Several bullets landed on the goo, drawing a wave of acid spilling. The ball of goo jumped up again, but Katie was ready. She took a few steps back, emptying the clip in the process.

The goo was beaten back, but Katie wasn’t convinced. Bullets didn't handle the undead enslaved by Mr. Isaac, and there was no reason they could handle this goo. Her blade might be more useful, but she didn't like the idea of meleeing with a highly corrosive, volatile foe. If she had a flamethrower, she would be a little more assertive, but now?

“Fall back!” She gave out another scream and used the opportunity to turn around and run. In front of her, Caitlin and Zach were already twenty steps away.

Caitlin ran without hesitation. By itself, this wasn’t what annoyed Katie. What really bothered her was how she was holding onto Zach like her life depended on it. Katie enjoyed Caitlin’s touch, and likewise, she hated Caitlin touching anyone but herself.

Mentally giving Zach the death sentence, Katie ran like crazy while tossing occasional glances over her shoulder. The goo was following them faster than she liked.

Slowly, Katie caught up onto the two other students. Before she could say anything, the trio found themselves at a crossroad.

“We can’t run for an hour! Well it’s more like 40 minutes but fuck it.” She glanced at the two roads. Suddenly, some sound from one of the roads gave her an idea. “You two go that way. I’ll go the other direction and lead that thing off our trial.”

Zach opened his mouth to object. The notion of using a teenage girl as bait simply felt wrong. “We’re not going to leave you…”

But to her surprise, Caitlin nodded on the side. “Stay safe.” was all she said before dragging Zach down the proper path.

Katie turned around and emptied his handgun into the encroaching goo. Bullets sank into the sea of black and were quickly consumed and corroded into nothingness. Fair enough. She only wanted its attention.

“Come and get me you son of a bitch.”

Maybe the goo heard her provocation. Maybe it was just annoyed by the shots. But in the end, all that mattered was that it leaped toward Katie, who turned and bolted down the other hallway with all her speed.

Katie was fast. Really fast. She has never been too keen on exercising, whether it was before or after the games started, but as she felt wind flying over her ears, she realized her speed was unnatural. Room after room was passed in just seconds. But she didn't have the time to ask questions.

Every time she glanced over her shoulder, the goo was closer than the last time she looked. It would only be a matter of time before she gets chased down. After that, it would be a rough way down.

Part of her wanted to just screw everything and make a stand, but her reasonable self took over.

That was when she ran into two other boys holding two handguns. They were also participants of the game.

A smile climbed onto Katie’s face.

At the intersection, she heard some voices coming down the hallway that she took. The goo was fast, and throwing it off its trial by herself was impossible, but she wasn't the only person the goo was after. It was after all the students in the class. If she could do just that…

She couldn’t tell from the voices that these were fellow students, but she had to take her chances. Thankfully, it worked.

The two students’ expression changed. They both raised their handguns cautiously, but Katie rushed by them without saying a word.

“Oh shit.”

One of them whispered as he realized what was happening. Turning around, he saw the pursuer.

That was when he did the worst thing possible.

“Stand still! It can’t see us if we’re still!”

As he and his friend froze, inside his head, he was still laughing at how stupid Katie was. To be honest, he felt a little jealous over Katie and how comfortable she seemed in this environment. But so what if you’re a psychopath that everyone is scared of? You’re an idiot. Only idiots would run when they were explicitly told that standing still could save them.

What a dumbass.

Just like he expected, the goo rushed past them and went straight for Katie. Suddenly, his eyes landed on his friend and realized his arm was shaking like crazy.

But...that doesn’t make any sense! If his friend was moving, then the goo saw him, but it still went after Katie...oh shit!

But it was too late. All of a sudden, the goo turned around and devoured both boys. The two victims couldn’t even form a throat as corrosive acid burnt a way through their teeth and poured down their throat. Their outsides and insides dissolved at the same time.

Who’s the idiot now?

After the seconds, the two boys were finally put out of their misery, but as the goo finished up and looked around, it could no longer find its original target.

---

Caitlin and Zach finally came to a stop at another intersection. It had access to two hallways and a staircase. That was when Zach finally got the chance to ask questions.

“What is going on? What is that thing? And why does your friend have a gun? And how come no one heard the gunshots?”

“First of all, for your information, I also have a gun.” Caitlin quietly pulled out a Walther PK380. Katie gave it to her for self-defense. Her original M1911 was already thrown back to the gun case where it belonged.

“As for the other things…” Caitlin suddenly took a deep breath. “You don’t want to know.”

She was in hell and Caitlin knew it. There was a reason most of the class was throwing away their time on drugs or sex. It was a well known fact that most of them wouldn’t survive another weekend. If it was someone with a twisted mind, like Kyle, in his place, he would tell Zach everything, but Caitlin was perhaps the most morally correct person left in the class.

If she told Zach about the class, what would happen to him? Would Mr. Isaac just let him live outside the class with such knowledge? Hell no. Most likely, Mr. Isaac would silence him. Otherwise, he would integrate the teenager into the class.

By telling Zach everything, she would be condemning him to unspeakable suffering, death, and then more suffering.

But Zach was determined.

“I was almost killed by a bag of black goo, Caitlin. I have just ran past three hallways like crazy and didn't get stopped by a single teacher. Something is very wrong and I can’t ignore it! You have to tell me!”

Caitlin’s mouth opened with another rejection, but no words came out. Deep down, she had to admit she was a little touched. She recognized the determination in Zach’s eyes. It was a will to shed the facade blinding them and face the code, brutal truth. It was the same determination that prompted Caitlin herself to keep a clear mind while the others drank and slept around.

