Somewhere, my brain told me to run.  No, this is all a big joke.  Obviously.  Don’t be such a sucker…  “The area has been quarantined, and running will only lead to your demise sooner.  We will allow you all three weeks to dispose of yourselves.  If you do not, then the government will have no choice but to dispose of you in our own way.”
The first scream came from the Freshman section.  High pitched; a girl.  More screams followed.  I lowered the camera, pressing the little button to make it stop recording.  I sat there, watching people run in a frenzy for the exit.  A group of kids dressed in all black were walking solemnly towards the exit of the gym, and I could only guess where they were going.  Not even a minute later, and the first gun shots went off.  My mind snapped back into overdrive.  I slung my backpack across my back, and ran for the girls locker room across the gym.  Blake stopped me halfway, grabbing my shoulder.  Panicked students ran around us, some bumping us.  Abhay shoved her way to us.  I looked breathlessly between the two.
“Desti-”
“We thought she was with you.” Abhay confirmed my fears.  Blake looked like he was about to throw up.
“We’ll find her,” I said, and clutched Blake’s shoulder supportively.  Abhay was shoved from behind, and I caught her.  “For now, follow me.”
I struggled to put my other arm through the second strap of my backpack as I started to run.  Blake and Abhay followed close behind as possible, and we pushed our way to the locker room door.  It was heavy, but unlocked.  I shoved hard, and we all collapsed into the small entrance.
“What are we doing in here?” Abhay asked breathlessly, putting a hand on the concrete and graffitied wall.  The lights were all out, and it was blacker than pitch.  I grabbed my phone, and switched on the LED flashlight. 
“It leads to the other side of the Commons, right?  The sport stuff is in the equipment room.” I said behind my shoulder.
“Sporting equipment?  What for?” Abhay was helping the shell-shocked Blake walk now, and they followed as close as they could.  We passed the rows of lockers and graffiti without second glances.
“Protection.” I quipped, and swung the light up to something shiny.  A pale face stared back at me and I jumped.  That’s your own face, genious.
A hacking sound from behind me told me Blake was presently throwing up.  I leaned against a locker, and waited.  I didn’t want to see it.  A small sound told me he was crying as well.  Abhay’s shaky ‘shhh’s and reassuring words made me feel sick.  We needed to move.
“Abhay, I’m going on ahead.  I promise I’ll come back with something to defend ourselves with, okay?” I sighed, and Abhay took a breath.
“He’s going into shock, I think.  I don’t know what to do…” She sounded on the verge of a mental breakdown herself.  I handed her the flashlight, and made the rest of the way in the dark.  Destiny told me the way before, so that we could skip class by hiding in the equipment closet.  Remembering her squeezed my heart, and a fresh wave of panic almost knocked me onto my knees.  I held onto another locker for support.  My hand hit something wet, and I pulled away immediately.  My breathing hitched as I made out the silhouette of a body behind the iron bench.  There’s someone else in here.  The realization made me begin to run, keeping my now-wet-with-god-knows-what hand on the lockers so that I could go in a straight line.  The secondary entrance into the lockers was shining with slight sunlight.  It was right next to the buildings biggest window, and I eagerly pushed it open. 
I looked both ways down the halls, trying to control my wild heartbeats.  Red and blue lights flashed in from the window, and I glanced out to see the situation.  I wished I hadn’t.  The bodies of the goth students from before were being piled into the black vans, and more kids followed.  I recognized Dorian’s bright blue shirt from inside one of the body-piled cars.  My vision started to darken again, and I forced myself away from the sight.  I had to get to the equipment room… that was my first step.  My stomach lurched in time with my steps, and I forced it to be as calm as I could.  I kept seeing Dorians blue shirt in my mind.  Had there been blood?  I looked at my hand, and it was covered from wrist to fingertip in a red substance.  Oh god, I can’t- I leaned over, throwing up violently.  Somewhere along the way I’d started crying, but I couldn’t remember.  I took a few shaky steps back, and my back hit the other wall.  There was a red handprint on the opposite wall, where I’d used it to steady myself.  I slid to the floor.  The smooth, 90’s, polished floor.  This is it.  I’m going to die here.  In this goddam school… Footsteps from somewhere echoed.  I hope they kill me.
Wait, what?  No!  You don’t want to die!  What the hell are you doing, Lou, pull yourself together!  Get up, get up, get up, get up, get up- I pushed myself up, breathing in through my nose and out through my mouth to calm myself down.  Destiny taught me to do that during tests, to keep from getting anxiety.  Thats it.  Destiny.  Focus on her!  The footsteps stopped for a second, like the person was listening, and then picked up speed.  I ran down the hallway at a speed I didn’t know I had in me.  I slid as I turned the corner, and then continued to run.  I’d caught a glimpse of something down the opposite end, maybe human, maybe bunny hallucination.  I refused to focus on it.
The door to the equipment room wasn’t heavy like most of the other doors in the school.  I pushed into it, but it was locked.  I took a step back, breathing hard, and my mind running faster than I had.  I stopped, focusing on listening for the footsteps.  Nothing.  I shoved against the door with all my might, and even tried kicking it in.  Wow, Lou, you should’ve worked out more.  Alrighty, plan B.  I took my hoodie off, wrapping it around my fist.  I took a deep breath, and threw a punch at the small window.  It broke with a crash, and an instantaneous pain ripped through my arm.  F***!  You were holding your thumb!  I made a strange ‘nnnng’ sound against my will, and cradled my hand against my chest.  The pain was reminiscent of when I jumped off the top of my dresser in my room, breaking my arm.  Right, okay, your thumb is broken.  Regardless, I unwrapped my hoodie, shaking out the glass as best I could before putting it back on.
I used now-broken-thumb hand, carefully avoiding moving the injured part, to open the handle from the inside.  I swung the door open, and stepped inside.  Lots of football, baseball, volleyball, and basketball gear was either nicely sanctioned, or thrown around.
