Novels2Search

The Five Deaths

Tension brewed in the staff office. Yukari Tachibana took her seat beside Benedict Song on the sofa. Narumi and Etsudo sat on the opposite couches while Daichi, Matabei, and Kohaku stood by their sides. On the coffee table, situated between them, were photographs of security camera footage showing the five students bursting out of the stairwell from GenaTech.

"This is Doctor Song. He is from GenaTech." Yukari gestured towards Benedict.

"Hello, students." Benedict made a bow. Silence lingered for a moment, the five remained stiff without returning Benedict's greeting.

"Hey." Yukari chided them with an annoyed look, "Greet him."

Narumi cleared her throat and made a reluctant bow, "Good afternoon." The rest followed suit, equally hesitant and nervous.

----------------------------------------

Meanwhile, a security guard patrolled around the school's perimeter, whistling while he was at it. It was not long until he heard footsteps behind him. A fiery pain exploded in his knee when a suppressed Glock pistol fired his kneecap. He could not scream when a hand covered his mouth and an arm constricted his neck. Within seconds, the security guard's eyes rolled back into his head and he was out.

----------------------------------------

The five students remained silent in the teacher's lounge, but dread was already creeping into them.

"Before this goes any further," Yukari pointed at them, "I am going to give you all the chance to come forth with anything that you want to declare."

The words were so close to being confessed out of Etsudo's mouth, but she stayed clammed up. The group glanced at each other, none of them were willing to utter anything. Yukari made a huff with a shake of her head, disappointment emanating from her.

"Doctor Song here," Yukari said, "Claims that he witnessed you five in the stairwell that I saw you all come out from. And that you guys have something that belongs to him."

Everyone reacted accordingly.

"Sensei?" Etsudo squeaked.

"Hah?!" Narumi instantly got up to her feet.

"What are you talking about?! We didn't steal anything!" Matabei raised his voice.

"Are you kidding me?!" Daichi did the same. Kohaku, while silent, narrowed his eyes on Benedict.

"Enough! All of you." Yukari's voice gripped them in place. Narumi sat back down and the group settled down, all the while staring daggers at the doctor. Yukari then said, "Everyone, look me in the eye and tell me. Did you all steal anything?"

"No," Narumi answered for everyone.

The tension was palpable in the room. Neither moved in their positions. Yukari pinched her brows, "Please, students. If you have done something wrong, please tell me. I cannot help you if you don't."

Narumi said firmly. "Sensei. We're telling the truth."

Benedict took the chance to cut in. "Tachibana-sensei. If I may. Can I speak to your students in private?"

Yukari narrowed her eyes at Song, "Excuse me?"

"Tachibana-sensei, please." Benedict made a bow, "I will be very fast."

Yukari glared at him, before she addressed the five, "Everyone. Whatever happens, just know that if you need help, you can come to me for anything."

The five fell silent, they were still keeping their mouths shut. Yukari got up and left the lounge corner, returning to her desk on the other side of the faculty room.

The doctor, sounding hurried and hushed, said to them. "Kids. I need you to listen to me. You have all been exposed to GenaTech's experimental product. It's the intradermal physio-augment nanotech."

Dammit. Narumi cursed in her head and clenched her fists. The five kept their composure as much as they could.

"So that was what you dumped on us in that stairwell," Kohaku asked in an eerie low voice, finally breaking his silence.

Benedict sighed and dipped his head, "It was an accident. I'm sorry."

"I am sorry this has happened to you all." Benedict apologized again. "But the nanites have done their work, and now your physiologies have been altered to scales I've never imagined."

"Then can you fix us?" Daichi leaned forward with urgency.

Benedict had an unsure look, "If I can study you guys properly, I will do what I can to help you. But the situation has changed. My partner, Doctor Rossiter, is involved in this matter as well. I don't know what she is planning for you five. But I guarantee you, she does not have your best interests at heart."

"And you do?" Kohaku scowled.

Benedict rose to his feet as well, "Please trust me. If we hurry, we can-"

The window panel shattered into shards. Benedict jolted with a spray of red bursting out of his chest. The doctor crashed onto the floor, his eyes wide open and blood pooled underneath him.

