Chapter 7: Ep 7 - Library Zombie
The door creaked open.
A wave of musty air and rot spilled into the hallway, thick with the scent of paper, mold, and decay. Kanata Yukimura stepped inside first, his eyes narrowing as he scanned the vast, multi-leveled school library. Shadows stretched long over towering shelves. Dust motes drifted lazily through the slanted beams of dying afternoon light. And among the aisles... movement.
Dozens of them.
Zombies—former students in shredded uniforms and faded armbands—staggered silently between bookshelves, their heads twitching, mouths agape, limbs twitching like broken puppets.
"Don't make a sound," Kanata whispered, his voice barely audible.
Behind him, Mayumi Serizawa gripped a long metal ruler she'd scavenged earlier. Takiya Shino readied her blood-stained bokken. Godou-sensei huddled close, breathing heavily, while Kanami Tsukino clutched her nail-shooter.
"W-We have to go down there?" Kanami whimpered.
"The map said the basement's behind the librarian's desk," Kanata replied. "That emergency exit is our best shot."
They moved like ghosts, hugging the walls, ducking beneath shelves. Every step felt like a scream. One misstep, one squeak, one cough, and the entire undead library would awaken.
Kanami followed Serizawa, her eyes darting left and right. Her knees trembled beneath her. Her shooter—her precious invention—shook in her hands.
Then, with a muffled clank... the trigger mechanism snapped.