Nightmare

The boy ran, but little did he know that he wasn't the survivor at all. His heart froze in his chest, a cold vice gripping him as he felt the pull of death gnawing at his heels.

The classroom, once a mundane sanctuary of learning, had become a grotesque slaughterhouse. Prinon stood amidst the carnage, his breath shallow, heart pounding like a frantic, trapped bird. His classmates—people he knew, once full of life—lay scattered like shattered dolls. Their bodies were twisted in unnatural poses, broken limbs splayed at sickening angles. Blood stained the walls and pooled beneath the desks, while the cold, empty gazes of the dead seemed to follow him. Somehow, against all odds, Prinon was still alive—an anomaly amidst the horror.

But as the scent of death grew thicker, panic bloomed within him. He bolted from the room, his footsteps hollow and echoing in the desolate, corpse-filled school. The building, which had once held comfort in its familiarity, now twisted into a nightmare. The windows no longer allowed light to pass through. Instead, they reflected an endless, black void that seemed to devour the outside world.

The ground beneath his feet quivered, and from the very floorboards rose hands—skeletal, decayed, and dripping with rot. Their bony fingers clawed and scratched at the air, desperate to drag Prinon down into whatever hellish abyss they had come from. He ran, lungs burning, legs trembling, but the dread was unshakable. The screams of the undead echoed from every corner, shrill and tormenting—a cacophony of madness and despair that clawed at his mind.

Then he saw him.

A faceless man, his form cloaked in shadows, his eyes nothing but hollow, black pits. His mouth—if it could be called that—was a gaping maw that seemed to stretch too far, a distorted hole that exhaled the stench of decay and death. The man lunged at him, skeletal hands reaching, bony fingers grazing Prinon's throat, but sheer adrenaline pushed him onward.

The world around him twisted further into insanity. Walls bled. Children with twisted, disfigured limbs crawled out of the cracks, their milky eyes glowing with primal hunger. They scuttled after him like insects, their mouths agape with silent screams. Prinon stumbled, tripping over the remains of something unidentifiable, but he forced himself up, a terror-fueled instinct keeping him moving.

Without warning, massive hands erupted from the earth, each grotesque finger adorned with mouths that gnashed at the air, eager for flesh. They tore through the ground behind him, dragging themselves closer, hungering for Prinon's life. He could feel them—feel the cold breath of their biting teeth. Before he could react, one of the monstrous hands appeared before him, its knobby knuckles cracking, fingers snapping as it descended.

The mouth opened wide, rows of sharp teeth glistening in the dim light, ready to consume him whole. Prinon's heart stopped. There was no escape, no more running. He was done.

Then, a blur—something crashed through the monstrous hand, shattering the bone and scattering its twisted remains. Prinon gasped, freed from the grip of the creature's maw, and stumbled back. His vision cleared, and standing before him was Shayed—Raiyan's younger brother—his body moving with precise, lethal intent. He hurled himself forward, straight toward the figure of an old, withered businessman standing in the distance, a grim target in this surreal landscape.

Shayed launched himself into the air, his body coiling like a spring, ready to land a devastating kick. But Prinon, reacting on instinct, leapt forward and grabbed Shayed's foot mid-flight.

"The hell are you doing?!" Prinon screamed, his voice ragged with fear.

Shayed's body twisted, and before Prinon could react, he lashed out with his other leg, aiming for Prinon's chin. Prinon barely dodged the attack, his head snapping back in time to avoid the strike. Shayed flipped back, landing gracefully on his feet, his eyes burning with an intensity that bordered on madness.

"You don't know a damn thing," Shayed growled, his voice low and dangerous.

"That's why I'm asking for context, you idiot!" Prinon shot back, his voice filled with frustration.

Shayed ignored him, pulling a water bottle from his pocket, uncapping it, and drinking deeply. Prinon watched him warily, trying to anticipate his next move. Shayed drained the bottle and exhaled sharply, his eyes flicking toward the old man, who was on the brink of death, his body barely holding on.

In a flash, Prinon moved, appearing before Shayed with a single, swift step. "You're going to answer me now," he demanded, his voice hard. He swung a fist toward Shayed, but the boy dodged easily, slipping past the attack and grabbing a small stone from the ground.

They exchanged blows rapidly, neither gaining an advantage, until, suddenly, Shayed stopped. A scream ripped through the air behind them. Prinon spun around, his eyes widening in horror.

A jagged hole had appeared in the old man's chest, blood spilling out like a dark river. The realization hit him slowly—Shayed had used the water bottle. During their scuffle, he had slipped the stone into the bottle and twisted it tight. The pressure, combined with the few droplets of water left, created enough force that when Shayed opened the cap, the rock shot out like a bullet, piercing the man's chest.

Shayed's laughter filled the air, a dark, maniacal sound that sent chills down Prinon's spine. Before Prinon could react, the ground rumbled, and another massive mouth appeared, this time behind Shayed. Its teeth gnashed hungrily, ready to consume him in one bite.

Prinon leapt forward, tackling Shayed to the side, saving him just in time. They both hit the ground hard, scrambling to their feet. Without a word, they ran, the monstrous hands still clawing at their heels, the nightmarish world warping further with each passing moment.

Ahead, a bright light shimmered, offering a brief glimpse of hope in the madness. Without thinking, Prinon threw himself toward it, Shayed right beside him. As they reached the light, they were joined by familiar figures—Akib, Shayaan, and Shahidul, all running toward the same escape.

Together, they plunged into the light, leaving the nightmare behind, only to fall into a world far stranger than the one they had fled.