Class was continuing as normal until it happened
A scream of complete agony rang out through the halls, causing the entire class to freeze. An odd look went over Mrs. Davis' face as she paused the lesson, taking a look at her phone. She then looked back up and gave a nervous chuckle. "Don't worry, it's probably just someone messing around in the halls." She guessed, shrugging her shoulders. The woman then made an attempt to continue her lesson, but it wasn't the same. An air of concern crept over her choppy speel, and she took numerous glances out the door window to look into the hall. Something was wrong.
Becky felt it as well. An icy feeling washed over her and as she glanced at her friends, she could tell that they felt it as well.
That's when another scream overcame them. Then another, and another. A whole cacophony of terrified, chaotic screeches shook the school, and blurs of color began smearing past the door, causing the whole class to freeze.
"Everyone get into the corner." Mrs. Davis ordered sternly, ushering the students into the part of the classroom hidden from the door window. With a quick motion she flicked off the lights, plunging the room into darkness. Becky followed her friends closely, her steps illuminated only by the light of the window. Her breath ran cold.
"What's happening?" Violet whispered, clutching on tightly to Scoops' arm. Her face had grown pale, and her normal happy smile had turned into a look of despair.
"Shh." Mrs. Davis hushed, standing between both the door and the huddled group of students behind her. Together the group watched the window, observing the dark looming shadows that passed by the transparent screen. By now the screaming had stopped, and only the sounds of breathing could be heard echoing through the classroom.
Becky's mind raced. What villain was terrorizing the school? It sounded like an entire army was ravaging the halls, but no villain she knew had as many followers as she had heard wrecking the halls. With a cautious glare she peered at the boy next to her. Tobey was just as terrified as the others. This couldn't be his doing, especially with all the things he had said the nights before.
"Becky...?" Scoops muttered quietly, looking towards her. His eyes darted between her and the door as if asking if she was going to do anything. He seemed to have forgotten about their small feud.
Annoyed, she shrugged and made a small gesture to point out all the people around them. The boy then froze, processing the information, before nodding.
Suddenly the sound of breaking glass filled the air as a stone flew through the window and into the classroom. Shards flew everywhere causing everyone to raise their arms in defense. A long, slender arm leaned in through the small opening and carefully flicked open the lock. The door handle jiggled and soon enough a slender silhouette entered the room, it was followed by two, much smaller, shadows.
The figure was tall and dark, her black hair fell neatly over her face and stretched all the way down to her waist. She also had a pair of red brimmed glasses that complemented her dark suit well. She hovered weightlessly above the ground, a sneer stretching across her face. However, her most striking feature was an odd pair of gloves adorning her hands. They looked almost like metal, but were intricately laced into a chaotic, but no less beautiful, mess. Embedded into the palms of the metal were strange red gems. Their glimmer was both enticing and dangerous.
"Who are you?!" Mrs Davis spat, backing away closer to the students she was so desperately trying to protect.
The woman only laughed before inching closer. Her face contorted into a slew of unnatural shapes and expressions before clicking into smirk. Her eyes seemed to brighten as she spoke. "Eradica..." Her voice was inhuman. A low growl that strengthened into a mechanical whirr.
Becky gulped.
"Why are you here?" Mrs. Davis continued, trembling.
The woman cackled. "I'm looking for my toys." She grinned, staring directly into Becky's eyes.
"W-What toys?..." The teacher winced. It was obvious that she was just trying to put on a brave face, but in reality she was terrified.
"Oh nothing crazy. Just..." She paused, scanning over the group, counting them all individually. ""Puppets."
Suddenly Eradica lunged forward, grabbing onto Mrs. Davis' skull with a single gloved hand. A brilliant flash of red illuminated the dark classroom and the villain's pleasured laugh rang out through the room. Becky watched in abject horror as her teacher's skin turned from white to a dead, rotting yellow. Her eyes rolled back into her skull and after Eradica let go of her head, she fell limply to the floor with a wet thunk. Someone yelped in terror, but all Becky could do was watch as Mrs. Davis slowly moved herself off the ground, completely shelled of who she had used to be. A strange crunching sound accompanied her movements. It was as if she had been frozen, and was just now defrosting.
Becky couldn't bring herself to move or even speak. She couldn't even transform or use her powers without drawing suspicion to her secret identity. She was completely and utterly trapped.
Around her Eradica lunged at another student, gripping onto their face before reaching for another victim. With each new causality she seemed to grow more and more ruthless. The gems in her gloves left lasting imprints, cutting into the soft, squishy flesh of her slaves.