“Don’t move.” A high-pitched voice came from the shadows of the baseball section, and I froze.  Olivia, the track team manager, was holding a baseball bat outwards, pointed at me.  She was still in her shorts and black track jacket, and the whistle was around her neck.  I could see she was shaking slightly, and I held my arms up to my head.  Okay, Lou, smooth talk time, c’mon.  Put on the moves.  I snickered, and she gave me a weird look.
“So, uh, I’m not going to hurt you.” It felt weird to talk out loud, especially like this.  I’d never felt like I was threatening to anyone before.
“What do you want?” She hissed.  I put my arms down, and held my injured hand again.
“Protection.” I answered, and her eyes flicked to the rack of baseball bats.  She looked back at me, and slowly inched towards them.  She grabbed a black wooden one, it was old and had a few cracks.  On the side, in bright red letters and a flame outline, it read: “Phoenix Bat”.  She laid it on the ground, kicking it towards me.
“Get out.” She hissed again, and I grabbed the bat before turning on my heel to leave.  I wondered, with the now-busted window, if Olivia would be safe.  Those footsteps from before sounded close, I doubt she’ll make it too long.  There are some crazy hics in this place.
I had the bat in my left hand, which was both somewhat ineffective and an odd feeling.  I glanced both ways down the hallway, and then hurried to the right.  I kept my back to the wall, inching along the way.  The footsteps were still silent, and I could only hear my own breathing and quiet steps.  The first intersection of hallways was steadily approaching, and I thought of moving to the other wall.  No, if someone were there, they could rush you.  You can’t give anyone the element of surprise. 
I continued, and stopped when I reached the corner, listening.  That was the last thing I remembered.

Wake up, open your eyes, c’mon.  I let my eyes flutter open.  Wait, how did I get on the ground?  My bat was against the opposite wall, and I was laying parallel to it.  I sat up slowly, confused.  My head pounded, and I reached to feel it.  My hand came back with a bit of blood, and I swallowed hard.  I must have gotten hit by something… or thrown into the wall.  Both were equally disturbing.  For some reason, they hadn’t taken my bat.  I crawled toward it, and used it to support myself standing up.  If whoever did this wasn’t specifically a killer, or after me, then where were they-
The equipment room! Olivia!  I chewed my lip, considering what to do.  The hallways were almost pitch black at this point, and the night was falling faster and faster.  My morals were a good five times stronger than my survival instincts, and I rushed back down the hallway from whence I’d just come.  The door was open, the first bad sign.
“Olivia?” I tried, pushing my back up against the wall again.  I held the bat out, using primarily my left hand still.  Nothing.  I took a breath, and turned into the room, swinging my bat wildly.  Olivia was on the ground, curled into the fetal position, a trail of blood going from her mouth to the dusty floor.  I staggered back, and blinked.  Is she dead?  I went forward again, and switched my bat from left to right hand.  I used my left to feel for her pulse, pushing around her neck as I did.  Either I was terrible at finding pulses, or she was dead.  I rocked back on my heels.  If I hadn’t already thrown up all of my lunch, I would have thrown up again.  I stood up, and shambled my way towards the door.  Before I left, something caught my eye.  A flash of orange.  I turned back, narrowing my eyes.  The school mascot mask, which was a flimsy plastic tiger thing with poorly cut eyeholes.  A dash of blood was over one of the eyes, and on the bridge of the head.  It looked fresh.  A deep shiver went down my spine, and I ran from the room.

“Where have you been?” Blake practically screamed.  He and Abhay had set up some sort of camp, and my phone was serving as the fire.  Luckily, Abhay always had her phone charger, which worked for mine too.  It was plugged into the wall, the light shining straight up like a beacon.
“What?” I refocused on him, using all of my will just to not break down right there in front of him.  I kept seeing Olivias bloodied body, and my red hand print on the wall.  Take a breath.  Think.  Breathe.
“Are you okay, Lou?” I jumped when Abhay touched my shoulder.  She recoiled like I’d struck her, which reminded me again of Olivia.
“We have to stay low,” I mumbled.  “There’s some kind of psychopath around.”
“What, like, a killer?” Blake joked.  I looked over at him, and he swallowed.  “You can’t be serious.”
“I’ve seen two… bodies.” I struggled with the word, and consequently sat down on the bench across from Blake.
“Dead people?  You’ve seen legitimate dead bodies?” Abhay sat next to me, her usually warmer face looking paler than ever.
“I think we’ll be somewhat safe in here, as long as we stay together.” I tried, leaning forward to put my elbows on my knees. 
“Why are you covered in blood?” Abhay asked, looking over at me.  I blinked.  Blood?  Does she mean my hand?  I looked at my hand, which was not only covered in blood, but the thumb was bent strangely.
“Oh, I accidentally touched some in th-” I stopped myself.  If I told them about the body in the locker room, they would both want to leave.  Leaving now meant death, I was sure of it.  “The uh, hallways.  There was a big spot.”
“No, Lou, on your hoodie.” Abhay touched my chest, and I turned to look at it too.  There was a slight spot, and then a few more splatters around it.  I furrowed my eyebrows.
“I honestly don’t know.  I broke my thumb, and when I was walking back something attacked me and threw me into the wall, but I don’t see how either of those would cause splatters…”
“Someone attacked you?”
“You broke your thumb?”
I sighed.
“Look, the main point here is that we need to just stay put.”  I put my head in my hands, turning away from Abhay.
“What about food?” Abhay asked after a minute or two of silence.  I bit my lip.  S***, what about food?  They’re trying to starve us out, right?  Or have us kill each other… That’s the easy part. 
“I’ll go.” Blake said suddenly.  Abhay looked up at him, surprised.  He was reaching into his backpack, unzipping it vigorously.  A small pocket knife, which he had somehow slipped past the school police, was suddenly in his hand.  He took a deep breath, and stood up.
“I’ll go with you.” I said, standing too.
“What about me?” Abhay’s voice took on a separate tone, this one more scared, more feminine than I’d ever heard before.
“You should stay here, just to keep base.” I said, slinging my backpack over my shoulder.  She looked between me and Blake, and stood as well.
“F*** that, are you insane?” She grabbed her own backpack, digging in it for something.  She came out with some white bandage-tape stuff, whatever she used for her martial arts classes, and began wrapping her hands up.  I watched as Blake’s face became more and more awestruck, and I figured I must be mirroring it, because a second later, Abhay was staring at me.  “What?  Do you have a problem?”