"Ahh!" Narumi shrieked and launched herself backward, toppling down the divider screens.

"Aiiieee!" Etsudo screeched and covered her face in reflex, shrinking into her couch.

"Shit!" Matabei and Daichi flinched in shock.

"Get down!" Kohaku dropped down, immediately planting himself on the wall for cover, and everyone followed suit.

Opposite the school, on the rooftop of a building in the city, a mountain man in a black tactical outfit was lying prone with an M110 sniper rifle. It was Alpha, the commander of the Five Deaths.

Alpha brought a finger to his earpiece. "Secondary is down. All units, move in."

Red pooled around Benedict Song. The breeze came in through the open window and the air was thick with the smell of blood and sulphur.

Kohaku, staying low, grabbed a room divider by the leg. He propped up the blinders against the broken window.

"Oh, my God! Oh, my God!" Etsudo hyperventilated.

"Shit! What is going on?!" Matabei was freaking out.

"Whatever this Doctor Rossiter is plotting," Kohaku said through gritted teeth, "Is already underway." He snatched the photographs that were on the coffee table.

Narumi quickly wiped the tears from her eyes, her eyes narrowed intensely and her trembling hands were clenching tight. Narumi started baring her teeth and growls were escaping her throat.

"Everyone!" Yukari rushed over to the lounge.

"Tachibana-sensei!" Narumi crawled to her teacher and pulled her arm down to the floor, "Get down!"

"Everyone, stay down! Don't move!" Yukari shouted, "Is this the police?" She spoke to a police dispatcher on her phone.

"Anyone got a plan?" Matabei frantically asked.

Kohaku was the first to answer. "Okay. First, we have to-"

"I'm out of here!" Daichi bolted for the door.

"Someone help! Please!" Etsudo fled as well, wailing with tears rolling down her cheeks.

"Hey! Where are you going?! Get down!" Kohaku yelled at them, but his warnings were ignored. Daichi slid the door open which slammed to the side.

"Kurosawa! Morita!" Yukari called them.

"Guys! No!" Narumi yelled.

"Shit! Goddammit!" Matabei and Kohaku cursed and dashed out to catch Daichi and Etsudo, keeping as low as possible.

"Uchida! Come on! The police are on their way!" Yukari took Narumi's hand and got out of the office. Once they were out of the staff room, Daichi and Etsudo rushed down the hallway, abandoning everyone in the faculty room. There was a flight of stairs in the middle of the corridor, but they ran past it, opting for the stairs at the end of the hallway.

"Help! Someone!" Etsudo continued to screech. As she was about to reach the stairs, she let out another shriek and she fell on her butt. "Eeek!"

Two people climbed up the stairs and appeared before them. The first was a bald man. He was dressed in a tactical attire similar to Alpha, and he wore a sleek mask covering the lower half of his face. The second was a tall woman with brown braided hair resting on her shoulder. She wore the same apparel and mask as the man, and both of them wore a black peculiar device on their ears that seemed to act as earplugs.

It was Bravo and Charlie of the Five Deaths. Bravo gave an intense glare at Etsudo. He pulled a custom-made pistol from his holster and aimed. Etsudo let out a cry and covered her head in reflection. Bravo squeezed the trigger, and with a muffled shot, a dart was fired.

"Argh!" Daichi yelled as he felt the prick of the dart on his shoulder. Etsudo instantly got up and turned on her heel.

"Stay down, boy." Charlie commanded, "Take him, Bravo. The girl is mine." Charlie got into a sprint, chasing after Etsudo who jumped down the flight of stairs she had passed earlier.

Matabei and Kohaku were out of the staff room, followed by Narumi and Yukari. They spotted Etsudo being pursued and Daichi squaring off against a giant soldier.

"Don't screw with me!" Daichi plucked the dart from his shoulder and rushed at Bravo. If the soldier was surprised by Daichi's resilience, he did not show it. Bravo squeezed the trigger twice, this time two darts hit Daichi's neck. "Argh!"

