So many hours went by in the controlled chaos. It was dark when they had arrived, so for all she knew it was already tomorrow. Maddie made her way through the bouncing crowd to where her friend had ended up.

Abby had lightened up almost instantly after Ian took the head away, within a few minutes she was right back to jumping around carelessly alongside another of their friends, Jess.

"I would hate to pull you away from whatever is happening here," Maddie began, watching her friends' attempt at dancing. "But I think I'm gonna hit it for tonight."

"But it's so early!" Abby replied, not breaking her stride.

"Yeah, it is. Early morning by now," Maddie replied. "Don't be out too long, sleep is a thing." Both girls laughed as Maddie battled through the crowd over to one of the exits, leaving the library and returning to their building.

The place was starting to show signs of life again with a few students wandering home, some drunk or high, or both. Maddie climbed the final stairs to the hallway, slipping the plastic mask off her face and unzipping her jacket.

A short distance down the hall, Ian stood conversing with a few others. When he saw her, he bowed out of the conversation and moved to walk alongside her.

"How's Abb doing?" he inquired.

"She seems fine, it's like nothing even happened at all," Maddie answered, opening the door. She entered her apartment, tossing the mask to the table and resting against the counter. It took a minute to recover hearing and sight, now clear of the college madness.

"Yeah, it'll be a while before you can hear your own thoughts again," Ian noted.

"We're a few batons and shields away from a damn riot down there," Maddie joked. Ian smiled softly before his expression slowly fell back to concern.

"Any idea what happened with Abby?" he questioned softly.

"Not a clue. It looked like she was about to pass out or something, but after you left, she was totally fine," Maddie evaluated. Her gaze wandered about the apartment, settling on the open closet. A familiar face stared back at her; half-hidden behind the closet door.

"Think she'd be pissed if I threw that thing out?" Maddie wondered aloud.

"You saw how excited she was about it." Ian pointed out, "But... I don't know. I'm thinking about doing it myself. That thing gives me bad vibes." Maddie walked over and closed the doors before collapsing onto the couch in exhaustion.

Ian went to the kitchen, digging through the fridge. The tiny living space fell into near silence, apart from distant music from the library seeping through the walls and windows. Maddie closed her eyes and laid her head back, attempting to sooth the headache that had befallen her.

The closet doors rattled lightly. Both were unaware as the doors slowly slid open, the head once again staring her down. It moved, sliding out of its half-hidden position. A form stepped out of the closet, silently moving to the center of the room. Ian shuffled a few things around in the fridge before closing it and turning around. The room was empty.

"You guys need to expand your beverage palates, like, bad," Ian commented. Maddie smiled and opened her eyes, starting to respond before freezing. The closet doors were open, the head was gone. Ian looked confused, until he realized what she was staring at. Silence once again settled over the room, heavier.

They each scanned the visible sections of the apartment, too afraid to move. Faint rustling turned their attention to the bedroom. Maddie cautiously rose from the couch, slowly side stepping across the room.

Her gaze was locked on the bedroom door as she slowly moved towards the front door. Ian kept his sight on the doorway as well, slowly backing towards their escape. Maddie reached out with one hand, feeling for the knob.

She got a good grip, turning it slowly to maintain silence. She felt the latch release, starting to pull the door open, when she heard it. The sound of metal grinding, ever so subtle, but it was there.

Right behind her.

She jumped forward, narrowly avoiding the strike. Casper stepped out from the cover of darkness, the Syth head held in his off-hand as it pierced Maddie with its motionless stare. He made another lunge with his makeshift blade, Ian yanking Maddie backwards protectively.

Before Casper could follow up, Maddie grabbed a chair and flung it at him. The attack was easily deflected but gave Ian an opening. He shoulder rushed Casper, forcing him right out the now open front door and into the adjacent wall in the hallway.

The Syth head tumbled to the floor, sliding a few feet and resting on its side. Its eyes seemed to follow the scene as it unfolded, its never ending grin enjoying the scene. Casper recovered remarkably fast from the double impact, kicking Ian back and immediately striking out.

Ian managed to duck backwards, going for a right hook. He put all his strength into the attack, which Casper took advantage of. He thrust his arm up to block the swing, then made an upward strike. Maddie locked up at the sight.

The blade pierced out the back of Ian's head, twisting back and forth lightly before being yanked back out. Blood sprayed across the hallway, a line of dark red splattering across the suit head. Ian seized up, falling limp on the floor.

Stolen novel; please report.

Maddie wanted to scream, but all that came out was a shaky breath. Suddenly she snapped out of her daze, seeing Casper turn his attention to her. Instinctively, she bolted down the hall, the masked assailant in close pursuit.

The Syth head lay on the floor, staring blankly ahead, a streak of red dashed across its face. Ian twitched for a few minutes before going completely still. The head seemed to watch him slowly die, a permanent smile giving an eerie illusion of joy.

Gradually, the blood spatter started to disappear, soaking into the suit head until it was gone. Not a speck of red remained on the motionless costume face.

Abby reached the stairs, trailed by Jess. Both had decided to follow Maddie's example and get some sleep while it was still possible. They climbed halfway up before stopping as sounds of screaming came from the hallway above.

A handful of fellow students came rushing down the stairs, some sporting spots of dark red smeared on their hands and clothes. Alarmed, they quickened their pace as much as possible without tripping on every step. A short distance down the hall, Abby abruptly slowed to a halt and fell to her knees.

