All of us move towards the other stairs, causing a stampede. Some are being left behind, crawling on the ground, crying for help, but no one heard them. I run back to try to help them up, but it’s all too late for the others. Some of them go back to the classrooms but they get infected instead, since they have no time to close both doors. I look away and continue running. I don't have anyone else to salvage in there and more of the zombies are coming. As we’re finally on the ground, tons more zombies are coming toward us. We run as fast as we can, heading to an exit. 
Riley leads the group, dodging every zombie in the way. A zombie outruns the others, grabbing them on the back and biting them on the neck. We’re decreasing. More casualties than before. More zombies than there used to be. We’re outnumbered. Riley leads us to the gymnasium outside, hiding ourselves in one wall. 
“We have to get to the mall! We’re not safe anywhere in here.” She breathes.
“Riley, if there are zombies in the school, there would be more in the mall!” Nathalie shouts back.
“We don’t have time to argue, guys!” Mark joins in.
“Well, is there anywhere else you can suggest?” Riley shouts back.
“Any time now!” Stephen joins in. 
Zombies are all coming from all directions. If we stay here any longer, we won’t have a chance.
“No!” Nathalie answers back.
“Then, mall it is!” Riley concludes, and moves forward. We follow her to the nearest gate. We run as fast as we can until we hear a gunshot. We turn back and it’s the hoodie guy. I dropped the gun at the gymnasium and good thing he's got good eyes that he found it again. We make it to the gate, but we still can’t get through. The gate is locked, leaving us disappointed and panicking. Hoodie guy shoots more bullets. He empties the magazine and replaces it with a new one. One zombie manages to get to him. 
“Help him!” Nathalie shouts.
I run toward him, kicking the zombie off and helping him back on his feet. He shoots again, walking backwards toward the group. Finally, the gate is opened. We are finally out of the school. The hoodie guy and I are the last ones to get out, shutting the gate back close. The bangs on the metallic frame startle us all. Their faces on the railings. Wild, terrifying. But somehow, their faces tell emotions. I look in their eyes and they seem to tell me something. They’re suffering. They want out. They want to be free again. If only we could do something.
“Guys.” Riley breaks me out of my thoughts. She points at the far end of the road where we’re at. She catches her breath as she says, “There’s more… There’s more coming.”
“Okay, run!” I shout. 
We, who are the only ones left alive, start running heading to the nearest mall. It may be the nearest but it still needs a taxi to get there quickly. I know this is a bad idea since the mall is one of the public places in a city, which is the most potential spot for a zombie base. But we don’t have a choice. We have all we need in the mall. Food, clothes, drinks, medicines. Everything. We can't think straight anymore. We have to try things with risks. If Riley’s currently thinking of a plan to get all those zombies out of the place, then it’s an advantage. But I don’t think everyone can survive it.
We get to the main highway, where there are many cars crashing into one another. One even caught fire. Roars and snarls echo the wide road, and more zombies are coming. They must have smelled our scents. We run faster and faster, and we’re almost near the mall. And that’s when my heart skips a thousand beats. 
“Riley!” I yell.
I got her friends’ attention, also calling for her. We hide under a shed, an abandoned place near the mall, trying to tell her to come back.
“Riley! Where are you going?!” Lenore yell-whispers.
“All of you go straight to the mall. I’ll be right back soon.” She says as she wears a broken helmet.
“What are you, crazy?” I yell.
“Maybe I am.” She glares at me as she answers for a second. I can see the worry in  her eyes. I can see that she has another plan and that she has to accomplish it, right now. She grabs the handles of a laid motorcycle. She lifts it up and gives it a kick. Its engine turns on, and she drifts off, heading the other way. The zombies’ attention is drawn to the buzzing sound of the vehicle, chasing Riley off. She presses the horn for seconds, and some zombies outside the parking lot start following her. 
It doesn’t take long until she’s out of sight. 
“Did she just bail at us?” Finn mumbles, his body relaxes.
“So, she’s been a scaredy cat all along?” George adds.
“She always seemed tough, and now she’s running away.” Edward comments.
I can’t find words. Maybe she did bail, or maybe she did that to clear out the way or for another reason.
“No.” Lenore says, almost in tears. “No, she can’t do this to us! She promised.”
“What did she promise?” Nathalie asks.
“She promised me I’d go with her.”
My brows meet. “To where?”
“To get Aaliyah.” She answers, already sobbing. She leans on Ysa’s chest, who also has tears in her eyes. She comforts Lenore, rubbing her back.
“Will Big Sis be okay?” Josh cries as he asks me.
“What are we gonna do without her?” Katy mutters to Ysa.
“I don’t know.” Ysa replies.
“I guess it’s up to us for now.” Stephen replies, stopping all the mumbles coming from them. He turns to me. “Bucky?”
I take a deep breath.
“Let’s get inside. We’re not safe here.” I look down at the ground. “She’ll be back. Hopefully.”
Now, there’s only half of us left. And I only know a quarter of them.
Ysa.
Katy.
Jay.
Stephen.
Patrick.
Finn.
Gwen.
Mark.
Nathalie.
Lenore.
Kirby.
Josh.
George.
Ivan.
Edward.
Brahm.
Claude.
Hoodie guy.
And hopefully, Riley.