The alarm echoed throughout the entire school.
It wasn't the usual fire signal. It was deeper. More urgent.
— RUN!
— MOVE!
— WHAT'S HAPPENING?!
Students pushed through the hallways, backpacks falling, notebooks scattered across the floor. Teachers shouted instructions no one could hear.
— Calm down! Stay calm!
No one did.
Elloysa gripped Davincci's arm tightly while Valhalla tried to force a path through the crowd.
— Don't let go! — Davincci shouted.
A shove came from the side.
Then another.
The mass of students turned into an uncontrolled current.
Elloysa lost her balance for a second.
A stronger impact threw her against a side door.
She fell inside an empty classroom.
The door slammed behind her.
When she tried to open it again, the crowd outside was blocking the passage.
— Open! — she pulled the handle.
Nothing.
The hallway was too congested.
The door wouldn't budge.
— Damn…
She tried again.
And again.
The noise outside grew louder.
Screams.
Footsteps.
Crying.
Then something changed.
The flow of people began to thin.
The police were already arriving.
Sirens in the distance.
Elloysa was breathing too fast.
She looked around.
Empty classroom.
Desks.
Whiteboard.
Windows that were far too large.
She thought quickly.
If whatever was causing all this was still inside the school…
She was vulnerable.
— Okay. Think. Think.
She locked the door.
Ran to the windows.
Closed the curtains.
Turned off the lights.
Pushed two desks against the entrance, improvising a fragile barrier.
Silence.
Now the sound came from far away.
Only sirens.
She slid down to the floor, sitting behind the teacher's desk.
Her hands trembled.
— It'll pass… it'll pass… — she murmured.
But the silence was worse.
Because in the silence, she could hear every small creak of the building.
Every distant step.
Every echo.
Time passed too slowly.
Minutes felt like hours.
Outside the school, police cars surrounded the building.
Officers shouted orders.
— Area secured!
— No one goes in!
— Identify survivors!
Students cried in the parking lot.
Some sat on the ground.
Others were calling their parents.
Valhalla looked around.
— Where is she?
Davincci turned sharply.
— Elloysa was right behind us!
— I know!
They started searching among the evacuated students.
— Elloysa! — Davincci shouted.
Nothing.
He asked a teacher.
— Have you seen her? Dark hair, black backpack?
The teacher was in shock.
— I… I don't know… I only saw people running…
Desperation began to rise like fire in his chest.
— She didn't get out… — Davincci said, his voice failing.
Valhalla realized what he was thinking.
— Don't do this.
But Davincci was already looking at the building.
Police occupied the main entrance.
The side was less guarded.
— I'm going to get her.
— Are you insane? — Valhalla whispered.
— She might still be inside!
Without waiting for an answer, Davincci moved along the side of the building, taking advantage of the chaos, crouching behind a parked police car.
He took a deep breath.
Looked around.
And entered through a partially open secondary door.
The interior was silent.
Terrifyingly silent.
In another part of the school…
Francielly walked through an empty corridor.
Her breathing was irregular.
Her hands dirty.
Her eyes normal.
For now.
She leaned against the wall.
— No… not again…
The pain returned.
Stronger.
Deeper.
As if something were pressing from inside.
She brought a hand to her head.
The air became heavier.
Sounds began to distort.
A growing buzz.
She slowly raised her face.
Her pupils began to dilate.
The iris darkened.
Black took over.
And in the center…
The white pupil reappeared.
An involuntary smile formed.
The school, now almost empty…
Was still not safe.
The school hallways were nearly empty now.
A distant siren.
Broken glass somewhere far away.
Papers scattered across the floor.
Francielly walked without a clear direction.
Or rather… she walked as if following something only she could hear.
She kicked a metal locker along the way. The impact dented the door as if it were thin paper.
— Silence… silence… silence… — she murmured, but the voice came out fragmented, layered with another deeper tone.
She stopped in the middle of the hallway.
Looked at her own hand.
Started bending her fingers backward.
A dry crack.
Then another.
She didn't seem to feel pain.
Only curiosity.
— It's not enough… — she murmured. — Still not enough…
On the other side of the building, inside the dark classroom, Elloysa was breathing too fast.
The silence had become worse than the chaos.
She heard occasional footsteps in the hallway.
And then… nothing.
She thought about Davincci.
Thought about Valhalla.
Thought that maybe everything was already over.
Maybe she was overreacting.
— I need to get out of here… — she whispered.
She ran to the door.
Tried to unlock it.
The key turned.
But the door seemed stuck by the pressure of the improvised barrier.
She pulled hard.
— Open! Open!
Nothing.
Fear began turning into desperation.
She pushed the desks aside.
Tried again.
The handle turned… but the door wouldn't move.
— Help! — she shouted. — Is anyone there?!
The echo returned only her own voice.
She began hitting the door with her shoulder.
Then with her hands.
— Please! Help me!
Outside…
Francielly stopped.
Her head tilted slightly.
She heard it.
Not just the scream.
But the accelerated heartbeat.
The desperation vibrating in the air.
She began walking toward the sound.
Slowly.
Her footsteps echoed through the empty hallway.