Before anyone could make a move, however, their ears were assaulted by a high-pitched noise. It sent stabbing pains into their heads and they clutched their heads.

"Ahhh!" Everyone yelled in pain.

Matabei, Daichi, Narumi, and Kohaku all hunched over as pain kept jolting them. Enduring the stabbings in his ears, Kohaku turned to see who was emitting the noise. It was another woman with auburn hair tied in a ponytail. She was Echo, in the same getup as the other assailants. She leaned forward with her mouth agape behind her mask like she was straining her voice.

Yukari screamed in sheer pain before her limbs lost any strength in them. Her phone slipped through her fingers and she plopped onto the floor. Blood leaked out of her ears.

Amid the excruciation in her head, Narumi pulled the strength in her to turn and tend to her teacher "Sensei!"

"U... Uchida...run..." Yukari managed to wheeze out her before an invisible force struck her in the face, knocking her out bleeding.

Narumi had no time to react when she too got a blow to her head and stumbled towards the corridor windows, visibly confused. Narumi had another invisible blow to her stomach and a strike to her chin, but none of the hits were hard enough to knock her off her feet. "What the?!"

"Whoa! The little girl sure can take a hit! She's tough like a brick! Tougher than her teacher! Fufu!" A woman's voice appeared seemingly out of thin air. Despite the intense pain in her head from the high-pitched tone from Echo, her other senses, particularly her nose, were working just fine. She picked up the scent that was right in front of her, it was the same acrid smell she had been detecting since morning. The air distorted and a feminine body appeared right before Narumi.

Delta let out another psychotic giggle and emerged from her camouflage. Her combat outfit was a little different from the other mercenaries'. It was a black digital camo pattern designed to accommodate her camouflage capability. She also wore the same pair of black earplugs Bravo and Charlie wore, designed to resist Echo's attack. Delta stomped on Yukari's phone, shattering the screen, and the phone's light went out.

Delta drove a boot into Narumi's midsection, slamming her back into the wall, she pinned her forearm on Narumi's neck pressing her against it.

"Let's see how tough you are, girly." Delta flashed a grin at Narumi.

Echo pressed on with her high-pitched screeches, aiming them toward the boys in front of her. Matabei turned to see who was tormenting him and Kohaku. Even through the anguish in his ears, Matabei had to run his mouth. "Shit! Lady! Is that how you scream in bed?!"

The anger was clear in Echo's eyes, she dialed up her soundwave on Matabei and Kohaku. Matabei started writhing about in pain till he was on his knees, yelling in agony whilst clutching his ears. Kohaku staggered forward, standing in front of Matabei in some futile attempt to take the frontal assault for Echo's soundwaves.

Narumi's heart was pounding in her chest. Her eyes darted towards Matabei, Kohaku, and Daichi covering their ears from the Echo's assault. Through the chaos and agony, Narumi still had this in her mind; these people hurt her homeroom teacher and she needed to retaliate with primal force.

"Everyone! Take them down!" Narumi bellowed and her throat made a ferocious growl, resonating through the corridor catching the mercenaries by surprise. Delta watched the sclera in Narumi's eyes blackened and her pupils turning green. Delta was too late to avoid the punch to her mouth, especially not the sheer strength behind the blow. It was as if she just took a steel bar to the face. Delta could not even register that she had been knocked back into the glass window behind her. A tooth was chipped off from her jaw and her mouth was warm with blood. She had no time to recover as Narumi charged in with a bellow. The glass panel shattered as Narumi got herself defenestrated, taking Delta with her and they crashed into the school's central courtyard.

Kohaku took the chance, pushing through the pain in his head he went after Echo. His eyes darkened with his pupils turning red, he let out a guttural snarl. Before Echo could evade Kohaku, her neck was caught in his hand. Her high-pitched screeching ceased and she started to gag. The hold on Echo's neck tightened like it had been caught in a hydraulic press. Kohaku lifted Echo over his head with snarls escaping through his gritted teeth. Turning around, he threw Echo with ease. The banshee mercenary careened through the hallway, straight into Bravo's confused expression.

