I had only managed a few short steps before the ground swayed below my feet, causing me to stumble. I caught myself with my left arm and—searing pain ricocheted through my shoulder and into my torso, dropping me to the ground. My lungs burned as all the oxygen was expelled forcefully. I inhaled deeply through my teeth, tears welling up in the corners of my eyes. Slowly, I wrenched my eyes open and looked at my left arm. I gagged and turned away. The limb was broken at the elbow, and it twisted at an odd angle. It hurt to even move.

I gasped in pain as I pushed myself to my feet, trying not to blackout from the pain. Every slight movement sent shockwaves of pain through my body. I wished I could just sit down and stop moving, but I had to continue. Because… The adrenaline in my veins slowly faded, and my mind felt foggy. Because of what? I couldn’t remember, exactly. Something about blood. I groaned and stopped at a T-section. To my left was a caved-in portion of the building, and to my right was another caved-in section.

I’ll have to go through one of the classrooms, I thought, trying to focus. The light from my headlamp looked weird and fuzzy and was hurting my head. I almost wanted to turn it off. I shook my head, which caused it to hurt even more. I turned right, stumbling without thinking of where I was going. Glancing into the classrooms hurt my eyes due to the movement. I was trying to do something, but what was it? I paused, trying to remember what I was doing. I need to go somewhere. The thought had been in my head just a second ago… my train of thought derailed as a glimmer of light caught the corner of my eye. I stepped over a chunk of rebar, and tripped over it, catching myself with my good arm.

“Fuck,” I whispered hoarsely as pain shot through my arm. Looking into the classroom, the glimmer of light was gone. Maybe I had just imagined something. I turned to leave and paused as the glimmer of light appeared again. Slowly I turned off my headlamp and waited for my eyes to adjust. In the corner of the room, near the ceiling, there was a small crack, allowing a sliver of light through. I turned my headlamp back on, stepped into the classroom, and weaved around the tables clumsily, my thighs colliding uncomfortably against the metal. Cracks spread down the wall, like an insidious growth. Pressing my hand against it, I could feel that it wasn’t very strong, almost like a sponge. Shouldn’t be too hard to break through, right? I thought hazily, balling my hand into a fist. I took a step back and aimed for the weakest-looking spot on the wall. Here goes…

I went rigid as a horrid screaming sound tore through my brain. It echoed through my mind and ricocheted around my skull like an infernal ping-pong ball. Pain hammered through my head as I turned in a circle, trying to figure out the source of the damned sound—but it sounded like it was a mile away as well as right behind me, no matter which way I turned. I tried to clamp my hands over my ears, but my broken arm made itself known, shooting pain through my shoulder. I curled over, whimpering quietly.

Slowly, the screams subsided, and I glanced up, the slight movement hurting my head. My arm still was causing me pain, reminding me of its shattered state. Need to do something about that. I glanced around the classroom and spotted a desk at the front of the room. The lock was rusty and deteriorated, and only took a good hit or two to break it. I shook out my knuckles and opened the drawer, the smell of dust and mold lingering in the air as I rummaged through its contents. Grinning, I pulled out a half-used roll of duct tape and a pair of rulers. I pulled off my mask and unraveled a strip of tape, but paused as I realized my arm was still at a weird angle.

I stared down at the twisted limb, running the options through my mind. It’s broken. I need to fix it. But—I don’t know enough about healing magic to do that. It can’t be too hard, right? I saw a guy shove his arm back into place on TV. I grimaced as I grabbed my forearm, which shot yet another bolt of agony through my shoulder. Preparing to move it back into place, I bit down on my tongue, trying to distract myself. A thought occurred to me in a moment of clarity; Wait, that was for a dislocation—

Debilitating pain rocked my entire body as I shoved my arm into position. A guttural scream escaped my lungs, tearing at my throat. My voice echoed back at me in the emptiness of the school, like a demented echo chamber. My vision went black, and stars danced before my eyes. The next thing I knew, I was on the ground. Pain wracked my body, making it difficult to get up. My lungs hurt, and my head pounded. The taste of blood lingered in my mouth—but my tongue was still intact. Good thing I screamed instead, I thought dryly through the pain.

A quick check of my arm showed that it was in the proper place, roughly, but it hurt like it was laced with red hot chains. I took a shuddering breath and began working absentmindedly, unsure exactly what I was doing, but allowing my instincts to work for me. My hands just wouldn’t work properly, though. It felt like someone had turned my hands and fingers into useless objects that just wouldn’t cooperate as I tried to tape the rulers to my forearm. My mind was clouded by frustration and pain, and I resisted the urge to lose my temper and throw the rulers across the room. Focus! I thought, finally managing to get the first strip of tape around my arm.

