12 days after...
"What are you doing up here?"
A distant voice spoke, as a young man in a red and white high school uniform walked up towards who he was talking to.
"Taking fresh air."
Responded, the other young man, with jet black hair and dead eyes. He sat on a beach with his gaze fixed at the ground of the building. He had a simple posture, one befitting of a 16 year old high schooler.
"Then why do it on the roof, when you could just take a nap in the classroom?" the other young man asked. He had green hair, blue eyes, a bright expression on his face displaying his natural sense of humor.
However, the other young man with black hair had gloomy eyes, like that of a dead fish. His expression had no vibe in it, completely gloomy and isolated, like one who had seen it all in life.
"That place is too noisy," he said.
"Maybe true, but I know you, Hitori. You probably left because you didn't want to be constantly bad mouthed about your character."
Hitori turned to his best friend Philip, giving him a sinister glare. Seeing this, Phillip instantly backed down. He knew he couldn't dare face Hitori if he got upset.
"So... why are you here?" Hitori asked.
"Oh right. I almost forgot. I was sent here by Jenna. She was wondering where you were and asked me to search for you."
"Tsk!"
Hitori let out a sigh of displeasure, and stared back at the beautiful scenery that could only be seen from the top of their school building.
"Why is she looking for me? Tell her I went to the toilet or something. I don't want anyone pestering me right now." Hitori had a cold tone as he spoke, he just wanted inner peace so why were people looking for him?
Meanwhile, Phillip smiled at him, and went to sit next to him.
"What?" Hitori asked, feeling irritated by how close he was. Then Phillip began.
"I know you're upset that your father hasn't come back from his science trip, but you have to chill. He'd be back. By the way, you know she likes you, right? Jenna that is."
Hitori turned to Phillip, staring at him with a displeased expression.
"Come on man. Just give her a chance. At least talk to her whenever she starts a conversation with you." Philip added. "If you don't do that, everyone will keep hating you for rejecting her. You are a random kid, who happens to be liked by the most beautiful girl in school. It is an honor, but you are not seeing that."
Hearing this, Hitori pulled forward, his fingers clenched together, as he stared at the passing ants on the ground.
"I know you don't like being bothered and just want your inner peace, but I feel like she's dying in silence the more you ignore her. You might think she's fine because of the beautiful smile she displays everyday. But I tell you, that's just a mask to hide what she truly feels deep within her heart."
"And what would you know about that?" Hitoy asked, glaring at Phillip. "You haven't been in a relationship before, so how can you know all that?"
The question hit hard on Phillip's feelings. He was ashamed he hadn't had a single girlfriend, and was already in his third year of high school.
"True."
Phillip replied, as his face turned red in embarrassment.
"But I at least have experience talking with them. That's not the same for you. The only girl that you ever talked to is your childhood friend, Aurora."
With a side eye, he stared at Hitori, but there was no reaction on his face. Just the gloomy and dead fish eyes as usual.
"Whatever."
Hitori stood up, dusted his butt, as he prepared to head back to his classroom.
Suddenly, voices began shouting in the distance, as though there was an uproar.
"What is going on?" Phillip uttered, as he stood up and looked down from the iron net placed around the roof. But, D'lean didn't care, since he assumed that it would be the regular fights that occur almost everyday.
Phillip, who was already looking at a lot of students outside, wondered what was actually going on.
"Hm? The gate? Why are they all staring at the gate?"
Phillip's gaze shifted to the gate and saw lots of figures gathered outside. It was a very far distance, and was difficult to actually pinpoint what they were doing, until a voice shouted.
"Monsters!"
Hearing this, D'lean eyes twisted and instantly went to check if he heard right.
His gaze fixed at the gate and saw a lot of what looked like people, but were not at the same time. He didn't understand what he was seeing and squinted his eyes to get a better view—that was when he saw them.
Broken faces, falling eyeballs, sharp claws, and grinding teeth. It was a sight of true terror.
"Monsters!"