The two tumbled down the stairs and Daichi made his escape. Tearing the darts off his neck, Daichi dashed past Bravo and Echo hurried down the stairs.

"Holy shit!" Matabei yelled now that the ringing in his ears slowly dissipated, he grabbed Kohaku to get his attention, "Come on! Let's go!" They turned tail and ran in the opposite direction, towards another stairwell on the other far end of the hallway.

Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more.

Bravo shoved Echo off him, glaring at her. Their radio came to life with Alpha's voice again, "What happened? Report."

"We intercepted them! But they got away! They're headed for the school entrance!" Echo wheezed while rubbing her visibly bruised neck, "What did that bitch doctor give them?! My soundwaves and Bravo's tranquilizers couldn't drop them!"

The irritation was clear in Alpha's response, "I'll cut them off. Safeties off. Secure the targets. Now."

At the other end of the hallway, Kohaku laid out the plan to Matabei. "Itou-senpai!"

"Am I still shouting?!" Matabei asked.

"We have to split them apart! You get to the roof, I'll get to the ground floor!"

"I got it! And you take the banshee bitch!" Matabei pointed.

"Fine! Just go!" Kohaku shook his head to ward off the lingering ache in his head.

Matabei started waving his arms around, taunting Bravo across the hallway. "Hey, baldie! You want some of this, huh?!" To add to his insult, Matabei gave the middle finger. "Come and get me!"

"Bravo, get that loudmouth prick! The pipsqueak is mine!" Echo got up and gave chase.

Bravo almost grinned, holstering the tranquilizer gun he pulled another weapon out from his back. His trademark silenced Glock pistol. He pulled the slide and chambered a round, rushing back up to pursue Matabei. Kohaku rushed down the stairs while Matabei climbed up.

By the time Daichi reached the shoe cabinets by the main building's entrance, his vision got swirly. His limbs were starting to slacken and fatigue was consuming his brain. He slumped onto a shoe cabinet and rattled the entire thing. He limped towards the entrance, his breathing was labored. His legs felt like driftwood and they finally gave out. Daichi fell onto his back, his senses were too dulled and before his vision diminished, he glimpsed a giant humanoid silhouette standing over him. Alpha bent down and retrieved Daichi's phone from his pocket. He crushed it in his hand and tossed it away. He then carried Daichi by his side with one hand.

Matabei rushed up the stairs, once he was through the door to the roof, the iris in his eyes turned into a fierce blue. Bravo was catching up fast, he was already fuming that this operation was turning into a disaster. He flicked the safety switch in his Glock pistol, he figured a bullet to the knee would humble the mouthy boy. Bravo got to the door and burst through it, but Matabei was not there.

Bravo immediately checked every corner in a tactical manner and even the water tower, but there was no one. The roof was completely deserted. A slight movement caught his eye and he instantly turned and fired off two rounds. Smoke smoothly rose from the pistol's suppressor. Bravo took a proper look at what he shot and it only made things more confusing. It was a school uniform shirt and pants on the floor, and now each of them had a bullet hole.

Slowly approaching the discarded clothes, he felt a change in the air before something came down from the sky. Tropeognathus slammed his feet down on Bravo's shoulders, crushing him onto the floor. Bravo had not a single second to recover from what hit him from above. Tropeognathus snapped his jaws onto Bravo's hand holding the pistol. With needle-like teeth piercing into his wrist, Bravo gritted his teeth in pain and he released his hold on the gun.

Tropeognathus released his snout from the hand and struck the back of Bravo's head with his crested snout. The claws on his toes gripped tightly on Bravo's shoulders, digging into them. Tropeognathus launched himself from the floor, pulling Bravo up with him. He flapped his wings harder than he had previously due to the added weight. Through the strength in his feet and wings, he was able to lift Bravo up in the air. Tropeognathus was away from the roof, flying over the school's bicycle parking lot. Bravo struggled about in a panic. So much so that Tropeognathus lost his grip on him. Bravo realized his mistake too late and he plummeted down, crashing through the shed of the bicycle and a cloud of dust erupted.

