Chapter Text
Blake pulls Jessie back right before the door snaps shut. "Don't do that ever again, Jessie! You could've been killed!" Black yells, he has a firm grip on Jessie's wrist, not letting go of his brother anytime soon. Jessie looks more scared. That wasn't his mother. What would have happened if Blake hadn't grabbed him in time? Who could have been faking to be his mother?
"That was a close one..." Jace mutters, crossing his arm, he looks at a window, it's still raining, it got worse over the time they've been in the school. Suddenly, a Hollow slams itself on the window, a gunshot is heard, then yelling, then a scream. The police are near. The hollow gets taken out with a screach it slowly slides off the window to the ground. Then what sounded like a male officer screams. I think he got eaten. Everyone flinches at the sound; tiny crunching sounds are heard. Yuck.
Lenix whimpers hiding her head in Brandy's hoodie. "Brandy, are we going to be okay?" Brandy visibly hesitates, battling on telling her sister the truth or sugarcoating it for a 9-year-old's ears. Amorette gives Brandy a sympathetic look. "I don't know Len," Braandy replies, trying to keep her calm. Brandy pats Lenix on the head, something that always would soothe her during tough moments like this.
"We need weapons," Amorette says, determined to keep everyone alive. They just need the supplies and safety equipment.
"No duh, Sherlock," Jace replies. Amorette rolls her eyes at Jace, annoyed at his unnecessary comeback. Ray's expression drops, sensing the tension. "How about we split up in groups?" Ray blurts out. Everyone nods in agreement. Brandy goes with her sisters, Rex, and Amorette. Ray directs Jace to go with Blake and Jessie. Blake's leadership skills can keep him in check. Jace groans and drags his feet towards Blake.
"Who is Ray going with?" Amorette starts, but Ray cuts her off. "I'll be fine alone, plus I work best alone anyhow," Ray says, sure that he'd be fine. It is true he works best alone. Amorette sighs and pinches her nose bridge. "Fine, just don't get yourself killed or anything." Ray nods. Everyone splits up into their groups, going in different directions.
__
Ray uses his phone flashlight to see in the dark. The lights flicker slightly from time to time, but it's pitch black; the only thing you can see is the slight glow from the moon through the windows.
THUD.
Ray freezes. What the hell was that? A hollow? Did someone actually make it inside for help? Weird. Ray keeps walking but observes the area before moving.
THUD
Is something coming towards him. The thuds get louder and more frequent. That HAS to be a Hollow. "Hello" Ray says looking around. He flashes his flashlight. Two red circles look at him. A Hollow. Oh gosh. At the end of the hallway, two glowing red eyes stared at him from the darkness. His grip tightened around his phone flashlight.
“Oh no…”
The Hollow stepped forward into the faint light flickering overhead. It wore what looked like an old school security jacket, torn at the sleeves and stained from weeks outside. Its movements were jerky and uneven, like it had forgotten how to walk properly.
THUD.
One shoulder slammed into a locker.
THUD.
It kept coming. Ray backed away carefully, his heart pounding. “Stay back…” The Hollow tilted its head sharply at the sound of his voice. Then it charged. Ray turned and ran.
His shoes squeaked against the tile floors as he sprinted down the hallway. Behind him, the Hollow crashed into lockers and walls while chasing him at full speed. The lights flickered wildly.
“Seriously?!”
Ray glanced back for half a second. Big mistake. The Hollow lunged forward and tackled him to the ground. Ray hit the floor hard, his phone skidding away across the hallway. The flashlight spun in circles before stopping, its beam shining crookedly across the ceiling. The Hollow pinned him down instantly.
“Get off me!”
Ray shoved against it, but the creature barely moved. Its breathing sounded rough and uneven as it leaned closer. Then sharp pain shot through his leg. Did it bite him? No no no no no not now.
Ray cried out as the Hollow bit into his calf through his jeans. Not enough to tear deeply, but enough to hurt badly.
“AH—!” He grabbed the nearest thing he could reach — a loose binder lying on the floor — and smacked the Hollow across the side of the head.
Once.
Twice.
