Chapter 12: Dawn of Eclipse: Part 5

Dawn of Eclipse: Part 5

"Y-You're...!?"

The long-haired foreigner tried to ignore him, but Jevo caught him by one of his sleeves.

"Where are the others!? Where's Jazmin!? Hey!"

"T-Those things...! They... Guh!"

The words didn't come out properly for a brief moment.

"Hey!"

"T-T-They escaped! T-They went... through the other side of the school!"

There was little time to analyze what he said. He accepted the fact immediately.

"Then we'll find my colleagues and leave as soon as possible!"

For Brawell, it would have been preferable to leave St. Ramael High School much sooner than that, however, he clearly didn't know the building areas nor the location of the exit. And even if he were lucky enough to find it, hell outside would be waiting for him with open arms. Traveling on foot wasn't an option.

In reality, no concrete ideas crossed his mind; he was just acting. Therefore, he decided to accompany him without much thought.

They quickly scanned the classrooms, bathrooms, cafeteria, and dining hall, none of which showed any trace of the duo they were looking for.

"CHAASE! EARLEENE!... Hah... ha... ha... W-Where are you? Guys...!"

The two of them were catching their breath near the left side of the school, in a hallway surrounded by tall concrete columns and low bushes.

From that spot, an argument could be heard not far away. Searching for its source, Jevo managed to make out Earlene and Chase near the parking lot.

"There!"

With all the strength of his heaving lungs, he shouted their names, although when he saw that he was barely getting their attention, he waved his hand to guide them toward the main entrance, hoping to meet them there.

"Looks like they got it. Go, go!"

Brawell nodded and followed him across the field. That path was the fastest way to cross paths with them.

"Ah... ah... Damn it, Jevo. What now...?" Chase exclaimed, approaching Earlene.

"Th-this isn't right at all, Chase," Jevo replied, grabbing his own face in frustration. "We saw something in the infirmary..."

"What are you talking about? And by the way, what happened to your traveling mates? Foreign boy?"

Brawell looked down at the ground in silence.

"Hey! Say something... Ahh... ah...!"

A riot began to break out in the field and surrounding facilities.

The dozens of people waiting now fled in terror, pushing each other, letting out high-pitched screams, and trampling anyone unlucky enough to stumble.

Despite everything, it wasn't just that that disturbed the student, but also, and above all, the multiple "things" dressed in hospital gowns, moving abnormally and stalking the men, women, children, and the elderly they caught.

In fact, the bloodthirsty and brutal way they massacred and destroyed the bodies was the most shocking thing for the four boys.

"F-Fuck...!"

"T-T-They've escaped! Run!" Brawell said.

"Where...? Look at the exit! It's...!"

Chase realized. The "things" were heading for the crowd, which had thronged the main exit of the Institute in an attempt to save their own lives.

"Tsk..."

"Chase, the parking lot! But...!" Earlene announced, holding up the boy's T-shirt.

"(Right!) C-Come on!"

“B-But wait, Chase! What about... all those people? Is Jazmin with them?”

“Earlene, there's no time!”

“Sorry, b-but I can't…“

“W-Wait, what are you gonna do!?”

The girl took a few anxious steps forward before shouting awkwardly.

“UH...! YOU LISTEN... UMM...!”

Out of the crowd, only one person, a girl, heard her.

Fortunately or unfortunately, Chase intervened, covering his companion's mouth and grabbing her by the waist from behind. He leaned close to her ear and murmured.

“Idiot! What the heck are you doing?... D-Don't you see...? If you draw attention to yourself, we won't be able to escape. Let's fucking go out of here!”

Seeing that she stopped struggling, he let her go.

“But...! But... Chase...”

“Earlene! If there's anything to do right now, it's to take advantage of it, right? Now shut up and let's go!" Chase vigorously took her hand and pulled her along.

"B-But that's...!"

The four of them hurried back to the parking lot. They dodged the rocks in the path and the considerable cracks until they made their way through the remains of the fence, the same one that had been run over by that biology teacher.

Running alongside the fence that separated the San Ramael Institute from the outside, they could clearly see the overwhelmed people inside crying for help and doing their best to escape amidst the hopelessness and madness.

Even warning them of the alternate route was useless.

Too late.

They wanted to look away from such a scene, they really wanted to, as much as they wanted to flee.

They did both.

Finally, they reached their blessed, damaged yellow student bus.

Jevo slid his hand under the front of it and opened the doors.

"Hah... ah... Let's go! Get in! Now!"

No one held back a second.

Jevo took back the driver's seat and inserted the keys to turn it on. The others went straight to look through the windows, except for Brawell, who hid crouched in the back of the bus, covering his ears and closing his eyes.

Chase was about to take out his cell phone until...

“WAIT!”

A girl with orange curls hurriedly ran down the rocky road they had traveled earlier.

"(Who's...?)" Sticking his head out the window, Chase wondered who she was.

"T-Take a seat, Chase, we're leaving!" Jevo clarified angrily as he started the bus's engine and pulled the lever to close the doors.

“AH... AH... WAIT!”

"Chase! The gate!"

In the distance, Earlene saw that the metal mesh had succumbed to the weight and pressure. No fleeing residents passed through it, only the "things" that had been stalking them shortly before, treading through the sea of ​​blood and guts they had caused in the assault.

The girl, Rousset Onslow, was running with all her might until she reached the closed bus door.

The "things" were approaching behind her in the distance. Although they were far away, she knew it wouldn't be long before...

"P-PLEASE! OPEN UP!" She began to desperately bang on the doors over and over again. "PLEASE! HELP! Gsk... gsk... I'M BEGGING YOU!"

Her tears welled up and slid down her cheeks incessantly.

Chase stared at her in astonishment, while Jevo simply ignored her. Stepping on the accelerator, the bus started moving.

Slowly, they drove away, leaving the school and the girl chasing them behind.

"PLEASE! Ah... ah... please...”

The boy sat down and checked his phone. He knew stopping would be a risk, right?

Earlene began to sob, watching as the "things" quickly caught up with the girl.

Before he could hear her complain, he intervened.

Chase threw his phone at her and stood up. She caught it with sweaty hands.

The phone read 4:59 p.m.

"E-Earlene, try calling the others! And Jevo, stop this damn bus now!"

The blonde girl, surprised, immediately did as he asked, but Jevo had a different opinion.

"T-That won't happen, Chase."

"W-What the hell are you saying, Jevo!? Just do it!"

He didn't even know himself what he was doing.

It seemed like Jevo would ignore him again, so Chase grabbed him tightly by the shirt and yelled in front of him.

"Stop the fucking bus, NOW!"

Jevo, with a bad attitude, stopped replying. He only agreed to slow down the bus while Chase opened the doors.

The young woman still chasing them was giving up, but seeing them slowing down, she quickened her pace with what little energy she had left. Chase stood in the doorway and stretched out his hand to try to catch her.

The "things" also quickened their pace. They were just less than five meters away from the girl.

“AAAAHHH!”

“F-FUCK! FUUUUCK!!!”

To be continued…