Chapter 8: CH 7

Chapter 7 – A Regretful Classmate

How could this have happened…?

There I was, sitting alone in the science lab, shivering as I thought back to yesterday. It happened right after lunch break, just before classes started.

From outside the window, we all heard a shriek from the direction of the sports field. Naturally, we all looked out the window to see what happened, but the scene that we were met with was beyond reason.

There was a grotesque existence that looked like it came straight out of a game or anime, and it was attacking the students. At first, we thought, ‘maybe it’s some kind of event?’, but when we saw it actually killing the students, we understood that a real massacre was occurring right before our eyes.

And then this time, a scream came from down the hallway. The teacher, who had been teaching class, told the students to stay in the classroom, and he stepped out of the room to check it out.

But in the next moment, the teacher suddenly collapsed, bleeding. His neck was bent in a weird direction and half of his face was caved in.

Of course, we were startled by the scene of the teacher’s demise, but then we were shocked into complete silence by the appearance of the culprit who had knocked him down.

It was an ogre-like being with bright red skin. In its hand was a bloodied metal club, and it clearly wasn’t a creature that could understand a single word.

The red ogre swung its metal club, breaking down the door and entering the classroom. At this time, however, the class was already in a complete state of panic.

They frantically tried to escape through the other doorway, but a similar ogre was blocking the way. The only escape route left was out the window, but this was the third floor, and there was no way we could just jump out.

Looking down, there were also non-human existences walking around below. It was hell no matter which way you looked.

And then…

“H-Hey! I’m the grandson of the chairman of this school! You hear me? I’ll give you money or whatever, just let me go.”

―Ohsaka-kun.

He was a student that no one at this school could oppose or disobey. In fact, anyone who had ever disobeyed him had been expelled from the school, no matter if it was a junior or upperclassman.

If you failed to humor him, you wouldn’t be able to survive in this school.

He was the very definition of a tyrant. Because it was him, no one was particularly surprised by what he said.

However, the ogres didn’t listen to him, as they were getting closer and closer to Ohsaka.

Then, he seemed to think of something, and Ohsaka started to use Ishida, a follower who was always by his side, as a shield. Naturally, Ishida was scared and cowered back.

“Listen. If you betray me, I’ll kill you. You hear me?” (Ohsaka)

But the ogres were completely ignorant of their relationship. They suddenly brandished their metal clubs and swung them down at Ohsaka and Ishida.

At the same time, Ohsaka pushed Ishida from behind and jumped backwards by himself.

―Gushhyaaaa!

For a moment, I couldn’t understand what had happened.

Warm blood and chunks of flesh splattered all around me. A headless human-shaped mass of flesh was tottering in front of the ogre. It was only several seconds later that I recognized that mass as what once remained of Ishida.

Everyone turned pale and started screaming. But not Ohsaka. He took advantage of the opportunity created by Ishida’s death to run out of the classroom by himself.

Seeing him run off, other classmates scrambled to try and pass by the ogre, but the ogre immediately began to attack again. Tragedies followed one after the other.

I-I have to run…!

I didn’t want to die in a place like this either. But I was so frightened that my feet felt like they were rooted in place. The desks and chairs were being blown apart as the ogres smashed the humans like toys.

I gripped the curtains by my side and got to my feet, but I was hit by a flying headless corpse and fell to the ground. At that moment, the curtains came off of the rail, and they fell down along with me, covering my body.

I thought it was over for me so I curled up my body. The sound of shrill screams and destruction filled my ears, and I prepared myself, thinking I was next. But after a while, the sounds stopped, and I heard the heavy sound of footsteps leaving the classroom.

And when the sound of footsteps finally went away, I timidly peeked out from a gap in the curtain. I almost vomited from the horrifically disastrous scene before me, but at least the ogres were gone.

Apparently, the ogres weren’t able to find me because I was covered by the curtains. But there were still screams echoing throughout the school, and my body was stiff from the sound of beastly roars. I was so scared that I couldn’t move a single step from where I was.

….I wonder how many hours have passed.

Outside, evening was already approaching.

When there were no more sounds, I finally stood up. I had already gotten used to the smell of the blood, but there were so many dismembered corpses scattered all over the place, which I couldn’t even recognize anymore.

While trying not to look down, I went to the outside of the classroom to check the situation out. In the hallway, there were also students strewn about, left in a pitiful state. There were so many corpses scattered all over the place that it almost seemed as if all the students in the school had been killed.

Wrapped in the curtain, I walked along slowly. The destination I had in mind was the emergency stairs at the end of the hallway. I wanted to escape right away by going down the stairs.

I walked quietly without making a sound, when I suddenly heard footsteps coming towards me from the intersecting hallway ahead. I hurriedly opened a nearby door and slipped inside.

It was a science lab. It was almost completely dark, not only because the curtains over the windows were usually closed, but also because it was gradually getting dark outside.

It’s scary… but outside is even scarier.

I ran to the corner of the room and hid myself in the shadows. There was an escape door right next to me, but I couldn’t. I was so scared that I couldn’t take another step.

And then, this time I heard the sound of gunshots, followed by another beast-like roar.

I crouched down and covered my ears, unable to comprehend what was going on anymore. This is all a dream. It must be a nightmare. As I told that to myself, I closed my eyelids tightly while shivering.

Just like that, I ended up spending a sleepless night there, hounded by the noises and constant fear and anxiety eating away at me. At this moment, the current time according to my smartphone was 3:30 PM. I was about to spend another night in the school at this rate.

Why did things have to end up this way…?

It was completely crazy for horrifying monsters like those to appear in the school one after another. I mean, come on. They came out of nowhere without any warning whatsoever.

