DEGREES OF DEATH

18. THE FREEZING TEMPERATURES OF THE BASEMENT

"Daniel! Wake up, Niel! DON'T CLOSE YOUR EYES!"

Chania's hysterical scream echoed like a distant sound in the darkness. Daniel tried to open his eyes, but his eyelids felt as heavy as concrete. The pain in his stomach and shoulder had morphed into a creeping cold that spread through his entire body, numbing him. He could feel the cold rain on his face, and Chania's trembling hands pressing on his wound, trying to stop the bleeding.

"We have to get him somewhere safe! He's losing too much blood!" Bianca shouted in a panic. She tore a strip from her shirt and gave it to Chania. "Press harder, Chan!"

"Where?! We're on a roof, Ca!" Kimberly cried back, hugging Xavier, who could only stare blankly at Daniel's helpless, prone body.

The storm raged, growing stronger. The tin roof of the Student Center building groaned under the force of the wind. Down below, on the campus grounds, dozens of mutants, drawn by the screams and the fresh scent of blood, were beginning to gather, looking up at the roof. Some of them were even starting to climb the building's walls.

"We can't stay here!" Xavier gritted his teeth, forcing himself to stand on one leg. The pain in his sprained ankle was nothing compared to the panic of watching his best friend die. "The roof access door! There has to be a door to get inside!"

They split up, searching in the downpour. Bianca found it at the far end of the roof: a small, horizontal steel door, the kind used for water tower maintenance. It was locked with an old, rusted padlock.

"Damn it! It's locked!" Bianca cursed, pulling on it uselessly.

Xavier hopped over on one foot. He didn't have time to look for a key. "Move!"

He lifted the metal tray he had been carrying and slammed it against the rusty padlock again and again with all his remaining strength.

CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!

The sound of metal on metal echoed loudly, drawing more attention from below. After the fifth strike, the padlock's shackle finally broke.

"Got it!"

Bianca and Xavier pulled the roof door open. Below it, a vertical iron ladder descended into pitch-black darkness.

"Okay, let's get Daniel down first!" Chania commanded. "Kim, help me!"

With great difficulty, the three girls lifted Daniel's limp body. Lowering an unconscious person down a vertical ladder was a nearly impossible task. Daniel almost fell twice, but Bianca, who had gone down first, managed to support his body from below.

Once Daniel was down, Xavier followed, painstakingly making his way down the ladder while gritting his teeth against the pain in his ankle. Finally, Bianca pulled the roof door shut and jammed it from the inside with an iron pipe she found nearby.

CLANG.

They were now in the rooftop machine room of the Student Center. It was dark, stuffy, and smelled of oil. The only sounds were the roar of the rain on the tin roof above them and Daniel's breathing, which was growing weaker and shallower.

"Where do we go now?" Kimberly whispered.

Xavier turned on his small flashlight. Its beam landed on an emergency door at the far end of the room. Above the door was a faded sign: MUSIC ROOM, BASEMENT.

"Basement," Chania decided without hesitation. "It's the safest place from windows and has the least foot traffic. We can hide there while we take care of Daniel."

"I agree," Xavier said. "Besides, if we go to the music room, I'm not sure I could stop myself from playing the drums in the middle of the apocalypse."

No one laughed at his dark humor this time. The situation was too dire.

They began to make their way down, floor by floor. Chania and Bianca supported Daniel, while Kimberly helped Xavier walk. The building felt empty and dead. There were only traces of the panic left behind: scattered bags, torn event posters, and dried bloodstains on the walls.

They reached the final staircase leading to the basement. The air here was different. As they descended, the damp, wet air slowly turned dry and intensely cold. A bone-chilling cold.

"Damn, it's freezing down here," Bianca muttered, rubbing her arms. "Is the AC still on?"

"Probably connected to the campus emergency generator," Xavier answered. "Basements usually have their own air circulation."

They pushed open the heavy steel basement door. It wasn't locked.

Creeeak...

The sight inside made them fall silent. The Student Center's basement was a massive underground parking garage, much like the one in the library. Dozens of dusty cars and motorcycles were parked there. The fluorescent lights on the ceiling were dim, some of them flickering, creating a tense atmosphere.

And the strangest thing... there were zombies here.

