12 days after...
"What are you doing up here?"
A distant voice spoke, as a young man with green hair in a red and white high school uniform walked out from a staircase doorway.
"Taking fresh air."
Responded another 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 take a nap in the classroom?" the young with green hair asked.
He had blue eyes, a bright expression 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."
At the name of Jenna, Hitori let out a sigh of displeasure as 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?
Normally he would be cheerful and full of life playing with everyone and entertaining the entire class. However, these few days he had been alone, his actions completely different from how it used to be, which began to raise concerns.
And Jenna was just one of them.
Phillip smiled at Hitori, walked up to the bench and sat next to him.
"What?" Hitori asked, feeling irritated by how close he was. Then Phillip began:
"I know you're upset because your father hasn't come back from his science trip, but you have to chill. He'd be back, it's only a trip and not a vacation."
Phillip turned his head to Hitori as he spoke but the latter made no reaction.
"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 begin to hate 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?" Hitori fired, staring 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, his face turning 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 expression as usual.
"Whatever."
Hitori stood up, dusted his butt, preparing to go back to his classroom, when suddenly voices began rising in the distance, as though there was an uproar.
"What is going on?" Phillip asked.
He stood up and looked down from the iron net placed around the roof to know what was going on.
On the other hand Hitori didn't care, since he assumed it would just be the regular fights that occurred almost everyday.
However, Phillip, who was already looking at a lot of students outside the school building raised suspicions in his heart.
"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, Hitori's pupils shrank and immediately went to check if he heard right.
His gaze fixed at the gate as he saw a lot of what looked like people, but were not at the same time. Hitori 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. He couldn't see well at such 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, wore at it and began moving 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, the goal was their classroom. However, the whole place had already gone berserk mode, as every student were 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 were running.
"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 lips curled into a smile as he saw the expression on Hitori's face, it was sharp, focused and determined. He knew that beside the gloomy and lonely face Hitori 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 echoed throughout the hallay and in an instant, everyone stopped running t take a look at the window.
There was a brief silence in the hallway, and when it was confirmed what they voice had said 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 flipped over, scattered, showing that 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 now 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 hair, bright gold eyes, and a nice figure for her age. Her skirt was mini, barely reaching her kneel, but decent, while her shirt curved by the shape of her front.
There was a bit of satisfaction, as the lady stared at them, at Hitori.
"Jenna?" Phillip called oity. "Thank goodness you are here. What are you doing here?"
As soon as Hitori saw her, their eyes met for a second before immediately he removing 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 using styls look at Hitori with a side eye.
Hitori 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 again.
"Come on, let's go!" Hitori said, without giving him an answer.
However, just as they were about to leave the classroom, a figure appeared at the door, halting their movements.
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, covering her mouth instantly, as she was stunned by what stood before them.
A monster.
Hitori, Phillip and Jenna couldn't believe their eyes; the lady before them was a student, but at the same time a monster.
How?
The question lingered in the silent room, unanswered.
Then, breaking the silence, a voice came out quivering:
"Hitori… help me."