“Uh, are you sure?” My voice cracked, and I readjusted my backpack.  I had newfound respect for Abhay.  She slung her duffel bag over her shoulder, and gave me a cold look.
“Yes, Lou, I’m sure.” She grabbed her charger from the wall, pulling my phone with it.  The light went out, and we were again engulfed in the familiar darkness of the locker rooms.  She shoved both of them into her bag, and started walking.  Blake and I followed her shape in the dark, waiting to reach the door.

“Wow, the people in the school are either really stupid, or all dead.”
“Jesus, Abhay, don’t say things like that.”  Blake shivered next to me, and I glanced at him.  His blade was at the ready, but his hand was clenched so tightly around it that his knuckles were white.  Abhay poked her head over the school fridge door.  The lock was already busted, and assorted foods stolen, but there was still some left.  As morbid as it was, Abhay had a point.
“Where is everyone?” I muttered.  Dead, probably, just like you’ll end up.  No, no, they might’ve been hiding like we had been.  Abhay shoved more food into her bag, which she had emptied and made Blake and I pick up to put into our bags.  Among other articles of clothing, her panties were by far the most awkward thing to pick up.  I scanned the cafeteria again, watching the main double doors for any intruders.  We were holed up behind the counters, in the kitchen area.  If anyone were outside the doors, we’d be screwed.
“Don’t worry about it too much.  Everyone is terrified.” Abhay went back to stuffing non-perishables and basically everything she could in the over-full duffel.  Blake ran a hand through his dark hair, his eyes scanning in the same way mine were.  I tightened my grip on my bat, and took a breath.
“Do you think Destiny is alive?” His words hit me harder than whoever had attacked me had.  The breath whooshed out of me, and I felt myself practically deflate.
“Her 5th period is Psychology.” Abhay said from behind the fridge door.
“That’s in the other wing, right?” Blake asked, and I saw his jaw flex.  He was planning something.  The other wing, which was the left side of the school, was like a very long and wide hallway that landed in practically another school.  Although almost as creepy as most of the hallways around the rest of the right wing, the building it connected to was a steel box.  The school board had ruled that without constant AC, even in the summers, it would be closed.  The school teams had all had to raise money for it.  Losers like me and my friends hadn’t helped at all, but what did it matter now?  If Destiny had been there while the other students filtered into our main auditorium, she might’ve just skipped the assembly altogether and gone… It clicked instantly.  The left wing library was her favorite place to skip class in, and all the teachers tended to let her get away with it.
“We need to get to the library.” I practically yelled, flipping around to face with Abhay and Blake.  They looked at me like I was crazy.
“That would be too dangerous,” Abhay said, zipping up her bag and slinging it over her shoulder.  “We need to get back to the locker rooms and hide this.”
I shook my head.  “Don’t you guys see?” They don’t see.  They never have.  “D-Destiny is there!” I held my arms out, and Abhay actually took a step back.  Her dark eyes were wary, and she fastened her hold on the bag strap.
“We can’t, Lou.” Blake went to put an arm on my shoulder, and I ripped away from him.
I looked at the two of them.  Who needs them, Lou?  You could get rid of them… NO!  But, you need to find Destiny.  I took a step back, and then bolted for the double doors.

I snapped one last picture of the body.  This one wasn’t as mangled as the last.  I think his name was Robert, or something with an R.  Richard?  Roman?  Something.  His lips were always a bright red color, and his eyes never stopped moving.  They certainly weren’t moving anymore.  It was like a tornado of knives had gone through the left wing hallway.  I’d started seeing them in the Roar Hallway, where a giant mural of our school mascot was displayed in full color.  A patch of blood was stuck against its cheek, and a trail of blood led to a body.  Various kids from school, some I’d seen before, others I didn’t recognize.  I wondered how anyone could do this much damage, or even want to.  I knew our school was bad, but it wasn’t full of delinquents.  Most of the bodies were Freshmen, based on their ID’s, or lack of one.  A few Sophomores, and one Junior.  However, there were no seniors at all.  There’s about to be one… I shook my head.  Those whispers were really starting to mess with me.  I continued down the hallway, snapping pictures of the deceased.  If I ever did die, I had taken a picture of my ID, myself, and recorded a small video of what had happened, and explaining what I was planning to do.  A documentary, of sorts.  I could see the library from where I stood, it’s glass-paneled doors covered in purple paper.  I was lucky that the sun had come back up.  I’d passed out somewhere before, and when I’d woke up I was on Mrs. Jase’s in-classroom couch.  I didn’t recall going there, or even falling asleep, but the sun was up, and I knew I needed to start moving.  Without the pictures, no doubt I could’ve been to the library and back to where I’d started by now.  My stomach growled, and I sighed.  Maybe I should’ve taken some food with me.  My stomach was literally completely empty.
“Hey.”
I flipped around, only to be met with a punch.  I staggered back, almost dropping my camera.  I kept one hand on it, while I caught myself with my other.  I looked back, more confused than anything.  Russet hair.  Right.  Henry.  He was standing, his jaw completely clenched up, and his fists in balls.  Why had he attacked me?  I took a shaky step back, reaching behind me for my bat, which was tied onto my backpack with Abhay’s hand tape.  I’d also used it to wrap up my injured thumb.
“Henry?” My voice betrayed my disbelief, and he narrowed his eyes.
“You always were such a creep,” He growled.  He reminded me of an overgrown rottweiler.  “But this?  This is unbelievable.”
“I’m sorry?”
“I saw you last night.  I saw everything.” He advanced toward me, and I slipped my camera back into my bag, and fastened my left hand around the bat.  Ah, so he was the one that put me onto the couch.  Why is he trying to kill me, then?
“So, you were the one who put me on the couch then?” I raised my right hand to calm him down, and took another step back.  It honestly felt like trying to stop a wild animal.
“The couch?  The hell are you talking about?” He snarled, and took a step toward me again.
