Elios darts down the hallway, barely unscathed. Khari, dead. He refused to believe it. As much as he wanted to go back, he couldn't. Whatever that was was not Khari anymore. No matter how tired he was, he had to run. No stopping until he was ensured safety. Almost tripping while trying to stop himself, Elios opens the door and slams it shut. His face sweating bullets and his heart pounding like a drum in his chest. He still didn't want to believe what he saw.

  "Elios? What the hell was that?" Rey asks, startled by Elios's entrance. He was already back with a finished lunch, staring confusedly. Rika was also back with Lydia drinking her water. Elios doesn't respond and he sits down, curling himself up by the door. It was nothing new for Elios to keep himself at a distance from the others, but this time, he was alone. No Khari, no one on his side.

  "Elios?" Rey asks again, the first to approach the grieving loner. "You there?"

  Elios puts his head up for a brief moment, "Khari is dead."

  Everyone was stunned and confused, no one said anything for what seemed like eternity in deafening silence.

  "Dead?! What the fuck do you mean?! Stop joking, where's Khari?!" Lydia springs up and looks around, but she was nowhere to be seen on the large windows.

  "Do I look like I'm joking to you?! I mean it when I say she's dead!" Elios stands up and yells at her. Tears start to pour out of his eyes and he turns around, crying. Kenji strolls up to him and pats his shoulder.

  "Breathe, Elios. I'm sure she said that out of panic. It's okay, alright?" Kenji tries to comfort him. But he, like everyone else in the group, still couldn't process the absurdity of his claim. Elios jerks his shoulder back in frustration.

  "It's not okay! Khari...she...I can't even describe how it happened! Do you know what it feels like to lose someone important to you?! Do you-"

  "That's enough, Elios. Kenji's just trying to help, you don't need to lash out at him," Rey walks over to Elios and pushes Kenji back. Elios turns away in anger and sits himself down again.

  "Stop being so dramatic, Elios," Shinta rolls his eyes at him. Everyone turns and stares at him, shocked at what he said. "Crying and bitching doesn't make it any better."

  Elios stands up and walks to Shinta's face, grabbing him by the collar. Shinta stares at him, unfazed by Elios's anger. Both of them knew Elios couldn't do anything. The class difference was far too high between the two.

  "What the fuck did you just say?" Elios glares at him. Before anything could get ugly, Rey breaks them up.

  "Enough. Now is not the time to pick a fight. So shut the fuck up, Shinta," Rey glares at him. Shinta mumbles something to himself and tends to his work again. Amongst the whole group, there were only a few who could stand up to Shinta.

  "Elios...you're purposefully not telling us something," Rika hops off her desk, surprisingly comfortable enough to approach him. She empathized with him. "Your face says it all."

  Elios looks at everyone with a hesitant expression, not knowing if he should tell what he fully saw. It was almost too absurd for anyone to believe anyway when he couldn't accept it as reality either.

  "The nurse is dead. Khari killed and ate her," Elios admits. Dumbfounded, Lydia just stares at him with the most bamboozled expression.

  "Ate?! Now you're actually joking, what the hell are you talking about?!" Lydia shouts.

  "I don't know how to explain it either! But you all have to believe me! Khari killed the nurse and ate her..." Elios retorts with an incredulous face.

  "It's not that we don't want to believe you, Elios...it just sounds absurd," Kenji says with as much sympathy as he could muster. But he knew that he, himself, didn't remotely believe Elios. Before the conversation could be continued, distant screaming is heard from the hallways. Karna stands up to check it out and looks at the farthest side of the window. Elios was not lying.

  This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  Students were running and screaming for their lives from monsters already turned like Khari. They rampaged other students relentlessly and ate them alive mercilessly with faces contorted to a manic grin. It was as if their body no longer belonged to them. Slaughter, blood, and screams were approaching at an alarming rate.

  "Wha..." Karna barely utters out at the sight. Suddenly, an arm is thrown and splatters towards the window along with viscera, blood staining the glass into a menacing crimson, frightening Karna to the point he falls to the ground in pure terror with a yelp. Lydia turns away immediately, experiencing a nauseous feeling in her stomach. Elios grimaces at the sight and everyone stares at him quietly.

