“Darnell just texted me saying ‘Go outside,’” said Teemo, “I wonder what they did this time.”
“Oh no,” Makayla muttered.
They stood outside of the cafeteria exit in the glare of the sun. Moments later, a roaring YEEE-HAWW bursted through the air. Teemo, Ryan, and Makayla turned to face the direction it came from. Lo and behold, Darnell and Alicia were running towards them smiling and laughing. They could make out two skinny legs wrapped around Darnell’s waist. Two small hands reached to the sky behind Darnell. Of course, it was Illyana. She was full of color now as she enjoyed the breeze gently running across her face. Her smile revealed a set of pearly whites that nearly outshined the sun. She giggled as she flicked her golden hair back, encouraging it to fly in the wind. For a moment, Ryan couldn’t tell if Darnell was carrying Illyana or an angel.
Darnell and Alicia skidded to a stop, just in front of their friends. Illyana hopped down and fixed her hair.
“Wow, Bonnie and Clyde actually succeeded,” Teemo joked.
“Did you expect any less?” Darnell smirked, popping his shirt up by the collar.
“You actually just… robbed Illyana from them,” Makayla said as they began walking down the sidewalk.
“I sure did, and I’d do it again!” Darnell laughed.
Illyana jumped in, “Did you guys have that whole thing rehearsed?”
“Nope!” Darnell and Alicia said in unison, Darnell continued, “Imma keep it a hun’ed, I’m surprised it went that well.”
Illyana giggled, “Oh my god… y’all are crazy!”
“Whatever it takes to get some food,” Darnell responded.
“For real man, I’m ready to eat!” Ryan shouted, jumping ahead of the group.
“Yes sir!” Teemo chanted.
After about ten minutes of walking, two crosswalks, a territorial squirrel, and five more minutes of walking, Darnell, Teemo, Ryan, Makayla, Illyana, and Alicia finally arrived at their long awaited destination: Chess’s. A small fast food restaurant famous for their chili cheese fries. They hadn’t planned on ordering much, but the anticipation from waiting to eat for so long hit them right in their stomachs. Accompanied by the silent aroma of freshly cooked buns and bacon, they just couldn’t resist gorging. Just making it to the table was a challenge for the fries.
Eventually they were all seated at their booth, the boys on one side, the girls on the other. Darnell and Alicia sat on the outside and Teemo and Illyana on the inside.
“I think your best bet would be running away Illyana,” was Teemo’s response to Illyana’s remark about self-defense from knives.
“No, no, look you’re supposed to go for the knife,” Illyana said, gesturing with her arms, “then like twist the wrist or something…”
“What?!” Teemo said in disbelief, “Are you tryna die!?”
“No, that’s what I saw in a video before!” cried Illyana, “I think?”
Ryan sucked on his straw as loud as possible. Alicia looked at Ryan. “Hey... why don’t y’all ask Ryan?” she said, motioning at him.
Ryan dropped his soda, “Oh no no, I don’t know much.”
Darnell fed into it without even looking up from his burger. “But you know the most of all of us,” he added.
Ryan sighed with a grin stretching from ear-to-ear, “well if you insist…” he said.
The others chuckled. “First off,” Ryan began, “Illyana, you would be better off running away-”
“Hey-” Illyana interrupted but Ryan quickly stopped her with a finger wave and a “but!”
Ryan continued, “Everyone is better off running away from a knife. But let’s say you didn’t have a choice to run away.”
Illyana interjected, “You grab his knife arm and spin him around and twist it really hard right?” she signified the action with random and uncorrelated movements of her arms.
“Well you’re… you’re half-right.”
“Hah!” Illyana shouted at Teemo, “I’m half-right!”
“Yeah you hear that Teemo?” Darnell joined in, “She’s still half-alive.”
“It’s a bit complicated to explain,” Ryan said, “a number of things can go right and wrong, but ultimately, you want to stop the knife from reaching you. Some say you should pin the knife hand, or if you grab something like a chair to keep the attacker away, that works.”