Was there really such a phenomenon? And it doesn’t make any sense for monsters like those to exist in real life.

Could this be… divine retribution…?

Speaking of such a thing, I had an inkling why something like that would happen to me. In my class, there were two well-known people.

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Needless to say, one was Ohsaka Aito, the grandson of the school’s chairman. The other person was―Bouchi Hiro. The reason why he was well-known was because he was the target of that Ohsaka Aito until a while ago.

Bullying―It was an awful deed.

Bouchi was what I would more or less describe as a guy who gave off a quiet impression. It wasn’t that he rejected other people, as he would still go out to hang out with other guys after class during our first year.

He had good grades and was witty, so he used to have a good reputation with both the teachers and the students, regardless of gender. He also helped me out with my duties as class rep, and he was a very dependable guy who I could talk normally with.

However, when we became sophomores, Ohsaka, who had ended up in the same class as us, took notice of him. Bouchi should have already heard about Ohsaka by then. If he had wanted to live his school life in peace, it would have been better to just obey him.

But Bouchi stood up against him and was labeled as an enemy. After that, the way he was treated by teachers and students changed drastically.

Every single day, he was forced to endure a pain that I would never be able to stand, and he was ostracized by all of the students. He was left isolated and helpless, but despite that, he never yielded to Ohsaka.

I had always found it incredible. How could he stay strong through all of that?

Of course, I didn’t want to obey Ohsaka either. I wanted to make the class more free so that it could be a place where everyone could laugh together. Just like it was during our first year. But if I defied him, my life would surely be over. I would be crushed by fear and anxiety, and, in the end, I would be at Ohsaka’s mercy.

However, no matter how much Bouchi was bullied, beaten, or made fun of, he never acknowledged Ohsaka’s way of doing things. The other classmates all called him ‘insane’ and said, ‘why didn’t he just apologize earlier’, and so on, but I…

…I thought he was amazing, from the bottom of my heart. He was an unrelentingly righteous person who believed in himself as he moved forward on the path he believed was right.

Indeed, we were the ones who were wrong. If we wanted to be on the side of righteousness, we should have extended a helping hand to Bouchi. But no one could do that because they were too afraid.

I tried to reach out to Bouchi several times to express my concern, but he would turn me away every time. It made sense. Even though I was worried, in the end it was just superficial. I was only reaching out to him without leaving my own safety zone, all while still being frightened at the slightest hint of Ohsaka’s appearance.

But this voice of mine would probably never reach Bouchi.

And yesterday, when the monsters appeared, there was only one person who was not in the classroom… and that was Bouchi. I was almost certain that he had been dragged somewhere by Ohsaka and his gang and gotten beaten up.

I knew because I had seen it happen before.

I suddenly thought of my older sister, who was a few years older than me. She was studying at a local university now. I hoped that she wasn’t being attacked by monsters like we were here. Ever since I was a child, my sister was always my role model.

She was clever, noble, and beautiful.

I had always envied her strength, which even boys couldn’t match, and whenever she was by my side, I felt safe and protected.

I still remembered the words she had said to me when she left our hometown to move to the province that her university was in.

“Hey, Koine. No matter how tough or painful it gets, if you think you’re right, then believe in yourself and stick to it. Then, you definitely won’t come to regret it.”

She was always right. My sister was always like a lighthouse that guided me.

……I’m sorry, Onee-chan. I’m… not in the right at all. Even though you went out of your way to impart those words to me, I haven’t been able to hold true to them at all.

I also had a younger sister, who was five years old.

She was probably at kindergarten… I want to see her. I really want to see her and hug her close.

I prayed that she was somehow safe.

There was one thing that made me feel relieved.

It was good that Bouchi wasn’t in the classroom at the time.

He was outside. There was a good chance that he had escaped the notice of the monsters and made a safe getaway. He was smart and athletic. That was why if it was him, I could hold high hopes for him.

“….Maybe this is punishment for abandoning Bouchi-kun.”

During our first year, he had helped me out whenever I was in trouble, but all I did was hurt him. It was the worst thing someone could do.

But still, I’m afraid… of dying.

When I was alone with my thoughts like this, I couldn’t help but think of the past. Looking back on certain times where I should have done this or that… All I could think of were regrets and remorseful thoughts.

Of course, I had plenty of pleasant memories, but right now, only the things that were making me feel guilty were coming to my mind.

“If I could see Bouchi-kun again… I really want to apologize.”

But I was certain that it would be impossible. The corridor was filled with the sound of footsteps. If I went outside, I would be attacked by monsters. That outcome was clear as day. The monsters would appear here sooner or later too, and then they would find me…

“I really wish… I could have seen Onee-chan one more time…”

(TL: Onee-chan = older sister)

The moment that I muttered that to myself, a sound of a gunshot roared from the corridor, and I reflexively froze.

At the same time, a shrill ‘Gigyaaaa!?’ shook my eardrums, which sounded like a monster’s death throes. Then, a flurry of heavy footsteps echoed from the hallway, and the door opened with a rattle.

“―Clear. Hey, anyone there?”

I heard a human male voice.

A small ‘eh?’ leaked out of my mouth as I peeked out of the curtains that were wrapped around me. Then, a flashlight shone in my face.

“We have a survivor! Protect and escort!”

One by one, men dressed in imposing uniforms filed into the room and rushed to my side.

“It’s alright now. Come on, let’s hurry up and get out of here.”

I had almost given up. I thought for sure that God had forsaken me for abandoning that one boy.

But… But…

“Uwaaaahhh!”

I couldn’t stop the tears from flowing down my face at the relief of being saved.

Just like that, I was saved from the depths of hell.

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