New Group and New Tension

The air inside the supply closet felt heavier with the arrival of the new group.

Ava pressed herself against the shelves, eyes darting between the five strangers. Their breaths fogged the air as they huddled near the door, shoulders rising and falling from their frantic sprint. Frost clung to their clothes—proof they'd been out in the storm longer than anyone should.

"Are you sure they're gone?" Liam asked, stepping forward. His voice was firm, steady—the same tone he used when danger loomed too close.

One of the boys, the tallest of the group with messy blond hair and a scar across his cheek, nodded sharply. "Yeah. We lost them a few hallways back. They're slow, but they don't give up easy." His eyes flicked toward Ava briefly, something unreadable flashing behind his gaze before he looked away.

The girl in the group—petite with dark curls and wide, frightened eyes—clutched her arms tightly around herself. "We would've been dead if they hadn't helped me," she whispered. "They saved me."

Ava's gaze lingered on the boys. Their clothes were torn, their faces gaunt with exhaustion, but something about them made her pulse skip for reasons she couldn't place. They looked desperate—too desperate. Yet the girl seemed to trust them without question.

"We found her in the east wing," another boy added—shorter, wiry, with eyes that flicked nervously toward the door every few seconds. "She was trapped when part of the ceiling collapsed."

"I would've frozen if they hadn't come," the girl said, her voice trembling. She pulled her thin cardigan tighter around herself.

Liam's gaze swept over the group. "Where were you before this?"

"Library," the blond boy replied, stepping forward slightly. His eyes met Liam's without hesitation, his smile thin but steady. "We holed up there for a while, but those things found a way in. Had to run."

"And you didn't try the gym?" Ava asked.

One of the boys—the broadest of the group with shoulders like a linebacker—snorted. "Yeah, and get stuck in a death trap with a bunch of sitting ducks? No thanks."

Ava stiffened.

Liam's eyes narrowed slightly. "There are people in the gym who need help."

The boy shrugged, unapologetic. "Helping others doesn't mean much if you're dead."

A tense silence followed his words, hanging heavy in the frost-choked air. The girl shifted uncomfortably, glancing toward the boys as if unsure whether she should speak.

Liam stepped forward, cutting through the tension. "You said you know something about the Frostborn."

The blond boy nodded. "Yeah. We've been out there longer than most." He crouched near the faint light filtering through the frost-covered window, running a hand through his damp hair. "Anyone who gets frostbite changes."

Ava's pulse stumbled. "What?"

"Not right away. It starts slow—skin turns pale, veins darken. Eyes go glassy. You start feeling… cold, even when you're near a heater. By the time the frost spreads, you're already gone inside. Your body just finishes the job."

"How do you know this?" Liam asked.

The boy's smile was thin, humorless. "We've seen it happen. A guy from our class—Ethan—got hit with frostbite during the first attack. We tried to help him, but… two days later, he wasn't Ethan anymore."

Silence thickened the air. Ava shifted closer to the shelves, rubbing her arms against the cold as the information sank in. Anyone who gets frostbite turns into one of them.

The girl's voice trembled when she spoke again. "So there's no way to save them?"

"No." The blond boy's eyes darkened. "Once it starts, it's over."

A heavy stillness followed his words, the weight of unspoken fears settling over them all. The girl pressed a hand to her mouth, her eyes shining with unshed tears. Ava looked toward Liam, searching his gaze for some sign of reassurance. But his expression was unreadable.

Finally, Liam exhaled and straightened. "We should get some rest. We'll need to move tomorrow."

No one argued.

They spent the next hour barricading the door with shelves and crates, pushing everything they could find against the frame until even the Frostborn would have trouble breaking through. By the time they finished, exhaustion had settled deep into Ava's bones.

One by one, they found spots against the walls. The girl curled up in the corner, her face buried in her arms. The boys settled nearby, their gazes lingering on Ava a moment too long before they turned away.

Liam crouched beside her, voice low. "Stay close."

"I know," she whispered.

Still, the tension clung to her skin as she laid down, pulling her knees to her chest. The floor was hard and cold beneath her, and sleep felt like an impossible ask.

Somewhere nearby, one of the boys whispered something too low to hear. Another laughed under his breath—a sound too sharp, too knowing.

Ava's fingers curled into fists.

They're just scared. That's all.

But even as she told herself that, unease coiled tighter in her chest.

The air shifted.

And Ava could feel it in the tension threading through her muscles, in the heavy silence broken only by shallow breaths and the faint creak of shifting bodies. Darkness pressed thick against the frost-choked walls, but it wasn't the cold that set her pulse hammering.

It was the way the boys moved.

Slow. Deliberate. Their eyes gleamed with a predatory glint that had nothing to do with fear or desperation. The false masks of camaraderie had slipped, revealing something darker underneath.

Liam must have sensed it too. He stood near the girl, shoulders squared, his gaze locked on the blond boy who led the group. The air between them crackled with unspoken threat.

Then—

A flash of movement.

Two of the boys lunged toward Liam, their footsteps heavy against the frozen floor. Liam dodged the first blow, twisting sideways as a fist grazed his jaw. The second boy grabbed his arm, trying to pin him down, but Liam drove an elbow into his ribs with a sharp crack. The boy stumbled back, gasping for air.

Ava barely had time to react before rough hands grabbed her shoulders. She twisted, struggling against the weight pressing her down. Hot breath hit her cheek as one of the boys pinned her against the cold floor.

