The tonfa slipped from my grasp with a sickening clink. Ugh, it was all bloodied and utterly pointless now.
I gasped for air, my heart racing as that broken thing lay crumpled at my feet, twitching once, twice, and then just… nothing.
I stumbled back, eyes wide as my adrenaline started to wane. My heart thumped so loudly I couldn't hear anything else around me.
Mrs. Yamamoto let out a strangled sob from behind an overturned desk, crumpled up like a discarded wrapper. Her once-spotless blouse was drenched in blood. She was clutching her chest, breathing shallowly, her gaze fixed on the thing I had just killed, trembling as if it could suddenly leap back to life.
And then there was Mr. Ishikawa. Oh, he was worse off. His body slumped against the wall, a jagged piece of rebar jutting grotesquely from his abdomen. Blood pooled ominously beneath him.
"No, no, no…" I whimpered, inching closer. "Mr. Ishikawa, please—"
He blinked once, and a raspy breath escaped his lips. His hand twitched, weakly pointing upward.
"R-Roof… Signal…" he gasped, but then his hand fell limply by his side, and the light in his eyes faded away. Just like that, he was gone. I was repeating it in my head like some sort of mantra.
A blood-curdling scream sliced through the air, echoing down the hallway. Not someone I recognized. It was a shriek that had the same gut-wrenching pitch as the monster's earlier roar.
I spun back to Mrs. Yamamoto; she was still clutching her chest, muttering desperate prayers. No matter what I did, she wouldn't budge.
"I'll come back," I murmured, though I wasn't sure if she heard me over her panic. "Just… stay quiet. Don't open the door."
I yanked open the security closet and snatched the emergency flare beacon.
My legs felt like jelly as I stumbled out of the council chamber. No way was I looking back.
The hallway loomed before me, stretching out like a path to doom. Moonlight flickered like a ghostly flicker, casting grotesque shadows on the blood-smeared floor. The alarms had gone silent hours ago, their wails now a haunting memory.
I stepped over mangled backpacks, phones crushed underfoot, and shattered glasses, remnants of a frantic escape mingling with the stark red stains decorating the lockers.
The institute—my school—had transformed into a nightmare. The marble floors that had once shone now oozed with the stench of blood and death.
Every heartbeat screamed at me to hide, to wait for someone—anyone—to rescue me. But my quaking legs marched me onward.
Then a scream echoed nearby, slicing through the silence.
I brushed it aside, clenching my fist to stave off my fear.
"Keep moving," I whispered to myself, forcing the words past my dry throat.
I pushed forward, scanning the shadows that seemed to dance and breathe, alive with menace. The stairwell to the roof was five levels up, and I was still stuck on the second. So much more ground to cover.
Glass crunched ominously beneath my feet; a trophy case lay shattered, awards and photographs strewn like forgotten dreams.
I stepped carefully over the debris and suddenly froze as I heard a heavy, labored breath drawing closer—a sickening sound from somewhere near the water fountain.
Turn back, I urged myself, retreating slowly from the horror that lay ahead.
Yet escape was futile. The main stairwell had crumbled—a mountain of concrete blocking my only exit. The elevator? Useless without power. The path to the rooftop was my only choice.
Shakily, I crept forward, gathering every ounce of courage as the rasping breath intensified, each exhale chilling me to the bone.
"Hello?" I croaked, hating how tiny my voice sounded. "Is someone there? Are you hurt?"
The breathing stopped, an oppressive silence enveloping me.
Then, from the darkness behind the fountain, came a sound that pitched my blood into icy terror.
"He...lp m..e…"
The words oozed out, thick with something dark.
"H..elp... me..."
I stumbled back, heart racing.
"Who's there?" I called, my voice cracking like glass. "Show yourself!"
Then came a wet, sliding sound, something sinister dragging across the tiled floor.
My eyes widened, and I saw it—a hand, pale and grotesquely elongated, fingers twisted in impossible angles. It clung to the fountain's edge, pulling itself into the moon's unholy light.
'Run!' was the only thought screaming in my mind, but my body refused to listen. I could only watch, frozen, as the creature emerged from the shadows.
"...w..hy are yo..u... lea..ving....?"
The voice dripped like sludge from a mouth that shouldn't exist, its jaw unhinged at a nightmarish angle, revealing rows of teeth that were all too eager for blood.
As it pulled itself upright, its spine contorted, defying anatomy, as one arm hung impossibly low, claws scraping sparks from the marble floor.
But it was fast—far too fast, much quicker than the horror in the council chamber.
"Com...e her..e.... I ha..ve some..thing to... sho..w yo..u..."
It lunged with inhuman speed, leaving no time for me to think.
I dove sideways, hitting the ground hard as its jagged claws sliced through the air where I had just been.
The creature landed with a sickening thud, pivoting towards me with a grace that no creature should possess. Its broken jaw stretched in what might've passed for a smile, a grotesque mockery.
"Ru..nn..ing is... imp..olite..." it hissed, delighting in my terror.
I scrambled to my feet, my sneakers slipping on the blood-slick marble as I bolted down the corridor, dark and endless.
Behind me, claws scraped against the stones, growing closer with every heartbeat. I ran without looking back, praying to outpace the monster hunting me.
Its laughter trailed after me, a cruel game, a cat-and-mouse that sent chills along my spine. It could've caught me in an instant, but it wanted to relish this chase, this moment of fleeting hope.
Ahead, the stairwell entrance appeared, security doors held ajar by a fire extinguisher. Steps loomed beyond, ascending toward the roof—my sole chance at escape.