"Are you truly certain you don't know anything about that unknown creature?"
Ella asked as she carefully arranged their supplies after finally reaching the storage room.
Thino glanced at her, then returned his gaze to the axe he had been eyeing for quite some time.
"For the third time, Ella," he said evenly, "my answer hasn't changed."
"Well, if you truly don't know them like you say… why do you seem so familiar with how they move?"
"It's just an instinct, I suppose. Surely you're no stranger to that word."
He kept his eyes forward, not daring to share the disarray of thoughts running through his head. Even he couldn't quite discern what the true weakness of their enemies was. There was something hauntingly familiar about them, yet frustratingly elusive.
Ella sighed. "Still… how exactly are we going to kill those things?"
"We'll have to find their weak point. That's our best chance."
"Right, that's a good idea. But do you really think we'll figure that out before they eat us alive?"
She asked it so innocently, holding a kitchen knife in one hand and a bolo in the other.
Thino gave her a look, gaze flicking toward the weapons.
"I doubt they'll get close enough to eat you if you're carrying those."
Ella frowned and dropped the weapons with a thud. "Please. I can't even get near them, let alone pretend I'm some killer clown swinging blades around."
Thino let out a rare laugh, momentarily forgetting the danger that loomed outside.
"You could always throw them," he teased.
"I have no strength for that, Thino. My stats are average at best. Maybe I've got a decent amount of common sense and a little resourcefulness, but when it comes to physical combat? Forget it. I'd rather be the side character hiding behind the heroes."
"Fair enough. I won't force you. But I trust you've got something in mind—something that can still protect you?"
"Of course!" she beamed, proudly holding up her chosen item. Thino blinked at it, unsure whether to laugh again or be concerned.
"Wait… are you serious about that?"
Ella only grinned wider, confirming that she was indeed not joking.
"Well… if you are, let's go."
After spending a few more minutes gathering supplies, they repositioned themselves near the door. Thino peeked out first and finding no creatures nearby, signaled for Ella to follow. Their destination: the unlocked economics classroom.
They moved quickly and silently, slipping into the classroom and closing the door behind them. The room, according to Ella, was stocked with enough food to serve as a temporary shelter—a vital part of their survival plan.
"Ella," Thino said while scanning the room, "do you often wander around the school?"
"Not really. Why do you ask?"
"I'm just curious how you knew where to find all of this… like the supplies in the storage room."
Ella shrugged, already rummaging through the cabinets. "I was often ordered by Trina's group to fetch food for them. That's how I found these places."
"And no one caught you doing that?"
"Oh, they tried. Technically, all of this is supposed to be used for economics class only. But Trina doesn't care about rules, and she never liked hearing no. I had to find ways to survive."
Though her tone remained light, a flicker of sadness passed through her voice. Thino heard it clearly.
"Well… at least you were never caught," he murmured.
Silence crept in between them until Thino, eager to break the gloom, shifted the topic. "What about the storage room? I had no idea the school stocked weapons there."
"It's more of a general stockroom for new equipment. I know that because… well, that's where trina liked to mess with me."
The weight returned instantly, pressing against them. Thino grimaced. If only I could stop asking questions…
Ella laughed, breaking the tension. Thino blinked, startled by her sudden shift in energy.
"Don't worry about it, Thino. I used to hate my situation. I was bitter—angry even. I didn't understand why the world was so cruel to me when I hadn't done anything wrong. I thought I was cursed. But now?" She glanced around the room. "Now that we're facing something like this… all of that bitterness just disappeared. If I hadn't been through those things… maybe I wouldn't be here now. Maybe we wouldn't have made it this far."
Her words sank deep into Thino's chest. He understood better than anyone what she meant. They had both been shaped by suffering—molded by pain—and yet they were still standing.
He looked at her quietly, admiration flickering beneath the exhaustion in his eyes.
"So… ending your story here was never an option for you, was it?"
A small smile touched Ella's lips. "I'm way too young to die here, Thino."
Thino gave a faint chuckle. "Good. At least you still want to grow old—even if the only company left by then would be monsters like these."
"Who knows…" Ella tilted her head playfully. "Maybe even the dinosaurs will rise from their graves too."
She joined in on the joke with a hushed giggle, trying to suppress the sound. For a brief moment, the dread melted into something lighter—until a flash of memory struck Thino's mind. His smile faded, lips parting slightly as his eyes glazed over.
"Let us in!"
Kara's desperate voice echoed in his memory, filled with panic as she pounded her fists against the shuttle bus door. Inside, someone stood calmly, arms crossed, unmoved by their pleas.
"No way! Better you die out there than us. At least your deaths will have meaning!"
"You've gone too far, Trina! Letting us die here is a crime, and you know it!"
"Oh, and because of that guy you're with, my boyfriend's dead! How is that fair!?"
"You saw what happened! Why are you still blaming him?"
"Because if he hadn't defied Wosker's plan to act as bait, my boyfriend would still be alive!"
"Because your boyfriend's plan was trash!" Ella shouted back. "Useless! Senseless! If you'd all just run quietly and stopped shoving Thino around, we'd all be safe in there right now!"
"Shut up!! No matter what you say, you don't deserve to live!"
"What the—HEY! Stop the bus! Open the door! LET US IN!"
. . .
. . .
. . .
"Hey! Thino!"
Ella's voice pierced the fog of his memory. He snapped back to the present, blinking hard.
"You okay?" she whispered, concern carved into every crease of her expression.
Instead of answering, Thino pressed a hand against his temple, breath unsteady.
"We… we need to get the key."
"Key? For what?"
"The shuttle bus. We have to go," he said with quiet urgency and turned toward the hallway, already moving.
"W-wait, Thino! Can you at least slow down? What if something's out there—?"
"We don't have time left, Ella."
"Time for what? What are you even talking about? At least explain it to me. I don't want to be left in the dark."
Ella's voice trembled as she glanced around, alert to every shadow and echo.
"I know you're confused. But right now, I just need you to trust me." His voice softened, but his eyes stayed sharp. "I promise I'll explain everything… later. But we have to move. Now."
There was something in his tone that made her pause. She studied him—how serious he was, how heavy his eyes had become. And without another word, she nodded and followed.
But even as they moved, Thino's mind was elsewhere—dragged back to a memory that gnawed at him with every step.
In the past… it wasn't Ella he escaped with—it was Wosker.
Thino hadn't wanted to run with him, but Wosker had grabbed him, forcing him to follow. The hallway had been chaos, monsters distracted by fresh meat in the nearby room. That's when Wosker shoved him forward—straight toward a beast.
In a panicked attempt to stay upright, Thino grabbed at Wosker's wristwatch, hoping for leverage. But instead, Wosker lost his balance, stumbled back, and crashed through a broken windowpane. The shattered glass sliced deep as his body collapsed onto the jagged shards.
Thino wanted to help. He truly did. But the noise had already drawn the monsters' attention.
He froze. No plan. No movement. Just shock.
Until a small rock hit his arm.
He turned. Ella stood at a distance—hidden but waiting. She motioned frantically for him to run. She hadn't abandoned him.
That's when he forced himself to move.
But they never made it onto the shuttle bus.
The memory played out vividly in his mind—Ella screaming, fighting, being torn away from him by those unknown creatures.
And her final words…
"L-live for me…"
Thino clenched his fists. No. Not this time.
He wouldn't let it end that way again.