All the students stood frozen, including Akai.
The sound had been too loud. What if it attracted those monsters?
Nothing happened.
Except the window slowly began to open.
A boy stepped forward, his hands shaking uncontrollably.
While Akai kept hitting the window from outside, the students inside hid under their desks, switching off the lights. No one dared to stand up and see who was there. They didn't even try to leave the classroom to check what had happened. Even when their teacher screamed, all they could do was cover their mouths in fear.
One student finally stood up, but the others warned him not to.
This time, they had no choice.
He moved closer and closer to the window—
Something suddenly smashed through it and slammed into the whiteboard behind him.
A deep dent appeared on its surface.
"Aish…" the boy breathed, grinding his teeth.
"It's her," he whispered.
Angry, he rushed forward and opened the window.
Below, he saw Akai standing on the wall, holding another large stone. She smiled at him.
"Hey."
"What happened?" the boy asked.
"Don't know," she shrugged. "Climb down using the window curtains. If that's not enough, then get naked—use your shirts and pants."
"You're talking too fast," he snapped. "Tell me what happened."
"Do as I say right now, El." She stared at him.
"This isn't the time. Come down with your buddies, then I'll explain. We're running out of time."
"Who are you to order me around?"
"Oh?" she tilted her head, irritation flashing in her eyes. "So you want to die for real now, huh? Ask them to block the door with the teacher's desk first. Cover the door window with something. And do it quietly."
He didn't argue anymore.
El immediately called his friends, and they did exactly as she said.
Meanwhile, Akai climbed onto the nearest tree, pulling herself up onto a thick branch with her bare hands to check inside the classroom.
"El is Akai's kid brother?" Marc asked, stunned.
"You must be an idiot if you didn't know that," Sky replied.
"Yeah, man," Semai added. "He looks just like her. How could you miss that?"
Akai stared at the students below for a moment.
"Hey," she called out. "Take the paint and put it on your clothes." She pointed at several new paint cans on the ground. "Kiara, Chi—take the paints to them. Marc, Sky, Ali—you help."
"On it," they replied.
They picked up the cans from the corner and passed them to the students inside. The boys helped open them and smear the paint properly. Everyone followed Akai's instructions without question.
Semai stood there in awe, watching her.
The way she analyzed the situation so quickly, finding solutions while considering every detail—it felt unnatural. She hadn't been like this before. He had never heard anyone talk about this side of her.
Where was she hiding this talent?
She was a natural leader.
Terrifying thing she might growth up to be.
The smell was strong. Some students had to cover their noses. Even Akai nearly threw up, barely managing to hold it in. Strangely, a few didn't react at all—even Lily, whom Kiara practically drowned in paint.
"Didn't she say the smell gives her a stomachache?" Marc asked, pointing at Lily.
"That's my problem," Akai sighed. "Whatever. It's time to plan our next move."
She looked at everyone.
"I told you to use paint because that creature doesn't have eyes or ears—only a mouth and a nose. It hunts using smell. Our school finished repainting a day and a half ago, so the scent is still fresh."
"I see," Semai said, amazed. "This will disguise our scent so the beast can't find us. That's brilliant, Kai."
"It'll help us avoid them—but not for long," she added. "It might be able to hear. That's just my guess, but we need to stay cautious."
"Before that," Lily called out, "could you come down?"
"I need to stay here for a bit," Akai replied.
"Why? You stuck?" Lily asked.
"No."
"Then come down."
"I will. Give me some time." Akai scanned their faces. "Until then, process what just happened. Everyone—clear your minds. Only a calm head survives."
"Okay," Lily said. "Do as you wish."
Akai glanced at the dead beast below her.
Damn… that blood is dripping straight into my face.
A few drops slid into her mouth when she opened it. She froze.
"For some reason…" she muttered, disturbed, "…it tastes good."
She stiffened.
What am I saying?
"I must be crazy. I'm just hungry. I could eat an elephant right now."
From the corner of her vision, she noticed someone standing outside the school grounds.
Purple.
She had such bad eyesight —everything looked blurry—but she was certain someone was there. They seemed to be waving at her.
Akai's eyes widened.
She couldn't look away.
Even without seeing their eyes, she felt their gaze on her.