I laughed giddily despite the pain and continued wrapping my forearm, ignoring how much it hurt. Once I was done, the roll of duct tape was almost depleted, and my arm was a shiny gray color. I sorta felt like I’d gotten a bionic replacement. I laughed again, and coughed, doubling over. Fuck, that hurts. I massaged my throat with my good hand. My backpack shifted, reminding me of its existence. I slipped it off and opened it with clumsy fingers, rummaging through it. My hands pulled out my water bottle and my first aid kit automatically. Both were damaged beyond repair, and the water bottle had a gash on the side. Shaking it, I only heard a small amount of water inside. Useless, I thought, throwing the bottle across the room with a loud clanking noise.

The lid of the first aid kit was tougher to get off with one hand, but I still managed to pop it open. Everything inside it was in decent condition, aside from a few things that had been mashed beyond recognition. But a ziplock bag of half a dozen slightly squashed turquoise cubes. Written across the front in permanent marker were the words, “Use In Case Of Emergency.”

I guess this would classify, I thought, popping two into my mouth. As I chewed, my body tingled as if I was being prodded all over with tiny little tasers. I sighed in relief as I felt the various bruises and cuts across my body heal—and as the fog that had been clouding my mind drifted away. I rubbed my eyes and groaned. The pain had faded for the most part, but it still lingered, like a bad spirit. Now that my head was clear, I tried to remember what I was going to do. Right. The crack in the wall. I slung my backpack back on, went around the desk, and prodded the wall again, confirming its weakness.

With my good arm, I unhitched my crowbar and started chipping at the wall, pulling my mask back up to protect myself from the dust in the air. I chipped away slowly, the cracks widening, each movement causing a shudder of pain through my arm—but less than before I had made myself a splint, thankfully. A large chunk of the wall fell inward, allowing a burst of snow to blind me. I shook my head and wiped the powder from my goggles. I stood on my tiptoes and peeked through. Another classroom was ahead of me, though a broken window had allowed half the room to become flooded by snow.

As I worked, the image of the bloodstain and the inhuman screams crossed my mind. I shuddered. I hoped that whatever was making those screams wasn’t nearby, but based on the fact that there was a relatively new bloodstain and the sounds were coming closer, the chances of me getting out without some sort of encounter were slim. I hope I’m wrong. Please, let me be wrong, I prayed. I’m not in the state to fend off a monster.

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

I froze as a scream cut through the wind, shattering even the omnipresent sound of the blizzard. The horrid sound pierced my scales to the center of my soul. I felt like I’d just heard the closest approximation to hell any person had ever experienced. This time, it wasn’t a concussion-induced illusion—it was the real deal, and that terrified me more than I could truly express in words. Forcing myself to continue chipping at the wall was a monumental task, but eventually, I kicked away the last chunk of the wall preventing me from slipping through. I winced as my tail scraped against exposed drywall. My nerves felt like they were on fire as I approached the door. The scream of that thing haunted me.

I pushed the door open with a creak before it stopped with a thunk. Looking up, it appeared this classroom was directly behind the collapsed ceiling. The width of the space I had to pass through was as wide as my torso, minus my tail. It would be a tight squeeze, but unless I wanted to venture outside… I shuddered at the thought. I kicked my legs, took a deep breath, and began pushing myself through the doorway. The rough edges of the door frame as well as the doorknob dug into my scales, causing me to grunt with pain. I had to turn my head so my horns and snout would fit through the gap. My progress was slow as I forced my body through, wincing at the splinters sliding into the gaps between my scales along my tail.

With a massive gasp, I stumbled forward, leaning against the wall with my good arm. My chest, back, and tail felt like they’d been scraped raw. It hurt to move my tail, and a glance showed that I did have a ton of splinters throughout its length. I took a moment to try and get out all the large ones, but tiny splinters remained, unseen. Groaning, I continued forward. The splinters hurt more than they should’ve, thanks to the small healing cubes I had taken earlier. Fantastic for taking away the pain, and wonderful at dealing it, I thought grumpily, glancing into an abandoned classroom. Stupid ass side effects and shit. My journey through the school was largely unimpeded, aside from the occasional locked door, as well as the all-too-common sight of collapsed walls and ceilings.

As I walked, I kept my ears pricked for any odd sounds, but the school was in such a state of disrepair that every single little sound might’ve been someone moving around or the school shifting. Neither option was appealing. At least you can punch a person, I thought dryly, thinking back to the ceiling collapse that had dropped me into this situation in the first place. I paused as I turned the corner and saw yet another collapsed ceiling. Groaning, I began to turn away before I noticed a door. It was already slightly open, and I could see light from the other side, though it was half-covered by debris.

I picked my way up the small slope, wincing as rubble slipped out from under my feet, jolting my broken arm. A nudge with my boot caused the door to swing open with a loud, drawn-out creak. I hopped down and grunted. Stars danced before my eyes for a moment, and I blinked furiously to diffuse them. Looking around, the classroom was largely abandoned, aside from what looked like ammo crates as well as a whiteboard that seemed to have extremely faded battleplans on it. If I squinted, I could just barely make out what looked like the entrance to the school at the bottom of the map. Glancing to my right, there was a makeshift doorway between the classrooms, most likely made via a sledgehammer.

