Surprising both himself and creatures alike, Ezra dove before meeting the same fate as the poor girl. Scrambling forward, half on his knees and half on his hands, with ineptitude, it raised the question of whether or not Ezra would break his neck himself before any of the monsters could.

He felt one of the twig-like fingers brush against his back, desperately trying to grab onto him but only giving him a slight nudge towards more prosperous destinations. like the open arms of the creature who had just thrown away its former playmate.

Ezra’s only instinct was to move away, out of the crosshairs of his two pursuers. Despite the dire situation, somehow he found himself able to think and make deliberate decisions, almost as if time had slowed down for him, Within seconds, he spotted the half-opened door to one of the classrooms just up ahead, barely within reach of the creature with the girl beside it.

Ezra was counting on both of the bloated figures being slow, seeing just how much they struggled to even stand properly in the hall, their massive forms not allowing for much, if any, flexibility or grand movement.

Within the same second his thoughts concluded, he sprung towards the classroom, the wails of the two abominations echoing through the hallway, each of their labored steps fueling Ezra's desperation.

With just a few seconds to spare, Ezra quickly grabbed the door by its side, trying and promptly failing to open it.

“FUCK THIS!” His scream overshadowed the wails that were growing louder, His attempts at forcing his way inside only led to the sliding door refusing further.

Desperate, Ezra squeezed himself into what little room there was, pushing against the door with his leg, completely oblivious about the wooden splinters wedging themselves into his hand that was pushing in tandem with his leg.

Gurgled roars spurned him on, managing to squeeze himself through just in time before he could be grabbed, falling to the ground with a pair of spindly fingers trying to reach through the gap.

Ezra couldn’t rest whatsoever, The creature, now maddened, pushed against the door, which gave in almost immediately, The creature now pushing its entire appendage, grasping desperately at the air.

Now having stood up, Ezra immediately began to shove, throw, and otherwise move the chairs and tables in front of the door’s general direction, throwing one of the chairs directly at the hand grasping for him, earning him an annoyed grunt.

It looked terrible. There was only one exit and nothing to properly defend himself with, seeing how any blunt object around would yield little result against the creatures still struggling to get inside the classroom.

Ezra looked towards the windows. They would usually allow themselves to be opened via latch, though, unsurprisingly, there wasn’t a single one found on any of the windows, as though professionally removed or simply never having existed in the first place.

Ezra laughed at the absurdly stacked odds against him, but more than that, he was angry. I was angry that it was so blatantly obvious that there was nothing you were supposed to be able to do.

Run and hide; that was all you were supposed to do, just so you could end up like that girl.

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That poor, poor girl. Her silent anguish is still on Ezra's mind. Ezra could feel his anger boiling up, for her sake. So helpless and so damn silent, just to be thrown to the side.

Ezra's nails dug into the palms of his hand, his entire arm shaking. He wondered how it would feel for the roles to be reversed, for the creatures outside to be in a position of dread and fear, to be the ones who were toyed with.

“My my, you have quite the thought for violence, my little pretender.”

That voice, the velvet-like voice, was almost a hushed whisper, words spoken from behind smiling teeth.

“Had enough fun now?” She asked as Ezra looked towards his left, a vague silhouette, the Cheshire smile, with those bright yellow eyes, now a vague shade of orange in them as well.

“I can feel that rage of yours, you know? It's incredibly impressive how quickly you turn fear and terror into wrath. Having you around as a Lamb is quite the detriment indeed.”

Her form wasn’t as transparent as it was before, and her outline was more defined. Sitting on a conveniently placed table, far enough away from Ezra to not make out every detail, he could have sworn he caught glimpses of long blonde hair.

“You played pretend for long enough now, don’t you think? Now be a good boy for me, would you?”

The two creatures outside grew quiet, almost as if they didn’t dare make a sound while she was around.

“To warrant my attention twice now is quite an accomplishment, I must admit.”

Ezra was fed up so much that her presence didn’t have the same effect on him as it did before.

For a second, he thought about asking questions. But it didn’t matter to him why anything around him was the way it was. What kind of game it was that was being played here, or who she was. None of it mattered in this moment.

The only thing that mattered here, fundamentally, was that Ezra was meant to obey, that he was meant to roll over at the whim of some entity and do its bidding.

But it took no contemplation; it bore no hesitation when Ezra said only one thing to the entity sitting in the shadows, two little words telling her exactly how naïve and how ludicrous her demands were.

“Fuck you” was all he needed to say, to tell her how little control she had over him.

Ezra, feeling the animosity radiating off of the corner she was sitting in, grabbed one of the chairs lying on the floor, swinging it at the nearest window panel.

Nothing; the glass didn’t even crack. He swung again and again, yielding nothing but laughter from his left side.

“There is nothing out there, silly. You don’t get to just bash your way out of this.” Genuine loud, and deep laughter followed from her.

But where despair and terror should have overcome Ezra, only rage followed once more. Rage against the finality of the situation.

He hammered away at the window, every following blow more intense than the one that came before it.

It became obvious just how determined Ezra was to not yield until his last breath—that he would claw, tear and bite until they ripped away everything from head to toe, and even then, he would most likely spit at them, just for the sake of disobedience.

“Such a waste it would be to throw you away. So zealous. Oh, how fun this game could be if...

Her words were cut short by one blissful sound—the sound of the window cracking under Ezra’s assault.

“Ho, how are you doing this?!” the surprise in her voice was pure fuel for Ezra, preparing to swing yet another time, just before he felt the very chair he was using crumble to dust in his hands.

“You… you are cut off! You are bound by the rules of“

Ezra took one purposeful step towards one of the tables he had thrown to the ground, his blood boiling within. With strength one would call surprising to be his own, he lifted the heavy table, flinging it towards the breaking window, his own triumphant roar reverberating through the room.

The sound of the rain pierced their ears shortly after the smell, a source of bliss for Ezra.

He lept towards the window; behind him, the numbingly loud sounds of walls being ripped through, the familiar wails of the abominations in the hallway inching closer, the strain of their movement evident.

Ezra took only the slightest second to look down into the endless darkness that waited beneath, and before he let himself drop into what he thought was his death under his own terms, he didn’t go without what he thought was his last act of defiance.

Turning towards the approaching beasts and giving them the most warranted visual of his middle finger, together with a smile that challenged even the mysterious entities.