Quote of the Chapter: "This nightmare has come to an end.” - Section U Agent

The next two chapters may be a bit confusing, so if you've got questions...the comments section welcomes you.

Also Merry Christmas!

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That night, Caitlin got drunk for the first time in her life. 

She has never been so broken before. So desperate. Ever since that fateful morning, she has been trying to remain strong and power through. When Jessica died, she kept her hopes up and believed there could be a way out. When she walked onto the ground of the lost schools, she was distraught, but she persevered after a good night of sleep. When Zach left, she kept on pushing. When RCTV was massacred, she kept on going. 

Not this time. It turned out that all her plans and schemes have not gone undetected. In fact, Mr. Isaac was fully aware of what she and Katie were going to do all along. He let them happen. He let that hope grow, just so he could extinguish it in one firm strike. 

And he just did. 

All her efforts were futile. All her struggles were meaningless. Her dark fate was already sealed, and no amount of deduction or fighting could save her from an agonizing death.

So, in the end, all that was left for her to do was drink, and that was exactly what she did. Like many fellow students she once looked down upon, she drowned herself in the bottom of alcohol bottles. She concealed her sorrow in the shadows of pleasure. She was going to die for sure, so why not have some fun before that? 

It was a no-brainer, really. 

“So, Mr. Isaac really said his superiors are coming over to take care of me? I wonder if they will be able to kill me.”

At around midnight, Caitlin and Katie were still sitting in Caitlin’s bedroom. A few hours ago, Katie took a quick trip to a local bar and grabbed enough alcohol to satiate Caitlin’s urges. As for herself...the brunette raised a bottle of bleach and quietly licked her lips before taking a good drink. The corrosive sensation went all the way down her throat. 

At this point, Caitlin has already had way too much alcohol in her body to think. Her head ached like hell, but all she did was reach for another bottle. Headache? Stomach ache? Who cares? Then again, this was perhaps the worst time to ask her questions. Even as she replied to Katie, her words were slurring. 

“Maybe...or maybe you’ll fuck them up, Katie...like you always do!” She raised a bottle of beer to her mouth before suddenly chucking it at a corner of the room. “No one can take down my girlfriend!”

Katie realized there was nothing at that corner, but that didn't stop her from casually pulling out her handgun and shooting that corner six times. Why, you ask? Well, why not? 

Finally, at the end of the day, Caitlin has finally had enough. She collapsed right where she sat, her new beer can slipping out of her grip. Katie sighed, put her onto her bed, and pulled a blanket over her. 

When that was over, Katie proceeded to finish her bottle of bleach.

---

When the two girls arrived at the classroom the next morning, Caitlin was barely able to walk without Katie’s aid. It was true that alcohol wasn’t good for someone, especially that much alcohol to someone as inexperienced as Caitlin. In fact, she barely made it through the night before waking up and vomiting. 

Either way, here they were. 

At this point, including Caitlin and Katie, there were only 21 students left in the class. Of course, that didn't mean Mr. Isaac’s games were coming to an end soon. If anything, they were just getting started.

For one thing, as the two girls walked into the classroom, they heard chilling screams next door from Mrs. Dent’s classroom, and that was hardly it. Similar commotions were coming from over half a dozen classrooms nearby. Unless they suddenly decided to compete for the title of scream queen, the curse has spread to them as well. 

Mr. Isaac has been really busy. The curse was like a virus. It first took root in Katie’s class before slowly making its way to everything around it. More specifically, it was a virus without a cure. It was one that could only be purged when every infected has been killed. 

In the past, Caitlin might’ve tried something to prevent that spread. Not anymore. She couldn't save anyone. She couldn't even save herself. Perhaps all she could do...was accept her fate. 

The two quietly got seated in one corner of the classroom. Caitlin did appear surprisingly weak, but most of the students didn't care. In fact, they themselves weren’t any better. Sleep schedule and a healthy diet? Who needed that when they could have constant alcohol and drugs and games and sex.

