Aeron kept checking his watch—again and again. Every tick made him breathe a little easier. The Zone was seconds away from stabilizing.
All around him, the students had finally relaxed. Small groups had formed, laughing together. A group near the corner had started softly singing, tapping on empty bottles like drums. A couple even got up to dance, their joy contagious. It was easy to forget they were just about to die a few seconds ago.
Aeron didn't join them. He just sat there, quietly smiling. Somehow, he'd led them this far. He'd gotten them to safety. Maybe luck really was on his side today.
10 seconds left.
His heart thumped with anticipation.
Then, without warning, Aeron stood up.
A wave of silence swept through the room.
Every head turned toward him, eyes wide. A few froze mid-laugh. Just the act of him standing up sent a ripple of fear through the crowd.
Aeron blinked in surprise, caught off guard by their reaction. Then he chuckled softly, raising both hands.
"Chill, guys," he said with a tired smile. "It's just... the Zone is about to stabilize."
Relieved laughter followed, along with a few sarcastic groans. Someone threw an empty wrapper at him.
But that fear—their immediate reaction—it reminded Aeron just how much trust they'd placed in him. Somehow, in less than an hour, he'd become their leader.
And it wasn't a bad feeling.
Aeron kept staring at his watch. Then, after a few seconds, he sighed in relief.
"We're good now," he said, more to himself than anyone else.
The mood soared. More cheering. More talking. It was done. They'd made it through the worst.
Now all they had to do was wait for the Guild.
Fifteen minutes more until the Guild entered the Zone—and if they found them quickly, under ten minutes, they just had to wait for twenty-five more minutes.
And since the Zone had stabilized, nothing should spawn inside. The barricades were already in place to stop monsters from entering from the outside. Now, they just had to wait peacefully.
And exactly that happened. It was so peaceful some kids even started sleeping.
Then, after fifteen more minutes—
A knock echoed from the main door.
Firm. Calm. Steady.
Everyone went quiet.
Aeron stood again, this time with a confident smile.
"That must be the Guild," he said. "Forty-five minutes exactly. They found us very quickly."
Cheers rose behind him. Someone said, "We're saved!" Others clapped or got up, ready to greet their rescuers.
Aeron moved to the door, heart full. He'd done it. They'd done it.
He began removing the barricade—the chairs, the desks, the stacked shelves.
He didn't check.
He was too tired.
Too happy.
Too relieved.
And that was his mistake.
The door creaked open.
And hell poured through.
A swarm of bat-like monsters shrieked as they burst into the room—dozens, maybe hundreds. Leathery wings sliced through air like blades, teeth sharp like broken glass.
[Image]
As soon as Aeron saw it, he turned and shouted—
"EVERYONE, GET BACK!"
But it was no use.
Kids screamed. Some tried to run. Others, instinctively, began activating their abilities.
One boy raised his hand and summoned jagged earth from the ground—but without control, the stone impaled a fellow student. Another girl, shrieking with panic, let lightning loose from her fingertips, frying three bats—and another child in the process.
But it kept getting worse. Some students with low Zone tolerance mutated from inhaling the Zone air.
A girl, already glowing with fire from her ability, suddenly exploded due to mutation. She screamed, but the sound was drowned by the fire bursting from her mouth and eyes.
No... no, no... this isn't how it was supposed to go.
"STOP USING YOUR ABILITIES!!" Aeron screamed, voice cracking. "STOP—YOU'LL KILL EACH OTHER!"
But no one listened.
The fear was too great. The chaos too loud. The trust had crumbled the moment the first scream was heard.
Aeron dropped to his knees, gripping his head. His breathing grew uneven. His chest heavy. He felt guilty.
'I should've checked. I opened that door. I let them in. I killed them.'
Tears welled up in his eyes—but he didn't even have time to cry.
A monster came from above, claws outstretched. It grabbed him by the legs and threw him upwards. He smashed into the ceiling with a crack, pain exploding in his spine. Before he could recover, another beast caught him mid-fall.
Claws wrapped around his neck.
Aeron choked, eyes bulging, air slipping from his lungs. He kicked wildly, vision dimming, the sounds of slaughter around him turning into a distant echo.
'This is it.'