But they weren't attacking.

About five or six figures, likely students and staff who had been trapped in the parking garage, stood frozen between the cars. Their movements were incredibly slow and stiff, as if they were broken dolls running out of batteries. One of them tried to walk, but its steps were heavy and shuffling, its knees barely able to bend.

"Why are they so slow?" Kimberly whispered in horror.

Daniel, his consciousness slightly returning due to the cold air, slowly opened his eyes. He looked at the slow-moving mutants. His feverish brain tried to process the data.

Rain. Damp. Fast.

Dry. Cold. Slow.

"It's the air," Daniel mumbled, his voice hoarse and barely audible. "The air down here is dry and cold. This cooling system is killing their humidity."

Chania's eyes widened. She finally understood. The Degrees of Death rule worked both ways. Humidity was their source of strength. If that humidity was removed, they reverted to helpless, shuffling corpses.

"So we're safe here?" Xavier asked, his voice full of hope.

"For now," Daniel answered weakly.

They quickly looked for shelter. In the farthest corner of the basement was a small security control room with thick glass walls and a steel door. Inside were a few chairs, a desk, and most importantly, a large first-aid kit on the wall.

Xavier kicked the glass door in, and they all went inside. Chania immediately laid Daniel down on the hard control desk.

"Turn on every heater in here! Make this place as dry as possible!" Daniel commanded with what little consciousness he had left.

While Xavier and Kimberly searched for a heat source, Chania and Bianca focused on Daniel's wound. With trembling hands, Chania used a pair of scissors from the first-aid kit to cut away Daniel's shirt, which was soaked with blood and rainwater.

The wound was horrific. The arrowhead had broken off and was still lodged between his left ribs. Blood continued to seep out. Daniel's face grew paler, his lips turning blue.

"We have to pull the arrow out," Bianca said firmly, trying to calm Chania, who had started to cry again. "If we don't, he could die from infection."

"But how?! We're not doctors!" Chania sobbed.

"We don't have a choice," Bianca replied. She took a bottle of rubbing alcohol and a pair of pliers from a toolbox under the desk. "I'll pull it. You hold Daniel down as hard as you can. Don't let him move."

Chania nodded, wiping her tears. She leaned over, wrapping her arms around Daniel's shoulders to hold him down.

Bianca poured the alcohol onto the wound. The semi-conscious Daniel immediately jolted, his eyes flying open, his body convulsing from the burning pain.

"Hold on, Niel! Just a little longer!" Chania whispered in his ear, her tears falling onto his face.

Bianca took a deep breath. With a hand that tried its best not to shake, she clamped the pliers onto the broken end of the arrow. "On three, Chan. One… two…"

"Wait," a weak voice cut in. Daniel. His eyes were open, looking at Bianca with a gaze that was surprisingly clear despite the pain. "Heat the pliers first."

Bianca and Chania were stunned. "What?"

"Heat the pliers. With a lighter. Sterilize them," Daniel repeated, each word like swallowing thorns. "Don't cause another infection."

Even on the brink of death, Daniel's pragmatic brain was still working.

Xavier quickly flicked on a lighter he had found and heated the tip of the pliers until it glowed red.

"Okay," Bianca said, her voice hoarse. "Three!"

With a single, strong, and quick pull, she yanked the pliers upward.

CRACK!

The arrowhead came free from Daniel's flesh, bringing a small sliver of bone with it. Daniel didn't scream. His eyes just went wide, every muscle in his body tensing, and then his head lolled to the side. He had passed out again.

Fresh blood gushed from the open wound.

"Quick! Close the wound!" Bianca yelled in a panic.

Chania immediately pressed a thick roll of gauze against the wound, trying to stop the bleeding. They worked in a silent panic, illuminated only by the flashing red emergency light in the cold control room.

Outside the glass walls, in the frozen underground parking garage, the slow-moving mutants continued to wander aimlessly. They were unaware that a warm prey was fighting for its life just a few feet away.

For now, the cold air from the constantly running central AC was their only guardian angel. But then, Chania looked out the window in horror. In one corner of the basement, she saw a large water pipe on the ceiling, dripping.

Drip… drip… drip…

A small puddle was beginning to form on the concrete floor. In this new world, even a single drop of water was a sign that hell was coming.