What is happening? (2)

"Stay away! Get away from me!" 

"No! Not me, please, no!" 

"You monsters! Go away! Don't come near me!" 

"Stop biting my arm!" 

Screams echoed from every corner of Koryo High School. Many students scrambled out of their classrooms to save themselves, while others chose to take shelter inside their rooms. Some students were overwhelmed with confusion about what was happening, while others lay sprawled on the floor, drenched in blood, in the school corridors. No one knew exactly what had caused this. Few understood how it had started. Everything had unfolded so quickly, without warning. 

Meanwhile, Takeshi and Emi arrived in front of a door labelled "Teacher Room." Both of them were bent over, gasping for breath after running through the hallways and climbing all the stairs in the school. 

Koryo High School was the largest and most prestigious high school in Tokyo. Two towering buildings resembling apartment complexes stood side by side, connected by a bridge on the second floor. The school housed a vast library with hundreds of books piled neatly on its shelves and an auditorium that could seat numerous students.

But getting to the faculty room on the third floor may take a while. It was a place where the teachers could sit, relax, or finish their remaining work.

Wiping the sweat from his chin, Takeshi gripped the door handle of the faculty room and pushed it open wide. But only darkness greeted them. For some reason, the lights in the room were off. 

Takeshi and Emi exchanged glances, confused by how eerily quiet the room was. Neither of them could detect any sounds. 

It was now dusk. A gentle breeze blew through the curtains of the room's windows. The fading sunlight seeped into the dark room, and in the dim light, Takeshi noticed the silhouette of someone inside. 

"Sensei?" he called out hesitantly. 

Summoning his courage, Takeshi stepped inside. But just as he took two steps forward... a stack of papers on a desk suddenly fell, scattering everywhere. Both of them were startled by the echoing sounds in the darkness. 

A single sheet of paper floated down and landed on Takeshi's shoe. He looked down, staring at the paper. There were splatters of blood, almost dried, on the sheet. Takeshi's hair stood on end as he saw it. 

"S-Sensei...?" Takeshi called out again to the silhouette. It was still unclear who was standing there, facing away from them. For some reason, the atmosphere grew heavy. Takeshi's breathing became irregular. 

Caught between doubt and curiosity, Takeshi slowly gathered the courage to step inside. But before he could take another step, he heard a hoarse voice from the figure's throat. The sound sent chills down his spine. 

The figure turned to face Takeshi. The wind grew stronger, blowing the curtains aside and allowing more evening light to pour through the window. It illuminated the figure, revealing a middle-aged female teacher with a pale face, her mouth and teeth smeared with thick blood. Takeshi's heart felt like it had dropped as he stared at the figure in utter horror.

"Emi... run," Takeshi said softly. 

"Did you say something, Takeshi-kun? I couldn't hear you—" 

"Run away from here, Emi!" The boy turned around and shouted at his girlfriend, urging her to leave immediately. 

The female teacher in front of him reacted. She lunged toward Takeshi as if he were a dessert she had just spotted. She attacked her student, pushing him until he fell out of the room. Emi, behind Takeshi, was also knocked over and thrown to the ground by the impact. 

Pain shot through Emi's left arm as it hit the hard school floor. Unsure of what had just happened, she suddenly found herself collapsing. Wincing in pain, Emi glanced toward her boyfriend. 

"Takeshi-kun!" Emi screamed, her eyes wide with shock. She watched as the female teacher tried to bite Takeshi, forcing him to the ground. She was attacking him brutally. 

Takeshi struggled to fight back. However, he found it difficult to fend off the middle-aged woman. Her jaws snapped open and shut as if she wanted to tear him apart. Like a madwoman, she tried to bite his neck. Drool mixed with blood dripped onto Kageyama Takeshi's handsome, pale face. 

Tension coursed through Emi's body as she could only watch the scene unfold. Suddenly, her body refused to move. She froze, staring wide-eyed at what was happening in front of her. A powerful kick landed on the deranged teacher's body, sending her flying away from Takeshi. 

"Don't you have other hobbies besides playing with aunties?" Ryuji asked, having just caught up to the two of them. 

Takeshi coughed as if he were out of breath. His back felt crushed after colliding with the hard-tiled floor of the school. 

"I almost died, you idiot," Takeshi grumbled in annoyance as he accepted Ryuji's hand to help him stand up. 

"G-Guys..." Emi stared in horror as the female teacher stood again as if nothing had happened. 

The woman glared at Emi, who was still crawling on the floor. Like before, her gaze was that of a starving predator searching for prey. She quickly approached the helpless Emi and began choking her. 

"Emi!" 

Reacting to the situation, Takeshi ran and pushed the woman toward the edge of the building's railing, trying to keep the danger away from his girlfriend. Fortunately, Takeshi was just in time. If he had been a second later, Emi could have been bitten. 