"Hey?" El called out. "We're done here. What's next?"
"Do as I told you before," she said sharply.
"Climb down."
She turned her head again.
The figure was gone.
Was I hallucinating?
No… she knew what she saw.
One by one, the boys climbed down using the window curtains. The students from Akai's class helped them safely to the other side of the wall. Once everyone was down, a few immediately tried to head back inside.
"Nevertheless, I'm not allowing anyone to go back in," Akai said flatly.
"Just because you got your brother out doesn't mean you can stop us from searching for our siblings," a boy from El's class snapped.
"He's right," a girl from Akai's class added. "You can't stop us like this."
Voices rose around her.
"Oh?" Akai raised an eyebrow. "Then would you like to go back in there and die alone—eaten alive by monsters?"
The girl went quiet, her face falling.
"I never said we'd abandon them," Akai continued. "I said there's no need for all of us to go in."
Silence.
"I'll go back inside," she said. "With Kiara and Chi. And a few others who are capable."
"You're going in there to die?" El asked.
"No."
"Then what?" he shouted. "The people who risk their lives to save others always die. And nobody remembers them."
"I'm not going in to save their lousy asses, moron," she snapped. "I'm going to find help—teachers, adults, anyone who can fight."
"Then let some idiot do it," El shot back. "Your stupidity has no limits, does it?"
"He just called us idiots," someone muttered.
"I know better than anyone here, you bastard!" Akai yelled. "And how dare you talk to me like that?"
"Siblings," someone said dryly, and a few shrugged.
Despite everything, many students looked relieved now that they were safe. Their siblings were still inside—but alive, because of Akai. She didn't share their relief.
"Now is not the time to feel safe," she said. "We still have a long way to go."
She exhaled and started planning.
"For the next phase, we find a teacher or any adult. With their help, we rescue the remaining students. This part is risky."
Everyone listened.
"We'll split into teams."
"I love risks," Sky said confidently. "I'm in."
"You mean like the time you jumped from the second floor into a tree, broke your ankle, and stayed in the hospital for three months?" Akai replied.
Sky laughed. "You remember that?"
"No. Those are useless risks," she said. "What I'm talking about is—death."
The word silenced them.
They could hear screams echoing through the school—students and teachers alike. This would be their first real ordeal. Many were terrified… or so Akai thought.
When she looked again, she saw fire in their eyes.
They wanted to survive.
They wanted to go home.
That gave her a bit of relief.
She explained the plan carefully.
Team A would enter the school to find teachers and survivors—Akai, Kiara, Chi, and a few others.
Team B would escort the injured outside—Lily, Rose, El, and around thirty students—to the bus and escape if necessary.
Team C would guide rescued students to the bus.
They moved immediately.
Before Team B left, Akai gave a speech.
It shocked everyone.
"Heartwarming?" Sky scoffed later. "She literally said, 'If you don't want to die before seeing your parents, do exactly what I say. Get on the bus and get lost.' That's a threat."
"She's just bad at mushy stuff," Lily said.
El threw a tantrum when Akai refused to let him join Team A. He had to be dragged away by his friends. Akai watched him leave with a strangely satisfied look.
Team A began their mission.
Before leaving the classroom, Akai tried to cover their teacher's body with a curtain—but Kiara stopped her.
"I'll do it," Kiara said quietly.
She covered their teacher herself.
They paid their respects and walked past the still body.
Their next destination was the sports room. Instead of moving through the inside corridors, they chose the outside route.
As they passed each classroom, they paused to peek through the windows.
Some students were still alive—silent, shaking, hiding under desks. There were no teachers with them. In other rooms, the teachers lay dead, torn apart. A few must have tried to escape earlier; the monsters followed them back inside and slaughtered everyone.
When Akai looked through one window, she froze.
A child's severed head rested against the glass.
The blood was fresh.
Her breath hitched. A tear slipped from her right eye.
She turned away.
They rescued every class they could, sending survivors out with Team C. Most were very young—no older than seven. By the time they were done, their shirts were soaked red with blood.
9:15 PM.
Two hours had passed since they left their classroom.
They still hadn't encountered a single monster.
That alone felt wrong.
