IZSTASL Chapter 11

For a brief moment, I was thrilled at the thought of grabbing more.

Then I realized—dozens of bats were scattered everywhere.

It wasn’t a jackpot.

It was an obstacle course.

Yoon Si-chan must’ve seen it earlier because he quickly changed direction, dodging and leaping over the bats.

But if I tried to turn now, I’d run straight into the zombies chasing us.

I barely managed to dodge the bats right in front of me, then jumped over the ones clustered together.

Just when I thought I had made it through—

My foot landed on a lone bat, and I slipped.

“Fuck!”

I flailed my arms wildly, but it was useless.

I landed straight on my ass.

I’m so fucking dead.

Panicking, I turned around.

Luckily, the dumbass zombies behind me were also tripping over the bats, stumbling and falling.

I scrambled to my feet—

Only to see a zombie that had fallen right behind me, mouth gaping, forcing its broken, exposed-bone knee to stand up.

Holy shit, that’s disgusting.

A zombie charged from the front.

I swung my bat down hard, and a satisfying CRACK rang out.

Unlike when I used a broom, where the best I could do was make them flinch, this time, the zombie was actually sent flying backward.

Not wasting another second, I sprinted after Yoon Si-chan, who hadn’t even slowed down.

The gym was right in front of us.

I almost let myself relax—until I glanced to the side.

The horde was right there.

“Fuck, hey—!”

“Shut the fuck up.”

Yoon Si-chan glanced to the side and, for the first time, actually frowned slightly, like he was just starting to get nervous.

The zombies that had been in front of the gym entrance had all turned toward us.

All we had to do now was get inside.

I leaped over the three steps in front of the gym entrance and practically threw myself at the door handle, gripping it desperately as I yanked it open.

Yoon Si-chan, who had gone in first, was already smashing down a few zombies inside.

The moment I shoved myself through the open door, the leading zombies outside lunged at it, mouths wide open.

I barely managed to slam the door shut and lock it, and immediately, the zombies outside crashed into it, groaning as their faces smacked against the wood.

“Hey, hold it shut!”

There were only about five or six zombies inside the gym.

Yoon Si-chan had already taken care of the ones near the entrance, so when I shouted, he quickly ran over and pressed against the door.

Clang. Rattle.

Looking at it again, the door I had definitely locked was slowly starting to open under the force of the zombies slamming into it.

“Fuck, we’re screwed, you bastard!”

I yelled at Yoon Si-chan, the pressure against the door growing stronger by the second.

I knew this was a shit plan the moment he suggested charging in without thinking.

Now we were really about to die.

“Fuck, the door’s broken.”

He muttered as he glanced down.

There was a keyhole at the bottom.

It looked like the lock was supposed to work by latching into the floor, but it must have been broken, turning the door into something that would open just by pushing.

“Fucking shitty school!”

“Hey, we run in three seconds.”

“Where the fuck are we even going, asshole?!”

“Over there. Three, two—”

Yoon Si-chan nodded toward the backdoor behind the stage.

Thankfully, it was half-open, and there were no zombies in sight.

The second I processed that, we were already at “one.”

Almost in sync, we both let go of the door and sprinted.

The zombies, packed tightly against the door, crashed forward as it opened, tripping over each other and giving us precious extra time.

Just as we neared the stage—

New zombies poured out from the changing room above.

Yoon Si-chan immediately bashed the head of the first one that jumped out, and I followed suit, swinging my bat at the approaching undead.

But they just kept coming.

There were two doors on either side of the stage, but both were blocked by zombies swarming in front of them.

And then—

The door on the right side of the stage slowly creaked open.

Someone inside suddenly kicked the zombies standing in front of it, sending them sprawling.

“Guys, over here!”

The person who had urgently called out waved their arm, motioning for us to hurry inside.

I hadn’t expected this at all.

Even the psycho Yoon Si-chan had his eyes widened in surprise—so that said everything.

I trampled over the fallen zombies and sprinted toward the door.

As I stomped on the chest of a writhing zombie on the ground, another one lunged for my ankle from the side.

I swung my bat down, crushing its face.

Finally, I threw myself inside, rolling onto solid ground.

I landed right at Yoon Si-chan’s feet, and the person standing behind him quickly slammed the door shut and locked it.

“Fuck… holy shit… fuck….”

I curled up, gripping my throat, trying to catch my breath.

Even Yoon Si-chan looked a little shaken this time, leaning against the wall as he steadied his breathing.

“Hey, are you okay…?”

Someone approached and spoke next to me once I had calmed down a little.

Only then did I look up and take in my surroundings.

There were three people in the faculty office.

And just like before, I knew all of them.

First, the guy who had asked if I was okay—Cha Min-seok.

Thick black hair, dull-looking eyes.

