Everyone screamed.
The thing crouched in the center aisle, its body folded wrong—limbs stretched too long, joints bent at angles no human body could survive. Its skin glistened wetly under the dying emergency lights, slick like freshly skinned flesh. There were no eyes. No nose. Only a face stretched tight with pallid skin and a wide, lipless mouth that split open like a fresh cut.
It didn't breathe.It didn't blink.
No one recognized it.No one even knew what to call it.
The creature jerked its head sharply to one side.
CRACK.
Its neck snapped with a wet, unnatural sound—then twisted back into place.
And then it moved.
"DOWN!!" Mark shouted.
But too late.
The thing launched forward with explosive force, slamming straight into one of the students. Bones shattered on impact. The boy's body crashed into the side wall, metal denting inward as something inside him gave way with a sickening crunch.
Blood sprayed.
Screams tore through the bus.
Chaos detonated.
Leo roared and swung his steel pipe with everything he had. The blow landed square on the creature's spine—
CLANG!
The impact rang through the bus.
The thing barely reacted.
It twisted violently, its body contorting like liquid, and slashed at Leo with claws longer than forearms. The blades of bone ripped through the air, grazing his jacket and forcing him to dive backward.
Another student rushed in, swinging a broken chair leg.
The creature snapped toward him.
Its claws tore across the boy's shoulder in a brutal arc.
RIP.
Skin split. Muscle opened. Blood splattered across the wall and ceiling as the boy screamed and collapsed.
Shan seized Koi and dragged her down, forcing her beneath the nearest seat as bodies crashed and scrambled around them.
"We have to move!" Shan shouted over the screams.
"Where?!" Koi hissed, her voice tight with panic.
The front of the bus was a nightmare—students piling over one another, people slipping in blood, the creature hurling bodies aside like ragdolls. Someone slammed into a seat hard enough to snap the metal frame.
Mark ripped a chair free and hurled it straight at the thing's legs.
"Aim low!" he barked. "It's fast—but it's unstable!"
The chair struck.
The creature stumbled—but only for a second.
Panic drowned out all reason.
The thing hissed—a violent, boiling screech that vibrated through bone and skull—then lunged again, claws digging into the floor as it seized another student and dragged them screaming down the aisle. Nails screeched against metal. Blood smeared in streaks behind them.
Then—
KRAK!
A steel bar smashed into the back of its skull.
Leo.
The creature reeled forward, blackened blood—or something thicker—pouring from the cracked flesh of its head. Chunks of bone and pulp splattered onto the floor.
Still, it didn't fall.
It shrieked.
A piercing, distorted wail—like broken static mixed with agony—that sent everyone clutching their ears as pain stabbed straight into their heads.
"We have to get it off the bus!" Shan screamed.
"How?!" someone cried.
Koi's thoughts raced, heart slamming violently in her chest.
Then she saw it.
The emergency door at the back.
A lever lock. Rusted. Old.
Still usable.
"Distract it!" she shouted, scrambling toward the rear aisle.
"Koi, no—!"
But she was already running.
The creature noticed instantly.
It twisted with horrifying speed, dropping the limp, blood-soaked body in its grasp. The corpse hit the floor with a dull thud.
Then the thing charged.
Straight at her.
"KOI!!"
She reached the door and yanked the lever down.
HISSSSS—
The door burst open.
Cold air roared inside.
The creature leapt.
At the last possible second—
Shan slammed into Koi, tackling her sideways.
The claws missed by inches, slamming into the doorframe and tearing chunks of metal free. The creature shrieked again—its own momentum carrying it forward.
And then—
WHUMP!!
It tumbled out of the bus.
Its body slammed onto the asphalt, limbs snapping and twisting grotesquely as it rolled across the road, leaving dark streaks behind.
Mark didn't hesitate.
"Close it and start the bus!!!!" he roared.
Koi forced herself up and slammed the lever back into place, sealing the door shut just as the driver turned the key.
The engine roared to life.
The bus lurched forward and sped away.
Then—
Silence.
Heavy, ragged breathing.Choked sobs.The faint tearing sound of fabric soaked in blood.The suffocating stench of iron, sweat, and scorched metal.
No one spoke.
Koi collapsed onto the floor, gasping, her hands shaking violently.
Shan wrapped her arms around her, heart pounding so hard it hurt, fingers trembling as she held on.
From the driver's seat, someone whispered, voice broken,
"W-what the hell was that thing…?"
