Jenny looked back at the gloomy English wing hallway. The bodies on the floor. The bloody smears along the wall. It was quiet, but it was that thick pregnant sort of quiet right before something horrible happened in a movie.

She guessed that more angels had come in through the windows of the other classrooms, and while she and Susan had fought the one in their room, the others weren’t so lucky. Most people must have run for the stairwells, the way they’d practiced for fire drills. But after the earthquake and with these angel things… it must have been a blind panic.

Where would they even run to? The first floor? Could anyone even exit the building? They clearly weren’t in Manhattan anymore. Jenny couldn’t help looking at the girl on the floor.

Her head was at an awkward angle with a few glistening strands of muscle still attaching it to her body. Her eyes stared blankly, her mouth parted in lifeless shock. She must have been a freshman. Maybe a sophomore. Jenny pictured the younger girl tripping in the mad rush to escape, screaming as an angel grabbed her leg while all her friends and classmates and teachers kept running.

“I don’t see anymore out there,” said Susan, who peered through the double doors.

Jenny took a breath, and together they pushed through the doors and left the English wing behind them. Slowly, they stepped into the main area where every wing of the floor met. This led to the central stairwell. Down the hall across from where they stood, a light flickered in the Biology wing.

“Let’s not take these stairs,” whispered Jenny. She barely dared to breathe. Those things seemed to be attracted to sound. Maybe their empty eyes couldn’t see clearly?

Susan agreed. “Let’s cut through here,” she said, pointing to the Foreign Language department. It was a narrow hallway that led away from the central stairwell to another smaller one.

They turned the corner slowly, trying not to look at the bodies that were thankfully facedown on the floor. Susan stepped in blood.

The Foreign Languages hallway was clear, but Jenny still held her breath as they walked towards the stairwell at the end. Something rattled one of the classroom doors hard. Jenny whirled around ready to attack. “Someone’s in there,” she whispered, holding her hatchet with both hands.

Susan clicked her cattle prod on. Its static sound was almost comforting.

Jenny inched forward slowly trying to get a look through the little classroom window. It was dark inside with most of the shades drawn, but she recognized it was the French class that Susan had taken last year. A shadow moved through the gloom, rushing towards the door. Jenny stepped back just in time as the glass window shattered and an angel's head burst through, screeching and hissing. Its cries echoed throughout the hall.

> Tarnished Angel (Level 4)

Susan reacted first, thrusting her prod against its face. The prongs made contact with its nose, and it stopped screeching. It violently jerked with its head struck through the door, and Jenny took the opportunity to bury her hatchet in its forehead.

> You’ve defeated Tarnished Angel (Level 4)

>

> Experience has been awarded

>

> +10 Energy gained

> Leveled up!

>

> Jenny Huang Level 2 -> Level 3

>

> +2 Stat Points

Breathing hard, Jenny stepped back wanting to study the angel. What was the difference now that it was level 4? But they heard shuffling and hissing echoing down the hall. It came from the direction of the biology department, and it was getting louder.

She glanced at Susan whose eyes went wide. Then Jenny spotted the boy’s bathroom. They’d never make it to the stairwell, but maybe they could hide. She grabbed Susan’s arm and pulled her inside, carefully shutting the door so it wouldn’t make a sound. There was no knob, no lock. It was a push-to-open door.

The stench of the bathroom was thick and miasmic, and she clenched her teeth to keep from gagging. Susan gasped, and Jenny turned around, keeping her back pressed to the door, and saw what was causing the smell.

On the floor beside the urinals was another blonde angel glistening in the dim white glow coming in through a small window near the ceiling. It wasn’t moving. Neither were the three boys lying beside it, bloodied and torn up.


Jenny gripped her hatchet tight when she heard shuffling in the hall. She ground her heels against the floor, wondering how long she’d be able to hold them off if they pushed. She applied the 2 stat points she’d received for leveling up to Power hoping it would help keep the door shut.

One of the boys on the floor coughed, and Susan dropped down with an alarmed look on her face. She quickly pressed her hand over the boy’s mouth, trying to stifle his coughing.

Jenny could almost feel one of the angels outside the door, breathing down her back. She bit her lip to stop it from trembling. She didn’t want to die in a boy’s bathroom. It seemed like they hadn’t heard the coughing.

You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

Susan struggled with the boy on the floor. Blood gushed from his neck. His arms moved feebly, trying to resist Susan’s hand clamped over his mouth. His eyes were wide, and Jenny recognized him as Mark. The boy in her gym class last year who’d been nice to her when she had nothing to do during free-play time. He’d shown her how to shoot a basketball.

He was a junior now, and they didn’t have any classes together this year, but they’d still say hi when they passed each other in the hall.

“Please,” whispered Susan, bringing her face close to his. “They’re right outside.” She looked up at Jenny with a desperate expression on her face. Mark either couldn’t hear her or he was beyond understanding. He kept trying to pull her hand off his face.

We have to kill him. The thought made Jenny’s stomach lurch. He was clearly suffering, and if he exposed them, they’d all die.

She remembered what the guidance system had said. Equipment tools, and weapons. Could she summon something to heal Mark?