The creature finally pulled back with an angry screech. Ray kicked himself free and scrambled backward, clutching his injured leg. His jeans were torn, and blood slowly soaked through the fabric. The Hollow crouched several feet away, twitching slightly as it stared at him with those glowing red eyes.
Watching.
Waiting.
Ray’s breathing shook as he pushed himself against the lockers.
“…Okay,” he whispered nervously. “That could’ve gone better.”
The Hollow crouched low in the hallway, twitching as it stared at Ray. Its glowing eyes never blinked. Ray pressed himself against the lockers, clutching his injured leg while trying to steady his breathing. The bite burned painfully through his calf, making it hard to stand. The Hollow let out a low growl. Then it started moving toward him again. Slowly this time. Like it knew he couldn’t run anymore. How can a human act this bad. I mean its not a human anymore. Ray looked around desperately for anything he could use as a weapon, but the hallway was almost empty. A few loose papers drifted across the floor from a broken window somewhere nearby. The Hollow suddenly lunged.
Before it could reach him—
CRACK!
A metal pipe slammed into the side of the creature’s head. The Hollow screeched and crashed sideways into a row of lockers with a loud BANG. Ray blinked in shock. A person stood between him and the Hollow. Tall. Hood pulled up. Breathing hard. The stranger tightened his grip on the metal pipe. “Get up,” he said sharply. Ray didn’t hesitate. He forced himself to his feet, leaning heavily against the lockers as pain shot through his leg. “Who—”
“Later.”
The Hollow snarled and charged again. The stranger stepped forward immediately, swinging the pipe straight into the creature’s chest. The Hollow stumbled backward with a hiss.
“Go!” the stranger yelled.
“I’m trying!”
Ray limped down the hallway as fast as he could while the stranger fought the Hollow behind him. Metal slammed against lockers. The creature screeched loudly enough to echo through the entire school.
Then—
THUD.
Silence. Ray turned carefully. The Hollow lay motionless on the floor. The stranger stood over it, breathing heavily. For a moment, neither of them spoke. Then the stranger lowered the pipe slightly and looked over at Ray. He looked around Ray’s age, maybe a little older, with messy dark hair falling into his eyes and a scrape across one cheek like he’d already survived too much.
“You bitten bad?” he asked.
Ray glanced at his leg. “I… don’t think so.”
The stranger nodded once. “Good.”
Ray stared at him cautiously. “Who are you?”
The boy hesitated for a second before answering.
“Kenji Orhyan,” he said. “But everyone just calls me Orhyan.”
Ray had never seen him before. Not at school. Not in the shelters. Nowhere. And honestly, trusting random people during the outbreak usually got you killed. But Orhyan had jumped in without hesitation. He could’ve left Ray there. Instead, he saved him. Ray swallowed hard before giving a small nod. “I’m Ray. Ray Orami”
“I figured,” Orhyan replied, glancing toward the dark end of the hallway. “You don’t exactly run quietly.”
Despite everything, Ray let out a short laugh. Then distant screeching echoed from somewhere deeper in the school. More Hollows. Orhyan’s expression darkened immediately. “We should move. Now.”
__
Blake adjusted Jessie higher on his back as they moved carefully through the cafeteria hallway. Jessie’s arms were wrapped tightly around his older brother’s shoulders, still shaken from earlier. Jace walked beside them, carrying a flashlight and an empty duffel bag.
“This is a terrible plan,” Jace muttered quietly. “Like, horror-movie-level terrible.”
“We need food,” Blake replied without slowing down.
“Yeah, and I need a million dollars, but you don’t see me wandering around our high school at midnight for it.”
Blake ignored him. The hallway leading to the cafeteria was almost completely dark except for the weak beam from Jace’s flashlight. Lunch posters peeled from the walls, and abandoned trays still littered the floor from when the outbreak first hit. Jessie lifted his head slightly. “Do you hear that?”
Everyone stopped.
For a second, there was only silence.
Then—
CLANG.
Something metal hit the floor in the cafeteria ahead. Jace immediately lowered his voice. “Please tell me that was a raccoon.” Blake slowly set Jessie down behind him. “Stay close.” The cafeteria doors stood partially open. One swung slightly back and forth with a quiet creak. Blake stepped closer carefully. The smell hit first.
Rotten.
Then came the sound.
Chewing.
