DEGREES OF DEATH

12. FATAL PROVOCATION

A pale hand punched through the crack in the door, its blackened fingernails clawing frantically at the air. Outside, the brutal pounding was now mixed with the high-pitched shrieks of hundreds of Listener-phase mutants that had surrounded the second-floor corridor. The barricade of teachers' desks slid forward, inch by inch, under the unstoppable pressure.

"Through the window! Now!" Daniel roared, grabbing his supply backpack and throwing it onto Chania's back. "Kimberly, Bianca, you first! Lex, give them a boost!"

The atmosphere in Classroom 2-B devolved into organized chaos. Alex shoved a lecture desk under the broken window, creating a temporary step. Bianca, her bow slung over her back, climbed onto the desk and leaped out onto the narrow concrete ledge on the building's exterior.

"Come on, Kim! Hurry!" Bianca called from outside, holding out her hand.

Kimberly, still shaking violently, finally managed to climb out, helped by a push from Alex. Chania followed right behind them.

On the other side of the room, Vincent, his hands tied behind his back, just laughed cynically at their panic. "It's useless to run, Niel. The rain's getting heavier out there. Where are you gonna run? To the roof? You want to wait to be struck by lightning?"

Daniel ignored the provocation. He turned to Xavier. "Vier, throw the rest of our food out the window. Don't leave a single thing for this bastard."

"You got it, cap!" Xavier quickly gathered the remaining bread, canned corn beef, and water bottles, then tossed them one by one to Chania, who caught them on the ledge outside.

CRAAACK!

The wooden door finally gave way. A massive crack split it from top to bottom. Several more hands punched through, tearing away splinters of wood. The foul stench of blood and rotting flesh instantly flooded the classroom.

"Lex! Your turn, get out!" Daniel yelled, backing away slowly toward the window. Only he, Xavier, Alex, and the bound Vincent remained inside.

Alex was just about to climb onto the desk when Vincent made a sudden, unexpected move. With a powerful jolt, Vincent slammed his head against the tile floor, drawing blood from his temple, then rolled quickly toward Alex's feet. He used his body to trip him.

"Hey!" Alex stumbled and fell hard.

"Where do you think you're going, basketball boy?" Vincent hissed. With the agility of a snake, he got to his feet, leaned his body against the wall, and then kicked the stepping-desk under the window, sending it tumbling away.

Their only escape route was now blocked.

"VINCENT! YOU'RE FUCKING INSANE!" Xavier screamed from the corner of the room.

"Maybe I am," Vincent replied coolly, a bloody grin spreading across his face. He quickly ran to Alex, who was still trying to get up, and grabbed his jacket collar. With his hands tied behind his back, it was actually easier for him to use his body weight to hold Alex hostage.

Vincent dragged the struggling Alex toward the nearly demolished door. He positioned Alex's body as a human shield between himself and the wave of mutants ready to surge inside.

"Daniel!" Vincent called out mockingly. "I'll give you a choice, buddy. You can jump out that window alone right now and leave your friend here to be the appetizer… or you can stay here and die with him."

Alex stared at Daniel, his eyes wide with terror. "Niel… don't leave me, Niel! Help me!" Alex begged, his voice breaking into a terrified sob.

Daniel froze near the broken window. On one side, there was a clear path to escape. On the other, his friend's life was being held at monster-point. Cold logic screamed at him to run, to save the rest of the more vital group members. But the images of Noah and Xavier dying flashed in his mind.

Not again. I'm not leaving anyone else behind.

Outside the window, Chania screamed from the concrete ledge. "Daniel! Hurry up! The door's about to break!"

The door to Classroom 2-B finally surrendered to its fate.

With the deafening sound of tearing wood, half of the door disintegrated into splinters. The bookshelf that had served as the main barricade was shoved inward, toppling over with a heavy thud.

The first wave of mutants, five or six soaking wet creatures with wild, white eyes, immediately swarmed into the classroom.

Vincent laughed at the sight. He had created the perfect checkmate. He shoved the hysterically screaming Alex toward the first group as bait.

"Enjoy your meal!" Vincent shouted.

As the mutants pounced on Alex, Vincent used that split second to run and leap out the back window, landing hard on the outer ledge before taking off along the side of the building.

"LEX!" Xavier screamed in horror, raising his baseball bat, but he was too far away.

But then, something unexpected happened.

Daniel, who had been frozen in place, suddenly shot forward. He didn't try to save Alex. That wasn't his goal. He ran past the struggling Alex, leaped over an overturned desk, and charged straight for the now-open doorway.

"NIEL, WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" Xavier roared in disbelief.

Daniel didn't answer. With the last of the strength in his left arm, he raised the teakwood beam and slammed it, not at the mutants, but at the rotted top of the doorframe.

CRACK!

At the same time, he kicked the half-toppled bookshelf, knocking it over completely and blocking half of the doorway.

The wooden debris from the doorframe and the fallen bookshelf created a makeshift choke point, preventing the second wave of mutants from pouring in all at once. Now they had to crawl, one by one, through the narrow gap that remained.

It was a suicidal strategy that bought them a few precious seconds.

"Vier! Grab the curtain rope! Quick!" Daniel commanded, his voice unnervingly calm in the middle of hell.

A bewildered Xavier immediately tore the thick curtain tie-down rope from the window. Daniel snatched it, then ran back to the broken window. He glanced down. Directly below Classroom 2-B was the concrete canopy roof of the first-floor main lobby. It was about a ten-foot drop.

"Vier, get out now. Get down to that canopy. Get the others away from here," Daniel said without looking back. He was busy tying the end of the rope to the leg of the heaviest teacher's desk.

Xavier stared at Daniel in horror. He had just realized his friend's insane plan. Daniel wasn't going to escape with them. Daniel was going to be the last line of defense in this room. He was going to be the bait.

"No! I'm not leaving you alone, Niel!" Xavier refused flatly, his eyes welling up. "We get out together or not at all!"

"THIS ISN'T A NEGOTIATION, XAVIER!" Daniel roared, spinning around and grabbing Xavier's collar with his left hand. His eyes were blazing. "I'm crippled! I'll only slow you all down out there! Now you get down there, lead them to the roof of the next building, and find a place to hide! THAT'S AN ORDER!"

Behind Daniel, the first mutant managed to crawl through the debris barricade.

Daniel released his grip on Xavier. He picked up an iron chair, preparing to face the wave of death crawling toward him. "Go now, Vier. Or Alex's sacrifice will have been for nothing."

Xavier stared at his friend, standing alone in the middle of the room, surrounded by darkness and monsters. A tear finally escaped, streaking down his temple. He nodded slowly, then climbed out the window without another word.

Daniel was now alone in Classroom 2-B. Behind him, the voices of his friends calling his name from outside the window slowly faded. In front of him, one by one, the mutants began to crawl in from behind the shattered door.

Daniel smiled bitterly. He raised the iron chair high with his left hand. His right shoulder screamed in protest, but he ignored it. He remembered the zombie movie they had watched in the cafeteria just yesterday. Xavier was right. This was actually kind of exciting.

"Come on, you bastards," Daniel whispered to the sea of white eyes staring hungrily at him from the darkness. "Let's see who's having who for breakfast.”