The eyes of all the spectators who witnessed the horrifying scene were wide with disbelief. No one screamed. It wasn't shock; it was a paralyzing awe, a frozen moment where time itself seemed to hold its breath. Everything had happened so fast, so violently, that it was hard to accept it as real. The thoughts of everyone in the room aligned in a single, unanimous echo: What just happened?

The teacher stood there, covered in the blood of his student, trembling. His hands shook as the chalkboard eraser fell, clattering to the ground, unheard in the chaos that followed. Panic erupted. Some screamed, others simply froze, paralyzed by the sight. Blood splattered across the walls, some ran, some collapsed, unable to process what they'd seen. The room had become a hell, and none of us were prepared for the darkness that came with it.

I didn't have time to process. My hair was dyed red again… but this time it wasn't from anything I could control.

The survival instinct kicked in, cold and brutal. I had to run, and I had to run now. It wasn't a choice. It wasn't bravery—it was a reflex.

I opened the classroom door without thinking, without hesitation. Others were screaming, pleading for help, but I couldn't afford the luxury of hesitation. My mind raced. Get out. Get away from this. Do not die here.

The classroom was on the fourth floor, and escape wasn't going to be easy. I didn't even know if I could. Should I even try?

But then, another thought emerged, sharper and colder than the last. The monster was on the field, wasn't it? Tsk. Who cared? That wasn't my problem anymore.

I ran through the hallways, my sneakers sliding on the slick floor. Blood. Everywhere. The faint reflections of lights on the walls, the echoes of frantic voices, all seemed to blur into one. It was hard to even grasp what was real.

I wasn't a hero. I wasn't a soldier. I wasn't a warrior. I was just an athlete, and in a situation like this, survival was the only game I knew how to play.

I wasn't going to risk my life for anyone. I wasn't going to die here.

Then, a sound. Not just one, but several. A low, rumbling, mechanical thud that vibrated through my chest.

As I reached the stairs, a teacher appeared, rushing up, shouting at me.

—"Where do you think you're going? Get back to your classroom! Let the teachers handle this!"—

But then it happened.

A crash. A sickening, bone-crushing impact.

I saw it before I heard it—the same monstrous thing that had destroyed the school field now descended upon us.

I couldn't breathe. My legs shook, but fear pushed me forward.

I wasn't going to die. I wouldn't.

My heart pounded in my chest, my senses sharper than ever. I could hear the screams of others, distant, gut-wrenching cries of terror. It wasn't just my classroom, I realized. It was the whole school—every inch of it had become a battlefield, a slaughterhouse.

I shoved past bodies, trampling over the fallen, ignoring their cries for help. Survival. That was all that mattered.

The second floor. I made it to the second floor.

The chaos was so intense it felt as though the world was closing in on me. The lights flickered and went out, plunging everything into near darkness. The air was thick with fear, with desperation.

I stumbled, my sneakers slipping on something cold, wet. My eyes didn't want to believe it, but they couldn't turn away.

Blood. Everywhere. It pooled on the floor like an ocean of red, dark and thick, stretching out toward the end of the hall where the light barely reached.

Then, I saw it.

A metallic figure. Standing against the wall. Motionless.

I froze.

Its eyes—if you could call them that—were empty sockets, but there was something deep inside them. A light. Cold. Menacing. And behind it, the faint sound of dripping. Liquid. A strange, dark crimson mix of blood and something else.

I gagged, bile rising in my throat.

The thing… it wasn't human. It couldn't be. But it was there, and it was alive, and it was looking at me.

My heart stopped.

It didn't move at first, and I took a step back. And then, its eyes—those hollow, empty eyes—shifted, focusing on me.

The air seemed to freeze. It was… mocking me. I felt it. I didn't need to hear it. I could feel it in the space between us, like a presence too suffocating to escape. A sound, almost like laughter, rumbled deep within the creature. A cruel, mechanical chuckle.

Ha. Ha. Ha.

I couldn't breathe.

I had to run. I had to. But my legs… they were glued to the spot. My whole body was shaking. I could hear its footsteps now, clanking against the floor, erratic and slow.

One. Two. Three.

It was coming for me.

Run. Run. RUN.

I screamed at my legs to move, but it was no use. I couldn't.

And then I slipped.

The blood. It was everywhere. The walls, the floor, my shoes… the blood didn't stop. It soaked my uniform, the once-pristine blue now a grotesque shade of crimson. I screamed, but the sound was lost, drowned in the horrific chorus of death that filled the building.

That thing—the demon—was coming. And I could feel it drawing closer.

It was the same one that had killed my classmate.

But it was different now—damaged. It moved more erratically, its steps uneven, like it was struggling to function. Maybe that was my only chance. Maybe…

I tried to crawl. I couldn't stand. My limbs felt like lead. But I had to keep moving.

Then, the wall. Cold. My back slammed against it.

This was it.

There was no escape.

I didn't hear the teacher until it was too late.

A figure appeared from one of the classrooms, a last-ditch effort to stop the thing. They charged, swinging a chair at it, hitting it from behind.

It was only momentary. The creature paused, its head jerking around, its glowing eyes locking onto the teacher.

A sickening sound of metal scraping bone, and then… the teacher was gone. Their body impaled by the demon's arm, blood splattering the walls.

But there was something in their face. A smile. A final, defiant grin that lit up their eyes.

In their last moments, they looked at me, and their scream pierced through the noise of chaos.

—"RUN! RUN AS FAR AS YOU CAN!!"—

I didn't know if I could.

I stumbled up, my legs shaking, and without thinking, I flung open the door to the nearest classroom and ran inside. It was no use. There was nowhere to hide.

I was trapped.

But then, I saw it. The window.

A shudder ran through me, and I knew what I had to do.

Without thinking, I smashed it, my hands bleeding from the glass shards.

I wasn't going to die here.

I jumped.

For a moment, the ground seemed miles away, but then everything went black.