the fingers of his right hand to the corner of his mouth.
He glanced down.
A small trace of fresh blood stained his fingertip.
His expression darkened.
Without wasting another second, Jack lunged towards Yaram. The two were about to engage in a fierce fight when Mr. Smith quickly stepped between them, preventing the situation from escalating further.
Meanwhile, Miss Selena watched everything with tear-filled eyes.
She turned towards Jack, William, and the other students.
"Listen to me carefully, all of you!"
Her voice trembled slightly, but she made sure every word reached them.
"Jack, William, and everyone else... listen carefully. The promises I made to you will be fulfilled when the right time comes."
She paused, struggling to hold back her emotions.
"What am I supposed to do, Jack? Should I stand before all of you and announce that we're going to die? Should I tell you to start preparing yourselves for death?"
Her voice grew more emotional.
"Should I tell you to abandon every desire to live? To stop hoping, stop trying, and simply accept that our lives are coming to an end?"
She looked from one face to another.
"Is that what you want me to say?"
Nobody answered.
"You are not the only ones who are afraid, Jack. I am a human being too. I feel fear just like all of you. There have been moments when even my own courage has crumbled. There have been times when I have felt completely helpless."
Her eyes glistened with tears.
"But whenever I feel like giving up, your faces appear before my eyes. I look at all of you, and somehow, I find the strength to gather the broken pieces of my courage and stand up again."
She took a shaky breath.
"It takes an incredible amount of strength not to give up when everything around you is falling apart. And I know that all of you are going through the same thing. You're terrified. You're exhausted. You're losing hope, and I understand that."
Her voice softened.
"But please, believe me... you cannot lose as long as you refuse to stop trying."
As she spoke, Miss Selena slowly approached Jack.
He was so overwhelmed by his emotions that he didn't even notice her coming closer.
When she finally stood before him, her expression softened even further. Her eyes were still moist, but there was a quiet determination in them.
"Jack..."
She spoke gently.
"We will survive. I truly believe that."
She paused before making a promise that came straight from her heart.
"And I promise you once again... I will save you all."
With those words, Miss Selena gently pulled Jack into a hug.
For a moment, Jack remained motionless.
Then, as though all the anger he had been holding inside finally dissolved, he leaned into her embrace.
Instead of expressing his emotions through anger, he finally allowed himself to cry.
Miss Selena held him close, offering the comfort that words alone could never provide.
And once again, despite her own fear and exhaustion, she had succeeded in restoring the students' courage.
Everyone standing on the rooftop was deeply moved by the scene. Watching Jack finally release his emotions and seeing Miss Selena's unwavering determination, they felt their own strength returning.
Perhaps they were still frightened.
Perhaps they still had countless unanswered questions.
But for the moment, they had something worth holding on to.
And that thing was "Hope."
The silence that followed Jack and Miss Selena's embrace lasted for approximately fifty seconds.
Eventually, Mr. Smith broke it.
"All right, my young friends! If you want to survive, then it's time to start trying again. Come on! Help me make the SOS sign!"
With that, he headed towards the pile of discarded materials lying in the left corner of the rooftop.
It was the same collection of junk they had gathered and pushed aside earlier while practising their training exercises, clearing the space where they had previously arranged the SOS signal.
As soon as Mr. Smith began moving the materials, everyone rushed forward to help.
Mary, Afra, Saad, and John started arranging the objects in their proper positions, while the others searched through the scattered materials, picking up anything useful they could find and bringing it over.
Everyone worked together.
Within less than a minute, they had recreated the SOS sign just as it had been before.
To an ordinary observer, it might have appeared to be nothing more than a simple arrangement of discarded objects.
But to the people standing on that rooftop, it meant much more.
First, it was a declaration that they had not surrendered. Despite everything they had endured, they were still fighting for their lives and refusing to give up.
Second, it represented their renewed faith in Miss Selena's promise. They had chosen to believe that the approaching helicopter would bring them salvation.
And third, that SOS sign was a testament to something far greater.
In the middle of a devastating catastrophe, a group of teenagers and their teachers were still standing together, refusing to surrender to the circumstances surrounding them.
They had no certainty about what awaited them.
They had no guarantee that rescue would arrive.
All they had was a signal made from discarded materials, a fragile hope, and the determination to survive.
Now, their fate seemed to hang in the balance as they waited for the approaching helicopter.
And inside every mind, the same question continued to echo:
Was that helicopter bringing a message of life... or was it the approaching darkness of death?