That was when someone brushed past Becky harshly. The entire class was starting to run in terror. Not knowing what to do, she had only one option. Follow.
As she sped through the class and ran out the door, she heard the last few chilling words from Eradica.
"Get them."
Almost immediately the hallway was flooded with the yellowed bodies of turned students. They ran animalistically on all fours as if chasing after prey. Some even crawled along the ceiling, clutching onto the thin metal beams with athletic gusto. Becky continued to run, watching in horror as her classmates were grabbed and transformed around her in awful flashes of red. Each of Eradica's slaves groaned and screeched in cries of anguish as they made their way ravenously through the halls. It was almost like they had gone wild.
Suddenly the hall lights flickered before going out completely. The building was thrust into complete darkness as it seemed Eradica had disabled the power. She definitely wasn't stupid.
"Becky!!" A voice called from her side, causing the girl to jump in surprise. "They got Violet..." Scoops yelped, fighting back tears.
The news crushed Becky. Her best friend was now under control, but if they didn't keep running then they would be too.
"We're almost out." The girl reaffirmed, gazing towards the flashing exit sign a few feet ahead. Their path was entirely clear and freedom would soon be theirs. A few students were still sprinting in front of them, and both Becky and Scoops were at the back of the pack. Her weariness had completely vanished, replaced by pure adrenaline.
A sickening screech called out from behind the two as an arm grabbed at the back of Becky's shirt. The girl yelped in surprise, and Scoops turned to look at her in fear. However the boy tripped over himself and went tumbling to the ground. Instantly Becky stopped and turned to help as the boy attempted to stand, however he was almost immediately surrounded. Tears fell down his face as he stared up at Becky, completely helpless.
"Becky!" He yelled, kicking away one of the monsters who attempted to grab at his head.
The girl tried to rush to his aid, pushing away the zombie-like slaves with violent attacks, but there were too many. She had completely lost sight of her friend, and all she could do was listen to his panicked cries of desperation. There was nothing she could do.
"Run." He screamed, his voice growing more disturbed. "Run, Becky!"
A cold knot started to grow in the girl's stomach. She was feeling an emotion she never wanted to feel again, hopeless.
A wall of turned students was now forming in front of the exit door. She was completely trapped. Her only hope was to run through them and hopefully make it out alive.
Tears ran down her face as she raced through the hall hoping desperately to somehow build up enough speed to escape... when something grabbed her.
A hand had shot out from the darkness of an open doorway roughly pulling her into a pitch black room. Becky could hear a door locking shut.
Quickly she jumped into action, breathing harshly as tears stung at her eyes. She couldn't see a thing, but the rest of her senses were on high alert.
"Calm down." A voice whispered from behind, causing the girl to go silent as she regained herself. The turned students were now trying to open the door by force, running into the solid wooden slab with all their zombie might. With each thud, Becky jumped. It hurt her to know that her best friends were probably feet away, trying to get in and harm her.
"I have to find a way out of here..." She murmured, trying to get her eyes to adjust to the darkness.
"By all means, if you have any ideas do share." The voice groaned.
"Tobey!?"
"Yes?"
Partial relief flooded Becky almost instantly, and she hugged him in her panic.
Surprised and revolted, he shrugged her off awkwardly, causing her to realize that she did in fact have to be careful around him. Becky didn't like him because Becky wasn't Wordgirl.
"Why did you save me?" She asked, trying to make herself sound as annoyed as possible.
Tobey sneered, swallowing whatever retort he had concocted. He was definitely trying to be a better person, but being around the girl who had gotten him detention clearly wasn't easy for him. However he bit his tongue and answered.
"I um..." He looked away awkwardly. "I wanted to apologize for a few days ago." He muttered the apology rapidly, almost as if he hated every second of it.
"You're sorry?"
"Don't get used to it..."
After a few moments, the boy finally stopped fidgeting and clicked on the flashlight he had apparently been searching for. The room was immediately flooded with light. A large metal rack was sprawled across the back wall of the room, covered in an assortment of pipes and tools. A couple dirty rages spotted the floor.
The boy himself looked tired and worn out. His glasses were smudged and his normally tidy hair was unkempt. It looked like he had had a rough time getting into the safety of the closet.
"Are you alright?" He asked quietly, flinching from another loud thump from the door.
Becky thought for a moment. "I'm fine." She lied.
The boy nodded slowly. His eyes were dead and empty as he stared blankly towards the ground.
"And... are you okay?"
Almost immediately his demeanor changed. "Oh o-of course." He assured cockily, before running a hand through his hair. The question was eerily familiar.
"What just happened?"