She looked at the angel lying dead on the floor with its head in a urinal. She didn’t recognize the two other boys beside it. They must have fought the angel together with their bare hands. But since they killed it, did that mean Mark had his First Blood bonus? Which meant he had points he could use, if only they could get him to calm down so they could explain.

She had to use her imagination, right? She had to imagine what she wanted and the system would apply a cost. Alright. She shut her eyes, tried not to think about the angels scurrying up and down the hall outside, and pictured a potion. Something like the ones she’d pick up in games to restore her health. She pictured a glass vial of red liquid. Red signified health, that much she was certain of.

> A Minor Potion of Recovery will cost 100 Energy. Insufficient Energy.

Fuck, she thought. She was 25 short. She knew Susan wouldn’t have any to spare after making her cattle prod. But Mark might. Now how was she supposed to explain that to him while still holding the door?

She thought about the other angel she’d fought, the one in the French classroom. Angels didn’t seem to understand how doors worked. It couldn't turn the handle and it attacked the door mindlessly. So maybe if she tiptoed, she could get to Susan and Mark and explain how he could craft a potion to save his life.

If they’re quiet enough, the angels won’t hear them and try to get in. It was risky, but they could manage it. And if it worked, they’d have three people instead of two to fight them.

Just as Jenny worked up the courage to step away from the door, a loud crash made her freeze. A deafening hissing filled her ears, and Jenny realized there were way more creatures than she’d initially thought. But there was another crash, followed by a shrill scream that made her blood run cold.

She glanced at Susan who looked just as terrified as Jenny felt. The walls shook. Violent sounds and hissing and screeching came from outside. Dust drifted down like snow on Susan's blue hair. Something slammed against the wall just beside the door. 
Jenny shut her eyes and braced herself for the worst if whatever commotion was happening outside forced its way into the bathroom.

It sounded like a fight. Something else was fighting these angels. Throwing them around. Cutting them down. Was it another student? Maybe one of the teachers?

Hope made her heart pound hard against her chest. Maybe someone else had figured out how to make use of this system thing and leveled up enough to fight these creatures head-on. She felt dizzy with relief. Were they saved? Praying, she listened as best she could, trying to figure out what was going on.

She heard a pitiful mewling followed by a thick snap. Then there was silence. No hissing or footsteps or anything, and Jenny couldn’t take it anymore.

“I’m going to check what that was,” she mouthed slowly to Susan who shook her head no, looking frightened. Jenny bit her lip, but turned anyway to pull on the door slightly, just a sliver.

Cool air from the hall tickled her nose. In the pasty white gloom, she saw what had caused the commotion. Her heart sank.

Several angels lay strewn about on the floor. None of them were moving. On all fours was something bigger than the angels she’d seen before. Its back was broad and more defined and wasn’t just exposed skin. Instead, it was green and glossy, like an insect’s exoskeleton. And it held one of the angels like a rag doll while it chewed on its face.

> Wretched Angel (Level 12)

It turned its head as it snapped off the thinner angel’s skull. The Wretched Angel’s face was covered in that same green scale-like thing. It had long dark hair that bounced while it chewed, and, while it was still slim, it wasn’t as ragged and bony as the other angels.

It dropped the now headless angel corpse and moved to another. Its movements were strange, even though it was on all fours like the other angels had been. It favored one arm over the other, and as it moved, Jenny saw a nasty gash across one of its green shoulders. It was hurt from the fight.

The Wretched Angel… was that some sort of evolution then? Did it level up as well then? From killing people? Killing other angels?

Jenny realized with a chill that the angels were in the system too. They were partaking in the Survival Challenge. She nearly dropped the hatchet. Her palms were sweating. The angels were also getting stronger. She realized it was only a matter of time before it noticed her or ventured into the bathroom. And if they wanted to get to the stairwell, to get to Oliver, they’d have to fight it or something like it at some point.

And she didn’t want to fight it in the bathroom where there’d be no space to swing her hatchet. She took a deep, shaking breath as she listened to it eating the other angels. Sweat ran down her back. She bit her lip. There was one thing that was for certain: if she wanted to live, she’d have to get much, much stronger.

This was so unfair. All she’d wanted was to get on with her life. Graduate. Get away from her family. Get away from her mom.

Her mom’s voice filled her head, screaming at her to find Oliver.

She wondered what her mom would do in this situation. How would she handle all this carnage and death? Jenny just wanted to sob and scream and pull out her hair. She wanted to break all the mirrors in the bathroom and smash everything she possibly could. But what good would that do now?

It was oddly familiar to how she felt at home. Fighting with her mom, slamming the door, sobbing into her pillow, wishing she wasn’t here.

But she was here. Stuck in this nightmare. And she was at least getting stronger. She’d killed a bunch of them already. This wasn’t like home. She wasn’t powerless. She wasn’t just going to hide in her room and cry and play video games until she passed out. She shut her eyes and sucked in a breath and made her decision.

She clutched her hatchet, feeling the tiniest bit comforted by having it in her hands. She looked back at Susan who had Mark’s head on her lap, trying to console him, still pressing her palm down on his lips as he struggled.

Without a word, Jenny stepped out into the hall. She didn’t want to see Susan’s reaction. She didn’t want to second guess her decision to fight this thing. At the very least, she resolved to lead it away from the bathroom so Susan and Mark could figure out a way to get out.