THE LAST BELL

The Blood Moon

“Something is wrong with the blood,” Nurse Evelyn whispered, her voice shaking as she leaned over the table.

“What do you mean?” one of the students asked, his face pale.

“The blood changes… look at it.” Evelyn pointed at the sample under the glass. The veins of red inside were glowing faintly under the light of the moon shining through the window. “It’s not normal. The blood turns darker… and it shines under the moonlight.”

Up above Ravenswood, the sky was covered in a strange red glow. The blood moon had risen. Its light spilled across the town like a curse.

Evelyn gasped. “The moon… It’s waking something inside them.”

The halls of the academy echoed with coughing at first. Students leaned against walls, clutching their chests. But then, one by one, they collapsed on the floor. Their bodies twitched. Their eyes snapped open—now glowing red like burning coals.

Lena peeked from behind the library door. Her breath caught when she saw it.

“God, no…” she whispered, covering her mouth.

Her eyes widened when she saw Sophia’s phone slip from her hands and crash on the ground. Sophia stumbled back as one of the teachers—Mr. Grant—rose from the floor. His skin looked gray, his veins black, his jaw stretched as he let out a growl.

“Stay back!” Sophia cried, holding her hands out.

But Mr. Grant only stepped closer, his glowing eyes fixed on her like a hunter on prey.

Lena wanted to run, but her legs shook. Guilt weighed heavily on her chest. She had known something like this could happen. She had seen signs before… but she had stayed quiet.

“Help! Somebody help!” Sophia screamed.

Rowan came rushing into the hall. He pulled out his phone and pressed call after call, his hands shaking.

“Come on, pick up… damn it, pick up!” Rowan hissed.

But all he heard was static. No voices. No signal.

“They’re not working,” he muttered. “Phones are dead. We’re cut off.”

Sophia cried, her back hitting the wall as Mr. Grant moved closer. His growl echoed.

Then Ethan grabbed Lena’s hand. “We have to move now!”

Lena spun to face him. “But Sophia—”

“We can’t save anyone if we die here!” Ethan shouted.

He pulled her into the shadows, away from the chaos, his grip tight and desperate. Lena stumbled beside him, her tears falling.

“I should have told them,” Lena whispered. “I knew it… I knew something was wrong.”

Ethan stopped, his face close to hers in the dim light. “Don’t blame yourself. This isn’t your fault.”

Her chest ached as she looked into his eyes. She wanted to believe him. She wanted to hold on to his words.

But screams echoed again down the hall, making her shiver.

Far below, in the tunnels under Ravenswood, Axel, Chloe, and Damian moved carefully. The air was damp and heavy. Every step echoed.

“Do you hear that?” Chloe whispered, clutching her flashlight.

Growls drifted through the darkness. Low. Hungry. Close.

“Yeah,” Axel muttered. His jaw tightened. “They’re down here too.”

The red glow of the blood moon seeped through cracks in the stone above them, painting the walls in streaks of crimson. It felt like the earth itself was bleeding.

Damian suddenly stumbled. His hands gripped the stone wall. His body shook violently.

“Damian?” Chloe rushed to him. “What’s happening?”

He screamed, clutching his chest. His veins darkened, turning black under his skin. His eyes flickered with a faint red glow.

“No!” Chloe cried. “Not you too!”

Axel grabbed Damian by the shoulders. “Fight it! Don’t let it take you!”

“I… can’t…” Damian gasped. His whole body twisted in pain. His skin burned under the moonlight pouring through the cracks.

“Mason’s bite,” Axel whispered, horror in his voice. “It’s spreading.”

Back in the upper halls, the chaos only grew. Students who had been human hours ago now tore through the academy, chasing the living.

Sophia ran, tears streaming down her face. She ducked into a room and slammed the door shut, pressing her back against it.

Her chest heaved. Her phone was gone. Her friends were scattered.

Then she heard footsteps.

“Open up!” Rowan’s voice shouted.

Sophia yanked the door open and pulled him in. “Rowan!” she cried, hugging him tight.

He froze for a second, surprised by the sudden closeness, then hugged her back. “I thought I lost you.”

Her heart pounded. She looked up at him. For a moment, she forgot the danger outside.

“Rowan…” she whispered.

But before she could say more, glass shattered. A hand reached through the window, clawing at them.

“Run!” Rowan shouted, grabbing her hand.

Meanwhile, Ethan led Lena through a stairwell. The sound of the infected echoed above them.

“They’re everywhere,” Lena whispered, her voice breaking.

“We’ll find a way out,” Ethan said firmly.

She looked at him, her tears glistening. “What if we don’t? What if this is the end?”

He stopped suddenly and cupped her face in his hands. “Then I’ll die fighting for you.”

Her heart skipped a beat. The warmth of his touch in the middle of all the horror made her chest ache differently.

“Ethan…” she whispered.

But the growls were closing in. The moment was broken.

“Come on!” he said, pulling her again.

In the tunnels, Damian collapsed. His screams echoed through the stone walls. Chloe clung to him, tears spilling from her eyes.

“Stay with me!” she begged. “Please, Damian, stay with me!”

His breathing was ragged. His eyes glowed brighter.

Axel pulled Chloe back. “If he turns, he’ll kill you!”

“No!” Chloe screamed. “I won’t leave him!”

Damian looked up at her with pain in his eyes. “Chloe… if I change… run.”

She shook her head. “Don’t say that! You promised me you wouldn’t leave me!”

His hand trembled as he reached for hers. “I’m sorry…”

Then his body convulsed again. His scream tore through the tunnels like a beast awakening.

Axel lifted his weapon. “Chloe, get back!”

Chloe froze, torn between love and fear.

Damian’s head snapped up. His glowing red eyes locked on them both. His lips curled back into a growl.

“Damian…” Chloe whispered, her voice breaking. “Do you still know me?”

The growl deepened.

Axel aimed. His hands shook. “We don’t have much time. Decide now!”

The tunnels shook with Damian’s roar. His body was no longer his own.

And as the blood moon’s red light spilled brighter across his face, Chloe’s heart cracked.

Would she let Axel kill him? Or risk her life hoping there was still a piece of the man she loved inside the monster?

Damian lunged forward, his claws tearing into the stone. Chloe stood frozen, tears on her cheeks. Axel raised his weapon, his eyes filled with fear.

“Chloe!” Axel shouted. “Tell me—do I shoot him, or do we try to save him?”