A low, guttural moan escaped Ms. Lily's lips. Her head snapped up. Her eyes, once filled with a determined glow, were now vacant. The wound on her shoulder festered, and black veins spiderwebbed across her skin.
"Get away," Ms. Lily snarled. Her body contorted. Her bones cracked and reset into unnatural angles. She lunged at the nearest person, Hafen, with impossible speed.
Hafen's eyes widened in horror. He scrambled back and tripped over a fallen desk. He landed hard on the floor. He stared at the woman who had been their teacher, now a monster.
The zombie version of Ms. Lily pinned Hafen to the ground. Her jaw unhinged as she prepared to bite.
Pepe's hesitation consumed him. The image of Hafen about to be bit burned into his mind. He raised the pistol, and the promise to Ms. Lily echoed in his thoughts. He aimed at the former teacher's head.
"Hafen," Matteo yelled. He threw himself and kicked Ms. Lily in the head.
Ms. Lily flew sideways and crashed into a wall. She shook her head and groaned nonsense.
Stark intercepted her. "Ms. Lily. It's us. Your students," he pleaded with a trembling voice.
Ms. Lily turned her head. Her eyes had no recognition.
"Shoot her," Elaine shrieked.
Jasper's face was a mask of horror. He grabbed Elaine's arm and pulled her back.
Pepe's hands trembled uncontrollably. He tried to steady the pistol and pull the trigger. Even so, he couldn't. He remembered her kindness and her belief in them.
Brad threw his head back and let out a triumphant laugh. "Look at her. She's one of mine, now. My master will be pleased," he taunted.
Benjamin stared at Ms. Lily with a grim expression. "She is no longer with us," he declared and readied his knife.
From the hallway, more zombies shuffled close.
"They're coming," Matteo alerted.
Drawn by the noise, a horde of zombies shambled into the classroom through the broken wall.
"We're surrounded," Hafen stammered and backed away.
Suddenly, a new wave of zombies burst through the classroom door, blocking their escape.
Stark, Matteo, and Hafen, along with Benjamin, Jasper, and Elaine, found themselves trapped in a desperate struggle. They stood back-to-back against the encroaching horde.
Stark swung a broken chair leg, shattering a zombie's skull.
Matteo zig-zagged between the undead.
Hafen used a heavy textbook as a shield.
Jasper and Elaine, though terrified, fought with makeshift weapons, desperation lending them strength.
Benjamin swung his knife and headed towards Brad.
Ms. Lily, now a mindless monster, joined the horde. She moved through the chaos with a terrifying, unnatural grace.
Benjamin thrust his knife towards Ms. Lily.
Ms. Lily evaded between his attacks with a graceful skip. She grabbed Benjamin's arm and twisted it.
Benjamin cried out in pain.
From behind, Pepe watched the chaos unfold. His mind raced, and he recalled.
"Zombies have no recognition of their previous lives. They become empty husks. Don't hold back if one of your friends turns into one," a gruff voice reminded him in his head.
Now, Pepe moved around, and his injuries hindered him. He, driven by a desperate need to protect everyone, leaped in front of Brad.
Brad stared at him in surprise.
"This is the end, Brad," Pepe proclaimed. He fired the pistol at point-blank range.
The bullet tore through Brad's head.
Brad staggered back. He twitched and scowled with a flicker of annoyance. He struggled to speak.
With wide eyes, Pepe fired again and again until the gun clicked empty.
Brad's face became a mangled mess, and he collapsed to the floor in a pool of his own dark blood. "Master... Need... More... Power," he gurgled his final words.
Pepe stared at the smoking pistol in his hand. "I'm sorry, Ms. Lily. I won't be able to end your suffering, but I'll make a different vow," he muttered and turned to her.
Ms. Lily limped and groaned abnormally among the other zombies. Her face was a grotesque mess.
Pepe swore, "It's the same promise I made to my other friend. I'll bring you back. I don't know how, but one day, you'll be human again."
Separated by the horde, the students fought for their lives.
In the meantime, The Exalted One spectated from outside. He observed the chaos within the classroom through the shattered windows. He sensed the final, fading spark of Brad's life extinguish.
"They served me well. I'll take my prize, now," The Exalted One murmured to himself. He raised a hand.
A wave of dark energy pulsed from him, and it washed over the school grounds.
The zombies, all at once, froze mid-attack. Their heads snapped up, and their vacant eyes fixated on the sky.
A new command echoed in their minds, "Scatter."
With one final, collective shriek, the zombies turned as one and shambled away from the school. The horde flowed back out through the broken windows and doors. They left behind a scene of utter devastation.
In the classroom, the sudden cease-fire was jarring.
Stark, breathing heavily, lowered the chair leg he was using as a club. He stared in bewilderment at the retreating zombies.
"What's happening," Jasper sought to know, and he held Elaine tightly.