No one answered.
Because no one knew.
--------------
"We're here."
Rian whispered after confirming the route they had taken according to the plan. For now, they remained inside the ventilation shaft, waiting for the signal that would tell them when to come out. Still, something about the moment felt wrong to him, as if his instincts were warning him that this was not the right time.
"Really? Have you already found the fire alarm and the exit door too?"
Light asked from behind while scanning the vent stack. Through the narrow openings, the only things he could see were dark red fluids smeared across the walls and monsters roaming freely in the hallway below.
Rian didn't answer right away. He was also looking around the cramped passage, listening closely. The metal vent trembled slightly with every step the creatures took beneath them. Then something flowed down the wall near him—thick and warm—slowly dripping onto his hand.
Rian sucked in a breath and stiffened, forcing himself to stay completely still.
"Don't move," he whispered firmly as he wiped his palm against his pants. The air smelled of rust and decay, strong enough to make his stomach churn. Below them, one of the monsters suddenly stopped. Its head slowly lifted, as if it had caught a scent.
In that instant, it felt like the world had frozen.
Even Light's breathing became almost impossible to hear. The creature's claws scraped against the floor as it moved in slow circles, searching. One wrong movement. One sound. And it would be over.
"Rian…" Light murmured, his voice barely audible and shaking. "It's looking up."
Rian carefully moved his face closer to the small opening in the vent. Two glowing red eyes stared back from the darkness below, locked onto their exact position.
Damn it. Their sense of smell really is too sensitive, he thought as he hurriedly searched through his bag for the one thing he could use.
"Light, take this," Rian whispered. "You're the closest to the smoke detector. Light it and guide the smoke toward it."
Light immediately followed his instruction. Because the space was so tight, Rian moved forward slightly to give him room. Light lit the paper and tried to direct the smoke, but being enclosed inside the vent made it difficult—the smoke drifted in the wrong direction instead of reaching the detector.
"Damn this smoke… my eyes are already burning, and it still won't reach the detector," Light muttered as he struggled to hold back a cough.
"What's going on?"
Ella whispered after noticing what Light was doing. Instead of answering, Light stayed focused, trying everything he could to make it work.
Her question didn't linger long in the air.
A sudden loud impact echoed behind them.
Thino immediately became alert and carefully looked through the grille.
"We're doomed."
That was the first thing he said when he saw what was behind them—a monster similar to the one he had fought earlier, crawling along the ceiling.
"We need to move now. They're tracking us," Thino said in a calm but firm voice as he turned to Ella to pass the warning. Shocked, Ella looked at him before tapping Summer to relay the message, until it finally reached Rian.
"Damn it, is it going to take much longer, Light?!" Rian hissed.
"I'm trying, okay? Can't you see?" Light snapped irritably.
Rian didn't reply. Instead, his mind raced, searching for another plan before it was too late.
There's no other option but to get out of this vent. But that's basically suicide with them surrounding the hallway below. What do we do now?
Before the thought could sink in, Light suddenly spoke.
"I did it!"
He whispered loudly as he saw the smoke finally pass through the opening and reach the smoke detector. For a brief moment, relief crossed his face—only to fade when the paper burned out and nothing happened.
"It's not functioning," Summer said quietly, fear creeping into her voice.
Thud!
"Eeip!"
A suppressed cry escaped as the vent near Summer shook violently, as if something had slammed into it.
"Shit! We need to go!" Light shouted when he saw the imprint of a monster's hand pressed against the metal near her. Without hesitation, they began crawling forward as fast as they could.
"Damn it!" Rian cursed as he forced himself ahead, already pushing against the section that would become their escape route.
"Gosh!" Ella screamed when another loud strike hit the vent, the sound sharp enough to echo through the shaft. Thankfully, the hand still hadn't broken through the metal.
BOOGSH!!
Before Rian could fully destroy the opening and lead them out, a powerful explosion erupted behind them. The sound was strong enough to shake the structure, immediately alarming the monsters below.
Rian noticed something strange.
Instead of charging toward them, the creatures suddenly scattered, running in a completely different direction.
He closed his eyes and took a slow breath.
This isn't the time to overthink. If I don't act now, we'll all be trapped here.
"Okay," he whispered, forcing himself to stay calm. "That was our chance."
He looked at his companions, his eyes filled with warning.
"When we get out of here," he said quietly, "there's no turning back."