Then—
BOOM.
A flash of white.
The monster's head exploded—splattered across the walls.
Aeron dropped hard onto the floor, coughing violently, trying to pull air back into his body.
Footsteps.
He looked up—dizzy, bleeding, heart beating fast—and saw them:
People in white armor, moving with deadly precision. Guns in hand, visors glowing, wearing black slick masks. Each blast from their weapons took down another monster with perfect aim.
And on their chest, proud and shining—
The eagle insignia.
[image]
Aeron was shocked.
Eagle Mercenaries.
The strongest private guild in the world. Elites. Hiring even a single one of them would cost around one million dollars. Each one of them could crush an army alone.
They were here.
They had come for them.
One of the mercs walked toward Aeron, stepping over corpses—both monster and student. He knelt down, extending a gloved hand.
"You alright? Can you stand up?" The voice came through the helmet, calm and authoritative.
Aeron stared up, vision blurring with tears, blood, and disbelief.
"Yeah, I can get up," he whispered, grabbing the hand with the last of his strength.
The merc pulled him up.
"We'll take it from here."
Aeron stood there, legs still shaking as the merc pulled him up. His breathing was ragged, chest tight, but he was alive.
And as he looked around, he realized why.
The Eagle Mercenaries moved quick, silent, and perfect. Each blast from their rifles sent a monster crashing to the floor.
Aeron could only watch in awe.
Then he saw it—a merc reloading, unaware of the bat-like monster dropping down from the ceiling behind him.
He sprinted forward and slammed his foot into the monster's chest mid-air. The beast hit the ground hard, twitching once before going still.
The merc spun around, surprised.
He looked at Aeron through his visor for a brief second. Then the merc gave a slow nod—just once. A sign of respect.
He didn't say anything. Just turned and kept fighting.
After that, everything moved quickly. The mercs split into two squads—one clearing a path through the school, the other escorting students out in small groups. They covered every angle, watched every blind spot.
No one else died.
Aeron followed orders, helped keep the students calm, even carried one unconscious student on his back.
When they finally stepped outside, everything felt lighter.
Media vans were already pulling up.
Drones hovered above, recording everything. Reporters rushed toward them, shouting questions, shoving mics forward, asking who saved them, what happened, how many had died.
Before Aeron could speak, the merc from earlier walked up and pulled him aside.
"Hey," the man said, voice filtered through the sleek helmet. "You were good in there. Real good."
He handed Aeron a thin black card.
"You looked promising. With this, you skip the written exams. Just show up to our lobby. We'll run a physical check, maybe a short interview. Judging by what I saw… combat division, easy."
He chuckled.
"Unless you're, like, ability-less or something. But that's rare."
Aeron let out a short laugh.
"Yeah... rare," he said, gripping the card tightly.
The merc gave him a pat on the shoulder and walked off.
Aeron stared at the card for a long second. The logo gleamed in the sunlight—Eagle Mercenaries. The best of the best.
He had no ability. But he wasn't going to pass on this opportunity. Without an ability, he was destined for a desk job—so why not get the desk job in the best guild?
He turned and walked back to the crowd of students.
Families had also arrived as the news spread, coming to comfort their kids after what they went through.
He looked around—and in the corner of his eye, he saw his father moving through the crowd of reporters, looking around panickily.
His face was pale. Tears were forming in his eyes.
Aeron smiled. His father did shout at him every morning, but deep down he knew he loved him the most.
Aeron moved silently through the crowd, hugging him from behind.
His father was shocked for a moment, then he turned back.
He gripped Aeron's shoulders tightly, whispering, "You're safe… You're safe…"
He kept repeating those words, kissing his forehead.
Aeron finally broke down in tears in his father's arms.
"Yes, Dad. I'm sorry for always arguing—"
But his father wasn't listening. Just too happy to see his kid standing.
He rubbed his back. "Your mom is back home crying. Let's go back."
Aeron nodded, tears dropping, but a smile appearing on his face.
But as they were leaving happily, he saw parents of other kids crying at the news of their child not making it out alive.
Aeron didn't react much on the outside—but deep down, he knew if he had been more attentive, he could've saved at least a hundred more kids.
And that guilt was eating him alive.