2 Bad News

A chorus of pain-filled screams filled the classroom, They were so loud that even their thoughts were drowned out.

After minutes of the shrills coming from children, the sound soon died away until an eerie silence overshadowed the room.

It wasso oppressive that one could hear the faint rustling of crickets – if there were any left alive.

Then this silence was broken by something even more sinister: An intense, disturbing stench of decay and blood hovered in the air.

This acrid odor forced its way through the senses, and a veritable choking chorus arose, shattering the silence. For a few agonizing seconds, liquid could be heard repeatedly dripping onto the floor, and it seemed as if the choking of the survivors was breaking the stifling silence.

Two vomiting episodes quickly ended in a few quick minutes.

The first vomiting episode seemed to discharge immediately after the silence, followed by another discharge of vomit that was filled with nothing but stomach acid.

The fact that both episodes lasted about the same length, and were of similar volume, but differed in sound, led Kaiden to conclude that there were two other survivors besides himself and Max.

As Kaiden tried to stand up, a sharp pain shot through his right arm. He had the shock of adrenaline course through him earlier that he only now noticed the injury that pierced his right arm.

He called for help from the other two living survivors, explaining that an iron pipe had hit him and pierced his arm and that he wouldn't be able to free himself by his own two hands alone.

When one of them tried to climb over the debris and eventually approached. They, however, felt sick by the sight of Kaiden's injury

The guy quickly ran in another direction and vomited again, this time in an obsidian-colored torrent.

Kaiden called out to Leon and urged him to pull himself together.

Leon wiped his blood-stained shirt on his face, getting rid of the vomiting remains but replacing them with smudged red.

With bated breath, Kaiden instructed Leon to reach under his right armpit with his right arm and grab his left chest with his left hand.

Even though Leon tried his best to be careful, Kaiden still screamed as he was lifted off the ground and his arm was freed with a crack.

Thick red fluid dripped onto the already bloody classroom floor.

Kaiden took his snow-white shirt in his left hand, bit into the fabric, and pulled it down in a swift jerk.

His head snapped up quickly as he made a straight line in his shirt. He went back and repeated this process until he had a long strip, which he handed to Leon. He then instructed him to tie it around his arm as tightly as possible.

Leon took the strip and pulled it tight around Kaiden's arm, causing the blood to flow out slowly which resembled a slow-running faucet.

"Now we need to attend to Max," said Kaiden.

"He was pierced between his stomach and ribs." Leon nodded in agreement.

"He'll bleed out within minutes if we remove the pipe, so don't pull it out understood?"

Kaiden turned away and instructed Leon to make sure to lift Max's legs. Once he made sure his instructions were clear he then set off to check on the condition of the other living person.

He climbed over the debris and saw nothing but bodies. It stickened him to the core, but he couldn't worry about that right know. He called out, wanting to make sure the student was still alive.

A faint female voice responded, breathing heavily. Kaiden climbed and stumbled over the rubble to his right and discovered the girl covered in debris. He remembered her name to be April.

Kaiden knew it would be impossible to save her, but he couldn't leave her by herself, so he told her the truth as best he could in this situation.

"April, I'm sorry, but you don't have much time. I know it's hard to accept, but you have to be strong now."

As Kaiden approached her, he noticed that April seemed to have already succumbed to blood loss.

He knelt down beside her slowly and gently closed her lifeless eyes.

With a soft and slightly sad voice, he said, "I'm sorry."

Then he stood up and checked his right arm, which was barely bleeding anymore. He touched his own face and felt cold sweat on his skin.

He noticed he couldn't stand upright anymore, even if he wanted to. He leaned on something to calm down and rest for a moment.

In his thoughts, Kaiden went through the condition of their small group. He himself might endure for a few more days if things went well.

Leon also seemed capable of surviving for a few more days. But for Max, the outlook was grim.

He needed o be taken to a hospital urgently. But, even with medical help, his chances of survival were slim. He was willing to take that chance.

Kaiden was about to grab his phone to call for an ambulance when he noticed a large number of various birds flying in their direction.

Puzzled, he was wondering what seagulls were doing here. But then an even more intense wave of fear ran down his spine. Starting from his neck, down to his tailbone.

Pure terror gripped his heart.What he aw was enough to make his heart race to the point where he couldn't do anything, like he was an entirely different person.

Leon, puzzled by Kaiden's strange behavior, asked, "Kai, what's going on?"

Kaiden didn't give Leon an answer but just urged him to duck down immediately.

Dozen of birds flew into the classroom, crashing into the walls. These birds seemed to be fleeing in panic, and even as they collided with the walls, they continued to flutter towards them.

Leon was even more confused and didn't understand what was happening. Kaiden though, deeply questioned his life and decisions while speaking to Leon with an ashe-like expression, "We're all going to die."

In Leon's eyes, Kaiden seemed to have gone mad.

"How can you say something like that!?"

Leon shouted and grabbed Kaiden's arms, his thumb intentionally digging into the hole in Kaiden's right arm that was now sporting a deep purple. When he noticed, he recoiled and apologized.

Kaiden's expression darkened.

"You don't understand, do you?" he asked.

Leon shook his head, his eyes pleading to know the truth. Kaiden approached him hesitantly, his gaze strangely intense, as he finally spoke,

"A tsunami is on its way."

Leon turned pale as the words rang out into the silence of the classroom.

The gravity of the situation in Kaiden's eyes made it clear to him that this was not another panic attack coming from his friend.

Leon sat rigid for a moment, staring at Kaiden until the meaning of his words rose a tidal wave within in his mind.