“Mr. Casper!” The teacher yelled from the front of the classroom.
“Yes… sir.” I responded groggily.
“I would appreciate it if you would stay awake in my class.” The teacher said. He turned to the chalk board and continued to write the words: Vixen, Charred, Deathless, Nightmare Crisis.
“Sorry sir.” I said sitting up in my chair. The classroom was about as normal as any. It had desks, chairs, tables, a chalkboard, and a skeleton of a Dweller.
“Now that you're awake maybe you can tell me about the Vixen.” The teacher said.
“Sure.” I paused for a moment to think. “Vixen’s are a demon subclass who were once humans. Because of the failure of the first Queen on earth, any human that was caught in ground zero were turned deathless, but because they lived so long past their natural lifespan they began to corrupt and decay becoming what we call Vixens.”
“Looks like someone did their homework.” The teacher said walking to the front of his desk. He leaned on the front of it and scanned the room, looking at all the students.
“What does a Vixen look like?” A student asked.
“A charred corpse wearing a gas mask. Generally, they will be carrying a large sharp object. It may be a sword, a piece of sheet metal, or even the bones of a dead troll.” The teacher responded.
“That's bullshit. My father said no one survived the Nightmare Crisis.” Another student snapped.
“Well Triton, your father is an idiot.” The teacher joked.
The bell rang and the students started to leave the room. Bits and pieces of paper remained in the wake.
“Sorry class looks like that's it for today.” The teacher got off before the last kid left the room.
I got up to leave the classroom when the teacher stopped me at his desk. I didn’t try to push past him, I didn’t try to weasel out of it, I just stood there and listened.
“Look James I'm glad you're able to keep up with the class, but I can't have you sleeping in the middle of it.” The teacher was trying his best to scold me. The thing is, I spent a lot of time in his room so it was almost like we were family.
“I'm sorry sir my team had a late night last night.” I tried telling him the truth.
“Are you sure? Miss Rose was wide awake the whole time.” He questioned me.
“Who do you think carried her home, because it certainly wasn't Jack.” I said taking a seat on a desk.
“Detention tonight after school, understood?” The teacher wanted to make sure I was listening so he wrote me out a slip. A small yellow piece of paper with my name and cause of misdemeanor on it.
“Yes sir.” I said grabbing the slip.
“Ok, now go. Mrs. Finehour will make us both climb the rope if I make you late again.” He said patting me on the back.
“Thanks sir.” I said hopping off the table.
“And remember two sugars not three.” He pointed at me with his pencil.
“Yeah yeah.” I dismissed him with my hand.
I stepped outside of the classroom door when out of the blue sirens started sounding off. They weren't the same as the normal fire drill alarms, these were different, louder and with a deeper tone. No one knew what to think of them at first, we haven't heard them before. Then there was a loud high-pitched scream.
Students scrambled left and right, but not a single person knew where to go. Papers were being tossed everywhere. Students being pushed to the ground. A shift in the flow sent all of them running towards me. Someone's hand grasped my vest and pulled me into a classroom.
“We have a problem.” The teacher said pacing in front of me. He looked worried, like extremely worried, the way you look when you did something really bad.
“You think. What the hell is going on out there?” I asked.
The teacher walked over to his desk and started fumbling with a key. It took him a few seconds to fit the key to the lock, he was shaking like a mad man.
“Somehow something has entered the school that our guardians couldn't handle.” He said.
“Do you have any idea what it is?” I asked walking over to his desk.
“Not a clue, but I'm sure you'll find out.” The teacher pulled from his desk a Winchester revolver. He held it out to me by the barrel. “Your team has been training for this stuff, right?”
“Not really, we’ve been training as a suicide team. First in last out situations.” I explained to him.
“Really? They only put the crazies on suicide squads.” He said.
“It was the higher ups decision. I don't question it.” I said.
“I guess you won't mind if I ask you to find the problem?” He asked.
I grabbed the gun from his hand and looked it over. The thing was in prestine condition, no flaw about it. The lights even shined off of the barrel.
“I guess I can.” I said.
“If it gets out of hand just run. No need to die for this, you have to serve detention with me either way.” He said.
“Don't worry you'll get your coffee.” I joked with him.
I stepped out into a now very empty hallway. Papers scattered the floor and the lights were flickering on and off. It was like the apocalypse hit, but without all the cracked tiles and broken lockers.
I was scared, but we couldn't be scared. We trained for a week just facing our fears. I don't think it helped much because I still feared death, but that is one thing they said we should never forget because when we fear death we fight for our lives.
