Chapter 2

The three of them searched through the crowded hallways for their classroom, stepping inside just as the warning bell rang. They quickly found their seats, shivering slightly as they brushed the remaining rainwater from their hair and clothes. Before the teacher could begin, Nicay leaned over the aisle and gave Lyka a reassuring elbow nudge.

"Hey, don't sweat it, Lyka. You're the smartest one out of all of us, you're going to absolutely crush this thing."

Patricio smiled warmly from the row ahead, turning around to nod in agreement. "She's right. Stop overthinking it and just do your best. We've got your back."

Lyka felt the tight knot of anxiety in her chest loosen. She offered them a grateful smile, glad to have them by her side.

"Thanks, guys. Let's just get this over with." She said with a serious face that she might perfect the exam.

A moment later, the teacher arrived at the front of the room, loudly announcing the subject of the exam and instructing everyone to clear their desks. As the test papers were handed out, Lyka looked out the window.

On the side, a flock of birds sat perched in the downpour rain, singing harmonically against the glass window.

To Lyka, it felt like a beautifully poetic moment, when the birds dancing together under the gray, rainy sky. It was a brief sight of peace that made her forget about her stressful morning.But the poetry was violently cut short.

The birds suddenly scattered and flew away as the heavy thumping roar of approaching helicopters shattered the quiet moments. The deafening sound echoing from the skies made every student stop mid sentence on their test papers.

Pencil froze against paper as everyone turned their heads toward the windows. The city outside was in a complete uproar. Through the rain clouds, thick black smoke and bright bursts of fire erupted from a block dangerously close to the school campus. Sirens wailed from the streets below, competing with the thundering blades above.

Before the panic could break out in the classroom, the school’s system crackled to life with a loud, urgent announcement.

“Attention all students and staff. The current exam session has been postponed. Please remain calm and follow your instructors. We are initiating an immediate evacuation to the gymnasium and the nearest safe zones to avoid the fire near the campus. Move quickly and orderly.”

The classroom erupted into chaos as chairs scraped against the floor, Lyka swapping a terrified look with Patricio and Nicay as the reality of the nightmare began to set in.

Lyka, Patricio, and Nicay exchanged wide eyed looks of panic as the sirens blared.

"Stay close!" Nicay shouted over the noise, grabbing Lyka by the arm. "We need to line up and stick together so we don't get lost in the crowd!"

"Move, move!" Patricio urged, ushering them toward the exit.

They abruptly joined the sea of panicked students rushing down the hallway toward the gymnasium.

Inside the massive gym, the air was thick with tension and echoing whispers. Through the crowd, Lyka spotted a few familiar faces pushing toward them, their classmates Norie, Charis, and Trixie.

"What's happening?!" Norie gasped, her voice trembling.

"Did a fire break out?"

"Is the school under attack?" Charis asked, looking frantically between them while Trixie gripped her arm in fear.

"We don't know exactly," Nicay explained, trying to keep her voice steady.

"But Lyka saw flashing lights on the highway, and there's black smoke coming from just a block away. Something is really wrong."

As the students huddled together in the safety of the gym, completely oblivious to the true nature of the threat and the horror outside of the campus.

OUTSIDE THE CAMPUS

On the smoke filled streets just outside the school gates, three military helicopters touched down with a deafening roar. Out stepped a squad of elite soldiers clad in heavy tactical gear and specialized armored masks members of the BioContainment Strike Unit, or BCSU. They had been deployed in a rush, completely blind to what they were actually facing.

Fanning out with rifles raised, the soldiers surveyed the gruesome scene.

One of the soldiers said " what happened here?"

" That's what we're going to find out" With a stern face under his mask.

The street was a graveyard. Bodies lay scattered across the asphalt, brutally torn apart by the monstrous entity from the transport truck the creature whose spine had violently lengthened and snapped under its skin.Near the wreckage, a soldier knelt beside a body wearing a torn, bloody biohazard suit.

It was the original hazmat man who had approached the truck cabin.

"Sir, check this out," the soldier called out through his helmet's comm link, rolling the scientist over.

"He's dead, sir. Looks like some kind of animal attack. Massive trauma to the throat."

"Secure the perimeter and check the side alleys!" the commander ordered over the radio.

Leaving the man's body unguarded for just a couple of minutes, the squad fanned out to sweep the surrounding buildings and clear the path toward the school.

It was a fatal mistake.

Behind them, the dead man's fingers twitched against the pavement.

A wet, sickening click... click... snap echoed from his neck. His eyes flew open, completely milky white, his jaw unhinging with an unnatural gurgle.

Before the nearest soldier could even turn around, the infected corpse lunged from the ground, tackling him into the shadows of a smashed vehicle. A choked scream tore through the radio as the virus claimed its next victim.

The smoke-filled street outside instantly turned into a desperate, chaotic battlefield.

Behind the vehicle, the dead scientist's body began to deform. A wet, sickening crunch... wet snap... crunch echoed through the alley as his spine forcefully lengthened, tearing through the biohazard fabric. He let out a wet, guttural screech.

Before the nearest soldier could even turn around, the freshly turned Hallow lunged from the ground.

"Ambush! Behind us!" a soldier screamed through his comm link as he was tackled into the dirt.

"Get it off him! Fire! Fire!" the commander ordered, his rifle flashing blindly into the gloom. Bullets tore into the creature's chest, but it didn't even flinch. It buried its teeth deep into the soldier's neck, tearing away flesh.

"Ahhh! Help me! It's biting through my suit! God, please, help" The soldier's desperate radio transmission cut out into a wet choke.

To make matters worse, the citizens who had been slaughtered on the pavement by the original truck driver began to change. From all around the smoke, the horrifying sound of them rising filled the air with a chorus of click... snap... pop as dozens of human spines broke and elongated at once.

 They rose from the dead, their eyes milky white, and let out an echoed, unified howl that rattled the school's windowpanes.

"They're multiplying! Command, we need immediate extraction! We are being overrun!" the radio operator panicked, his voice cracking as three closed in on him.

 "No, wait, ...get away from me! Ahhh!"

Within minutes, the overwhelming swarm completely destroyed the unit. Frantic gunfire ceased, replaced by the terrifying sounds of ripping cloth, cracking bones, and monstrous snarls.

Only three soldiers managed to break away from the slaughter. Bleeding, terrified, and desperate, they turned and fled toward the only fortification nearby the school.

"Get to the building! Lock it down!" one of the surviving soldiers yelled through his shattered helmet, as he shouted looking back at the horde of monsters chasing them through the pouring rain.

They slammed through the back entrance of the campus, desperately looking for a place to hide. But they hadn't closed the heavy doors fast enough. Following closely behind them was the horde. As the monsters swarmed the campus grounds, they caught the late-arriving students who were still trapped outside in the rain, dragging them down into the mud.

Terrified shrieks and the sound of breaking glass echoed through the school hallways, heading directly toward the gymnasium.

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