Takeshi managed to pull her away from Emi. However, the woman's strength seemed to overpower Takeshi. She thrashed and pushed him back, sending him crashing to the floor again. Just as she was about to attack them again, Ryuji swung a wooden stick at her head, causing it to break. The crazed woman, who was none other than their teacher, was flung backwards and fell from the height. 

"Are you okay?" Takeshi helped Emi to her feet. 

The two of them joined Ryuji at the edge of the railing. Together, they looked down, where the body of the woman who had attacked them now lay lifeless. 

Down below, students were running around, attacking each other. The situation was complete chaos. It was too complicated to explain and far beyond reason. 

Ryuji looked at the broken wooden stick in his hand. It was too short to be used as a weapon now. He tossed it aside carelessly. 

"Are there any other teachers inside?" Ryuji asked, glancing toward the wide-open door of the faculty room. 

"I don't know," Takeshi replied, still catching his breath. He wasn't sure about the situation inside. 

"We need to make sure," Ryuji said, immediately stepping into the faculty room. 

"Wait, Ryuji!" Emi shouted, trying to stop him.

After a teacher had come out of the room and attacked the three of them, forcing their way inside might be a dangerous move, Emi thought. However, Ryuji ignored her call and went in anyway. 

Emi turned to Takeshi, staring straight into her boyfriend's eyes. Her gaze seemed to ask, 'Should we go in too?'

As if understanding what Emi meant, Takeshi nodded slowly. In his mind, there was nothing else to consider except following wherever Ryuji went, at least for now. 

Emi gripped Takeshi's arm tightly. The two followed Ryuji, the blond-haired boy, into the faculty room. 

Inside, Ryuji walked slowly and cautiously. The atmosphere was dim and eerily quiet, suffocating him and making him swallow hard. His eyes scanned every corner of the room, searching for signs of life. 

"It seems like there's no one else here but us," Takeshi said, sifting through the room. 

As far as they could see, there were only scattered desks and items. Books and papers lay strewn across the cold, tiled floor. Only the three of them were in the room, the curtains fluttering in the night wind.

Again, they heard screams outside through their ears. Ryuji immediately spun around and closed the door firmly. Holding his breath tensely, he leaned against the door, his eyes shut. "For the time being, we'll hide here."

Takeshi and Emi breathed a sigh of relief. At least they were secure in this room. What was happening was utterly incomprehensible. Everyone had gone mad, attacking brutally. But thankfully, the three of them had survived it all. 

"What's going on in this school?" Emi wondered aloud. 

Takeshi remained silent, trying to use the phone in the faculty room. Ryuji glanced over. He looked at the girl momentarily before finally walking over to a chair and sitting down. 

"I don't know... My head hurts just trying to think about it," Ryuji replied, leaning back and covering his face with his hands. 

"No wonder you're dizzy. It wouldn't be Ryuji if you used your brain, right?" Takeshi teased. 

Ryuji sighed after being mocked by his friend. "You damn idiot..." 

"You two are always like this," Emi said, responding to their banter. 

Emi, Takeshi, and Ryuji had known each other since childhood. They had grown up together through joys and sorrows. However, Emi and Takeshi had grown closer and eventually started dating. Yet, that didn't break their friendship with Ryuji. Even now, the three of them were incredibly lucky to have survived together. 

Ryuji recalled what Takeshi had said earlier about using his brain. Something sparked in his mind. 

"Hey, do you guys realize something?" 

Emi turned to Ryuji after he asked. "What is it?" 

Ryuji looked at his worn palms. "Don't you think... they're the walking dead?" 

Emi squinted her eyes in confusion. "What do you mean? You've been watching too many movies." 

"Didn't you see? Everyone in this school has gone crazy. They're trying to bite like starving dogs. They're like..." 

"Are you saying they're like zombies?" Emi interjected as Ryuji trailed off. The two of them stared at each other in silence. Ryuji's gaze seemed to be trying to convince Emi of his theory. 

"Oh, come on— You've been watching too many movies, Ryuji," Emi retorted, holding her head as it throbbed from everything happening. 

"Didn't you see how that teacher attacked us? She looked sick— no, worse than that. She was like a starving walking corpse!" Ryuji argued. 

Emi let out a long sigh after hearing her friend's rant. "Call it whatever you want. But one thing's clear: things are a complete mess right now." 

"Whether they're zombies or not, the most important thing is that we can't let them bite us," Takeshi concluded, following the conversation between Ryuji and Emi. 

Ryuji leaned his neck against the back of the teacher's chair. "I... I hit Karin's head when she started to change. A few moments later, she stopped moving." 

Takeshi and Emi exchanged glances for a moment before looking back at Ryuji. 

"If we can attack their heads... maybe we can deal with them."

…