9 Chapter Nine

Once his vision adjusted to the sudden change of light he was able to see the presence of not only one but many being in the locker room at that very moment. Though there was many there was no direct line of sight to them and Raven was still dressed as a student with no obvious change. He knew there was still hope since the locker room was built to hold plenty of people at a time, multiple teams could use it and not cross paths. Raven had a good feeling he could pass through there without being seen or making eye contact if he hurried.

He questioned who were the ones using the locker room so late, the thought that he was going to cross by something he didn't want to see made him wary to go through. This reluctance didn't last very long after listening to the showers and the light conversation going on knowing he was just becoming paranoid by what was happening to him. So he shook it off to get out of there quickly.

Still the question of who it was using the lockers bothered him making him slightly curious to linger a bit longer. Just to get a glance at who was using it at this time and if they were even allowed to be using the locker rooms. Knowing that a lot of the basketball team's items were disappearing recently he wanted to know if these were the culprits behind the missing gear. Knowing he wouldn't find another opportunity to catch these people he wanted to make sure.

Against better judgment he went further into the locker room looking back towards the door keeping it in a clear line of sight encase the worst were to happen. He crept around the corner to take a glance at who it was. Once he saw the group that was drying off still making light conversation Raven let out a sigh. He had got curious for no reason as it was only the wrestling team, he knew they wouldn't be culprits without even needing confirmation. He felt slightly foolish for not recalling how late the wrestling team would be in practice being out of season they had very limited options for their time of practice and sometimes they would take what they could get.

Raven knew it was time for him to get out of there, turning around only to find himself running into someone tall and broad. The collision only made Raven stumble back a bit though the other involved remained firm on his feet like nothing had touched him at all. He quickly reached out to help Raven from falling not wanting him to stumble to the ground. Out of a scared reaction Raven slapped the hand away causing a loud impacting noise to echo out creating a silence among those in the room.

Raven jerked back looking to the ground as he heard the others approaching from around the locker wall to see what was going on. He was frozen with fear being among so many, more than capable, men knowing if he were to look up at them there was no telling what would happen.

"Hey, You're not supposed to be in here at this time" The voice sounded familiar with an authoritative tone to it. Then Raven realized the person he had ran into was the wrestling team's coach who unfortunately doubled as Raven's math teacher.

The odds of this happening were slim. His biggest fear was that the teacher would recognize him. Even if it wasn't dangerous to look them in the eyes, being caught in this form was what he was afraid of most fearing it would ruin his life for good. It was too late to sneak in now and he knew it but he wasn't about to be caught. His legs trembled as he felt his feet regain their strength to move. He was going to try and outrun them, who ever followed, if he could just get back to his room.

"Are you alright kid?" The teacher asked in an even more concerned way finding Raven's silence more alarming wondering what could be wrong with him. Though when he reached out to Raven again this time he leaned over to look at Raven's face to know who it was.

"No! Back off..." Raven shouted pulling back but it was too late as their eyes had already met. Just like the lady before it was an immediate reaction but unlike her he became silent.

It was an eerie silence he just stared at Raven like his body had become petrified. Raven's body also began to react to this as if the man's stare was causing an intense burning throughout his entire body. The burning under his skin brought the same weight he had before entering the room to his body, making it hard for Raven to breath.

Without warning the coach reached out to Raven's shoulder making Raven frantically move from his grasp finding the tips of the coach's fingers to only burn his skin where they grazed him. Turning around to run even if it wasn't in the direction of the doors he only looked up to see the team that was crowded behind him. They all had the same petrified zombie appearance to them without Raven needing to look at them. Startled by this he knew he couldn't possibly have looked them all in the eyes at the same time this implied it was changing it's effect.

Knowing this was a bad situation that was only getting worse by the moment Raven had to get out of there. Unable to move through this bunch of young athletes he turned back towards the teacher planning to use his size against him. Just as the teacher reached for him again Raven chose that timing to duck and move under this man through his legs.

With the door in sight he looked back over his shoulder to see if they were following like the woman was before. Following like he figured they were staring as if there was no conscious thought within them but their body's clearly showed they did. This thought was to chase him. Their blank expressions as they rushed closer only added to their frightening appearance having the closer they got the worse Raven's body started to feel. He couldn't figure this out but it scared him too much to stick around and find out what was happening.

There was no time to worry about the burning as he needed to get to his room so he could lock himself behind the safety of a thick door only hoping this would be enough to keep them at bay. Running to the door he opened it quickly but didn't waste time to try and close it behind him knowing it wouldn't matter, they were zombified but they clearly could function.

Making his way down the halls to the dorms so he could hide in his room he remembers at the last floor that Carson would probably be in there. Realizing the danger was all around him made him regret his decision to come to the school instead of going home. Even if the familiar was exposed it still didn't compare to how exposed Raven felt in that very moment.

The heat in his body was only becoming worse too. Making him clench at the front of his chest where the source came from, it became hard for him to focus having his eyes beginning to water. Turning the corner too quickly he almost ran into a vending machine, just to avoid it he overstepped falling right into someone else who was getting items from the very machine.

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