Jenny dashed forward, far more quickly than she’d anticipated or intended to, and pressed the flat of her palm against the door, forcing it shut.

It was a sudden, lightning-quick step that took her by surprise. One instant she was by the closet. The next, she stood right in front of Miriam whose hand was still on the doorknob, who stared at Jenny with a shocked look of disbelief.

Exhaling slowly and looking into Miriam’s green eyes, Jenny shook her head. “Don’t go out there yet.”

Miram rattled the doorknob and tried to pull it. The door didn’t budge in the slightest. She blinked repeatedly, looking from Jenny’s hand to Jenny’s face, her lips parting, but sound failed to come out.

Jenny tried to find the words to explain things. But how do you tell someone that angels were eating people? “Look,” she said finally. She still couldn’t believe Miriam had been trapped in a closet this entire time and avoided detection. Maybe all the fighting and killing kept the angels too busy? She wished Susan were here; she’d know how to keep Miriam calm and explain everything. “Was there like... a message in your head while you were in there?”

Miriam’s brows furrowed like she was trying very hard to remember. “Yeah,” she said, pausing to nod. “There was... Something about a Survival Challenge?” She shook her head, her loose hijab fluttering. She seemed pained. “I don’t know what that was. It was dark in there and I was freaking out. I just need to... Why aren’t we getting out of here?”

That was when Miriam noticed Jenny’s left hand. Jenny had tried to hide it from view, keeping her arm at her side, but Miriam let go of the doorknob and covered her mouth in horror. “Jenny!”

No use in hiding it now. Jenny raised her arm and revealed the little stubs. She could wriggle each one, the longest being her pinky. Maybe I could use this to explain how dangerous it is out there. “Miriam, this is going to sound stupid crazy but...” she sighed, still struggling to find the words. She decided to be blunt. “An angel bit my fingers off.”

Miriam’s nose wrinkled in confusion. Slowly, she lowered her hand, tugging on her sleeves absentmindedly. She didn’t say anything.

Jenny unveiled her shield next. It sprang out of her left arm and formed its now comforting circular shape. Miriam flinched.

“It’s alright,” said Jenny, trying to keep her tone relaxed and soothing. “This is my shield. It’s saved my ass a few times already.”

Miriam poked it with a fingernail. “It feels real.”

Then Jenny explained the rest of it as best she could. She quickly went over the messages in their heads, the Guidance System, and the Human Population. She described the flesh-eating Angels as extremely skinny creatures that looked like people. Miriam listened, nodding along, taking everything more calmly than Jenny thought she would. Maybe this wouldn't be so bad.

She explained about making weapons and equipment next. “It’s like a game,” said Jenny. She left out the part about the winning condition. Golden light filled her hand, and then Jenny revealed her hatchet. She was running out of patience; she wanted to get to Oliver already and get back to the library.

“There’s a safe space,” continued Jenny after Miriam touched the hatchet. “Mrs. Monique has the library secured. I’ll take you there as soon as I find my brother.” Stepbrother, went a thought in her head. But there was no point in clarifying that.

“Nope,” said Miriam abruptly, her lips twisting in an ugly smile. She shook her head and repeated herself. “This is some sick joke. You guys are so fucked up, you know that? And I always thought you were cool, Jenny. But you’re just like the rest of them.” She sniffled, tears streaming down her face. “I don’t know where you got all this stuff or if the earthquake even happened or-” She turned the doorknob suddenly and pulled the door open.

Jenny didn’t bother stopping her this time. She’d have to set her hatchet down to grab the door, and she’d explained enough of what was out there. If Miriam didn’t believe her, then there was only one way to prove it. She followed Miriam out of the room, all her senses on high alert. The halls were still empty and quiet.

Miriam was staring at the bloody streaks on the floor. Jenny’s light shone on the torn leg lying across the hall, and Miriam made a sound halfway between a squeal and a whimper.

“C’mon,” whispered Jenny, nudging the other girl lightly with her shield. She was done trying to explain. Miriam would just have to figure it out now.

But Miriam refused to move. She was frozen to the spot, holding her hands to her mouth, petrified.

Jenny glanced down the hallway, then stepped in front of Miriam. “Look at me,” she said roughly. “Look really hard. Does the system tell you anything?”

Miriam blinked and kept her eyes shut for a long second. “Human,” she whispered. “Stage two? What does that mean?”

“Look at my shield. My hatchet. They have names too, right?”

“Mmhmm,” she said, nodding vigorously after glancing at both things.

“Okay then,” said Jenny. “This is real. This is happening. Now c’mon. I’ll keep you safe.”

Jenny kept thinking about the boy in the stairwell, Joshua. She’d failed to save him...I'm a murderer. But she shoved that thought down and focused instead on what she could do now, listing them off in her head. Keep Miriam safe. Find Oliver and whoever he was with. Get to the library. Get back to Susan. She led the way to the corner, her light shining on the doors of the main stairwell.

This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

The windows on two of the doors were shattered. The loose glass was scattered across the floor, some of the shards stained red. Bloody handprints and smears glistened on the peeling blue paint. The stairwell was empty, and through the broken windows, Jenny could hear the distant fading echoes of screaming.

She bit her bottom lip, wondering about the library, wondering who was screaming. There weren’t that many people left after all. She pushed one of the doors open slightly, glancing at the steps where she and Susan had seen several bodies on their way down to the first floor.

Every single body was missing. Bloody trails led to the second floor, though some of them seemed to go down the steps toward the first floor. Nothing stirred, and Jenny turned away, swallowing the lump in her throat, not liking the eerie quiet one bit.

A long corridor led to the Chemistry wing. It was lined on both sides with tan lockers that covered the walls. That was the direction the angels had stampeded earlier. That was where she suspected Oliver and his group might be based on Eve's information.