Makayla turned to Illyana with her fist up, “They’ll regret bringing a knife to a chair fight,” she said.
“What if they have two knives?” Alicia tossed in.
“Hmm,” Ryan went.
“I think you’re just screwed aren’t you?” Darnell laughed.
“Yeah,” Makayla added.
“If you literally have absolutely nothing to fight back with or even keep your distance, yeah,” said Ryan.
“If they have two knives then I just drop kick them! Hiyah!” Illyana shouted, imitating a kung-fu pose.
“You assume you’re heavy enough to drop kick someone,” Teemo joked.
“You won’t know until you try…” Illyana pouted.
“Let’s hope you’re never in a situation where you have to try,” said Darnell.
Makayla wrapped her arms around Illyana, “Yes, let’s hope our sweet Illyana never has to drop kick anyone.”
“If someone messes with Illyana, they’ve got another thing coming!” Alicia went, flexing her arms, revealing nothing.
Darnell couldn’t help but chuckle. Makayla pointed at the boys, “Y’all. Y’all are what’s coming.”
“How’d I get signed up to fight a double knife wielding maniac,” Teemo said, “That should be Ryan’s job.”
Ryan quickly turned to Teemo, “Yeah, true. Counter-argument: Darnell could handle it.” He pointed back at him.
Everyone looked at Darnell who’d opened the top of his soda cup and flipped the cup over his mouth to get the ice. Darnell crunched the ice that fell out and set his cup down. Finally, he looked around at everyone and said, “Anyone tryna hurt y’all, has to get through me first.”
“Wow,” said Ryan, “I got your back too bro.”
“Me too!” Alicia chimed in.
The rest followed suit.
“Darnell, you know how to fight right?” asked Ryan.
“Depends on the type of fight.” he answered.
“What about a street fight?”
Darnell thought for a minute, then responded, “I know what not to do in a street fight.”
“Like what?” Alicia said.
“Like assume there are rules.” Darnell took a bite of his burger.
“Oh yeah,” Makayla muttered.
Teemo leaned over to look at Darnell, “You sound like you ready to toss sand in somebody eye.”
“There’s no rule against it,” Darnell said, covering his mouth.
“Ok what if there were rules?” Ryan said.
“Then there’s no telling what would happen.”
“Hmm,” Ryan paused, “are you ever gonna tryout for boxing?”
“Nope.”
“You sure?”
“Positive.”
“Man you’d probably be unstoppable in the ring.”
“You’re probably right,” Darnell chucked more ice into his mouth.
“If he doesn’t wanna do it, he won’t do it,” Makayla said.
Alicia noticed something odd about the food on the table. Darnell had ordered triple the amount of everyone else, but he was closer to finishing than anyone else. “Geez, I can’t believe you eat so fast,” Alicia commented.
Darnell picked up his trash, “I gotta go to Hana’s later, remember?”
“Oh yeah,” she said.
“Why didn’t she come with us again?” asked Ryan.
“You know she doesn’t like group stuff,” said Makayla.
“Well anyway, Imma go ‘head and head out,” Darnell said as he came back from throwing away his trash.
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“Alright man take care,” Teemo went.
Darnell dabbed up Teemo and responded, “Aight y’all too.” He fistbumped Ryan and Alicia, picked up his bag and exited Chess’s. Darnell pulled out his phone to text Hana that he was on his way.
“I guess I should get going too,” said Alicia, standing up, “I’m helping Michael study today.”
“Aw here we go,” Ryan sighed. He could feel the chain reaction emerging.
“Oh that reminds me,” Makayla began with her thumb and index fingers on her chin, “Raj is coming over to my house later today.”
Illyana chimed in, “Oh my dad can drop you guys off there! I’m going to the mall later so he’s already coming to pick me up from here.”
“What the-” Ryan exclaimed, he turned to Teemo, “You see this? It’s like a domino effect, one person leaves then suddenly everybody gotta be somewhere.”
Teemo just shrugged his shoulders.
“Oh, you guys didn’t have anything to do after this?” Illyana said concerningly.
