»»————>𝐂𝐡 𝟐 - 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐎𝐟 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐁𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐤𝐝𝐨𝐰𝐧<————««
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"Dukk!!! Duk!!!"
The pounding from behind the door grew harder, shaking Mr. Edward's body. Again and again, something outside wanted to break through, but the door, blocked by Mr. Edward's body, held fast. He was still pressing against it, his face turning pale. Cold sweat dripped from his temples, leaving wet streaks on the floor that he tried to ignore.
He was terrified of what would happen if he shifted even slightly. He told himself to hold on, for the sake of the students he had to protect, despite the fear he felt. From behind the door he gripped, a growling sound echoed in the hallway, accompanied by a sharp scratching that grated on their ears.
"Grrrrrhh"
"Critttt critt"
With the intensifying sounds, Mr. Edward's body began to give out; the pounding was too strong to be resisted alone. One of the students, Mark, saw Mr. Edward's struggle. He looked both worried and scared, but that feeling pushed him to speak up.
"We... we have to help Mr. Edward! He can't do this alone! Come on, everyone! Let's move!"
The statement, initially nervous, now rang out loudly with determination. That one sentence from Mark managed to push back the fear of several students, prompting them to move. Tim was the first to rush toward the door. Tim shifted, pressing his back against the door, putting him right beside Mr. Edward.
From the corner of his eye, he could see his teacher struggling to control his breathing, trying not to look exhausted in front of his students. Tim was silent, not speaking, just pressing his body firmly against the door. He hoped he could lessen his teacher's burden.
Mr. Edward felt a slight release of pressure. He looked at Tim, a brief smile on his lips. He understood that Tim wasn't just there to keep him company but was putting all his strength into it. A strange warmth spread across Mr. Edward's chest, driving away some of his exhaustion. He looked at Tim, not just as a student, but as an ally in this moment of chaos.
His resolve strengthened to do his best for his pupils. Other students started following suit to hold the door. Others tried to figure out something else that could help. Coincidentally, Jessie was there, known as the smartest student in the class. Sensing the need for action, she got an idea and moved toward a desk, touching it.
At the same moment, Risa also happened to touch the same desk. They exchanged glances for a moment before nodding, understanding that they were thinking the same thing. Then without waiting or speaking, the two of them jointly shifted the desk, followed by Ellie, who also helped push.
"Sreek... Sreek"
The sound of the desk legs loudly scraping the ceramic floor.
"Dukk"
Followed by the sound of wood colliding as they started piling the desks against the door, watched by several other students. Their actions were quickly imitated. In short, a makeshift defense was swiftly built behind the door thanks to the students' teamwork amidst the chaos. Finally, not only the students but Mr. Edward too could let go and rest for a moment.
Fortunately, after the defense was built, the loud, hard pounding stopped. It seemed the creature outside was momentarily stalled by something. Whatever it was, the loss of the immediate threat clearly brought great relief to everyone. They all quickly sat down, resting their bodies and minds, trying to process what had just happened.
The silence, filled only by weary breaths, was quickly broken by a question from Lili.
"Do you guys... know what that was?"
The short question, which had no answer, echoed in the classroom and in everyone's thoughts.
"What is it?"
"What is happening?"
"The apocalypse?"
One question generated many more. The atmosphere became frantic again; they asked themselves or the person next to them, but it was all the same. There were no answers, only questions, and one final statement that managed to silence the entire class, plunging them into their own shadows.
In the corner where Risa sat, her friend Ellie, sitting next to her, stared blankly at the door. Slowly, she uttered one sentence.
"Someone was standing in front of the door... their clothes were bloody. Their face was terrifying…"
Her voice was soft, but full of trembling, which allowed it to be heard by almost the entire class. Her voice drew Risa's attention, making her look at her friend Ellie, who was staring at the floor. Seeing Ellie so distraught, Risa could only move her hand, reaching for Ellie's shoulder and leaning Ellie's head on her own shoulder, hoping to soothe Ellie even slightly.
"It's not... human..."
Jhon said, the person sitting right in front of Risa. His voice made Risa turn, and their eyes met. However, this time there was no smile on his face, only an unreadable expression. It made Risa frown due to anxiety and a little curiosity about Jhon.
She finally turned her attention to another corner, trying to ease the unease in her heart. Her gaze fell on Odin, the class comedian, who now spoke in a serious tone.
"I think... this is like a virus."
Mark answered Odin's statement with a question.
"A virus?"
Odin looked at Mark, sensing the confusion and doubt behind the single word. He took a long breath before explaining to Mark.
"It's like a game I play; there's an infection. People who get bitten get infected, then they bite other living people. It can also spread through scratches or other ways. I've seen scenes like this in games! and several horror movies."