"Wait, what? Are you serious?" Phillip asked, unsure of what he heard, because he couldn't actually see at that distance.
"Yes." Hitori replied, "And they are trying to break the gate, we have to evacuate the students before they do that."
Hitori immediately picked up his bag, swore at it and headed towards the stairs. While this was happening, Phillip was surprised to see how calm Hitori was about the situation. Then again, it was to be expected from someone who always had his inner peace.
Phillip followed Hitori down the staircase—to the hallway, their goal was their classroom. However, the whole place had already gone berserk mode, as everywhere was in a state of panic and fear for their lives.
"We have to hurry and make sure everyone leaves school grounds." Hitori yelled in the mix of panic as they ran.
"Yeah, but why do we have to do such?" Philip asked, puzzled, "Isn't that supposed to be the teacher's job?"
"Take a look at you, do you see any teachers around?" Hitori responded. "Don't forget that they all went for the teacher's parents meeting outside the school. For all we know, they may have already encountered those creatures on their way here."
"Yeah, but do we still have to do this, shouldn't we be running for our lives?"
Phillip was persistent to know why Hitori chose the path of saving other students, instead of himself. It was as if he knew this was going to happen.
"Must I spell it out for you?" Hitori uttered. "We are the seniors, remember."
Phillip smiled as he saw the expression on Hitori's face, it was sharp, focused and determined. He knew that beside the gloomy and lonely face he had, there was a kind person within it all.
"Right!"
Swiftly, they all passed through the students who were running aimlessly for their lives. The hallway was a mess. Some students tried to take all their belongings before they left, while others pushed those away, because they were so scared to waste anymore time.
At this point, Hitori's classroom was still far ahead, and right now, there was only one thing in his mind.
"They have broken the gate!"
A voice screamed. The message echoed throughout the hallway, and in an instant, everyone stopped running and looked at the window. Seeing that the gate was truly broken and the monsters were rushing in, someone shouted.
"Zombies!"
Immediately, everyone resumes their running, and this time more aimless than the last.
Hitori and Phillip reached their classroom and saw it was empty. Some chairs and tables were scattered, showing there was a huge panic before the students left. Hitori rushed inside, went to his locker and began searching for something.
"What are you looking for?" Phillip asked, as he was in a state of panic, knowing they shouldn't be wasting any time.
"FIrst-"
Before Hitori could finish his sentence, he was interrupted by a massive sound. Instantly, they both turned to see who it was, and before them was a young lady in a uniform.
She had crimson-red hair, bright gold eyes, and a nice figure for her age. Her skirt was mini, barely reaching her kneel, but decent, while her top curved by the shape of her front.
There was a bit of satisfaction, as she stared at them, at Hitori.
"Jenna?" Phillip called. "Thank goodness you are here. What are you doing here?"
As soon as Hitori saw her, their eyes met and immediately he removed his, and continued searching for what he was looking for. Jenna saw his reaction, and a massive blow struck her heart.
"I came to take some first aid medication." she said, with a soft and calm voice. "Some students are already getting injured, so I rushed here for a first aid box."
While saying this, she moved towards her own locker, took out a first-aid box, while looking at Hitori with a side eye. He didn't say a word to her, but the calm expression on his face was enough to get her satisfied.
"I've got it." Hitori burst out, as he pulled out a box.
"Wait, you were also searching for a first-aid?" Phillip asked, puzzled.
"Come on, let's go!" Hitori said, without giving him an answer.
Although, just as they were about to leave the classroom, a figure appeared at the door, halting their movement.
At the door was a young lady in the same red and white uniform. A student, but couldn't be called that any longer.
"On my!"
Jenna burst out, but covered her mouth, frightened of what was before her.
A monster.
Hitori, Phillip and Uvenna couldn't believe their eyes; the lady before them was a student, but at the same time a monster.
How?
The question was left unanswered. Then, breaking the silence within the room, a voice came out saying:
"Hitori, help... me!"