The Invasion

37 | Left to Die

Time crawls slowly; one night turns into two, then three. Hope turns to despair at the thought of us not being rescued from this madness.

Once we realize the military isn't coming, a handful of people run out of patience and leave the school grounds of their own volition. They hot-wire some vehicles and leave town to head into the city for answers. I really do hope they find survivors there and stay safe from the monsters.

As for the rest of us, the cafeteria remains a safe place, but it doesn't hold out as long as we think it could.

It's 7.30 pm on the clock when something bangs on the doors. It startles everyone; scrambling to their feet with their weapons raised, eyes wide on alert. We have already stacked all the tables and chairs against the entrance as our only first line of defense. Studio lights are set at their brightest and turned towards the doors.

A panic-stricken cry comes from the other side of the doors. "Help!" Bang, bang, bang. "Open the doors! Let me in!"

Maddie's face pales after recognizing the voice–a student of ours. "It's Sammy! Didn't he leave the school today with someone else? Why did he come back?"

Jace swears under his breath. "Maybe he realizes it's a lot safer here."

Everybody shuffles between their feet as the pounding persists. Someone from the back hisses out angrily. "Idiot! What do we do? He's going to get us all killed while making such a ruckus. They will come."

The tension in the room ratchets up a notch as we all watch the doors in trepidation. I creep closer to Zarius and clutch his arm tightly, wondering if we should help save my poor classmate, who's crying hysterically outside. Guilt gnaws at my chest, knowing that he's going to die at this rate if we don't do something.

"Zarius. Is there something we can do?"

His body tenses up, the muscles on his forearms tighten. "It's too late."

My heart sinks to the pit of my stomach. The pounding comes again, each one sending a jolt of terror and guilt through us.

Bang, bang!

"HELP! HELP ME PLEASE! HELP—"

The cries grow louder, blood-curdling, until it suddenly ceases to a complete silence. Everyone waits with bated breath and gets horribly frightened when something rams up against the doors violently, followed by a couple of sickening crunches, like bones breaking.

We can't hear Sammy anymore.

To our horror, a trail of bright red liquid seeps through the tiny gap between the door frame and the floor towards us.

Blood.

Somewhere in the crowd, a girl lets out an appalled scream before someone claps over her mouth to silence her.

But it's too late.

The creatures have heard us.

Something massive thrashes against the doors relentlessly, creating dents in the thick steel frame. Above us, the air vents rattle and something thrashes about on the inside. A grille cracks open suddenly and monstrous eels rain upon us.

Pandemonium ensures; the entire room erupts in screams and shouts. People shove and push their way to the exit. Some unfortunate ones trip on their feet and get trampled on by the rest.

Those creatures slither fast between our legs, yanking their victims' feet and biting into their ankles. Our studio's equipment falls over and shatters, killing most of the light in the room. Soon after, the cafeteria doors give way as well, and more creatures crash through the opening with hungry eyes. Ramming through the furniture we've propped up like a wall between us and the doors. Gunshots fire off around us, leaving my ears ringing in pain.