"That guy is skipping class again…?"
Saya frowned as she looked at the empty seat in the classroom. It seemed like Komuro had skipped class again, and this time, he had even taken Hisashi with him. Ever since Hisashi confessed to Rei, Komuro had been acting strange. Now that he had dragged Hisashi out, who knew what he was up to? Speaking of Rei… Saya glanced at the brown-haired girl sitting not too far away.
"It's been a while since I've talked to her, huh?" Saya rested her chin on her hand, deep in thought. It wasn't just Rei, she hadn't spoken much with those two either. She didn't have many friends to begin with, and the three of them were among the few, if not the only, real friends she had. Yet, for some reason, her relationship with them kept growing more distant...
The more Saya thought about it, the more frustrated she felt. Without realizing it, she blurted out, "Tch, I'm a genius! Why should I even care about this kind of stuff?!"
The teacher's face darkened. He took a deep breath, barely restraining himself from hurling a piece of chalk at her, before shouting, "Takagi! If you're such a genius, then answer this question!!!"
"Uh, um…" Saya's face turned red as she felt every pair of eyes in the class shift to her. Even Rei turned around to look at her in surprise.
"What the hell is wrong with me today?!" she screamed internally. The question on the board wasn't hard, but her earlier outburst had completely thrown her off. She swore she could almost see smoke coming out of the teacher's head.
Just as Saya was unsure of what to do, whispers began to rise in the classroom, and suddenly, the whole room became noisy.
"What's with these guys today?" she thought. "The teacher's pissed, and they still dare to chat? Maybe someone else would get scolded along with me then?"
At that moment, the teacher had stopped speaking, he was on the hunt for his next target.
"Is that fog?"
"It's pitch black… creepy as hell."
Saya vaguely caught bits of conversation from her classmates. "What? Black fog?" Her curiosity was piqued. The entire class was pointing outside the window. Saya, too, turned her gaze in that direction…
Pitch black. A terrifying, pure darkness. A thick black fog had completely swallowed everything outside.
"The heck!?" This couldn't be a natural phenomenon. If nothing else, the fact that the classroom was still brightly lit despite the outside being pitch black was already unnatural. The lights weren't even on, yet the room remained as bright as daytime. Saya's body trembled. She had a very bad feeling about this.
"Everyone, stay calm!" The teacher shouted, and the class fell silent. He was infamous for being strict, short-tempered, and always yelling. Saya didn't like him at all. But in this situation, he felt somewhat reliable. Thanks to him, the class wasn't falling into chaos.
"I'll contact security to check the situation. Stay away from the windows!" The teacher pulled out his phone and dialed a number. But the moment he made the call…
"Kiiiiiiiiiiiiitttttttttttt!"
A shrill, ear-piercing noise rang out from the phone.
The sound was unbearable, like a broken microphone screeching or nails scraping against a chalkboard, only amplified several times over. Saya felt like her head was about to explode from the noise.
The teacher quickly tried to end the call, but for some reason, it wouldn't disconnect. The phone kept ringing. He then tried to power it off, but it didn't work. Even after throwing it to the ground and stomping on the screen, the awful noise just didn't stop.
"This is bad…" Saya could feel the tension rising in the classroom. Taking advantage of the moment when everyone was distracted by the sound, she crouched down and crawled toward Rei, nudging her.
Rei clutched her head, struggling to turn and look at Saya. Saya quickly put a finger to her lips, signaling her to stay quiet, then pointed to the back door and whispered, "Let's get out of here!"
…
Rei and Saya ran down the hallway. Rei rubbed her temples, trying to clear her head before asking anxiously, "Where are we going, Saya? That black fog…"
Aside from the eerie light still illuminating the inside of the school, the view outside the hallway windows was just as pitch black as it was in the classroom.
"I don't know either… but for now, let's find somewhere to hide first…"
Before Saya could finish speaking, a blood-curdling scream suddenly echoed through the halls.
Then, like a volcano erupting, more and more horrifying, agonized, fear-filled screams followed. One scream after another. In no time, all that filled Saya and Rei's ears were the chilling sounds of people shrieking in terror.
The hallway became chaotic. Students poured out from their classrooms, their faces stricken with fear. But whether it was because of the screams or because they had seen something in the fog, nobody knew.
Rei didn't know. Saya didn't know. Neither dared to look back. They just ran.
Left. Right. Forward. Behind. One by one, students were dragged away by something, followed by their desperate screams.
Saya and Rei had no idea where they were running to, but they kept running. Even when their legs ached, they didn't stop. Even when their lungs burned, they kept going. They didn't want to become one of those screams. It was too terrifying, the sound was so raw, so filled with terror and suffering…
Finally, they burst into the arts and crafts room and barricaded the door behind them.
The dim interior, with its windows completely covered by curtains, gave them a slight sense of security, a false sense of security. The screams outside continued to echo.
Rei collapsed onto the floor, trembling. She whimpered, "What… what is happening…?" then broke into sobs, crying like a child.
Saya remained silent, her expression grim. She didn't know what was happening outside either. Why is this happening? Today was supposed to be a normal day!
No one answered her.
Then, the screams stopped.
Silence.
Whatever was happening… the people outside could no longer scream.
Cold. Suddenly, both of them shivered. An unbearable cold seeped into their bones, as if they had been plunged into a vat of ice water.
Rei stopped crying.
No escape. No way out.
They both understood that now. Their desperate attempt to flee had been nothing but a foolish waste of energy. They were already doomed.
And then… Like the tolling of a death knell, a single "Crack" echoed through the silent room.
It was here. Whatever 'it' was, it had found them.
"Goodbye, everyone… Mom, Dad…"
Saya whispered, just before something grabbed her head.
Pain. A searing, excruciating agony. As if she were being thrown into a vat of boiling oil, ground up in a meat grinder, crushed under a truck…
Pain! Pain! Pain!
Along with Rei, Saya let out a scream of sheer agony.