  "W-what the hell are we supposed to do now?!" Rey yells, knowing there wasn't an option for leaving the classroom anymore. Suddenly, a random student presses their face and repeatedly punches on the window violently. Scratch marks are left behind, a fracture made in the glass.

  "Please! Please! Let me in, I'm begging you! I don't wanna die!" he cries with anguish. Blood smeared his face and clothes, his body quivering and frantically looking around in fear. Everyone freezes, unsure of what to do, but Shinta jumps out of his seat to make a quick decision. He locks the door so there was no access to the classroom and approaches the terrified student.

  "We're prioritizing our own safety. Find somewhere else." he states callously. The student violently shakes his head.

  "No! It must be here! Everywhere else is closed and they're coming, I need to get in here, please!" the student rushes to the door and violently swings the doorknob until the lock breaks.

  "What the hell?! That was locked!" Rey yells in horror. The student's eyes turned bloodshot and his face distorted to the point where it looked no different than a rabid dog. Lydia screams at the terrifying sight, backing up being the only thing she can do. She throws Rika in front of her and runs to the other side of the classroom. Rika stands frozen, knowing she can't defend herself at all.

  "Do something!" Lydia shrieks. She jumps on top of the desk, hoping it wouldn't target her.

  Rey courageously sprints and body slams the monster, trying to force it out of the classroom. However, it only makes the student angrier and decides to target Rey. The monster lunges with its mouth agape, but Rey side steps, and the zombie slams its head to the ground. It persists and stumbles up again, lunging once more.

  "Over here, asshole!" Karna throws his backpack at the student, diverting its focus. It slurs indecipherably, saliva dripping out of its mouth before sprinting at Karna. He barely dodges the attack and tries to box it in with the wall and a desk. Unfortunately, he also wasn't strong enough to stop the raging beast. "Ugh, fuck! Help me!"

  "Move!" Rey roars.

  Karna swiftly moves to the side before Rey grabs the student's head and smashes it to a desk adjacent to him. The student loses balance and Rey takes it on alone, trying whatever he can to knock it out. To no avail, the student was far too vicious and powerful. It takes his powerful hits like nothing. The monster suddenly gets on top of Rey and starts clamping its teeth viciously, trying to infect him first.

  "Get this thing off of me!" Rey yells desperately for help. He flips the zombie back over and holds it at a chokehold, legs around its torso. Even his athletically inhuman stamina wasn't enough to keep the monster down. His grip on the student was weakening, so he pushes his whole body weight down. It does nothing as Rey loses balance from the monster's violent wriggling to break free.

  Just as Rey falls off the monster, Shinta pushes Rey and grabs the back of the student's shirt. He stabs its neck with scissors with no hesitation to ensure the student would at least stop moving. He continuously thrusts the scissors in and out until the student finally falls limp momentarily. Shinta throws the scissors to the side and grabs the student by the arms.

  "Help me move the body!" Shinta yells. Kenji and Elios rush first to assist and take the body out. As Elios reaches outside to finally push the body out, another dead student forces their way in. He spots another student rapidly sprinting with its mouth wide open and Elios lets the student through instinctively. Rey struggles to sit up, feeling lightheaded and notices the second student intruding the classroom.

  The student targets Rika, who only holds her arms up in fear. Rey grabs a chair and smashes it into the student's head. The student's head plunges through the seat of the chair and Rey quickly drags it to the other side of the classroom. He smashes a window with the student's head and uses all of the strength he has left to throw the body out. Glass shards leave shallow cuts on his hand and he winces in pain. Shinta tries to lock the door as quickly as possible.

  "The lock's fucked!" Shinta yells. He violently swung the door, but it was no use.

  "Block the door! Do something!" Lydia screams in response.

  "Shut the fuck up and help then, smartass!" Rey bellows. He heaves on a wall and breathes heavily in exhaustion. Lydia pauses and starts to help moving desks and chairs to create a massive barricade covering the entire entrance.