"...Ian...?? Ian!!" she cried helplessly, completely stunned by the horrific scene before her. Jess covered her mouth, taking a few backwards steps.

"Abby...I..." she stuttered, not able to form a sentence. Abby didn't even care about the pool of red soaking into her jeans, overcome with devastated sobs. Her whole body went numb, shuddering and quivering uncontrollably.

Her hand fell to the floor, slipping in the crimson substance. She jerked away instinctively, just then noticing the pool of red she knelt it. She inched backwards, staring at the scene in shock. It was then she saw the Syth head.

The suit head sat near the middle of the crimson pool, yet it remained completely clean. A neat circle separated the head from the blood, a perfect ring of spotless floor, as if the substance had run against some invisible barrier.

Abby leaned forward, examining the head in confusion. Suddenly, it began trembling. Ever so lightly, like a faint vibration. The girls watched in awe as the suit head slowly collapsed in on itself, shriveling and shrinking down to a pile of green and white fur.

Then nothing.

Abby sat petrified by not one but two ghastly events back to back. The hallway sat in profound silence until a few students poking out from their rooms to investigate the previously heard commotion.

Finally, Abby sat up and slowly got to her feet. Faster than she could even process, the fur lunged at her. She shrieked in surprise as the material suddenly seemed to come to life, coiling around her torso like a snake trapping its prey.

Jess backpedaled, terrified of what she was seeing. The green and white material slithered around Abby's body, appearing to grow and spread until it covered her entire torso. It then sprouted along her limbs, spreading to envelop her head as she struggled to let out a shout of terror before being silenced.

Jess fell backwards, watching as a new shape was formed, changing and shifting in shape and size until It took up the entire height of the hallway. Abby's muffled cries gradually merged into animalistic grunts that filled the hallway as a twisted creature took shape. An actual living Sergal, exactly matching the Syth head. Only now It had a full, complete body. She was free.

Syth let out a raspy groan and stood upright, taking up the narrow hallway with her towering height. Her long fingers stretched and twitched, a long tail curling around her legs. A dull crackling sounded as the creature's torso split itself open in a bloody inverted V, exposing muscles and innards that flexed and writhed with her every movement.

Patches all over her body and face rotted down to the bone within seconds, one eye fading to a milky grey color while the other remained bloodshot, active and aware. Fearful chattering caught her attention, the looming creature stepping forward and erupting a deafening, scratchy howl that sent everyone scattering.

The creature darted forward at terrifying speed, catching up to the fleeing spectators in mere seconds. She lashed out, her jaws latching onto an unfortunate soul who was just barely slower than the rest. Rows of long fangs ripped through flesh as powerful jaws locked onto her first victim.

Jess managed a brief backward glance as she reached the stairs and nearly tumbled down. Once the rush of warm crimson fluid slowed, Syth released her prey. The now lifeless form collapsed to the floor as Syth pressed onward after the screams of fright echoing through the building. She needed more.

More.

Jess rounded a corner, moving faster than she ever knew she could. Awful sounds chased after her, screams of terror and cries of pain accompanied by gut wrenching sounds of flesh tearing. She didn't know where she was going, only that she had to move forward, escape the horrible scene behind her.

Just run. Just run. Not daring to look back, she turned another corner and ran right into Maddie. She too looked panicked and frenzied.

"Jess, thank god. We need to get out of here!" she reported. Jess was so consumed with fear she tried to respond only coming up with slurred mumbling between sobs. She moved to continue down the hall, Maddie stopping her.

"Not that way, that Casper guy is down there!" she explained.

"Well there's a fucking monster down here!!" Jess finally spat out, tugging Maddie the other way. At that moment, Casper rounded the corner. He slowed to a casual stroll as he saw them, holding out his arm so his blade scratched along the wall as he moved.

Grating scrapes shot through the hall, both girls snapping their attention to the masked man. Maddie took a few steps backward, though Jess was reluctant to move in that direction. Suddenly a scream came from behind them, all three stopping in their places.

A lone teen stumbled backward into the other end of the hallway, eyes frozen in an expression of horror. A sharp snarl cut through the scream as the Sergal lunged into the hallway as well, snatching the teen and forcing him up against the wall.

Her long fingers coiled his entire head as she held him at her level, his legs scrambling helplessly a good few feet off the floor. Maddie stared at the creature in awe, recognizing the colors and patterns of her fur. But it couldn't be. How could it be?

The Sergal's ears twitched lightly, causing her to turn her gaze towards the two girls. Her sight locked in on them as she flung her current victim downwards against the wall with a sickening crack, the awkward position his head rested in as he collapsed to the floor confirming his fate.

Casper stepped backwards as Syth turned towards them and let out a raspy, rattling hiss as a threat, causing him to back out of the hallway. Jess tugged on Maddie fearfully, snapping her out of her shock.

She glanced backwards briefly, merely having to confirm the layout she remembered. Jess must have seen it too, as they both started moving at once towards the double doors halfway down the hallway.

Syth started to follow them, stopping as a sound caught her attention. A human voice, shouting repeatedly. Her ears perked up, focusing in on the sounds and picking up multiple voices, a crowd of chattering and hollering from nearby. She glanced back to the doorway the two girls had vanished into, then turned the opposite direction and started down the hall, the cacophony of voices steadily growing louder.