I Am Speed

Right as Joshua, the class rep, was about to ask him a question, a man appeared from the massive hole in the wall. He was an older man in his late fifties; everyone knew him as Mr. Scott, the gym teacher. 

His usual happy expression had been replaced by one of disbelief as he studied the massive hole. His expression grew even worse once he laid eyes on the inside of the class.

"They said 11A had been hit, but I didn't think…" His voice trailed off as he stepped inside. He took in a sweeping glance, his eyes settling on one of the crushed corpses.

"Lord have mercy," he muttered under his breath.

"Scott, Gray said the military…" Ms. Dikinya tried saying.

"I know, the other classes already started moving towards the busses. Something took out the power, we couldn't announce it over the intercoms," he interrupted, his eyes not leaving the crushed corpse.

More teachers began to pour in; all of them paying attention to the hole first, before turning to the rest of the class.

"Good lord."

"What happened here."

There were several other utterances too soft for Gray to hear. 

"All of you proceed to your transport. Your class has been assigned bus 8C; it's parked out front," a man announced as he stepped through the hole. 

~Principal Hughes.~

He paused to study the carnage for only a moment, before approaching Gray. His expression was as intense as ever.

"Let me take her off your hands. Get yourself to the bus," he said, already moving to take Ms. Dikinya from him.

Gray shifted so that Mr. Hughes could bear her weight. For a moment, it looked like Mr. Hughes was going to drop her, having underestimated how heavy she'd be. He recovered quickly, positioning her on his back with a soft "ummff."

The two of them exchanged glances for a moment.

"Stop standing around. When the jets stop fighting, those… things will be on us," he said, before leaving.

That seemed to snap everyone out of their daze. The students began to head towards their designated bus —well those of them that could move at least.

Gray hadn't noticed It before due to all the confusion, but a few students trapped under rubble were still alive. They were too weak to speak but were still breathing. He felt a little sorry for them; they would've been better off dead.

The remaining teachers were trying to pry them out when he left the class.

###

~This'll be a pain.~ Gray thought to himself as he took in the scene in front of him.

The school grounds were pure chaos. All the emergency drills they had practiced had been thrown out the window and students were running whichever direction they so pleased. While most were heading towards the school gates, others were running in the opposite direction, screaming and calling out names.

He assumed they were worried for their siblings and close friends in other classes. Lucky for him, he didn't have anyone like that here. He had only moved to the school a few months ago, not quite enough time to have developed "I'd run against a stampede for you" love for any of his schoolmates.

He was careful not to push against the crowd —as the others behind him were doing. He didn't know the extent of his strength yet, and pushing too hard could cause people to topple over. Though, he had a feeling they'd manage that soon enough without him.

He tried finding a path in between the mass of students, though his vision was quite restricted; what with how short he was.

~The courtyard,~ he realized, staring at the big "Do Not step on the grass" sign planted onto the grass to his right.

He squeezed his way through a few students and jumped down onto the grass. Some students seemed to have realized his plan, and soon dozens of them were jumping down as well.

~Just perfect~ he thought to himself, before breaking into a sprint.

His first step launched him way further than he had expected, sending him tumbling across the grass. Despite the obvious hopeless atmosphere, some students took the chance to laugh at him.

~What was that?~ Gray wondered as he got back to his feet. It felt as if his body was lighter, as if his legs were too powerful for him.

He tried again, this time starting with a jog.

He didn't fall over, but his strides were still way more powerful than they'd ought to be. In fact, with only a few strides, he caught up to the group of students who had laughed at him.

~The agility,~ he realized.

~But isn't this too much of a difference, for only 3 points?~ Sure he wasn't going to win any Olympic medals, but the difference from before was night and day.

As he picked up some speed, he left more and more students in the dust. His strides had begun to look more like leaps, and a small wind blew against his face.

"Who is that?" a boy asked. He was part of a group of seniors running on the walkway on the left. He recognized one of them as the captain of the boy's football team.

"Don't know. Track team maybe?" the captain replied, eyeing Gray a little too seriously. 

He left them behind only a moment later, like he was racing against children.

~Just how fast did I become?~ he thought, before pushing as hard as he could.

It was like he'd stepped on an explosive, launching three strides into the air. His legs cramped as an intense pain shot up his thigh, making him lose his balance upon landing.

He collapsed under the pain; and skid over the grass on his back; just a few steps away from the school gates.

He heard someone snickering from behind. "Show off," a guy whispered as he passed by him.

~I guess even if I'm given the stats, I still have to get used to them.~

He walked the rest of the way in shame; too embarrassed to even look around. It was a good distraction from the unfolding events, though he just wished it hadn't come at his expense.