Cautiously, I stepped through the hole and found myself in a machine gun nest. The first thing that caught my eye was a pair of skeletal soldiers, huddled next to each other as if they had died in each other’s comfort. I felt a tinge of empathy for them despite them being US soldiers. I shuddered and turned my attention away from the corpses. Along the right wall was a stack of sandbags, which the machine gun was stationed behind. The floor was littered with bullet casings and long-rusted weapons, and the corner of the room had a small snowdrift, where the wall had given away partially. The frigid wind tickled the edges of my scales that were uncovered by my heavy clothing. The room seemed to be safe, so I stepped in further and inspected the machine gun. Bullets were still in the belt. I resisted the temptation to pull the trigger to see if it still worked. Instead, I crouched down and looked through the gap the barrel of the gun looked through, and saw a long hallway that led to the foyer.

A glance to my left told me my plan of action. I strode across the room and stepped into yet another classroom, grateful to leave the traitorous corpses behind. The wall directly across from me had fallen away, allowing snow to flood the room. This room seemed to be a sort of command center, although I was unsure. Sandbags, crates, and other military equipment littered the floor—and some were buried under the snow, no doubt. I’ll have to tread carefully, I thought, shuffling through the room. One wrong step and—I cried out as I pitched forward, instinctively putting my arms forward to catch myself. I bit back a scream of pain as agony ripped through my left arm. It felt like it had caught fire.

“Fuuuuuuck,” I whispered. I pushed myself up, the cold from the snow soaking into the gashes in my clothing, further decreasing my body temperature. I shivered from pain as well as from cold as I dusted myself off. Learning my lesson, I lifted my feet above the snow, carefully choosing where I stepped. I had to weave around a few crates, which I used to keep my balance when I finally reached the other end with a few more wobbles.

I put my good hand on my hip and glowered at the room in front of me, which was pitch black, aside from my headlamp and the sunlight peeking in from behind me. Tables, chairs, and filing cabinets were stacked on top of each other haphazardly, forming a sort of maze. And I’m gonna have to go through it. I sighed, and stepped in, beginning to make my way through. The maze increased the time crossing the room exponentially, forcing me to backtrack, squeeze through perilously balanced obstacles, and even crawl awkwardly on one arm. I stood up, my knees aching, and looked back at the maze. I flashed it a big old middle finger before I stepped into the next room.

The final room was barren, thankfully, allowing me easy access to the hallway. I had to shove the door open with a loud schunk that echoed throughout the empty corridor. I poked my head out and found myself looking directly toward the foyer. A relieved smile crossed my face, and I stepped out, making my way forward. My footsteps echoed against the tiles and slowly were muted by the crunch of snow under my feet. Wind from the shattered skylight and ceiling buffeted me, chilling me to the bone. I have to get out of this place soon. Directly across from the entrance hall, there was a sort of student center. I peeked through the shattered window and glanced across the various desks and such.

A thought occurred to me. Maybe there’s a map in there! Excitedly, I tried the door and growled in frustration as the door knob didn’t budge. A few firm kicks didn’t grant me access. I huffed and rethought my plan of attack. I could try reaching through the window and unlocking the door from the inside, but I didn’t even know where the lock was—or what kind of lock it was, for that matter. Besides, my broken arm would make my job much harder. My fingers brushed against something as I placed my hand on my hip, causing me to glance down. A groan escaped my lips as I unhitched my crowbar, and jammed it between the doorframe and the door. I pulled with all my might, listening to the sound of wood splintering before it gave way. The door flew open, and I kicked it the rest of the way.

A tall, chest-height desk greeted me. Somehow, a little pamphlet holder had survived. I picked it up and inspected the cover, the date on the front throwing me for a loop. “Class of 39! Prep for the SATs with these 5 tips.” Can’t believe it’s been that long… A faded image of a few humanoid teenagers studying around a table sat below the text. Opening the pamphlet revealed that the damage was worse than I thought. Almost nothing was legible. I threw the pamphlet away frustratedly and helped myself through the small gate blocking would-be students from entering the staff area. A quick search showed there were no pamphlets of the map variety. I delved deeper into the staff area, and into a hallway that was lined with offices. The doors had rusted nameplates—or were missing them entirely. At the end of the hall, I saw an office which had a window attached to it.

Intrigued, I hurried ahead, trying to catch a glimpse inside the room, not watching my step. I froze the instant I heard the faint sound of a wire being pulled. My blood felt like it had turned to ice as I looked down. A thin, almost invisible wire was being pulled by my boot. My heartbeat grew louder in my ears as I traced the wire to the small, rectangular green object that had been mounted to the wall sloppily.

A mine, I thought, my head feeling light.