We gathered in our room, the air heavy with tension. The few belongings we had hastily packed lay strewn around us, a stark reminder of the danger lurking outside.
"Okay, we need a plan," I said, turning to James, whose face was set in a determined expression. "We can't just run out there blindly."
"We need to arm ourselves first," James pointed out. "If those... things are out there, we need to be able to defend ourselves."
We started looking around the room for potential weapons. James picked up his basketball trophy, the solid metal base looking significantly more threatening than it had ever before. I grabbed my aluminium baseball bat, the cold metal a reassuring weight in my hand.
"Next, we need to gather supplies," I continued, scanning our room for anything that might be useful. "Food, water, first aid... anything we can carry."
We raided our small kitchen, throwing canned food, bottled water, and snack bars into our backpacks. I dug out a first aid kit from under my bed, the red cross on the white box looking incredibly ominous now.
"Alright, now for the hard part," I said, bracing myself. "We need to get out of here."
"We can't use the main exits, those will be crawling with... zombies," James said, grimacing at the word.
"Agreed," I nodded. "We need to find a less obvious exit. Something that won't attract attention."
We thought for a few minutes, our minds racing. Then, an idea struck me.
"The underground utility tunnels!" I exclaimed. "They run all throughout the campus. We could use them to get off the campus without being seen."
James' eyes widened. "That's genius, Chang! But how do we get to them?"
"They're accessible through the basement of the science building," I said, recalling my freshman orientation tour. "It won't be easy to get there, but it's our best shot."
"Then that's our plan," James said, determination shining in his eyes. "Arm ourselves, gather supplies, and use the underground tunnels to escape."
We spent the next hour planning our route, memorizing the layout of the campus, and preparing ourselves for the journey ahead.
As we finished our preparations, I couldn't help but feel a pang of fear. We were about to venture out into a world that had suddenly become terrifyingly unfamiliar.
But as I looked at James, his face set in a determined expression, I felt a surge of courage. We were in this together, and together, we would face whatever awaited us outside.
"We can do this, James," I said, my voice steady.
"We can, and we will," James replied, his confidence bolstering my own.
We stood up, our makeshift weapons in our hands, ready to face the horrors lurking outside. This was it. It was time to put our plan into action.
Q: What is your game plan?