“I was actually gonna go to the music store later,” Teemo responded, “Guess I’m going sooner than expected.”
“Wh- wow,” Ryan groaned.
Makayla feigned wiping tears off her face as she taunted Ryan, “Aw, poor baby Ryan is gonna be lonely.”
“Get outta here!” Ryan shooed her away as she laughed, “I’ll just go to the gym or something.”
“Are you sure? You could come to the mall with me and my friends!” Illyana innocently suggested.
Ryan stared at her for a moment and said, “I’m flattered, but I’ll do better at the gym.”
“Okay then, bye!” she sang the last part of her farewell and skipped to the exit.
“We’ll see you guys later,” said Makayla, as she and Alicia waved goodbye and followed Illyana.
Teemo stuffed the last couple of fries into his mouth, balled up his trash, and rose from his seat. “Guess we better get going too,” he said, almost muffled from the food in his mouth.
“Yep, let’s get out of here,” Ryan agreed, and stood up too.
* * *
About 20 minutes after a certain group at Chess’s disbands, Hana’s phone buzzes, alerting her of a text message. The alert interrupted the music from her bluetooth speaker, which she loved to blast her lofi playlist from while she was in the garage. Her parents weren’t home so the garage was empty, and she utilized the open space to build her miniature helicopter. Hana left the garage door open to let in the cool breeze that only came between winter and spring. Hana didn’t go out much, so naturally her milky skin was sensitive to the sunlight, but she liked to blame it on her Korean blood. She willed herself into the heat anyway, it balanced well with the wind.
Nuts, bolts, batteries, and a variety of metal and plastic pieces were neatly organized in a half-circle around the skinny girl. She was kneeled down, screwing together two other pieces in her soft hands. She’d been focusing intently up until the alert from her phone, to which her silver eyes darted up towards. Hana’s dark hair was roughly tied into a bun like a scruffy hamster. She was only expecting a message from one person, so she immediately knew who it was.
She stood up to brush off her knees right before they buckled under her. The hours Hana spent kneeling took its toll. She rose again, patted her cargo pants, brushed off her oversized t-shirt, and power walked to her phone. As she expected, it was Darnell, letting her know he was only a few minutes away. Before she could type anything back, a blaring Emergency Alert took over her screen.
EMERGENCY ALERT
TERRORIST ACTIVITY. REPORT ANY SUSPICIOUS INDIVIDUALS TO YOUR LOCAL POLICE
Hana skimmed through it, ignored it, and tried to text Darnell again. Right before she could type anything, another alert interrupted her.
EMERGENCY ALERT
MULTIPLE REPORTS IN YOUR AREA. SHELTER-IN-PLACE. THIS IS NOT A DRILL.
Hana almost instinctively ignored the alert again, but her eyes read the text faster than her thumb could close it. Her thumb retreated back to the bottom of the screen. She read those words again. “THIS IS NOT A DRILL.” Hana blankly stared at the screen as her stomach began to twist. What is this? What does it mean? She had to force herself to look away from the screen. Hana turned around to look outside her garage. Nothing had changed outside. It was still peaceful around her house. How long would that last? Or was anything even going to happen at all? She thought it’d be best to close the door, but remained still. Hana kept telling her legs to walk to the button, but it was like her feet were glued to the floor. She looked at her phone, this time it was Makayla asking everyone in the group chat if they’d gotten the alert too. Alicia and Michael were the next to respond, “Yeah we got it too.”
Tristan responded as formal as ever, “Yes, I’m fine. We shouldn’t leave our houses.”
Hana started typing that Darnell was on his way to her house when a screeching “HELP!” startled her. She turned around to face the street again, and this time a woman was running towards her garage from down the street. The woman held an object close to her chest. Hana could make out that the woman was frantically waving towards her. Hana’s mind raced. What was this woman running from? Should she help her? Should she leave her? Every moment Hana hesitated, the woman only got closer. She was only a couple of seconds from reaching Hana’s garage, and now Hana could make out two figures behind the woman.
They weren’t… normal.