Oh shit! Tropeognathus let out a squawk of surprise and flew back to the school's roof. Banking downwards, he adjusted the position of his wings to catch more air as he descended. He had learned his lesson after the last time he attempted a landing.

Flying down towards the roof, Tropeognathus leaned back and slowed his descent like a gentle glide. Pointing his feet forward, he approached the field like a parachutist. His feet made contact with the ground and his momentum lurched him forward. But he was able to catch himself from falling as he planted both hands on the ground. At last, he made a successful landing. Transforming back, Matabei quickly put on his school uniform. He noticed the pistol on the floor and the black powder-stained bullet holes on his uniform.

"Holy shit! The guy had a real gun!" Matabei paused at the notion, taking a few seconds to collect himself. "Oh no. The others." Matabei dashed for the roof door access and headed back down.

In the bicycle parking lot, Bravo crawled out of the small crater he made from his fall. He was battered and lacerated all over. Above all, he was livid and shell-shocked. A flying reptile just attacked him, picked him up, and dropped him from four floors. To hell with finding his target that disappeared from the roof, he had to regroup with the other mercenaries.

Kohaku got to the ground floor from the stairwell he was in earlier. There was no time for him to rest, however, as Echo found him. Sharp agony stabbed his ears once again. He covered his ears and turned to see Echo by the bottom of the stairs.

Kohaku growled in pain and prowled towards Echo. The banshee noticed and stepped away, emitting her agonizing screech from a distance. She was not going to let Kohaku get too close to her, and she intended to make him suffer immensely first before capturing him.

Kohaku backed away, still clutching his ears. His path to the school entrance was now cut off and he made his way further into the school, continuously enduring the agony coursing through him. Kohaku had to find a way to get Echo close to him so he could stop her from making her horrible scream.

He rushed through the corridor until he spotted something through the window, a facility he could use. Stumbling through the corridor he made his way out of the main school building, towards the pool hall. Echo, maintaining her distance, watched Kohaku bursting through the doorway.

"Tch." Echo ceased her soundwaves and tsked, irritated that she lost visual sight of him because she stayed too far back. Echo kicked off into a run and got into the pool hall. The intense scent of chlorine permeated the pool hall. There was a school uniform and a pair of shoes tossed by the side of the fifty-metre pool. Standing by the edge of the water, she could see a dark shape at the bottom.

"Hiding in the water, boy?" Echo taunted, "You're not very smart, are you?"

Echo emitted her screeching again, pointing at the water which made violent ripples on the surface. The dark shape started to change. It was getting bigger, much bigger. The figure looked reddish and serpentine with a giant tail emerging. What appeared to be an arched scaly sail emerged through the surface.

"W-What?" Echo's high-pitched screech stopped, she had never seen anything like this and she did not realise her body was starting to tremble in fear.

The water exploded and out came the gargantuan Spinosaurus, letting out a guttural roar that rumbled the pool hall. The giant dinosaur was wearing a navy-blue suit that covered his body, leaving his limbs, tail, and sail exposed. Spinosaurus turned to Echo, his red eyes were staring at her intensely. Terror got the better of Echo and she turned to flee.

Spinosaurus reached over with his snout, knocking Echo to the ground. His jaws then clamped onto her leg. Echo screamed her banshee soundwaves as conical teeth pierced into the flesh of her leg. The dinosaur ignored her cries and lifted her off the floor. Echo flung about in her panic as Spinosaurus held her upside down and he dunked her into the pool.

Now fully submerged in the water, Echo was screaming with a constant stream of bubbles. Spinosaurus, still clamping on her leg tight, simply waited while she ran out of air. He could see her in his jaws, the bubbling quickly stopped and Echo slowly went limp. Spinosaurus pulled Echo out of the water and tossed her onto the side. Echo crashed onto the floor with a bloodied leg.