She glanced back at Miriam whose skin gleamed with sweat and had taken up a faint greenish hue. Miriam tugged nervously on the side of her hijab, the black cloth coming even looser and revealing her hair. She kept glancing behind her.

Jenny felt sorry for the other girl. She was already prone to getting sick; this was definitely not good for her fragile constitution. “Here,” whispered Jenny, bowing her head. “Take this.”

With the sound of tearing tape, Miriam pulled the flashlight off the pink helmet. She nervously wrapped the tape all the way around its black handle, pointing the light at the floor. Jenny explained how the angels’ eyes were underdeveloped. "They’re sensitive, so shining light in their faces is going to freak them out."

Miriam nodded, holding the flashlight with both hands like a club. But she still looked frightened out of her mind. Her legs shook. Her teeth chattered, and the sound set Jenny on edge. The girl hadn’t even seen an angel yet. Jenny was glad now that she’d refrained from describing the Wretched Angels and the one that had ripped its eyes out to avoid the light.

Sighing, Jenny undid the clasp under her chin. “You can have this too,” she said. Her heart squeezed painfully as she handed over Susan’s helmet. Why am I trying so hard to make her feel better?

> It is counterproductive. The conditions for completing the Survival Challenge-

Jenny cut off Eve’s words. It was strange to abruptly stop a thought that wasn’t hers. But even more strangely, it felt comforting. She still had power over her own mind. Eve couldn’t just say or do what it wanted. And she didn't want to hear anything more about the Survival Challenge bullshit.

As Miriam set the pink helmet on her head, Jenny glanced down the hall. She stepped quickly, trying to keep silent as Miriam tiptoed behind her. The light shone all over the place. Dried blood covered the lockers. Some of them were open, revealing jackets and umbrellas and textbooks. The streaks of blood concerned her. She couldn’t tell which way the bodies had been dragged. Were they headed toward more danger?

At the end of the corridor, the hallway split in two. To the right were the lecture rooms and the teacher’s lounge at the far end. To the left were double doors, separating the labs and other classrooms. There was a girl’s bathroom just past those doors, but they were stained with blood. It looked like someone had tried to resist being dragged, their fingers clawing at the paint.

Miriam gasped and shone the flashlight through the little windows on the double doors, and Jenny raised her shield in alarm. She blocked the light, her heart racing. What if Angels were on the other side? What if they’d spotted the light? She was sure the labs were where the bodies had been dragged to; there had to be something on the other side. Panic flared up, making it harder to breathe.

Eve? Where’s Oliver? And the other humans? Are they hiding somewhere?

But Eve’s response never came. Jenny heard the now all-too-familiar roar of a Wretched Angel. A terrifying haunting sound that made her heart sink into her stomach. It was coming from beyond the doors; her guess had been right.

Miriam whispered something, but Jenny wasn’t listening. She motioned down the other hall. “We’ll hide in the teacher’s lounge,” she said frantically.

Stumbling, Miriam nearly tripped, then started running down the hall. Everything shook, and Jenny knew the Wretched Angel would burst through the double doors any moment now. She could run past Miriam with ease, but she forced herself to hang back. To keep the other girl safe. The light bobbed up and down the hall, and they’d nearly made it to the end when another roar echoed from behind them.

Jenny stopped running. She whipped around to face it, and she gasped, surprised. It was the male Wretched Angel that had attacked Jenny and Susan on the first floor. Covered in shining black, it was the one that nearly bit through her throat.

The creature stood on its legs now. Its muscles bulged, and the tendrils coming off its back seemed to be longer. They fluttered up to the ceiling.

> Wretched Angel (Level 29)

“Get inside,” she whispered to Miriam.

But the only response was a thud. Jenny glanced over her shoulder and saw Miriam had passed out on the floor.

Shit.

For a dizzying moment, Jenny flashed back to the boy lying on the floor in the stairwell. She wished she could take her helmet back, but she figured it had kept Miriam’s head safe during the fall. She clenched her jaws in frustration, wishing she could at least pick up the flashlight.

But with only one set of fingers, she’d have to drop her hatchet first. It didn’t help at all that the light shone the other way, illuminating the space behind her. That wasn’t going to help at all against the angel.

At least if anything tries to sneak up on us, the light will keep it away.

Jenny sucked in a deep breath, eyeing the Wretched Angel. It seemed to be sizing her up too. Did it recognize her? Could it tell that she was stronger now?

I’m stronger now. This won’t be like last time. But where was its mate? The blonde one covered in light blue with insect-like antennae. Wherever it was, Jenny knew she’d have to do something to hurt this angel before the mate showed up.

Jenny took a step forward, holding her shield defensively, squeezing her hatchet. She had to bring the fight to it. She couldn’t risk letting it get too close to Miriam. The angel cocked its head, then fell forward till it was on all fours. Its tendrils whipped the air. Then the Wretched Angel roared again, shaking the entire floor.

“Oh, shut up,” whispered Jenny through her teeth. She rolled her shoulders, preparing herself for the fight. She wasn’t afraid. She wasn’t even angry. She just didn’t want someone else to die.

And she wanted to kill that dumb fucking Wretched Angel.

She willed her body forward, trying to recreate that burst of speed from earlier when she’d stopped Miriam from opening the door. But a sudden motion to her right caught her eye. It was one of the lecture rooms. Through the little window on the door, she saw the flicker of movement. A face. A boy she didn’t recognize.

But that moment of hesitation was all the angel needed. A dark blur rose suddenly in front of her face, the wind blowing her hair back. The creature aimed for her head, swinging a large muscular arm covered in black. Its teeth flashed, spittle flying. Jenny managed to knock its wrist away with her shield, feeling the impact in her bones. Then, with a scream, she swung her hatchet as hard as she could, aiming for its neck.