THE LAST BELL

The Betrayal

Damian fell to the ground. His whole body shook as if something was tearing him apart from the inside. His fingers clawed into the dirt, his jaw clenched, and his breath came out like growls.

“Damian!” Axel shouted, trying to step forward.

Chloe grabbed his arm hard. “Don’t! Don’t go near him, Axel! Look at his eyes—something’s wrong!”

Axel froze, his heart racing. Damian’s body stopped twitching for a moment, and then it went still. His chest did not rise. His skin turned pale. For one terrifying second, it looked like Damian was gone forever.

Chloe whispered, her voice trembling, “He’s… dead.”

But then Damian’s eyes snapped open.

They glowed red.

Chloe gasped and stepped back, dragging Axel with her. “No… oh no… not again. Not like Mason.”

Damian pushed himself up slowly. His movements were unnatural, too sharp, too strong. But when he spoke, his voice was steady, cruel, and mocking.

“Well,” Damian said with a twisted grin, “it seems I’m not as dead as you hoped.”

Axel felt a shiver run through his spine. Mason, their old friend, had turned into a mindless monster. But Damian… Damian was different. His eyes glowed, his veins were black, but he still spoke like himself.

“What are you?” Axel demanded.

“I feel the hunger,” Damian said, licking his lips as if the word itself tasted good. “I feel it crawling inside me, telling me to tear flesh apart. But here’s the difference between Mason and me.” He leaned forward, his red eyes shining brighter. “I can control it. I can use it. I am stronger than ever.”

Chloe shook her head quickly. “No, no, don’t listen to him, Axel. That’s not Damian anymore. He’s something else!”

Damian laughed, the sound echoing in the empty hallway of the ruined school. “Oh, Chloe… you always doubted me. But I know something you don’t. I know the way out. Follow me, and you might live.”

Axel narrowed his eyes. “And if we don’t?”

Damian smirked. “Then you die here, torn apart by the ones already coming for you.”

As if on cue, the sound of groans and dragging footsteps echoed from behind them. The infected were closing in, their numbers too many to fight.

Chloe gripped Axel’s arm, whispering sharply, “We can’t trust him. You know this. He’s lying. He’ll betray us.”

Axel’s chest tightened. He knew Chloe was right. But he also knew they had no time. The infected were close.

He met Chloe’s eyes. “If he betrays us, I’ll kill him myself.”

Damian tilted his head back and laughed. “Oh, Axel. Always so dramatic. Come on, then. Follow me if you want to live.”

Damian led them through the dark, broken hallways of the old school. The walls were cracked, bloodstained, and covered with claw marks. Every corner smelled of decay.

Chloe stayed close to Axel, whispering often.

“Don’t let him walk behind us. Don’t give him a chance.”

“I know,” Axel whispered back. His eyes never left Damian.

At one point, Damian slowed and glanced back at them. His grin widened. “You two look cozy. You’ve gotten closer since Mason… died.”

Chloe glared at him. “Shut up.”

“Oh, don’t be shy,” Damian mocked. “I saw the way you held his hand. Sweet little Chloe is finally letting her guard down? Or is it just desperation?”

Axel felt his face heat up, but he stayed silent. Now was not the time.

Chloe snapped, “You don’t know anything about us!”

Damian chuckled. “Oh, but I do. Fear and love… They taste the same to me now. Sweet. Delicious.”

Axel clenched his fists but forced himself to keep walking. They needed him for now.

After what felt like hours, Damian stopped before a heavy wooden door. It looked untouched compared to the ruined halls. The metal lock was rusted, but Damian pushed it open with unnatural strength.

“Welcome,” he said, his voice filled with sick amusement.

Axel and Chloe stepped inside. The air hit them like a wave. It was thick with rot, so foul it made Chloe gag.

The chamber was wide, hidden beneath the school. The walls were lined with chains. Skeletons in old school uniforms hung against the stone, their bones broken, their skulls tilted as if watching.

Axel froze. “What… What is this place?”

Chloe covered her nose, tears filling her eyes. “This is wrong. We shouldn’t be here.”

Damian stepped in front of them, spreading his arms. “This… is history. The first children who were locked away when the infection began. Students, just like us. They weren’t killed. They were chained. Left to rot.”

Axel’s throat tightened as he looked closer. Some of the skeletons still had scraps of flesh. He could almost feel the pain they must have suffered.

Chloe shivered, clinging to Axel’s arm. “We need to get out of here. Now.”

Damian turned to them, his smile cruel. “But don’t you see? They’re not gone. They’re waiting.”

As he said the words, the skeletons began to move.

At first, just the sound of chains rattling. Then the bones shifted. A skull tilted. Fingers scraped the stone floor. One by one, the skeletons began to rise.

Their hollow eye sockets filled with faint red light.

Chloe screamed, stepping back. “No! No, no, no! Axel, we have to run!”

Axel’s heart pounded. He pulled her behind him, his eyes darting between Damian and the rising dead.

Damian laughed again, his voice echoing in the chamber. “Did you really think I was saving you? No. I brought you to the truth. And the truth is… survival is only for the strongest.”

The skeletons broke free of their chains, moving toward Axel and Chloe with jerky, bone-cracking steps.

Chloe’s grip tightened around Axel’s hand, her voice trembling. “He betrayed us… I told you he would.”

Axel swallowed hard, his mind racing. They were surrounded. Damian stood at the only exit, his glowing red eyes filled with hunger and madness.

The skeletons moved closer, their bony fingers stretching out. The chamber shook with the sound of their chains dragging.

Chloe’s voice cracked as she whispered, “Axel… what do we do now? Do we fight them… or do we fight him?”

The room grew darker. The skeletons were almost upon them. Damian’s grin widened, his teeth sharp in the dim light.

Axel’s pulse thundered in his ears. He had only seconds to choose.

Would he fight Damian—the betrayer—or the army of the dead?

And… was there even a way out of this trap?

Was this truly the end for Axel and Chloe, or would Damian’s betrayal lead them to something even darker than death?