Chapter 4: The Expected Unexpected Expectation
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The wide double doors of the hall were smashed open just as Carl stood on his two feet. As everyone in the hall turned towards what remained of the main door, they saw the silhouette of something that looked nothing like human. Between the splinters of the thick wooden door, Carl could only glance a bipedal form that looked like a bear with a dog’s head. They were at least six feet in height and was covered in thick fur. Before the splinters even fell to the floor, the two creatures dashed into the hall from the broken front door.

Almost at the same time, more of the same creatures crashed in from the eight side doors along the hall. Chaos descended as the creatures clawed and bit at everyone inside the hall with absolute abandon. Those who managed to break free of their shock scrambled to their feet and tried to run out, clashing against others who thought of doing the same and impeding each other’s escape only to end up being ripped apart by the claws of the creatures.

The members of Carl’s own class was no different. Chaos ensued as everyone fought to escape. It was almost impossible as not only was the creatures strong enough to cleave through a human body in one swipe with their long claws, they were also faster and more agile than the students who were being slaughtered in droves.

This was the time when human values were tested. Would kindness, charity, and care emerge from the chaos? The answer would be no. With such a large difference in power, these students had no time to care for others. They would do anything to escape from the slaughter. They would use their own friends as a shield, they would sacrifice their own friends to distract the creatures and they would run away on their own, leaving behind those same friends they had just chatted with a moment before things went to hell. It was every man for himself. There was truly no time left to care for anyone else.

Carl was the same. He was certainly no different from the others. Those police cadet training that he had taken since he was 14 failed to instill self-sacrifice in him. There was only one person in his mind, someone he treasured more than himself, and that was Maya, his sister. He surmised that if they were attacked here, by so many of these creatures, surely wherever Maya was, she would also be attacked by this same creature. Therefore, he had to leave the hall and reach her quickly, or it might be too late.

Yet despite wanting to leave right away, he could not do so in reality. Despite being aware that something was wrong earlier than the other students, he was too late to react and all the exits he had access to were within arm’s reach of the creatures. He had no idea the situation of the exits on the other side of the hall as running through the throng of panicked students were equally suicidal. At least here he could observe around him with almost better clarity. He tried his best to ignore the scene of the creatures eating the dismembered bodies of the students. He certainly had no time to help them, even if they were being eaten alive.

He ducked suddenly without knowing why. It only took a second before he found out the reason. One of the creatures had seen him standing alone in the middle of his classmates’ corpses and decided that rather than fighting its fellow creatures for the other students, attacking Carl would be much preferable. As a result, it tried to swipe its claws at Carl’s head, expecting an easy kill.

The creature was stunned that Carl managed to avoid its attack despite making a surprise attack from behind. It recovered quickly and made another swipe with its left claws, which Carl evaded with only an inch to spare. The creature then opened its jaw wide and snapped at Carl’s head, but was a second too late as Carl had already taken a step back. It tried to kick Carl with its thick furry legs, but Carl stepped to his left, effectively making the creature lose balance before falling on top of the still bleeding corpses.

Carl had no idea how he had managed to stay alive despite the continuous attacks. By right, he shouldn’t have been able to avoid any of the creature’s attacks. He could neither see the creature’s movements nor keep up with its speed. Yet, he could avoid them all in time as if he knew where the attacks would land. Carl was no dweeb, but he wasn’t a martial arts expert either. His time spent taking courses after courses under police cadet initiative gave him a strong, tough and responsive body, capable of reacting to external stimulus faster than the average untrained person.

He was trained to be able to react to attacks aimed at him. He was trained to anticipate the opponents' moves. However, he wasn’t trained to react to attacks too fast for his eyes to see. No amount of training could prepare him for that. He was trained to avoid being in the way of bullets, but he wasn’t trained to avoid bullets themselves. Yet, somehow, he realized he could avoid bullets, as the creature’s attacks were so fast that they might as well be bullets.

Frustrated by being unable to land a hit, the creature let out a loud guttural roar that rang inside the hall. Carl’s body stiffened from hearing it at such a close distance, expecting a sudden attack from the creature. Instead, what came next was much worse. All the creatures inside the hall turned their heads towards them, ignoring the remaining students huddled together in a group on the raised stage. Fangs bared, they roared in unison before charging straight at Carl as one.