Finally, they reached the sports room and armed themselves with whatever they could find. Baseball bats, shot-put balls, jumping ropes—anything usable.
Akai pulled a long suitcase from the corner, hidden carefully behind other equipment.
"You're finally going to use it?" Kiara asked.
"I guess."
"What is it?" Semai asked.
"A present from Kiara's dad," Akai smiled. "Aka my mentor."
Semai stared. "What?"
"Akai," Chi called, his voice tense. "I don't hear anything outside. It's completely silent."
"You're right," Sky added, leaning against the door. "No sound at all."
A thought struck her.
"Chi," she said, "check the bus."
He nodded and left.
Minutes later, he returned. "Everything's fine. No monsters. The students are inside the bus. Just school vehicles and a few cars."
That should've been a relief.
But it wasn't.
Why were there no monsters outside?
Why had the screams stopped?
"It's like someone lured them away," Akai muttered.
A flash of purple crossed her mind.
That person…
"Why am I thinking about that now?" she sighed.
"About what?" Kiara asked.
"When we rescued my brother's class, I saw someone wearing purple. I couldn't tell if it was a man or a woman—they were too far away."
She shook her head. "Whatever. Monsters not attacking works in our favor. We'll worry about it later. Let's keep rescuing."
"Whatever you say, Kai," Sky said. "Worrying about unknowns is a pain."
"Where to next?" Chi asked.
"First floor," Akai replied. "Then the staffroom."
"And we still haven't found a single teacher," Semai muttered.
"Don't," Akai warned.
Chi returned shortly after. "First floor's clear. Fewer traces, but a lot of students are missing. No teachers. The ones I found were dead."
"You went alone?" Akai asked.
"Yes."
"Good work," she said. "And?"
"Kiara and I will search the rest of the school," Chi continued. "We'll take a few strong students for rescue."
"Wait," Akai said. "We should move together. Splitting up is dangerous."
"It's more dangerous if we don't," he replied calmly. "You should stay here. Safe."
She opened her mouth to argue.
He glared at her. "You'll be in the way. You're too weak."
The words hit harder than she expected.
She glared back—but didn't deny it.
They were trained. She wasn't.
She stayed silent.
"This is Lake," Chi said, pushing forward a well-built boy with short gloden brown hair. "He's a senior. He'll help you."
"Why was he here?" Akai asked. "And what did you see? Explain everything."
"I was running an errand for my teacher," Lake said. "Then it happened."
"Stop," Akai interrupted. "Not now."
"No, continue," everyone else said at once.
"HEY!" she snapped. "We're loaded already."
"We don't mind," Sky said.
"Yeah," Marc added. "We wanna know."
Akai sighed. "Fine. Continue."
Lake described dark, slimy liquid appearing on walls and floors. Creatures emerging from holes. Things he'd never seen—not even online.
His hands trembled.
"What happened next?" Akai asked casually, breaking the tension.
"Entertainment," she smirked when Marc stared at her.
Lake continued. Screams had drawn the monsters away. He hid in the bathroom. His classmate vanished in glowing dust.
No one knew where the vanished people went.
Chi and Kiara left with their group. Before going, Kiara handed Akai something quietly. Akai slipped it into her skirt pocket.
After Chi left, Akai's team moved to the first floor.
Most classrooms were empty.
Some survivors were badly injured. One boy's arm had been bitten off. They moved carefully.
"That's the last class, right?" Cyril asked from the tree branch near the window.
"Yes," Akai said. "Let's go down."
That's when it happened.
A massive mouth burst through the classroom window.
Time froze.
Cyril was closest.
He couldn't move.
The jaws came closer.
Then—
He fell sideways.
"…Akai…"
She had pushed him.
Lake sprinted and caught Cyril before he hit the ground.
Akai slammed into the tree trunk, barely holding onto the branch. She jammed the long suitcase into the monster's mouth, stopping it from closing.
"Akai!" Lake shouted. "Throw me the gun!"
She struggled, removing one hand as the pressure increased.
"Agh—!"
She threw it.
Lake caught it mid-jump, grabbed a stone, and hurled it into the monster's eye. Blood exploded.
"Where do I shoot?" he yelled.
