Hearing a scream should indicate that something went terribly wrong. But after centuries of bloodshed and cruelty, humanity had finally reached the pinnacle of peace. The Era of Peace presented the concept of violence as entertainment. The textbooks taught the current generation that humans have evolved as a species, and most were incapable of performing acts of terror and brutality. Furthermore, the history of their barbaric predecessors was heavily censored and criticized.

Thus, in the minds of the students and the staff, there was not a single conceivable notion to suspect that the screams echoing down the hallways of Humbert Community College were anything but rowdy teens being asshats on their first day of classes.

Today, the students learned a valuable lesson.

A disaster started with a scream; it always did.

"Who in the right mind is causing all this ruckus on the first day of classes!"

Iris peeked over her laptop and bit the inside of her cheeks. Oh, God, don't laugh. Don't laugh. Don't laugh.

Professor Dillweed's face flushed to a deep shade of purple, and his white handlebar moustache trembled. "This is the difference between students who care and students who clearly do not." His bald head caught the beam of the Autumn sunlight through the haphazardly closed curtains. His anger mismatched the rainbow coloring his forehead.

Iris coughed, covering her poorly concealed giggle. Her friend, Sheena, snorted.

"OH, MY GOD! AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!” Most likely, another freshman screamed down the hallway.

"That is IT!" Professor Dillweed snapped his textbook shut.

Sheena leaned in; the scent of lilies and vanilla tickled Iris's nose. "Five bucks he's gonna say, dagnabit."

She had Professor Dillweed last year for History of Renaissance. Though she didn't know him personally, the twinkle in his eyes when he took a roll call for mere ten students in his class told her all she needed for this bet. "Nah, ten bucks he's going to say, for Pete's sake," she whispered. He hates it when people interrupt his class. She grinned, feeling more than confident on their little bet.

Sheena raised a brow and scoffed. "Yeah? Okay, deal."

Iris leaned back against her chair, watching the scene of her animated professor unfold.

"HELP! HELP! HELP! AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!”

The students whispered amongst themselves. Some expressed concern, while others promptly waved it off as a minor annoyance. Iris supported the latter. Honestly, these Gen XXV all need a sedative in their diet. God. What prank are they pulling now?

"For Pete's sake!" Professor Dillweed glared at the door.

Pulling out her cellphone, Iris said, "pay up."

"Class, I'll be right back. I must have a stern conversation with the dunderheads that think screaming and running around like heathens is acceptable behaviour!" He muttered under his breath and hiked up his grey trousers before storming out the door. The door slammed with a bang.

"UGH!" Sheena threw herself against the back of her chair. The front two legs lifted as her body wobbled to and fro. "You suck!" She pulled out her cellphone, and her pink acrylic nails clicked against the screen.

Iris's phone lit up and vibrated. "I believe you meant to say: you win, again."

Sheena Cooper transferred $10.00.

"God, you suck!" Sheena repeated. She pushed her laptop aside and draped her upper body across her desk.

Chuckling, Iris nudged her shoulder against Sheena's. "Now, now, don't feel bad, young one. We can grab a beer after class." She paused, then grinned. "My treat!"

Sheena bolted up from her seat. "Uh, excuse ME? You mean, my treat!" She narrowed her eyes and glared for a second before bursting out into giggles.

"Eh, semantics-"

BEEP. BEEP. BEEP.

All the cellphones in the room went off in unison.

"It's probably a weather warning or something. I heard it's supposed to rain super hard all week. God, they picked the most annoying noise for the alarm." Sheena turned off her alarm immediately without a second glance. Only a few cellphones continued to ring, Iris's included.

"Oy! Turn that shit off, bruh!" Dennis yelled. He wore a varsity jacket of his house and a white baseball cap backwards—the residential prick.

"Uh, Iris? You better turn that off before Dennis comes over and suffocates us with his shitty deodorant," Sheena said. She curled her lips and scrunched up her nose.

As much as Iris hated smelling Dennis's poor deodorant choice, the severity of the situation called for her full attention. "Hold on, let me quickly read this."

EMERGENCY ALERT State of Harrisville: Terrorists loose in the city. Military and police deployed around the premises. Please go to the nearest soldier/police to be escorted to the safety shelter. Do not engage with terrorists with personal firearms. Call *45671 to signal if trapped in a location with the terrorist present. A Military convoy will arrive shortly at your destination. Remain calm and stay vigilant!

Terrorist? Do we even have terrorists in this day and age? Her musing broke away when someone grabbed her shoulder. Surprised, she ripped her shoulder out of their grasp and glared at the offender.