Jace’s expression dropped instantly. “Oh, that is NOT food.” Blake pushed the door open a little more. A Hollow crouched near the overturned lunch tables. It's back faced them as it tore through something on the floor. The creature twitched sharply at every sound, muttering strange little noises to itself between bites. Jessie grabbed onto Blake’s sleeve tightly. The Hollow froze.
Slowly, its head turned toward them. Its pale red eyes locked onto Jessie.
“Oh no,” Jace whispered.
The Hollow screeched.
Blake reacted instantly, grabbing Jessie and shoving him behind himself as the creature sprinted across the cafeteria.
“RUN!”
All three bolted down the hallway. The Hollow slammed into tables behind them, shrieking loudly enough to echo through the school. Jace nearly tripped over a fallen chair while clutching the duffel bag he took from a few classrooms back.
“WHY ARE THEY ALWAYS SO FAST?!”
“Less talking, more running!” Blake snapped.
Jessie looked over Blake’s shoulder and gasped. “It’s catching up!”
The Hollow lunged. Blake turned sharply, throwing himself sideways as the creature crashed into the lockers beside them with a deafening BANG. Jace grabbed a loose fire extinguisher from the wall without thinking.
“I got this!”
“You absolutely do NOT got this—”
Jace sprayed the extinguisher directly into the Hollow’s face. The creature screeched in confusion, stumbling backward blindly into the lockers. For one glorious second, Jace looked proud of himself.
“…Okay, maybe I got this a little.”
Blake grabbed both of them immediately. “Move before it recovers!”
The three disappeared down the hallway while the Hollow screamed furiously behind them.
__
Amorettes group is hiding from a Hollow in a supply closet that followed them to the Nurse's Office. They careful but quickly grab everything useful shoving in their school bags. “Guys… we’re so dead,” Rex whispers shakily from the corner of the nurse’s supply closet. His small hands are clamped over his mouth like he’s trying to keep himself from making any more noise. The baseball bat beside him trembles slightly against the floor.
Amorette immediately shoots him a sharp look from across the cramped closet. Not angry.
Just *seriously?*
Rex shrinks a little under the stare. “...My bad,” he mumbles quietly. Outside the closet door, heavy footsteps drag slowly across the nurse’s office floor.
SCRAPE.
SCRAPE.
Everyone freezes. Even Lenix stops breathing loudly. The Hollow is close. Too close. Through the thin crack beneath the closet door, a faint shadow moves past. Uneven. Twitching. Brandy carefully pulls her little sisters closer against her sides while trying not to make a sound. Rex squeezes his eyes shut. Then the footsteps stop completely. Right outside the closet door. The Hollow.
The Hollow stopped moving outside the nurse’s supply closet.
That somehow made it worse.
Rex sat curled beside Maura near the back wall, hugging his knees tightly while trying not to cry. Lenix clung to Brandy’s hoodie, trembling every time the floor creaked outside.
The tiny closet felt suffocating.
Too dark.
Too quiet.
SCRAPE.
Something dragged slowly across the floor outside the door.
The Hollow. Amorette carefully peeked through the small gap between the shelves and the door. The creature’s shadow twitched under the crack at the bottom. Still there. Still searching.
“We can’t stay here,” Brandy whispered shakily, holding Lenix close.
“I know,” Amorette whispered back, forcing herself to stay calm for the younger kids. Her eyes scanned the cramped closet desperately for another exit. Then she spotted it. A vent near the ceiling.
“Wait,” she breathed. “Up there.”
Brandy looked up immediately. “Can we fit?”
“We’re gonna have to.”
Outside the closet, the Hollow let out a low, uneven growl. The doorknob rattled slightly. Rex covered his mouth fast to stop himself from making noise. Amorette grabbed a small rolling stool tucked beside the shelves and quietly dragged it underneath the vent. The wheels squeaked softly. Everyone froze.
Silence.
Then—
BANG!
The Hollow slammed against the closet door hard enough to shake the shelves. Lenix whimpered quietly.
“Hurry,” Brandy whispered.
Amorette climbed onto the stool and pushed against the vent cover. It refused to move at first. Another slam shook the door. Dust drifted from the ceiling.
Finally—
CLANK.
