Chapter 77
"The Rescue Beyond Their Reach"
Dark, heavy clouds covered the evening sky, casting a gloomy shadow over the school building. A cold breeze swept across the rooftop, carrying an unsettling silence that contrasted sharply with the deafening roar of the two helicopters hovering above.
One helicopter remained positioned near the front side of the rooftop, while the other hovered behind the building. Their powerful rotor blades continued spinning at tremendous speed, keeping both aircraft suspended in the air.
Inside the helicopters, the soldiers were still observing the nineteen helpless survivors standing below.
However, the very helicopters that had filled their hearts with hope just moments earlier were now doing nothing to rescue them.
They simply remained in the air.
No one was lowering a rescue ladder. No one was making any attempt to take them aboard.
As the seconds passed, the expressions of the survivors gradually changed. Their initial excitement faded, replaced by growing confusion, anxiety, and fear.
They had waited so long for this moment. Surely, the army hadn't come all this way just to watch them?
Jason, unable to contain his frustration any longer, turned towards the others and shouted at the top of his voice.
"Why aren't they helping us?! What on earth are they waiting for?!"
His voice was filled with desperation.
Mr. Smith, who was standing nearby, also raised his voice and shouted towards the helicopters.
"Rescue us already! What are you people waiting for?! Hurry up and get us out of here!"
But his desperate cries were swallowed by the deafening noise of the helicopter engines.
The soldiers aboard the aircraft couldn't hear a single word.
When no response came,
Mr. Smith's frustration turned into anger.
"Damn it! They can't even hear us!"
He clenched his fists helplessly, looking towards the hovering helicopters with an increasingly troubled expression.
But before anyone could say anything else—
Suddenly, the rooftop door began shaking violently.
The loud banging echoed across the rooftop, immediately capturing everyone's attention.
All nineteen survivors turned towards the door.
Their expressions changed in an instant.
The hope that had briefly returned to their hearts was replaced by the same dreadful fear they had experienced countless times before.
They didn't need anyone to explain what was happening.
They knew.
The creatures standing on the other side of that door were the very same monsters they had struggled so desperately to escape from.
After enduring the outbreak, losing their companions, and fighting their way through the school building to reach the rooftop, they had finally found themselves facing the boundary between life and death once again.
And this time, there might be nowhere left to run.
The door continued rattling under the relentless force of whatever was behind it.
Mr. Smith stared at it for a moment, his mind racing.
Then, suddenly, he remembered something.
The zombies were attracted to sound.
And right now, the two helicopters were producing an enormous amount of noise.
Their engines had been roaring above the school for several minutes, disturbing the creatures scattered throughout the building and even attracting those wandering outside.
He immediately understood the terrible mistake.
The helicopters hadn't merely brought hope to the rooftop.
They had also awakened the entire school.
And if all those zombies were heading towards the rooftop, there would soon be no one capable of stopping them.
Not even the soldiers.
Realising the seriousness of the situation, Mr. Smith suddenly rushed towards the helicopter hovering in front of the rooftop.
He raised both arms and shouted desperately, trying to attract the attention of the soldiers.
"GET US OUT OF HERE! HURRY! THE ZOMBIES ARE ALL COMING UP TO THE ROOFTOP!"
His voice carried desperation and urgency.
He pointed towards the rooftop door, then gestured towards the helicopters, attempting to communicate the danger awaiting them.
The soldiers aboard the aircraft looked towards him.
They could clearly see that the man was shouting something at them, but the deafening roar of the helicopter engines made it impossible to understand his words.
One of the soldiers leaned slightly towards the open doorway, trying to observe his movements more carefully.
But then—
Something caught their attention.
Their eyes shifted towards the school playground below.
And what they saw made the situation considerably worse.
From almost every corner of the playground, zombies were emerging.
They came out from behind the buildings, from the surrounding areas, and from different sections of the school grounds.
Their numbers were considerable.
One after another, they began rushing towards the school building, moving in the direction of the rooftop.
It was a terrifying sight.
The soldiers aboard both helicopters immediately noticed the growing crowd of zombies.
Their attention shifted between the playground and the rooftop, where the nineteen survivors were still desperately waiting for rescue.
At that very moment, Mr. Smith also leaned over the short protective wall surrounding the rooftop and looked down.
His eyes widened.
For a moment, he couldn't believe what he was seeing.
Zombies were everywhere.
They were emerging from every direction, moving towards the building in overwhelming numbers.
His heart sank.
The fear that had already been building inside him intensified as he realised that they were running out of time.
He quickly stepped away from the wall and rushed back towards his companions.
"EVERYONE! LISTEN TO ME!" he shouted.
His voice was so urgent that several survivors immediately turned towards him.
"All the zombies are heading towards the rooftop! They're coming from every direction! They'll be here any moment!"
His announcement sent a wave of terror through the group.
The relentless banging of the rooftop door continued behind them, making his warning even more frightening.
BANG! BANG! BANG!
The door shook violently once again.
The nineteen survivors were now trapped between two terrifying possibilities.
The zombies were approaching from inside the school, while the helicopters that had arrived to rescue them remained beyond their reach.
Everyone began looking towards the aircraft, desperately trying to attract the soldiers' attention.
John, Leena, Mary, Afra, Jason, Jack, William, Saim, and Saad were among those who raised their arms and pointed repeatedly towards the helicopters.
"HELP US!"
"PLEASE! GET US OUT OF HERE!"
"WE'RE STILL HERE!"
Their voices blended together into a desperate chorus of cries.
Some waved their hands frantically, while others pointed towards the rooftop door, attempting to show the soldiers what was happening behind them.
Their faces were filled with terror.
Afra's eyes quickly filled with tears. Unable to control her fear any longer, she began crying as she repeatedly looked towards the helicopters.
John, who had been trying to remain composed, could no longer hide his distress. His expression had become pale with fear, and his voice trembled as he continued calling for help.
Leena also broke down in tears.
She looked towards the soldiers with pleading eyes, desperately hoping that someone would finally understand their situation.
The others continued shouting and waving their arms.
Some struggled to hold back their tears, while others stood frozen, unable to decide what to do next.
Even the strongest among them were beginning to lose their composure.
They had survived so much.
They had endured the terrifying outbreak, witnessed the loss of people they cared about, and fought their way through countless dangers.
They had waited for the army.
They had waited for rescue.
And now, when help was finally hovering just a short distance above them, they couldn't even make the soldiers hear their cries.
They were so close to being rescued, yet the distance between them and safety had never felt greater.