Spinosaurus dipped his snout into the pool, rinsing the blood off his teeth. He stepped out of the pool and scooped up his uniform and shoes with his claws. After a moment, Spinosaurus arched his back and he shrunk in mass. It took a while but Kohaku put on his school pants and shirt. His wet inner suit started soaking his uniform. Without buttoning his top, Kohaku slipped on his shoes and bolted out of the pool hall.

Not long after Kohaku was gone, Echo coughed out chlorine water and gasped for air. She looked around, checking if the gigantic creature was gone. She groggily pushed herself to her feet and hissed in pain from her leg which was filled with puncture wounds. Blood seeped through her pants and she had to limp away. All the while, her soul was shaking from what she had just encountered.

Narumi was lying down on her side in the school courtyard. She groaned in pain and shards of glass surrounded her. She was able to swiftly get back on her feet, but only to get an invisible strike to her cheek.

"Ah!" Narumi took a step back, but the blow did not hurt her as much as it surprised her.

"Bitch! You just broke my tooth!" Delta screamed at Narumi, coming out of her camouflaged and spitting out a glob of blood and spittle. Delta reached behind her and pulled out a transparent combat knife, Delta turned invisible and started circling Narumi. "We're supposed to take you in alive. But I'm going to make sure you bleed like a stuck pig first!"

"You people hurt my teacher!" Narumi yelled.

"Well, tough!" Delta's voice surrounded her, "That wasn't personal! But this sure as hell is!"

Narumi cried out and she clutched her bicep as Delta sped past her. Beads of blood slowly oozed out of a cut on her arm. Narumi gave chase in the direction she guessed where Delta was. But Narumi reeled back again as she took another slash on her thigh.

"Argh!" Narumi tripped and dropped onto one knee.

"Hahaha!" Delta laughed, zipping past her, and Narumi's nose caught the draft. The same scent yet again, every mercenary she had just encountered had the smell. Narumi deduced that they must have been scouting the school this whole time. Especially Delta, if she was able to infiltrate the school while camouflaged.

Narumi had an idea, she breathed in through her nose. She could feel the flow of the air, where the scent was drifting around the courtyard. Through her ears, she could hear muffled footsteps circling her, and closing in. She turned to the direction of where her senses were pointing, but she took yet another cut on her other thigh.

"Shit!" Narumi snarled.

"That's right!" Delta, while camouflaged, taunted and continued to circle her.

Narumi had nicks on her arm and both her legs. Fortunately, none of Delta's attacks were able to make any gashes or deep cuts. But now, Narumi could smell the mercenary's flowing scent and hear the muffled footsteps speeding around her. Now, it was as if Narumi could feel where Delta was.

Narumi got into a run, she had to find the others or at least make her escape to call the police. Her nose and her ears had located her target; right behind her. Turning around quickly, Narumi lunged and bulldozed into Delta and she was knocked out of her camouflage. There was a flash of white in Delta's vision when the back of her head hit the ground. Narumi pinned down Delta's hand holding her knife. But Delta lashed back, she wrung her other hand free and smashed it into Narumi's face.

"Mmmh!" Narumi had a muffled shriek. Delta made a manic laugh as her fingers wriggled their way to Narumi's eyes. Narumi made a quick reaction, pressing her head down and she made a roar before clamping her teeth down.

The sound of bones cracking echoed through the courtyard and Delta screamed, her wrist felt like it had been caught in a bear trap, only much harder. Narumi kept growling and hissing, clamping her jaws tight. Her teeth were soaked in blood as they pierced through flesh, bone, and into the marrow.

Narumi relaxed her jaws for a brief millisecond before she bit down harder. Delta screamed her lungs out as the bones in her wrist shattered. Narumi began shaking her head, her teeth were sawing through the bones, and spurts of blood sprinkled all over. She pulled her head back and Delta's hand was ripped off from the wrist.

The floor was splotched with red all over. Narumi staggered away from Delta, hunching over with deep growls from her throat. The green in her eyes was much more intense than before. Delta's remaining hand clutched at her bleeding stump, she let out high-pitched wails and crawled away.