The vent cover popped loose. Rex flinched at the noise. “It heard that…”
“No kidding,” Maura whispered nervously.
The Hollow screeched outside. The door bent inward slightly.
“Kids first,” Brandy said immediately. Amorette nodded. Rex climbed onto the stool first with shaky legs while Amorette helped push him upward into the vent. Maura followed right behind him, disappearing into the darkness above. Lenix hesitated, looking terrified.
“Come on, Len,” Brandy whispered gently. “You got this.” Lenix nodded quickly and climbed up with Brandy helping from below. Another loud BANG hit the closet door. Maura quickly gets in.
A crack appeared near the handle.
Amorette’s expression dropped. “Brandy—”
“I know.”
Brandy lifted herself into the vent next, while Amorette stayed behind, listening to the Hollow scratching against the other side of the door.
SCRATCH.
SCRATCH.
The sound made her skin crawl.
“Amorette!” Rex whispered urgently from above. The closet door suddenly burst halfway open. A pale arm shoved through the gap, twitching violently. Lenix screamed softly. Amorette jumped onto the stool fast, grabbing the edge of the vent just as the Hollow screeched behind her. Its fingers scraped against her shoe. Brandy grabbed Amorette’s wrist immediately and pulled her upward into the vent. The Hollow slammed into the wall beneath them seconds later. Everyone lay silently in the darkness, breathing hard while the creature screeched below. Rex wiped his eyes quickly and whispered shakily, “…I want to go home.”
"We can't its not safe," Amorette whispers.
The Hollow’s screeches echoed faintly behind them as the group crawled through the vent as fast as they could. The metal tunnel was cramped and dusty, making every movement loud. Rex kept breathing too hard, accidentally elbowing Maura every few seconds. “Stop kicking me,” Maura whispered angrily.
“I’m not kicking you on purpose!”
“You literally just did it again!”
“Guys,” Amorette whispered sharply from the front, “please.”
Everyone went quiet immediately. Lenix crawled close beside her twin sister, gripping the sleeve of Maura’s hoodie tightly. Every creak from the vent made her flinch.
“I think the Hollow’s following us,” she whispered nervously.
“It is NOT following us,” Maura whispered back.
A loud CLANG echoed somewhere behind them. Maura’s eyes widened. “…Okay maybe it is.”
“MAURA!” Lenix whisper-yelled. Finally, Amorette spotted a vent opening ahead with faint light shining through it.
“There,” she whispered in relief.
Brandy carefully pushed the vent cover open before climbing out first into a dark hallway. Flickering emergency lights buzzed overhead, casting weak light across the lockers and classroom doors. One by one, the others climbed out after her. Rex dropped onto the floor dramatically. “I never wanna see another vent again.” Maura hopped down beside him. “You say that now until we almost die again.”
“That is NOT comforting!”
Lenix climbed down next, immediately grabbing Maura’s hand again. Amorette pulled herself out last and quietly slid the vent cover shut behind them.
CLICK. The hallway went silent. Everyone stood still, listening carefully.
Nothing.
No footsteps. No screeching.
Brandy finally let out a small breath. “I think we lost it.” Suddenly, a flashlight beam flashed directly into their faces.
Rex screamed.
So did Maura.
“OH MY GOSH—”
“WHY WOULD YOU DO THAT?!”
“Shhh!” Blake whisper-yelled, lowering the flashlight quickly. “You’re gonna attract every Hollow in the building!”
“YOU scared us!” Maura whisper-shouted back.
Jace blinked. “Why are you all covered in dust?”
Behind him stood Blake and Jessie. Jessie looked relieved immediately. “You guys are okay!”
“Barely,” Amorette muttered. Blake glanced at the vent behind them and frowned. “…You ran into a Hollow?” Lenix nodded quickly.
“It almost grabbed Amorette!” Rex said immediately. Blake snapped his head toward her. “What?”
“I’m fine,” Amorette said quickly.
Maura crossed her arms. “The Hollow was literally THIS close to grabbing her shoe.”
Lenix nodded dramatically. “Like super close.”
Jace groaned softly. “Yeah, okay, we are definitely never splitting up again.”
“That plan lasted, what, twenty minutes?” Blake replied.