“I woke up- Jesus christ-” Henry flipped out a very large pocket knife.  It trumped Blake’s in every way, shape, and form.  “Look, I seriously don’t know what you’re talking about, man.  Calm down.”
Henry was obviously done talking.  He took a few running steps toward me.  A shadow was behind him, illuminated in the light of the window.
“Henry, behind you!” I tried, while also dodging a swipe of his knife.  He ignored me, and the blade caught my side.  A hot and quick pain shot through me, and I resisted a scream.  It wasn’t more than a scratch, I was lucky.  Henry must have been the one to have murdered all these people; he must have snapped.  The shadow lifted something, and cracked it over the top of Henry’s head.  He dropped, moaning.  I looked up quickly, holding my right hand on my side, and lifting my bat with the other.  A greasy-haired blonde kid with a lead pipe, and a crooked mouth was standing behind him.  He looked surprised to see me.
“We-ell, now,” He had a shockingly redneck accent, and he swung the pipe up to tap his shoulder.  “I been lookin’ everywhere for you.”
Before I had a chance to say anything, he pointed the pipe at me.  I swallowed hard, struggling not to just flat out run.  I knew I was fast… But this kids calves were the size of my head.  He smirked at me, or maybe that was just the way his face looked.  Either way, it was creeping me out.  “You’re that sick sumbitch from last night, ain’t you?”
“What?”
“The one with the bat, huh?” He leaned to see it, nodding when he saw the logo.  “Yeap, it’s you alright.”
“Look, man, I don’t know what you-”
He took a step toward me, and I froze from fear.  I knew I was prone to death at most turns, but now that I was facing it…
“You’re comin’ with me.” Oh, that’s not so bad. 
“Where?”
He pointed with the pipe, and I made the easy mistake of looking behind me.

“Wake up, Lou.” Something hard slammed into my ribs, and I gasped for breath.  Well, this is clearly going well so far.  I knew I was in the library by the smell of dust and books.  Hardly anyone used it, and the librarian would rather sit and do nothing rather than clean.  Although I saw now, on the other side of the room, her dead body.  Ms. Telli, with a bloody hole on the side of her head.  Her mouth was agape, and one eye remained slightly open.  I sat up, grabbing my ribs as best I could with my semi-broken hand.  Charile, a girl I knew from my art class, was looking down at me.  Her hair was dirty-looking, and barely blonde.  She had more acne than the redneck from before had; which, actually, was pretty impressive. 
“The hell-”
“Seriously, I’m already considering having John knock you out again.  Your face is annoying as f***.” She crossed her arms, and gave me a condescending look.  Her hoodie was ratted, and some blood was splattered on it.  Could she have been the one who killed all those kids?  No… Not enough blood. 
“I’m, uh, sorry I guess?” John must have been the redneck boy.  I glanced around.  The library was mostly deserted besides the dead teacher, and now that I looked, some blood stains on the floor.  For a panicked moment, I wondered if it was mine.  I looked down at my hoodie, searching for signs of blood loss.
That is a lot of blood.  Jesus, how had I gotten so messy?  I couldn’t imagine how my face looked at this point.  Was it covered in blood, too?  My shirt looked like I’d dumped a pitcher or two of Koolaid on it.  Don’t be fooled, Lou, out of reality, that is.
“What?”
“What?” Charile echoed back at me, giving me a weird look.  She’d been talking for the past few seconds, but I wasn’t really listening.
“What did you just say a second ago?”
“I asked you about last night,” She snapped.  “Maybe if you’d pay attention, you wouldn’t be so lost.”
“I don’t remember last night,” I said offhandedly.  My stomach was so empty that my head was beginning to roll around topics, and I could barely focus.  My ribs felt cracked, but I knew they couldn’t be more than bruised.  “I fell asleep on some couch, or something.”
“John said you were bashing someones head in.” She said it blunt, like less of a condemnation and more of a jealous inspiration.  I looked up at her, furrowing my eyebrows and shaking my head.
“The hell?  No, of course not, I haven’t seen anyone since early yesterday.”  My head was really starting to hurt, and I regretted more and more my decision to run from Abhay and Blake.  I wondered if they were okay.
“Get up, and turn around.” Charile took a step toward me, and I glared at her.
“Look, I don’t appreciate how you’re talking to me, or treating me,” I got to my feet, putting one hand on the wall to steady myself.  My head swirled from getting up too fast, and my vision went partially white.  When it cleared somewhat, I forced my mouth to move.  “And I need to leave.”
“You aren’t going anywhere.” Another voice, this one male, spoke from to my side.  I jumped slightly, and then felt a deep anger start in my chest.  I was stuck in the corner of the library, in a slight alcove.  The voice belonged to Kyle, a very weird and lanky kid with dyed black hair and dark eyeliner below his eyes.  His front tooth was chipped, and I avoided staring at it.  It must have been new.  The danger that I appeared to be in was suddenly evident.  Kyle pulled a pocket knife, and played with it while Charile approached me.  I’d played enough video games to know to hold off now, especially since I seemed to be weaponless, and in a slightly sticky spot.  She had a black piece of wire, which looked more like pain than anything else, and motioned for me to turn.  I turned, but didn’t put my arms behind my back.  The rebel inside of me was spitting on these dumb kids, and I refused to go without some notion of defiance.  She tugged my arms back, and I bit my lip when she jarred my thumb.  Christ, that is not a good feeling.  The wire didn’t feel like much, besides someone tying your wrists together with a phone charger.  She secured it somehow, as I found I had little to no mobility for my arms.  Frustration ripped through me again, and I fought it back.  Kyle grabbed hold of my right shoulder with his left arm, and kept the knife in his left.  He lead me to the back of the library before shoving me down to my knees in front of the main couch there.  I wondered why they hadn’t tied me up when I was out cold.  For the thrill?  These kids were sick.  Almost as sick as you, Lou.  Almost.  I glanced up at Kyle, but he was facing away from me, doing something.  Who had just spoken?  The poster against the back wall was featuring a dragon fighting off a knight, and it was advertising kids to read Fiction.  I stared at it.
“Awrighty, looks like we got ourselves a new one, huh?” John practically skipped into the area, glancing at Kyle as he went. 