A nerd, but instead of wearing a blazer, he had a gray fleece jacket on.

I frowned up at him before pulling myself to my feet.

He was one of those guys who got along with everyone but never smoked.

Not because he was anti-smoking or anything—he just outright refused when I tried to hand him a cigarette.

So, every time I saw him, I made sure to smack the back of his head.

I probably stole money from him a few times too.

He was definitely regretting not letting me die just now.

If he thought I should be dead, then he should’ve just said so and kicked me out.

Instead, he had the audacity to lower his brows like he actually gave a shit.

“You think I’d still be standing here if I got fucking bitten?”

I smacked his disgusting hand off my shoulder, snapping at him.

Cha Min-seok flinched, eyebrows raised in surprise, then slowly tensed up.

“Are you guys okay? That was insane….”

The guy who had locked the door looked between me and Yoon Si-chan as he spoke.

I turned to see who it was—

Lee Seon-kang.

Slightly wavy black hair, neatly parted bangs, round glasses.

The class president of Class 2.

He had also been our class president back in first year.

“Where the hell did you guys come from?”

As soon as Lee Seon-kang finished speaking, a guy sitting inside the faculty office slightly raised his thick eyebrows and asked. It was Kim Woo-hyung—short bangs, skin as dark as his hair.

Fuck, of all people, it had to be him.

When Yoon Si-chan answered that he had just come from the classroom, Kim Woo-hyung nodded as if to say, “Oh yeah?” Then his gaze shifted to me.

“What, you fucker?”

“Haa… never mind.”

At my response, Kim Woo-hyung bit his lip, let out an annoyed sigh, and turned his head away. I scowled and glared at him with all I had.

There was this one time back in school when I was smoking near the dumpster, and this asshole had the nerve to tell me not to smoke there. So I punched him. At first, I was winning, but as the fight dragged on, I was the only one getting my ass kicked. He even tried to get me expelled with a disciplinary hearing.

Well, technically, it was Kim Woo-hyung’s parents who really tried to fuck me over. I still remember that day clearly—sitting on the couch in the teachers’ lounge, my homeroom teacher in the middle, Kim Woo-hyung and his parents across from me.

His parents were yelling at me to bring my own, and I told them I couldn’t because the only parent I had left was gonna die at my hands today. That shut them up real quick. Their faces turned red with rage, and even the teacher looked at me like I was some kind of roach before telling me to shut up.

The whole thing was absolute bullshit. That asshole gave me the gift of a disciplinary record on my file—how fucking thoughtful of him. The day it got officially recorded, my old man actually came home for once, only to beat the shit out of me with a liquor bottle. Just thinking about it pisses me off all over again.

Ever since then, every time I saw Kim Woo-hyung, I picked a fight and told him to go die. But the other kids? They never really had a problem with him.

While I was grinding my teeth in frustration, Yoon Si-chan was talking with them. He was giving a brief summary of what had happened—how we had turned on the alarm in the broadcasting room and ran, but the sound cut off midway, so the plan failed. After that, we ran from the classroom all the way to the schoolyard.

“Oh, so that sound was you guys?”

Lee Seon-kang, who had been nodding along, asked in a bright voice. Cha Min-seok had his mouth slightly open, and Kim Woo-hyung looked somewhat surprised.

“We almost died, but the noise saved us. Seriously… thanks for that.”

Cha Min-seok, sounding more excited than before, expressed his gratitude.

“That so.”

Yoon Si-chan responded without much emotion, but he didn’t sound particularly annoyed either.

Weird assholes. It wasn’t even like we did it to save them, so why the hell are they thankful?

I still couldn’t wrap my head around why Lee Seon-kang even opened the door in the first place.

In a situation like this, who the fuck would just open the door? You mess up, and everyone dies. There had to be a reason. Either they had some hidden motive, or they were one of those crazy freaks who got off on helping people.

That can’t be it. Everyone should act like me.

In times like these, everyone should be a murderer, a bystander—fuck, that’s how it’s supposed to be.

My stomach started to churn.

At this rate, I really do seem like a fucked-up bastard. Like I’m the kind of trash that deserves to die.

Suddenly, I remembered Seo Jae-jun’s textbooks and the desperate hands clinging to my feet. No—he tried to kill me too. That fucker deserved to die.

But me? Fuck… what about me?

“What’s wrong? You okay?”

Lee Seon-kang’s voice snapped me back.

I lifted my head, irritated at the concern, only to realize I was the only one crouched on the floor.

Lee Seon-kang looked slightly surprised, eyebrows drooping in concern. Kim Woo-hyung frowned, while Cha Min-seok had a disgusted expression, like he was staring at an insect.

The fuck is wrong with them?

I fought back the urge to swing my fist and just stared at the three of them. That’s when Yoon Si-chan, who had been leaning against the wall, decided to butt in.