"The head," Akai snapped. "Two bullets."
He fired.
The beast collapsed.
Akai leapt, sword flashing, and decapitated it.
Blood drenched her.
"Disgusting," she muttered. "Its blood is red too."
The three of them paused, catching their breath, blood covering their hands, faces, and clothes. The little girl crouched on the floor, wrapped in Akai's coat, trembling.
"Stay calm," Akai whispered, her voice steadier than she felt. "You're safe now."
Lake handed the gun back to her.
"How did you know about this?" she asked, wiping sweat and blood from her face.
"I saw someone give it to you," Lake replied. "From a distance."
"You must have some crazy eyesight," she muttered, astonished.
"Not as crazy as yours, apparently," he said lightly, trying to break the tension.
Sky spoke up, his voice tired but steady. "Where to next?"
Akai's eyes scanned the hallway. The silence was unsettling. No monsters. No screams. Just… empty corridors, broken glass, and blood-stained walls. Her instincts screamed that something was off.
"Check the bathrooms," she said finally, almost to herself.
They reached the girls' bathroom for children at the far end of the parking lot. A scream had echoed from here earlier. Now it was silent.
Akai signaled Sky and Lake. "Be ready."
The door creaked as they pushed it open.
Inside stood the next monster. Its humanoid form twisted unnaturally, mantis-like legs splayed across the floor. It slowly turned toward them. Beneath it, a small second grader cowered, eyes wide with fear.
"Take the shot, Lake," Akai said, tossing him a shot-put ball, six kilograms of pure metal. "Aim for the middle of its head."
Sky grabbed the jump ropes. "Got it. Tie its limbs once it's hit."
The ball smashed into the creature's skull. Bone cracked audibly. It roared, staggering but not falling. Sky lunged forward, wrapping its legs tightly with the rope. Akai leapt, sword in hand, and plunged it into its chest. Blood erupted. The monster writhed, swinging uselessly, until finally, Akai's final slice severed its head.
They stood in silence for a moment, dripping blood and shaking adrenaline off their bodies.
Lake panted. "Easy?"
Akai wiped her sword. "Easy… until it isn't."
Sky slid to the floor, catching his breath. "It's over, right?"
"For now," Akai said. She pulled the little girl closer, making sure she was safe and warm.
Lake asked, pointing at her sword. "Where did you learn to use that?"
"A hobby," Akai replied. "Nothing fancy. Didn't think it'd ever be useful."
"I bet," he said, smiling genuinely.
Cyril, the orange-haired boy, stumbled forward. "You okay, kid?"
"I—yes, of course," Cyril said quickly. "We should be asking you that." He scanned Akai head to toe.
"I'm aware of what I'm doing," she said calmly. "Don't worry. Take care of yourself, and get back to work."
They had no time to celebrate. More students still needed rescuing, and the school was far from safe. Akai and Lake led the way, ignoring pools of blood and scattered body parts. Sky stayed close, ready to act.
They moved toward the staffrooms. Male staffroom first. It was pristine—no blood, no claw marks, phones neatly stacked. Confusion crept over them. Who would leave everything behind?
Then the female staffroom. Same story. Messy only from the initial chaos, but otherwise empty.
"They're gone… or hiding," Akai murmured.
A faint cry came from the corridor.
"All of us," Sky said, nodding.
They advanced together, cautious and silent. Every step echoed in the deserted hall.
Meanwhile, Lily waited near the bus outside. Her fingers tapped nervously on the wheel. Akai's plan was working. Team B was safe. But the screams—they had stopped. Why?
A sudden, piercing scream split the night air.
Akai's heart raced. She and her team bolted toward the sound.
The girls' bathroom.
Another monster. Insect-like, thin, humanoid, mantis legs, standing over a small child.
"Lake, take the shot!" Akai yelled, tossing him another metal ball.
Sky lunged with jump ropes. Akai drew her sword.
The monster thrashed, blood and sound filling the room. They struck simultaneously. Rope wrapped, metal smashed, sword sliced—finally, it fell.
Akai crouched over the little girl, breathing hard. "Safe now."
BANG BANG!!
A distant gunshot rang. Not hers.
Her eyes narrowed. Something—or someone—was coming.
***