The insides of the buildings were strangely quiet, but blood smeared the walls, floors, and stairwell railings.
The classical architecture looked like a horror house instead of beautiful. It was hard to see, and the only light there was the random hallway or two where the lights still worked, and the streetlights that let in through the windows.
They walked down the connecting bridge from the main building to the sub building's entrance, nervous as no one could be heard or seen.
"Where is everyone," Amy whispered. "It was so loud earlier, now I can't hear a thing."
"They must be hiding," Mark suggested. "If no one can leave, they must be waiting for help to arrive.
They opened the large doors into the sub building. It was for the actual students at the Academy who were there to learn and weren't enlisting into the Defense Program.
The halls were filled with lockers and it had a friendlier feeling to it, with the cute school paintings, the Halloween decorations, and of course the anti-bullying posters that failed to do a thing.
They walked down the hallway and heard little whispers and laughter. They followed the sound, cautious of what they would find. Amy and Mark went to a classroom, and inside it was filled with nine children. They all looked no older than six, and they were wearing little costumes of different animals.
One was a pig, another a baby chick, another a goat.
They were animals in a slaughterhouse, ready to be picked next.
The children roared with laughter, unaware of the danger surrounding them when Amy and Mark opened the door. "We're playing hide and seek," the boy in the bear costumed exclaimed. "Come play with us!"
"Where are your parents," Amy asked.
"Mrs. Nala is in the bathroom," one said. "She took us here on a field trip!" They grinned, excited by the great fun they were having. They were supposed to leave at 8 PM, and the chance to stay up past 10 was more exciting than the danger.
"Why did she leave you here alone," Mark whispered.
"She didn't," a girl in the frog costume grunted. "The bathroom is inside here!" She pointed to a door that had a cute poster of a toilet on it, smiling and saying, Don't Forget to Flush!
Amy knocked on the door, but no one replied.
"She been in there a long time," the girl in the frog costume said. "She is not feeling so good right now."
The children all agreed, and then discussed between each other when they were last sick, and how their mothers took care of them. The discussion then switched over to why their mothers all made them go to bed early but they got to stay up.
Amy smiled as they kept each other busy, and she knocked on the door again. "Hello," she called out. "We can help you!" Mrs.Nala did not say anything back.
"I think she just left them here," Mark whispered.
"I don't think she would do that," Amy mumbled. "Who would leave a bunch of kids here?"
Mark shook the handle, but it did not open. He looked around the dark classroom and saw shadows on the floor, created by the light coming in from the moon.
His eyes flashed green, and the shadows curled across the room and wrapped around the handle. It snapped off and the kids complained.
"You can't go in there! People are pooping," the girl in the baby chick costume exclaimed.
They all then giggled amongst each other, talking about poop. Amy rolled her eyes, and then slightly pushed the door open.
She peeked inside and quickly shut it.
"What is it," Mark asked. Amy brought him close and whispered in his ear.
"She's dead," Amy whispered. "She hung herself with her jacket."
Mark grimaced and shook his head. I have to see this for myself. He opened the door and he saw Mrs.Nala.
She hung from the bathroom ceiling, face blue, a small children's chair lying on the floor.
There was a long bar on the ceiling, with sockets in it for putting light bulbs in that she used to tie herself upon. Mark shut the door quietly and faced the children.
"Who here wants to play a game," he mumbled.
They all jumped up and down in excitement cheering, and Amy quickly silenced them. "Be quiet," she pleaded. "If you don't we'll-"
"We'll lose the game," Mark said. Amy glared but then softened once she realized what he was doing. "Whoever can stay quiet the longest wins," Mark said.
"Me and my Daddy play that game all the time at home," the girl in the frog suit said. She quickly covered her mouth, realizing she had lost.
"It's okay," Mark sighed. "We'll start now. Amy and I are allowed to talk though. We will watch and see who wins."
The children all nodded and covered the mouths, trying their hardest not to talk.
Mark took Amy into the farthest corner where they could not hear them and whispered with her. "Can we take them with us," Mark asked.
"I want to, but do you think we could make it," Amy mumbled.
"We can't just leave them here," Mark hissed. "We can hide them in my car, and break into another, and keep the rest in there."
"Why the cars," Amy asked. "We can drive off if someone tries to hurt us and hide in the forest," Mark explained.
"Good," Amy nodded. "Don't worry. I can get them together."
She took a deep breath and tried her best to put on a smile for them. Amy knew how to handle children. She had volunteered with them all throughout school, and she loved them.
Many did not believe her, because she was a very shrill woman, but when it came to children Amy had a soft spot.
"Everyone find a friend," Amy cooed. "We're going on a trip."
They all scrambled around, and they found a partner. The only person who couldn't was the little girl dressed as a baby chick. "It's okay," Amy smiled. "We can be friends." The little girl smiled and took her hand.
They all walked silently down the halls back towards the main building. As they were crossing the bridge connecting the two buildings, a child let out a shriek. Amy and Mark turned to look, and they saw a large man.
He had horns like a bull and giant muscles. He had a giant frown on his face and looked bored. He was wearing a Halloween costume, just like everyone else.
He was a football player, and his player number was sixty-nine because he thought it was funny when he bought it.
Amy breathed a sigh of relief. "It's okay," she said. "It's just another person."
She waved in his direction, and the man took a few steps towards them. Amy's smile faltered and she stopped waving once she could see him better.
His mouth was covered in blood, and the front of the football outfit was torn. There was a gaping hole where his heart should have been, and there was blood pouring out of it. The children screamed and Mark bristled at the sight.
"Take them and run," he shouted. The children ran with Amy, screaming, and the grotesque corpse grinned.
"Hello," the man boomed. "It is nice to meet you. You seem different than the others around here. Less afraid."
Mark said nothing, and his eyes pulsed green. The shadows from the columns on the bridge shot up from the ground and crisscrossed on the bridge.
He created a net behind himself and between the door, so he could not get through. Mark wanted to keep his promise to Amy that he wouldn't let anything happen to her.
"I think you should join us," the corpse offered. "Your ability is quite uncanny considering the circumstances."
Mark continued to ignore him and looked around the bridge trying to find more shadows. The clouds in the sky shifted and more moonlight fell on them.
Perfect, he thought. Finish him fast in case it becomes overcast.
"My name is Fury," the man said. "I prefer to extend the offer before I kill you. I don't want to accidentally crush your head and make your body useless."
Mark ignored him. He stood there, waiting for him to move closer to him so he could strike him.
"I don't like being ignored," Fury said. "This is your last chance."
Mark continued to say nothing, focused on winning instead of whatever lies he said.
Fury sighed. "I'm so bored of this. It's not like you'll win anyway."
A loud crackling noise could be heard as bones sprouted out of his shoulders they grew and curved around his shoulders, bursting through his costume.
Large spikes made of bone pushed out of his knuckles and he cracked his neck, relieving tension from slight rigor mortis.
He charged straight for Mark, reckless and with force. He ran, headfirst, his horns being used as a battering ram. Once he moved in place, shadows shot out from the columns and pierced his body.
Fury, however, did not slow down. His host had the ability to not feel pain.
It was a great ability to push it to its limit until he found one he really liked. Mark was taken off guard and wrapped himself inside a dark shield. Fury bashed right into him, covered in his own blood and bones.
Mark went flying back into the net and bounced off it, collapsing on the floor.
"Don't waste my time," Fury grumbled. "You're not even trying."
Mark was indeed trying, and at this moment he worried if he would live.