At the training grounds, the faint light of the setting sun cast long, distorted shadows across the gruesome scene.
Brad's massive body lay still amidst the shattered wooden spears.
The Exalted One approached the fallen guard. He stopped and looked down with a dismissive sneer. "A pathetic display. You couldn't even handle a few children," he taunted.
A dark, viscous energy coalesced around his hands.
The Exalted One placed his glowing palm on Brad's cold back. "You could still be of use," he remarked.
In an instant, a wave of dark energy surged into the corpse.
Brad's body convulsed violently. The sound of bones snapping and resetting reverberated. Fresh, dark blood pumped from his wounds, sealing them shut. His grayish skin regained a hint of its former color, though it remained pale and clammy. His eyes snapped open, no longer vacant but burning with a malevolent, intelligent glow. He let out a guttural roar, but it wasn't the mindless shriek of a zombie. It was a roar of power and recomposure. He rose to his feet and towered over The Exalted One. His movements were no longer the clumsy shamble of the undead. They were fluid and controlled. He stretched his limbs, and a series of loud cracks echoed through the training grounds. He flexed his muscles, and they bulged with a newfound strength.
"Much better," The Exalted One commented with a cruel smile. He circled Brad, like a sculptor admiring his work, and alleged, "You are no longer a mindless drone of The Covetous Queen. Now, you are my own creation. My general."
Brad lowered his head in a gesture of submission. His once-proud guard uniform was now tattered, underlying his betrayal. "This power. I am... reborn. Thank you," he growled, and his voice was a deep, resonant rumble. "I will not fail you, my master," he proclaimed. He looked towards the school building, and his burning eyes scanned the windows. "The brats... I will make them pay," he groaned with a scowl.
The Exalted One chuckled. "Patience. I have a different goal in mind," he asserted. He gestured towards the school. "My real goal is not their demise, but their capture," he paused and added with a menacing tone, "And I want to see their potential when pushed to the brink."
Brad's brow furrowed. "Capture? Why can I not simply destroy them," he questioned with a hint of frustration.
The Exalted One's smile widened, and he explained, "True power lies in control. These children... They are pieces of a grand puzzle, and I intend to collect them all for my grand piece."
Brad nodded, though the concept was still alien to him in what remained of his brain.
"Go," The Exalted One commanded and pointed towards the main building. "Hunt down the survivors. Corner our rats, our little test subjects. Let us see what happens when they are given a glimmer of false hope."
Brad cracked his knuckles. "As you wish, master," he muttered. He turned and walked towards the school. His steps were heavy and deliberate, and they left visible footprints in the dirt. He pushed through the remaining zombies as they were mere obstacles. He placed a hand on the main door and pushed.
The heavy wooden door swiftly swung open.
Brad stepped into the darkened hallway, and a predator's grin stretched across his face.
In the meantime, Hafen, Pepe, and Ms. Lily remained in the intermediate studies classroom.
Ms. Lily sat at her desk and ate Pepe's apple. She savored the last bite with a final, satisfying crunch and swallowed. She sighed contentedly and tossed the core into a trash bin. "Best apple I've had in ages," she commented and turned to Hafen and Pepe. "You two should get going. It's getting late," she advised.
Pepe paced near the front of the class. His gaze kept drifting towards the locked cabinet behind Ms. Lily's desk.
"We're waiting for Stark and Matteo," Hafen asserted. He sat at his desk with a calm demeanor.
Just as he finished speaking, a distant scream echoed from the back of the school. It was faint but filled with terror. A short pause followed before other screams joined in.
Hafen and Pepe's heads snapped towards the classroom door.
Ms. Lily's easygoing demeanor vanished. Her body tensed, and she was on her feet in a heartbeat. "What was that," she asked with a tight voice.
Suddenly, the school alarms went off.
The students grew worried.
Ms. Lily soothed them. She reassured the students that everything would be alright.
A student, at the window, gasped and pointed outside.
Ms. Lily, and the other students, approached the windows.
The brothers and Pepe saw a cloaked figure approaching the school. They recognized the symbol on its cloak. It was The Exalted One.
There were students crying.
Ms. Lily shushed the students. She demanded them to hide under their desks.
The students complied.
The three brothers wondered if the Exalted One came for them.
Pepe, furious, declared that they should take the opportunity to get some payback.
The Exalted One asserted that they gathered the next generation of special individuals into one room. He continued that it was very convenient.
Ms. Lily stood by the window. She questioned who he was.
The Exalted One chuckled and proclaimed that they were the harbingers of death.
Just then, a zombie broke through the door and lunged at Hafen.
Ms. Lily tackled the zombie into the ground.
The zombie and Ms. Lily tumbled across the floor.
The students, hiding under the desks, screamed, and they were horrified.
Ms. Lily struggled to hold off the zombie as it chomped at her.
The zombie bit Ms. Lily's shoulder and broke her arm.
Ms. Lily yelled.
Pepe reached his hand inside his bag. Inside his bag, there was a pistol. As the zombie chewed on the teacher's neck, Pepe shot the zombie in the head.
Blood splattered everywhere. As the zombie stopped, the students panicked and ran out.
Ms. Lily groaned and stood back up. Her skin turned pale. She, in the corner, slowly staggered towards them. She was now a zombie, and she lunged at Pepe.
Pepe gritted his teeth. Seeing no other choice, he kicked the teacher in the head, and her head was sent flying through a window. In that moment, he noticed that The Exalted One was gone.
The brothers were shocked. Stark questioned if she was really dead.
Ms. Lily's body was limp on the ground.
Pepe felt horrible. He, trembling, muttered that they needed to leave.
As more zombies dashed through the hallway, Pepe turned to the surprised brothers and insisted that they follow him.
The four of them dashed away from school after jumping through the window. Students and teachers were running out of the building.
Zombies chased after them. Some of them were eaten, and others were infected and became a zombie.
Stark asked Pepe what was going on.
Pepe explained that the zombies were bad guys even if they were once human, and that they have infiltrated the forest.
As they ran away, Stark stopped and insisted that they needed to help the others, too.
Pepe alleged that they were not strong enough.
Matteo, confused, remarked that he didn't expect school to be like this.
Hafen replied that this went further than school life, and he asked Pepe about the pistol.
Pepe explained that he was warned before school, and that he hid the pistol in his bag in case any zombies appeared. He led the three brothers into the deep forest and away from the chaos.
Hafen asked Pepe where he was leading them to.
Pepe answered that they were going to his master, Old Man Blacksmith.
The three brothers wondered who Old Man Blacksmith was.