Moribund

The banging at the door stopped as they began walking down the dark stairs. As they moved, they stuck to the wall, using it for support, since their only source of light was the ventilators. A bleak light flooded through the ventilators along with strange sounds, probably the sounds of those disgusting creatures.

"Why are they making so much noise?" Elisue said in frustration, trying to cover one of his ears.

Hilary scoffed, "Maybe we smell tasty to them," she glanced back at him.

Elisue had a serious look on his face as he said, "Do you think Lorek and all...are out th-"

"Shhh", she interrupted him, "in this situation what we need to do is stay positive," she placed her foot on the flat landing, "we have reached the 2nd floor, we are in greater danger than them" she turned around to look at his face. She won't say it was very visible, but his dazzling eyes glisten in the bleak light and are a real show-stopper, not to mention a heart-stopper.

"Agreed." Elisue nodded as he passed her and stopped right in front of the fire exit. Hilary is still there, standing behind him, watching him closely. He opened the door slightly, just enough to get a glimpse, and to his surprise, the corridor was clear. Neither a cougar nor any other wild predator.

"So, what's the plan?" He looked at her and asked slowly, trying his best not to make much noise.

Hilary stared at him, saying nothing.

"Hilary!" The voice was louder this time, but still not enough. "HILARY!" He finally said it out loud.

She flinched, "Uh..." Her voice dwindled, "I don't know... wait for them?"

For the first time in a while, Elisue felt that she was actually not sure about the decision. 'But why suddenly? She was pretty fine a few seconds ago' he thought.

"Since our way is clear," he turns towards the door, "would you like to search for something which can actually help us in defence in the classroom nearby?" As he said he opens the door slowly.

She nodded, still lost in her thoughts. They stumbled their way into the corridor. This is the first time they have noticed that this school is shaped like a C. They could see some parts of the floor below, so they ducked. They were afraid that the floor which is flooded with cougars and wild dogs, would see them. They crawled their way to the nearest classroom visible to them. They had a tough time crawling down that corridor as all the window shards were lying around and other small building materials which could have made their wounds worse. Yet there's nothing else they could do.

As they approached the classroom, the door was already open. They glanced at each other, their eyes gesturing the same way. "Is it them?"

Their eyes glowed with excitement at the thought that their group had come in search of them. As they stood in front of the class with huge smiles on their faces, they were still on their fours. It didn't even take a few seconds to transform that big, shiny smile into tremendous aghast. Elisue grabbed her hand, shaking it. He was too shocked to respond. Getting a whiff of them, the wild dog slowly started approaching them. It had a huge body, almost covering several windows of that classroom; deadly eyes, disgusting white liquid coating its black brown patched skin

"No." Hilary shook her head as she said in a mild voice, "NOOOOO!" She shouted, closing her eyes in protest and shutting her ears.

The scream made Elisue a tiny bit alarmed, so he bent down to grab the corner of the door and closed it. He knew the door wouldn't stand a chance if the thing inside started banging on it, but still, it might give them enough time to run. He pushed the ground with his hands, in the hope of being able to stand, but he had lost too much blood and the wounds started swelling. While Elisue's legs trembled, he grabbed the door for support, but the wild dog banged so hard on it that it knocked him over. He hit the wall; he shot his eyes at Hilary, who was still near the door, near that freaking wild thing.

He tried to get up and save her, but he couldn't. His legs and shoulders were at their limits.

"Just one more time, just once," he muttered as he punched his legs.

Hilary plopped on the floor, tears streaming down her face. By the door, dirt was left on the head of the wild dog as it shook off. She glanced at Elisue, who was nearly in the position of losing consciousness.

"I don't wanna die like this," she whispered, sniffing.

The wild dog cried out loud and attacked Hilary. A sharp object passed down the jaw of the wild predator, almost cutting its throat. The predator was taken aback, yowling. Blood splashed in the corridor. Hilary looked at her hand wrapped around a large piece of glass. Dripping with blood, she couldn't determine if it was her own blood or that of the animal. Her hands were shaking as she crawled to Elisue.

"Maybe a few more minutes until that thing comes back and eats us," she said slowly.

But still, it was something very special for her. She did something she never thought she could pull off. Was it survival instincts? Or perhaps it was just her luck that she got that shred when she plopped down? She didn't know and had no interest in knowing it either. The thought that she did her part, the thought that she tried to save someone was enough for her to feel proud of the life she lived. This was accompanied by a rush of adrenaline. "I did it, Elisue. It wasn't that terrible, right?"

Elisue was caught off guard by her actions. It wasn't his first time seeing her being brave, but being reckless and almost getting herself killed. As he breathed out, he clutched his hands to his heart. They weren't out of danger, he knew it. He knows it all too well. He still smiled, letting out a sigh of relief. Suddenly, he is calm, "Yeah, you did it. Maybe we can pull this cadet test off, can we?"

"Probably." Hilary buried her face in his shoulder, "Too tired."

Elisue lifts his hands and pats her head, "not yet, just a little more. We need to run before that creature comes back"

She nodded as she lifted herself up and helped Elisue. In support of the wall, they walked towards the fire exit.

A deep, chilling grunt came from behind. Both of them flinched as they turned around swiftly to see who it was. Not to their surprise, the predator was back, and it was not alone.

They yelled out together, "FUCK IT!!!!"