We need to get out of here," Miraza said, her voice tight with fear. "Now."
She was right. Whatever was happening out there had spread to the school. And Mr. Yoshida wasn't coming back.
I wiped the blood from my nose with the back of my hand. My face throbbed where Daichi had hit me, my ribs ached, and part of me wanted to just curl up and let someone else handle this.
But Miraza's hand was gripping my arm, and I could feel her shaking.
My training had been focused on scenarios exactly like this. The problem was, I'd failed every single one of them.
But failing in training is different from failing when people die.
"The back exit," I said, loud enough for everyone to hear. "We go down the back stairwell. It leads to the gym. From there, we can get outside."
"Who put you in charge?" Kenji snapped, but his voice lacked its usual venom. He was scared. We all were.
The pounding on the door got louder. A crack appeared in the wood.
"Anyone else have a better plan?" I asked.
No one answered.
"Then move. Single file. No running! You'll trip and kill everyone behind you. Stay quiet."
They looked at me like I was speaking a different language. But they listened.
We scrambled for the back door of the classroom, the one that led to the emergency stairwell. I helped Miraza go first, then gestured for others to follow. Even Dachil's crew went without argument.
As I stepped into the hallway, I looked back one last time. The front door was buckling inward. Through the growing crack, I saw something that made my blood run cold.
An eye. Clouded white and far too large to be human, pressed against the opening. Watching us.
Then the door burst open.
I didn't wait to see what came through. I ran.
****
We ran out of the school building, expecting order. Instead, we walked into hell.
The streets of Jonakvi City had turned into something out of a nightmare. People were running in every direction like scattered ants. Smoke rose in thick, black columns from the direction of the forest. Sirens, ambulances, police cars and fire truck blared in a dissonant symphony.
"Run!" someone shouted, shoving past me so hard I stumbled into a lamppost.
I scrambled to regain my balance, my heart hammering against my ribs. I looked toward the convenience store across the street, the one I passed every morning.
Mrs. Tanaka was on the sidewalk. She was on all fours, her body twisted at angles that shouldn't be possible. Her skin had turned a sickly gray, veins bulging black beneath the surface like roots spreading through dead soil. She lunged at Mr. Hiro, the mailman, sinking her teeth into his shoulder.
His scream cut through the chaos, sharp and raw, before turning into a gurgle as she tore a chunk of flesh from his neck.
Sigma Protocol. Transmitted through bodily fluids. Incubation: 10-30 minutes. Symptoms: aggression, enhanced strength, loss of higher cognitive function.
The training manuals had made it sound so clinical.
Nothing prepared you for watching your neighbor eat the mailman.
I backed away, trembling. A woman sprinted past me, her clothes torn, blood streaming down her arm. "Get inside! They're everywhere!"
They.
That's when I saw one up close.
It was standing near the school gates. It used to be human, I could tell by the tattered remains of a business suit clinging to its body. But everything else was wrong. Its spine curved forward like a predator, arms hanging too low, fingers ending in claws that scraped against the asphalt.
The face was stretched and distorted, the jaw unhinged to reveal rows of teeth that definitely weren't human anymore. Bone had pushed through the gums, creating serrated edges.
It turned toward me, sniffing the air. Then, its cloudy white eyes locked onto mine.
There were no pupils. No recognition. Nothing human left behind.
It screeched, a sound like metal grinding on bone, and charged towards me.