They were hunched over. Their arms flailed all over the place. BA-DUM. Hana felt a pounding in her chest. “Don’t come here!” she wanted to scream, but the words were lodged in her throat. BA-DUM. The strangers drew even nearer. Her mind continued to spiral. BA-DUM. What do I do? What are they doing? BA-DUM. Hana grabbed her chest. BA-DUM. Her breath turned into sharp rasps. BA-DUM. The strangers were just across the street now. BA-DUM BA-DUM. Stop! She shouted in her head. BA-DUM BA-DUM. Her vision blurred. Her head ached. BA-DUM BA-DUM.
“Close the door!” Hana heard.
Hana’s eyes opened. She was crouching on the floor with her hands covering her head. “What?” She uttered to herself, “When did I-” She looked up and the woman was running into her garage. She hit the button for the garage door and grabbed Hana by her arm. “C’mon!” she shouted.
The woman dragged Hana into the house. As they ran inside, Hana could make out the two figures much more clearly now. There were crimson red splotches on their faces. Their faces were demented, chomping at the air as they ran. One of them managed to trap their arm under the door just as it was closing.
Hana and the woman made it inside the house. The first room they entered was the kitchen. It was small, floored by white tile, and only had a few cabinets and a sink. To the left was the dining room, and to the left again was the living room. Across the living room from the dining room was the staircase to the second floor which started a few paces from the house’s front entrance.
The woman locked the door and almost dragged Hana deeper into the house until she realized she was inside a kitchen. Now that Hana was closer, and her mind was starting to defog, she identified the object in the woman’s hands as a baby. Hana wasn’t sure how, but the woman had gotten the baby to stay quiet. The mother scavenged the kitchen, randomly opening cabinets and drawers. Hana spoke up, “Um, what’s going-” She was cut off by a “HA” from the mother as she held up a large knife. “What’s going on?” Hana finished.
The woman spoke as she handed Hana a knife, looked at her and said, “I have no idea, but-”
BANG! The two jumped at the sound of the entrance of the garage being banged on. The mother looked back at Hana, “There’s something wrong with those men. But..” She grabbed another knife, “They’re not hurting my son.”
The mother rushed into the dining room and then into the living room as Hana followed her. The woman looked around, and decided to hide her child behind a recliner close to the staircase. More banging came from the garage. The woman stood in the middle of the living room with the knife in front of her. Hana just stood next to her spectating. There was more banging. Neither of them could help but jump every time.
The mother looked at Hana, “What are you doing? Get ready,” she commanded. Hana could hear the shakiness in her voice. THRASH. The sounds of wooden splinters crashing to the floor echoed through the house. Hana’s heart began pounding again. She hoped that the two people outside would just give up. That they’d just walk away. But the bangs on the door continued.
Hana tried to follow the mother’s lead. She held her knife in two hands and faced the kitchen door. Hana could make out the sounds coming from the garage as abnormal. She expected yelling or screaming. But it was just snarls. Hisses. Other abnormal hisses. The door banged more, and she could hear more wood falling off. Every second that passed, Hana could feel a shiver down her spine. Every crack of the door, her knees trembled. She looked over at the woman to her right. Her knife was shaking. Hana looked at hers. What was she even going to do with it? She couldn’t even picture herself using it. She- BOOM.
The crashing turned into stomping. Hana’s eyes flicked up and in a moment, one of the snarling men crashed into the dining table. Its head spun to look directly at Hana. The two made eye contact. Its teeth showed. Even more red stains. Hana couldn’t fool herself. It was blood.
“C’mon!” the woman to her right shouted, summoning all of her courage. She was met with a blood-curdling screech that echoed throughout the entire house. Hana’s body understood one thing.
Run.
Without even thinking twice, Hana’s knife fell from her hands and her legs carried her to the staircase. She bolted faster than she could even blink. She ran up the staircase as she heard the woman cursing at her. Out of her peripheral, the second assailant had charged into the living room. Then, everything went out of sight as Hana reached the second floor. She pivoted to her left and ran into her bedroom, slamming the door shut.