“Less,” Jessie whispered.
A distant screech suddenly echoed somewhere deeper in the school halls. Everyone froze instantly. Rex slowly pointed down the hallway. “…Can we leave now?”
The distant screech echoed through the hallway again.
Everyone froze.
Rex immediately moved closer to Brandy while Lenix grabbed Maura’s arm tightly.
“…Can we leave now?” Rex whispered nervously.
Blake nodded. “Yeah. We need to get back to the gym before more Hollows hear us.”
The group started moving carefully down the hallway together, trying to stay quiet despite how nervous everyone was. Jace kept the flashlight pointed ahead while Amorette stayed near the front beside Blake.
Then—
Footsteps. Coming toward them. Fast. Everyone stopped instantly. Blake moved Jessie behind him while Brandy quickly pulled the younger kids closer. Amorette grabbed a broken piece of pipe lying near the wall. The footsteps got louder. Jace lowered his voice. “Please don’t be another Hollow…” A flashlight beam suddenly appeared around the corner. Everyone tensed. Then a familiar voice shouted quietly,
“Whoa, don’t attack us!”
Ray limped around the corner first, breathing hard. Relief immediately spread across the group. “RAY!” Jessie exclaimed. “Oh thank goodness,” Jace muttered.
But then another figure stepped out behind him. Tall. Dark hoodie. Metal pipe resting over one shoulder. The stranger stopped the second he noticed the group staring at him. The hallway went silent again. Rex leaned closer to Maura and whispered, “That guy looks like he bites people.” “I heard that,” the stranger replied tiredly. Rex immediately hid behind Brandy.
Ray quickly raised his hands. “Okay, nobody freak out.”
“Little late for that,” Brandy muttered.
Blake narrowed his eyes slightly at the stranger. “Who is he?”
Ray glanced back at him. “Uh… this is Orhyan.”
The stranger gave a small nod. “Kenji Orhyan. But just call me Orhyan.”
Amorette frowned slightly. “Where did you find him?”
“He found *me,* actually,” Ray admitted. “A Hollow attacked me in one of the hallways and he helped.” Everyone’s attention immediately dropped to Ray’s injured leg.
Brandy’s eyes widened. “Ray, you’re hurt?!”
“It’s not that bad,” Ray said quickly.
“It literally has blood on it,” Jace replied.
Lenix looked horrified. “Did the Hollow eat your leg?!”
“No!” Ray said quickly. “…Not all of it.”
“RAY!” Amorette says, giving him a look
“I’m joking!” Maura stared at Orhyan curiously. “So you just randomly saved him?”
Orhyan shrugged slightly. “Didn’t really wanna leave him to die.”
“Fair enough,” Blake replied, though he still looked cautious.
Jessie peeked out from behind Blake curiously. “Are you staying with us?”
Orhyan hesitated. Ray answered before he could. “He’s okay. We can trust him.” Orhyan glanced at Ray, slightly surprised by how quickly he said it. For a moment, nobody argued. Then a loud screech echoed from somewhere nearby. Blake immediately pointed down the hallway. “Amazing bonding moment, love that for us, but we REALLY need to move.”
Another screech echoed through the school halls, closer this time. Everyone immediately started moving faster.
“This way,” Jace whispered urgently, waving them forward with the flashlight. “Come on, come on.”
“You actually know where you’re going?” Blake asked suspiciously while helping Ray keep up.
“Excuse you, I always know where I’m going.”
“You got lost walking to math class once.”
“That hallway was confusing.”
“It was one hallway.”
Jace ignored him and pushed open the gym doors carefully. The massive room was dark except for faint moonlight slipping through the high windows. The bleachers cast huge shadows across the floor, making the entire gym feel eerie and empty. Rex immediately whispered, “This place is creepy.”
“Everything is creepy now,” Maura whispered back. Jace led them toward the far side of the bleachers before crouching down near the bottom row.
“Okay,” he said proudly, “welcome to my secret spot.”
Blake blinked. “...Under the bleachers?”
Jace grinned slightly. “Yep.”