"Woah! Calm yo tits, girl. Just turn off that bloody alarm," Dennis said with a scowl. "It's getting on my nerves."

The strong fragrance of generic male deodorant registered first above everything else in her brain. Dennis. God, he practically bathes in that shit. She scrunched up her nose; it stung. "I will. Be patient!" Iris said with a spat. God, why is this muscle head even in our class? She scanned the message for the number and committed it to memory. Star. Four. Five. Six. Seven. One. She mouthed the number as she clicked OK.

"Well, I'm out," Dana announced in a high and haughty voice. She flipped her waist-length ebony hair over her shoulder. She started to pack up her laptop and screwed the lid of her water bottle shut.

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Dana's first move incited others to start packing up their belongings.

"W-wait, what about Professor Dillweed?" Robert asked, scratching his freckled cheeks with his index finger. The chairs screeched across the tiled floor.

"Dillweed probably saw the alert and left the building," Zaki said. "Doesn't matter though, this class sucks anyways, so I'mma go."

"Woo! I get the rest of the day off!" Dennis whooped and pumped his fist in the air.

"Uh, what's going on, Iris? How come everyone's leaving?" Sheena asked.

"This is why you should've read the message." Iris sighed.

"Yes, yes, I will next time. So, what'd it say?"

"Apparently, terrorists are running around, and we have to find the nearest safety shelter or officers." Iris closed her laptop and shoved it in her canvas bag.

"Woah, Woah, Woah! Terrorists?" Sheena's voice squeaked. "How is everyone so calm about this? What if they're in school?"

"Highly doubtful." Iris scoffed. "Why would they even attack a community college? It'd make more sense to attack a mall or Sancrea's College. That place is twice as big compared to our tiny building."

Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding!

Several phones went off at the same time. So naturally, everyone took out their phone and checked.

Everyone breathed in the same apathetic air, dulling their senses of danger from centuries of living in peace.

Iris received a notification from Cheeper. The people she followed were all posting seconds from each other.

"Woah! What is that!" The sound played off from one of the student's phones.

"What the hell is that thing? Are you guys seeing this?" Dennis said as he played a clip posted on Cheeper on loop.

Iris, Kashida, and Robert were the only ones that huddled around Dennis's phone. Sheena stayed behind the trio and crossed her arms over her chest.

The video showed something blocking the intersection of Regale Street and Humber Street West. The cars stalled in front of the thing and repeatedly honked at it. The recorder's hand trembled, trying to zoom in on the creature.

"What the…" Iris mumbled. She leaned in closer to the phone.

The creature had a humanoid shape covered head-to-toe in onyx-coloured scales. Its body gleamed from the sunlight as if wearing bejewelled armour. That thing clearly once wore a white t-shirt and jeans that were now cut to ribbons and swayed in the wind.

"Woah! What is that!" The same voice repeated. The video blurred, trying to refocus on the monster obstructing traffic. Once the lens focused back to a clear view, its head turned towards the recorder. Within seconds the monster launched towards them. "SHIT!" The video jumped between the sky and their legs. Before the video stopped playing, the last scene was the blurry image of a dark beast with red beady eyes.

"I-is that all?" Kashida's voice quivered. Her thin gold bangles clinked together.

"This is obviously fake news," Macario said, running his fingers through his short curly hair. "They probably wanted to go on trending after that alert." He laughed; a spark of uncertainty fanned the billowing smoke of anxiety. "You guys honestly don't believe in this, right?"

"But isn't this close to our school?" Iris asked as she recognized Sally's Diner in the background from the video.

"Oh, come on, Iris. It's obviously fake," Dennis' boisterous laugh snapped the tension in the room. The bodies slowly relaxed and a couple of students chuckled alongside Dennis.

"No point is wasting time here, see ya," Dana said. She hitched her tote bag higher and rested it on her shoulder.

Iris's heart knocked on her brain's door. Something is wrong. Clutching the front of her shirt, she turned to Sheena. "We should get going too. No sense in waiting here."

"Right…" Sheena looked down, wringing her fingers together.

"What?"

"No, it's nothing. Give me a min." Sheena walked back to her desk and packed up her laptop.

The door swung open and hit the wall. A man wearing a plain black ball cap and forest green sweater scurried into the room. He body checked the door closed. Then, with wild eyes, he scanned the room. "All of you, help me move the desks!"

The closest to the door, Dana stepped away from the man and held her tote bag in her hand. "What the hell are you doing? Step away."

The man's chest rose and deflated at an uneven pace. "Shut up. Get the desk!" he yelled.

