What Is Happening? (1)

Hurried footsteps echoed through the hallway of a building belonging to several teenagers. They were all wearing Koryo High School uniforms. The four teenagers appeared to be in a rush as if being chased by something. Upon closer inspection, one of them was injured—quite severely, in fact. 

Wounds covered his left arm and shoulder. His face was pale from the blood that continued to pour out of his injuries. His once pristine white uniform was now stained red, soaked in fresh blood. Despite being supported by a shoulder-length-haired girl beside him, it was still complicated for him to keep moving. 

Not long after, the injured girl collapsed, unconscious. This startled the girl who had been supporting her, causing her to show a look of deep concern. 

"Karin!" she shouted. Hearing her cry, the two boys near Emi Yamaguchi immediately stopped. 

Emi patted Nakamura Karin's cheeks, who was now lying on the floor, trying to wake her up. She called her name repeatedly, hoping she would hear and regain consciousness. Unfortunately, her efforts were in vain. 

A black-haired boy approached Emi and extended his hand as if urging her to hurry. 

"Let it go, Emi..." the boy said flatly. 

"But... but, Takeshi-kun, we can't just leave Karin here—" 

"Her pulse has stopped. There's nothing we can do for her," interrupted Nakamura Ryuji, placing two fingers on the side of Karin's neck as she lay unconscious, trying to confirm her pulse. 

"Ryuji's right. There's nothing we can do to save her," chimed in Kageyama Takeshi, concurring with the opinion.

Emi tensed up. It was as if she had been pricked with a needle in her heart, and tears welled up in her brown eyes. She looked pleadingly at the two boys before her, hoping they would not give up hope for Karin.

Takeshi Kageyama held out his hand again. "Come on, Emi. We can't remain here any longer."

The black-haired boy tried to convince Emi that there was little they could do. Every second that passed was crucial. Staying here any longer could result in the three of them meeting the same fate as Karin. It wasn't that he was being cruel—Takeshi was trying to assess the situation, which was not in their favour. 

He knew Ryuji's words were valid. Even though Karin was Ryuji's cousin, the blond-haired boy remained realistic about their dire circumstances. 

"Dammit..." Ryuji muttered softly, glaring down the school hallway from which they had just come. Unconsciously, his grip on the wooden stick he was carrying tightened. 

"We don't have much time left. We need to get to the teachers' room as fast as possible," Ryuji reminded them of their initial plan. 

Emi and Takeshi looked down the hallway, following Ryuji's gaze. From around the corner, the sound of numerous footsteps began to echo. Shadows of people who seemed to be chasing them appeared on the school's tiled floor. 

Not wanting to waste more time, Takeshi quickly grabbed Emi's wrist and pulled her to her feet. Realizing there was nothing more she could do, Emi reluctantly complied. 

Running was the best option to save as much time as possible and reach their destination quickly, Takeshi thought. The two of them ran, leaving Ryuji, who remained standing still. 

No words could express what Ryuji felt as he looked at the bloodied body of his cousin. He stood up, gripping the wooden stick tightly. His lips were sealed shut in frustration, mourning Karin, who was no longer alive. 

Not long after Takeshi and Emi left, Karin, lying on the floor, suddenly moved mysteriously. The hand of the supposedly dead girl grabbed one of Ryuji's legs. A hoarse voice emerged from the throat of the girl who should have been dead. 

"I'm sorry... Karin," Ryuji whispered, his gaze filled with sorrow. 

Ryuji raised the wooden stick he had been holding. Gripping it with both hands, he lifted it above his head, ready to deliver a hard strike. He stared at Karin, who had now transformed into something he could never have imagined. The wooden stick striking the girl's head echoed through the hallway.

"I'm sorry..." 

The stick swung down again. 

"Forgive me..." 

Ryuji continued to rain down hard blows on the girl. The word "sorry" spilt from his lips repeatedly with each strike that landed on his cousin's head. With a sorrowful gaze, Ryuji kept beating Karin, who was still trying to reach for him. The girl didn't scream, nor did she seem to feel pain. She just stared blankly, her hands clawing toward Ryuji's legs. 

Finally, with one last hard strike, Karin stopped moving. The white-tiled floor of the school was now stained with a pool of blood flowing from her head. Ryuji's hands trembled. His breath was ragged. His hazel eyes glistened with tears as he looked down at his cousin, now lying in a horrifying state. 

