Chapter 19: Chapter 19: Bait Once More
The students poured out of the building like water from a broken dam.
Lucian stood at the edge of the crowd. The dome was cracking faster now — great fissures spreading across its surface like veins, green light flickering and dying in patches.
"This is impossible," someone near him whispered. "There’s too many of them."
They were right.
Even if every combat-capable student fought together, they couldn’t win this. The student council’s strength was limited: Bastien as the sole Early Core Realm, three Peak Neophytes including Clara and Rose, roughly ten Late Neophytes, and the rest distributed across Mid and Early. Against five hundred zombies — including dozens of enhanced ones — it was a death sentence.
"Open the barrier!" a student screamed. "Rose, open it! Let us out!"
"NO!" Ryan’s voice cut through the panic. "If she drops the barrier, the zombies will rush in! We won’t be fast enough to—"
The Peak Neophyte zombies attacked.
Their fists slammed into the dome with coordinated precision — left, right, center, a rhythm that spoke of intelligence, of control. Each impact sent cracks spider-webbing across the surface. And behind them, the normal zombies pressed forward, slamming their bodies against the barrier in waves, not caring about the damage to themselves, sacrificing flesh and bone to weaken the structure.
CRACK. CRACK. CRACK.
"Rose!" Clara grabbed her sister’s shoulders, shaking her. "Rose, hold on—"
Rose’s eyes were wide, terrified, blood streaming from her nose. "I can’t— the pressure— they’re all attacking at once— I can’t—"
The dome shattered.
Green light exploded outward in a shower of sparks, and Rose collapsed like a puppet with cut strings. Clara caught her before she hit the ground, but there was no time to help — the zombies were already pouring through the gap.
Students who had been demanding the barrier open now scrambled backward, trampling each other in their panic. The first wave of zombies hit the crowd like a tidal wave — grey bodies, grasping hands, snapping jaws — and the killing began.
Teeth sank into flesh. Blood sprayed across the cobblestones. A girl screamed as a zombie tore into her shoulder, then went silent as another took her throat. A boy tried to run and made it three steps before a Mid Neophyte zombie caught him, lifted him off the ground, and bit down on his skull like an apple.
The bitten ones turned fast. Thirty seconds, maybe less. Their skin went grey, their eyes went milky, and they joined the horde, turning on the friends who had been trying to save them moments before.
And the student council — the protectors, the defenders, the ones who were supposed to keep everyone safe — ran.
Most of them, anyway.
Lucian watched Charles sprint for the back exit, his flames forgotten, his face twisted with terror. The Late Neophytes followed, then the Mids, forming a stampede of panicked cultivators who shoved aside the weaker students in their desperate flight.
Not all of them ran. Clara was still there, ice forming around her fists, pulling children behind her. Ryan was at her side, his Critical Mind ability letting him process the chaos and coordinate their defense.
"Back door!" Ryan shouted. "Everyone to the back door! Move, move, MOVE—"
Lucian adjusted Rose in his arms and turned to Elise.
"Go. Join Ryan and Clara. Protect the children."
Elise stared at him. "But—"
"Your light beams can thin the herd. They need you more than I do."
She hesitated for half a second, then nodded and ran.
Lucian glanced toward the front of the building. Through the chaos, he could see Bastien and his inner circle — Rose’s other Peak Neophyte ally, a few loyal followers — loading the last of the food supplies into a vehicle.
They were leaving.
Cowards.
He turned and followed the others.
The back exit led to a narrow alley. Ryan led the way, Clara bringing up the rear, Elise firing light beams over her shoulder whenever a zombie got too close. The children ran between them, sobbing, stumbling, some of them crying for parents who would never answer.
"Car!" Ryan shouted, skidding to a halt at the alley’s end. "We need a car!"
Lucian activated Eyes of the Eternals.
His field of vision expanded, golden light overlaying the ruined streets of Vienne City. Zombies everywhere — but also vehicles. Abandoned, crashed, some still drivable.
"There." He pointed southeast. "One point five kilometers. A large van, it looks intact."
"Can we make it?"
"The kids can if we keep them moving. Ryan, do you have anything to calm them down?"
Ryan dug into his pocket and pulled out a handful of wrapped candies — something he’d probably been saving for emergencies. He started handing them out as they ran, his voice steady and warm despite the chaos behind them.
"Here, take this. It’ll help. Just keep moving, okay? We’re almost there."
The children grabbed the sweets like lifelines, their sobs quieting to sniffles.
They made it to the van in eight minutes.
And found Bastien’s group already there.
A large bus — clearly intended for evacuation — sat at the curb, its engine humming. Charles stood at the door, blocking the entrance, while Bastien and the others loaded the last of the supplies inside.
"Wait!" Ryan sprinted forward. "There’s room for the children! Let us—"
Charles raised his hand. "The vehicle is full."
"Full? There’s clearly—" Ryan tried to push past, but a lightning bolt struck the ground directly in front of him, close enough to singe his shoes.
He stopped.
Bastien emerged from the bus, his storm-grey eyes sweeping over the group — the children, Clara, Elise, Rose still unconscious in Lucian’s arms. His expression was unreadable.
"Only Clara can come," he said. "There’s only space for one more."
Lucian’s golden eyes swept the interior of the bus.
Empty seats. At least twelve of them. Enough for every child in their group.
"Interesting definition of ’full,’" he said flatly.
Clara’s jaw tightened. "I’m not leaving without—"
"You are really one big motherfucking bastard, aren’t you?" Lucian said, his voice carrying across the street.
Bastien’s gaze shifted to him.
"You and that big mouth of yo—"
"You could have ensured the survival of more than half of those people," Lucian continued, ignoring the interruption. "You had the power. You had the resources. You could have organized a proper evacuation instead of running like a rat the moment things got difficult."
Bastien’s expression didn’t change. "Don’t pretend as if you’re a hero. You should have sacrificed yourself then, if you cared so much. In this world, the weak die and only the strongest survive. I was asking for a diversion at the meeting — it seemed the zombies helped me instead."
"You’ll die a horrible death, Bastien." Clara’s voice was ice. "I swear it."
"Perhaps." Bastien turned to Charles. "Drive."
Multiple lightning bolts struck the ground — not at the group, but in a line leading away from the bus, each impact creating a thunderous crack that echoed through the empty streets.
The bus lurched forward and accelerated away.
Ryan stared after it, his face pale.
"Bastard," he breathed. "He is trying to use us as bait."
Lucian nodded slowly.
"the zombies will follow the noise."
The realization hit the others like a physical blow.
In the distance, drawn by the thunder, a wave of grey bodies turned toward the fading sound of the bus’s engine.
And started moving.
