DEGREES OF DEATH

13. THE BARRICADE FALLS

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.

"Vier! Snap out of it!" Daniel roared. He didn't run toward Alex. Instead, he shot toward the broken window. "Get out now! We don't have time!"

But as Daniel was about to climb the desk to jump, a cold, wet hand grabbed his ankle.

Daniel glanced down. Before escaping, Vincent had apparently kicked a lecture chair in his direction. The chair had pinned a backpack to the floor. And from inside the half-open backpack, the zombie head Vincent had thrown earlier rolled out.

The disembodied head, somehow, still had some motor reflexes left. Its jaw snapped shut with a hard crack, its broken teeth scraping against the skin of Daniel's ankle.

"Damn it!" Daniel violently shook his leg. The head came loose, but the scrape from its teeth left two thin red lines on his skin. It wasn't a deep cut, just an abrasion. But in this world, even the smallest scratch was a delayed death sentence.

Behind him, the door barricade finally collapsed completely.

CRASH!

The bookshelf that served as the main barrier was shoved inward with brutal force, toppling over and slamming into a row of desks with a deafening thud. The classroom door was now wide open. A wave of a dozen Listener-phase mutants, soaked from the rain, poured into the room like a flood.

They ignored the now-lifeless Alex, who was being torn to shreds by the first three mutants. A new, warm, screaming prey was far more appealing.

"We're trapped, Niel!" Xavier yelled, his back pressed against the wall near the window. Between him and the exit stretched a sea of pale hands and gaping mouths.

Outside the window, on the concrete ledge, Chania, Bianca, and Kimberly screamed in panic. "Daniel! Xavier! Jump now!"

"We can't! The path is blocked!" Xavier yelled back in despair.

Daniel cursed under his breath. He glanced at the window, then at the lobby canopy three meters below. It was a risky jump, but it was possible. The problem was how to get to the window.

"Vier, listen to me!" Daniel took a deep breath, trying to calm his racing heart. "There's a fire extinguisher next to you! Grab it!"

Xavier glanced at the wall. Sure enough, a red fire extinguisher hung on its hook. Without question, he grabbed the heavy cylinder.

"Now what?!"

"Throw it into the middle of the horde!" Daniel commanded.

"Are you crazy?! That won't do anything, Niel! It's just a—"

"JUST THROW IT, DAMMIT!"

Xavier squeezed his eyes shut, lifted the fire extinguisher with both hands, and hurled it with all his might into the center of the advancing crowd.

Thump!

The heavy metal canister hit the tile floor. The mutants only stumbled for a moment before refocusing on their prey.

"Now what, genius?!" Xavier shouted in frustration.

Daniel didn't answer. He grabbed a remaining iron chair, lifted it with his trembling, exhausted left arm, and threw it straight at the fire extinguisher lying on the floor.

CLANG!

The leg of the chair hit the extinguisher's safety valve dead on.

PSSSFFFFFFHHHHHHHH!!!!

White chemical powder erupted from the extinguisher's hose with incredible pressure, creating a thick, blinding cloud. The canister itself shot across the slick floor uncontrollably, spinning like a crazed top while continuing to spray its contents, slamming into the mutants' legs.

The mutants were thrown into confusion. Their shrieks turned into bewildered growls. The white powder clogged their nasal passages and mouths, momentarily disrupting their keen sense of smell and hearing.

"Now, Vier! Run for the window!" Daniel roared.

Daniel and Xavier seized the moment of chaos. They sprinted through the white plume, leaping over overturned desks, and ran for the window.

However, one mutant closest to the window wasn't completely blinded. It saw Daniel's shadow and lunged forward, its thin hand managing to grab hold of the black backpack on Daniel's back.

The pull was incredibly strong. Daniel lost his balance, his body jerked backward. He was about to fall back into the sea of monsters.

"Not gonna happen!" Xavier spun around. With his remaining adrenaline, he swung his dented aluminum baseball bat, slamming it into the arm of the mutant gripping Daniel's backpack.

CRACK!

The thin arm snapped, its grip releasing.

"Thanks, Vier!" Daniel didn't waste a second. He jumped onto the desk and then launched himself out the window without hesitation. Xavier leaped right after him.

