The iron crowbar was lifted slowly. Its bent, bloodstained tip reflected the dim light from the broken window. The air inside Classroom 2-B suddenly felt colder than the storm raging outside.Vincent Damian, with his sociopathic smile, scanned the terrified faces before him. His eyes paused for a moment on Bianca and Kimberly, who were huddled in the corner, then shifted to Chania with a disgusting, predatory gaze. Finally, his eyes returned to the pile of bread and bottles of water on the floor."Not a bad haul," Vincent praised with a sarcastic tone, stabbing the tip of his crowbar into one of the water bottles and puncturing it. "I've been starving since yesterday afternoon. Only found a sewer rat in the dean's office. Tough meat."Xavier swallowed hard, his teeth chattering. "Wh-where have you been, Vin?" he asked, his voice trembling as he tried and failed to sound brave."Hell," Vincent answered casually. He stepped forward, his expensive shoes deliberately kicking the head of th

Vincent's cynical laughter echoed for a moment on the rain-slicked concrete ledge before being swallowed by the roar of the storm. He ran swiftly along the edge of the building, disappearing around a corner, leaving behind the chaos he had created.Inside Classroom 2-B, time seemed to stand still.Alex's heart-wrenching screams filled the room as the first three mutants pounced on him. Filthy claws tore through his jacket, rotten teeth sinking into his shoulder and arm. Fresh blood sprayed, its distinct scent immediately triggering a brutal aggression from the other mutants still held back by the barricade."LEX!" Xavier shrieked, raising his baseball bat, but he was frozen in place, his brain paralyzed by the horrifying scene before him.Daniel didn't freeze. In moments like this, his emotions shut down completely. All that remained was the cold calculation of a predator. He knew Alex couldn't be saved. Those tormented screams were now just a dinner bell, inviting more monsters."Vie

The concrete canopy had become a stage for death. Three Listener-phase mutants surrounded Daniel and Alex from three sides. The heavy rain washed over their pale skin, making their dead muscles pulse aggressively. Their white eyes stared hungrily, their jaws twitching with a wet, clicking sound."Niel… what do we do, Niel?" Alex whispered, his voice trembling violently. He gripped his baseball bat so tightly his knuckles turned white. "There's no way we can fight three at once."Daniel didn't answer. His mind was racing, scanning every corner, every crack, searching for even the most impossible escape route. His eyes darted downward, to the campus grounds now filling with dozens of mutants drawn by the sounds of their fight. Jumping down was suicide.Above, on the third-floor balcony, Chania, Bianca, and Kimberly could only watch in horror. The jacket-rope they had made was too short to reach Daniel and Alex."What do we do?!" Kimberly shrieked, tugging on Bianca's sleeve. "They're go

The large window at the end of the third-floor library corridor overlooked a scene straight from hell. Down below, in the main lobby, dozens of Listener-phase mutants crawled and shuffled about. The heavy rain pouring in through the shattered glass doors made the marble floor wet and slick, reflecting the grotesque shadows of the creatures."Are you serious, Niel? We're crossing on those cables?" Xavier repeated, his voice an octave higher. He pointed to three thick black cables stretching from the library wall to a utility pole on the roof of the Student Center building across the way. The distance was about fifty feet. Below them was a three-story drop to the wet asphalt.The storm winds howled outside, making the cables sway like giant black snakes."You've got two choices, Vier," Daniel replied without turning around. His sharp eyes were still calculating the risks. "You can crawl across that cable, or you can go downstairs and be their lunch. Pick one."Xavier swallowed hard. He

Inside the shattered glass walls of the security control room, Chania was still pressing a gauze pad against Daniel's abdomen where the arrow had been. The boy's breathing was shallow and shaky. His face was as pale as wax.Outside, the puddle on the concrete parking floor was slowly spreading. One of the slow-moving mutants, which had been wandering aimlessly, accidentally stepped into it.The dirty water soaked into its torn canvas shoes, seeping up to touch its dead ankle. In a matter of seconds, the magic of the Degrees of Death went to work. The muscle fibers that had been contracted by the cold air of the central AC suddenly expanded. The black veins on the creature's neck pulsed wildly.The creature stopped dragging its feet. It looked up, its back straightening, and its jaw opened to let out a sharp hiss. Its slow phase was gone. It had returned to being a Listener."Ca," Kimberly whispered in horror, pointing through the glass. "That one, it's moving differently."Bianca tigh