"I'm not quite sure..." He admitted, shivering. "I don't... I don't even know who that was."
Becky sighed. She had faith that she would be able to stop Eradica as long as she could find someplace to transform. However, as long as she was stuck inside the school there was nothing she could do, especially around Tobey. He was changing, but there was still no way she could reveal her secret identity to him.
"We need to get out of here." She proposed, growing serious.
"Please tell me you're not planning on going out that door..."
Becky rolled her eyes, watching as Tobey smugley crossed his arms.
"I can and will throw you out."
"Well although I'm not particularly fond of you either, I would prefer it if you didn't do
that..."
Tobey noted her reactions carefully. He had apologized, just like Wordgirl had recommended but he still felt no different than he had before. The only difference was that Becky now didn't seem as disgusted by him.
Suddenly something slammed against the door, hard. They both jumped in surprise, and Tobey began trying to think of a way out. Rapidly he scanned the closet with his flashlight.
"There!" Becky suddenly exclaimed, before reeling from another thud against the door. The zombies had found them.
"Where?"
The girl raised her arm, pointing a muscled arm up towards the single air vent located high up on the wall.
Tobey furrowed his brow. "How do you expect us to get up there?"
Becky shook her head, trying to think of a plan. She couldn't fly, so what else could she do? "Get on my shoulders." She suddenly ordered, squatting down low to the ground.
"Excuse me?" He asked, pushing up his glasses with a disgusted glare.
The girl stood, not having it. "Get on my shoulders." She ordered.
Unhappily, Tobey obliged, getting into position for her to raise him up. "There's no way a twelve year old girl has the muscle strength to~ asadkshdksdfjksad." He swayed uneasily, nearly falling over as Becky lifted him up with extreme ease. "Okay-" He muttered, fixing his bow tie. "I wasn't expecting that." He quickly grabbed a wrench off of the shelf and began trying to reach for the vent.
"Can't you lift me any higher?" The boy scowled, momentarily looking down.
"I'm trying..."
"Try harder."
"Then hurry up already." Becky growled through gritted teeth. He wasn't really that heavy, but he was short.
"I can't reach."
With every passing second, the door grew closer and closer to buckling in. Whenever the barrage of bodies slammed into its surface, a gap was being created between the frame and smooth wood. It wasn't designed to withstand this much force, and it was very noticeable.
The girl made an attempt to stretch upwards, moving onto her toes, but she still wasn't tall enough, and Tobey was growing frantic.
"Just a little more..." He commanded, practically begging. "I'm almost there."
"This is as high as I can go!" Becky yelped, looking up into the boy's panicked face. If she did any more then she would risk losing her identity, but it didn't seem like there were many other options. Ever so subtly, the girl began to drift off of the floor. She only had to fly up a little bit in order to provide Tobey the necessary reach.
"Perfect!" He yelled ecstatically, maneuvering over to skillfully remove the bolts. With a few twists of the wrench two of the bolts fell onto the top of the rack with satisfying clicks. Tobey quickly scooped up the scraps and stuffed them into his pocket.
"Are you done yet?"
"Just a second!" He replied, removing the silver grate from the wall. He set it down heavily to lay against the wall. Before him the vent ran on into a long, haunting tunnel. His face paled. "Oh brother..." He whispered, realizing how awful the situation was going to be. "I'm going up."
"Hurry," Becky gulped. "This door isn't going to hold for much longer." By now she could see the lock bending in place. It was a few good hits away from shattering.
Tobey clawed his way into the entrance of the vent. His muscles burned from the exertion, and the metal path bowed beneath his touch causing him to squirm uncomfortably.
"Let me up!"
"Right, right, right." He frowned, reaching down to grab his classmate's hand.
After only a slight struggle, the boy managed to pull her up and into the vent. She tumbled, kicking with her legs in an attempt to move out of the way, leaving Tobey space to replace the bolts.
However, almost immediately the door gave way, crashing heavily into the metal rack. Tools flew everywhere, and the sudden jolt caused the boy to lose grip of the final bolt. The grate hung half fallen on the wall. He scrambled to find the missing piece, but it rolled into the sea of monsters before he could grab it.. Nervously he pulled up the vent and began wrenching it into place. His speed was extraordinary as he secured it into place, but he wasn't going to be fast enough.
"Just crawl!" Becky screamed, waiting for the boy to turn around so she could use her powers to finish clamping the vent shut. A monster flung itself into the barrier as soon as she finished, angrily falling backwards off of the rack as her entrance to the vent was thoroughly denied.
"I'm not sure how long it's going to hold..." Tobey admitted. "We should get moving."