“Don’t get so overexcited, John,” Kyle finished what he was doing, turning to the oversized redneck.  “Make sure everything is ready.”
“That’s really ominous.” I snorted, and Kyle smacked the back of my head.  I glared at him, and shut up.  Obviously my sass was going to get me nowhere.  For someone in my position, I was rather calm.  John grabbed his lead pipe, which had been leaning against the wall, and left.  Kyle yanked me to my feet a second later.
“Recognize this?” He held up the mascot mask that I’d seen next to Olivia’s body.  I looked at Kyle.
“Were you the one who killed her?”
“The hell are you talking about?”
“The track team manager.  It was you, wasn’t it.” I accused, leaning away from him.  He sneared at me, his black-lined eyes narrowing.
“You’re more messed up than I originally thought, Lou.”  He slipped the mask over my head before I could react, and I coughed at the stench of sweat and filth.  It was more bloodsplattered than before, and I wondered whose blood it was.  The eyeholes had been changed, cut out more so that I could see practically all my surroundings.
“What’s the point of this?” I grumbled, and my voice came out muffled and strange from inside the mask.  Kyle put a hand on my back, leading me towards the exit of the library.
“You’ll find out.”

“Is it- Yeah, it’s working; cool.” Charile’s voice blasted over the gym’s loudspeakers, and I stared at the speakers.  They got the electricity working… Right, they’re tech kids; they would know how.  The gyms fluorescent lights were more flickery than useful for light, and sunset blasted through the windows.  Countless kids, maybe 100 or so, lined the bleachers.  Most were solemn, but some were talking animatedly, trading food and trinkets.  Had it really only been a day since we were all sitting in classrooms, wanting to go home and play video games?  Prepping for our next big game?  Complaining about school lunch?  All the same, I scanned the crowds for my friends.  The top of Blake’s head poked out from behind an insanely large kid, at least I thought it was him.  I looked for Abhay, but saw nothing.  Destiny hadn’t been in the library, but that didn’t mean she was dead.  I looked for her, too.
“Hey, pay attention, are you listening?” Kyle snapped at me, grabbing my chin from under the mask and forcing me to face him.  I gave him a long and cold glare which he couldn’t see.  “Have you ever heard of a gladiator?”
“Do you think I’m stupid?” I replied, unable to keep the sass out of my voice.  It was the kind of voice that got me in trouble with my mother, and I wondered how she was.  Kyle looked angry, and then his face broke into a purely evil grin.  My breathing caught as I realized why.  He’s looking at someone already dead.  I’m going to die. 
“Okay, people, let’s choose our newest athletes competitor!”  Charile sounded excited, and the bleachers began to buzz with energy.  John, on the other side of the gym, had three masked kids with him.  One was untied, but the other two were as trapped as I was.  I watched in dismay.  A gladiator.  Of course. 
John pointed to the one without any bindings.  Upon my inspection, it was a girl.  She had a poorly-made wooden mask on, and she’d cut out two eye holes and a grin on the bottom of it.  It was creepy, but overall overrated.  She was playing with a butterfly knife, flipping it around like a pro.  I remembered when I’d tried to learn, and gotten a good scar on the inside of my palm.  The audience screamed, erupting into waves of teenage excitement and bloodlust.  Charile chuckled over the speakers.
John pointed to another girl, this one bound more than I was.  She was huge, but not in the fat way.  The girl must have been 6 foot, at least.  She had a little-kids bunny mask on.  It fit over her eyes, and the ears poked up, one of them slightly ripped.  Obviously, it was made from paper.  I shivered.  I wasn’t so scared of rabbits that a mask like that would scare me, but it was still unsettling.  There was little applause from the audience, but still some screams.  John moved on to the third one, which was a small-looking boy with a super-hero looking opera mask on.  It only covered half his face, and I could see his solemn mouth.  All three were dressed in blood-stained clothes, but the boy was dressed in what seemed to be a too-big black hoodie.  Bunny-girl had a ripped skirt, and a tucked-in striped blood soaked white shirt.  The knife girl had plaid on, with skinny jeans and black boots.  The audience was even quieter this time around.  Charile spoke over the loudspeakers.
“Ladies and gentlemen, we appreciate the input.  However!  Tiger is new, and I believe Smile would make it too easy!  What do you all say!”
There was a roaring from the bleachers, some mad, some agreeing.
“Don’t worry, we’ll give our newest guest a bit of a break,” I watched John push the two girls toward another kid, who led them away.  The smaller boy was left behind, and I could’ve sworn I saw his lip quiver.  John waited a moment, until another kid handed him a fire extinguisher, but a small one.  I recognized it as the one from Mr. Loftus’s, the chemistry teachers, room.  He had a real one, and then a mini one, just in case there was a small fire he needed to put out.  He handed the shaky kid the extinguisher, and pushed him forward.  Next to me, Kyle shoved my bat into my hands.  I dropped it immediately, and Kyle nearly growled out a command.  I couldn’t hear him, I couldn’t hear anything.  My ears rang with a high pitched noise, and the bleachers blurred.  As they twisted, I saw periodical shapes of the mechanical bunny of my nightmares folding themselves onto the seats.  They sometimes turned and smiled at me.  I felt the handle of my bat get shoved into my hands again, and Kyles warped voice talking to me.  And then black.

If rage was a color, I imagined it to be the color of blood.  The kid was laying face down, his baby-blue extinguisher on the other side of the gym.  His opera mask had been hit completely off, and laid blood-splattered next to his head.  The black hoodie remained clean, or maybe it was that I couldn’t see the blood.  It was lifted a bit, since he was such a small kid, and showed part of a familiar red striped shirt.  Is it… Leni?
The bleachers suddenly erupted once again into excited moans and howls of the telltale victory.  Bloodlust shone from everyones eyes, and I stared down at myself.  My bat was hanging limply from my arm, which appeared to be blood-soaked.  How is there so much blood? 