"No. Get off the door and let me through." Zaki puffed up his chest and strode towards the door.

The man ignored Zaki and fiddled with the knob before a distinct click echoed in the room.

"Did you…did you just lock the door?" Dana said, her sculpted eyebrows knitted together. She raised her tote bag.

What is going on here? Iris stared at Dana and the man back and forth. He's definitely not in our program.

"Come on! What are you doing? Help me!" The man stage whispered. He tossed the garbage bag full of stuff aside. It sounded like various metallic objects clanged together. He lifted a desk and dropped it in front of the door.

"What the hell are you doing, man?" Dennis spoke up this time. He approached the man and grabbed his hood. "Stop acting crazy and answer me!"

The man whipped his body around and pushed Dennis to the ground. "Don't touch me. Get the desk," he ordered.

Dennis looked at the man, his eyes widened and jaws unhinged. Then, with a snap, he clicked his teeth together. He scrambled back up and raised his fists. "Remember. You started it."

Iris and Sheena glanced at each other.

"We-we should stop them," Iris whispered.

"No, no, let's just wait it out. I'm betting on the hunk with the black cap." Sheena grinned. Her blue eyes sparkled in giddy excitement.

"You just want to see Dennis get his ass kicked," Iris said with a deadpanned voice.

"Bingo."

Iris sighed. I get Dennis is a jerk, but I don't exactly want to see him get beaten up. Still, she stood by the sideline and watched.

Black Cap raised his fists up to his face and pressed his arms to his sides. He widened his stance. "I wouldn't try if I were you, but if anyone wants to leave, they have to go through me."

Zaki and Dana slowly backed away. Dennis chuckled and shook his head side-to-side in disbelief. "Ooh, how edgy. How old are you? 12?" He rolled his shoulders. "Don't worry, guys, I got this!"

Iris glanced at her classmates' faces. They didn't believe in him, not in the slightest. I'm not sure whether I feel pity or second-hand embarrassment for him.

She noticed Hao sitting in the corner of the classroom. It was impressive that Hao remained steadfast in living inside her bubble despite the disturbance. She was a quiet girl, and half the time, Iris forgot Hao attended the same classes as hers. Their interaction could be summed up with one line: they smiled at each other once during their first-year orientation. Well, Iris smiled. Hao sort of stared at her and turned away. That was three years ago, mind you.

Hao had her back hunched over and typed with insane speed on her phone. Her pin straight black hair framed her face, creating a wall between her and everyone else. I wonder what she's typing so furiously about?

"GAHHH!"

Dennis's battle roar drew Iris's attention back to their pointless fight. Does yelling even help? Intimidation tactic, maybe? She rubbed her arms, feeling the cold draft caressing the back of her neck and thighs.

Dennis threw a wide punch aimed at Black Cap's face.

Black Cap craned his neck. The punch barely missed his cheek. Stepping forward, he grabbed Dennis's face and pushed.

"Woah!" Dennis stumbled backwards with his arms flailing around to regain his balance. Black Cap took advantage of Dennis's fumbling and kicked his ankle.

Iris winced and rubbed her left ankle with the other foot.

"Ugh!" Dennis fell on his backside again. "Ow…what the hell, man?" He pushed himself up from his elbow and grabbed his head.

"You lost, bro," Zaki said.

"I-I did not! I just lost my footing!" Dennis exclaimed; the tips of his ears turned red.

Sheena sniggered, her phone was out and pointed at the boys. Iris did a double take when she noticed that Sheena recorded their fight.

"This is comedy gold!" Sheena said.

"I get that he's annoying, but don't you feel kind of bad for him?" Iris asked. Looking at Dennis, he reminded her of a sulking kitten out in the sopping cold rain.

"Not at all!" Sheena said. "Annnd, save." Her index nail clicked against the screen.

"I don't want to fight you. So, please, listen to me. We need to block the entra-"

"GUAAARRRRR!!!!" A beastly howl echoed in the distance.

Iris's skin detached from her muscles. Her heart raced against itself on a hamster wheel.

"Wh-what was that?" Sheena hugged Iris's arm.

"I-I don't know."

Hao walked up to the front. She grabbed the desk and pushed it towards the door.

"Dude, when did she get in here?" Zaki whispered to Robert.

"Sh-she's been in our program for three years," Robert answered quietly.

"Le-let me!" Black Cap said, regaining control over his body. He lifted the desk and pushed the second desk against the door.

"Thank you," Hao said quietly. She turned to the group. Her fingers fiddled with the end of her pale-pink cardigan. "If you don't want to get eaten, we should listen to him."