CH. 4: Best Friends

Before the students could see Benjamin clearly, Oliver ran to the door. Immediately, he slammed it shut - firmly locking it. His body winced as a scream of terror erupted from the hallway.

"Oliver, what are you doing?"

The blond's legs trembled while the screams continued. Piercing pleads of help rang throughout his ears. He felt banging against the door. Benjamin's hard knocks jabbed at his back but he refused to move.

"Move Oliver, Benjamin and Kang are out there" Raia called, "Why is that cocky bastard screaming so much? Did Kang do something again?"

He shook his head.

"Then what? Spit it out already."

"...Monster," Oliver finally croaked, squeezing his eyes shut.

"Huh? Are you stupid or something?" Raia leaned against his chair.

"Monster? What are you talking about?" Mirelia walked up to him. She stood infront annoyed, "Stop messing around and open the door."

"No Lia," Oliver insisted, "It has to be a monster... No human could ever look like that."

"Look like what? You're being ridiculous. Just move."

"Mirelia I can't, we will all die."

"If you're helping Kang with one of her weird antics," Mirelia finally pushed the guy aside, "I would suggest you stop Oliver. The screaming is starting to become annoying."

"Wait, don't open it Lia. Plea-"

As Mirelia's hands wrapped around the door knob, she froze. A pool of blood began to develop around the door, spilling from the hallway. Oliver and Mirelia's white shoes were now painted red.

"What is that?" Andromeda tugged at Raia's sleeve. He instinctively pulled her in his arms as the pool grew bigger and bigger. His eyes averted at the sight - what in the world was going on today?

Oliver gulped when Benjamin's screams finally stopped. After what seemed to be hours, there was a deadly silence. A silence so quiet that Oliver felt as though he could hear his heartbeat.

Ba-bump, ba-bump, ba-bump.

The class stood still. Their ears listening carefully for any sounds coming from the hallway. For one minute, two minutes, and three minutes it was completely silent.

Tap, tap, tap.

Screaming at the other end of the floor began, causing Raia's firm grasp to tighten around Meda. His terrified eyes glanced up at Oliver who was already looking directly back at him. The two conversed with their gazes. A conversation only bestfriends could understand.

They were trapped. Both nodded in agreement.

"Mirelia, we have to leave here," Oliver whispered into her ear, "If we stay in this classroom, we will be cornered and eaten."

"But the monster is out there... won't he kill us?"

"No, at least not for a little bit."

"What do you mean?"

"Benjamin's screaming lasted four minutes," Oliver continued to talk in a hushed voice that only Raia, Meda, and Mirelia could hear, "It took an additional three more minutes for another scream to begin. That should give us a seven minute gap to get out of the building."

Meda nodded against Raia's chest while Mirelia frowned her brow.

"That's too risky," she mumbled, "We don't know what this thing is or how strong it is. Plus seven minutes to exit this building is too short, it's three floors and far from the main campus."

"If we stay here and the monster comes into the room" Oliver leaned closer to her, "we are trapped. This is the third floor, we can't jump out the window. Our best chance of survival has to be trying to escape."

"But what about everyone else?" Mirelia guiltily looked around the classroom, "Don't tell me you want to leave them all behind...?"

"Of course not Lia," Oliver's shaken appearance began to calm down, "They have to come with us."

Raia raised a brow at Oliver. Sure, he wouldn't consider himself the brightest person in the world but wouldn't bringing the whole class on their escape plan make their chances of survival drop?

Oliver wrapped his arms around Mirelia's body and pressed her against his chest to reassure her. He patted her hair softly before looking up at Raia and mouthing a single word that made the commoner internally smirk. Bait.

Letting go of the girl, Oliver cleared his throat and prepared to speak to the class waiting in anticipation. They shifted in their seats anxiously - confused on the screaming and monsters that Oliver had been going on about previously.

"We are under attack," Oliver spoke firmly, "Before I shut the door on Benjamin, I saw a monster outside with horns and wings."

"Wings?"

"Horns?"

"If rank one is saying so, it must be true...!"

The environment of the classroom shifted to one of pure horror.  Raia continued to comfort Andromeda who sobbed profusely into his blazer.

"Benjamin was killed and currently another student is being attacked."

"Benjamin Stoll? Dead?"

"That's impossible."

"He's one of the strongest students on campus!"

Mirelia nervously looked around the room before joining in on Oliver's speech, "There are no other exits in this room beside the door, we can either stay here and become trapped by the monster or try to escape as a class. It's your choice."

The students looked at one another nervously. Their eyes looked at the pool of blood that had now covered the entire back of the class - Benjamin's remains.

"Rank one and rank two know what's best."

"If they think escaping is our best way of survival..."

Unsurprisingly, a majority of the students were onboard with a group escape attempt. Mirelia felt at ease as Oliver began to deliver the basis of his plan.

The students would follow a formation that was based on their running abilites. Faster runners were at the front while slower runners were at the back. That way, faster students could set the pace for the whole group and react fast enough to any obstacles.

Although Raia failed his semester exams, physical education was one of his greatest strengths. It was probably the single factor that kept him from being rank 757 instead of 756. Along with Oliver, Mirelia, and Andromeda, Raia was placed at the front of the formation.

Oliver pressed his ear against the door and carefully listened to the sounds coming from the hallway. The previous screaming had come to an end. Exactly as he predicted, the monster took four minutes to attack a student. Now he waited for the three minute break period before the next student was picked.

He glanced back at Mirelia and Andromeda who had also confirmed his time prediction.

One minute, two minute, three minutes.

As the farthest end of the hallway from Kang's room, Oliver heard a scream and immediately opened the door to begin their escape.