“It appears the newcomer has quite the spunk, huh, folks?” Charile’s almost smug-sounding voice echoed from above.  I attempted to stand, but a sharp pain in my chest forced me back to my hands and knees.  Kyle heaved me to my feet a second later, and put an arm over my shoulders to help me.  As much as I wanted to struggle, the pain was growing steadily.  The pseudo raven-haired kid seemed to be wary of me, leaning his head away.  I stared at him as I was dragged out, and he snapped at me without looking.
“The hell are you looking at?” I chuckled, and let my head hang for a second.  This seemed to disturb him, and he bit the inside of his cheek.  We met John halfway down the hallway connecting to the gym.
“What’s hurtin’ him?” John asked, crossing his arms.
“I think maybe the kid got him across the ribs with the blunt side.” Kyle nearly handed me to John, shoving me off of him, and at the brute.  John resumed the same amount of support that Kyle had, but with more of a stink.  I crinkled my nose.  Without another word, we were heading towards the conference room.  I could hear slight murmurs from inside, and I braced myself for being thrown inside.  Surprisingly, he opened the door, and set me against the wall.  I slid to the ground, holding my side.  The two girls were on opposite ends, both still in their masks.  I’d ripped mine off at some point, and it was laying limply at my side, thanks to John.  I felt my head tilt dangerously to one side, and my thoughts were muddled.  The two consecutive days of basically no sleep or food was beginning to really make a comeback.  Near the second time of accidentally waking myself up, a sharp smell filled my nose.  Hamburgers? 
Sure enough, John came through the door with a plate.  The smiley-face mask girl was first up, grabbing some fries and a hamburger without a second thought.  She disappeared into the far corner a second later.  John brought the food to bunny girl next, who had her hands ziptied around the desk leg.  It was a permanent leg, nailed into the concrete ground.  She could maneuver around enough to eat the burger by twisting her hands back to her mouth.  She shot what I was pretty sure was a glare at John, and he left to bring me the mouth-watering food.  I raised a hand, and he put a burger in it, looking me over slightly.  I brought it to my mouth, and took a few savory bites.  It was like heaven.
“I reckon you’re gunna need some pain killers,” He sighed, and stood up from his crouch.  I could care less.  Food was all I needed.  He waited until I was completely done, and then left the room.  I attempted to stand, but the pain flared more and more.  Finally I fell back against the wall and gave up.  Sleep was calling me, anyway.

I dreamed of my mother, and all of her forms.  We went to get ice cream, and she was so happy.  She cried when I told her I would never come home.  She screamed when I told her about the dead kids piled in the black vans.  Finally, she was solemn, and she put a hand on my cheek.
“How can you be so close and yet so far?” She whispered.  I shook my head, and awoke.
“What’s your name?” Bunny girl was laying flat on her side, looking at from the holes in her mask.  I blinked, wincing at the pain from sleeping on my neck wrong.  John had apparently come back while I was out, because my arms were tied behind my back, and my feet were fastened as well.
“What’s yours?” I croaked back, for some reason not wanting to tell my name right away.  My voice sounded strained.  I noticed for the first time that my shirt was off, and there was a dripping ice pack fastened to my side, which was black and blue.  How had I not woken up?
“Lanaya.” She said, pursing her lips.  Her head was half-shaven, and she had earrings of all sorts.
“I’m, uh,” I considered for a split second.  Was I even Lou anymore?  Don’t be ridiculous.  You lost yourself long ago.  “I don’t know.”
“You don’t know who you are?” Lanaya laughed.  “Maybe Leni hit you harder than we thought.”
“Is he-”
“Dead, yeah.  You killed him, numbskull.”
“I did?” I’d started putting the pieces together when I woke up next to his body, but I couldn’t remember ending the kids life.  That was a scary thing.
“What, are you an amnesiac?” Lanaya sounded serious, and I stared at her.
“What did I do?”
“Well, I didn’t see it, but John said something about you passing out, and then getting up like it was no big deal, and hitting the fire thing right out of Leni’s hand.  Of course, the little s*** got a hit in first, but you acted like you barely felt it, so it was easy to miss it,” She smirked as I felt myself turn paler and paler.  “And then, with just one blow, you ended it.  They’re saying it’s the fastest fight we’ve had so far.”
“I-”
“But see, Tiger-boy, that’s the problem.  I’m the fastest one here.”
“You can’t be serious.” I said, exasperated.  This girl was actually taking this entire situation deadly serious.  I could feel the danger as if it were a fine fog, moving across the ground toward me.
“I’m being 100 percent serious.  You have to adapt to survive.” Lanaya sat up, leaning up against the wall.  I felt dread seep into my bones, and I closed my eyes again.

“Who will be our next champion to fight?” John stood behind us three, and I saw from the corner of my mask as he pointed to Smile.  As usual, the crowd screamed for her to be the next to fight.  I hoped Charile would be forgiving this time.  It’d been a good week of fights, and I’d only been picked once more.  Food supplies throughout the school were low, and the amount of kids attending the fights had nearly doubled.  I wondered where they went at night, when the bloodshed had ended.  John had stopped tying me up when I would begin to wake up with no feeling in my arms and deep purple bruises on my wrists.  The girl with the wooden mask, Smile, always sat near me, never saying a word.  We got to wash our clothes in the boiler water every now and then, and my hoodie was barely recognizable.  The two newer members, Jacob and Oliver, stood on either side of me.  They had matching wooden masks that were similar to Smile’s, but Jacobs had a frown, and Oliver’s had a strange kitty-shaped mouth.  Then again, Oliver’s also had cat whiskers, so I supposed it fit.  Lenaya had a newer cut across one of her legs, and I wondered if she’d make it another fight.  We were the main event of the school.  The fighters.
“I think we have an obvious winner!” Charile’s voice buzzed as usual, and Smile stepped up to face another girl with wavy red hair and finicky green eyes.  I looked at the ground as John led the rest of us away, forcing myself to ignore the red-haired girls screams. 