Ryuji looked up. His gaze shifted to the horde of other students chasing him. They were mindlessly running toward him as if they saw a piece of fresh meat. 

"What the hell is happening..." he muttered softly, staring in horror at the students rushing toward him. 

. 

. 

. 

"Hurry up, Daiki!" 

A shoulder-length black-haired girl with curly hair was climbing the stairs to the second floor of the main building of Koryo High School. She looked hurried, occasionally adjusting the red glasses she wore. Behind her, a chubby male student followed, panting heavily. 

"Alright, alright. I'll go a little faster. Just a little," he said, his face drenched in sweat. 

The bespectacled girl in front of him sighed. "You're hopeless." 

'A little faster, he says? Why did I have to end up with this guy?' she grumbled inwardly, lamenting her current situation. 

"Help! Help me!" 

"N-no! Don't... don't... stop!" 

Mina Kobayashi, the bespectacled girl, looked up. Students' screams echoed throughout every corner of the school. 

'Killing and eating each other. What kind of madness is this...' Mina wondered silently. 

For a moment, the girl fell into deep thought. Her mind was overwhelmed and clogged with the tragedies she had just experienced. Horrifying and nonsensical, those two thoughts kept drowning her in an endless sea of illusions. 

The situation was chaotic. Students were running everywhere. Blood smeared the floors of the hallways and classrooms. Some sought refuge in different classrooms, but that only made things worse. They ended up trapped, unable to escape. 

"Mina?" 

A voice snapped her out of her thoughts. Matsumoto Daiki, the boy accompanying her, called her name. 

"Ah—we need to go," the girl replied. 

"Where are we going?" Daiki asked, still unaware of her plan. 

"We're going to the second floor," Mina answered briefly before continuing to climb the stairs. 

"The second floor? And then what?" Still confused, Daiki pressed further. 

"We're going to the building next door. Specifically, we're heading to the Kendo practice hall. If I'm not mistaken, there's no club activity there today." 

Hearing her answer, Daiki chose to stay silent. He still didn't understand Mina's intentions. Daiki preferred eating potato chips over thinking. Snacks made him feel better in situations like this. 

"Listen, in a critical situation like this, we need to be quick to assess our surroundings. The faster you respond to the situation, the better your chances of survival. That's what my dad taught me," Mina said as she walked briskly through the school corridors.

Daiki jogged slightly to catch up with his classmate. "Your dad said that?" 

Closing her eyes, Mina let out an annoyed sigh. 

"By the way, what does your dad do for a living?" Daiki asked. 

Mina stopped and turned to face the chubby boy. "That's not important." 

"In the Kendo practice hall, there might be something we can use to protect ourselves. That's why we need to get there as soon as possible," Mina explained, trying to clarify her point. 

Daiki struggled to keep up with the girl. "But I think we'd be safer if we stayed in the classroom and locked the door." 

"It's too late to lock the door. Didn't you see how many injured people got into our classroom? There's no guarantee they won't turn," Mina replied flatly. 

"What if Nakamura Ryuji also took refuge in our classroom? Would you still leave like this?" Daiki asked, leaning his elbow against the corridor wall out of exhaustion. 

The two of them fell silent, staring at each other. A moment later, Mina closed her eyes and adjusted her glasses, which had slipped down, her face suddenly flushing. 

"W-w-what do you mean?" the girl stammered. 

"If Ryuji were in our classroom, would you stay too?" 

"Look... o-o-of course I'd stay. B-b-but it's not because of him. I'd still leave if the situation weren't safe. H-h-he'd do the same, right?" Mina replied, suddenly acting flustered for some reason. 

Daiki looked at her in confusion, noticing the strange change in the girl's expression. 

"Was there something wrong with my question?" the chubby boy asked innocently. 

Mina Kobayashi turned away, letting out a long sigh. She couldn't believe Daiki had brought up such a ridiculous topic. 

"Ah—Mina, how long have you known him?" 

"Shut up!" Mina sighed again. She quickened her pace, leaving Daiki behind. 

'Because Ryuji isn't here, I'm stuck with this guy,' Mina muttered, cursing her bad luck for being paired with someone so unreliable. 

Seeing Mina getting further away, Daiki hurriedly ran to catch up. "W-wait! Don't leave me alone!"

…