by T. Z. Leigh
Blood the colour of bile oozed from the monsters' wounds, but they didn't show any sign of being seriously injured. April came to a horrifying realisation.
They were impossible to kill.
Zachery still lay unconscious amidst the turmoil.
"Zachery! Zachery! Wake up! You must defeat these tesrars! You cannot let them destroy you! All four of you must survive this until I can come for you! You are the world's only hope! To kill a tesrar, say Mahanzlo Gazan, then stab it between the shoulder blades. Remember my words. Go…now!"
Zachery slowly regained consciousness, his head pounding and mind still hazy. The words he'd heard in his unconsciousness echoed in his brain, which made his eyes fly open and look to see where he had dropped the knife. He could see the others attacking the creatures...the tesrars, but to no avail. He picked up the knife that lay on the ground in front of him and stood up abruptly.
"Mahanzlo Gazan!" he yelled, before stabbing the tesrar nearest to him between the shoulder blades.
The creature convulsed violently before suddenly lying still on the floor. He sprinted to the other tesrar, which was sprawled out on the ground after April had just whacked it yet again on its back. He repeated the words, stabbing it sharply while the others gaped at him in shock. He stood there, panting.
Sam was stupefied. "How the hell did you know how to kill them like that?"
"It's gonna sound crazy, but someone told me while I was unconscious. I'll explain later, but right now, we need to get out of here."
Jamie took the lead and walked briskly to a side door that opened into a narrow hallway. She slowly moved the table that was blocking the door and crouching, crossed the hallway into an adjoining classroom.
"If we can get to the basement, we can take the lift nearly all the way to the roof," Jamie whispered.
"Basement. Are you serious?" Eva chided. "That's the worst place we could possibly go in this situation!"
"It'll be safer than trying to take the other lift," she responded. "The stairs to the basement are just outside this door. The other lift is on the other side of the building."
"Just go, Jamie," Sam said. "If we run into any more, we know what to do now."
She led them down the stairs and it was as if she could almost hear their hearts beating behind her. Her hands shook, but she didn't stop. The stagnant damp air turned her stomach and she pinched her lips to stop herself from throwing up. Her finger attacked the lift button.
"Come on, come on," she whispered.
The pinging noise signalling the lift's arrival made them wince. Still, the possibility of them finding a monster within didn't stop Zachery from moving to the front, positioning himself between the doors and Jamie. The doors opened. The lift was empty.
They bolted inside, holding their breath while Jamie all but broke the close button, poking it almost to the point of destruction. They went up to the highest floor and hurried out of the lift, nearing the door opposite it. She punched in a few numbers on the keypad to the left of the door and nudged the door open.
She ran up the steps, not stopping until they were outside. Once they were out in the fresh air, she felt a little more at ease. It was a pretty bold assumption that the monsters wouldn't remember information such as the code for doors, but Jamie hoped they'd be okay.
There was a cool breeze blowing, which had a calming effect on them; something they needed after their ordeal. It wasn't so bad. The roof of the staff dorms was mostly flat, with only a few short walls on one side. The ground they stood on was surprisingly smooth, so sleeping up there wouldn't be too awful. If nothing found them before then, at least.
"So, if a monster comes through that door, where are we supposed to go exactly?" April questioned sceptically.
"Oh yeah!" Jamie said excitedly. "I forgot to tell you all my plan. If a monster comes through that door, we all hide behind one of those walls..." She pointed to them, the packets leaning against them that contained some unused stones crackling in the wind. "...while April runs to the edge, waits for the monster to grab her and then jumps off. Can't get a better plan than that, it's win-win."
Jamie didn't expect to see April's sudden change of expression. April appeared to be upset by her comment and Jamie felt a wad of guilt attach itself to her chest. Maybe she shouldn't have said something like that after they had just risked their lives for each other. April's face seemed to revert to normal after a moment and she rolled her eyes, then sat down and gazed in the opposite direction.