The gym was deafening as we walked back to the conference room.  Jacob gave me a look, and I nodded back.  Using my good arm, and not the one that had been slashed in my last fight, I grabbed John into a chokehold.  He make an ‘urk’ sound, and grabbed my arm.  I held onto my other wrist, forcing his airways closed.  Jacob darted past Oliver, and grabbed John’s knife from around his waist, his wrists still tied.  John was turning a good purple color, and his fight was becoming weaker and weaker.  Jacob handed the knife off to Oliver, who used it to slash his zip-tie for him.  Jacob did the same for Oliver, and they both turned to look at Lenaya.  I could tell she was angry, but her eyes were still hidden by her mask.  The rest of us tended to take our masks off, but she almost never did.  Oliver pushed his mask to the top of his scruffy orange head, and looked at me, who was laying John on the ground.  I fished in the oversized kids pocket, and brought out the extra zip-ties.  Kyle would start looking for us in a bit, and he had a small army of ruffians whom he paid with food.  I zip-tied John’s arms, wrists, legs, and knees.  There was no way he was coming after us.  I picked up his fallen lead bat, and tossed it to Jacob.  Originally, Jacob was supposed to use two knives, but he claimed he hated sharp objects.  He nodded a thanks at me, and pushed his mask up as well.
“The real struggle is going to be finding our weapons.” He said a second later.  I didn’t take my mask off, and instead watched Lenaya from behind the eyeholes.  Jacob ran a hand through his curly brown hair, and seemed to think.  Oliver sighed.
“They must keep them close.”
“Not necessarily,” It was Lenaya that spoke this time, and we all glanced at her.  “I know where they are.”
“How?” Oliver asked, looking at her suspiciously.  I knew she was telling the truth.  Lenaya was probably the most observant here.  However, I didn’t blame the two others for being suspicious.  Lenaya, despite her mask, was a terrifying individual.
“Maybe because I’ve been here longer, dimwit,” She snapped, and held out her wrists.  “C’mon, it isn’t going to cut itself.”
Oliver hesitantly glanced at Jacob, who was biting his lip.
“We don’t have much time.” I said, and they both jumped.
“Christ, Tiger, you always have such a creepy voice, and I never expect it.” Jacob shivered, and I watched him for a moment.  Finally, I grabbed the knife from Oliver, trying to be as gentle as possible.  The orange-haired kid still jumped back a bit, and I turned away.  Lenaya regarded me cautiously as I cut her bindings.  As I did, she took off running.  Oliver almost shouted, but I put a finger to where my lips would be on the mask.
I took off after her, and the two followed behind me.  She flipped through the hallways like a real rabbit would.  I wondered if she was on the track team before all this.  I ignored the constant hallucinations of animatronic rabbits with large teeth and glowing red eyes as we went.  I saw him all the time now.  Not all of my hallucinations were terrible; sometimes I saw Destiny.  And sometimes you imagine killing her.  I ignored him.  The rabbit talked to me now.  Sometimes I saw Destiny, and she would caress my cheek and tell my everything would be alright.  Sometimes I saw Destiny, and she was telling me to end it.  Sometimes I saw Destiny, and she was going to end it for me.  Sometimes I saw things I didn’t ever want to see again.  But this was my life.
“They’re in here.” Lanaya pointed to the library, and Jacob and Oliver stopped behind me.  Before she could say anything else, the faint sound of running footsteps echoed.  Right, Kyle.  I shoved past Lenaya, and burst through the library doors.  They followed, but I could tell they didn’t know where to go.  I took a sharp left, ignoring the stench of death from the librarian, and busted into her old office.  Tons of regular school objects-turned-weapons hung from the walls, and among them, ours.  Oliver slipped on his special boxing gloves that had long steel nails embedded in them, and Jacob handed his old knives to Lenaya.  She had no official weapon, and was purely forced to use her body to kill others.  Hence the crazy, probably.  No, silly, that’s you.  I told the bunny to shut up in my head, and reached for my bat.

The school was much louder now.  Most kids lived in complexes with other kids in the classrooms, and the stench of death filled every corner.  There were certain teams; gangs almost, who moved as many bodies as they could from inside to outside.  The official men gladly took the bodies.  I figured they were probably the prayer group from school.  They refused to attend the gladiators, and I knew they often had some strange habits involving holding hands and strong words.
There were the opposite of them too.  It was like angels and demons.  Let’s think about that word, Lou… Demon.  Isn’t that what you are?  I thought about when I bashed a kids head in so hard that the kids watching me never wanted to pick me again, and the slight jumpiness of all the people who’ve killed more than I have.  What was I, even? 
Kyle’s gang was still chasing us.  We were too slow.  Lenaya knew it, too, and I could see the strain on her face as I ran beside her.  We passed a hallway, and I caught a glimpse of a girl with darker skin leaning against the wall.  I stopped, and everyone turned to looked back at me.
“Tiger, what the hell are you doing?” Jacob ran toward me.  I ripped off my mask, and looked over at him.  He stopped in his tracks.
“Get out of here.  I hope I see you again.”
Jacob shook his head, and Oliver pulled him back into a run.  Lanaya was already around the corner and gone.  I walked toward the girl against the wall.  She looked wounded, or hurt, and her head was lolled to the side.  On her forehead, a red dot.  Abhay.
“Abhay,” I tried, and knelt down to her level.  Her eyes opened slightly, and she looked up at me.  “Abhay, come on, wake up.”
Her smile was one of defeat.
“Hey, Lou,” She rolled her head to face me.  I felt tears spring into my eyes.  “You look different.”
“So do you.” I replied weakly.  She lifted a hand, putting it on the side of my face.  I did the same, and she was burning up.  Her hand was red, and I guessed she was injured somewhere important.  I could tell right then and there that she wasn’t going to make it.  I leaned forward and kissed her on the forehead, away from the dot.  I picked up my mask from the floor, and slipped it on.
“Where are you going?” She sounded drowsy, and I refused to look at her.
“Go to sleep, Abhay.” I ordered, keeping my voice as steady as I could.  Out of the corner of my eye, I watched her nod, and then her head lolled to the side.  Kyle’s army appeared to have passed, not paying attention to me and my fallen friend.  Jacob, Oliver, and Lanaya must have made it to the roof area by now.  I hoped to nothing that our plan worked.  As far as I was concerned, there wasn’t a God to hope to.