“Fuck this!” Carl decided that it was time to make a break for it regardless of his chances. He turned around to escape through the main doors, stepping on the back of a dead student but before he could run, he sensed one of the creatures leaping at his destination. He waited as the creature flew before him, but had to sidestep to his left when one more creature jumped from behind him. Without even looking to his left, he leaned his body backward, evading a claw coming from his left. Before he could make a single step forward, he ducked another claw from another creature aiming for his head.

After a whole ten minutes spent evading the attacks of dozens of these creatures, he finally saw an opening. A single hole that would be open for no longer than 2 or 3 seconds. As the creatures surrounding him leaped to get the first taste of his flesh, he too jumped into the hole made in their hastiness. It was close, very close, that he could feel the tip of his left boot making contact with one of the creatures’ abdomen. As he rolled away from the creatures, he breathed a sigh of relief that they were all collapsed in a heap with none looking his way. He quickly and quietly left the hall through the side door of the hall that led to the school canteen.

There was no time to check on the other students. Even if he wanted to, it would be particularly hard on his body as he could feel himself approaching the limit. Taking on two dozens of the creatures took a huge toll on his body. If the creatures recovered while he was busy helping the other students, there would be little chance of him escaping this time. If the other students were smart, they would’ve used the distraction he provided to escape. If they were too stupid not to make use of that opportunity, no amount of help from him would save them.

The exit he chose led directly into the school canteen via a roofed walkway flanked by chest-high hedges on both sides. It was the same school canteen where he held Maya tightly this morning, during the earthquake that reminded him how much he wanted to hold her, to protect her, even if his life would be the cost. When he couldn’t find Maya during the chaos, it felt like the world was bleak. His mind raced to think of a way to find her. His heart tightened from the fear of losing her. How could he think of anything else with that feeling still fresh in his heart?

He ducked under the hedges as he heard screams from the canteen. He guessed what happened in the main hall also happened here. The smell of blood was so overpowering that it almost made him retch. He thought he had gotten used to the smell of blood from having so many students cut down around him, but apparently, you would not truly get used to it. At least, perhaps, not as soon as he had hoped.

More screams and shouts greeted him as he opened a small gap between the double doors of the canteen. The first thing he noticed was the stench of blood and corpses. Then he noticed the creature about three meters in front of him eating a dismembered torso of what he guessed was formerly a member of the kitchen staff based on the pieces of clothing on her body. Then he counted six more of those creatures eating other corpses without care of their surrounding. And last, he saw two students, a boy and a girl, still bravely fighting three more of those creatures on the far corner of the cafeteria.

Somehow, they managed to barricade themselves behind a stack of tables and chairs, allowing them to fight the creatures one at a time. Carl considered that to be quite smart, as each of the creatures was at least stronger than him and had they fight two or three at the same time, the result would be quite catastrophic as their surrounding would have suggested. Still, he wondered about the level of intelligence of the creatures.

Specifically, he wondered why the creatures obediently waited for their turn and not simply smash apart the barricades. Carl guessed that they could’ve done that. The strength they showed in the main hall surely suggested that they were capable of doing so, even if it might take them some time. Could it be that they have never seen tables? His thoughts went to a weird direction as he wasted time trying to guess the reason. He eventually realized this and decided to stop overthinking it. After all, he had something more important to do.

“I’m sorry, guys. Until I find Maya, I can’t do anything else. I wish you luck.” With that, Carl pulled back his fingers.

But as the door was about to be closed, he heard, “Zek, kill it quickly! My barrier’s about to break!”

He thought he recognized that voice. He knew it wasn’t Maya’s voice, but the voice sounded very familiar. His finger went back to the door, pushing it slightly open again.

“Shit Nisa. What do you think I’m doing?”

He certainly knew that voice and that name. It was Khairunnisa, one of Maya’s best friends. She and two more girls have been visiting their home regularly since primary school. Recalling that she was also part of the student council together with Maya, Carl suddenly changed his mind. Instead of searching for Maya blindly, he decided it would be better and faster to ask the person who’d have likely seen her last.

But how exactly would he reach them?

 

It's the first battle scene! Should Ai-chan have been more graphic in this chapter?

 

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