Narumi dropped Delta's hand, flesh and blood were painted all over her mouth. She stood there like a feral predator with her uniform dirtied and tattered. Her eyes appeared almost like they were glowing green. Every breath she took had a growl rumbling through the courtyard. Delta turned and ran for her life, a mix of anger, shock, and fear boiled in her.

Narumi was about to give chase, but then she made a gulp. Horror spiked in Narumi's heart, she had no control over swallowing blood and bits of flesh in her mouth. They went down her gullet and Narumi dropped to her knees. She hunched over and started gagging in a desperate attempt to cough it all out.

Oh, my God! Narumi thought. She had just consumed blood and human meat. The primal green eyes were disappearing and her human eyes returned. Red smears covered all over her hands and cheeks. She was sick to her stomach. Oh God! I just drank that lady's blood!

Etsudo was on the ground floor, running through the school building with Charlie on her tail. She was too afraid to delve into the fact that she left Narumi, Kohaku, Matabei, and Daichi to fend for themselves. In her panic, Etsudo took a wrong turn and she found herself in the home economics room. She gasped in fright hearing the footsteps closing in on her. Charlie caught a glimpse of a silhouette entering a classroom and followed. Charlie got to the door and entered an empty home economics classroom.

"Come out," Charlie said, taking a step into the room. She flipped the switch on by the side of the door and the lights flickered to life. Charlie's eyes scanned across her periphery, she pulled out her tranquilizer gun from her holster and held it firm. Somewhere in the home economics room, Etsudo hunkered down. She had a hand covering her mouth to silence her whimpering.

"Girl, just make this easy for us, okay?" Charlie said, "We're not here to kill you. We just want something that you and your friends have taken."

Charlie took another step in, her boot creaking through the wooden floor. "Your friends are being collected already, no one is coming." Charlie switched off the safety in her weapon, "Just come out and join the others. Don't make any trouble for us and I will not hurt you. I promise."

All Charlie got was silence, which irritated her. "Don't make me come in there and get you."

Charlie narrowed her eyes in annoyance, she got to the first table at the front. Circling around it, she spotted no whimpering girl, just a counter table with metal bowls and a gas stove. Charlie went right to the next table, looking the same as the previous one. The mercenary picked up her pace, going to the next table to search for her target. Etsudo remained in her hiding spot, her hands trembling as she held the kitchen knife, her only means of defense. She could hear Charlie's footsteps and tried to shrink herself.

Charlie went to the last table and circled around it, but Etsudo was not there. Charlie gazed at the window, but they were closed. Which meant there was only one spot left. Charlie slowly turned to the metal closet by the corner of the home economics room. Charlie had a ticked frown, she stormed right to the cabinet and burst it open.

"No!" Etsudo shrieked in fright and charged out of the cabinet. Crashing into Charlie with her knife pointed forward, Etsudo fell on top of her with her blade plunging into the woman's chest. Charlie started gurgling blood in her mouth. Horror gripped Etsudo, seeing Charlie lying there with a knife in her chest with red pooling around it. Etsudo did not even register the tranquilizer dart in her midsection. Etsudo was screaming hysterically and ran for the exit. Just as she was out of the home economics room, a shadow loomed over her.

"Aiiee-" Etsudo's cries were cut off when a massive hand grabbed her neck. Alpha lifted her off the ground. Etsudo frantically kicked around but Alpha slammed her head against the wall. Etsudo had stars in her vision for a second before pain surged in her body. Alpha tightened his grip on her neck and pulled her out of the wall. Alpha drove his head into her face. Etsudo's head jerked back before her vision faded, and a bead of blood rolled from her nostril.

Alpha inspected the knocked-out girl in his hand, he dug into Etsudo's pocket and took out her phone. He crushed it in his hand and tossed it away. Alpha placed Etsudo over his shoulder. In his other arm, he carried a sedated Daichi. With Etsudo and Daichi subdued by Alpha, the lead mercenary entered the home economics room. He stood over Charlie and gave her an unimpressed look, not even bothered by the knife in her chest.

"Stop messing around. You're a professional." Alpha commanded.

