Chapter 4

The dragging footsteps outside stopped directly in front of the fitting room door. Through the thin wooden panel, they could hear a wet, ragged breath. A sharp claw scraped against the paint.

Scratch... scratch... scratch.

The creature was sniffing the air, hunting for the scent of blood or fear.

Inside, the air grew ice cold. Charis’s chest heaved as panic took over. A choked gasp began to rise from her throat a sound that would doom them all.

Before the noise could escape, Lyka lunged forward through the dark. She clamped her hand firmly over Charis’s mouth, pinning her against the wall. Lyka stared into Charis's wide, terrified eyes, shaking her head desperately. Don't make a sound, Lyka's eyes pleaded. Charis squeezed her eyes shut, nodding as tears soaked into Lyka’s palm.

Suddenly, a loud crash echoed from the far side of the backstage area.

Another student, who had been hiding inside a prop storage chest, had finally snapped from the terror. He threw the chest open and bolted across the stage, screaming at the top of his lungs.

The wet breathing outside their door instantly vanished. The heavy thumping of running footsteps and sharp clicks... snap sounds filled the room as almost all of the monsters including several students who had just turned into monsters chased after the screaming boy.

Their heavy footsteps faded out of the gym as they pursued him into the rain.

Bravo Leader slowly lowered his rifle, peering through a small crack in the fitting room door.

"Most of them left," the soldier whispered, his voice grim. "But three of those things are still pacing around the gym floor. We can't stay here forever. We need a plan."

"A plan?" Norie whispered, her voice trembling. "

"They just wiped out your entire squad! How are we supposed to fight them?"

"We don't all have to fight," Nicay said, her voice surprisingly steady as she adjusted the strap of her gear bag.

She opened the zipper, pulling out her sleek, metallic fencing foil.

"I'm a fencer. I have my blade. It’s light, but if I aim for the eyes or the throat, I can keep them back."

Lyka looked at Nicay's sword, and then a spark of determination lit up in her own mind.

 "I can help too," Lyka whispered, turning to the group.

"I know archery. I brought my competitive recurve bow and a full quiver of arrows to school today. I was supposed to practice at the gym's indoor range right after the exam."

"Where is it?" Patricio asked, his eyes widening.

"It’s in the athletic locker just outside this stage area," Lyka replied. "If we can reach that locker, I can get my bow. I’ll stay in the back and provide long range support while you and the soldier cover the front."

Bravo Leader looked at the two girls, a grim nod of respect hiding behind his helmet.

"Alright. The fencer and I will draw their attention and hold the front line. Lyka, you get to that locker, grab your gear, and cover us from the stage. Patricio, you stay with the other girls and guard this room. If anyone gets close, you yell."

Patricio nodded seriously, gripping a heavy metal clothing rack leg he had broken off to use as a club. "Be careful out there."

Lyka took a deep, steadying breath. Her hands were no longer shaking. She looked at Nicay, and with a sharp nod, they prepared to step out into the blood-stained gymnasium.

Kenan carefully pushed the fitting room door open. With only one magazine left, he gripped his rifle tightly as he stepped out onto the dark stage.

Nicay followed right behind him, her fencing sword raised, while Lyka sprinted quietly toward the athletic lockers on the far side of the backstage area.

Fortunately, the remaining Hallows were distracted, tearing at the ruins of the gym barricade. Lyka found her locker, smashed the latch with a heavy prop weight, and pulled out her archery gear. Her hands moved on pure muscle memory as she grabbed a sharp arrow, clicked it onto the string, and drew the bow all the way back to her jawline. From the elevated stage, she had a perfect line of sight.

"Now!" Kenan barked.

He opened fire in short, controlled bursts. The bullets slammed into the first Hallow, dropping it to the floor. Hearing the noise, the other two monsters spun around, their bones clicking violently as they charged the stage.

Nicay stepped forward, her stance flawless. As the second Hallow lunged, she lunged too, driving her thin metal blade straight through its eye socket. The creature collapsed with a wet gurgle.

But the third beast was a massive mutated former athlete. It dodged Kenan's final bullets and slammed heavily into Nicay, throwing her onto her back. Nicay screamed as she was pinned down, using the handguard of her sword to desperately hold back the creature's snapping, bloody jaws. Its milky eyes stared right into hers, saliva dripping onto her face.

"Nicay!" Patricio shouted from the backstage entrance.

Ignoring Kenan's order to stay hidden, Patricio rushed out onto the stage. He swung the heavy metal rack leg with all his might, striking the monster squarely in the ribs. The heavy blow cracked its mutated spine, forcing it off Nicay, but as the creature fell, its long claws grazed across Patricio’s forearm.

"Ah!" Patricio gasped, stumbling back as blood soaked through his torn sleeve.

The Hallow hissed, twisting its broken body to snap at Patricio. But it never got the chance.

Thwack!

An arrow shot by Lyka pierced the monster deeply in the chest, pinning it to the stage floor. A split second later, Nicay scrambled to her feet and drove her sword straight into its heart, right next to the arrow. The monster finally went limp, its milky eyes losing their frantic spark.

Breathing heavily, Lyka lowered her bow, her chest heaving as she ran down to the stage floor. "Patricio! You're hurt!"

"It's just a graze," Patricio wheezed, clutching his bleeding arm, though his face had gone completely pale.

"I couldn't just watch her die."Nicay looked at him, her tough expression softening into deep gratitude.

 "Thank you, Patty. I owe you one."Before they could bandage the wound, a heavy, rhythmic chopping sound echoed directly above the building.

The glass windows vibrated.Suddenly, a loud crackle of static broke the silence. The radio on Kenan's vest came alive, a frantic voice cutting through the noise.

"Bravo Leader! Kenan, do you copy? This is Raptor One. Support has arrived. We are hovering directly above the school roof. We cannot touch down on the streets the ground is entirely overrun. Get your survivors and move to the rooftop extraction zone now! We can only hold this position for ten minutes. Over!” Kenan tapped his helmet, his face grim but determined.

 "Copy that, Raptor One. We are on our way up. Out." He turned to the teenagers, his eyes scanning their terrified, blood-stained faces.

"You heard him. We have a way out, but we have to climb to the roof. Patricio, bind that arm quickly. We move in thirty seconds."

Lyka looked at her friends, her heart hammering against her ribs as she tightly gripped her bow. They had survived the gym, but the hardest climb of their lives was about to begin.

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