Benjamin, who had been fighting off Ms. Lily, watched as she turned and shambled away with the others. He lowered his knife, and a wave of exhaustion washed over him.
The classroom was a wreck. Broken desks, shattered glass, and splatters of dark blood covered everything. The bodies of the fallen students and teachers remained scattered on the floor.
Pepe dropped the empty pistol on the floor with a clatter. He looked down at Brad's corpse. "We need to leave," he urged.
Hafen pushed himself to his feet. He looked at the empty doorway, and a grim expression formed on his face. "Someone's calling them back. It's The Exalted One," he murmured.
"Why did he save us," Matteo questioned.
"I don't know," Hafen replied and faced outside with slight dread. "Are we really safe," he challenged as a dark premonition settled over him.
Outside, The Exalted One stood there menacingly. He gazed into the classroom with a cold, calculating expression. "Your little skirmish has been most entertaining," he taunted, and his voice echoed in their minds. His gaze drifted over the survivors, and it lingered on Benjamin, Jasper, and Elaine. He kept a malevolent smile. "Yes. These three will do nicely, for now," he remarked, and he pointed a finger at them.
"I want to go home," Elaine whimpered, and she finally broke down. She collapsed to her knees and sobbed.
Jasper, who had been her pillar of strength throughout the ordeal, knelt beside her. He wrapped his arms around her and held her close. "It's okay, Elaine. Together. We're going to be alright," he whispered.
Benjamin frowned and took a step forward. "What do you want from us," he demanded to know.
The Exalted One chuckled and declared, "You are the ones I seek. You'll be coming with me." He raised a hand, and dark energy gathered around it.
Suddenly, a dark, viscous energy coalesced around Benjamin, Jasper, and Elaine.
Elaine shrieked as she was lifted into the air.
"No," Jasper cursed and struggled, but it was no use.
Benjamin's eyes widened in surprise. He grunted and strained against the invisible force, and his muscles bulged. Still, he was slowly pulled towards the window alongside Jasper and Elaine.
"Let them go," Stark yelled and charged forward.
Hafen and Matteo followed him.
Pepe clenched his teeth and limped behind them.
"Stark. Hafen. Matteo. You weren't strong enough to stop me. I'll see you again in about five years. By then, I expect you all to be more of a challenge," The Exalted One divulged and sneered. With a final, wicked laugh, he swiftly vanished into the depths with Benjamin, Jasper, and Elaine.
At the same time, the zombies received a new order from a different voice.
"What are you doing? Take over the forest! Feast on all humans," it reordered.
The zombies turned and lurched back to the school.
Meanwhile, Hafen, Stark, Matteo, and Pepe desperately ran out of the school, but Benjamin, Jasper, and Elaine were gone.
The sudden efficiency of the abduction now left the scene of carnage more violated than before. There were no chances to fight back. Three of the students had disappeared in the blink of an eye.
"Benjamin," Matteo whispered. He looked at the empty path where his friend had just been.
"Argh," Stark roared and kicked at the dirt. He turned to Hafen with a desperate look and urged, "We have to go after them."
"Go after them? How," Hafen asked. His face, streaked with dirt and tears, was a mask of disbelief.
"Five years. What did he mean by that," Stark inquired, and he clenched his fists. He had never felt so powerless and utterly humiliated.
"I don't know," Hafen admitted.
"We can't do anything about it. Not now," Pepe insisted and placed a reassuring hand on Stark's shoulder. He scanned the school grounds, and the last of the zombies shambled towards them. "Look. We have a new problem," he pointed out as a grim expression settled on his face. "The zombies are changing directions after The Exalted One left. Whoever sent them here to invade is still out there. They are bad guys, too," he warned.
A new, chilling shriek broke through the school grounds.
Zombies, with a renewed sense of purpose, shuffled towards them.
Matteo shuddered and commented, "You know, I never expected school to be like this."
"This goes further than any regular first day of school.
"We have to get out of here. Now," Pepe commanded and motioned his siblings to follow. He grimaced through his injuries and hurried towards the depths.
Stark, Hafen, and Matteo aided him to walk.
"Where will we go? The Orphange," Hafen surveyed.
"We're going to my master, Old Man Marcus," Pepe revealed with determination.
"Who," Matteo, Stark, and Hafen queried in unison.
As the survivors of the school invasion escaped, Cassandra, chained and alone in her dark room, shivered uncontrollably. A new, chilling shriek echoed in her mind. A new purpose.
The Orphanage...
"Kill... Everyone," Cassandra moaned.
The chains that bound her rattled as she pulled. With a final, desperate tug, they snapped.
The girl of the depths was free. Her eyes, once filled with a desperate plea for help, now burned red with a terrifying fury.
What fate awaits Benjamin, Jasper, and Elaine? What kind of horrors will the orphans at The Orphanage face? Who is this Old Man Marcus? Who commanded the zombies to invade the forest?