Charlie glared at him before she turned onto her side, she rolled to her side before plucking the knife out of her chest. The wound spurted blood out for a few seconds before the bleeding slowed to a stop. The bloodied hole started shrinking and mending. Charlie quickly got back on her feet and her chest was fully healed.

"Stupid girl." Charlie seethed at Etsudo hanging over Alpha's shoulder.

"Where are the rest?" Alpha asked.

Footsteps rushed to the home economics, and Bravo staggered in with Echo limping behind. The marksman was tattered in cuts and bruises, and covered in a layer of dust. The banshee was soaking wet with a mangled bloody leg.

"What the hell happened?!" Charlie exclaimed.

"We just got attacked by goddamn dinosaurs!" Echo yelled, "I'm not even kidding! Big ass lizards!"

Hysterical wailing came behind them. They turned to see Delta rushing in, with one red stump that was once her right arm. If Alpha was surprised by Delta's state, he did not show it.

"That bitch!" Delta's crying was almost unintelligible, "She bit my hand off! My hand! My hand!"

The Five Deaths were physically augmented people, each possessing a unique ability. Alpha may be the strongest of them all, but individually they were faster and tougher than anyone. Yet, they all had been brutalized by high school students.

"Tourniquet yourselves" Alpha commanded Delta and Echo. "We're pulling out. We'll hand in these two first." The Five Deaths got to the school entrance and made their exit, with Etsudo and Daichi as their captives.

Back in the central courtyard of Soru Academy, Narumi was still on her all fours coughing and reeling in disgust with herself. She kept rubbing her forearms and her face to wipe off the blood. "Oh god, that's..."

"Uchida-senpai!"

Narumi's eyes widened and snapped her head to see Kohaku rushing out of the school building towards her. His uniform was unbuttoned and he looked drenched.

"Taiyo-san?" Narumi mumbled, blinking the tears away.

Kohaku got down to her level, visibly worried from all the blood on her, "What happened? Are you okay?"

"I-I just..." Narumi stammered, "I just bit her hand off! H-Her blood was in my mouth!"

She wiped her lip again, she could taste the iron on her tongue. Kohaku was not exactly sure how to respond to that, he hesitated for a moment inching closer to her and she did not pull away from him.

"Uh...you're okay. Come on, you're going to be okay." Kohaku tried to assure her. "Uchida-senpai, you're going to be fine."

She took a deep breath. Hearing a familiar voice was a sliver of comfort in the moment. "Yeah. Yeah."

Kohaku got up and offered a hand to her, "Uchida-senpai."

Narumi let out a growl before she grabbed his hand. Kohaku pulled Narumi up to her feet, she felt the sheer strength he had from his arm. Kohaku took his hand away and Narumi looked back at Kohaku, finally taking note of his drenched state. "What happened to you? W-Why are you wet?"

"I had to uh, take a swim in the pool." Kohaku explained vaguely, his hair was dripping chlorine water profusely. "I managed to get away from the banshee and I found you."

"Hey!" They turned around and Matabei dashed right for them, "Guys!"

"Itou?" Narumi called him.

Matabei flinched at the state of them, "Shit! You guys don't look good!"

"Did you get shot?!" Narumi exclaimed, seeing the bullet holes in his uniform.

"Huh?" Matabei glanced down at himself, "No. I uh, picked up the baldie and uh threw him off the roof. Sort of." Matabei tried to wipe the black powder off his clothes. "Aw hell, this is going to be really hard to explain when it's time for laundry."

"Seriously?!" Narumi snapped at Matabei, "You're making a joke now?!"

"Hey!" Matabei held his hands up, "When I'm panicking, running my mouth is all I can do! Sorry, but we just got our asses kicked by some crazy soldiers sent by this person, Doctor Rossiter!"

Kohaku stepped in between the two of them, "Uchida-senpai, Itou-senpai. I'm sorry but we have to go. We've made too much noise, the police are on their way."

Narumi pushed down the sobs that were threatening to rise. But then Narumi widened her eyes, recollecting that Etsudo ran off and Daichi got shot with tranquilizers. "Oh God. They got Morita and Kurosawa-senpai."