Becky nodded. They would be safe for now.
Together the two shuffled their way further into the labyrinth of frigid air and enclosed spaces. It was easily one of the worst experiences Becky had ever had. Every touch against the metal walls surrounding her was freezing, and it sent tiny little shockwaves that continuously made her have to stop and pause.
"Do you have any idea where this vent could lead?" Becky asked, taking a moment to warm her blue fingers with her breath.
Tobey shook his head. "We just need to keep going. We'll find the exit eventually." The boy's voice had grown hoarse with worry, and his accent had begun to falter.
"It's so cold..." Becky breathed, watching as her breath clouded in front of her.
"I know they prefer keeping the building cold, but this is just ridiculous..." Tobey mumbled.
The girl giggled. Maybe the stress was getting to her, but she actually found the quip amusing.
Together the two continued on for a little while. The air was starting to get a little warmer, and Becky assumed it was due to them coming ever closer to an escape. She couldn't believe that her idea had actually worked.
"Light!" The boy suddenly exclaimed, rushing forward.
The two students hurried along, rounding a bend in the metal tunnel. Sure enough, a beam of light was shooting out from another opening. Blue sky could even be seen poking through the little splits in the grate. Becky smiled. Finally, She could transform into Wordgirl and get this all over with.
Tobey made quick work of the bolts securing the vent to the wall. It fell off with an auditable thud onto the pavement below. Cautiously he peeked over the edge, then froze.
"Is there anyone out there?" Becky asked quizzically.
He nodded. His eyes had grown wide with shock and his normal smug frown had turned into a bleak and horrified one. "You need to see this..." He breathed, almost too scared to speak. The boy then moved, giving room for Becky to scoot closer to the opening. Her jaw dropped.
There wasn't a single normal person as far as the eye could see. There were only monsters, lumbering around aimlessly, walking the streets as if they were rabid animals, and they were everywhere.
A horrible feeling spread across the girl as she gazed into the distance. Her confidence in being able to easily resolve the situation was crushed. Eradica must have turned the entire city. She and Tobey were the only ones left.
Within seconds Becky's plan had been shattered, and all that remained was one thought.
"We have to find someplace safe."
"You do realize that Wordgirl is going to swoop in and save the day any second now, right?" Tobey frowned, raising a hand.
"That's sweet and all, but what if she takes... a while..."
Tobey's eyes narrowed before opening again. "I suppose in that case, we do find a better spot than this frigid vent shaft."
Becky smirked.
"But I still think it's a ridiculous idea..." He added, grumbling. The boy then crossed his arms and looked away, an embarrassed pink stain covering his face.
"So you don't know anywhere we could go?"
The boy froze.
"Actually..." He paused, putting a hand on his chin. "I do happen to... well... know a place."
Becky brightened. "You do?"
"That's what I just said."
The girl rolled her eyes, ignoring the remark. "Where is it?"
"Home. Err, my house.I have a laboratory that could be of some use." The boy offered awkwardly.
"I thought one of your robots tore down that old shed..." She paused wondering if Becky was actually someone who knew about that.
"It wasn't a shed." The boy tensed, before sighing. "But yes, it was... destroyed. However, I built a new one." He shrugged as if it was something normal kids did.
"That's actually pretty impressive." Becky admitted.
"Yes, well I am a genius." Tobey bragged. The girl could hear him smile beside her.
"But how are we going to get there?"
"Subway."
"Do you think it will still be running?"
"Absolutely not." He replied bleakly."But with my intellect, and your apparent strength, I have a plan."
Becky nodded. She couldn't deny Tobey's brilliance, but sometimes it was just hidden by a thick layer of narcissistic derision. It was nice to see him being a little more genuine.
"We should get going." The girl grinned. She was ready.
Tobey looked a little bit more hesitant, but smiled when he saw her face.
"Let's get this over with." He breathed sarcastically.
Slowly Becky made her way out of the vent, dropping herself feet first to the ground. Hastily she looked back up at Tobey who looked around nervously. He then followed, landing heavily on his back.
"It's a good thing you're smart, because you're definitely not graceful." The girl laughed, giving him her hands to help lift him back up.
"Please." He groaned, brushing off his clothes. "That's simply not true on many levels."
"Mhm..." Becky snorted. "Right."
The pair then began their short trek to the subway.
There happened to be a station only a street away from the school. It was normally pretty relaxed as throughout the day it was used mainly by students. There was a good chance that there wouldn't be too many of Eradica's creations in this particular station. It was the perfect plan. Becky just couldn't figure out what Tobey was planning on doing if the trains weren't running, which they most likely weren't.