"Jamie, come on," Eva scolded, "we've got enough to worry about."
Jamie pulled out a cigarette and it hung from her lip as she spoke.
"Here's my actual idea. If a monster comes through that door, we climb down that tree," she informed them, signalling to the nearby Scot's Pine tree with her hand. "It's easy. I've done it loads of times."
"They're called tesrars," Zachery corrected her. "Tesrars, not monsters."
"You were going to explain what happened earlier?" Sam inquired.
Zachery began hesitantly, "When I was out cold, I heard a man's voice. It sounded familiar somehow, but I can't place it. He said the four of us are needed to save the world, that we need to stay alive until he comes to rescue us. Then he told me how to kill it. That's all he said."
They all stared into space, trying to make sense of it. April broke the silence.
"I haven't told you all what I saw before those things started banging on the door."
She told them about the man in the long coat and what he did to freak her out.
"It was so creepy, it makes me cringe just thinking about it." She paused, then uttered with dread, "Guess what's the creepiest part...he's the same guy we saw on camera, the same guy Jamie said she saw on the ceiling. He clearly wants us dead...and I think he might be able to control these tesrars."
"What do you mean, control them?" asked Zachery.
"Are you sure it's the same man I saw?" Jamie added.
"And what did the voice mean by four?" Eva directed at Zachery.
"Well, you weren't supposed to be here, Eva. I guess it means the rest of us," Zachery replied.
"But what's so special about us?" Sam questioned. "Why us?"
"Assuming that the voice was even real," April commented.
"It was real. I know it was. If it wasn't, how would they have known how to kill the tesrars?"
Jamie knew Zachery was right. She trusted him on the matter entirely.
"It sounds strange and scary, whatever it is. I definitely saw the man in the video. If that's the same man you saw, Jamie, then yes, it's the same guy. I don't know for sure if he can control the tesrars. I just got that feeling by what he did..."
"He's involved for sure. It's like he's watching and waiting, like he's enjoying all of this," Jamie said with a shudder.
It was a terrifying thought. Suddenly, she wished she were back home with her mother. She wished she were anywhere, but there.
It was late afternoon. The sun had just begun to disappear behind the skyline. Jamie pulled out another cigarette, watching the sky gain a pinkish hue. She didn't enjoy the cigarette as much as she thought she would, because Zachery seemed to be staring at her in mild disgust. Maybe he was the type of guy who disapproved of smoking. If that was the case, she might have had to reconsider. She didn't want him to feel in any way disappointed in her. Even then, she finished it anyway, unsure if she would get to have another anytime soon.
"I hope it's not going to rain. That's all we need," Zachery said. "Knowing our luck, it'll probably start pouring down."
Everyone was quiet. More than anything else, they were bored. They were happy to have some quiet time, but now they were sitting on their hands. They felt helpless; things were slipping out of their control. Jamie sighed. Were they supposed to wait for someone to come and rescue them? What if that person never came? They couldn't stay there forever. They would need to find a way out fast. After some time, Jamie saw Zachery walking around the perimeter of the roof, looki
ng into the distance. She felt a pull toward him and followed him before she could stop herself.
"You okay?" she queried as she approached him.
"No. No, I'm not okay. Do you notice anything strange about the fence?"
He stormed off towards the others. Jamie didn't know what he was referring to; the fence looked like it always did.
What is Zachery talking ab...?
Then it hit her.
Zachery stormed over to Sam. Sam raised his eyes to watch him coming over, wondering what had got him so amped up.
"Sam, what do your parents do for a living?" Zachery asked sharply.
Sam shrugged in confusion, wondering why it mattered. "My mum works in a school, and…my dad died a few years ago," he answered. Puzzled by Zachery's question and annoyed by his tone, he squared up to him. "Why, what's it to you?"
"Do you know anyone who works in a lab? Or a pharmaceutical company, or anything like that?"
"No, I don't know anyone who does. As I asked before, what's it to you?"