He pushed aside a loose wooden panel hidden beneath the bottom bench. Behind it was a surprisingly decent stash of supplies. Bottled water. Chips. Granola bars. Flashlights. Blankets. Even a small first aid kit. Everyone stared. Amorette looked genuinely shocked. “Jace… when did you do all this?” Jace shrugged casually. “I used to hang out here to skip class sometimes.” Blake stared at him. “You built an emergency hideout because you were avoiding algebra?”
“In my defense, algebra is terrifying.”
“That is honestly impressive,” Ray admitted.
Rex immediately crawled into the hiding spot. “Oh my gosh, there’s FOOD.” Lenix and Maura followed right behind him. Brandy crossed her arms. “Wait. You’ve been hiding snacks under the bleachers this whole time?”
Jace pointed at her. “And today that makes me a genius.”
“…Fair point.”
Jessie sat down near the blankets with a relieved sigh. “This is way safer than the hallways.” Orhyan stayed near the edge of the gym, quietly watching the doors like he expected something to burst through them at any second. Ray noticed immediately. “You can relax a little.”
Orhyan glanced at him. “Not really used to safe places anymore.”
That made the room go quiet for a second.
Even Jace stopped joking around. Then Rex suddenly held up a bag of chips. “Do these count as dinner?”
Jace gasped dramatically. “Absolutely not. Those are my emotional support chips.” Maura snorted loudly while Lenix giggled for the first time all night. For a moment, the gym didn’t feel quite as terrifying anymore.
Another distant screech echoed outside the gym walls, softer now from farther away. The group settled underneath the bleachers as quietly as possible. Blankets were spread across the floor while Jace handed out snacks and bottled water from his hidden stash.
Rex sat crisscrossed on the floor eating chips like the apocalypse wasn’t happening around them.
“These are literally the best chips I’ve ever had.”
“They’re stale,” Maura replied.
“Exactly. Flavor.” Lenix giggled quietly while leaning against her twin sister’s shoulder. For the first time all night, things almost felt calm.
Almost.
Blake looked around at everyone seriously. “We should take shifts sleeping.” Everyone nodded immediately.
“No way all of us are sleeping at once,” Ray agreed.
“I’ll take first watch,” Orhyan said quietly from near the edge of the bleachers.
Blake nodded once. “I’ll stay up too.”
Jace groaned dramatically. “Of course the responsible people volunteer first.”
“You can take second watch,” Amorette replied.
“Cruel.”
The younger kids were already starting to fall asleep from exhaustion. Jessie curled up near Blake while Rex tried fighting sleep and failed almost immediately.
“I’m not tired,” he mumbled while literally half asleep.
“Sure,” Maura whispered. A few minutes later, both twins were asleep beside Brandy, with Lenix practically using Maura as a pillow. Amorette stayed sitting against the wall, arms crossed while keeping an eye toward the gym doors. Brandy noticed immediately.
“You should sleep,” she whispered.
“I’m fine.”
Brandy gave her a look. “Amorette, you’ve barely slept the past few nights.”
“I said I’m fine.”
“You almost passed out yesterday.”
“That was one time.”
“Three times.”
Amorette opened her mouth to argue again, but Brandy leaned slightly closer and lowered her voice.
“If you don’t sleep,” she whispered, “I’ll help you sleep.”
Amorette blinked.
“…What does that even mean?”
Brandy smirked slightly. “Take a guess.” Ray immediately looked away like he suddenly became *very* interested in the gym floor. Jace quietly whispered to Blake, “Oh my gosh.”
“Shut up,” Blake whispered back instantly.
Amorette’s face turned slightly red, which honestly surprised everyone because she almost never looked embarrassed.
“You’re annoying,” she muttered quietly.
“And yet you’re laying down now.”
Amorette stared at Brandy for another second before finally sighing in defeat.
“…Fine.”
Brandy smiled softly in victory while handing her one of the blankets.
“There. Was that so hard?”
“Yes,” Amorette mumbled while laying down beside the wall.
Within minutes, exhaustion finally caught up to her. Brandy glanced over once Amorette’s eyes closed, her expression softening a little before she looked away quickly. Jace noticed immediately. His grin was immediate.Blake elbowed him before he could say anything.
The gym slowly fell quiet except for soft breathing, distant rain hitting the windows, and the occasional screech echoing somewhere far outside the school.