The hallway was emptier than before, and I ran down it.  Some students watched me as I went, but I ignored them.  They knew who I was from my mask.  I could hear John’s muffled screams from inside the boiler room where we left him.  I darted to the left for the familiar conference room, bursting inside.  As I thought.  Even without John to lead her, Smile was there.
“Do you ever talk?” I panted.  She turned slowly to face me, her mask hiding everything but her chopped-up dirty blonde hair.  It used to be a lighter color of blonde, but the grease, blood, and dirt had changed it.  It also appeared that someone had cut it off with a knife, or school scissors.  She looked like a mess.
She stared me down.  It was creepy, but I was way too used to creepy by now to care.
“I’ll take that as a ‘no’, I guess,” I looked around the room.  Smile always had her knife, so she was well-equipped.  “Come with me.”
Honestly, I wasn’t totally sure where to take her.  We exited, and she walked steadily behind me.  Her plaid shirt had a few new blood stains on it, I noticed.  John’s screams echoed through the halls, and I kept sneaking glances at Smile, to see if she’d react to the noise.  She didn’t.  Soon, it faded into the distance.
“Where the hell do you think you’re going?” Charile blocked our path, breathing heavily.  She must have been running with Kyle’s gang.  I gripped my baseball bat with both hands, feeling the usual tape below my palms.  My thumb was still broken, and I made sure not to further harm it every time I fought.  In response to me, Charile whipped out her pocket knife as well.  For being so inactive, she could really use a knife.  Maybe not quite as well as Smile… I saw Charile’s eyes move to the masked girl, who’d began playing with her butterfly knife again.  I wondered if Charile knew the danger she was in.  Oh she does.  You can see it in her eyes, Lou.  She’s practically dripping with fear.  This time I listened to the bunny, and a small bubble of foreign excitement welled in my chest.  I recognized my own feeling; bloodlust.  An awkward silence was filling the hallway, and Smile snapped her knife shut after performing a small trick with it.  As soon as the click echoed, Charile bolted the other way.  Neither of us went after her.  Smile slid her knife back into her pocket, and let her hands drop to her sides.  I did the same with my bat, and it tapped the floor.
“Do you have a name?”
“Of course.” Smiles voice was quiet, nothing but a whisper.  I refused to be surprised.  She didn’t say anything for a moment, and I cleared my throat.
“Mine’s Lou.” I tried.  She picked up the walking pace we had from before, and I resumed, too.  The halls were desolate, if anything.  Most of the kids had run inside, all too aware of the gladiators on the prowl.  I took a sharp left, down one of the main hallways towards the cafeteria.  Smile followed, silent as ever.  I had a good idea of where to go now.  We took a few more turns, winding our way through the maze-like school. 

The cafeteria was dark, and the windows let some moon shine through.  I wondered what it was like outside.  If anyone knew we were here, it would be anarchy.  I almost wanted to laugh.  Of course nobody knew we were here; the government had to cover this up, as they easily would.  We crossed the hard floors, and I ignored the phantom rabbits sitting on the bleachers behind us.  After so long of being in a gym, doing unforgettable things, I could never see bleachers the same way again.  I gripped my bat tighter as we neared the door, and pushed it open.  Immediately, a terrible stench filled my nose.  I was used to the smell of death.  The entire school reeked of it; but this was different.  It was so concentrated.  I backed off, but Smile pushed forward.  The smell didn’t seem to bother her.  I took a deep breath of the semi-normal air, and put my hoodie over my nose.  Naturally, it was pitch black.  I struggled to see Smile as she walked in front of me.  She stopped abruptly, and I almost ran into her.  She was looking into one of the alcoves between lockers.  I glanced in, but I couldn’t see anything.
“What are yo-”  She cut me off by moving forward, and sitting on the middle bench, which I couldn’t see very well.  She was leaning down and touching something, almost endearingly; like a cat or a dog.  I tried to focus where I saw her hand, but all I could see was a faint outline.  After a few seconds of the creepy stroking session, I stepped into the alcove myself.  I sat beside her, and reached to touch whatever she was touching.  Something soft hit my hand first, and I jumped.  I could see red eyes to my right, but ignored them.  Clearly, this situation was going to go bad.  Before I could lift my hand, my eyes adjusted enough to see more than an outline.  The detail had come slowly, and I’d been too focused on the bunny to notice it.  Blake was lying in the corner, smudged against the locker and wall, his feet tangled.  I couldn’t be sure, but it seemed like he’d been stabbed multiple times.  I flew to my feet, and ran.
First of all, how had Smile even known he was there?  Simple, she’d killed him.  Fine, but why would she show me?  C’mon Lou, I know you’re smarter than that. 
“Destiny.” The voice and I said it at the same time, and I turned to watch her walk out of the locker room.  She undid the clip that was holding her mask together, and revealed her face.  It was completely mangled, and cuts ran up and down it.  Her nose was twisted to the side, long since broken.  Her eyes were hollow and empty.
“Lou.” She said. 
“She killed him.  She killed them all.  You killed him.  You killed them all,”  The space around us was slowly getting darker, as if the moon had decided to finally give up.  “Isn’t it time you gave up.  Isn’t it…”
I grabbed my head.  Everything was too much.  In just so little time, I’d lost everything.  “EVEN YOUR MIND.”
My mind.  Was it even my mind anymore?  Destiny seemed to be ignoring me.  She walked back into the locker rooms, clearly uncaring about my situation.  Of course.
“So then it’s plan B.”  It’s always been plan B.  Lou walked steadily down the hallway, aware and uncaring of the red-eyed mechanisms watching his every move.  This school was f***ed.  He knew this.  I knew this.  You knew this.
Lou walked his way past Abhay’s crumpled form.  No doubt she was dead.  He dropped his mask, and let the bat drag behind him.  His mind flew through everything and nothing.  He was nothing.  He’d already accepted that.  I’d helped, naturally.  The hallway he’d sprinted down a week ago was more bloody now.  The lights no longer flickered, and the walls were no longer neon white.  He opened the school door, and then stopped mid-open.
“If I die, you die with me.”  He mumbled, and I chuckled.  No, Lou, if you die, I’ve succeeded.