My wide-opened eyes stared ahead, their blankness a perfect mirror for the flames.

"Holy shit!" Tim exclaimed, trembling while taking a step back.

"Ouch. What are you doing?" Simone said.

"We need to leave. Now!" Tim urged, shouldering his way through the crowd.

"What's up?" Oliver asked.

"Monsters. Demons. Whatever, down there. Don't look vegetarian to me." Tim said frantically, beads of sweat forming on his forehead.

To the left, Solomon edged closer to me, peeking over the curve. I would normally welcome this, but now, my eyes and ears were elsewhere. His face turned pale and didn't fare much better than Tim's. To my right, Arthur was on his knees, holding back his breakfast between hiccups.

The rest of the class slowly spread out along the curve, all gazing down into the valley.

"Stop! Those things have wings! They'll devour us all!" Tim shouted.

I snapped out of my trance. Still, I couldn't move. The smell of burnt meat was horrifically captivating.

Tim grabbed Levi's arm and shook it. "Come on! Now!" Levi's eyes regained focus. He glanced back all the while as he allowed Tim to half-drag him away from the edge.

"Tim's correct" Jan said. He started to pat people's shoulders while yelling in their ears. However, no one followed him.

"It's not working" I said through gritted teeth. I pulled my strength together and compelled my body to move. The first step almost caused my failure. The second was easier. By the tenth, I was walking almost normally again, though I still felt the shock like weights in my bones.

I pulled Solomon and Arthur along with me and arrived behind Merlin. His mouth had taken on an O shape and his shaking legs didn't give much hope to the dryness in his pants.

"Hey!" I tried. Unsurprisingly, it didn't work. I raised my hand and started the swing, but hesitated. The danger and his pained face stood on a scale in front of me, sinking one way, then the other.

After the 3rd change, a sudden heat rose in m body and it rose fast. A slap resounded throughout the plain. There was no more room for hesitation.

Merlin gazed up at me, holding his right cheek.

"Slap the people in a daze. We need to go." I said, before he had the chance to protest. He turned to Thibaud left of him and started shaking his arm.

"Thibaud! We have to go!"

I turned around to Solomon and Arthur. "Wake them up as well. We don't have time."

As I watched Solomon running to the right, I had a suspicion of who he might search for. It didn't matter. I couldn't fault him for it.

"Ah, Arthur, where's Jonathan?"

"Dunno"

"What? Weren't you friends?"

"Nope"

Arthur turned to what was previously the center of the group.

The entrance to the forest lay just 10 metres to the right. There wasn't much space from where one could observe the city, thus not many people were over there. On the left side was an open plain with plenty good vantage points. Most of us spread out there.

With Arthur taking the right, Solomon the centre and Merlin still trying to wake Thibaud, I had to take the left by myself. A familiar petty feeling of injustice rose up in my chest, though I quenched it the same instant.

It didn't take long for everyone to reconvene at the starting point. Oliver, Jan and Stella were doing their best psychology work for the worst affected. Merlin's head hung down and he refused to look at Thibaud next to him, who had both cheeks red.

"So, I propose we go opposite to here, along the forest border." Jan said.

"Wait. Where's Jonathan? Arthur?" Clara asked.

"Dunno" Arthur answered.

"What? Weren't you friends?"

"Nope"

"I think he went into the forest" Alice said.

"Probably a leak" Arthur muttered, loud enough for everyone to hear.

"Grey, go- ah, there he is" Oliver said as a tall figure emerged from the woods.

Johnathan's usually merry cheeks were ghostly and he didn't have to be reminded to make haste.

"Sp- Spiders! Huge ones!"

"Where?" Tim asked.

"In the woods! Everywhere!"

Our faces turned graver still.

"Forest is off-limits then. We'll have to go through the plains. Though, we should still maintain some proximity, just in case we need to hide" Jan said.

We stood up and began walking as a cluster of people. After 100 metres, it became apparent that this wouldn't work. Around 1/3 were falling behind. Half of the remaining people supported them. Me being one of them, I suddenly had Clara's arm around my neck.

"Sorry about this. My knees just won't listen." Clara said, biting her lip.

"No problem". It was a problem. My knees didn't fare much better, just enough to make do with willpower.

'I'll not become a weak link!' This phrase supported me through the past and I intended to have it do so for the present too, at least.

We exchanged few words on the way, though our untimely severed friendship was being mended by our proximity alone.

At some point, I felt myself reaching my limit. Any more and I would have to be supported too. I glanced around for any free people. Solomon was occupied with Yuli. Oliver with Alice. Somehow, they managed small smiles.

'Nice for them' I thought, ignoring the needles piercing my heart.

"Need some help?" Arthur asked.

"From you?" I looked at his build critically.

"No. From Johnathan." Arthur smirked. "Hey! Johnathan!".

"What?"

"Come over here!"

Johnathan's head stuck out of the crowd as he made his way over. Though, his amber hair would have made him stick out nonetheless.

"Can you take over for me?"

"Sure thing"

His face had regained some colour over time.

"Btw, are you guys friends?" Clara asked.

Johnathan and Arthur shot each other a look.

"Definitely not" they said simultaneously.

No suitable rest place appeared by the time the sun set. Everyone was tired. Everyone was hungry. Everyone was thirsty. Nonetheless, Oliver, Jan and Solomon arranged the night watch, Tim and Levi chipping in occasionally.

We slept in a rough square. Watch was kept at the corners. Shift change was whenever the current watch almost fell asleep. At this point, the next in line was awoken to change shift. Though, hardly anyone slept much, despite the number of people.

And as the morning came, we were awoken not by a rooster, but by the monster's cries.