DEGREES OF DEATH

Part 3 – Don’t Look Back

DEGREES OF DEATH

Daniel’s instincts tensed immediately, but Chania was faster. She swung her iron pipe with a sharp whistle, striking the face of the creature crawling toward Daniel. The dull impact seemed muted, yet the force sent the creature sprawling sideways, its neck bending unnaturally.

Before Daniel could thank her, three more creatures emerged from the kitchen. They shuffled quickly, dragging their feet, pale hands reaching hungrily under the flickering cafeteria lights.

“Shit! We’re surrounded!” Daniel grabbed Xavier by the collar, yanking him upright. That’s when he realized Xavier was still clutching his backpack, the one Daniel knew held his laptop.

“Really stupid.” Daniel muttered, eyes darting to the bag amidst the encirclement. “Your life is worth more than that thing, Vier!”

Xavier panted, his face still pale, but he returned Daniel’s gaze with what little courage he had left. “I’m just protecting your laptop, Niel. If it breaks, I know you’ll make me pay for it until I die!”

Daniel snorted roughly. No time for arguments. He tightened his grip on the wooden stick and lowered his stance in front of his friends. “Save the excuses. Stay behind me and don’t let go of that bag if you don’t want to start paying up now. Bianca, Chania, get through the kitchen’s back door! It’s the closest way to the parking lot!” Daniel pushed them forward.

They pressed into the dark, stifling kitchen. The floor was slick with a thick, iron-scented fluid mixed with spilled cooking oil. Daniel nearly lost his footing but caught himself just as a massive shadow blocked their path.

It was the cafeteria cook. But the friendly figure from before was gone, replaced by horror. His jaw moved stiffly as he chewed something grotesque, eyes vacant and lifeless.

“I’ll handle it!”

Unexpectedly, Xavier surged forward. The fear that had paralyzed him all this time exploded into reckless courage. With a wide swing, he slammed his metal tray hard into the cook’s face.

The metallic impact echoed off the tiled walls. The cook’s face jerked violently, toppling him backward. Daniel didn’t waste the moment. He grabbed Xavier by the shoulder, pushing him forward.

“Good, Vier! Don’t stop, keep running!” Daniel shouted, voice hoarse.

They jumped over the struggling cook, running through the rising heat and steam toward the back exit, now just meters ahead.

They burst through the rear door into the open parking lot. But Daniel’s steps froze. Under the dim mercury lamp, the main gate had become a death trap, a dozen creatures surrounding a crushed sedan. Its alarm shrieked, splitting the silent night and attracting more from the darkness beyond the fence.

“The gate’s blocked! We have to go around through the gym storage!” Daniel pointed to the low building across the lot.

“Niel, that’s far!” Chania muttered over the alarm, eyes wide at the dozens of heads turning toward them. “We’ll be sitting ducks in the open!”

Daniel ignored the doubt. He gripped his stick, veins straining in his neck, eyes sweeping the field with icy precision. Every wasted second meant a step closer to death.

“You don’t want to get eaten, right? Listen.” Daniel said, locking eyes with Xavier, Chania, and Bianca, one by one, intensity pressing down on them. “On three, run with everything you’ve got. Don’t stop for anything. Anyone left behind… don’t look back.”

The last words hit them like a hammer, driving home the brutality of their situation. No room for heroes, only survival. “Got it?”

They nodded.

“On three. One … two .…” Daniel lowered his body, coiled like a spring. “THREE!”

They sprinted across the rough asphalt. The scraping of their feet and the low growls behind them pierced the night, the creatures’ fetid breath seeming to brush their necks. With only meters to the gym, Chania tripped over a garden lamp cable lying across the darkness.

CRASH!

“Chania!” Daniel slammed on the brakes, his boots screeching against asphalt. He spun instantly, ignoring his own instinct to keep running.

The lead creature, a large man with a gaping chest wound, lunged at Chania, now struggling to rise. They were no more than five meters apart. Daniel didn’t hesitate. He charged, swinging the end of his stick like a baseball bat into the zombie’s jaw.

The blow was enough to halt the massive zombie’s momentum. Using that one-second opening, Daniel grabbed Chania’s arm and yanked her upright with a strong pull. “Get up! Quick!” he shouted, his voice raw from adrenaline.

At the edge of the gym, Xavier and Bianca were already higher after climbing through a window. They perched on a metal ledge, hands outstretched, faces full of anxiety.

“Come on, Niel! Hurry, they’re close!” Xavier yelled hoarsely.

Daniel stayed in the back, the last shield. He slammed his stick into nearby corrugated metal to create noise, drawing the horde’s focus while Chania scrambled upward. His eyes darted to the advancing mass, searching for a narrow gap to leap through before the pale fingers could grab his feet.

With one leap, Daniel spun and made a daring jump toward the iron stairs. His fingers gripped the cold, rough rungs until his palms burned. He climbed like lightning, defying the pull of gravity.

Just as he hoisted himself up, a pale hand with broken nails swiped through the air, nearly snatching the tip of his sneaker. “Shit!” Daniel felt the rush of air from the attack at his heel. With one final stomp, he kicked the face of the creature trying to climb below him.

With agile precision, Daniel slipped through the narrow window frame. He glanced downward, ensuring no threat lurked in the dark inside the gym, kicked the iron stairs, and finally slid down.

Daniel landed firmly on a pile of dusty gym mats. He sprang up immediately, wiping sweat from his forehead, raising his stick to sweep the room ahead. The musty smell of rubber and old sweat hit him, but for now, the concrete walls of the gym offered a barrier between them and the hungry horde outside.