Inside the room, Elloysa heard footsteps approaching.
Relief came instantly.
— Hey! Hey! Help me! The door's stuck!
She tried pulling again.
A shadow appeared beneath the gap at the bottom.
— Please, open it!
No response.
Only the sound of the handle being tested from outside.
Once.
Twice.
Three times.
Elloysa smiled nervously.
— It's jammed, but it can open!
Silence.
The handle stopped moving.
For one second.
Then—
A brutal impact struck the door.
The wood cracked.
Elloysa stepped back.
— Hey! Calm down!
Another impact.
The structure split.
On the third strike, the door was torn away with absurd force.
It flew into the classroom.
And along with it, Elloysa was thrown backward, hitting a set of chairs that scattered across the floor.
The pain came immediately.
In her back.
In her shoulders.
The air left her lungs.
She tried to stand.
Groaned.
When she raised her gaze…
Francielly was standing at the entrance.
Hair disheveled.
Clothes stained.
Dry blood on her hands.
Her eyes completely black.
The white pupil shining at the center like a fixed point.
Elloysa froze.
— Fran…?
The creature tilted its head slightly.
As if it recognized the name.
But not the person.
Elloysa felt her whole body tremble.
Instinct finally overcame shock.
She forced herself to stand, even with the pain pulsing in her back.
Leaned on a broken desk.
And with trembling hands, tore one of the metal legs from the destroyed chair.
She held it like an improvised spear.
Her breathing irregular.
Her eyes fixed on Francielly.
The room was silent.
Only the sound of their breathing.
The confrontation was about to begin.
Elloysa stood in the middle of the destroyed classroom.
Her hands sweated on the metal bar she held.
Her heart was beating so hard she could almost feel the vibration in her ears.
She waited.
Not for an attack.
But for a sign.
Anything that showed there was still something human there.
Francielly took the first step.
Then another.
Then she began walking faster.
It wasn't exactly running.
It was a determined approach. Direct. Predatory.
Elloysa raised the chair bar.
Tried to steady her feet on the floor.
But her arm wouldn't obey.
She saw blood on her friend's clothes.
Saw the completely black eyes.
Saw that white point fixed in the center.
And the courage simply didn't come.
— I can't… — she whispered, her voice breaking.
She stepped back.
One step.
Then another.
But the distance shrank too quickly.
Francielly leaned slightly forward.
In a sudden movement, she lunged.
Elloysa tried to twist her body to escape.
Too late.
Francielly's hands grabbed her shoulders with crushing force.
The iron bar fell to the floor with a dry metallic sound.
— Let me go! — Elloysa struggled.
It was like trying to break free from a hydraulic press.
Francielly lifted her and threw her against the floor.
The impact forced the air out of Elloysa's lungs in a hoarse groan.
Before she could react, Francielly was already on top of her.
Her legs pinning Elloysa's sides.
Her hands pressing her arms against the cold floor.
Elloysa felt the weight.
It wasn't just physical.
It was suffocating.
Francielly's face began to move closer.
And then… it began to change.
The jaw cracked.
A wet, displaced sound.
The mouth opened beyond the human limit.
Then more.
And more.
The skin around the lips seemed to stretch impossibly.
Teeth began to appear.
Not just two rows.
But layers.
Dozens.
Thin natural blades, serrated, shining with saliva.
A hot metallic odor hit Elloysa's face.
— Francielly… what is this?!
The creature tilted its head like an animal analyzing prey.
Then it descended to bite.
Elloysa screamed and placed both hands against Francielly's jaw, pushing with all her strength.
Her arms trembled.
Her muscles burned.
She felt the pressure increasing.
The teeth were centimeters from her face.
Saliva dripped onto her cheek.
— FRANCIELLY! WAKE UP!
She screamed with everything she had.
It wasn't a plea.
It was a command.
Something changed.
The body above her hesitated.
The black eyes trembled.
The white pupil flickered.
The jaw slowly began to close.
The teeth disappeared as if they had never existed.
Francielly's breathing became irregular.
Confused.
Her eyes returned to normal.
— I…? — she murmured, lost.
That fraction of a second was enough.
Elloysa pushed with maximum force.
Francielly fell to the side.
Elloysa rolled across the floor and quickly moved away, breathing like someone who had just come out from underwater.
She looked at her trembling hands.
Then at Francielly, lying there, stunned.
Adrenaline turned into anger.
Fear transforming into indignation.
She stood up in a burst and ran.
Without thinking.
Without measuring.
She spun her body and delivered a direct kick to Francielly's face.
The impact echoed through the room.
A dry crack.
Francielly's nose broke instantly, blood flowing fast.
— WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?! — Elloysa shouted, her voice breaking between rage and panic.
Francielly brought a hand to her face, stunned.
Confused.
Injured.
In the hallway, footsteps echoed.
Fast.
Desperate.
Davincci appeared at the entrance of the room, out of breath.
He stopped when he saw the scene:
Elloysa trembling.
Francielly bleeding on the floor.
Desks scattered.
Door destroyed.
— Elloysa! Francielly!
He ran inside.
And at that exact moment, something in the air seemed about to change again.