"I'm questioning your motives. I'm wondering why you would want us stuck in here."
Sam blinked in surprise. "Are you crazy, or what? Why would I want that?"
Now, they had all congregated around Sam and Zachery. April and Eva's faces were full of concern.
"When we had the chance to escape," Zachery accused, "you were the one who said we couldn't because there were electrified wires at the top of the fence. What wires were you talking about?"
Confused, Sam marched off in a huff towards the nearest edge of the roof. Seeing no extra wires on that side, he walked around the perimeter of the dorms as Zachery had done. He couldn't see the electrified wires anywhere, even in the place he'd originally seen them. Was he going crazy? How could he have imagined them? He didn't, did he? He had even heard the quiet buzzing sound coming from them.
As he walked back to the others, he saw them all looking at him accusingly. Even Eva was looking at him like she was unsure what to think.
"Look, I definitely saw those wires, okay? I even heard the electricity running through them."
"Speaking of that...when I checked the electrics, there was no control switch for the fence. At that point I knew there was something dodgy going on. I guess in all the chaos, none of us actually looked at the fence to check for the wires. Not that I know you or anything, but I would never have guessed that you were involved in this. I don't know why we never questioned you when you told us about the fence. Obviously, because we assumed we could trust you."
Sam was getting frustrated now. "You can trust me! Why would I be involved in this? If I was, would the voice have said he's coming to save all four of us?" He let those last words hang in the air for a moment. "We know there's weird stuff going on. You lot just have to believe me. I'm stuck in this just like everyone else," he said, walking off to sit by himself.
As he sat there, he heard a growl coming from below. It wasn't such a big deal. They had heard the tesrars now and again, sauntering around the fields below. Still, he jumped a little as he felt a hand on his shoulder and turned around.
"Don't worry about it," Eva comforted him. "Whether the wires are there or not, I know you wouldn't do anything to hurt any of us." She knelt beside him and embraced him. "Things will get sorted out, and we'll find a way out of this."
He didn't say anything. Then again, with Eva, he knew he didn't have to. She knew that when he was upset, he'd rather keep to himself. She let go and walked back to the others, leaving him to work out his own thoughts.
The atmosphere between them all was tense from then on. Zachery, Jamie and April were planning to escape numerous times, while Sam refused to go. He was adamant; it was a mistake to try going over the fence again. He knew what he saw. It was a death trap, even if no one believed him except Eva. The rest of them would hesitate, reluctant to try, then change their mind.
"I'm telling you, there's no point. What's with you guys?" Sam asked.
"It's better than sitting here forever," Zachery replied.
"It's too dangerous to go down there for no reason. What if you end up leading them to us?"
April scowled. "Okay, Sam. Like we can fully trust you?"
"We have to try," Jamie asserted, then strode away.
Sam watched them disappear down the tree, though they soon returned, looking miserable.
"I was right, wasn't I?"
"We didn't get that far, if you must know. There were a few tesrars at the bottom, so we only climbed halfway down," April told him.
"We'll try tomorrow," Zachery said, "when it's light out."
Jamie exhaled heavily and looked around at all of them.
"Guess we're staying here for the night."
Sam and Eva were first to fall asleep, cuddled together against a wall. Zachery and Jamie offered to keep watch for the first part of the night and sat near the door leading down to the lift. April tried to fall asleep, but she couldn't stop shivering.
After some time, she felt like she had not long drifted off to sleep when she was awoken by someone moaning. She looked around to see where it was coming from and realised it was Eva, who seemed to be having a nightmare. She wasn't cuddled up to Sam anymore but lying on the floor, whimpering. April shut her eyes again, trying to go back to sleep, but they flew open when she heard Eva scream. April understood that they were going through a traumatic experience. Still, she didn't want any tesrars finding them on account of someone's nightmare. She got up and walked over to where Sam and Eva were.
"Eva, wake up! Wake up, come on, it's just a nightmare," Sam urged her.
