The stairwell door creaked softly as we opened it.
The narrow hallway in front of us stretched a few meters before opening into the large dormitory.
The lights flickered, casting uneven shadows along the walls.
The air was thick with the smell of sweat and rotting flesh.
I raised my fist to signal a stop and scanned the area with my eyes.
Ahead, the hallway led to the main dorm — a large room filled with rows of bunk beds, open lockers, and scattered belongings.
Corpses lay across the floor, some wandering aimlessly. I turned my head slightly and whispered, "Total silence."
Joel, even injured, moved alone — stiff, showing no signs of pain.
Richard and Ryan were right behind, alert. Lee and Mark were covering the rear.
I moved first, the katana sliding silently from its sheath as I stepped into the dorm.
Richard whispered as we walked, "If we don't make any noise, we might be able to get through without drawing attention."
I nodded, but I already knew it wouldn't be that simple.
The problem wasn't just crossing — it was the layout of the building.
Ryan caught my expression. "What is it?"
"Look around," I said softly. "Pay attention to the stair placement.
The one we came down is here, but the next one is all the way on the other side of the dorm.
We'll have to cross this whole damn place — full of zombies and obstacles — just to go down one more floor. And it'll be like this until we reach the ground level."
Joel grumbled, "What kind of bastard designed this?"
"Someone who wanted efficiency," I kept my voice low. "It was meant to make inspections easier for superiors. They could walk in, cross the whole floor, and go straight up to the next one, checking each dorm end to end without turning back."
Lee scoffed, "Now that layout's screwing us."
"Not just us," I murmured, pointing with my chin at the sleeping infected. "They're trapped in here too."
I moved first.
I stepped over a corpse lying between the bunks, keeping my steps light.
I passed by a prone infected and drove my blade into the base of its skull without hesitation.
The others followed.
We were the only hunters in that place — and we would kill them all without mercy.
Some zombies were still on their feet, wandering the dorm with empty eyes and swaying bodies. There weren't many, but we couldn't risk it.
Quickly, I pulled a kunai from the tactical pouch strapped to my lower back and threw it into the forehead of one of the zombies — it dropped without a sound.
Two others started turning toward us.
Before they could make a noise, I moved.