At the top floor of the girls' dormitory, within a shut bathroom, a young girl of about fourteen sat against a wall, her face ghastly pale, tears streaking down her cheeks, and her eyes filled with despair.
Immediately when the apocalypse had descended, she and her friend had been fortunate to be near their living quarters in the school. So, they had rushed toward their room. Even as chaos erupted around her and an undead lunged at her friend, knocking her down, she ran and ran, ignoring her best friend's plea for help. She had to save herself first before she could think of others.
She arrived before the door to her room and sealed it shut with no care for others who might come running. She took her phone from the desk, a few things she might need, and without any hesitation, locked herself within the bathroom.
Yet no matter how much she tried, she couldn't place a call as there was no signal. Not to mention that, for some reason, her phone was draining unnaturally fast. The sound of something breaking into the room outside almost made her scream in fear, but she covered her mouth in time and curled against the wall.
'Please... someone save me.'
'I don't want to die.'
She repeated the words in her head as she choked back her tears, even as hours began to pass. Luckily, nothing happened. She was still alive.
Then she felt a ruckus outside, and soon someone tried to open the door to the bathroom, causing her heart to leap into her throat. After trying without success, the person must have left as silence returned. She remained in her position, the fear that any slight movement might draw attention fixing her in place.
Not long after, hell broke loose. The roars of zombies... the sound of objects breaking... the sound of explosions.
She couldn't hold her screams back any longer and cried in pain and fear. She wanted this to be a dream. She wanted to wake from this nightmare. Once more, she was lucky her cries were drowned by the noise surrounding her. A few tense minutes passed like this, and silence returned once more.
After a while, her hand trembled as she drew the backpack she had brought closer to her. She pulled out a snack, and it took her a long time to open it because of her shaking limbs. After what felt like an eternity, she opened it and took slow bites, a small feeling of comfort engulfing her for the moment. She took a bottle of water, opened it with now more stable hands, and took a gulp. But before she could swallow, a system message appeared before her.
[ GLOBAL ANNOUNCEMENT : TEN ELITE ZOMBIES HAVE REACHED FIRST ORDER (LV. 25) LESS THAN SIX HOURS SINCE THE APOCALYPSE BEGAN. ]
The more she read the message, the more her heart slammed against her ribcage with such ferocity that she felt it might burst out of her chest. The water in her mouth silently dropped from her open mouth, and soon after, tears returned to her face.
Because she knew, deep down, that her chances of survival were close to zero. After all, the text floating quietly above her like an omen of death said it all.
[ LV 1 MAGE (COMMON) ]
.....
Claire's eyes were puffed and red with tears as she watched the scene before her.
"You have to do it, Sophia. Please."
"No, I cannot..." a small voice muttered out between tears.
"Okay. Just close your eyes, and I will guide your hand,"
"But... but..." No matter how the little girl tried to continue, she just couldn't seem to get the words out.
Claire clenched her fists tightly in pain and watched the small blonde-haired girl with matching eyes almost break down. Sophia had always been one of her favorite kids. The girl was pure, innocent, and always smiling. No matter how rough Claire's night might be, or how sad or tired she might feel, every time Claire met Sophia in the morning at school, a feeling of reinvigoration would fill her up, sending all negative thoughts away. It was almost as if her purity was cleansing her environment.
Or perhaps she was just that adorable.
And yet... Claire's eyes shifted to the second girl who was trying to force the girl to do something she would never have allowed a day before—no, a few hours back.
If Sophia was the light in Claire's life, then Rose was the spark. She was a mischievous little minx that always brought a smile to her face. Not to mention that she was the most intelligent person Claire had ever met in her life. Literally. More than once had she faced a wall in math, yet little Rose had been able to help. She would always say she would keep it their secret, yet would still demand snacks every other day while reminding her of their little secret, always bringing a laugh to her face.
If Sophia brightened her day, Rose was what made this tiring work fun. Which was why the scene before her was so difficult to accept. It hurt her so much that the guilt and pain she had felt from watching her pupils die before her was now little more than an afterthought.
Two zombies forcefully held another one of their kind down before the two young girls, while Rose, the black-haired girl, was trying to convince the pure Sophia to end its life.
Rose's big eyes shone with resolve as she grabbed Sophia's soft little hands and placed a knife—one that Claire had seen one of the zombies her pupil controlled bring into the class. Then she wrapped her hand tightly around Sophia's hands before plunging the knife deep into the zombie's skull with a squelch!
Blood splattered on both of their pale faces. Sophia quickly burst into more tears, tearing herself out of her friend's grasp and running to the stunned Claire for comfort. Rose just watched her leave, her big eyes clear despite what she had just done.
Claire hugged her pupil tightly and patted her back in comfort, the girl's cries muffled against her chest. She had not been able to stop Rose's actions because, after the system's global message, she knew there was no choice. If anything, she felt guilty toward little Rose for making her do such a thing, and felt ashamed she had just stood aside as a bystander.
She stretched her other hand toward the watching girl and whispered between her tears: "Come here!"
Rose blinked twice, her eyes fixed on Claire, before she took slow steps toward them and quietly entered her teacher's embrace. As the three of them hugged each other—two crying and one silent—while being guarded by two zombies standing watch at the entrance, Claire quietly made a vow.
She had not been able to save her other kids. She had not been strong enough to do what Rose did. But she would make sure she grew strong to protect them, even if she had to give her life.
*****
AN: Please, vote power stones.