A Rift has appeared! Prepare to Attack and Defend.
Beginning in....5:00 minutes
Rift Rank: D
Time limit: 1 hour
Species: Zombie humanoids
Rewards: None
Failure: Death
"What the..." I heard others murmur as all the adults glanced at each other, confused.
"Umm..." I said, looking down at my students. I wasn't sure if this was some sort of prank, or a malfunctioning government warning, but I didn't feel like it was safe to take them outside anymore without checking.
"Change of plans," I tell the line. The children begin their grumbles and protests.
"I know," I say, "We love outside time. But we need to check really quick to make sure it's all ready. While we wait, shall we go play duck duck goose? If you're good, we will have a treat with lunch today."
With cheers, the kids scramble back to the room while Ren gives me a thumbs up and stays to talk with Mrs. Poiter, the woman who runs Sunny Days Daycare.
I check my phone discreetly after setting them up in a circle; Theo and Greyson had already started bickering about who would be the goose. The odd notification was still up, and I couldn't seem to get rid of it to access anything else. The only thing that changed was the timer going down. It now said 4 minutes 22 seconds.
Until...what?
My skin prickled with a sense of unease as I stared at my screen.
"Ms. Maisy?" One boy, Ravi, asked, shaking my arm a little. I jumped before smiling at him.
"Sorry buddy, I'm a little distracted... Okay, did you want to start as tagger, since you weren't fighting with your friends?"
The game begins as Ren returns, his face more serious than usual.
"Well?" I ask quietly once the game gets started, standing a few steps away from the kids.
"I don't know," Ren tells me, lowering his voice to match mine. "There's nothing outside, but we can't use our phones, we can't call the police. I don't know what's going on. For now, Mrs. Poiter said to treat it as a shelter in place."
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I nod, my stomach twisting uncomfortably. I hate not knowing, but it seemed like for now, we just had to wait.
Ren monitors the game as the kids continue, one boy pouting when he gets put in the middle. I bite my nail as I pull out my phone again. 1 minute and 50 seconds.
I can't help the dread that keeps running down my spine and I struggle to remain calm. I don't know why, but the ticking timer has me more afraid than anything has in a long time. The ominous message keeps popping up in my head and I decide to trust my instincts. At best, I look like a scared fool.
"Ren." I finally say, my voice firm. He can sense my tone of voice and looks up.
"Something bad is going to happen," I tell him seriously. He raises an eyebrow but just nods. "Will you lock the door and get something to defend ourselves?"
Ren's aqua green eyes widen but he simply nods again, the trust of our years together overriding any doubts he might have. My gut feelings had saved us more than once before. To be honest, if we were reversed, I'd be doubting myself too; in fact, I still felt a little crazy. But the fear that was welling up in my chest screamed at me that this wasn't paranoia and I decided to trust it.
Ren returns with a wrench from the tool kit in the back and a solid metal broom that we never used. The game pauses, the kids stopping to watch us. They seem to sense that the atmosphere has changed, that something is wrong.
"This is all we really have," Ren says apologetically, handing me the broom and locking the door with a quiet click. I nod, a lump in my throat, and instinctively I look at my phone once again.
Fifteen, fourteen, thirteen, I watch the number tick down.
Zero.
As soon as the countdown finished, the ground began to tremble.
The kids froze, a few letting out small whimpers as things began to shake and fall off the shelves around them, clattering to the floor loudly.
"M-m-ms. Maisy..." Greyson said, grabbing my hand tightly in fear.
"Come here," Ren tells the kids, gathering them into a group. I catch Cassidy before she can fall as she struggles to make her way over the trembling floor to us. We huddle on the carpet in the corner as the ground continues to shake violently.
I look out the window as the sky begins to turn a violent purple, angry storm clouds roiling and twisting in the sky. The bright sun that was out moments ago was smothered, casting the room in an eerie darkness, except for the occasional flash of lightning.
I can hear Kena start to cry and I pull her closer, wrapping my arms around her.
"It's going to be okay, Kena," I tell her, my eyes meeting Ren's over her head. I can see that he's just as scared as I am, but I continue to console the child in my arms, even as fear tries to claw its way into my throat.
*DING*
Ren yanks his phone out, eyes squinting as he reads the words. Shaking his head in disbelief, he holds out the screen for me to read.
Welcome to the Earthly Apocalypse!
The tutorial has officially begun!
-A Rift has appeared! Prepare to Attack and Defend.
Rift Rank: D
Time limit: 1 hour
Species: Zombie humanoids
Rewards: None
Failure: Death
Survive the full hour to continue on to the next stage.
Good luck, Warriors!
59 minutes and 24 seconds
I read the bizarre words again, but it doesn't make any more sense than the first time. It looked like a video game pop-up, especially with the mention of a 'tutorial' and 'next stage'. Before I could try to make sense of it, something loud smashed against the window. The kids screamed and my head snapped up.
A grotesque face stared back at us; its sunken eyes were fixed on the children.