Lucas’s fingers tightened around the fire extinguisher.
His heartbeat thundered inside his chest.
Every instinct screamed at him to run.
Parker was awakened.
His companions were awakened.
He wasn’t.
If he stepped out now…
He could die.
His eyes shifted toward Katherine.
She struggled desperately.
“No!”
“Let me go!”
Parker’s grip only tightened.
Then…
Something changed.
The smile on his face slowly disappeared.
Silence fell over the corridor.
“…Parker?”
Katherine’s voice trembled.
His head tilted unnaturally to one side.
Crack…
A disturbing sound echoed from his neck.
His pupils slowly expanded…
Until the whites of his eyes vanished completely.
Pitch-black.
As though two endless abysses had replaced his eyes.
“…”
Katherine froze.
“P-Parker…?”
Dark veins spread across his neck like living roots, crawling beneath his skin.
His breathing became slow.
Heavy.
Every exhale carried a faint black mist.
CRRRKKK…
Blue lightning suddenly crackled around his right arm.
But this time…
It wasn’t ordinary electricity.
Thin strands of black energy wrapped themselves around the lightning, twisting together like serpents.
The air grew cold.
Painfully cold.
The hallway lights flickered.
Billy’s eyes widened in horror.
“N-No…”
“…It’s happening again…”
Lucas felt every hair on his body stand upright His instincts screamed.
Run.
Whatever stood before them…
Was no longer completely human.
Parker slowly lifted his head.
When he spoke…
Two voices came out at once.
One belonged to Parker.
Was something ancient.
“You think…
“…you’re too good for everyone…”
“If I…”
“…cannot have you…
“…no one…
“…ever will.”
Katherine’s breathing became uneven.
Tears formed in her eyes.
“Parker…”
“…please…”
The creature only smiled.
It wasn’t a human smile.
It stretched far too wide.
Far too slowly.
CRAAAAACK!!
Blue-black lightning exploded around his arm.
The classroom walls trembled.
Windows shattered.
Billy forced his battered body off the floor.
“P-Please…”
“…Run…”
Lucas closed his eyes.
“…Damn it.”
Before fear could stop him—
He ripped the extinguisher from the wall.
CLANG!
The metallic sound echoed throughout the corridor.
Every head turned.
Parker slowly smiled.
“…Someone’s there.”
Lucas didn’t wait.
With every ounce of strength he possessed—
He hurled the extinguisher.
It spun through the air like a crimson cannonball.
Straight toward Parker.
Parker’s smile never faded.
“…Pathetic.”
Blue lightning exploded from his palm.
BOOOOOOOOM!!
The extinguisher detonated in midair.
A violent shockwave blasted through the hallway.
Windows shattered.
Concrete cracked.
The corridor vanished beneath an ocean of thick white smoke.
Everyone coughed.
“What the hell?!”
“I can’t see!”
Lucas was already moving.
He charged directly into the smoke.
His lungs burned.
His eyes watered.
But he kept running.
He found her.
Katherine
Without hesitation—
He grabbed her wrist.
“Run!
“W-Who—?!”
“No time!”
He pulled her through the smoke.
Behind them—
Parker’s furious roar shook the entire hallway.
“IDIOTS!!”
“What are you standing there for?!”
“CHASE THEM!”
“And bring the girl back!”
“I’ll deal with that bastard myself!”
The upperclassmen immediately rushed after them
Footsteps thundered behind the fleeing pair.
Lucas and Katherine sprinted through the abandoned corridors.
One turn.
Another.
Then another.
Their footsteps echoed endlessly through the empty building.
Neither dared look back.
They burst through the rear exit.
Fresh air struck their faces.
Lucas finally stopped beneath a row of towering maple trees.
Both bent forward, struggling to breathe.
Silence.
Only the wind answered them.
Katherine slowly looked at him.
Her sapphire-blue eyes widened.
“…Lucas.”
He rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly.
“…You’re okay.”
For several seconds…
Neither of them spoke.
Finally…
Katherine lowered her eyes.
“…Thank you.”
“If you hadn’t…”
She couldn’t finish the sentence.
Lucas shook his head.
“It was nothing.”
“No.”
Her voice trembled.
“It wasn’t.”
She looked toward the school building.
Then..
Her expression changed.
“…Billy.”
Lucas’s smile disappeared.
Billy.
He was still inside.
A heavy silence settled between them.