Kenzie suddenly felt everything spiral, a new form of fear quickly overcoming her at that precise moment. She couldn’t believe she’d let Lulu out her sight. Now she was who knows where, scared and alone, and none of them still had any idea what was happening across campus. Only the screams they heard clarified the obvious danger around them and sent chills down her spine.

Her and Tom quickly searched the remaining hallway, but found no sign of their friend. There was no trace of her anywhere, and no way to tell where she had gone. She could’ve  been anywhere in the school by now and neither of them had any idea where to start looking.

Out of panic, she began to call out for Lulu when she heard the shuffling and groans come again, closer. Upcoming shadows soon became figures in front of them.

She froze, as did Tom, when she saw them.

Pale skin, with no signs of color or blood flow. Eyes distorted, some even crossed.

Kenzie didn’t recognize any of them, but Tom did. He stared at a boy, one with dark shaggy hair, who wore a red t-shirt and cap. She assumed he had to be a friend of Tom’s, but she couldn’t put a name to the face and knew there was no time to.

Whoever he was, his jaw unhinged like a snake, revealing a gnarly collection of blood-stained teeth. He let out a monstrous howl and came rushing towards them. Tom remained frozen in place.

“Tom, we’ve gotta go.”

He didn’t say anything, his eyes similar to Lulu’s when she was losing her mind only a few minutes before she disappeared. She didn’t want to lose him like she lost Lulu, so she rapidly reached for his hand, intending to snap him out of it or drag him away from the coming threat.

“Tom. Now. Please.”

He snapped back to himself when she took his hand, and ran with her.

As they ran, the shuffling behind them grew closer and those inhuman growls rose in volume.

Those students were no doubt chasing them, motivating the two to move faster than ever before in their lives.

Footsteps could be heard ahead too, fast from all sides, cornering them. And the screaming resumed once more, echoing all around them.

They were trapped, with no idea which direction to take or what danger lies ahead.

Tom quickly opened the nearest door and checked the room. “It’s clear.”

They entered the classroom and shut the door behind them. Sound emanated from outside.

Neither of them could move, both frozen in fear. They could only remain motionless as the shuffling grew closer. It wasn’t until a few minutes passed that it grew quiet again.

Both sighed in silent relief and regained their breath.

Kenzie then recognized the room they had rushed into as the school’s art studio. She saw collections of sketches and watercolor landscapes. There was color in every color of the room, a rainbow as far as the eye could see. It was a definite change from the recent things she had seen. It was almost peaceful, being surrounded by so many colors and the rays of sunshine shining through the windows.

Tom’s voice reminded her of their situation. “We should hide here for now. They might still be outside and there might even be something we could use in here.”

Together they searched the room, going through pantries, desks and packs, until something was finally found.

From a small box in the corner of the room, Kenzie grasped a set of blades she knew very well.

“Scissors? Will those be enough?”

She handed Tom a second pair. “They’ll have to be. If we’re gonna make it through this we’ll have to use whatever we can.” She checked the sharpness of each blade and wondered to herself whether or not these would be enough to keep them safe.

She then began swinging the scissors back and forth like a knife. Tom began to do the same as well, following her movements.

After a while they each sat down at a desk, both of them realizing they had not yet tried to comprehend their current situation.

They was a long silence before either of them spoke.

“What’s happening? How is this happening?” was the first thing said.

“I don’t know” was all that could be said in response.

They once again sat in silence, to the point it became unbearable.

Kenzie stood up suddenly, walked to window and crossed her arms in frustration. She was angry and confused. She couldn’t understand or explain what was happening, but knew she could not stand there and simply do nothing. She still had to find Mark, and now Lulu.

Thinking of them filled her with a sudden sense of dread. What were the actual chances of either one of them being alive? She looked out the window to see other students shuffling, some even running, across campus. The school was in complete chaos.

She saw no way of escape outside the window, an immediate drop to the ground. What she would’ve given for this room to have a fire escape.

She looked at the scissors in her right hand and tightened her grip. She was more angry than afraid at that moment, wanting this to be some awful nightmare and being forced with the cruel reality that it wasn’t.

Tom then rested his hand on her shoulder. His eyes were warm and comforting, different from when he was faced with those students.

She wanted to ask how he knew that boy from before, but figured now wasn’t the time. Instead she chose another topic. “It should be safe to move now. I’ve still got to find Mark.”

“Where should we start looking?”

That question had her stumped and she gave it some thought. “His first class is in the science building so we should start there. If he’s not there, he’s got to be close by at least.”

Tom nodded. “Sounds like a plan.”

Like assassins in the night, they moved together and quiet. The hallway was empty and things were silent as they made their way to the science building.

It wasn’t until they reached the next corner did they run into trouble. Trouble that included two rabid students and corpse.

Same as the ones before, these students were pale and moved sluggishly. A third was facedown on the ground, one of the teachers based on the clothing and build, not breathing and almost certainly dead. She imagined those two were responsible and couldn’t imagine how anyone could do such a thing.

Their heads jerked in their direction as Tom and Kenzie entered the hall. The two rose to their feet and came at them with a vicious nature.

Tom slammed one of them into a locker, while Kenzie ducked and used her leg to trip the other. He landed flat on the ground, but recovered quicker than she expected. Her dad always said never to kick people while they were done, but this was an exception.

She raised her right leg and kicked her attacker in the head, hard as she could. He slumped to the ground with no sign of getting up anytime soon so she assumed he was out cold. There was blood on the front of her shoe, leaving her with a sickeningly strange feeling.

“Kenzie! Help me out!” Tom cried, still by the lockers and trying to pry the other one off of him. It was a girl, one that was obviously strong by the way she held her own against Tom. She snapped her teeth at him like a piranha during feeding time.

She moved toward him, but was stopped. A hand grasped her ankle.

It was the guy, whom they thought was dead, keeping her from Tom. In seconds, the color depleted his face and his eyes crossed. He looked exactly like all the others.

He let out a horrifying howl and yanked her to the ground.

She shook free of his grasp and attempted to get away, but he still came at her. It was then she saw the bite marks and blood. She was sure he was dead, but here he was attacking her like all the rest. There was no way he could be alive.

“I’m warning you. Back off!” She shouted, scissors still in hand, one which was trembling. She knew what she had to do, but didn’t imagine she had to do anything so soon. It still felt like some kind of nightmare or bad joke. She then imagined this all being an early halloween prank gone bad, that if she attacked and the person before her was really pretending, then she’d be a murderer.

The possibly of becoming a killer, of killing another human being, scared her the most.

She stared, wide-eyed, at the person snapping at her, whom she was barely holding back. It had to be movie makeup that gave them all that empty stare, just had to be. But, deep down, she couldn’t shake the feeling this was all too real.

“Stop!”

Despite her threat, he continued to come at her and didn’t even seem to comprehend her words. She couldn’t think of who would go through with such a sick prank, and suddenly became angry at the very thought. So without further hesitation, she plunged the blades within his chest, where his heart should’ve been, but nothing happened. He was still coming at her, full force with no hint of stopping, scissors still embedded in his chest, and a black ooze seeping from the wound.

Kenzie scrambled back in shock, disbelief coursing through her. He lurched toward her, jaw unhinged and teeth aiming for her throat. The last sounds she heard was Tom screaming her name and that inhuman howl. Then she only saw red.