It was very dark, and they could hardly see each other, so April took out her phone and aimed its light towards Eva, then screamed.
"Oh, my God! Sam, she's turning into one of them!"
Chapter Nine
"What are you talking about?" Sam questioned, denying it. "How can she be? She's been with us the whole time!"
"Sam, move your ass right now! I'm telling you she's turning!" April shouted, still shining the light on Eva.
He didn't believe her. He couldn't see Eva's face, so he shifted onto his hands and knees...and his whole world came crashing down around him. He saw her skin melting, eyes already red, pupils turning white. He heard the rapid stomping of feet, a silhouette running towards them, and then Zachery's shout.
"Mahanz...!"
"No, don't kill her!" he yelled as he stood in front of Eva, using himself as a shield. "Please."
April was stunned. She turned to look at him and the light followed. They all saw the utter devastation in his eyes when the light hit his face.
"Let's just get out of here," Jamie said, grabbing bags from the floor and running to the tree. "Come on, get your stuff, and let's go!" she hissed when none of them moved. "She's gonna get up any second and want to eat us alive, come on!"
They all followed Jamie, except Sam. He stood frozen, unable to process what had happened. April rushed to him and held his shoulders softly.
"You can't help her anymore. We need to go."
She pulled his arm just as Eva was standing up. The two of them raced to join Zachery and Jamie, who had already started climbing down the tree. As they got near to the bottom, they could see the ground underneath. The coast was clear, and Sam felt hesitantly grateful.
The four of them jumped to the ground and scanned their surroundings, checking nothing was coming for them. In the rush, Jamie had grabbed Sam's and Eva's bags, so she gave them back to Sam. He took them, putting both on his back. He didn't want to leave anything of Eva's behind. He didn't want to leave her behind, but he had no choice. It was time to go.
They all ran to the nearest fence, Zachery being the first to climb up. With no tesrars around, the other three waited for Zachery to reach the top to hear if they could safely make it over. Sam looked behind him, half hoping to see Eva following. Not Eva as she was now...but Eva as he'd forever remember her, now that she was gone.
Once Zachery had climbed high enoug
h, he heard a noise. He looked up and realised that Sam had been right all along...there were wires added at the top. He called down to them as quietly as he could.
"Do you see the electrified wires? Because I can. Am I going crazy, or what?"
"We see them!" Jamie quietly called out.
Unsure of everything, Zachery held onto the fence, debating whether to go up or down.
The wires weren't there earlier. Something's messing with our heads, either before, or now. It is possible the power could have been routed to another place within the college...do I want to risk touching up to ten thousand volts to find out?
Defeated, he climbed back down, not willing to take the chance. As he was descending, he heard a few growls. He looked to his left and moved as fast as he could until he reached the ground.
"There are four tesrars headed our way."
"There's one obvious thing we haven't tried yet," Sam commented. "The main gate! What if we could just walk out of here?"
"Okay, so what's the plan, Sam?" Jamie asked.
"April, you come with me," Sam instructed.
"Where?"
"You'll see. Zach, Jamie, you both hide behind this tree," he ordered, pointing to a tree nearby. "Once the tesrars have passed you, get to the gate and check if it's locked. We'll meet you at the car park."
"What if they come for us?" Jamie worried.
"You both have knives, don't you?" Sam responded as he and April started jogging, heading around the back of the building, leading the tesrars away.
Zachery and Jamie waited until they were all out of sight before running silently towards the gate. It was a fair distance away, so they were both out of breath by the time they got to the car park. As they approached the gate, they could see a very thick steel chain wrapped around the bolt. Zachery's hopes shattered, but he checked anyway to see if he could open the padlock that was attached. It was no use as it was a large, heavy-duty metal padlock hooked onto the chain. He picked up a nearby rock and tried to smash it, but it resulted in the lock only receiving a few scratches. They heard footsteps behind them and spun around. It was Sam and April, breathing heavily.