Riko barely had a second to catch his breath when another Assimilator leaped out from behind an overturned bench. Its blocky fingers stretched like knives with visual errors, reaching for his neck. He spun around, ready to punch.
But before he even threw the punch, something metal slammed into the creature's face.
A fire extinguisher.
It clattered across the gym floor, leaving a white trail. The Assimilator stumbled backward, its head halfway crushed. Riko stared for a moment, confused. What…?
HELLO?! Maybe fight the monsters instead of fighting each other?! a voice yelled. It was Luna.
She ran into the gym like it was a war zone, her hair flying and her eyes fixed on the nearest glitch monster. Her hands were shaking – anyone would be scared seeing these things – but she didn't run or freeze. She threw another fire extinguisher.
This time, it hit the creature right in the chest.
Riko blinked. Where did you even get those?!
Storage closet! she snapped, already grabbing a third one. Maybe try working together instead of just showing off!
Kaze, who was standing still near the broken bleachers, slowly turned his head toward her. That throw was bad," he said.
Your face is a bad throw! Luna yelled back.
Riko almost choked. That doesn't even make sense – LOOK OUT!
Another Assimilator dropped from the ceiling like a broken spider, its limbs bending weirdly as it fell toward Luna. Riko ran forward, but Luna reacted faster than he thought she would. She pulled the pin on the fire extinguisher and sprayed it right in the creature's face.
The cold white cloud hit like a blizzard.
The monster recoiled, glitching badly as the foam stuck to its body. Its pixels crawled like bugs, trying to deal with the spray. Luna stumbled backward, coughing, but kept spraying until the extinguisher was empty.
Riko jumped in and punched the creature through a gymnastics mat.
That, Luna said, catching her breath, is what you call thinking fast.
Kaze just watched. I would have just killed it.
Oh, REALLY? Luna snapped. Because from where I was standing, it looked like you two were just trying to see who could punch harder while everyone else was about to die!
Riko rubbed his neck. We weren't – okay, maybe a little…
A little? Luna glared. I walked in, and you two were throwing each other through walls!
Kaze folded his arms, his face blank. He did it first.
Luna threw her hands up. Oh my god, you're both idiots.
Riko wanted to argue, but another Assimilator crawled out from under the stage, its limbs bent backward as it moved toward them. Luna grabbed the closest thing – a dodgeball – and threw it as hard as she could.
The ball bounced off the creature's head.
Okay, Luna said, that didn't work.
Kaze stepped forward, catching the creature by the jaw as it lunged. He twisted its head, snapping its neck, and tossed it aside. Don't waste time, he said. They make more of them. Fast.
Luna scoffed. You're welcome for the help, by the way.
Riko stepped between them before they started fighting again. Can we not fight each other? We're in a school!
Like on cue, another Assimilator came out of a pile of broken basketball racks. Then another one burst through the floor. A third one crawled out of the scoreboard above the bleachers.
The air got colder. The lights flickered. The gym felt like it was about to explode.
Luna gulped. Okay… that's new.
Riko's screen flashed on his arm.
WARNING: GOING TO BE MORE.
PROBLEM LEVEL: HIGHER.
HOW MANY: NO ONE KNOWS.
Kaze stepped forward, his eyes narrowed. They're coming together. Something's bringing them.
Bringing them? From where? Luna asked.
Riko didn't get to answer because the bleachers suddenly split apart with a loud CRACK. A huge shape rose from under the wooden boards – something made of tangled limbs and messed-up data, way bigger than the other Assimilators.
It wasn't just one creature.
It was a bunch of them combined.
It was one twisting mass of Assimilators fused together into a glitching mess. Its arms stretched and joined, its legs split and changed, and its face was a mix of stolen expressions. Many mouths opened and closed silently, like an army of screams trapped inside it.
Luna stepped back. NO WAY. NO WAY. What IS that?!
Riko's screen flashed red.
ERROR: DON'T KNOW WHAT IT IS.
ERROR: BIG THING FOUND.
ERROR: A BIG PROBLEM.
Kaze's face tightened. It's an Assimilator Nest. A main one.
Riko swallowed. What does that mean?
It means, Kaze said, it wasn't hunting you.
The giant mass turned toward them, its many faces looking at them like it knew who they were.
It was getting bigger.
The gym floor shook. Students trapped behind the bleachers screamed. Lights broke, sending sparks everywhere. The fused Assimilator took a heavy step, and the whole gym vibrated.
Luna grabbed Riko's arm. We can't fight that.
Riko clenched his jaw. We don't have a choice.
The mass bent over them, its body crackling with digital energy. Its limbs merged and split, making more arms and legs. One huge hand slammed into the gym floor, breaking wood like toothpicks.
Kaze stepped forward. Move.
That thing is huge! Riko yelled.
So? Kaze said.
Before they could do anything, the creature pulsed.
A wave of glitch energy came out of it.
The walls turned into pixels.
The windows twisted.
The ceiling shook hard.
Riko covered Luna as the world shook.
Then, with a loud roar, the whole gym exploded upward as something massive rose.