The only person that noticed it was perhaps Vivian, but all she could think of was maybe the two girls played some especially thrilling games together? Ultimately, it was irrelevant to her. 

All the students were seated when more footsteps approached. Some students sat up straight, expecting Mr. Isaac. 

That was when four completely foreign figures entered the room. Four men in camouflage uniforms, equipped with sci-fi looking weapons that looked like some sort of rifle. All of them had glasses that radiated blue light and hid their eyes from view. As soon as they entered, they scanned the room in vigilance.

Wait...is this another one of Mr. Isaac's twisted games? The students thought in confusion, but even as the students’ mouth hung open, these four men suddenly snapped to the side and raised their weapons. They pulled the trigger, firing blue rays out of the muzzle. A few students flinched, but the blasts weren’t going for the students. Instead, they landed on something small...something next to invisible. 

Spiers. Mr. Isaac’s Spiers.

The invisible creatures screamed and died, fried alive by the blasts of the weapons. Many students stood up, horrified. What even are those things? They have been in this classroom for weeks since the games started and they never had the slightest clue! Wait...did that mean Mr. Isaac has been watching them all along? 

Across the classrooms, countless foul creatures sprung into action. The students couldn’t see them, but they could hear the screeches of dozens of Spiers. These tiny beasts, still invisible even as they moved into action, charged at the four men from all across the classroom. 

But this assault has failed to catch the four camouflaged men by surprise. Two of the men took a step back, lowered their rifles, and pulled out some sort of grenade and chugged them at what seemed like empty space. The grenades exploded into a net of electrocuting charges, ravaging across the surface of countless Spiers and reducing them to ashes. 

The other two camouflaged men kept on firing, and finally, all the invisible Spiers were dead.

For a moment, the students couldn’t help but feel some hope. In every way, these four soldiers looked more like human than Mr. Isaac and the beasts under his command. And sci-fi weapons were so much easier to accept than mysterious curses and ghosts. 

Finally, as the class leader for the moment, Kyle took a step forward. Even someone like him had to be polite in a situation like this.

“Uh...thanks for saving us, but...who are you people?”

One of the men turned to Kyle, his weapon distinctly aiming at the boy. Kyle took a step back and quickly realized every student that was sitting behind him had gladly hopped up and moved to the other end of the classroom, leaving him to face these figures alone. Wow…such loyalty!

Thankfully, the man answered Kyle’s question with words rather than weapons. 

“We are Agents of Section U, a wing of the U.S. Military tasked with handling supernatural beings...like the one you know as Mr. Isaac.” 

The students looked at each other before most of them suddenly broke down in tears. Finally! Finally! It took all too long! So many people have died in these short but brutal three weeks! But alas, they have been saved! At long last, salvation was at hand!

Girls covered their cheeks with their hands. Even some of the tougher boys had to try very hard to keep themselves from bursting out laughing. Finally, the US Government has stepped in! What took them so long? You know what...I don’t care! I’m alive and I’m saved and that’s all that matters! 

That was when a voice of nightmare reappeared. 

“Oh...who do we have here?” 

Mr. Isaac slowly stepped into the classroom, his eyes on fire. Literally. Katie could smell them getting burnt. Just as the four Section U agents lifted their weapons, Mr. Isaac waved his hands and summoned armies of monsters between him and his foes. 

“Section U…” He hissed. “You have come to the wrong place!” 

He raised his hand, ready to initiate the attack. And then...and then a blue-ray pierced the window of the classroom and hit him right on the head with a speed before anyone in the room, even Katie, could react. This shot alone melted away his entire skull on contact, removing his head altogether in a terrifying strike.

None of the Section U Agents have lifted their weapons. The shot came from a sniper outside, position god-knew how far away.

“Holy shit…” One of the boys gulped as Mr. Isaac’s body collapsed. Many students expected the teacher to get right back up like he did countless times before, but that never happened. Mr. Isaac just laid there, headless and dead as a doorknob.

