Caitlyn Minxes buried herself under her desk while listening to co-workers get devoured by little green creatures and giants with hulking tusks. Some were still alive, and she heard their screams and pleas to be saved while she hid. Her leg was broken. She could not even remember how it had gotten so. Only the running, screaming, and dying filled her head.

“Oh no,” Caitlyn said aloud when she realized what was happening. “No, no, no, no.”

She could hear them coming closer. She could feel the heat from their bodies radiating from behind her. She could see their bared fangs, long fingers, and large pointed ears. Their eyes were glowing red, and their claws glistened in the light of the flickering fluorescent bulbs above them.

They were coming for her. She was going to die. This wasn’t the end.

Caitlyn got up from her hiding spot. She grabbed the nearest office chair and tossed it at one of the creatures. It fell to the ground, writhing in agony. She limped toward the door, hoping to escape. She must escape. She pulled open the door, went out to the school hallway, and fell to the ground. She fought a battle against her broken leg to get up, but she barely made it halfway up before falling again. She could hear monsters coming after her. She looks up and sees two boys leaving the men’s bathroom—one with a bright red aura on his hands and the other with purple hue eyes.

She closed her eyes and prayed. “Please, someone, please, save me.”

The two boys were getting closer. They were almost on top of her. She could only hope they would stop their advance and turn around.

“Please, I beg you. Save me.”

One of the boys grabs her arm. He was wearing a black shirt and blue jeans. The other boy runs past her, his hand glowing bright red. Then she heard a BOOM. She turns back to see the creature chasing her dead.

The boy with the glowing red hands. Shouted, “RUN!”

Mitch, Astor, and Ms. Minxes ran through the hallways. Goblins were showing up, attacking, or trying to block their path. Whenever that happened, Mitch responded in kind. He could quickly kill a goblin with a punch, but there were so many. He counts at least a dozen. The lone saving grace for him was that the goblins were slower than them due to their smaller legs. So only one or two goblins could catch up to them at a time, and then he needed just to hit them. The trouble was that the red bar decreased each time he used his power, and he became even more tired.

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They were heading to the staircase at the end of the hall. They were on the third floor; the exit was on the first. Astor was dragging Ms. Minxes toward the staircase. They were outpacing the goblins but scarcely because of Ms. Minxes’ broken leg. Ms. Minxes was the principal secretary; she was nice to him the many times he went to the principal’s office. Mitch felt he should be panicking, not thinking about how nice the principal secretary was. He knew why he wasn’t, in any case. It was the exact reason why he was not pissed at Astor. Every time he was about to panic, his mind clouded over; he felt he needed to protect his friend. So, instead of panicking, he tried his best to keep Astor safe.

They came to the staircase. Astor slowed down enough for Ms. Minxes to climb down with her bad leg.

“Are you okay?” Ms. Minxes asked.

“I’m fine,” he replied.

“You don’t look good. Are you sure you are fine? Your eyes are glowing purple. That’s not right.”

“It's not. I am fine. We have to leave now. Hurry. There are lots of goblins on the way.”

Ms. Minx nodded and followed Astor down the stairs. The red bar appeared in Mitch’s vision, and he quickly moved away from the staircase. A goblin was in their path, and Mitch punched it.

He ducks behind the bottom step and swings his fist at the goblin. His hand glows red. He catches the goblin midair and slashes its throat with his palm. The blood gushes out onto the steps and forms a red liquid river. He does the same to another goblin. When the sound echoes in the stairwell, he turns to see wolves running up the stairwell about to attack Ms. Minx and Astor. The two are halfway down the stairs and moving toward the pack. Mitch leaps onto the stairs and lands between Ms. Minx and the wolves. He shoves one wolf away from her. It stops, growls, and lunges at Mitch. He punches it and breaks its jaw. Another wolf chases after Mitch and tackles him. He loses balance, falls off the stairs, and hits the ground hard. His back smacks the metal banister, and his leg flies straight out, breaking the rail underneath him.

They knocked Mitch unconscious.

Ms. Minx watched in horror as the wolf tackled Mitch off the stairs. She heard the sickening crack as he hit the railing and fell limply to the floor below.

"No!" she cried, hobbling down the remaining steps as fast as her broken leg would allow. She had to get to the boy to see if he was still alive.

A massive gray wolf blocked her path, snarling and snapping its jaws. Its eyes glowed an unnatural red. Ms. Minx grabbed the railing to steady herself, looking around desperately for a weapon.

"Get back!" she shouted at the wolf. It crouched lower, ready to pounce.

Just then, Astor came rushing down the stairs behind her. His eyes were still glowing that eerie purple.

"Astor, help!" Ms. Minx yelled.

The boy's face hardened with determination. He stretched out a hand toward the wolf. His purple eyes flashed brighter for a moment.

The wolf froze, then slowly retreated with its tail between its legs. Astor had done something to make it submit.

Ms. Minx didn't have time to wonder about it. She limped past the cowed wolf to where Mitch lay crumpled on the floor. Blood trickled from a gash on his forehead, but she felt a weak pulse when she checked his neck.

"He's alive but badly hurt," she told Astor. "We have to get him out of here."

Astor nodded. "There are more coming. I'll carry him."

The slight boy lifted Mitch with surprising ease and slung him over his shoulder in a fireman's carry.

Ms. Minx leaned heavily on the railing as she made her way down the last steps. The sounds of howling and screeching were getting louder. More monsters were coming.

"Hurry!" she urged Astor. They had to get out fast, or none of them would make it. She tried not to think about how hopeless their situation seemed. Where could they possibly go to escape this nightmare?