"Get off me!" Ava snarled, her pulse thundering in her ears.

The boy's grip tightened. His breath was ragged with adrenaline and something darker. His knee pressed against her leg, holding her in place as she struggled. The other girl woke with a startled gasp, her eyes wide with confusion as rough hands shoved her back down.

"Don't scream," one of the boys hissed.

The girl screamed anyway.

Her cry pierced the air—sharp, raw, and terrified. She thrashed beneath the boy pinning her down, her fists beating against his chest until he grabbed a wooden crate nearby.

"No!" Ava gasped, realizing too late what he was about to do.

The wooden crate came down with brutal force. The nail protruding from its corner drove into the girl's hand with a sickening crunch. Her scream rose into a shriek of agony as blood splattered against the frost-covered floor.

Ava's pulse lurched violently. Time seemed to stutter—her thoughts breaking apart as the girl's scream echoed through her skull.

Move.

She drove her knee upward with all the force she could muster. It connected with the boy's groin, and his breath exploded from his lungs in a strangled gasp. His grip loosened just enough for her to twist free.

Liam moved faster than she could process—shoving one boy aside and slamming the other against the wall hard enough to rattle the shelves. His fist connected with the blond boy's jaw, snapping his head sideways with a sickening crack. The boy crumpled to the floor, blood dripping from his split lip.

Ava scrambled toward the girl, who clutched her wounded hand against her chest, her breaths coming in ragged sobs. Blood seeped between her fingers, staining the pale skin beneath. Ava ripped her handkerchief from her pocket and pressed it against the wound.

"It's okay," she whispered, her own breath trembling. "Hold on. Just hold on."

The girl whimpered, her body trembling violently beneath Ava's hands.

Behind her, footsteps pounded against the floor as one of the boys rushed Liam from behind—fists raised, eyes wild with fury.

"Liam!" Ava shouted.

Liam spun toward the sound of her voice, but not fast enough—

Ava grabbed the nearest chair and swung it with every ounce of strength she had. The wooden frame splintered as it connected with the boy's head. He collapsed instantly, his body hitting the floor with a heavy thud.

Silence crashed down like a sudden wave.

Four boys lay sprawled across the floor—two unconscious, the others groaning as they clutched their injuries. Blood smeared the frost-covered floor in dark, jagged streaks. The girl's muffled sobs echoed faintly in the stillness.

Ava's breaths came fast and shallow, her chest heaving as the adrenaline slowly began to ebb. Her hands trembled against the girl's injured hand, the blood-soaked handkerchief clutched tightly in her fingers.

Liam stepped past the fallen boys without hesitation, his footsteps slow and deliberate.

Ava glanced up—and froze.

Something had shifted in Liam's eyes.

The steady composure she'd come to expect from him had vanished, replaced by a cold, razor-sharp fury that seemed to burn beneath his skin. His gaze swept over the boys like a predator surveying wounded prey—calculating, merciless.

The blond boy groaned as he pushed himself up onto his elbows. Blood dripped from his split lip as he met Liam's gaze, his smile thin and mocking despite the pain etched across his face.

"Come on," he rasped. "We were just—"

Liam kicked him hard in the ribs. The boy collapsed with a choked gasp, curling onto his side as pain wracked his body.

"Liam!" Ava's voice cut through the silence, sharp with warning.

But he didn't stop.

His hand clenched into a fist at his side, his shoulders taut with barely restrained violence. For the first time since she'd met him, Ava saw something dangerous in his gaze—something raw and unrelenting that sent a chill down her spine.

The other boys scrambled backward, their earlier bravado shattered beneath the weight of Liam's fury.

"You think we'll just let this go?" Liam's voice was low, dangerous—each word deliberate and razor-edged. "You think you get to walk away?"

One of the boys—the one with broad shoulders—raised his hands in a shaky gesture of surrender. "W-We're sorry, okay? We didn't mean—"

"Don't." Liam's voice cut through the air like a blade. "Don't lie to me."

The blond boy coughed, spitting blood onto the floor as he pushed himself up again. His smile was gone, replaced by something closer to fear.

Liam stepped forward—

"Stop!" Ava's voice cracked through the air like a whip.

Liam froze.

Ava stepped between him and the boys, her pulse thundering in her ears. The girl beside her whimpered softly, her trembling body leaning against Ava's shoulder as blood soaked through the handkerchief pressed to her hand.

"We don't have time for this," Ava said, her voice shaking with adrenaline and exhaustion. "If we don't help her, she's going to get frostbite."

Liam's gaze didn't move from the boys.

"Liam."

Slowly, he looked at her. His eyes were still dark with fury, but something shifted behind them—a flicker of clarity breaking through the storm.

"We can save her," Ava said, holding his gaze. "We just need to disinfect the wound and keep it clean. If we get to the school clinic, we can—"

Liam exhaled sharply, his shoulders rising and falling with the force of his breath. The tension coiled through his body like a bowstring drawn too tight, but he forced himself to step back.

Silence settled over the room once more, broken only by the ragged breaths of the fallen boys and the faint sobs of the injured girl.

Liam dragged a hand down his face, his fingers trembling slightly as adrenaline slowly began to ebb. His gaze lingered on the boys one last time—dark and unyielding—before he turned toward Ava.

"Let's go," he said quietly.

Ava nodded, tightening her grip on the girl's uninjured arm.

Together, they stepped past the fallen boys without looking back.