The three women still had Rudo in their grasp, their smirks curling wider as their eyes began to glow like molten gold.
How am I supposed to de-escalate this situation? Leo thought, his heartbeat pounding like a drum in his skull. Something bad's about to happen. I can feel it. They're only focused on Rudo though... Think, Leo, think! Wait—
He slammed his fist against the nearby door.
BANG! BANG! BANG!
The sharp sound cracked through the tension, drawing the women's gazes for a fleeting moment. Leo seized that sliver of attention, forcing a strained smile as he approached.
"Listen, ladies," he began, trying to keep his tone casual despite the tremor in his voice. "I don't know what's going on here, but if you don't mind, I'd really like to go home and rest in my nice, comfy bed."
He stopped beside them, then casually slid past their line of sight toward the nurse's counter. "Look, I think I get what this is about. You think we broke into the school or something, right? But if it makes you feel any better—we didn't. We were mysteriously knocked out here after sixth period. So if anyone's to blame, it's the nurses for not doing their job."
Rudo blinked at Leo, confused but staying quiet. He trusted him—more than the three ladies that were circled around him at that very moment.
Leo reached the sink and turned the handle. The pipes groaned, sputtering out a stream of cold water. He opened one of the cabinets, searching until he found a paper cup and a bottle of dish soap.
He poured the soap into the cup, filled it halfway with water, and swirled it together. Alright, it's stupid—but it's all I've got.
"So," Leo said, voice trembling as he stirred the soapy mix, "why don't you three tell me about yourselves?"
The women didn't answer. Their golden eyes remained locked on Rudo. His breathing quickened. Their focus on him was animal—hungry.
Leo took a hesitant step forward. "You're not much of a talkative bunch, huh?"
One of them finally glanced his way. That was all the window he needed.
Leo threw the cup.
The soapy water splashed across her face.
"AHHH!" she screamed, stumbling back. The other two turned toward her, disoriented just long enough for Rudo to wrench free.
"Go, go, go!" Leo shouted, bolting toward the door. Rudo slammed it open, and the two sprinted down the dim hallway.
"What the hell are you two standing there for? Get them!" the woman screamed behind them, her voice warping, deepening—echoing.
Their bodies began to twist and merge. Flesh bubbled. Bone cracked and bent. Their limbs fused together into a single, towering shape. Three heads sprouted from a serpentine neck as burning scales rippled outward, glistening under the flickering lights.
A hydra now filled the nurse's office, its throats rumbling, venom dripping from fanged maws.
"Thanks for saving me back there, man!" Rudo yelled as they sprinted. "See? I knew we'd make great friends! Also, how did you even know how to handle that?"
"I don't know!" Leo gasped, panting. "Lucky guess, I guess?! Can we talk about this after we escape the three-headed psycho monster?!"
"Fair enough!"
Seriously, what has this day been?! Leo thought as they turned another corner.
The school shook behind them—metal groaned, glass shattered—as the hydra burst through the wall in a storm of debris.
"WHY DOES THAT THING WANT YOU SO BADLY?!" Leo shouted.
"I don't know, apparently I'm really tasty today!"
"The hell's that supposed to mean?!"
"Heck if I know!"
They kept running until Rudo stopped near a water fountain.
"Why are you stopping?!" Leo yelled, nearly crashing into him.
"If I can use my ability from earlier, like with the guard, we can win this thing!"
"Win it?! Are you insane?!"
"Just watch!"
Rudo closed his eyes and focused. The water inside the fountain slightly shook for a moment as a single drop of water left the fountain.
"Come on Rudo let's go now before that thing kills both of us.Listen I don't know about you but I'm not trying to die at the age of fourteen.Sixty maybe.But not fourteen."Leo said pulling on Rudo to run instead of fight.
"Why isn't it working?"Rudo said struggling to get the water to emerger.
Leo grabbed his arm.And pulled him along.The hydra rounded the corner, its many eyes glowing like molten gold. Venom hissed from its mouths, filling the hallway with a toxic gas.
Then—Leo saw them. Red lines. Threads of faint, pulsing light running from the hydra's heads across the walls and floors—like strings connecting everything.
"What are those things?" Leo whispered. "Strings? Wires? No… they're showing me—where it won't attack?"
The only clear path was through the hydra.
It's life or death. No second chances. Even my body's screaming at me to move that way. It helped me before—it'll help me now.
Leo grabbed Rudo by the collar and sprinted straight toward the monster.
"Are you insane?!" Rudo shouted.
"Yes!" Leo yelled back, diving low as the hydra lunged. He slid beneath one of its heads, the poison searing the air above.
He almost made it. Almost.
The hydra exhaled again. Toxic gas rolled out like living smoke, and Rudo—too slow—was caught in it.
"SHIT!" Leo screamed, yanking him backward. Blood streamed from Rudo's eyes, ears, mouth,and nose as his body convulsed.
Leo dragged him through the hall, stumbling over lockers. "Come on! Stay with me! You're not gonna die, okay?!"
"Argh…" Rudo coughed, his words wet and broken. "I—I'm sobby—"
Blood splattered from his mouth before he could finish.
"Stop talking like that! You're not gonna die!" Leo shouted, voice cracking. "We're both gonna live, you hear me?! We're gonna make it!"
But deep down, a sick feeling gnawed at him. He didn't believe it either.
"ARGHHH!" The hydra roared, the sound splitting the air.
Leo stumbled toward a window and set Rudo down, fumbling with the latch. "Come on, open, open, open!"
The window wouldn't budge.
He glanced around—saw a classroom door. He ran for it. Locked.
"Open, please—please! I don't wanna die, I don't wanna die, I don't wanna die!" he cried, slamming his shoulder against it.
The hallway trembled. The hydra slithered closer, all three heads hovering behind him. He could feel its breath—hot, toxic, and wet.
Tears blurred his vision. Panic tore through him, raw and suffocating.
Why me? What did I ever do to deserve this? Huh? WHAT KIND OF MESSED-UP WORLD HATES ME THIS MUCH?!
The hydra struck.
"AHHHH!!!" Leo's screams echoed down the hall as the first head tore into his arm. Bone snapped, blood splattering the walls. The second head clamped onto his leg, ripping it clean off. The third—the one with the red eye, burned from the soapy water—lunged at his torso, shredding flesh and bone.
"AHHHHH!!!"
He could feel the poison spreading—burning from the inside out—as his blood pooled beneath him. He couldn't breathe. Couldn't scream anymore.
Please… someone… anybody… I don't wanna die. Please…
He tried to speak, but only blood came out. The last thing he saw was the hydra's red eye staring into his soul as its fangs and mouth lunged at him along with the other two heads jumping in seconds later.As the three started to eat and consume his remains with one even having some of his entrails hanging from its mouth as if it were spaghetti.
Then came silence.
The grey mist rose again—slowly, silently—swirling around what was left of his body. It pulsed once… twice… and consumed everything.
"No offense," Rudo said.
"Bwah!"
Leo stumbled forward by the nurse's door, retching violently as bile and fear spilled from his stomach.
"Leo?" Rudo asked, confused.
Leo stared at the floor, trembling, his face pale. He didn't know why—but it felt like he'd just lived through hell.No something probably far more worse than hell.