The Awakening

Looking at the six dead bodies, Daniel felt as if he were dreaming, in some messed-up nightmare. He tried to bite his lip lightly, but it didn't help. He pressed harder and harder until he tasted the metallic tang of blood in his mouth. If it had been him three hours ago, he would have stopped after a while, not wanting to hurt himself knowingly, but he didn't stop. He clenched his teeth so hard that he felt the blood start to drip onto his tongue, and only then did he stop.

"This isn't a dream…" – he realized.

He knew it couldn't be a dream. Not after what he'd seen, not after the pain he'd endured, which still lingered. But he had to try. He wanted to wake up. He'd rather listen to Jacek's screams for months.

Ah… – the dried-up word escaped his lips.

Looking at the whole classroom now, Daniel's thoughts wandered to his mother. He wondered if Alicja was still alive and whether she was safe. But it didn't last long – he didn't feel any particular concern or love for her, but something, like an invisible thread, still connected him to that feeling.

Then, his stepfather passed through his mind. Jacek appeared in his head for a moment, like a fleeting thought, but just as quickly as he appeared, he disappeared. He only wished him a worse fate than his own.

At the same time, observing the few people scattered around, some lying on the floor in pools of blood, others placed on benches or lying across broken chairs, there was one with a large wooden cabinet pinning her leg, which had already collapsed. Daniel approached the ones lying on the floor, afraid to touch the rest, not knowing if a metal rod from a chair or desk had pierced someone.

Counting the 9 people lying on the floor, he decided to slowly lift them and lean them against the wall. He started with the short blonde girl, making sure nothing was injured besides her punctured eardrums. His fingers touched her body, feeling the cold, but noticing no major injuries.

"Time to get to work…" – he said quietly, as if it were a routine task. With a heavy heart, he grabbed her by the shoulders and, though each movement caused him pain, gently and slowly moved her to the wall.

A moment later, he placed her on the ground, trying to rest her body in a safe position, not wanting to cause her more suffering.

Looking at her, Daniel knew there was no time to rest. There were still other people to lift. He knew he couldn't leave them – they were all unconscious, but still alive. So, instead of worrying about what had happened to them, he decided to focus on what he could do in that moment to save them.

He moved to the next person – a guy lying nearby. His breath was shallow, and his body limp. Daniel took him by the shoulders, struggling to lift him into a sitting position, but he couldn't let him fall back to the ground. He had to find a way to lift everyone and place them in a safe spot.

With each passing step, he felt the weight of their bodies, but it didn't discourage him. He placed the guy in a safe position against the wall, then his gaze moved to the next girl lying on the floor. He lifted her, moving her to the side where she could rest in a better position.

A little while later, Daniel moved on to the next ones. Every movement caused him pain, but he didn't feel tired. His mind was operating on autopilot, fully focused.

Each body he lifted was heavy, but he couldn't afford a moment of weakness. They needed him now.

He began counting – first one, then two, three. He lifted them one by one and placed them on the ground, trying not to leave anyone in a dangerous position.

The next girl he had to lift was tall and very thin, her body seemed full of bruises, but she had no major injuries except for her burst eardrums. With difficulty, he moved her to the wall where he rested her body. The others also needed help, but he didn't have time. Every moment spent with one of them drained his strength for the next, but he had no choice.

And finally, when he reached the last one – a boy who seemed to be the youngest of the whole class – Daniel approached him cautiously, making sure not to cause him unnecessary pain. With difficulty, he lifted him off the ground and, propping him against the wall, thought about what to do next.

He had done everything he could to save them. Nine people, who had just moments ago been lying in pools of blood, were now leaning against the wall, still unaware of what had happened. Their breaths were quiet but regular. Each one was breathing, each one was alive, though not as they were before.

Looking at the rest, he didn't know what else to do. There were still seven more people alive. He was afraid he might do something wrong, but for now, he had to ignore them. He didn't know what to do next, but he couldn't waste more energy here. He was exhausted, terribly so. He didn't know how he had been able to lift so many people with all the pain he felt.

Leaning against the wall, he slowly sat down next to the tall, thin girl, but somehow, it didn't bother him at all as he tried to figure out what to do next.

"There were doors over there…" – he thought, returning his thoughts to the school hallway, subconsciously trying to stand up. He felt how tired his body was, the pain that had been persistently reminding him suddenly started to fade as the world before him started to darken again. He was already one foot in the land of dreams when he suddenly felt the presence of death, even stronger than when he had looked into the eyes of the dead janitor.

He opened his eyes almost immediately, having no strength left. He saw how the six people who had been dead until now slowly began to rise.

At the same time, he had the sensation of burning. He felt warmth so intense, as if hot flames were inside him. Under his terrified eyes, he watched as all the others he had carefully moved to the wall began to wake up.

The warmth was so overwhelming that Daniel couldn't bear it. His eyelids, in a desperate attempt to fight it, began to close, until, even feeling the proximity of death, he couldn't hold on anymore, and his consciousness shut down again.

As if Daniel were now seeing his own body in a mirror, he would have seen something resembling sweat pouring from his body, a transparent liquid flowing with a slight tint of darkness.

Everyone who had either been moved to the wall, or those who had been previously dead, or even the person who had her leg pinned by the cabinet, started to spin around the classroom. Their bodies slowly grew larger, until even the short blonde girl, who measured 146 centimeters, became a tall woman measuring 182 centimeters.

The tallest "formerly dead" boy, who had been 190 centimeters tall, grew to a terrifying height of 233 centimeters.

It didn't stop there…

Every body began to get thicker, reaching the thickness of a gorilla, and their skin turned dark greenish.

If one were to look at the entire school grounds, everyone who had gone to bed the previous night thinking of the same reality began to undergo the same transformation.

Everyone, except one…