As its owner collapsed, the monsters immediately went from obedient killing machines to chaotic beasts. Some of them made a move toward the students and the four Section U Agents while others simply turned on each other in an orgy of slaughter. They might have been part of the same faction, but now, they showed the complete opposite of mercy to their former comrades. 

For the next two minutes, the students watched in awe and shock as the four Section U Agents, expertly and efficiently, handled the monsters one by one until all of them were dead. As the last beast collapsed, even Vivian was having trouble containing her excitement. 

As the threat was completely neutralized, the four Agents finally turned their attention to the students. 

“We apologize for what you have been put through.” One of them announced quietly to the students. “That creature back there posing as your teacher belongs to a sizable organization. Atrocities like this have been happening across the nation, and we simply have limited manpower and intel support to tackle all of them in time.”

“But it’s all over now. This nightmare has come to an end.” 

He scanned the classroom. “Our backup personnel will come over and discuss with you the follow ups. Don’t worry…” He said as he noticed the conflicted look on the face of some students. “we have handled situations like this before. We know you have been forced to commit crimes. The exact decisions will have to depend on the specific situations, but most of you will be exonerated for crimes you had no choice but to commit.” 

This was something, but this wasn’t nearly enough for many students to let go of their worries. As terrifying as the curse has been, it has given the students full exoneration from whatever crimes they committed. Kyle raped and murdered and looted at will. The others were slightly better, but they all did something more or less outside of the boundaries of the law. Well...at least prison was better than this hell! 

In one corner of the class, Katie and Caitlin have been watching this scene unfold silently. Katie at least did something. When she sensed something running across her, she reached out, grabbed onto a Spier, and spent half a minute dissecting it alive. Caitlin was just completely silent. Neither Mr. Isaac’s death nor the purging of his forces brought a smile onto her face.

Not even close.

The students looked at each other. Just as the four men were about to leave, one of the students suddenly spoke up. He had an idea.  

“Agents, sir!” He called out loudly. “Agents, thank you for what you have done for us, but I am afraid you have missed one critical threat in your investigation.”

“One of our classmates is a monster just like Mr. Isaac, and her name is Katie Lockwood.” 

A dark shadow flickered in the depth of his eyes, unseen by all. 

The room suddenly went silent. Many students were frozen in place, wondering why Kyle was saying all this. Katie might be a supernatural creature, but she has never done anything to actually prey on her classmates! Comparing her to Mr. Isaac was just wrong! Even Caitlin was caught by surprise. What the hell is Kyle thinking? Does he have a death wish or something? 

Kyle didn't have a death wish. What he did have was a voice in his head, subtly pushing him toward making this decision. Subconsciously, Kyle thought he was making a well-calculated decision. Caitlin and Katie obviously despised him, and this was the perfect chance to use these mysterious saviors to get rid of the threat that was Katie! No problem with the logic there!

All that resulted in such an awkward scenario. 

As one of the two centers of attention, Katie slowly looked up from her dissection table, aka her school desk. Wait...so what’s happening? “So...I’m a critical threat? How flattering? Is that what I’m supposed to say?” 

“Hmmm…” One of the four men tilted his head thoughtfully as he turned his gaze to Katie. He didn't make a decision, at least not immediately. Instead, he turned to the other students in the classroom. “Is that true?”

His tone sounded a little...off. Alas, none of the students noticed that. They were too busy asking themselves one very serious question. 

These soldiers that call themselves Section U Agents have just appeared before them for less than half a hour, but already, they have proven their strength with their actions and, more importantly, the headless corpse of Mr. Isaac. As far as most students could see, these Agents could easily get rid of Katie if they chose to, and if the students’ answers make these Agents treat Katie like a threat, then getting rid of her was exactly what they would do.

In other words, Katie’s fate was in their hand. Or so they thought.