THE LAST BELL

Locked Gates

“Run!” Damian shouted as his voice echoed down the long hall.

The school was in chaos. Students screamed and pushed each other, trying to escape. Feet pounded against the floor. Lockers slammed. The sound of glass breaking came from the science lab.

But the worst sound of all was the growl—the horrible deep growl of the infected as they stumbled through the halls, their skin pale and broken.

Nurse Evelyn pulled a bleeding teacher, Mr. Harlan, into her office. His shirt was soaked with blood.

“Stay with me!” Evelyn cried, pressing her hands on his wound.

“I… I can’t…” Mr. Harlan whispered. His eyes rolled back as his skin turned gray.

“No, no, no!” Evelyn cried, shaking her head. “Not you too!”

His skin started to peel under her touch. Evelyn stumbled back, tears streaming down her face.

Meanwhile, Headmistress Rowan stood in front of the iron gates outside the main hall. Her voice shook as she raised her hand.

“Everyone calm down!” she ordered. “No one leaves. The gates stay locked.”

“But why?” a boy yelled.

Rowan’s lips trembled. “If we leave, the sickness spreads. We have to contain it here.”

The gates slammed shut with a loud bang. Chains rattled as she locked them. The sound made the students panic even more.

“Are you insane?” someone screamed.

Damian came running, his hands and shirt covered in blood—Mason’s blood.

“Help!” he cried. “Please, someone help me! Mason’s dead! He’s dead!”

Everyone froze. Mason had been one of the strongest boys in school. If even he was dead, what chance did they have?

Lena sat inside a bathroom stall, her knees pulled to her chest. Her whole body shook. She pressed her hands over her ears, trying not to hear the screams outside.

“I can’t… I can’t do this…” she whispered.

Her phone buzzed, but she ignored it.

Across the hall, Sophia held her phone up, recording the chaos. She was livestreaming, her face pale but excited.

“This is happening right now!” she said breathlessly into the camera. “The infection is real! Look—look behind me!”

She turned the camera to show a pale figure dragging itself across the hall.

“Everyone is losing their minds, but I’ll survive. Keep watching!” she said.

Her followers kept sending messages, little hearts flashing across the screen. But Sophia’s eyes darted nervously toward the creature crawling closer.

In the cafeteria, Ethan stood on a table.

“Listen to me!” he shouted. “We can survive this. We just have to stay calm.”

“Stay calm?” a girl cried. “They’re eating people out there!”

Ethan raised his hands. “If we fight each other, we’re done. We need to stick together!”

Some students looked at him with hope, but most kept panicking. Someone pushed over a chair. Another boy ran for the back door, only to find it locked.

“We’re trapped!” he screamed.

In the library, Axel and Chloe sat pressed against the wall. The doors were locked, but they could hear the pounding against the glass.

Mason—no, not Mason anymore—was slamming his rotting fists against the window. His mouth hung open, blood dripping from his chin. Beside him stood another pale figure, snarling.

“They’re not stopping,” Chloe whispered, her hand gripping Axel’s arm tightly.

Axel looked down at her shaking hand. He held it, even though his own was trembling. “I won’t let them get you.”

Chloe looked up at him. “Do you promise?”

Axel swallowed hard. “I promise.”

The pounding grew louder. The glass shook.

Then, suddenly, there was another sound. A deep creak.

Both Axel and Chloe turned their heads.

At the back of the library, a shelf began to move. Dust fell from the top as the wood shifted. Slowly, the shelf slid open, revealing a black passage.

“What… what is that?” Chloe whispered.

Axel’s eyes widened. “A tunnel.”

The dark hole seemed to breathe, whispering silently as if it were calling them.

Chloe pulled back. “No. We don’t know where it goes.”

“Do you want to stay here with them?” Axel asked, pointing toward the glass where Mason slammed his bloody fists.

Chloe bit her lip. “But… who built it? And why?”

Axel took a step toward the opening. “I don’t know. But it’s our only chance.”

Back in the hall, Damian stumbled forward. He saw Ethan standing on the table and cried, “They’re everywhere! Mason turned! He tried to kill me!”

Ethan’s face went pale. “Mason…?”

Damian nodded, his voice breaking. “He’s not Mason anymore. He’s one of them.”

Sophia appeared, still holding her phone. “It’s true. I saw it. He’s… he’s a monster now.”

“Stop recording!” Ethan snapped. “This isn’t a game!”

Sophia glared. “The world needs to know!”

“Do you want to get us all killed?” Ethan yelled.

Before they could argue more, a scream rang out. One of the infected had broken into the cafeteria. Students scattered as the creature lunged at them.

“Run!” Ethan shouted, jumping down from the table.

Damian grabbed Sophia’s arm and pulled her away. “Come on!”

Sophia’s phone slipped from her hand, clattering on the floor. The live video ended as the screen went black.

In the library, Chloe clung to Axel’s sleeve.

“Do you really think this tunnel is safe?” she asked.

“No,” Axel admitted. “But it’s better than waiting to die.”

Chloe hesitated, her eyes filling with tears. “I don’t want to die.”

Axel pulled her into a quick embrace. “Then stay with me. I’ll protect you.”

For a moment, Chloe let herself lean against him, feeling his warmth. In the middle of chaos, that tiny touch felt like hope.

But the sound of shattering glass snapped them apart. Mason’s infected body was halfway through the broken window now.

“Axel!” Chloe screamed.

Axel grabbed her hand. “We’re going into the tunnel. Now!”

They ran toward the dark passage as the shelf creaked wider, almost inviting them in.

In the bathroom, Lena finally opened her phone. A message popped up from Chloe.

Library. Secret passage. Come now.

Lena’s heart raced. Was it real? Or was it a trap? She pressed her hand against her chest, trying to breathe.

“Should I go? Or should I stay here?” she whispered to herself.

The screams outside grew louder. She knew she didn’t have much time.

---

Headmistress Rowan stood by the locked gate, her hand shaking as she held the keys. She whispered to herself, “It’s for their own good. It has to stay locked.”

But even she flinched when the infected slammed against the gate from the other side, their hands bloody, their eyes wild.

The chains rattled. The lock bent slightly.

“Stay strong,” Rowan whispered. “Just stay strong.”

Axel and Chloe stood at the edge of the tunnel, holding hands. The air smelled of dirt and something else—something rotten.

“Do we go in?” Chloe asked.

Axel tightened his grip on her hand. “If we don’t, we die.”

They took one step forward. The darkness swallowed them.

Behind them, Mason screamed, a horrible sound that no longer belonged to a human.

The shelf slowly slid shut, leaving only darkness.

But as they moved deeper into the tunnel, a strange sound echoed inside—footsteps.

Not theirs.

Someone else was already in the tunnel.

Chloe froze. “Axel… we’re not alone here. Then… who opened the passage?”