Zach was after the truth and he was willing to pay the price, just like she was willing to die and suffer for an eternity to save the class from the curse of Mr. Isaac.

She had no choice but to comply.

“Here’s what happened…”

Katie had to call Caitlin to find out where she was. When she arrived, she cringed a little at how close Caitlin and Zach were standing.

Caitlin smiled as her friend returned safe once again, but Katie wasn’t satisfied with just a grin. She held her arms out.

“I feel like I deserve at least a hug.”

Caitlin didn't notice Katie’s tone, but she still walked up and embraced Katie. The brunette smiled as she wrapped her arms around her blonde friend and squeezed Caitlin's body against her own. She gave a death glare at Zach in the process, but she doubted the boy saw it.

When the two finally departed, Caitlin finally had the chance to ask some questions.

“How did you get rid of that goo?”

“I happened to run into two of our classmates. They were too slow to react.” Katie seriously undermined her role in the two deaths.

“That’s lucky of you.” Deep down, Caitlin suspected some of that statement might be a lie, but she decided that wouldn’t exactly irrelevant at the moment.

Suddenly, Katie’s eyes landed on Zach.

“Why is he still here? We should send him back to whatever class he should be in right now. This is not his fight.”

Katie was confident in her beauty and her personality. In fact, she believed if she wanted to, most of the boys in the class would sleep with her. She was more than a pretty face. She was also perhaps the best chance of survival.

There was only one problem. Caitlin was a woman, and she was a straight woman. Katie could hug and kiss Caitlin, but it was more a playful act between friends than a careful embrace between lovers.

Caitlin wanted to have a male lover, and judging from the looks, Zach might be a decent candidate. Katie hated it. She despised the idea of her friend, her crush, laying in the arms of a filthy man.

She wanted to get rid of Zach as soon as possible.

“Actually,” To Katie’s dismay, Zach spoke up. “this is my fight. Caitlin just told me all about Mr. Isaac and your games.”

Katie’s eyes widened. She reached the same conclusion Caitlin did. Mr. Isaac would never just let someone with such knowledge go. Zach was already part of the games now.

She wasn’t getting rid of Zach anytime soon.

Katie was disappointed and a little pissed off. She took a step forward at Zach. Her black eyes stared into his.

“You have no idea what you’ve gotten yourself into.”

Zach didn't back down.

“I know the risks, but I refuse to partake in a lie.”

“A lie is better than what you will go through.” Katie’s voice was slow and threatening. “You are already doomed. Sooner or later, you will be a part of a game that you will lose. And then, you will be brutally executed. You think that’s over? After you die, your soul and your body will be moved to the backyard of the devil himself, where you will become his slave for an eternity, forever confined to endless agony.”

Katie was already semi-mad. What she and Caitlin saw in Mr. Isaacs’s backyard should be the most well-kept secret between them, but she just gave it out to a complete stranger.

Right now, Katie was truly terrifying. She has killed a lot of individuals, whether they were people, spirits, or undead. This was more than anything a teenage student has experienced before. But to his credit, Zach held his ground.

“As I said, I am willing to take the risk.”

Before Katie could push forward more, Caitlin stepped in.

“Zach will be an extra helping hand in taking down Mr. Isaac. We can’t beat him all on ourselves, and most of the classmates will not be willing to take the risk.”

“If you really want to take down Mr. Isaac I will walk up to him right now and chug an incinerator grenade at him.” Katie complained. “We don’t need this...boy.”

“Tempting, but I’m afraid brute force can no longer solve these problems.” Caitlin didn't know why Katie despised Zach so much, and deep down, she didn't think about the romantic side. She merely classified it as Katie being herself.

Zach followed it up.

“We were just talking about how to deal with that goo monster. Can you tell us exactly what happened?”

Katie ignored him.

“Katie!” Caitlin hinted.

Katie sighed and shook her head.

“Why am I even friend with you?” She joked before explaining what happened. She hid the part where she led the goo to the two students on purpose, but that was it.

“You said the goo tricked the two boys before killing them?”

“Yep.”

“What is your arsenal?”

Katie sighed as she pulled her jacket open and revealed the weapons she hid in the inner pockets. Two more handguns, the appropriate clips, and a few hand grenades. She took them out one by one.

“Wait, are those incinerator grenades?” Zach suddenly saw the symbol on one of the grenades. “You have incinerator grenades? Why didn't you use them on that goo? Fire can probably kill it.”

“Oh now you’re telling me how to fight? How many people have you killed?” Katie smirked. “Did you realize how fast that goo was? News flash! It’s very fast!”

“Then why didn't you use it when the goo was slowly sneaking up to us? Or when it was devouring the two boys?”

Fuck. Katie stared at Zach. To be honest, she forgot. Yes. In the heat of the moment, she was too busy enjoying the thrill and getting jealous over the boy to remember she had one of the flaming grenades she found in Arnold’s arsenal on her. But there was no way she would admit that, not in front of Caitlin.

“That’s not important. The important thing is what we can do with it now.” Caitlin did her best to mend the relationship. “We can set up a trap. Ambush the goo and light it up.”

Katie grinned at the idea. She would love to see Mr. Isaac’s reaction when his creation was just burnt to crisp. But she couldn’t help but raise a concern.

“With just us? One and a half combatant?”

“I’m glad I’m considered to be a combatant.” Zach shrugged.

“Don’t be glad cause I didn't count you as one. I’m one and Caitlin’s half.”

“What about them?”

Katie turned around and found five boys walking down the hallway toward them. They were armed from head to toe. Body armors. Automatic rifles. Sidearms. One boy was in the middle of the group.

“Eric. What are you doing here?”