They both landed hard on the narrow, wet concrete ledge. Behind them, inside the classroom, the white fog from the extinguisher began to thin. Dozens of white eyes once again stared wildly toward the broken window.

"Quick! Run to the end! They're starting to climb out!" Bianca shouted from the end of the ledge.

The five of them scrambled along the two foot wide concrete edge. Below them, the rain-flooded campus grounds looked like a deadly chasm. The storm winds howled, nearly pushing them off balance.

"Daniel! Your hand!" Chania screamed in horror.

Daniel looked down. The mutant's grip had been stronger than he thought. Its sharp nails had managed to tear through the fabric of his backpack. Worse, the tip of one nail had scraped the back of his left hand, which was gripping the backpack strap.

Three thin, red scratch marks were now etched on the back of his hand. Fresh blood began to seep out.

Daniel stared at the wound with a blank expression. The rule he had made himself now came back to haunt him. Anyone who gets hurt, reports it.

"Niel…?" Xavier called out softly, his voice trembling. He had seen the wound too.

"I'm fine," Daniel answered curtly. He turned his face away, hiding his hand. "Just a scratch. It's not deep. Keep moving."

They reached the end of the ledge, where the wall of the faculty building met the roof of the library.

"How do we get across?!" Kimberly asked in a panic. The gap between the two buildings was about six feet. An impossible jump.

"We don't cross," Daniel said. He pointed down. Directly below them, attached to the building wall, was an iron fire escape ladder that the maintenance staff used to reach the first-floor lobby canopy. "We're going down that way."

They climbed over the ledge's railing one by one and began to descend the slick, rusty iron ladder. The heavy rain made every step treacherous.

Daniel went last. Every time he shifted his weight to his injured left hand, a searing pain from the scratch shot up to his elbow. He tried to ignore it.

Suddenly, from above, from the window of Classroom 2-B, came a piercing shriek. A particularly aggressive mutant had managed to climb out the window and was now crawling along the concrete ledge, following their trail.

The creature didn't hesitate. It leaped from the ledge, launching itself toward the iron ladder.

"Look out above!" Xavier shouted from below.

Daniel looked up. The mutant landed on the rung directly above his head. Its weight made the ladder shake violently. The creature scrambled down quickly, aiming for Daniel's neck.

Daniel had no room to swing his weapon. In a reflex motion, he let go with his good right hand, allowing his body to drop a few feet, then grabbed a lower rung.

The mutant lost its target. It continued to slide down at high speed.

Directly below Daniel, Chania was making her way down. The girl was unaware of the threat hurtling toward her.

"CHANIA, DUCK!" Daniel roared.

Chania looked up. Her eyes widened in horror as she saw the creature falling toward her. She froze.

Suddenly, she was shoved hard from the side. Xavier, who was on the ladder next to her, leaped and slammed his body into her. Both of them were knocked off the ladder, falling ten feet.

Daniel could only watch helplessly as his two friends fell.

Fortunately, they landed on the flat, concrete canopy roof of the main lobby.

"Argh!" Xavier groaned in pain. He had landed awkwardly, spraining his ankle. Chania had a softer landing on top of him.

The mutant that had slid past Chania's position landed hard on the canopy roof. It pushed itself up, ignoring Xavier and Chania, and looked up at Daniel.

"Niel! Behind you!" Bianca screamed from below.

Daniel glanced up. On the iron ladder, two more mutants had managed to crawl down after him. He was trapped from above and below.

Daniel looked down. The canopy roof was only a few feet away. He let go and jumped. He landed in a roll to absorb the impact. His injured right shoulder slammed into the concrete. Pain blinded him for a moment.

"Daniel!" Chania crawled toward him.

Daniel struggled to his feet. In front of him, the first mutant was already standing, ready to pounce. Behind him, on the ladder, two more were descending. Beside him, Xavier couldn't stand due to his injured ankle.

They were surrounded on the narrow canopy roof in the middle of a storm. There was nowhere left to run.

"Shit," Daniel muttered under his breath. He raised his wooden beam with his left hand, preparing for one last fight. This time, it seemed there was no way out.