Odin explained at length, and Mark briefly replied.
"I see…"
Odin then continued saying what was on his mind.
"If this is the case, there's a 50/50 chance. The 50 is manageable, the other 50 is difficult because not all viruses can be defeated by humans, and that creature... We really need to understand the situation."
Odin revealed, seeming to furrow his brows. He looked extremely serious compared to his usual self. Mark felt the weight of Odin's words. He understood that the current situation and what they faced were serious. Mark nodded slowly, still trying to process Odin's explanation.
The room fell silent again as their conversation stopped. Now, everyone was lost in their own thoughts. Then, the sound of crying broke the silence. Frida cried, so suddenly that everyone turned towards her.
Frida was the most fearful person in the class. No one scolded her, they just listened to her tears. They felt her crying was natural, but she wasn't just crying, she said between sobs.
"I... I... want to go home... I don't want to know... this must be a dream... definitely... Mom... Huhuhu"
Frida's tearful words shifted the atmosphere again. Slowly, tears followed tears. Those who were initially full of questions and still trying to understand what was actually happening, started thinking about what was happening to their families outside, and the people they knew; tears filled the classroom.
Mr. Edward did not stop their crying; he only watched sadly. He let them cry their hearts out, hoping to lessen the burden in their hearts so they could be stronger later.
More than half an hour passed. The sound of crying slowly faded, replaced by students daydreaming and resting. Mr. Edward, after observing the situation, felt this was the right time to speak.
He took a deep breath before getting up from his seat, looking at his students once more before speaking.
"Everyone... what we are facing is unexpected... we can only survive for now. Let's wait for help patiently. Maybe the police or others will arrive later. For now, let's stay here together, watching out for each other. No one is allowed to leave, for ourselves and for those we love."
Mr. Edward's sincere and understanding words touched the students' hearts, making the atmosphere calmer because of the hope he provided. Even so, there were some who remained silent, showing no relief. Mr. Edward was aware of this, but at least this was enough to calm many of them for the time being.
Risa was silent with an unreadable expression. She was still there with her hand still on Ellie's shoulder. She was daydreaming, then snapped out of it because of the gentle wind that blew from the small classroom window.
She looked toward the window, her eyes searching for the bear shadow she had seen before. But all that was visible was the beautiful blue sky. Unlike the painful reality here. Then, carefully, Risa stood up, pulling her hand away from Ellie's shoulder.
She got up, walked to the window, and stared at the blue sky. She saw birds flying, as if the world hadn't changed, as if this was all a dream. But the faint sounds of stomping, scratching, and others that she heard from outside the window, had become clear proof that the world was no longer the same, and this was not a dream.
She closed her eyes for a long time before finally opening them. She took a breath, then turned around. Her gaze swept the room, then focused on Ellie; it was clear Ellie was still sleeping soundly. Then Risa looked to another corner, her gaze locking with a girl in the back row, Melly.
Melly, looked at Risa unintentionally. In Melly's eyes was a flicker of pure fear. It made Risa pause, her gaze fixed on Melly's hand, which she gripped tightly.
『••✎••』
𝑯𝒊, 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒊𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒂𝒖𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒓. 𝑼𝒎, 𝑰 𝒂𝒑𝒐𝒍𝒐𝒈𝒊𝒛𝒆 𝒊𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒚 𝒘𝒓𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒆𝒓𝒓𝒐𝒓𝒔 𝒐𝒓 𝒂𝒏𝒚𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒍𝒂𝒄𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒔𝒕𝒐𝒓𝒚. 𝑯𝒐𝒏𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒍𝒚, 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒊𝒔 𝒎𝒚 𝒇𝒊𝒓𝒔𝒕 𝒏𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒍 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑰'𝒎 𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈. 𝑰 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒕𝒓𝒚 𝒕𝒐 𝒊𝒎𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒗𝒆 𝒎𝒚 𝒘𝒓𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒔𝒌𝒊𝒍𝒍𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅, 𝒐𝒇 𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒓𝒔𝒆, 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒕𝒐𝒓𝒚.
𝑻𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒅𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒘𝒉𝒐 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔, 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒌 𝒚𝒐𝒖! 𝑫𝒐𝒏'𝒕 𝒉𝒆𝒔𝒊𝒕𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒄𝒓𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒄𝒊𝒛𝒆 𝒎𝒆 𝒃𝒆𝒄𝒂𝒖𝒔𝒆 𝒊𝒕 𝒉𝒆𝒍𝒑𝒔 𝒎𝒆 𝒈𝒓𝒐𝒘.
𝑶𝒌𝒂𝒚, 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕'𝒔 𝒂𝒍𝒍, 𝒃𝒚𝒆-𝒃𝒚𝒆!