Another piercing scream flew through the hallways. This time it was a man, the first was a woman. He had died, there was no doubt about it.
I peeked my head around the corner expecting to see something, but there was nothing, at least not at first. At the end of the dark hallway a single light flickered. What looked like a very tall man in a trench coat was dragging the body of a student.
My hand clenched tighter around the grip of the gun. I was working up the courage to run after the tall man.
“What the hell is that thing?” A voice said from behind me.
“Jesus Christ Jack, give me a heads up next time you sneak up on me.” I said clenching my racing heart.
“Sorry man.” Jack said looking around me.
“I could've shot you.” I said pulling Jack backwards.
“So, are you going after it?” Jack asked trying to sneak another peek.
“Yeah, gotta stop it before it gets out of hand.” I said looking at the gun.
“It’s gotta be crazy strong if it took out the guardians.” Jack said.
“That's what I'm afraid of.” I said.
“Come on then. Let’s go.” Jack said running around the corner. That's when I remembered the reason we were turned into a suicide squad; my whole team loves to run into danger.
“Are you coming?” Jack motioned.
“Shut up.” I said running after Jack.
The hallway had an eerie feel to it. It didn't help that only one light worked, barely. Jack was nowhere to be found. The guy was like a ninja at the worst of times. A scraping noise could be heard coming from the girl’s locker room. I feared the worst for whoever was already in there.
I pressed against the door slowly cracking it open. A whiff of blood came rushing out of the crack. I let the door close back up as I slid down the wall thinking about what I was facing. Someone screamed from inside the locker room, someone familiar. I didn't think, I just ran into the locker room.
A small red light in the center of room gave off a little light to see. Blood covered just about every inch of the floor. Bodies were stacked in clothing carts. It was hell in a handbasket.
The tall man came walking back into the room from the gym door carrying yet another body, this one a young girl. She was still alive. The tall man slammed the girl on the floor into a pool of blood. It splashed up everywhere covering the girl. She was looking directly at me now.
“Help me.” She cried reaching out for me. “Help me, please.” I reached my hand out to her, but it was too late. Blood curdling screams filled the air as the tall man drove a large blade into her back. Over and over again the tall man slammed his blade into her back. Over and over again she begged for help.
My hands were shaking. Never have I ever seen such brutality in my life. I hate to think of what happened to everyone else inside this room. I hope they didn't go through the same thing she's going through.
“Hey, did you forget how to do your job?” Jack said grabbing the gun from my hands. “Get ready to grab the girl. She may still have some fight left in her.
Jack pointed the gun at the tall man and pulled the trigger. The gun sounded off multiple times but nothing happened.
“What the hell, they're duds.” Jack said looking at the gun.
The tall man turned to look at Jack and he was pissed. The tall man swung his blade over Jack taking out several lockers.
“Get the girl now, James.” Jack yelled.
I ran in while he distracted the tall man. The girl had her face down in the blood. My hopes of her surviving were pretty bleak. I took hold of her arms and pulled. I fell backwards as the upper half of her body let loose from the lower half. I freaked out and backed up until my back hit the wall. Her blood was on my hands.
My breathing got heavy, my body felt like it turned to stone. The only thing I could do was look at the lifeless body of the girl.
“We need to go now.” Jack said pulling on my shirt as he ran towards the door.
The tall man’s blade crashed right above my head dragging along the wall and catching Jack’s shoulder. I didn't think. I just ran after Jack, terrified. Look at me, a leader who can't even move in the first sight of danger.
We got into the hall and kept running. I don't know where we were going, but it didn't matter as long as we were getting out of there. Jack stopped dead in his tracks and I ran into him.
“Jesus James, watch where you're going.” Jack said.
“What's the matter?” I asked.
“There's another one.” Jack pointed at the end of the hall.
Walking under an exit sign was another tall man dragging another person. This person was still alive, struggling, hitting anything that might get them free. When they passed under the light of the exit sign I knew exactly who it was.
“Jack, that's Valentine.” I said starting to run after the tall man.
We rounded the corner just in time to see Valentine break free from the tall man's grip. The tall man was pissed. He let out a loud low pitch groan right as he pulled his blade back. I didn't think, I just kept on running, hoping I would make it to her in time. The tall man thrust his blade forward and I slid in front of it just in time to catch the blade with my body. I lost all ability to move except stand there and hold the blade from going any further towards Valentine. My eyesight began to vanish as the blood from my body ran out along the blade.
“Valentine, you need to move.” I said as the blade left my stomach. Something hit me hard in the side and I went flying against the wall and nailed my head on a locker. I couldn't hear or see. I was pretty sure that I was dead.
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