Azure tightened his hand on the grip of the bat, and he moved toward the school with slow caution.
"Shouldn't we try to escape from the school?" Clara whispered, her voice trembling as she followed him, her body shivering slightly under her uniform.
He shook his head firmly, "The zombies came from outside in the first place... and we will find monsters more dangerous than the ones here."
She nodded slowly, her hesitation palpable, her cold fingers clutching her wrist with a weak, desperate squeeze, her glasses fogging slightly from her shallow breaths, a shiver running down her spine.
He looked at her out of the corner of his eye and sighed deeply. "Just say what you have in mind."
She opened her mouth, closed it several times, then spoke in a voice so faint it barely reached him, "How do you stay so calm and think so clearly?"
He stopped suddenly; the truth is that he does not know the reason either. For him, the matter is not very scary, but he feels that he has forgotten some important things.
He looked at her and laughed suddenly, then he spoke with an exaggerated and slightly pretended tone, "The matter is easy, I love games and anime... so I did not get shocked much when I saw those things."
He stepped closer slowly, his gaze locking onto her eyes, standing just two feet away, a warmth softening his expression, "You haven't watched any anime or played video games, have you?"
She nodded shyly, he gently patted her head, a kind smile breaking through his tension, "Then I promise you, if we survive, I'll teach you video games and turn you into the laziest otaku in the world."
She became shyer and asked slowly, her voice cracking with emotion, 'Why are you so kind to me?'"
He looked at her for some moments; he did not know what to say...
He turned away, stepping back slowly, cleared his throat, and murmured in a shy, low voice, "I love cute things."
Clara froze for a moment after hearing that statement. She covered her mouth with her hand and tried to prevent her laugh.
Azure felt his embarrassment deepen, a flush creeping up his neck.
They approached the school entrance, the door gaping wide open, revealing the gruesome sight of devoured and mutilated teachers and students, the metallic scent of blood thick in the air.
Clara's expression changed, but she managed to bear the sight. Her emotional stability improved slightly after her conversation with Azure.
Azure was hesitant about what to do. I said the outside is worse, but we're not safe here either... maybe it's just zombies out there? Tsk.
He turned and began moving inside the building, Clara following in silence, her eyes darting nervously at the shadows.
The place was all silent, the only sound was the faint echo of their footsteps in the hallway, as if time itself had stalled.
As soon as they reached the stairs that led to the second floor, Azure stopped Clara. He looked at her and spoke slowly, "There was a massacre on the second floor. Take a deep breath and prepare yourself first."
Clara was shocked by the word "massacre" She took a deep breath and tried to prepare herself as much as possible. Then nodded with her head to Azure.
He nodded back silently and began ascending slowly. As they reached the top, they found before them: a monster with glossy black skin, long and thin like a giant insect, its rectangular skull housing small, glowing red eyes that pulsed with menace, a whip-like tail swaying with a sinister hiss, and long arms tipped with razor-sharp claws dripping with a dark ichor.
It was looking at them, opening its mouth, showing its sharp teeth.
Well, we have solved the mystery of the zombies' death! He grabbed Clara and was about to descend, but a fast, long tongue appeared directly in front of him. He pulled her with force and ducked quickly; the tongue passed above their heads with an air strike.
He took her hand and hurried up to the third floor, their footsteps quickening on the creaking stairs.
The long-tongued monster was about to pursue them, its claws scraping the floor with a screech, but the black monster pounced on it suddenly, the air filling with the sounds of their struggle, a bone-chilling roar reverberating.
Azure began to run quickly toward the other side of the building; his goal was to get out of the school as soon as possible.
He was pressing hard on Clara's wrist as he ran, and she began to feel the pain, but she endured.
When they began to approach the stairs, Clara stumbled and fell on the ground. Azure stopped and tried to help her stand up.
He looked at her foot and found that it was twisted badly; she will not be able to run.
His eyebrows twitched slightly, and he closed his eyes to think of a solution, his heart pounding with worry for her.
Clara looked at him and said slowly, "Leave me and go..."
He opened his eyes in anger, about to shout at her for suggesting such a thing, but he saw her smiling through her tears, and he felt... broken.
"Please, this will give you some time to try and escape", she tried to push him back with weakness.
He felt a big headache in his head; he didn't know why, but this feeling made him angrier.
Before he spoke, he noticed a shadow approaching quickly behind her. He pulled her and threw her to the side quickly.
Clara slammed into the wall, pain surging through her. She opened her eyes in agony and looked at Azure...
to find the monster in front of her and its claw through Azure's stomach. The claw pierced his body easily, and his blood fell on the ground like a waterfall.
Her entire body shook in shock, and she began to scream, tears streaming down her face.