Hana dropped to her knees the moment the door was closed. The sounds of the havoc downstairs pierced through the walls. The mother’s screams. The crashing. The baby's crying. More screams of fighting. Then screams of agony. Helpless cries. The baby cried out even louder. Hana tried not to imagine what was happening. Suddenly the woman stopped. The baby persisted, but its mother didn't. It wailed louder and louder, hopelessly awaiting an answer. Then silence.
Tears streamed down Hana’s face. She curled into a ball as she sat in front of the door. Waiting. Expecting. Her face half-hidden behind her knees giving her an illusion of cover.
She heard the creak of the stairs. It was slow, with seconds between each creak. Those seconds felt like hours as the creaking gradually got louder. Louder. And louder. Until it stopped with a stomp that Hana could tell was on her level. She clutched herself even tighter. Wishing she’d just wake up and it would all be over. That she’d be in her garage with Darnell building the helicopter she’d told him so much about. That he’d make her laugh like he always did. BANG.
Hana clutched even tighter. Please, Hana pleaded internally, Please stop. But the banging continued. Please! Then, silence. A few moments passed. Hana’s legs shook as she lifted her head up to look at the door.
There was a small crack in the center of the door. On the other side, a bloodshot eyeball stared directly at her. Hana felt her heart plummet as the two made eye contact. It hissed and snarled at her as it banged again. Dread creeped down Hana’s back. She clutched herself so tightly that her nails were practically digging into her legs. The eye moved away, then there was one massive BANG and the door swung open. It swung so fast that it collided with the wall behind it. Hana screamed at the top of her lungs, hopelessly putting her hand between her and the bloodstained aggressor lurking in the doorway. The crimson stains now covered a majority of its clothes. It stood there for a moment, then suddenly its eyes rolled into the back of its head. Hana retreated back as its body plummeted onto the floor.
Hana’s mind whirled trying to process the sight before her eyes. She stared at its motionless body until a pool of blood started forming. The dark liquid seeped into the carpet around its stomach. Hana remembered the woman from earlier. She must’ve managed to stab him, Hana figured. She looked up at the hallway outside her room, there was nothing else there. Is that it? Everything seemed fine. She wanted to believe everything was fine, but her heart couldn’t stop racing. She clutched her chest, attempting to mentally control it.
As she tried to stand, more footstomps started up the stairs. Hana’s eyes shot up. It was like an animal. A wild and blood-thirsty beast. Its face was stained with even more blood than the first one. It came up the stairs howling and targeted Hana as soon as it saw her. The strength in her legs drained away and she collapsed to the floor. This one was definitely making it. She screamed as she tried to crawl away, but her back hit the wall. The intruder ran at Hana, hunched all the way over with its arms extended out to her. “No!” Hana shouted at it. In the blink of an eye, it closed the distance between them. Her eyes shut, not wanting to see what was next.
The howling pierced her ears as it was only inches away and she could feel its breath just before- THWACK. Just before… nothing. Was it that quick? No, it couldn’t have been. Hana refused to open her eyes again.
“Hana?” she heard a deep familiar voice, but she remained frozen.
“Hana, it's me,” the voice called to her again.
Now her eyes slowly opened. Her vision was blurry with tears, but she could make out a tall, dark figure carrying a wrench. It had gray sweatpants and a plaid shirt wide open revealing a black undershirt. Her vision cleared and she came face-to-face with a panting, wrench-wielding Darnell. She looked down and to her right was the same monster that had been pursuing her, with its head split wide open.
Darnell kneeled down in front of her, “You okay?” he softly mumbled.
Hana’s head spun back to Darnell to look directly into the lustrous vortex of his gaze. To anyone else, he would've been more intimidating than the monsters sprawled out on her floor. But to Hana, there was a warmth like no other.
Hana’s mouth quivered, trying to force out words until her body spoke for her. Her arms wrapped around Darnell and tears continued to flow from her eyes. Darnell embraced her, whispering, “It’s okay, I’ve got you now.” And Hana cried out.